Part 48: 8/11/11-8/14/11

8/11/11

It was raining today, and I was so bored I actually went fishing. I didn't catch much, but I think I'm getting better. God damn I wish there were still a killer to catch sometimes.

8/12/11

The rain continued through the morning, which meant today was fog day again. I headed to Aiya for one last celebratory Aiya bowl.



Weather Announcer: The week ended on a wet note as rain clouds moved into the area.
As a result, a thick fog is expected to form in the Inaba region later tonight…

And as before, the fog rolled in at night.



> The fog has set in…
> No one is appearing on the Midnight Channel.
> You wonder what happened to Mitsuo Kubo after the police took him away…

8/13/11

Even though everything is done, I still felt like doing some training with Chie.



> You finished today's training and came here with Chie…
Have you had the steak skewers? The meat is tender and delicious, and they hardly cost anything!
…It might not even be cow meat.
Just kidding… Whoa, thinking about it, that's kinda gross, haha…
The police are here…
Th-Then is this place really serving fake meat…?
Police Officer: Excuse me.
Y-Yes? I haven't eaten any of the meat today, I swear!
Police Officer: Lately, there's been several incidents with a group of teenagers bullying people around here.
…Bullying?
Police Officer: Extortion, if you will.
Have you seen anyone suspicious?
N-No, no one in particular…
Police Officer: Hmmm, I see… Well, you two be careful then.
I'm glad it wasn't the meat…
…But still, bullying!?
What cowards, ganging up on the weak like that!

Amen to that.



It's so cruel! And stupid!
> Chie is outraged…
We'll grab 'em and make them apologize! Right, Leader?
Of course.
I knew you'd say that!
> Chie looks happy.
Mowing down villains and saving the weak, a lone female fighter stands…
To protect the town's peace, she throws herself into the battlefield, unbeknownst to all…!
……
Ooh, yeah! That sounds cool!
Souji-kun, leave it to me!
Though I'd feel better about it if you helped…
And it'd make me… kinda happy…
……
> Chie seems somewhat embarrassed…
> You feel your relationship with Chie has grown yet deeper…

Even if we don't have Shadows to fight anymore we can still make this town a better place.



Alright, first, let's eat!
"Don't think. Feel…" right? Actually in this case, would it be, "Don't think. Eat?"
> You walked back home with Chie, eating steak skewers.

Dojima came home with a big spread of sushi and Adachi.

VIDEO- "Dojima's News"

Click Here For Video!

If you're gonna have a celebration, you can't do it halfway.
Celebration?
Ah, it's about this. Watch.
Announcer: "I didn't care who it was." "I was pissed off." "I wanted to be famous." The suspect was often heard saying these things…
The young suspect has confessed to being the culprit behind the recent cases, but he's shown no remorse so far.
Because of several inconsistencies in the boy's deposition, some have called for a mental examination to be carried out.
Until then, the police will be continuing their investigation to shed light on all the prior incidents.
It was actually really tough to make a case out of this.
All we had was the suspect's confession and some circumstantial evidence.
But the lab found the perp's prints on the victim's clothes, so we made it stick after all.
Man, isn't crime scene investigation something? Who would've thought you could get viable prints from cloth?
There's no more scary stuff to worry about. You're safe now.
Uh-huh!

Adachi couldn't stop talking about the case, though.



A high schooler committing multiple murders and leaving the bodies like that… He was over the edge.
Good thing we caught him! Now I can stop seeing suspects in every shadow!
If the killer was still on the loose…
Enough, Adachi! If you keep running your mouth, the sushi's gonna dry up!
Oh, you're right. Sorry!
C'mon everyone, eat up.
Well, since you asked…
Huh? You don't like sushi, Nanako-chan?
There's wasabi in it…
Ahh, that's right. I forgot to tell them to hold the wasabi.
Here, I'll take it off for you. Which one do you want? Hmm?
…Halibut!
Excellent taste, Nanako-chan.
As for me, I'll go for sea urchin…
Hey, there's only one of those!
Too late! First come, first serve.
> It's been a while since dinner has been this lively…

I'm kind of bothered by something he said, though. It's almost like he wasn't really sure they had the killer. Maybe it's just my imagination…

8/14/11

Lord, this week might get exciting really quickly.



I ran into Yosuke at Junes.
He said he was really in a bind because he didn't have enough employees working at Junes.
He's probably going to come to you and beg for you to rescue him.
He'll be all, "You've gotta save me from this chaos, Souji!"
I feel kinda sorry for him, so I'm gonna help him out this week.
You're welcome too, Souji-kun!
> Chie hung up…
> Maybe you should help out at Junes too…

Still, that wouldn't be until tomorrow anyway. I headed down to the shopping district, felt like getting some Aiya and Rise was free so we ate lunch together.



My grandma's food is kind of bland. Though tofu is good for you, so…
> There is a suspicious man in front of Rise's house…
Is that a reporter…?
Or… a stalker?
> Rise is worried…

I suggested we just run, I don't know, maybe I was still spooked from all that crap Adachi was babbling about them not being sure about the murders.



Uh, th-that's alright. We don't know if he's really dangerous or not.
Let's just wait and see, okay?
But… thanks for that.
> Rise no longer seems worried.
Hmm, but still… That guy… Where have I…?
Inoue-san, is that you!?

It seemed Rise knew the guy after all.



Wh-Why are you here…?
I already settled everything with the agency…!
Inoue: I'm here because… Personally, I can't accept that.
I've watched over you this entire time as your manager…
I'm no longer a "personality"!
My private time doesn't belong to a manager anymore!
Go home. If you don't, I'll call the police.
Inoue: W-Wait!
Could you just think it over? I strongly believe that no other actress can play that role better than Rise Kujikawa.
Your fans were looking forward to the movie, too…
You still want me to act…!?
Inoue: Huh…?
…Anyway, I'm through with it! I have nothing to do with showbiz and all that stuff now!
I…

Rise really is a good actress and I kind of think she should reconsider quitting.



I said before it was only a hiatus, but I've changed my mind! There's no way I'm coming back!
Souji sees the real me…
He's so gentle…!
> Rise is desperate…

I played along, I'm a decent actor myself.



> You went along with her story…
S-See? I told you…
> Rise looks relieved…
Inoue: ……
I understand. I'll go home… for today.
B-But I…
Go away! Now!
Oh… U-Ummm…
…That was Inoue-san. He was… my manager.
I'm his daughter's age, so he treated me like one of the family…
But… he's a stranger now.
……
S-Senpai, umm…
I'm sorry… Lying about marrying you and all…

I've got no problem helping out a friend in need, though.



Senpai…
You're so mature…
> Rise smiled a smile of relief.
You really are a nice guy.
Th-This isn't good… I feel like I'm going to depend on you even more…
…J-Just kidding!
> Perhaps due to her relief, Rise is smiling sheepishly…
> You feel your relationship with Rise has grown deeper…

It's hard to tell when Rise's acting and when she's not sometimes.



I wish I could spend more time with you, but… I'll save it for next time.
See you later, Senpai.
> You watched Rise walk in and went home.

Dojima had something for me now that he was finally home.



I heard you got top marks on that last exam.
Keeping up your studies while taking care of Nanako, too…? You're one hard working, aren't you?
I need to act like an uncle every so often and give you some spending money.
Here you go… A big tip.
But don't spend it all in… Nah, you can use it however you like.
> You obtained 40000 yen from Dojima.

He seemed like he was busy with something, I decided to see what was up.



It was there before…
Those damn kids… Don't they teach 'em how to file data anymore?
Oh… Sorry, I wasn't talking about you.
Can I help?
No… It's okay. Don't worry about it.
> Dojima is smiling wryly.
I was trying to find an old newspaper article… It was falling apart, so I made a copy, but…
The copy seems to have gone missing.
……
There's a certain case where we don't have a suspect yet…
And since the trail's going cold, it's about to be buried under newer cases.
But I can't give up on this one.
…Ever.
> Dojima has a cornered look on his face…
> This doesn't seem to be the time or the place to ask him more about it.

Just then Nanako came in. She wasn't feeling well.



Hm? What's wrong?
My stomach hurts…
Was it something you ate!?
It feels like a sharp pain below my stomach.
What!? I'll call the doc--
N-No, wait. This happened before. Is it the same feeling!?
I don't know…
Urgh… Okay, the medicine we used before is-
Dammit! Who's calling at this time of night…?
Dojima here!
Adachi…? I'm hanging up.
…A sealed letter? For me?
Is it from Ichihara-san!? When did it come!?
You forgot!? Adachi…!
I'm on my way!
Gotta go. The medicine should be in the first aid kit… She's in your hands.
> Dojima left…
> You gave Nanako the medicine and put her to bed…
> ……
> A few hours later…

I had to find out what the hell was so important.



> Dojima has come home.
> He seems to be in a bad mood…
Souji… You're still up?
It's late. Go to sleep.
Are you okay?
Just shut up…
……
…Sorry.
> Dojima looks apologetic…
How's Nanako…?
She's sleeping… Good.
You've been a great help here.
> Dojima seems to bear a heavy burden… What is he keeping locked up in his heart…?
> You feel your bond with Dojima has deepened even further…

Still have no idea. Still sort of pissed.



It's pretty late. Go hit the hay.
…'Night, Souji.
> You said goodnight to Dojima and went to your room.

Yosuke's probably going to call me up tomorrow. Getting something done does have some appeal, I have to say.