Sakae chuckled before getting something for her great-granddaughter. "Here, Natsuki..."
"What is it?" Natsuki asked.
"Congrats." Sakae smiled as she handed her a special fabric.
"The morning glory yukata!" Natsuki smiled.
"Wait, isn't that for like when someone is engaged?" Akito asked.
"Precisely." Sakae replied while Kenji looked in utter shock.
"Oh, thank you!" Natsuki beamed to her great-grandmother as she hugged the fabric.
"Kenji, please enjoy your stay," Sakae bowed to the boy. "I am very honored to meet you."
"No, the honor is all mine, thank you for your hospitality." Kenji bowed to Sakae.
"Can we talk to you outside?" Felicity asked Natsuki.
"Uh, yes, of course." Natsuki smiled nervously.
"And the rest of you enjoy your stay here as well." Sakae said as she bowed to the families.
Cherry, Forte, Atticus, and Mo bowed back to Sakae in respect.
"Why did you say you were getting married to Kenji?" Akito asked Natsuki.
"I'm sorry." Natsuki bowed her head in shame.
"I can't do it." Kenji said.
"Come on!" Natsuki told him. "It's the easiest part-time job in the world."
"I can't do it!" Kenji repeated.
"Why did you lie to your grandmother?" Vincent asked.
"Granny and the rest of the family have to think we're a couple," Natsuki explained. "I can't let Granny down. I'm not trying to trick everyone, but they said she was really sick, so I told her she couldn't die before she met my awesome boyfriend, AKA Kenji. So, you'll help me, right?"
"Alright." Atticus said.
"All right? So, you're okay wth this?" Cherry asked her oldest friend.
"It might be lying, but something good might come out of this." Akito said.
"Are you nuts, Baby Atticus?!" Cherry gaped at him.
"Oh, come on, please?" Natsuki begged.
"I guess I could help out..." Kenji rubbed his arm nervously.
"Alright, so is there anymore lying involved?" Lee asked Natsuki.
"Uh, nothing much... Except maybe a backstory..." Natsuki smiled nervously.
"Wait... What?" Kenji asked her.
"Your family is old, you're going to Tokyo U, and you just spent a year in America," Natsuki told him. "Pretty much sums it up."
"Old family Tokyo U study abroad," Kenji said, memorizing it, then realized something. "But that's the exact opposite as me."
"So, we're good?" Natsuki asked.
"Didn't you just hear him?! No, we're not good!" Akito snapped at her.
"But what happened to whatever needs done?" Natsuki asked Kenji.
"You might as well forget it, I hate lying." Felicity told the dark-haired girl.
"Do this and I'll give you anything you want." Cherry whispered to Felicity.
"Maman!" Felicity gaped at her mother's bribe.
"Cerise, I know you were raised better than that." Forte scolded his much younger wife.
"I'll make your favorite meals every night." Cherry continued.
"Cerise..." Forte pouted.
Cherry looked up at him and dropped her sleeve to distract him with her looks.
"I say we do it." Forte said, bought by the bribe.
Cherry smirked as she then stood up straight. Kenji seemed to have no choice in the matter now.
"It's only four days," Natsuki begged Kenji. "As soon as we are gone, I'll tell 'em we broke up. Pretty, please!"
Kenji tried to not give in, but he couldn't just let her down, so he gave in and keep up appearances with the lie.
"This isn't making me feel better~..." Tony complained as Marc seemed to not be able to do anything to help the internet this time around.
"Whoa, this Love Machine AI is powerful, it even has the keys to everything." Marc said.
"What're you saying?" Megan asked their genius brother.
"I don't think I can fix this." Marc bit his lip as he admitted defeat.
"What?!" Lee, Megan, and Tony panicked.
"Children, mind helping us with the food?" Mo asked.
"Uh, sure, Mrs. Fudo!" Marc called back, he then got off the computer and rushed out of the room in fear.
The rest of the teenagers went to help.
"Hm, where's Estelle?" Vincent wondered.
"I thought she was with you." Lee said.
"I thought she was with you guys." Vincent added.
The kids then helped Mo set the table.
"What a lovely day..." Atticus tried to keep positive. "Um, where's Estelle?"
Cherry looked away from him and kept herself busy with a nervous expression.
"Cherry, where's Estelle?" Atticus asked with a slight glare.
"Oh, um, she's picking flowers..." Cherry chuckled nervously. "Hey, did you see that new game show? I think you'd like it, it's so educational, I gotta go!" she then turned away before he grabbed her shoulder.
"Cherry, where is Estelle?" Atticus repeated.
"I don't know..." Cherry smiled nervously.
"Cherry, I will fight you, you know..." Atticus said.
"Um... She's sort of... Vanished... Elsewhere..." Cherry stuttered.
"ESTELLE IS MISSING?!" Atticus's eyes widened.
"She went after Shota with that Kenji boy and Akito." Cherry admitted.
"Why didn't you stop her?" Atticus asked.
"Because she made me promise not to tell you." Cherry said.
"And why wouldn't she tell me?" Atticus asked.
Cherry took out a notepad and adjusted her glasses. "'Don't tell Daddy because he would throw a fit, he would stomp, and scream, and bang his head on the wall until blood came out of his ears'."
"That does sound like something I would do." Atticus said.
"There's more..." Cherry replied. "Apparently she trusts me."
"Why's that?" Atticus asked.
"Because I'm more open and she knows I'm not afraid of you." Cherry smirked smugly.
"Oh, right." Atticus groaned.
"Maybe if you let Estelle spend more time with Lee, she wouldn't have run away without telling you." Cherry replied.
"But I did let her spend time with him last night." Atticus said.
"Is that enough for Lee to gain your trust?" Cherry asked.
Atticus sighed. "You're right... When it comes to Estelle, you're always right."
"Oh, does that sound more like music to my ears than Forte's sonatas..." Cherry smirked.
"Uh, Atticus, you might wanna see what's on the news." Mo said.
Atticus turned over while Cherry's expression did not change, and where the news had a story about the orbital satellite. Marc listened in too as this seemed important to him. Though Yumi was more interested in the baseball game.
'We now interrupt your scheduled programming to bring this breaking news report,' The TV announced, much to Yumi's chagrin. 'Communication with the Arawashi probe has been lost just moments ago during scheduled programming. Aerospace exploration agency, JAXA is looking into the malfunction. The latest problem in a series of-'
"Oh, come on, enough of the stupid probe already!" Yumi complained.
"Yumi, dear...?" Mariko said.
"Yeah?" Yumi replied.
"We are going to have lots of relatives today," Mariko told her. "Come and help your mother. Baseball can wait."
"Okay." Yumi then gave in.
"Hopefully everyone will be able to make it." Mo said.
Back in the police car...
Estelle did her best to stay quiet as she hiked underneath the car that kept her twin brother and new friend hostage. To her surprise, there seemed to be a lot of cars in front of them. "Traffic..." she soon sighed as she latched onto the bottom of the car.
"Too bad you don't have a siren on this thing." Kenji spoke up.
"Shut up!" Shota snapped.
"Alright, alright." Akito said.
"Yes, sir." Kenji muttered as he stared out the window.
They began to wait patiently for the light to turn.
Shota seemed to be the most impatient as he tapped the steering wheel. "HEY!" he finally yelled out. "It's green, right? Why are we just sitting here?"
"Traffic?" Akito guessed.
"I'm sorry." Kenji muttered.
Love Machine soon caused more trouble for everyone. Not only did he affect the internet, but he also affected the world.
"Huh? You won't be here? Why?" Mariko asked as she was on the phone with someone.
'Because my GPS is broken,' Yukiko replied. 'I'm somewhere in Saitama, but this screen insists I'm in Hokkaido. And it's wall-to-wall traffic so I really can't even give you an ETA.'
"What's wrong?" Mo asked Mariko as she noticed the woman's facial expression.
"Yukiko says she can't make it." Mariko frowned.
"That's terrible." Mo frowned.
'Mom, don't freak out,' Yukiko then said to lighten the mood. 'My husband will take the bullet train into Ueda tonight. Just let Natsuki know.'
"Should I call him?" Mo asked Mariko.
"You could try." Mariko replied, giving her the number if she really wanted to.
Mo soon read the phone number and dialed it. Love Machine seemed to beat her to the monorail system. There seemed to be trouble all over Japan from the Love Machine.
"What you can't make it either?" Mo asked.
'Apparently someone's been messing with the pressure in the water mains,' Kazuo told her. 'If we don't get through this harsh time quick, the underground gas and power lines will be in danger too. I swear I'll be in the first bullet train tomorrow morning. Be sure to let Natsuki know for me, okay?'
"Alright." Mo sighed.
Soon enough, everyone was getting calls from people who couldn't make it due to Love Machine's hacking.
"This can't be happening." Mo said.
"I'm afraid it is." Cherry replied to her as she was juggling phones like an overworked secretary receptionist.
"This must be Love Machine's doing." Marc said.
Meanwhile, back with Akito, Estelle, Kenji, and Shota...
"Damn it! This is bullshit!" Shota cursed. "My lunch break's about to be over."
Estelle soon smiled nervously as two of the Jinnouchi family members had drove up to them. She soon finally lost her balance and fell off the bottom of the car, she then rolled out and stood sharp and got into a fighting stance that resembled one from Lexi Bunny. Unfortunately for her, there was no place else to go as the traffic went on for miles.
She soon sighed and looked quite exhausted from doing what she did. She then magicked up a construction worker uniform and made signs to make Shota turn back and take her brother and Kenji back to the house. She soon saw them come out of the vehicle. Estelle made them turn back.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Shota glared down at her. "Aren't you a little young to be a crossing guard?"
"Turn around, it's jammed with sixty kilometers." Natsuki said.
Estelle nodded in agreement with that. Shota soon groaned and then did just that. Estelle then smirked before she winked as that worked.
"And Shota, I need you to take the handcuffs off of Akito." Natsuki told him.
"Does anyone know why this is happening?" Estelle pondered.
"It might be terrorism." Riichi guessed.
They all soon arrived back at the house.