Part 118: 9/9/09

9/9/09

Junpei’s grown up quite a bit in the past week or so, it’s really kind of crazy.



Sorry I haven’t been around…
But, you know, I can’t just leave her alone…
Don’t ask me why…
Good luck!
Yeah… Thanks, man.

I decided to see how Maiko was doing since she’d had her talk with her parents.



What do you feel like eating?
How about hamburgers?
Oh! I want a Frog Burger from Wild-duck!
> Maiko seems happy.
> You decided to take Maiko to Wild-duck Burger.

She’s actually doing okay, I think she’s had to grow up a bit faster too.



…They talked to me about why they were getting divorced.
I was sad, but I listened to what they said. …Did I do good?
Good girl!
Hee hee! Thanks a bunch!
> Maiko seems very happy.
So, Mom and Dad…
They said when there’s no love, it’s hard to still be married.
…They said not to worry, because they would always love me.
……
I told them it’s okay to get divorced.
It must be hard to live together when they don’t love each other, after all.
Hey, so…
I have to choose whether I want to live with Mom or Dad…
But I can’t choose that! You decide for me, okay?

She’s perfectly able to decide for herself of course, but I still picked one to get her thinking about it.



I love Dad so much! He likes to buy me toys and stuff!
> Maiko seems very happy.
…But, Mom cries so much lately. I don’t want her to be all alone…
Maybe I should go with her.
Oh…
Mom might move somewhere far away, so if I went with her…
I couldn’t play with you anymore! …That would be bad.
You felt like you really were my big sister…
> Maiko seems to really like you.
> Your relationship is stronger now.

It’s hard to say, I’m sure she’ll be happy with either of them but it may be that her mother really needs her.



I’d better get home…
Hey! Will you hold my hand on the way home?
> You returned to the dorm after walking Maiko home.

We’ve been holding Chidori now for the better part of a week and not really made much headway.



How long have we been holding that Chidori girl…?
About four days.
…Oh, yeah?

Shinjiro and I headed down to the strip mall for dinner, we can’t do much else right now since Akihiko and Mitsuru are still down at the hospital sweating that poor girl.



> Shinjiro said that he didn’t care where you ate, so you brought him here.
You eat here often?
Yes, I like eating here.
I see…
It’d be better if Aki ate here, too.
That guy isn’t getting a balanced intake of nutrients…
> Shinjiro is sighing…
Oh, yeah… About Aki… In your opinion, do you think he’s fighting well?
Yes, of course!
I see. All right, then.
You understand a lot more about fighting than me, after all.
…I’ll leave it up to you.
> Shinjiro nods seriously.
Sorry, I know you’re the leader, and I keep stickin’ my nose in.
It’s not that I don’t approve of you… That’s just how I am.

I’m kind of glad that he’s confident in me, because lately I’ve been worried about how little it seems I can do to help people sometimes.



Back then, we were just fumbling our way through…
But your powers look like they’re helping out a lot, too.
I hope so…
You aren’t confident?
…You really are trying hard.
> Shinjiro smiles gently…
> You can sense Shinjiro’s serious feelings towards fighting and the other members of the group…
> You feel like you understand Shinjiro a little better now…

Still, I’ve just got to keep trying my hardest no matter how difficult it gets.



…Eat up. It’s gonna get cold.
……
Is everyone eating a well-balanced meal like this…?
> You ate dinner with Shinjiro then returned to the dorm…

While I can’t do everything, there are still things only I can do.