Aoki Shijima/Phrases

Aoki's quotes as the club's leader

❝ Oh! Hello, dear! Did you want to talk to me?❞

―Start a conversation with Aoki as the club leader.

❝ Oh, bye-bye, darling. I look forward to talking to you again!❞

―If you say goodbye to Aoki.

❝ You want to know about our club? Oh! Well! Listen up. We're a biology club; we study nature, plants, and... animals. Basically, we study everything biology-related! Our members specialize in different categories! For example, Hasu Shiroi loves studying flowers! And I love studying animals. Basically, we're all different! And even you'll have your own specialty, my dear!❞

―If you ask me to tell you about the club

❝ Oh, you're interested in joining our club?! Of course, of course, my dear!!❞

―If you are interested in joining the club.

❝ Ah, darling! You're now an official member of my club!❞

―If you agree to join the club.

❝ Aww, I'm so sad to hear that, darling. I totally understand! Choosing a club is a tough thing. But if you decide to go, I'm looking forward to seeing you!❞

―If you refuse to join the club

❝ If my memory serves me right, my dear, you're already a member of another club! Unfortunately, you won't be able to join us while you're in that other club. Sorry!!❞

―If Kami tries to join a club while being a member of another.

❝ (sigh) Huh? You want to leave our club? Something wrong??❞

―If we talk about leaving the club.

❝ Ohh, you scared me, I already thought that something was wrong in our club.❞

―If you refuse to leave the club.

❝ Okay, my dear... we're meeting from 5:00 to 5:30! We're waiting for you!❞

―If we talk about club activities before 5:00 PM

❝ You've come!! Will you join me, my dear?❞

―If we talk about club activities from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM.

❝ Aa... eh. Well, okay! I get it.❞

―If you refuse to take part in club activities

❝ I'm glad, then let's begin, darling!❞

―If you agree to take part in club activities.

❝ Oh.. damn.. I'm sorry.. but.. this is awkward.. ah.. my club member.. well.. I'm really sorry... he has problems with you, yeah.. so.. you can't join the club... ehh... sorry, sunshine..❞

―If you talk to Aoki, as the club leader, after one of the club members witnesses a murder.

❝ It's hard for me to say this, but... honey... you need to leave the club... yes, I'm sorry... but I have to do this...❞

―If Kami was a member of the club, but one of the club members witnessed the murder.

❝ Um... you... you killed someone! Please... go away from me. Far away! Please... this person had a family, feelings, friends, love, and you... destroyed all of it... it's bad... I'm sorry, I don't want to know you anymore... I'm scared... to be near you. Bye...❞

―If you talk to Aoki after she witnesses the murder

Events

❝ Toru: Eteru... (sigh)

Aoki: Hey... hi... is everything... okay? Aoki: I couldn't just pass by, since you're upset... Toru: Huh? Have we... met... before? Aoki: Oh-oh, sorry! I forgot. My name is Aoki Shijima, and I... go to the same academy as you. Aoki: Sorry for coming up to you and bothering you, but I also get sad when I see sad people. I... often try to fix it... Aoki: What happened? Toru: My friend... Eteru... died... because... of bullying at school... She committed suicide... Aoki: I'm sorry to hear that... Toru: What's that box you have? Aoki: Box? Uh... there's the cat I saved in there. It was pouring so hard... I felt sorry for him. There he is, in this box. Look. Toru: How... cute. Aoki: You... wouldn't mind being friends? Toru: Uh... me? Be friends? O... sure!❞

―Aoki and Toru's dialogue at the end of the first game week

Monday

• Tohru: M-Morning! Aoki… senpai! Biology Club Leader! I mean… just good morning!
• Aoki: Oh, good morning, my dear Tohru-kun. You've looked so worried since dawn. Are you okay? Are you hurt?
• Tohru: No, no! Everything's fine! I mean, I'm fine. I was just… thinking. About the tree. It's… alive. Big.
• Aoki: Oh, of course, my dear. Quercus acutissima, the Serrated Oak, to be precise. It's about eighty years old, by my rough estimate. A true veteran of our academy. Look at this bark – what a complex, protective texture.
• Tohru: Protective… Yes! Exactly! It stands here and… protects the gate! Like a guardian! And I thought… (Gulps.) If the tree is so wise and old… maybe it has the answers?
• Aoki: You know, kitten, in biology there are rarely simple "answers." There are observations, hypotheses, long processes of growth... But sometimes the most important thing is simply being able to see life. To notice how a bud swells, or how an ant drags its burden. There's a certain clarity to that.
• Toru: Clarity... Yes! You're right! Sometimes I lack that... clarity. Especially when I'm trying to understand... uh... complex things. Like... feelings. Yours! I mean, not yours specifically! I mean, feelings in general!
• Aoki: Oh, sweetie. Feelings are the most complex ecosystem of all. Even more complex than the microflora in a school pond. They require immense patience to study. And very, very careful handling. One wrong move can destroy the delicate balance.
• Toru: I can be careful! I... I can study! Maybe I should join the biology club? To... understand better? Ecosystems!
• Aoki: Ah, my dear, you're so sincere. It's a rare and precious quality. But it seems our lesson is about to begin. The Biology of the Senses is a lifelong elective. Don't be late for the first introductory course.
• Aoki: If you really want to understand something... start small. Look at that oak tree after class today. Notice how the light changes on its leaves. Sometimes the answer lies not in loud words, but in quiet observation. Have a good day, kitten.

Tuesday

• Aoki: Oh, good morning, my diligent researcher. I see you've prepared. That's commendable.
• Tooru: Yes! Good morning, Aoki-senpai! I... I've started! With observations! Yesterday. After class. There you go.
• Aoki: Ah, my dear, that's a wonderful beginning. Fundamental. All great things begin with a simple statement of fact. Did you notice the lichens on the north side?
• Tooru: Lichens... I didn't... I didn't write them down. I was focusing on... on the overall impression.
• Aoki: Oh, my dear, don't beat yourself up. The overall impression is a first instinct, an intuition. But science loves details. They're like little keys that open big doors.
• Tooru: Keys... Yes! I want to open the door! I mean... understand! I'll examine everything today. The entire bark. Every centimeter!
• Aoki: Ah, kitten, such enthusiasm can burn out. Nature cannot be rushed. It unfolds slowly, petal by petal. Like a rare flower.
• Tohru: Like a flower... So, do I need to... water it? Wait? I can wait. I'm very patient. Sometimes.
• Aoki: I've noticed that. And that's your strength. You don't pull out the sprouts to look at the roots. That's a rare quality. Cherish it.
• Tohru: And... what next? After you examine the bark and the lichens?
• Aoki: Then, my dear, you begin to see the connections. Like the ant is connected to the aphid, the aphid to the ant, and both of them to this old oak tree. Everything in this world hangs on such thin, invisible threads.
• Tohru: Threads... But what if... if one breaks? Will the whole picture be ruined?
• Aoki: Oh, dear... Sometimes it breaks. And the picture changes. But life finds a new way to weave a web. It's stubborn, and beautiful in its stubbornness. The bell, I think. Don't be late for your first lesson.
• Tohru: And tomorrow... can we do it again? Under the tree? I... I'll bring back more observations!
• Aoki: Of course, kitten. I'll be waiting for your report. Just don't overwork those big, kind eyes of yours.

Wednesday

• Aoki: Oh, look, my naturalist is already here. I see your eyes are searching for more than just lichens today.
• Tohru: Aoki-senpai! I... I've brought some observations! And a question! An important one!
• Aoki: Ah, I'm all ears, dear. True science begins with questions.
• Tohru: Look... I was looking yesterday. At this tree. And at the people. They pass by. And no one looks. Why? It's big. And important. Alive!
• Aoki: Oh, my dear, you're asking the hardest question of all. People often don't see what's always right in front of them. They look for the bright, the loud, the fast. But the quiet, slow life... scares them. It reminds them of time.
• Tohru: Scares them? But it's... kind. A tree. It provides shade. And a home for the birds. It doesn't do anything bad.
• Aoki: Ah, kitten, you speak like a true biologist. You see the essence, the function, the harmony. But many fear not the tree... but their connection to it. To realize that we are part of this same slow, ancient life... that takes courage.
• Toru: Part... So am I too? Like a lichen? Or like an ant?
• Aoki: You are like a very curious and slightly restless young shoot on this old tree. You are searching for your place in the sun, clinging to the bark, reaching for the light. And there is nothing wrong with that.
• Toru: A shoot... What if I reach in the wrong direction? To the side? Or break?
• Aoki: Oh, dear... Shoots bend. They are resilient. And if one breaks, the tree will release another. Life... it is more persistent than we think. But try to reach for the light, not into the darkness. Okay?
• Tohru: Towards the light... Got it. I'll try my best. Thank you, Aoki-senpai.
• Aoki: You're welcome, dear. And thank you—for one more person in this school seeing more than just a tree by the gate. Seeing life. Get to class, or you'll be late.

Thursday

• Aoki: Oh, I see my kitten has more than just a notebook today, but a whole storm of thoughts on her face. What happened under our leafy roof?
• Tohru: Aoki-senpai... I tried. To look for connections. As you said.
• Aoki: Ah, and what did your sensitive eyes see?
• Tohru: Yesterday... I saw a bird build a nest. Over there, on a high branch. It was carrying twigs. And it was so... busy. Untouched. And then another one flew in. And they... they did everything together.
• Aoki: Oh, sweetie... Parus minor, the titmouse. They often form stable pairs. Working together for a shared future. Beautiful, isn't it?
• Tohru: Beautiful... Yes. But I felt... strange. I thought... do I have someone? For a shared future? Or am I like that twig lying alone on the ground, unclaimed?
• Aoki: (A soft, warm sigh) Ah, dear... Every twig has its purpose. Some become part of the nest. Others, fertilizer for new shoots. Still others... simply lie and bask in the sun, and that, too, is their important role. Don't rush to compare your story with someone else's. Your book is written at a different pace.
• Toru: But... how do I know what I'm for? For the nest? Or for... for fertilizer?
• Aoki: Oh, kitten... You don't understand it with your head. But with your heart. Or that place where it hurts when you look at the nest. Do you want to be inside? Or do you feel comfortable watching it grow from the ground? Both are correct.
• Toru: It hurts... Yes. It hurts here. (Presses his hand to his chest.) When I look at them. I want... I want to not be alone. But I don't know how. I can write it all down, examine it under a magnifying glass... but how do I do that?
• Aoki: Ah, darling... The most important things aren't written in a field journal. They're... felt. Like the smell of damp earth after rain. Like the warmth of bark under your palm. You won't find instructions. You have to let it happen. When the time comes.
• Toru: Letting it... That's scary. And if the time doesn't come?
• Aoki: It always comes, darling. It's just that sometimes we're so busy looking for the nest that we don't notice we're already standing on the right branch. Trust the tree. And yourself. Now run, the second bell is coming soon.

Friday

• Aoki: Oh, good morning. You're standing so quiet, my kitten. Almost like a mushroom after the rain. Reflecting on the work week?
• Tohru: Aoki-senpai... I... I've thought it all through. About the nests. And the branches. And the shoots.
• Aoki: Ah, so what conclusions has my young naturalist come to?
• Tohru: I realized I don't want to be fertilizer. And I don't want to just lie in the sun. And... and I don't want to watch from the sidelines either.
• Aoki: Oh? What do you want?
• Tohru: I want... to build a nest. Not alone. But with someone. And carry twigs. And to have a shared... a shared future. Or rather, a future.
• Aoki: Ah... That's a very bold and honest confession, my dear. More like the cry of the first bird of spring than the conclusion of a researcher.
• Tohru: But a nest requires… two birds. One is me. And the other… The other must want the same branch. The same kind… for the future.
• Aoki: Oh, dear… Two birds find the same branch not because they were looking for it. But because, at the same moment, they both looked in the same direction. And they saw that they were seeing the same thing. Do you understand?
• Tohru: And… what if they think they're looking in the same direction, but one has better eyesight? And sees further? Or… or do they just like to sit next to each other, but one dreams of a tall pine tree, and the other of a quiet bush?
• Aoki: Then… Then they're not a couple. They're two lonely travelers, simply finding warmth together at a rest stop. And there's nothing wrong with that either. Warmth is a gift in itself.
• Tohru: How can you tell? That it's a couple? And not… a rest stop?
• Aoki: A couple builds a nest, my dear. Even if it's just a single blade of grass in its beak. She begins. Not when everything is clear. But when it's become scary... but silence is no longer possible. Do you hear? Last call. We have to go.
• Toru: Aoki-senpai! Tomorrow... tomorrow is Saturday. The tree will be here without us. Can... can we come for something other than observation?
• Aoki: Oh... Tomorrow the biology club is collecting samples by the pond. But...
• You know, on Sunday, just before dawn, the old sakura tree by the east wall... it seems to wake up differently. At 5:50 AM, there's still no one there, only dew and silence. They say at that hour it can hear even the quietest whisper of the heart and make it... eternal. It's the perfect time for... for finishing a long period of observation. For the most important conclusions.
• But it seems I've gotten too carried away with poetic comparisons. Until Monday, my... my stubborn escape.