Part 13: 4/26/11-4/29/11

4/26/11

Today had some, um, highs and lows. I guess I should really start with a high, last night. They'd gone out to the grocery earlier, so I decided to unleash my culinary arts.



> You have the ingredients to make pork ginger.
> You decided to make pork ginger.
> ……
> How should you prepare the pork meat?

Clearly there was only one thing to do here.



> You scored the meat and rubbed it with the marinating sauce.
> Obtained Aromatic Pork Ginger.
> …In addition, you made Bait x 3 from the leftovers.

I'm basically the Iron Chef Inaba. Anyway, Yosuke's not the only one who has problems in class.



Mrs. Nakayama: Supposedly, it knows how to search the change dispenser of the vending machines. How amazing is that?
Even animals can learn the value of money… I guess I'll have to keep my wallet more secure from now on.
Students, at your age you might not understand, but money is very important! You can't do anything without it!
And you know, smarts don't guarantee wealth. …Anyway, I guess I should do what they pay me for and lecture you.
Let's see, we left off talking about the properties of whole numbers…
Oh, here's an interesting one. A natural number that's half the sum of its positive divisors is called…?
Come on, look at the third page of the handout. What's the answer, class?
Huh? I can't find my handout…
It's half a sum of its divisors…? I'm totally lost… Do you know what the answer is, Souji-kun?

Fortunately I hadn't lost my handout, because man was this obscure.



> You gave her the answer you think is correct.
Mrs. Nakayama: Right, a perfect number. Satonaka-san, please come pick up an extra handout if you don't have one.
Now, about these perfect numbers… The first one is six, then 28… Then we jump to 496, and then the next one is 8,128.
For your information, no perfect number that is also odd has been found yet. That's why these numbers are so special.
Anyway, let's move on. This is the Mersenne Prime. It's really quite…
Ooops, I guess she saw me…
But… thanks, Souji-kun!

I figured out when I got in that there was way too much pork for just me.



> You've brought your lunch today. Do you wish to eat lunch with someone?
> Who would you like to invite for lunch?

I figured Chie would appreciate it.



> You ate lunch with Chie.
> You ate Aromatic Pork Ginger together.
It's delicious! I've never eaten anything that tastes this good before!
I want more, but… I don't wanna finish it all!
What a dilemma…!
Umm… Did you make this for me?
Th-Thank you…
> It was Chie's favorite!

In the afternoon I hit up soccer practice, best to keep in shape if we ever do have to go back in the TV. Anyway most of the team are still assholes.



Again!?
Before we do any cleaning, though, let's work on your dribbling!
You guys haven't even started?
Oh well…
Want me to toss balls at you or something?
This isn't tennis, dude. Go stand over there and play some defense.
Defense? No problem! You should see me on a basketball court.
> Daisuke and Kou are helping you practice…
> You sense their consideration towards you…

These social link things are like rolling off a log so far.



Female Student: Uh, um, hey, D-Daisuke-kun!
Practice is over, right? D-Do you wanna, um…?
Does it look like I'm done practicing? Seeya.
Female Student: Huh? Oh, uh… Would you mind if I waited for you? Am I in the way?
Yes… you are. We need to concentrate.
C'mon, Souji, let's get started.
H-Hey, don't mind him. He's got soccer on the brain, y'know?
What's his problem…?
Well? Are we gonna get started?
> The three of you had an intense practice…
> Afterward, you cleaned up and went home.

I'm not sure what Daisuke's deal is. Maybe I should ask Kou sometime, they seem tight. Anyway, today was going great until I got home and checked out the fridge.



> …There's white miso.
> …?
> You think that this used to be red miso, though…
> There is a package of red miso, but it is far past its expiration date.
> ……
> Eat it…?

I think I'm stupid.



> ……
> ………
> Your tongue hurts…
> ……
> Your eyes water from the odor…
> ……
> Your throat is burning…
> Your Courage has greatly increased.
> However…
> You don't feel well…
> ……
> You decided to go to bed early today…

Never. Again. Ughh…

4/27/11

It's started raining, and the forecast says it's going to continue tomorrow. It's a good thing we got Yukiko out when we did. It was so miserable out that nobody really wanted to do anything, so I headed down to the shopping district. That gas station attendant from the day I moved here was on shift. Seems like the rumors about the Midnight Channel are spreading.



Attendant: When it rains in the middle of the night, look into a television that's turned off…
And wonder of wonders, you'll see your soulmate in the screen.
I don't know if it's true or not, but there seem to be a lot of people who believe it.
Maybe I should try it myself.

When I'd been to Aiya with Daisuke and Kou, I noticed they had some rainy day special. I decided to check it out.



> Aiya seems to be having some kind of promotion today.
> A sign reads, "Rainy day challenge, 3,000 yen Mega Beef Bowl! If you finish this quintuple-sized bowl, it's free!"
> You think this dish will raise several "characteristics."

So anyway Aiya is the best place in Inaba.



> You accepted the Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge!
> ……
> You still can't see the rice…
> ……
> You begin to suspect that your bowl is a portal to the Meat Dimension.
> The amount of meat contained within this bowl is truly staggering.
> ……
> In order to finish this bowl, you must have Understanding of your limits, Knowledge to control your pace…
> Courage to face this unrelenting tide of beef, and the Diligence to persevere against this colossal challenge.
> All these traits are necessary to master the Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge!
> You are unable to finish your meal in your current state.
> …You tried your best to finish the Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge, and your personality has grown tremendously.
Aiya Owner: Aiyaaaa! Too bad, Mister!
That'll be 3,000 yen.
Come back soon! Thank you!

One day, I will finish you, Beef Bowl Challenge!

4/28/11

Chie had some great news this morning.



Hey hey! Yukiko told me that she'll be able to come to school again in two days!
Oh man, I'm glad. I'm so happy!



C'mon, you know it's because all three of us did our best.
……
…Actually, more like the three of us, and one animal-thingy…?

Yumi stopped me at lunch and asked if I'd go to drama practice this afternoon. I'd been thinking of doing so, so I agreed.



Drama Club President: Just doing fundamentals all the time gets boring, so let's try doing some real performing!
We'll hold an audition. Everyone, remember the line I'm about to say.
After the audition, well decide our roles and finish it off with a five-minute skit.
Got it? Now pay attention…
"What crazes me is not the light of the moon, nor the golden sea, but merely the trickle of your tears."
You all got that? Well, I'm not going to repeat it!
Alright, we'll start with Souji. Come on up here, in front of everybody. Show some emotion!
Don't worry, believe in yourself!
> The line began…

Of course I remembered the line.



> Then it went…



> You're getting into it!
> You recited the entire line, with lots of emotion.
Drama Club President: Okay, next person!
Maaya, you wanna try?
We already know that you're going to be my main character!
I'll try. I think I got it.
"What crazes me…"
> Yumi appears to be a completely different person as she recites.
"…is not the light of he moon, nor the golden sea!"
……
"But merely… the trickle of your tears…"
> Yumi's own eyes are full of tears.
> She has become the character…

Yumi is scary good.



Jealous Student: She's always so good… It's scary…
If anyone thinks they can do a better job than me, please come on up.
Drama Club President: Yumi, don't say it like that…
If only standing around flirting made you a better actor, huh…?
Drama Club Vice President: H-Hey, come on! We all remember the line, so we might as well do it, right?
I think watching others act is a good experience, too. Don't you, Yumi?
…You're right. Go ahead.
> Everyone recited the line, but…
> Yumi was the best, hands down.
Drama Club President: Okay, we've unanimously decided that Yumi will be the protagonist…
And she'll be opposite… Souji!
I mean, it's either you or me, and what I'd really rather do is direct.
> You must play Yumi's husband in a short skit…

So we split off to practice a bit before the main event, as it were.



Don't be so tense. This is just practice.
…But I do want us to take it seriously, so give it a shot, okay?

I'm sure not going to give anything less than 100%.



Well, I'll lead you through it!
> Yumi seems excited.
Acting is fun, isn't it?
When you're acting, it's like you get to take on the life of another person.
Not just yourself. Not some Yumi Ozawa… But another life to live…
I don't need lights. I don't need costumes. All I need is a role to play.
All I need… is to not be me…
…Oh, sorry! If I keep talking, you'll end up forgetting your own lines, huh?
…Let's give it a whirl, "darling!"
> With Yumi's encouragement, you decided to accept the role of her husband.
> You feel that your relationship with Yumi has deepened a little…

It seems Yumi has some problems she's trying to run away from by acting, though I'm not sure what those might be.



Alright! Want to ad-lib a kiss?
> With Yumi's help, you were able to complete the skit to the applause of the entire drama club.
> Yumi seems very happy. You went home.

It's still raining, and it's supposed to continue all day tomorrow. This is just miserable.

4/29/11

Seriously this rain. Nobody wants to do anything. At least it's going to stop tonight.

VIDEO- "The Fog"

Click Here For Video!

Weather Announcer: A thick fog is expected to set in tonight and remain until tomorrow morning, with heaviest concentration in the Inaba area.
Anyone planning to go out tonight should take care. Now for our hourly weather breakdown…
More fog, huh…? There's been a lot of that lately. Hopefully it's not a sign of more trouble…
Ah-ah-ah. What did I say about changing the channel without asking?
Commercial: Have a great day even during Golden Week at your local Junes!
Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!
Every day's great at your Junes!
Every day's great at your Junes!

And with Golden Week right around the corner, things are looking even more up.



Haha, I heard. Do you want to go somewhere during the long holiday?
We can go somewhere!?
How about it? Got any plans yet?

A vacation away from crazy fog murder town is pretty attractive.



Then let's all go somewhere together!
Junes! Junes Junes Junes!
You're sure you want to go to Junes? We can go there anytime…
Come on, girl, time for bed. It's late.
Alright…
Every day's great at your Junes!
> Nanako seems very excited about the family outing.

I headed upstairs to check the Midnight Channel, just in case.



> The fog has set in…
> No one is appearing on the Midnight Channel.
> Since Yukiko has been rescued, it seems the killer was thwarted this time…

Yukiko will be back tomorrow. Maybe she'll have remembered something new…

Elsewhere…





Next Time On Persona 4: Yukiko