"A Marble Game, huh?" Nenecchi muttered, looking at her computer. "That shouldn't be too hard, especially with a month."

Nene had just been given her most recent assignment by Umiko-san an hour earlier, the time since spent arguing with a now hostile Narucchi. She wasn't sure why Naru had gotten so angry at her, people were hired for talent all the time. But if someone was going to come in, challenge her skills and attempt to embarrass her in front of Umiko-san then she wouldn't have a bit of it. She was going to prove herself, right here and right now!

I'll show her, fufufu~ Nene thought, smirking.

The concept of the game was simple: All Nene had to do was design a 3D maze box which the player navigated with a marble. Of course there were a few complications: The maze had to be somewhat challenging, the marble would have to be easily trackable and the game absolutely had to be bug-free.

On top of that, it's Umiko-san. Nenecchi noted. Knowing her she'll want me to make this game as good as I can, meaning it can't just be what she wants me to make! If I do something basic I'm doomed, I have to impress her. But how…

Nene was not new to the idea of basic games: Things such as Pong, Minesweeper and Pac-Man had always been some of her favorite things to play when she was little. Thinking about those she had always appreciated their minimalist style, at her age it had been easy to follow and fun at the same time. Really it was hard to say anything bad about them, they had been designed to be simple and had carried through.

But if there was something...It'd be how boring they got after a while!

That was it. Back when she had played all three of those games they had become immensely predictable to her after a while: Pong was telegraphed in where you would need to hit next to win, Minesweeper was always easy so long as you were careful and Pac-Man was just 'Don't get caught, get all the stuff'. They had always sucked people in initially but once they learned how to beat the game it wasn't the same, there was nothing special to spice things up!

"But what's something unique I could add into a marble game…" Nene asked herself, keeping her voice low so Naru wouldn't get any ideas. She sat there thinking for a few minutes before Aoba popped into the room, startling Nene by calling to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Aoba apologized, sheepishly tilting her head. "I didn't think you'd be that focused, even with what Umiko-san told me."

Nene shook her head, relaxing slightly as she noticed that Naru had disappeared while she had been thinking. "I-It's okay." She started, then more surprised: "Wait, Umiko talked to you about me?!"

"Yeah." Aoba nodded, smiling. "She said that you're working really hard. She was worried about you." Aoba looked straight at Nene, worry in her eyes. "I am too, Nenecchi, Are you okay?"

Realizing her mistake Nene propped herself up and gave Aoba the most confident look she had. "Yeah! I'm just really excited, I want to get this right so I don't want to waste a minute!"

Aoba shook her head, not surprised. "That's just like you, Nenecchi. Always so excited yet nervous."

"You're one to talk!" Nene countered, "What with you being completely unable to drink black coffee."

Aoba blushed. "Who told you about that?" She blurted, embarrassed.

Nene turned herself away from Aoba and picked up a pencil, twirling it in her hands with an amused expression. "Not telling!"

"Good grief..." Aoba sighed. "Well, it's lunchtime. Do you want to go get something?"

"Oh?" Nene looked at her computer, frowning. Her face darkened for a moment before she remembered Aoba was nearby and she quickly replied, "I'd love to! But I really have to work on this, I have to give it my all! Sorry."

Aoba didn't seem excited by the answer but she managed to smile nonetheless. "It's okay, I know what it's like. Go ahead, I can't wait to see what you make!"

Nene pumped her fist in the air, doing her best to hide the doubt creeping around in her. "Got it! I won't let you down, Aocchi!"

…

Over the next week Nenecchi spent most of her time combing over how the game would be special and work properly, occasionally asking Hajime-chan and Yun-chan for ideas. Utilizing their combined Dandy Max knowledge as a platform the three girls were able to come up with a solid concept for Nene's game: A tower of maze boxes that the player had to ascend!

"Imagine it!" Hajime cast out her hands in front of her, picturing the scene. "For many years, marbles have known of a great power that rests at the top of Maze Box Tower but none who have entered have returned. Marble-kun must navigate the maze, ascend up the tower and prove himself in order to make it to the final level!"

Nene looked at Hajime in pure awe as Yun added, "But the truth is that the Tower is an evil marble-crushing entity that uses any foolish enough to enter its domain to keep itself alive! The power is a lie and Marble-kun must solve the ultimate maze to defeat the Tower and save all the marbles trapped inside!"

"And to top it all off," Hajime finished, barely being able to contain her excitement as she pumped a fist. "If a player manages to speedrun the game in a certain amount of time they have a chance to win a limited edition Dandy Max figure, provided by yours truly! Imagine all the Dandy fans that would play your game, Nene-chan!"

By now Nenecchi was practically shaking in anticipation. With one swift movement she jumped up, her chest bouncing slightly as she declared, "It's perfect! Thank you both, I'll get on it right away!"

And so Nene did, investing huge amounts of time and effort into designing the game. First she created the marble, which was simple enough. On top of that she added a 2D color selector at the beginning of the game which let the player choose their preferred marble texture, including a camouflage model that Nene knew Umiko-san would love. From there things went through a slow and steady process as Nene built the tower and designed the mazes one by one, each one with its own unique shape and size. From some concept art Aoba had drawn for her in her free time the Tower would look like a rocket, only instead of a cylinder making up the bulk of the shape it would be uneven and distorted; it was as if over a hundred different shapes had been stacked upon each other like a kebab. It was beautiful.

Nene was about halfway done with the tower itself when Hifumi came to visit her, unable to meet her eyes as they made small talk.

"Ne-Nene-chan…" Hifumi managed, interrupting Nene while she was explaining the level design. "I...have an idea...to help."

"You do?" Nene asked, eyes lighting up. "What is it?"

Hifumi looked to the side and after an awkward pause turned back to Nene, clasping her hands together. "You've played Pokemon, right?"

"Yeah!" Nene replied, her enthusiasm cut off as she noticed Hifumi recoil at her reaction. "Sorry, got a little carried away." Nenecchi continued, lowering her voice. "I love Pokemon, why do you ask?"

"Well…" Hifumi struggled for the words, trying to find a good way to explain it. "You know those levels...with the ice? The ice that can break beneath your feet?"

"Ohh, I do." Nene had flashbacks to the last Pokemon game that had been released and winced, remembering how Aoba had criticized her for a week when she hadn't been able to get past an ice maze. "Those were the worst, your progress would get completely reset if you did it wrong!"

Hifumi nodded, glad Nene knew where she was going with this. "What if...you had those in your game too? To punish...bad choices."

It was a good idea! Nene had thought that she had been missing something, the mazes themselves were each different but didn't punish for any mistakes. Making it harsher on a player if they screwed up was just what she needed!

"That's a great idea!" Nene exclaimed, quieter this time. "I'm in your debt, Hifumi-chan. That was exactly what I was looking for."

Hifumi blushed, at a loss of words at Nene's gratitude. After a moment she smiled, nodding slightly. "No problem…"

"Don't mention it!" Nene spun her chair to face Hifumi and put her hands against her lap to form a triangle, the way a villain would do when they were plotting. "Now, what would you like from me? Some sweets? Merchandise? Maybe some...gossip?"

If Hifumi's face had been red before it definitely was now. She shook her head rapidly, losing herself against Nene's evil expression. "N-n-no…I really am okay."

"Really?" Nene leaned forward and her eyes stared into Hifumi's, bright blue with mischief. "Not even what Aoba-chan's favorite things are? All of them?"

Hifumi froze, her eyes glinting as Nene could practically see the lust begin flaring up inside of them. "A...all of them?"

"Of course," Nene promised, a wicked tone creeping into her voice. "I've known Aocchi since we were kids, after all. Anything you want me to tell you, anything at all, I will."

Nene had her now. Hifumi looked down, her eyes hidden and her body tense. After a few seconds she replied, fear completely gone: "Tell me. Everything you know, everything."

Nenecchi laughed, gesturing to a chair besides her. "Fufufu~. Have a seat, then. We have a lot to discuss."

…

In case Hifumi had any additional ideas and to avoid getting caught Nene told Hifumi all of Aoba's secrets and passions at different points over the rest of the week. Nene had seen plenty of girls in love before (though she herself had never been interested) and from what she could tell Hifumi was addicted to every last word that had anything to do with Aoba. It was scary, really; Hifumi was the same as Aoba deep inside: Evil, driven; a true dominatrix. They both had a dark side and during that week it showed, much to Nene's amusement. Finally, someone who could put the devil in her place.

Nene couldn't spend the entire month enjoying Hifumi's reactions though and so once she had told her everything she sent her off, hoping that for Aoba's sake she would try something to force something more of their relationship. In the meantime though Nenecchi had to focus on her game, or primarily the main problem: The walls.

"Ugh." Nene groaned, practically faceplanting onto her desk. "He fell out again."

"Oh?" Narucchi leaned over, smirking confidently. "Having problems, Sakura-san?"

"Don't criticize me!" Nene snapped, her voice tinged with exhaustion. "I just can't make the walls solid, that's all. Any time I try there's always a spot where Marble-kun can run through, destroying the entire purpose of the game."

Narucchi toyed with a pen, her grin widening. "Really? So even the help of Umiko-san isn't enough to teach you simple 3D modeling?"

"Shut up." Nene mumbled, too tired to fight back. "I don't even get why you're so critical of me...with you already have way more experience than me, what more do you want?"

Naru paused, her expression softening. "You admit that you aren't good enough to do this? Something THIS basic?"

"Of course I am!" Nene whisper-shouted, aware that Umiko was nearby at this time of the day. "I only just started programming a few months ago and up to now everything I've done has been in 2D, I'm already learning most of this from the book and trial/error as it is!" With that she raised her head and focused on her computer screen, steeling herself. "But fine, if you want me to admit it: Yes, I am not good enough and I have a long way to go. But I'm going to prove to you that I can do this, whether you like it or not."

Nene resumed her work with a brisk vigor and Naru looked on, watching as Nene searched through for a solution to her problem. Despite the anger in her eyes Naru could tell most of it was fear, something she hadn't seen for herself since…

"Nenecchi." Naru spoke, putting a hand on the other girl's shoulder. Nene looked up, more surprised than upset. "I know how to fix your problem."

Without permission to move Naru stood out of her seat and walked over so that she could type at Nene's keyboard. After getting the slightest tilt of approval Naru opened up the code of Nenecchi's program and moved upward to the section detailing the marble's interaction with the walls, pointing at a specific line.

"Here." Naru said. "You've set the wall to not allow the marble through but your dimensions are off so the game thinks that your wall is a lot smaller than what it actually is. Because of that, if a player gets lucky enough there will be regions on the edges that they can slip through."

Nene slapped her forehead in frustration. "I'm so stupid! How could I miss that?"

The corner of Naru's mouth perked up in a smile, just a bit. "It's pretty common, actually. When you make walls you forget that you have to accommodate for the parts that make up the corners. They're usually hidden because they're part of another wall, the colors blend into each other.

Nene nodded, getting the point. "That makes sense...Thank you, Narucchi."

Narucchi moved to smile but she froze, choosing to pout and turn her head instead. "Well, don't think it changes anything! I just felt a little bad for you, that's all. I'm not going to help you all the time."

"I know, I know." Nene said, smiling. "But still, I appreciate it. Thanks."

Naru didn't reply but she didn't need to, the expression in her eyes was all Nenecchi needed.

…

"Ahhhh!" Nenecchi cried in joy, pushing back her chair in glee. "It's ready and with time to spare!"

Naru glanced over, mildly amused. "You mean you're finally done with your D-tier marble game?"

Nene ignored her, though she was grateful to the fact that Naru had given her a D this time instead of an F. Not wanting to waste a moment she pulled out her phone and texted Aoba, her best friend arriving just a minute later with the rest of the character designing team. They had been waiting three weeks for this and for Nene to have completed it early was a true treat, especially given that PECO was going through a more stressful phase of development.

"Oh man!" Hajime cried, looking at the title screen. "It's finally done! At long last, I can put my Dandy Max figure at risk!"

"How many people do you think are going to play this, Hajime?" Yun asked, but she was smiling too. Everyone was.

"Have you played it yourself already, Nenecchi?" Aoba asked, moving closer to get a better look of the game. "The 3D seems good enough."

"Yep! I tested it all by myself over the past week, no issues at all!" Nene shot a confident glance over at Naru and she rolled her eyes before returning to her own screen, hiding her smile from view.

"This seems boring." Momo pointed out, watching the text "The Tower of Marblo" spin around in 3D. "Start the game."

Nene put a hand to her head, grinning awkwardly. "W-well, I have to wait for Umiko first."

"That's a good point." Yagami noted, looking around. "Where's Ahagon?"

At that moment Yagami cried out in pain as from behind a pellet crashed into her head. From the corner leading into the hallway outside the booth Umiko entered, brandishing an especially large gun.

"Practicing." She replied, smiling as Yagami grimaced. "Luckily for you I know when my programmers are done with something, otherwise I'd do worse for forcing one of them to start something without me."

The group backed up a step as Umiko made her way through, standing over Nene with a look that could kill a small-Scratch that, a large animal.

"Are you ready, Sakura-san?" Umiko spoke, her tone cold as winter. "You get one shot."

Nene nodded, mustering up her courage like she always did around Umiko. "I am. Go ahead, it's all yours."

Nenecchi moved aside and Umiko took her place at the desk, laying down the gun on the desk besides her. After glancing at the title screen for a moment Umiko moved onward, pressing the Play button. Instantly the selection for Marble-kun's color appeared and Umiko raised an eyebrow at the camouflage option before choosing it and continuing to the main game.

"This seems more complex than I expected." Umiko noted, looking at the Tower from an outside perspective. "I assume you have a story involved."

"I-I do," Nene admitted, "But Hajime-chan and Yun-chan gave me the inspiration for that so I thought it would be improper to add any of that in since it wasn't my work. This is just the gameplay."

Umiko nodded. "I see." With that, she began the game. There were ten levels in total that Nene had designed though given time she would've added over a hundred. Umiko passed through the first seven with ease, surprising the group and Nene as she completed them in less than half an hour.

"So impressive!" Aoba said, putting her fists in front of her. "You managed to figure out that one so quickly, even with the spinning pieces!"

This is bad, Nene thought. Those spinning pieces were the second most tricky thing in the entire game. If Level 9 doesn't fool her, nothing will!

Level 8 was an advanced version of the spinners from Level 7 so Umiko passed through it with ease. But when she got to Level 9 things slowed down and after a minute the group caught on.

"There's no solution to that maze." Yun realized. "Everything just goes to a dead end. She can't win!"

"There are no buttons either." Momo noted. "Not even the ones that would be hidden from view."

"How is she supposed to solve something that can't be solved then?" Aoba wondered, looking at Nene curiously. To her surprise Nene wasn't smiling or anything of the like: She was dead serious, watching Umiko's movements carefully as if each moment mattered. She had never been like this before, not even when she had designed Nene Quest.

She seriously wants to impress her, Aoba thought. I just hope she does well, she deserves it.

One minute passed, then three, then five. Nothing Umiko did beat the maze. From her viewpoint Nene continued to look onward, too smart to get excited. She was right not to: Finally Umiko figured out the trick and began bumping against whatever walls she could.

"What's she doing?" Hajime muttered, looking at Umiko's actions. "She already tried looking along the walls for a hidden door."

"That's too simple." Umiko replied, shoving against the last wall and finally going through and into a hidden corridor leading to the staircase for Level 10. "She made the opening force-reliant."

The group ooh'd and nodded in approval, it made sense. Nene had rigged the invisible entrance to only activate if Umiko forcefully bumped into it with the marble, not just tested it like a player would if they were skimming along the side a wall for openings.

"No wonder the marble speeds up and slows down…" Aoba said. "I thought it was just to be more realistic, but you've thought of everything Nenecchi!"

Nenecchi nodded, though her heart wasn't in it. "Yeah, I tried to."

The rest of the game was straightforward, the final boss going down after a few hits from Marble-kun at max speed. The credits rolled, the victory screen appeared and to Hajime's disappointment the speedrun time was not beaten (although Nene had it to nobody's surprise). When she was done Umiko stood up and turned to look down at Nene, whom of which was looking at her with as brave a look as her terrified state could muster.

"There are flaws," Umiko stated. "The initial levels are too simple, the hitboxes for the staircases are inconsistent, the final boss was underwhelming and despite the time you had left you did not choose to use it to improve upon the artistic elements of the game, something I know you could've at least attempted."

Nene bowed her head, accepting the criticism. She was right, she had been so worried about the game and Umiko somehow getting word of the tricks she had planted that she had only tested it herself and that had hit things hard, especially when it meant that she didn't notice things another debugger could've. It was completely her fault.

"However," Umiko continued, looking at the game. "This is a significant expansion on the original concept I presented you. I asked you to make a simple maze box game and by getting some advice and assistance you made what could with enough hard work be turned into an entire puzzle game, albeit one with a childish plot. For that and because you recognized the fact that you needed to challenge the player to their fullest, I give it my approval. Congratulations."

Nene looked at Umiko and shook her head, confused. "But aren't you upset that I got help? This was supposed to be my project and I couldn't even figure out the game design on my own."

Umiko raised an eye. "Upset? That you used the resources around you to your fullest? That's just strategic thinking." She leaned in close, raised her index finger and added, "Thinking that is extremely important in the art of airsoft."

She's serious too. The group around the two thought, unease in the air.

Nene took things for what they were and sighed in relief, tears startling to bubble in her eyes as she realized her first project was a success. "T-thank you, Umiko-san!"

"Don't thank me yet." Umiko warned. "This was only the first training assignment. There are going to be plenty more, each harder than the rest. You'll still be free to get help so long as they're willing to provide it," Umiko waved her arm to the group around them, "But remember that this is your job, your skill. Whatever happens, you need to show that you can improve. Understand?"

Nene nodded, pushing back the tears with all the willpower she had. "Roger! I won't let you down, Umiko-san!"

Umiko smiled, crossing her arms. "Good. Now," she looked over at the entrance to the hallway. "Tomoya-san, you've been very patient. What's the problem?"

The group turned to see Rin standing idle in the opening of the cubicle, nervously holding her hands together as she was regarded.

"Well," Rin said, "I just got done talking to Hazuki-san and, well…"

"How many." Umiko asked, her voice sending chills throughout the room.

"Lots, lots of spec changes." Rin admitted, positioning herself away from the entrance. "About double what you usually see."

There was dead silence in the room for about ten seconds as Umiko looked down, her face unreadable as her fists clenched tight enough that they began to turn white.

"Sakura-san." Umiko managed, calmer than expected.

"Y-yes, Umiko-san?" Nene replied, trying to manage the terror in her voice.

Umiko pulled out a pistol from her pocket. "Follow me. Bring the gun."

And at that moment no one in the room could feel worse for Hazuki-san.

…

After Hazuki-san was incapacitated and temporarily put out of action due to 'pellet trauma' (of which was legal as it was within Umiko's contract to inflict) Umiko and Nene made their way back into the programming booth, of which was now empty. Despite Nene's initial impressions what had happened inside Hazuki-san's office was something that had taken much, much longer than she had expected. Then again, it was Umiko-san. Now after five straight hours of stuff Nene was never to speak about again she was finally going to be able to go home, something that she needed after what had just happened.

"Good work today, Sakura-san." Umiko noted as the computers around them booted down. "You did much more than I expected with the Marble game and your assistance in dealing with Hazuki-san was appreciated. You should be proud of yourself."

Nene smiled, though she wasn't sure how she could after what had just happened. "It was no big deal. I just put everything I had into it and it turned out for the best. I couldn't have done it without everyone else, that's for sure."

Umiko didn't reply, turning to the wall to oversee her weapons. After a minute she finally spoke up, though to Nene her tone felt...off.

"Sakura-san."

"Yes, Umiko-san?"

Umiko steeled herself. "Stop calling me Umiko-san."

Nene paused, unsure if she had heard correctly. "What?"

"You heard me." Umiko replied, keeping her voice firm. "From now on, you aren't to call me Umiko-san."

"But…" Nene asked, "What do I call you, then?"

Umiko turned to leave, making her way to the exit. Before she left she turned to Nene and gave her the same serious look, though this time it was tinged with something Nenecchi couldn't read. Respect? Hate? Love?

"Please call me Ahagon-san."

And like that, she was gone.

…

Author's Note: And you thought I was going to stop with just one New Game fanfic, fufufu~.

Pretty proud with how this one turned out: Nene seems a little more serious than usual if I'm being honest but I was aiming for that (she is working for real now, after all). Also had fun toying with Nene's dark side and her relations with Aoba, Narucchi and especially Umiko. Plus torturing Hazuki-san - I REALLY loved that part. But that's enough from me, I really hope you enjoyed. This is a canon continuation of my first New Game fanfic and so will the next one (XXX). If you were wondering what Hifumi was going to do with all of that information she received then you're in for a treat, that's all I'll say for now. ;)

Non-New Game related news: Based on high demand I've begun working on Fading Steps Chapter 5 but it'll take a while to finalize. This is going to be a longer and much more important chapter than the ones before it so I need to make sure it's as good as possible. In addition school has started for me and due to an unlucky flaw in my schedule I won't have anywhere as near writing time as I previously assumed meaning that things will take longer than I hoped. Still I intend to pull through and deliver, my guess right now is that Chapter 5 of Fading Steps comes out during the Labor Day weekend and Succumb's next chapter (whom of which will be changed I still haven't decided, VOTE IN THE POLL!) will arrive sometime in the weeks following that. I know it's hard to wait but remember, I gotta do well so I can bring you guys stuff at all!

Please read, review and thanks for all the support over the past few months! For my New Game followers - See you in October. :)

-Caulifla