Part 41: 7/18/11-7/23/11

7/18/11

It was Ocean Day today, so we didn't have school. I headed to the shopping district and ran into Chie. After some training, we headed to Aiya.



Mmmm… The meat and rice just flow through my veins…
Looks delicious.
I can't recommend the steak bowl enough!
Their sauce is to die for!
> A huge smile spread over Chie's face.
I need to work hard and pump myself up, or else I can't pull us out of a jam, right?
Especially Yukiko… I need to be able to protect her…
……
I hope she's not straining herself. Makes you worry, huh?

I'm a bit worried myself when we go into battle, so I agreed with her.



Thanks… That's what makes you the leader…
> Chie seems relieved…
I'll make myself stronger! For Yukiko, too!
So keep it up, Leader!
Me and Yosuke act like that all the time…
But we're all counting on you… Heheh…
> You can sense Chie's burning passion…
> You feel your relationship with Chie has grown yet deeper…

Chie seems especially determined now.



…All this talking is making me hungry.
'Scuse me! Another fried rice with meat, please!
How about you?
> You talked with Chie for a while…
> You walked home partway with Chie.

I decided to get the stupidest thing I could possibly do out of the way before exams.



> There's a bitter melon with a bite taken out of it…
> Someone probably mistook it for a cucumber…
> ……
> Eat it…?
> …
> ……
> ………
> The raw bitter melon was very bitter. So, so bitter.
> Your Courage has greatly increased.
> However…
> You don't feel well…
> ……
> You decided to go to bed early today…

God damn was that bitter. They don't call them that for nothing.

7/19/11

Exams started today. Pretty easy so far.









We'll see how the rest of this goes.

7/20/11

Still easy.









I mean not that I want it to be a challenge.

7/21/11

Getting closer to being done.









Past halfway now.

7/22/11

So close and yet so far.









Just one more day.

7/23/11

And we're done.



> You answered every question with ease…
> ……
> The answers seem to be flowing from you hand!

I think I did even better this time.

VIDEO- "After Exams"

Click Here For Video!

*yawn * I'm sooo sleepy…
Yuck! Don't yawn in my face like that!
Hey, for the third question on the English test, which phrase did you choose?
Um… I went with "used to."
Wrong again…
So much for Chie going abroad. Heck, why leave Inaba? You have so much right here!
Ooooh, you're so annoying!
Yo…
No more encores…
I mean… Hi everyone…
Whoa, more losers!?
What do I need to know English for!? I can always ask for a translator!
How did you do, Senpai?

I was certainly feeling confident.



Wow, you're amazing…
Enough about the exams already…
What's going on with the murder case?
Hm… Why don't we head to our special headquarters? We haven't been there in a while.
> You decided to get together at the Junes food court.

Talking about death was sort of refreshing after exams.



Not just because exams are over, but… The whole thing with the police finding a suspect.
I mean, we believed that only we could solve this case. And now…
Well, we still don't know yet. They haven't made an arrest.
So… we gotta sit on our thumbs.

Of course with crack detectives like we have in Inaba working on the case it's sure to be resolved immediately.



We're at the end of our rope here…
Y-You guys!? D-Did you hear what I said?
Ah… Ahahaha! This case is as good as solved!
Don't worry, kids. It's only a matter of time before we bring in the suspect.
I mean, the guy's kidnapping people at random and slaughtering them! We won't rest until we bring him to justice!
I-I gotta get going!
Now I'm REALLY worried…
On the other hand… If the police have a search warrant out for the guy, we should stay out of it.
Yeah…
Oh, uh, I just remembered. There was a question on the exam that I didn't get.
I think it was, "The chemical formula HCHO, used for silver mirror reactions. Its 40% solution is known as formalin."
And the question was, "What is HCHO?"

I pretty much just said it automatically.



Oh, I see. I chose acetic acid… Duh, of course it couldn't have been vinegar.
Hey, you had that question too, didn't you Kanji?
Shut up. And don't call me by my first name.
Wow, kinda harsh, aren't you? I heard you got a nosebleed when you were around our senpai.
H-Hey! Who the hell blabbed about that!?
A-Anyways!
Rise-chan, why don't you ask Yukiko to help you study?
Huh? I guess, but wouldn't you rather ask a senpai of the opposite sex?
Senpai… I'm not a nuisance to you, am I?
Damn…
This girl's dangerous…!
L-Let's change the subject.
Hey, any idea how Teddie's doing?
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it to you.
Check this out.

I hadn't really noticed but Teddie was indeed nearby.



I let him stay at my place. In return, he's now our official store mascot.
Aaah! So he's hiding in plain sight. Reverse psychology, huh?
Man… He looks like one happy bear…
He kept saying that he didn't wanna go back. So I made him a deal.
Now, since I've got nothing better to do… I'm gonna go bug him.
Oooh, I wanna go too!
C-Can I… feel his soft fur…?

They all left except for Rise, who stayed behind.



Now that I'm getting the hang of school, I want to go out more and see the sights.
But I tend to get recognized everywhere I go, so I'm a little nervous about going out on my own…
And you seem like the type of guy who knows all the cool spots in town.
……
Sure, I'll show you around.
Really? Woohoo!
> You sense Rise's natural, easy friendliness…
> You feel a faint bond forming between you and Rise…

These really don't surprise me anymore.



If you ever have some time to kill, think of me, okay?
Now c'mon, let's go pester Teddie.
Teddieeee! Heeeey!

Oh, and Nanako is getting more and more worried about this.

VIDEO- "Scary"

Click Here For Video!

Announcer: The topic is the bizarre serial murder case in Inaba, where the victims' bodies are discovered hanging upside down.
Police have yet to announce any progress in the investigation since the discovery of a third victim.
Our special report tonight is a summary of the events and the facts in the case thus far…
> There seems to be no information about the suspect…
They still haven't caught him?
I'll protect you.
Okay. You promise, right?
> Nanako seems to be anxious about the unsolved case…

We need to catch this guy. For everyone's sake.