Virtual Summer Memory Episode 3 Part 2

We pick up from last time, with narration inserting a line about Sanat Kumara standing imposingly as he touches down and announces himself. The party is surprised by his entrance, and you can either refer to Sanat Kumara by name with senpai added on, his title as gang leader, or draw attention to him wearing only a fundoshi. C gets an extra line where Sanat comments that you're making a strange voice all of a sudden and says what he's wearing is the most appropriate swimwear for a Man™️ from Umamichi. He also says it's their ouendan uniform, then wonders if that's considered strange by the other schools.

Yamasachi freaks out saying he thought Sanat Kumara was some sort of giant crow, then asks who he is despite Sanat introducing himself already. Sanat apologizes for listening in, then says he's there wherever people who are lost are. You ask who Sanat is talking about. Yamasachi figures Sanat is talking about him and agrees that he is lost since he can't find that fish hook. Sanat says that's not all he's lost though, telling him that he's lost his way of life. If he doesn't get that back he'll never find anything else either. Sanat describes Yamasachi as being controlled by a physical object, then asks if that's right or not.

 

Yamasachi is chagrined at Sanat Kumara coming in all of a sudden and talking like he knows him, muttering to himself at the injustice of it all. Sanat says that he does understand him because Sanat is Like That. Yamasachi freaks out a little as he asks what's going as, saying it feels like his heart is being looked at. Sanat says it seems you guys are in a mental world, one that's always expanding and makes it easier to contact the heart. Sanat then changes the subject as he says 'he didn't come here to say that,' explaining that he heard another of his lost kouhai in a preminition. You ask about who he's talking about or if he's talking about the future.

 

Sanat Kumara talks about how the ether in the area is being loud, which means someone who has lost their way will be making an uproar around here Soon. Sanat's premonition told him this particular event will involve some of his kouhai from Umamichi. Algernon gets a ping, so he apologizes as he interrupts the conversation and says he's just been alerted to an abnormality. Yamasachi's immediate reaction is to ask if he's found his hook for him, so Algernon tells him no and reports that he's picked up several moving objects headed your way. Sanat comments that they're there now, and Zaou pops up yelling about millet dumplings. You yell that it's Zaou after all, loudly express your surprise, or be confused that Zaou isn't yelling wandervogel as usual.

 

Charles is surprised to see Zaou while Algernon comments it's that dude from the mountaineering club before asking if Zaou seems off somehow. Zaou launches into this bizarre explanatory rant asking if you know about how millet is nutritionally balanced and filled with things like zinc and iron. He sings its praises and how it's a staple for long journeys since long ago, and Algernon rethinks things and figures Zaou is being weird as normal.

 

Zaou seems to actually take notice of you and Algernon at this point, asking if you guys turning up means you want to be friends with him. If so, then he'll just have to invite you guys along. He talks about climbing a new mountain, one he describes as floating in the ocean and shaped like the face of an oni. Charles seems already done with him, and you either say he seems to be his usual self, say he seems different somehow, or ask Talos to scan him.

 

Talos activates his scanner, then sees a couple of slimes possessing Zaou. He starts setting up the vaccine program when Zaou declares that he won't be alone and says he's already got some traveling companions. Moritaka runs up panting and asking Zaou to slow down since there are people not used to traveling on mountains here. He then notices that you're there and observes that you look unhurt. Ziz walks up next and is glad you're alright, laughing about how hard she was looking for you. Hanuman loses his mind upon seeing you guys, asking where you got your outfits because he thinks they're cool. You either slowly process that they're there, be glad they're okay, or ask them to not mind what you're wearing.

 

Nezha turns up next and is slurring their words for some reason as they greet you and Sanat Kumara. They ask everyone to battle with them as they laugh in a way that looks like they're high or something, still making engine sounds. Sanat asks Hanuman what's wrong with Nezha as he describes their current state as quiet, so Hanuman said that Otohime Put Nezha Away for being violent. You ask what he means in confusion, wonder what exactly was done to Nezha, and/or ask if Nezha was literally put into a box.

 

Nezha talks about hating sealing attacks like the Thing Taiyi had (the fire net of Taiyi Zhenren I guess?), then gets dejected about how they wouldn't be like this if they managed to blast Otohime away earlier. Hanuman comments that Otohime is pretty strong and is itching to try fighting her himself. He then suggests that you and he go challenge Otohime together. Zaou protests that they already have a goal to focus on, and until that's done they shouldn't be thinking of anything else. Hanuman is surprised to hear this and asks what that goal is. Zaou is surprised in turn and declares that it's obviously the conquest of Onigashima. You are baffled by this and try to ask Zaou to explain further.

 

Zaou asks who you mean when you say Zaou, then declares himself to be Momotaro. He talks about shooting for that famous oni-shaped mountain Onigashima, together with the companions tamed by his millet dumplings, pointing out Moritaka, Hanuman, and Ziz as the dog, monkey, and pheasant from the story. The three of them are shocked to be referred to this way, and Moritaka denies being that dog as he asks Zaou to wake up. Ziz says she isn't a pheasant and asks what's wrong with Zaou. Hanuman groans that it's hard to argue with, but he makes the point he's specifically not Momotaro's monkey. Zaou is surprised that they're against this and asks if that means they don't want to go to Onigashima. You either comment that he sucks at asking people to come along as always, ask about it being Momotaro this time, or be surprised that another fairy tale has popped up after the funayurei.

 

Hephaestus Skypes in to ask if fairy tales are the commonality between the bugs causing spatial distortions. He thinks out loud about how the slimes seemed to be reading the mental images of the people they possess, but he seems to realize something and leaves to investigate his brainwave. Shennong thinks upon the story of Momotaro and briefly summarizes it as the tale of a hero that challenges the mountain floating in the sea with three animal companions. If that story is affecting this area like the ghost ship from before, then Shennong says he can see why this mountain appeared then. Yamasachi then asks if the mountain being all weird is the slimes' fault as he points them out.

 

Yamasachi seems personally offended at the mishmash mountain the slimes put together and threatens them. He talks about not knowing much about bugs, but he stresses that the mountains and seas have their own ways of being. If those get mixed up, then Yamasachi says more people who'd be a disaster to the mountains will show up, and as a hunter who protects the mountains he can't be having that. You are either impressed by this and call Yamasachi bro, try to slow things down, or be confused that Yamasachi is making a speech to a bug.

 

Zaou starts reacting to Yamasachi giving his name and focuses on the yama part of it since that means mountains. Yamasachi is taken aback by this and asks if he has a problem or something, then declares himself to be Yamasachi, who lives in the mountains. Zaou starts nodding as he takes this to mean Yamasachi loves the mountains too and tries asking him really hard to be his friend. This freaks Yamasachi out to the point he yells at him to stop and asks you what Zaou's deal is.

 

Algernon pipes up commenting that this conversation isn't really going anywhere, but then what's new? Shennong thinks on the bit that Yamasachi talked about how the mountains and seas have their own way of being, commenting that if that's his True Desire, then that's fine. Narration describes Shennong as talking so quietly to himself that no one else hears him. Shennong then starts thinking about how Yamasachi traded for his brother's fish hook, a tool of someone who lives at sea, and wonders why that is.

 

He glances over to Sanat Kumara, then comments about this disconnect between words and actions, a gap if you will. Shennong then nods that Sanat's comment that Yamasachi lost sight of himself was well said. He starts talking about how things would be if he understood that when he was younger, but he stops himself as he says this isn't the time to be meditating on things as Yamasachi runs by screaming for Zaou to stop chasing him while as big as a bear.

 

Hephaestus opens his vid chat hologram again as he tells you he finally understands the nature of the warped area. So, the bug slimes are using their power to draw out the information of children's stories from the Dragon Palace's archives. They also seem to be using a backdoor to the emotion receptors like you guys are. He's not sure what the association is between emotions and those stories, but he says you need to get the possessed people's emotions to go your way. Yamasachi interrupts by screaming for help, so you say you need to help him, say emotions are being trapped by the mountain, and/or say it looks like Yamasachi is having fun from where you're standing.

 

Shennong sighs and says he has to help if he hears someone asking for it. He steps in as Zaou and Yamasachi are running around in circles, putting a stop to the chase. He tells Zaou that he can't be so forceful in trying to invite people to join him, and as a school teacher he needs to stop him. He pulls out the swords from his armor that narration says are fake, then starts dancing as he draws a nice arc with them. Shennong apologizes to Yamasachi for preaching to him earlier, then says he wasn't trying to make fun of him earlier. In fact, he has the same kind of memories too. He chased after someone else, jealous of how they lived their life and tried to copy them, but he always suffered in how he could never be like them.

 

Yamasachi is stunned by Shennong talking about this, and Zaou declares Shennong must be an oni from Onigashima to be stopping him like this. He decides that must mean he's already on the island of onis and says it's time for the final battle, telling his animal companions it's time as he throws millet dumplings at the others. Hanuman freaks out at whatever Zaou threw at them.

 

After a bright flash of light, Moritaka starts calling himself Momotaro's Animal Companion #1 and barks as he says he'll discipline all scoundrels. Hanuman calls himself Momotaro's Animal Companion #2 and makes monkey screeching sounds. Ziz says she's Momotaro's Animal Companion #3 and is flustered since she doesn't remember what sort of noise pheasants are supposed to make. As she tries to think on it she wonders if she's failing as a teacher in being so unprepared.

 

Tiger Man comments that the three of them have all slipped into the role despite being against it earlier, then wonders what Zaou threw at them. Sanat Kumara asks if the strange dumpling thrown at Hanuman led him off his path. He says he'll go cover Nezha and asks you to handle Hanuman. You either ask him to watch you as you call him gang leader, say Hanuman is one of your good friends, or say you'll put it in his debt to you (I think). C gets an extra line where Sanat says you're reliable and tells you to show him your youth.

 

Hephaestus reminds you to keep it all to a performance since the security system will be tripped if you actually cut anyone. Shennong says he knows and tells you to come with him in the dance battle. You agree, wonder if this will go okay, or tell Yamasachi you're helping. Just as things look to be headed for the episode battle, Ziz interrupts to say she finally remembers what sounds pheasants make and does so before letting the battle happen for real. More story after that.

 

After the battle, things pick up midway with describing Shennong as he swings his swords around making pretty and dangerous traces in the air. As he moves, his sweat scatters in a glittering double spiral. Yamasachi is surprised and impressed at how well Shennong can keep dancing while under attack by multiple people. Shennong talks about how while he has an audience of good young men, this is still him returning to battle. He goes on to talk about stepping into bloodshed when the bug slimes manage to appear behind him as Yamasachi points out, so you jump in to help and may or may not refer to him with sensei. If you go with B, Shennong has an extra line where he's annoyed and insists you address him with the title because he'll otherwise distract himself trying to correct you.

 

Narration describes you as using your body to block for Shennong, but Shennong says he's fine and repeats that he's stepped into scenes of carnage several times before, smiling in satisfaction. He explains that he was actually baiting everyone to attack him in what appeared to be where his guard was down. Yamasachi sees that the bug slimes are paralyzed and asks what's happening, so Shennong talks about the 64 hexagrams that comes from double layering the eight trigrams and says he has a specialty in the law of...whatever 天地八方 means since I'm having trouble looking that up. But anyways, Shennong says he taught it to someone who went on to call it Qimen Dunjia, a kind of divination. He talks about how it looks like he was unguarded towards the northeast, and when the others took the bait they didn't notice that was also the direction downwind, and he teases the others asking how it feels to be paralyzed. You ask if he deliberately left an opening and are surprised he'd go so far for a trap.

 

Zaou tries to ask what's going on as the paralysis takes hold, and he and the others fall over one by one. Hanuman is locked up enough that he can't speak much more than to babble about his paralysis. Ziz is only slightly less unable to move in that she's able to say even the roots of her feathers are stuck. Shennong tells them it'll be fine since the poison won't be strong enough to cause any after-effects, which he says he's tested on himself. He talks about how living with so much poison in his life has caused it to seep into his breath and sweat at all times. He also brings up the point mentioned previously about how a mental image is important to the virtual world, so if it won't come out if he thinks about it that way, it should also be controlled and released at will if he thinks that. You either call Shennong cool, say you're feeling numb too, or ask if this is the pheromones of an adult.

 

In A, Shennong comments it's a little embarrassing to be complimented so directly, and he chooses to interpret it to be about his dancing specifically. In B, Shennong is surprised and asks if you're okay since he thought he had it under control. When you tell you don't mean it like that, Shennong gets mad as he calls you a precocious brat and threatens to make you numb for real. In C, Shennong sighs and says you have other things to memorize as a student instead of stuff like that. He comments that you're acting like the problem child the rumors are saying and says he's understanding what the other teachers have to deal with.

 

Anyways, Shennong apologizes but says it's time for a lecture. He's happy you jumped in to help him, but he's in the position where he has to scold you about that. It's the job of adults to protect students, meaning that's his job. He asks as school doctor for you to promise to not do anything reckless, saying you shouldn't put yourself in danger trying to save others. You either say you understand, say you can't promise that, or say you defended him because you like him.

 

In A Shennong says it's good that you're obedient, but adds that's only if you uphold the promise. He then sighs that you remind him of some idiot who never learns from experience. In B, Shennong figured you'd say that, commenting that he can't say any more when he considers your past. He then says the same thing in A with the idiot comment. In C, Shennong sighs calling you a bad kid for saying that to a teacher before pointing to something in the distance and asking what it is. You turn to look, but Shennong reveals it was a trick to distract you as he gives you a kiss in a way no one else can see. He tells you he said you shouldn't show any openings but wonders if you did that on purpose.

 

In any case Shennong asks Talos if enough energy has been collected, offering to dance a bit more if it hasn't reached that point yet. Zaou curses himself for getting done in by poison despite being able to tell between edible plants and poisonous ones. He still has a special dumping to use and swears to make it reach this time. Hephaestus rings in alarmed as he tells you that dumpling Zaou has has a compressed bug slime inside. If it manages to get Nezha then things will get out of control. The dumpling splits into several more slimes that attack the party, and you either yell that this is a problem, tell Sanat Kumara to take Nezha away, or tell Talos to hurry with the vaccine program. B has an extra bit where Nezha laughs and tells Sanat they're ticklish. Sanat tells them to settle down but admits they probably wouldn't anyways. C has Talos tells you there's still a few seconds to go before it'll work, which he feels won't be quick enough to handle things.

 

Shennong turns to Yamasachi and points out that this is his territory, asking if it's fine to have his artifact handle things. Yamasachi is surprised by the question and asks how Shennong knows about his artifact. Shennong explains that he's picking up a similar aura to someone he knows with a certain ability. It's someone from his home world who's crazy for fishing despite sucking at it. But even with them being Terrible at Catching Fish they've fished up a lot of other big things. Shennong then asks if Yamasachi has the power to be liked by whatever he's targeting and pull them in.

 

Yamasachi says yes and swears to make a good show of himself as he pulls out his sword from his waist. Yamasachi does the invocation spiel for the first time anyone has in forever, and his class is Hunter while his concept is Bounty/Good Harvest. He tells you guys to watch and see for yourselves how a mountain hunter fishes with a pole as he calls out his NP. The instant Yamasachi swings his sword into empty air the blade breaks off into a bunch of fish hooks. They scatter like cherry blossom petals, then pull in the bug slimes that Zaou threw out. Shennong is impressed and says this is better than he was imagining. Yamasachi says "good hunting," and in response all the fish hooks reconverge back into a single blade with the bug slime dumping stuck on the sword point. Talos apologizes for keeping you waiting and declares the execution of the vaccine program.

 

After the spatial distortion is repaired and the Dragon Palace area returns to normal, Zaou comes to and apologizes for causing everyone trouble. Ziz says she doesn't remember much of what happened while she was possessed, but she thanks everyone for helping her. Moritaka moans to himself about this becoming a memory that he'll want to forget but be unable to. Hanuman is just glad Nezha didn't go on a rampage and leaves things at that. Yamasachi is also glad everyone is okay and says you shouldn't underestimate the mountains even in a dream. You either complain that Yamasachi only acted cool at the very end and took the best part, or you tell Yamasachi that he was cool. In A and B, Yamasachi is shocked and says he wholeheartedly wanted to help everyone, telling you not to make him sound so bad. He does admit that while he tried to act cool there were times he messed up. In C, Yamasachi gets embarrassed at you calling him bro now, sighing that he tried to look cool but spent a lot of time looking like a doofus.

 

Either way, Yamasachi is put off that he isn't able to be like his brother as he turns away from you all and walks off. Shennong is surprised and says he shouldn't act so depressed after what he did, but that's probably a common thing for people to do. The grass is greener on the other side and all. People have their shortcomings, and people have their traumas, which makes him want to help them with that. Shennong also comments that people who are full of openings are liked, which is something he's understood from a certain someone. You either comment that Shennong is kind, say that sounds tough, or stay quiet.

 

Shennong thanks you, then sighs to himself about being worried over by a student. He talks about being able to heal any physical wound, but mental and emotional care is outside his field. Still, Shennong says everyone should go to specialists for the best results, and he knows someone good at that next to him. A certain someone who can cut away the past better than his sword dance can. Shennong says he'll be relying on you, smiling to himself as he leaves his back open to you as the episode ends.