*Koyuki*
We returned to Taisho City and went to a clothing store with clothes befitting for the hot desert climate.
I smiled at my white dress with blue flowers. Giggling, I put on a straw hat to give me some shade against the harsh sun. My outfit was so cute! Well, of them were, really. I couldn't decide on what I wanted, so picked out three. Hopefully, Captain wouldn't mind.
"Are you done?" Saffron asked, knocking on the door.
I stepped out of the dressing room. "Yep, ready!" I stepped out a put a hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle. The Captain had on a gaudy looking shirt and sunglasses. The most normal part of his ensemble had to be the black shorts he had on.
"Captain, you look hilarious," I said, unable to keep my laughter in.
"It's just a disguise. I'll change back once we return."
I snickered. "Couldn't you have picked something a little more fitting?"
He sighed. "I'm not good at this fashion thing."
I tilted my head. Really? He always dressed sharp. "You sure?"
He crossed his arms. "I usually pick outfits out of necessity."
"Well, how about I give you a fashion lesson then?"
He smirked. "Don't you have a mission to focus on?"
I wagged my finger at him. "Oh, but this is part of the mission."
He turned his back to me. "Nice try, Koyuki, but it's more like a necessary detour."
My shoulders slumped. "Oh, okay. Well, can we go get ice cream after we finish with our mission? It's been ages since I last had any."
"We'll see."
"You sound like your private, Koyuki," Lt. Uneri as he joined us. He was dressed in gray pants that ran to his kneecaps and a white shirt that revealed his wide chest.
I rubbed my arms. He had a point there. Seemed I wasn't so above the influence. I had to be more professional like him.
"Speaking of Milo, where is he?" I asked, glancing around.
"I'm here," Milo said.
I snorted. He wore an outfit similar to Captain Saffron. Except, he actually managed to pull it off better thanks to his goofy personality.
"Let's get going," the Captain said, heading for the cash register.
Lt. Uneri and I nodded and followed after him.
The lady behind the counter had on a blue dress and a matching blue shawl with flower designs on the edges. "How may I help you?"
The Captain handed her some price tags.
"Oh!" Milo pulled out the tags from his stuff as well, putting them down on the desk.
She blinked. The poor clerk probably wasn't used to people purchasing stuff like this.
I put down my extra outfits and the tags of the ones I had on.
"Sorry. We needed a change of outfits a bit urgently," Lt. Uneri said, putting his tags down as well.
The lady blushed as she stared into his blue eyes. "Um, it's okay."
Lt. Uneri smiled slightly. He was a charmer, for sure.
After paying, we headed out and found a black car with dark windows waiting for us.
I stepped back. There was something unnerving about a car with completely tinted windows.
The window of the front passenger seat rolled down, revealing Major Kisara.
"Get in, subordinates," she said, smirking as she removed her sunglasses.
"Uh, you're joining us?" Milo asked.
"I'm just giving you a ride."
"And that requires you to be dressed up?" Saffron asked, narrowing his purple eyes.
She rolled her eyes. "Look, we're trying to keep a low profile. If I wear my uniform, people will wonder why an officer is driving four tourists to Taahid."
"How did you know we were planning on going there?" I asked, taking the middle back seat.
"I briefed her," Lt. Uneri said as he sat in the front with her.
Major Kisara smiled as she patted his shoulder. "He's a good 'lapdog', isn't he?"
"He certainly is a dependable guy," I said.
"Indeed," Saffron said.
Lt. Uneri turned away.
The Major smiled. "No need to be shy, Uneri."
"Let's just go," Uneri said, waving his hand at her.
She put back on her glasses and smirked. "Well, put on your seatbelts, anchovies. I'll have you know that I drive fast!"
Anchovies?
Milo gulped as he sat behind Uneri. Seemed he wanted to be as far away from her as possible.
The car drove off and passed through the streets of Taisho and into a road that cut through the desert. That's where Kisara began driving so fast that Milo hugged me for dear life.
"I'm too young to die," Milo cried.
I patted his back. "You're fine, Milo. I'll protect you with my snow."
"You really are an angel, Koyuki."
I laughed. Well, I was literally part angel. As were all of us here.
Before long, we arrived at a checkpoint with two guards in red and white uniforms.
One guard knocked on Major Kisara's window. "Permit."
Major Kisara lowered her window, allowing the harsh sunlight to pour inside the car.
I shielded my eyes. Now I wished I had gotten sunglasses too.
"Here you go, officer," Kisara said, handing four passports to the man. "Hope everything is in order."
She got us passports? Wow, the lady sure worked fast.
"These look fine. Although, you look familiar, ma'am," the guard said.
Kisara snickered. "I hear that a lot, sir. My beauty is rather well known around these parts."
Milo made a gagging face at the corny response.
The border guard nodded. "Very well. You're free to go."
She saluted. "Thank you. Have a nice day."
As we drove on, I took a peek out the window. We arrived at the entrance of a giant city with a bunch of buildings with blue dome roofs. Some even had onion-shaped ones on top of what looked to be watchtowers.
"I don't think I've ever been this far south," I said as Kisara pulled to the side of the road in the town's shopping district.
"Nor have I and Captain," Milo said.
Major Kisara snickered. "You people need to get out more when you have some free time. Life for us can end in the blink of an eye."
And here I thought she was a stuffy, nose in the air woman. Guess I was wrong.
Milo grinned. "So you're actually a bit of a party animal."
She sighed. "My motto is to work hard and play hard."
Lt. Uneri sighed. "Some rest would do you good too, Major."
"And I'll have some tonight, but for now, I have a job to do."
"Where are we going first, Lieutenant?" Saffron asked as we got out of the car.
"First, we should check into a hotel," Uneri said as he closed the door behind him.
"Right, that's what we did last time," Major Kisara said. She turned away and sighed.
"Want to join us?" Milo asked, blinking.
She shook her head. "No. I have paperwork to do back at the base camp. Besides, the more of us there are, the greater risk there is we'll call attention to ourselves."
I nodded. Made sense.
"Take care. I'll call you later," Lt. Uneri said, as he poked his head into the car.
"I'll be counting on it, Uneri."
Maybe it was me, but the way they looked at one another felt like they were more than just co-workers. Lt. Uneri didn't even get mildly annoyed when she called him a 'lapdog'.
After the car drove off, Lt. Uneri led us through a series of twists and turns to a large golden brick building. The inside was also gold! There were even chandeliers and carpets of super high quality. The floor itself was made of colorful polished marble. I didn't even want to know how much it would cost per night.
"Good afternoon," a brown haired woman with blue eyes and a gold uniform greeted us at the lobby. While she looked twenty-five, the age we angels stopped physically aging, she gave off the same vibe as my mom did. She probably worked like hours too, yet somehow managed to still be as friendly with the last guest as with the first.
"Reservation under Uneri," Lt. Uneri said, stepping to the front of the group.
Did the Major also reserve us rooms! No wonder she was a Major!
The receptionist typed a few things into her computer before she smiled. "Yes, here it is. The four rooms are already paid for, so there is no need to worry." She turned around and grabbed a trio of keys.
"Huh? Only three?" Milo asked.
"You can stay with me," Captain said.
He sighed. "Okay. If there's only one bed, I call dibs!"
"Think there should be two," Lt. Uneri said, smiling slightly. "Anyway, check into your rooms. We can gather in Captain Saffron and Milo's room once we have."
"Sounds good!" I said, grinning.
The Captain nodded. "Agree. Let's go, Milo."
"Alright! I'm gonna take a snooze!"
Saffron sighed. "You can do that after our meeting."
He grumbled. "Fine!"
I chuckled. Captain Saffron said I was lenient on Milo, but in truth, he was too. Well, Milo was his family. Even if he tried to hide it in an attempt to be professional, Saffron still had some warmth toward his cousin.
Although, Captain did harbor a bit of affection toward all of his subordinates. He certainly was patient with me when I was a private. Maybe that's why Milo had mixed feelings about being promoted. That way he wouldn't have to grow up. But even if Saffron treated us well, we couldn't shirk our duties. That loyalty he showed toward his comrades was what inspired us to try harder. At least me.