While the three of them had been talking, a large vehicle had pulled up unnoticed behind Hikaru and opened one of it doors. Not seeming to have noticed it there, the vehicle's driver calls out to Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu: "Hey ladies! Are you going to get on the bus or not?" A surprised Hikaru quickly spins around. Umi and Fuu also look up at the driver. "Oh … yes. I'm sorry." Hikaru answers him and gets on the bus. "Hikaru!" Umi reacts with surprise, but Fuu calms her "This will be a good way to get to the city Umi-san." Then Fuu gets on the bus, and Umi follows reluctantly. Hikaru and Fuu go in and take a couple of seats together on one side of the bus. It is mostly empty. As Umi goes by the driver, he calls to her: "Hey, this isn't a free ride ya'know!" Umi grumbles under her breath but doesn't say anything out loud. She takes a small change purse out of her pocket and grabs a number of Japanese yen coins. She drops them in the fare box and goes to a seat across the aisle from Hikaru and Fuu. As she walks away from the driver, Umi hears him mutter something like "Dang foreigners!"
The bus jerks to a start and Umi quickly grabs the handrail to keep her balance. "Sheesh!" she says to herself annoyed by the sudden movement of the bus. She walks down the aisle holding the handrail to where Hikaru and Fuu are sitting together. Being there first Hikaru and Fuu decided to sit together, leaving Umi to sit in one of the seats on the other side of the aisle, opposite them. As soon as she sits down Umi starts in "I had forgotten how much I hate taking the bus." Hikaru replies "You must be a train person then, right Umi-chan?" "Erm, no Hikaru." Umi retorts, "Trains are even worse than taking the bus!" Then Fuu joins in "But how do you get around Umi-san, do you walk everywhere?" Now really annoyed, Umi continues "Of course not Fuu! I get around the way everyone is suppose to - I drive!" After that remark Umi cracks a little bit of a smile. Hikaru stares back at her in disbelief and inquires "You … have a driver's license Umi-chan?" "Well, duh Hikaru! Like who doesn't? I got mine two years ago when I turned sixteen." Umi flaunts herself. Hikaru manages a meek reply "Erm …" but Fuu cuts her off. "I have a driver's license also Hikaru-san!" and she also smiles, proud of her achievement. Hikaru, now blushing with embarrassment tries to answer "Erm, you too … Fuu-chan … but…?" Umi comes back "What's the matter Hikaru? Are you trying to tell us that you don't have your license yet?"
Her face now bright red Hikaru replies unsteadily "I ... I just never thought that I needed one. Taking the bus or the train doesn't bother me, and I like to walk. So, erm, I never learned how to drive or take the test, eh-heh …" Hikaru finishes by trying to break the tension as sweat drips down the side of her face. Umi stares back at Hikaru with an odd look, but doesn't say anything, however Fuu comes to the rescue. "Driving in Tokyo is pretty scary anyways Hikaru-san, so I don't blame you for not wanting to drive. Even though I have a driver's license, I never use it, and I only got it in the first place because my Father wanted me to." Umi starts again "Wow, after all of the monsters we fought in our trips here to Cephiro, you're actually too chicken to drive in Tokyo Fuu?" Fuu answers "Well, erm, I wouldn't say that I'm chicken Umi-san, but there are a lot of bad drivers out there, and I don't have a car anyways, I'm sorry Umi-san." Next Hikaru makes a suggestion "Your family has a lot of money, don't they Fuu-chan? I'm sure that they would buy you a car if you asked for one." Hikaru smiles. "Yes" Umi answers "My dad bought a Lexus for me for my eighteenth birthday, so why not Fuu?" Umi also smiles "You have your own car already?" Hikaru and Fuu ask together. "Yes I sure do!" Umi replied with a large grin. "My dad didn't want me driving his car anymore, because I was using it a lot, and he also said something about a new car would cost less than trying to get the dents fixed all the time" she finished. Hikaru and Fuu didn't respond to Umi's last remark, they just stared back at her blinking. Eventually Fuu comes out with "Maybe I won't ask my dad for a new car any time soon Umi-chan" and smiled rather sheepishly. "Well, anytime you two need a ride someplace, just give me a call, I'd love to do it!" Umi put forth with a smile. "Eh-heh … okay Umi-chan." Hikaru answered very meekly.
All during their conversation, the bus had been traveling at a good clip down the highway. The state park lands were only trees and forest so there was any traffic congestion in that area. However, as Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, finished their transportation discussion, The highway reached the boundary of the park and the trees and forest abruptly ended and instantly the landscape transformed into a heavy commercial area, fully built up and very urban in appearance. Very soon the bus slows down and pulls to a stop at the curb. The doors open and a young man gets on the bus. He swipes a card over the fare box, then walks down the aisle and takes a seat up in front of the bus. The bus starts up again and proceeds a short distance then stops and picks up another passenger. For a long time, this is repeated over and over again as the bus begins to fill up with people. Then Hikaru makes an observation and whispers it quietly to Fuu "The way people dress here in Cephiro has changed a lot since out last visit." Fuu replies "Yes they have, and we look very out of place." Next Hikaru asks "Do you think that we should change our clothes Fuu-chan, so that we don't stand out as much?" "That would probably be a good idea, the first chance we get, but for now, maybe we should just stow our armor in the gloves. We can always retrieve it when necessary." Hikaru nods and withdraws her armor into her glove jewel, and Fuu follows. Umi, seeing what they had done, also hides her armor as well and then remarks "We really stand out like a sore thumb, don't we?" "Yes" Hikaru answers, but Umi responds "The bus driver just thought that I was a foreigner, so I don't think we should worry about our appearance all that much." Hikaru replies "You're probably right too, but I still it would be a good idea to avoid grabbing too much attention. Take a look around, everyone on the bus is trying to sit as far away from us as they can, so they probably think that we're pretty weird." Fuu looks around "Yes, you're right Hikaru-chan."
The bus continues onward down the highway, which is really more like a large avenue now. It becomes evident now to the three Magic Knights that the city is very large. Heavy industrial and commercial activity is all that can be seen. There are office towers and huge buildings everywhere as far as the eye can see, which turns out to be not all that far because of the smoky haze that hangs over the city. Many of the tall office towers disappear into the haze and their tops cannot be seen. As Hikaru looks around studying all of this, she turns to see that Fuu does not appear to be well. Hikaru asks with concern "Are you alright Fuu-chan? You seem to be coming down with something." She tries to answer "My head … it feels so nauseous, and it aches." "Oh no, what's wrong Fuu?" Umi also asks. Fuu answers "I … I don't know, but ever since we left the park and came into the city, my head hasn't been feeling well." Hikaru suggests "Maybe you need to eat something Fuu-chan? It has been a while since any of us have eaten anything." "I don't think so Hikaru-san" Fuu replied "It's the air here, the pollution is just horrible here in the city. It's actually making me ill." Umi was able to identify with Fuu "That's exactly how I felt when I looked down at that brown goo in the sea when we were at the beach Fuu. It must be Cephiro making us feel like that, exactly the same way it feels itself." "Indeed Umi-san, I think that you're correct. The things that the people of Cephiro are doing to their world are making it sick and that is what we are feeling" Fuu concluded. Hikaru, realizing what Umi and Fuu were saying, comes up with another question "But why? We still don't know why the people of Cephiro no longer care about their world. This isn't the way that we left things when we went home all of those years ago. Something has happened, something changed between then and now." "If we can find out what, then I think we'll have a good idea of what our mission will be this time around" Umi concluded. They were quiet for some time, but then Fuu made another disturbing remark "Somehow, I think that what happened to Cephiro is a lot more than just air pollution and water pollution." Hikaru answered her "You're right Fuu-chan, I don't know why, but in my heart I know that Cephiro is in grave danger, much more than we know." The three of them looked at each other in silence, with much worry on their faces.