Part 183: 12/5/09-12/6/09

12/5/09

I don’t think we’ll see Ryoji again until New Year’s Eve, he’s been officially pulled out of school.



Loud Student: No, I didn’t! What happened to him?
Gossiping Student: His parents got transferred again, so he won’t be around anymore.
Loud Student: So that’s why I didn’t see him… Well, that was sudden!
> The first bell has rung.

I’ve been going down to the shrine on afternoons. I figure there’s got to be a god somewhere who looks out for robots.



Tolstoy…
……
…Never mind. There’s no point in asking someone else…
Are you scared?
No, I’m not really scared. I just can’t seem to comprehend all that has happened.
I thought I would grow stronger after my father died, but I haven’t…

And if there’s not, well dammit there should be.



It’s probably all because of my dad, huh…?
I’m going to fight against the Fall, just like my dad did…
……

It’d sure help to have some kind of god or another on our damn side, because I’m increasingly convinced there’s more to this than we’re seeing, than we may ever see.



They didn’t believe the world was worth saving…
What destroyed their hope for the future…?

I mean think about it, Shadows existed even before the Dark Hour and they built Aigis to have a Persona well before Mitsuru awakened from what I understand.



She seemed to know there was something wrong…
But, I just couldn’t tell her that the world is going to end soon…
What should I do…?

And then there’s all the chains of coincidence required for Death to be revived here and now.



I’m going to do some training.
…That’s all I can do.

From what Ryoji said about Nyx, I don’t see it as some master manipulator. No, there’s something else. I’m sure of it.

12/6/09

We’re all still thinking about what’s coming, though I don’t know that anyone is seriously considering asking me to take Ryoji up on his offer. I’m not sure that I could, to be honest.



…He seemed the most upset about the world coming to an end.
Worrying about him won’t change anything, though…
……
Right. He doesn’t look forward to the Fall, either.
I’m sure he wants the same thing we do…

Fuuka’s picked up on something that I think is another sign of whatever is behind all this. Whatever’s going on, so far it’s smart enough not to do anything to expose its identity.



It reminds me a little of what Ryoji-kun was talking about…
So, they must’ve known something about the Fall…
It gives me a bad feeling, though…
It feels like we’re being laughed at…
…I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about that.
Let’s just concentrate on Nyx for now.

Oh, and I guess there is a robot god, or at least one who likes me. Aigis is going to be all right!



…but they don’t know exactly how long it will take.
I see…
She was seriously damaged… So, I’m relieved to hear that.
Yeah… I hope she can come back soon.

Now that I know she’s going to be fine, there really is nothing to be afraid of.



There must be something we can do…
……

Death could come knocking tomorrow, and I’d just have to tell him to step off because I’ve got someone I need to talk to who isn’t back yet.



Narrator: Episode 42: Sleep in my Arms! Love for love’s sake… But what about the battles!?
Newscaster: …And now, the news.

And it’d be a shame if I died before I heard the rest of Akinari’s story.



That sounds wonderful.
I thought so too. I knew you’d understand.
> Akinari seems pleased.
See, it’s the main character of a story that I’m writing…
He was born in the calm forest of green, but he turned out to be pink.
He’s so visible that he can’t hunt for food easily, so he’s always especially hungry.
The other animals dislike him and consider his coloration disgusting. …Almost like he’s cursed.
So, he started living alone. …But then he made a friend.
His friend was a bird—but, a bird that was unable to fly.
So the bird would stand on the pink alligator’s back and practice its flying.
…It’s embarrassing to talk about.
But, anyway… How does the story sound to you?
Sounds interesting.
…Really?
I’ve never written a story before, and I’m kind of afraid it’s going to suck.

Even if it does suck, it’ll be amazing.



Maybe I’ll be able to show you the entire novel someday.
> Akinari seems content.
I started thinking about it the other day, actually…
I wanted to write an upbeat story of my own to cheer me up.
…Maybe if I can find some meaning to life, I can put that in my story.
When I write… I can see you in my mind. It seems as if you’re telling me not to die just yet…
> Akinari smiled weakly…
> Your relationship is stronger now!

I just know it, somehow.



…The wind is going to start blowing soon. I can feel these kinds of things now.
I hope I have enough time…
Let’s go home. We can talk again some other time.
…Be careful.
> You decided to go back to the dorm.

We’re going to need to all get together and talk about this soon, everyone just gets more and more on edge by the day.



…Oh, it’s you.
Sorry, I was just daydreaming.
I was thinking about what Shinji would say to me if I died before him…
Are you scared of death?
No, not really…
It takes a long time for me to register fear…
But, even though I’ve experienced losing someone before, that always hurts…
…I can’t seem to calm down.
This is the first time I’ve ever felt like this…

Even with what we were doing, in his own way I think Junpei was closer with Ryoji than anyone. His friendship was really helping Junpei through Chidori’s death.



What the hell’s wrong with him…?
Dammit! This isn’t funny!

Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can really do to help anyone right now except be there when they’re ready to talk.