Part 7: 4/22/09

4/22/09

Managed to catch the train with Akihiko this morning, though in retrospect that probably makes me pretty unpopular with a certain set of people.

Video- “April 22”

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But man… things have been real crazy these past couple days.
Are you all right? You must be confused since you’ve just transferred here too.
I’m all right.
Wow, that’s impressive. You’re completely different from Junpei.
On the other hand, I’m so bored that I feel like I’m going to die…
…Hey, is there any way I can sneak in on the fight?
Maybe I could get past Mitsuru if I wear Junpei’s hat?
…No, nevermind. The consequences wouldn’t be worth it…

We had an assembly today, I guess there were Student Council elections while I was out.



Student: Next, we’ll hear a word from the Student Council.
Please welcome the new President, Mitsuru Kirijo, from Class 3-D.
Thank you.
So, she did get elected.
Well… I guess she IS the most popular girl in school.
You can say that again! There’s like some kinda aura around her…
Besides, this school’s owned by the Kirijo Group, right?

Mitsuru’s speech was pretty great honestly.



It is my firm belief that each of us must accept the responsibility of bettering our school.
However, change cannot occur without sustained effort and an unprecedented level of commitment.
That is why we must restructure our daily lives to accommodate this lofty goal.
I’d like each of you to dig deeply into your well of motivation, and re-evaluate your convictions…
…To imagine a bold new future without losing sight of the realities around you.
That is the key.
I am certain that many of you have your own visions of the future…
For us to reap the full benefits of our education, your participation, ideas, and enthusiasm are essential.
Thank you.
Dang… That was freakin’ amazing…
Hey, did you understand what she was talking about?
Of course I did!
Huh? Seriously? Man, you’re smart…
Sure didn’t sound like somethin’ a high schooler would say…
If it was anyone else, we’d be laughin’ our asses off.

After the assembly we still had class, sadly.



…You know what? I’m tired of these textbooks. I just went over this novel in the last class.
I’ve got a great poem we can cover instead. Close your textbooks, everyone, and listen…
“Isolated cloud suspended over the tall snowy mountain peak…”
All right, Kenji, you’d better not be sleeping back there!
You should be ashamed of yourself, taking a nap while I pour my heart into reading this poem!
For that, you get another essay along with your regular assignment tonight!
I’ll expect a slice of cake when you turn it in, too!
And don’t cheap out with the store-bought stuff like last time!

And that’s why you stay awake in class. Anyway, I actually had some time to talk to people after school today.



Male Student: …Just the Volleyball Team and the Tennis Team, though. The others are full.
If you’re interested in joining, why don’t you go check it out?
Go down the stairs to the right and eventually you’ll find it.

I should look into that. Not sure what team I should join, though…



I heard no one was even close to her in the election.
Considering her background, I don’t know why they bothered.
Let’s face it, we’re all just plain ordinary compared to her, man.

I think there’s a home economics club, but I’m not sure how to talk to.



Female Student: It’s hard to read… It doesn’t look like English…
And if you listen close, you can hear mysterious voices inside…
It’s one awfully mysterious home economics class, let me tell you.

I guess the nurse is a weird guy, I’m glad I’ve not had to head down there yet.



Male Student: I just wanted some cough drops, but he gave me this weird-looking medicine.
I wasn’t in the mood to gather my courage, so I declined…
And he busted out ANOTHER weird medicine that I’d never seen before!

I bumped into Junpei outside the school.

Video- “Akihiko”

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> ……?
> There’s a commotion at the front gate…
Akihiko Fan: Look, it’s Akihiko-senpai!
Giddy Schoolgirl: Wait for us!
……
Man, would you look at that? I hear they’re always swarming Akihiko-senpai like that.
I know he’s captain of the boxing team, but…
I mean, come on! You don’t even see girls flock like that on TV! I wonder where they’re going…

It turned out he was coming to talk to us, I just hope none of those fangirls take it the wrong way.



Huh? Who, us!?
I… guess so…?
I want the two of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall.
You know where it is, right? I’ll be at the police station.
See ya there.
Th-The police station?
…Uh, are your friends gonna come along, too?
Who, these girls?
I don’t even know their names. They talk so much they give me a headache.
Anyway, I’m gonna head out. …Don’t keep me waiting.
Akihiko Fan: Awww… Why can’t he be more friendly? * sigh *
Man, how can he not know their names!? I mean, seriously! Just look at them!
Well, I guess we gotta go…
Sheesh, talk about putting a damper on a guy’s afternoon.

I guess there are rumors going around about ghosts at the school. It’s funny how close that is to correct.



Male Student: You know, the ones about those students who died, became ghosts and ate humans…
Wait, how would anybody know they ate humans? There wouldn’t be any remains.

We headed down to the mall to see what this was all about.



Oh, these are the guys I was talking about earlier.
……
This is Officer Kurosawa. He helps keep our squad well-equipped.
And, this is from Ikutsuki-san…
R-Really!? Sweet!
> You and Junpei each received 5,000 yen.
You can’t fight empty-handed, so find something you like.
Officer Kurosawa has connections…
But, these things still cost money.
Of course they do. Nothing in life is free.
I realize that.
Well, I’ll see you later. Thanks again.
I’ve been informed about you two.
My job is to maintain peace in this city, regardless of the circumstances.
I’m just an ordinary police officer, but it doesn’t take a genius to know something strange is going on here.
I’m only doing what I think is right.

Junpei was sort of annoyed by how much we’d been given and bailed.



I’m gonna take off, since I’m in a bad mood now…
Later.
> Junpei has left.

I’m kind of glad, because it gave me a chance to buy us some new equipment without Junpei asking where I got the money from. My parents left me a huge trust, it’s pretty much all I have left from them. I’m glad I’ll finally be able to do something important with it.

Feinne’s Fourth Wall Lectures: Around Town
We now have access to a whole bunch of things around town. Let’s talk about what’s available at each ‘hub’, there’s a lot changed since the original and FES.

Paulownia Mall:
Velvet Room- There’s a door to the Velvet Room in the back alley at the Mall, so we can visit and fuse Personas without going to Tartarus.
Police Station- We buy equipment here at the Police Station. It’s got weapons, armor, and new to P3P accessories. If you can equip it, you buy it here.
Antique Shop- This isn’t open yet, and we’ll talk about what we do here later.
Drug Store- We buy consumables here, remember that Saturday is sale day and everything is cheaper then.
Arcade- This will have a random set of games available, these can raise your characteristics and even improve the stats of one of your Personas. They take up time, though, and which ones are available changes from day to day.
Karaoke- This raises your Courage, but takes up time and isn’t always available.
Be Blue V- This store has completely changed its function. Instead of selling accessories, there are now two things we can do here. The first is that it will improve our health, taking us to ‘Great’ from ‘Good’ and I think curing us if we’re sick or tired. The other is that we can work here part time, getting some money as well as raising both our Charm and Academics.
Chagall Café- We can raise our Charm here, and we can also work part time some days to both raise our Charm, Courage, and get money.
Club Escapade- Only open at night, we’ll see why we’d go here later.

Port Island Station:
There are a lot of minor things that happen here, but the main thing that we can do is go to movies. They’re expensive and the characteristic they raise changes from day to day but they are one of the best gains numerically.

Iwatodai Strip Mall:
The restaurants here let us raise our characteristics, there’s one for each. There are one or two other minor things here as well that we’ll see as they come up.

Shrine:
Offering Box- This has been nerfed since the original. It still increases our Academics if we give money, but now it takes time to do so.
Relationship Fortune- This replaces the original fortune box. It works like praying at the shrine in Persona 4, we can draw a fortune and think about someone we have a social link with to count as ‘spending time’ with them (we’ll find out about that later). We then also get the fortune result as the original game, so some random money gained or lost.
Card Duplicator- You leave a card for the spell card duplicator and come back later and get two of that card. It is awesome.

I decided to help out at that weird healing shop for a few hours, since it gives me a way to explain where I got the money for all this stuff. Mitsuru wanted to talk to me when I got back in.



Perfect timing… I’d like to speak to you for a moment.
Regarding our exploration of Tartarus…
Akihiko is still on the mend, so for now, I’d like you to lead the team.
You never know when a powerful enemy might appear, like the one you faced the other day.
It’s best to be prepared, or else you may find yourself in a difficult situation.
So, whenever you’d like to explore Tartarus, just let me know, and I’ll gather everyone there.
Also, since I’m sure there are other things you will need to take care of, you may go out at night if you need to.
Well, that’s it. Keep up the good work.

The Chairman was around tonight, not that he’s much help with, well, anything.



I used to be a researcher for Kirijo Electronics…
That is the primary reason why I am the chairman of the board.
And that is also what makes this dormitory such a convenient location to conduct SEES activities.
Oh, you should also be aware that I am unable to summon Personas.
However, in order to perform my research, I was taught how to enter the Dark Hour.
So if you need any help, please do not hesitate to ask. Of course, I cannot be of any help. Ahahaha…

I wanted to find out more about Officer Kurosawa so I asked Akihiko about him.



But, he knows about us and helps out when he can.
Why does he help us?
To be honest, I don’t really know.
But, he’s a police officer, so he’s dedicated his life to helping people.
Plus, he’s a pretty cool guy.

I also check in with Yukari to see how she was holding up.



I feel like I spent all day hiking up Mount Fuji.
What about you, Aelita?
I feel tired too.
Yeah, it’s tough, especially for girls. I think we just have to get used to it.

Junpei meanwhile seems kind of bothered by how we summon our Personas.



Well, I was thinking, why does it have to look like a gun?
I mean, you gotta be a little nutty to point a gun at your head and pull the trigger, ya know?

Mitsuru explained some more about the Dark Hour and Shadows to me.



They appear as coffins.
Shadows are quite enigmatic… They only attack those who have not been Transmogrified.
Shadows feel on the minds of their victims, leaving them unable to speak.
We call this Apathy Syndrome.
And those who suffer from this incapacitating affliction are known as…
…The Lost.

And what’s worse, it seems they’re growing in number. You can hardly turn on the news without hearing about it.



Newscaster: The man has regained consciousness, but due to his condition, has been unable to speak.
Police are awaiting the man’s recovery before questioning him.
And that’s the news for today.

I was thinking about heading for Tartarus, but I wanted to check out that weird nightclub before. There was some lady who thinks she can see the future there.



Woman: In my mind, I see visions… People’s past, present, and future…
For most people, I see clearly, and far ahead…
But you are different… Your future is filled with both blinding light and stagnant shadow…
I can see but a small portion… What lies beyond that is shrouded in mystery…
What a peculiar fate you carry…
Now, young lady… Bearer of light and shadow…
If you wish to know more about the near future… come and talk to me…
I will share my limited visions with you…
Now, tell me… Would you like to know your fortune?
Yes, please!
Woman: Very well…
You have pulled fate’s trigger…
The bullet passes through many, heading directly to its target…
What target that may be, however, is unknown to me…
You must find that out for yourself…
Farewell, then… May your future be bright…

I guess I’ll keep that in mind, just in case. We returned to Tartarus again, since everyone was in good shape. As we pushed up, Mitsuru could detect a strong power. We encountered it on the fifth floor.



They’re not like the ones you’ve fought before.
IF you’re not ready to face them yet, then return to the entrance and reorganize.

Before we got to the center, we saw a weird machine that Mitsuru wanted us to investigate.



Excusez-moi, but can you have a look at that device near you?
> The device is similar to the one at the entrance.
> The device has been activated!

It was just like one at the entrance, and it turns it we can travel between the two.





That device is a sort of portal that connects all like devices together.
By activating it, you can move to the entrance…
As well as between devices within Tartarus.
You should take good advantage of these when you find them. They’ll be useful during the expeditions.

We prepared in the lobby for a bit before returning to engage the Shadows on floor five.

Video- “Venus Eagles”

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Boss Battle: Venus Eagle x 3
And here is our first Guardian in Tartarus, the Venus Eagles. These birds mainly use Garu attacks, so we need to keep Junpei Defending to avoid them getting One Mores. They’re vulnerable to Pierce attacks, so Yukari can knock them all down herself and let you throw down All-Out Attacks. If you easily defeat the Shadows in the first four floors this won’t be any trouble. Oh, and enjoy the exciting new Tartarus boss music, it’s so good.

We were all feeling a bit tired after that, so after a quick look at floor six we went home. No point rushing things, not like we have a deadline or anything…