playerprophet

HELLO FRIENDS. As a brief bonus I've decided to take the conclusion of the Ryouta route as the best opportunity to close up the lose end we have here in the Torimi cafe, as seen in the first part of Ryouta's route. The story about the cafe only appears if you take the summer job, which is only recommended to get bonus points from Ryouta by handing it off to him. But what happens if we keep the job...?

"I'm sorry, Ryouta, but I really want to do this."

"Don't worry about it, Hiyoko.
I've got a couple more places to check."

"Perhaps some other time. I will be here, if you are looking for something later on."

"I'll keep that in mind, sir.
Have fun, Hiyoko!"

Almost opening time. I'm kind of nervous, but I'm not about to mess up after taking the job from Ryouta!
I wonder who the first customer of my life will be...

"Y'all get a new girl?
A human?"

A budgerigar steps in the door.

I think this is another misfortune of this translation, "budgerigar". He's a budgie! If it comes up again I'll just call it by that name.

The first customer of my life...
A young man who doesn't quite serve the atmosphere of the cafe.
I was hoping for somebirdie who'd raise a few more flags!
Maybe a white peacock.

"Welcome!"
"Would you like a bath? Or a meal?
Or maybe you'd like Mister Urushihara?"

What kind of cafe is this?!

"I'll take Kenzaburou..."

On a silver platter.

"Hey, wait just a minute now!"

Yes! The perfect delayed reaction.

"Oh, hello, Rabu."
"This is Rabu, Miss Hiyoko.
A regular customer."

"I'm something of an important figure here. See this card? 206 stamps."

Amazing.
Is he a cafe-addict?

"Hey, what was with that when I came in?"

"I've wanted to provoke that reaction out of someone with a Kanzai accent since I was a little girl!"

While you can probably gather in the localized western sort of mimicry what a Kansai accent might be received as. Kansai is the region surrounding Kyoto, the old capital of Japan. Lately I've been playing Umineko and one of the characters, Hideyoshi, speaks in a fake Kansai dialect in order to relax the people around him. People with Kansai accents are typically seen to be quite friendly, so you might put your guard down. This translator - and many other people actually - interpret a similar take on the accent from the American South, as interpreted in English. It's a bit tricky to unpack the cultural baggage appropriately. And I still have no idea what the joke is Hiyoko is making.

"Thank you, Mister Rabu! Thanks to you, my dream has come true and I can die happy!"

"Y'all lost me on the roadside, there."
"Well, that's how it is."
"Hiyoko, right? That seat there is my private property.
Y'all remember that, now."

"A new encounter in the little birdcage... today is a good day."
"I shall make some coffee to celebrate."
"Please, sit down, both of you."

And so the three of us enjoyed an early afternoon pot of coffee.
Wait, shouldn't I be working?

________________________________________________________________

July 29th

I stayed out on the town for too long and it's late!
On my own, of course!
Riding the stormy waves of life alone is what humans are all about.

???

Hey, human.

It's weird that this is the first time we're hearing this music since it becomes so familiar.

"Wha..."

Suddenly, I'm surrounded by a bunch of unkempt pigeons.

"You go to St. Pigeonations', don't you."

I need to stop for a moment because I just realized these punk pigeons are actually called "punkgeons" in the menu.

"I bet a rich little girl like you gets lots of pocket money from daddy, huh?"

"Rich little girl going to a fancy school, thinks she's so great."

"Gh...!"

Darn it, I...
I can't tell them apart!
I can pick Ryouta out of a crowd about eighty percent of the time, but rock doves I've just met all look the same!

"Do you have some business with me? If not, go away!"

"Hey, that's not nice."
"Show us some cash, first."
"Cash."

They buff up their chests threateningly.

"Dumb punks!
Picking on girls in the park is a good way to get ostracized for life."

"What?"
"What?!"
"You little--"

They're angry now. My hunter-gatherer instincts can feel a fight coming.
Three pigeons on my own...
Can I win this...?

Hiyoko you're like ten times their size.
The screen goes black and there's the sound of punches.

Slam!
THUD!

"?!"

The work of a moment.
A dim figure flits out of the shadows, and an instant later two of the doves are on the ground.
And the grand victor is-

"Azami?!"

"That sure was close, Hiyoko. Are you sure you should be out this late?"

"What the f--! Who are you?!"

"Me?"
"Well..."
"I'm the takoyaki lady!"

The screen shakes and flashes.

The dove collapses before the might of Azami's magnificent kick.

"S-sorry, Azami! I let my guard down!"

"Easy for a kid to do. Life lesson!"
"Always be prepared!
Speak softly, and drive a Sherman tank!"

She's so cool!
I think I'm in love...!

Me too, Hiyoko.

"Umm, Azami? I'm working at a cafe near here over the summer."
"Could I treat you to something, sometime? As thanks?"

"Is that part of your credo, kid? Good by me."

Azami takes the offered flyer, mounts her trusty scooter, and putts off into the darkness.
A heroic entrance, and a cool exit! I hope I can be like her when I grow up!

________________________________________________________________

August 6th

The summer festival occurs as usual, but since we can't invite Azami I'm going to just skip it.

________________________________________________________________

August 10th

"Time sure flies when I'm in here."
"See y'all around, Kenzaburou."
"Oh."
"Hey, Hiyoko."

"?"

Rabu, finally heading home after staying in the cafe for much of the day, gestures to me on his way out of the door.

"Here. This is your tip."

"It's...!"

The magical candy from the pocket of an old lady from Osaka!
So young men from Osaka can do it, too!

I did a quick google to see what this might be referring to, but I couldn't find anything.

"See y'all around."

"Good day to you, Rabu."

We fade to black for a moment, before coming back.

"I think it is time to close up."
"Would you care for something, Hiyoko? It won't be as good after sitting overnight."

"Is there any tonjiru left?"

Tonjiru, also called Butajiru, is a pork soup with miso!

"Of course."
"Here you are."

"Mmmm!
Tonjiru from a fancy cup is the best! Mmmm!"
"...by the way, Mister Urushihara?"

"Yes?"

"Mister Rabu comes here every day, right?"

"He does, yes."

"I wonder what he does... is he a night security guard, or something?"

"A chauffeur, apparently. He is generally out all night."
"He likes to come here to relax before work."

"A budgie who works at night?!"

"There are those among us parrots who prefer the night.
The moon is wonderfully calming on clear evenings."
"Rabu is renowned for being a very careful and reliable driver."

And here I took him for the type to go wild behind the wheel!
Hmm, haven't I met another careful driver recently...?

________________________________________________________________
August 24th

One more week until the end of August.
I guess my summer job is over...
I'll miss this place.

"Thank you for everything, Miss Hiyoko. It's been a pleasure."

"Likewise! Thank you for everything, Mister Urushihara!"
"I think I'll be back here sometime as a customer!"

"Y'all retiring early?"

"Miss Hiyoko is a student, and so must return to her studies with the turning of the leaves."

"I haven't even finished half of my summer homework!" \(^o^)/

"Doing the last half in one week?
I reckon you'll do just fine."
"Gonna feel real lonely around here without you, Hiyoko."
"Least Kenzaburou ain't goin anywhere."

"Naturally not."

Rabu sips from his cup.
I think after working here for a month I can safely say that he accounts for the majority of the cafe's business.
Everybirdie who comes here probably thinks of it as an oasis in the city -- an island of soothing parakeet in the sea of urban life.
It's kind of a pity that so few people come in...

A bell rings.

"Oh! Welcome!"

"Azami! You came!"

"Can't exactly refuse an invitation from my sweet little protege, now can I?"

When did I become your protege??
Okay then.

"Yay! Have a seat, please!"

The music stops.

"A... Azami, is that you...?!"

"!"

Google Translate thankfully makes this pretty easy, translating the title: 崩壊の前兆 as "A Sign/Omen of Collapse".

Her expression suddenly hardens.
It feels like the cafe is going to burst!
It feels like one of those scenes where the retired cop finally faces down the mob boss, just before the bullets start flying!

"D-Do you two know each other...?"

"You might say that..."
"You disappear one day and then turn up sipping tea in a place like this?!
Left us all behind, have you?!"

"Azami... I...!"

"How do you think I felt these past six months?!"

She looks ready to fly at him at any moment.

"U-umm, Azami!"
"I don't know what's happened between you two, but Mister Rabu is a nice man now! He drives cars and gives out candy!"
"Please forgive him!"

"Stay out of this, kid.
It doesn't concern you."

"..."

"Wh-what happened, Mister Rabu?
I've never seen her this mad..."

"Since when are you calling yourself 'Rabu'?"

The music and background fade, and when we come back in there's a sound of thunder, and we see this:

"I remember your sexy, raptorous eyes back then!"
"He used to be a living legend, kid. The leader of the toughest bikers around."
"Back then...
There wasn't a bird on the night roads who didn't know the name of Hosokawa Blaster."

We fade to black again.

Blaster

"Carve it into your souls!
When we stand together, ain't nobirdie gonna hold us back!"

"I was young, then."
"Every one of us Hell's Birdies would have followed you to the ends of the earth!"
"And we all knew we would have gotten there without a single traffic violation!"

"S-since when to biker gangs obey traffic laws?!"

"You don't get it, kid.
You're still a rookie."
"You can ride with the Law. Wh--"

"When you Ride, you Ride on the Inside..."

"You were pretty famous for your strong ideals."
"Riding with the Soul, as wild as any other gang but never breaking the law... you were my hero!"
"But a hero doesn't run away. And you did.
As soon as I confessed to you, you were gone..."

Done with the gang tales, on to the love story.

"Azami... I can tell, I've hurt you. I'm sorry."
"But..."

Tension crackles in the air.
Only Mister Urushihara remains exactly as he was when it all started, slowly polishing glasses behind the counter.
So Mister Rabu used to lead a biker gang, and his real (fake?) name is Hosokawa Blaster...
This entire situations seems extremely out of place here.
Wait... haven't I seen the name 'Blaster' somewhere before...?

"Will you listen to me, Azami?"

"It's a little late for that!"
"Six months of tea and cake and you look like mister fava bean!"

"M-mister fava bean?!"

"This...
It fits so well...!"

"I don't like fat men! All my love for you burned up long ago."

Azami subjects Mister Fava Bean to a harrowing tirade over his new physique.
At this rate, Mister Fava Bean won't be able to get a word in edgewise...
Has she really stopped loving Mister Fava Bean?

If you remember, the answer is easy...

"Azami, I don't think you've forgotten Mister Fava Bean!"

"What's all this, Hiyoko?"

"I think you think about him all the time, even now!"

"What are you talking about, kid?"

"I know it!"

The music cuts out, to the sound of thunder.

"Your scooter right outside is emblazoned with his name!"

"!"

I saw it when we first met.
Writing his name right on her vehicle like that... she loves him, I'm sure of it!

"You still love Mister Fava Bean, right, Azami?"

"Uhhh, Hiyoko...
My name isn't--"

"I saw it with my own two eyes!
When you gave me a ride home, and a lecture on traffic laws!"

"Y-you're pretty sharp, for a human, kid...!"
"She's right, I haven't forgotten you."
"What a sad story. You left without even saying no, and I'm still chasing your shadow..."

"Azami, I--"

"Trying to sympathize with me?
No, thanks. I've had enough of that."
"You threw me away.
And there's nothing that can change that."

"No, Azami! Listen to me!"
"I never threw you away! I..."
"I-I didn't know if I could settle down with you."
"I was an outcast.
I was a hero on the midnight roads, but would I be a good father?"
"Think about it! Any guy will panic a little when the girl he likes confesses like that!"

Yes, but... is the hero of the midnight riders really supposed to be that timid?

"I sat down, and I thought. I had to go straight.
I couldn't have made you happy like that!"

"You..."

"I'm sorry I left you behind."
"I was planning to come back to you when I'd saved money, but... that wasn't good either."
"Maybe this is destiny.
Like Billiken said... our souls are being tested even now."

Billiken...?

"Hosokawa Blaster... your eyes look like they did back then."

"Azami! Enough girl-talk!"
"Marry me!"

"Of course!"

That was fast. The screen fades out and we open to the credits, until...

"Wait, no! No! It's not over yet! Stop the credits!"

This is supposed to be the story of my romance, not theirs!
Who did that? Who started the ending scene there?!

"Geez!"
"That was kind of amazing, Mister Urushihara."

"Yes, a little excitement here and there is not a bad thing.
Such things just make our lives richer."

"I wonder if my life is richer now?"

"No doubt it is."
"Well then, a few more hours until we close, Miss Hiyoko."

"Yes, sir!"

The screen fades to white, and a ridiculous electronic jazzy tune starts playing.

Those who want to see others.

Those who want to be seen.

We fade to a white screen.

The soothing mecca for all such people--

Torimi Cafe - Poko's Forest.

Tea next to chattering birds!
Curry rice to die for!

Right in the middle of Kobe, just a little ways from Osaka!
And if you still haven't had your fill of avian company, the zoo is just around the corner!
The excellent, fantastic Torimi Cafe.
The birds are waiting here for you!
*As of September, 2011. Please check the website for more recent information.