Part 14: 05/14/09 - 05/17/09

Thursday is a very light day with no talk outside school or anything.

Troubled



So we'll just jump right on in to the next Hierophant scene!

So, would you please cheer up...?
I understand their reasoning...
But, if that tree is removed, I feel like the memory of my son will vanish with it...
Please stop quarreling.
...We're fine. We're not fighting. I was just fretting...
Sorry to make you worry.



"Mitusko"? Can't say I've noticed all that many typos here, so this somehow really stands out.

...Apparently. the rumor was true... They really are going to cut down the persimmon tree...
So, we went to the school to say goodbye.
But, that just reminded Mitsuko of our son's death...

> Bunkichi and Mitsuko seem really depressed.

It'll be okay.
See, dear. That's exactly what I said!
If you keep crying all the time, then what will your admirers think?
Right, Makoto-chan?

> A smile has returned to Mitsuko's face.

> You feel Bunkichi and Mitsuko's great appreciation.

> Your relationship is stronger now!





My wife will be happy to see such a handsome young man.
Here, take this for when you get hungry.



> After saying goodbye to Bunkichi and Mitsuko, you decided to go back to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm



You can study anytime. We need to get stronger ASAP.
Me n' Hermes will take down the next big Shadow ourselves!
Go hit the books.
C'mon, gimme a break, man...
How are your grades, Iori?
How are yours-- Never mind. I already know.



Man, now I don't feel like doing anything at all...

Just in case you somehow didn't quite get the message that Mitsuru is very smart and Junpei is very not, here's it with all the subtlety of a brick to the face.



This ailment is known as fear.
Fear may immobilize you, or make you flee from battle.
When you are in this state, you will be unable to control your own mind.



Admit it, Makoto--you're hooked!
I guess that online game I gave you really got you going, huh?



No sense in keeping 'em both, so you can have the old one.
Here y'go. I'll take you on anytime!



Alright, now that we've got this for Elizabeth, I'm sure she'll be happy with her new PSP COMP.



Yep.
Man. you're a good student. I'm not... I never study.



Meanwhile, Yukari is going to be studying every single day for the rest of the week. Do your homework, Junpei.



The dollar is now valued at 114.9 yen, a slight increase from before.

Remember a couple days ago when there was nothing interesting on the news? This is all we get from it today. Apparently Makoto is kind of interested in economics in the most minor, milquetoast way possible.

The Poem For Everyone's Soul



Are you familiar with the Antique Shop in Paulownia Mall?
They carry all sorts of things, both ancient treasures and worthless junk.
What's more, I've heard the shop's owner has an interesting ability...



She calls it... weapon fusion.
However, the shop seems to still be closed... I look forward to its grand reopening.

Just in case you really haven't been poking around anywhere, Elizabeth lets you know about the Antiques Store now. We saw it was closed a while back, and it reopens on June 9th so that's a day to look forward to!



Anyway, we're here to give Liz a not-PSP.

I've heard these have special mechanisms that make the player forget about the passage of time...
How frightening...
How does it work...? Does it send slight shocks to addle your mind...?
I don't think I'd like to try this anymore. Please take it with you.



Like the Exorcism stuff from before, this is just single-target instant death but this is Curse elemental and not Expel.



Next requests we're going to get done are probably the ones that require Tartarus excursions.



Chronologically it might be the other "talk to someone in the Dorm on the right day" quest, but Tartarus seems more likely.



Want To Be Close / Time



Of course.
Ah, just as I suspected. I'll be looking forward to seeing your grades...



They gotta be a bit better than merely "good"...

To be honest, I'm not as well prepared as I should be. I'm still preoccupied with monitoring Shadows.
At any rate, the number of incidents have decreased since our last mission.
If we can continue to defeat them, we may be able to rid the public of their fear...
However, every time a new Shadow appears, it seems to be more powerful than the last.
And even after Akihiko returns to battle, we still won't be at full strength...



The bell's going to ring soon, so make this quick!
In this scene, the family is sitting down to dinner. Doesn't it warm your heart?
Now, who wants to answer a question? Today's the 15th, so I'll pick... Makoto.
One of the items on the menu for the family is "pan." How would you translate this to English?
Bread.
Good job! "Pan" means "bread" in English. The term "pan" came from Portugal to Japan a long time ago.



We've still got a couple minutes left... Oh, in today's newspaper...

> You gave the correct answer!



Charm's still lagging behind at Rank 1 but it's fine. It's fairly close to Rank 2 at this point if I've been doing my halfassed napkin math correctly. We'll get it by the time it's relevant I'm sure.

Joy



Pre-Exam week is nearly over, so we'll spend time with someone else soon I'm sure. But for now...



> Mitsuko is crying.

Why's she crying?
Don't worry. She's crying because she's happy.
She always cries at happy events, like the day we first met!



All the graduates from my son's class have gathered at the school.

I sure didn't see anyone at the school doing that, but maybe I just didn't quite go to the right places since I beelined for the entrance...



They say the tree is a memorial to their former teacher... They don't want it to be cut down.
That's great.
Many of them came to our son's funeral...
It's been so many years... but they still remember him...



They've given their precious time... *sob* for our son... I-I don't know what to say...
...Makoto-chan, were you the one who called them all?
What are you talking about?
There's no need to be modest, Makoto-chan...



You "da man," Makoto-chan! Incredible...

> Bunkichi and Mitsuko seem to think that you're the one responsible for the petition.

> They seem very appreciative.

> Your relationship is stronger now!





Someday, I'd like to go have a drink together...
But, let's wait until you're legal.



See ya later, Makoto-chan.

> After saying goodbye to Bunkichi and Mitsuko, you decided to go back to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm



To do good in a competition or on an exam, you need to practice or study a little every single day.

And that's all that's new in the dorm today. Yes, really. It's a lowkey evening, rather than morning, for once.



At least we hit Courage rank 5 now. Fearless is bizarrely only the penultimate rank, and not the final one. Yeah, I dunno.



As for Academics? Well, this IS the week before we get to midterms, so I'm gonna keep that one secret for now...



Ah well, this is the last day we can realistically work towards that sort of mini-goal!

Want To Be Close / Time



Not feeling well?
*huff* The opposite, actually.
The doctor said I'm almost fully healed, so... I couldn't wait to get some exercise.



But, that means I've got to start training now.

...Yeah, gonna be honest here: waiting for Akihiko was a big motivator behind not diving into Tartarus this week.



50 sextillion times 1,200? ...60 septillion? Multiplied by... 1,820? 10 octillion, 920 septillion!?
......
These numbers are too big to fit on the blackboard... Errm...
Oh! I was using the wrong equation. If you plug the numbers into the correct equation...



...Wuh? H-How... I don't... but...

What a beautiful equation this is!
Huh? The exam...? Oh, right, the exams start next Monday.
It'll cover up to page 34. This formula won't be on it.
It's so beautiful, though... Maybe I should put it on the exam, too.
Kidding! Kidding! Don't give me that look...!

> You stayed up and listened to the lecture...



A day when we get a lecture in school AND the Quiz at the arcade AND get to study? This is a big day for Academics alright!

Joy



I wanted to tell you the good news as soon as possible. It's about a customer who came by earlier...
Who do you think it was? Here's a hint: "signature."
A diehard Bunkichi fan?



...Yeah, I wish! Actually, it was one of the organizers of the campaign to save the persimmon tree.



He said, "Let's protect the tree together!"
...AND he's gotten a lot of signatures from students who were in our son's class.
That's great.



He was loved by everyone...
Of course! He was our proud son!
I'm sure he's just as happy as we are...
Alright! Makoto-chan, let's go to Gekkoukan right now!
I have to tell my son the good news!
Let's go.
Sweet! That's music to my ears!



I've never been so excited about a walk before!

> Bunkichi and Mitsuko seem to have taken a liking to you.

...I certainly hope so by this point!

> Your relationship is stronger now!





Alright, dear, we'll be back. Thanks for watching the store.



It's a good thing most people don't seem to be aware that Makoto's an orphan otherwise they might ask questions about Bunkichi, huh?

Iwatodai Dorm



No, I don't.
Very well. Spend tonight and tomorrow night studying for the exam.



Is that just coincidence, or is he that big of a slacker?

Akihiko, it's Junpei. He's been living here nearly a month; you know the answer by now.



Okay, so maybe that's not true. I started out fine, but then I got lazy.
I don't know how everyone can study so much...



It's so popular that the 50 sweet rolls, one to a customer, were sold out within the first five minutes...

It's, uh, certainly something that apparently a snippet of a news story about a bakery being Pretty Good is considered worthwhile.



I dunno, I just find it interesting that what ends up being determined to warrant showing is kind of very varied.



It really helps give an idea on what Makoto's personality is outside of being a kind of asocial enabler.



Hopefully we've gotten all that studying out of the way, since we're not doing it today! It WOULD be worth a good 6 points without the arcade or cinema, but...

Current Net Price Tanaka



Oh my goodness! I can't believe its wonderfulness!
But wait, there's more!
We'll throw in 2 Diet Food for only 5980 yen!

Sub-6000 yen for a new sword AND a couple diet pills? Sign me up!



Alright, that's the important stuff today done and dusted.

Iwatodai Dorm



Akihiko, much like Yukari, is just holed up in his room. He'll probably be fine, really. Junpei...



> You can hear Junpei complaining loudly about his homework...

Junpei sure is being Junpei. At least he's actually doing his homework, which is nice.



Mitsuru's gonna ace this test, I'm sure, so she's worrying about something else.

This is the perfect time to train. It's so quiet...

Though she clearly hasn't heard Junpe--

...except for Iori's screaming, that is.

...oh. I guess she has, after all. Maybe even from here; it sure seems like he could pull that one off.

Wait, hang on... I nearly forgot!





how does this keep happening

One of these days, we will finally catch an episode. One day!



Probably should've made a Hermit persona here in hindsight (we could've done but I just forgot), though we can get away with not doing it at least.

Joy



so ummmmmm..... i'm drunk! xD
Oh really? o__O



save me tatsu! i'm sick of my job! no tiem to party T__T



3 beers an counting!11 will u hold my hair bakc? heheh
rawr, i even have to work from hoem this weekend... =(



Of... of all the writing errors, this is the one you correct?

nvm -_-;;
dun worry, i'm on a break u know =P



Maya danced funky?!

> Maya's avatar sat down.

it didn't use to be liek this T_T i never had to work weekends
but lately i cant get motviated to get ne work done @ work. =/
So you don't like your job?



> Maya seems proud.

it has been 8 yrs tho... maybe i'm jus bored? =/
ugh... sumtimes i wish everything would slow down a bit... ^__^;
why do i play this game even tho i hav better things to do? lol
i dun talk liek this irl, i swear! its jus an online habit =P
I suppose I should type correctly like this, but im jus lazy, eheheh



> Maya's really opening up to you.

> Your relationship is stronger now!





that type of thign could get me fired for reals! o_O
dun tell ne one, k? i can't get firediwanna keep my job! -_-:
hmm... i better get back to work, huh? nite! ^^

> Maya's player signed off.

> You decided to log out as well.

So, that was our final week before midterms. Hopefully we'll get a good score. Let's positive thinking!