We pick up from before, still in the midst of battling against the first set of Suhail's goons to find us. Akashi is getting annoyed at how persistent they are and moves to cue up his ultimate, so you have to remind him he can't use it because you guys don't have the MP Views. Akashi is dismayed when he remembers and complains about how endless the mobs are, then asks how Hitomi is holding up. He suggests clearing out everyone else still standing before the ones already down get back up again.
Hitomi agrees to the plan and talks about not being able to use her Doki-Doki Charge without any Views. She notices more mobs incoming from a nearby beach and asks Akashi to go handle them, so he says he will and asks you to take care of Hitomi. He runs off to an open beach trying to draw them away from nearby places to lessen possible collateral, and you two run off past some greenery as villain mobs chase you.
You two eventually run into a corner as one of the mobs notes, and he's totally sure he's getting that Venus bonus. Hitomi tells you that she has a plan and asks you to trust in her. Specifically, she asks that you close your eyes for a few seconds until she tells you it's okay to open them again. You either are surprised and ask why, roll with it and agree, or point out this means you'll stop observing her. In A, Hitomi is flustered as she explains she has a move she can't use when people are watching, so she asks Pubraseer to shut his eyes too. In B, Hitomi thanks you and stresses you can't peek at all. She then asks Pubraseer to avert his gaze. In C, Hitomi says it'll only be a few seconds, so her transformation will still hold out. Then she asks Pubraseer to close his eyes like in the other branches.
Pubraseer cheerfully complies, and Hitomi says she's gonna get started and asks that everyone keep those eyelids shut tight. You either do as asked or try to sneak a peek, but the latter has an extra bit where Hitomi notices and pleads with you again to listen to her, looking straight at your eyes. You then shut your eyes hard or shut them really hard, and either way once she's sure you're not looking you hear her walking up to the mobs.
Hitomi talks about how resorts are places that everyone gets excited over, and she won't allow the villains to take it away from people and make them sad. The mobs do not feel threatened by her and wonder what she can do without any Views and with her mic and stand. She bodies him non-lethally mid-sentence by clubbing him with it, shocking a second mob who attempts to attack her for this. She clubs him down next, so a third mob freaks out and attempts to surrender and beg for mercy. But the bodies continue hitting the floor as the voices eventually quiet down to groans of pain and footsteps on the sand.
Eventually Hitomi gives the OK to open your eyes again, which you do cautiously. You see Hitomi coming back as her magical girl hero dress has deactivated by this point. The mobs on the other hand are running away sobbing and crying if they aren't twitching on the ground intermittently. You either ask what happened or comment to yourself that maybe you're better off not knowing, and Pubraseer is amazed at the carnage and says Hitomi must be strong to have caused all that. Hitomi tries to pass it off by saying that pretty and strong is her motto. But anyways now that this set of goons are taken care of, she suggests regrouping with Akashi.
You either cheer for Hitomi, ask her to tell you what she did, and/or thank her as you grab her hand. She shrieks at this contact, so you immediately back off and apologize while she lets go. Hitomi quickly clarifies that she was just surprised instead of upset or anything, and she apologizes for the sudden yell. She then hears the sound of someone running, so she sets the topic aside and promises to talk more about it later.
Akashi runs in at this point asking if you guys are okay saying he heard Hitomi scream. Hitomi answers that she's okay and asks if Akashi has been hurt. Akashi says he's fine and is about to say something about the villains when he's surprised at what he sees. But anyways he's glad the three of you are okay, so he suggests checking to see which of the mobs has the key and radio.
When Akashi's hero suit quits out, Suhail pops up a display window to holo-chat with you guys again. He cheerfully greets you guys and comments on how interesting it is you guys thrashed his crew so quickly. He laughs and says he's impressed with you all. Suhail says you guys qualify for his special mission, then tells you to head to the attraction area next. Hitomi is surprised by this and asks why Suhail is telling you guys that, suggesting it may be a trap.
Suhail just laughs off the comment and says he's telling you because it'd be boring if you guys failed to get to him in time. Akashi apologetically tells Hitomi that Suhail is being serious when he says that, as he's a crazy ass villain who will do anything that seems like fun for him and hate anything that isn't. Suhail taunts Akashi about understanding him a bit more, then says it's time to make things more exciting. And speaking of exciting news, Suhail tells you guys that there's apparently someone else besides you four still on board. He's not sure why they're here, but maybe you can group up with them before his other crew members attack them.
You are shocked to hear that someone else is around and attempt to argue that they have no involvement with what's happening. Akashi says they're in danger if they're someone who can't fight like Pubraseer, and Hitomi agrees saying that if they are a hero they'll be having trouble with the lack of stable views. Suhail frames this as a race to see which side will find this other party first, then orders his mobs to go get this person. His crew responds obediently before the call cuts off.
Akashi is outraged at an unrelated third party getting caught up in the incident. Hitomi tells you guys that the attraction area is ahead along the beach, and as she turns to ask Pubraseer to come along she notices him acting strangely. She asks if something is wrong since he seems less energetic than before, so Pubraseer says he's been having a headache since earlier. It's not that bad though, so he says he's fine. Akashi says they can't force him to do much, but he's against leaving him by himself. He asks Pubraseer to inform you guys if he starts feeling worse, offering to shoulder him up if he does. Pubraseer agrees, thanking him and calling him a kind guy.
The party heads over to the attraction area will still worrying a bit about Pubraseer, and Akashi starts talking about what a pain in the ass situation Suhail has gotten you all into. He's still confused how they all seem to be enjoying themselves, so Hitomi figures it's because they're on a luxury resort ship that they could just visit like a normal person. Hitomi then tells you she can hear someone's voice up ahead, which could be this other person trapped aboard, and she urges everyone to hurry.
Once you guys reach the next destination Akashi says you guys are here to help, then is surprised to see it's Hydoor who's around fighting as hard as he can while unable to transform. Hydoor is mad at the mobs attacking him for some reason, then notices your presence. He demands that you guys help him, then feels the need to clarify that he didn't attack the mobs first. He doesn't know who they are, but they came up looking for a fight, and he curses his inability to transform. You ask if Hydoor is okay, comment that Hydoor seems to be the kind of guy who likes fights, or say it must be because of his rough gangster speech. In A, Hydoor says he obviously isn't and demands you help already. In B, Hydoor angrily denies the idea and tells you to take a good look at what's happening. In C, Hydoor takes offense and asks if you don't like his speech patterns.
Hitomi is surprised to see Hydie/Hy-kun and asks if he's the other person left aboard. Akashi is in turn surprised Hitomi knows him and asks how she ever became acquainted with a punk ass jerk like him. Hitomi explains that Hydoor is a sports brand swimsuit model and sometimes their photo sessions overlap. She was taking pictures and interviewing with him earlier today at the pool. Akashi is surprised at this and says Hydoor's been doing pretty well using his speed to fend the mobs off while not in hero mode.
Hydoor gets irritated as he demands you guys get a move on and stop having a casual conversation. He insists that he's just a normal virtuous hero who was dragged to this stupid ass ship, and while he's at it he tells Hitomi to stop calling him Hydie/Hy-kun already. Akashi decides to ignore the virtuous hero thing and says it is his way as a hero to help people in trouble. Hitomi says she'll help too, then tells Hydie to send you send you a hero contract. Hydoor still protests against the diminutive before giving up for the time being, then angrily tells you he's sending the contract for you to accept already.
You either stress out a little or stay unruffled as you move to hit the window prompt on the phone. This causes Hydoor to be enveloped in light, which disperses after he transforms. He immediately takes a deep breath as he says he was having a hard time earlier, but now he's good. He starts cussing out the pirates, and you either suggest to Hydoor that you guys get them, ask him to follow your commands, or tell everyone to get along. In A, Hydoor swears to make them regret looking down on him and attacking him. In B, Hydoor clicks his tongue but gives in, telling you to do it right if you're taking charge. In C, Hydoor is surprised by that and says he only needs to not attack his allies. Whatever happens next is something he can stop caring about. Akashi teases Hydoor for admitting he sees you guys as friendlies, causing him to bluster that he does of course, then threatening to hit you guys if you touch his dorsal fin.
Anyways, you pull up the command menu and tell Akashi and Hitomi you're starting their transformations. Both respond in acknowledgement, but when you start on Akashi's the phone says it's found a new path while searching for a vision reference and asks if you want to connect to it. You are briefly confused by this, but shrug and hit the OK button. A green light as opposed to the usual color flashes around Akashi, transforming him into his swimsuit variant hero suit. He reacts in shock when he realizes what he's dressed in.
Title card pops up here, and this episode is Be Cool, Be Aggressive! Summer Formation!
Back to the plot, Akashi is now in his new form along with a new Parallel Weapon. He's embarrassed by the outfit, asking if it's his suit and accusing you of having done something. You have a brainwave and wonder if this is that thing Hisaki developed, ask if this is what Crowne was talking about, or say Maculata did a good job. Hitomi is also surprised by the new suit and asks Akashi what it is while saying it has high affinity with swimsuits. She thinks it's super cute and asks you how you did that.
Hydoor says he's never seen Akashi's default hero suit, but he thinks what he has now isn't that bad. Seems like something fitting for the sea. Pubraseer is amazed and says it looks good on Akashi. He also says he looks dashing, then asks if he's using it right. Akashi is still trying to process his new outfit, and he eventually tells you to explain what's going on to him later.
While everyone is in the middle of talking about Akashi's new swimsuit hero form, the mobs present are watching you guys feeling ignored. One starts suggesting they might be able to win if they attack while you guys are distracted. Another agrees, saying that it's a chance to capture the lot of you and get that bonus Suhail promised. A third concurs and says they'll split the bonus between all of them, and they count down to spring a coordinated attack.
Back to your side, Akashi is wondering how his variant weapon works now since he has a mitt but no ball. He quickly figures out how to summon a ball, then decides to try a test throw as a warm up. He throws the energy ball which zooms into a space where no one is currently occupying, but the mob group happens to jump into that same space a second later declaring they'll get the bonus before getting blasted into the water.
The party is stunned silent at what happened, and Pubraseer is the first to talk again as he expresses amazement at the mobs flying and calling Akashi cool. Akashi agrees as he tries to catch up, then tells Hitomi they should hurry up and take out the rest of the mobs around. Hitomi agrees and suggests to Hydoor they split off from here, saying she'll explain later. Hydoor goes along with it, still unsure what's happening but figuring that it should be simple with a bunch of them already blown away. Hydoor turns to you and yells that you better focus on operating right, so you nod and get ready to send commands through your phone. You tell the three to get ready to fight, and the episode battle begins as Hydoor says he's coming for payback from earlier. More happens afterwards.
After the battle, the story starts up a flashback where Hisaki is greeting Crowne, then says he's glad that you all could come. Crowne notes he seems to be the same as ever and doesn't seem to be suffering from the summer heat. Hisaki laughs and says she should know he didn't train himself physically for nothing, and you greet Hisaki and say you haven't seen him since Valentine's.
Hisaki greets you back and says he's been researching something new since the Valentine's incident. Maculata says this is her first time meeting him, then introduces herself just in case. Hisaki thanks Maculata for coming, calling her Big Sis Maculata and saying he's heard about her from rumors Crowne told him long ago. Maculata asks Crowne what it is she told him, then says her student is unique to be calling her Sis. Crowne denies that Hisaki is her student, then asks him if he's finished with his preparation. Hisaki answers that he has of course. The virtual verification test went well so now he just has to make it for real, but first he has to explain to you and Maculata what's going on.
You ask what Hisaki is working on and/or why you were asked to come to his lab, so Hisaki brings up that you transformed heroes into alternate forms before when you activated them. Since then he's tried investigating what happened with that in more concrete terms. You remember what happened with Kyoichi and Shoen and say it happens sometimes, and Hisaki says he believes that it must be your power to materialize changes that normal Observers can't cause. In more practical terms, you are picking up dream paths that normally wouldn't be enough to use for hero transformations and looking for parallel worlds where those dreams were realized. Then, you summon Parallel Weapons from the parallel worlds normal Observers can't perceive. He figures you being able to do this means you have really good eyes.
Crowne says that when she heard all that from Hisaki, she wondered if it was possible to control the phenomenon better if his assumptions are right. It'd be super convenient if you were able to control how it manifests. For example, you could adapt the suit for different situations if you need it for something like heat resistance, waterproofing, or heavy armor. Hisaki adds that it can also be used as backup if the necessary functions are set up, so he feels it should be plenty useful. It might not necessarily be controllable to when it's most convenient, but he feels it's worth betting on if your observational strength is something special. As such, he'd like you to cooperate with this and asks if there's anything you don't understand.
You say you think you get the gist of it, so Crowne says if your eyes are really that good, then by following the analogy you could go looking into distant stores for clothes resembling any designs you were given and picking them up. She and Hisaki are working together to construct stuff for that purpose, and you just have to summon it. Maculata quickly figures she's been called to design the clothes, which Crowne confirms saying it makes sense to leave it to a designer specialist.
Maculata laughs and says Crowne is lacking in her flattery game, but that's good enough for now. She thinks the idea sounds like fun and a good chance to flex her hero suit designing skills. Crowne says that now with everyone on the same page, she turns to Hisaki and asks to see his base system he messaged her about. Hisaki directs her to one of his larger computers and brags about it being something he's proud of. A bunch of technical jargon and numbers are lined up on the screen, and Crowne nods after looking at it.
Crowne says she sees as she talks about the computer picking up electrical signal data from receptors, finagling VP converters, and repurposing Parallel Weapon summoning gimmicks to access a parallel world. She says it's a good idea and seems fine as far as she can tell, so the next thing needed for this is designing the receptor. Hisaki says the system can be miniaturized, so he thinks it'll be fine to make it into some sort of wearable accessory.
Maculata reminds the two that accessories fall under designing, then asks how small Hisaki can miniaturize his system in practice, like a necklace or bracelet or whatever. She gets fired up to design some suits and accessories, then asks if she needs to design for waterproofing or heat protection. While the three are talking animatedly, you ask what you need to do or ask to be included in the conversation since it seems like fun. Hisaki tells you he wants you to gather data during the hero transformation. Once the equipment is complete, he wants you to give it to a hero you can observe from close by and have them wear it. He then asks you to put on a helmet and trying transforming him, then asks to borrow your phone to update a part of its system functions.
Back to the present, Akashi has been informed of all that and asks in shock that you tell him to begin with if that's what was going on. The mobs Suhail sent out have been sent packing by this point, and Akashi is moaning like he's exhausted now that things are quiet. He's sad as he talks about how the necklace you gave him wasn't really a present from you, though he quickly says it's not really a disappointment or anything. He was the one to misunderstand what was up after all. You either apologize for depressing him, say you forgot to explain at the time, or promise to get him a different present later. In A, Akashi starts to say he's not really depressed, but he backs off from it and says he wants some time to think about it. In B, Akashi says he did think it was weird how you suddenly gave it to him in front of people at the office. In C, Akashi blushes and says he wasn't really fishing for a gift, but then asks if you're serious.
Anyways, Akashi decides to just think of it as you picking him to help out with some research. He'd have appreciated being informed earlier, but it did give him a new hero form. You decide to not inform him that you already asked Mokdai and Sui to help but were rejected on that front. Hydoor opines that it's not really a big deal since Akashi could still transform. Hitomi agrees since it's wonderful, then expresses a desire to get a new suit too. Pubraseer also says Akashi was amazing and says he was great at throwing balls.
Hydoor changes the subject to ask Hitomi who all the weirdos who attacked him were. His agency already warned him against getting into a fight, so it was a pain in the ass getting rushed like that. Hitomi immediately insists that he call her Hito-chan and wonders how many times she'll have to repeat herself, causing Hydoor to insist back that she stop with the cutesy nickname for him and get back on topic.
Hitomi is briefly confused before remembering what he was asking about. She doesn't know the smaller details, but she explains that they're pirate villains who have stolen control of the ship and trying to go to the bottom of the sea. Hydoor is baffled and asks why'd they bother doing that, so Akashi takes over to explain the rest about Suhail's motive that the game skips over.
Hydoor sighs long-suffering after getting brought up to speed. He talks about wondering why there were fish swimming in the sky earlier, but now he knows the ship really is diving down. He also says he hates difficult topics, but he does grasp that there are jerks around trying to mess up the ocean, so he decides to help you guys out. It's also partially out of Hydoor hating having to owe other people, and he suggests hurrying up with recapturing the ship since he's already annoyed at being forced to come here.
Pubraseer cheerfully notes that Hydie has joined the party and says that having more people makes things more fun. Hydoor is surprised and needs a moment to remember Pubraseer's name before telling him to not call him by the same name Hitomi does. Akashi says things being fun is going to depend on Hydoor's mood, but that aside they need all the help with fighting they can get. He agrees with Hydoor's suggestion to get the ship back quickly and bring it back to the surface. You try to play peacemaker and/or wonder if things will be okay with the party being what it is.
Now that the current conversation is over, everyone starts to get up and get ready to go to the attraction area next. Before you take a step anywhere though, Hitomi suddenly asks you for a moment looking serious. She says she has a favor to ask of you that only you can do, then asks if she can borrow the necklace Akashi had. Hydoor is surprised by this question, and Pubraseer asks her if she's interested in the research you're helping with too.
Hitomi says the research itself may be over her head, but she thinks the idea of getting a different hero suit to be fantastic, so she pleads for you to let her join it as another test subject. You either express excitement at the idea of Hitomi getting a new form or ask if she wants to change her suit too, and Pubraseer asks if Hitomi is gonna get the same thing Akashi did. Hitomi says it'd be embarrassing if she got the same suit Akashi did, but she points out that Maculata made a bunch of patterns. If there's a world out there with a hero suit where her wish was granted, she wants to see it at least once, and her eyes sparkle in excitement as she looks at you.
Hitomi says she does like her current dress, but it's kind of sad that it can't change. She talks about how heroes are people who fight to protect others, but she'd like to enjoy wearing something bright and stylish on the battlefield. Hitomi argues that idol fighters are all about fighting in a way appropriate to the time, place, and occasion and asks if Hydoor agrees. He's shocked to be brought into this and says he usually leaves his clothes to the company. Hitomi presses him again for his opinion, so Hydoor caves in and says he agrees. He talks about how the research is to look for hero suits to fit whatever environment you're in, and while he doesn't know Akashi's default suit is like, he figures a new one would be usable on land and in water in this case. The interior of Muirauqa-made ships should have security areas only reachable by aquatic beings, so a suit like that should be helpful for Earthlings.
You think aloud about how it should be fine given the situation you're in, and you weren't actually told not to lend it to anyone else. Akashi says there's no telling what'll happen since it is a trial product from Hisaki, but he sees how serious Hitomi is about it. Since his data is already put into your phone, he thinks it should be fine. Hisaki ought to be happy to have more data too, so you nod and hand the necklace over to Hitomi, though you remind her it might not work. Hitomi excitedly thanks you and says she'll do her best, then clips it on. She asks how it looks on her, then says she still wants to be an idol even if she can't fight or stream. She asks you to keep a firm watch on her, and the necklace gives off a faint blue light. Hydoor makes sure Hitomi can't see him sighing, and Pubraseer happily starts leading you all to the attraction area as the episode ends.
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