The next day, inside Minato's room…
When Minato woke up the next day, he saw Goro sleeping and cuddling closely on the bed beside him, which make Minato smiled before he leaned down to press a soft kiss on Goro's forehead (which make Pharos make a fake gagging sound inside him), quietly got off his bed to avoid waking Goro up, take his summer clothes and smartphone, left his room and went into the bathroom to cleaned and dry himself up and change his clothes before he left the bathroom and as he make his way toward the kitchen to cook breakfast for himself, Goro, Yusuke and Ken, he heard and felt his phone vibrating with incoming messages and took his phone out to see and read the messages that he received from Hanzo.
HZO: Good morning. Are you up now, Minato-san?
MA: Yes, I am. Good morning and is there something you need from me, Hanzo-kun?
HZO: Yeah. Remember that yesterday in Leblanc Akira, Sumire and Ryuji say that they're going to buy camping gears for the trip? Well, they asked me on whether I wanted to accompany them for their shopping excursion in Shibuya and I tell them yes. So now I'm asking you on whether you wanted to go shopping with us or not, Minato-san.
"Hm, shopping with Akira-kun, Sumire-chan, Ryuji-kun and Hanzo-kun later in Shibuya, huh?" thought Minato in his mind about Hanzo asking him to go shopping with him, Akira and Ryuji.
"Why not since you're about to go on a summer road trip with your detective boyfriend and your friends soon, Minato." said Pharos.
"That's true, Pharos. Looks like I'll be going shopping with them after I had my breakfast and also prepare breakfasts for Yusuke, Gocchan and Ken too." said Minato to Pharos as he reply back to Hanzo about accepting his shopping excursion offer, turned off and put his phone back in his pants pocket, take out the ingredients for Tanuki Udon, began cooking a large bowl for himself and 3 normal ones for Yusuke, Goro and Ken and put their udon breakfasts (and covered them up with plastic wrappers to prevent flies) on the table, ate and finish his large bowl of udon before washing, drying and putting the bowl away, wrote and left a note that tells Yusuke, Goro and Ken where he goes and who he met with, left the apartment to meet up with Akira, Morgana, Ryuji and Hanzo in Shibuya.
XXXX
Meanwhile, in the attic room in Leblanc…
"Hey, are you alright, Akira? Did you have trouble sleeping last night because you were tossing and turning like crazy." asked Morgana concernly to Akira after he woke up from his slumber.
"Yeah, I had a weird dream and sorry for disturbing and making you worry about it, Morgana." replied Akira apologetically to Morgana.
"I see. Anyway, it's almost time for us to meet up with Sumire, Ryuji, Hanzo and Minato and buy our share of camping equipments. Let's head over to the Buchiko statue." said Morgana.
"Yeah, I know." said Akira as he nodded at Morgana, got off his bed, went down to the restroom in Leblanc to clean his teeth and wash his face, went back to his room to change his outfit, met and bade farewell to both Sojiro and Futaba (who smiled and bade farewell to him and Morgana), left Leblanc and went to the subway station to take the train ride to Shibuya.
XXXX
A few minutes later, in Shibuya…
"Any sign of them yet, Sumire?" asked Hanzo.
"No, not yet, Hanzo-senpai… Oh wait, I think I see Minato-senpai and he's coming towards us now!" replied Sumire as she look around the crowd for Akira, Morgana and Minato and she noticed Minato spotting them and approaching them. "Which must be good for you, huh, Hanzo-senpai?" added Sumire in amusement at Hanzo.
"Quiet, you!" said Hanzo as he scowled at Sumire.
"Hello there, Hanzo-kun, Sumire-chan and Ryuji-kun. Where's Akira-kun and Morgana, they're not here yet?" greeted Minato happily and politely to Hanzo, Sumire and Ryuji before he noticed that both Akira and Morgana aren't with them and he look around the crowd for them.
"Hello and you're right. They're not here yet, Minato-san." said Sumire.
"I see. Then we'll wait for them…" sighed Minato.
"No need because here they come, you guys." said Hanzo as he noticed and gestured his head at both Akira and Morgana coming towards them to Minato, Sumire and Ryuji.
"Oh, you're right! Hello, Akira-senpai and Morgana-san!" greeted Sumire happily and lovingly to Akira as she wrapped her arms around Akira for a hug once he and Morgana's with them.
"Yeah, hello to you too, Sumire. And also Ryuji, Minato and Hanzo." greeted Akira happily and lovingly to Sumire (and also politely to Minato, Hanzo and Ryuji) as he hugged her back.
"Likewise, Akira-kun." said Minato as he nodded at Akira.
"Yeah yeah. You guys ready to buy some campin' shit? Can we hustle to the store so we can finally chill for a bit… It's already way too hot out." groaned Ryuji.
"He's already starting to complain about the heat? Seriously?" said Pharos in exasperation at Ryuji.
"Can you blame him? Plus it's always hot when summertime comes every year, Pharos." said Minato.
"Uh huh." said Pharos.
"We're also in charge of picking up the barbecue, right? Go ahead and lead the way, Ryuji." said Morgana as he popped out of Akira's bag.
"Yeah, I don't know where it is… Oh right, we can just asked the app." said Ryuji as he take out his phone and activated the EMMA app on it. "Hey, uh… EMMA?" asked Ryuji to the EMMA app.
"Hello, do you need something?" said EMMA.
"Yeah, uh… Show us that store that you told us about?" said Ryuji.
"Displaying the optimal route to your destination." said EMMA as it show Ryuji a map of Shibuya and where the store is.
"Whoa, look at this sweet map…" said Ryuji with a surprise look on his face.
"Yeah, it's very detailed and impressive." said Sumire as she glance at the map on Ryuji's phone with a nod of her head.
"Indeed it is, Sumire-chan." said Minato in agreement with Sumire.
"It can even figure out how to help with a vague question like that? This thing's a whole lot more useful than I thought." said Morgana.
"Yeah, a bit too useful in fact…" thought Hanzo suspiciously in his mind at the EMMA app.
"Great! Let's get this over with so we can plan tomorrow's feast!" said Ryuji excitedly to Akira, Morgana, Sumire, Minato and Hanzo.
"Yeah, let's-" said Akira before he got cut off by the loud cheering of the crowd not far from him and his friends and which make them glance at the cheering crowd with confused looks on their faces.
"What's all the racket?" said Morgana in confusion about the cheering crowd.
"I have a suggested event for you. A promotional store opening is currently underway at the Shibuya 705 storefront with Alice Hiiragi." said EMMA.
"Huh? Alice Hiiragi is opening a new store here?" thought Minato in surprise in his mind about it.
"Huh? The hell's a "suggested event"? Wait-FOR REAL? Alice is HERE!?" said Ryuji with a surprise look on his face.
"What, really?" gasped Sumire, surprised as well.
"Huh? Who's Alice Hiiragi?" asked Akira with a confused look on his face about Alice Hiiragi.
"Alice Hiiragi is a Japanese fashion model and performing artist. She has gained attention with her "adorable look" and "unique sense of style". She is active in a variety of media and genres. She has become a pop culture tastemaker and continue to amass a devoted young fanbase." explained EMMA.
"Wow, EMMA makes her sounds huge. Is she really all that popular? What about you, did you met her and know about her popularity since you're an idol, Minato?" asked Morgana as he glance at Minato.
"Well, I guess so and I only met her once or twice in Takura Productions, Morgana." replied Minato.
"I dunno, what kinda answer's that crowd givin' ya? Alice really is just over there… I can't believe it!" said Ryuji enthusiastically to Akira.
"If you say so and who she is and what she do doesn't matter to me, Ryuji." said Akira as he shake his head at Ryuji.
"Dude… You haven't changed at all, have you?" groaned Ryuji in exasperation at Akira.
"Maybe but that's what makes me fall for you, Akira-senpai." said Sumire happily at Akira.
"Thanks, Sumire." said Akira as he smiled at Sumire.
"Whatever. It's on our way to the store-why not check it out? She's totally cute enough for this to be worth it, Akira!" said Ryuji excitedly to Akira (while didn't hear the conversation between Minato and Morgana) before he turned and went toward Alice's new store in 705 storefront to see Alice, with Akira, Morgana, Sumire, Minato and Hanzo following behind him.
XXXX
In front of 705 storefront…
"Hey, hey-what's going on?" asked a brunette young man to the man standing beside him.
"Heard it's some shop opening ceremony." replied a partygoing young man.
"Is that so… Waiiiit, isn't that-ALICE! Alice Hiiragi!" said the brunette young man with an excited look on his face as he recognized Alice Hiiragi.
"Hi, folks! Thanks for coming! A shop that carries one of my very own brands is opening here today! Have any of you ever dreamed that you could be someone else, even if just for a little while? Well, I know a place where that dream comes to life! A wonderland where you can become whoever and whatever you want to be! Now, I've got one question: does anyone wanna visit this wonderland with me?" said Alice (a fair-skinned, short light green-haired (with some blue and lavender-coloured streaks, a single spade card, 2 white teapots and a huge blue and white stripe ribbon on it), dark purple-eyed girl wearing short puffy sleeves, blue and white stripe dress with a pink heart with a dark grey and white stripe ribbon on it, a clock with a golden heart, some blue striped ribbons, a yellow ace of diamond card, a lavender-coloured card and with some little yellow balls on it, long light green leggings and white boots with blue, pink, yellow and green ribbons on it on her feet) to the gathered crowd in front of her and her new shop and they immediately say yes to her question.
"Wow, they all agreed and say yes to her question on visiting a wonderland with her so quickly and also her outfit is quite the… unusual one, isn't it, Minato?" said Pharos.
"Yeah, you're right about her outfit, Pharos." said Minato.
"Aw, thanks! Then I've a surprise for you… I'm giving away 100 invitation cards as a special present! They're magical cards that will make you have an even better time in Wonderland! Enjoyyyy…" said Alice cheerfully to the crowd before she began giving out the cards to the crowd one by one.
"Oh my god! She's really giving out the cards!" said Ryuji in surprise to Akira and the others.
"Yeah, we can see that she does, Ryuji." said Hanzo as he rolled his eyes at Ryuji.
"Here you go!" said Alice as she hand out a card to the brunette young man.
"Oh-Omigodthankyousomuch!" said the brunette young man in joy to Alice for getting one of her cards.
"And one for you!" said Alice as she hand out another card to the partygoing young man (who also thanked her for the card) before she turned and make her way toward Akira and his friends.
"Ooh, those are some quality specs! Sorry, that was weird! Hope you like the store! And also you and… Hm, aren't you…" said Alice happily and politely to both Akira and Hanzo and gave them the cards too (while ignoring both Sumire and Ryuji) before she glance and recognized Minato as the idol Sakuya Shiomi.
"No, you got the wrong person. I just happen to have the same looks as the person you think in your mind, Hiiragi-san." said Minato quickly to Alice before she could say his idol name.
"Nice and swift save, Minato!" said Pharos approvingly to Minato.
"Oh, I see. That'd make sense and here's a card for you too!" said Alice as she smiled and gave Minato the last card before she turned and went back to her new store and turned around to glance at the crowd. "Let the White Rabbit guide you to Wonderland. Have fun there, everyone!" added Alice cheerfully to the crowd before she bade farewell to them and left Shibuya.
XXXX
A few minutes later…
"Geez, what was with that crowd?" said Morgana to Akira and the others after they walked away from the crowd.
"They're just the usual crowd that wants to check out the new store, that's why, Morgana." said Hanzo.
"Man, I can't believe I saw Alice… She was just as cute as I thought she'd be!" said Ryuji with a wide smile on his face.
"Oh really, you think she's cute, huh, Ryuji-kun? Then should I tell Ann about it?" said Hanzo as he smirk at Ryuji.
"N-No, please don't tell her, senpai!" said Ryuji nervously to Hanzo.
"Although her outfit's weird." said Akira.
"Eh, you just don't get it. Her bein' different's what makes her an awesome one!" said Ryuji.
"In that case, she's all yours and I'll be taking Lady Ann from you because of how fickle you are, Ryuji." said Morgana.
"Oh no, you don't! Ann's my girlfriend and I'll stop talking about Alice now." said Ryuji as he scowled at Morgana.
"Good. And I sure hope you don't forget it, Ryuji-senpai." said Sumire as she nodded approvingly at Ryuji.
"Well, are you satisfied now? Let's hurry up with the shopping." said Morgana.
"Fine, fine!" sighed Ryuji in slight annoyance at Morgana before he realised something and glance at Akira, Minato and Hanzo. "Oh yeah, you guys got those cards from Alice, right? Could you guys take the cards out?" said Ryuji.
"Mewheheheh, yeah, THEY did. YOU just got blown off." chuckled Morgana in amusement to Ryuji (which make Sumire look down with a jealous look on her face before she felt Akira close his hand around hers and gave a gentle squeeze).
"Can it! There were just a ton of people around, is all!" snapped Ryuji as he scowled at Morgana (while Akira, Minato and Hanzo take out and look at the cards that they received from Alice earlier and Minato felt Pharos giving him a warning feeling).
"Alice Hiiragi's Wonderland?" Just look like a boring old ad to me. Hmm, there's some fine print here… "Here's my EMMA keyword. Please become my friend!" said Morgana as he glance at the card in Akira's hand.
"What's a keyword?" said Ryuji with a confused look on his face.
"Didn't you see Futaba used something like this yesterday? She said we could become friends with others through EMMA." said Morgana.
"Yeah, how quickly you forget about it, Ryuji." sighed Hanzo in disappointment at Ryuji (who scowled at him).
"Whatever! And do it, Akira!" said Ryuji eagerly to Akira.
"Fine, Ryuji." said Akira as he take out his phone.
"So, you input the keyword, then you become friends with Alice?" said Morgana.
"Minato, stop Akira before he…" said Pharos warningly to Minato.
"You said it's on the cards, right? What was it again… "Wonderland"?" said Ryuji to Akira (who nodded and say the keyword to the EMMA app on his phone).
"Keyword successfully entered. Beginning navigation." said EMMA.
"Too late!" groaned Pharos to Minato (who saw that they got transported into a different place before he could heed Pharos warning to stop Akira).
XXXX
Meanwhile…
"Mm, nothing like a cold, icy Pepsi drink for me to savor on my lunch break on this hot summer day… Hm?" thought a fair-skinned, long crimson-haired (which is tied up into a ponytail), silver-eyed girl wearing a sleeveless mint green tank top with a short sleeve dark green bolero jacket over it, knee length black jeans and white shoes on her feet as she hold, drank and enjoy the cold can of Pepsi in her left hand before she suddenly winced and raised her right hand to her head when she felt her head got light-headed and didn't noticed her surroundings turned purple and wavered a little as she got transported into a different place too.