Part 81: 11/7/11-11/8/11

11/7/11

Nanako's still in the hospital, she can't have any visitors they said. I ran into Naoto at lunch, she wanted to see me about something after school.



Umm… Do you have any plans after school? I'd like you to come with me…
Thank you. I will see you later, then.

After all that drama yesterday, I needed something to take my mind off of what's going on. Oh, and Mr. Yamada is a disgusting pervert.



Mr. Yamada: But ladies, it's no good to wear warm-ups under your skirts. …Why? Because no one can see your legs…
Er, that was a joke. Just my way of reminding you all to wear your school uniforms, got it?
Hmm, why don't I incorporate this cold weather into a geography question for you guys…?
I'll pick you, Souji-kun, since you don't even button the front of your uniform in cold weather!
The north or the south pole, which one is colder?

I read this in a book once.



Mr. Yamada: …How'd you know? Did you see it on TV or something? Anyway, you're right, the south pole is colder.
The south pole is in Antarctica, which is a land mass. Hence, snow accumulates, resulting in elevation changes.
The difference between their lowest temperatures is about 30 degrees Celsius.
In addition, the snowy mountains create a windchill, which makes the sensible temperature drop even further.
Don't assume it gets warmer as you go south. The weather is dictated by a region's geographical features.
Now, please get out your textbooks. Let's go over the…

Anyway after class was out Naoto and I headed down to the riverbank again to look over those cards one more time.



These cards came from Shiroku Store.
When I talked with the owner, her description matched the one you gave.
This "Phantom Thief" purchased these cards mere days before handing one to you…
If that's the case, it's hard to imagine that any elaborate process was performed on the card.
Although… I do detect the faint, lingering scent of citrus. A very weak cologne, perhaps…
*sigh * What should I do..?

I decided to lighten the mood a bit, which gave Naoto an idea.



Burn it… Reduce it to ashes? I don't suppose there's anything inside…
…Ah!
> Naoto has realized something.
Impossible… but… could it be…?
…Your house is closer. Let's go test it out now!

We headed down to my house. When Naoto walked over to the burners, I started to get where she was going with this.



> As the card was toasted with the fire from the stove, burnt letters appeared…
It really was invisible ink…
The citrus juices staining the paper burn first, making it legible…
A grown man, employing such childish tricks!?
And this sentence here…
> The card reads as follows…
Writing on the Card: Eating letters with a red face.
"Eating letters with a red face"…? This is…

Now this one I knew, I'd seen it every time I went to Daidara.



Ahh, indeed it is. You're good with riddles, I see.
> Naoto smiles. She seems to be having fun…
A mailbox… There was one in the shopping district. Let's go!

We rushed down to the shopping district to see what we could find.



> It seems there was something hidden behind the mailbox…
This is…
Grampa had this? Why did he keep it…?
What was it?
U-Umm…
> Naoto has a strange look on her face…
I made this… when I was a child.
It's a…
A… detective badge…
It has no real function, though…
A petty challenge… And the prize was this stolen detective badge…
…I have an idea who the Phantom Thief might be, but none as to his motive…
This is an important case to me.
And yet… without you, I'd never had cracked it.
Rather, I wouldn't have bothered…
…Thank you, Souji-san.
> Naoto is showing her unconcealed smile, a rare occurrence…
> You feel your relationship with Naoto has grown deeper…

It's really the least I can do, given how hard she threw herself into saving Nanako.



Normally, I'd think this isn't the time to play along with such games, but…
I, er… I think I'll let this play out… And, umm, if possible…
Let's do it.
Huh…?
Oh, y-yes… Let's.
> Naoto is blushing.
> You walked Naoto to her house and went home.

I'm still not used to walking into the house and not seeing Nanako or Dojima there. Dojima's tough, I'm sure he'll be okay. But Nanako… I just need to trust that she'll get better.

11/8/11

Naoto had received another card in her mail this morning, so we headed out to the riverbank again to take a look at it after school.



This was in my mailbox this morning.
The Phantom Thief knows where I live…
…Which means he had other reasons for having you deliver the first card.
Why you, though…?

I figured it might have been to make sure it got to her, though I'm not sure why that makes sense.



I don't think that's the sort of metric the culprit would use…
> Naoto is laughing heartily.
So then, what do you think of the contents of this card?
> The card reads as follows…
Writing on the Card: When the banks close, the fruit tree grows. By the large seven at the third is the spot I chose.
More cryptic this time. Well, I anticipated that.
The first thing that comes to mind with "fruit tree" is the original card.
But the second sentence…
"By the seven," "at the third"… What do these numerical values mean…?
"When the banks close, the fruit tree grows. By the large seven at the third is the spot I chose…"

The numbers were what was really out of place to me.



The numbers themselves…?
…The seven and the third…
> Naoto's eyes lit up.
When the banks close, the fruit tree grows…" Look at the third and seventh words…
"Banks" and "tree." In other words, "by the large tree at the banks is the spot I chose!"
A-Anyway, let's search for the biggest tree at this river's banks!
> You searched the river bank with Naoto…
> There was something buried by the tree you found…

It was a sort of strange looking watch.



> Naoto holds a digital watch, slightly large for a child's wrist.
This is pretty advanced, you know.
It's one of the seven tools of the detective. It has an extremely strong backlight.
You can use it to blind the enemy…
…I modified it when I was a child.
I've always loved this sort of thing, ever since childhood.
I preferred robots and cars to dolls and teddy bears…
I liked high places, so I had a secret base in the trees…
I enjoyed that…
Why…?
Why couldn't I have been born male…?
It would have been much easier for me… I could have done what I wanted to with gusto…
It's funny, isn't it…?
……

I, um, meant to tell her that she was just fine the way she was. It just sort of came out… awkward. I really don't know what came over me.



Huh…?
Wh-What are you saying…? Hrmph…
There's nothing good about it!
> Naoto is panicking fiercely…
Really… It's quite difficult to keep my composure when you're around.
I feel like I'm being lectured… Like I'm still a child…
……
> Naoto looks at her feet, embarrassed…
> You feel your relationship with Naoto has grown deeper…

I don't know, it just felt like the right thing to say at the time.



I-It seems I've been doing all the talking…
Why don't you tell me about yourself? What were you like as a child…?
…I wish I could have seen it.
> You chatted idly with Naoto, then went home.

Another night home, another night alone. I need to come up with something I can do to occupy my time, I'm running out of books to read already.