NewWorldFool: Hello, everybody! How are you? The New World Fool and CloudStrife07 coming at ya with the next chapter of The Royal Strikers! Also, apologies for the delay. This one's on me this time, I've fallen into the addicting snare that is My Hero Academia.
CloudStrife07: I should also confess that this was just as much of my own fault. I've been horribly addicted to playing Baldur's Gate 3 for months, and I found it difficult to focus on anything else. In all honestly, I think I've come to truly fall in love with D&D games.
NewWorldFool: Now then, before we get started, one thing we should probably mention is that this story is not compliant with Persona 5 Tactica, nor the Repaint Your Heart DLC. We were working on this thing way before Tactica was announced, and we had the general blueprints set up before Tactica was even announced. As such, we would potentially have to adjust a lot of things to have this take place post-Tactica.
CloudStrife07: So, in order to save ourselves a massive headache, we decided that Tactica will not be canon to the storyline that The Royal Strikers is a part of.
Also, we also want to note that this chapter will be a rather short one compared to a lot of our previous chapters. We tried our best to make this chapter as filling as we could possibly make it while still making sure that we didn't end up deciding to go over our original finish line. We cannot say for certain whether the next chapter will be just as long as this chapter, or if it'll be any longer, but just know that we still have some very fun moments planned for it. We greatly thank you all for your patience with this chapter.
NewWorldFool: So, without further adieu, let's go ahead and jump into this brand-new chapter!
Chapter Twelve
On The Open Road
The Phantom Thieves camper and Akechi's black car both drove along the long highways of Japan. The group had all been on the road for a good few hours already since they departed from Yongen-Jaya, and so far there haven't been any signs of a new Jail as of yet.
Inside of the camper, Ren, Sumire, Futaba, and Haru were all playing a game of Tycoon. They were already in the third round of this game, and Ren was currently the one to hold the Tycoon title.
"Here's a pair of 10s" Haru said as she placed her two cards down on the table.
"Oh no you don't, Haru!" Futaba declared as she placed a pair of two Kings on the table.
"I'll pass." Ren said, keeping his cards close to his chest.
"I will, too." Sumire responded.
Haru sighed. "I have no choice but to pass."
Futaba let out her usual gremlin laugh as she looked over two remaining cards in her hands.
"Try to beat my Ace!" Futaba cried out as she gently threw her Ace card onto the table.
Ren, on the other hand, had a very cheeky grin plastered on his face.
"You've just been bested, Futaba." Ren said as he threw a Joker card onto the table, causing Futaba to gulp.
Suddenly, Sumire's eyes lit up as she noticed her golden moment of opportunity.
"I don't think so, Senpai." Sumire declared as she placed a 3 of Spades on the table, Completely canceling out Ren's Joker card.
Ren looked over at his girlfriend with a face that looked like a mixture of the stink eye and an amused smirk.
"So you were the one who had it." Ren commented.
Sumire giggled. "That's right."
With Ren, Haru, and Futaba completely unable to do anything more, Sumire looked over her remaining six cards.
"I'll start a Revolution." Sumire declared as she placed four 9s onto the table.
"A Revolution? NOW?!" Futaba shrieked in terror.
Sumire waited patiently to see if anyone would be able to counter her Revolution. However, much to her luck, nobody was able to cause a Counter-Revolution. The rules have officially reversed, and the players must go from highest to lowest.
With it still being her turn, Sumire simply laid her last two cards onto the table: a pair of a couple 5s.
"That's it for my cards." Sumire said in triumph.
With Sumire being the first one out, this meant she was officially the Tycoon for this round. It also meant that Ren was immediately withdrawn from the game because with every new Tycoon per round, the previous Tycoon is forced to become the Beggar.
Ren playfully placed his hand over his chest and grunted. "Betrayed and usurped by my girlfriend. Life is absolutely cruel."
With Haru and Futaba being the last two remaining players in the game, it was now a battle to see who would become Rich and who would be Pour. It was an intense match between the two girls, but in the end, Futaba emerged victorious between the two.
"I'm rich! Rich!" Futaba cheered as she pumped both of her fists into the air.
"Aww, I'm Poor." Haru wined with her eyes darted down.
With the third and final round over, Yusuke tallied up everyone's scores from all three rounds. Sumire emerged victorious in first place with a total of sixty points, Futaba in second place with 50 points, Ren in third place with 40, and Haru in fourth place with 30.
"And thus, Sumire is our definitive Tycoon for this game." Yusuke announced while smiling.
Ren smiled over at Sumire. "That's my baby."
Sumire felt a little bit of pink reach her cheeks as she held a hand up to her lips and giggled.
Ryuji looked up ahead to the driver's seat.
"Yo, Makoto, where are we now?" asked Ryuji.
"Looks like we're coming up on Tochigi Prefecture. We've come a pretty long way." Makoto answered.
"Tochigi, hm?" Yusuke said thoughtfully. "Tochigi is famous for the Nikko Toshogu shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu."
"I've heard the monkey sculptures there are adorable." said Haru. "I wonder if we'll get to see them."
"Ooh, I want strawberries!" Ann exclaimed excitedly. "Let's go strawberry-picking!"
"I haven't gone strawberry-picking since I was nine years old. I think I'd like to do it again." Sumire said while smiling.
"Apparently, gyoza's pretty big there, too." said Futaba. "Utsunomiya's supposed to be THE place for it."
"You say gyoza?!" Ryuji said excitedly. "Aw, hell yeah! We're gonna get some, right?"
"Let's not forget the ramen. I've heard it's supposed to be pretty good." said Ren with a smile on his face.
Morgana, meanwhile, rolled his eyes. "Of all the things to get excited about…" he grumbled.
"Well, it's understandable. We could all use some time to unwind every now and again," said Makoto. "And besides, we've already discussed it. We could just go straight to Hokkaido, but we decided it would be more worthwhile to check out a variety of places rather than just one."
"And there might be Jails in other cities besides Shibuya and Sapporo," Haru added to the conversation.
"Not only that, but the supposed Monarch of Sapporo won't even be in town until July 5th." said Yusuke. "We have the time. There's no reason we shouldn't make use of it."
"Exactly. Let's take our time, and take it easy." said Ren with a smile.
"Hmm… I guess you have a point," said Morgana.
"Wait, say we find a Jail before then," said Ryuji. "'zat mean we're sorta hunting for Monarchs along the way?"
"I guess…" said Ren as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, it's not like we can really leave them alone, can we?"
"Aw, we're takin' the Phantom Thieves to a whole new level!" cheered Ryuji with his fists pumped. "This is starting to feel real badass!"
"Well, if there is a Jail, I'm sure Sophia will let us know," said Sumire.
Ren's phone pinged and Sophia appeared on the screen.
"Leave that to me." said the redheaded AI with a bright smile. "I should be able to handle it… I think?"
"...You'd think the AI would be a little more sure of herself." said Futaba.
"Yeah, seriously, who or what are you?" asked Ryuji.
"I'm humanity's companion." Sophia replied instantly before she hummed a few musical notes.
Ryuji couldn't help but chuckle while smiling. "There she goes humming to herself again."
Ann chuckled. "Don't think too hard about it. I'm sure we'll learn more if she sticks around. Isn't that right, Sophia?"
"That's right, Ann." Sophia said.
"Oh, that reminds me, Mako-chan," said Haru. "You've been driving this whole time. Are you doing okay? I have my license too, so I could always drive if you want."
"W-well, you just got yours, Haru, so I'll try to handle as much of the driving as I can." Makoto responded with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Hey, does anyone else have their driver's license?" Ann asked the rest of the group in the back . "I certainly don't…"
"Apologies, I do not." said Yusuke.
"Me neither. I wanna get mine soon, though." Ryuji said as he then looked over at Ren's direction. "Do you have one, Ren?"
"Sorry, guys, I don't have mine either." admitted Ren. "...Although, I do actually have a learner's permit."
"A wha…?" Ryuji asked, dumbfounded.
"A learner's permit." Makoto reaffirmed. "It's like a driver's license for people who are just learning how to drive. So Ren can be allowed to drive a vehicle so long as he has a legal adult with a driver's license in the car with him for supervision."
"Oh, I didn' know that was a thing." Ryuji said.
"I'm sorry I can't help, Mako-Chan." said Haru. "Just don't push yourself too hard, okay?"
"I won't." Makoto reassured her friends. "Although we might be taking more breaks, I wouldn't want to put any of us at risk."
"That's fine by me." said Futaba. "We want our Makoto to stay nice 'n' well-rested."
"So, you're going to keep driving, Makoto?" asked Sumire.
"I think so, for the time being." replied Makoto.
"That sounds difficult." said Sophia. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Well, since you asked, Sophia, do you think you could find us a place to stop and rest?" asked Makoto. "I could probably use a break. We can have lunch there, too."
"Okay, I'd be happy to…" said Sophia as she quickly began searching the general area via satellite. "...There's a riverbank up ahead that should be perfect."
"Lunch by a river, huh?" said Ryuji, a huge grin on his face. "Man, this is feelin' like a real road trip!"
"Alright then, let's head to the riverbank and take a break." Makoto said.
"I'll give Akechi a call and let him know." Ren said as he began to ring up Akechi's number.
Ren placed the phone up to his ear and listened to the faint ringing, waiting for Akechi to pick up on the other end.
"Hey, what is it?" Akechi asked.
"We're about to stop at a riverbank to take a break. Just letting you know ahead of time."
"I see…" Akechi said with a pause. "...Alright, if that's what you wish."
With nothing more to say, Ren simply ended the call and waited patiently until the entire group reached their destination.
A Short While Later…
Upon arriving at the designated position that Sophia suggested, the entire crew stepped out of their vehicles to take a look at the riverbank that lay before them. The riverbank looked almost like a tiny beach. There was a land of sand lying in front of the river, and there was also a small forest on the other side of the river. There was even a nice view of a few mountains out in the distance beyond the other side of the river. The thieves could only stare in awe at how lovely the riverbank that Sophia chose for them was.
"Yooo, this place is perfect!" Ryuji exclaimed excitedly.
"Is… Is this even real?" Futaba asked in surprise and disbelief. "I've only ever seen this kind of place online!"
"Seriously, and this weather is perfect for cooking outdoors, too!" Ann said excitedly.
"Well, before we can all sit down and eat, Sumire needs to do some practice first." Ren said to the whole group.
"Right. It'll be a while before we can all eat and get back on the road." Makoto added.
"Alright, I'll go get changed." Sumire said as she walked over to the camper and climbed into the back.
The rest of the group patiently waited as Sumire took her time to get herself changed into her appropriate clothes needed for her practice. After about ten minutes of waiting, Sumire came out of the camper with her training clothes on.
Sumire once again clad her red sports tank top with her black sports bra, her black athletic tights, her black leather sneakers, and her blue hairband keeping her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"Alright, Senpai, I'm ready to begin my training." Sumire said as she walked up to Ren while smiling.
"Alright, Let's go ahead and begin." Ren replied with a smile as he and Sumire both walked away from the rest of the group and the camper.
For the first three minutes of the following hour, Sumire had spent that time stretching out all of her muscles to prevent pulling any of them. Afterwards, she officially began practicing her usual routine.
As he watched his girlfriend practice her routines, Ren heard his phone ping from within his pocket. Ren reached his hand into his right pocket, pulled out his phone, and Sophia's face popped up on the screen.
"Hey, Sophia, what's up?" Ren asked sweetly to the redheaded AI.
"Is Sumire practicing her gymnastics routines? If she is, I'd like to watch her myself." Sophia answered.
Ren simply smiled and nodded in response. Ren turned his phone around and held it up for Sophia to see.
"Ooooooh!" Sophia exclaimed. "Sumire looks so pretty when she does her routines. She looks a lot like a ballet dancer."
"Tell me about it…" Ren said softly as he continued to stare at Sumire. His eyes sparkled with stars in them. "...The first time I ever saw Sumire dance was during the post-festival party at Shujin last year. When I watched her dance, I was completely enchanted by how graceful she looked. Seeing her dancing like a ballerina made her like the most beautiful girl I could have ever seen in my entire life… When she finished dancing, I knew right then and there that I was in love with her."
Sophia hummed in a manner of agreement. "She truly does look beautiful when she dances."
A full hour had passed by. Sumire was now left standing with her hands on her knees, panting from the exhaustion. However, despite how tired she was feeling, she still looked up to face Ren with a smile on her face.
"How was that, Senpai? …Did you like what you saw?" Sumire asked while panting.
"You were wonderful as always, Sumi." Ren replied, sweetly. "Alright, let's go get you changed so we can all finally eat."
Sumire simply nodded in response as she lifted herself back up and began to return to the camper. However, just as she was almost about to pass by Ren, Sumire's right foot accidentally got caught onto the heel of her left foot, causing her to trip over herself and stumble.
Quick to react, Ren dashed towards Sumire and gently grabbed onto her shoulders to catch her. But, almost just as soon as Ren caught her, Sumire took another step forward with her right foot in an attempt to regain her balance. Successfully, Sumire did manage to regain balance. However, Ren soon let out a rough groan like he had gotten hurt; his eyes were closed tightly too. It didn't take long for Sumire to realize exactly where she landed her foot… right on top of Ren's own right foot.
Sumire gasped in a horrified realization as she backed away from Ren.
"Oh my gosh! Senpai, I am so sorry!" Sumire cried out. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"
Ren's eyes began to soften up, but they didn't quiet up just yet. Ren's face was also flushed with a light pink color, but he was no longer groaning… In fact, he was now letting out some soft huffs that sounded rather lustful. However, the huffing soon began to change into some deep breaths as Ren breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. Ren took in a few deep breaths before he opened his eyes again and looked back at Sumire.
"It's okay, Sumire, it didn't hurt too bad." Ren reassured his girlfriend. "If anything… It actually felt pretty nice."
Sumire's eyes widened in surprise at what her boyfriend just said. She felt a little bit of pink reach her cheeks.
"W- What?" Sumire stuttered.
Ren simply smirked as he walked up, closing the distance between himself and Sumire.
"Do you remember when I said to Alice's shadow that I would never give her my consent to let her step on me?" Ren asked as he stared into Sumire's eyes.
"...Yes?" Sumire responded hesitantly.
"Well, there's only one girl in this entire world who is ever going to have my consent to step on me. There's only one girl who can step on me and make me feel any real pleasure from it… You are that girl, Sumire." Ren whispered.
The light pink that covered Sumire's face had now turned into a much darker shade, and had spread across the rest of her face. Her eyes slowly widened as she felt her lips slowly separate from each other while they also trembled.
"Uh… Um…" Sumire muttered, completely at a loss for words.
Ren then leaned in closer; his mouth reaching Sumire's right ear and whispering into it. "Also, I never said this before… But me oh my, do you look oh so sexy in black."
Sumire's face was officially now as red as a tomato. She felt her arms and her legs shaking uncontrollably, and all she could do was embarrassingly blabber gibberish in response to Ren's unexpected confession. Despite being happy with her romantic relationship with Ren, not once in her life did Sumire ever imagine that someone would think she could ever look sexy… Not to mention that she never truly expected to hear her own boyfriend tell her that he would take pleasure in her stepping on him.
As Sumire continued to blabber gibberish in embarrassment, Ren felt his phone ping from within his pocket. Ren reached his hand into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and Sophia's face popped back up on the screen.
"Hey, Ren, what's all this talk about Sumire stepping on you?" Sophia asked.
Ren felt his eyes bolt wide open as he felt his face become flushed with a dark pink color. Sumire was now covering her mouth with both of her hands at the realization that Sophia was listening to everything. Ren had gotten so used to talking to Sumire in private that he had completely overlooked the fact that there was now an AI constantly listening in on his conversations from within his phone.
"...Um…T- That's not really something you need to worry about, Sophia." Ren stuttered in embarrassment.
"Just… Just try to forget what you heard Senpai say, okay?" Sumire asked in a pleading manner, pulling her hands down from her mouth.
Sophia tilted her head over to the side in confusion.
"Why do you want me to forget about it? Is it something bad?" Sophia asked further.
"Please, just don't worry about it." Ren said with a hint of assertion.
Sophia didn't respond. Instead, she held onto a facial expression that made her look like she was focused on something. Her eyes were narrowed in a way that implied that she was searching for something. After about half a minute of silence, Sophia's facial expression changed like she just found what she was looking for.
"Oh, I think I get it now!" Sophia exclaimed.
"Sophia…" Ren started, fearing for the worst of what Sophia was going to say.
Sumire once again held her hands up to her mouth. She could almost swear that all of the embarrassment she was feeling right now was going to be the death of her.
"Please, no…" Sumire pleaded from behind her hands.
Sophia, however, only continued to talk. "This must be one of those things that people commonly refer to as a ki-"
Suddenly, Sophia's sentence was completely cut off by the screen of Ren's phone being shut off completely. However, Ren didn't even do anything to turn off the screen. Ren's phone screen remained turned off for a few seconds before a dim image of a low battery popped up.
Ren felt himself wince.
"Senpai, what just happened?" Sumire asked, lowering her hands from her mouth.
"...My phone's battery just died." Ren explained. "Looks like I completely forgot to charge it before going to bed last night."
"Oh…" Sumire said silently.
Truth be told, Sumire was just glad that she didn't end up hearing Sophia go any further with what she was about to say. It was already embarrassing enough for Sumire to hear Ren admit to her that he would allow her to step on him. She wouldn't be able to handle anyone else butting into such conversations between herself and her boyfriend.
"...Well, let's just head back to the group." Sumire suggested.
"Agreed…" Ren replied as he and Sumire began making their way back over to the camper.
Forty-Five Minutes Later…
After Sumire changed out of her training attire and back into her regular clothes, Ren decided to go ahead and start whipping up some infamous Leblanc curry for everyone. Following the recipe notes that Sojiro had given him three months ago, Ren took the time to carefully and delicately prepare the food to perfection. Once the curry was ready, Ren and Makoto both set up the camper's shade roof as well as a table big enough to round up eight people. Ren and Sumire had to cram their foldable chairs together in order to be able to sit together on one end of the table.
Eventually, everything was set up and everyone was already digging into their curry.
"Mmm, it's sooo good!" Ann exclaimed in delight. "I could eat this forever!"
"Indeed, and to be surrounded by nature in all its splendor makes it taste that much better." Yusuke lightly cried out.
Akechi gave Yusuke a deadpanned look. "Different scenery, same taste. The curry doesn't taste any different from usual."
"You shut your mouth!" Futaba shouted from one end of the table. "You just can't fathom the ultra power of Sojiro's curry and how much better it makes everything!"
Akechi just rolled his eyes before shaking his head and sighing. "Imbeciles…"
Yusuke suddenly stood up from his chair with his plate in both hands. "I must have seconds!"
"Oh no you don't, Inari!" Futaba declared as she stood up from her own chair. "The rest of the curry is mine!"
"What foolishness, to think you could have the rest before me." Yusuke shot back at Futaba.
Both Yusuke and Futaba raced over to the pot where the curry was cooked both tried reaching for the scooper, and they both grabbed onto the handle at the same time… However, just as they both looked inside of the pot, there was nothing left but a few grains of cooked rice.
"What?! There's no more?!" Yusuke cried out in dramatic terror.
"No way! I just know there was more from earlier!" Futaba cried out as well.
Sumire looked over at the two distraught thieves, a guilty look plastered on her face. "I'm sorry, you guys… I already took the last of the curry for a second helping."
"Sumire… How could you?!" Yusuke asked in a dramatic tone.
"Betrayal…" Futaba whined with her eyes darted to the ground.
"I'm so sorry. I should have asked everyone else if they wanted the rest first." Sumire apologized as she bowed her head with her hands clasped together.
Ren just looked over at both Yusuke and Futaba before shaking his head while chuckling in amusement. "Don't worry, you two. I'll be sure to make some more curry at some point in the future. I'll even make a bigger load so everyone can get seconds."
"Do you mean it, Ren?!" Yusuke asked, his eyes sparkling with hope.
"You're a lifesaver!" Futaba exclaimed.
Once again, Akechi just shook his head while sighing with annoyance.
"If you morons are done with your antics, there's an important matter that needs to be addressed at this moment." Akechi said.
Ren turned his attention over to the brooding brunette. His eyebrow cocked with curiosity.
"What would that be, Akechi?" Ren asked.
"Before we arrive at Sapporo, there's an important detour towards another city that we need to make first." Akechi answered.
Silence fell over the rest of the group as looks of confusion became plastered on their faces.
"Why do we need to make a stop in another city?" Makoto asked.
"My benefactor has requested the presence of the Phantom Thieves." Akechi answered. "There appear to be some cases of changes of hearts happening in the city, and I've been asked to bring you all there to take care of it."
"...Your benefactor?..." Ann asked with a pause. "...Who is this benefactor of yours?"
"You'll know soon enough when we get there." Akechi answered further.
"Where's this city, though?" Ryuji asked.
"Just know that it's on the way towards Sapporo; It's on the coast of Hakodate." Akechi responded.
Once again, silence fell over the entirety of the group. As he remained in silence, Ren began to slowly piece together all of the questions he previously had before. Why did Akechi have such a high tech picture camera, and where did he even get a car? It all made sense now; Akechi received it all from this mysterious benefactor of his.
"...Well, if we're talking about important things that need to be discussed," Futaba started up a new conversation with her eyes narrowed, "there's still one important topic of discussion that is long overdue."
Slowly, everyone turned their attention to Futaba as she locked her attention fully on Akechi.
"How are you still alive?" Futaba asked, firmly.
"Oh yeah, you never did explain to us how you survived." Ryuji added as he looked at Akechi.
With the eyes of all the human and feline Phantom Thieves focused on him, Akechi darted his eyes down at his own curry plate before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.
"To tell the infuriating truth… I don't have a single clue as to how I'm still breathing." Akechi admitted
Everyone else's eyes had bolted wide open with surprise and disbelief towards Akechi's answer.
"Are you serious?!" Ann cried out, flabbergasted.
"You honestly have no clue how you might have managed to escape from Shido's Palace?" Haru asked further.
"As I just said, I don't." Akechi repeated with a hint of irritation in his voice. "I've tried countless times to recall anything that happened between the last time I was inside of his Palace and Christmas Eve… but I still cannot remember anything. It's as if those two moments truly happened one after the other."
"...Well then…" Makoto tried speaking up, pausing from all the disbelief she was feeling from how illogical Akechi's answers sounded. "...Do you at least remember what happened after we defeated Dr. Maruki? Can you tell us anything about that."
Akechi placed both of his elbows onto the table. He clasped both of his hands together and placed his mouth behind his hands while his eyes narrowed.
"...Right after Maruki's Palace had crumbled, the next thing I remember was waking just right outside of the Diet Building in the morning of February 4th." Akechi began his explanation before continuing. "I wasn't entirely sure if we had ended up succeeding in changing his heart, or if all of you had simply failed to punish him. I wasn't sure what else to do with myself afterwards, since I was no longer a proper ace detective and I had no interest in trying that charade again… So I decided to check myself into an old rehabilitation center that my mother used to go to. It was there that I had learned from the staff that the leader of the Phantom Thieves had turned himself into the police in order to testify against Shido. He had apparently been in prison ever since Christmas Day; and that's when it became clear that I was, in fact, alive in the real world."
"I see… So instead of turning yourself into the police, you decided to seek shelter at your mother's old rehab facility." Makoto summarized.
"Had I known that I was alive in the real world back then, perhaps I would have considered turning myself in." Akechi retorted. "However, because I didn't know, I wasn't interested in trying to do that a second time only to be set free for no good reason… I just didn't have any other place to go."
Suddenly, a thought crossed Ren's mind.
"Hold on…" Ren started. "If you were choosing to remain in that facility since February, what were you doing at the train station when I was going back home in March?"
Akechi looked over at his raven-haired rival, his eyes locking onto the other's.
"...That is something you'll find out for yourself soon enough." Akechi responded.
Ren let out an exhale through his nostrils… There were still far too many questions left unanswered, and it didn't help that Akechi wasn't even bothering to give any straight answers to anyone. It was frustrating to be made to wonder whoever this mystery benefactor is, which city they reside in, and why Akechi was suddenly let out of the rehabilitation center back in March. It also didn't help that there was still the massive mystery as to how Akechi could have possibly still been alive today, especially when all the evidence points towards him dying in action against a draw showdown against a cognitive version of himself… Ren really hoped that he and the rest of the crew would end up finding some answers to all of these questions soon.
Open Highway - Later That Night…
As the Phantom Thieves and Akechi continued their journey towards the coast of Hakodate, the sun had already gone down, and the moon had begun to rise high into the sky.
"I feel like we've been on the road for awhile…" Morgana spoke up as he sat on Haru's lap. "Where are we now?"
"We'll be entering Sendai soon." Makoto answered from the driver's seat.
"We've driven hundreds of miles, but we still have found any sign of any Jails." said Futaba.
"Well, I'm at least feeling a little more relaxed about the situation now," said Sumire.
"Same here, Sumire." Ann replied from the passenger seat up front. "I wouldn't want those things popping up everywhere we went."
It's also getting pretty dark. I think it might be best if we call it a day." Ren suggested.
"Yes, I agree." Makoto replied with a nod of her head. "We should decide where we want to stay for the night."
"Shouldn' we eat first?" asked Ryuji. "What's good in Sendai?"
"As far as local delicacies go, there's always beef tongue." Haru suggested out loud. "There's plenty of specialty shops around."
"Nonsense!" Yusuke declared, boldly. "Delicious as that sounds, we must go Mt. Aoba Park and see the remains of Sendai Castle. They house a statue of the late Lord Date Masamune. I'd very much like to see the 'One-Eyed Dragon' for myself."
"Ehh, I wanna take a bath first!" Futaba whined. "I'm not sleeping in the camper all sweaty and sticky."
"I agree with Futaba-chan. After the practice I had earlier today, I could do with a bath myself." Sumire added to the conversation.
"Geez, we're all over the place on this one," said Morgana with a shake of his head.
"Um, w-well…" Haru mumbled over her own words as she looked over at the group's voice of reason. "Ren, what do you think we should do?"
Ren hummed to himself as he crossed his arms. Listening to everyone's wants and wishes for what to do for the night, Ren tried to mentally sort out everything that everyone could do in a reasonable order. After half a minute of thinking, Ren came out with an answer.
"Here's what I think…" Ren began." We first go see the remains of Sendai Castle, then we go eat dinner, then we bathe ourselves, and then we go to sleep."
Most of everyone in the camper began to to mumble amongst each other or simply nod their heads in agreement
"That's a well thought out plan, Ren." Morgana praised the team captain.
Ren formed a smile. "There'll be a lot of things to do this summer, besides hunting for Jails. However, much like Fineas and Pherb, we're going to do it all."
"Heck yeah, we'll do it all!" Futaba cheered. "What do you think, Sophia?"
Silence fell over the whole camper. With the lack of response from Sophia, the majority of the group became filled with either confusion or concern.
"...Sophia?" Futaba repeated.
Much like before, no response.
"That's weird, she's not responding." Ryuji stated.
"Do you think she might be sleeping?" Haru asked the group.
"That's most unlikely. AIs don't have the functionality to lose energy like humans do." Yusuke added.
Suddenly, Ren lightly slammed his hand onto the table in realization.
"Oh shoot, I just remembered!" Ren cried out.
"Watzup, Ren?" Ryuji asked.
"My phone battery died earlier today…" Ren explained to the group.
"Ooohh, that definitely explains everything." Futaba said.
"Wait a sec!" Ann shrieked in terror. "What if Ren's phone battery dying has negative effects on Sophia?!"
Upon hearing this assumption, everyone in the camper began to worry over the redheaded AI's possible condition. What kind of negative effects could a dead phone battery have on Sophia? Could she be hurt, or worse case scenario, could she be erased entirely from the phone?
"Damn it… I wish I didn't neglect to charge my phone last night." Ren cursed himself.
Futaba suddenly cleared her throat as she reached her right hand into the right side pocket of her overcoat.
"No need to fear; Futaba's here!" Futaba exclaimed as she pulled out a hand-sized item from her pocket
The item looked like a small, rectangular white box with four tiny light dots darted straight across the top.
"Whazzat? Ryuji asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"It's a portable charger." Futaba answered. "I bought this yesterday, just in case my own phone battery died while we were on the road… Looks like it'll first be used for Ren's phone instead."
With that said, Ren quickly handed his phone over to Futaba. Futaba took out her phone's charge cable and connected one end of it into the phone while also putting the other end into the portable charger. The four light dots at the top of the charger all light up a bright white, and Ren's phone screen showed a dim image of his phone battery charging.
After waiting for five minutes, Futaba decided to go ahead and turn Ren's phone back on. As the phone powered back up, Futaba handed the phone back over to Ren while still keeping the phone connected to the charger. Ren punched in the phone's pin code, and his phone opened up to the home screen.
"Sophia?" Ren spoke up. "Can you hear me, Sophia? Please respond if you can hear me."
Suddenly, the tiny floating icon of Sophia's head popped on the screen. However, the electric blue eyes for Sophia's head were that of a couple of crescent moons facing opposite of each other. This kind of look usually indicates that a person is not feeling too well.
Ren quickly tapped his thumb on the floating head, and suddenly the screen popped up Sophia's entire head… However, Sophia's head slowly but constantly swayed from side to side. Her eyes also only half open, making it look like she was completely dazed
"Sophia?" Ren spoke up again.
"...Huh…?" Sophia muttered. "...What happened…?"
Ren cocked his eyebrow. "Sophia, you okay?"
Sophia held a hand up to her head as she closed her eyes and let out a yawn. "...How long was I out…?"
"Sophia… Were you sleeping?" Sumire asked.
"...I don't know…" Sophia responded with a delay. "...I just feel all… rocky and wavy…"
"Zat sounds alot like whenever I wake up in the mornin'." Ryuji said.
"Hmm… Perhaps whenever Ren's phone battery is depleted, Sophia is forced into a state of slumber until the phone is recharged." Yusuke hypothesized.
"It would certainly seem that way." Haru commented.
"Well, at least she's not hurt in any way." Ann added
Sophia let out another yawn. Her body finally stopped swaying, and her eyes were now fully opened up.
"...Hey, Ren, What did I miss?" Sophia asked.
"Well, we were just talking about everything we were going to do once we arrive in Sendai." Ren answered. "We planned on going to see the remains of Sendai, mainly the statue of Date Masamune. We also plan to grab some beef tongue to eat, wash ourselves up at a bathhouse, and then go to sleep."
"Then please allow me to assist with that." Sophia said. "Searching: Date Masamune, beef tongue, nearby bathhouses, and overnight parking lots. Leave it to me. I'll find us the most efficient route to everything you've suggested."
"Wow, you can do all that Sophia?" asked Ann.
"It's nothing special," replied Sophia. "I'm just doing a wide search and lining up our destinations." Sophia commented. "We should first head to the parking lot at Mt. Aoba Park. Then we can walk to the statue of Masamu-"
Suddenly, Sophia stopped herself in the middle of her sentence. Her eyes widened as if something had caught her attention.
"Hm? What's up?" asked Ryuji.
"This smell…" Sophia said. "There might be a Jail here!"
Everyone's eyes bolted wide open upon hearing what Sophia just said.
"Are you sure, Sophia?" Morgana asked.
"I'm positive." Sophia answered. "I can't quite pinpoint the exact location, and that may be because of distance, but this scent is just like the one in Shibuya."
Ren narrowed his eyes. "Alright, then we should definitely check out Sendai. "
"We should also let Akechi-kun know what we're doing." Makoto suggested.
"Already on it." Ren replied as he opened his phone back up to the main home screen.
As Ren opened up his phone contacts app and rang up Akechi, Ren held his phone up to his ear as he listened to the faint ringing, waiting for the other end to be picked up.
Suddenly, Akechi's voice came through. "Hey, I assume you have something important to tell me?"
"We're making a stop in Sendai." Ren answers. "Sophia says she's smelling a very similar scent that she smelled in Shibuya, so there's most likely a Jail in Sendai too."
Akechi heaved a sigh from the other end. "Alright, fine, we'll look into it."
"Alright, just keep following us until we reach Mt. Aoba Park." Ren concluded before he ended his call with Akechi.
As both of the vehicles continued to drive along the highway, the entire group quietly anticipated the possibility of finding a new Jail in Sendai, and wondering just who could possibly be the Monarch. Whatever was to come, everyone knew that they had to be ready for anything.
NewWorldFool: And thus concludes Chapter Twelve!
CloudStrife07: Indeed, and just in time for Persona 3: Reload too, which releases in less than a week! Remember, everyone, Persona 3 Reload releases on February 2nd! So be sure to pre-order your copies if you haven't don't so already!
NewWorldFool: Additionally, that means the wait for the next chapter for The Royal Strikers might be a bit longer than usual, mainly because we'll be a bit preoccupied burning our dread and partaking in mass destruction.
So, if you liked what you saw here, be sure to fave, follow, review, and join us next time as the Phantom Thieves meet the Sendai Monarch! See you then!
CloudStrife07: Adios!