Away Message

Away Message (留守応答, Rusu Ōtō) is the seventh episode of the Future Diary anime.

Summary
The episode begins with Reisuke Houjou, after revealing himself to be the 5th Diary User at the end of the previous episode, changing tactics; since Yukiteru and Yuno's Future Diaries together form a strong duo, and his Hyper Vision Diary has only three entries per day, he reconsiders his option. In the bathroom, he analyzes his medical and scientific equipment for plans, then leaves the said place.

Yuki, Yuno, Rea Amano and Reisuke eat a big meal made for lunch. Reisuke points out that he made the salad, eager to help. Rea's phone suddenly rings and she leaves the kitchen to reply. As the lunch continues, Yukki questions Reisuke about his arrival. The scene cuts to a recent flashback where we can see why Reisuke asked Rea to help making the salad; in fact, he injected the tomatoes with poison. Yuno then rolls tomato on her fork, and just as Yukki was about to eat one, she stops him, claiming that the weight difference is not right. Reisuke now knows that his plan failed and Yuno, who still isn't sure what is exactly wrong takes her and Yukki's salad bowls away. He checks his Diary and realizes that the future has changed.

Yuno confronts Reisuke to apologize for disposing of the salad. To make him feel a bit better, she says that she "hopes that the person who killed his parents gets caught soon", and pats his head. After she walks away, he makes a psychotic smile, saying that he loves her company. However, in the bathroom, he moves onto another plan and dismantles the wire system of the washing mashine. As an actually intelligent Diary User, he configures the wires to accumulate power greater than 50 milliamperes, which can cause death. He also mixes water in the bathtub with salt to increase the conductivity and create a powerful lethal trap. Sometime later, Yukki is drying his hair and recalls the change in the future from earlier. In horror, he realizes that the reason it changed is because there must be a Diary User nearby. The future rewrites itself again and it reveals that Yuno is going to be electrocuted at 7:21 PM. In the meantime, Yuno prepares for a bath when Reisuke enters, now with a pair of rubber gloves (to make sure he doesn't kill himself with his own plan) and holding previously mentioned wires. Yukki finds out he won't make it in time and tries to find something he can interrupt the electroshock with. Right before Reisuke plunges wires in the water, Yukki turns the hair-dryer on turbo, causing a drop in the electricity and spoiling child's plan. He runs out of the bathroom, naked and laughing, when Yukki enters it to check on Yuno.

Meanwhile, Minene Uryuu receives a message from Keigo Kurusu, implying of child being at Amano residence to be the Fifth Diary User. She is certain that Yukki will be reluctant to kill a child.

And it is true — Yuno would much rather kill Reisuke to get the madness over with, much to Yukki's reluctance. At the moment of their conversation, Reisuke walks out of the bedroom, saying they will never find it and goes with his bag. The search continues and Yuno still hasn't changed her mind. At one point they tried to find the Diary in the backyard; Yuno had noticed Reisuke smiling a psycho smile at her. Yukki notices the convenience store where the child went with Rea a day ago, but then notices Yuno is gone.

In fact, she had given up on the plan and began chasing Reisuke through the house with a mallet. Unfortunately, Rea was unaware of what was happening and went out of her room to check; that is when Yuno accidentally knocked her out with the mallet. This greatly upsets Yukki. After patching Rea and laying her on floor to recover, Yuno accepts Yukki's plan, and she goes to meditate on the kitchen table to find the Diary. She falls in a trance, gaining access to Reisuke's thoughts and finds out the child planned it all; he sent his Diary to the Amano residence, and at the very moment the doorbell rings, Reisuke appears at the door and takes the package. However, Yukki runs in to steal the package and begins to open it. But Yuno, upon checking her Diary, warns him not to open it; it's too late.

The poisonous gas spreads throughout the room, and Yukki faints. Reisuke, now wearing a gas mask, taunts the two and reveals what happened: it was a trap, one side did have the access to the Diary. Yuno retreats with Yukki in the bathroom as the killer child initiates the game of Hide & Seek: if Yuno gets Reisuke, he gives her the antidote to the gas and she wins. Rea was taken to fresh air so she would not get poisoned. The game was violent and the child set a lot of traps and squeaky toys, from the luring laughing toy, over pinheads on the doorpost to taping windows. Finally, she gets him on the first floor. However, he also let the tap water on to make water flow on the stairwell and drops a light bulb to electrocute Yuno as well. She falls and Reisuke gets ready to inject her with something using a syringe. At that moment, Yukki throws a dart in Reisuke's right shoulder, goes up to Yuno and kisses her, giving a mouth-to-mouth in the process. The child retreats to the end of the stairwell while Yukki faints. Before stabbing Reisuke, Yuno says she simply loves Yukki.

Yuno's knife ends in Reisuke's chest and he gives her the antidote. However, before being wiped out of the existence, he tells her that she and Yukki will eventually end up killing each other if they both progress. Yuno then goes down the stairwell to give Yukki the antidote, but she faints. At that moment, Minene arrives and gives them the antidote.

Muru Muru's Section
Muru Muru approaches Reisuke in the playground to inform him of his role in the survival game. The child states he will only agree to participate if he is taken to see an alien. Muru Muru offers him a ride in a flying saucer marked "Property of Deus", telling him playing the game will make him elite/self-sufficient. Deus Ex Machina is seen drinking tea and watching anime, but finds his saucer is gone when he needs to set down his cup.