In the attic room…
"I flunked three of my finals in one day, too. I was really freakin' out. I had so many makeup lectures in a row, I almost wasn't able to come here today…" said Ryuji with a sad look on his face.
"Heheh, then I win! I only flunked ONE final!" said Ann cheerfully to Ryuji.
"You two are the same as always. Can't you two at least take your classes a bit more seriously?" said Makoto.
"Makoto-san's right. How are you 2 going to graduate Shujin like she, Haru-san, Hanzo-kun, Ken-kun, Minato-kun and Akechi-kun already did if you 2 keep flunking your finals? Maybe I should give you two more study sessions like I did last year so you two won't flunked your finals, especially you, Ryuji-kun." said Kanakubo-sensei in disapproval at both Ann and Ryuji.
"Oh, come on, teach!" groaned Ryuji.
"Whiny much, Sakamoto?" thought Goro sarcastically in his mind at Ryuji.
"Now, don't be like that, Ryuji-kun. You should be grateful to Kyosuke's study sessions offer so that you don't flunked your finals." said Doctor Maruki calmly to Ryuji (which make him groan some more).
"Watch out, Miss President's gonna unleash her fist of justice and Mister Teach is gonna unleash his teaching soul!" said Futaba jokingly to them.
"Geez… will you please forget about that already?" sighed Makoto.
"So, is college life all it's cracked up to be for the 6 of you?" asked Morgana curiously to Makoto, Haru, Hanzo, Ken, Minato and Goro.
"Yes, it's going well. I've been using the time to take care of the core curriculum." replied Makoto.
"So do I." replied Ken.
"I've been busy too, but it's also a lot of fun. For example, I've learned how to selectively breed certain vegetables." replied Haru.
"I've learned loads too about maintaining and managing huge companies from books and teachers until I'm confident enough to take over Okumura Foods company." replied Hanzo.
"I see. And what about you two, Minato and Akechi?" asked Morgana as he glance at both Minato and Goro.
"I'm not telling so don't expect me to say it to you all." said Goro.
"Goro, be nice and don't be like that to them." said Minato as he scowled in disapproval at Goro (who raised his eyebrow at him).
"I agreed with Minato-san. Don't be so cold and curt to them." said Ken in disapproval at Goro as well.
"Why are you 2 still lecturing and correcting him when he doesn't want or need it, Minato-kun and Ken-kun?" thought Hanzo sadly at both Minato and Ken then angrily at Goro in his mind.
"Anyway, mine, Goro's college life is going quite well too, Morgana." said Minato as he glance and nodded at Morgana.
"Oh ho! Is that so, Aniki? How splendid and did any of you yielded any results yet?" asked Yusuke curiously to them.
"Boy, that got HIS interest…" said Ryuji as he briefly glance at Yusuke.
"Yeah, I guess we did." replied Minato as he nodded at Yusuke.
"That's good to hear from you, Arisato-kun." said Doctor Maruki as he nodded at Minato.
"Wait-aren't you, your brother and Ken in the management program, though?" said Futaba.
"Yes, we are. But students are allowed to take courses beyond their own programs if they feel so inclined. They even offer agricultural science courses. You can learn all sorts of neat things, like the correlation between soil nutrients and yield…" explained Haru.
"Guh. That'd put me to sleep in a minute flat…" groaned Morgana.
"Not me. Sometimes I find her explaining things to us that we don't know about quite interesting and better than reading books." thought Ken in his mind.
"And you, Futaba? How's school been for you?" asked Makoto as she and the others glance at Futaba.
"Mweheheh, too easy! At this point, the only hellish parts are the commute and P.E.!" replied Futaba excitedly to them."
"Looks like you've been working hard, which is good, Futaba." said Akira as he smiled approvingly at Futaba.
"Uh huh, uh huh! Praise me more, keep it comin'!" said Futaba happily to Akira.
"Nope. That's enough praising that you'll get from Akira-kun because too much of it will make your head swelled, Futaba-san." said Kanakubo-sensei as he shake his head at Futaba.
"Booo, you're no fun, teach." said Futaba as she scowled at Kanakubo-sensei.
"Mind your manners, missy." said Kanakubo-sensei slightly sternly to Futaba.
"Well, how 'bout you, then? You're the one we're most curious about. You doin' okay back home?" asked Ryuji as he and the others glance at Akira.
"Yeah, I'm doing fine enough, Ryuji." replied Akira as he nodded at Ryuji.
"That's good to hear and know, Kurusu-kun." said Doctor Maruki with a small smile on his face.
"Well, I've been gettin' by too, but… Without you around for the past few months, it's sorta like stuff is just kinda… bleh." said Ryuji with a bored look on his face.
"Of course! He's our leader; it's only natural!" said Futaba.
"So do I and Minako back in Tatsumi Port Island a few years ago." thought Minato about his and Minako's one year time as the duo leaders of SEES in Tatsumi Port Island nostalgically in his mind.
"I know what you're thinking and if it's any consolation to you, I know you and Minako-san are just as good leaders as Kurusu is, Minato-san." whisper Goro as his hand reach out to closed over and gently squeeze Minato's hand.
"Thanks, Gocchan." whisper Minato happily and lovingly back to Goro (which make Hanzo feel jealous when he noticed it).
"Futaba-chan's right!" said Ann in agreement with Futaba.
"Yeah, he sure is!" said Sumire in agreement with both Futaba and Ann as well.
"T-Thanks, girls." said Akira with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Aww! Don't you just look cute when you're blushing, senpai!" said Sumire teasingly to Akira.
"Please stop, Sumire." said Akira, feeling more embarrassed now.
"Yeah, leave the poor boy alone before he passed out from embarrassment, Sumire-san." said Kanakubo-sensei.
"Alright, sensei." said Sumire as she glance and nodded at Kanakubo-sensei.
"Heheh! Once a phantom thief, always a phantom thief!" chuckled Ryuji.
"Well, are you kids done teasing each other so we can move on to the next topic?" said Doctor Maruki.
"Well, what say we start coming up with summer vacation plans? Anyone have any ideas?" said Makoto.
"Ooh, right! We should figure that stuff out!" said Ann.
"You're fine to stay here through all of summer vacation, right, Akira?" asked Haru as she glance at Akira.
"Yeah, I do, Haru." replied Akira as he nodded at Haru.
"How 'bout a trip, guys? C'mon, we've got a whole month to rage!" said Ryuji excitedly to them.
"Um, aren't you forgetting about your summer homework?" sighed Makoto.
"Makoto-san's right. Have you 2 already finish your summer homework or not?" said Kanakubo-sensei.
"Bluh." groaned Ann.
"Oh man." groaned Ryuji.
"Guess not, judging by their reactions." snorted Goro.
"Goro, enough, please." said Ken in disapproval at Goro.
"Now only do you 2 have homeworks, but you 2 are third-years now. You 2 need to start thinking not just about graduation, but post-graduation…" said Makoto.
"Ah! No, stop! Don't bring that up, not now, please!" protested Ryuji.
"Ryuji never changes." sighed Morgana.
"Yeah, he's just like Junpei-kun, isn't it, Minato?" said Pharos in amusement to Minato from inside his soul.
"Yeah, Pharos." said Minato in agreement with Pharos.
"Back to the topic at hand-if I may suggest Kyoto. I'll find an abundance of inspiration if we tour each temples and shrines. Oh, the sheer wealth and beauty that I can witness in a whole month! I can hear the treasures of our history calling to me! What do you think, Aniki?" said Yusuke with an enthusiastic look on his face before he glance at Minato.
"Uh well, if that's what you want to do then I won't stop you, Yusuke." said Minato.
"Yeah, if it's a month-long art tour, I'm totally gonna pass." said Futaba as she shake her head at Yusuke (which make him look sad and disappointed).
"A trip does sound nice, but what if we all went camping first? We can all go hiking and stuff during the day, and even throw together a barbecue at night!" suggested Ann excitedly to them.
"Oh, that's a good idea from you, Ann-senpai!" said Sumire, delighted at Ann's idea.
"Indeed." said Kanakubo-sensei with a nod of his head.
"B-B-Barbecue!? Aren't those always b-big gatherings for people who socialise IRL?" said Futaba with a nervous look on her face.
"Yes, exactly as you say, Futaba-san." said Goro as he nodded at Futaba.
"I'm sure it'll be fine so don't worry about it." said Doctor Maruki reassuringly to Futaba.
"Sounds fun. You can leave the firewood-chopping to me." chuckled Haru.
"No, why don't you leave it to me to do it instead, Haru? Just in case." said Hanzo.
"You will? Alright then, Hanzo." said Haru as she nodded at Hanzo.
"Kickin' summer off right with a barbecue buffet! Sounds badass to me-how 'bout you?" said Ryuji as he glance at Akira.
"Sounds good to me, Ryuji." said Akira as he nodded at Ryuji.
"Look for decent marbling in the cuts! That's how you get the real good stuff. Trust me on this." said Morgana.
"It does sound rather fitting for the summer. I like the idea too, but we'll need an awful lot of vegetables to balance it out." said Makoto.
"Heh… A barbecue is one of the few things in this world that could pull me away from art. Our history's treasures can wait a bit longer." said Yusuke.
"Choosing food over art? You sure your priorities are solid there, Inari?" said Futaba concernly to Yusuke.
"That's how he is, Futaba-san." said Ken.
"All right, our first reunion party has been unanimously decided: we're going camping!" said Ann.
"Finally." thought Goro in relief in his mind.
"And with that settled…" said Futaba as she take out her smartphone from her coat pocket, turned it on and began tapping on it. "EMMA, list recommended camping gears." asked Futaba to something named EMMA on her phone.
"I have compiled a list of items recommended for camping. There is a sporting and travel goods store near 701 in Shibuya. Customer reviews rate this as the best relevant store in your area." said a robotic female voice from Futaba's phone.
"Ooh, what's that?" asked Morgana curiously to Futaba.
"The virtual assistant, EMMA. You haven't heard of it yet, Morgana?" replied Futaba as she glance and raised her eyebrow at Morgana.
"No, we don't." said Morgana as he shake his head.
"Oh, I think I have. It knows, like, basically everything and does all sorts of stuffs for you, right?" said Ann.
"Aw, yeah, it's got this eye that thinks for it, right?" said Ryuji.
"I think you mean "AI", not "an eye", Ryuji-kun." said Haru.
"Heh, you got it wrong, Sakamoto." said Goro as he smirk at Ryuji.
"Can it, you!" snapped Ryuji as he glared at Goro.
"Yeah. It stand for "artificial intelligence". It can search all kinds of databases, conduct navigations, manage your schedules, even talk out logic problems and other stuffs with you… The makers go on about how you can ask it anything and you'll get the best possible answer." explained Futaba.
"I remember seeing a demo of one on TV the other day. They were showing off it's functions and talking about how it's the next big thing." said Makoto.
"Is that so? Sounds like it's quite a great AI app." said Kanakubo-sensei.
"Yeah and I think I did heard that it's made by a someone named Ichinose or something…" thought Doctor Maruki with a pondering look on his face.
"Yep, that's it all right. Pretty solid tech, considering they're roughly a thousand times smarter than Ryuji." said Futaba with a mischievous look on her face.
"Shuddup!" snapped Ryuji as he scowled at Futaba before he calm down and sat back on his chair. "But it does sounds kinda cool though. I bet it'd tell us where all the best ramen shops are." added Ryuji with a pondering look on his face.
"Yeah, you should all download it! I'm tellin' you all, it's the bees knees." suggested Futaba as she glance at each of them.
"I suppose it'd at least be handy if we run into any trouble while camping." said Makoto as she, Haru, Hanzo, Minato, Goro, Ken, Yusuke, Ann, Ryuji, Sumire, Akira, Kanakubo-sensei and Doctor Maruki take out their smartphones to find and download the EMMA app on their phones.
"Now that all of you have downloaded "EMMA" on your phones and Akira have figured out on how to do it. I sent you all friend requests-please don't blow them off, alright, Akira?" said Futaba as she glance at Akira.
"Yeah, I know and thanks, Futaba." said Akira as he glance and nodded at Futaba.
"Displaying recommended camping items…" So EMMA came up with all that?" asked Morgana.
"Yeah. Impressive, isn't it? And it's not just random junk for sale, either! It takes into account the season, the weather, your personal profile and even your location for all it's recommendations." replied Futaba.
"For real? Damn, that thing's eye's crazy!" said Ryuji with a surprise look on his face.
"AI, not "an eye"…" sighed Ann.
"This EMMA app sounds suspicious and a bit too convenient for the ones who download and used it and too good to be true. I wonder…" thought Goro suspiciously in his mind at the EMMA app.
"Well, should we split up and buy everything EMMA's listed for us?" said Haru.
"Aw, can't we do it tomorrow? It's so hot out now… I bet Akira's beat from the travellin' too. Plus we just went through all the effort to meet up at the hideout, yeah? So let's make the most of it." said Ryuji.
"Indeed. I've an absolute plethora of discussion topics for us to mull over. Particularly, matters such as modern art and the possibilities within it in our current age…" said Yusuke.
"Yeah, anything but that." said Ryuji as he shake his head at Yusuke, which surprised him and make the others chuckled, sighed and shake their heads before they spend the next few hours talking more with Akira, had coffee and curry dinner with him that Sojiro brewed and cooked for them until they're done, bade farewell and promise to come see him the next day before they left Leblanc and after they left, Akira helped Sojiro washed, wiped and put the dishes and cups away, bade farewell and watched Sojiro left and locked Leblanc up before Akira and Morgana went up to the attic room.
XXXX
In the attic room…
"Hoo boy, does this bed bring back memories. It's nice to see everyone doing so well, especially Minato and Akechi." said Morgana in joy and relief to Akira after he's stretched his body a little.
"Yeah. Akechi's still a sarcastic jerk but he's not as bad as last year ever since he and Minato-senpai got together, Morgana." said Akira as he nodded at Morgana.
"Yeah. Chief seemed to be the same as ever, too. This place is just as great as I remembered. So, we're camping in a couple days, huh? Talk about a way to kick off your summer vacation, Akira!" said Morgana excitedly to Akira.
"I'm looking forward to it and to going ton of places with you and our friends, Morgana." said Akira, smiling at Morgana.
"Mweheheheh, that sounds great! Well, we should get some sleep. Good night, Akira." said Morgana before he lie down and fell asleep.
"Good night, Morgana." said Akira as he swiftly change his outfit to his pajamas before lying down on his old bed and fell asleep too.
XXXX
Meanwhile, back in the apartment in Kichijoji…
"First day of our reunion with Akira Kurusu in Leblanc is mostly successful. Isn't it, you guys?" said Ken as he glance at Minato, Goro and Yusuke after they came back from Leblanc in Yongen Jaya and stepped into their apartment.
"Indeed, Ken. And now I'm going to bed because I'm feeling tired and want to wake up early tomorrow for the shopping session we'll have with the others. Good night." said Yusuke as he nodded at Ken before he turned and went to his room to sleep.
"Now that he mention it, I'm feeling quite tired as well so I'll be going to my room too. Good night, Minato-san and Akechi." said Ken.
"Yeah, good night, Ken." said Minato.
"Good night, brother." said Goro before he and Minato watched as Ken turned and went to his room to sleep as well before they spend a few minutes making plan to go to Penguin Sniper for darts and billiards tomorrow while shopping, giving each other good night hugs and kisses before both Goro and Minato went to their own rooms and fell asleep.
XXXX
In an alternate realm…
The sound of chains swaying slowly from the ceiling and the sound of water dripping into the toilet in the right corner of the room woke Akira up from his slumber before he look around and caused surprised and confused looks to appear on his face when he saw that he's back in the familiar prison cell room in the Velvet Room and wearing the same black and white stripe prisoner outfit as he sat up from the wooden bed he's lying on before he got off the wooden bed, turned and walked toward the cell door and saw a familiar pale-skinned, long silver-haired, yellow-eyed tiny girl named Lavenza wearing a short sleeve velvet blue and black dress with 4 blue buttons and a yellow V alphabet on it, a matching velvet blue and black butterfly headband on her head, long black gloves on her arms, black shorts, knee length black and white boots on her feet and holding a large dark blue book under her left arm as she stand in front of an empty desk (which had a stack of papers, a lamp and an opened ink bottle with a blue and white feather quill inside the bottle) where Igor (an elderly yet bizarre-looking old man with a long nose, pointed ears, bloodshot eyes (that look like they could popped out of his eyes) and wearing a black suit with white gloves on his hands) used to sit.
"Trickster… Welcome back to the Velvet Room." said Lavenza as she walked forward and stopped in front of the cell door while smiling sadly at Akira. "I know not whether to rejoice or bemoan this reunion… Regardless, I must perform my duty… This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" can enter. The expression you bear now tells me you already know the reason for your summons." said Lavenza.
"Yeah, I do, Lavenza." said Akira as he nodded at Lavenza.
"In that case, I must warn you of the new danger threatening to consume both yourself and the whole world whose heart you strove so greatly to change." said Lavenza concernly to Akira.
"Say what!? A new danger rise up and threaten to undo everything my friends and I did last year?" said Akira incredulously to Lavenza.
"Yes. A most loathsome prison has manifested… Your prisoner appearance is ironclad evidence of this. You have become a "Prisoner of Fate" yet again." said Lavenza sadly to Akira.
"How can it be, Lavenza?" said Akira in confusion to Lavenza.
"Someone, even now, plots to lure you into a new and different disastrous fate. Confronted by this evil will, your own rebellious will cried out: "Rise against it". You already knew me as Lavenza, the one who ruled over power, my duty is to witness the path you take. Should the world continue down it's own current path, all that awaits you is destruction. Have you the same resolve to defy such a fate and face the distortion that yet again threatens your world?" asked Lavenza after she's done explaining to Akira.
"Yes, I do." replied Akira as he nodded at Lavenza.
"That is the Trickster I know so well. What awaits you and your friends ahead are more of the same-no, even greater hardships than before. However… you must never forget: I'm always by your side." said Lavenza happily and proudly to Akira before they heard the familiar sound of alarm ringing in the room.
"The time has come… Let us meet again soon. Until then… Pleasant dreams." said Lavenza as she bade good night to Akira before he felt his eyelids started to get heavy and he stagger back, fell back onto the wooden bed and slipped into unconsciousness.