Part 28: 6/14/11-6/16/11

6/14/11

Another crappy rainy day.



Guy With A Backpack: The school camp starts next weekend, doesn't it?
Lazy Student: Ah, right…
It's gonna be all work. I'm not gonna have any fun at all.
Ah, there has to be some way I can ditch this stupid camp!
Alright, let's get together and brainstorm ideas on how to get out of this!

I went to drama again since the weather was so terrible. Yumi was missing again, so I headed out to the hospital to see if she was there.



> Yumi is standing at the door…
Souji-kun…
…I just came from Dad's-that man's room…

I'd remembered her mom wasn't doing well either.



It was nothing. She's already out of the hospital…
> Yumi smiles, relieved.
I was here anyway… I came here to pick up some medicine for Mom. I just decided to stop by.
He looked at me, and he smiled like he was so happy…
"Do you want to watch TV?" "If you want to read some manga, go ahead and buy some." "Here's some money for ice cream."
……
He's so stupid…
Getting all excited… Coughing… Causing trouble for the doctors…
He's so stupid…
That man is not my father. I keep telling myself that over and over, and yet…
I can't take it anymore…
Why me… Why me, why me!?
Nurse: Excuse me, can you keep your voice down, please?
Oh… I'm sorry…
I'm sorry… I just lost control for a moment…
…Why do I have to go through all of this? Why me!?

This is all pretty terrible, really.



I see… Then do you think that one day, good luck will come my way…?
Or are people who have bad luck doomed to stay unlucky forever?
> Yumi smiles sadly…
Oh… I have to go. I need to get this medicine to my mom.
Um… I'm glad you came.
> It seems you were able to give Yumi some emotional support.
> You feel your relationship with Yumi has deepened…

I hope she does manage to see some good luck soon, nobody deserves what's happening to her.



…I'll see you at school.
> You watched Yumi walk off sadly.

Nanako watches so much TV, I decided to show her a neat trick I'd learned.



…If you want, you can change the channel.
> Nanako looks bored…
> You might as well try a magic trick…
> Nanako is watching curiously…
> …You decide to show her a magic trick.
> You put the rubber band on your index finger and middle finger…
> You also hook it on the ring finger and pinky without Nanako noticing…
What're you doing?
> When you open up the hand you had closed lightly…
> The rubber band springs off the index and middle finger, instantly moving over to the ring finger and pinky!
> …Nanako saw part of the trick.
I saw it! It went like, zoom!
Do it again! One more time!
> She seems delighted anyway.
Okay, my turn now!
> Nanako is laughing cheerfully.
> …The night continues.

I'm glad she enjoyed it, I'll have to come up with another one sometime.

6/15/11

Morooka continues to reinforce why he's the worst person in all of Inaba.



It's going to be a place of education to wind up the lazy ass minds you get from screwing around all the time.
You know, you all depend on other people too much! That's why you jerk-offs have all this spare time!
"Oh, he'll do it someday," or "She's doing it for me," I bet that's all you think about!
Let's take a closer look at it, shall we? What's the root of the word "pend"? Hanamura! Stop smiling and answer!
First of all, how could I be smiling in this class…? And second, this has nothing to do with logic…
"Pend," eh? Words with "pend" in them… Uh…
I have no clue… Souji, help me out here?

Morooka is a real bastard by the way.



Ahh, pretty good, Hanamura… Or should I be praising Seta?
You're right. The root word "pend" means "to hang."
Like Hanamura was too tongue-tied to explain, words like "pendant" and "pendulum" are good examples!
Those girls who got murdered were fooling around and depending on others, and that's what got them killed!
Unless you want to end up the same, make sure you don't depend too much on others!
…That was evil. How could he say that…?
…Thanks, Souji. He'd probably have stabbed me to death with his words if I hadn't "depended" on you…

At lunch I ran into Ai again, she felt like skipping school and after that shit with Morooka I had to agree.



Hey, you wanna ditch class? Don't worry, we'll be back before the last bell.
Sure, why not?
Really… Alright, then meet me at the shoe lockers.
> You accepted Ai's invitation and decided to skip afternoon classes.

We took the train to Okina.



> Ai has dragged you here…
Mmmm! Feels so good.
Just knowing everyone else is still stuck at school studying makes it feel great to be out here.

Again after that Morooka shit I'm down with skipping.



You think so? I'm surprised you're so open-minded.
I had you pegged for a mama's boy.
It's not like I do this all the time.
Besides, since they started keeping track of my attendance and behavior record, I've been a good girl.
Well, enough small talk. Let's go.
We'll start with clothes, then we'll hit jewelry and shoes, and maybe some cell phone stuff if there's enough time.
> Ai only seems to be concerned about her own shopping…

Still beats school.



Of course you will. Why else would you be here?
Anyway, time's a'wasting.
It's nice to have a personal servant! I can buy so much more this way.
> Ai paid for everything with a gold card…

It seems Ai is loaded.



Well, I guess you could call my family "new money."
We may not have status or history, but we do have money. My daddy made a fortune in land speculation.
We'd better get going, though, or we won't make it back before class ends.
Soon as school gets out, I'm number one on the guidance counselor's list.
He has to check on my attendance and behavior, and sometimes, he tops it off with a lecture. It's a major pain.
But I'm out here having fun, and all the teachers are totally clueless. How stupid can they be?
You know what, though? I had more fun today than usual.
You're different from the others. I like you.
I think I'll keep you around. But next time, let's go after school.
> You have become acquaintances with the sports team manager, Ai Ebihara.
> You feel a faint bond forming between you and Ai…

So far Ai seems like pretty much the only normal person I've got one of these with and there's something to be said for that.



Are you coming!? Or maybe you'd like to be a blip on the guidance counselor's radar yourself?
> You returned to school with Ai and snuck into your class…

I decided to check up on that kid I gave the sticker.



Lonely Boy: Y'know the sticker you gave me? Everyone already knew about it…
But I did make friends!
I talked to them every time I got a new sticker, and they just kinda became my friends!
It's thanks to you! Oh, and also the fox.
I wrote my wish at the shrine. They said a fox grants wishes there.
I'll go say thanks to the fox later!
> You accomplished the request written on the ema!
> You should report back to the fox…

I went to soccer practice, but Daisuke had a thing to do after and had to run.



If you say so.
Ah… Perfect timing.
Later.
Hm? What's up with the cold shoulder? Daisuke can be such a damn rebel.
Oh well, I guess that makes it easier. I need to talk to you.
Tell you what, we'll talk over map rice. My treat!

Again never say no to free stuff.



Great! Heck, I'll get you a large!
> Kou looks happy…
> You left school to listen to what Kou has to say.

I wondered what we needed to straight leave the grounds to talk about.



You probably guessed this, but it's about Daisuke.
> Kou speaks with a serious expression…
You've noticed him slacking off at practice a lot lately, right?
He never used to do that kind of stuff…
Before, he woulda died for any chance to play soccer.
You practically had to pry the ball away from him, even off the field.
But now he's half-assing everything…
I don't get it. Maybe he just doesn't think playing hard is "cool" anymore…
He took it seriously when he was helping you train, though, right?
He really wanted you to get good enough for the team to accept you…
Don't get me wrong, I don't think he was faking it or anything…
But… I wonder if part of that was him trying to make you do the things he feels like he can't anymore…
…He's fooling himself.
It just pisses me off to watch him do this…
> Kou sighs…

Kou was pretty worried.



Ya know, his new attitude toward girls is pretty sudden, too.
He used to talk about girls like any normal guy would.
You think it could be related…?

Seemed as good a theory as any.



You think so too?
> Kou nods…
He can be a little blunt sometimes, but he's a nice guy.
He's been acting so cold toward girls, though, like he's saying stuff that he doesn't really mean…
……
I'm only telling you this because I trust you, but…
……
> Kou begins to speak slowly…
See, Daisuke had a girlfriend back in middle school…
But from what he told me, they never even held hands.
Then she broke up with him.
She made a big scene. She was all like, "You don't even like me, do you!?" I heard she even slapped him.
And ever since then, he's been saying stuff like, "I don't know what it means to like someone…"
At the rate he's going, he's gonna die an old hermit.
> Kou sighs…
What do you think?

Daisuke's my friend, if there's some way I can help him I've gotta do it.



Yeah, I think so too.
> Kou nods.
Whoa!
I just had a great idea. I'm a genius…
You're with me on this, right? You're gonna help him?
> Kou is looking at you expectantly…
Count me in.
Alright! Now we're talking!
> Kou is ecstatic…
> By worrying about Daisuke with Kou, you feel your bonds strengthen.

I wonder what his plan is though…



I'll set everything up. Make sure you wear some clean boxers!
> ……
> You passed the time with a rather vulgar conversation…

The campout's almost here, I just hope it's not as bad as Chie and Yukiko are saying it'll be.

6/16/11

So we decided to head to Junes to get some food for the campout.

VIDEO- "The Looming Terror"

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School camp starts tomorrow.
We'll be in the same group, but what should we be cooking for dinner?
Hey, why don't we get everyone and go buy ingredients after school?
We should do that.
Okay.
I'll be sure to let Chie and Yosuke-kun know, then.

Yosuke said he had a thing to do on a different floor when we got to Junes. Yukiko and Chie were insisting on cooking so I left it to them.



Carrots, potatoes, onions… mushrooms, green peppers, and… radishes?
Are radishes… the same as turnips?
> They're apparently going to make curry.
Curry's fine, right? It's practically our national food.
We were going back and forth between ramen and curry, but I thought ramen might not be enough for you guys.
Hmm, I wonder what kind of ingredients Yosuke likes… I get the feeling he's real picky.
He's on another floor, isn't he? Do you want me to go ask?
Nah, no need. Plus, he said he needed to get ready for something.
……
Hey, Chie. You use potato starch for curry, right?
……? O-Of course you do.
Otherwise, the sauce wouldn't thicken.
Then, we need potato starch and… some flour, too?
Th, there are different kinds of flour… Which should we get? All-purpose? Whole wheat?

You know I'd been hoping maybe Chie knew what she was doing because I already know Yukiko does not. That did not seem to be the case.



Let's get that one. And… here they are!
Chili peppers! It's not curry if it isn't spicy.
Oh well… Let's just get everything that seems right.
How about some kimchi, too? And some ground pepper!
There's two kinds, though. Black and white.
Whoa! Way to go, Yukiko… The Amagi family sure knows their stuff! Let's get both, just in case.
Oh yeah… We'll need some special ingredients, too, to spice things up.
Hmm, I remember seeing something on TV about that… I think it was… chocolate… coffee… yogurt…
How about mint chocolate!? I love that stuff!
I don't like coffee that much, though… Oh, I can drink mocha, so let's get that.
What about some seafood? That should make the sauce taste better.

So we're all going to die. I went to work at the hospital again, since I'm sure getting in with them is going to be important after I eat whatever they're going to make.



Oh, you sweet thing. Well, then…
Would you like to study with me? Perhaps a subject they don't teach in school, if you catch my drift…?

Seriously what is the deal with this nurse?



Oho… You're an honest guy. That's cute, in boys your age.
> Sayoko smirks at you.
I don't find your type around here.
The kids over here are much simpler. All they see is the carrot dangling in front of their faces…
You're… I know. You seem to have some sort of secret deep inside you…
…I think it's irresistible.
> Sayoko smiles in satisfaction.
> You can feel Sayoko's mischievous affection for you…



I'll see you again.

The campout is tomorrow. I just hope things aren't so bad as I'm worrying.

Next Time On Persona 4: The Saga of Mystery Food X