September 12
Kashiwagi briefly references whatever you answer you chose for Teddie in class.
Hanged Man Rank 2
You eat out at Aiya with Naoki, who notes that it's something he doesn't do much anymore. When you ask him why, the best theory to put forward is that he's tired of the food, not that it's because he's busy or because of his sister. He laments that his family business is busy, but not with customers- it's the media and neighbors who pity the family, even if they wouldn't otherwise have anything to do with the Konishis. Among the many platitudes Naoki hears is that he needs to live a meaningful life for his sister, whose life has ended. He doesn't know what that is, and the best answer is that you don't know, either- I've often found that when it comes to people who are struggling to find the answers to abstract questions about life, it may be best to not claim to have the answer.
Evening
Naoto gives an interview on TV tonight, expressing his belief that the case isn't solved just yet, even if Mitsuo killed King Moron, but is vague about the specifics. Nanako's amazed that you have a detective at your school.
September 13
In the morning, as the group discusses Naoto showing up on TV, Naoto himself shows up out of uniform. He asks you some questions about the case, starting with the observation that the victims had nothing in common save for appearing on TV, which includes you. He realizes that there were several disappearances between the second and third murders, and suspects that they're related- either you're involved in the murders or are trying to stop them. He also notes that while Saki and Mayumi's causes of death were unknown, King Moron died of a blow to the head. Whatever the case may be, Naoto's determined to find the truth, since it's not a game for him, either. He then walks off in the opposite direction from the school, and doesn't show up for class.
Today, I worked more on Naoki's link, to catch up with the others.
Hanged Man Rank 3
You and Naoki eat at Souzai Daigaku, and Naoki tells a hilarious story about how his teacher punished the class by making them close their eyes, and a guy named Masaya set him off by saying that he can't read the board this way. You can make him laugh one of a few different ways, and he says that it's been a while since he laughed this way.
Of course, since this is one of the more depressing Social Links (similar to Yumi and Hisako's), the mood quickly darkensas two housewives pass, talking about what superstition could have caused such a tragedy and complaining that Naoki seems too cheerful to have lost his sister. Naoki doesn't care much for that, since it means that they won't be satisfied unless he looks like he's mourning. (Incidentally, one pet peeve of mine is when characters judge another for outward indifference toward someone that person would care for, without considering what might be on his or her mind).
Evening
I ate at Aiya for courage.
September 14
Not much happens, except for Naoto not coming to school.
I decided to do the follow-up Hermit event, which requires maxed out Expression.
Hermit Rank 10
The fox is upset to see that the offertory box is apparently empty, but it soon becomes clear that it was used to upgrade the shrine with gold boxes. The shrine regains its popularity as several people come to donate, much to the fox's pleasure
You then unlock Ongyo-ki, yet another relatively forgettable Hermit Persona.
Evening
You see another Midnight Channel airing with a blurry image, and this time, recognize it as Naoto. Yosuke gets frustrated, wondering what, if anything, the Midnight Channel has to do with murders, and calls for another meeting.
'September 15
After school, the team discusses the case, and realizes no one has been thrown in yet. Kanji, however, seems to be spacing out of it, and claims that there's no use worrying about "the shit Naoto said." Yosuke needles Kanji about his interest in Naoto until Kanji storms off, and Chie tells Yosuke not to joke about that, causing Rise to become curious.
Yukiko changes the subject, and asks if anyone has noticed how the town seems to be in high spirits, but no one talks about themselves, something Chie and Rise believe to be normal. Yukiko says everyone seems to be scared of something, but dismisses it as a theory
Evening
The Midnight Channel comes on, and Naoto announces his program, one in which he will perform a body alteration procedure on himself as "experimentor and experimentee both", describing the procedure in highly dramatic terms and tones that are at odds with the fairly subdued Naoto.
Kanji calls, highly flustered over what happened, and is angry that the killer's still out there.
September 16
As the group discusses how they still haven't stopped people from being kidnapped, Yukiko realizes that Naoto let this happen in order to get information on the kidnapper. After the others realize Yukiko's right, they're shocked- Chie knows Naoto could get himself killed, Rise regrets suggesting that it's a game for Naoto, and Kanji gets angry.
The group then brings up Mitsuo, and concludes that he was only responsible for King Moron's death, even if he confessed to the others for a reason that the team can't understand. Kanji, however, insists that they forget about the incarcerated Mitsuo and save Naoto from the TV before it's too late.
Inside the TV, Rise detects someone inside, and notices that the world is larger now, but can't find Naoto without a clue.
Naoto's investigation begins, and you get a tip from a girl that he was arguing with a police officer. You have to ask some police officers about him, but can't until Chie suggests that you pretend to be his friend. The first one, who's in the northern shopping district, complains that he must be skipping school to work on the case because he's obsessed with it. You need another police officer to give you more information, but you can't for now, so I decided to walk a few feet and talk with Naoki.
Hanged Man Rank 4
On the way to Aiya, Naoki meets a passing housewife, who berates him for wandering around like his sister did, and berates him again when he gets annoyed at her unsolicited and condescending advice. You can, with enough stats, either talk back to the woman or flatter her, distracting her long enough to get her to leave. Naoki apologizes, and says that since his family runs a business, they have to stay on good terms with the neighbors, which is why he didn't give this one a piece of his mind. Naoki, upset, decides not to eat with you this time.
Evening'
I finished off Nanako's social link. With the Dojimas out of the way, I'll have the evenings free to do the work social links, boost stats and spend time with social links.
Justice Rank 10
Nanako, knowing that her father's coming home, begins to prepare dinner for him. You can offer to help, hesitantly agree, or tell her a metaphor that goes right over her head. For her end of social link gift, Nanako gives you a copy of the photo of herself with her parents and suggests that she and her dad take one with you. After the social link maxes out, Dojima notices that his daughter is cheerful, and credits it to you.
You unlock Sraosha, a Zoroastrian deity that's the odd one out compared to all the Judeo-Christian angels in this arcana.
September 17
Once again, the final stage is fairly short. Talk to the police officer in the southern shopping district, and he'll grouse that Naoto's insistence that the case isn't solved yet is the reason why the police treat him like a kid. You then have two multiple choice questions, the answers for which are that Naoto "has an obsession with the case," and the police "consider him a child." I'm not sure what happens if you get them wrong, but if you get them right, you unlock Naoto's dungeon, a secret base out of a sci-fi story that makes Naoto seem less mature than he first looked.
Once again, I decided to do the previous optional boss before delving into the new dungeon.
OPTIONAL BOSS: Escapist Soldier
- Party: Yu(51), Yosuke(51), Chie(51), Yukiko(51), Rise(51)Personas: Kikuri-Hime (53)
He uses Blade of Fury, Stagnant Air and Mudoon. The latter sounds intimidating, but the boss is nothing special. He resists Physical, but since Kikuri-Hime primarily used magic, he wasn't that hard.
You get a Gaia Sword, a good weapon for the main character.
A word about Naoto's dungeon. While most other dungeons are linear, here, you'll have to go down to Level 6 to get the Researcher Card, which unlocks a door on Level 4 that leads to a Leader Card, which unlocks another door on Level 6 that leads to the rest of the dungeon, essentially meaning that you go to the floors in the following order- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9- meaning that there's a total of thirteen floors in the dungeon, making it potentially the longest in the game. It's a nice change, but the keys work better in games with less linear dungeons, in which each locked door might lead to an entire wing of the dungeon.
Once you open the door on Level 4 and go through a small area, you come to another Shadow.
SUB-BOSS: Dominating Machine
- Party: Yu(53), Yosuke(53), Chie(53), Yukiko(53), Rise(53)Personas: Kikuri-Hime (56)
This boss primarily charges up and uses Herculean Strike, which can be deadly unless you prepare well and/or guard. Other than that, it's a fairly simple, if a bit long, fight
You get the Leader Card as a reward, which allows you to open the locked door on Level 6 and proceed deeper inside..
Later on in the dungeon, you'll start seeing the Dominating Machine again, but with a twist. The enemy's defenses are so pathetic that you can easily get the achievement for doing more than 1,000 damage, even on Very Hard mode. On my first playthrough, I got it by having Yosuke use Garudyne with Wind Boost and a Wind Vow equippped, and followed it up with a God's Hand from Chie that did 2,500 or so damage, killing the enemy, and on another playthrough, at maximum level, I had Yu Power Charge a God's Hand, which did well over 13,000 damage to it.
On the ninth floor, you face Shadow Naoto. Initially, Naoto seems fully in control of the situation, as well as dismissive of the crybaby Shadow. Suddenly, though, the Shadow becomes colder and more dramatic, lecturing Naoto about how he's so desperate for the acceptance of those who treat her like a child and only tolerate him when he's useful that he pretends to be an adult... and a boy. Some people say that Naoto's true gender is given away by her voice acting, but you can tell a difference between Naoto's voice up to this point and after it, one that's driven home when Naoto, having stopped trying to make herself sound deeper, screams "That's not true!" in a more feminine voice.
Kanji, having seen several people besides himself reject their Shadows, seems to accept this as a natural step, and believes that Naoto will have to do that to face her inner demons once the group defeats the Shadow. Her Shadow then mocks Kanji's lack of sophistication, along with his belief that he can beat her, and then transforms.
BOSS: Shadow Naoto
- My Party: Yu(55), Yosuke(55), Chie(55), Yukiko(55), Rise(55)My Personas: Kikuri-Hime (58)
Shadow Naoto isn't anything particularly special, and only has two dangerous abilities- Galgalim Eyes, which inflicts Enervation and H Pto One on one person, and Element Zero, which removes everyone's elemental resistances. She has a variety of elemental spells (although she mainly used Lightning), but responds with Heat Riser, a buff that can easily be removed with Dekaja. Her resistance to Fire is a bit annoying, since it means Yukiko's largely stuck healing, but I was able to get Wind Amp on my persona before the fight.
After the battle, Naoto comes to and says that she chose to hide her gender because the police department is male-oriented, and that if they had any reason to look down on her, they'd have rejected her. Yukiko, however, correctly deduces that Naoto just wants to be accepted, and understanding that, Naoto accepts her shadow.
Naoto collapses, and then confirms your suspicions- that all this was, in fact, her plan, since she knew you'd come for her and hoped that the culprit would reveal himself. She hadn't counted on you hiding a secret as large as the TV world, but the truth is clear- that the case is far from over.
Outside, Kanji gets angry over Naoto risking herself, causing Rise to tease him about worrying about her. Yukiko and the girls offer to escort Naoto home, and while Naoto's uneasy, Rise insists (somewhat amusingly calling Naoto "missy" even though they're the same age).
Evening
This time, Adachi's drunk, as he celebrates the police finding Naoto. Dojima starts getting more suspicious of you for not being surprised, even though Adachi points out that you have reason to know since you go to the same school. Adachi says he doesn't know why Naoto would leave apart from running away from home after being kicked off the investigation, and adds that if Naoto had died, they'd have been back to square one. He then points out that there's likely a true culprit out here, angering Dojima, who insists that you stay out of the case, before heading upstairs and going to bed.
Adachi apologizes for killing the mood, and this time, discourages you from getting involved any further. He then reassures Nanako that they caught the "bad man," and that he has the most brains in the police department before going home, at which point you can explain what that means to Nanako.
