Part 220: Addendum IX: Sega Bass Fishing

Addendum IX: Sega Bass Fishing

For the third time in a row, I’m spending my birthday working on this fucking LP! And probably for many more birthdays to come!





Heading to Harajuku, huh? Let’s head to the meeting place.

Music: Break it Down




With this many people, there has to be gossip around, maybe even rumors about the Phantom Thieves. I’m curious to know what other people think about them.

You run a forum for the Phantom Thieves, my dude. I wouldn’t think you’d be hurting for info.

We might even find a bad guy or two… Well, just you wait. This is going to be helpful, Hamiru. I can promise you that.

I’m sure.





Oh, Sakamoto.



It’s not what it looks like, Ryuji! We’re not hanging out!

Took you long enough to notice me… What are you doing out, Sakamoto? Could you be… on a date!?
Hell no!

Ryuji is weirdly offended by Mishima’s accusation that he’s getting some.

I’m lookin’ for workout clothes. Heard they’ve got a pretty sweet selection here. But some of ‘em are dirty… And have a funky smell…




They’re probably used…
Well, you guys free? Wanna grab a bite?
We haven’t found anything yet… What do you think?




What do you want to eat? Can we get crepes?
What are you, a chick?

And then they went to go eat.

Oh, crap… I forgot all about our investigation… I guess I should go home for now. Thanks for today.

Well, that’s one side event down, but we’ve got another to see before we do anything else.





Let’s meet up then.
Meiji Shrine, huh? I never thought Lady Ann would be into that traditional stuff… Oh, we shouldn’t make her wait. Let’s go.

Music: Some old shrine-ish music that isn’t on the soundtrack



Should we try praying to the gods, too? It could be about us.




O-Oh, uh, don’t get the wrong idea! I meant “us,” like, the Phantom Thieves!

Ann, we’re dating. What the fuck are you talking about?

Oh, but… I don’t really know how to pray properly. What should I do? Maybe I’ll ask someone…




OH GOD, ABORT MISSION

Are you on a date? Such an odd location for someone your age.

Maaku is just sweating profusely. Takemi will murder us if she figures this out.




*gulp*

Um… Is this someone you know, Maaku?
Don’t worry about me. I don’t intend to intrude.



Oh… I assume you’re here for your college entrance exams. You had mentioned them before.

Yes, and I was lying.

Shake the bell twice and put in your offering. Then bow twice, clap twice, and bow once again. ...Wasn’t that what you wanted to ask?




Sure. Although… You may want to use this time to actually study for the exams instead of praying.



That’s the doctor who gets us our medicine.
Oh, I see… Wait, you’ve been here the whole time!?
How rude! I’m here to protect you…!
Yeah, sure… Anyway, what is this about praying for college entrance exams?
We asked earlier if she could get us some super stimulants to help us study.
Ah, I see.



A cheater? None of those around here, hehehe! _{I think we fooled her, guys}

Thanks for today. Let’s go home.



After those pointless events, we head into Mementos to take care of some requests. But… there’s a problem. One of our requests, taking care of Hifumi’s mother, is in a block of Mementos that isn’t available yet. I had assumed that the game put requests only in blocks that were accessible at the time you can get to them. I was incorrect in this assumption, clearly. It really throws a wrench in some of my plans, though.



Also, we fuck up against the twins again while we’re here.



Anyway, time to fish! The rain is good for this for a few reasons, one of which is that the Guardian, the ultimate fish, is much more likely to show up.



The other reason is that almost every single fish will have a tag on it. Catching a fish with a tag will double our point gain for its capture. Because I have read the fishing guide from Shinjuku, using Third Eye while fishing will show me which fish have tags. Those fish are shimmering in this picture, while the golden one is the Guardian.



We fail to catch the Guardian once again, sadly.



However, we get the Miracle Rod, the best rod in the game, while we’re here. This rod has five “HP,” which are drained each time we fuck up and the bobber in the fishing bar is thrown all the way to either side. The starting rod only has two, with every rod increasing by one. Your rod also carries over between playthroughs.



A few days later, we try again. Come on, Guardian, show me what you’re made of.






COME ON YOU MOTHERFUCKER



I’m not gonna make it…!



We did it!



Way to go! You caught the Guardian! I can really feel your love for the fishing pond.




We end the evening with 25,000 points, which still isn’t nearly enough for the best rewards. We probably won’t come back here again. Oh well, time to exercise!



If you think of this wooden dummy as your friend, not just a tool, you’ll get even better results. ‘






We get incredible gains from using the dummy to our full potential here.

Ohya Rank 9: Part 140: 11/11

Music: Alright (Elp Version)





That couple act…



Let’s take one out of the ol’ Navarro playbook.



Th-Then… wait. You really thought we were dating?






B-But, I… um… I… What I’m trying to say is…




If you’re this smooth now, who knows how big of a player you’re gonna be when you get a little older!

Oh, believe me, you have no idea.

You’re gonna dump me, huh!?



...Just kidding. I’d understand if you decided to dump me someday though. I mean, you have a bright future ahead of you… so I’d probably just be holding you back. …… But I guess I can stick around until then.





Let’s keep this a secret from Lala-chan… God, I can already hear her teasing me about it!

Maybe you deserve it for dating a teenager.



Well then… Good night.



Anyway, because Hifumi’s request couldn’t be completed earlier, we need to come back to Mementos as soon as that block unlocks. And while we’re here, we might as well fight the twins again, right?









Uh-oh.



A crit? Fuck.



Baton Pass!?



Thankfully, all they do here is Dekaja with Pixie to get rid of an automatic buff. They can also Dekunda away any debuffs on themselves when they Baton Pass. It can actually get much worse for us than that; if we don’t have any buffs or debuffs up, they’ll start targeting the rest of the party’s weaknesses.




You know, this isn’t going unbelievably terribly. We’ve made more progress than we ever have before, even if most of the party is dead.




Uhhhhhhhh, what?











FUCK

Okay, so if it wasn’t clear: this battle is on a timer. We have to deal enough damage to the two before five turns elapse or they’ll use Ardha to unavoidably knock us down and then use their All-out Attack to kill us instantly. It’s hilarious.




Well then, let’s go to Sky Tower today. I wanna see that view. OK, let’s head out. Lala-chan, put it on my tab.

Ohya Romance

Music: What’s Going On?



...It reminds me of the time I came here with Kayo.



Aww, how sweet.

Since I’ve been re-examining my career as a journalist recently… I wanted to come back here. And… I wanted to talk to you about…



Sorry.



The draft went through!? Whoa! Nice job getting the approval!



It’s about their origin and the root of the problem they’re trying to solve. ...I think it really captures the spirit of journalism.




The higher-ups were against it, but this expose has been very popular with our readers. Since we’ve sold so many copies, there’s nothing they can do about it… or us. So, we’re planning to throw in additional articles while we have the chance.




Music: Sunset Bridge



I’m going to uncover the truth… I swear to Kayo. Thanks… again. Whenever I felt like giving up, you encouraged me to keep going. It’s all thanks to you that I was able to get this far…




The chief’s change of heart happened exactly the same way as those other cases. And the timing was absolutely perfect. You’re the only one who could have orchestrated all that.



Lala-chan’s more of a… phantom menace. Aw crap, she’s gonna be so pissed! I’m convinced from all the recent coverage that the Phantom Thieves truly are valiant. Helping the weak… Punishing the bad… They actually do all those things. In a sense, you and I have the same objective. We both want to expose the ills of society… Sooo, I won’t tell anyone about your true identity. Let’s form a united front to fight evil. ...If it weren’t for you, I never would have been able to return to my journalist self.



How cheesy.

I’m gonna return the favor one of these days, all right?



I feel a strong bond with Ohya…



Music: Sweet



Let’s go someplace I can have fun with a minor… Like, maybe an amusement park…?

I thought the purpose of this was to do the opposite of infantilize me.

Or…





I cannot imagine what Ichiko’s home looks like. The closest I can get is picturing a hovel filled with empty alcohol containers.

I’m not a very good cook, but I’ll make you something…




I just want to… relax with you. Eat some delicious food, have some dessert, lie around…?



Well, that’s… up to you. ...Shall we go?

The scene fades out...



And then we’re immediately back home talking to Morgana, so I guess we weren’t there for very long!

Anyway, that’s the romance for Ichiko Ohya, our resident disaster lesbian. It’s nice that at least the onus is on the cooking and emotional intimacy rather than the steamy sex with an adult here. Well, mostly.