Part 44: Entry Thirty-Nine: November 20th, 2009

Entry Thirty-Nine: November 20th, 2009

Mood: Beat
Music: The crickets outside

The class trip's come and gone, and I've gotta admit that I feel kinda like I do after an Ordeal. The whole "happy to be alive" thing and all. We faced a pretty terrifying challenge over the trip, believe me.



I guess we'll get to that, though. Anyway, we left for Kyoto on Tuesday morning.

The Trip to Kyoto




The train ride was pretty long, and it was already evening by the time we arrived at the hotel.



Junpei: Whoa, nice place!
Yukari: It IS an expensive area, after all.



Junpei: That's right, I forgot about that! Count me in!
Yukari: Keep dreamin', Junpei...



Aigis: Is this one of the open-air hot springs I have heard about?
Fuuka: No, it's just a courtyard. It's not meant for bathing.
Junpei: So where were you guys gonna go at your old school, Ryoji? Somewhere interesting, I bet. Kyoto's so typical, don't ya think?





Ms. Toriumi: Come on, you can talk later. You're blocking the hallway. Girls, your rooms are that way. Why don't you go get unpacked?
Junpei: ...You heard her.
Fuuka: We'll see you later, then.



Junpei tried to slink off with the girls as they left, but wasn't quite stealthy enough. A+ for effort, though.





It was already pretty late, so I headed back to the room early.




The next day, we went sightseeing.





It was a good time, I guess, but I ended up taking a nap back at the hotel.




I had a vision of Yukari and Mitsuru when I did so.



Mitsuru: Why are you still concerned about me? Our days of fighting together are over. We have no common goal to fight for, no enemies to defeat...no reason to be friends.
Yukari: That's not true...
Mitsuru: We've reached our conclusion. Why should we continnue on? Everything I believe in was a lie. And in the end, I failed to...




Yukari: You said you were atoning for what the Kirijo Group did in the past, but that's not true. You were only fighting to protect your father.
Mitsuru: That's right! I fought to protect him, and look what happened! My trust for the Chairman blinded me, and I fell right into his trap! There was nothing I could do!





Yukari: ...
Mitsuru: But my efforts were futile, and now my life is without meaning...right?!



All of a sudden, Yukari walked up and slapped Mitsuru. My cheek stung in sympathy.



Yukari: ...but we don't know that for sure yet.
Mitsuru: ...



Yukari: After my dad died, my mom spent all her time throwing herself at random men...I couldn't stand to see her acting like that, so I used to come out here to the river bank to get away. My belief in my dad was all I had...
Mitsuru: Your father was only doing what he thought was best...
Yukari: Yes, but it was still wrong, so he fought to the end to try and make it right again. he never gave up. He believed Shadows were dangerous, and that they needed to be stopped, even if it meant losing his life. That's why I fight.





Yukari: Right, Senpai?
Mitsuru: Yes...yes, I agree, Takeba.





Yukari: Senpai...
Mitsuru: Yukari, will you stand with me until the end?

Yukari, shocked, gave Mitsuru some space. I couldn't blame her; anything other than a chilly response from Mitsuru was a pretty big event.



Mitsuru: T-take a bath together?
Yukari: Yeah, in the outdoor hot spring back at the hotel. It's really nice. Now that we have everything out in the open, there's nothing left for us to hide!
Mitsuru: ...Nothing?
Yukari: H-hey, stop blushing! I didn't mean it like that! Anyway, we really should get going. It's already past curfew.

Yukari started heading back, and Mitsuru had a moment to herself.





She had found a reason to go on...





...and her Persona evolved to reflect that.



The next day...




...we went and walked around Kyoto.




Yukari and Mitsuru's talk seemed to have cheered up Mitsuru considerably, which was good to see.



That night, Junpei and the other guys mentioned that they wanted to head out to the hot spring...



...so that's just what we did.




Junpei and Ryoji were acting pretty weird, though...





I had a pretty bad feeling, to be honest.




It wasn't entirely unfounded.






Right as Junpei was telling us how there couldn't be any girls here at this time of night, we heard a splash as someone entered the hot spring.



Akihiko: It's probably just a guy.
Ryoji: Don't worry. This is simply a misunderstanding. We'll just act like we didn't know.





Shit.




Ryoji was his usual pervy self...



...but fortunately, Junpei dunked him before he could get us caught.



Yukari: ...Who's that?! Is someone there?!
Mitsuru: What's the matter, Yukari? Did you hear something?



Junpei: Yeah, but it's not like we could get expelled for this, right? I mean, it was men only when we got here. So it's actually kinda funny if you think about it.





Oh no.






Fuuka and Yukari decided to search the spring for the intruders, so we had to use our best ninja skills to avoid detection...

Tactical Espionage Action



Fortunately, we pulled it off.




Fuuka: W-well, of course it is!
Aigis: To be honest, I am rather surprised by the difference between human bodies. More specifically...




The girls went off for ice cream...




...leaving us toasted, but still alive.




Junpei and Ryoji weren't so lucky, though.





I guess they had it coming.




Today was the last day of the school trip.




Ms. Toriumi was fretting about keeping everyone under control as usual...




...and we were quietly rejoicing over having avoided execution.



Ryoji: You know, in the hot spring...
Akihiko: Shh! Yeah, I know! Now keep your voice down.




It was very, very hard to keep a straight face through this.

Yukari: Oh yeah? What're you reflecting on?
Junpei: Huh? O-Oh, nothing...
Fuuka: Ooookay...
Yukari: Whatever.



We headed to catch the train after that.




Back at the dorm, the girls seemed none the wiser...




...except Aigis, and I don't think she's programmed to rat us out. I headed up to bed pretty soon after we got back, and now I'm here blogging. I have to admit, though, I can't help but think about what might have happened if we'd been caught in the hot spring...




Aigis, for instance, might have had better luck with her sensors.




Damn, we would've been screwed then.





One execution later...





...we'd wake up the next morning after an experience we'd never forget. A very, very painful experience. Ugh.





I don't think the girls would've let it slide very easily, either...



...especially not Mitsuru.




And you know they'd never let us forget it, either.





Not even Aigis; I don't think she can forget things, anyway.




I don't think Ken would understand, either.






Yeah, I'm glad we didn't get caught.

Anyway, I'm going to bed now. Later, guys!

Coming up in the next entry: Wait, haven't we forgotten something?