All this within less than 24 hours. Maybe less than 12.
Definitely fewer than 12 hours since Miho woke up from surgery, by my rough calculations. A LOT of things happen simultaneously. If we look at it primarily from Piro’s point of view:
- Piro finds Miho awake, talks with her, and is kicked out of the room. Counting the time before Piro returns with coffee, 10 minutes tops.
- Piro wanders around the hospital in a daze, trying to figure out how to contact Kimiko. Decides to go find Largo and apologize. Another 45 to 60 minutes, depending on how long Piro angsts about going to Largo’s room.
- Piro, Largo, and Erika bring each other up to speed. Meanwhile, Miho tries to break out of her restraints and succeeds (blowing up the hospital in the process) just as Largo flips his lid about Teh Evil running loose. Let’s be generous and say 20 minutes, since it probably took a little while to find the wheelchair and get everyone situated.
- Piro pushes the wheelchair at top speed through the hospital, arriving at the pile of rubble just after Kimiko and Miho have switched places. Erica holds off security and part of the gathering horde in order to give Piro room to reach KiMiho. I’m fuzzy on timing here, but can hazard a guess of fewer than 30 minutes unless the hospital is humongous.
- Piro and KiMiho act out their big love scene and Miho’s death, and Piro flees with the body while Erika and Largo clear a path through the grieving horde. This probably seemed like much longer to us readers, but looking at the dialogue, it can’t have taken more than 15 minutes from reaching the pile of rubble to “making mayh3m.”
- Piro runs off carrying Kimiko and drops through the floor to escape. He picks himself up, stumbles around a bit, and finds Megumi in tears. They figure out a plan of action. Another estimated 15 minutes.
Time gets extra nebulous here, since Fred jumps between scenes a lot and so much happens at once. Junpei leaves Miho at the ninja compound; Miho talks with Ninja Grandma; Yuki re-enters the picture and finds Mrs. Kobayashi just as Largo and Erika have cleared out the worst of the horde; Mrs. Kobayashi finds out that Yuki’s a magical girl, chases off the last of Erika’s minions, and talks to Erika about Moeko; and Megumi runs to Mugi’s room to grab the car keys, books it to the car, and plows through the hospital grounds with Junpei’s assistance.
- Meanwhile, Piro’s been hiding out with Kimiko this whole time. Junpei stops by early on to dispatch a couple of stray fanboys before heading to Megumi’s aid, and Megumi eventually arrives with the getaway car. It’s difficult to imagine them waiting longer than 90 minutes at the very most, even factoring in how much rough terrain Megumi had to navigate.
- Piro, Kimiko, and Megumi make their big escape. Kimiko accosts Piro while Megumi drives toward safer ground. Megumi sees them getting busy in the backseat, calls her grandma, and heads for the family love hotel. I have no clue how far that is away from the hospital, but Megumi’s poor beat up car probably couldn’t have handled too long a drive. Let’s say another 40 minutes at most.
- Piro, Kimiko, and Megumi arrive at the love hotel’s parking garage. They make their way to the room selection area and Kimiko picks a room. She and Piro head off down the hallway, get to the room, and here we are at today’s comic. Another 30 minutes, including all the walking and giving Kimiko some time to play in the room.
A little over two years in real time,
probably fewer than six hours in comic time. If anyone would like to correct my estimates, please feel free, since I have no sense of time in real life. Still, it’s slightly disorienting to contemplate.