"Junior! I'm home!" As soon as those words left Neptune's mouth, she soon came face to face with her tiny and adorable little sister, now dubbed Nep Jr.

"Sis! Welcome home!" Oh! The smile Nepgear always greeted Neptune with was always enough to brighten up her day any day, regardless of what she was going through. Today was no different. Heck, that smile always made Neptune wanna scoop the girl into her arms and hug her and cherish her and play with the adorable little tyke. It was also nice for Neptune to have someone else shorter that her around in the basilicom to talk to, or in this case play with. "Um, sis? What's that behind your back?"

"Weeeeell, I went to the store and saw something you might like." Neptune then took the bag she was holding behind her back and showed it off for her little sister to witness. Needless to say, but the young candidate was very surprised by the sudden gift.

"F-for me?" The little candidate pointed to herself in utter disbelief.

"Yeah it's for you, silly. Now let's go open it." To which the reaction from Nepgear was almost instant. She grabbed her sister's hand with both of her smaller ones and pulled her towards the couch, to which Neptune happily complied. "Whoa there, slugger. You're really excited about this huh?"

Neptune then found herself seated on her couch with Nepgear quickly jumping into her lap with a... surprisingly serious expression adorning her features. It certainly took Neptune by surprise and made her feel kind of nervous. Had she done something wrong?

"Sis." Hoo boy! Now Nepgear's voice matched the seriousness of her expression, to the point where she would have backed up a bit. It was a very rare feeling for Neptune. Even when she was battling with the other CPUs she rarely ever felt very nervous like she felt right now. How was she supposed to fix this when she wasn't even sure what she- "You know you don't have to keep buying me things, right?"

"..." Oh... Is that all? "Oh come on, Junior. I know I don't have to, but I just can't help it." Neptune said with a warm smile on her face. Next, she hugged the young candidate closer, nuzzling the girl intently whilst also somehow taking out her gift and presenting it to the young girl.

"Sis! Knock it off! This is really embarrassing... Is that..." The moment the candidate's eyes fell upon her gift, they began to sparkle with excitement and joy. "Isn't that the new collector's edition Anubis figurine from Sector of The Finishers?"

"That's the one." Neptune wasn't quite sure why Nepgear liked robots and mechanical stuff so much, but whatever. It made it a bit easier to think of gifts to get her that she'd actually like instead of looking around aimlessly and buying something she might not even actually like, but pretend she does so as to not hurt Neptune's feelings. And, as one might expect, Neptune nearly passed out from a cuteness overload when she discovered that side of Nepgear.

"Yay! I love you so much! You're the best big sis ever!" Oh! The hugging! The smiling! The joyful laughter! Too... much... cuteness... to handle... 3... 2... 1... and-

"And you're the bestest and cutest little sister ever!" The hugging intensifies! It almost seemed like Nepgear's levels of adorableness just continued to increase without limits! Either that or Neptune was still just that excited to have someone else to come home to other than just Histoire. Not that she didn't like Histoire's company, but since she often did most of the work, it left Neptune to her own devices with virtually nobody to be or play with let alone even talk to for any substantial amount of time.

"Oh yeah. Sis, I got something for you today too." And seemingly out of nowhere, Nepgear just up and hopped off of Neptune's lap and out of the room. After she left from view, she was gone for a matter of about a minute, possibly a little bit less than that, when she soon re-entered the room.

"Why are you carrying around a katana!?" Except as soon as Neptune saw the sword Nepgear carried back with her into the room, she nearly had a heart attack. The older Nep wasted no time in awkwardly bounding from her couch and swiftly taking the sword from her sister's hands, which surprised the smaller girl quite a bit in the process. Once the blade was out of Nepgear's hands, Neptune let out a sigh of relief as she gave her sister a stern look. "You shouldn't be carrying weapons around like that, Jr.!" Neptune scolded. "You could have hurt yourself!"

In response to being scolded, Nepgear shrunk away, poking her fingers together as she looked down at the ground. And now that Neptune paid attention to her, she noticed that Nepgear was almost tearing up a little, but doing her best not to let a single drop fall from her eyes. It made Neptune feel a bit bad about scolding the girl, but she just couldn't let this fly! "I know, but... You're always buying things for me, so I wanted to get something for you too."

"Eh..." Neptune's stern expression soon faded into one of sheer surprise. "You got this for me?" Nepgear nodded in response, still looking at the ground. And now that Neptune actually got the chance to look at it, the sword was actually quite nice. When she unsheathed it slightly to inspect the blade, it looked even better. The sheath itself may not have been anything fancy, but the blade itself was amazing. It was just the right length with such a sharp and fine looking edge to it. Just where did Nepgear even find this."It's beautiful."

Hearing Neptune's voice, Nepgear lifted her head to look at her sister, currently in awe of the katana she was wielding. And although Neptune wasn't really doing anything with it, Nepgear couldn't help but admire just how cool her sister looked while holding that sword in her hands. "Do you... Do you like it?"

"...Yup. Thanks Jr." Hearing Neptune say that, Nepgear couldn't help but light up with joy. She was just so glad to hear that after she'd spent so much time with Histoire looking for the right sword to give her sister. The blacksmiths even gave it to her for free when they realized she was the CPU of Planeptune's little sister. She did feel kind of bad that she didn't have to pay for it, but they insisted that she take it. "But still, you really should be careful with these, you hear me?" Nepgear nodded vigorously in understanding. Neptune then took the chance to head back to her seat, but when a small hand latched onto her parka, she stopped in her tracks. "What's up, Jr.?"

"Ummm..." Oh goodness! Another adorable expression! How was this even possible?! "Sis... Would it maybe, possibly be okay if you could... Show me some of your sword techniques?" Chance!

"Oh?" So that was it? Nepgear just wanted to see just what her big sis was made of? Well if that was the case, the so be it! It was the perfect opportunity for Neptune to show off too! "Very well then, Jr.! To quote a hero of mine, "Your wish has been heard loud and clear. May out fates intertwine beautifully." Nep Jr."

"Whoa!" Nepgear had no idea what that was a quote from, but it sounded super cool! And it was only made even cooler since it was Neptune saying it! "So cool!" Nepgear was practically starstruck in her sister's presence right about now. So very enamored by her... more so than a little sister would probably be.

...

Yeah... That was around the time Nepgear started getting me stuff... How could I forget that? I used to spoil her rotten with so much stuff all the time, but I guess I started to forget about that when she started spoiling me like that...Or maybe I just forgot when I met IF and Compa? But then... How am I remembering it so easily now?

Oh whatever! That still doesn't give me my answer! I need to figure out when it was that I started developing feelings for my little sister! If I can figure that out then maybe I can find a way to sort all of this out... Maybe...

Just keep thinking Neptune, keep thinking and maybe we can find my answer.

As Neptune continued to focus on her memories of the past, her obscure and nearly forgotten memories, she found that it was actually very easy... Almost too easy actually. Or maybe it was because it was Nepgear that she was thinking about that it was so easy? Well what the answer to that question is, she soon found her memories back to a rather eventful time in her life.

"They are waiting for you as we speak." As Histoire uttered those words, Neptune's grip around her sword tightened just a little as Histoire had said that. Neptune didn't really want to go, but it's not like she had any real choice in the matter to begin with.

"I see... I guess I better get going then." There was no sense in wasting time. Neptune knew that all too well by now. And it would probably be better to get going before Nepgear could ask where Neptune was going. "Don't wait up. And don't tell Nepgear about any-"

"Sis! There you are! I demand hugs!" ...Well it looks like that plan just got flushed down the drain. Neptune could practically feel her heart sink as Nepgear entered the room and approached Neptune with a rather huffy expression on her face. The girl was trying her darndest to appear angry, but it only really served to make her look super adorable. Unfortunately, this was one of the few times Neptune would be able to really appreciate it. "Sis? Why do you look so serious?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Jr." Neptune forced out what was quite possibly the most awkward laugh she had ever laughed in all of her time laughing.

"Then why are you holding your sword?" Nepgear's innocent questioning was making it hard for Neptune to look at her. "Why aren't you looking at me?"

"Nepgear, please just go to your room." There wasn't really anything else Neptune could do at this point other than just tell her that. And even as those words left her lips, she already knew exactly how Nepgear would react.

"...You're going back to fight with the other CPUs aren't you?" It was at times like these where Neptune cursed the fact that Nepgear was so smart.

"Look, Jr. I-"

"No." Nepgear's eyes were unreadable at this point, now obscured by her hair. "No! If you go then you're just going to come back hurt like all those other times!"

"Jr. It's fine, I'll be-"

"Stop it!" Neptune was taken aback by her sister's sudden spike in volume. She found herself taking a step back as a result. "You always say you're going to be fine, but you always come home hurt!" If Neptune had been feeling conflicted before, that feeling became even stronger when Nepgear looked back up at her with tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "I don't want you to go... Please don't go... Please."

"..." What was Neptune even supposed to say to that? There was nothing coming to mind right now. In fact, the only thing she could really focus on right about now was her heavy heart and Nepgear's crying face. Even Histoire, who had been silent since the moment Nepgear walked in could think of anything to say or do in this moment. "Please don't try and stop me, Nepgear." Neptune could only turn to leave before Nepgear could stop her, but to her surprise, Nepgear had immediately grabbed onto her from behind, soaking the back of Neptune's parka with her tears.

"Please don't go! I... I don't wanna lose you." And with that short exclamation, Neptune found she could no longer move at all. She felt frozen in her tracks with tears threatening to fall from her face. "Please, sis... I'm scared... I'm scared that one day you'll leave and I'll never see you again..."

"..."

"I don't want to be alone..."

"..."

"I don't want to lose you..."

And that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Before Nepgear understood what was happening, she found herself in Neptune's warm embrace.

"I'm not going anywhere." Neptune's voice came out quiet. She didn't really want to go in the first place, but now, she never wanted to go back again. She didn't want to put Nepgear through that kind of pain so long as she lived. And more than that... More than anything really, she just wanted to be with Nepgear forever and ever.

"..." Nepgear didn't say anything at first, choosing to partake in her sister's warmth while she still could. She didn't want to say anything at all... But even so... "Really?" Even so, she knew that sometimes when something was too good to be true, it usually was.

"Really."

"Really really?" She had her answer, but Nepgear still wanted to be sure.

"Really really."

"Really really really?" Nepgear had to fight back the sniffles as her sister's arms tightened ever so slightly around her small body.

"Really really really."

As the scene played out, a smile began to form on Histoire's lips. And yet... Deep down, a part of her was telling her that it wasn't a good idea to let this keep going on. Neptune had a responsibility to her people to put an end to the console war once and for all... So then why did Histoire just stay silent and ignore that fact?

Because she had never seen Neptune look as happy as whenever she spent with Nepgear. She finally had somebody to keep her loneliness away. It was a feat that even Histoire could not accomplish, seeing as how she couldn't really do much while working in Neptune's stead. It was an unfortunate situation where Histoire had to choose between Neptune's happiness and the future of Planeptune... Or at least if she actually had any say in the matter. Besides, she would feel like a monster if she were to break up a pair of such close siblings. Now she just hoped that this wouldn't come back to bite them in the future.

Still... It was hard not to feel touched at such a beautiful scene. Deciding that she was not needed here, Histoire made her way out of the room. It was probably best to let the two sisters have their moment together before worrying about anything else right now.

Still... There was one thing that was for certain. The only true way for peace to return, and for Neptune and Nepgear to be together was to put an end to the console war.

...

That's right... Nep Jr. Was always worrying about me back then. How did I ever forget about that day anyway?

I guess the console war was such a pain in the butt that I didn't want to remember anything having to do with it... Or maybe it's something else... Whatever. I'm not good at this thinking thing so hopefully I'll find something soon... At least I better so I can figure out what to do about this me and Nepgear business.

Would Neptune really gain anything by figuring out when she might have started feeling something towards Nepgear? That remained to be seen. But she had already set foot into the metaphorical rabbit's hole so why not see it through to the end?

In any case, Neptune's next trip through memory lane would be through one particular street she wasn't quite sure she even wanted to visit or not. Still, she wasn't going to back down now. It was time to revisit a day that shook Gamindustri to its very core.

The day that marked the end of the Console War.