An Undisclosed Location

[John Hino]

John smirked as they neared the car.

"Wanna see something cool?"

[Mizuki Hino]

"Do you even have to ask?" She says with a grin.

[John Hino]

"M.I.D.A.S. Trunk."

"Right away young master," the car answered, the trunk opening.

[Mizuki Hino]

She bursts out laughing. "Young master? Holy cow...wow that's freaking cool. When did you get it? Is it the car itself? Or just installed?"

[John Hino]

"The butler personality is just a placeholder," he chuckled.

"Built and programmed the addition myself. Boy genius, remember?"

[Mizuki Hino]

"Boy nerd." Mizuki corrected. "What else does it do?"

[John Hino]

"Media access, GPS, security system, and driving assistance. I'm debating whether I should teach it how to drive itself. Probably not."

[Mizuki Hino]

"Yeah that doesn't sound too safe. It would really suck if there was an electrical short."

[John Hino]

"Agreed. Really I was just tempted by the challenge," he said as began packing the trunk.

[Mizuki Hino]

She packs the bags she's holding, not really paying attention to the way they went in. "Well, you could always just do one to test it out once, then get rid of it. Give yourself the challenge without any hurt."

[John Hino]

"Maybe, maybe," he nodded.

"You do know you're sharing a room right?" he smirked as he tallied all her luggage.

[Mizuki Hino]

"Yep!" She said with a smile. "It's not a lot of big stuff. Notebooks and books, extra clothes. If there isn't enough room, I can send it back here. I just was afraid I'd miss something if I didn't pack it."

[John Hino]

"Then I guess asking you if you're sure you got everything would be silly."

[Mizuki Hino]

"Yep. But if it makes you feel better, you can ask anyway."

[John Hino]

"Hmm... kitchen sink?" he teased.

[Mizuki Hino]

Her face falls (jokingly, of course). "Oh crap. The sink! How could I have forgot?!"

[John Hino]

"Oh just get in the car," he chuckled.

[Mizuki Hino]

She grins wide at him and jumps into the car. "How fast can this go?"

[John Hino]

"I haven't tweaked the engine, so roughly 155 mph," he said as he climbed in.

[Mizuki Hino]

"Boringgggg." She says with a grin. "You should tweak it. Make it go faster. What if you have an emergency?" Clearly she wasn't really thinking about that, she was just interested in going on a fast ride for the thrill.

[John Hino]

"If I had wanted a sports car I'd have started with one," he said as he started the car.

[Mizuki Hino]

"Well maybe you should eventually work on one. You know, just in case someone ever wants to learn to drive it and take it out for a spin." She coughs.

[John Hino]

He gave her a look that said 'Nice try, but you know me better than that.'

[Mizuki Hino]

She smirked. "Do you blame me for trying?"

[John Hino]

"Nope," he chuckled as they got moving.

[Mizuki Hino]

The closer they get to Maldon, the bigger the smile is on her face. Regardless of how sad she may have been to leave her friends in Seattle, it's clear that the prospect of staying at XI again outweighs the sadness.