Part 36: 7/4/11-7/7/11

7/4/11

Morooka status: still a douche.



Your brains aren't smart enough to retain this by just listening. Make sure you write all this down in your notes!
Incidentally… it seems some students have been extorting money from each other at school again.
You know… nothing good comes out of guys your age. You assholes can't even distinguish good from bad.
How do those indiscreet punks get away with doing whatever they want in town, thinking they're some big shots!?
Let's see… Amagi… No, I think I'd rather go for Hanamura, who seems to be indiscreet!
Deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning: which one uses one or several examples to draw a conclusion?
Tch, damn King Moron…
Psst, hey Souji… Which one?

I at least definitely am discreet.



Ahh… I suppose I underestimated you.
Or did someone give you the answer? If you punks have a talent for anything, it's whispering to each other.
Well, anyway, Hanamura is correct.
Deductive reasoning is a reasoning which states that if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true.
I'd write that down if I were you. You'll be the ones crying your asses off when you get it wrong on the test!
Errr… I guess he's right, but the way he says it pisses me off…!
…Souji, thanks, dude. You just saved me from more of King Moron's shit talking…

I went to drama. Yumi wasn't there again, so I visited her in the hospital afterwards. Her father's still hanging in there, but nobody's sure for how long. I'm still not quite done that model, but I'm getting closer.

7/5/11

Nothing really much happened today, soccer was uneventful. Oh, I finished that model.



> ……
> You silently assembled the complex pieces…
> You have one piece left over!
> You remember that it was a spare piece. Whew…
> The model robot has been completed!
> Obtained MF-06S Brahman. You should show this to the man at the model shop, then put it on your shelf.

So at least there's that.

7/6/11

Ai asked me if I wanted to hang out again, so we headed to Okina after school.



> You came here because Ai insisted…
Hmmm… I don't really feel like buying stuff today.
What should we do instead?
Let's just chill.
What? You mean you don't have any kind of plan? Sounds boring…
Oh well. Maybe you'll be able to make it interesting.
> Ai seems willing enough…
You know, it's pretty funny…
If I didn't sign up to manage your team, you wouldn't be here with me now.
Looking at it from your perspective, I'd say you got pretty lucky.
I appreciate it.
Haha, I guess you should be thanking me.
> Ai looks almost happy…
It was your advisor who put me on your team.
He said something like, "Ai, being on a team should teach you something about putting someone besides yourself first!"
I don't understand people who play sports in the slightest…
But I guess it wouldn't kill me to go cheer you on every once in a while.
> Ai smiles with self-importance for some reason…
> It seems she's begun to like you a little…

I still don't quite get Ai though. Things got kind of weird just after that because some guy from school ran over to us.



Yasogami Student: H-Hey, u-um, Ai-san!
U-Um, us meeting here like this… I-It must be f-fate, right!? So, um…
Y-You w-wanna go o-o-out with me sometime!?
Ha, are you kidding me?
Have you looked in a mirror recently?
> Ai rejected him without a second thought…

It was pretty harsh but honestly not surprising at all to me that she said that.



Well, a guy has to look at least on par with me before I'd consider him.
That, and he has to click with me, I guess… Besides, I'm not interested in dating anyone right now.
> Ai speaks with indifference.
*sigh * I'm bushed. Let's go home.
> You returned to Inaba with Ai and went home.

Oh, and Nanako had gotten some sweet potatoes so I made some daigaku-imo.



> You have the ingredients to make daigaku-imo.
> You decided to make daigaku-imo.
> ……
> …You made the sweet sauce.
> How should you prepare the sweet potato?

Obviously you deep fry it, as even a child would know.



> You stir the sweet sauce into the fried sweet potato.
> Obtained Crispy Daigaku-imo.

It's gonna be good.

7/7/11

Daigaku-imo status: Eaten with Yukiko. As predicted it was good.



> You ate lunch with Yukiko.
> You ate Crispy Daigaku-imo together.
Oh, it's really good! Did you make this on your own, Souji-kun?
The flavor is excellent, and the presentation is great, too… Do you want to work as a chef at our place?
I'm just kidding…
…Though you'd be more than welcome, if you wanted to…
> It was Yukiko's favorite!

Oh and it's a good thing I'm a master of pointless trivia.



Mr. Hosoi: "Man" means "10,000" in Japanese, but that doesn't mean it has 10.000 poems. In fact, it has less than half that.
The ancient Japanese people used the term to point out how huge the collection was.
Now, why don't we read a passage? …Oh wait, I just remembered! Today is Tanabata, the Japanese star festival!
Why don't we study some poetry from the Man-yoshu that relates to Tanabata?
Let's see, since he's probably never seen a sky full of stars, let's pick on Souji-chan!
Which poet wrote the most poems about Tanabata in the Man-yoshu?

I mean this is just screamingly obvious.



Mr. Hosoi: Right. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro has written 137 poems about Tanabata.
I'm amazed how many he wrote. He was certainly a talented writer.
Back then, Japanese people could relate their own lives to the myth of Tanabata, or the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi.
You know, you guys have it good, the ancient Japanese weren't allowed to see each other even when they were dating…

Oh, and fox wish status: Completed.



Despondent Man: You actually built it… Wow, it's good… Well-made…
> The man is tearing up…
Despondent Man: Making plastic models takes a lot of time, huh? The time you spend makes the love for your creation deeper…
*sniff *
Haha, I must be getting old…
I was recalling the days I spent toiling away at plastic models…
It was fun… But it's all in the past now…
Thank you. By giving me a final glimpse of this joy, you made me realize that this phase of my life has passed.
I thank you… Oh, and the shrine, too. I finally feel like I can find something else to live for.
> The man is smiling sadly…
Man With Closure: Oh, yeah. You can have this, too. I have fond memories of this model…
I don't need it anymore. It's time to move on…
> You obtained Unfinished Model.

Something strange happened at soccer practice today.



Soccer Player: *gasp * I… can't… run anymore…
That's when you've gotta push yourself! C'mon, one more lap! I'll run with you!
Soccer Player: Yes, Sir…
> Daisuke is coaching with passion…

It seems Daisuke's got his edge back.



But damn, it feels good!
I'm not gonna screw around anymore. From now on, I'm all business!
> Daisuke suddenly appears pensive…
I kept pretending that I was trying my hardest… But the truth is, I was hardly trying.
If I managed to do well playing at half my potential, nobody really cared that I wasn't taking it seriously.
And if I wasn't doing so hot, I had a copout. All I had to do was say I wasn't trying.
I was scared of the possibility that things could go wrong, even when I gave it my all.
Because if that happened… I would have felt like I had no business even being here…
Haha… Pretty lame, huh?
This is for you.
> Obtained Spike Brush.
It's a brush you can use to clean your cleats.
I realized I haven't used it in a long time… I just soaked my cleats and let 'em hang dry, like I didn't care…
But I used to like cleaning my cleats and soccer balls…
I don't know why I'm doing this… It just kinda popped into my head, y'know?
It's not super fancy or anything, but it's easy to use. You and I are gonna be running a lot from now on, so…
…Come on, let's grab some grub before we go home!

We grabbed Kou and headed for Aiya.



I've been hearing people talk about ya, Daisuke.
"He's a new man!" "A demon awoke inside of him!" Words to that effect.
Yeah, well, I quit pretending. I was getting pretty bored of not taking things seriously.
You give it 110%, and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Not knowing is what makes it fun.
Ain't that the truth? Lay the charm on thick, get rejected, and cry about it later. That's a woman for you.
Still, too bad about your ex, though.
You were kinda hoping she still liked you, right?
What? H-Hey, that's not-
Whoo boy, look at his face. I think I've seen tomatoes less red than that.
Wh-What about you guys, huh!? All that "What am I to you" shit, you're the ones who should be embarrassed!
What, you want us to say it again? Maybe in unison this time?
Don't give me that touchy-feely crap!
> ……
> You spent quality time with Daisuke and Kou.
But yeah, uhh…
Thanks.
Don't worry, we'll always be here to embarrass you.
…Gee, thanks.
> You feel a deep bond has formed between you, Kou, and Daisuke…

This one felt different than the others.



And I heard that weird voice again, but this time it said something new.



I feel like I can finally move forward again…
That's good, man.
So, let's do another group date. Kou, you should call those chicks up again.
Huh!? Now you're gonna pull a 180 on me!?
Dude, you really ticked those girls off last time!
Oh, I guess you'll have to do some groveling then.
ME!?
> ……
> You take a moment to enjoy the good times with your friend, with whom you have formed a tight bond…

I'm not sure exactly who Zaou Gongen is, but I guess I could have his power at some future date. I went to the hospital to clean up, not much happened. The rains are coming soon, and the fog will come along with them I guess. It can't be good that fog from the other side is coming here, though we've not seen any problems from it yet.

Next Time on Persona 4: Checkmate