Disclaimer: HDN and personalities is owned by Idea Factory and Compile Heart
Departure of the Odd Ones
Another ordinary day, and another slacking day goes by for the CPU of Planeptune, who has now sat down under a big tree. In truth, it was after a few scoldings by the Planeptune Oracle, Histoire, that Neptune was kicked out to do work. Of course, on a day such as this one with a nice sunshine, Neptune would rather take a nap. Thankfully, this forest was not a real dungeon and had far less monsters roaming around, so a little break did no harm.
For the most part, this little forest had a few trees, some bigger than others. The one Neptune sat against is the biggest one, towering over the trees and also providing the most coverage for the forest. The floor was mostly dry dirt, perfectly suitable for walking through, and also a few patches of green grass was present as well. Overall, this part of the world away from cities and machines was simply the best. There was nothing that could possibly interrupt Neptune's perfect nap time, it was just her, the trees, the soft wind, the sunshine, and the cry of a voice along with the roaring of a Fenrir.
"Wait a second! That last one did not belong!" Neptune exclaimed, noticing the distinct oddity. Standing up, she looked to her right side, and indeed there was a Fenrir, chasing what appears to be a blur of pink that she recognised. "Ooh, it's just Ram, I wonder how she got into that situation. Oh wait, now is not the time to think about that! Neptune to the rescue!"
Rushing forward with her Hunting Sword, she went straight into the scene and repelled the Fenrir.
"Well, that was an easy victory, so now..." Neptune, turning around to see Ram calming down after the wild chase.
"Ugh, I was saved by Neptune, how embarrassing!" Ram said in response, as thankful as ever.
"Oh com'on, what's so bad about that anyway? If I hadn't done that you'd be dinner now."
"I guess... but why are you doing here anyway?"
"Oh just taking a good break after a long day of work (lies!), but um... How'd you end up getting chased?"
"Just doing quests by myself..."
"By yourself? That's harsh, I thought Blanc wouldn't be so heartless."
"It's only because she's busy reading with Rom, I get bored way too easily, but they won't play with me."
"Hmm, I think I know what you mean, all my friends are always busy with work, and even Nep Jr. keeps dragging me to work too, so I was thinking of making this my new place to hide, and this tree is big enough that I think I could unpack a small tree house somewhere on it." Neptune said, pointing at the large tree in the middle of the forest.
"A tree house!? That sounds exciting, can I live up there too?"
"Oh sure! Just don't tell anybody..."
"I won't, Rom just talks about Nepgear and Blanc is busy writing books all the time. Well, tell me when you build this thing up, I gotta go!"
"All righty then~"
One week later...
Neptune had ordered the tree house package and hauled it off in secret to the big tree. It was a big challenge to get everything up the tree, but eventually she carved small dents in the tree to climb up. The hard part was using her head to construct the whole thing, but after 10 misalignments and 2 sore thumbs, Neptune had to get some help from Ram to successfully build the tree house. With the house complete, Neptune's new hideout was also founded. The truth was, that Neptune had really ran out of hiding places to escape from work, since Nepgear and IF basically knows all her hiding places.
Inside the tree house, there was nothing at all, it was just a room in the middle of nowhere. It was however, a very comfortable place to be in. There was a door at the entrance of the tree house, but it was kept open most of the time so that there would be sunlight into the room. Of course, if Neptune really wanted to, she could bring some pudding or even hand held game systems to play provided she had enough batteries. The only other person who knew about this place was Ram, and she often left her books or snack wrappers around. Not that any of this really bothered Neptune, this hideout was all about taking it easy and away from the rest of the world.
"I like this place, it is very cozy!" Ram said while lying down and enjoying the warm atmosphere.
"Yep! It was hard to make it, but surely it was worthwhile! Say, didn't you have work to do?"
"I don't wanna anymore. It feels like all I can do is the simple quests. Rom is mostly working with Blanc or even Nepgear these days, so I cannot handle much on my own. Besides, it is not as if you do any work either."
"Haha, well... that's true, speaking of Nep Jr, I guess you can say she's been hangin out with Rom a whole lot huh? Annnnnd my good friends IF and Compa usually go as a pair, so I have to do everything by myself too, especially with Histy always egging me on."
"Exactly! It's not like I don't try, but all I hear is nagging sometimes... Well, I suppose we could handle some harder quests if we go together..." Ram suggested, having been a little frustrated not only having to do most things on her own, but also most people appreciate Rom and Blanc more in Lowee.
"Nah, let's save that for another time! Today is such a nice day after all..." Neptune replied, falling backwards and grabbing another cup of her favourite pudding.
"Say Neptune... have you ever thought about quitting the CPU job?"
"Quitting!? Hmm wait, why are you asking this?"
"I dunno, sometimes I feel like a spare part, Lowee has two CPU candidates, but I think only one can become the CPU. But everybody seems to like Rom, maybe not so for me, so I don't really know what to do..."
"Ah... I think I know what you mean. Sometimes I hear from the people of my nation that everything'll be better if Nep Jr. was in charge." Neptune replied, having paused from eating her pudding after listening to a rather strange question.
"So, would it be better if we didn't exist?"
"Whoa! No way! The world is much better with our pretty faces here! I mean, we'll just have to work a bit later, but I am sure there's nobody that can match our personalities!"
Ram smiled, Neptune always says the most ridiculous things, but at the same time, it was a good reminder to probably everyone to take things easy and not worry too much. The rest of the day went by quietly, even though the two felt lazy, they still did some work so that they would not appear to be completely slacking off.
Neptune had also hoped that what Ram had asked her was just a simple question of curiosity and not of concern, since she was not the best person to give advice. Though she really wondered about how Blanc and her family are behind closed doors, but then again, younger children always did ask the most brutally honest questions, and so young CPU Candidates were probably the same... Right?
As that day ended, the two of them went back home and just did as they would usually do with CPU work. The hideout was simply a getaway for now, as they did not want to overdo it and eventually be found out. After all, Neptune did say that trying to work a bit and gain shares would surely make the world realise how popular both of them are. However, reality is harsh, as both of them found out that it was not that easy to gain shares nor popularity with the people so easily (Especially the people of their respective nations know how their personalities are like). Of course, it also did not help when their own sisters simply did things better than they did.
Another week had passed since then, and nothing much has really changed, Histoire kept lecturing Neptune to not be lazy and work, while Ram's mischievous ways have made way for mistakes in her own work and fall short compared to what Rom did. After knowing it was impossible to handle much on their own, Neptune and Ram finally got together in order to complete some of the tougher quests and some paper work done while they were at the hideout. After all the work for the day had been done, the two lay down and breathed easier, surely this would be enough for now and not make them look like sloppy fools.
"Sometimes, a CPU's job feels kind of thankless huh?" Ram asked, exhausted after a long day worth of work.
"Yeah, sometimes it is like that, your citizens just give you the generic 'thank you' message and be on their way until they need more quests done the next time. Though Histy tells me that it's important, but still..." Neptune replied.
"I wonder how Rom and Blanc does it, people seem to be happy when they see them..."
"Hmm, I've been wondering about this, but aren't you and your sisters like really really really close? I heard from Nep Jr. that you three used to do things together all the time."
"Yeah, but lately it just seems that nobody really appreciate or approve of what I do. Maybe it's because Blanc and Rom are simply better than me."
"Gee, that sounds familiar to what I go through. I guess when it comes down to it, we're really sorta in the same situation huh..."
Ram finished with her book, and simply threw her head back, resting on Neptune's lap. It was not easy being a CPU sometimes, but at least there was this place to occasionally get away for both of them and just be themselves. With the sunlight filling the room, Ram closed her eyes and slowly went off to a light nap.
Meanwhile, Neptune thought about the everyday life of CPUs. Sure, it was better than the average citizen labouring everyday to make ends meet, but on the other hand, any and all issues with the nation will always have to be handled by the CPU or the Candidates. Due to that, there was simply no time for the CPUs to be themselves, having interests and hobbies of their own make it conflicting with interests sometimes (Unless your name is Vert and everybody in the nation played the same MMO and was all in the same guild).
It was unusual for Neptune to think too much about these things, but given how Ram has thought about her future in Lowee and asked about it, it was really thought provoking. This is Blanc's sister after all, having almost the same intellect to think these things through. Still, at this moment as Neptune looks down on Ram sleeping peacefully, she could not help but gently pet the usually noisy CPU Candidate, there was a certain charm to how peacefully Ram slept.
Shortly after, Ram slowly woke up to the sight of a smiling Neptune, who just watched over her the entire time. "Mmm, how long was I asleep for?"
"Not too long, less than an hour probably. Why?"
"Nothing, just didn't want to get home too late, but here, this is the number to my phone, it doesn't have to be everyday, but call me if we're gonna meet here," Ram replied, giving Neptune a piece of paper with the number scribbled on.
"Wow, I didn't know Blanc let you have your own phone already, I didn't get mine until much later hehe... But yeah, I'll give a call when I can, sometimes life can just be really busy with everybody." Neptune replied, smiling to match Ram's own smile.
The two parted again, though this time they did want to stay in each other's presence just a bit longer. Perhaps it was how similar they are, or maybe because they both faced a rather strange situation back in their respective homes. The purpose did not matter, what really mattered was that the CPU and the CPU Candidate had each other to relate to.
A few days has gone by, and often when there was no full days available to spend at the hideout, Neptune and Ram just took communication by phone whenever they could, their topics of discussion included CPU life, the past, encouragement, the last book read, and pudding eaten the night before. It was not long before they both realised that they had greatly enjoyed being in each other's company, or at least just the open communication while they planned their next meet up. The only regrettable thing was that the tree house had no power source, and so Neptune could not buy a small fridge to hold special snacks or pudding. Yet, for the next meet up Neptune was able to get two cheaply priced chairs along with a cheap table (Plus snacks of course) while Ram packed a few blankets and covers for more comfortable lying down.
"Ahaha, we've really made this a comfortable home now!" Neptune said, enjoying the covers while eating a cup of pudding.
"Yeah! I totally like this hideout, we can be ourselves and not how we should be." Ram said, also having taken a cup of pudding (Much to Neptune's dismay, even though there were 6 cups of pudding in the bag!).
"So, how are things over at Lowee? I keep hearing about Rom from Nep Jr."
"Just the same, I did manage to patrol around Lowee with Rom a few times, but only when Nepgear is not around."
"That's good, at least today's work is not so bad, so we can definitely take it easy for now."
With all the work done for the day, the two of them lay down and felt the drowsiness set in. Since they spent most of the day doing quests, it was now evening and the golden sunset light just reached in the tree house, but was very relaxing and so Neptune fell asleep horizontally while Ram slept vertically resting her head on Neptune's stomach. Not that Neptune really mind this at all, having grown quite comfortable and used to Ram. However, once the sun had set and the cold filled the air, both Neptune and Ram woke up to the cold and realised they had slept far longer than they hoped to.
"Whoa! We've overslept!" Neptune said, noticing the lack of sunlight and how cold it was while Ram blinked a few times.
"This is bad! I am usually home by now, Blanc is gonna sooo mad now." Ram said, knowing that Blanc was going to give her an earful for getting home so late by herself.
"Well, let's walk you home quickly then, and maybe Blanc won't be too mad."
"Huh? Don't you have to get back to Planeptune as well?"
"Yeah, but... I don't wanna let you go home by yourself when it is this dark out, especially if another Fenrir comes chasing you again..."
Having no complaints with the last statement, Ram packed up her belongings while Neptune did the same and they headed towards Lowee. Neptune held onto Ram's hand and lead the CPU Candidate to the boarder of Lowee for safety (But not right into Lowee in case Blanc or somebody else sees her), while rushing home herself to Planeptune and hoped their absence would not have caused way too much trouble.
In the end though, Neptune got lectured by Histoire again because she was supposed to be home early because there was a meeting that evening. After the embarrassing scene, Neptune finally got back to her own bed and lay down, as well as apologising to Nepgear for being late because she napped too long (Which she simply passed off as slacking off, which was also the truth). The next day would have more bad news though, as things over at Lowee also did not go so well after last night. Answering the call from the phone while out of hearing range of most people, Neptune spoke, "Hello?"
"Hey Neptune, it's me." Said the voice from the other end.
"Oh hey, Ram, what's up? I got lectured hard by Histy last night, ehehe..."
"Yeah... And I am grounded."
"You what!?"
"Just like what I said, so I won't be able to go there for awhile. I am not supposed to be on the phone either, just wanted to tell you... sorry." Ram finished while ending the call.
Neptune pouted, while it was all right if she sneaked off to her new secret hideout to slack off, it would not feel the same. It was weird for Neptune, since she was used to being alone when slacking off, but somehow the idea of Ram not being there just felt a little... empty, or maybe even sad. Perhaps it was because she had begun to really enjoying being around the little CPU Candidate that the turn of events displeased her.
Still, the next few days Neptune did her best to handle the work as usual. Since there was not as much reason to go to her secret hideout and being discovered, she complied with Histoire's orders to work with Nepgear, IF, and Compa. It was not all that bad, spending time with old friends was always a good thing, even if sometimes Neptune looked like the odd one out.
There are other times though, when it was with Nepgear and Rom, which felt much different and made Neptune feel even more out of place. More importantly though, seeing Rom occasionally had reminded Neptune of her twin, and Neptune could not help but wonder how Ram is handling everything.
By the end of the week, it appeared that Ram would be free again, but on the day before everything was to be going to be all right, Neptune came home more exhausted than usual. The next day, it turned out that Neptune had gotten sick from emotional eating (Pudding of course!) as well as staying up late playing video games.
"Aw, What do you mean you're sick?" Ram said over the phone, disappointed that when she was finally free, Neptune would get sick.
"Ugghh, I'm sorry, but I think Histy worked me too hard, I am completely depleted and dying." Neptune exaggerated, just simply lying down in bed. Even though she wanted to get back to having the meet up in the tree house, she did not want to risk infecting Ram and causing even more trouble.
"Oh well, just call me when you're not dead."
In the meantime, Ram did not quite know what to do except to struggle with the regular guild work. With Neptune out of commission, Nepgear had often came over with Rom, and while she could just easily join them, she refrained from doing so. It was a strange feeling, but perhaps being grounded a few days and along with not seeing Neptune for awhile had made her a bit lonely and even miss the bumbling CPU of Planeptune. Though Ram stopped to think for a moment, why would anybody miss Neptune anyway? The answer came to her when she realised that, the few times they spent and enjoyed each other's company in the hideout was what made it special, and with Neptune missing, there was a certain empty feeling.
After what feels like a year in a week, Neptune was finally feeling all better and finally she called Ram on their first free day and scheduled to meet at the hideout. This time, Neptune brought Pudding and Candy in a bag, knowing that Ram would enjoy the candy more than the pudding.
While Neptune was waiting in the middle of the room while her back turned towards the entrance, Ram secretly sneaked in through the door and had a plan. Walking a few quiet steps until she was close enough, she then jumped and yelled out loud, "Hello Dummy Neptune!"
"OOOOF!" Neptune managed to say while turning around and getting tackled onto the ground by Ram.
"Hahaha! I got you!"
"Ram, that was not funny~" Neptune replied, though glad to see Ram and began to pet her while holding her close.
"At least you're back up and alive, sure took you long enough!"
"Yeah yeah, Compa's shots didn't help me much, so I really had to tough it out. So how's life right now?"
"Just the same, the only thing is that I saw Nepgear a lot with Rom... like seriously, what's up with them anyway?"
"Hmm, so that's what Nep Jr. was up to the whole time, oh well. I guess some things we better not pry into too much."
"Right. Anyway, how long are we going to stay like this?" Ram asked, still leaning onto Neptune while in an embrace on the floor.
"Oh I dunno, this doesn't feel too bad," Neptune responded, rather enjoying the closeness of Ram after some time away.
Ram herself did not mind it, being in close with somebody not one of her sisters did feel quite nice. The two of them stayed together for a bit longer, until it got a little stuffy because of the sunlight raising the temperature (And their faces also reddened a bit after staying so close for a time). Finally, Ram broke free to have at the candy that Neptune brought and enjoyed the sweet taste of it while Neptune smiled, seeing the happy face of Ram sure made her happy too.
Of course, after a day of relaxing and being a bit lazier, the two made sure not to fall asleep this time and went home on time as to not repeat what happened many days ago. The next few days things went back to normal for the most part, Neptune and Ram would finish some quests, and then rested within the comfy and cozy tree house. The peace would not last though, because given how the two of them act similar, they also make the same type of mistake sometimes.
The issue they had was the poor quality of work, and both Neptune and Ram got an earful in their respective homes. Good thing was that their mistake was not too severe that they would be detained at home. Still, even after trying to do the best that they can and fall short was de-motivating.
Once more the two of them had gathered at the secret hideout. Even though it was originally intended to be Neptune's secret hiding place, it has now become a safe haven for both Neptune and Ram away from the daily pressures of CPU life.
"Oh it was so bad, I accidentally wrote the wrong order and instead of 100 balloons we got 100 baboons," Neptune said, lying down to just simply enjoy the sunshine and a chance to exhale.
"It was not that much better over here, one of my spells was directed wrong and I froze all the water in the bathroom-when Blanc was taking a bath," Ram added, also lying down in exhaustion.
"You know, now I am really wonderin about if we're gonna be all right, it just seems we can't please anybody."
"Maybe we should just run away one day."
"Whoa, That's a bit extreme don't you think? I mean just because we don't like some things doesn't mean we have to throw it all away."
"Not really. I mean, it's fun at home when we do things together, but at times I just want to act myself and not be who I am not as Lowee's CPU Candidate. Despite Rom being so shy, everybody loves her anyway, but not me. Besides, isn't it the same with you as well? The way you also skip out on work all the time?"
"Well..." Neptune trailed off, knowing that perhaps Ram was right, though she loved being around her friends, when it came to work, Neptune was simply the figurehead known as Purple Heart. It would not be too far out in saying that IF and Compa liked Nepgear much better (Neptune even remembers that Compa outright said she liked Nepgear the most in one chirper event), and Histoire... Neptune realised, that out of all the nations the CPUs and their Oracles got along very nicely all the time. Except for Planeptune. In fact, it was more true that every time Neptune and Histoire convened it was conflict and disagreements that probably had a negative impact on the nation. "All right, so things are not the best, but still, where do we even go if we run away?"
"I don't know, but we can probably figure something out if we read some books?"
"Hmm, sure thing... but let's wait to see for awhile before we actually make a decision like this. Besides, isn't this all right for now? You know, just relaxin here with two of us?"
"Maybe you're right," Ram replied, while cuddling up to Neptune playfully, to which Neptune responded by holding Ram tightly until the CPU Candidate started to struggle breathing. Even though there was still work to be done, they did not fret too much over it, as they slowly accepted the fact that maybe they just could not please everybody and therefore opted to enjoy each other's company instead.
By the end of the day, they knew they still had to go home, they did not want to be discovered goofing off and it would look bad for both of them. While packing up their things, Ram walked up to Neptune, secretly hiding her intention.
"Hm Neptune, did you drop something?" Ram asked, waiting for Neptune's response.
"Huh, did I?" Neptune said, looking downwards, but the moment she did, Ram looked upwards and pressed her lips against Neptune on the cheek.
"Hehehe, see you later~" Ram said, while running out as she had her face almost go all red.
Meanwhile, Neptune was simply dumbstruck, did Ram just really do that? It mattered little though, because it felt like something amazing, and also felt a sense of... fulfillment, as Neptune's face turned completely red as she was calming down.
However, that day was the last Neptune heard from Ram in awhile, as 3 days later Neptune had wondered why there were no calls nor any sight of the CPU Candidate at their hideout. It was a strange occurrence, had she did something to displease the little one? Or perhaps there was something family issue in Lowee that nobody knew behind closed doors, or maybe it was something else entirely. Even though Neptune was not one to worry, she had an uneasy feeling on why Ram suddenly stopped contacting her, and maybe even a little heartache especially how their last meeting ended. By the end of the week, Neptune found out the answer, as she was stuck in her office with some paper work, she got a letter from Lowee, clearly addressed to her. From the envelope, Neptune could tell it was from Ram, no matter how odd it seemed at least she would finally hear from the CPU Candidate.
Neptune!
I am sorry for not contacting you, but I messed up one of my magic spells and the water pipes in our basilicom burst, so I had been having to fix that up.
Also, my phone has been taken from me, I think Blanc will figure out that I've been hiding with you, so just meet me at the hideout one evening when you get the chance!
Neptune sighed, partly in relief and also partly in anxiety. At least Ram had not been mad at her but rather bound up by circumstances. At the same time though, there was a uncertainty, Ram wanted to meet up, but with no time set, so Neptune simply had to wait for her as well as get the current work done before being able to go out.
After what seems like an eternity, Neptune finished her work and arrived at her-their secret meeting place. Nothing had changed inside the tree house, everything was the same, so Blanc had not discovered this was where Ram was many times and angrily flatten the whole place. This time, Neptune faced the direction of the door, not wanting to be caught by surprise like last time. After an hour of anxious waiting, she heard the frantic sounds of climbing, and eventually Ram appeared.
"Neptune!" Ram said, still rushing in and tackling the Planeptune CPU.
"Hmm! I am ready for you this time, so what-" Neptune responded but fell silent when she noticed Ram was in tears. "Hey, are you all right?"
"Yeah... I just... don't know what to do anymore. Anything I do only causes trouble at home and for everybody."
"I'm sorry to hear that, do you want some Pudding? I also brought Candy."
"Mmm, Neptune... what would you say if I wanted to run away right now?"
"Huh!? Well, that's a bit sudden to ask..."
"I just want to be myself, but it feels like I can't without causing trouble."
"I understand that, and... you know, I won't judge you, I really know how you feel," Neptune responded, realising that she herself had quite a few doubts about the mundane cycle of CPU life: Wake up, paper work, quests, eat, public relations, develop hardware, and sleep. Repeat cycle ad infinitum with different humans and eras.
"Then..." Ram said, standing back and looking at Neptune.
"Yeah... I know this is going to be really weird, but I think you're the first person to also really understand what I go through, and through this past month, I... really enjoy being with you." Neptune said, even though her words sounded normal enough, she felt her face going red as well as a faster heartbeat.
"Hehe, I know. This place has been the best because of you. So, when are we going to do this?"
"Tomorrow morning, we'll meet here again, it's time to go..."
"All right, see you tomorrow!" Ram concluded, but not before stepping forward and hugging tightly onto Neptune again.
Early next morning, Neptune and Ram had gathered at the hideout again, only this time, they were packing up the covers and other small things they could take with them. This may very well be the last time they would be here for a long time, since they did not know where they would go. From the libraries of Planeptune and Lowee, they found a few interesting travel options, it could be finding a way to another dimension or simply to elope (But they really had not planned that far ahead yet). It did not matter, they were determined to live for who they are and not what their title says for them to be.
On the other hand, it was regrettable that they had to leave their beloved families behind, and while they do not hate them at all, the daily grind of life had gotten to be too mundane for who they were. They also knew that their nations would be fine without them for the time being, and best case scenario, they return after some time to resume their duties, while the worst would be that they are forgotten or just replaced...
"Well, I wrote a note for Blanc and Rom, hopefully they understand," Ram said, standing up and ready to go.
"What did you write? Last night all I did was write a short explanation about leaving and that everything would be better without me and then leaving it on Histy's desk when everybody was asleep," Neptune responded, also ready to embark on a new life.
"Oh, I just thanked them for always being there, but obviously it might be better like this..."
"Yeah, sucks for us sometimes... but hey, at least we have each other, right?"
Holding each other's hand, Neptune and Ram walked off to the rising sun of the day, with a rather hopeful vision of their future together.