After they all left the cafeteria, people started noticing small coins scattered here and there around the facility. They were being dropped by these small wheeled robots that looked like modified roombas. This caused a lot of confusion until IMONO explained the reason for it.

"I AM CONTROLLING THOSE ROBOTS. THEY WILL HIDE SMALL COINS THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY FROM NOW ON. ANY WHO ARE INTERESTED MAY COLLECT THEM, AND THEN SPEND THEM ON A PRIZE MACHINE SET UP IN THE SECONDARY STORAGE ROOM NEXT TO THE WASHROOM."

Well, that was definitely interesting. Still, that didn't change anyone's priorities. Everyone had things they wanted to get done, and Naoko was no exception. He had time until he had to get to work himself, and he wanted to spend the time he had before then speaking to his fellow Ultimates.

Looking around the facility by himself, Naoko peeked into the medical room, finding Mareo inside. He seemed to be standing by the bed he woke up on.

"Hey," Mareo said, seeing Naoko enter. "I was just thinking about how I woke up here. It's kinda fitting, right? Something tells me I'll be ending up here more than once, given my reputation."

Naoko let out a polite chuckle. He decided to spend some time talking to Mareo. He thought about maybe giving him something, but unfortunately, he didn't have anything to give him. He thought to give the prize machine a look. Still, it wasn't like it was needed. Naoko still felt like he and Mareo grew a little closer.

"So, I'm going to assume you have some questions," Mareo said suddenly.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Mareo gestured to himself with both arms and hands. "The suit. You've probably been thinking about it, right?"

"Not particularly," Naoko replied. "I mean, it's interesting, but I didn't want to bother you with any annoying questions."

"Oh, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to ask questions," Mareo assured him. "People ask me about it all the time. I'm pretty used to it by now."

"Okay. If you're okay with it, I don't mind you talking about it."

Mareo clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Alright, lemme address the first elephant in the room: You're wondering how I go to the bathroom, right?"

Okay, Naoko thought, this conversation was becoming very awkward. "No. Do people...ask you about that?"

"All the time," Mareo said casually. "Simply put, this suit has some detachable pieces. This includes the groin and ass. They snap off, basically."

Naoko was now saddled with some very unwanted mental images. "Do, uh, the pieces come off easily?"

Mareo laughed. "Yeah. It's only slightly harder than pulling your pants down. At least when you know how to do it, that is."

The conversation wasn't getting any less candid, it seemed. Still, Mareo didn't seem bothered sharing such things. How used to talking about the topic was he?

"Okay. I think I get it." As strange as it was, Naoko figured it'd only be polite to humor him. "So what about eating? Does that helmet come off easily?"

"Yeah, it does," Mareo said. "I don't really have to take it off, though. The glass part flips up."

"Makes sense," Naoko replied "I guess the suit is built to not impede mundane tasks."

"That's about right," Mareo agreed. "It's a well-made suit. Lightweight, comfy, and form-fitting. It protects my squishy body rather well."

"Well, that's great to hear."

"Yep." Mareo paused, almost expectantly. He was probably waiting for Naoko to say something else. But what did he actually want him to say?

"Something bothering you?" Naoko asked to relieve the tension.

"Oh, sorry. I was just wondering when you'd ask me the obvious question."

"The obvious question?"

"You know, whether or not I wear clothes under this."

"Wh-what?!" That wasn't what Naoko was wanting to ask about at all!

"You would not BELIEVE how many people have asked me that question."

"You know what?" Naoko quickly responded. "I think I'm better off not knowing."

"I see," Mareo replied. "Sorry for bothering you with that sort of talk."

"No, it's fine. I'll talk to you later."

The two of them parted ways. Naoko was a tad embarrassed after such an odd conversation, but at the very least, he was able to learn a bit about what Mareo's life was like. He couldn't imagine himself being numb to such candid questions.

Naoko decided, albeit not with full confidence, to look into the prize machine that IMONO set up. After gathering some coins and getting a few different goodies, he realized barely any time had passed. He sought out someone else to talk to, and ran into Michio in the gym.

"Hey, Naoko!" Michio said happily as he saw the smaller boy enter the gym. "I figured I'd scope this place out. If we're gonna be here for a while, I may as well keep myself in peak physical condition."

Naoko agreed with his sentiment, and ended up spending some time exercising with Michio. Of course, trying to keep up with Michio was not exactly an easy task for someone like him. After they were done, he was exhausted. Still, he figured they both had a pretty good time, so it wasn't inaccurate to say that the two of them grew a little closer. Naoko even handed Michio a bottle of mineral water, which Michio quite enjoyed.

"Hey, thanks man!" Michio said. "This is just about what I needed right now."

"So, Michio," Naoko said as they were wrapping up, "do you think you'll be okay in here? For the time being, I mean?"

"Huh?" Michio seemed confused by the question, and found himself scratching the back of his head. "I guess so. Any particular reason why you're asking?"

"Well," Naoko explained, "I was just thinking about whether or not you'd be okay in this place. Y'know, what with your talent? With a talent like yours, you seem like more of an outdoorsman."

"Ah," Michio replied. "I get it. Yeah, this place isn't really my element. It's cramped, it's gray, and we're the only living things in it, from what I've seen. Nothing like a forest, that's for damn sure."

"Without a doubt," Naoko agreed. "Still, I guess it could be worse for me. I've never been an outdoorsman, myself. Tell me, what's it like working in the natural world?"

"Oh, it's great!" Michio said happily. "The air is fresh, the sun is bright, and the wildlife is always a treat."

"Makes sense. What kinda wildlife do you see in your line of work?"

"Oh, tons," Michio said casually. "Green woodpeckers, hares, you name it. A lot of things that people that don't stray from the big city get much opportunity to see in person, y'know?"

"I guess that's true," Naoko admitted. "I've been to forests and such in my life plenty of times, but I wouldn't say that I'm in my element when I'm outside of an urban environment."

"Yeah, well, don't worry about it," Michio said comfortingly. "Places like forests aren't for everyone. Different strokes for different folks, as they say."

Naoko smiled. "That's a good sentiment. Still, it's great to see that you have something you're passionate about."

"I guess you'd call it a passion, yeah," Michio agreed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hardcore environmentalist, but I do wish more people would acknowledge that nature is important." After saying this, Michio began to laugh. "Holy hell, how'd I go from talking about my work to saying something like that?"

"Doesn't really seem all that strange to me," Naoko shrugged. "To be honest, though, I think it's kinda funny that you're talking about how much you love nature when you're so talented when it comes to cutting down trees."

Michio let out another laugh. "Ha! Yeah, I can see how it'd seem ironic. If you'd like, we can pick up this conversation some other time, and maybe then I can tell you how it isn't ironic."

"Sure, sounds good to me,"

Naoko left the gym, still pretty exhausted after the workout, and returned to his room, flopping onto the bed. He had only talked to two people, and already it felt like he had let the day pass by him. He didn't really pay attention to the time, but looking at the clock on the wall, it looked like it was nearly time for him to meet up with Yori. Almost…

Someone was at the door again. Naoko got up to see who it was, and it ended up being exactly who he was expecting.

"Two times in one day, huh?" Yori said.

"Yeah," Naoko replied. "I'm assuming you're ready to start on dinner."

Yori nodded. "Yes. I also have a list for the both of us. Yasuo talked to everyone already, asking them what they wanted. According to him, we have just about everything that we need." She showed off a sheet of paper on her person, which Naoko could see had some writing on it.

"Will he be helping?" Naoko asked.

"Yes, he is," Yori replied. "At the very least, he'll be serving everyone, but given what he's told me, I have no doubt he'll want to help us on the cooking."

Naoko supposed that made sense. A chance to lighten the workload for the two of them? That could only be a good thing. "Okay then. Let's get started."

A/N: This was a pretty short chapter compared to earlier ones, I know. Just kind of a fun breather in-between the big plot stuff. Expect there to be more of these, featuring various other characters.

Anyway, it won't be long before I post chapter 2. Don't want to seem overconfident, but I'm pretty happy with it, so stay tuned. ;)