Part 53: 9/1/11-9/2/11

9/1/11

School started back up today.

VIDEO- "A Familiar Face"

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Good morning.
*sigh * Summer vacation's over already.
Yo, guys. I got lost on my way here.
The vacation was pretty long.
Not THAT long. Sheesh…

We had a bit of a surprise as we entered the gates.



Y-You…!? You're that, uh… pint-size detective!
I beg your pardon!? My name is Naoto. Please, don't give people bizarre nicknames you make up on the spot.
Um… You know this is a high school, right?
My cooperation with the police has come to an end. However, there are aspects of the case with which I remain unconvinced.
There are some family-related issues as well, so I've decided to stay here for the present.
From today forth, I'll be a first-year at your high school.
And I felt that I should at least introduce myself to you all.
I trust our relations will be cordial, Senpai.
Senpai…?
That detective boy's… our underclassman?

I was more concerned by what Naoto said about the case, especially with what Adachi said about them having a hard time even after the confession. Is this really all over with?



Mr. Kondo: You've gotta watch out for unjustified resentment, guys! I'm sure you know what I mean; you all watch gossip shows!
You never know who has a grudge against you. My advice? Train your body regularly, so you can fight back!
Okay… Let's play soccer today!
But first! Pop quiz! Souji!
When was soccer first introduced in the Olympics?

They didn't have it at the first modern Olympics, I remembered that.



Mr. Kondo: That's right! Good job!
So let's get kickin'! Split into two teams!
And don't hurt yourselves, guys! Remember, the school trip is only a week away!

We decided to get together after school.

VIDEO- "Trippin Out"

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With the case closed, the days feel so empty all of a sudden…
C'mon Yosuke, everything went back to normal. It's a good thing!
I didn't mean it that way. It's just…
Hey, we're stopping by Junes later, right? Why don't we ask Naoto-kun to join us?
Oh, I just thought… Since he doesn't know anyone yet, he must feel lonely…
Didn't he say he came here to help out with the murder case?
With the case closed, he's just an ordinary guy now.
And if you think about it, that makes him a transfer student… just like us.
Hello, Senpai!
Maybe he transferred here out of plain stubbornness.
'Cause he doesn't seem like he's only in it for fun.
Alright, let's see if he wants to hang out with us.
A celebrity coming to school is already a surprise, but a detective is even rarer.
I'm a little curious to see what his family's like, too.
There's that, and the fact that he's a detective at his age.

Naoto was talking to a couple of first year girls, which wasn't going so well.



Conniving Girl: You dunno the area yet, right? C'mon, we'll show you around.
Girl's Friend: There's probably tons of places to hang out that only we'd know about.
That won't be necessary.
I'm not interested in "hanging out," and neither am I interested in you two.
Conniving Girl: Huh? Hey, what did you say!?
Girl's Friend: What's with that attitude!? We're just trying to be friendly!
Geez… Way to make an impression.
Yo, Naoto-kun. How's it going?
Conniving Girl: Oh, um…
H-Hey guys. 'Sup?
Girl's Friend: Uh, well, we'll be going now…
So we meet again. May I help you?
Hey, Naoto-kun. If you're not doing anything after school, wanna come with us?
Come with… You mean me?
…Perhaps another time. I have some things to mull over.
Things to mull over?
I must go straight home today. I promised my Grampa so.
"Grampa"…?
Oh well… That's that, then. Let's hang out some other time.

I guess Naoto must be here with relatives too. Anyway, we headed down to Junes just like old times.



Is he gonna be okay at Yasogami?
He is different, but he has this… mysterious air around him that draws your attention.
Whoa, Yukiko, I never knew… You like younger guys?
No, that's not what I meant…
……
Naoto-kun said he has "things to mull over," but he's gotta be talking about the murder case.
He's some ace detective, right? I bet he's not satisfied… even though the case is closed.
That's true… but…
……
This place isn't our "special headquarters" anymore…
Eh, let's talk about something else.
Isn't the class trip coming up soon?
Um… Where are we going…?

I think I've heard of this place we're going, there was some weird disease outbreak there last year.



I heard it's an artificial island that faces the ocean. It's a pretty big city.
Huh? Port Island?
I did tons of shoots there. It's just beyond the Moonlight Bridge, yeah?
Should be lots of places to hang out there.
Uh, actually… we may not have any time to goof off during this trip.
I heard the school board is changing the trip's schedule this year.
The idea is, we're gonna visit a private school there. Like, to have local and urban students interact or something.
It'll be all about studying and serious business… Yuck.
Ugh… They're totally missing the point of a class trip.
What kinda place is this private school?
I heard it's really good. They have nice buildings and everything.
But it's closed on the day we're going there, so they're going the extra mile to make this work.
They want us to tour some factories on the second day, and then we're coming back on the third day.
That's not different from a social studies field trip!
Urgh… I didn't want to know that…
Can't expect much from a school-sponsored trip, I guess.

Kanji had the right idea I think.



I'll show you guys around!
But we're in different years…
Oh, didn't you know? The excursion will be like the campout. They're going to combine the first and second years.
Since student enrollment is down and they're low on funds, they've cut the excursion back to once every two years.
Well, at least we won't be bored with you around, Senpai.
Gosh, I'm trying to remember the last time I went to Port Island and I wasn't working… *chuckle * This'll be great!
I wish I could be that positive about it… Doesn't this seem like a pain in the ass to anyone else?
Some people were against the proposition, but it's been decided. Oh, and guess who's idea it was? King Moron's.
It's just the kind of thing he'd come up with…
Nooo… King Moron…! Why must you torture us from beyond the grave…!?
Noooo… King Moron…!
You don't even know who that is.
Hey, tell me more about this trip.
Where is Port Island? What's there?
Get back to work, will ya?
Well, even though the class trip is coming up, it's still a ways away.
What should I do until then…?
Well, it's not like we got much to do here in the first place…
Man is just an animal trying to figure out how to kill time through his days…

You know you screwed up hard when Chie manages to land a huge burn.



Yet it made absolutely no sense.
S-Sorry…
…Snrk.

Anyway, I headed to the hospital for a bit, Sayoko's really losing it.



> Sayoko isn't saying anything…
Did something happen?
…Stop it. Do you think you're some kind of counselor now?
I'm sorry…
There's no point in taking it out on you…
I just got a call from the hospital I last worked at.
The patient I was assigned to… died.
He was still just a little child…
He always said he wanted to go to school… But it looks like he'll never get that chance…
You know, he proposed to me… I told him I'd think about it when he became an adult.
But I… I forgot about him!
When I transferred here, I was so busy. I thought about him once in a while, but soon I just forgot…
But he was fighting for his life that entire time!
What am I doing…?

It's not her fault if she changed jobs, though.



I do… Of course I blame myself…
Why did I transfer…?
When a patient gets better, I get left behind… But, now I'm the one who left a patient behind…
There should've been something I could have done…
> Sayoko seems to be tormenting herself.

I tried to come up with something to say, but what could I?



Oh, I'm sorry…
…I'm glad you came today.
> Sayoko looks at you with need in her eyes…
> You feel that Sayoko trusts you.

Still, if I can help in any way that's good.



…I'll do it. There has to be something… anything I can do.
Goodbye.
> You left Sayoko and went home…

I just hope she doesn't do anything crazy.

9/2/11

It was nice this morning.



Lazy Student: I feel soooooo tired coming to school… Soooo sleeeepeeeee…
I can't believe that I was early for class every single morning until just about a month ago…
Gossipy Girl: You're so lucky compared to me. I've been studying for my entrance exams all summer…
By the way, I'm so relieved that they caught the guy behind those murders.
I was surprised that it turned out to be a student.
Lazy Student: I've seen so many shows interviewing the police by now…
I'm soooo sick of it.

But it started raining later on in the day. I saw Naoto around in the hallways and decided to see if he wanted to do anything.



Do you want something from me?
Let's go out.
……
No, I'd rather not.
> You were bluntly turned down.

Oh well. Anyway, I've sort of started to like walks in the rain, and headed down to the shopping district.



Attendant: The customers all seem to have stopped talking about it, like all of a sudden.
Is it all over now…? Be nice if it was.

That Namatame guy was also standing around.



If the police can't gather the evidence… the victims… Mayumi… won't be able to rest in peace…
I hope… that justice will be served…

Adachi was slacking off at Junes. Again.



It's sure coming down out there, huh? I think I'll stay in here a bit longer.

I decided to call the gang back up and see if anything had gotten better in the TV world since we caught the killer. But if anything, things were worse. A strong Shadow had appeared in Void Quest.

VIDEO- "Escapist Soldier"

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Boss Battle- Escapist Soldier
This is pretty much a straight slugfest. It's a big nasty robot guy who can really take a hit and likes to throw out strong physicals. If you can manage to come in with a physical-resistant Persona that would be a big help, but otherwise there's not much to say about this guy.

This is really just ridiculous, I'm pretty sure that damn thing came straight from a TV show. I did find some farcical video game sword, which looks sort of unwieldy but seems to work pretty well. I also managed to fill Margaret's request.



Ah! You have brought Black Frost, and he has Auto-Sukukaja… You have successfully completed the quest.
Do you know this Persona's tragic past?
Black Frost lived alone for over thousands of years…
While enduring this solitude, he prayed to the sky, over and over.
Pleading, "Give me a friend"…
Eventually, the god he served granted him a friend for a single day…
And the two of them frolicked through the fields, as happy as could be.
They spent many precious hours together… And then…
The sun set. The friend vanished…
Black Frost regretted his request.
If he had known he would have been left sad and lonely, he would never have asked for a friend in the first place.
Hence, Block Fro…
……
I didn't mispronounce it.
…Forget it. I made it all up anyway.
Did you believe me? Adults shouldn't be so easily swayed by what others say.
Anyhow, I appreciate that you showed me this wonderful card.
One after another, you make my every wish come true… What a gentleman.
Hmhm…
> Margaret is smiling gently…
> You became a little more intimate with Margaret…

She really did have me going.



Well then… For my next request…
Show me a Yatagarasu equipped with the Megido skill… If anyone can do this for me, it's you.
I eagerly await your return.

We bugged out of the TV world after that. I found Dojima reading the paper, and remembered to ask about that article he was looking for.



Ohh… Yeah, I found it. Were you worried about it?
……
It's about Chisato… my wife.
When she was killed by a hit-and-run…
……
I told you before, right? About the case where we never had a suspect?
Get it now…? There's nothing more I can say about it in this house.
Let's stop there.
Then let's go outside.
…Hah.
You win…
> Dojima sighs…
She…
Nanako's mother was run over on her way to pick up Nanako from nursery school.
It was a cold day, and there were no witnesses, so they didn't find her until much later.
Until they got word to me, Nanako was waiting all that time at the nursery… All alone.
Waiting for a mother who would never come…

I can't even imagine how that must have been.



That her father, whose job is to catch criminals… couldn't find a single lead…
……
But I haven't given up. I'll catch the guy.
I don't need a private life to do that. …Nanako will understand.
Is this what she wants?
Even if it's not what she wants now, she'll understand someday…
……
I have to tell myself that…
> Dojima looks exhausted…
Sorry… leave me alone for now.
…Souji.
Thanks.
> You can sense Dojima's pain…

What can I do, though?



Anyway, I wonder what Port Island is like? I guess I'll get to find out pretty soon.