Part 23: Natsuno Minami 3

Another tie this time. I actually found a coin and flipped it to resolve this one! It landed on heads, and so next we’ll be continuing the story of…




Chapter 23: Natsuno Minami 3

Music: Good Times (Azusa Chiba)





Someone’s trashed our room again. Also… Watch this.



Shh. Stand over here, quietly. Watch the laundry basket.





You know what I think this is?
……
It’s a spy camera, from a peeping tom.
*exhale*
It’s the same creep that trashed this room. He must have set this up.

Well, that’s a relief. Glad the track captain’s only slightly less of a moron than Natsuno!

Consider Yuki Takamiya

(I can’t believe my one and only Yuki-chan… She’s working with the men in black. That means she can’t know… She can’t know about BJ.)

I must protect the BJ secret.




Yours?
Yeah, it’s a… It’s an alarm clock.
A clock?

I cannot believe she is even entertaining this nonsense.





This is confidential information, after all.



Use P.E. Bag on BJ



Yeah, well, the thing is, I…



Isn’t it kinda… big?

How is this working!?





Uh… Yeah, I’m just in a hurry, so…




Well, let’s head out.

Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)





We can’t go out there while the MIB is waiting by the entrance. So…




…just wait until he gets bored and wanders over to a different spot! Bing bang boom!







Music: The Tower of Knowledge (Hitoshi Sakimoto)




Where should we look this time?



How about Sector 1?
Sector 1 has been searched. No Sentinel found.
I see. Bummer…



What about Sector 2?
2065. We have been there.
That’s where we saw the Tripods…
It’s too dangerous.



What’s that one at the bottom?
Sector 5… 1945.
Whoa, so we can travel to the past too? Hey, that’s the year the Pacific War ended.



Let’s check it out!








But it smells like fresh wood! They must’ve just built the place.



BJ jumps out of Natsuno’s bag.




Check it out, BJ. It’s my school in the past! You really can jump back and forth through time, can’t you?
Natsuno.
I know, I know. We have to be careful not to change anything in the past. Or else we’ll totally screw up the future!



…then Dad’s only 3 years old. He’s probably at Grandma’s house. I’d love to see that… A quick peek wouldn’t hurt, would it?
…The Sentinel, Natsuno.
Man… okay.



I’ve detected a drone signal. An active Sentinel is present.




The sign looks a little different, though.



We’ve gotta hide.






Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)






Are these… the same ones I had last month?
…Why do you ask?



The pills you’ve been giving me… They let me see the future… But these new pills are different. I feel awful when I take them. And they make me forget what I’ve seen in my dreams…
You must continue your treatment. They’ll completely eliminate your nightmares.
…Nightmares? These don’t feel like—
Trust me. They’ll help you revert to your original state. We’re putting an end to this operation.





It’s our only hope of survival… …… It’s no use… I can’t remember…






How could he be here… 40 years in the past? Maybe it was his grandpa. Looked just like him…

I’m sure it was, Natsuno.

A Sentinel at Ayame Pass…
Huh?
The place that woman mentioned…
Oh right, Ayame Pass… Wait, you mean where the park is?
There is no park in 1945. Let’s go.

Use P.E. Bag on BJ




Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)






See, the line here as written says, “to not,” but the VA says it “not to.” That’s not important in any way.



What if they find us?




It’s huuuge! How does someone lose something so freakin’ big…?
The Sentinels are linked to the shifter. It was shifted here.
Crazy… Anyhow, I’m just glad we found it.




Number 19? That’s… the one Miura’s using in Destruction, no?

Use Sentinel No. 17 on BJ



You said No. 17.
Correct. We’re searching for Sentinel No. 17.



I cannot pilot his Sentinel.



I have confirmed a cease in his vital functions.
Do you mean… he’s…
…… Correct. He is dead.

Okay, this might seem like a weird time to bring this up but there’s officially something sketchy about this robit. I think it’s evil! Calling that one right now!



A critical change has been detected.
……
The Sentinel’s primary system has been altered. Someone bypassed and rebuilt it.
I don’t really know what that means. Maybe one of the people here did something to it.
That would be impossible with the technology of this era.




Use P.E. Bag on BJ







And I have no problem taking it to the front lines. Even there, I can perform at full power.




I’m starting to sound like Takatoshi-san. Nothing to get riled up over. I’m sure the people in charge have their reasons.



And even if it never does… I’ll still be ready.








Oh, hey Okino! What’re you doing here?



Let’s have a look at you…



Well… It looks like an alternate route was successfully created. It actually worked. And on my second test subject, no less.



Nanomachine reconstruction agitates the brain… but you endured the process without losing your mind.



Also on the subject of potentially-evil folks: not so sure about this Okino chap! Just saying, anyone with the explicit goal of doing something called “taking over the Sentinels” is probably not on the up-and-up!

…Goodness. I should be on my way.



As promised, I’ll remove the lock on the Sentinel. And there’s one more thing I’d like to do. Just for good measure. …There we go. As long as they come into contact with Miura-kun… the data should spread to the others.




You want to know that, I want to know why neither of those dudes could stop talking to themselves.



Let’s hurry.
Yeah, you’re right…






Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori)







I suppose negotiating with the professor was the right choice.



…The settings have been tampered with. *looks around* Was someone just here?



I’ll set it back to its original key. I’d best take my leave.






…Is he an alien, too?
He changed the key. I can no longer shift.
Seriously…? We can’t go home?



I can’t stay here that long! Can’t we find another way back to the future?
The gate and the Sentinel are the only safe methods of shifting.
The Sentinel…

Cool, let’s go steal it! BRB BJ, got a massive robot to jack.




Use P.E. Bag on BJ







Maybe I saw a visiting god? …Not likely.



It’s already night. Chihiro’s probably worried about me…



_Shhh.




I know you’re there.





And the rest of this encounter we’ve already seen play itself out in Miura’s prologue. But we still don’t know how Natsuno gets herself back home! Could this be the disappearance Yuki is looking into?




We can unlock this next plot block for Natsuno at any time if we so choose. But as much as I might enjoy it, you guys probably won’t pick her twice in a row… right?

Juro Kurabe
Iori Fuyusaka
Megumi Yakushiji
Natsuno Minami
Yuki Takamiya
Shu Amiguchi
Keitaro Miura
Tomi Kisaragi
Destruction

There's also:

Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata)
Ei Sekigahara (Locked behind Natsuno)

The poll is here.