Halloween Jiangshi Night Episode 2 Part 2

Rather than pick up straightaway from before, things start with narration describing a bit of the stall area for Umamichi’s school festival. It’s the area where school members have set up stalls, is placed in the most visible part of the school, and is the part Li Chou is proud of. Customers have been coming in from Daikanyama since the start of the festival, and with it being dinner time it’s the liveliest place in the school at the moment.

You either comment on the peacefulness of the place, mention it’s about time for dinner, and/or get excited for yakisoba, takoyaki, and chocolate bananas. Tetsugyuu says he got some takoyaki off his classmates and offers you one. He also mentions that there’s pumpkin kneaded into it. Li Chou is happy that things are in full swing. You can then remind people not to forget about things, or offer to feed a piece to Tetsugyuu or Li Chou.

A skips ahead to the next bit. In C, Li asks what you’re giving him and says he can eat it himself. When he eats the takoyaki he’s surprised by how hot it is as he tries to vent the heat out with some quick breaths, but he likes it.

In any case Li Chou refocuses for a bit and says this isn’t the time to relax. Tetsugyuu voices disappointment that there aren’t any jiangshi around making a mess of things. Li calls him dumb and insists that no jiangshi being around is the strangest part of things so far. Tetsugyuu argues that the mobs not being here means the place is calm.

You either realize something, ask if there are any regular jiangshi around, or say you don’t see any yourself. Li Chou calls you guys slow and says you guys should go looking for them for starters. One hops right by behind him, so you point it out to him. He doesn’t immediately believe you but catches sight of the mob soon after.

You guys follow that mob to the area set up for dining. When you get there you see Harlot and Ziz surrounded by a bunch of the lower grade jiangshi. Harlot notices you and comments on your presence. You are surprised to see them and surprised by how many of the mobs are here.

Ziz is glad to finally meet up again with someone she knows, then asks if you can do anything about the jiangshi. Harlot says they haven’t been able to leave and laughs about how the mobs have been thinking of her as a parental figure.

Said mobs call Harlot mommy and prompt her to eat some of the takoyaki they’ve bought for her. Harlot thanks them and takes some, and the other mobs ask her to try the grapes and other things they’ve brought too. She seems amused as she calls them unreasonable and selfish for trying to give her so much food. You point out that she doesn’t seem that put off by then or call her mom and say her tone seems troubling.

Harlot says she really is having a problem as she starts talking about the mobs’ expressions in their eyes. Li Chou starts yelling accusing Harlot and Ziz of doing something to them, which frightens the mobs. Harlot scolds him for yelling in front of children and calls him a pig.

Li Chou is intimidated into repeating his question in a much more respectful tone and adds that he’s a tiger and not a pig. Harlot messes with him by pointing out how fat he is and talks about his cowardly self-importance. Ziz by contrast thinks he’s adorable and says she’ll protect him. Li seems to break under the pressure and asks them to tame him as soon as possible.

You either comment that Li Chou’s haughty shame/shyness has been damaged, ask Harlot to ease up on him, or ask Ziz what happened. In any case Ziz then starts talking about what happened when they got here before a flashback takes over.

Flashback picks up at the point where rando guy told Ziz and Harlot to run away and a mob jumps at Harlot. As the mob yells trick or treat loudly, Harlot chooses not to move from her spot and catches him in a hug. The jiangshi twitches and croaks out a happy Halloween, and Harlot asks if someone put him up to it and says he looks like he’s in pain.

Harlot tells the mob that they can stop with the pranks and suggests they end it there. She calls herself a mother as she tries to convince the jiangshi, who seems to calm down and calls her mommy. The title makes her happy, and onlookers are amazed.

Yasha: oh wow she hugged and stopped that attacking kid

Guy A: she’s so open minded I’m touched

Guy B: god I wish that were me

There’s other jiangshi around as well, and Ziz talks to them and asks them to let Big Sis take care of them. They happily start calling her that, and flashback stops as Li Chou brags about being so smart he understood what happened. He explains it as the audience’s mood changed from fear to ‘love me/them(?).’ That in turn made the jiangshi little kids who wanted to be loved.

You say you see, say there are cases like that too, and/or ask about other feelings getting mixed in. Tetsugyuu asks if this means that Ziz and Harlot stopped the jiangshi and if that’s fine. Li Chou figures that if they haven’t hurt anyone then pretty much. He wonders what they should do though if Ziz and Harlot can’t stay to keep them under control.

Harlot says she can’t really stay since she came to look for Azathoth, but on the other hand she can’t bring herself to just leave the mobs alone. Li blusters that he has to go look for rampaging mobs in other places himself, so as festival exec he can’t stay there the whole time either.

Harlot calls him a pig again as she takes issue with him speaking roughly and throwing his position around. Li flinches and says he’s a tiger again. Ziz tries to calm things down as she takes out a huge basket and starts laying out a picnic or picnic table with a checkered tablecloth, fancy silverware and fragrant tea.

Ziz sets up what looks like an afternoon tea party, which differs from a stereotypical one in that it also has takoyaki and okonomiyaki along with all the cakes and sweets around. Li Chou is baffled speechless, and Harlot asks why Ziz is doing this since they don’t really have time to be enjoying tea time.

Ziz explains that if children won’t show themselves, you should pretend to have stopped looking for them. That will make them jealous and lonely and cause them to come to you instead. Harlot thinks that causes heartache for yourself, but Ziz says it goes both ways. She suggests that when they come back you ought to give lots of hugs.

Li objects and says they don’t have that kind of time, then demands proof that this would draw out any jiangshi. Tetsugyuu says Li reminds him of the government officials he hates and argues that there’s no need for proof. He then turns to you and says he agrees with Ziz’s idea. Li is shocked by this, so you either suggest to him that you guys try it out. You feel that the jiangshi will come, though you wonder if this would work on Azathoth.

Ziz says that tea parties are boring to children, then suggests that by boring them their interest can focus on something else and let everyone else move freely. Harlot sighs and agrees to go along with the plan. Ziz thanks her and gets the party started.

Some time later Li Chou is talking to himself worrying about mobs acting up elsewhere, but he stops to say the egg sandwich he’s having tastes great. Tetsugyuu looks at all the candy around and asks if this is in the spirit of Halloween. You ask what he means, so Tetsugyuu asks if Halloween is about dressing up and stealing candy. He’s been keeping guard of the candy you and Hanuman gave him. You either tell him he’s mistaken, say he’s right, or ask if that’s why he’s been trying so hard since the gym.

Li Chou says that’s not what trick or treat means and calls it a really huge stretch. In contrast to your noisier conversation, Ziz and Harlot are having fun with some small talk. Ziz compliments Harlot on her dress, who in turn thanks her and says Arc and Azathoth picked it out for her. She admits wasn’t interested at first.

Ziz asks her why, so Harlot explains the thoughts she had even when she didn’t want to ruin their fun. She starts by talking about how she doesn’t agree with the trick or treat custom. Harlot feels that children should be fed freely, that they shouldn’t use threats or force to have something to eat. By that viewpoint she feels Valentines Day is so much better, even if she doesn’t like the part about it being named after a saint.

Ziz comments on that and says she’d also get the feeling to protect a child who was forced to do so. That said, Ziz brings up the idea that hating someone can lead to hating all that they stand for, which she believes to be true. She does however deal with similar thoughts as part of her feels there must be some children forced to dress up and go along with the holiday.

Ziz smiles the same as always to Harlot opening up, and Harlot starts talking about false accusations before trying to say something else. Ziz asks if she was made to say that all her life, then asks Harlot to talk about it. She gives a small nod and proceeds.

Harlot talks about how she always resisted against the labels and values other people put upon her. She cultivated herself to fight such things, and cosmetics and behavior were all weapons/costumes she put on in order to resist and win. Coming to Tokyo hasn’t changed that.

Thanks to that, in wearing the clothes her family picked she’s feeling lost with how she lives. Harlot only knows how to live by taking what she wants through fighting, so she’s confused as to whether it’s fine to fawn on happiness that was given to her.

Harlot says that Tokyo is too kind to people who have been hurt, so sometimes she feels like crying in her unease. She wonders if she can enjoy Halloween alongside the children the way she is, but she’d never consider doing anything that would lessen their fun. Harlot then looks away, and her expression is unreadable. You either call out her name, call her mom and ask if she doesn’t like the dress, or suggest that she doesn’t need to dwell on those thoughts.

Harlot calls you rude for listening in, and in B she also apologizes and says you had a hand in picking it out too. Ziz then decides to talk about herself and asks if Harlot will listen. Ziz says she understands how she feels and that she also feels like crying out of happiness some days. Harlot is surprised, and Ziz goes on by saying that Tokyo feels like a dream when she thinks of her past, even if Tokyo has its painful sides. She compares the city to a cradle set up just for them.

Anyways, Ziz says she believes that Harlot’s dress was never meant to pressure her. She tells her it was picked in an attempt to please her, but she doesn’t have to force herself to feel that way. It’s nothing to be sad about, but neither does Harlot need to fake a smile. Ziz compares Harlot’s thoughts to an egg that she can just carry around and keep warm. One day she’ll find her answer, so she can take it slowly.

Ziz tells Harlot there’s plenty of time. She’s there too, together with her. Maybe one day Harlot can see things from a new perspective, and maybe one day their scars will heal. Whatever happens, she shouldn’t try to hurry things. Harlot thanks her, and her expression turns gentle.

The mobs say they’re feeling sleepy and bored. Harlot tells them to go to sleep then and reassures that she’ll be with them. You either point out how sleepy they look or tell Harlot to watch her phrasing again. Li Chou says the jiangshi should fall asleep too so that things can settle peacefully.

At that point a bunch of kids run up and loudly marvel at the tea party you guys are having. They also think the jiangshi are regular kids in costumes, and said mobs are jolted awake by this turn of events. Ziz says they were almost asleep, and Li is mad at the kids’ intrusion.

Harlot orders Li Chou to stop and calls him a tiger, saying the kids aren’t actually doing anything wrong. Li reflexively argues and ends up saying he’s a pig instead of a tiger. He immediately apologizes when he processes what he said.

Anyways the kids invite the jiangshi to play, and all of them start running and hopping around the place. Motosumi turns up having caught up with them, trying to rebuke them again for running off when he notices you. He asks about you coming to his school’s culture festival.

You take notice of his presence or ask about him being a student here. Either way Motosumi notices that Li Chou and Tetsugyuu are with you, then comments on how fancy a tea party you guys are having. Li tries to say they aren’t there because they like it.

The kids ask Motosumi if they can play there since it seems like fun and also because there’s so much candy around. Ziz offers them some of her special pumpkin pie, but Motosumi turns her down saying the kids will get carried away otherwise.

The girl whines about wanting it, and Motosumi says that last time she got a snack she couldn’t eat any of her dinner. She insists that she can eat it all and calls him stupid. He gets mad at the label. You comment on how exciting things have gotten and ask if the jiangshi are okay.

Li Chou says that things of this level should be okay since a kiddie fight isn’t that terrifying. He figures it won’t get that way unless two people with impact get into a fight, then is alarmed when Harlot walks up to Motosumi.

Harlot takes issue with Motosumi apparently calling the kids ‘preta’ (those Buddhist starving ghouls) since the word he uses happens to sound the same as one of the terms for kids. She accuses him of neglecting the kids, withholding food, and telling them to deal with it. Motosumi says brats are brats and asks what her problem is. He calls it discipline and tells her to butt out. Harlot is outraged and accuses him of treating the kids like dogs.

You either comment the conversation is full of misunderstandings, say this is kind of alarming, or be surprised at this sudden battle of parenting styles. Li Chou stands there mouth agape, and Harlot proceeds to accuse Motosumi of physically forcing children to obey him. She says that adults (re: the strong) who make children (re: the weak) stay with them by twisting their desires to be horribly ugly people.

Motosumi interprets this to be a dig at his appearance and is ready to throw punches. You attempt to talk them down and correct the misunderstandings, but neither listens as Harlot says that it’s the adult’s job to listen to a child’s wish and make them happen. She compares parents who don’t and force children to deny themselves to tyrants.

By this point the jiangshi start acting up like they’re going feral. The kids think they’re sick, so they try to get Motosumi to help and to stop the fight. Tetsugyuu says the mobs seem like they’re going to break out into another rampage, and Li says that Harlot’s and Motosumi’s fight is scaring everyone around and affecting the jiangshi.

Ziz tries to get Harlot to calm down but says it’s too late. Li Chou hesitates before he decides to break out his artifact. He tries activating his NP with the command “listen to me” as the episode battle starts.