Part 113: 9/4/09

9/4/09

The full moon is tomorrow.



…You remember?
But, this time will be tougher than the last…
That’s what I heard, too.
There’s only four Shadows left… Maybe they’re gettin’ desperate.
…Or, maybe the next one is just insanely strong!
Oops. Haha, I shouldn’t jinx it.
Well, we can handle it!

I looked around for Junpei after school but didn’t see him anywhere. Weird.

Video- “Junpei’s Boast”

Watch

Yo, Chidori.
How’s your hand?
……
I don’t see anything… not even a scar…
Did it heal that quickly?
……
Hey, Junpei… What do you do to make yourself feel alive?
Uh, I dunno… Breathing, I guess? * chuckle *
Y’know, I never really thought about it before.
How ‘bout you, Chidori? Is that why you draw?
Maybe… But, most of these are just scribbles…
I don’t understand myself very well.
I see.
……
To tell ya the truth, there is one thing that makes me feel alive…
…When I get to play hero.



Our hero, Junpei, fights to protect the world from these terrifying monsters!
Heheh… Well, you get the idea. That’s when I feel most alive!
……
Umm… You’re s’posed to laugh.
So… Do you fight all alone…?
H-Hey, I was just kiddin’ around…
You fight during a time that no one knows about, right?
So then, no one knows what you’ve been doing, either.
That means you’ll never receive any recognition…
…I’m impressed, I didn’t know you’re that kind of guy.
…For real?
You actually believe me?
Tell me more…
You really wanna know?
Okay, but don’t tell anyone, alright?
…Mmhm.



That’s what I meant by “the chosen ones.”
My friends are fighting too… And ever since I joined ‘em, we’ve been kicking some serious ass!
Sounds like fun.
Are you the leader? Because it sounds like you’re pretty strong.
Y-Yeah…
I-I guess you could say that.
I mean, without me, things would just fall apart.
Someone’s gotta be in charge, after all. It’s pretty tough being a leader.
……
Thank you, Junpei… I had fun today.
Y-You did?
It’s time for me to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?
> Chidori left…
Heheh… Tomorrow, huh?
…All right!!

Akihiko asked me to go somewhere with him at lunch, so we headed out after school.



I heard that this place is popular.
A-Are guys allowed to go in there…?
It’s completely okay.
I-I see. Then… let’s go.
> Akihiko seems determined.
> You shared some cake with Akihiko.
That was rather sweet…
……
Did you not like it?
Oh… I mean, I don’t hate having sweets…
But I don’t really have them that often, so I was surprised at how sugary it was.
> Akihiko seems a little embarrassed…
And… I heard that girls like eating sweet things, so…
> It seems Akihiko was trying to do something you might like…
Still, it was like having a lump of sugar in my mouth…
Yukari sometimes gives me sweet snacks once in a while.
She’ll say that she’d be screwed if she eats any more, then shove them at me…
…But that’s not important right now.
Um… Are you still hungry? Want to get some real food?
It doesn’t have to be something sweet…

The Gekkoukan High Harpy Patrol was out in full force.



…?
> It’s the two girls from the other day…
Heavily Made-Up Girl: Omigosh, I’m like, so jazzed to run into you here again.
Girl with Buns: Say,, why’re you here with Junpei’s girlfriend?
Like, stop stealing all the single guys when you’ve already got one for yourself!
> The girls glare at you with the intensity of a thousand suns…
I’m not Junpei’s girlfriend.
Girl with Buns: Huh? Who asked you?
……
As you can see, I’m here with Aelita right now.
We’ll have to talk some other time.
Let’s go, Aelita.
Heavily Made-Up Girl: Huh? Hey…!
> Akihiko takes your hand and leads you out of the area, while the girls continue cutting menchis at you…

Seriously Junpei’s girlfriend? I mean no offense intended but no.



…Oh, sorry. Did I hurt your hand?
…Sorry about what happened back there.
It’s not your fault, Senpai.
…I’m glad to hear you say that.
All this about me showing off and taking someone else’s girlfriend…
There are people in my class saying things about me, too…
> Akihiko looks slightly relieved.
> It seems Akihiko has been going through a lot, himself…
…I had fun today.
It’s nice to have sweet things once in a while.
Say, aren’t you in the cooking club?
Maybe you could make me something sweet sometime.
Like… Pancakes sound good.
Okay.
…I like them.
Haha, does that seem like the kind of food I wouldn’t like?
> Akihiko laughs self-depreciatingly…
> You feel like your bond with Akihiko has gotten a little stronger…

That rumor needs to die.



Now, let’s go home.
> You went back to the dorm together.

Speaking of Junpei he’s acting even weirder than he has been the past few weeks.



I have learned how people describe that state in modern language…
“He has gone to La La Land.”

I mean he’s excited for tomorrow, like he doesn’t remember the full moon.



I can’t wait until tomorrow, dude!

I wish I knew what his deal was.



Hey, do you think we could just replace him…?
I mean, Shinjiro-senpai just joined us, so…
You’re kidding, right?
Of course. I don’t really want to replace him. I just wish he wasn’t so annoying.

Shinjiro’s attacks in combat really are amazing.



My aim’s not that great, but if I hit an enemy, it’s history.
I don’t play around…
I destroy whatever’s in my way.
I’m here if you need me.

Ikutsuki’s almost as excited as Junpei.



What, with Shinjiro-kun rejoining us…
I have no doubt we will be victorious.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, but such confidence can only lead to certain failure.
While it’s true that Shinjiro is quite powerful, he hasn’t fought in a very long time.
We must all concentrate on the task at hand and perform with flawless execution to win.
* sigh * Must you always be such a killjoy?

She’s right, though, this is serious.



There’s going to be a full moon tomorrow…
I don’t think that’s anything to look forward to.

That lady left something for us at the police station.



I have a bad feeling about tomorrow for some reason, I’m going to get to sleep early…