Part 4: Summer 1995, Close Encounters of the Yuina Kind

Chapter 3: Summer 1995, part 1 - Close Encounters of the Yuina Kind

It's been an interesting couple of months in young Goon's life. He made it into an elite high school with the girl next door and is well on the road to Utter Perfection, but something is missing in his life. Something a little unpredictable. Something a little wild. Something that people might call... mad.

6/4-6/10:
6/11 (Sunday): Sleep
6/12-6/17:

6/16: Event!


Goon: This question is so easy!
Goon: Mwahaha... I'm a genius!
Make your own Metal Gear sound here
Goon: Urgh...
Goon: (Someone behind me...)
Goon: (Consciousness... fading...)


From her heart and from her hand, why won't people understand her intentions?

Goon: (Hey, this is the lab! M...my body won't move!)
Yuina: Hmm? Ah, Fudou Gunpei-kun. It seems as though you've regained consciousness. Unfortunate.
Goon: Wh-who are you?! What are you planning to do to me?

Yes. Yes, Goon, get her to start monologuing. This will buy time. Hopefully the death trap will be elaborate enough that you can escape from it.

Yuina: It's fine, you won't feel a thing. Now, just hold still for a moment.
Goon: Wh-what're you doing?! Stop it!
Yuina: Alright, alright, I get it. Stop shouting! I suppose I'm left with no choice...
Goon: Please, please just let me go!
Yuina: If ever you tire of the limitations of your body, consult with me - Himoo Yuina.
Yuina: I will be waiting for you here... for as long as I need to.
Goon: Urgh... (Blacking out... again...)


Goon: Agh! Oh... oh, it was just a dream. Thank goodness...
Goon: Hmm? Someone scribbled in my notebook. Let's see here-
Goon: "For all requests for 'modifications', contact Himoo Yuina, Computer Club."

Now THAT is a first impression.

Yuina has introduced herself, which means that she can now be contacted on Sundays and holidays via the phone. But we can't just call her out of the blue - this is an era before cell phones, so we have to figure out what her home phone number is. Now, didn't Yoshio mention that we should call him whenever we needed any information about girls? Time to take him up on that promise!

6/18 (Sunday): Call Yoshio


Yoshio: Hello, you've reached the Saotome household.
Goon: Hey, it's Fudou.
Yoshio: Ah, Gunpei? I'm glad you called.
Goon: You told me once that I could contact you if I ever needed to know anything about a girl...
Yoshio: Of course, of course. What did you want to ask about?

There are two options here - one to ask about date spots, and one to ask about your status with the girls. While asking about date spots might be interesting, there is one and only one thing we're calling for here.

Goon: I'd like to know what the girls think of me.
Yoshio: What they think of you, eh? Gimme a second.
Yoshio: What the girls think of you is...


Yoshio: Something like this.
Goon: (Should I ask him about any one girl?)

This is how you get the phone numbers of the girls - you ask Yoshio for their profile. Yes, it's an archaic game design choice. It gets easier in later installments of the game, I swear.

Goon: I'd like to know more about Himoo-san, if you can tell me anything.
Yoshio: Yeah, sure. Gimme a second.
Yoshio: Himoo, Himoo...
Yoshio: There she is. Okay, listen up and take notes.


Yoshio: That's about what I know.

There's a lot of info on here, so let's start at the top.


Himoo Yuina - phone# Triangle Triangle Triangle - Circle Circle X Circle
Birthday: July 7th
Sign: Cancer
Blood Type: A
Measurements: 84-58-84 (33-22-33 in inches)
Club: Computer club
Notes: Seems to be doing some suspicious experiments. All other information is murky at best.

Goon: Merci beaucoup~. Sorry for bothering you with this stuff.
Yoshio: Bah, it's no problem at all. Ask me any time you want to know about a girl.
(click)

And with that, Yuina is now available in the address book. We can call her on Sundays and... well, just wait and see.

6/19-6/24: Concert band
6/25 (Sunday): Concert band

At this point, Goon's stress level is getting dangerously high - at 30 and above, the success rate of almost all actions goes down - the notable exception is Sleep, which never fails.

6/26-7/1: Sleep
7/2 (Sunday):


Three important things coming up on the calendar: the gift box is someone's birthday. The sheets of paper are midterms, while the school icon is summer camp.

7/3-7/8: Concert Band

7/7: Event!


Goon: It's Himoo's birthday today. What should I do?

Option 1: Give her a present.
Option 2: Don't bother giving her a present.

There is no choice. We are compelled.

Goon: (What should I get her?)

For all birthdays in this game, there are three options for presents. In all cases, there's a good option, a neutral option, and a bad option. They're all pretty obvious if you have even a basic understanding of the girl. Organized from best to worst, Yuina's options for year 1 are:

Option 1: A book about the theory of 6th-generation computing
Option 2: A whip
Option 3: Perfume

Pretty straightforward, ri-wait, what?!

We have saved recently. We must know.

Goon: (Yeah, let's buy her a whip. This is obviously a good idea.)


Goon: Hey, Himoo-san!
Yuina: Can I help you?
Goon: Happy birthday!
Yuina: You have taken the only natural course of action. Let's see what's inside?
Goon: Sure, open it. Do you like it?
Himoo: This could be a bit useful...
Goon: (She seemed happy enough with it. Not bad, I guess.)

Welp.

RELOAD COUNT: 1

Goon: (Yeah, let's buy her a book.)


Goon: Hey, Himoo-san!
Yuina: Can I help you?
Goon: Happy birthday!
Yuina: You have taken the only natural course of action. Let's see what's inside?
Goon: Sure, open it. Do you like it?
Himoo: This is perfect! I feel like doing more research in the lab right now!
Goon: (She looks so happy. I'm glad I got her that gift.)

Cultural/translation note here. The polite and proper way to receive a gift is to ask "May I open it now?" and wait for permission. Yuina has no need of such pleasantries and just declares that she's opening it - with a vestigial question mark at the end of the sentence that assumes a yes and doesn't leave any room for saying no.

7/9 (Sunday): Study lit
7/10-7/15: Midterms


A new, non-optional icon appears during the weeks of midterms and finals. Hurray for high school! These days have no effect on your stats. The results are based on stats, with a tiny bit of RNG thrown in.

7/10
Goon: (The first test is language.)
Goon: (It feels like I did okay.)

7/11
Goon: (The second test is math.)
Goon: (It feels like I did okay.)

7/12
Goon: (The third test is science.)
Goon: (It feels like I did okay.)

7/13
Goon: (The fourth test is social studies.)
Goon: (Ugh, I don't think I did well.)

7/14
Goon: (The fifth test is art.)
Goon: (Ugh, I don't think I did well.)

7/15
Goon: (The test results are being posted today.)


Japanese schools post their test scores for all to see, and rank the students based on composite scores. Goon has averaged a 60 and falls sort of in the lower middle of the class at rank 137 - not surprising because there hasn't been any time to build stats. We will do better next time! More importantly, with midterms over, it's time to take a break from all this schoolwork.

7/16 (Sunday): Call Yuina

Yuina: Yes, this is Himoo.
Goon: Um... this is Fudou Gunpei.
Yuina: Gunpei-kun. You've been acting overly familiar with me lately. Can I help you?


Goon: Want to go shopping on the 23rd?

It may seem counterintuitive, but Yuina does love shopping. Kind of. I'll explain later.

Yuina: Your luck has run out....

Oh dammit. RELOAD COUNT: 2

Yuina: ...for I appear to be free on that day.

RELOAD COUNT: 1 What a troll.

Goon: Okay, let's meet in front of the shopping district on the 23rd.
Yuina: You dare to give me orders?
Goon: Alright then, where would you like to meet?
Yuina: ...Your previous suggestion is acceptable.
Yuina: Our business is completed, and I am hanging up.
(click)

Goon: Woohoo! I can't wait for the 23rd.

I don't even know where to start. I just don't. We've gone from Goon being Tony Stark to Goon being Alan Scott.

edit: I have been informed that in New 52, Alan Scott has gone from a dude who married his villains to a young gay man. I now amend this to "Goon is Bruce Wayne. We appear to have met Talia."

7/17-7/22: Sleep

7/23 (Sunday): Date night!

Goon: (Today's my date with Himoo-san.)
Goon: (Let's go wait for her in front of the shopping district.)


Goon: Did I keep you waiting?
Himoo: Not really. You're right on time.
Goon: I'm glad I wasn't late.
Himoo: It sure is hot, isn't it?
Goon: Yeah, it's really hot.

This... is surprisingly normal. We have to be careful and hope it's not a trap.


Himoo: Very well then. Where shall we go?

There are three main places to go in the shopping district, and as you might expect, each girl likes different shops. Yuina does like shopping, but only really in one place. Can you guess what it is?

Option 1: Let's go check out the boutique.
Option 2: Let's go check out the accessories shop.
Option 3: Let's go check out the electronics shop.

Yup. We're goin' to Fry's!

Yuina: Let's go.


Yuina: If you're talking about shopping, this is, of course, the place.

Option 1: I just can't get enough of this place!
Option 2: Y...yeah, I agree. This is pretty much the Japanese equivalent of "nod and smile"
Option 3: You're really weird, for a girl.

Again, it's pretty clear which option is good, which option is neutral-to-bad, and which is bad.

Yuina: I didn't think you would understand the appeal of this place. You've surprised me.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)


Yuina: It's nice to take a break like this every once in a while.
Goon: Does that mean I can invite you out again some time?
Yuina: I can't allow you to get too familiar... but a little bit won't hurt.
Goon: Great, I'll call you.
Yuina: It's time for me to head home. Bye, Gunpei-kun.

Welp. That was a thing.

This post went longer than I thought due to the sheer difficulty of translating how weird Yuina is, so I'll continue it tomorrow, with the CYOA coming at the end of that. Next time: Five Times Through Band Camp - summer vacation and Shiori.