Part 70: 10/9/11-10/11/11

10/9/11

That guy who was afraid of cats seems to have turned things around.



> The man is covered in scratches…
Ailurophobe: The Red Goldfish you gave me… Thanks to that, the kitties were all over me!
Ooh, those kittie-witties were soooo cute! The feeling of their soft fur is great!
I almost want to get married more for the cat than Miyoko-san! Ooh, I want a kitty-kiss!
> You accomplished the request written on the ema!

I think this dude kind of went overboard. Anyway I stopped by with Hisano afterwards.



My husband's tsuki meinichi is today, and I've just come back from visiting his grave.
That must have been tough.
Oh, no. The cemetery is right over there. I don't have to walk very far.
> Hisano smiles gently…
Do you know what Death is?
Death is the entity that takes people to the gods.
For those trying to reach the gods, and to the families of those people, Death can be an ally.
I don't really know.
When a person dies… the people who are left behind start to grieve, right?
"Why did that person have to die?" That's the question everyone wants to know the answer to.
How is it right that this life had to come to an end…?
The person did nothing wrong, and yet…
We want to think that they went to the gods…
They've been summoned to Heaven, and there's nothing we can do about it. We try to convince ourselves of that…
Sometimes… we look forward to Death taking them up to the gods…
……
You don't quite understand it yet, do you?

I'm sort of happy that I really don't.



That's how it should be. The innocence and happiness of youth.
> Hisano smiles gently…
> You can feel the kindness in Hisano's heart.

But I'm still not sure why she calls herself Death.



I looked forward to Death too much… and became Death myself.
……
Before I realized it, I…
I'm sorry. You don't want to hear this, do you?
I'm going home now. You be careful, too.
> You left Hisano and went home.

10/10/11

Had the day off today, I decided to talk to Hisano again.



…Why do you keep coming back?
It must be boring, listening to this old bag's stories…
It's actually interesting.
Well, you're just a special boy, aren't you?
> Hisano smiles cheerfully.
Enough about me. I want to hear something from you. Tell me anything.

I decided to talk about my horrible girl-based failures.



> You talked about girls.
Oh my. I think you're going to break a lot of young ladies' hearts.
> Hisano smiles cheerfully.
I wish I could listen to your stories forever and ever.
> Hisano is thanking you for spending time with her…
> You feel your relationship with Hisano has grown even deeper.

And that's when she dropped a bombshell on me.



But… I do not want to see you anymore.
Why not?
I'm sorry… You just remind me of him too much…
> Hisano smiles sadly…
Thank you for everything…
Goodbye…
> Hisano left…
> After saying she didn't want to see you again, she left without giving you a chance to respond…
> What should you do…?
> The sun has set, so you decide to go home.

I have no idea what to do about this, I'll have to think it through.

10/11/11

Exams are worrying everyone I think.

VIDEO- "Studying"

Click Here For Video!

We've got midterms later this week, huh?
Oh, hey! We should have a study session with everybody else after school!
We're all in the same boat, right? Let's help each other out!

Oh Chie.



That's right, help each other.
……
…Okay, so what if I'm more on the "being helped" side than the "helping others" side?
Come on! Help those of us who are academically-challenged! I'll invite everyone! Please!

It doesn't help that they're still going over new material that'll be on the exams.



Ms. Sofue: I'm gonna spend a little time covering the king who served during the golden age of the Bourbon dynasty, Louis XIV…
Known as one of the most prolific rulers in France, he's also remembered for his famous line, "I am the State."
His achievements turned France into one of Europe's most prestigious nations, earning him the title of "Sun King."
He excelled in politics, and he's also the one responsible for building the Palace of Versailles.
So… the Sun King certainly left his mark in history, but he also had an interesting personal quirk.
Let's see… Souji, would you stand up, please?
What part of his physical appearance was the Sun King, Louis XIV, most concerned with?

I mean you just need to look at a painting of the guy to see he was overcompensating.



Ms. Sofue: Hohoho… You're right. He was a short man, who was concerned about his height.
One record says he wore shoes with an 8 centimeter heel, and that he even specially ordered his wig.
That wig alone was an astounding 20 centimeters tall!
On top of that, he wore a hat with gorgeous feathers so he'd be seen as a great man worthy of being a king.
Hoho, knowing that, doesn't it make you identify with him a little? Even though he was a monarch, he was still human.
So… midterms start at the end of this week. Don't forget to review.

We headed to the food court at Junes after school.



Hey, greetings to you.
Greetings to you.
Looks like you're having fun.
Yo.
Wow, everyone's here.
So many people!
Why did everyone come here?
Exam study group!
*sigh * Times like these, I'm jealous of Teddie…
Come on now. Let's start with proving the trigonometric identities.
Argh… Jumping straight into math…
Ours is the section on trig functions, right? The one where we find the area of a triangle given two sides and-
Huh? You find the area of a triangle with… You know, that thing.
Uhh, base by height by 2?
If you don't mind, shall I teach you?
Oh? Are you as smart as I thought? Could you uh… lend me a hand too…?
Oh, um… I wouldn't know where to begin with second-year subjects.
Aww… What's up with that? Useless after all…

Yosuke's going to get hit one of these days.



Hehehe… I think I've figured out what buttons to push to get Naoto-kun riled up.
You're pretty cute when you're angry.
Wh-What are you talking about!?
That's it, I quit. This just ain't my thing… The hell with the exams. 's time for my animal crackers.
Ooh, can I have some too? I wanna find the penguin!
Hands off the penguin! It's mine!
*sigh * Forget it. I can't think…
Teddie said he doesn't know who he is. That's so weird.
…My life on this side is really fun.
But the more I feel that way, the more I want to know who I really am…
I've surfed the net, read manga, watched TV…
I even went to a place called the libeary, but I still can't find anything about me…
Dude, I'd be surprised if you did.
Still, I'm starting to get an idea…
An idea?
Whoa, isn't this your first time sharing a theory about yourself!?

This was definitely more interesting than studying.



But now, I have a feeling that it was born from the minds of people on this side…
And over in that place filled with Shadows, I think I was some sort of special being…
A "special being"?
I don't remember anything from back then, though…
Maybe it's that "amnesia" thing I read about in a book the other day.
It's true… There are some aspects of the other world that make it seem as though it's rooted in human thoughts.
Still, there's no point in applying the principles of logic and deduction to a place like that…
But the fact that you existed in such a world from the beginning adds credibility to your theory.
There is little doubt that you are a "special being" on the other side.
If you yourself know nothing about it, perhaps it's true that part of your memory is missing.
Tell me, what is the earliest memory you can call to mind?
It's from a while ago. I've always lived there, as far as I could tell.
Then it started to get noisy, so when I happened to bump into Sensei and Yosuke, I asked them to do something about it…
I see… If you've always been on that side, you'd have no sense of time or days…

Nanako was looking sort of confused, and rightly so.



I'm sorry, Nanako-chan. We didn't mean to leave you out…
Hey… I think Teddie must be a king.
I read in a story that a king was all alone inside a forest because of a bad guy's curse.
Isn't that what happened to you, Teddie?
A King… Well! When you put it that way, it sounds about right…
Teddie…? A King…?
*giggle * I can see him wearing a cape…
Sheesh, Yukiko… You go into laughing fits in front of anyone now…
Can we… not talk about Teddie being a King…?
Hm? What's with that face…?
Teddie really was a King.
There were all these other Kings too, and we all-

Okay, not for innocent ears there.



Quiet, you! Not in front of Nanako-chan!
> Everyone left their seats to go buy drinks with Nanako.
Am I really a King?
Maybe so.
Mwahaha! If I am a King, I'll get to smooch girls every day!
> Teddie is smirking…
I have this fuzzy feeling that I'll find out sooner or later with your help, Sensei.
> You sense Teddie's strong trust…

Still, his heart's in the right place.



Big bro, Teddie, is melon soda okay?

I'm sure we'll learn the truth one day.