Life Will Change Book 2

Chapter 46: Fireworks in Yokohama

Begin!

~Normal POV

8/28 - Monday

When Zenkichi arrived at the camper this morning, he found an amusing sight. Seven completely partied-out teenagers and a cat, who had all passed out in various positions inside the camper. They didn't even bother separating the sleeping arrangements this time. They must have been too tired when they got back. He knew they usually liked to party after a successful heist but this was ridiculous.

"Geez, you guys look rough... What the hell happened?" Zenkichi asked. It took a moment of them all stirring from their slumber before any of them could respond.

"We spent half the night at Universaland..." Akira said, groggily.

"And then everything's just kind of a blur..." Ann added, sheepishly.

"Ryuji, honey, did I get a tattoo last night?" Haru asked, confusedly.

Ryuji was sitting beside her and holding his aching head back against the seat. "A temporary one on your hand..." (He too was sporting a temporary tattoo on his hand of an axe.)

Haru looked at the back of her left hand and smiled at the little temporary tattoo of a skull. "Oh! That's right, I remember now!" She said, giggling a bit.

"Could everyone please talk more softly..." Yusuke muttered, rubbing his temples. "My head is killing me..."

Sophia chimed from her spot on the center table. "Analyzing symptoms: you all appear to have hangovers, correct?"

Zenkichi went into panic mode. "Hangovers!? Were you guys drinking last night?!"

"No! No, of course not, Zenkichi!" Makoto answered quickly, sitting up straighter in her chair. She looked the best out of everyone, but still had some red in her eyes from staying out late with them. "We may be thieves but we don't break those kinds of laws. They just let loose a little too much and tired themselves out."

Futaba sat up on her bed above the table. "Says Miss Prez who nearly spent all her money at the shooting gallery..."

Makoto gave her an offended look and replied. "They had a rare Buchimaru-kun plush as a prize! I had to win it!" She had that very prize sitting in her lap.

Zenkichi put a hand to his chest, breathing out in relief. "Oh, thank goodness... Er, wait- how did you get like this then?"

Ann pointed at Ryuji. "This dumbass had too much soda and sugar-crashed." She then pointed to Yusuke. "And that dumbass also had a sugar rush from too much soda and ended up hitting his head on the ceiling." Morgana meow-whined from his sleeping position, drooped over the side of Akira's bag like a loose shirt. "And that one-" Ann added, gesturing to the cat. "Had too much sushi and made himself sick."

"I think Haru tired herself out from keeping up with her dumbass boyfriend," Akira added. "And the rest of us are just tired."

"I wasn't allowed to drink soda when I was living with Madarame. So I don't drink it often, even now..."

"Ok, no more soda for Inari..."

Zenkichi sighed exasperatedly. "Alright- guess I gotta be the responsible adult here- sit tight, I'll pick you up something for those headaches. Sheesh, buncha damn party kids..."

~...

Zenkichi returned to camp not long after with some medicine and water bottles for them all. Those who needed it took it without complaint; a fact that surprised the inspector greatly. While everyone else re-hydrated themselves. He waited patiently until they were all more awake before getting into the briefing.

"Feeling better now?"

"Mhmm. Thanks." Akira answered. "So, what's going on?"

"We have Konoe in custody and I've already finished working him over. You're gonna love this. Turns out: he was planning to cut Owada off the whole time!"

"So he doesn't have anyone to protect him anymore?" Makoto asked.

"Not a soul." Zenkichi said, grinning in satisfaction. "I'll be able to bring him in for everything... I- I really owe you guys for this..."

"You helped us," Ann said, smiling, "We didn't do all the work."

"Heh, maybe..." Zenkichi said, scratching his head sheepishly. "But I couldn't have done it without you... So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for rescuing Akane... And me, too."

"You're welcome, Zenkichi," Akira said, sincerely.

Zenkichi got back up. "Welp, that's all I wanted to let you know. I gotta get back and make sure EMMA gets the boot, too. You guys will be ok to drive, right? Figure I have to ask at this point since you were so stupid with your little party last night."

"We weren't stupid, we had a great time!" Ryuji replied. "Come on, gramps, you can't tell us you didn't cut loose too when you were our age." He finished slyly.

"If I did- I wouldn't tell you." Zenkichi said, smirking playfully before leaving the camper.

~...

On the drive back to Tokyo, Sophia requested one last detour to Yokohama. She wanted to end the journey by going to a fireworks festival there tonight at Ocean View Park. It was early evening when they arrived. To finish out the special occasion in style, they even got dressed up in their yukatas for the show. They got the best position by the seaside to watch; Akira held up his phone so Sophia could see. They'd never seen her so happy. It was a wonderful night. And a perfect end to their summer vacation together.

Akira was the first one to finish changing out of his yukata afterwards. He knew the girls were still changing in the camper, so he opted to walk around a bit. This trip had been amazing, even if it had a rocky start. He sighed to himself.

Something wasn't right. Everything was going a little too perfectly... But why did he have this foreboding feeling? Nothing was wrong... Konoe confessed, Madicce is history, Owada has no power anymore, everyone was so happy spending time together... Why did he feel like this? Was it all too good to be true? Or was he just paranoid?

~...

"What do you mean you can't shut her down?!" Zenkichi shouted.

"I swear, she was turned off for a whole minute! But she came back online somehow!" The Madicce employee replied, frantically.

"Sir, the fail-safe codes aren't working. Did they change recently?"

"No, they haven't changed at all. Get Dr. Ichinose on the phone this instant! She'll know what to do."

"I've tried, but there's no answer!"

Zenkichi put a hand to his head in confusion. "What does all this mean?"

"It means EMMA isn't re-" The man's voice slowed to a dull whisper and his eyes glazed over with a dreamy stare. "...sponding..."

Zenkichi could hear his own heart pounding in his ears as the two employees turned into change of heart zombies right before his eyes.

"Shit... I gotta warn the kids!"

~End of Chapter