Something different from my usual fair

Disclaimer: Nepgear, and the Hyperdimension Neptunia series belong to Idea Factory and Compile Heart.

Of the four nations in Gamindustri (The always industrious Lastation with its tirelessly working CPU Noire, the vibrantly open and commercially successful Leanbox with the somewhat Otaku-ish CPU Vert, and the nation of Lowee which was covered in a near-eternal veil of white, led by the stoic yet temperamental Blanc) Planeptune always seemed to be playing catchup, despite the popularity of its own nation's CPU Neptune.

Although if you asked most folks outside of Planeptune who really ran the place, they would swear up and down that it was the aforementioned CPU's younger sister Nepgear (albeit she's constantly mistaken as the older sibling due to their difference in both height and maturity.) on this day however, the lilac-haired young woman wanted nothing more than to grab a cup of coffee and take a moment to herself.

"I enjoy doing what I can to help sis and the people of Planeptune, but it would be great if for just one day she could try and handle running things in the Basilicom." The CPU Candidate would sigh tiredly as she took stock of the absurdly long line she found herself standing in at the Ristarbucks, the noise of the many conversations around her helping her to relax as the line slowly inched forward with the occasional shout from the barista up front.

When she finally made it to the front, Nepgear's exhaustion had melted into her usual cheery smile as she held her hands behind her back. "One Caramel Macchiato to go please!" The tired barista would try his best to match her exuberant smile, but it was a futile effort as the young man's face drooped into a frown as he took down her order and yawned. "Name please?"

The younger woman would keep her smile polite even though she was internally sympathetic towards the young man's plight, Histoire had often worn that same look at the end of a long hard workday. "It's Nepgear." The coffee store would immediately go silent as the barista quickly took her order and got down to making her coffee, meanwhile the crowd would erupt in adulation before swarming around her.

"I love you Lady Nepgear!"

"Lady Nepgear is a blessing for us all!"

"HAVE MY BABIES NEPGEAR!"

The CPU Candidate could feel the heat of a blush steadily rising up her cheeks as the barrage of compliments, praise, and semi-lewd comments kept coming. Meanwhile another barista would be puzzled by the name on the side of the cup she was currently holding, it wasn't any name that was usually seen in Planeptune and was probably a prank by every stretch of the imagination.

"Umm..Mocha Frappachino for…wolf-ram? Is there a wolf-ram here?" The pigtailed brunette would look around nervously at the frenzied crowd that was now gathered around a lilac-haired girl who looked visibly distressed, but made zero attempts to push any of them away. "That poor girl.."

A sandy-haired young man in a leather coat would walk up to the barista counter and lay down a handful of credits "It's Wolfram.." He would calmly take the drink from her while looking over at the sea of rioting people still bombarding Nepgear with praise, he would shake his head quietly before laying down some more credits. "This is for the girl's drink..pretty sure the CPU Candidate has it hard enough already, shouldn't have to pay for a coffee too."

The female barista would nod quietly, puzzled at the sudden out-pour of generosity that he was showing her. "H-how did you know she was a CPU Candidate?"

The young man known as Wolfram would roll his eyes as he took a sip of his drink before turning on his heel. "I think the better question here is: How did you not know?"

After a few minutes of fielding people's questions, taking a few pictures with some happily smiling citizens, and even autographing a collectible figurine or three Nepgear was finally able to retrieve her drink, digging into her pockets for the credits to pay for her macchiato.

"No need my lady." She would go to hand the young woman her drink with a smile despite the look of confusion.

"Oh, but I'd feel guilty if I didn't pay, just because I'm a CPU Candidate-" the lilac-haired teenager would frown as she once again tried to hand over her credits.

"You misunderstand, there's no need for you to pay because someone else already paid for your drink." The pigtailed barista would smile brightly while pointing to her tip jar. "But if you still feel like be generous.." She would laugh nervously as the equally nervous candidate put her credits into the plastic tip jar before taking her drink and finally exiting Ristarbucks. "Wow, I didn't think going out for a cup of coffee would be so hectic." Nepgear would take a drink while looking around at the bustling streets of Planeptune, people moving to and fro as they did their best to live their lives to the fullest under hers and Neptune's guidance. But with a CPU shift looming on the horizon these very same individuals could turn away from the loving hands of Purple Heart and look towards a new light, whether that light would come from one of the other Four Nations or even a new Goddess entirely would be left up in the air. "I wonder what will happen to Neptune and I if we somehow manage to find ourselves on the outs, I mean I'm sure we'd be okay and all but..I get the terrible feeling that I'll be the one that's going to be bringing in the paychecks." She would whimper, imagining herself behind the Ristarbucks counter while her older sister would be hunkered down in an apartment with a controller in her hands while her younger sibling slung fancy coffee drinks and dodged the same question over and over again: "Didn't you used to be somebody important?"

The lilac-haired girl would sigh, feeling her stomach sink at the possibility of being pushed into obscurity whenever a new CPU was named. But she would cross that bridge when and if the time came, the people of Planeptune believed in her and Histoire as well as the hard work that came from IF and Compa. "I'm sure everything will turn out okay, everyone here is full of kindness and are passionate about the prosperity of our nation." She would look down at the now half-empty macchiato in her hands, her name hastily written on the side and paid for by a stranger she may never get a chance to properly thank. "I believe in the goodness of everyone here..even the strangers I didn't see." Nepgear would go to finish her drink when the N-Gear in her pocket chimed to life, she would gasp and quickly retrieve the mobile device with her free hand and answer it quickly. "Hello?"

"Nepgear, I need you back at the Basilicom as quickly as possible. We're about to launch a press conference for our new Find-A-Nep app and Neptune's refusing to get herself in proper attire." Nepgear would frown in concern upon recognizing the exasperated voice of Planeptune's Oracle program Histoire, no doubt sporting a similar expression herself as she tried to deal with her older sister. "Neptune please, this is one of your many responsibilities as a CPU so please put down the controller and get dressed!" The background of the call would fill with noisy protests as the CPU Candidate felt a sweat drop of nervousness form.

"Goodness, I'll be there as soon as I can Histoire no need to worry!" She would quickly hang up on the call and bolt down the promenade, it was because of times like this that the people trusted in Nepgear, and if when a CPU shift were to happen sometime in the future then there was definitely a fair chance that she would be given a chance to lead Planeptune to a brighter tomorrow.

But until then, there was still a press conference for her to save.

Honestly, I'm surprised Nepgear doesn't just get named a proper CPU, what with all the hard work she puts in. Oh well, she's a Goddess in my eyes (well, the one that still works at least.)