Hyperdimension Neptunia: Blueflame Heart

by Alex4top

Kenji Nijimura is a 17 years old student that, after runnig away from home, meets a mysterious girl. This individual offers him a strange stone, which grants him inhuman powers, before sending him off to a different dimension. With many new friends and foes alike, Kenji will now have to overcome the countless challenges ahead of him as he travels through this brand new world

25. Starry shores

Note from the author: 20/06/2017

Hello everyone! I hope you've been doing well this last monh!

Today, besides from beginning the third arc, I'd like to address a common question I've been getting lately regarding challenges. And the answer is no, I don't take any sort of challenges, nor accept submissions of OCs of any kind (There may be one exception, but it's one from long ago and still under careful consideration). I respect that all of you have your own stories that you wish to see and it makes me glad to know that you trust in my skills enough to ask me out of all the writers in this site to make it, but I simply cannot accept them for many reasons. One of said reasons being collegue and work taking almost all of my time, making it rather difficult to have enough time to even write this fanfiction. Another reason being that I can't write a story unless I feel genuine passion and interest for it, otherwise I won't be able to dedicate my full attention to it.

If you still wish to share your requests with me, then at least do it through a PM rather than in the review sections. I ask you this because the reviews are part of what rejuvenates my will to write, being the blood and lifeforce that drives my motivation and desire to put in the required effort. Clogging it with your requests, while flattering, will eventually make it quite tedious for me to reach out the comments that compliment or are actually relevant to the story itself, making it harder to fire up my motivation. Either way, I hope you can understand this and don't feel discouraged.

Oh, and one last thing. The length of chapters may vary between 16k to 20k rather than being a solid 20k from now on, as always having to make them that long can be rather exhausting for my mental stamina, and I've seen quite a few readers out there who find those long chapters a bit too heavy as of late, so the length will be shortened. Don't worry, I'll do my best to retain the quality of each chapter, I'll simply try to simplify things a bit so people have an easier time with them.

With all of that said, I hope you have a good day and hope you enjoy the reading! Until next chapter!

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"Here ya go, sonny!"

"Thanks, old man"

With the bowl of pork now served in front of him, the young man proceeded to eat. Calmly, but with a notable eagerness in his speed. And it didn't take long for the delight in his expression to show as well after he took the first few bites out of it.

"I knew it...Your pork bowl's the best one there is, old man!" He said with a pleased expression as he enjoyed his meal

"That's for sure, sonny!" Replied the shop owner with a cheerful tone and his arms crossed, along with a proud smile on his face

He always knew his food was good by how he always had a steady supply of customers and that Kenji certainly was among those that enjoyed it the most, as he was probably the most recurring customer he had. Nonetheless, there was something extremely uplifting about hearing such a direct and honest compliment, especially from someone who showed such a pleased expression.

"Gotta say, it's good that things got quiet again around here once again" Said the owner while looking past Kenji and at the streets outside

"Yeah...I didn't think they would go back to normal so soon, though" Replied the young man "This and a few other districts got trashed pretty badly by the monsters, after all"

"Well, this nation's got a long history with monsters popping up and breaking everything...We're kind of used to it already"

"I see..."

"But it's thanks to lady Purple Heart and the other goddesses that we made it out okay this time around!"

"Yeah, that was a close one..."

With the return of Planeptune's sisters and the defeat of the crazened CPU, things managed to go back to normal within a relatively short amount of time. Despite the young man's role in Rei's defeat, everyone believed the CPUs were the ones to thank for this feat. It would be a lie to say he didn't feel slightly annoyed by this lack of recognition for his efforts, but at the same time he preferred it this way,as the whole "hero" thing didn't strike his fancy and keeping a low profile was usually more comfortable for daily life.

Of course, A large part of thet town was destroyed by either monsters or clone CPUs breaking havoc around it, but Planeptune's citizens were already used to this level of destruction and managed to rebuild the damages within less than a few weeks along with being able to fully regain their daily lifestyle within less than a month. It was rather impressive how they could take such a situation so calmly and even fix up the damages so quick too, but then again, considering how their CPU was on a daily basis, it was merely a given Planeptune's citizens would develop at least some level of tolerance towards adversity.

"But that aside, Planeptune's people sure are amazing, huh?" He said while turning his head to look behind him at the street outside

"You can bet on it!"

The young man looked at the people moving about from one place to the other on the streets for a moment before facing forward again.

"Well, they're her citizens after all...It's no wonder they're like that" Said Kenji with a smirk

As he kept eating his fill, the owner looked at him during this time of silence. At first he didn't notice it, but there was indeed something different about the young man.

"Hey, sonny..."

"Hm? What's wrong?" He asked while raising his head and looking at the owner

"I didn't see you hanging around here for quite a while now...Did something happen?"

"It's...A long story, but I had to take a trip to somewhere else"

"Oh? Going around other nations again?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that" Replied the young man before taking a few more bites "Why the sudden question, though?"

"Nothing really. It's just that you look...different..."

"I do?"

"Yeah"

Kenji himself didn't notice it, as most were subtle changes, but it was something anyone that met him back during his first few weeks in the Hyperdimension could notice. The most notable ones being indeed his way of speaking and the look in his eyes.

Before, he spoke in an indifferent and cynical manner towards most things and only took action out of pride or plain boredom rather than due to personal beliefs or convictions, and the look in his eyes showed this strange emptyness, yet lingering feeling of loss mixed in with a deep anger born from it. But now, it was the complete opposite. His tone was much more calm and outgoing, and the soulful stare in his eyes faded away, being replaced by a much more lively and somehow more uplifted one.

Calling him the happiest guy on earth would be pushing it a bit, but he certainly seemed to have gained a more cheerful and positive outlook on life. Completely different from the bleak perspective he once had.

"Ya know what? Nevermind...Probably just age hitting me again, or something"

"O...okay?" Said Kenji while sweat dropping

The shop owner could tell his remark did nothing other than confuse the young man, who simply looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Anyway, I gotta get going" He said before finishing his pork and placing a few credits on the counter

"Okay...See ya later, sonny!" Replied the middle-aged man "Make sure to say hi to the missy for me!"

"Sure thing"

As he saw him leaving, the shop owner began wondering once again what could've made such a change within the young man in just a few weeks like that. It seemed like quite the riddle,but his mind reached a conclusion quickly enough.

"(That missy sure changed your world for the better, didn't she, sonny?)"

While the middle-aged man tought about it with a somewhat nostalgic smile, Kenji walked outside and looked at the clear skies, using his hand to partly cover the blinding light of the sun. Once his eyes got used to the brightness, he began to walk down the streets and headed all the way towards the outer edges of town. Once there, he walked through the roads, looking at the grasslands and smaller towns as he headed north towards the Lan castle.

The CPU breaker within its chambers was still being used as a sparring partner, but there were a few changes about it. The most important one being that, with his massive improvement of skill and strength over the last twenty years in the Ultradimension, the machine became quite a bit lacking for his needs, which led him to the idea of showing it to Nepgear and asking her if she could do something to make it stronger. It was no surprise the CPU candidate, who felt delighted at the idea of tinkering with such a machine, agreed without a second doubt. With her mechanic skill and employment of newer technologies and weapons, she made the CPU breaker dozens of times more powerful than before, turning it once again into a proper challenge for Kenji to train with. Of course, Caelum tought improving one of the deity of sin's machines to such an extent was a bit rash and dangerous, but nonetheless didn't complain and let them do as they saw fit.

"Hey, Caelum! Where are you!?"

But training robots aside, the young man was here for something else.

"I think I have told you before, yelling is unnecessary..." Said Caelum as she passed through a wall and floated towards the young man "I am aware of your prescence here since the moment you set foot within it"

"My bad..." He said while looking at her and scratching the back of his head with a slightly apologetic tone

"Do not worry about it, just try to avoid it in the future" Replied the ghostly CPU with her eyes closed before opening them again and looking at him "But putting that aside, I take it you're here for something other than training today?"

"Yeah..."

During his breaks within training and while Nepgear took care of the CPU breaker, Kenji killed time by speaking with Caelum. Mostly he spoke about his time in the Ultradimension and about how things worked differently regarding CPUs and their nations. Today, he was here to try and see if he could get some useful information from her.

"I imagined so..." She said before a short moment of silence "Unfortunately, there's not much I can tell you. At least not much more than what Histoire can find within her own database"

"Anything's fine!"

The ghostly CPU looked at him for a moment or two, analizing his quick reply before speaking once again.

"You seem quite eager to know..." She said while looking at him in the eye before closing hers "Then again...I have to admit I do feel quite concerned about this Ibiem individual you spoke about"

"Then, you know something about him?"

"It's merely a tale I heard from my predecesor, back when I was still a CPU candidate...One that is passed down from one CPU to the next, instead of written down by Histoire" Explained Caelum as she opened her eyes and looked at Kenji as she recalled the words she heard during the times when she was still among the living "A long, long time ago, during a time before CPUs walked this earth, humanity was constantly at war against each other, killing each other by the thousands for hundreds of years with seemingly no end in sight...Or at least that's what it seemed like until one day, a mysterious individual appeared"

"(A mysterious individual...)"

Kenji was already having questions forming within his mind, but chose to remain quiet and listen to the ghostly CPU as she went on, hoping that the answers would come along as the story progressed.

"This individual had both the body and strength of a god, but was as merciless as a devil...Monster or man, nothing stood in his way as he wiped out entire armies within seconds with his overwhelming power, becoming known and feared far and wide as a force of apocalyptic proportions, an enraged god that despised the foolishness of humans and decided to cleanse the world of them..."

So far the description didn't offer too many specific details, but the ones given so far were enough for the young man to picture it. A monster-like person, powerful beyond belief and bearing a wicked personality that lacked any mercy for the living. Not exactly a one hundred percent match, but the towering figure that was Ibiem did indeed come to mind.

"Once he defeated all the armies, all the warriors sent out to fight him and stood in front of the four royal families, the wicked god asked each king if they would rather sacrifice the lives of their families and allow humanity to live on or that of their citizens and be guaranteed their safety...Arrogant and selfish, each king chose to sacrifice their citizens. Afterwards, he asked the same question to their four daughters, who chose to sacrifice their own lives and those of their families instead...They, who proved to bear selfless hearts, were spared by the god, who killed the kings and crowned the girls with the titles of rulers before granting them the blessing of godhood through the use of divine seeds as a reward...With their new power and authority as rulers, the four girls rebuilt their kingdoms and eventually established the main four nations we know today, creating a new era of peace and becoming the very first CPUs to exist in this dimension..."

The young man took a moment or two to let the story seep into his brain, playing it back inside his head a few times before suddenly realizing something odd and looking at Caelum again

"Wait...Seeds?" Aked the young man as his mind focused into that detail "You don't think those were actually..."

"Precisely..." Replied the ghostly CPU while nodding her head "Back then I used to believe that was merely a vague detail meant to fill in the blanks erased by the passage of time. But now that I heard about this other dimension, I am sure of it...Those seeds were, in fact, CPU memories..."

This wasn't a very shocking revelation, but indeed an interesting one, as it could explain quite a few things as of why the Hyperdimension is so different from the Ultradimension. Then again, it didn't answer the one critical question that circled through his mind.

"I see...But how is that related to Ibiem?"

"This part is merely speculation more than logical deduction, but I believe that the god who granted those girls their powers and allowed the era of CPUs to begin in the Hyperdimension was Ibiem himself"

Kenji's eyes widened after hearing this. The idea that Ibiem, the man he fought just a few weeks ago, was the one behind the creation of not only the four nations, but of the existence of the CPUs that lived today, was a pretty heavy bomb to drop on someone.

"But of course, this is merely a speculation...And one I hope to be mistaken about..."

"Why?"

"Because...the events of the tale I just told you about took place almost 22 millenia ago..."

"22 millenia!?" Asked the young man with widened eyes "That's...erm...wow?"

"You have absolutely no idea how much time 22 millenia is, do you?"

"...A really long time?" He said slowly while raising an eyebrow

A good ten seconds of silence fell down on the room as they looked at each other. Even though she was a ghost, Caelum couldn't help but sweat dropp when faced with this answer.

"22 millenia is 22.000 years..."

"Oooookay, that is a bit longer than I imagined" He said while sweat dropping

"I imagined so..." Said the ghostly CPU before trying to go back to the subject at hand "But as I was saying before, I certainly hope my speculations are mistaken..."

"Maybe you are..." Replied the young man "I mean, CPUs are very long-lived, but not THAT much...right?"

"Certainly, CPUs have much longer lifespans than average humans, but that's because of the shares within their bodies...With enough shares, one CPU could live for indefinite amounts of time"

"Yeah, but aren't shares dependant on the people's faith?"

"I used to believe such a thing as well, but after meeting you and finding out about the CPU memories, I came to realize this rule is not as universal as it used to be anymore"

"What do you mean?"

"As you already know, the power of a CPU is not only strengthened, but also limited by the shares she...or rather, it, gains from the people's faith...You, on the other hand, have no citizens that hold faith in you, yet your power surpasses that of any Goddess" Explained Caelum while crossing her arms "I believe this is because those who ingest a CPU memory, rather than those who are born from and dependendant of the share crystal, are capable of producing their own shares, which can be increased as they train their bodies to withstand it better...Perhaps this principle applies to Ibiem..."

"I see..." He said with a pensive expression

"Either way, try not to think too hard about it...Excessive worry tends to do nothing more than affect the mind and body in negative ways"

Kenji couldn't really say he agreed with it, but nonetheless nodded his head in agreement with Caelum. After a short talk, she left to rest while he headed back to Planeptune's tower. And on the way there, his mind began to wander and think about her words.

Although the ghostly CPU told him not too think too hard about it, the young man couldn't pretend nothing was happening. He just received quite a lot of information, some of it more than just a little bit concerning in more ways than one. It would be weirder not to think about it.

Back when he fought Ibiem the first time, he was beaten, bloodied and weakened, which partly explained why he fell so easily. The second time, however, he was not only well rested, but also fighting alongside the other CPUs. Yet, Ibiem just toyed with them so easily. Almost as if he was just fooling around with a bunch of children. Most likely, he just wanted to show off the difference in power between them rather than stop him from fighting Rei, and he certainly proved his point.

It wasn't hard to imagine he had probably a few thousands of years on his back, as Tari's CPU hersef was well over four thousand years old according to what Histoire and Blanc said about Tari's history, but the idea of someone having over twenty two thousand years was a bit extreme, even for a CPU's lifespan. But there was always that one problem about CPUs. Limits and logic that usually aplied to humans went out the window with them. Things such as being faster than a car, strong enough to lift boulders with ease and even live for thousands of years without aging a day were well within the boundaries of what CPUs were capable of.

"(A legendary God, huh?)" Tought the young man as he went all the way up to the top floor on the elevator

As the word echoed within his head, the young man couldn't help but wonder just how strong would one need to be in order to be known as legendary among CPUs, which as a rule of thumb were already way beyond human limiits.

"Kenny!"

"Eh?"

Kenji's train of tought didn't last very long, though. The moment he walked in through the door and into the room, he was suddenly received by Neptune, who stood right in front of him and made him snap back into reality.

"Welcome home!"

"Oh...I'm back..."

"Hey, what's with that lax way to answer!?" Said the perky CPU with an irritated tone "I know you're shy about it, but you're getting a "welcome home" from the protagonist here! That's like getting a rare item or a shiny pet in a portable game!"

"I'm not really shy about it, though"

"There you go again, being all shy and tsundere like Noire!"

"You're not listening to me, are you?" Asked the young man while sweat dropping

"Anyway! Let's play some games!"

"Wha-? Hey!"

Before the young man could even react, Neptune grabbed his forearm and pulled on it, taking him towards the living room. There, she sat him down and gave him a controller before sitting next to him.

"Okay. Just for a while, though"

"Neat! I knew you'd get it!"

Kenji didn't answer this time, he simply decided to accept Neptune's request and played with her. The two went at it for a while, sometimes playing co-op and others going against each other. As it would be expected, the perky CPU was dominating the leaderboards. Even though the young man put up a good fight, she was always the one with the highest score and the one to win. Her skill with videogames was, as always, pearless. In all and all, though, it was nice to just relax and do something fun.

Minutes became hours and eventually most of the day went by without either of them even realizing. Once he finally felt like he had enough virtual entertainment for one day, the young man put the controller down and stretched.

"Eh? You're not playing anymore?"

"I think I've had enough for today..."

"Can you get me a pudding, then?"

Kenji turned his head for a moment to look at the clock, seeing it was almost time for dinner, before looking at Neptune once again.

"It's almost dinner time, you know?"

"It's okay! A little snack won't hurt!"

"If you say so..."

Without arguing too much about it, he got up on his feet and made a short trip to the kitchen to pick up a pudding and went back into the living room, where Neptune was waiting for him.

"Here you go" He said while placing the pudding next to her

"Thanks!" She replied without even looking away from the screen, waiting a moment or two before speaking "Hey, Kenny!"

"What?"

"Feed me!"

"...Huh?" He said with a raised eyebrow

"Like. I . Said! Feed me!" Replied the perky CPU "I can't take my hand off of the controller, so I need you to play support for me and feed me!"

"Isn't that usually Nepgear's thing?"

"Yeah, but I want you to do it!"

"Why me?"

"Because I want you to do it!"

"That's not really an explanation, you know..." Said Kenji while sweat dropping

Despite his attempt to persuade her through questions, Neptune didn't seem to budge. She simply opened her mouth wide-open, waiting for Kenji to feed her pudding.

At this point, the young man already knew it was useless to argue against her haphazard logic and decided to play along. Besides, it would be a good way to kill time until dinner.

One spoonful after the other, he fed her as she played and waited for her to swallow down before giving her another one. At around three spoonfuls or so, she closed her mouth and looked at him.

"Hey, Kenny...It's kinda hard to focus on the game and eat at the same time"

"Then how about you stop playing and eat instead?"

"No way! I'm at the top of my game!" Replied the perky CPU

As a proud 24/7 gamer, the last thing Neptune would dare to do was stop playing once she was at the peak of her game, be it in skill or motivation. Either way, there was no way she could stop now. With that said, though, not stopping would also mean she wouldn't be able to enjoy her pudding. And that, as well, was a grave sin for her.

To game or to eat pudding. In a stuggle to find an answer to this heart-wrenching riddle, the perky CPU tried to think of a way to solve it inside her head. She kept thinking for a moment or two, seeing her options over and over again before the solution finally popped right into her head like a light-bulb.

"Ah! I know!"

"Hm?"

"Kenny, sit behind me!"

"Why?"

"Come on! Just do it!"

"Fine, fine..."

Kenji was't sure where she was going to with this, but did as he was told and sat cross-legged behind Planeptune's CPU. In just the blink of an eye, the perky CPU gave a little bounce backwards and landed on the space between his crotch and forelegs, sinking in as she rested her back against him.

"Wha-!?"

"Alright! There we go!"

Part of the young man's mind imagined this would happen, but not even that could prepare him for it. Naturally, his face went bright red partly from the surprise and partly from the embarassment. The perky CPU was also blushing slightly, but not as hard as him, which made it slightly harder to notice.

"He-Hey! Get off of me!"

"What are you talking about!? You can feed me pudding and I don't need to stop playing!" Replied Neptune as she got comftier "It's perfect!"

"Not for me!"

"Then...you don't like it?"

The young man looked at the CPU for a moment or two as silence fell down. He couldn't see her face, but he had the feeling she wasn't smiling anymore considering how her head was slightly lowered along with the change in her tone.

He wasn't sure whetever this was her just trying to fool around with him, tease him or just another reason, but she probably wouldn't cheer up unless he did it.

"I guess there's no choice..." He said as he opened his legs slightly, allowing Neptune more space to sit as he took a spoonful of pudding out of the half-empty cup "Open up"

As she saw the spoon in front of her face, Neptune's expression brightened up almost inmediately.

"Awesome! Thank you, Kenny!"

"Don't go getting used to it, though...It's only this one time"

"Yes! I understand!"

As she began to take on the spoonfuls of pudding, Kenji tried to convince himself this would be the only time he would play along with her on this. But deep, deep down, the young man knew he would probably yield again the next time she asked. At this point, he could only hope this wouldn't turn into an everyday thing.

Meanwhile, Neptune kept focusing on the game, making her usually sudden and abrupt moves with every action she took within the game. And once he gave her the last bite of pudding, the young man put the cup and spoon down. Part of him wished to get Neptune off of him before his legs grew numb, but instead he kept looking at her as she played. Today, just as any other day, she was very cheerful. It was a cheerfulness Kenji just couldn't stop looking at, merely because there was something about it that made him feel at ease, almost as if it brought back an old, nostalgic feeling within him.

Right now, Kenji's eyes were focused on Neptune, but his mind slowly began to wander. He Slowly began to recall feelings that felt unknown, but also incredibly nostalgic at the same time for some reason. And as they reached their peak, the young man's mind flashed a short-lived image.

A figure, female most likely, sitting on his lap just the same way Neptune was doing at the moment, resting against him. The young man couldn't see her face from that angle, but he was able to feel the warmth of her body and the sweet fragance of wild flowers emanating from her hair. It seemed as though she was saying something, but he wasn't able to hear her voice.

Slowly, the young man felt more and more drawn in by this figure until he finally moved his arms and wrapped them around her in a hug, holding her closely as he embraced her with a firm, yet soft touch.

"Thank goodness, we're finally home!" Said Nepgear with a relieved tone after she opened the door

Meanwhile, the CPU candidate came back froma shopping trip with Compa and IF, who were helping her carry the bags.

"There was a lot of people at the mall today, wasn't there?" Asked Compa

"Well, it was the last day of the weekend discounts, so it's a given people would try to take the chance while they still could" Explained IF while turning her head to look at the nurse

After closing the door behind them, the three girls walked through the hallway until reaching the living room, where they were all sure they would find Neptune sitting on the floor playing games like always.

"Big sister! We're ba-!"

Little did they know, what they would find was completely different from the usual view.

In the living room, in front of the TV, there were Kenji and Neptune. The young man had his eyes closed and silently embraced the perky CPU in a hug as his arms were wrapped around her waist and his head lowered to rest the lower half of his face against her soft, pink hair while she simply sat there, silent as a statue and frozen like one. Her eyes as wide as plates and her face blushing red like a tomato from the sudden surprise. So big was her sudden shock that the perky CPU even stopped playing, her hands just as frozen in place as the rest of her body while the controller slipped off of her fingers and towards the floor.

"Bi-Big sister!? Kenji!?" Asked Nepgear with widened eyes and a flustered face after finally being able to articulate words once again

"(Hm?)"

The CPU candidate's voice seemed capable of snapping Kenji out of his trance, as he slowly opened his eyes after hearing her. It didn't take too long for him to realize what he was doing, and to react accordingly.

"U-Uwaahhh!" He said in a panic as he quickly unwrapped his arms and leaned his torso back in an attempt to get some distance from the CPU "I-I'm sorry! I don't know what I was...I-!"

Right now he was baffled at what to say, as he himself couldn't understand what just happened. One moment he was looking at Neptune, and by the time he realized what was happening, he was embracing her.

"I-It's okay..."

Those were by far the only words Planeptune's CPU said to him, which was actually rather odd, considering her usually loud and energetic behavior. This was probably due to her shock from what just happened, but could anyone really blame her for it? Pretty much everyone was in the same state, after all.

"He-Hey Compa, Nepgear! Let's get going and make something to eat, otherwise it'll get too late for dinner!" Said IF while turning her head to look at the other two girls in an attempt to break the awkward silence

"Tha-That's true! We need to prepare everything, after all" Quickly replied Compa while sweat dropping with a weak smile

The duo quickly proceeded to take Nepgear to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Histoire remained with Kenji and Neptune, who were now sitting a few feet appart from each other in akward silence. So awkward, that IF even offered to help cook this time just to stay away from it.

Dinnertime went by with a relatively peaceful normality, with those in the table eating as cheerfully as always and talking with each other constantly. The only difference from the everyday meals was that Planeptune's CPU and the young man hardly looked at each other, much less talked, at least not without sounding slightly awkward about it. It was more than clear for the others to see, but none of them commented on it or even asked, as it would only serve to make things even worse.

"(Man...that was some dinner)" Thought the young man while sweat dropping with his eyes closed as he slowly walked down the hallway

He usually enjoyed quiet meals, but the awkward silence that ruled over today's dinner really wasn't the type of quiet he liked. On the opposite, it was the type he didn't enjoy at all. Fortunately, he was able to finish his food fast and slip away with the excuse of being tired from the long day. Kenji didn't really feel that tired, and it would probably take a while of rolling from one side of the bed to the other before he actually felt tired enough to fall asleep, but it was definitely better than staying there and get eaten away by the heavy atmosphere.

"(Why did I even do that, though?)" He thought with a more pensive expression this time "(One moment I was calmly looking at her, and then...)"

While thinking about the rather oppressive awkwardness of that dinner, Kenji's mind slolwy drifted towards the curiosity behind his earlier actions. This, in turn, made him recall the image that flashed within his mind.

"(That girl...Who was she?)"

The sight of that woman, despite blurry and difficult to recognize, somehow gave him a feeling of ease of mind and even nostalgia just by looking at her. It was a strange thing indeed, since he couldn't recall where he saw such a girl.

That image was so vivid and so natural that it felt more like a memory than just a random image, but that just put yet another question inside his mind. Just where, or rather when, was that memory from?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pinpoint the exact where and how that gave place to that memory. After all, he never really got that comfty with any woman in the Hyperdimension, nor in the Ultradimension. Perhaps it was all just his mind playing tricks to him, but that wouldn't make any sense either.

As he finally reached the door to his room and held onto the doorknob, the young man's mind kept wandering deeply into these questions that seemed to lead nowhere, or at least he did until suddenly feeling someone pulling on his vest along with a very familiar voice calling his name.

"Hey, Kenny...Kenny?"

When turning around, he saw Neptune holding onto the back of his clothes while looking up at him. Slight curiosity lingering in her big purple eyes.

"Neptune?" He said as his eyes widened

"Are you okay, Kenny?"

"Eh? Why you ask?"

"You looked like you were thinking really hard about something...Something serious..."

"Oh, erm..."

Seing the slightly concerned look on her face, the young man quickly tried to snap out of the thoughts inside his mind and focused on her.

"N-No, it's nothing! I was just thinking about training again!"

"Oh...I see"

Neptune didn't seem fully convinced by his answer, but nontheless decided to take it and smile like she usually did.

"You shouldn't think so much about that training stuff, Kenny! Otherwise people will start thinking you're one of those generic shounen heroes!"

Judging by her tone, that awkwardness from before was still there, but at least she could mostly act like normal again. And like always, her meta comments didn't do much other than point out things there were usually unnecessary or irritating.

"I-I see..." He said while sweat dropping "Anyway...what's wrong?"

"Oh...right..." She said, sounding less perky than before

At that moment, Neptune's expressions changed once again. Now her tone was slightly more shy and her cheeks took a red tone as she blushed, probably due to what whatever she was thinking about at the moment.

"You see, Kenny...About what happened earlier..."

"Oh...you mean..." Asked Kenji as his eyes diverted sideways, his face blushing too while he recalled said moment

"Yeah...that..."

Truth to be told, Kenji hoped they wouldn't have to talk about what happened, at least not so soon. Unfortunately, Neptune felt like bringing it up right now for some reason. Which reason, he didn't know, but it was happening, and he would probably have to answer to her.

"I'm sorry about that..."

"No, I'm not really angry about it!" Said Neptune while putting both hands in front of her, trying to convince him he wasn't at fault "It's just...I was thinking about it..."

"Oh, okay..."

As the conversation moved forward, Kenji could feel the heavy atmosphere from before settling in once again, along with the awful feeling it brought with it. The short moments of silence only made it even worse, but he could tell Neptune herself, who was always used to being perky, carefree and lively, was having an even harder time than him. This was the only thing that helped him keep a straight face and try to push forward with this conversation.

"Like I said...I was thinking about it...And I kind of wanted to say..."

Planeptune's CPU took a moment to find the right words. It was slightly worrying that she needed to focus so hard just to find what to say, but he couldn't just turn his back and leave. This was probably very important for her if she actually tried to put so much tought into it, and he knew that he had to hear what she wanted to say, no matter what it was.

"Kenny...I've got a favor to ask you..."

*Scene*

The young man stood in the middle of the street just outside Planeptune's tower, waiting.

Unlike his usual outfit, he was now wearing a black v neck t-shirt along with a white jacket , blue jeans and black sneakers. The gloves and headband were left behind, giving place instead to a scarf with white and black stripes wrapped areund his neck. Why he needed to be dressed like this, he did not know, but Compa and IF just wouldn't stop telling him to get some nice clothes after they heard about Neptune's request. Even though he said his casual outfit would be fine, they refused to listen to his reasoning and even went as far as dragging him all over town, searching from one store to the other, making him put on all sorts of outfits until finally finding the one he was currently wearing at the moment.

"(Ju-Just how did it come to this?)" He wondered with his eyes closed, feeling his heartbeat speeding up by the second "(Or rather, why am I so anxious!?)"

Back when Planeptune's CPU asked if he would like to spend the day with her, he didn't find anything weird about it. There was something suspicious about everyone's reaction when hearing about it, though, and the duo's perseverance towards forcing him into getting dressed like this definitely made it obvious that something odd was happening here. And by using a common sense, anyone could piece together where this was leading, even him.

"(No...It's not a date...There's no way it could be a date, everyone's just getting the wrong idea here)" Thought Kenji as he tried to calm himself down "(We're just gonna hang out for the day, maybe eat a pork bowl together or something like we always do, and I'm just wearing a few new garbs because those two wouldn't bugger off...Yeah, that's all there is...)"

A moment of silence went by as he replayed those words within his head over and over again. It did indeed sound like what they usually did whenever he went out and she tagged along, but the fact she went and asked him in such a straightforward way while blushing made it very hard for him to believe it was just a "casual" day. And she looked even happier than usual when he agreed to it, if such a thing was even possible.

"Hey, Kenny!"

After suddenly snapping out of his train of tought, the young man turned around and saw Neptune approaching him while waving at him. She was wearing the same dress she used during their stay on the Ultradimension, except that she didn't have the white jacket on her, making it look somewhat more formal.

"Sorry, did I make you wait?" She asked while standing in front of him

"I don't know...maybe?"

"Eh?"

Neptune simply looked at him in a short silence before finally reacting in a not-so pleased way.

"Seriously, Kenny!" Said the CPU with both hands on her hips "In this situation, you're supposed to say "No, I just got here myself" or something like that! It's basic romance rules!"

"I-I see..." He replied while sweat dropping for a moment or two before realizing what she just said "(Wait...Romance!? So this IS a date after all!?)"

It would be a lie to say part of him didn't believe that this was indeed a date, but it was still surprising disclosure. Either way, there was no turning back now. He could, of course, refuse or put up some sort of excuse to leave, but thinking about doing so made him recall just how excited Neptune seemed to be back when he agreed to it. Rejecting her would be a bit too cruel of a thing to do, especially after everything that Compa and IF did to help.

"Anyway...Should we get going?" Asked the young man while quickly trying to change the subject

"Sure thing!" She replied happily "So, where do we go first?"

"Well..."

As Kenji tought about it, the first thing that came to mind was the ramen shop for a quick bite, but a few voices in the distance reached his ears before he could open his mouth.

"Hey...Where do you think they'll go, Iffy, Gear-Gear?" Asked Compa while looking at the other two girls

"I'm not sure..."

"Knowing him, he'll probably go and say "How about we go to the old man's shop for a pork bowl or something?" or something like that?" Said IF while shrugging with a smirk

"Amazing, Iffy! That sounded exactly like something he'd say!"

"Even Kenji couldn't be that dull for a date..." Said Nepgear while sweat dropping with a weak smile "Well...At least I think so..."

Just a short distance away from them, IF, Compa and Nepgear spied on them from the edge of an alleway's wall. The three of them obviously more concerned with talking about what they thought about the current situation rather than about their hiding spot, considering they were more than easy to see from almost any angle.

"(Those three...Saying whatever the hell they want!)" Thought Kenji with his eyes closed and a vein mark popping on his head, marking the irritation he felt at the moment

The young man felt like turning around and telling them to get lost, but doing so would alert Neptune, who couldn't see them because of Kenji being in her line of sight, know about their prescence.

"Heeeeey, Kenny...Gamindustry to Kenny" She said while waving her hand in front of his face "You in there? Helloooooo?"

"Eh? Ah...Ye-Yeah, sorry..."

Rather than create an awkward scenario and ruin the rest of the day, Kenji decided to instead go back to focusing on Neptune and on where to go. Fortunately, he recalled a few hunters at the guild talking about a new amusement park that opened up recently.

"I've heard they built a new amusement park somewhere around here. How about we go there?"

"Yes! I want to go!"

With the amusement park as their chosen destination, the two began to walk down the streets. From time to time they had some small talk with each other, but Neptune's mind remained mostly focused on the park, thinking about all the fun and colorful attractions along with all the delicious junk food. Kenji, on the other hand, kept thinking about the trio that kept tailing them along the way. Of course, this wasn't the only thing he tought about, as his focus was diverted towards Neptune, who was walking a bit too close to him, every once in a while.

Once they finally arrived, the two took a look around them. The park, despite its popularity colorful atmosphere, was surprisingly less crowded than expected. Sure, there were quite a few crowds here and there along with people moving about the place, but it was nothing like what Kenji had witnessed back at 5pb's concert. Then again, 5pb was one of Gamindustry's most popular idols, and her concert took place on a weekend too. Thinking about it more carefully, perhaps the reason behind this lack of crowds was due to their visit taking place during a thursday.

"Come on, Kenny! Let's go for a ride!" Said Neptune with excitement as she held onto his forearm and pulled on it

"He-Hey!"

As the young man got dragged away by the perky CPU, the trio watched them getting lost among the crowd before following after them. Eventually, they found them making line to get up on the roller coaster, although things didn't seem to go that well once they reached the front.

"What'cha mean by "too short"!? Don't you know my loli bod is a main part of my charm!?"

"Li-Like I said, you can't get up on this ride! You're not tall enough!" Replied the worker, who was trying to calm her down "And I don't even know what you mean by main charm!"

Due to her small physical stature, Neptune didn't meet the required height to be allowed into the roller coaster. And as one may imagine, this angered her to the point of making her throw a fit.

"Hey, Kenny! This is a big problem!" She said while turning her head to look at the young man "We're not gonna be able to make the plot move forward if we don't get on that ride!"

"Those are security measures, Neptune. They're there for a reason" Replied Kenji with a more or less calm tone

To this answer, Neptune's irritation grew even more. She expected him to be on her side for this one, but he just went and tossed the "logic bomb" on her like IF and Compa did whenever she tried to do something fun.

"Well, I guess we're gonna have to find another ride..."

"I don't wanna! I want to get on this one!"

"Stop complaining already. There's no way you're getting on this one unless you're tall enough"

"Then, in that case...!" Snarled the perky CPU

Suddenly, a bright light emanated from her, blinding everyone around her. A light well-known by the trio and the young man. Once it dissipated, the people surrounding them looked in shock as their goddess stood among them, looking at the shocked worker once again.

"Eh?"

"Now then...Am I tall enough for this ride now?"

"EHHHHHHHH! ? ! ? ! ?"

Everyone was shocked to say the least, although some were shocked for different reasons than others. The civillians, on one side, were shocked to know that their goddess was standing right among them and they were not able to notice it. Others, such as the young man, were shocked that Neptune pulled out her HDD form, something which was thought of as a very important and almost sacred form, just to get on an amusement park ride.

"Excuse me. I think I just asked you a question..." Said Purple Heart, this time with a slightly more stern voice

"Ah! Ye-Ye-Yes! You're more than tall enough now, Lady Purple Heart!" Replied the panicking worker as he moved aside and made way for her

"Excellent" She said with a satisfied expression before turning her head to look at Kenji with a smile "Now then, let's get going"

"Yeah...sure..."

Before following after her, the young man looked at her and sweat dropped. A thing such as this was well within the boundaries of Neptune's randomness, but sometimes it was just impossible to look at them with a straight face.

After giving a little sigh of resignation through his nose, he followed after Purple Heart and sat next to her on the same row. There was a slight panic among the people in the ride, but that didn't stop it from starting. An understandable thing, considering no one in Planeptune would want to make their CPU have to wait. The roller coaster went up and down, left and right, spinning around and going all over the place as it traversed its course at high speeds before finally finishing less than five minutes later.

"Well...That was a letdown..." Said Kenji while walking out through the exit

"Yeah, seriously..." Replied Purple Heart with the same dissapointed look and tone as him

For average folk, that roller coaster would be a thrilling, even traumatic experience depending on how used you are to that sort of adrenaline-inducing rides, but for them it was a rather dull experience. It was not hard to imagine this would be the result, considering any roller coaster in the world paled in comparison to the crazy and sometimes life-threatening stunts they had to pull off in mid-air during battle as they flew all over the place.

"So where should we go now?" She asked while moving closer to him, her shoulder bumping against his

"Beats me..." He replied with his eyes closed before blushing slightly and making some distance between him and her "A-Anyway, you should revert back already"

"Why?"

"I mean, the people are gonna panick again if they see you, right?" He said with a slight nervousness in his tone

"Hmmmm...Is that so?" Asked Planeptune's CPU with a somewhat teasing tone

"Yeah..."

"Is that the only reason why you want me to revert back?"

"It is..."

"Reeeaally?"

"Really!"

Purple Heart could tell by the way Kenji kept his eyes closed and by his blush that the reasons he was giving her to revert back weren't the real ones, at least not completely.

"Hm...I'm not sure about that...Perhaps I should stay in this form a little longer" She said while leaning closer to him and wrapping her arms around his, capturing his bicept between her large and soft breasts "What do you think?"

"Wha-!? He-Hey!"

"What's wrong? Is there any problem?"

"No! None at all!" He replied quickly as his blush became even brighter

"Are you sure?" She asked while wrapping her arms around his even tighter, causing his bicep to be pressed between her beasts even more so than before

"Yes! I am!"

"Then, you don't mind me staying in this form?"

"Do whatever you want!" Said the young man while turning his head away

"I see...In that case, I'll remain like this for a while longer" She said playfully while looking at him "After all, running into any more of those height limits would be very inconvenient, don't you think?"

Of course, that was a small white lie from her part. Purple Heart wanted to remain in her HDD form because that way she could keep teasing Kenji to get even more of those reactions, which she found more and more amusing as of late, out of him.

"I guess..." He said without even turning to look at her

Planeptune's CPU let out a short giggle before the two of them began walking once more. They kept moving around the place in search of more attractions. Thanks to her HDD form, they managed to get into many rides without any issue, even making it to the front of the line within seconds most of the time. The downside of it being that all the stares would lay down upon them, something that was extremely uncomfortable for the young man. And truth to be told, even Purple Heart was starting to grow displeased by this excessive amount of attention, making any ride they got on less than enjoyable at this point. Eventually, both of them left the amusement park and went in search of something else to do.

Along the way, however, they stopped at a shopping district for Purple Heart to make a small stop at one of the clothing stores, remaining within it for a few mintues or so before coming back out. But unlike before, she was now wearing casual clothes. More specifically, a sleeved purple blouse and a black skirt with purple accents along with black heels. Later she explained that by wearing common clothes, it would be far easier to blend in with the people. Of course, Kenji felt like the clothes may not do too much of a difference, considering nearly every single person on the nation knew exactly what her face looked like, but there was little to no point in arguing about that either way, which was why he simply ccepted it and moved on.

"So? How do I look?" She asked while giving a little spin for him to get a full 360 view of her new outfit

"I think it looks good" Said the young man with a surprising honesty and a bit of a blush

"Thank you" She replied with a smile before looking at him once more "Now then, where should we go next?"

Before answering her, Kenji took a look around him, searching for something that could prove intereesting, or at least capable of killing some time. It only took a few turns of his head before his eyes made contact with an arcade. Not too large or fancy, but certainly filled with enough games to distract them for a while.

"How about that arcade?"

"Sure!"

No matter the time or place, or whetever she was in human or HDD form, Planeptune's CPU would always gladly accept to enjoy some virtual entertainment. And arcades were among her favorite classics, mostly due to all the time she spent on them while on the Ultradimension.

Side-scrollers, fps and even fighting games. The two went from one game to the other, sometimes playing with each other, against each other or even taking turns depending on how each game worked. Time went by as they enjoyed it with little to no care about their surroundings. Ignoring even the random gaze they received from someone every once in a while. Fortunately, it seemed Purple Heart's "casual" outfit diverted any curious pair of eyes from recognizing her as their goddess, thinking instead of her as an average woman who merely bore a surprising resemblance.

After probably around an hour so, the two began to wander around the place in search of other new games. Or at least they did before running into another area filled with less virtual and more "retro" games, such as basketball double hops, ice ball, ice hokey and even a claw crane.

"Huh...I didn't think arcades still had these type of games around the place" Said Kenji while looking around him

"Among those that visit arcades, most people stilll enoy classics such as these. They were the base that helped build today's arcades, after all" Explained Purple Heart while turning her head to look at him

"I see..."

While the young man looked at the old games, Planeptune's CPU went ahead to check them out. Most of them seemed amusing and worthwile, but the cane, or rather the plush toys within it, was what she looked at with the most eagerness.

"Hey, Kenny! Look!" She said while pointing with one finger at the inside of the glass case

After standing next to her and taking a closer look, he noticed she was pointing at a toy. A small plush of a blue hedgehog that appeared as the main character on one of the games she played so much.

"It's cute, isn't it?"

"Sure, I guess" He said with a raised eyebrow

Kenji didn't really think of it as being very cute, but Purple Heart seemed to think otherwise. He diverted his eyes to look at her, staring in awe at the plush before looking at the hedgehog once again. Even if he kept his gaze focused on it, he just couldn't see what was so cute about it that could make her like it so much. Then again, there has always been something about those little balls of fluff that seemed capable of charming any girl, Purple Heart included.

"All right! I decided! I'll take him home with me!" Said Planeptune's CPU with a determined tone

"You sure about that? Getting stuff from these things is hard"

"It's okay! There's no challenge I can't surpass!" She replied with a determined tone and expression while taking out a coin and putting it on the machine "I'll show you! The power of a goddess!"

"(She sure is fired up about this, isn't she?)" Thought the young man while sweat dropping

Despite his warnings, Planeptune's CPU had set her mind on obtaining that little plush. Once the crane activated, she pressed the arrow-shapped buttons to slowly move it from its initial spot until it hanged over the hedgehog. She then pressed the button, causing the metalic claw to open up and slowly descend towards its target before reaching all the way to the bottom and closing around the plush, grabbing onto its belly.

"Yes!"

Unfortunately, Purple Heart's cheer was premature, as the metal claws merely pulled the little hedgehog up a few inches before the crane eventually slipped off and let go of it, going up without its prize.

"Wha-What!?"

"Told you, those things are hard to get"

"Tha-that was just a test! This time I'll get it!"

Without giving it a second tought, Planeptune's CPU put another coin into the machine and tried once again, but the result was the same.

"I won't give up!"

Purple Heart was not going to let this challenge defeat her so easily. She was decided to win, and that was definitive. For a third time, she tried again, and failed to succed in the same way as before. She tried a fourth, a fifth, a sixth and even a seventh time, but the result didn't change. Even though she put all of her energy into it, the little hedgehog remained in place.

"No way! Why!?" Said the CPU with a dismayed tone in the face of he failure "Even though I was trying so hard to show off my cool side!"

"(Cool side?)" Wondered Kenji with a raised eyebrow

It seemed that, besides from getting a fluffy new friend, Purple Heart also wished to show off her gamer skills to Kenji and impress him by winning at this supposedly "hard" game. Unfortunately, that plan failed horribly as she didn't take into account that being skilled at virtual games and being skilled with cranes were two different things, hence making all of her expertize pale in the face of this challenge.

Purple Heart felt dismayed by this utter defeat, and it was easy to tell by the look on her face. It was a bit saddening actually, to see the usually determined and prideful CPU of Planeptune lower her head in defeat.

"Hey, move aside for a bit"

"Eh?"

After looking at her for a moment or two, Kenji decided to step ahead and try to do something about it.

Once Purple Heart took a couple of steps aside to give him room, the young man took a careful look at the hedgehog, then at the plushies surrounding him. This focused stare of his remained for at least a whole minute before he finally pulled a coin out of his pocket and placed it on the machine. Slowly, he moved the crane until it stood over the little plush. Yet, he didn't push the button right away and instead kept looking at the claw and at the toy. He kept looking until the very last second, at which he then pressed the button to lower the claw. Once reaching the bottom, the claw closed its three metal legs around the hedgehog's arm before going back up, pulling on the toy's little arm with a bit of effort before eventually pulling it out of the pile and towards the exit hole.

"Eh!? Ho-How did you do that!?" Asked Purple Heart while looking at him with a bewildered expression, unable to believe he managed to do in just one try what she failed to do even after seven attempts.

"Take a look at the claw" He replied while pointing at the metal three-pronged machine "Three-pronged claws don't have as good of a grip as four-pronged claws when going for the chest aea, but they're much better at grabbing onto the limbs"

Planeptune's CPU was baffled in front of this revelation. All this time she tried going for the chest since she believed it to be the best option, but failed to realize this was the wrong move.

"Here you go" Said Kenji after picking up his prize and giving it to her

With the little plush now on her hands, Purple Heart took a moment to look at it while it rested on her hands. It was just as small and as cute as it looked behind the glass, probably slightly larger than a mug, but still small enough for her to wrap both hands around it with ease.

"It's really cute..." She said with a blush and a smile before approaching it to her cheek in what could be described as a small hug or even snuggle "Thank you, Kenny"

"You're welcome" He replied with a calm smile

Seeing Planeptune's CPU smiling once again, and knowing he was the reason for it, somehow made him feel more at ease. One could even say it was a joyful feeling.

"I've never seen big sister enjoy a stuffed animal so much" Said Nepgear while looking at them with surprise

"It looks really cute!" Added Compa

"Huh, not bad...I guess i underestimated him"

The trio, who momentarily lost sight of them after they left the amusement park but managed to catch up on the arcade, seemed to be enjoying the rather sweet moment between the two. Kenji, on the other hand, didn't seem to share this feeling nor to enjoy their color commentary.

"(Please, just go home already...)" He tought with his eyes closed while sweat dropping

"Hey..."

Upon hearing Purple Heart's voice this time around, the young man opened his eyes and looked at Neptune again. Her gaze now focused on him again rather than the stuffed toy, which she still held in her hands.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm thankful for this gift, but where did you learn so much about crane machines?"

"My boss taught me about it back when I worked at his arcade..." Replied the young man with complete calm before a sudden realization made him stop on the spot "...Huh?"

"Kenny? What's wrong?"

Purple Heart noticed the sudden confusion in the young man's expression after he answered. It seemed as though something about his answer caught his curiosity.

"(Did I...used to work at an arcade?)" He tought as he tried to dissect the memory that just struck him

This didn't seem like such a shocking or important fact, but there was indeed something that felt slightly unsettling about it. This something being that, up until he answered that question, Kenji had no memory whatsoever of ever working at an arcade. And judging by his answer, it seemed as though his boss trusted him enough to share a few secrets, something that would mean they had some mutual trust, a trust that could only be built through weeks, if not months, of hard work and dedication.

The colorful and loud atmosphere of the arcade seemed capable of making the memory surge back from the depts of his mind, but it didn't solve his main question. Rather, it only made him question himself even harder. Just how did he forget about that in the first place?

"Kenny! Hey, Kenny!"

After Purple Heart's voice finally managed to catch his attention, the young man snapped out of his train of thought and looked at her. He had no idea what sortof expression he had on his face right now, but the concerned look in the CPU's face made him realize it couldn't be a good one.

"Hey, what's wrong!? Are you okay!?"

"Ah! Ye-yes, I'm fine!" He quickly replied while sweat dropping with a weak smile "I just...Kind of dozed off for a moment there! Sorry!"

"I-I see..."

"A-Anyway! Let's get going!" Said the young man while walking past her "Staying holed up inside an arcade all day long ain't healthy!"

Kenji quickly walked past Planeptune's CPU and headed towards the exis as she and the trio looked at him.

"(Kenny...)"

After following him out of the arcade, Purple Heart walked alongside the young man while keeping her eye on him as they walked down the streets. His mind still seemed to be caught up in his own doubts, but not as badly as before. Unfortunately, this odd and uncomfortable feeling kept lingering around.

"Hey, Kenny?"

"Hm?"

"We've been walking for quite a while now" Said Purple Heart with a weak smile before pointing at a bench "How about we sit down and rest for a moment?"

"Huh? Sure, I don't mind..." He replied calmly

Planeptune's CPU gave a relieved sigh before following after Kenji and sitting right next to him. At first it didn't seem to make much of an effect, but feeling her body touching his caused the young man's mind to put more focus on her, showing in the way his eyes took a look at her every few seconds. This was not something Purple Heart failed to notice.

"(Close...Too close!)" Thought the young man while a slight blush appeared on his face

"(He's blushing again...)" She tought with a mischievous smirk "(Cute...)"

In an attempt to regain some personal space, Kenji moved slightly to the opposite side to get some distance, but Planeptune's CPU did the same as him and got rid of that distance. A second time he tried, and a second time she did the same. Over and over this process repeated itself before Kenji finally reached the edge of the bench, nearly falling off of it as he tried to get some distance.

Seeing he wouldn't be able to escape any further, Purple Heart went ahead and rested her head on his shoulder. This time, he nearly jumped up into the air, but only tensed up instead.

"He-hey...Neptune..."

"Yes?"

"Isn't it a bit uncomfortable to sit this close to each other?"

"Not at all...In fact, it's quite the opposite" She said before leaning her body completely against him, causing her breasts to press against his arm.

The young man's heart began to beat even faster as he felt the warmth of her body and the softness of her hair. And the CPU could only hold back her desire to giggle as she noticed the tense expression on his face.

"Ah! My balloon!"

Fortunately for the young man, both of them suddenly diverted their attention to the voice they just heard. Looking forward, they saw a young boy. Holding onto his mother's hand with one hand while using the other to reach out into the skies as his head was focusedon the skies, looking at a bright red balloon raising up into the skies.

"My balloon..." Said he child as his eyes began to tear up

Both of them looked as the mother approached her child and tried to comfort it, although it didn't seem to work.

purple Heart decided to get up and reach for the balloon, but Kenji beat her to it and got up first. He took a few steps forward before crouching slightly and then suddenly jumping high up, reaching his hand upwards and catching the balloon in mid-air before landing right in front of the child and mother.

"Here you go kid" He said while giving the red trinket back to his owner

"Ah! It's my balloon!" Said the kid with a much more cheerful expression and tone before pulling on her mother's hand to catch her attention "Mama, mama! Look!"

Unlike her son, the middle-aged lady seemed slightly baffled from seeing a man jump 8 feet into the air, but managed to snap out of it and talk to her son.

"Ye-yeah!" She said with a bit of stutter before regaining a more calm tone "Isn't that good, Sho?"

"Yeah!"

After talking to her son, the mother turned her head and looked at Kenji with a grateful expression before bowing her head slightly.

"Thank you very much"

"Thank you, mister!"

"Don't sweat it, just make sure not to let go of it from now on"

"Yeah!"

After a short thanks, the mother left along with her child, who kept his head turned to look at Kenji with a smile while waving at him. He did the same as well, waving at the child for a moment or two while Purple Heart approached him.

"That was quite the nice thing to do, mister" She said with a slightly playful tone

"You think?" He asked while turning his head to look at her "I don't think it was that big of a deal"

"Maybe so, but that child and his mother seemed very grateful"

"I see...I guess you're right..."

As he turned his head and looked at the two walking away once again, the young man's eyes diverted from the child to the mother, who was holding hands with her son while smiling at him along the way.

"(Mother, huh?)" He tought while looking at them

Seeing the affectionate relationship between the mother and her child triggered yet another memory from within his mind. This time, it wasn't a blurry flashback or a hidden memory he had completely forgotten about. This time it was merely a memory of him walking down a street alongside his mother, holding onto her hand as the two of them exchanged smiles. It was a surprisingly warm memory, if anything else. But it also gave him an odd feeling of dread.

"(I hope she's doing okay...)"

"Kenny?"

Unlike last time, the young man wasn't stuck so deeply in his own mind, which helped him hear Purple Heart's voice the first time and quickly turn his head to look at her.

"Yes?"

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, it is" He replied calmly, trying to put aside his earlier thoughts "Why do you ask?"

"You were making that face again..."

"Face?"

"It happened yesterday, and while we were on the arcade too" Said Purple Heart as she tried to find a way to describe his expression "Lately, whenever you start to think deeply about something, you make this pensive face...It's almost as if you missed something"

"(Miss?)" Thought Kenji with widened eyes

Whenever those memories popped up inside his head, the young man could tell he felt bad about it, but it was hard to believe the feeling was a nostalgic one. After all, he felt like he despised his old world and wanetd nothing more than to leave it behind when he was finally given the chance. Yet, he was now feeling nostalgia about it?

"Hey, Kenny...Maybe we should go home..."

"Eh? Are you sure?" He asked while looking at her again, slightly surprised by her sudden words

"Yeah, I'm sure" She replied while looking at him with a smile "It's already getting late, and you seem to have a lot in your mind right now"

The young man looked at her for a moment or two. Despite having a smile on her face, he could tell she was merely forcing it.

At the start of the day, Purple Heart seemed even happier than usual. She probably felt very excited about this date, and even showed to be having a blast despite the obvious setbacks along the way. Yet, he ended up ruining it for her by constantly thinking about the surging memories rather than getting his mind off of the constant concerns he had and focusing on having fun. Perhaps the whole point of her asking him out on a date was to help him clear his mind and relax.

"Well, let's get going"

Purple Heart then turned around and tried heading towards the tower in the distance, but was stopped by Kenji, who suddenly grabbed her hand. This caused her to turn her head and look at him.

"Kenny?" She said while looking at him, slight surprise in her expression due to his sudden action

The young man didn't say a thing, he simply looked at her in the eye for a moment or two in silence.

Planeptune's CPU mustered up the courage to ask him out on a date, and even tried her best to have fun with him. There was no way he could let today end on such a sour note.

In a sudden movement, he gently pulled Purple Heart towards him, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and the other around her inner knees to lift her up in a princess carry.

"Kyah!" She said with widened eyes and strong blush "Wa-Wait, Kenny!?"

"Not yet..."

"Eh?"

"This day ain't over yet" He said while looking at her "There's still one more place we can go to"

"One more place?" She asked with slight curiosity "Where?"

"It's a secret" Replied the young man with a smirk

Purple Heart looked at him for a moment or two in silence, looking at him as he raised his head to look at the orange afternoon skies.

"Hm...It should take an hour or so, but I'm sure it'll be ready by the time we're there" He said to himself before looking at her again "Close your eyes and hold on tight, I'll take you there"

The young man's request seemed to arise even greater curiosity within her, but she prefered to do as he asked of her and closed her eyes while wrapping her arms around his neck. Once she was sure her grip on him was steady enough, Kenji then activated his HDD form and slowly ascended into the skies before reaching a certain height and flying away.

*Scene*

The wind blowing against Purple Heart as her braids waved in accordance to them, her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around Kenji's neck. Not a single sound other than that of the blowing wind, along with the sound of waves all around them, could be heard, hinting that they had left civilization long ago and now were flying overseas. Everything around her was darkness and remained that wait for what felt like at least ten to twenty minutes before she finally decided to open her eyes just about enough to get a small peek of her surroundings, but not enough to let Kenji notice it. Just as she suspected, large bodies of water covered her slim line of sight, spreading endlessly as far and wide as one could see, sporting a lively orange color taken from reflecting the skies above. She couldn't open her eyes much more or even turn her head without giving herself away, but she could tell they were probably far away from the mainland already.

Part of her wished to simply ask the young man just where on Gamindustry was he planning on taking her to, but another part kept rejecting that idea. As a gamer in mind and heart, she always knew how to appreciate a good secret or an easter egg, and despised spoilers that could ruin the thrill of the achievement.

The idea of a secret place, which required Kenji to even go into HDD mode and take her out of the mainland and deep into the seas was something that sparked a certain anticipation and thrill within her, which kept building up with each passing moment. Pressing questions or spoiling the surprise any more than this would probably ruin Kenji's plans completely, and the rest of the day as well. With this in mind, she made up her mind and closed her eyes completely once again.

This veil of darkness lasted for at least half an hour longer before she felt the wind pressure slowly decreasing until she finally couldn't feel it anymore, meaning that Kenji stopped. Slowly, she heard him descending for a moment or two before the sound of grass being stepped on echoed into her ears, followed by the same sound repeating itself over and over again. Wherever they were right now, Purple Heart had the feeling they were close to their destination.

"Kenny, are we there yet?"

"Almost there, just a bit longer"

"Okay..."

Truth to be told, the anticipation was already growing a into impatience, but the young man's words helped her hold on to it for a bit longer. Fortunately, those few mintues were more than enough for the short walk, during which she kept the sounds of the grass and the trees as her main distraction, which eventually began to clear out as the grass was replaced by sand.

"Okay, we're here"

"That certainly took its time" Said Planeptune's CPU while sweat dropping, still with her eyes closed

"This place ain't exactly next door, you know?" He replied with an equal tone to hers "Well, just take a look by yourself and you'll get it"

Once Kenji put her down and allowed her to stand on her own feet once again, Purple Heart opened her eyes fully and became able to clearly see her surroundings. They were in a beach, far away from any civilization. An entrance to the forest she assumes they just walked out of could be seen, and on the other side the waves moved back and forth, getting the sand wet before returning back to the ocean, which spread as far as the eye could see.

"Erm...Is this what you wanted to show me?"

In all and all, it seemed like a good and relaxing place, but not exactly something very unique or worth that much traveling. Although she didn't want to say it, it was a bit of a letdown considering all the excitement she felt just mere moments ago.

"Just give it a second..." Replied Kenji with his eyes still focused on the ocean, or more specifically, on the shore "It should happen any moment now"

Purple Heart looked at him with aslightly confused expression for a moment or two before looking at the shore as well once again. She had absolutely no idea what was so special about this place, and Kenji's vague answers didn't do much to fix that either. Then again, he did seem convinced of this, and that piked her interest.

"(Just what is going to happen?)"

As the sun went down and night took over, something that Planeptune's CPU never could've imagined took place right in front of her. Slowly, the shores and surrounding oceans began to glow brightly until they took a bright sapphire color, reaching as far as they could see.

"Wha-What!?"

As the oceans began to glow and the light moved along with the flow of the waves, the sun's light finally dissapeared on the horizon, revealing yet another astonishing view. Hundreds of thousands of stars decorated the nightsky, surrounding the moon, which stood high up in the skies above them and illuminated everything in view. It was almost as if the oceans sprouted into life and danced to welcome the arrival of the stars and the moon, which used their own light to decorate the skies, all of it while both connected to each other on the horizon. This mesmerizing dance of light between the skies and the waters felt like a scene straight out of a fantasy movie, or even the work of magic.

"So beautiful..." Said Planeptune's CPU, as those were the only words coursing through her mind in the midst of her awe.

"I found this place a month ago while learning how to fly over long distances" He explained to her while keeping his gaze focused on the ocean "It's deep in the middle of nowhere and the view is relaxing, so I tend to come here every now and then"

"I see...But why is the ocean glowing?"

Right now, the bigest question on Purple Heart's mind was how could this magical glow be possible. Never in all her life did she see such a phenomenom take place, and there was no magic capable of this as far as she knew.

"I asked Histoire about it the other day, and she told me they are probably Plankton"

"Plankton?"

"A microscopic organism that drifts on the water...According to her, these ones seem to use a natural glow to scare away predators" Explained the young man while repeating the exact same words the tome told him and turning his head to look at her "Most likely, a bunch of them got washed up towards this island some time ago and remain around due to the waves...And since there are no fish to hunt them, they can reproduce freely without their numbers dwindling"

Planeptune's CPU turned her head to look at the young man for a moment or two before looking at the shore again.

"To think such creatures could exist..."

Seeing her awe helped the young man know his surprise was more than satisfying for her. With that said, though, it wasn't over yet.

"Say, do you want to touch them?"

"To-touch them, you say?"

Kenji took off his shoes and rolled up his pants up a bit before walking towards the shore and stepping into the water.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?"

"Even if you say that..." She replied with a weak smile

"Don't worry, they're not dangerous. And going into the water won't hurt them either" He said to persuade her before making a smug smirk "Or what? Is Planeptune's CPU scared of taking a little dip?"

After hearing that little question, Planeptune's CPU looked at him for a moment before making a smirk.

"Oh? Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe" He replied, knowing he already had her reeled in

"Interesing..." She said while looking at him "In that case, I'll take you up on that challenge!"

With an eager and cheerful pace in her step, Purple Heart took of her shoes and went towards the young man, stepping into the water that reached up to the middle of her calves.

"Well, I guess you're a brave one after all"

"Of course! Don't underestimate a goddess!" She replied with a puffed chest and a proud expression

"I'll keep that in mind"

Kenji then crouched down to get closer to the water, and Planeptune's CPU did the same as well. Both of them looked at each it for moment or two before he slowly and gently submerged his hand into the underwater clusters of stars, which was followed by her shortly afterwards. The water was cold, but felt amazingly good to the touch due to how crystal clean it was. Although she imagined the Plankton would have an icky and even sticky or worm-like feeling at first, it was completely the opposite. The water kept drifting the microscopic creatures, which came into contact with her hand and slidded smoothly over her skin without a single care in the world. Despite the strength of the waves, their touch felt surprisingly soft, so soft did this touch feel that it was almost like the ocean itself offered her a gentle caress.

While she dwelved deep into the beauty of the ocean and its soft caress, the young man looked at her once again. Her face illuminated by the blue light of the ocean, which somehow made her look even more beautiful than usual.

"(She's almost like a normal woman right now...)"

Whenever the image of Purple Heart came to mind, Kenji imagined the strong, proud and level headed goddess that fought against monsters and protected all of her citizens without a pint of fear or hesitation in her mind. That was what he always thought, but now he came to realize there was more to her, much more than he could imagine.

As the events that took place today flashed back within his mind, the young man recalled all the expressions Planeptune's CPU made over the course of just the last few hours. She could smile, laugh, get excited, discouraged and saddened just like any other girl out there. That was because of a very simple and honestly obvious reason, one that escaped Kenji until now.

"(No...She's not like a normal woman, she IS a normal woman...)"

Deep down, under that calm personality, that battle suit, those processors and that sword there was a normal woman. A kind, gentle girl that cared deeply about those around her and accepted to bear the burden of a CPU because of it. Sure, she was a bit of an airhead and an extremely irritating idiot with an extreme afinity towards meta jokes sometimes, but even in that childish form of hers she still proved the qualities of a CPU, jumping into harm's way to protect others without hesitation.

"(When was it...When did I start to respect you this much?)"

Thinking back on it, Kenji used to think of Neptune as nothing more than an unbearable brat, but soon developed a deep respect towards her as he got to know her better. Now, just the idea of a life without her around was extremely hard to imagine. Not having her running all over the place, cracking jokes at every turn and breaking even the most severe of moods with her smile.

As he analized these feelings of respect, he soon came to notice that looking at her seemed to arise a warmth within his chest. It was a strong, yet gentle warmth that made his heart beat slightly faster, but also made him feel at ease. It felt oddly familiar, but he couldn't properly recall the name of this warmth, nor its meaning. All that he knew was that Planeptune's CPU, or rather, Neptune, was the reason behind it.

"Hm?" She said while raising her head to look at him after feeling his stare, this time with a smile "What's wrong?"

"Eh?" He quickly replied before making a smile and sweat dropping with a bit of a panick "N-No! I was just-!"

In his little panic, Kenji leaned backwards. This, in turn, caused him to loose his balance and start falling backwards. Planeptune's CPU noticed this and quickly reached out to grab him by the shoulder, but didn't take into account the amount of strength needed to pull on his body and ended up getting dragged along instead.

"Whoa!"

"Kyah!"

Both of them lost their footing and ended up falling into the water, getting completely soaked. After a small moment in the water, both got up and walked back to dry land, sitting down on the sand to dry up.

"Sorry..." Said the young man with an apologetic tone and expression while his eyes were closed

"It's okay, It was just an accident" She replied with a smile while wrapping his jacket, which he gave to her so she would stay warm, around her shoulders and holding onto it

Both of them were soaked to the bone, but the night wasn't too cold, and Planeptune's CPU was enjoying herself too much right now to feel bothered by it anyway.

For at least a few minutes, they looked in silence at the ocean. Kenji took a quick look at Purple Heart, and couldn't help but notice her wet shirt made it possible for him to see the bra she was wearing underneath. It was purple in color and had a sexy, yet simple, design. Faithfully covering her breasts as they moved back and forth in synch with her breathing.

"(So big...)" He thought while his cheecks became bright red as he recalled how soft they felt against his body all those times she leaned against him

It would be a lie to say he wasn't enjoying the view, but gazing at women's breasts usually ended up with terrible consequences for the one staring.

"Hey, Kenny..."

"(Oh, shit!)" Thought the young man with widened eyes before suddenly raising his gaze to look at her with a weak smile, as if attempting to dissimulate he wasn't staring "Ye-Yes!? What's wrong!?"

"Thank you..."

That sudden gratitude made the young man's anxious expression and blush fade away, being replaced instead by confusion.

"Hm? For what?"

"For going out with me..." She replied while turning her head to look at him with a smile "There were a few bumps along the way, but I had a lot of fun today"

Kenji looked at her with a surprised expression for a short moment before smiling as well. Once again the warmth in his cheast beating strongly when looking at her smile.

"Don't sweat it, I had a lot of fun too" He said while turning his head to look forward

"I see...In that case, I'm glad!"

Their day had quite the amount of drawbacks, that's for sure, but neither of them could deny it was enjoyable to say the least.

Once again the silence took over for a short moment while the two took in the scenery.

"Hey, Neptune..."

This time, the one to break the silence was Kenji.

"Yes?"

"Remember when you said I looked like I was missing something?" He asked without diverting his gaze from the ocean "I think you're right, after all"

At that moment, Purple Heart's expression changed into one of surprise. The doubt still lingered within her mind, but she didn't think Kenji would be willing to say it outloud, at least not so easily.

Perhaps this was a show of honesty, or maybe even his way to show he trusted her. As she had always been honest with him, so it was time for him to be open with her. One way or the other, she decided to put this thought aside and listen to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since what happened yesterday, I've been having constant flashbacks of my old world...Things that happened, but that I couldn't seem to remember for some reason"

"Things you couldn't remember? You mean, forgotten?"

"Not like that...More like, things that I can't seem to recognize, that somehow feel...out of place..."

"Out of place..."

Planeptune's CPU couldn't help but feel bewildered by this confession. She wasn't even sure what to make of it at this point, only that there was indeed something worrying about it.

"But the one thing I can't stop thinking about is probably my mother"

"Your mother?"

"Yeah...She's probably around your height, her eyes are brown like mine and she had shoulder-length black hair" Replied the young man as his mind began to recall what it could about the woman that raised him "Her name's Naomi"

"Naomi..."

"Ever since I came to this world for the first time, I never even bothered thinking about her because of all the stuff that was happening and slowly began to forget about her...There was one point where I couldn't remember her face or her name, even if I tried..." He explained before raising his head to look up at the starry sky "But after seeing that kid and her mom, I was able to remember her clearly"

"I see..." Replied Purple Heart, as her mind was too focused on piecing together Kenji's words and tried to find a proper answer "Do you miss her?"

It was probably a bit too simple of a question and not exactly the best one to lift up the mood, but Planeptune's CPU couldn't come up with anything else to say at the moment.

"Yeah, I think so..."

Purple Heart once again looked at the young man for a moment in silence. There was indeed a notable nostalgia in his expression, but that wasn't the only visible trait. She could also notice regret. A lingering regret hidden in his stare, similar to that lonely expression he used to do everytime he looked at a pudding. It was something that made her wonder if that regret he felt towards pudding was related to his mother, or if they perhaps were connected in some way. Then again, they could probably be two completely different matters as well, but there was little to no way for her to make a certain guess with the little information she had right now. This, in turn, made her realize just how little she knew about him.

Just as Kenji learned that there was more to her than her level-headed exterior, Planeptune's CPU was starting to learn a few more things about him as well. Nonetheless, they were just a few meager details, such as that he used to work at an arcade, or that he had a mother, something that wasn't exactly an earth-shattering discovery since he already clarified his powers were gained just in the same way as those of Plutia and the CPUs of the Ultradimension, therefore he was once a normal human, born through a family rather than a share crystal like she and the others were. But that was something she never thought about up until now.

Back when she met him, his cynical and rather emotionless nature made her wonder just what kind of place did he come from, but soon stopped wondering after the young man said he had amnesia. Later he admitted that he was merely lying to avoid questioning, which arose the doubts once again. But at some point she stopped feeling the need to know. It was almost as if the urge to know suddenly subsided one day, and she had no idea why. Little did she know, this being because Kenji already shared part of his past with her before. A confession given during her sleep, and that was lost deep within her subconscious memory.

Besides from that confession which she was none the wiser about, Purple Heart finally came to realize that she, nor any of the other CPUs as for that matter, knew next to nothing about Kenji.

All of them knew that the young man was a stubborn and thick-headed swordsman who never turned down a good challenge, was ridiculously strong due to how much he trained everyday, that telling how he felt was somewhat easy just by looking carefully at his eyes, that he was always honest right down to the point where it could feel offensive sometimes, that he had a bit of an issue with being called generic shounen character and that he loved pork bowls just as much as Neptune loved pudding. Despite seeming like quite a bit of info, it was not much when compared to everything that they didn't know about him. Everything about his past life as a human, his bad moments, his good moments, his efforts, his family, his friendships, his achievements, his failures, his regrets, they knew absolutely nothing. They had all agreed that prying on his past would be rude, but that didn't remove the desire to know.

As her mind kept analyzing this, she was suddenly interrupted by an irritating feeling in her nostrils, which caused her to sneeze outloud.

"Are you okay?" Asked the young man, who noticed Purple Heart's sneeze, while turning his head to look at her

"Ye-yeah!" She quickly replied with a weak smile before wrapping her arms around her as she felt the cold coursing through her limbs "I think I'm just a little cold"

Just by looking at her shiver, Kenji could tell that the cold was more than "just a little".

Now that he focused more on his surroundings, he could feel the cold was stronger than before. At the start they were both too focused in either the mesmerizing views or "other" distractions to notice, but as the night progressed, the temperature lowered with each passing minute and made itself more noticeable. And despite being drier than before, their wet clothes didn't do much to help them retain their body-warmth either.

"Hey, maybe we should call it a day" He said while getting up on his feet and looking at her

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure...It's getting late already, so Nepgear and the others are probably wondering where we went, and I want to get our clothes off soon too"

"Ge-Get our clothes off!?" Asked Purple Heart with widened eyes

"Eh?"

Kenji couldn't help but feel confused by her reaction, or at least that was the case until he finally realized the double meaning behind his own words.

"Ah! Tha-That's wrong!" He said while quickly blushing and going into a short panic "I meant that we should get changed or we'd catch a cold! That's all!"

"Oh dear, Kenny!" Said Planeptune's CPU with her eyes closed while placing one hand on her cheek and turning her head to look away with a blush and a shy smile "Your enthusiasm makes me happy, but my heart isn't ready for such a thing yet!"

"Like I said! That was not what I meant!"

Purple Heart looked at him panicking for a little more before letting out a small giggle and turning her head to look at him.

"I know, I was just kidding with you!" She said with a smile

"Huh?"

"Just a little joke..."

While looking at her, Kenji sweat dropped. It seemed as though he fell victim to her teasing once again.

"You know..."

"Sorry,sorry. It's just that those reactions of yours are quite good for my heart"

"Yeah, well...I can't really say the same for mine, to be honest"

After Planeptune's CPU let out one more gigge, the young man lowered his head and sighed in resignation. Once opening them and looking at her again, he noticed she was extending her hand towards him, almost as if expecting something out of him, while looking at him with a smile. Of course, he didn't hesitate to return the smile and reach out as well, grabbing onto her hand to help her get up. But afer helping her up on her feet, Purple Heart took an extra step forward due to the inertia of the little jump she made after being pulled up. This caused her to move closer to the young man than she expected, making her place both hands against his chest as her body leaned on his. After raising her head, both of them looked at each other, their faces mere inches away from each other. This time, the blush was mutual.

Kenji tried to turn his head and get some distance by placing both hands on Purple Heart's shoulders, but she quickly answered by placing her hand on his cheeck and making him look at her again, effectively stopping him in place.

"(...Ne-Neptune?)" He thought while his eyes focused her face.

Purple Heart was still blushing the same way as him, but somehow she felt different from just a few moments ago.

There was a notable shyness in her expression, but a strong yearning in her eyes. Just looking at her made Kenji feel like she was much more feminine than before, it made him feel the warmth within his chest increase a thousandfold, almost as if it was trying to tell him something, as if it sought something.

On Purple Heart's side, she could feel the warmth as well, and despite feeling quite a bit of embarassment, she didn't mind it a single bit. In fact, she wished to go further, even if it was just a little bit.

"It's okay, isn't it?" She said while looking at him "To be a normal woman...just for today...for this moment"

"Neptune..."

Slowly, she began to move her face closer to his. But this time, Kenji didn't try to back away, or even move his head. He was frozen in place, his body not willing to let this moment be ruined. As her face got closer and closer, his heart began to beat faster and faster, just the same as hers did. So fast and hard were they beating that one could expect them to explode at any moment.

The warmth within his chest growing stronger by the second, perhaps eager to attain what it desired so badly. To compliment this beautiful scenery, to seal the day with this one moment, giving it what to both of them would definitely be probably the most beautiful and best way to end their date. The one kiss that would break any hesitation, any doubts within their minds.

Closer and closer, the distance between both faces decreased, their eyes fixated on each other's, their lips less than an inch away from each other, seconds away from pressing together, from touching and becoming one. Both of them closing their eyes, shutting off the rest of the world, thinking only of the other and of their warmth.

"KENJI! ! ! !"

After a rather sudden and extremely loud shout, both of them quickly opened their eyes and almost jumped up as their bodies tensed up. Both of them froze up for a moment or two before hearing the voice again.

"Kenji! kenji! Are you there!?"

"Huh?"

Once he regained control of his body, the young man was able to notice the voice was coming from his leg. More specifically, from his pocket.

"Is that...?" He muttered before taking out his portable device and seeing he was receiving a call from someone

After pressing the button to take the call, the small screen blacked out for a moment before Histoire's image appeared on it.

"Hi-Histy!?" Asked a surprised Purple Heart with widened eyes

"Thank goodness! I finally connected!" Said the tome with a relieved tone "You won't believe what just-!"

As she was about to announce whatever news she had, Histoire looked at Kenji, then at Planeptune's CPU. She couldn't help but notice both of them were practically stuck to each other in what almost seemed like an embrace.

"Erm...Am I interrupting something?" She asked, slightly worried that she may have chosen a bad moment call.

When the two looked at each other and noticed their bodies still pressed against each other, embarassment quickly rose up as they blushed and quickly moved away from each other. Kenji almost dropping the device before quickly snatching it back in mid-air.

"N-No! It's nothing! We were just taking!" He said with his eyes closed and a weak smile

"Kenji? You're holding it upside-down"

"Eh?"

After hearing Histoire's words, the young man opened his eyes and looked at his device, realizing that it was indeed the wrong way.

"Ah!"

kenji quickly turned it around, making the tome appear right-side up on the screen once more.

Once both him and Purple Heart regained some composture, they looked at the screen once again, still blushing a bit but at least more calm.

"...Should I try to call you later?"

"No, it's okay!"

"Tha-That's right, Histy!" Added Planeptune's CPU, putting a weak smile similar to the young man's "We were jus talking!"

Despite being sepparated by a monitor, Histoire could feel the awkward tension coming from within the two of them. She did indeed interrupt something, but felt like pressing on the subject would be a bit rude.

"I-I see..." She said while sweat dropping before regaining her serious expression "Anyway, you two have to return right now! I have discovered something of utmost urgence!"

"Why!? What happened!?"

"I've been researching the dimensional travel section, and I may have found a way to get you back to your dimension!"