Part 14: The Smell of Napalm in the Morning
Chapter 13: The smell of napalm in the morningThe pursuit of Utter Perfection has been costly. On a normal Shiori route, you have to dodge as many people as possible in order to lie low for a few years and avoid bombings - this means no going to the Ijuuin Christmas party and no standing out enough for Megumi to be interested. However, that doesn't suit the life of a High School Superman, and we have to make do with what we have. And that means not only going to the Christmas party again, but meeting a 5th girl in order to meet someone who is not Megumi at the Christmas party.
Here beginneth The Struggle(tm). We must survive it for 17 more months.
10/28-11/2: Sleep
10/29: Event!
Yuina: Gunpei-kun.
Goon: Himoo-san. What's up?
Yuina: You are free this upcoming Sunday, yes?
Option 1: Yeah, I'm free. Why do you ask?
Option 2: Sucks to be you, THIS guy has plans that day.
Well, that's convenient. Let's go with 1 and save ourselves a Sunday in the future. Also, I think the goons will riot if I say no to Yuina too often.
Yuina: Then we are going to the botanical garden.
Option 1: That's fine. Let's go.
Option 2: Nah, I'll pass.
Choosing 1 here.
Yuina: Of course.
Goon: Should we meet in front of the garden?
Yuina: That is acceptable. If you forget, you must be prepared for the consequences.
Goon: (This Sunday, eh? I have to make sure I don't forget.)
10/29: Another event!
Goon: (There seems to be some weird gossip circulating around the girls lately...)
This is our bomb early warning system! This is nearly guaranteed to be Megumi or Yumi, and was triggered by Yuina asking us out. Gotta find out who it is and defuse that bomb ASAP!
11/2: Say no to Megumi
Goon: (I hurt her pretty badly... I'm such an idiot.)
Yep. It's Megumi.
11/3 (Sunday): Date with Yuina
Goon: (Today's my date with Himoo-san. I should go meet her in front of the botanical garden.)
Goon: Were you waiting long?
Yuina: I have not been waiting very long. You are right on time.
Goon: I'm glad I wasn't late.
Yuina: We are heading inside now.
Goon: Yeah, let's head in.
Yuina: I would like to grow at least this much flora for research purposes.
Option 1: What kind of research would you use it for?
Option 2: Could we just enjoy the pretty flowers?
Option 3: Can you eat all of this?
Looks like there's no neutral response, just two bad ones and a good one. Oh well. 1 it is.
Yuina: That is top secret. I have so many things I want to do, I have a hard time deciding.
Goon: (Looks like I made a pretty good impression.)
Yuina: That was fun, yes?
Goon: Yeah, it was really fun.
Yuina: We should both head home, Gunpei-kun.
11/4 (Holiday): Call Yoshio
We just saved, so now we have to make sure!
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...
REE REE REE REE REE REE
Yoshio: Something like this.
There it is, the first bomb of this run! To defuse a bomb, we'll need to invite her out on a date and not have it suck.
By the way, Yuina appears to be in love with Goon. This is inconvenient at best.
11/5-11/10: Concert Band
11/5: New event!
Goon: (Man, I am exhausted. I should hurry home.)
Goon: (Oh hey, that's Mikihara-san over there.)
Goon: Hey, Mikihara-san!
REE REE REE REE REE REE
Megumi: ......
Goon: Hmm? That's weird, she just ran off without saying anything.
Goon: (Maybe I hurt Mikihara-san at some point?)
REE REE REE REE REE REE
11/7: Tell Yuina we're busy on Sunday
Yuina: You have displeased me. Farewell.
Goon: (Maybe I was a little too cold there)
I'm so sorry but we need this Sunday really badly
11/10 (Sunday): Call Megumi
REE REE REE REE REE REE
Megumi: Yes, this is the Mikihara residence.
Goon: Hi, this is Fudou Gunpei...
Megumi: (gasp)
Goon: Hello? Is something wrong?
Megumi: I'm... I'm sorry! What might you calling about?
Goon: Want to go to the museum on 12/1?
Megumi: ...
Goon: What's wrong?
Megumi: I'm sorry... I have to be somewhere that day.
RELOAD COUNT: 32
10/28-11/2: Concert Band
10/29: Meet Miharu again
This is the same the first time we met Miharu pre-reload, back in Chapter 5.
11/3 (Sunday): Call Megumi
Goon: Want to go to the shopping district with me on 12/1?
Megumi: What? Y...Yes, gladly!
Goon: Alright, let's meet in front of the shopping district on that day.
Megumi: .....
Goon: What's that? I couldn't hear you.
Megumi: Y...yes, we'll meet there!
Goon: Okay, don't forget.
(click)
Goon: Goon: Yes! I can't wait for the 1st.
Note that the bomb doesn't really go away until the day of the date. This prevents scumbag tactics like calling up someone and using that day for something else anyway. It also makes the game more difficult in general.
11/4 (Holiday): Sleep
11/5-11/9: Sleep
11/7: Say no to Yuina again
Yuina's disappointment leads to Yellow Threat Level assessment by Goon
11/8: Say no to Megumi again
Megumi's disappointment leads to Yellow Threat Level assessment by Goon, which is at least an improvement
11/10 (Sunday): Preen
11/11-11/16: Concert Band
11/11: Say no to Megumi AGAIN.
Goon gives Orange threat level here.
11/11: Bomb Warning
Goon: (There seems to be some weird gossip circulating around the girls lately...)
11/17 (Sunday): Read Memorial Spot, then Sleep
Memorial Spot December/January/February
The Planetarium has opened!
Movie: Melody of Love (Romance) (Melody, or S.W.A.L.K.
Concert: Bees (New Music) (No, not the bees, this is legendary rock duo B'z, who have like a gazillion #1 singles in Japan.)
Stadium: December - nothing
January - Pro Wrestling
February - Nothing
Events: Look forward to our next issue!
Goon: (A planetarium, eh?)
11/18-11/22: Practice Art
This is a future-proofing measure, to meet Ayako and try to avoid Megumi at the Christmas Party. However...
Shiori what are you doing here
11/18: New event!
I guess that answers that question.
Goon: (Man, I'm exhausted. I should hurry home.)
Shiori: Ah, Goon.
Goon: Shiori? What's up?
Shiori: Our houses are right next to each other and all, so I thought that it might be nice to walk home together once in a while...
Option 1: Sure! Let's go home together.
Option 2: It'd be kinda embarrassing, so I'll pass.
The only right choice is 1! That totally hasn't come back to bite us in the ass before!
Goon: (Shiori and I had fun walking home together.)
11/23 (Holiday): Exercise
11/24 (Sunday): Exercise
11/25-11/30: Exercise
Since we didn't meet Ayako, we might as well meet Yukari, right?
Oh. I guess Shiori's there for the cock block again.
11/25: New event!
Goon: (Man, today was another exhausting day.)
Yukari: Oh nooo, look oooou--
Goon: Huh? (THWACK)
Yukari: Are you alright?
Goon: Oww...
Yukari: Umm... are you perhaps injured?
Goon: Yeah, seems like I survived somehow.
Yukari: I beg your forgiveness. But you appear to be okay.
Goon: I'm not okay. I'll forgive you if you tell me your name, though.
Yukari: Hehehe. I am known as Koshiki Yukari. What is your name?
Goon: I'm Fudou Gunpei.
Yukari: I need to return to my club soon, so I must beg your pardon.
Goon: (That tennis ball hurt, but I guess it's a fair trade for meeting Koshiki-san...)
Translator's note: Here is the designated Yamato Nadeshiko of the game! Koshiki Yukari's last name roughly translates to "old-school," and she speaks very formally. It's really hard to render in English without getting into thees and thous, which are a little too outdated. She also speaks really slowly.
11/26: Say no to Yumi
Goon gives the green threat level indicator here. Good.
12/1 (Sunday): Date with Megumi
Goon: (Today's my date with Megumi. I should go meet up with her in front of the shopping district.)
I feel like this is a good time to mention that Megumi's nickname in some corners of fandom is "Metto-chan", which is short for "Helmet-chan". I guess it's a good thing that she's helmeted, in case she falls over - it's not like she'll be able to catch herself with her hands stuck to her jaw like that...
Goon: Were you waiting long?
Megumi: N, no...
Goon: Phew, glad I wasn't late.
Megumi: So where should we go?
Option 2, the accessories shop, should be pretty safe.
Megumi: O, okay! Let's go.
Megumi: Um... do you think this is cute?
Option 1: Yeah, it really suits you.
Option 2: I don't think so at all.
Option 3: But that one's pretty cute too.
Option 3 seems like the most neutral, so let's go with that one
Megumi: You're right... it really is cute...
Goon: (Looks like I made a pretty good impression.)
Goon: Did you have fun?
Megumi: Um... I had a lot of fun.
Goon: Can I invite you out again some time?
Megumi: Y, yes...
Goon: Then I'll call you some time soon.
Megumi: Fudou-kun... um... could we...
Goon: Could we walk home together?
Megumi: Y, yes...
REE REE REE REE REE REE
12/2-12/7: Concert Band
12/7: Praised by Shiori
Shiori: Let's practice hard today, too.
Goon: I will.
Goon: (Alright, I'm really motivated now.)
12/8: Call Yoshio
Success! No bombs, and Yuina appears to have fallen out of love. Yumi and Megumi are still problems, but... wait, why is Yukari at the smiley stage too? Oh well, let's ask for her profile.
Koshiki Yukari
Birthday: June 13th
Sign: Gemini
Blood type: B
Measurements: 81-60-84 (32-24-33)
Club: Tennis
Notes: Doesn't like any sports other than tennis.
Seems to hate loud things.
At this point, I realized that I'd made a minor mistake and had wasted a week on art without meeting Ayako, since Concert Band already turbo-charges that stat. Also, meeting Yukari doesn't free up any actions - choosing to exercise will still meet Nozomi and, eventually, Saki.
RELOAD COUNT: 33
At this point, I just wanted to see if it was still possible to meet Ayako.
12/2-12/7: Practice art
12/3: Say no to Yumi
Yumi threat level: Yellow
12/7: New event!
Goon: Art sets the heart at ease.
Goon: (Man, that was a cool line.)
Ayako: Suteki! What a wonderful piece.
Translator's note: I've decided to pull out an old subtitler's convention for when Japanese people speak partially in English - swapping the English and Japanese. In this case, she uses the English word "Beautiful!"
Goon: Oh, uh, thanks.
Ayako: If you're this good, why haven't you joined the art club yet?
Goon: It's good for my health to draw every once in a while, that's all.
Ayako: Oh yeah? Every once in a while, for your health...
Goon: Yeah, it activates the pressure points in the hand like this, and... wait, no, that's not it at all.
Ayako: Hahahaha... I'm Katagiri Ayako. And you are...?
Goon: Oh, I'm Fudou Gunpei.
Ayako: If you ever want to take me up on my offer, come to the art club. You're always welcome.
Goon: If I ever feel like it, I will.
Ayako: Okay, gotta go. See you later!
Goon: She's pretty interesting...
Recon mission complete. It's possible! Time to swap Yukari out for Ayako in the next game. But first...
12/8 (Sunday): Call Yoshio
Katagiri Ayako
Birthday: September 30th
Sign: Libra
Blood type: B
Measurements: 86-59-86 (34-23-34)
Club: Art
Notes: Likes grotesque art and pop music.
Doesn't like quiet places.
RELOAD COUNT: 34
Oh god my save games were on 12/1 (after Yukari) and 10/27. SUNOVA
10/27-11/2: Sleep
10/29: Go home with Shiori
10/29: Bomb warning
Goon: (There seems to be some weird gossip making its way around the girls lately...)
10/31: New event!
Goon: (Mm, it sure feels nice up here on the roof.)
Goon: (Hmm? Isn't that Himoo-san over there?)
Looks like we've stumbled onto one of Yuina's automatic events - if her affection is high enough, it'll just happen after school one day.
Yuina: Sigh...
Goon: What's with the long face, Himoo-san?
Yuina: Ah? Oh, Gunpei-kun. It appears you have caught me at my worst.
Goon: What's wrong? You're not acting like yourself, Himoo-san.
Yuina: I will tell you this precisely because I am not acting like myself... The truth is, I am in a slump.
Goon: What do you mean, a slump?
Yuina: No matter what I do, I cannot come up with any good ideas.
Goon: If you don't mind, I could help you think some up...
Yuina: Thank you. But for the moment, I want to work through it myself.
Goon: Yeah? Then I'll leave you to it. I hope you think up some good ideas soon.
Yuina: Yes. I will try to calm down and think it over.
Goon: (I wonder if she's okay... she's mumbling something to herself over there.)
Yuina: Ahhhh, I still cannot think of any good ideas for my ultimate weapon.
Goon: ...
Goon: (What's that girl thinking?)
11/3 (Sunday): Call Megumi
Goon: Want to go to the shopping district on 11/23?
Megumi: What? Y...Yes, gladly!
Goon: Alright, let's meet in front of the shopping district that day.
Megumi: .....
Goon: What's that? I couldn't hear you.
Megumi: Y...yes, we'll meet there!
Goon: Okay, don't forget.
(click)
Goon: Goon: Yes! I can't wait for the 23rd.
This is a better schedule overall, since it gives more room for girls to ask Goon out on Sundays (they don't seem to ask for holiday time, for some reason).
11/4 (Holiday): Call Yoshio for a status update
Better. Sorry, Yuina.
11/5-11/9: Practice Art
11/6: Meet Ayako
Same event as above.
11/8: Say no to Megumi
Megumi bomb threat level: orange
11/10 (Sunday): Preen
11/11-11/16: Concert Band
11/13: Say no to Yuina
Yuina bomb threat level: yellow
11/15: New event!
No Ayako you were supposed to be a safety valve why you gotta do us like this
Ayako: Ah, Fudou-kun.
Goon: What's up, Katagiri-san?
Ayako: I figured it'd be nice to walk home together once in a while.
Option 2. Too soon, Ayako, too soon.
Ayako: Oh? That's too bad. Bye...
Ayako bomb threat level: green
11/16: Praised by Shiori
11/17 (Sunday): Call Yoshio for status + Ayako's info
As you can see, the act of inviting a girl out only takes off so much heat. To take that bomb away requires that date on 11/23.
11/18-11/22: Concert Band
11/19: Say no to Yumi
Yumi bomb threat level: Green
11/23 (Holiday): Date with Megumi
This date is exactly the same as the date above, but with Megumi's fall outfit instead of her winter one. Observe:
11/24 (Sunday): Sleep
11/25-11/30: Concert band
12/1 (Sunday): Call Shiori
We can't just be caught treading water. These Shiori events won't trigger themselves! Well, some of them will, but that's beside the point. With a romance playing at the theater, it's a perfect time to invite her to the--
Wait why is there no option to go to the theater? Oh crap, I forgot to read Memorial Spot in this save game so the date spot's not unlocked! Nnnnooooooooooo
RELOAD COUNT: 35
11/25-11/30: Concert Band
12/1 (Sunday): Read Memorial Spot! Then call Shiori
Goon: Want to go to the movies with me on 12/15?
Shiori: Let me check... yes, that's fine.
Goon: Alright, let's meet in front of the theater on that day.
Shiori: Yes, let's. Don't forget, okay?
Goon: No way will I forget. Okay, talk to you later.
(click)
Goon: Yes! I can't wait for the 15th.
12/2-12/6: Sleep
12/3: Say no to Yumi
Yumi bomb threat level: green
12/7: Go home with Shiori
12/8 (Sunday): Call Shiori
Vacation time = date Shiori time
Goon: Want to go skiing on 12/29?
Shiori: Let me check... yes, that's fine.
Goon: Alright, let's meet in front of the slopes that day.
Shiori: Yes, let's. Don't forget, okay?
Goon: No way will I forget. Okay, talk to you later.
(click)
Goon: Yes! I can't wait for the 29th.
12/9-12/14: Midterms
Goon: (Yes! I'm the top score! I'm the Emperor of Tests!)
12/15 (Sunday): Date with Shiori
Goon: Were you waiting long?
Shiori: No, I just got here myself.
Goon: Phew, glad I wasn't late.
Shiori: The curtain's going up, we should go in and sit down.
Shiori: There are some open seats over there. Let's sit.
Goon: (Melody of Love is a romance about the deep love between a boy and a girl.)
As usual, the date response comes down to figuring out if the girl liked the movie or not. Shiori loves romances, as before, so...
Goon: Option 1: Wasn't that movie fun?
Shiori: Yes, it was wonderful. I love these movies.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
Shiori: Today was a lot of fun. We should do this again some time, okay?
Goon: Definitely. I'll call you again soon.
Shiori: Let's walk home together, Goon.
12/16-12/21: Concert Band
12/21: Go home with Shiori
This is the same as usual, except for this part:
Shiori: Oh yeah, winter vacation is coming up. Do you have any plans?
Yes, Shiori, we're going skiing.
Goon: Hmm? No, not really. What about you, Shiori?
Wait, weren't we going skiing? Go back to the part where we were talking about going skiing.
Shiori: I was thinking that I might go skiing some time.
Because we invited you, right? Say something, Goon!
Goon: Skiing, eh? That might be nice...
OF COURSE IT MIGHT BE NICE IT WAS OUR IDEA IN THE FIRST PLACE
12/21: Bomb warning event
Going home with Shiori was a mistake. Not just because the script writers forgot to consider the case where you go home with Shiori and already have plans to go skiing with her for winter vacation. But also because it pushed someone over the edge into Bomberhood. We'll find out who it is next time (dun dun DUNNNNNN), but the candidates are Yuina and Yumi, since Megumi's bomb was cleared very recently,
12/22 (Sunday): Preen
The Ijuuin Christmas party is coming up very soon, and we need to have 100 Looks in order to get in this year! Rei wasn't kidding when he said that he was going to force the man at the gate to be more strict...
Next time: All I Want For Christmas Electric Boogaloo