“The Hazuki Diaries” is a project in which I chronicle my replay of the original Shenmue on the Dreamcast. Check out part one here.

After asking around a bit, I learned that Charlie often hung out at a tattoo parlor in an apartment complex (and that Charlie was a total low-life). I tracked down the location of the tattoo parlor, but it wasn’t open yet, so I decided to train to kill some time.

I found an abandoned parking lot and “got sweaty.”

I trained some of my most frequently-used moves for a few in-game hours, but progress was slow.

I returned to the shady tattoo parlor, and it was finally open.

I open the door and who do I see? Those jokers who jumped me outside of the bar the other night! One was getting a tattoo to make himself “look tough.” What a wanker.

The tough bros bolted at the sight of me so I found Charlie and gave him a rude awakening. He didn’t seem too happy to see me, but a successful QTE made him much more pleasant to work with.

When I left the complex, Nozomi was waiting for me.

She was worried about me, and for good reason. I had been doing some pretty stupid stuff lately.

We went our separate ways and I needed a drink.

Turns out my can was a winner! I took it to Tomato to exchange for a shot at the raffle.

I didn’t win :-(

I returned home, had a chat with Fuku-san about “my mission” and then was stopped by Ine-san, making it three people close to me today saying “STOP THIS.”

Ine-san, with great hesitation, shared with me a letter addressed to my father that had just recently arrived.

I was unable to read the letter, as it was written entirely in Chinese. I headed back into town to see if I could find someone who could…

I was stopped by a young boy who said some thugs had stolen his soccer ball and refused to give it back unless he brought me to them. I found the jerkwads and entered a Free Battle, in which many butts were kicked by me. Remember kids, training and discipline, not big talk and tattoos, lead to victory in battle.

It turns out that the boy was Chinese. He suggested that I speak with his grandmother who may be able to read my letter.

I found her at the, um, china shop.

Using a mirror (the characters were all backwards), she was able to read the letter.

The letter contained a warning and an offer of help from a “Master Chen.” There was also a phone number, which I left the china shop to call.

Once I was home, I went straight to the phone. Oddly, before I could pick it up to dial, it began to ring. It was Nozomi, and she wanted to meet up to talk.

We met at a park, where she told me she may be leaving for Canada soon. She wanted to tell me her feelings for me before she left.

I was unable to return the gesture, because as evidenced by my recent actions over the last few days, my head was a goddamn mess. We awkwardly parted ways, both of us unhappy and unsatisfied with the conversation.

I slept it off, and the next day I called the number.

“Father’s Heaven”

“Nine Dragons”

“Mother’s Earth”

“Comrades”

The voice on the other end of the line directed me to a “Warehouse Number 8.” With no idea where a warehouse might be, I looked up the number in the telephone directory at the tobacco shop. I needed to head to Amihama, which was just a bus ride away, and as luck would have it, that bus stop was right next to the tobacco shop.

I hopped on the bus and headed for Amihama (and disc two).

Next Entry: Docked! Please look forward to the next “Hazuki Diaries!”