Part 171: 11/19/09

11/19/09

The last day of the trip was certainly the most eventful.



> Today’s Itinerary: Walking tour of Kyoto.





So yeah after the tours Ryoji asked me to hang out and since Aki is apparently ashamed to be seen in public with me I didn’t have much else to do.



> She’s being friendly with her classmates, and Yukari.
> …?
> Since Ryoji asked you to come along, you decided to walk around a little more with him…

We got something to eat and headed down to the river.



> You sat with Ryoji, eating a crepe that you bought from a nearby stand.
A green tea crepe… That color’s a little off-putting.
Oh, but it’s delicious.
…You can’t find this in Iwatodai. * chuckle * It makes me kind of happy.
What makes you happy?
I’m having new experiences, and I get to share them with you, Aelita-chan. That’s what I enjoy so much.
> Ryoji laughs, delighted…
Hey, here’s something I didn’t know.
The light reflects off the river in a different way than it shines off of the ocean…
Is it because it’s flowing?
Oh, that might be it…
The water’s on a journey, too. I bet that must be fun.
> Ryoji smiles serenely…
…That reminds me, this place is filled with couples, too.
> …It seems that just as Ryoji mentions this, there are suddenly couples everywhere you look.
They all look like they’re having fun.

I was still feeling a bit bitter, and I might have said something weird to Ryoji. Or maybe it wasn’t weird at all, I don’t know any more.



No clue.
Is that so?
…Does that mean you’ve never had a boyfriend, Aelita-chan?
I see…
> Ryoji seems cheered about that, for some reason…
……
> Ryoji gazes intently at you…
What’s the matter?
Why you, I wonder…?
Sure, you’re nice, and pretty, but… I don’t think it’s that.
It’s just… you…
> Ryoji seems to be muttering this to himself…
> You can sense that Ryoji thinks dearly of you…

I mean hell, one guy in a coma before we ever really went out and now another who is too worried about what it will look like to just hang out with me on a trip. Maybe I haven’t had a boyfriend. So when he asked to see me again, I agreed.



…Hey, would you be willing to see me like this after we get back from the trip?
Um… The day after we get back is the 22nd. It’s a Sunday.
I’d like to spend some more time with you…
Okay.
Oh, I’m so glad!
I was getting anxious about what I was going to do if you’d said no.
Then, the 22nd it is! Don’t forget.
> Ryoji laughs happily…
It’s starting to get a little chilly. …I wonder if winter’s just around the corner.
Should we get going?
> You and Ryoji browsed the souvenir shops before going back to the inn…

Maybe that was the weak thing to do, but I’m tired of being so strong all the time.



Oh, I know. Would you like to join us after school sometime?
That would be nice.
I’d like to try this “special strawberry parfait” you’re talking about.
Awesome, it’s decided then!
I can recommend a ton more places, like the one that just opened up nearby…
> They seem to be engaged in an animated conversation…

Anyway I hung around the inn for a bit.



Wishing, I don’t know, that things could have gone differently.



Maybe that’s stupid, since it doesn’t change anything.



This trip was such a blur. I can’t believe we’re already going home tomorrow.
I wasn’t interested in the temples, but I still had fun.

But what the hell, I’m trying being weak for a bit so why shouldn’t I indulge?



A deer ate the treat I had in my pocket…
I didn’t know there were deer in Kyoto. But you know, with the deer treat, Hidetoshi-kun was…
Can we not talk about it?
If you hadn’t said you wanted to ride a deer…
H-Huh? Didn’t you want to ride it, too? It seems like its horns would make perfect handlebars…
And what then?
Well, I’d… ride around?
You’d get hurt.
But we did all sorts of things like that when we were in elementary school!
Yes… and now we’re in high school. You’re a senior.
But… the deer treat…
…Can we please change the subject?
You’re a scary guy, Hidetoshi-kun…

Why shouldn’t I just forget that we could get home and all be murdered by a Shadow and just laugh at the visual of Hidetoshi riding a deer?



How about you?
Huh, me? I haven’t gone yet.
This is our last night here, so we gotta enjoy those hot springs as much as we can tonight!

Or how damn stupid Kenji is?



It’s the last night already… Bummer. This was so much fun.
You could always come again.
…With you!?
Why me?
You can get a boyfriend and have a sleepover date. Or is it too early for that kind of stuff for you?
……
You idiot!
Is that all you can say?
…You blockhead!
……
Kenji, you’re not too… self-aware, are you?
Huh? What?
Nothing!
What? Why are you saying that?

Or how enthusiastic Bebe is about, well, everything?



Sooo tall!!
And zen, I went to ze Kinkaku shrine!
Sooo shiny…!
Tomorrow, I will see ze Ginkaku shrine!
Ze Kinkaku and ze Ginkaku… Which will win!?

So when Fuuka suggested we all head down to the hot springs for a bit it was like she was reading my mind.



Sure, let’s go.
* giggle * I’m looking forward to it.
Aelita-chan, you have to go back to your room and get ready first, right?
I’ll talk to Mitsuru-senpai and Yukari-chan about it while you’re doing that.
I’ll ask Aigis too, but… It is all right for her to take a bath?

I mean a nice calming hot bath, what could be better?

Video- “Steam and Ice”

Watch

So, this is an outdoor hot spring. Unfortunately, its therapeutic healing benefits will not help me.
> ……?
> You hear splashing from the hot spring…
…Who’s that!? Is someone there!?
…What’s the matter, Yukari? Did you see something?
Did you… hear that just now?
Hear what…?

Well, at least I got to be weak for like half a day before it got all screwed up.



I heard it too!
…You did, huh? Fuuka, could you check over there?
I-It could be a ghost…
Um… but… I, uh… Okay…
> It’s been decided that you’re all going to find out where the sounds from the hot spring were…
Okay, I’ll go around from the left.
O-Okay. Then I’ll head right…
Come with me, Aelita…
Oh, wait! Could there be other guests in the bath, too?
If that’s the case, would we be causing trouble, walking around like this…?
Is someone here!?
> You called out to the depths of the hot spring…
> …There is no answer.
I-I guess not…
Was it really a ghost…? Haha, who am I kidding?
……

Because I knew right away that wasn’t a ghost we were hearing.



Check the hot-water supply.
> You checked near the hot-water supply area…
> …But all you find there is hot water streaming out.
Nothing here…
I-I’m not scared, you know?
……!
Wh-What was that? An animal?
A person, maybe?
But no one answered when I called out a second ago.
Maybe I was just hearing things… Should we go check up on Fuuka?
Let’s check ahead first.
Wh-Why, is there someplace over there that seems suspicious?
Aelita; The hollow in that rock!
Really…? I was kinda deliberately avoiding that area…
It feels like something might jump out…
Wait a sec… Wouldn’t that mean a person could hide there?
……
Let’s check it out!
Huh!?

Nope, just a trio of total jackasses.



> …It’s Junpei, Akihiko, and Ryoji!
U-Uh…
Uh, we, uh, um…
W-Wait! Th-This is just a misunderstanding…!
Silence!
I’m going to execute you all!
It was nice knowing you.

Oh so something cool, turns out you CAN summon your Persona outside the Dark Hour, without an Evoker, you just have to be incredibly angry. Maybe it’s me being weak again to think it’s so funny but yeah still giggling about the whole thing. So yeah, I’m feeling a lot better now about this whole trip.