In which this chapter is finally out! Sorry it took so long!
RandoHelpo: I'm not sure if you're still reading but, I feel I should point out, that in the particular scenes that Nova's against the wall against the girls, it's mostly being played up for a joke, since he isn't too sure how to counter four women ganging up on him like that. That said though, some of your other points were actually coming up in this chapter! It was just that in the last few, the characters were more concerned with current problem at hand. Now as for the group back in Steamport, they might very well come back at some point in the future, as for any of the small errors, I'm just one guy doing this, so I'm sorry if I miss anything. Let it be known though, that Nova's not a wuss, he's just a bit out of his element here with the quirky nature of Gameindustri's cast.
In a secret lab, hidden within Leanbox, there is a man who was enthralled in the art of experimentation. He would take numerous monsters (or rather, pay some hapless adventurers to capture them for him) and experiment on them in a myriad of ways. Not too many monsters survived, but those that did became precious pets of his. It had taken years, but he'd slowly amassed quite a number of monsters under his care, each one becoming visual proof of his progress over the years. He'd been wondering if one could actually control monsters, use them as weapons in the case of war or to secure personal interests. It would be his magnum opus! The people of Leanbox would sing his praise and he'd be in the history books!
Or so he thought…
Instead, he now was sitting in the dark lab, his idea having been shot down all those years ago. Enraged, the man took his life savings and bought this place, continuing his experiments in secret for a while. The numerous incidents that took place in Gamindustri had really slowed him down though. Honestly, he had no idea how the goddess of Planeptune managed to get into the situations she did. That whole bit with the ancient nation of Tari appearing was something he never expected to see in his life time...and then there was ASIC before that. That witch Arfoire had caused far too much chaos for him to continue experimenting, and some of her forces had even attacked his home, so he was stuck defending himself till that entire fisaco blew over as well.
He couldn't help but groan while remembering all of this, sitting in front of his computer monitor. Still, things had been looking up so far, even if Badd had gone and gotten himself captured. The man was about to get up and get himself some coffee to quench his thirst, when a video call came through, though he didn't feel like talking that much. A quick look at the name showed it was one of his benefactors, so he was obligated to answer the call despite his feelings.
"Hello Ms. Phoenix, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
The woman with beautiful red hair, and striking blue eyes looked less than amused "This isn't the time for games doctor. Badd has failed and has been taken into custody in Lowee."
"Is that so?" asked the Doctor "What of my little creation?"
"Destroyed from what I can gather."
"Tch...how irritating. Still, even with Badd captured, it makes no difference for us."
"Perhaps so, but be careful. The goddesses could be making their way towards you soon."
At this the Doctor let out a chuckle "Let them come, my pets will happily welcome them, and then we'll be rid of them. I just recently outfitted a few of them with some anti-sharicite weapons, so if they do show up, I'll get some interesting data! What's more...that boy, the one who is sharing a body with Gray Heart…I don't think I've ever heard of a phenomena such as that...a goddess using a regular human body as a host to avoid death? I find it really interesting..."
Phoenix had to recoil from the look the Doctor had on his face, it was beyond creepy, his smile twisted and demented, more befit for one who had gone completely mad. She hurriedly ended the call, leaving the Doctor to his thoughts, his lab echoing with insane laughter as he thought of the possibilities on what he could find out.
Back at Lowee, things had been well...interesting since the incident with Reverend Badd. After his capture, the goddesses were able to learn several things, such as that each nation had someone working with them, that Badd was actually an old businessman in Lowee who had made his own game company that crashed and burned hard, and most interestingly, when pressed about the anti-sharicite weapons, he stated that he really didn't know where they came from. All he knew is that the person who gave them to him and the others was simply called 'The Benefactor'. Even after hours of interrogation, that was all the information that could be pried from him. When asked about the monster that Neptune and the others had fought, he claimed that some kooky scientist from Leanbox created that thing and really, he wasn't too fond of it, claiming it to be too creepy.
With that being the case, the group had decided to reconvene in Leanbox. While Vert returned to her nation to prepare a few things, the others were hanging out in Blanc's basilicom until they got the go ahead from her. And how had the others been spending their time…?
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" White Heart roared as her axe connected with Gray Heart's blade
"Stupid Thunder Tits, she'll never let me leave this down, I'll break her in two!" White Heart yelled, slamming her weapon into Gray Heart's repeatedly
"Boy, she's really pissed isn't she?" Nova said from within Gray Heart's mind
"Yes...I didn't think the goddess of Lowee would have such a...complex, are you sure challenging her to a sparring match was a good idea?"
"Well, it's how I blow of steam sometimes, so I figured it'd work for her..."
"I don't think it's working at all...you're a bit more agile than me, so let's work that to our advantage. I'll switch out for now."
Passing control over to Nova, White Heart couldn't help but let out a scoff
"Oh what's this now? Is Gray heart running away?" White Heart taunted
"Nothing like that, just trying out some new tactics. Come on then! Show me what you got!"
Answering his call, White Heart came at him, swinging her axe with great force, to which Nova dodged easily, leaving her open so he could get a solid hit in with his sword.
"GAH, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" White Heart roared, before bringing her axe back around for another hit
"Crap, Gray Heart, tag in!"
Another transformation and now Gray Heart was here to take the brunt of the attack, just barely getting her sword up in time to block the attack, even though it sent her skidding back a bit. The key problem with Nova fighting any of the goddesses was that he couldn't take too many hits from them. He was a lot more hardy than the average person, but with a big ass axe coming at him? Yeah, he couldn't survive that...well not without feeling immense pain of course.
"Nova, I don't think this is working, she just seems angrier than before."
"Alright then, we'll just have to knock her down and then try talking it out."
"Got it, sounds better than this situation for sure."
"STOP MUMBLING AND LET ME HIT YOU!" White Heart roared flying towards Gray Heart at a break neck pace, this was exactly what Gray Heart wanted though as it set White Heart up for her attack. She was so angry that she'd forgone any real strategy or planning outside of 'Hit Nova/Gray Heart really hard, so this was perfect. Gray raised her sword, holding it like one would a baseball bat
"Now I've got you! Shocking Smash!" Gray Heart exclaimed, swinging her blade so that the flat end hit White Heart square in the face, causing her to go spiraling back into the wall.
"Think that worked…?" Gray Heart muttered
"Well, only way to really find out..."
Gray Heart nodded and floated over towards White Heart, ready to jump back in a moments notice if the angry goddess was still conscious. Thankfully for Gray Heart, she was knocked out from the force of the attack and had reverted to her human state.
"Good she's out, let's get her to her room and wait for her to wake up." Gray Heart said lifting Blanc in her arms.
Inside Blanc's room Gray Heart had let Nova regain control, claiming that she wasn't really one for 'talking things out' or so she put it. As the brunette began to stir, Nova made sure to slide his chair a little bit away, if only so he could make a good escape if he needed to.
"Ugh...what the hell happened…? I was fighting Gray Heart and...got knocked out."
"Yeah uh...sorry about that." Nova said rubbing his head "You okay?"
"Yeah...yeah I'm fine. Thinking about I think I got just a bit too into it."
"It's fine, but is this really something worth getting mad over?"
Blanc scowled at him "Sh-shut up, you don't know what it's like!"
"Look, I don't think it's that big a deal."
"Oh yeah, I bet you like them just like the others!"
Blanc was still irritated it seems, but of course she would be, after the whole fiasco with Reverend Badd, Blanc had claimed to feel a decrease in the shares of Lowee, while conversely Vert had felt an increase in her shares. Neptune, had taken it upon herself to check out the web on what actually led to it, and after looking at a place called N-chan, it turned out that many of the comments from Lowee users were praising Vert...and her bust. A lot of them were about her bust...in fact, all of them were about her bust. This of course set Blanc off immensely as her rage had reached a boiling point quickly. and several of the others decided to give the girl a wide berth, and it was more than likely that Vert had left less so to 'prepare' things, but more so to avoid the wrath of Blanc. Still, Nova figured that he should at least do something to calm her down and not have her explode at everyone.
He would wisely avoid challenging her to sparring matches in the future.
"Look, Blanc, does it really matter?" Nova sighed
"Answer the question! Do you like that big boobed bimbo too?"
"Well I mean...Vert's er...assets aren't...bad or anything."
"Asshole..."Blanc muttered
"But hear me out, you're not bad yourself!"
This seemed to placate Blanc a bit as her scowl lessened, but she seemed a bit more relaxed if anything. "Well go on..."
"What…?
"What do you find about me that's so good?" Blanc asked
"Oh well, uh, you've got nice eyes!"
"And you like her ass."
"Your hair is great too!"
"And you like her ass."
"It's great hanging out with you and helping you write things."
"And you like her ass."
"Best of all, you don't eat me out of house and home like Neptune."
" . .Ass."
"GODDAMMIT GRAY HEART WILL YOU STOP SAYING I LIKE HER ASS?!"
It took a moment for Nova to realize what what he'd just (loudly) proclaimed as the entire room was silent, sure it was just the two of them, but the silence so far was staggering as Blanc looked at him with wide eyes before going back to her normal more subdued expression.
"Perv." Blanc stated bluntly
"What? No, that was Gray Heart, she kept saying that and it just came out so-!"
"Is it true though?" Blanc interrupted
"E-excuse me?"
"Well...do you...really like it?"
"I mean, well, yeah it's not bad when you're in your HDD form, the outfit you have on is great."
"Better than Vert's?"
"Well...if I have to be honest? Yes. I much prefer the fully clothed look than what she has going on. Shows just a bit too much skin if I have to be honest."
Blanc let out a triumphant smirk, while under normal circumstances she'd probably have punched him in the face, she had to admit that her self-esteem took a small hit from the recent share loss, and hearing someone say that they found her attractive, if even a little (without sounding like a creep mind you) was pretty satisfying. Even more so since she knew that Vert would inevitably tease her about this once she'd calmed down enough.
"Hmmm, thanks...you're still a perv, but really...thanks." Blanc said
"Oh, let me out, I have an idea!" Gray Heart chirped,
Switching over, Gray Heart had a wide grin on her face, "Hey Blanc, I think I have an idea on how to get back at Vert."
At this Blanc raised an eyebrow, curious as to what she had to say, she wouldn't mind giving Vert some payback, as the goddess of Leanbox would routinely best her when it came to put downs and the like, so to hear of an idea where Blanc got to one up in her some way.
"I'm listening." Blanc said plainly
"Okay, so hear me out. From what I've gathered you're quite sensitive about your lack of...well breasts." Gray Heart started
"Losing interest..." Blanc growled angrily
"But, what if you had something that Vert didn't have? Something that despite all her flaunting of her chest, she has never been able to attain?"
"And that would be…?"
"A boyfriend."
There was a pregnant pause throughout the room as Blanc digested the words that had flown into her ears. Of course, Blanc being Blanc, responded in the expected way.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FRIGGIN' MIND?!" She roared angrily "THAT'S NOT A FUNNY JOKE AT ALL!"
However, Gray Heart kept her cool and continued smiling "Then tell me Blanc, in all your years of knowing Vert, for all her bragging, has she ever actually had a significant other? Anyone at all?"
Blanc went to raise her voice, but caught herself…Gray Heart was right actually, in all the years she'd known Vert...she'd never had any boyfriends or flings or anything. Well, not that Blanc knew of anyway. She started to put things together though and began smirking evilly.
"So if I show up with a lover, it'd make her a bit jealous since, even with that chest of hers, Thunder Tits hasn't gotten that far?"
"That's the general idea, I mean, it may not bother her at first, but she'd surely wonder what's so wrong with her after a while right?"
"Okay...but where are we gonna find a guy to play the part?"
At this, Gray Heart immediately switched over to Nova, allowing the two of them to stare at one another for a moment.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Nova asked indignantly
"Look it's nothing personal, but I mean, you're my ghost writer! You can't have that kind of thing happening in the workplace."
"Does she even know anyone else on such short notice?"
"Do you even know anyone else willing to help on such short notice?" Nova repeated
"Well...no, but I mean..."
"If you think I'm unattractive, please just say so."
"Ugh...fine, FINE. I get it, so long as I get to mess with Thunder Tits a bit, I guess that'd be fine."
Once more Gray Heart appears on the scene, a smile on her face. "Great! Now then, we've got to make sure that neither she nor the others catch on to our little game."
"That's a good idea, what did you have in mind?" Blanc asked
"Kissing."
Once more the room went quiet as the weight of Gray Heart's words sunk into Blanc's mind
"W-what are you talking about?! What do you mean k-k-kissing?!"
"Well, couples kiss, that's what they do." Gray Heart said in a matter of fact tone "You've written that in one of your stories right?"
"Well...yes, but still-!"
"No buts, just think of it as getting proper material for your stories or something like that."
Those words managed to placate Blanc, the red tint on her face receding just a tiny bit. "Ye-yeah, it's just reference material. Bring Nova out here, l-let's get started."
Doing as she was told, Gray Heart, let Nova be in control again, the young man having a small blush on his face as well.
"So, we're doing this then?" He asked
"Yeah we are, and you better not tell anyone!"
"I won't! Let's uh...just get to it."
The two of them got closer and closer and then closer still, Nova, having to bend down a bit as he was far taller than Blanc and as he did he could feel Blanc's breath as their lips got closer. A part of him wanted to stop, but he'd already come this far and there was no going back now. Before he knew the two of them were touching lips, and he could feel Blanc trembling a bit, which caused him to instinctively grab her and pull her close holding her in place
"Wow, you two are really going at it." Gray Heart said with a whistle
"S-shut up, you're ruining it!" he thought back
The two finally finished making out after what felt like an eternity, the two pulling back from one another breathing heavily.
"That was...that wasn't so bad." Blanc heaved
"Y-yeah, same to you, uh, that's great reference material right?"
"Y-yes, it was very good. That's great ah...reference material."
"That's good."
The two stood there awkwardly in silence before a knock was heard on the door
"Lady Blanc, are you awake?" came the voice of Mina from behind the door
"Oh, Mina! Yeah, I'm fine, what's the problem?"
"Nothing major, a call from Lady Vert if you are willing to answer."
"Oh uh...Thunder Tits? R-right, must be about all the trouble going on...let's go Mina. Nova I'll um...talk with you later?"
"Yeah...sure." he replied getting up and leaving the room. His mind was a still in a haze from all that happened, and he was sort of on autopilot now. As he exited the room, Mina offered Blanc a mischievous smile.
"Congratulations Lady Blanc."
"Congratulations…? What are you talking about?" Blanc asked
"I wish you and Lord Nova a happy life together."
At that Blanc's face became a deep shade of scarlet "H-how long were you there?"
"Long enough to see you two practically eating one another."
"T-that was-! It was only for research for writing purposes!" Blanc sputtered
"Quite the in-depth research you did there Lady Blanc. If I had to guess, if I didn't come in here, then there would have been some really hardcore research going on" Mina teased
Blanc's eyes went wide at the implication Mina was making, her face (somehow) becoming even more red. "T-t-t-that wouldn't have happened! S-s-s-sshut up, let's go, we can't keep Thunder Tits waiting!"
With that the two made their way out of the bed room, Blanc walking as fast as possible, with Mina trailing behind her, laughing quietly to herself.
Meanwhile, Nova had retreated to the guest room he'd been staying in, his nerves in a state of disarray after the entire ordeal.
"Man things went better than I thought." Gray Heart said laughing
"You just enjoy seeing me squirm don't you?"
"Oh not at all, I mean, it was kind of cute seeing you two act like two highschool kids in love, but there's an even better upside to all this!"
"And that would be…?"
"Well aside from playing a nice little prank on Vert, just think about this, if you manage to win Blanc over, then we can have an alley over here in case things go south!"
"What are you talking about? The other goddesses seemed pretty okay. I don't think you have to worry about wars breaking out or anything."
"For now at least. Things can change quite quickly when it comes to dealing with other nations. And hey, if Blanc has the hots for you, then that could benefit Steamport quite nicely."
"Look, I'm not going to seduce a girl to try and turn her against her friends or anything. And I'm pretty sure Blanc isn't that into me."
"I dunno, I've seen her give you a few looks while helping her out with her books, and you spend time with her sisters too."
"More like I spend time dodging books and whatever else Ram can throw at me."
"Eh, same thing. For now, just stick with the general plan we came up with. I guarantee you'll win Blanc over."
"You act like you have something that'd piss the others off into wanting to fight you."
"…."
"Uh...Gray Heart?" Nova asked
"…..."
"You can't be serious. What do you have that could anger them?"
"I'd rather not say. Let's drop the subject, please."
Realizing that he wouldn't get anymore words out of her, Nova went silent, deciding to nap until it was time to head over to Leanbox. When Blanc called for him and the other remaining goddesses to meet up. She updated them on the situation, saying that Vert had managed to get a few leads on their next target.
"About time, I'm not too fond of all the cold here." Noire huffed "It'll be nice to go somewhere a bit warmer."
"Yeah, right." Blanc replied
"Is something wrong Blanc? That was a pretty rude crack at Lowee Noire just made." Neptune said taking note of Blanc's weirdly calm reply
"Huh…? Oh yeah, right. Uh...shut up Noire."
"Are you okay…?" Noire asked, that insult was so mundane and lacked any of the punch Blanc usually had with her insults that Noire was genuinely caught off guard.
"Yeah I'm fine, let's get going."
With that, everyone gathered their things, ready to warp over to Leanbox. Mina and C-Sha were going to be keeping an eye on things, while Rom and Ram were tagging along with the others as well. As much as they enjoyed having fun with C-sha, they realized that their sister, as well as everyone else would need all the help that they could possibly get. Likewise, Uni and Nepgear had opted to help as well and would be meeting their sisters at the Leanbox Basilicom.
The arrival to Leanbox was a lot faster this time, though Nova had to clutch his stomach a bit after, he wasn't use to such a method of travel after all.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to that." Neptune said with a chipper tone "Walk it off tough guy!"
"Y-yeah...right..."
The group made their way up The Basilicom elevator and once on the top floor, they were greeted by Leanbox's CPU, with Nepgear and Uni already having arrived.
"Ah, it's good to see everyone here!" Vert said with a warm smile, "I hope things are going well, especially for you Blanc?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Oh? The decrease in your shares isn't bothering you at all?"
"Ouch, and there goes Vert, busting out the insults already." Neptune whispered
"M-maybe we should get out of here before Blanc explodes..." Rom muttered
However, contrary to what everyone was expecting, Blanc remained pretty calm, not even batting an eye at the taunt Vert had thrown her way.
"It's no big deal. I'll just get them back, simple as that."
"Oh I see…?" Vert replied with a confused look on her face, that wasn't the usual way the back and forth went with her and Blanc, maybe she had to try something else?
"Really, you're not upset that the denizens of Lowee are starting to realize that the true mark of one's femininity lies within a certain area that you lack?"
Once more the others looked towards Blanc, expecting her to drop the calm and collected front she'd been putting on, but instead she merely smirked at Vert
"No that's fine, people will like what they like. Besides, I got something you'd never have, not even with those sacks of fat on your chest."
"S-sacks of fat? W-what on earth could you possibly have that I wouldn't?"
"A boyfriend." Blanc replied smugly
For what felt like the hundredth time that day, the entire room was quiet, All the goddesses present were in complete silence at this words, until Vert broke the silence.
"Pffft-hahahahaha!" she began laughing uncontrollably, the sheer absurdity of Blanc's words seeming far too humorous for her to keep a straight face for any amount of time.
"G-goodness Blanc, I know that one person actually proposed to you, but just because of that doesn't mean you have a boyfriend!" Vert said trying to stifle her laughing
"Y-yeah, you really had us going there for a second Blanc." Noire said with a chuckle
"I don't wanna be mean, but there's no way our sister could actually get a boyfriend...she's well...her!" Ram said in disbelief
Numerous murmurs of agreement were heard throughout the room, but Blanc didn't care at all, instead walking over to Nova and puckering her lips.
"Didn't think I'd be doing this again so soon..." he muttered
"You're saying that as if you weren't looking forward it." Gray Heart said with a chuckle
The two brought their lips together in front of everyone. Though Nova felt he should be embarrassed, instead he just felt a sense of elation at getting to kiss a cute girl again. A full minute passed of the two just making out with one another before Vert finally worked up the nerve to speak.
"Tha-that's quite enough of that!" She exclaimed pulling the two apart "T-there will be none of...none of that within the this Basilicom and the two of you cannot share a room, so don't even ask!"
"Can't stop me from sneaking in during the night!" Nova replied with a grin
"Don't you dare!"
"No promises Thunder Tits." Blanc sneered "Now let's get talking already."
She began walking away with Nova (and a still bewildered Vert) following behind her, leaving everyone else to reflect on what just occurred.
"Wow...they really are dating...I can't believe that they just did that." Uni said in amazement "I didn't think Blanc would be so bold to just kiss someone in front of all of us."
"It was surprising." Nepgear added "But I suppose I'm happy for Blanc, maybe now she won't be so quick to anger all the time?"
"I think it's icky!" Ram spat "Blanc could do so much better than that guy!"
"I-I think he's okay, he helped us in Lowee and beat that bad man." Rom whispered
"Tch...that is true..."
"Come on guys, we should all be happy! Blanc actually snagged a guy, I mean, the odds are pretty impossible, but it happened, so we should show them support, 100%!" Neptune chimed in with a smile
"That's surprisingly supportive coming from you Neptune." Noire said with a raised eyebrow "What brought that on?"
"Ya know Noire, despite my cute face, I'm capable of being a caring person when the time arrives. Now let's go, we got strategy to plan out!"
With that out of the way, the group all met in Leanbox's war room, A round table sitting in the middle of the room so that all of the goddesses could look upon one another equally, though Vert had a more uncomfortable look on her face, most likely from the stunt that Blanc pulled earlier.
"A-anyway, you all know why we're here. It's to get rid of the group that Reverend Badd was working with. Now, I've talked with some of the adventurer guild members here in Lowee, as well as some of the soldiers we have stationed around Leanbox, and I've been told there have been some sightings of odd monsters not unlike the one we faced back in Lowee.
"Will this one melt your clothes off too?" Neptune joked
"L-let's hope not. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to spend today getting ready. A bit of free time is fine, especially before we all get wrapped up in something like this."
"Should we have anyone staying behind to keep Leanbox safe?" Nepgear asked
"No no, Chika should be enough to keep Leanbox in check while we're out. Our main priority will be dealing with the monsters and whoever is behind it."
"And what if we run into any anti-sharicite weapons?" Uni said "I don't think we'll be of much help if those monsters have them or something."
"I guess that's where I come in then." Nova said with a nod "I'll do my best to take them out, you all can support me in one way or another."
"Well, Uni is the one with the guns, so that should be right up her alley. But all that can wait till tomorrow, come on, let's go play some games!" Neptune chirped, she hopped to her feet and dashed out of the room before anyone could say anything to her.
"W-well, I guess that covers that then." Noire sighed "We'll move out at noon tomorrow, so everyone be ready!"
Unanimous sounds of agreement rung out within the room with all the goddesses and as the others made their way out, Vert grabbed on Nova's arm, asking for him to stay behind for just a moment.
"Something wrong Vert?" He asked with a raised eyebrow
"No...well, I mean...the thing is..."
"...Yeeeees?"
"Okay, what do you see in Blanc! I don't mean that she's a terrible person or anything, but in all my years I never expected her out of all of us to find someone! Let alone the ruler of another nation! What does she have that I don't?" the panicked look on Vert's face was something that Nova didn't expect to see and he had to admit that it was pretty cute, so much so that he couldn't resist placing his hand on top of her head and patting it.
"Calm down Vert, you don't need to worry. I'm sure there's some guy out there waiting for you. You just have to keep looking, and hey, you're a goddess, so you've got a long time to search. As for me...well, Blanc isn't so bad when you get to know her. Sure she's got a bit of a temper..."
Vert gave him a flat stare.
"Okay, she has a really bad temper, but still she's not all bad, helping her write has been pretty fun."
"I-I see...I'm sorry for doubting you. You must really like her to say such words."
"You know it!" He replied ceasing his petting of Vert's head
"Hold on...no one said for you to stop." Vert mumbled with a small blussh
At those words, Nova smirked and once more resumed patting her head. "Heh, it's almost like I'm with my younger sisters again." he remarked
"You've got younger siblings?"
"Yeah, well kinda, one his just as old as me...sort of, but the other is only 9 years old. I would do this to them both to calm them down if they were upset about something."
"Goodness...so are you saying that in some way I am like a younger sister to you?"
"I mean...I guess? At least when it comes to being just as adorable as one I suppose."
"Oh my, well I humbly accept, this will be quite the interesting experience to be the younger sister for once."
"Wait...what?"
"Worry not Nova, your new younger sister Vert will support you in any and all endeavors! Even with keeping Blanc from killing you should you break her heart in some way!"
"Okay hold on, I think you're getting the wrong idea he-"
"Come older brother, regal me with the details of our family from your home dimension, I'd love to learn more about them, especially our younger sisters." Vert said with a blush
"I mean sure but aren't you overreacting just a little?!"
"Nonsense, now come!"
With that, Nova was dragged off by Vert, the goddess off in her own little world.
"Huh, I wasn't expecting that, but hey this is an interesting development!"
"Oh shut up Gray Heart!"
As the boy was being taken to Vert's room, the two were intercepted by Blanc
"Oh there you are." She said calmly "Come with me, there's something I'd like to talk about."
"He can't!" Vert interjected, not giving Nova the chance to speak "My older brother and I have much to speak about!"
Blanc gave Vert a bewildered look at her words, looking at Nova for an explanation, but instead just receiving a shrug in response. He really didn't know how to explain it to her, and even if he could, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to.
"Right well, your 'older brother' has business with me."
"But-!"
"Don't worry Vert, I'll catch up with you in a bit alright? Besides, we've still got loads of time in the day right?" Nova said with a smile
"Well, I suppose you are correct...very well, it would be wrong of me to keep you from your..." Vert found her face scrunching up a bit as she said the next word "girlfriend...but please, do be quick."
Giving her a nod and a quick pat on the head, Nova began following behind Blanc, once the two were out of earshot of Vert, Nova let out a relieved sigh.
"Thanks for the save Blanc, I don't think I could have gotten away from hre if It weren't for you."
"No problem, but I really did want to talk to you though."
"Sure, about what?"
"W-well..." Blanc said blushing slightly "We need to be ready to keep this charade up. I'm sure the others will ask questions...especially Neptune, so I thought we could do some sharing, find out a bit more about one another?"
"I guess that makes sense, let's head to your room and talk then." Nova said
The two made their way to the room Blanc was staying in, and after getting comfortable, there was a bit of an awkward silence among the two.
"Well uh...you wanna start?" Nova asked
"Oh uh...right, so tell me, what are your plans for the future?"
"Plans for the future?" Nova asked with a raised eyebrow "You mean like what job I want to do or something?"
"Yeah, there's gotta be something right?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking of running a swordsmanship school one day."
"Huh...why that?" Blanc inquired, that was something really interesting, not too many people had that kind of thing in mind as a career choice.
At her question, Nova's expression darkened a bit. In all the time he'd been in Gameindustri (which admittedly, wasn't too long) Blanc had never seen such an expression on his face, it was almost as if recalling the reason for why he took up the sword was causing him physical pain.
"Well..." Nova started, taking a deep breath "A long time ago, when I was about 8 years old...I got kidnapped."
"Kidnapped…?"
"Well, something like that? Held for ransom maybe? It doesn't matter, some guys wanted to take a few shots at my dad, so to lure him out, they grabbed me on my way from school one day. They shoved me in a cage and just...every few hours they'd kick the thing for fun."
"I...see."
"It was horrifying, I felt helpless, and the cage was small too. Really small, thanks to that, I'm not too fond of enclosed spaces. But I guess that's why I started practicing the sword. So I wouldn't' have to worry about something like that again...it ultimately didn't help since I actually got kidnapped again a couple years ago."
"You were kidnapped twice?!" Blanc asked
"Yeah, both were extremely shitty and I'd rather not go on about it any longer." He said, irritation beginning to rise in his voice
"Alright...but just...well what did your dad do when he rescued you?"
"He didn't." Nova said plainly
"What, your dad left you?!"
"Not exactly. My mom was restless and she couldn't keep herself from coming to save me."
"She pulled it off right? I mean, you're free now."
"She did...but, it wasn't pretty."
"It wasn't pretty…?"
"There was a lot of blood, let's just leave at that. Please."
"R-right, well uh..." The brunette stuttered. The awkwardness had increased tenfold thanks to that, and she was unsure of how to follow up on it.
"So, what about you? What's it like being the leader of an entire nation? Back at Steamport, I was doing a lot of paperwork." Nova said with a sigh
"It's kind of the same in Lowee, although, unlike Noire, I actually know how to have fun."
"You make it sound like Noire is all work and no play."
"She may as well be, trust me when I say that woman lives and dies by her schedule, it's amazing how she even finds time to do that cosplay hobby of hers."
"She does cosplay?"
"Yeah, she likes to pretend that we don't know. But I'm pretty sure all of Lastation knows anyway."
The two of them chuckled at the joke, before deciding to move on with the conversation.
"Well okay Blanc, I learned something about Noire, but what you? What kind of things do you like to do?"
"Well, I enjoy writing…"
"Oh trust me I know...what's your favorite genre then?"
At this Blanc tensed up "Well, I like adventures, with a dash of romance thrown in. You know, like a cool hero who meets a beautiful girl. Or a powerful queen who gives her all to protect her people, going so far as to die for them."
"I see..."
"That second one hits a bit closer to more than I'm comfortable with. Change the subject please."
As if sensing that something was wrong, Blanc took the initiative, deciding to steer the conversation in hopefully a more happy direction.
"So tell me a bit about your family, you've got siblings right?"
"Yeah, two sisters."
"Well, what are they like?"
Nova rubbed his chin "Huh...well where to start? Well Maritel, that's oldest girl, she's pretty nice, although sometimes she can be a bit sarcastic...and she likes to read others thoughts for the fun of it, but otherwise, I think you and her would get along. She definitely enjoys reading just like you."
Read others thoughts? Blanc wasn't sure how to respond to that, but she decided that he probably meant that she could be a bit like Vert, and be a bit too on the mark when making guesses about what someone was thinking.
"Okay, so what about the other one?" Blanc asked
"Ah, Eden, she's a real sweet girl. She's big into drawing, in fact, she could even put some of the professionals out there to shame." The look on Nova's face as he spoke of his sisters was quite wistful, one could almost call it sad, if they looked directly at his eyes.
"She doesn't like drawing in people's books does she?" Blanc asked, hoping to perk him up
"No, she's not like that, though I assume Ram does things like that?"
"Rom actually, I mean, don't get me wrong, Ram enjoys getting into trouble too, but Rom absolutely loves drawing all over some of my work. It can be annoying, but she never makes a large dent in the stock I have, so I'm never too mad."
"I'm surprised you manage to put up with them at all."
"Don't worry about it I've...grown used to it. Besides, I'm sure after all that happened recently, Ram actually likes you quite a bit."
"Sure, if book throwing is a form of affection."
The two continued to talk for hours, their conversation ranging from talking about their favorite foods to talking about what types of music they enjoyed, the two were really enjoying each other's company. It was only when Vert barged in and took Nova away that the two were separated. Vert claiming that she and her new older brother needed to bond more to make up for lost time (which baffled Nova, as he had only known Vert for a very short while). Still, it was nice to be able to spend some time so wistfully like this, because the following day was sure to be hectic, if not downright deadly.
As Nova lay in bed, getting some much needed rest for the following day, Gray Heart herself couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"This is good. This is really good...so far things are going just as I wanted them to! If things keep up like this, then Steamport will be safe for the foreseeable future..."
END
I'm not sure how many people are aware, but the bit about Blanc being proposed to actually happened. I don't mean in the game itself, but someone in real life actually sent an email to IFI asking if they could marry Blanc...and IFI gave their blessing. You can probably find the image through a quick google search, but I felt I needed to point that out (Because it makes that bit of text in VII all the more funnier when you find out what they're referring to). Heck, there was someone who did something similar for Neptune. I sadly don't have that image though. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you all next time.