*Notice how this ‘we hear her thoughts’ and it is REQUIRED to do so for the plot, is in no way possible for Xierra’s video feed or whatever she’s drawing from the data. The setup / premise of what’s going on here can’t carry what they need to show you, so the way the story’s being told doesn’t make sense. Earlier in the game it was “OK to see things you couldn’t possibly see”, like Xiao standing on the nose of the ship in space while your character was elsewhere---simply because it was telling the story to you, the viewer & not through the story itself/it wasn’t plotted that way, like how this is. This is a plot hole created by how the story is told, it's an amature hour mistake.

She says that having no name is really inconvenient for him. She's trying to think of something good, but what would he want to be called? He says nothing, call what you want. She feels he looks like something out of a myth. She says Forseti but no Hemrod, but no, Heimdall, but no, Loki...but maybe...the last one wasn't too bad, she's on the student council and he did say he wouldn’t mind anything so why's he rejecting all? Finally she says "ARU" which is the Japanese word for "to be", and he really likes it. She thinks Gawain would be better but he's flappy (the sleeves are too long for him) and happy so she lets him have that name.

You remember Heimdall from the Thor movies, he opens the rainbow gate. Gawain is from the England fable Gawain & the Green-Knight.

She notices suddenly that she s late, so she says to behave in this room she's got to go. If the Dorm Manager comes say that you're Hitsugi Yasaka's little brother. He asks, so she tells him to repeat it. He waves bye & she leaves. She wonders at him saying 'good luck big sis', and thinks its been a while since she heard those words. She'll let him stay because she's always wanted a little bro. She seems wistful at this, in the hall way.

That's the end of Xiera's video. She says it's been going smoothly so far, though it feels like it's an excuse to peep, but it's for honest data--can't be helped I suppose. She'll continue visualizing the information ...hehehehe! she can't wait for the next scene.

Peeping Is Bad.
How Do You Do This?

Here's that moralizing about peeping again, the plot's really focusing on it as an issue. If you ask her How Do You Do This, she'll say that fragments of information were sent from the link you established all she has to do is peice it all together. They're still performing research, and we won't know more unless more data is collected and that's why we do this. Oh and if we meet Hitsugi again, this is our little secret she's at a sensitive age you know. You just shrug and gesture at her.

If you say "Peeping is Bad", she'll deny that there's any peeping, as she said before it's for honest data, honestly! The data we see just happens to be in awkward stuff, it's not like she's doing it on purpose.

Lisa in: Having Fun As Usual
2028 3/25
You can find Lisa on earth. She says do you remember her? It's Lisa! Strange to see you here but are you here to shoot them too? Isn't it strange she is here? Not just her but other ARKS too. But...only when we got permission. The Phantoms are fun to shoot at. They feel like shooting a darker & they're not an organism, but something that's trying to take a physical shape. However, the mid-point where they're trying to take form feels so fresh that Lisa can't get enough of it. Lisa envies you for being able to come here whenever you feel, she wants to be a Guardian too. However, shooting and killing something while under restrictions is much more satisfying so Lisa doesn't mind at all hahahaha. Byebye!

She has a valuable insight here despite this appearing like a 'throw away' encounter just to rub into people's face that they didn't dumpster every other non-earth NPC. "It is something trying to take Physical Shape". So, energy beings of some sort that are forming themselves into 'zombie guys', but, not well because they DO look half-formed from blue gunk/gel/crystal.

Pietro in: My Best Friends
In the caves, Pietro has a Torim (the blue bird/hawk) pet & greets you with a 'hello my friend'. There's no need to be embarrassed (why? who is embarrassed here? Nothing embarrassing has gone on at all.) He's talking to you, who shares his own will. The bird, Josephine, attacks him with pecks, which he blocks with his arms up. Her appetite is huge but it is her charm. The piecing look of starring down prey that she will sometimes give him also, it is cute you know? Are you giving your children the proper energy they need? (He's assuming you are/tried his class) They are a unique existence after all, we supply the energy source as they mature. The love we pour in takes to the skies, isn't that right Josephine? With this, the bird claw attacks him, causing him to roll to escape it. As he turns his back to go bring it food, it tries to claw attack him again which he narrowly avoids. He promises her an extraordinary dinner, so it aims for his eyes. He finally swears about how close it got to injuring him, and says it's a funny little rascal.

This bit only makes it worse-seeming for pet owners & insane Pietro.
These vile 'creatures' that are so disloyal they attack their trainers/him at every opportunity despite his attempt to be nice & train it right. You would not want to choose this as your class after these cut-scenes, so why are they trying to dissuade players from picking the Summoner class?

What is pso2?
3/23 at 1000
In a room, Hitsugi is sad/ sighing and flopping over her laptop. A boy is arranging books on a shelf. Another person sits at a laptop at another long table. It's a sunny meeting-room type area in the school, with laptops on long tables.

So a new character, Kohri says it's unbecoming of class president to lay on the laptop.
Kohri has waist-length black hair & wears the same gray uniform. Hitsugi says it's ok because she's vice council president candidate, but she says she doesn't deserve it, she's just a council member now. So Hitsugi asks if she would be the president instead? Kohri says not used to that type of stuff and everyone thinks Hitsugi is better for the role. Since we're all members of Mother Cluster it feels another scramble to the top. Come on, though competition is good, you're all chosen members of the cluster. Are you planning to reject the position? Asks Kohri. Hitsugi says she wouldn't mind it but she will support her regardless. She sighs and says that's not it, but by the way, she did not see her in PSO2 yesterday, what was she doing?

This causes her to 'space out' in front of her laptop.
Hitsugi asks what Kohri thinks PSO2 is.

What does that question mean?
It's an online game with booming popularity through ETHER the high-speed new network, and played on the next gen OS called ESC A. Pso2 is standard install on every system with ESC-A, the computer Operating System. ETHER is hinted to be more than just wifi here. This sentance is more like "This game is so great it's installed on every Windows PC before it gets bought".

Hitsugi clarifies that's the textbook explanation, what's it mean...to US?
Kohri asks it from the perspective of Mother Cluster members...A game we can play any time, anywhere through Ether infrastructure. Our job is to maintain the ESC-A OS, to report and fix bugs. Hitsugi adds that to achieve that, thousands and thousands of recruits became members of the grand organization handling regular maint, right? And with the integration of PSO2 into all of ESCA systems there's naturally many bugs. It's really odd though because the AI controlling the NPCs is acting really random. But, our involvement with MC is to gather info from pso2. We're not the only ones doing it but if we don't work well, we'll fall behind the others. Hitsugi agrees there'd be bugs, so Kohri says that "Mother" did call it a 'bug in esca'.

This causes Hitsugi to think about the events of other day (encounter with you, darkness man, operator calling upon her), is that what the game is supposed to be like? Were the people really from the game? Not to mention the monster, and you, and Aru...As she thinks Kohri apologizes for killing the mood so suddenly. (Kohri believes it’s her answer that has caused Hitsugi to space out, but it isn’t)

 Hitsugi stands and asks her to come with her to her room, telling her immideatly that, even though she hates boys and to be brave and come with her. This shocks Kohri. It's not her older brother Enga...so she assumes it's a boyfriend and starts screaming and ranting that it's against the rules to have relationships and her school career is over and they fight each other. She yells "no you idiot, why introduce her to her boyfriend anyway? That would make no sense." Finally, to calm down her obnoxious friend, she finally comes up with that he's her LITTLE brother...and with that she calms down a little.

This ends the scene.

Xiera says Hitsugi has 'quite an interesting friend'. But, they've exposed that there exists a communication system ETHER, a group called MOTHER CLUSTER with a leader called MOTHER & that to them, the access to this dimension is regarded as 'a bug in the system'. The more we listen, the less we know! Comments Xiera.

So Kohri loves to jump to conclusions and isn't above screaming out that her 'best pal' is doing an expel-able offense in the middle of a room with at least 2 other people literally a meter away to over-hear this and squeal on her. Some friend. Hitsugi is also stupid because why tell such a loudmouth moron something like that in a non-private setting? Why not say "Well my little brother is here, would you like to visit him?" Then, break out the news that Aru the sweaterchild is some bizzarre side effect creature.

So what kind of games do they have in 2028?
When would you be nervous that an NPC was "talking to you" or think that they are "watching you" as she did in the game? She was floppin' all about meeting "your guy" in the game. She's ACTING as if she ALWAYS believed that the PSO characters ARE REAL PEOPLE. That's why none of her behaviour makes sense. What makes her act this way other than yet another monster plot hole?

Sharing The Secret
2028 3/23 at 1100

Kohri, now dressed in her casuals, loves the look of Aru, and yells about how cute he is. He has blond hair and blue eyes and is small and cuuuute and adorable. Her over-reaction frightens him, so he hides behind Hitsugi & says for her to do something about the scary girl.

Kohri then says don't be so cruel, don't worry she won’t do anything bad to him. Hitsugi asks her that didn’t she say she hate boys? She counters with “But she likes girlie boys, those she can always stomach.” But, where'd you pick him up from? It cuts away this scene, because they're having a big chat about how he seems to have come out of the game. She says it's the only explanation that makes sense. Kohri says she's no doubter, but if it's true...can she take precious cinnamon-roll home with her? Hitsugi says she's serious so Kohri says it was a joke, but regardless we have a problem. However, logically, she has an idea on what might have caused it. Hitsugi doubts this, so she asks Aru that he doesn't remember anything, right?

He stands by her dresser which has an ESC-A mascot plush, which, interestingly, is zombie-blue with spikes coming out of the head of the 'chibi' style character, just like the crystal spiked tall ‘man’ zombies that attacked the hallway earlier.  She wishes for someone else to ask. Hitsugi says that she could ask your character hmmm....She thinks this over though because she can't explain your character, she wishes instead for an explanation TO her. As she ponders, Aru sneezes over by her book shelf. This reminds Kohri to ask why's he wearing that? (Referencing the floppy sweatshirt)  It's all she had to give him. Hitsugi suggests we go buy him some clothes. 

This ends Xiera's video.
 It also makes her want to try wearing something different, which she quickly glosses over, saying to forget she said it. The real issue is there's not enough data to determine if Aru is Earth or PSO2 in his origin. We might find out more, but we can't ask him to come here, to the PSO2 dimension.

Shopping in Tokyo
2028 at 3/23 at 1200

In front of the OCT building, Kohri is really happy with Aru’s new clothes. He's got a big granny-style button down sweater, plaid pants that are knee length in gray, cowboy brown boots, a scarf with a  puffball panda face pin on it & a white shirt with colorful buttons. Kohri loves it and wants him to twirl, but he thinks they are stuffy. She tells him he has to deal with it. He wants to wear clothes like Hitsugi’s, so she tells him he's a boy. (Does he mean something that doesn't look like granny's attic? Or does he mean a skirt?) Kohri says he's girlie again, so Hitsugi tells her off, saying it suits him. He tells both that he will bear with it since she chose it for him. But, Kohri picked it out and she's good at it. She searches on Ether to find things, where he tries them on, as an avatar in her phone/game portable device.

YMT Corp has invented "Trend Creation". Kohri accuses Hitsugi of not having interest in fashion, it is she how chose the clothes Hitsugi is in now. (It's a pink hoodie, a purple/white striped shirt,  busy tights, and a busy skirt) Hitsugi would choose a book over clothes, so Kohri says youth is all about food, games and fashion to live while you're in it.

Aru looks at her device & she explains its "Ether Communication App", where she chose his clothes & the right place to buy. He sees he's on the tiny screen, and the figure can move. Because he's having fun, she shows that it has 'favorite sets' too, which he looks at and sees himself in Hitsugi's clothes that she's in right now. He begs for them! This makes Hitsugi scowl, and say it looks so similar to PSO2's charcreate screen. Kohri says maybe they used it for refs? (Yes this is another ‘this game is just the greatest thing so everyone uses pso2 to do everything in their life including try on & buy their clothing purchases—if you are smart and trendy like these fashion teens.)

But now Aru is hungry. Kohri right away volunteers to find something on her wonderful phone so it would be but a breeze! She's funny about it, but Hitsugi suspects an Ether addiction. Kohri feels she's too cute to be addicted to anything. Ether is dependent on everybody. The world would be hard pressed to be without it. She found & reserved lunch arrangements. They head off to go find the food.

This ends the video.

Xiera says that world (Earth) mainly manufactures low-end tech, but their communication tech is somehow top notch. It's comparable to ARKS, even. That's fishy though, that it's so far ahead. It feels like a forced evolution, part of a scheme.

Aren't you glad we can have such a focus on teens going clothes shopping, & praising technology and fashion? Finally something important is happening! Maximum sarcasm engaged. It's interesting that they're having Kohri objectify Aru and try to sexy him up in girls' clothes. The “Typical Amnesiac” is usually a cute girl creature & the guys or their gal-pals will do the same thing to her for fanservice fun. This does turn that all on its head, but makes it no less dull.

During The Meal
2028 at 3/23 at 1300

They have made it to an outdoor cafe, where Aru eats messily while loving the food. Hitsugi wipes his mouth for him, so Kohri desires a wipe too. She is put off when Hitsugi won't rub her face and hands her a napkin instead. Hitsugi feels everything's becoming too convenient. Kohri asks Hitsugi to get the Ether device too, it's good for stuff besides games you know. They marvel at how tech has come so far, but Hitsugi wants to game in her room. YMT Corporation is so great, they do the dining app, outfit app, they're just so brilliant. The CEO is a HS Alumnus where we go! Hitsugi says that's a rather obscure fact...but Kohri argues that the topic is totally trending now, it is not obscure to know. But look, the press is doing an interview on the screen in this very square! (There is a giant TV on the side of one of the tall buildings, and (I guess) it has sound too, so everyone in the intersection/area gets to hear whatever’s going on)

It turns on, to say that a tour will soon be shown of YMT on this screen, live. The heart-throb of the whole generation and CEO Hagith Anie will be interviewed. The interviewer woman begins with:

What does YMT stand for?

Ya Ma To

It can refer to the soul in Japanese...so a proud Japanese citizen he knows this well. But, above all it was named after the famous battleship Yamato, which the abbrivation YMT is appealing. The lady says she wondered why she saw the model there in the building. He doesn’t want to admit it though that model he has isn’t the Yamato, it’s the sister ship Musashi, from 1942, a year following her elder sister. He doesn’t blame ms interviewer for mistaking them, because to the averge man of today they’re 2 ships in the same class.

He says the honor to Musashi (the model/tribute ship) is here at corp. HQ, the Yamato is enshrined within his soul, and he has a decorated shrine to it in his home so do you want to see it some time? She seems nervous at this (he’s a bit strange maybe, remember, there’s no video here it’s just voices with a picture of a yellow hair, sunglasses, black jacket guy in a chair) and plays it off that she already has plans but thanks for the offer.

Then, he sees a fact, the model was adopted in the late 2000s, Type 10, it was such a beauty, don’t you agree? Hitsugi is getting skeptical while sweaterkid inspects his spoon because this guy is just banging on about boats. In recent years though, people don’t understand much about different models and types so that’s a shame. He’s fond of the weapons used in the Old War Era, but that’s not to say he doesn’t appreciate modern versions, it’s a rich history of the evolution of man. See this elegant design…

Hitsugi calls him an Otaku, so Aru asks well what’s that? Hitsugi then accuses Kohri of being one so she gets offended and screeches out. She tells him that it’s merely a person who becomes ‘a little too obsessed’. Of course, this leads him to ask what Kohri’s obsessed with. Hitsugi tells her she blundered into that one, but the clip ends and you don’t find out. Remember: Otaku is an offense / insult in Japan, unlike in the USA where people at cons can freely declare themselves that. It has a negative connotation, which is why there's understandable outrage here.

Xiera asks about this new term too, wondering if you are obsessed with anything?

I’m Obsessed With Arks Missions
I’m Obsessed With You Xiera
Nothing In Particular

If you say Nothing In Particular, she’ll ask nothing really? It doesn’t even need to be an obsession per se, just something you’re really into! You’re one of the best Arks but it’s good to settle down and have time to relax too, right? As for her, she’s obsessed with being an administrator! The Administrating Otaku who helps everyone. Anyway, it’s amazing to have many things you can be obsessed about. She is right: well-purposed enthusiasm for non-harmful activities is something that should never be discouraged. "Getting totally into something" and having non-harmful fun & excitement in daily life is good.

Pietro in: Enjoy Summoner Life
You can find him in the desert with a Popple type pet. This is that green & white long ‘eared’ wizard-like creature that floats. It has a thick ‘collar’ with music note icon, 3 fingered mitten-like hands, footless pointed tip legs (ends at the bottom of the shin) & short body. It’s probably about the size of a mid-size dog if it stood up. It has a fairly flat cartoon-cat-ish face as well. It always carries a little ‘magic wand’ which is a ball on a stick with a green twirl around it.

He says he’s heard rumors of your latest achievements, you appear to be leading a great summoner’s life. You try to walk off, ignoring anything he even said to you although he's the only one there (Wow rude much?) so he flails in front of you, saying it’s not good to ignore your friends because friends are the most important thing in life. He says isn’t that right Elizabeth? (He has named the Popple Elizabeth) He says it’s rude he hasn’t introduced her yet, so meet Elizabeth.

You have more than one of them?
What happened to the one I saw before?

If you ask What happened to the one I saw before? He says Josephene is resting now. Work hard rest hard, love sets the fields ablaze. His 3 beloved children are Catherine, Josephine & Elizabeth. He explains that these pets are all different, and have unique characteristics that make them cute and lovable. It’s not possible to choose just one, that’s why he loves all equally.

Elizabeth drifts back and forth listening to him, until it decides to blast him with a spell, then attempt to rip his arm off by twisting it backward. It’s not a large creature so he’s able to wrench free. He shouts that arms aren’t supposed to bend that way, and to stop, so it does release him only to batter his face with its stumpy wand. He throws his hands up in defense, saying it’s rude to claw at someone’s head, but oh it’s dinner time let’s go prepare! It then chases him off into the desert.

Naturally, this is another instance to make you dislike the summoner class & mistrust all the stupid looking ‘pet’ creatures. Instead of actually EXPLAINING WHAT THE PETS ARE all they do is waste everyone’s time showing that pets are mean, nasty things who hate their care-taker & that Peitro is delusional and stupid. We knew all these facts multiple scenes ago, why is the plot so wasteful? Wouldn’t it be nice to actually LEARN about pet powers, how pets were created & why you should WANT to use them? Maybe Peitro is inept at fighting and his pets are always bailing him out & acting the hero in a positive way, or maybe he was lonely & created pets with (insert macguffin here) because he wanted friends to go out and help people with. Any of these would be more interesting than what we got.

Hitsugi in: How About A Bath
2028 3/24

Kohri is through with walking and flops on Hitsugi’s bed, so Hitsugi says “go back to your room” rudely. Kohri counters that it was Hitsugi who asked her to come, then drug her around all day shopping so she should let her indulge in resting her feet a bit. She asks Aru to sleep on the bed too because it is so soft and fluffy. He says he’s already done so, which gets Korhi’s ire going, demanding what he means by that. Hitsugi steps in to explain that’s where he appeared from without her noticing so get her mind out of the gutter.

This prompts Kohri to sniff the bed saying it’s their scents mingling on the bed, and now her smell is here too so it is a brilliant fusion. (What even???) She mentions she feels sweaty, so Hitsugi says she is too (Well gee you wore a sweatshirt hoodie and never took it off so) and asks Aru, who says he feels stuffy. Hitsugi says it’s a good idea to take a bath because we went through a lot buying the clothes.

*Her sweatshirt says "Cream Soda" on the back.

Kohri asks what to do with Aru? She hasn’t thought of this. *Well why not? How are the baths set up? Is it the girls dorm bath where everyone has to shower in stalls or is there an attached bath in the room?

The scene cuts though, Xiera asks if we should skip the next scene?

Peeping is bad
Data collection is vital

If you say Peeping Is Bad she’ll yell that it’s not peeping its good honest data. (OF WHAT) We’re doing nothing wrong, there’s nothing to be guilty about it’s work…yeah that’s what it is. But that said, you’d still watch it with her right? How devious of you…and so…the scene ends.

What's the deal here?
Kohri's "wacky personality" is that she acts like the 'pervert police', always accusing Hitsugi of trying to have sex with Aru (yeah...gross they're HOW old?) while acting like she wants to do that very thing by luring him into the bed with her, boasting about how she feels its ok if he sees her naked and other stuff. It's so 'zany' because she never actually SAYS the thing directly, and accuses others of what she does/wants for herself. Wow so opposite and quirky.

Hitsugi & Kohri in: A disturbance in the bath!
2028 3/24
Kohri calls to Hitsugi that the coast is clear to come in. She tells Aru to come in too, but he’s scared because he can’t see since they blindfolded him with a towel. Hitsugi threatens to beat him if he takes it off, so Kohri says she doesn’t mind if Aru sees her. But, they are all in their towels so it doesn’t matter anyway. Hitsugi yells him to sit before the shower sprayer thing which has a bucket for a chair.  It’s a rather unusual setup, as there’s showers on hoses but set low on the wall. You’d have to actually sit to shower. There are mirrors set in the low wall & a bench where the ‘bucket chairs’ are propped. The taps are set in the ‘bench’ area. There are no partitions anywhere. Why is this the least private bath on earth? Do people not realize girls are horrible about each other’s/their own body image at this age?

She heckles him till he sits on his pink bucket chair, then just blasts him with the hose, not even giving him soap or a cloth to wash with. (So he’s not going to get clean just flailing around and being yelled at but nobody accused Hitsugi of being considerate or good at much of anything)

In his flailing (remember he’s blindfolded) he says he’s scared and they are tormenting him. They kind of are, because remember this is somehow literally a "NEW" person, he doesn't know what showers are or why girls don't like him there but are misguidedly 'helping' him. His hand strikes out and hits Kohri’s boob! So he squeezes it and she’s all surprised and embarrassed because what did it say in the rant at the beginning of this arc? Did you think that rant was hyperbole? The entire ARC is about High School Girls BOOBIES! So we have to have MAX BOOBIE ACTION! He’s all like ‘oh this is soft and nice’ and Hitsugi glares Kohri down for allowing him to do that (and for not screaming or swatting him), so Hitsugi blasts him with spray (to stop him because Kohri won't) & he flails more and hits Hitsugi in the boob which he says is “Smaller than the first one” and protests with “He can’t see so he really doesn’t know what he’s doing”. Hitsugi gets up and whacks both of them over the head with a fist, Aru for accidentally molesting her and Kohri for agreeing with it on both counts.

Then, they stupidly sit in the hot tub area just waiting for someone to show up and bust them with this expell-able offense because they have to be as vapid as possible.

Kohri is happy for the hot soak on her stiff shoulders. Hitsugi says she deserves every bit of it for lugging around ‘that heavy pair everywhere’ and hmphs at her. (Because everyone knows that girls with big boobs are inherently better than ones with small boobs in every way. Big boob girls do it entirely on purpose as these things are under their own control & all their complaints (it hurts, can attract bad people etc) are shallow nothings because they actually enjoy their superiority. They’re superior, you know…and if someone has smaller breasts they’re always, always jealous of bigger ones and will forever be salty and crabby and petty over it (proving their inferirority in mind & body) because that is a trope that has never been used before except IN LITERALLY EVERYTHING. How can computer screen words absorb more sarcasm…I must figure it out!)

Kohri says ‘its rough having a big pair ok? Because clothes don’t fit, shoulders are stiff, unwanted stares…’ Hitsugi says she’ll never understand the pains of those that are lacking…so wistfully…Kohri says she’s nice average and petite, isn’t that perfect? Hitsugi wishes her height was average too. (Wah wah my perfect complection, nice hair, thin self, rich private schooler with a pretty face just isn't good enough because I'm a teeny beeny bit short & salty over my small boobies waaaaa pity party me everyone!) Aru complains because he doesn’t know what they’re talking about. (Aren't they just so considerate ignoring him while he's blindfolded in the chest high water & telling him to shut up when he tries to talk?) Hitsugi says it’s nothing to do with him. He wants to know so he flails and hits the water which splashes about.  She tells him to quit it, but stands up while she’s at it so….

Now you can see WET TOWEL VERSION Hitsugi! (Yes! If you never played the game there are 2 versions of the bath towel costume for your character to wear as well, there's dry towel & wet towel--that's where this is coming from so it's a real in-game thing. ) Booby party w00p w00p aren’t you glad we stopped learning about space dragons, experimental duman people, & cool weapons craftsmen so that we could spend hours of our time listing to high school fools complain about the tiddy & see high school girls in wet bath towels? Aren't you glad you're not playing an actual video game any more with a thing called 'interactivity'? I mean...what were you expecting from this 'video game' labeled software? /S

Kohri asks what will we do about his bath once spring break is over? The bath won’t be empty for long since more people will return to the dorm. Hitsugi hasn’t thought this far ahead. Kohri says its too bad he’s not a girl. Aru says if he became a girl, big sis wouldn’t mind him, so he’ll become a girl! Hitsugi says don’t think of it! And flails at him angrily. Kohri says since he still looks like a girl she won’t mind him either way.

But Student A says it’s rare for people to be in the bath this time of day. B says that to be the first one in the bath is a pipe dream. Panicing now, Hitsugi asks Kohri to distract them, she’ll hide Aru while she distracts. The scene ends.

Xierra is in high suspense, on the edge of her seat!
She asks you to keep this data a top secret.

What is all of this DOING!
Everything is so far off the rails at this point it’s like it’s not even A GAME let alone the same game you were playing earlier. Where is Yucreta? What about that ex-apprentice girl? Did she evaporate? What happened to Quna? Where is Xiao, what’s he doing? Is this BS to show how normal, average and dumb the characters are so when something finally happens and they louse it up you can understand why? “Oh my god a hard day of shopping for clothes! I need a hot bath after this café meal! Wow am I beat…my lap of luxury just isn’t comfy enough wooooeee” The point of ‘they are normal folk’ could have been made ages and ages ago. Like Peitro is a whacko…point made like…3 scenes ago, they've beaten the dead horse into a fine powder by this point.

Aru: Is he genderfluid? Trans?
Aru has all this potential to be an interesting, heart-felt piece that explores the psychology of "who we are" but they’re too stupid to even think of it. He’s “Her Char” that she made in charcreate & was then controlling in pso2. But now, that no one is controlling him, and he became ‘real’, he has a fairly blank mind and personality. He probably doesn’t even know how to fight/do flips/tricks/weapons like the character does when Hitsugi pushes a button on her keyboard. Does he have gender dysphoria because Hitsugi does not and she’s what created him? Let’s see if they actually get into this.
Take a bet: NO.

Aside:
What would have been better for Hitsugi to have made is one of those gaggy cast characters that’s 5 worst different clashing colors, roughly the size of a van made out of prickly crap, and wears 3 misplaced hats and 1 large rappy tutu. THAT would have been a good sight to see ‘popping into reality’ upon her bed instead of that flappy nerd Aru.

Neither Kohri nor Hitsugi is very nice, are they?
Kohri is a pervert who screams "pervert" at everyone else, & Hitsugi is too dumb to know that Aru is basically a baby in pre-teen body. Neither has much consideration for him & are equally lacking in planning or foresight.

Aru in: Aru Sleeps
2028 at 3/24

Hitsugi is in her bed, she laments that shopping and bathing are so tiring. She has made a 'bed' for him on the floor with blanket, pillow & white rectangle thing to lie on. She asks if it's fine, and it is, so he'll go to sleep. She literally tries counting sheep. But she's awakened right away by Aru grabbing her hand. This reveals that she is in a black lace-top spaghetti-strap top & jean shorts. (Who sleeps in jean shorts? ANY shorts are more comfortable than these) This startles her so he explains he's afraid of the dark. He thinks he'll get carried away to someplace dark and scary.

He fears that he'll go back to where he came from if they're not together.
She thinks it over and invites him to the bed top. She says a big sis can't let a little bro stay afraid. He asks 'really?', and climbs in.

This ends the scene.

Xiera understands how he feels, she says. She is more at ease when someone's there for her. That's because she's always been alone here in the bridge all by herself, being lonely. But, thanks to you, she's not any more.

Hitsugi gets the opportunity to easily ask something relevant here: a variation of 'where do you think you came from', or 'what was it like where you came from / who was there'. He's not totally amnesiac, he remembers there IS a came-from, there WAS a 'before' for him. This would be something super vital for figuring out what exactly he is…supposedly one of her most burning questions.

Kohri in: Try Asking Mother
2028 3/25 at 1200

Kohri is gushing over photos she took of Aru on her laptop. Hitsugi says the obsession is dangerous. They're sitting in a school room at a big wooden table with book shelves in the background. Kohri argues anyone gets this way when they look at cute things & reminds her that she shares her room with him and sleeps on the same bed as he does. Kohri decides to be a further pest and says that's very nice and wonder if "something" happened and who was the top and who was the bottom? (Wow way to go there plotto, could you get any grosser? He's supposed to be what like 12 or 13 years old but with the brain of someone maybe 8 that eats food like a malfunctioning baby? Yeah she's doing that to razz Hitsugi but "horny high schoolers" need to take a damn hike off the end of the pier. Into lava. Along with the trope. It’s super grosser because Aru is so babyish. Why is there no concept of "lets not go there it's nasty"?)

Hitsugi doesn't argue, she scowls out that Kohri may be the reason Aru was brought here. *What does this mean? She never clarifies the statement. (no, not ever)  Kohri says seriously though, how will she take care of him? He's an outsider in the dorm. Her plan is to still use spring break & 'little bro' as the defense. (Because the dorm allows family member sleepovers as an exception) Hitsugi frets though that they don't look similar enough, but she can use Mother Cluster Authority if it gets bad.

Kohri then says 'well that’s Mother for you' *what does this mean? And returns to gushing over how cute she thinks he is. Hitsugi tries to get her back on track, saying to focus her obsessive compulsions onto PSO2 examinations now. They finally begin to study their interest. The info-particle "ETHER" was discovered 12 years ago in 2016. It's a new element that allows high speed communication without delay or a need for a medium. Using that particle as a base the "Ether Infrastructure" was constructed launching a global info tech into a new era. Now, Ether functions as a foundation for world operation.

The discoverers developed the next-gen Cloud-Based OS called "ESC-A", which required building towers across the world in many countries. These towers look like pillars taller than most buildings with a ring at the top, a central 'spike' and several petal-like plates arranged around the ring. It gives off a beam of light. As the towers rose, the whole world began to advance with the help of ETHER.

Through the network mandated applications like pso2 are installed on people’s PCs and devices. It's the app to educate he youth about the convenience of Ether. I guess people needed to somehow be reminded of the benefits of free unlimited internet for everyone.