Part 75: 10/25/11-10/27/11

10/25/11

I saw Naoto at lunch.



Ah, yes… There haven't been any further developments regarding the card.
I suspect that it is mostly a prank in poor taste. I apologize for troubling you with it.
> Naoto seems calm, but…
> Maybe you should walk her home after school…

I was sort of worried to be quite honest.



…Ah, yes. Do you have time you can spare with me today?
> Naoto has asked you out…
> …Come to think of it, someone had sent Naoto a mysterious card.
> Maybe it would be best if you walked her home…
Oh, n-no, I'll be fine by myself!

But yeah I wasn't going to take any arguing when someone's safety is at stake.



Umm, well… If you don't mind…
> Naoto seems a bit relieved, despite her protests…

Naoto found something in her locker as we got ready to leave.



This was in my shoe locker.
> Naoto is holding a sealed letter…
That card business again…?
I thought so too, at first… But it seems that's not the case.
This time, the sender's name is clearly written…
> Naoto is looking at the letter intently.
Judging by the name and the handwriting, the sender is a woman. She thoughtfully provided her year and class.
When one factors in the heart-shaped seal as well, it's hard to imagine that this is related to my job in any way.
In other words… there is no need to read it.
*sigh * I apologize. I wasted your time with this pointlessness.
How misleading… A sealed letter at a time like this…

Naoto sure didn't seem happy about it.



I cannot dispose of it on school premises, of couse…
I'll take it home and feed it to the shredder.
> Naoto's words are blunt…
Whether the sender is male or female, I have no intention of responding.
I have no time to be dilly-dallying with callow love affairs… I assume the same is true for you?
Saying they love me without even knowing me… Ludicrous.
…Let's go.
Would you like to stop somewhere on the way? There are still some questions I have regarding the murders.
> Naoto is taking the case seriously…
> You feel your relationship with Naoto has grown deeper…

Naoto might be right, we've got way too much going on right now for something like that. Certainly makes me feel better about… certain past events.



Then, shall we be off?
> You talked with Naoto about the murders…
> You walked Naoto to her house and went home.

Still, I have fun when we get together and talk about the case.

10/26/11

I think Yukiko is looking forward to this group date thing.



The Culture Festival is just around the corner.
Let's all do our best to prepare for it.
Okay.
Our class was late on deciding what to do, and Ms. Kashiwagi has been very busy, right?
So, we need to pick up the slack and make sure we do a good job.
……
…Oh! I'm not interested in the "blind date" part! Understand!?
I-I'm not, okay!?

They're not letting up on us in class, either.



Ms. Sofue: I'm sure you all know the eight-legged sea creature, the octopus, right?
"Oct" means "eight" in Latin. Then why is October the 10th month of the year?
Some say that a Roman emperor added a month to the calendar by naming his birth month after him.
Don't you think emperors are frightening figures sometimes? Although, they're the ones who've defined history to this day.
Let's get back to the lecture. I'll discuss the beginning of the Reconquista…

Naoto and I went down to the bookstore in the shopping district for a while after school, and after that I headed down to the hospital to work for a bit. I didn't see Sayoko around, and I found out why pretty quickly.



Middle-Aged Nurse: We're going to be needing this room, so can you get all your cleaning supplies out of here?
Is there an emergency?
Middle-Aged Nurse: Uehara-san… One of the nurses just collapsed.
She needs to rest, but the doctors on break are using the lounge, so…
She seems overworked… Er, don't tell anyone I said that, okay? I'd rather not get hauled in for a review.
…Here, help me.
> A nurse laid Sayoko down on the bed and injected her with a syringe…

She's really working way too hard.



I was just a little wobbly…
Overworking, I hear?
They're trying to get rid of me. I'm always pressuring them to do their jobs.
*sigh * I'm lucky they didn't tie me down with an IV. I'm all right now…
I'll be going.
> It seems Sayoko is still set on continuing to work.
> What should you do…?
Don't do it all yourself.
Wh-What? Why are you acting so high and mighty…?
……
I mean…
I might be able to save someone's life.
I need to do what I can. I can't spend time worrying about myself.
Otherwise… I'd never be able to face him again…

I don't think he'd want her to kill herself, though.



O-Of course he would…
Wouldn't he…?
……
Oh… I see. I…
I was doing it for myself…
I wanted to escape the pain…
I was working hard, to avoid feeling anything at all…
I see that now…
Haha… I'm so stupid.
> Sayoko seems to be holding back tears…
I get it… Yeah, I get it…
Thank you…
> Sayoko tries to smile…
> You feel that you were able to give Sayoko some support…

After all, she can't help anyone if she dies.



…I'm going to rest for a little while longer. You can go now.
Don't look at me…
> You left Sayoko and went home…

10/27/11

Yosuke had an… unusual amount of spring in his step as we walked up to school. I wish I didn't know why now.

VIDEO- "> Punch Yosuke"

Click Here For Video!

Hey, what kind of event did the classes at your old school do during Culture Festivals?
The school here in Inaba has a bunch of different events for our Culture Festival!
I guess this is one of the few school events that everybody actually looks forward to.
I'm looking forward to it.
I know, right? I hope it gets really interesting, especially for some events in particular…

There was a crowd by the bulletin board as I entered.



> "The Miss Yasogami High Pageant!"
> …It seems to be announcing a beauty pageant that will take place during the Culture Festival.
Disinterested Student: Ugh… On top of planning it, Kashiwagi's gonna be in it…?
Appalled Student: So that's why she agreed to plan this event…
> The name "Noriko Kashiwagi" is indeed on the entry list…
> The other contestants are…
> You see a list of familiar names!
> "Yukiko Amagi"
> "Chie Satonaka"
> "Rise Kujikawa"
> "Naoto Shirogane"
> "Hanako Ohtani"
> It's a surprising lineup…
Disinterested Student: One, two… Wow, there's a lot of signups here. I'm surprised so many people took an interest.
Appalled Student: Whoa, Rise Kujikawa!? Seriously? Oh man, trust a celebrity to kill the fun of it all…
Disinterested Student: I bet she'll draw a huge crowd.

I already had a sinking feeling about this.



Yukiko Fan: If this was any other year, she'd win for sure… now she's up against Risette!
It's gonna be a Culture Festival to remember…
Rise Fan: Huh? Risette's entering!? She's gonna take part in something like this!?
Maybe I better think more seriously about saving a seat…
Chie Fan: Look, Chie's entering too. She's actually pretty close to my type.
Yukiko Fan: Actually, I hear she has a lot of secret admirers.
Naoto's that boyish… girlish… whatever, right? You know, she's, uh… pretty cute, hehehe.
Glasses-Wearing Student: Dude, you sound like a pervo when you laugh like that…
B-But, to be honest… I think she's cute, too… Hehehe.
> It seems that each girl already has fans…

At that point Yosuke came suspiciously by.



Are you free for lunch? I dunno why, but Chie asked us to come to the roof.
She looked pretty serious… I wonder if something's happened.
Oh, and Kanji's coming, too.
> You were called out to the rooftop during lunch.
> Did something happen…?

Yeah I thought that list had familiar handwriting.



F-For what?
The beauty pageant! You wrote down our names without telling us, didn't you!?
N-No! It wasn't me! Why do you automatically blame me!?
I-I mean, if you don't wanna do it, you just say no, right? Like it was just a joke.
We wouldn't be so pissed if we could do that!
With Kashiwagi planning this year's event, even those who got entered by other people can't back out!
Seriously? Must've been something in the fine print I overlooked…
So it was you!
Oh crap…!
Hey… Do you want us to take part in the beauty pageant?
W-Well yeah.
I mean, you guys know how popular Yukiko is here. And on top of that, we have an idol and a Detective Prince.
What's the point of having a beauty pageant if all these incredible heroines aren't going to take part!?
So where do I fit in!?
……
Well, excuuuse me for not fitting in!!
Hey, you want them to be in it too, don'tcha, Kanji!?
Huh…? I ain't interested in that stuff…
Naoto-kun… Kanji-kun says that he really wants you to be in it.
Wha--!? I-I didn't say nothing!
What about you? You want them to be in it, right?

Dammit, Yosuke's the king of these prick questions where there's no good answer. He's my bro, so I'll back him up, but I have a sinking feeling there's going to be some kind of retribution for this.



Ahh…
I thought you might be a little jealous, not wanting me to show off to other guys. But I guess you're not that uptight.
Hey… You guys are inching onto the bandwagon with Yosuke, aren't you?
So long as there are people looking forward to seeing me, I might as well put on a show for 'em.
Of course, there's no need to involve my agency in this.
Th-That's right! That's the way to go! Teddie's looking forward to it too.
Actually, I think he was more excited than anyone. It was him who was pushing me to sign you all up.
Ugh, so Ted's behind this too…
We're in an awkward position… If we can't refuse, I suppose there's no sense in arguing the point…
But it seems ill-fitting for someone like me to get up on stage…
I wonder if there's any way I could take it up with the school authorities…
I-I… don't think it's a problem at all.
I-I mean, just do it! Ya know… Seriously!
Dude… Looks like your blood's boiling even more than usual…

Kanji is really bad at talking to girls. I mean, like, scary bad.



So, is it a deal? The four of us will be in the beauty pageant?
Wh-What are you saying!?
Um… I beg you, please be in it.
If you do, my, uh, doubts will finally be cleared…
C'mon! Make me a man!
Doubts…? What are you talking about?
L-Look, just do it, dammit! I m-mean, you're an ace detective, aren't ya!?
Wha--!? What does that have to do with a beauty pageant!?
*gasp * *gasp *

Anyway, after school we spent some time working on this group date café thing.



Where'd you guys go?
Over to Junes. We had to go get some paint and cloth.
Ohh, for the decorations.
Female Class Rep: Thank you. Did you have them write you an invoice?
Yeah, I think they understood what it was for, so they wrote it without us having to ask.
Male Class Rep: There's some things I want to go over about the day of the event.
Is this about the group date café…?
Male Class Rep: Yes, since Yosuke's leading the executive committee.
Wait, what!?
Male Class Rep: It was your proposal, right?
Are you serious…?
Male Class Rep: Well, all you have to do is the reception.
After people sign in, have a few guys and girls sit facing each other at a table…
Conduct a short session first where they ask each other questions.
After about half an hour of that, it'll be confession time. Get them to select the number of the person they like.
If the other person accepts, that makes them a couple… Hey Yosuke, you listening?

Yosuke's not terribly focused.



Slacker Student: Hey, if we roll up this bit of cloth, won't it be kinda like a ball?
Follower Student: Yeah! Okay, I'll be the catcher!
Enthusiastic Student: Why the catcher…?
Hey, Yosuke! Wanna be the batter?
*sigh *
Ahh, I don't give a damn anymore! I'm in! Watch me slam that ball right back in your face!
Female Class Rep: Hey! You guys better get serious about this!
> The group date café that your class will be running at the Culture Festival is getting underway…

This is going to end so badly. Dojima was finally home, and had something for me.



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 50000 yen from Dojima.

Next Time on Persona 4: Karma