Part 112: Wednesday's Changes ~ Kuri/Kuze Case Files

Wednesday's Changes ~ Kuri/Kuze Case Files

Not going to be able to fit all of the stuff we need to cover in Wednesday and Thursday into one update, so we'll just focus on Wednesday for now. There's a surprisingly large amount to say we've already beaten Lilith, so it's nice to have that out of the way.



While we're at it, let's get this bit out of the way now. Need to do it sooner or later and since this is apparently the run where we do nothing but terrible decisions...

[Music: Exploration]



(Psst... Hey Hibiki!)

You find Daichi hiding...

Hey there, Daichi!



...What!? I don't believe this! Like I'd care about something like that!
Heheh, is that so? Here I thought you were just being a sore loser...
(Crap! Hide...!)

[Music: Silence]





Awww, don't be sore. Who knows, maybe yours will get bigger someday too.
Bh...! Grrr! Choke and die, stupid Hina!

[Music: A Moment of Rest]

(Wh-Whoa...! This is... This is amazing! Wow! I've never been so glad to be alive!)
What a maroon.



U-Um... Airi... Hinako... I think that's enough, okay?
(Gyaaah...! Th-That voice... I-It's Io!)
C'mon... Um, it's not that important, right? Shouldn't we try to get along...?
Get along, eh...? Harsh, Io! Doesn't sound very sincere, coming from you.
H-Huh...!? I-I didn't mean...!
Oh, I don't mind. It's just Ai who keeps making a fuss, ignoring how tiny hers are.
What!? Are you blind!? Mine are... not... tiny!
...This is ridiculous. Who cares?
(Hm...? That voice... Um... Oooohhhh...)
(Wh-Whoa... Oh man! Such... bounty...!)
Wow...!
Whoa... You... You win...



What's all the fuss? Those who've been examined can return to their rooms.
(Yes...! Perfect timing, Makoto!)
Hm... What's the matter? Something feels off...



Hello, Otome. It seems these children were...
(Whoa... An unknown beautify!? Who's that lady!? Decisions, decisions...)
(Ugh, choices! Sexy women, or playful younger girls...?)
You can be so dumb.



(Wh--!? J-Joe! When did you get here...!?)
Huh...? Don't underestimate men, little dude. I've been here from the start.
(...What!? Where were-- I mean, how can you talk normally without anyone hearing you!?)



(...No way...)
Sure. C'mon, give it a try. You'll do fine.
(Wh-What're you talking about? That's just ridiculous...)
Try it!
(S-Seriously...? Hmm... Does that really work?)



[Music: Countdown]



Whoa... Crap! Run!

[Music: Exploration]



Maaan, that was close. That won't cut it, kids. You gotta be more shadowy.
What're you talking about!? You're the one who said it would all be fine...!



That's ridiculous! You came here to peep...!

[Music: Silence]

Whoa... Wh-What was that? An earthquake...!?
Felt like it. But something seems weird...



Is this Kuze!? Sorry, but I have bad news.
What is it?

[Music: Crumbling Routine]

Megrez is back. All of them, including the one your group defeated!
JP's squads are dealing with them now! We need you to go in as backup!



Request for backup.
What!? What the hell!? Aren't things coming on a little thick today!?



Hm...? Hey, it's the unknown beauty from just now. The mature, sexy one.

[Music: Exploration]



Ack...! Idiot! N-No, we're fine! Not a scratch on us!
I see. Well, that's good to hear. I'll go check on the others, then.

The woman leaves...

Hmm... That lady just now was the doctor, right? Maybe some folks were hurt in the quake.
Yeah, that's probably it... Man, Joe, you can be a real blabbermouth!
Haha, a slip of the tongue. Let's at least make up for it by moving out...

You leave with Daichi and Joe...

Yeah, so we go check it out. Alcor turns up, clicks his fingers and the bud dies. He exposits for a bit, then we leave and now we can hang out with the ladies (minus Otome and Makoto).



There's enough time to fit all four in at once. How convenient!



Oh, it's you, Hibiki. Are you looking out for "buds" too? Mako told me about it.
Wait... Did you hear any rumors about me, too?
Yes.
Hmmm... Yes, you're a guy. I knew you'd have heard, Hibiki.



...But I think having a balance of all attributes makes me the winner, right?
As a male, what's your opinion?
You're the winner.
Reeeeeeallyyyyyy... That's suspicious... Well, thanks anyway!



Mako said they might be some of the rioters still hanging around...
But maybe they wanted to see me especially!
Could be.
Yeah, you understand. Maybe you're one of them! ...Naaaah, just kidding!
Well, anyway, I'm going to keep my eyes open for these "bud" things.
I might as well do some sightseeing in Tokyo, too. See ya later!

Hinako walks away...



Yeah, so, these are mostly about that conversation we overheard. Some try quite badly to hide it though...



...Oh, Hibiki. Stand there for a minute. Now, straighten your back.

Airi stands very close to you and stares into your face...

......
Why is there such a difference? It's depressing me...
What's wrong?
...Nothing. It's none of your business.

Airi pushes you away...

H-Hey... I want to ask you something.



If you have a secret... I'll listen.
I hang upside-down.
Whaaaat!? You really do that!?



I can't do it! I don't want to!

Airi sighs...

Hmph... That went nowhere. I wanted to hear something useful.
Whatever! I'm gonna go look for these "buds," and do some sightseeing while I'm at it!

Airi stalks away, in an even fouler mood than before...



Now, when I said mostly I was on about three of them. Naturally, Fumi gives no fucks about that.



Man, this sucks... Like I said...
What's the matter?
Oh, it's Hibiki. The physical exam. That's the matter.



The delta waves are a hint, but...
Cowabunga!
What? ...Oh. How droll. I refer to BRAINwaves.
I just underwent a standard EEG.



There isn't any equipment to carry out a detailed exam, and I saw no irregularities.
I knew that, of course. I was saying that it was a waste of time all along.



...But they'd have to be compatible with the machine, too. This will be tough...

Fumi walks away, talking to herself...



And finally, we could skip Io's scene here too but eh. We've the time to do it so why not. Plus it's probably the best of the bunch.



[Music: A Moment of Rest]

Man... I'm on fire! It was super busy because of Megrez, but the girls' physicals...!
Girls are so well-endowed these days! I wish I could start handing out awards.
But Io is always number one!





Gah!? I-Io!?
Uh... We're just talking! Right, Hibiki?
We're reporting our finds.
Reporting on your finds...?



Hehehe... What's wrong, you two? You're talking funny.
So what was so "perfect"?
Bahaha! You have good ears!
You said it all weird. What happened?



Bahaha... ha...♪ Oh, Daichi. You're so funny!
Hey Hibiki, what did he mean by "perfect"?
You.





No, we were saying how you're really smart and fight demons... So cool!
...Just perfect!
O-Oh, thanks...
Heh... Heheheheh... What a terrible excuse!♪
Excuse?
What're you saying, Joe!? Dammit! Let's retreat!

Daichi walks away, dragging a snickering Joe along with him...

...... I wonder what happened...

Io seems puzzled as Daichi and Joe leave...

Now we'll skip quite a fair bit ahead. Several hours even...



But in the interim, we'll take a quick pit stop to refight Lilith for fun.



Primarily because she's a major joke now. Ban Curse utterly stops her Temptation race skill absolutely dead in its tracks. Makes it even easier than it was before.

[Music: Exploration]



So, yeah, no challenge there. Let's just kick back do a bunch of stuff involving Ronaldo. For a long, long time.



Ah, Hibiki. I'm glad it's you. JP's has been patrolling this area lately too...
Hello.
Perfect timing, though. Do you remember what I told you last time?
About your superior?
Right... About my superior who went missing while investigating Hotsuin.

[Music: Dark Clouds]

Did you get around to asking Hotsuin about that?
I did.
I see... and what did he say? Did he deny it?
He didn't care.



I'm gonna blow his conspiracy wide open... He won't get away this time!
How will you do that?
Remember how I told you that my superior also had his nose in Hotsuin's business?



Even if Hotsuin's tampered with the official records, that data must be somewhere.
If we can take advantage of the situation to find it, we can expose Hotsuin's schemes.
Where is this data?
Well, I already asked a friend to access the main branch, but it wasn't kept there.



What about his house?
His house? Hm... I didn't know him that well. I'm not good with family members...
Wait... his family! If we can track them down, then maybe...!
Can you find them?



I heard rumors that she signed up with the Nagoya branch of JP's...
If only we could find her...
Who is it?
I think her name was--
I-It's Ronaldo! He's over here!

[Music: Countdown]

Argh...! We'll talk later!



Yeah, why?
Th-That was the ringleader of the group who hit the Nagoya branch the other day...!
Now that we all know his face, he's trying to get close to you and your friends!
You're exaggerating it.
I'm not! He really is that much of a bastard!
Excuse me, but I need to go after him. Get back here, Ronaldo!

The JP's member chases after Ronaldo...

[Music: Exploration]



Hey, there's a first. Ronaldo got above Fate 1 at last. Only took until the third playthrough



If we hadn't already met Dera-Deka, figured out he was related to Airi and had him straight up tell us as he bled out, the game would casually throw it out now. There's no incorrect scenes for if you can't figure it out or anything. Kinda disappointing, really.



Oh... Hey, Hibiki. Is something up?
I came to see you.
Huh? You did...!? Well, that's a surprise...



What's wrong?
Huh...? Uh, what do you mean? You don't need to hear about this stuff...

Airi falls silent...

I'm sorry.

[Music: Elegy]

...It's okay.
...I only have a brother and a mom. They were both at my grandma's when the quake...
What about your dad?



He, like... disappeared one day and that was it.
I don't even know if he died, to tell the truth...
Maybe he just ran away? Haha...
......
See, it got all depressing! Happy now? That's all I can tell you.
Know anything else?
About my dad? Nope, nothing.



Umm... you wanna see? I don't know why you would...
Yeah.
Um, okay. I don't think it'll be much fun to look at...

Airi pulls out a pocketbook...



Police code?
I don't know. I mean, I can't read it, after all.
...You want to read that? Take all the time you need, then.
It was my dad's, and who knows where he went...
It's something to remember him by, but it's no exactly a precious memento to me.

You take the pocketbook from Airi...

Thanks.
...Hey.



I know.
...Stupid. I hate you.

Airi rushes off...

[Music: Exploration]



It's really weird, thinking about it, how we missed this scene before but still got to follow through on it anyway...



Over here, Hibiki. Good... No JP's goons around.
We're all clear.
Yeah, sorry for the trouble. The tension between JP's and the people is heating up.
By the way, about my superior. I was thinking of searching for his daughter. Any ideas?
I have his pocketbook.
His pocketbook...!? Are you kidding me!?

You show him the pocketbook Airi gave you...

It's in code.



Yamato Hotsuin... and is this a list of names?
What kind of names?

[Music: Dark Clouds]


Scientists, mathematicians, doctors... Well-known people in every field.
Wait... are these call records? A special line? And... dates of meetings?
Is this Yamato's?
Oh...! It makes sense if you think about it like that!



But why? Wait, there's more... Plan documentation... "special server"?
It's Yamato's.
I agree... Given who we're talking about, I doubt he'd tell his people everything...
A place to hide his private records... Where would it be? I'm so close, sir...
The Osaka branch?



It makes sense... no info could leak out from a group as shadowy as JP's...
If he's keeping it secret from his own people, of course he'd have it close at hand...!
We did it, Hibiki... Yamato Hotsuin's secret plans are in the Osaka branch's server!
This won't be easy.

[Music: Exploration]

I agree... The security at the main branch will be tighter than it was in Nagoya.
When we occupied the Nagoya branch, we failed to hack the system, so we had to storm in.



I think I know...
Hm...!? Don't tell me you know who that was...?
Anyone who got through security like that must've known it like he designed it himself...
I'll look into it.
Yeah, feel free. Just make sure you don't do anything dangerous.

You say your farewells to Ronaldo and leave the area...

So, yeah, that's how we knew to ask Fumi about those files way back when. For whatever reason, this scene isn't mandatory for it, even though the game presumes you did it anyway.



But that's enough actual plot-related antics. Let's just relax with Ronaldo instead now.



[Music: A Moment of Rest]

I am? Hey, that's cool. Tell me more!
What the hell...? Wh-What's up with this guy...?

Joe is being confronted by a rioter...

Ooh... Hey, Hibiki! They're saying I'm a spy! Isn't that awesome?
What're you laughin' for!? You should be afraid for your life!



Lupin is a thief!

Ronaldo walks over...

[Music: Exploration]

Hm...? You...



...What's going on? Come on, let him go.
Hey, but he's... Isn't he JP's?



......

The rioter takes a long look at Joe, shrugs, and walks away...

Man, sorry about barging in here like this.
You said you wanted to talk to me. ...What do you want?
Nothing big. I just came to thank you.
Thank me...? Have I done anything...?
You guys are protecting Nagoya, aren't you?
That means you're helping somebody I know. Thank you.



We're not like Hotsuin. We don't forsake everything that doesn't help us directly.
Hmm, I see. You're quite mature for your age.
...I don't think I'm that much older than you.
Really? Well, keep up the good work.

Joe walks away...

...What was that?
I don't know him.



Though... I can see why you'd say that.
You're very unlike JP's, but in a different way. It's a big, wide world...

Ronaldo walks away...



And, hell, one more to round out the day before running off to fight Megrez.



Everyone! We got food! We'll be good to go for a while now!
I'm not afraid of JP's! We can all take them on at once...
Yeah, that's right...! There's no need to fear JP's if we all work together!



...Oh, it's you, Hibiki.
I know you'll have mixed feelings about this... but we stole food from JP's.
We figured out their transport routes and stole a shipment.
Did you win?
Yes, we did. It's shameful that we had to overwhelm them, but lives are at stake.



Justice is on our side. We'll keep fighting until their views change.
Oh, right. We're about to distribute the food, but would you be willing to...
Hm? Wait... Isn't that...?



Hey! Hey, you! What are you doing here!?

[Music: A Moment of Rest]

Hey, Clicky. You guys look like you're having fun, so I thought I'd drop by.
You thought you'd "drop by"!? You'd take advantage of our hard work like this...!?



"A-Anyway"!? I'm being serious here!
It's been so long since I've had something sweet. It was like eating Heaven!
Don't eat anything without permission! Those supplies are for civilians!
Oh come on, don't be like that! ...Here.



Gah! *cough* *sputter*
Isn't that delicious?
...I can't believe you! Are you trying to insult our cause...!?
Wh-What's happening...? My head... Can't think... What's in this chocolate...?



Hm? What's wrong, Clicky? ...Oh, wait.

Joe puts another piece of chocolate in his mouth and chews thoughtfully...

Yep. There's a fair bit of alcohol in there. Heheh... I feel bad now.



Uuuuugh... Joe... I'll remember this...!
Is he talking in his sleep? Even in his dreams, he yells at me!
Well, sucks to be him. I'll take him to his bed...

Joe picks Ronaldo up off the ground and staggers away...



...Of all the ways to get Ronaldo to Fate 3, that was an interesting scene for it to pop up from. Can't really complain though.



Inti would be nice if we unlocked him before. As is, y'know, being a Fate 3 demon he's super outclassed by now. Oh well, one more for the compendium I guess.

And just in time, since at this point we're sitting at 90% done. I, um, may have just gone through a giant list and smashed through all the demons we skipped off-screen. There's, uh, less than 30 left to fuse. So, uh, yeah.

Now then, Megrez. Jungo's dead, so if we go to Nagoya with Airi and Fumi we're not running a character short. It's been mentioned before but this happens:



Ronaldo functions as our fourth party member. He's basically just a guest, but he's controllable like Makoto was in the fight against Bai Suzhen waaaaaaaay back at the start of Sunday. He has his own demons, skills and all that. Only problem is he's not that great here. Not even a comparison thing; dude is just not good for this map. Ah well, thought that counts and I'd rather have someone badly suited than no one at all.