Unit HAZE

Part 5

Part 5
Everything went smoothly. With the presence of Izuka, no-one questioned the tarp behind him. The team swiftly hauled away the exo-bodies, disposed of the corpses and cleaned the area. After a mere half an hour, the entire place looked exactly as Izuka had first found it.
(I love technology.) five minutes after the clean-up and Izuka was confidant he could leave the suit alone, so he mounted his motorcycle and left the area.
As he rode, his helmet blocked out the annoying sound of the engine. He was not, however, returning to his dorm. He stopped off at a certain discount store.
He walked in and immediately bought a large bag of peanuts.
"My my, Tsubachi-kun, do you ever buy anything else?" The young clerk, who seemed friendly with Izuka, had said this.
"Sorry. I just can't stop eating them." Izuka smiled at her brightly. He was a completely different person. "So, is your shift almost over?"
"Yeah. A few more minutes then I'll be off."
"I'll wait for you then. It's dangerous for a lady to walk these dark nights unescorted." Izuka pretended to bow whilst holding out his hand.
She giggled happily. "Geez, Tsubachi-kun, you're always so embarrassing!" She playfully looked away from Izuka, ignoring the stares of other customers.

"I'll go get changed," the girl ran off to the employee changing room waving.
"Un. Don't keep me waiting long." Izuka decided to sit on a bench outside, since his legs were tired. That girl, Shifune Marika, was totally oblivious to the world Izuka came from. She was just a sweet and innocent girl that Izuka had taken a liking to.
He carelessly threw a handful of nuts into his mouth and stared at the sky absentmindedly for a few minutes before Marika arrived wearing a long coat that reached her knees yet still looked quite fashionable. She also wore a knitted scarf that almost blended in with her short light brown hair.
"Sorry for making you wait."
"No, it's fine. After all, I got to see you in your cute clothes. Were you expecting me by any chance?" He teased, to which Marika responded by glowing red and burying her face in her scarf. "Well, shall we go?"
"Oh, yes." Marika was flustered, but still managed to link arms with Izuka. He enjoyed moments like this. He forgot all about his job, and lost any care he had. Marika occasionally took a handful of nuts from Izuka as she chatted to him about her work, and he listened obediently, chipping in when he thought it necessary.
"So, what have you been doing recently? I've been talking about myself the whole time." She urged him to speak, with him obviously not having anything he was allowed to tell her. In fact, even him giving his real name was against the rules, but he broke that rule already.
"Well......work's been slow recently, but earlier today something interesting came up, so tomorrow I'm going over to speak with one of the other groups. I'm going to Britain for a few days, so if you want something bringing back, then don't hesitate to ask." This was the truth. Unit ENIGMA tented to spend their time in Britain, so he was going to go there to speak with Urushiro Haruke about the earlier incident.
"Britain huh? I've always wanted to go there..... Well, I'll let you decide what to get me. You should know what I like, so this'll be a little test."
"Marika-chan........"
"Send me some pictures of the landmarks too, and maybe-"
"Come with me."
.......................................
Everything was silent after Izuka's proposal. It was so sudden that not even he could process what had just happened. He had said it on an impulse.
"What.....?" They both stopped moving.
"..........c-come with me. You obviously want to go, so why not. We've been together for three months now, so I think I should take you away somewhere. What do you say, Marika-chan?"
"...............springing this on me so suddenly, Tsubachi-kun............I don't know what to say.........." Having said that, it took mere seconds for her to find her answer. "Of course! Thank you, Tsubachi-kun!" She hugged Izuka tightly, rubbing her head against his chest. She was clearly delighted with this turn of events. Izuka, however, was incredibly tense. He had planned to use the underground high-speed railway to travel to the UK, and not stay there for longer than he needed to. But now he had to make actual travel arrangements, book a hotel, and stay there for a few days. The preparations had to be made by morning. But he had the time and money. His 'job' gave him more money than he would ever need, so finance wasn't an issue. All underground operatives were given special cards to hack ATMs and gain money of a certain currency.
"But are you sure it's ok? You said it's a work thing, so I'd be alone for most of the time......."
"No, it's okay. The work itself should be dealt with on the first day. It's actually just like a vacation." The two finally made it to their destination: Marika's apartment. "Leave everything to me! I'll pick you up early in the morning, so just pack yourself tonight, you can sleep on the plane."
"Wait, what about my work!?"
"It's fine. We'll inform your boss of the situation before we leave, so that should be fine." Marika could barely contain her excitement as she was almost jumping up and down like a young child. "Goodnight, Marika-chan."
"Un. Goodnight Tsubachi-kun."
"We've been together for three months. Stop calling me by my last name."
"I can't. No matter how hard I try, it's still too embarrassing." Marika wrapped her arms around Izuka once more, and they kissed each other lightly. Marika happily waved goodbye to Izuka all the way until she had closed her door.
(Honestly, we kiss in public yet she's embarrassed to call me 'Izuka') despite his thinking, Izuka allowed a smile to creep up on his face. Above all, he was also happy that he could now spend a few days on a trip with Marika. (But why did I have to invite her!? I'm not supposed to let her find out about the organisation, and yet I'm taking her to the UK! Why!?) Izuka calmed himself by munching on more nuts. Right now, he had to be making arrangements for himself and Marika. He could do all of that from his dorm, but first he had to get his bike. Like always, he had hidden his bike from Marika as an excuse to walk with her and spend more time in her company. He had to walk all the way back there.