•[•]•[•] Hiroshi [•]•[•]•
"You know how to get back to Gamindustri!?" The two of us exclaim in unison. Blanc nods, clasping her hands together on her lap.
"Yeah, but unfortunately we're unable to return right away." She then pulls out a scroll from her inventory. "I just got this letter recently."
Blanc,
I know that you're probably wondering, 'What!? Another letter?' Well, this is to let you know that you're the last CPU that is expected to join the Extradimensional Dispersion club. What did I say? How do I know about this? The Extradimensional Dispersion club is a club at Ksugakari High with one goal: find a way to get back into Gamindustri, and you are the final piece to the puzzle.
With that said, you'd better hurry along to the club if you want to save your nations. Your puzzle is nearly complete and all you need to do is find a way to get back into Gamindustri. Maybe I can help you in some way… oh wait. Here's a hint: find the last one.
Good luck!
P.S. Planeptune has fallen under my control.
"What's up with the post statement?" I reread the end of the letter in an attempt to decipher the ominous sentence.
"That's what I was wondering about as well." Blanc speaks up, shifting her feet on the floor. "Although, I'm pretty confident that they're talking about finding the last Share Crystal. I believe the other CPUs had received a collection quest to collect four Share Crystals, correct? Well I still don't have mine, and I don't have any way to find it either."
"You don't have your Share Crystal?" I ask, Blanc shaking her head no.
"If the letter is saying that you're the last piece to the puzzle, then you should join the club so that we can devise a plan to retrieve your Share Crystal." Nepgear suggests.
"Besides," I add onto Nepgear's statement. "Vert is there and she isn't even a student of Ksugakari High. Neptune is the advisor of the club as well so I'm sure it would be fine if you and your sisters joined us."
"I-I suppose you do have a point." Blanc puts a hand on her chin, staring at her feet. "When do you think I could come and partake in a club meeting?"
"Well we don't really have a consistent schedule but we can let you know when our next meeting will be. There's no rush either, so take your time if you decide you don't wanna come to the next meeting."
"I doubt that I would be able to come up with an excuse why not to go, so I wouldn't mind coming whenever." Blanc then looks down at her younger sisters. "Rom, Ram, would you like to accompany us in the next meeting so that you can see everyone again?"
"Yeah! Anything for you, Onee-chan! Nepgear too!" The twins happily accept Blanc's offer, receiving a smile from the Loweean CPU.
Our meet and greet with the Loweeans had quickly come to a successful close, leaving Nepgear and I to exit their house. Waving goodbye to Blanc and the twins, the two of us made our ways down the porch steps.
"Well, that went a lot more smoothly than I expected." I speak up, Nepgear turning towards me with a nod.
"Me too. I'm glad that things turned out the way that they did!" She responds.
"What's the plan now? We got all of the information that we needed, right?" I say, reviewing my mental checklist.
"I think that we can call it a day for now! Good work, Fujita-san!" The two of us exchange a high-five. "I will head home now before it gets too late. Don't stay out for too long!"
"Take care, Nepgear." We bid farewell to each other and begin to head home.
As I'm walking home, I let out a sigh. Wow, today was quite eventful. So much has happened so I've barely have had any room to think! I think to myself as I cross a street. Not only do I have to keep track of what's been going on within the club, but Noire's also expecting a response from me in just a couple of days. Suddenly, I feel a buzz in my pocket, interrupting my thoughts. Pulling out my phone, I see a text message from Noire. Oh, speaking of that tsundere.
"When are you coming home?" The text read.
"Perfect timing! I'm on my way home right now!" I quickly respond to her text.
"Okay. Dinner will be ready when you come home."
"Sounds good! Thanks for making dinner again. I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it. Come home quickly or else the food's gonna get cold."
"I'll be home before you know it!" I slip my phone back into my pocket with a chuckle. It's pretty funny seeing how dry Noire's texts are compared to her actual personality in real life. Honestly, it's actually kinda cute.
...
Stepping through the door, I'm greeted by the savory smell of soup. Meandering into the kitchen, I find Noire humming to herself. Getting closer, I notice her phone propped up on the wall next to the pan with a recipe for tomato bisque open.
"I'm home!" I say, receiving a yelp from the noirette.
"Wh-where did you come from!?" Noire quickly slaps her phone down onto the counter, hiding the recipe from me. "D-did you see…?"
"I just got home." I ignore her last comment, looking over her shoulder and at tonight's dinner. "Wow, this looks pretty good!"
"D-does it?" She responds, a blush on her face.
"Yeah, soon enough, you'll take over the kitchen." I laugh, receiving a huff from Noire.
"Wh-whatever! You're bothering me so go sit down or else I'm gonna oversalt your serving!"
"Okay, okay! I'll stop bothering you." I leave Noire in the kitchen and sit myself down in the dining room. Wow, I never expected to see Noire in the kitchen like this. Back then, she'd be the one ordering me around and making me cook for her. It's actually pretty nice, not having to cook all the time. I think to myself, watching as Noire continues to prepare the meal. She then turns around to grab the grater from the kitchen island, the two of us making eye contact. Realizing that I had been staring, I quickly averted my gaze with a blush.
It didn't take too long for Noire to finish preparing dinner, for she had made her way over to the dining table with our plates in hand before I knew it. With our meals in front of us, the two of us give thanks and begin eating.
"Wow, not only is the presentation amazing, but this is delicious!" I compliment the meal, Noire's face burning red.
"St-stop complimenting me and just eat already, you idiot!" She huffs at me, taking a sip. "How'd the meet up go?"
"It went a lot better than I had expected." I begin, taking a sip of my bisque. "At first they were pretty cold towards me, Ram even called me a creep, but once Nepgear introduced me, they accepted me. As far as our talk went, Blanc said that she knows a way how to return to Gamindustri."
"What!?" Noire sets down her spoon, looking at me with widened eyes. "There's actually a way!?"
Nodding, I continue, "Blanc said that she was the last, remaining piece to the puzzle in order for you girls to return to Gamindustri. Whatever that means."
"Interesting…" She puts a hand on her chin, looking down at her meal. "I'm also confused about that as well. Did you find out about anything else?"
"Yeah. Another part of the letter said to 'find the last one.' We had come to a consensus that it was alluding to the last Share Crystal. Blanc told us that she didn't have one."
"Ah, that would make sense." Noire resumes eating her meal. "I'm surprised that you guys got that much information from just that meetup."
"Me too. Hopefully we will be able to make a lot of progress in our next meeting." I say before looking at Noire. "What about you? Did you go home right away?"
"Wh-who me?" She seemed startled by the sudden question, clearing her throat before answering. "No, I stayed behind with Vert and Neptune. We talked about a few things."
"Anything that I should know?"
"You could either wait for the meeting or I could tell you right now." She offers.
"I wouldn't mind hearing it now." I say with a shrug and Noire continues.
"So, it turns out that Neptune doesn't have any Share Energy left in her." She begins, making me stop mid-bite. "Although it happened recently, she doesn't know the cause of it. We're thinking that it has to do something with Nep and Neptune being separated. On the other hand, Vert is able to use her powers, just like me. I wonder if Neptune not being able to use any Share Energy will affect our ability to return to Gamindustri."
...
"I'm not even sure if I need to introduce the three, new members that will be joining the Extradimensional Dispersion club, but let's give a welcome to the Loweeans!" Neptune acknowledges them, followed by cheers and applause.
Two days had passed by, and everyone was able to make it to today's meeting. The room had become a lot fuller than it was a few weeks ago. It's pretty exciting, seeing everyone in the same room at the same time. Each of the CPUs and Candidates had sat themselves in their respective group, filling up all of the chairs that were set up around the central table. With the help of Neptune, Blanc had officially become an enrolled student of Ksugakari High. Because the security at this school isn't too strict, she is able to bring the twins along with her.
"Let's get things started, shall we?" Neptune announces the beginning of the meeting, allowing for the Loweeans to find a seat around the table. "Before we interview Blanc, Vert and I would like to mention something that we weren't able to bring up in our last meeting."
"Yes, indeed. As I had shown you all last time, I have a Share Crystal, so granted I am able to transform into my HDD." She turns into her Goddess form before continuing. "It seems as though our powers still work here despite being in a different dimension."
"Unlike Vert and Noire," Neptune stands up and puts her hand to her chest, but there was no glow to her. "I am unable to use my powers, despite having a Share Crystal."
"I believe I have the answer to your lack of Share Energy." Blanc interjects, pulling out the letter that she had shown Nepgear and I. "Allow me."
She begins reading the letter, the rest of the members of the club listening intently. As she finishes reading, Neptune puts a hand on her chin and furrows her brow.
"Well, that's unfortunate." Is all she says with a sigh. "Why was Planeptune the first to go?"
"I guess that just means that we can't delay our return to Gamindustri any further," Noire says gravely. "If Planeptune is no longer producing Shares for Neptune, that just means that whoever is over there will target each of our nations until we no longer have Shares. We must stop them before they hurt anyone else!" We all nod in agreement, our faces grimly downcast.
"R-rather than thinking pessimistically, let's raise our heads and put them together to figure out a plan!" Nepgear speaks up, breaking the tension in the atmosphere.
"Yes, you're right, Nepgear." Vert agrees with her. "We must stop fretting; we're wasting precious time."
"After reading the letter a few times," Blanc speaks up. "I was thinking about the hint that was given at the end: 'find the last one.' I'm assuming that it's referring to the last Share Crystal."
"What do you mean, Blanc?" Vert questions the Loweean CPU.
"I don't have my Share Crystal." She blatantly states.
"W-wait…" Vert looks at her in disbelief, "you don't have a Share Crystal?"
Shaking her head no, Blanc crosses her arms over her chest, "If I had the Share Crystal then I would tell you, now would I? Maybe they could be hidden in those mountains of yours."
"That would be a great place to hide a Share Crystal." Vert ponders on the thought. "Although, unfortunately for you, Blanc, you don't seem to have the ability to hide one there."
"Wh-what did you say to me!?" Blanc growls at Vert who just giggles.
"Before we get too off topic," Neptune clears her throat, stopping the two from getting any more heated, "how are we even supposed to find a Share Crystal? It's not like a Share Crystal is just going to be lying in the grass, right? Do you have any ideas, Nepgear?"
Much to our dismay, Nepgear shakes her head no. "Unfortunately, my N-Gear is unable to locate the Share Crystals here. Back in Gamindustri I would be able to, but being in a different dimension means that it isn't able to do what it's normally capable of doing. However, it isn't impossible to reconfigure it. It will take time to do that, but I will work as fast as possible in order to find the Share Crystal!"
"That's a good sign!" Nep gives Nepgear a hearty smack to the back, making her wince. "Is there anything that we can do to help?"
"Yes!" Nepgear pulls out her N-Gear and examines it. "I can formulate a quick shopping list and we can split up to get the items. Give me a second, please." We all watch as she whips out a piece of paper, jotting down the grocery list. Although I had expected for the list to stop at a certain point, she kept writing. She finally finishes, but the list went all the way down the end of the paper.
"Geez, that's a ton of stuff! It would definitely be a good idea to divide and conquer." Neptune says as she looks at the list. "How should we attack this?"
"Well, I have organized them in a fashion where we can easily divide the work. How about we split into teams?"
"I wouldn't be opposed to that." Noire says, the rest of us nodding in agreement.
"Creating teams wouldn't be too hard." Neptune speaks up. "In fact, I've come up with a list just in case something like this ever came up!"
She then pulls out a piece of paper, which has a chart drawn on it. "These are the groups: Nepgear and Uni; Vert and Vii; Blanc and the twins; Nep and I; Hiroshi and Noire. Does anyone have any objections?" Nobody objects, so Neptune continues. "Alright, then with that said, let's get started!"
A/N
Hey, how's it going? I hope you're in as good of a mood as I am! But dang, we're getting closer and closer to their return to Gamindustri! I wonder if and when Hiroshi will be able to work out his feelings towards Noire! Will he be able to return her feelings or will Noire's love remain unrequited? Stay tuned for the next episode! I hope that you have an amazing day! (and if you're binge reading, I hope that you continue to have an amazing day)