The second chapter of Lost Judgment, Vicious Cycle, is centered around Tak's investigation into Mikoshiba's role at Seiryo High. Players will need to speak with those who worked closely with the trainee teacher, which includes both his coworkers and some of the students that he taught.
Unlike most of the other chapters in Lost Judgment, the entirety of Chapter 2 takes place at Seiryo, so this is a great opportunity for players to familiarize themselves with the school's layout. They'll also unlock the first two School Stories as part of their investigation, one of which is centered around a brand new dancing mini-game.
Finding Out About Mikoshiba
Chapter 2 picks up right where the first chapter concluded: with Tak and his fellow detectives sat in the chairman's office. As soon as they're able, players will need to speak with the school administrator about Mikoshiba, selecting the Shinjuku Station Security Footage when asked what finally pushed the chairman into acting on the bullying situation.
Once the conversation is over, players should head down to the Faculty Room on the second floor and take a look at Sawa's desk while they wait for her to show up. They'll be able to examine a few different things here, but it's only by looking at the photograph of Sawa and her school friends that they'll progress the main story.
Speaking with Sawa reveals that Mikoshiba was close with the Basketball team, so players should make their way over to the gymnasium. Approaching Koda will lead to the bullies from earlier showing up and yet another fight taking place. Once the kids have been put in their place, Sawa enters the gym and gives Tak an earful about both his actions and his attire.
As it turns out, schools aren't best pleased about strange men beating up their students and so, with the bullying issue having now been addressed, the chairman suggests that it may be time for Tak to take his leave. He does mention that the detective could stay on if he becomes an outside consultant for one of the school's many clubs though, and this becomes the next main objective.
How to Get an 'In' at the School
Upon returning to the entrance area, Tak will make note of the administrative office as well as the school's rather busy bulletin board. Given that the role he's looking for is an advisory position, players should head over towards the latter, where they'll bump into a familiar face from the previous chapter.
The girl who found the stairwell camera, Amazawa, again accuses Tak of voyeurism. He tries his very best to talk his way out of the situation, but it soon becomes apparent that a different approach may be required. Once the initial options given to players have been exhausted, a fourth "Negotiate." box will become available, which players will need to select.
When they next gain control, players should enter investigation mode and examine either the stack of flyers on the floor or the one in the bottom right-hand corner of the board. As it happens, the Mystery Research Club is looking for an outside advisor: a position which, as both a lawyer and a detective, Tak is more than qualified for. Players should offer to become the advisor and then follow the girl to the MRC headquarters.
How to Pass Amazawa's Test
After speaking with Amazawa about the test and agreeing to take part in it, players will be tasked with infiltrating the school's Dance Club. After seeing them dance, they'll be asked what's missing from the club's routine and should select the "Make a bigger impact." option followed by "What if you threw in some kung fu?"
The Dance Club mini-game should be fairly familiar to anybody who has ever played a rhythm game. Players will need to press the correct buttons when they appear at the bottom of the screen, while also using the D-Pad to select one of their three special freestyle moves whenever prompted.
Providing the Groove Gauge finishes up past the clear mark at the end of the routine, Sayaka will ask Tak to stop by and help out from time to time. This prompts Amazawa to officially offer Tak the position of the MRC's outside advisor, meaning that players can now return to the Mikoshiba investigation or get started on the game's many School Stories as they see fit.
Where to Find Koda
Whenever they're ready, players should return to the gymnasium and talk to the basketball club members. They'll mention that Mikoshiba focussed a lot of his attention on Koda, who, like the rest of the students from class 2-2, is running late for practice. To find her, players will need to head up to the classroom on the second floor, where yet another instance of bullying is taking place.
After chasing away the aggressors, Tak and Koda will speak for a while, with Koda revealing that she wants to quit the basketball club. Upon leaving the classroom, Tak will run into the female bully, Akane, who asks him to go up to the third floor so that she and her friends can apologize for their actions. Despite seeing through this very obvious lie, Tak decides to oblige.
How to Beat the Senpai Leader
Almost immediately after arriving on the third floor, players will find themselves surrounded by delinquent students. Many of them are armed with weapons, so they may want to consider switching over to Snake Style in order to disarm them. If not, the free-flowing movements of Crane Style should at least prevent Tak from being easily surrounded.
Once all of the students have been defeated, Tak will jump out of the window to escape. Players will then need to use parkour to climb up to the roof, being sure to head to the right when they get there to pick up the Verge of Death: Wounded Tiger skill book. If they head in the other direction, they'll be able to find a bottle of Toughness Z as well.
After collecting the items, players should drop back down to the quest marker to trigger another cutscene. Once it's over, they'll be up against the Senpai Leader and the rest of his cronies and should again use the Snake and Crane Styles to thin the herd. Once it's just them and the Senpai Leader, players should switch to Tiger Style and, if needed, make use of the many potential weapons that are scattered around the classroom.
The Truth About Mikoshiba
With the third years out of the way, Tak will interrogate a couple of the bullies up on the roof. They'll mention that Sawa wasn't a big fan of Mikoshiba's, which will prompt Tak to return to the Faculty Room to speak with her again. Sawa is in a meeting with the chairman when he arrives, however, so players should take the opportunity to investigate the photograph on her desk once more. This time, they'll be able to open it up, revealing an image of Ehara's son.
The final objective in the chapter is to go to the Chairman's office on the third floor. There, Tak will see some detectives heading inside to speak with the Chairman and Sawa about Mikoshiba's death. As the office door closes behind them, the screen fades to black and the second chapter of Lost Judgment is brought to an end.