Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another chapter. I have a few things I want to talk to you all before this chapter starts. First, I just realize that this story has hit 100 followers and it absolutely blows my mind. That number brings a smile to my face and also saddens me that I have recently been slowing down on my work. I try to keep writing, but life right now is keeping me busy. As this year is coming to an end I want to be transparent with you all about where this story is going. This story is about to be a year old and it leaves me with a sense of anticipation. Here is where this story is going without heavy spoilers. If you do not want spoilers of any sort then I respect that. Full details on where this story is heading are at the very bottom of the chapter at the end. Enjoy.
Chapter 28- Room To Reflect
"W-What!" shouted Neptune in a frantic manner.
"Oh, tough break there." Said Ultra Noire with a smirk of victory. They had just finished their game session as Neptune lowered her head in defeat.
"Hurray! Way to go." Said Ultra Neptune to Ultra Noire.
Ultra Noire blushed from the praise that she was receiving. "Thanks…I mean, did you think I would lose?" she said with a smile.
"Of course not, my sweet." Without even checking for people around them, Ultra Neptune walked up to Ultra Noire and held her hands together with hers in a show of affection. Words were not needed as they gazed into each other's eyes.
Neptune looked up from her defeated pose and smiled at the fact that that the other her looked so happy. She then felt a presence that made her turn her head. The presence was none other then Noire who looked slightly disappointed. "For a minute there I thought for sure you were going to win." She said bluntly.
Neptune gave her a cheeky smile and scratched her cheek. "Guess I overdid it with that last move."
Noire wasn't dumb. The reason she was annoyed was that part of her felt that Neptune lost on purpose. Neptune was careless in life, but when it came to games- she was always sharp and focused. "That was a good game, Neptune."
Even though it was short, those words made Neptune smile. Both couples were lost in each other's presence when B-Sha joined up with them.
"Hey, what are you all up to?" she said with a smile.
"Oh just trying out this game console. It's super fun and whatnot that it makes me wonder where Chuko got it from." Said Neptune.
"Yeah, for it being a Planeptune game it was very enjoyable." Said Ultra Noire.
"Umm, I'm not sure on that. Chuko is always going online and purchasing old game related things from online auctions, and other deals so she always has sources." She said with a smile.
"Dang, so will have to talk to Chuko it seems." Said Neptune with a determined expression.
"She's at the front counter now if you want to ask." Said B-Sha.
"Definitely, but let's not rush over there right now. Right now I want to hear whats been going on with you." Said Neptune. It had been a while since she last spends time with B-Sha that she felt bad if she completely brushed over her doing this moment.
"What have I been doing? Well, nothing much really. Planeptune has been so peaceful lately with you and Uzume uniting to improve the life here that I just found myself working to make a few credits. I have been doing some guild quest for extra cash, and it's been a really big help."
"Oh, I'm so proud of you that your monster phobia is a thing of the past." Said Neptune with glee.
"Same, Nep. It was all thanks to you and everyone else that helped me." She paused feeling like she wanted to cry in joy, but she held herself because a hero should never let their weakness show. "Ah…enough about me. What have you two been up too? When I read the newspaper about your big impression as friends, it got me curious." She gave them a quizzical look with her eye as she cracked a smile.
Noire started to blush from the fact that she didn't know how to respond. Thankfully, Neptune took the lead. "Oh that. well, Noire and I had a bonding moment a while back, and after running around in circles, we found out that we should be direct with each other and say that we're friends. I spend a long time jabbing away at her that people started to think I was just being mean to her." Neptune chuckled to cut the awkward tension in the air.
Noire could see how vague Neptune was being and she couldn't help but join in since she felt like Neptune was referencing her and her tsundere tendencies. "It would have been a lot easier and we would have done it a lot sooner if you always didn't tease me. I mean, can you really blame people for thinking that you were just generally mean to me." Said Noire with a smirk as she folded her arms.
Neptune looked hurt, yet understood what Noire was doing. "You love my teasing and if you ask me, teasing made us a lot closer. At the end of the day, people might see my teasing as being mean, but you and a big number of people can tell that my teasing comes with the utmost kindness." Neptune shook her fists in emphasis to her emotions.
Noire's smirk died down and a small smile produced as she reflected on that statement. She remembered when Neptune's teasing changed to its friendly form when they signed the treaty. Sure, it was awkward at first because she only every felt Neptune's harsh teasing, but eventually, she grew fond of this new teasing. It really did bring them closer because Noire was still distant even when they all became friends, it was Neptune that pushed her to hang out with her and the others to truly feel like they were all friends.
B-Sha didn't know what to make of this unusual banter between them, but she understood that they both understood each other. "Oh…wow. Well, I can see how that would make you close with each other. You always did have the means to bring Noire out of her shell when It comes to your teasing. That's really great that you two are close buddies now, just don't go pushing her buttons too hard or else she might bonk you on the head."
Both B-Sha and Neptune let out a laugh as Ultra Noire and Noire felt slightly offended. Noire regained her composure and smirked. "It wouldn't be the first time that I had to bonk her on the head for taking it to far. If it was anyone else teasing me, I would have placed my foot down."
"What?! I don't take it too far girl. I have my trusty Noire manual to tell me when I should or should not push. It's a wonderful tool when you need to better understand a tsundere." Neptune puffed up her chest at Noire.
"You have a manual on me?!" demanded Noire who felt like her actions were already pre-calculated for Neptune and that she felt a like a piece of tech that Neptune could just look up when she wanted too.
"Kidding, Noire. I don't need any old stinking manual to understand you. Shoot, after knowing you for so long, a manual would be redundant."
Noire's cheeks grew hot as she coughed to hide her blush. "I-I I knew that you were playing around. Of course, you don't have a manual on me. I-I was only humoring you." Said Noire in defense. They soon started to have a small banter on the topic.
B-Sha could only laugh as she thought how great those two were together. She focused her attention on the Ultra Couple. "So…you're Noire from big Nep's world right?" she said with a smile.
Ultra Noire stood straight. "Yes, I am. I hope that doesn't shock you that much."
"Well, it did at first, but then it kind of faded. Your glasses did throw me off on who you were, but I shouldn't be surprised after dealing with dimensions and the fact that big Nep is from another dimension. So how did you two meet or did you already know each other?"
Before Ultra Noire could reply, Ultra Neptune spoke up. "Oh, we met when I fell on top of her," said Ultra Neptune with a smile. "After that, we were like gum to a boot with each other."
Ultra Noire looked freaked out for a second. She blushed at the fact that Ultra Neptune said it so casually. Her blush soon faded when she decided to match her statement. "Yeah, in fact, Neppy is so much fun to be around with." She smiled accepting that she wasn't going to back down to her feelings.
"Wow, it feels like dimensional best friends if you ask me." Said B-Sha.
Ultra Noire's eyebrow twitched at that. "Neppy is my friend because I choose it not because it's some fated thing."
For the first time, Noire actually agreed on what her counterpart said.
"I see. I didn't mean anything by it." Said B-Sha with a sweat rolling down her face with an embarrassed smile.
Ultra Noire let off a sigh knowing that she went a little too extreme on her argument. "Never the less, I'm happy to have met you. A friend of Neppy's is a friend to me." She gave her a smile that made B-Sha smile.
"Awesome. I'm glad to have met you too." Said B-Sha.
They both shook hands and after that, they talked for a bit about what kind of person Ultra Noire was. It wasn't a shook to B-Sha when Ultra Noire talked a lot about her interest finding out that they were aligned with her counterpart's. Noire herself hated hearing this and proceeded to block it out. After that B-Sha gave some facts about herself that she was a hero to the people and how her services don't come cheap. Of course, she told her that if she ever needed help then the first one would be free. This earned a chuckle from both Neptunes.
While B-Sha went back to work, the four looked around for a while until they decided that it was time for them to go.
"Well, Chuko and B-Sha it's about time we head out." Said, Neptune, as they walked closer to the front counter where they spotted a girl who was buying a game. Neptune and everyone else didn't think too much of it until the girl turned around, and that was when Neptune spotted an orange tie. This threw her off because it looked out of place from the rest of the outfit.
The girl made eye contact with Neptune and grew red in the face. As if she looked embarrassed, the girl quickly left leaving Neptune with questions.
"I hope that you and your friends found things okay." Came the voice of Chuko.
"It was really cool seeing all of these old games. You must really be a passionate retro gamer for having much of an impressive display." Came the voice of Noire who helped Neptune came back to the present.
"Old games are my life. It's a shame that games these days don't capture the appeal of the ones of old." Chuko looked saddened by this as B-Sha patted her on the back to show support.
"Ouch, I can feel the hurt over here." Said Neptune.
"I'm sorry Lady Neptune, but that's just what I feel. Your games are amazing, but they can't beat the classics."
Neptune folded her arms and closed her eyes as she thought about that statement. "Harsh reality, but I understand. Nostalgia sure is a force to be reckoned with. Of course, I'm a victim of that myself." she let out a wide smile as she laughed to herself.
"I'm sure that with Lady Uzume's help Planeptune's games will further capture that magical feeling." There was a sparkling shine in Chuko's eyes when she said that.
"Oh boy, here she goes again." Said B-Sha who rolled her eyes in a playful manner.
"Say what? What do mean B-Sha?" said Neptune.
"You can tell her Chuko. She's not going to think anything bad about it." Reassured B-Sha.
"I-I I'm shy to say it to her." Chuko could no longer look at Neptune when she said that.
B-Sha sighed deciding that it was for the best that she tell Neptune. Maybe after that, Chuko wouldn't feel so bad about it. "Okay fine. Neptune, remember when Chuko said about dress hoodies and orange ties? Well, there have been a lot of fans coming into the store dressing as you and Uzume."
"Dressing as Uzume? So, the orange tie that the girl had on was…!"
"Bingo Nep. Seeing girls dress up as you is nothing new here, but after Uzume started to help in Planeptune, a fair number of girls have been wearing orange ties to express their devotion to the CPU they like. With that being the case, more girls who admire you have been wearing hoodie dresses as a statement to express themselves on which CPU they side with."
"What?" everyone else voiced their opinion as Neptune stayed silent for a few more seconds.
"What?! Okay, I find that kind of cute, but I sure hope these girls aren't seeing this as some kind of turf war. Uzume and I are partner CPUs, and we are working together to improve Planeptune."
"That's really all there is to that matter. There have been some harsh disputes in here but nothing too serious. At the end of the day, they are just expressing there love and respect for the both of you." Said B-Sha.
"Regardless of that, Chuko, don't be afraid to notify the Basilicom or Neptune if matters get worse around here. It's all fun and games until someone shoves someone else in a display rack." Said Noire.
"Oh dear, I'm sure the Basilicom has more pressing matters than a raging popularity contest, but I'll keep that in mind." Said Chuko.
"So…obsessed fangirls, the possibility of property damage, and disturbing of the peace. It's all serious stuff, but I'm still lost on why Chuko didn't want to say anything."
Chuko's level of shyness reached new heights as she started to turn red in the face. "W-Well, the thing is…" she shut her eyes and without thinking, she pulled out an orange tie from underneath the cash register. "I adore Lady Uzume!" she said as she proudly placed the orange tie on her neck.
Thre proclamation made B-Sha stumble forward in bewilderment at how Chuko decided to break it to them.
"You do?" said Neptune showing different levels of shock.
"That's right. Lady Neptune, I love this nation, and I still support you, but my faith has to go to Lady Uzume. Ever since she came back to us, Planeptune has been thriving with a rekindled love and passion for old school games. It was because of Lady Uzume's presence and support on classic games that I recently had more people buying from my store. With the added weekly profits, I was able to increase my display of games to sell and reach a wider number of people with my robust selection. Forgive me Lady Neptune, but I can not look you in the eye because of my shame."
"Chuko…that's a little too much." Said B-Sha with a nervous laughed. She was proud of her for being bold, but how she went with it was too forward.
The air in the game store was silent and calm as if those fleeting moments in an eye of a storm. The other CPUs remained silent on this matter with even Ultra Neptune understanding what it meant to a CPU when someone proclaims that they would not put faith in that CPU. After a few seconds that stretched on for minutes, Neptune finally spoke. "Huh? What do mean ashame? What do you have to be ashamed of?"
"Huh?" Chuko was thrown back by Neptune's words.
Neptune placed her hands on her hips and gave Chuko a friendly smile. "From what I'm hearing you still love this nation and that's good enough for me."
"R-Really?"
"Darn right, I'm not mad that you won't put faith in me. I'm over the moon that you love Uzume that much."
"I do! She has helped me reach much more people in getting in touch with the classics. I know that you try, but I understand that you have to be reinventing your games to fit what people these days expect from a game."
Neptune couldn't help but make a pout at how true that statement was. "Man you read me like a book. Yes, it is hard to balance the old and the new, but that is why Uzume is so good at it. She has a natural talent for making the classics relatable to this day and age."
Neptune had a glint in her eye as she looked left and right to see if some random person could have been nearby. She walked up to the counter and leaned close to Chuko. "Just between us, when we are not working on bettering Planeptune she and I have been working on a new game title that has a few ideas that she never really got to express when she was the CPU of Planeptune."
"What?!" A chorus of shock rang throughout the game store which made Neptune flinched.
"Neptune, you have been working on a game with her?" said Noire who was the first one to speak up. Noire was trying to hide it, but she was conflicted with this. There was a part of her that expressed great jealousy and another part of her that expressed great displeasure.
"Well yeah, her and I haven't really talked about it much to others except the team that is helping us, but when the date is set in stone I'll let you know, Chuko."
"Wow, that is so amazing."
"Jeez, isn't that a very intimate thing you and Uzume got going." Remarked Ultra Noire with a smirk.
"Intimate?!" cried Noire as her face began to blush.
"What? Whoa, hold on there girl. It isn't like that. Uzume and I are just doing a project as a surprise to the people of Planeptune." Neptune blushed which was something that Noire never really got to see that much from Neptune aside when they would be alone.
"It wouldn't be hard to imagine people thinking differently." She let out a smirk as her eyes landed on her counterpart.
Neptune made a face of annoyance that was a rare sight for the purple haired girl. It only lasted for a second before her eyes landed on Noire, who's eyesight looked evasive.
"Lady Neptune, I think that you two making a game together is just what this nation is yearning for. I wish for a progressive development on it." Said Chuko.
Neptune pushed these silly feelings away and gave Chuko a big smile.
Before they left, Chuko gave Neptune a game that she wanted to give Uzume saying that when she was here a while back in her store, she was looking for a specific game, but sadly Chuko didn't have it. Neptune agreed to give it to her, and the four CPUs said there goodbyes to both B-Sha and Chuko.
"Hey, it's getting kind of late. Let's go get a bite to eat before we head back to the Basilicom." Said Ultra Neptune to her counterpart.
The mentioned of food became the forefront of Neptune's objective. "Totally, I want some yummy noodles in my belly, and I know just the place." Said Neptune.
"I bet I know that place you're talking about too." Said Ultra Neptune.
Without any more words, they led the way to the ramen shop leaving the Noires to slowly catch up.
As the Noires walked in silent, Ultra Noire proceeded to speak what was on her counterpart's mind. "You do know that making a game together is one of the most intimate things a CPU can do with another. I would know since I've also been helping Neppy with a few titles." She didn't sound condescending or anything of the sort. Her voice was neutral.
When she didn't hear a reply, she continued. "I can totally see Neptune not giving it much thought with how carefree she is. Neppy is like that too when she said how I was helping her out with her console." There was a friendly amusement in her voice as if she was trying to relate to her counterpart in a genuine manner.
Unfortunately, Noire did not see it like that. "I hardly care what you and she do at all." She stopped and glared at her counterpart. "I take pride knowing that I created my console with my own will and the fact that all of my successful games came from my own ideas."
Ultra Noire could sense the rude jabs that her counterpart was implying to her and Ultra Neptune. The rash response would be to get angry at her, but even though her counterpart didn't like her- she knew that she needed to try and get along with her for Neppy's sake. She started to laugh which made her counterpart raise a brow. "I find it so sad. There was a time when I thought just like you. You see, that's where we differ."
"What are you talking about? I'm not like you who would do stuff like that, like help with a game. I'm not sure how your dimension sees game making, but I can tell you lost your pride when you decided to help that Neptune out. What she needed to do was figure it out herself. That is where our Neptune's differ. Neptune would never ask me to ever help her with a game because that's where a CPU's pride comes from." demanded Noire.
Ultra Noire shook her head in sadness. "That- your pride…our pride. We might be different, but you can't deny that our pride is equal in measure. You need to understand that pride takes a back seat when it comes to helping the one you love. I thought you would know it by now with you also being in a relationship, but you show your colors when your ego is backed into a corner. Jeez, I sound so self-centered for speaking about myself like this, but it can't be helped." Ultra Noire gave her counterpart a smile as she fixed her glasses that had lowered a bit.
Just like Ultra Noire, Noire had the right to be mad at her for saying something like that, yet it was undeniable that her words rang with some truth. Her mind took her back to the events in the forest where she declared to Neptune that if something ever did happen to her, then she would do anything in her power to keep her safe. Her mind also went back to the moment when Neptune wanted to fight her counterpart by herself and when she told her that they fight together.
"I-I do understand that love is more important." Said Noire. She hated herself for the fact that she reverted back to her old self, the one that Neptune saw as closing herself and being distant.
Ultra Noire walked passed her with a calm smile. "Do you now? Just for the record, Neppy is so much more to me than a love interest. In fact, our nation knows that we are together."
"What!?" Noire was blown away by this statement. She remained motionless from the fact that her counterpart was so much progressive in her relationship than her. This was just another reason why she didn't like her, but her words gave her hope.
"If your scared that your nation will not accept you together then don't be." That was all she said before picking up her pace to join the others.
This chapter is short, but I'm going to try and bring out more chapter consistently. Like I was saying at the top of my author's notes- this is going to have some spoilers depending on how you see it. So if you do not want spoilers then turn back now.
Like I was saying at the top. It is about to be a year that I first started this story and I feel that everyone that has stuck this long deserves something to look forward too. This story is somewhere at the halfway point with a few more story arcs left. Compa and IF are going to appear later with there wedding being a major driving force in the story. Also, Croire will return because her role is going to be pivotal to the ending of the story. The bad blood that both Noires have been showing will have a resolution that will reveal some interesting things so yes there will be a fight with them. Uzume will have a conclusion to her feelings and Plutia will return to settle the score with Ultra Neptune. Blanc and Vert will have more interaction in the story. At some point in the end of the story, there will be a lot of intense drama and sadness but fear not because it's merely a trial towards both Neptune and Noire's happy conclusion. Let's just say they will have to confront their old past in order to truly be together. The final flashback chapter will be coming but right now I am waiting for the right moment when the story reaches a good spot since it reveals a big event in the story. I really don't want to go to much into detail about the ending, but it is something that has been motivating me to finish the story since I feel that it's an appropriate way to end it and it leaves new possibilities. If you all have any questions let me know and I might reveal some more things in the next Author's notes depending on the level of question. I hope you all have a good day and a wonderful holiday to come.
