"Your best bet's gonna be the old man", Minako told them early in the next day, the two of them having headed to her bar after breakfast so Haruka could let her know that her little set-up had worked out just fine and that she'd be out of town for a while, "he might know something. He doesn't talk to everyone, but you should be good if you show up there with Haruka, Michiru, he knows her. And just so you know, tall, blonde and lanky, you better bring back awesome treasure or no more free drinks for you."

"I'll give my best", Haruka replied with a roll of her eyes, making Michiru wonder quietly how often Minako called her "tall, blonde and lanky" and how much it annoyed her, "and I'll try really hard not to die, it'd be a shame if you'd have to hunt your own skag from now on, wouldn't it."

"Yes indeed", Minako nodded solemnly, prompting Haruka to roll her eyes yet again while Michiru, in the position of someone listening to people who had known each other for years and not knowing all their little in-jokes and catchphrases, just looked from one to the other, not sure if a smile would be appropriate or not.

"You make sure Haruka doesn't get herself killed, Miss Sniper", Minako addressed her, "not that I have to tell you this, but outside of town, it's rather dangerous. Honestly, none of us knows why the old man decides to live out there. Bandits and crazy wildlife everywhere."

"I assure you that I'm quite capable of making sure your friend will return from this adventure", Michiru gave back, marvelling for a moment at how fast this had happened, and making a mental note to, upon their return, ask Minako why she had chosen her to help, with other treasure hunters showing up on a weekly basis, looking for the vault and all the riches it was supposed to hold, "I wouldn't want to be responsible for something happening to her."

"I'd give you my lucky gun", Minako replied with a small sigh, "but I'll kinda need it here, in case the drunkards get out of hand" – at this point, one of the other patrons let out an offended "Hey!", neither Haruka, nor Minako reacting though, and thus Michiru figured that she didn't have to, either, "so you'll have to make do with your own."

"Well, Michiru's quite well-equipped", Haruka shrugged, gesturing at the sniper rifle the smaller woman carried and the gun on her hip, while one of the other patrons laughed and Minako rolled her eyes; realizing too late that her words could have more than one meaning, Haruka flushed, then grumbled that she'd be in touch when she could via ECHO before she gave Michiru a look which practically yelled "Let's go", prompting her to reassure Minako once more that they'd take care before they headed out of the bar.

"We should take my car to the old man's house", Haruka told the smaller woman as they headed down the main street, "it's not that far to walk, but it can be quite dangerous territory, and sometimes, bandits hang out near the road. If we're in the car, we can just run them over."

"…alright", Michiru gave back after a moment of pause, a bit stunned by how casually the blonde talked about running people over with her car; then, she figured that the town surely had seen its share of bandit attacks, small and unprotected as it was, figuring that none of the inhabitants would be all too concerned about the well-being of the bandits and robbers living out in the Badlands.

Clearly glad about her agreement, Haruka gave her a brief smile, then led the way, to the gate they had stepped out of when she had demonstrated her skill with her gun on a bunch of skags; this time though, she led Michiru a short way down the road, to a somewhat shabby looking shed, the double doors of the structure creaking ominously when she pulled them open – and moments later, Michiru's breath got stuck in her throat as she spotted what Haruka had referred to as her car, her eyes going wide, her stunned reaction making the blonde smirk slightly.

When Haruka had talked of a car, she had imaged a vehicle as they had been used on her home planet, the sleek, aerodynamic cars the upper class of her world had driven; what she found herself looking at now was as far from aerodynamic and sleek as a car could be, a bulky monstrosity made of steel and reinforced with metal sheeting at critical parts, on tires so big that they reached up to her shoulders when she moved for a closer look.

"I call it the Monster", Haruka told her, sounding proud, "well, actually, Minako came up with that name, after she rode in it with me the first time."

"The name certainly fits", Michiru gave back, glancing from the monstrosity to the blonde before she focused on the car again, "did you build this yourself?"

"Most of it, yeah", Haruka let her know, making her raise an eyebrow as she wondered what other hidden talents the blonde might have, "I salvaged the engine from the car of a bandit we took down, repaired that, and then just used whatever parts I could find for the rest. Luckily, they often attack us with their cars, so I could use what didn't get shot up too bad from those."

"Impressive", the sniper mumbled, a slight smile curling her lips when Haruka blushed slightly in response; the blonde took a moment to scratch the back of her head sheepishly, then dug into her pocket and brought out what Michiru figured to be the ignition key for the car, smirking again when she asked her if she was ready to ride.

"I guess so", Michiru gave back, eying the vehicle sceptically, then figuring that it would be alright since apparently, Minako had ridden in it before and was still alive… Only to frown again moments later as she realized that there was no additional seat next to the driver seat, already knowing she'd regret asking when she inquired where she was supposed to sit.

"Oh, up there", Haruka told her, pointing to the very top of the monstrosity, "since you're better with a gun than me, and, as I said, it's a bit dangerous sometimes."

Not sure what to think of this, Michiru looked up at the car, not really surprised to find a machine gun mounted to the top of it – and a seat right behind it, thankfully lowered into a dome of metal, making it marginally more safe than it would have been, had it just been mounted to the top of the car.

"The gunner seat", the blonde added, as if to make sure Michiru hadn't missed the gun, "let's hope we won't need it much, but just in case."

"Well, it will be a new experience for sure", Michiru decided to just roll with it, shaking her head when Haruka asked if she wanted a hand going up; she did like the thought of the blonde touching her to get her up into the seat, but using that help to make it up there could be perceived as weakness, and she didn't know the taller woman well enough yet to allow her to see anything else from her than the capable, ruthless sniper she had to be.

Thankfully, the car had been built in a way which made it rather easy to get up into the gunner seat; to her relief, she made it up there without any mishaps, and once she was seated safely behind the gun and had strapped herself in, quite thankful to Haruka for thinking of adding seat belts, the blonde climbed into the driver's seat, the engine roaring to life moments later.

Slowly, Haruka backed out of the shed, giving Michiru hope that perhaps, this wouldn't be so bad; and then, as the car had been manoeuvred onto the road, those hopes were blown to bits as the blonde stepped down onto the gas pedal and the vehicle roared off into the Badlands, forcing Michiru to bite back an exasperated yelp at the sudden acceleration, her heart leaping up to her throat as she clung to the gun, asking herself if this really had been such a good idea after all.