November 7
You may notice various NP Cs in town and party members taking note of how depressed you are, which is a nice touch. Presumably, word that your uncle and cousin are being hospitalized spreads quickly in a town like this, or maybe, it's just that obvious from the look on your face.
Fortune Rank 6
Naoto finds a note in her mailbox, and concludes the Phantom Thief knows where she lives. She asks why he bothered to include you, but is hesitant to accept any of your theories. This time, there's another cryptic hint (one that gives you points with Naoto if solved correctly), that involves finding certain clues in the text. Naoto searches by a tree near the banks of the Samegawa, and finds the second tool, a watch that can blind foes.
Naoto then muses about how she's always had more masculine interests, and laments that she wasn't born male. There are three choices:
- "Your gender doesn't matter," which gives points but bars you from getting into a relationship with her.
- "I'm glad you're a girl," which doesn't give any points but allows you the chance to get into a relationship with her.
- "Nothing you can do about it," which has no benefit at all.
In any case, Naoto remarks how you often make her lose her composure, and asks you to tell you a little about yourself while you were younger, one case in which the details of what you disclose are left to your imagination.
Evening
I spent some time with Rise.
November 8
I spent more time with Naoto.
Fortune Rank 7
Naoto says that she's been out of touch with her grandfather, who's supposedly in America. The card this time reads like nonsense unless you subtract certain letters from it (F, O, U and R from the first sentence, and F, O, R, T and Y from the second half), which leads to the "Junes table." The item this time is something that was not only missing, but Naoto thought she'd lost a long time ago, and she notes that neither she nor her grandfather like throwing things away. Naoto contemplates how she was a dreamer without friends back then, and notes how different she is becoming. After you provide her some encouragement, Naoto remarks how the need to change and the desire to stay the same, despite being contradictory, often are held at the same time. It's quite true, since people have to become more mature as they age, learn new things and will inevitably be impacted by their experiences, but all of us have some part of ourselves that we consider our identity, and want to stay the same. Naoto, perhaps realizing this, asks you about whether you've felt this way.
November 9
I did Ai's Social Link again. Like the last one, you have to talk with your Strength Social Link friend first, and he has to be available.
Moon Rank 6
Ai asks you what kind of girl Kou likes, and when she hears the answer isn't "beautiful girls," she demands that you ask him again. You head downstairs and find Kou in the middle of a Potty Emergency, and he, albeit reluctantly, admits that he likes Chie and is jealous of how you get to sit next to her in class (incidentally, there's a Chie/[strike]Yu[/strike]Taniyama doujin called "Kimi Ni Tonari" which means "By Your Side") before rushing off to heed nature's call. If you have Daisuke instead, he'll say that there's no one in particular (since his link deals with the aftereffects of a bad breakup), and walk off.
Suddenly, you hear something, and rush to the roof to see that Ai is standing outside the fence at the top, ready to jump(by contrast, in the anime, Ai can't quite climb over the fence). Ai is furious that Kou would favor a supposedly homely girl like Chie over a beauty like her, who worked hard to be this way, and believes that there's no point in living if she can't be loved. The game impresses the seriousness of the situation upon you, but all of the choices succeed in calming Ai down.
Ai then reveals her painful past, mentioning how she was bullied and rejected by her first love because of her weight and her family being poor. Her family striking it rich didn't help matters, as the rest of their town got so jealous they had to move (interestingly enough, Ai, unlike Yosuke, Adachi or Eri, doesn't seem all that bored in town). Ai saw a chance to start over, and lost weight and improved her looks, but believes that nothing has changed. After reassuring her, she says she should have fallen in love with you, but then says she's just kidding.
What follows are the two most important decisions of this Social Link. If you did a sidequest for an old woman in town, she'll offer you some friendly advice- there will come a time with every girl at which point you have a chance to confess, and if you don't, you'll only be friends. You may think that the moment has come for Ai, but you'd be wrong- if you ask her out, she'll hesitantly accept, leading her to break up with you in the penultimate event, or if you make the wrong choice, break the link. If you remain silent, then ask Ai if she's sure, she'll admit that she's not in the best frame of mind, thanks you and goes home
You may also notice that it's surprisingly early for a Love Confession. Here's the times you confess to the people.
- Chie: Rank 9
- Yukiko: Rank 9
- Rise: Rank 8
- Naoto: Rank 8
- Yumi: Rank 10, after the final rank up.
- Ayane: Rank 8
- Ai: Rank 10
Evening I spent some time with Naoto, knowing that I don't have long to level her up.
'November 10
Once again, I did Naoto, hoping to move her social link closer to completion.
Fortune Rank 8
Naoto's not only tracked down most of the tools, but is fairly confident she's closing in on the thief himself. She has mixed feelings about the case coming to an end, though, but for now, decides to see where he might hide something without being noticed. The two of you head to Tatsuhime Shrine. While there, she recognizes the man, but he draws what seems to be a knife, but is actually a radio disguised as one (not only would it raise all sorts of safety concerns, but shouldn't the weapon part be hidden?)
Of course, you don't know that, and the second hidden "lovers flag" ensues- you must protect Naoto from the knife. If you've done everything right so far, she'll rant about how you're protecting her, and demands to know why, at which point you can say that it's because you love her or because she's a friend.
I didn't even have this choice, though, since I chose to tell Naoto her gender doesn't matter, so Naoto simply said "I consider you a friend as well," which makes less sense without the preceding "friend" answer, and asked me not to take such risks anymore. She says the case is almost over, but she isn't happy about it at all.
Evening
I spent time tutoring.
'November 11
Evening
I worked on a model.
November 12
I chose to spend time with Rise again, since hers was falling behind a few of the others.
Lovers Rank 6
After shopping in Okina City with Rise, you head back as she offers you tofu. As Rise heads into her family's tofu shop, Inoue comes up to you, giving you a letter from a fan to give to Rise on his behalf. He concedes that the life of an Idol Singer is difficult, but said that Rise had talent and many, himself included, admired her. He notices that she relies on you, and asks you to help him.
Rise then comes in, and gets angry at the sight of Inoue, chasing him off. She feels betrayed by him coming back, and thinks so little of him that if you side with him too much, she'll get mad at you. Still, she calms down a little after seeing that the letter was from the girl who was her fan. The girl is in middle school, and, like Rise, was bullied, but found Rise's work to stop bullying to be inspiring. Rise, as cynical as she is about being an idol, says the letter was inspiring.
At Tatsuhime Shrine, Rise says that the girl thinks she's taking a break due to illness, and wants Rise to get better and come back. Rise knows that won't happen, though, and feels as though she's letting the girl down. You can reassure her, though, and Rise knows that she's made her decision, even if it disappoints many people. As for what's next, she considers marrying you and running the tofu shop together. Of course, this is only Rank 6, so there's going to be more twists ahead.
Evening
I tutored once again.
Tower Rank 6
Shu talks a little about an upcoming fair about his school's founding, and then complains about the girls. He says that his mom is the only one he values, and is about to say something else about her, but then changes the subject and asks why you're coming back. Regardless of your answer, he actually enjoys your tutoring, and asks you to do overtime with something. You automatically agree, and while this may seem like a case of not even giving you a choice, it's a surprisingly touching indication that you're growing closer with him.
November 13
Lovers Rank 7
Ai takes you shopping in Okina city, and notices that Kanami is the new poster girl. Rise tries to seem happy if you ask her about it, but when some teenagers wander by, talking about how Kanami seems "real," unlike Risette, Rise gets depressed to hear that they consider her the fake, but then indignantly points out that Kanami's also acting, too (Indeed, in Dancing All Night, you see that the discrepancy between Kanami and "Kanamin" is even greater than the discrepancy between Rise and "Risette."0
Rise takes you to Samegawa, and asks if you're happy to have an ex-idol for an underclassman like her- the best answer is that it doesn't matter. Rise apologizes for dragging you to Okina and coming back without even doing anything.
At this point, if Nanako's still around, she shows up. Nanako says her friends like Kanamin, but she tells them that "Rise-chan's way better," and that she likes the real Rise, too. Rise's touched, although she has to wonder why she asked those questions of Nanako, since they're things she no longer wants to think about. She's sure she doesn't want to go back, since she wants people to accept the real her, not a manufactured version. You can then decide to comfort her, and the best way, as well as one that requires the most Courage, involves laughing it off. Rise apologizes for her selfishness, and says that since she doesn't want to be alone, asks you to stay with her for a while.
Evening
I drew a fortune, although I'm not sure whose. While drawing fortunes doesn't move anyone's relationship up much, they serve the useful purpose of allowing you to advance relationships with people who aren't there that night or will never be (i.e. Eri), and can help you see whether a social link you want to advance will go up next time.
November 14
Hanged Man Rank 6
Naoki brings up his plan to quit school, and says that his parents unequivocally rejected it, assuming he hates school. He clearly wasn't expecting this reaction out of them, since he points out that he could run away from his problems forever if he so desired, because everyone treats him differently as a result of the loss, not giving him any responsibility and pitying him. He gains some perspective if you ask him to consider how others might see him, or suggest that he's not the only one, but doesn't know what to do about this.
Evening
I drew a fortune for Ai.
November 15
I spent more time with Naoki.
Hanged Man Rank 7
Naoki apologizes for unloading on you. If you say you understand, he appreciates how you don't keep your distance or preach to him.
Naoki recalls how he liked cream puffs, but his sister used to eat them, resulting in the siblings fighting (you see one such argument at the start of Golden). Unfortunately, Saki is no longer alive, and it's driven home when they go bad. Naoki no longer knows what to do or thing, but it's clear that he wants to do something to change himself. It's interesting that Naoki, as confused and struggling to come to terms with his emotions as he is, probably has the most desire to change out of any social link.
Naoki also fondly recalls how he and Saki would eat cream puffs from Junes, while complaining about the taste. Saki didn't enjoy working at Junes, but believed that somehow, it would benefit her family, showing a mature side of herself in the process. As such, Naoki asks to go to Junes with you.
November 16
I chose Ai again, since she's primarily available in the middle of the week.
Moon Rank 7
Ai apologizes for making you hang out with her so often, and admits that she's been doing some thinking about her life- her obsession with beauty, her skipping class and her wanting to spend time with you. She always assumed that there's no point to life without love, and you can only be loved if you're beautiful, but she realizes that she's wrong. She often thinks of you, and is glad she met you.
November 17
Since Ai is sometimes available on consecutive days, and there are times when it takes a while to advance, I did her again.
Moon Rank 8
Ai says she talked with Kou (or Daisuke) and found that her heart no longer races at the thought of him, so she concludes that she must have been more fond of the idea of being in love than the guy she thought she loved. She realizes that rather than be herself, she was trying to be the "ideal" girl, from taste in dogs to food and drink. She concludes that her fear that no one liked her was based on the fact that the persona she showed to them wasn't the real her, and it feels good to be herself.
Evening
I tutored Shu but didn't go up a rank.
November 18
I ate the Beef Bowl at Aiya in hopes of getting the final Diligence point.
November 19
I ate the Beef Bowl at Aiya again.
Evening
Tower Rank 7
Shu expresses his wish to be a genius, and doesn't find any of your answers- that he is, can be or never will be one- very comforting. He's too tired to go on, so he asks you a bit about yourself, being impressed if you tell him about what you like in a girl, and uncomfortable if you mention school, since you clearly enjoy it more than he does. It's an interesting look at Shu's more vulnerable side, and since he'd clearly been hesitant to even show it, it's proof that he's opening up to you.
November 20
At a loss for what to do on rainy days, I worked on my model during the day.
Evening
I watched the Midnight Channel. With the killer seemingly apprehended, we didn't see anyone in town.
