Life Will Change Book 2

Chapter 36: Kyoto Surprise

Begin

~Normal POV

The surprise Zenkichi gave them was paying for their stay at a luxury hot spring hotel. Sophia informed them that a single night here averaged 40,000 yen per person. And that was with him getting them all their own rooms. (Though he also joked aloud that he was sure not all of them would be taking advantage of it.) They even allowed pets and had bathing accommodations for them! It was an immensely generous offer. He dropped them off there and left to head to his Osaka appointment.

At the moment, everyone was checking out their rooms. Akira watched as everyone went about looking excited and content. It was a fancier place than he was ever used to, but he had to admit, it was nice. He felt a hand on his arm and saw Ann had approached him.

"Well? What do you think?" She whispered. "Isn't this awesome?"

Akira looked around again and smiled. "Yeah... it is..."

~...

That evening, after everyone had a chance to relax in the hot springs, Akira kicked Morgana out of his room so he and Ann could have some alone time. To which the cat wasn't happy about, but he was used to this by now. So the couple was taking full advantage of their precious time by making out on the bed.

"Didn't you get enough of me in Fukuoka already," Ann teased.

"You know I can never have enough of you." Akira answered slyly, moving to kiss her neck.

"Mm... Hey, you were right... We did get to stay in some hotels after all."

Akira chuckled, pulling away for a moment. "You sound surprised. I thought you knew I was right a lot."

"I guess you are..." Ann sat up and pushed him down onto the bed, to switch their positions. "But tonight... I want you all to myself..."

~...

Out in the common area separating their bedrooms, Futaba was working on her laptop with Morgana snuggled up on a cushion beside her. Makoto was in her room for the night. And she didn't want to think about what the two couples were doing in their respective rooms.

"Ah, even the showers here are so refreshing." She glanced over her shoulder to see Yusuke had come to join them. He was drying his hair with a towel.

"Preach, Inari." She replied.

"Hopefully after my next contest win I'll have enough to bring Mei here for a trip." Yusuke pondered softly.

"Ooo, very romantic," Futaba said, grinning.

"By the way, what are you doing?" Yusuke asked.

"Top secret. Can't tell you." Futaba answered, without taking her eyes off the screen.

Yusuke rolled his eyes. He should have known she'd say that. Oh, well. He wouldn't have understood it anyway. He sat down beside her and went to work on his sketching. While he did, she tapped away on her keyboard. After several minutes a news notification alerted her attention.

"Hey, Mona, Inari, check this out..." She said, getting the two to look up. It was an urgent news broadcast.

"Earlier, Akira Konoe, better known as the CEO of Madicce, held an emergency press conference. During which he announced that EMMA, the company's latest virtual assistant, will cease service for the time being."

"What?!" Morgana yelled.

"First, let me start by addressing our users, and apologizing for any inconveniences that may affect you. EMMA's servers were indeed hacked. That much has been confirmed. Even more regrettable is the fact that some of your personal data was leaked in the attack. For that, I'm deeply sorry. As a company, we understand how valuable your privacy is, and have taken appropriate measures to remedy this breach. That's why our company is suspending all instances of EMMA until further notice. As for who was behind this horrendous attack... It was the Phantom Thieves- the very same terrorists causing all sorts of mayhem as of late. In addition to their heinous crimes, they've even murdered one of our very own, all to steal his research. From there, they had everything they needed to break through EMMA's defenses. It seems we're the latest victim in what appears to be a string of related incidents. There are several other cases in which these criminals stole information and used it to harass their victims. If the Phantom Thieves are listening, I have a word for you cold-blooded killers... We will not succumb to your threats. Not me, not my company, not EMMA. You claim to want justice, yet you steal precious data and leave our finest for dead. I can't wait to see the day you're punished!"