"Come now, Verna, we're going to be late!"
"C-Coming!" THUD "Owie!"
"Verna!"
Preparation for 5pb's beach concert had been more or less chaotic. The idol, being the nice girl she was, invited all her friends to the concert. Unfortunately, since wearing a swimsuit was a requirement, the Leanbox sisters had to look for one for Verna. As it turned out, finding a child-sized swimsuit wasn't as easy as Vert expected. It took a good three hours before Vert found a cute, green one-piece for Verna, accompanied with a snorkel and a pair of goggles. Vert herself felt that she didn't need one, but for the sake of following the rules (and showing off, of course), she complied, though this brought them to the issue of Verna trying to get in the darn thing. She ended up tripping over herself and crashing to the ground below.
"Ow... I think I have a bump..." Verna groaned as she rubbed her head. Vert was by her side in a nanosecond.
"Let me see..." Vert checked her sister's head for even the slightest bruise or scratch. Thankfully, she came up empty. "You're lucky, Verna, we would have stayed if you had hurt yourself."
"Noooooo... How would I live without a beach concert?" Verna flopped dramatically into her sisters arms, and sighed even more dramatically. Vert laughed.
"You're so silly, Verna."
"I know... Heehee." Verna giggled. Vert smiled and booped her sisters nose.
"We don't want to be late now, do we? It would be rude."
"Yeah, lets go!" Verna hopped out of her sister's arms and was already running out the door. Unfortunately for Vert...
"P-Please wait, I don't have child-speed!" Vert got up as well and followed after her, having some trouble, thanks to two very big reasons.
"I've never been to a concert before, or a beach. This is gonna be fun!" Verna could barely keep her excitement in check as she and Vert made way for Love Beach (The beach's name sounds cheesy, but it's a well known spot for couples and love blossoming.)
"Take care not to get sand all over you, Verna." Vert kept close by her sister, wearing a two-pieced, green and white bikini, and a light, breezy jacket over her shoulders. Oh, and a sun hat. You gotta have it.
"Okay, sis. I'll be in the water anyways. I brought my Dorito floaties!" Verna shook said triangle-shaped floaties, since she obviously couldn't swim.
The beach itself was very crowded, more than it was on any other day. This was most likely due to 5pb performing here. Verna could see all of Neptune's buddies spread far and wide, either in the water or playing in the sand. In fact, a certain ninja named MarvelousAQL was attracting quite a few glances, for quite the obvious reasons. Why is it that her swimsuit barely fit her as well? It looked like it was going to pop.
"Stay where I can see you!" Vert exclaimed as she set up a beach chair and laid into it, ready to take in some sun... Of course, where there was a sunbathing Vert...
"Allow me to apply the lotion, my darling~!"
... there was a Chika ready and willing to get all up in her.
Vert just nodded. "Make sure not to engage in actions too mature for this story's rating, Chika."
Verna was hobbling off, ready for the water and its advanced trench of darkness and fishys, when she spotted Rom and Ram. Their sister was behind them, but her eyes were elsewhere... "Hi Rom! Hi Ram!" Verna greeted happily
"H-Hi, Verna...!" Rom excitedly greeted.
"Hey there." Ram said more normally. "I guess you're here to have fun too, huh? Well, so are we!"
The blonde Candidate then proclaimed "I'm gonna snag some fishys! And go deep sea diving!" while doing a twirl. As far as deep sea diving was concerned, she'd go at least as far as her snorkel allowed, but that totally unimportant fact didn't matter to Verna.
"Verna, look at what we found...!" Rom lifted up a colorful, coral-like structure that seemed big enough to fit on one's head. "Isn't it pretty~?"
"Wooooah..." Verna looked at the coral thingy... then put it on her head. "Heehee, it's like a hat!"
"H-Hey! Give that back to us!" Ram yelled. "We found it first, it's ours!"
"N-No, Ram...! It looks nice on Verna...!" Rom had a hint of pink in her cheeks as she said that last part. "I want her to have it...!"
Then, Verna straightened herself up, proudly proclaiming, "I am the Princess of the Sea! All bow down to me!" She was clearly enjoying herself, as she started walking around like a tyrannical ruler, pretending that a random stick she found was a sword. The mighty sand didn't stand a chance.
"Aw... I wanted to be Princess of the Sea...!" Ram lamented. As much as she'd like to complain, she didn't want to start trouble, plus Rom looked happy when Verna was.
"I wanna be a princess too...!" said Rom, bunching up her fingers below her chin. "I'm going to find my own crown, and I'll get to be princesses with you, Verna...!"
"Yaaaaay!" Verna's and Rom's excitement made the adorableness level go over the product of forty-five hundred times two! Before they could go out and crown hunt, however...
"Don't get too rowdy out there, you two!" Blanc yelled from the shore, underneath an umbrella and reading a book.
"And please, keep away from the jellyfish!" added the ever-worrying Mina. Both were wearing swimsuits of their own, though Mina looked far more appealing for... obvious reasons.
Blanc grumbled. Mina was bigger than she thought.
"Hi, Miss Blanc! Hi, Miss Mina!" Verna yelled from the distance.
Mina merely smiled and waved, while Blanc apparently didn't notice that two became three. "Hello, Verna...! You behaving over there...?"
Verna nodded. "Rom found a cool crown! I'm the Princess of the sea!" She held her 'sword' up high and proud.
"I see. Well, have fun then." Blanc went back to her book. She knew, however, that things would get crazy sooner or lat—
"SANDBALL FIGHT!"
WHACK!
"ACK!"
Neptune had hit Blanc with a... sandball?
"H-Hi, Miss Neptune!" said Verna, though she was scared a little, thanks to how Neptune usually acted.
"Howdy-doody, Vert Jr.!" greeted a certain Nep-Nep, running over to Blanc's umbrella with Nepgear following closely behind.
"Sister, what did Histoire tell you before coming here...? Sand isn't as comfy as snow. We're sorry, Blanc..." Ever the apologist, Gear apologized for her sister's actions.
All Blanc did to respond was growl and remember that there were public and children present, so she went back to her book in protest.
"Yecch, I heard about sand getting in your toes, and it's supposed to be uncomfy!" Verna shuddered. "O-Oh, and hi, Miss Nepgear."
"Hello, Verna!" Gear waved back with a smile. "It's been quite a bit since we last saw each other!"
Nepgear then felt a pair of hands over her shoulders; apparently, Neptune could teleport short-range. "Now then, go off and have yer fun in the drink, oh sister of mine!" Neptune physically urged her sister to the water. "I gotta bug Blanny 'bout a thing or two! Catch you like a wave later!"
"O-Okay!"
And so, Nepgear waded her way to the other Candidates.
"I'm the Princess of the Sea, lookit my cool crown!" Verna pointed to the 'crown' on her forehead.
"Aw, it's so cool!" complimented Gear.
"I gave it to her, Miss Nepgear...!" responded Rom.
"It's still kind lame giving the one we had away, but whatever." Ram semi-complained.
"Miss Nepgear, kneel down please." Verna asked adorably, with her 'sword' in her hand
"Eh? Like this?" Nepgear lowered herself as far as she could in the water.
"Yep!" Verna did the motion one would do while knighting someone...with her stick. "I, the Princess of the Sea, hereby make you my Sea Knight! And as my Sea Knight, you have to do whatever I say!" Verna was enjoying this far more than necessary.
"Ahhhh! Well thank you, Queen Verna!" exclaimed Gear.
"What?! I wanna be a Sea Knight too!" Ram yelled.
"Okay! Kneel down please!"
"H-Huh?" Ram hadn't been expecting Verna to just do it. "Er, gotcha! Imma do it!" Ram went down far enough so that her nose was above the water.
Verna did the knighting motion with Ram as well. "There, now you're BOTH my Sea Knights!"
"Y-Yeah! I'm going to be the BESTEST Sea Knight you ever had!" Ram was beside herself; she liked being titled something cool.
"Congratulations on your knighthood, Ram!" Gear responded.
"Um..." Rom just fidgeted bashfully.
"Hm? You wanna be a Sea Knight too, Rom?" Verna asked.
"Mm-mm." Rom shook her head No. "I wanna be a princess with you...!"
"O-Oh! Okay, that's cool too!" Verna smiled. "Sea Knights, for your first task, you have to find a crown for Rom too! Whoever finds one first gets a hug!"
"You got it! I'll try my best!" Nepgear dove into the sea.
"Uh..., I'll just stick close to the shore then!" responded a worried Ram. "You owe me one, Verna!" She went off.
"I'll just snorkel to pass the time. Bloop!" Verna dove in, the top of her snorkel poking out.
"Huh? Oh." Rom was worried for just a teensy bit when she saw Verna disappear, but then she had noticed the snorkel very much in sight. Rom couldn't help but mutter, "You're so nice, Verna...!"
Verna instantly came back to the surface, spluttering and coughing. "Bleh! Water in my nose!"
"V-Verna! Are you okay?" Rom was already by her side, rubbing her back.
"Y-Yeah..." Verna coughed. "I-I guess I inhaled too quick..."
"W-Well, don't do something that might hurt you..., okay?"
Verna nodded. "S-Sorry..."
"It's okay...! I know you just wanna be n-nice to me, so—"
"L-LOOK OUT BELOOOOW!"
SPLASH!
"Wah!"
"Eeep!" The two got splashed by a sudden presence, a presence they hadn't felt in— Oh, it was just Uni, floating somewhat lifelessly with her back and lower body bobbing in the air. Nice.
"...blblbl..." was all Lastation's Candidate could say.
"O-Oh, hi Miss Uni..." Verna meekly greeted.
"Yah!" Uni brought her top half up out of the water, now in a position to communicate like normal people. "H-Hi, Verna..., Rom..." She looked very dazed.
"A-Are you okay?"
Verna's innocent question was then answered with three words on-shore.
"DAMN IT, PLUTIA!"
"Oh Noire, you saaaaved me...!"
Apparently something else was happening on said on-shore.
"What... happened? O_o" Verna asked, channeling a bit of Histoire with her emoticon use.
It looked like Noire had been used as a landing pad yet again, with Plutia sitting on her as a result.
"I'm not even the same Noire!" yelled the black-haired CPU. "Why did this have to happen to me?!"
"Hi, Miss Noire! Hi, Miss Plutia!"
"GET OFF OF ME ALREADY!"
"Aw, but I don't wanna...!" Plutia was quite comfortable sitting on her friend
"Got any room there for a Nep, Plutie?" Neptune went and sat by her friend's side, also on Noire.
"Of cooourse, Neppy~." Plutia's voice sure got affectionate when she said Neptune's name.
"GAAAAH!" Noire didn't notice this, for she was currently being sat on.
"Uh..." Seeing that her greeting went unheard, Verna's hand went limp.
From the side, Uni shook off some of her post-splash jitters, before comforting Verna. "Ugh... Don't be sad Verna... They're off in their own little world now, so it might take a bit before they notice you. Kinda wished I didn't end up launching off thanks to Plutia..."
"Does... Does this happen often?"
Uni shook her head. "Me launching, no. Our sisters getting into some sort of dumb squabble, all the time. Noire will say hello eventually though."
"Okay..." Verna went back to snorkeling. "Bloop..."
A fact then came across Uni's mind, one that was a little embarrassing in the grand scheme of things. "Ehehe. Right, it's been pretty long since we last saw each other too. Eh?"
Uni then noticed Rom silently looking at Verna with a blush on her face. She didn't want to ruin her mood, so Uni decided not to tease the younger Candidate.
From underwater, Verna nodded, before coming back up. "It's been like... 11 chapters O-O" Aw, her first fourth-wall break!
For that, Uni patted Verna's head. "Don't break the fourth wall too often, you he- EEEH!"
Suddenly, Uni was lifted out of the water!
"Sneaky Nepgear Sneak Attack!" Nepgear exclaimed as Uni now sat on her shoulders.
"Sea Knight! Did you bring back a crown for Rom?" Verna got back to her Sea Princess act in a snap.
Nepgear's expression dropped when Verna said that. "No... I'm sorry, Verna, I didn't find anything in the sea."
"Get me down from here, Nepgear! I d-don't want to straddle your head!" Uni complained.
"Bad Sea Knight!" Verna was clearly upset about the lack of crown. "Where's Sea Knight Ram?"
Coincidentally, Ram floated in, on her back. "Eh, I kinda found one, but..." She raised up what looked more like a coral tiara than a crown.
"Close enough!" Verna took it and placed it on Rom's forehead. "There, now you're a Sea Princess too!"
"Mmm..." Rom thought on it. "I think yours looks more like a king's crown... wh-while I'm a queen...?"
"Aren't Kings guys though? Unless I am one...O-O" Verna looked wide-eyed and confused. Rom sputtered in hearing her friend's self-doubt, and tried to explain things to Verna...
Meanwhile, on the shore...
"OH, THAT'S IT! I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS!"
Someone was shouting on said shore, and lo and behold, it was Blanc, staring off against Noire.
"I don't get what's the problem." said the Lastation CPU. "You two seem like a good fit, I'm just trying to help."
"I-I don't need your help meeting her! I'll do it on my own damn time!" Blanc turned away from Noire in a huff, secretly hoping the tsundere didn't see her blush.
For those who don't know, Noire was referring to her own Oracle, Kei. Noire was quick to notice the too-long glances Blanc always shot at Kei, which was so often that Noire was wondering if Blanc was even reading that book. Kei didn't seem to notice though, lost in a book of her own.
"Oh come on, it's obvious you got a thing for Kei! And we're at Love Beach! It's like everything is being handed to you! All you have to do is speak to her!"
"I-I'll do it on my own, just leave me alone!" Blanc whined, sounding like Ram while doing so.
Noire raised her hands up, as if admitting defeat. "Fine, be that way. But if I were you, I wouldn't waste my time doing nothing."
Blanc abruptly grinned. "Funny you should say that, especially when your own crush is being stolen away by that sleepy idiot."
"Eh? Neptune? Plutia!?" Noire glanced worriedly towards Neptune's spot on the beach, and saw with horror that Plutia was just a little too close to Neptune, offering her ice cream. In fact, Plutia had been nothing but affectionate towards Neptune ever since she got here! J-Just what does this beach do to people!?
Blanc's grin was superior. "You don't wanna waste your time doing nothing, right?"
Noire didn't so much as glance towards Blanc, as she was already sprinting towards where Neptune and Plutia were. She better hurry up, it looked like they were sharing a cone. Blanc laughed.
"Ha ha. Serves her right, what does she know about love..." Blanc glanced at Kei again, who had discarded her book and chose to sunbath instead. Blanc blushed.
Back in the water...
"PUT ME DOWN, NEPGEAR! WHY ARE YOU HOLDING ME SO CLOSE?!" Uni was still very hoisted up by Nepgear.
"Oh..., okay." Nepgear reached behind her and lowered Uni by her legs. For some reason, Nepgear looked disappointed when she did this. But... "Huh...? My head feels kinda hot for some reason...?"
"N-Never mind that!" Uni blushed. "Ugh, I can't believe this..."
Verna was about to say something, but she stopped cold when she saw a certain redhead by the shore. Her heart skipped a beat
"M-Miss Cave~." Verna blushed.
"Hm? Is someone calling for me?" It hadn't been particularly loud, so Cave heard Verna speak her name. She looked around until she saw the Candidates, notably Verna staring in her direction. "Ah, I see. Hello, little ones." She walked up close to the water, with only her feet getting wet. Yes, she was wearing the swimsuit that everybody loves, the one with the black-and-white stripes and the slings that connected her top and bottoms.
"H-Hi Miss Cave~." Verna walked up to her awkwardly, while the other Candidates also gave their greetings.
"Good day, Cave!"
"Hi there, Cave."
"Hey there, Miss Cave!"
"Hi..."
No guesses as to who said what, but Rom's response to Cave came in kind of sour, but still adorable enough to not register as sourness.
"I-It's nice to see you again." Verna looked and felt as red as a tomato. She felt her cheeks burning, so she splashed some water on her face to calm herself down... "Blech!" ... only to express disgust at splashing saltwater at herself. Verna shook it off, and returned to feeling lovey-dovey in no time.
"Likewise, Verna." Cave grinned. "You all seem to be enjoying yourselves here, so this event may end up turning out well. Anyway, I'm afraid I cannot stay for too long chatting. I need to return to the concert venue for Lyrica. I hope you all get to enjoy it!"
Verna turned her head to see 5pb, also in a swimsuit. She glowered, but it wasn't noticeable.
"We will! Take care then!" Nepgear waved off Cave, who began walking along the shore towards 5pb. The redhead also decided to ignore whatever was going on with the CPUs for the time being...
"Mm..." Verna hummed.
"I-Is something wrong, Verna...?" Rom questioned meekly.
"N-No..." Verna was a bad liar.
"Okay...?" Rom couldn't tell that Verna stared at 5pb for the same reason that she did to Cave.
"Imma go over here..." Verna walked, grumbling. A second later, seemingly over it, she went back to snorkeling.
"Uh, did you two notice Verna and Rom... acting weird?" Uni said quietly to the other two.
"I, uh... I can't say for sure, but something's weird all right." replied Nepgear.
"Meh, I guess I have to worry about Verna too... How did Rom get to be so close with her anyways...?" said Ram.
Meanwhile, a good couple feet away from the others, Verna was having fun with her 'deep sea diving'.
"Bloop...bloop...ooooh, what's that weird jelly thingy?" Verna thought, as she came upon some jelly thingy that looked like... a weird jelly looking thing. It didn't look dangerous, and it even had a lot of tentacles sticking out from under it. If Verna had been paying attention, she would have noticed the 'Beware Of Jellyfish' sign on this particular section of the beach...
"I wanna touch it!" Sadly, Verna didn't notice. She extended her foot to touch one of the weird tentacle things the jelly thingy had.
Verna immediately regretted this decision.
"OWIE! OwO" Verna jumped a good several feet out of the water, clutching her stung foot.
"V-Verna...?"
"Verna?!"
Both Rom and Vert yelled out when they saw the littlest Candidate jump. They weren't the only ones, just about everyone on the beach heard Verna's cry of pain.
Verna hopped back to shore, gripping her left foot. "Ow..ow..ow! QwQ" She fell on her bum, clearly in pain.
"I'm coming, Vern-ahhh!" Rom just fell forward into the water, having lost her footing.
Vert was much less careful, rocketing out from her seat and leaving the others behind in a cloud of sand. However, thanks to two very big reasons, she couldn't run as fast as she'd like.
Before either of them could get to her, however...
"Stand aside, I am here to assist!" Cave was already there, with a first-aid kit on hand.
"It huuuuuuurts! " Verna whined, tearing up.
"Just stay still for me, Verna. I've got you." Cave held Verna still with her injured leg out in front. She then concernedly asked, "What happened?"
"I-I touched t-this weird j-jelly thing, a-and it s-stung me...!" Verna whimpered.
"I see..." Cave then began applying the remedy for jellyfish stings, which is actually more involved than one might think.
It involved taking out any stingers she could find, putting on a baking soda paste over the area, then applying an ice pack. Cave was rather prepared, it seemed.
"Owww..." Verna cringed, but she trusted the Leanbox agent. After all the treatment was over, Cave nodded.
"There, I have done all I could." Cave said as she gave a bottle of soothing lotion to Verna. "That is for the pain. Unfortunately, you are still going to feel discomfort for a few days. Stay strong, Verna."
Verna nodded, still tearing up. Thanks to that jellyfish, she was now afraid of the ocean...
Verna tried to stand up on her own feet, but it hurt when she put pressure on her left leg. "O-Ow..."
"Hm, I see." Cave then lifted Verna up in her arms. "Don't worry, little one. I will help you with this as well."
"VERNA!" Vert finally came running up to the both of them, exhausted despite the short distance.
"H-Hi, sis..." Verna didn't seem to mind that she was in such close proximity to Cave, maybe it was because the sting caused her not to think about Cave— Oh goddess-darn it. Verna blushed when she realized the situation she was in.
"Your sister had come into contact with a jellyfish." explained Cave. "She's lucky it was just her foot. I shudder to think what would of happened if it touched her face."
Both Cave and Vert cringed.
"At any rate, she will be feeling some discomfort for a few days, but she will recover." Cave then handed Verna over to a reaching, worried Vert.
"O-Of course." Vert said, accepting Verna into her arms. "I thank you for all your help, Cave..."
"T-Thanks Miss Cave..." Verna mumbled, blushing.
The redhead offered a comforting smile, while the other ladies looked relieved.
True to her word, Verna did indeed feel uncomfortable. "M-Mm..."
"Now then, I must be off...," began Cave, sounding somewhat sad, but still dutiful, "for I need to remain on premises for 5pb's concert. What will you do now, Lady Vert?"
"U-Um..." Vert wasn't quite sure. She couldn't be as happy with Verna being as pained as she was.
Verna didn't want to leave, however; she really wanted to see that concert, and she wasn't gonna let some dumb jellyfish sting stop her. "I-It doesn't hurt so bad, sis, I-I can just play in the sand. T-The water scares me..."
Vert was rather surprised to hear her sister trying to tough it out. As she knew full well, Verna was not as delicate as she looked, as evidenced by all the empty junk food bags she threw out a day...
"C-Can we stay? Please?" Verna pleaded.
Vert knew she couldn't resist. "Sure, we can stay."
"Yay!"
For the rest of the day, Verna spent her time in the sand, close to her sister's side. A worried Rom sat next to her, helping her make sand castles. Since the incident, Verna had changed her title from Princess of the Sea to Princess of the Sand. It didn't have the same ring to it, but Verna was too scared to go back in the water.
"D-Dumb jellyfish..." Verna grumbled.
Rom gave her friend a comforting pat. "It's alright Verna, w-we can still have fun in the sand..." She tried to make the best of a bad situation. "How's your leg?"
"Hurts..." Said Verna meekly. "B-But I can deal with it..." Verna rubbed more lotion on her leg, wincing a bit.
Rom looked concerned, not entirely believing Verna, but letting it go anyway.
"S-Shouldn't you go back to the water?" asked the little Leanbox native. "Y-You're the Princess of the Sea now..." Verna had relinquished her 'crown' to Rom, taking the tiara instead and assuming her new role.
"My Sea Knights can take care of stuff, b-besides, I don't wanna leave you while you're in pain..." Rom blushed a bit.
"T-Thanks, Rom, b-but I— AH!" Verna was cut off when a head popped up in front of her, effectively scaring her and destroying her sand castle.
"EEK!" Rom fell backwards. They were both covered in sand.
"Hm? Oh my, I must apologize Verna. I was merely looking for some parts for my latest device, and I was told you could find them here at the beach..." The mystery head turned out to be MAGES.. She lifted herself out of the sand, though how she managed to get in from below was beyond Verna. She wore a bikini-style version of her usual coat, and was lacking her hat. Verna thought the swimsuit looked really good on her.
"Hello, MAGES., that's a very nice swimsuit you have on." And apparently, so did Vert. Chika said nothing and was still giving her a rub, and it didn't look like she would be taking her hands off of her any time soon.
"Th-Thank you, Goddess of Green, I made it myself..." MAGES. grew a little embarrassed at the compliment; the truth behind it was that she wasn't used to exposing a lot of skin like this. She didn't know how 5pb did it.
"Wow-wee! Looking sexy, Magey!" A voice that MAGES. hoped with all her might that she wouldn't hear was heard. A whistling Neptune walked up to her, with Plutia holding her hand and Noire seething in the background.
MAGES. blushed at Neptune's painfully blunt comment. "P-Please refrain from saying such comments out loud, Goddess of Purple..."
"Daw, don't be so modest, Magey! Didn'tcha know that all the magic ladies these days flaunt their good stuff?" Great, now she was in the mood again. This is exactly what MAGES. always feared whenever she came in contact with Neptune. Fortunately for the Mad Magician, Plutia silenced her Planeptunian friend from saying anything else, via a hand over her mouth. MAGES. would be forever grateful.
"Sooooo, what brings you here Magey?" asked Plutia while she restricted Neptune's voice.
MAGES. answered with a nod. "Ah, well I am actually working at this beach as a Lifeguard, because I am need of some money. This is also a popular place for item gathering, which is what I was doing prior. Again, I am sorry, Verna."
"M-Mm..." Verna grieved over her fallen sandcastle, while Rom comforted her.
"Pardon me, MAGES.," began Vert, "but I couldn't help but hear that you were the lifeguard on duty, no...?" Vert gave the magician a look most unpleasant. She shifted from looking at her than at her wounded sister.
Turned out MAGES. had one more thing to feel sorry for, but before she could apologize for that, Plutia drawled, "Oooooooh, a Lifeguard? That sounds soooooo cool!"
"It's been rather lackluster for the most part..." replied the scientific magician, feeling Vert metaphorically burn her stare into her soul. "M-Most of the time I am just walking around waiting for something to happen, which is why I resorted to item gathering." MAGES. gave Verna a sheepish apologetic look. Verna grumbled as she tried to restore her sand castle. That seemed to be all the little girl was unhappy about, bless her heart. "Though, many people have been staring at me as I go about my business. I-Is there something on my face? I am quite concerned..."
Plutia merely smiled. Looks like someone didn't know about their appeal to others.
'W-Why are you smiling?"
"Noooooo reason..."
MAGES. blushed again. "A-Anyway, I must take my leave. M-Marvelous has been staring at me rather oddly..." The embarrassed magician left, along with Nep and Plutia. And Noire, when they turned around and saw her glaring.
"Hmhm, it seems this beach is working its magic effectively..." Vert giggled.
It wasn't that hard to notice, even to little Verna, that a lot of people seemed, well..., together. Neptune and Plutia were cuddling with each other (with a jealous Noire, obviously). Blanc and Kei were sharing a chair, with Kei appearing to be on Blanc's lap while she read a book. Nepgear and Uni looked a lot closer than usual, with the latter beet red. Cave had taken 5pb with her backstage, but Verna had no idea what they could possibly do behind there, bless her innocence. Even MarvelousAQL was staring at MAGES. in a goofy way, but she didn't seem to notice. It's like this beach was made for love, unlike it's companion location: Breakup Pier.
Verna wasn't immune to the beach's power either. Rom had been affectionate towards her the whole time, and it was downright impossible not to notice. Unfortunately, Verna had her sights set on Cave. This bothered Rom greatly, but she never voiced it.
Overall, the beach was just oozing with love. Verna had only just gotten what love actually meant, so she was hoping she would get a kiss from Cave before she had to go home. Sadly for her, Cave and Lyrica were dealing with... other matters backstage. Again, bless her innocence.
A long time later...
It was almost nighttime. The concert had seemed to drain everyone of the energy the had when they first arrived, including the performer. 5pb was half sleepwalking, with Cave supporting her by holding her waist. Plutia did fall asleep, which prompted Purple Heart to give her another piggy back ride. Though this time, she didn't seem to mind. Noire was stomping behind them, totally not jealous. Seriously, she so totally wasn't! Blanc and Kei were holding hands, just the tiniest of blushes on their cheeks, with content looks on their faces. Nepgear and Uni were close, though it was clear neither had made a move. Otherwise, Gear would be carrying Uni bridal style. That's what Marvelous was doing on her end, for MAGES. had fallen asleep as well.
"Hee hee, I get to sneak in a line in this whole chapter." She still had that goofy expression as she held the magician close.
The twins were being guided by Mina, quite sleepy as well. As for Verna, she was being carried by Chika, ready to doze off.
"Did you have a good time Verna?" asked Vert, her worries pushed aside.
"Mm-hm..." Verna nodded lazily. Except for that part where the jellyfish attacked, but there was no reason to bring that up.
"I'm glad, we should do this again sometime." said Chika, ruffling her passenger's head affectionately.
"That would be lovely." Vert agreed.
"Yeah..." Verna agreed sleepily. A few seconds later, she was out cold.
With that settled, there was no possible way to ruin this moment for Vert...
"... Can we settle this day with a kiss darling~?"
"No, Chika..."
"Aw..."
Well, a girl could dream.