10 Conifer Village / Time Passes, Conversations Overheard

Previously, on Usagi Days: The Professor introduces herself and gives a explanation of how the computer works.

- 10.1 - Time Passes, Jobs Around the Village -

The girls had all taken various jobs around town.

(Anemone: "After all, the Usagi's still … well, you know. And we can't just freeload off the village until it's done."

Violet: "Pfft, speak for yourself."

Ivy: "Violet."

Violet: "… Ivy."

Ruby: "Ruby!")

Ivy and Violet both decided to help out Eimi at the Lodge. Violet lent her cooking skills to the kitchen, while Ivy helped clean and tidy the rooms every morning.

Ruby accepted odd jobs around the village, helping the village residents with whatever they needed. Attending to livestock, repairing fences, delivering goods … There was never any shortage of work.

Anemone applied for a position with Professor Kay, and, after passing a preliminary interview with Misa, was accepted.

Each night they bathed in the hot springs to wash away the stresses of the day.

(Ruby, sighing contentedly: "Nothing like a good soak after a hard day's work."

Ivy and Violet, lazily, synchronously: "Mm-hmm …"

Anemone, gazing up at the night sky: "Yeah.")

The days passed in Conifer Village.

- 10.2 - Conversation: Warehouse Activities (feat. Ivy & Anemone) -

Ivy, sitting down at the breakfast table: "So what do they have you doing in that warehouse, Annie?"

Anemone, after swallowing her bite, explained: "Just whatever they need help with. Moving stuff around. Ensuring the sunlight beam continuity. The professor's a real stickler about keeping the plausibility index as low as possible, so … lots of inspecting and maintaining the logic gates."

- 10.3 - Conversation: Night Sounds (feat. Eimi & Usagis) -

Eimi: "Wolves, I suspect. Ah, I wouldn't worry your pretty little head about it too much."

Ruby, to Anemone, in a low voice, doubtfully: "That's not what wolves sound like …"

- 10.4 - Conversation: Alone in Hot Springs (feat. Anemone & Violet) -

Anemone: "I feel like the professor's annoyed with me, sometimes."

Violet: "What makes you say that?"

Anemone: "It's like, I always feel like she just wants the conversation to be over as fast as possible."

Violet, shrugging, soaking deeper into the bath: "She's probably just stressed out. Those mad scientist types, you know? Plus, that stuff you were saying about the cultists … I'd be on edge, too."

Anemone: "Hmm."

Violet: "Say … Have you, you know …? Asked the computer about"—looking around, lowering her voice to a whisper—"… Ithaca Station?"

Anemone: "No, I—I don't get any time to use it for myself. If I want to use it, I have to buy time like everyone else."

Violet, raising an eyebrow: "That's unexpectedly strict."

Anemone: "… Yeah."

Violet: "Hey, has Ruby mentioned the Usagi at all?"

Anemone: "Not really. You know how she is. She doesn't like peeling back the cover … unless she really has to."

Violet: "I never really got that."

Anemone: "Well. It's her car."

Violet: "Yeah."

- 10.5 - Conversation: What Ivy Saw (feat. Ivy & Usagis) -

Ivy, face pale: "I'm telling you, that's what I saw."

Ruby, rationally: "Violet, ghosts aren't real."

Anemone, skeptically: "It's … improbable that you saw one, Ivy."

Ivy: "Yeah, easy to say when you didn't see it!"

Violet, laughing: "Ha ha ha! Ivy believes in ghoo-oosts! What's next, the tooth fairy? Aliens?! Ha ha ha!"

Ivy, angrily: "Aliens are real, you dope! They destroyed our entire planet!"

Violet, unphased, still laughing: "You want me to sleep next to you tonight, to protect you from ghooo-ooosts?"

- 10.6 - Conversation: Usagi Update (feat. Ruby & Anemone) -

Anemone: "How's the Usagi doing?"

Ruby: "Still there. Still under the covers."

Anemone: "You haven't checked, have you?"

Ruby: "What's the rush! Things are great here."

- 10.7 - Conversation: Display Mechanics (feat. Anemone & Prof K) -

Anemone: "The display, professor … I still don't get how this works. How can it update by itself?"

Prof K: "The screen is made up of reflector pixels. When light hits the glass, it can light up blue, green or red, depending on the angle. The display looks like one big smooth surface, but it's actually made up of shiny, small squares. Three-thousand and seventy-two (3,072) of them, to be exact.

"Sixty-four rows from left to right. Forty-eight rows from top to bottom."

Anemone: "Hmm …"

Prof K: "You don't seem satisfied by that answer."

Anemone: "N-no … It's not that …"

Prof K: "Look, don't worry about it so much! Let me do the worrying, okay? I guarantee you, my worries are much greater than yours …"

- 10.8 - Conversation: A Strange Encounter, Part 1 (feat. Usagis) -

Ruby: "Hi there! What's wrong? Are you lost? Where are your parents?"

Violet: "Come in! Come in! Look at you, you're all wet. Come out of the rain, sweetie. Grab a bite to eat! There's plenty of stew left! I'm pretty proud of it, to be honest."

Anemone: "I've never seen her in the village before …"

Violet: "Here you go. It's hot, be careful. Mmm, it's good, right?"

Anemone: "It doesn't look like she can talk."

Ivy: "Hey, guys, sorry I'm late, I—AIIEEEEEE!!!!!"

Violet, Ruby, Anemone: "…"

Ivy, clutching her chest, breathing heavily: "Well … That explains the 'ghost' I saw the other night."

Violet: "... Ivy, please. This is a child."

Ruby: "Yeah, Ivy. Kinda rude."

Anemone: "Tsk, tsk."

- 10.9 - Conversation: A Strange Encounter, Part 2 (feat. Usagis & Prof K) -

Prof K: "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

Anemone, standing up: "Ah, pr-professor … Good eveni—"

Prof K: "Come on. Let's go. There's food back at the warehouse, okay? Let's not bother these nice people."

Violet: "No, really, it's no bother …"

Prof K: "I'm terribly sorry for all this. Come on, let's go back now. Good night to you all."

Ruby: "Ah … They're gone."

- 10.10 - Conversation: A Strange Encounter, Part 3 (feat. Eimi & Usagis) -

Eimi: "That girl? Yeah, she's wandered in a few times. Supposed to be some sort of genius, the professor says. Not as young as she looks, either. Professor says she was malnourished, didn't grow properly.

"Now, between you and me, and this sounds a bit harsh, but I don't think the poor girl is all there. And I still don't know her name. The professor just refers to her as her assistant.

"I guess, along with Misa, she's got two.

Anemone: "… I've never seen her before in the warehouse."

- 10.11 - Conifer Village Has Visitors -

They came in the morning.

Twelve of them, in hooded robes. They were stopped at the gate.

Johnny kept a wary eye on the group. The cultists were the last thing Johnny and Ronny wanted to deal with. Especially when the twins were so close to being relieved.

The way those cloaked figures slowly moved together in unison had always made him uneasy. Made him think of a spider's legs. As though they were connected to some hivemind that they took orders from.

But here they were, the unwelcome visitors. And the brothers had no choice but to deal with them.

Johnny: "Listen, you folks. You're not technically banned from the village. But you have to know you're not wanted here."

Ronny: "Yeah, every time you come in you try to force all that nonsense down everyone's throats. Everyone's got the right to their own beliefs and all that, but Conifer Village ain't interested in a bunch of cultists coming in and telling us what's what."

The head of the group stepped forward. She lowered her hood, and shook free a long cascade of white, silvery hair that sparkled in the morning sun.

Her cold smile. Piercing eyes. "Rest assured, we have not the slightest intention of 'bothering', as you so delicately put it, the ignorant masses this time around. We wish only to speak to the Professor."

Johnny looked uneasily at his brother. Then, to the leader, he said, "She's pretty busy, you know. You're not going to get her to come out. Unless you got the gold, or scrap metal—"

"Or food."

"—or food, (thank you Ronny), to make it worth her while, you ain't getting any face time with Professor Kay. Look at it this way: regular people paying for time with the machine have a hard enough time getting to talk to the professor—I doubt a bunch of cultists would have more luck."

The leader of the group gestured to the hooded figure next to her. Then she said, coolly: "I have no doubt that, when you inform the professor of what we've so graciously prepared for her, she'll be all too happy to reconsider.

"Oh, and if you don't mind—please, and thank you—we'd rather not be referred to as 'cultists'. The use of such a crude term demeans the both of us, don't you think?

"We are the Order of the Lunar Schismatics—and we would prefer to be called as such.

"Of course, if the two of you find it too mentally taxing to remember the full name, then 'The Order' will suffice.

"Now, if you would be so kind, please go and tell the professor we'll be waiting for her."