Several hours later, Tio carried Zombina back to MON HQ as she was in no condition to continue on active duty. As such, Manako moved to the front lines as far as escorting Caboose was concerned, as it was her turn for the 'date'.

The pair of them wandered the streets together, relatively speaking. While she was looking quite nice as a civilian in a flowing sundress and flowery hat, she was trailing several dozen feet behind Caboose, which he found confusing. "Mana-chan?" he called out, hoping a nickname would smooth things over.

"Y-yes?" she called back nervously, holding her hat down to try and hide her single eye. "What is it?"

"Why not walk together with me?" he asked curiously. "That's more fun as a date!"

"R-right!" Manako agreed, starting to make her way forward.

Just before she walked into a pole, Caboose was by her side. "Did you not see it?" he asked, carefully steering her away from it.

"I-I don't have very good depth perception," Manako admitted sorrowfully.

"Oh!" Caboose gasped out. "I forgot my gift!" Reaching into a bag, he pulled out a black visor and handed it to her. "Put this on, like sunglasses."

Curious, Manako slipped the visor on over her single eye, and gasped as the view through the visor shifted and focused until she was able to see the entire world in perfect binocular detail. "H-how-?" she managed to ask.

"I asked Freckle how your eye worked," Caboose explained. "We were able to figure out how to design a lens in shades that would let you get focus the way Freckle does with a single optic. And since you said you got upset when people stared because only having one eye made you feel awkward, the shades are extra dark like Kuku's so no one can see through them but you!"

Manako blushed at just how thoughtful - and well thought out - this gift was. "T-thank you," she stammered out happily. "But...I'm still not too good with crowds. Can we go somewhere with less people?"

"Sure!" Caboose agreed readily. "The alleys have less people!" He happily led Manako onto a different street behind a building where there were fewer people. Finding a bench nearby, he let her take a seat while he went to try and figure out how to get a drink out of the vending machine without breaking drink or machine.

Manako sat in thought. While the gift of the visor was nice...she was left wondering. After all, it meant he couldn't see her single eye either...or was it "didn't have to"? She wanted to believe that was just her paranoia and low self-esteem talking, but…

"Something bothering you?" Caboose asked curiously as he came back with a bottle of tea for her.

Manako glanced away, not wanting to confront Caboose directly with her suspicions. That was...unworthy of her. Still, her worries were so strong...perhaps an indirect approach? "It...it feels like people at work are...insincere when they talk to me," she allowed finally.

"Why would you think that?" Caboose asked curiously.

"Because...when they talk to me, their eyes slide away…" Manako explained.

"Oh!" Caboose stated in understanding. "I know what that means! Guys have trouble looking at super pretty girls 'cause they're afraid they'll say or do something stupid that'll upset them, so they try to find something else to look at to untie their tongue! At least, that's what Sister said."

"Sister?" Manako asked curiously, though she found herself blushing at the idea that the reason she didn't get direct looks from people at work was because she was too pretty. "One of your sisters?"

"Nah, Grif's sister," Caboose corrected. "She has lots of boy friends. And lots of girl friends. And lots of friends that aren't boys or girls. She has big parties with them all. She knows all about romance and courting and Bum Chicka Woop Woop. I asked her about some stuff my sisters didn't tell me about, and she had really good answers!"

Manako frowned thoughtfully as she took this all in. If this information came from the Reds and Blues...well, to have such an impressive record, they all had to be as wise as Caboose could be in startling ways, so it made sense. If she was too pretty…

"And I can see why they'd have a hard time," Caboose continued. "You're not just sexiful. You're super pretty and really adorable, especially with how short and spunky you are! That's especially true cause everyone here on this planet is of Japanese stock. Sister said Japanese guys get really awkward and flustered if some girl is super kawaii. She said that means cute, and you are the cutest!"

Manako promptly fell over on the bench, her face red as a tomato as she fainted.

Caboose stared at her for a time. "Huh. Was it something I said?" He turned to a cloaked girl behind the vending machine. "Hey Doppel, can you help me with her?"

Doppel tensed up before unravelling her disguise. "How long did you know I was following you?" she asked seriously.

"Since the aquarium," Caboose explained readily. "It's how I knew you wrote the letter. Which is why I was super confused about you apparently not wanting to date me. I thought the letter was your way of saying you wanted to date me."

Doppel tensed up once again. "Can you really be this stupid?" she demanded angrily.

Caboose stared at her. "...is that a trick question?"

Doppel brought her hand to her face. "Right...it's you…" She glowered up at him. "But I at least thought you understood what it meant, what I did for you! The...the connection it made-"

"I made you this!" Caboose interrupted, holding out a package. "It was supposed to be a gift for our date, but then you didn't want to date."

Doppel stared at the package before slowly opening it. Inside, she found a long sweater the exact shade of her hair. "A...sweater?" she asked in confusion.

"When you change shape, you wrap up in your hair," Caboose explained happily. "I realized that meant no matter what it looks like you're wearing, you're actually running around naked. I thought you must get cold like that, so I made you this. Freckle helped with analyzing your hairs you left on my helmet, so it's a sweater that will change with you!"

Doppel 'tsk'ed derisively as she pulled it on. "That's impossible," she stated flatly as she changed shape, fully expecting the sweater to burst off her as she turned into Tio. "See…" Her voice trailed off. The sweater had changed with her, even as she'd crafted an outfit. It even felt like she was still wearing it. "...how?"

"Freckle and I can do lots of stuff!" Caboose explained eagerly. "This way, no matter what else, you'll always have something on so you can be warm. Something to remind you that I care, and worry about you. Cause that's what I'm supposed to do, right? I'm the man of the house, and you're one of the girls I'm supposed to take care of. That's what you meant, right?"

Doppel resumed her normal form, floating in her hair as the sweater went from high on her neck to just above her knees. The top of the neck even opened wide so she could pull it up over her cheeks to hide a blush, as she did now...and just a little extra long in the sleeve so she could pull her hands in completely. "You...you do understand, don't you?" she murmured softly.

"I understand that you did a big thing for me, and I matter to you," Caboose answered happily. "And you matter to me."

Doppel refused to say anything out loud at this point. However, her thoughts were quite plain. How come only Zombina gets the Visa?