Part 203: 1/6/10-1/8/10

1/6/10

Everyone's really tired from last time we were in Tartarus still, we really hit it hard. I'm just going to hang out.

1/7/10

School starts back up tomorrow, everyone's pretty busy.



Fitness Expert: Today's Cantonese word is "Hoisamuro"! Punch the air and say, "Hoisamuro!"
That's all for this week! Back to more cult-related news!

1/8/10

And everyone's gone crazy. Friggin' cult.



Loud Student: Hey, don't call if that if you don't know anything about it. The Fall is coming; it's already decided.
Gossiping Student: Oh… Well, if it's already decided, then it can't be helped.
By the way, about the homework for second period…
> The first bell has rung.

I'd hoped things wouldn't be like this, even though I knew they would be.



No more booze… Oh, you guys are underage. Wow, I feel sorry for you.
Well! Let's get right down to business. It's a new year, so we'll start with the basics.
It's a simple concept, but students often get it wrong. I'm talking about the apostrophe.
Okay, Aelita.
Of the three phrases I've written on the blackboard, tell me… Which one is correct?
It's wrong.
That's absolutely right.
"It's" is a contraction of "it is."
"Its" is a possessive word. You could say "its tail" or "its temperature," but not "its wrong."
There's another pair of words that are commonly confused…
"They're" and "their" have the same pronunciation, but they're not interchangeable, so watch out.
Now, open your textbooks.

Anyway Junpei came up to me after school.



> Junpei came over to talk to you…
Could you come with me for a sec?
Okay.
Sweet, thanks.
It's a nice day out. Why don't we go up to the roof?

Just wanted to talk for a bit.



I used to just think of it as a day off…
But now, I wonder if I'm even gonna live long enough to celebrate it…
Having second thoughts?
Not exactly, but…
It's been pretty weird around here lately…
People have been passing out, others have gone missing… Dude, it's crazy.
Senpai said it's because there are too many Shadow victims and the memory revision can't keep up.
…It's all gotta be because of this Nyx.
……
Oh, and have you heard about that doomsday cult?
They've been running around town telling everyone they see that the end of the world is coming…
Man, we need to do something, and quick.
We're on the case.
Yeah…

He's a lot cooler than before.



They haven't done anything yet, but I know they've gotta be planning something.
And we need to take care of them, too.
Man… To think I'd end up trusting such a cutie with my life…
*laugh* I never would've imagined that happening last spring.
But then again, I never thought it would come to this.
> Junpei is looking far off into the distance…
Ya know, I don't think it's completely hit me yet…
It's just all so hard to believe…
But, that doesn't mean we should just sit around and wait for it to happen.
You're pretty cool, man.
That thing was inside you for ten years, and you harnessed its power and made it your own…
> Junpei turned to face you…
I know I've run my mouth a lot, since the day we met…
And yeah, maybe I called you "cutie" a couple of times, and you might thought I was making fun of you…
But I'm totally serious when I tell you I'd trust you with my life.
I'm… glad to know you.
It's embarrassing to say it, but… that's really how I feel.

I'm really glad I got to know him better.



Of course!
Hehe… I'm gonna hold you to that, okay?
> You exchanged a firm handshake with Junpei…

Speaking of getting to know people better, Aigis wanted to walk back to the dorm with me.



It's been a long time since I first came to school… My outlook on many things has changed…
But I'm not sure these changes are for the best…
…Aelita-san, do you have any plans after school lets out?
If it's all right with you… I would like to walk home with you.
Walk home with her.
I'm glad to hear that…
Oh, but there is one place I would like to visit before returning to the dorm…
…Shall we go?

We stopped by the shrine on the way.



Before, I couldn't understand the benefits of coming to these places called "shrines."
But lately, that has changed…
This is also where we met Koromaru-san last summer…
He waited here until we found him, even though he knew his master had died…
Now I can understand his reasons for doing that.
What drives people isn't necessarily facts, but feelings…
He knew for a fact that his master had died, but his feelings of wanting to be with him made him stay…
It's the same for me.
I have grasped the fact that I can't protect you, yet here I remain.
Subconsciously, I was following my feelings rather than the available data.
I was so confused at the time that I didn't notice it, but to tell the truth…
It seems that… the reasons behind my behavior changing while I am with you, Aelita-san…
> You feel a bond forming between you and Aigis, who has become more human…

She might not see it, but she's more human than a lot of the people I've run into in my life.



> It seems this is a new Arcana, the "Aeon" Social Link…
…Oh, I have a correction to make.
I talked about "what drives people"…
But of course, Koromaru-san and myself aren't "people."
*chuckle* I'm sorry.
……
> Aigis looks somewhat lonely.
> You decided to go back to the dorm.

I hope I can show her that before the end.



This term seems like any other term.
I don't care about what's going to happen to the world...
All I'm going to do is keep moving forward…
So, let me know when you want to go to Tartarus.

I'd rather think about that than this stupid cult.



Some people are fully devoted to it.
We have to do something about Nyx…

At least I can do something about helping Aigis.



They have no clue that this may be the last third term ever.
Isn't it weird that we're the only ones who know about this?

There's just not much we can do about the cult until it's time to beat Nyx.



I thought more people would oppose it.
But, it's like a fire drawing moths to its flames.

I mean what would I do, go beat them up one by one?



…but I was wrong.
All our classmates are talking about the end of the world now.
*sigh* They have no idea what's really going on.

No, it's much more sensible to just hang out with Aigis and let this cult crap sort itself out when we slice and dice Nyx.



Can you think of any effective ways to counter them?
Hope they resist the cult.
You're right…
All we can do is hope that people are strong enough to resist the cult.

When the world stops ending, there'll stop being a reason for a cult.



She wasn't trying to convince us to join it, though.
But I heard that a lot of teachers at the high school are trying to convince their students to join it.