"Akihiko? Where've you been?"

Ronan Kendall was seated on the sofa, his laptop open on the coffee table. He was thin and scrawny, and wore frameless spectacles. His hair, which was a pale blonde colour, was always neatly combed.

"H-huh? Oh, Ronan, sorry," he apologized. "An old schoolmate of mine from Gekkoukan High suddenly rang me tonight, and I went out for coffee with her."

"Is it Mitsuru Kirijo?" Ronan enquired curiously. Akihiko had told him about his days at Gekkoukan High (excluding the part about the Shadows and SEES, of course).

"How'd you guess?"

Ronan gave a chuckle. "Your face isn't normally easy to read, Akihiko, but when you talk about Mitsuru you look different, like you're talking about someone special. And I know this because you happen to talk about her a lot."

Akihiko blushed. "W-well, yeah, it was Mitsuru."

"Been three years since you last saw her, right?" Ronan went on. "Must've been really nice to see her again. How is she?"

"She's fine," Akihiko said. He hesitated. Should he tell Ronan about Mitsuru's arranged marriage? Ronan was someone that he trusted, though they were opposites in personality, Ronan was a very good friend.

"You look like something's bothering you, old chum," Ronan observed. "Whatever it is, you know you can tell your roommate Ronan."

Akihiko laughed. Ronan was always so observant. "You can practically read minds, can't you, Ronan? Right, something's bothering me, and I was gonna talk to you about it."

He sat down next to Ronan on the sofa.

"I told you that Mitsuru's the only one left to lead the Kirijo Group now that her father's dead, do you remember?" Ronan nodded. Akihiko went on, "well, the Group's expecting her to marry the son of some other big company's CEO. But Mitsuru doesn't even know him. She hasn't met him yet. But she thinks she should marry him because it'll be good for the company."

"What you're trying to say is," Ronan concluded, "that you're not happy with her marrying someone else, someone she doesn't love."

"That's right," Akihiko nodded. "It seems really unfair to her, and I want her to be happy."

"Ah," Ronan smiled smugly at him. "Akihiko Sanada, you have the love bug."

"W-what?!" Akihiko exclaimed, yet he wasn't so sure – a voice in his head was telling him that Ronan was spot on correct. "Don't be ridiculous, Ronan. You sounded like my old dorm-mate Junpei when you said that. Mitsuru and I have been friends for years. Nothing's changed between us."

"You mean, nothing's change between you yet," Ronan pointed out. "You never know what can happen, Akihiko. Well, you can deny it all you want, but I believe in that theory. If you have feelings for her, Akihiko, I suggest you don't bottle them up and leave them unheeded, because believe me, you are not going to be happy if you're not the guy she marries."

"Tch…" Akihiko sighed.

"Why don't you talk to her about it?" Ronan suggested. "It might help if you have a good, long talk to her about this."

"I don't know…"

Akihiko felt his cell phone vibrating in his jeans pocket. He pulled the phone out and saw that it was Mitsuru calling him.

"It's her, isn't it?" Ronan said smugly. "Go on. Answer it. If you feel like some privacy, I'll go to my room and do my work there."

"No, it's okay," Akihiko assured him, and answered the call. "Hello? Mitsuru?"

"Akihiko…" said Mitsuru on the other end of the call. "I'm sorry for making you angry at the Café. Are you alright?"

"Um, yeah, I'm fine," Akihiko mumbled. "Don't worry about me. Just forget it."

"I was worried about you," Mitsuru continued. She sounded rather concerned. "You are still going to come to the get-together next week, right? And invite the others?"

"Er, yeah, I'll go," he decided, a bit reluctantly.

"Akihiko…you really don't want me to accept the proposal, do you?" she said softly.

"Can we talk about this on Friday?" Akihiko suggested. "It's just – it doesn't seem right to have this kind of conversation on the phone."

"Alright," Mitsuru agreed, though she sounded a bit upset. "Tell everyone to come to the Kirijo estate next Friday evening. Goodbye for now, then."

Akihiko ended the call and put his phone back into his pocket, sighing. Ronan looked at him, an eyebrow arched.

"So, you're meeting her again next week?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's planning a get-together and she's inviting all our old dorm-mates from Gekkoukan," Akihiko told him. "I guess you'll be alone the rest of the evening on that day."

Ronan shrugged. "I don't mind." He looked at his roommate in concern. "Hey, you'll be okay, right? Like I said, don't hide all your feelings or you'll regret it later."

Akihiko gave him a small smile. "You worry too much sometimes, Ronan. I'll be fine. Thanks for asking."

*********

Junpei Iori was seated on a bench at the Iwatodai Strip Mall, tucking in to the Takoyaki that he had just bought from the stand nearby. As always, Koromaru was being rather hyper for a dog of his age. Koromaru definitely wasn't a puppy, he was years old now, a big, furry Alpha dog, quite skilled when it came to battling Shadows. It had quite surprised all the SEES members when Akihiko had discovered that Koromaru could actually summon his own Persona, Cerberus.

As Junpei took another bite of Takoyaki, his cell phone rang in the pocket of his jacket. Feeling slightly irritated and wondering who the heck was phoning him, he put down his Takoyaki and took out his cell phone. His eyes widened when he saw the number on the screen.

"Hey, it's Akihiko-san!" he answered the call quickly. "Senpai, is that you? It's good to hear from you again. How've you been?"

"I'm doing fine, thanks," Akihiko replied. "Listen, Junpei, are you free next Friday evening?"

"Why're you asking, Senpai? Something going on?"

"Mitsuru's planning a get-together next Friday evening," Akihiko explained. "She's inviting everyone that used to live in the Dorm. Have you got everyone's contact details? Can you spread the word?"

"Yeah, sure, and I'm free next Friday," said Junpei. "Where are we all meeting up?"

"At her house," Akihiko told him. "Well, that's all I have to tell you, I'll see you again next week."

"Bye, Senpai," said Junpei, and ended the phone call. He put his phone back into his pocket. "Well, Koromaru old boy, looks like we're gonna have a little reunion. Koromaru?"

Koromaru was now on the bench, and he was eating Junpei's Takoyaki. He barked in response and looked up at Junpei with his crimson eyes.

"Koromaru! That was my Takoyaki!" Junpei groaned. He glared at the dog. "You owe me four hundred yen, buddy."

Koromaru gave a whimper. Junpei's expression softened and he sighed. "You sure do know how to wind people around your little paw, don't you?"

*********

At Tatsumi University, Yukari Takeba was talking to her roommate, Jing-yin Mikata, on their way to the next lesson.

"Mr Edonawa's lectures are so boring," Jing-yin groaned. She was tall and pretty, with long black hair swept up in a ponytail.

"I know," Yukari sighed. "Why couldn't we have got Miss Meadowes instead? All her students say she's really fun."

A cell phone rang. Yukari realized it was coming from her pocket.

"Oh, you go ahead, Jing-yin," she said, stopping in her tracks. "I have to take this call."

"Don't be late," Jing-yin called as she ran the remaining distance to the classroom.

Yukari set her books down on a nearby bench and took out her phone, surprised to see that it was Junpei who was calling. Wondering what the hell he wanted with her, she answered the call.

"Hello? Whaddya want, Stupei?"

"Can't you be more polite, Yuka-tan?" said Junpei. "I just phoned to tell you that Mitsuru-senpai's having a reunion at her house next Friday evening."

"Huh? Really?" Yukari said, surprised. "I don't have any plans for that day, so I guess I can go. It'll be great to see everyone again, don't you think?"

"Totally," Junpei agreed. "Now I'm getting all excited. Hey, spread the word, will ya? You've got Fuuka's number, don't you? Call her and tell her about it. Invite Aigis, too."

"Will do," Yukari promised. "See you next week, then."