HDN: SoD Chapter 4: A Party is formed!

-Music Cue: "It's the Shoguuuun!" from Gintama-

Four people sat inside the room, with each one of them facing each other. They consisted of Neptune, Reiji, Plutia, and Noire. Notably, the last one had multiple bandage wrapped around her head, particularly covering her forehead, as a result if her multiple headbangs on the wall, which she had done as the consequence of talking to the living being known as Neptune.

"So, uh…I would really like to thank you for taking care of my client for today! I also would really like to apologize for all the trouble that she's ever brought down upon you!" Reiji declares aloud, getting up and then bowing down on his knees on the ground, willing to show how sincere he is in apologizing for Neptune's behaviour. Noire gave a sigh with an accepting tone, while Plutia kept on gesturing the bowing Reiji that it's ok.

"Alright. Apology accepted. Please raise your head already. A Knight shouldn't be bowing that hard to a normal citizen, you know?" Noire states in a matter-of-fact tone, allowing Reiji to stand back up and sighing in relief. Looks like despite all the…troubles Neptune gave Noire, the latter still maintained her sense of rationality and forgiveness. Even after smashing her head on the wall for a few times several minutes ago.

"Ah, but it IS a Knight's duty to serve the people, so please don't worry. Thank you, uh, Miss…?" Reiji pauses, gesturing to Noire that he wants to know her name. Clearing her throat before speaking, Noire proceeds to stand up and politely introduce herself, and is followed by Plutia who does the same, even the clearing of the throat.

"I'm Noire. And you're welcome."

"And I'm Plutia! Nice to meet you, Mister…?"

"Reiji. My full name is Reiji Ryghts. My current client under protection and my current travelling companion here beside me is Neptune. Once again, thank you for your patient care of my client, Miss Noire and Miss Plutia. I truly appreciate it, considering all the trouble she just gave you." Reiji states as he scratches his head, laughing sheepishly as he continued. Apparently, he himself was really surprised at Noire's answer. He thought that he would have to deal with a complaint at the Basilicom, but that thought disappeared when Noire stated her forgiveness, and he had to do nothing more than to apologize serenely. For Reiji, it was a great relief.

"Well, yeah, I mean, she banged her head out of thin air and all…Although I don't really know how am I supposed to be related to that…" Neptune comments non-chalantly, causing Reiji's eyebrow to twitch, and his whole face sweat bullets as Noire had an unhappy frown on her face, while Plutia simply tilted her head in confusion.

"You're the one who made her smash her head in the first place!" Reiji mentally complained. Normally, the retort would just fly off his mouth, but, considering the rules of politeness and etiquette, he decided to ignore Neptune…for now.

"A-ahem! As a proper form of apology from us, would you like to ask for compensation in any form, Miss Noire?" Reiji quickly follows up Neptune's words, believing that it might be a good way to cover them up and make Noire forget what she heard from Neptune's mouth from earlier. Reiji believes that, considering their current situation, and to prevent Neptune from tarnishing her own name any further, he will have to do something as her Knight. And thanks to his short earlier experiences, Reiji now has an idea about the possible stress the Oracle of Planeptune had every day at work, especially now knowing what 'Lady Neptune' is like when not in the form of the Goddess Purple Heart.

Apparently, she can be classified in her normal form as 'Lady Purple Headache', Reiji thought.

Meanwhile, Noire placed herself in a thinking pose, wondering what she could request of Reiji and Neptune. After about five minutes of thinking it through, Noire decided on one request. For her, apparently it's something not way too difficult to achieve. Something that won't look like she's fully taking advantage of the situation…

"Hmm…Well…I guess I do have one request…" Flicking her hair in a confident way, Noire states her request with a victorious tone of voice, "As a citizen of Planeptune, can I request protection for a job I'm doing, as well as all the way to the city. Is that amicable?"

Reiji, hearing Noire's request, paused for a few minutes to think. Currently, Noire stated herself to be a citizen of Planeptune, which means that she knows the way to the city. Denying her offer would be obviously a bad choice. Moreover, Neptune has lost her powers, which means that wandering in small numbers would be dangerous, and getting the CPU harmed within a Knight's presence is considered one of a Knight's greatest failures, one that would last a life time. And there's also the issue of Neptune being in level 5, despite being the CPU. Putting two and two together, Reiji planned up an idea…

"Yes, Miss Noire. It is an acceptable request, and is within my authorities as a 2nd Class Knight. However, can I also take my client with us during the job? She's a learning swordswoman, you see, and she needs some proper field experience through real battles…and some level grinding, too, if it's ok with you." Reiji states in an unfailing and fully convincing tone of voice, devoid of any traces of lie that it was supposed to be, surprising even Reiji himself on the inside.

"What?!" Both Noire and Neptune shouted in perfect sync, causing the two of them to look at each other. With an annoyed glare from each of them. Looks like things are not gonna be as smooth as he thought it would be, Reiji thought. A Route B home seems to be in demand at this rate…

"Oh my, they're fully synchronized! I guess Noire and Neppy are natural born friends! Ehehehe!" Plutia happily exclaims, causing both Noire and Neptune to retort at her in a high voice.

"No, we're not in SYNC AT ALL! Especially with this idiot!" Both Noire and Neptune shouted at the same time, causing the two of them to turn their attention to each other instead, glaring hard into each other's eyes once again.

"Hey, stop imitating me, you damn nutcase! I'm having enough headaches already!"

"Then why don't YOU quit imitating the great ME instead, you lonely tsundere! I'm having enough fan girls as it is already!"

"WHAT?! Who are you calling a tsundere?! And only those dumber than a bird would be a fangirl of a weirdo like you, so don't lump ME with them!"

The two girls argued, and from the looks of things, looks like they forgot about what they were supposed to be discussing, as they were too busy in their own two world, or rather, argument. Reiji palmed his face as his plan to smoothly induct Neptune into the job failed, and is now forced to make a plan B for it. Meanwhile, Plutia simply amused herself watching Neptune and Noire squabble like a pair of kids in grade school…

"Well…Looks like I'm gonna have to find a way to defuse this…and find a miracle to make Noire allow Lady Neptune to join the job…or maybe find another way to get the job done without having to bring Lady Neptune around…" Reiji sighed, having no other more effective options. Leaving from Noire's group would be an ineffective idea, as he and Neptune had no general idea of where they are right now, and Noire apparently does. Second, he must make sure that Neptune's inability to transform must not be discovered before arriving at Planeptune's Basilicom, as it might cause a panic among the general public, followed by a possible uproar. There's also the chance of other nations taking advantage of this and might find a way to hijack the shares and faith from Planeptune's populace, deteriorating the nation in the process. Reiji definitely does not want the last one to happen.

Right now, the priority would be to have Neptune blend in as a normal person and prevent the info of her lost powers at all costs, at least until they reach the Basilicom and have an audience with the Oracle, who might have more than just an idea on the problem. Reiji needs to check up on his mother as well, considering the circumstances he and Neptune had when before they got dropped unto the unknown place they are in right now. To do all this, Reiji must tread carefully and ensure each step would occur smoothly.

First of all, he must fulfill Noire's request if he were to get on her good side and have her guide him and Neptune back to Planeptune, while maintaining Neptune's cover. And from the current of things, he can't proceed with Neptune in the party, as she and Noire will obviously clash and negate each other's presence, which might end up in sabotaging the teamwork and they might end up failing the job. Seeing this, Reiji makes a plan, aiming to get Noire's job done without any possible failures, and that can only be possible if Neptune isn't in the party. Her cover doesn't really require her to be around on the job, as Reiji planned, and she could just be left alone while Reiji and Noire go and finish the job Noire has. The question is, who would be kind enough to watch over Neptune in the meantime?

The first person that came to Reiji's mind was his newly met acquaintance, Magic. She's an employee of the establishment he's currently staying at, and he could just pay for Neptune's fees if necessary, as a free stay for her would be abusing the kindness Magic has shown the Knight. And just in case the first plan won't work, Reiji has a plan in store, although it is more of a gambit in nature…

…Especially since that plan involves asking a favour from Noire's companion, the one called Plutia. From the little time Reiji has spent with her, she seems to be the…level-headed and calm member of the group, and looks like the air-headed type judging from her words at seeing Neptune and Noire's arguments. There is a low chance, but, maybe she could look after Neptune while Noire and Reiji are on the job, provided Reiji could negotiate smoothly with her.

"I guess that's going to be my plan. Leave Neptune here while she stays and gets watched over by Magic. I will pay for her fees as well, since Lady Neptune will be paying me my wages at the end of the month, anyway. Me and Noire can do the job she asked helped with while Lady Neptune is kept safe here." Reiji finishes his plan, and seeing the still arguing Neptune and Noire in front of him, he decides to call out to Noire, to tell her of the change in plans.

"Um, Miss Noire, I would like to, uh, give an alternative solution for earlier…So could you listen for a bit?" Reiji speaks out, earning the attention of the irate twin-tailed girl, who gave him a glare that could melt the thick of icebergs from North Atlantic. Reiji, however, swallowed whatever surprise he had and proceeded to voice out his plan, "Instead of having to take my client, I believe I could just leave her here with an acquaintance of mine, while you and me go and finish the job. Lady Neptune's training can come up on another time." Reiji explained smoothly, with no cracks in his voice that could raise any suspicion. While Noire contemplated the idea, Neptune quickly jumps into the foray and complains to Reiji.

"Eh?! You'll leave me out of the Main Story Event?! That's, like, unfair for a main heroine like me! And why would you leave the Godde-" Before Neptune could finish her line, Reiji quickly dashes behind her, and drags her quickly away from Plutia and a still contemplating Noire.

"Lady Neptune, I'm sorry, but we can't go bringing you into danger right now, especially since your transformation ability somewhat disappeared. That said, please, for your own and the nation's safety, you mustn't reveal you true identity, especially not right now, that your power as a Goddess is having fluctuations…" Reiji whispered to Neptune, who had a confused look on her face, shaking her head. Leaving her alone doesn't seem to sit well with her. She then proceeds to voice out another complaint.

"Huh? But why? Noirey's my friend, so it's okay! And besides, I'm the main heroine, so you really should bring me along if you need a powerful, shining, and thick plot armor!" Neptune says proudly, even puffing her chest as she finished talking. Reiji sighed and replied…

"But Lady Neptune, you might have mistaken her for the Noire that you knew. I mean, there's always a chance that two people will have the same chin and ball size around the world, no matter how small, so someone with a similar face to your friend wouldn't be impossible. And too much plot-armor is bad, you know. We might end up like G*ndam SEED's protagonist!"

"I am NOT gonna stay put here and let you go on an affection point spree with another heroine in the early part of the story! That's just not fair for me, Rei-Rei! And besides, Noire's a fellow CPU too, so it should be okay if I come along!" Neptune crossed her arms and pouted as she replied, making a sweating Reiji face palm as he heard Neptune's words. Noire, a CPU? Now, that's funny, Reiji thought.

"Lady Neptune, from my observation earlier, Noire is very much obviously human, so please stop taking drugs. Look, if you stay here and not make a ruckus while I'm out…" Reiji leaned in and started whispering to Neptune, "…I will treat you to pudding tonight. In an eat-all-you-can style."

Neptune's ears perked up, surprising Reiji who didn't think ears could work that way, as the CPU in front of him suddenly switches her mood and expression, now being a cheerful, obedient looking young girl who is seeing her dad off to work.

"Okay, big bro! Neptune will wait for you and will be a good girl and will not do drugs until you come home! Teehee!" Neptune suddenly declares in a cutesy fashion, complete with yellow sparkles and stars flying around her. Reiji sweat dropped as he realized that the other two people in the room heard Neptune's declaration, as evidenced by the look of barely hidden disgust on Noire's face and the look of a-housewife-finding-out-about-the-latest-gossip plastered on Plutia's face.

"…That's quite the disgusting fetish you got there. And does she really take those medicines?! You're a Knight for the Goddess' sake! Why don't you, um, arrest her or something?!" Noire said with a look of suspicion towards Reiji, who face palmed at the result of Neptune's antics. Why did it have to be him, of all people? Why did he have to suffer this misfortune called Neptune? Why can't she stay as the benevolent Purple Heart all the time? Reiji wanted to shout out all this questions, but knowing that the plot will not move forward if he will just complain about his boss all the time in narration and that he really needs to get on the quest already, he decides to speak up and save whatever positive image he has in the eyes of his two new acquaintances.

"W-w-wait! It's just a misunderstanding! Miss Neptune was just…uh…reciting a line from an anime she watched! Yeah, that's it! And I can't arrest my client, by the way. Even if she does drugs, which she doesn't, by the way. Even if she acts like one who does."

Noire gave a raised eyebrow of continuing suspicion, while Plutia surprisingly gave an understanding nod, much to Reiji's relief. At least half the problem is solved, he thought.

"Well then, 'Big Bro', I'll be waiting at the front door. You get ready for the job, too, Plutia." Noire sighed as she finished saying that, stretching herself as well as popping a few joints in the process, before leaving for the door of the room.

"Eh? But I wanna rest!" Plutia complains, making Noire palm her face right before she was about to grab the door knob. Sporting an irritated scowl on her face, Noire turns to face Plutia.

"You know what? Go ahead and rest. Just don't make too much of a ruckus and scare the people of the establishment, alright? You can hang out with the Mister Knight's…weirdo client." Noire declares and quickly leaves through the door, leaving Reiji no chance to ask about what she said about Plutia scaring off the people of the Inn.

A cute, sleepy sounding girl like Plutia scaring off people? With what? Pull out a doll out of nowhere and smack them with it? Suddenly transform like a CPU and turn into a heartless sadist with plot armor so thick, that every single person who meets her loses their personality and turns into blocks of terrified, trembling lumps of flesh? Reiji couldn't couldn't really put his head around the thought of a cute girl like Plutia doing those things, so he decides to ignore Noire's words instead and decided to leave.

"Eh? But if I'm the weirdo, then why is it that she's the one with no friends?" Neptune said loudly, causing Reiji to turn to her direction with a shocked look. The straight face Neptune had while saying those words were really jarring for the Knight.

"That's too brutal! Lady Neptune, I'm sure she has a friend or two somewhere! So please don't say things like that so loudly like it's the hot news of the week! You shouldn't judge people so quickly without getting to know them, you know." Reiji retorts to Neptune's earlier statement, although regretting it a bit since he does not really know anything about Noire that much, and thus might lose in an argument. But so does Neptune.

Before the CPU could reply, however, Plutia quickly chimes in, "Yeah, that's right! Noire has friends too! Like me!" Plutia declares in a brave tone that doesn't match her voice, making Reiji think of it rather as a cute gesture of a little sister character trying to be brave in front of her big brother…Oh wait, he almost got in trouble for that a few minutes earlier, Reiji thought.

"Wait, for real? That's a miracle! Say, does she have any other friends too?" Neptune asks excitedly, sounding like a school girl making gossips with her classmate during recess time. However, as soon as the words completely left her mouth, they were met with uncomfortable silence and a pitiful look from Plutia that completely says 'No, she doesn't'.

Reiji took advantage of the silence and ran from the room, unwilling to make Noire wait any longer. However, before going for the main door, Reiji makes a detour to the reception, where Yuuka Kazami was doing a check on the customer logs…

-Music fades-

"Um, excuse me, Miss Kazami, could I ask you an important question? Can you tell me where Magic might have gone? I need to tell her something, you see…" Reiji asks in a polite tone fitting for starting a short conversation. The green haired hotel clerk, in turn, gives a smile and relies with a warm tone of voice.

"Ah, she's in the kitchen, preparing the table for lunch. Shall I call her for you?" Yuuka says, only for Reiji to shake his head politely and give his reply.

"No, that would just interrupt her longer. But instead, I would like to ask for your permission to let me go to the kitchen myself, since that place is mostly for employees only, and I can't go there without your word."

Yuuka gave a smile as Reiji explained his reason, and replies maintaining the expression she just had, "Oh dear, that was it? I thought you were actually going to ask me something that's so much of a big deal…" A smirk made its way onto Yuuka's face as she proceeded to continue speaking, her tone now changing into a more teasing kind, "…Like asking permission to take the hand of our little Magic, for example."

A few moments passed before Reiji completely absorbed the meaning of those words. And by the time he did, his face turned red as tomato and his expression changing into genuine shock, much to Yuuka's amusement.

"Wait, wha-wha-wha-what are you saying Miss Kazami?! Me and Miss Magic has just met! There's no way I'd do something outrageous like the one you just told me about!" Reiji defensively states, only earning him more laughs from Yuuka.

"Now, now, didn't you say you want to see her? You should do it now. Your friend at the door is waiting, you know." Yuuka reminds the Knight, who quickly nods and leaves hastily towards the kitchen, weirded out by the green haired clerk.

"T-then please excuse me!" Reiji says as he enters the kitchen, much to a laughing Yuuka, who really had amusement at the Knight's predictable reactions. Young people really are so fun to tease, Yuuka thought.

Inside the kitchen, is Magic, happily humming as she carefully piles up a set of plates on her right hand, as well as a tray holding a set of drinking glasses, all of which are skilfully balanced as Magic proceeded to turn her back and head for the door towards the main hall. Right now, Tonio, he chef, is already half-way on finishing the lunch, which is Magic's cue to set up the utensils at the dining room, which is at the other room behind the door that is just besides the kitchen's own door. However, instead of a closed door, what she found when she turned around is Reiji, with an apologetic smile. His expression made Magic curious…

"Ah, Reiji? Did something happen?" Magic asked, tilting her head to the side as Reiji scratched his head, before finally taking a breath and gathering up his courage. Magic's eyes widened slightly.

"This expression I'm seeing on his face...Isn't that the same expression boys in romance animes make when they're about to ask a girl to a date?! Is this really happening?!" Magic thought with a panicking mind and a fast beating heart. Is she awake? Did she overdo her charms? Magic excitedly asks these questions to herself inside her mind, while doing her best not to show it outside, struggling to keep a somewhat stoic face in front of Reiji…

"Well, it's just that…could you proceed to lunch without me? I got reunited with my boss a few minutes early, and I got ordered to do a quick job out in the forests near here." Reiji pleadingly states, looking Magic in the eye as he spoke to prove his utmost sincerity, not even blinking once.

Magic felt like an anchor just got smacked all over her back after hearing the knight's words. So much for expectations. Looks like it really is too early for that sort of thing to happen, Magic thought.

"Eh? But didn't you say you'd at least join me for lunch? I can't give you food if you're not on the dining table, you know." Magic stated with a tint of snarking in her voice, not even hiding in the slightest that she's quite displeased that Reiji is once again depraving her of being able to pay her debt to him. However, the Knight quickly replies, wanting to explain the situation properly before any possible unpleasant misunderstandings can occur.

"Well, you see, my boss asked me a favour to help a friend of hers finish a quick job at the nearby forest. I don't know the full details, but, I've been informed that it's going to be a quick type of job, probably just monster hunting or item collecting. It might still take some time thought, and I probably won't be back at least till after lunch, so please just go on without me. I'm really sorry about this." Reiji explains, confident that Magic will finally let him off the hook with the excuse he just cooked up, although the part about the job and returning after lunch is the truth about that lie he made.

Magic stared blankly at Reiji for a few seconds, resulting in the Knight getting unnerved a little. Looks like he's in for a pinch, Reiji thought.

Seeing that she can do nothing to stop the Knight from doing his job, Magic sighs, and proceeds to voice out what's in her mind.

"Fine then. However, could you wait for me at the entrance for a few minutes? Just a few minutes?" Magic states, earning her a nod from a curious Reiji, who expected a nagging of sorts along with an unpleasant result. And with that, Magic places the utensils she's holding back onto the table, before going out of the kitchen without a word to the Knight. Reiji heard her speak to Yuuka for a few moments, before her voice fully dissipated.

"I just hope that she didn't take things too , might as well not waste time and I'd better head for the entrance and inform Noire about waiting for Magic and stuff. A few seconds off the clock won't be a full hazard to the job, I guess." Reiji says to himself, before leaving the kitchen. After biding a short goodbye to Yuuka as he passed the Inn's main hall, Reiji proceeds outside, where a seemingly relaxed Noire was waiting, taking a look at the peaceful surroundings…

"Ah, sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss Noire." Reiji calls out to Noire, who turns to the Knight's direction, with eyes that declare readiness and steely professionalism, much to Reiji's slight surprise. To him, Noire's eyes were not the usual eyes of an odd jobs person from Planeptune, but they were the eyes of a person that gave everything they've got in whatever they are set to do. The kind of person destined to do great things someday, Reiji thought.

"So, are you ready to go? We're going on a quick hunt for some doogoos and mere-ladies, so if you've got the right combat skill level and experience, this will be cinch. N-not that I trust your fighting skills or anything." Noire declares, earning her a slight head tilt from Reiji, who wonders if he made the right choice of going on the job with just Noire. Trust is a vital thing on the battlefield, and the lack of one in a team can lead to devastating consequences.

Looks like he might need to butter up things a little between him and Noire, Reiji thought. He knows that trust isn't something easily gained, and thus, it will be up to him to earn that trust from Noire and make themselves an effective force in a fight. A small talk might be effective, the Knight thought.

"I guess I could use the time while waiting for Magic to start a small spark of camaraderie through chit-chat. Making friends is also a battle I must win as well. But first, I'd better tell her that we still have to wait for Magic to arrive and finish the business with me before we start the job. Social Link, start!" Reiji mentally comments as he prepares an answer to Noire's earlier question…

"Well, yes, I am good to go. However, an acquaintance of mine working in the Inn has asked me to wait for a few minutes in this entrance that we're standing on right now, as she has something important to tell me. If you wouldn't mind, can we wait for at least 7 minutes?" Reiji asks, with a rather slightly pleading expression, similar to a man waiting to finally get inside the public toilet after waiting in line for one hour.

Noire looked at Reiji like he grew two heads, and sighed.

"Well, since it's that short, then we can wait." Noire states, making Reiji sigh in relief. Meanwhile, the latter quickly decides to switch priorities…

"Now…What should I talk about with her?" Reiji thought hard. What would be a good subject to kick off when talking to a girl again? This question rang in Reiji's mind, becoming its central focus. How about her job? A normal citizen wouldn't usually go out this far from the city for a job, as there are plenty of opportunities in Planeptune. Could it be that she's an agent for the city's Guild?

"Say, Miss Noire…I would like to know: What is your job?" Reiji asks in the most polite tone of voice he can muster, being very careful not to cause mental irritation to his companion. Noire, after hearing the Knight's words, takes a breath before replying.

"Well, you could say I'm an Odd-Jobs kind of person, although most of them are from Planeptune's local guild. I…really like travelling, you see. So I decided that I would go for the kind of job that makes you travel and pays you at the same time, hence, I decided to become a regular at the Guild." Noire explains, earning her a nod of understanding from the Knight. So, she's a mercenary of sorts. This must mean that she's quite an expert combatant, Reiji thought. He sighs at the fact that such talents like Noire's would end up into mercenary work rather than becoming a help to the nation, but, knowing that people are the ones to decide what they want to do in life, Reiji just kept his opinion unto himself.

"I see…I guess you really enjoyed this jobs, then, considering that you even took them in the first place." Reiji states, to which Noire gives a nod.

"Yeah, you could say that. Okay, now that I've answered your question, mind if I ask something too?" Noire says as she looks Reiji in the eyes, much to the latter's surprise. Could it be something serious? Something personal? Reiji continued to list the possibilities…

"Well, I already know your job, so let me ask something else. It…uh…" For a short moment, Noire lost her composure, before suddenly kicking back to her usual calm self, although she still would fidget a bit as she spoke, "…Can you tell me what your hobbies are? You know…something small like that…It's not like I'm actually curious or anything…"

A big 'WHAT' erupted from Reiji's mind. That was unexpected for him. He thought that Noire would at least ask him about how in the world he and Neptune ended up in the forest, or maybe question him of his credibility as a Knight. However, what Noire asked was rather…a very normal question. Something that is asked among people trying to befriend another by knowing them better. Being a person who had few, but trustworthy friends himself, he knows it when someone is trying to…befriend another.

And looking at how Noire is handling that, it can be guessed that she does not have much experience at making friends, and probably, doesn't have much friends herself, Reiji thought.

"Wait, didn't Lady Neptune said something about Miss Noire being a loner? Looks like she's right on the spot, just this once…Okay then, I'll do what I can!" Reiji pumped up his resolve, and decides to give an honest answer to the girl before him. If she will be interested, or not, however, is something that Noire will decide.

"Well, I like to read manga, play video games, and cooking, too. My specialty are seafood based dishes. You can do lots of wonders with fish!" Reiji declares proudly, before pounding on his chest in the similar way a child would look like when he's bragging something he's done to his mother.

Noire gave a look of surprise, as she did not expect someone supposed elegant like a Knight to have such…simple hobbies. Especially cooking, something that the guys she's met would consider as something 'unmanly'. She thought that Reiji would at least answer 'training', 'fighting a lot', or 'fan-boying the CPU' instead, considering his job. Looks like she stands corrected, Noire thought.

"Oh, I see…" Noire says with a tone of voice that suggested slight surprise. Reiji, now having answered the black haired girl's questions, takes this opportunity to send back a question to Noire.

"Ok, now, it's my turn to ask another question. What are your hobbies, Miss Noire?" Reiji asks in a friendly manner. Noire, now having gotten into it (the question and answers) replies rather earnestly.

"W-well, I watch anime, and play video games too. Although, I've never really gotten into manga, since I really liked the animated version of the story myself." Noire explains, her face and tone of voice as she spoke revealing tints of enjoyment, a sign that she's starting to get comfortable with the way the conversation is going. Reiji, realizing this, now is thinking carefully on how to NOT screw up the flow of things, and make sure that at the end of the conversation, he'd at least have the guarantee that he can at least rely on Noire on watching his back.

"Now that I've answered your question, I've got another for you! A-ahem…So, what anime series is your favourite, Sir Reiji? I-it's not like I really wanna know, alright? I just happened to have a lot more of extra questions to ask you, okay?!" Noire asks, her earlier hesitation and shyness somewhat dissipating a bit, albeit her eyes seems to avert from Reiji's own as she spoke the last two sentences.

"Well, I really like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part VII: Steel Ball Run. The whole story's overall bizarreness beats even the imaginations of people on the wrong drugs. The fights are really well thought, a totally different beast from the linear and somewhat boring fighting styles of generic shounen mangas. The storyline itself too, is pretty good, especially on the development of the protagonists. I really like it when I read and see a person as he or she grows into a better, humane person as the story goes on…Wait, I've been rambling about, haven't I?" Reiji states as he suddenly realized that he was about to fire off endlessly of and screw up the conversation. Looks like that when talking about mangas and anime, one really should hold themselves back and avoid releasing the inner-fanboy, lest they be thought of as one with no real life, Reiji thought as he starts to sweat bullets, unsure of the results of the conversation due to him almost running his mouth off…

"Uh, sorry about that little rant. I hope you didn't mind that…Ahahaha…" Reiji laughed sheepishly as he turned his head sideways out of embarrassment.

"…Nah, it's okay. You must really love that series, huh? Well, I've seen a lot of people talk like that about their favourite things, including myself, so don't worry too much about it." Noire says with a tone that describes understanding, much to Reiji's surprise and relief.

"Wow, looking at how she handled our conversation just now, Miss Noire seems a decent person. I seriously thought that she's some straight man character whose role is to keep throwing retorts at other characters like there's no tomorrow. I mean, the first time I saw her was when she was banging her head on the wall for some reason, so I had doubts if she actually does not have some loose screw on the head. I truly stand corrected." Reiji thought, seemingly relieved that there's actually another sane, humane person other than him in the upcoming party. Meanwhile, a vein plopped on Noire's forehead for some reason.

"…You just had some inappropriate thought just now, didn't you?" Noire angrily asks the Knight before her, who quickly waves his hand before him as he replied.

"Huh? Why would you even think that, Miss Noire? Of course, I did not think of anything wrong about you at all!"

"Your thoughts two paragraphs ago said otherwise, you lying jerk!" Noire retorted, causing Reiji to suddenly palm his face.

"But Miss Noire, that was a 1st person perspective line! Don't go reading people's thoughts, please!"

Before the small, friendly argument between the knight and the black haired girl could continue, the main door of the inn opens, revealing Magic, who is now dressed a lot differently, muct to Reiji's surprise.

Magic now wears black colored tights that covered her body till the neck, with light but sturdy armor covering covering several other parts of her body, namely a chest plate on her chests, armor covering for her shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. On her feet she wears a skin tight pair of boots that are made of very light, yet sturdy material. Her entire appearance somewhat really collides with the kind, chatty girl Reiji talked to earlier...

"So, this is your acquantaince from the inn? She...looks quite the warrior." Noire commented, eyeing the somewhat jarring looks of Magic, who exuded the aura of a combatant, unlike the defenseless maiden he saved earlier.

"She looks more like the antagonist of an RPG!" Reiji mentally retorted, still slack jawed from what he saw.

"...Well, I guess you're surprised, but, I'm actually a mercenary, Reiji. It's just that I'm spending my time by taking up the job of a assistant inn-keeper here in town, you see. And I didn't bring my equipment during the ambush this morning, and I was outnumbered too, so I was really in deep trouble. But you arrived and saved me before anything happened. And so, as part of my payment, I'll be joining you in this job of yours!" Magic explains with a smile, while scratching her head. Meanwhile, Reiji is still finding himself speechless at Magic's true occupation. Well, he managed to do a 'save a cute heroine in distress' event like the knights in anime and RPG's, but, it's just that...the cute heroine is actually a slick looking mercenary.

"Well...I'm actually a little shocked. I mean, you were really like an actual assistant inn-keeper during our time together earlier..." Reiji comments as he sweat drops, apparently still surprised.

"Aww, really? Does this mean...he's saying that I actually look feminine...?" Magic thought as she gave Reiji a small sheepish smile...

"So, you guys gonna get going or what?" Noire interrupts, promptly shaking off Reiji from his initial shock and reminding him of the reason he's outside today.

"Okay. Then before anything else, allow me to introduce you guys to each other first. Magic, this is Noire, the friend of my client, and is the person we're helping with on a job request today." Reiji says as he gestures to Noire, before doing the same to Magic as he continued to speak, "Miss Noire, this is Magic, the...uhh...assistant inn-keeper and mercenary working in the hotel we're staying at currently." Reiji finishes the introductions, prompting to the girls to talk to each other.

"I'm Magic, mercenary and temporary assistant innkeeper. Nice to meet you, Miss Noire." Magic states respectfully, sounding professional, yet friendly. Meanwhile, Noire also does the same.

"And I'm Noire. Nice to meet you as well."

The whole introduction was...plain, yet friendly. Noire and Magic's tone appeared friendly enough, and the former didn't seem to be shy at all. Could it be that she's actually more socially adept than he thought? Wait, it must be because of the fact that they're about to work on the same job, thus, they obviously are civil with each other. However, it is in this very fact that Reiji saw an opportunity to...

...help increase the contents of Noire's friend list. Will she get along with a mercenary? Reiji wondered. Considering that their line of job is likely similar...But for now, using their current job, Reiji plans to at least use their time together as a starting bridge of sorts...

"Alrighty then, since your acquaintance has arrived ready, I'll be giving the details of the job. It's actually pretty simple. We're to kill 10 dogoos around the forest trail between this village and the one leading to the main roads, as the people are complaining about attacks by those monsters on the way in those places. You get what I mean?" Noire explains as clear as she can get, earning her a nod and a reply from Reiji, followed by Magic.

"Ok, understood."

"Got it, mam."

"Alright! Now, let's go and get to work!" Noire happily says before leading her two companions...while trying hard not to be seen smiling. She couldn't help doing so, having been able to get two people with her on a job. Can she...get to know them as friends? Noire wondered...

And with that, the party of three proceeds to head out to the forest trails outside of the village, all eager to get the job done...

Dogoos...Dogoos everywhere. Left, right, front, back, the trees, beneath the bushes, there were dogoos, surrounding a young man and a large, yellow feathered flightless bird known as a chocobo.

The young man has brown hair that's spiky at its tips, a pair of blue eyes, and wears a blue tunic with long white sleeves and opened collar, a pair of white pants, and he also wears a pair of green colored boots on his feet. He appears to be wielding two light weighted swords, although in truth, he never really had much combat experience...

As he was just about to start his first adventure.

"Oh, come on! I was just about to leave the village and start exploring, and this happens?! Did I spit on someone's grave in a previous life or something? And besides, all first battles in RPG's aren't supposed to be like this! This is a freaking boss battle!" The brown haired adventurer complained, despite knowing that when adventuring, things like his current situation can happen...

...It's just that, it happened way too soon.

"Hey, Boco, looks like we've got to use it, even though we're still just on our first step on our adventure!" The adventurer declares to his chocobo companion, named Boco, who in turn gives an approving nod before letting out a sound...

"Kweh!" Boco replies, readying his feet for some reason. In turn, the adventurer turns to the path that led to Lix village...

"Damn...This is really embarrassing, but...let's hightail back home after this. Maybe there'll be lesser monsters tomorrow! But, for now, let's use our "secret technique", Boco!" The adventurer says, readying himself in a position used by olympic runners. Boco quickly followed suite.

"...We're gonna keep this up till we reach home, okay, Boco?!" The adventurer shouts, causing his chocobo companion to let out a fierce shriek...

"KWEH!"

"Alright. Now..." Gathering energy within his lungs, the adventurer lets out a fierce war cry, "RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIFE!"

With that shout, the adventurer and his chocobo sprints at high speeds, surprising the surrounding dogoos, who managed to snap out of shock within five seconds and quickly follows after the escaping adventurer...

"Goddess damn it, what does it take to lose this guys?!" The adventurer shouted as he and Boco kept running...

"...Did any of you guys hear that?" Reiji commented, hearing something of a shout from deep into the forests, along with the sound of something similar to slimes jumping and stomping.

"Yeah, and..." Magic closes her eyes, and focused on her hearing. In a few seconds, her eyes jolted open, "...It's coming towards our direction!"

"What?!" Noire exclaims, having a feeling that something big is coming, and it is something unpleasant...

A few seconds passed, before something disastrous filled the sights of Noire, Reiji, and Magic. Particularly, the sight of a brown haired adventurer and his giant bird running away from...an entire village's worth of dogoos...

"Hey, are those...fellow adventurers?! Heeeey! Help me pleeaaaassseee!" The adventurer screamed with urgency, causing the main party to ready their weapons. Reiji takes out Shin-Zantetsu, Noire takes out a Saber Class sword, and Magic takes out her inventory disc...

...and summons a grim looking, blood crimson colored lance, much to her two companion's, and by extension, the escaping adventurer's and chocobo's surprise.

"Get ready, everyone!" Noire warns, now in a battle stance...

-Music Cue: Final Fantasy V Normal Battle Theme-

In a few moments, the dogoos finally close in. Magic charges forward, and executes a wide, powerful horizontal swing with her lance, effectively slicing in half all seven unfortunate dogoos that jumped towards her. Magic then follows up with multiple high speed forward thrusts, quickly decimating any incoming dogoos from in front of her, with the kill count of the move quickly reaching eleven victims.

A trio of dogoos managed to sneak bhind Magic, and quickly jumps towards her, only to be cleaved in half by Reiji with a dash followed by powerful horizontal swing of his sword.

"Leave your back to me!" Reiji declares, before continuing to kill more dogoos that surrounded him. Magic made a small thankful smile, before jumping high in the air. Her lance suddenly get coated in bright crimson light as Magic readies it in a position that will allow her to throw it and piece the ground.

"Crimson Explosion!" Magic roars as she throws her lance towards an area full of dogoos, causing it to hit the ground, and cause an explosion of crimson colored energy, decimating any unfortunate dogoo caught in its range. Seeing this, Reiji popped a small smirk, before pointing his sword forward, with blue colored flame-like energy coating it.

"I can't lose now, can't I? Cyclone Edge!" Reiji roared as he swings his sword sideways, with the energy coating it flies forward, and spins continuosly, quickly forming a large tornado that charged towards an incoming group of dogoos, sending them spinning into the air.

"It's not over yet! Firaga!" Reiji roars as he summons a scarlet colored glyph right beneath the tornado...

"Combined Arte: Hell's Pillar!" Reiji roars as the scarlet glyph beneath the tornado glows. In a few seconds, sparks of flame exploded around the tornado, and as a result of the combined arte, the flames become one with the tornado, effectively becoming a powerful torrent of flames, burning any dogoos that got sucked in by the tornado earlier, and is still sucking in any more unfortunate ones nearby...

Magic, not feeling like being merciful today, decides to charge up more energy in her lance, and slams its dull end onto the ground, causing a slight quake that sent dogoos into the air, and get easily sucked in by the torrent of flames Reiji conjured...

Noire slack jawed as she saw the whole thing, "What in the...Did these two went level grinding before the story began?! Oh wait, one is a 2nd Class Knight, and the other one is a Mercenary...Well their strength is not surprising, but...they look like they really cooperated really well." Popping a small, competitive grin, Noire charges towards the dogoos near her...

As soon as she was in range, three dogoos quickly jumped towards Noire...only for her to suddenly dash around them. Her speed when she did that made her look like a black blur that sped all the way behind the three surprised dogoos.

"...Too slow!" Noire declares as she slices the three dogoos, finishing each one off with five slashes done within a split second. Each time she attacks, Noire looked like she grew multiple right arms that devastated a dogoo in the blink of an eye.

More dogoos hops their way towards Noire, who gave an annoyed expression at the incoming group of enemies. However, Noire quickly notices that unlike the others, the group of dogoos coming for her are charging in a...lined up fashion, of all things.

"Tch, that's the best tactic you can think of? How boring!" With that declaration, Noire charges forward, with her body glowing slightly with white light...

"You should just beg for your lives instead! Not that I'll listen or anything. Volcano Dive!" Noire roars as the light from her body transfers itself onto her sword, after which Noire proceeds jump high into the air, and backflips in mid-air.. As she descends, Noire proceeds to slam her sword hard onto the first of the lined up dogoos below. Howeverm as soon as her sword came into contact unto the ground, this result into a large explosion of flames, burning up the remaining lined up dogoos.

However, the threat is still not over, as three more dogoos, side by side, charges towards Noire, who simply spins her sword with a bored expression.

"Looks like you three are last... Well then, begone! Torneraid Sword!" Noire roars as she raises her sword, with suddenly getting coated in a multiple colored energy resembling a rainbow. In a split second, the energy forms to become a larger blade for Noire's sword, before she swings it horizontally, easily cutting down the three incoming dogoos. The said enemies exploded into multi-colored light as soon as they got hit by Noire's attack.

Sighing with satisfaction, Noire puts away her weapon, and looks at the others, who are just relieved. Not only they managed to save some random traveller dying, but they managed to clear the job as well. Today seems to be quite well for Noire...

...Then she remembered Neptune.

-Music Fades-

"Now, then, let's check up the adventurer from earlier...Ah, there he is. Hey, pal, you alright?" Reiji says as he spots the brown haired adventurer hiding behind a tree along with his chocobo. Although, hiding would have been pointless as the chocobo's width still overtakes the tree the two were hiding in...

The brown haired adventurer proceeds to come out of hiding, and cheerfully heads towards Reiji, Noire and Magic.

"Well, I'm totally okay, thanks to you guys!" The adventurer says as he scratched his head sheepishly, before continuing to speak, "Really, guys, thanks for saving me back there. I'm Bartz Klauser, and my feathered buddy over there is Boko, my travelling partner! Nice to meet you guys!"

"I'm Reiji Ryghts. Nice to meet you too, Bartz, and Boko." Reiji says with a friendly demeanor.

"I'm Noire. Good thing You're not injured there, Mr. Bartz and...Mr. Boko." Noire says as she eyes Boko...with the look of a chef finding the last ingredient for cooking the main course for tonight's dinner. Boko trembles as he feels a chill in his spine...

"And I certainly don't need to introduce myself, don't I, Bartz?" Magic says with a teasing grin as she sees that Bartz is starting to recognize who she is, "I mean, You WERE helping me gather herbs around the hills yesterday."

"Wait! Aren't you the assistant innkeeper?! I guess that confirms the rumors..." Bartz says as he makes a confirming look at Magic. "I guess you really are a Mercenary. Man, Miss Kazami and her employment requirements..." Bartz sighed, remembering the local innkeeper's eccentric taste in recruiting people for her inn...

"Wait, you and this guys knew each other?" Noire asks with a slight surprise, causing Magic to nod and give a sigh before answering.

"Well, yes. You see, this young man here is a local resident of Lix Village. And ALSO the local troublemaker. Let's just say he's done quite a lot to earn the latter title." Magic gives a small smile of amusement before explaining what she remembers of the stories of Bartz' antics from the locals' chats around town, one of the most notorious ones being that one time where he got challenged onto a drinking contest, resulting in him winning, with the consequence of telling his fetish for big-sister type women to the innkeeper while drunk. Another one is where he tried to join a plumber with a red cap in an "adventure" in the sewers to save a princess, only to end up discovering that the plumber was high on toxic mushrooms and that there were no princesses in the sewers. Another one is where he tried to catch an extremely fast hedgehog by luring him with a hent*i doujin, and succeeded in doing so. He sent the hedgehog to the police the next day, as the said hedgehog was a kleptomaniac who loves stealing rings and pornos.

"Well, that's quite the bizarre adventure..." Reiji commented, barely able to prevent himself from letting out the occasional snicker and snort. It took a lot of effort on his part to stop laughing as he listened to Magic's explanation. Meanwhile, Bartz had an extremely embarassed face on, a sight that Magic truly reveled in amusement.

"Oh come on, Miss Assistant! Why'd you spill the beans on me this early? Those are spoilers on my autobiography!" Bartz retorted, with a tone of embarassment. Magic only got more amused, before replying.

"Oh my, but I couldn't resist, little Bartz! They're perfect Story telling material, you see! By the way, Bartz, what were you doing here outside the village? And what's with those travelling clothes?" Magic says with curiousity, having eyed Bartz' clothing. Normally, he'd wear something else, as he was a wood cutter of the village. However, the reply she heard from Bartz surprised her...

"Well, good thing you asked!" Bartz then proceeds to strike a pose, where he points his finger onto the heavens, "I'm going on an adventure, you see! The wind is calling me!"

"Ah, so are you going with another plumber to the sewers to save the princess again?" Reiji comments, causing Bartz to retort rather quickly with embarrassment.

"Of course not! There are no castles in sewers, much less a princess! And besides, I didn't know the red capped Plumber was on drugs!"

Meanwhile, Noire and Boko watched the whole conversation from the sides...

"So, Boko, right?" Noire asks the chocobo, who nods. Without hesitation, Noire suddenly whips out a cook's apron, a butcher's knife, and a pack of chicken broth powder...before continuing to speak.

"Wanna come with me to the kitchen, Boko? We have candy there! It's not like I'm going to turn you into dinner or anything!" Noire declares whilst drool was dripping from her mouth, with the look of a...yandere in her eyes. Boko's reply was to run for the village...

"Hey, come back here you over-sized chicken! I'm a good cook, so don't worry! I won't leave any part wasted!"

"Hey, stay away from my partner, you fiend! And he's not a chicken! He's a chocobo! Wait, listen to me!" Bartz shouted as he chases after Noire and Boko, with the former having the look of a house-wife who just found a sale for chicken meat at 70% discount.

"KWEH!" Boko cries as he runs back onto the village, followed by Noire and Bartz.

"Well, Miss Noire sure takes a 180 degree personality switch when she's hungry. Might as well go back to the Inn, right Miss Magic?" Reiji asks the mercenary, who gives a nod. Without wasting time, the two heads for the village as well, where a hungry Neptune and a sleepy Plutia awaits for them at one of the Inn's rooms...

"...Hmm...Maybe I'll ask Tonio to cook chicken for lunch. That a good choice, Reiji?"

"...Miss Magic, please tell me you're talking about the chicken found at the market..."

"E-eh? Of Course! I-it's not like I was aiming for that giant golden chicken or anything!"

"You're using the tsundere routine in the wrong situation, Miss Magic! Please, let's just buy a properly chopped up chicken, okay?"

"...Tch. Reiji, you party pooper..."

Meanwhile, in the same dimension where Reiji and Neptune is currently staying...

Inside a dark room, where seven silhouettes gathered a large, oval shaped table...

"What do you mean by 'the Goblin Swag Corps' got wiped out?!' Are you saying that the squad I sent for the capture of the mercenary got all killed? With no survivors?!"

"Yes, chump! I saw the whole thing. A 2nd Class Velvet Knight sliced them like how Link whacks bushes for ruppees, chump!"

"I see...Well then, what is this knight's name, if you managed to hear it?"

"He called himself Reiji Ryghts, chump!"

All six silhouettes then glared at the one silhouette at the tip of the oval shaped table...who gasps in shock.

"Uhh...umm...Why are you all looking at me like it's my fault? I seriously don't remember having any relatives!"

Collective sighs echoed throughout the room...

Whew! Finally finished this. College can be a d*ck to schedule managing sometimes.

And also, some notes:

My inspiration for Magic's combat attire is Scathach from Fate/Grand Order. Them tights, man...

Bartz' clothes are his 'Freelancer' alternate outfit from Dissidia.

Also, if you guys have any questions about this story you might want to ask, just ask me via PM or reviews section. No spoilers, though.

Don't forget to tell me what you guys think of this chapter via the reviews section! Constructive criticisms are welcomed.

Till next time!