Volume 2 (Novel)

is the second novel in the Otherside Picnic series. It was released in Japanese on October 19, 2017 and January 11, 2020 in English. The series is written by Iori Miyazawa and illustrated by shirakaba.
== Synopsis ==
Summer has arrived, and university students Sorawo Kamikoshi and Toriko Nishina’s connection deepens as they explore the alternate world known as the Otherside.
There's a rescue operation for the U.S. forces trapped at Kisaragi Station, a night at the Beach of the End on the other side of a resort in Okinawa, a karate-using kouhai who is under attack by ninja cats…
And will the mystery of Toriko's missing friend, Satsuki Uruma, finally unravel?
The unknown and bizarre clash with complex relationships in this popular survival series.J-Novel Club Synopsis
== Chapters ==
* File 5: The Operation to Rescue the U.S. Forces at Kisaragi Station
* File 6: Resort Night at the Beach of the End
* File 7: Attack of the Ninja Cats
* File 8: Little Bird in a Box
== Additional Content ==
* Works Referenced (Vol. 2)
* Special Column: Sorawo and Toriko Chit-Chat About the Original Ghost Stories
== Summaries ==
====== File 5: The Operation to Rescue the U.S. Forces at Kisaragi Station ======
Broad Chapter Summary: Sorawo and Toriko plan and execute a rescue operation for Palehorse Battalion.
Characters in order of appearance: Kozakura, Toriko, Sorawo, Lt Drake, Palehorse Battalion, Maj Ray Barker, Mossmen, Horned Man, Walking Gallows, Kankandara
Locations: Yakiniku place, Kozakura's house, Wild Things Territory, Train Tracks, Kisaragi Station, Kankandara's Forest, Okinawa (visually)
Summary of Parts:
# Kozakura, demanding repayment, scolds the girls for causing her to be left on the Otherside.
# Toriko and Sorawo visit Kozakura's house and announce their rescue plan for Palehorse Battalion, showing off their map of the area. Sorawo desires new guns, and has an idea about how to reach Kisaragi Station.
# Sorawo puts on Hasshaku's hat at the same pub as their first visit to Kisaragi, intending to test its Otherside-transportation capabilities with Kozakura as guinea pig. The experiment works, as Sorawo and Toriko but not Kozakura are transported to the Otherside. They head towards the tracks, with a flag for the soldiers.
# Toriko manages to prevent the girls from getting shot. Lt Drake recaps the events on the Otherside after that night, and reassures the girls that they won't be shot. Sorawo realizes that going insane may cause someone to be able to affect Otherside entities. The Girls arrive at Kisaragi Station.
# The group discusses their escape plan, and Sorawo and Toriko request new guns and ammunition, which is granted. Lt Drake goes over their available supplies, including two massive tank-like vehicles. Toriko teaches Sorawo to use a rifle. The rescue operation commences.
# Sorawo devises an easier way to navigate the army. The army destroys the camp and Kisaragi Station. Later, the group is attacked by mossmen, and Sorawo discovers that the Horned Man watching over the battle is too strong to defeat with bullets. The army travels into a forest.
# They come across the battalion's entry point, and Sorawo recognizes it from the story of Kankandara, who appears in the forest and attacks with sound. Toriko defeats her by ramming her with one of the tanks. Toriko opens the gate and the military passes through, with no casualties. However, the girls refuse to go with the battalion, and talk with and reassure each other as they search for another gate back.
====== File 6: Resort Night at the Beach of the End ======
Broad Chapter Summary: Toriko and Sorawo relax in Okinawa, then in a beach on the Otherside, until strange phenomena drive them out.
Characters in order of appearance: Sorawo, Toriko, taxi driver, Globster, Debris People, Talking Shadows, Suma Coast Alien Children, Satsuki
Locations: Naha, Otherside beach, Deep Otherside, Ishigaki Island
Summary of Parts:
# Sorawo wakes up in a beach hotel in the same beach as a nude Toriko, and the two recap their situation, and plan to spend the day relaxing at the beach.
# They get prepared to go to the beach. Sorawo and Toriko fall asleep in a taxi.
# They awaken in the long-destroyed ruins of the taxi, and conclude they've wound up on a beach in the Otherside. The two of them explore a beach house.
# Sorawo and Toriko spend a comfortable day on the Otherside beach.
# After going shooting, the girls encounter a strange scene of apparent thugs murdering some kids, but the whole scene turns out to be a phenomenon. Things take a scary turn quickly, and the phenomenon- and the entities beyond the Otherside- demonstrate name recognition of Toriko, Sorawo, and Satsuki. The blue sky of the beach turns into the ultrablue, and a barrage of scary phenomena nearly gets them. They escape at the cost of Hasshaku's hat, and Sorawo reveals that she saw Satsuki Uruma standing on that beach, just at the end.
====== File 7: Attack of the Ninja Cats ======
Broad Chapter Summary: The girls meet Akari Seto, who's under attack from ninja cats, while the girls search for a gate to bring a vehicle through. Akari turns out to have a connection to Satsuki.
Characters in order of appearance: Akari Seto, Sorawo, suspicious cats, Toriko, Kozakura, Ponpoko, Ninja Cats
Locations: Saitama University, Kozakura's house, Shakujii-kouen, Ikebukuro, Interstitial Space, Cat City
Summary of Parts:
# A girl called Akari Seto approaches Sorawo for help with a problem: an attack from "Ninja Cats". Sorawo suspects she may be playing a prank, but spots an abnormal gathering of cats.
# Sorawo discusses the encounter with Toriko and Kozakura, and whether it may be connected with the Otherside. A vehicle for traversing the Otherside, which the girls had bought, is delivered to Kozakura's house, to her annoyance, and she demands they find a gate and get it off her lawn.
# Toriko and Sorawo discuss the vehicle, the AP-1, and the search for a gate, then the ninja cats. 
# The two discuss the ninja cat situation further, and agree to help Akari, calling her.
# They meet Akari, who recounts more of her story, until ninja cats attack the three as they shift into interstitial space. Akari utilizes karate to defend the group as they run into a strange city designed for cats. They defend themselves, until Sorawo notices something inside Akari, who begins to go crazy due to being looked at with Sorawo's eye. Toriko uses her hand to retrieve the object, a "good luck charm" according to Akari, and the target of the Ninja Cats' search. They toss it over, thus diverting the Ninja Cats' aggression.
# Upon returning to the surface, Akari explains that the charm was given to her by Satsuki Uruma, stunning Toriko. The next day, Sorawo discovers a gate on Kozakura's doorstep.
====== File 8: Little Bird in a Box ======
Broad Chapter Summary: Sorawo and Toriko discover the existence of DS Research, an organization studying the Otherside. There, they discover a dangerous artifact left behind by Satsuki Uruma.
Characters in order of appearance: Sorawo, Toriko, Kozakura, Migiwa, DS Labs Doctor, DS Labs Patients, Satsuki Uruma
Locations: Wine bar, Kozakura's house, DS Labs, Kotoribako Maze
Summary of Parts:
# Sorawo and Toriko recap the consequences of the last file, and how Akari is now attached to Sorawo (who calls her Karateka).
# Toriko and Sorawo take the AP-1 through the gate on Kozakura's lawn. Toriko talks about her worries regarding her companionship with Sorawo.
# On the surface, the Girls discover a fancy car and Migiwa, a man working with a lab researching the Otherside, talking to Kozakura. The four intend to the labs, to look at Satsuki's office, and to observe the dangers of the Otherside twisting one's body.
# At the labs, Sorawo and Toriko discover many gruesome results of close encounters with the Otherside, and Kozakura reiterates the danger of their hobby.
# DS Labs' history of contacting the Otherside, and occultism, is discussed. They go to Satsuki's office at the lab, where they find her notebook encoded in the language of the Otherside. Sorawo is able to read it, however, it summons Satsuki Uruma.
# It turns out that only Sorawo can see Satsuki, who drops a strange cube artifact and vanishes. The puzzle box "attacks" Toriko and Sorawo, causing them massive pain as they try to dismantle it. However, the center of the "kotoribako" shows nothing, and instead transports Sorawo and an unconscious Toriko to some place deep in the Otherside, where Sorawo encounters Satsuki again. Sorawo is able to cure Toriko with their eye and hand, but Satsuki speaks to Sorawo, saying something unclear but horrifying, and Sorawo realizes Satsuki is connected to the ultrablue as she passes out.
# In the DS Labs, the girls turn out okay and recuperate from the experience.
== Illustrations ==
Novel Cover 2 Clean.png|Cover — Clean
Volume 2 Insert 1.png|File 5: The Operation to Rescue the U.S. Forces at Kisaragi Station
Volume 2 Insert 2.png|File 6: Resort Night at the Beach of the End
Volume 2 Insert 3.png|File 8: Little Bird in a Box
== References ==
Category:Novel