Chapter 32: Trust is a Two-Way Street

Financier rushed into the room where Mina was with several other Basilicom staff. "Everyone! Histoire has an important announcement she needs us to attend to! Nepgear has returned!"

Financier led the way into a meeting room with a long table. At the end of the room hanging off the wall sat a large screen where Histoire and Nepgear could be seen. At this, the others began to quietly clamor amongst themselves, with Mina's eyes widening in surprise as she walked forward. "Nepgear! You're alive! Tell us what happened."

"Nepgear, will you be okay or should I tell them?" Histoire asked, placing a concerned hand on a quivering Nepgear's shoulder.

"I-… I'll be fine, Histoire. I… I knew I would have to do this eventually." Nepgear gulped before walking forward, Mina making out more screens in the background with the Lastation and Leanbox crew. "We… ended up trapped in this horrid, hellscape dimension. We found crystals… that we could use to make a portal. But we were under constant attack by hideous monsters. One by one… they all… started to fall. First Tekken… then 5pb… and Blanc… and… Neptu-…" Nepgear began to sob, the others all remaining in silence as Histoire rubbed her back gently.

Nepgear gulped, drying her eyes. "It turned out… the more crystals we collected, the stronger our portal to get everyone home would be. But the more we collected, the more it attracted the monsters. But we didn't realize it until we had finally gotten enough. That's when they descended upon us! Vert told me… that I at least have to survive. To tell everyone… what happened." Silence overfell the room as Nepgear hugged Histoire against her shoulder.


After a period of shock and mourning, Nepgear gave a speech to the people of Planeptune. "…And so, it is with a heavy heart that I shall take my place as Planeptune's CPU, ruling in my sister's stead. Long live Gamindustri."

Afterwards, she would perform her duties as usual. Going about the day and playing the part that was bestowed upon her. But by the time night came, Nepgear returned to her quarters, removing her D-pad hairclip, and letting her bangs drop over her eyes as she placed it into a drawer beside a heart-shaped, red and yellow hairclip. The only thing that followed was a silent giggle.


No matter how much she tried, Renka's mind wouldn't quit wandering back to the talk she had had with Linda the previous night. Confused between the lines of pity and anger, Renka continued to rack her brain for possible answers as to why. The tranquil sound of midnight cicadas was shattered as Kafuru's voice emerged from the doorway, shaking Renka from her trance. "Just forget about them, Renka."

Sitting up from the bed in her torch spotted pajamas, Renka rubbed her head. "You should be in bed, sister Kafuru."

"After that's all happened to you and Hanabi, someone has to make sure the place is safe. I don't care if you're older, you're not stopping me from keeping watch tonight." Kafuru folded her arms, staring straight at her sister.

"You always did have dad's stubbornness." Renka gave a slight smile. "Least that's what mom always used to say."

"Sis… do you think… we'll be able to go back one day?" Kafuru asked.

"I'm sure we will. Once we have enough Yoma Soul Essence to bring Kagura back for the better, then without a doubt. Hopefully, we'll be forgiven."

"Or hopefully old Kaori will bite the dust before we come back."

"Kafuru! She is still the elder of the Goshin!" Renka gave Kafuru a stern glare.

"She's not our elder anymore! She banished us! Besides, it's not fair that she tried to single you out! We should have all taken the curse Hanabi so stupidly took instead!" Kafuru snapped back.

"No, Kafuru. I am the eldest sister and I should have taken responsibility. I wish I'd been the explosive one instead of Hanabi." Renka sadly looked towards the next bed over, where Hanabi slept with a band around her head. "She used to be so bright. Full of wacky yet innovative ideas. Now people just think she's a dummy without ever truly knowing the real Hanabi."

"She still has ideas. Though they pale in comparison to her earlier aspirations, for sure." Kafuru commented before turning to Renka. "It's not fair, Renka. Why'd I have to get off scot-free when you and Hanabi suffer most from what happen all those years ago?!"

"We've been over this, Kafuru. Ya know what I'm gonna say." Renka stuck her arms on her hips.

"How can I be thankful about not taking your burdens when you and Hanabi suffer from it time and time again while I suffer nothing? What kind of sister am I if I don't share the load both in good and bad?" Kafuru looked sadly towards Renka.

"One who will be better and stronger than us one day." Renka's words boiled frustration into Kafuru, who thrust her leg down into a stomp before storming out.

A peeved sigh left Kafuru's mouth as she stopped in the living room, her eyes wandering down to the tatami flooring like falling leaves. As Kafuru stood still, the sudden creek of the floorboard alerted her attention to where the noise had come from. But she took no more than two steps when suddenly thick strings gagged her from behind and a dark figure grabbed her.

Kafuru struggled against the binds of her attacker when she noticed the end of the string was that of a yo-yo. Two more figures walked into the room and from the moonlight, Kafuru could barely make out the shapes of the girls from two days earlier. "Sorry, but we don't have time to be fighting you." One said, before the bonk of the other's hammer was the last thing Kafuru saw before blacking out.


Sensing something was off, Renka got up and out of bed. Reaching for her drumsticks, she held her side, with her other arm stiffening up painfully. "Damn injuries." Renka growled, trying to shrug it off as she headed for the doorway with only one drumstick in hand. Suddenly from around the corner, a familiar set of claws suddenly met her drumstick, as Renka noticed the short, brunette haired girl from before. "You, again!"

Renka sparred briefly with the girl, but her injuries cut her engagement short as Iffy elbowed her in the stomach, pinning her down and disarming her. "Renka? What's all the noise?" Hanabi yawned.

Renka cried out to her sister when suddenly Red leapt through the door, tackling Hanabi to the ground and smacking her in the face with her kendama. "Ooowww, not again!" Hanabi whined.

Renka called out to Hanabi once more, trying to get up when she found IF's claws at her neck. "Don't move. I'd rather not kill you." Iffy replied to Renka.

"They're not here!" came the bellowing voice of Blanc, as she walked in the room, pointing her hammer at Hanabi. "Alright, where are you hiding them!?"

"Y-you?! Hiding who?" Hanabi looked confused.

"The old man, the thug wifey, and the icky mouse of course. Who else do you think?" Red chimed in, still pinning Hanabi down.

"What have you done to Kafuru!?" Renka shouted.

"She's fine. She's just down for a little nap is all." Blanc said in a soft tone before walking over and grabbing Renka by the collar of her PJs, revealing an angry red eye. "Now ANSWER! WHERE ARE THEY!?"

A moment of silence followed, Renka looking away from Blanc before uttering the word 'gone'. "Ahaha! What'd we try to tell ya?! You're a bunch of bad, bad dummies!" Red declared, poking Hanabi in the nose with her last few words.

"OKAY, YOU WERE RIGHT!" Renka shouted before letting out a defeated sigh, which got the Hyperdimension girls' attention. "And we were wrong. So, if you aren't going to kill us, then please let us explain."


Blanc, IF, and Red sat across the chabudai from the Mikagura sisters as Renka finished telling them their story. A silent tenseness filled the living room, the two parties still exchanging wary-eyed stares. Finally, Blanc sat up straight, closing her eyes. "Hate to say, but I told ya so."

"Uh huh! We tried to warn you, but you all were like, 'Wiyah! Back, you savages!'" Red made exaggerated hand motions to mimic martial arts.

"And by warning, you mean stomping up to our home and shrine, threatening us, and disrespecting sacred ground?" Renka folded her arms.

"Yeah, not to mention being a bunch of perverts. Don't try to act all innocent when you struck first. Honestly, the nerve of people." Kafuru's sassy tone made a vein pop on Blanc's head.

"Funny how such a little shrimp has such a big mouth on her." Blanc retorted.

"Look who's talking. Seems you're both littler and bigger in more ways than one." Kafuru jabbed back.

"You wanna run that one by me again and start this conflict all over, shrimp!?" Blanc's face scrunched up through gritted teeth.

"Did you ever end it when you decided to break into our house a second time and knock me out?!" Kafuru growled.

Blanc immediately stood up, causing Renka to do the same. "Whoa there!" Iffy interjected, standing up and gently guiding Blanc to sit back down, Renka soon following.

IF began pacing back and forth as the end of the table. "Now ladies, I'd rather not go at it again. Clearly, we've just gotten off on the wrong foot with a huge misunderstanding." Iffy turned back to Blanc. "Lady Blanc, I know it was rude of them to insult your stature. I get that feeling all the time. But we kinda did just barge up here, so how would we expect them to react?"

"My sisters are missing! All of our friends are missing and these three let our only lead escape!" Blanc yelled. Renka's eyes drifted to the ground briefly, thinking of her own sisters beside her.

"I know. I want to get them back too. These are very stressful and confusing times for all of us. But these girls are strong, so it might be better to look for allies than enemies." Iffy placed a hand on Blanc's shoulder before turning towards the Mikaguras. "Miss Renka, is it? You seem like a reasonable girl. If we're going to work together, we should probably try NOT to piss each other off."

"Nobody likes bein' pissed off. And I agree that we got off on the wrong foot, miss I… F?" After Iffy gave her a confirmation, Renka continued. "But who said anything 'bout workin' together?"

"You housed criminals of Gamindustri and let them get away. In my eyes, this mess is just as much your responsibility as ours." Blanc stated, Red nodding her head in agreement.

"Besides, didn't they steal from you and lock your sister in the closet?" Red pointed to Hanabi. "That's reason enough to go after them!"

"If they show their faces here again, they're gonna get a face-full for what they did to Hanabi. But all they stole from us was a bunch of food and cups and bowls and some other things. Stuff that can easily be replaced." Kafuru replied.

Hanabi followed up with a nod, "And besides, by the time Renka and Kafuru found me, they'd been gone for hours. We had no clue where to begin."

"So, is that a 'no'? You're not going to help us after the trouble you've caused us?" Blanc stayed calm, but her shaking tone was irked.

"It does upset me that she deceived me. She didn't seem like she was lying at the time!" Renka slammed her fist on the table but proceeded to slowly inhale and exhale. "But I'm afraid this isn't our fight. On behalf of my sisters, I do wish to apologize for the misunderstanding and the trouble we've caused you." Renka stood up, taking a bow. "We will allow you to stay here for the night and feed you with what we have left."

Blanc's clenched fist shook, but she said nothing. But IF picked up the conversation, "I understand, miss Renka. We appreciate the hospitality and please forgive our own end of things."

"Sis, you can't be serious!" Kafuru objected. "They ambushed us once, you know they can ambush us again! How do you know they won't kill us in our sleep!?"

"Kafuru. These girls aren't our enemy. It's the least we can do for them after such a misunderstanding." Renka replied.

"But… I think Kafuru's right. They could attack us again. But then again… why would they? We both understand one another now, right?" Hanabi scratched her chin, conflicted.

Renka placed tender hands on her sisters' shoulders. "I understand your skepticism, sisters. Believe me, if they try, we'll be ready. But they're in a similar position. What better way to show we're not the enemy than to offer our hospitality?"

"The feeling's mutual." Iffy chimed in before taking her claws and placing them on the table in front of them. "Remove your weapons, girls."

"WHAT!? You've gotta be kidding, IF!" Blanc exclaimed, turning towards IF quickly.

"It's like Renka said. They're in a similar position to us. What better way to show them we mean no harm than to trust them?" Iffy gave Renka a smile and a brief wink.

"You have a point. Now that we understand each other, I will not threaten potential wifeys!" Red declared, placing her weapon toys on the table. Kafuru sweatdropped, Red's word choice bothering her. 'Wifeys'? Was this meathead born on 4chan?

"Iffy, no! I can't allow you to disarm us completely defenseless! What if we get attacked?! Maybe not by them but what if someone else comes!?" Blanc's frantic tone soon trailed off into stuttering.

"It's a two-way street, Milady. Please try to understand." Iffy said, then getting into a back and forth with Blanc until Renka said that they would return their weapons in the morning, eventually convincing Blanc to relinquish her hammer.

"Don't worry, miss Blanc. I won't let anyone else touch your hammer." Renka said, then turning to Iffy, telling them where they could sleep. "We appreciate your cooperation, IF. Again, I'm sorry we can't do more. But this just isn't our fight." The Mikaguras turned to go back to bed when Red's voice halted them.

"Hold it! How do you know they didn't steal anything of value!?"

"Red, that's enough." Iffy's words left through a hushed tone and gritted teeth.

"We already told you, all they stole from us was stuff in the kitchen. Nothing of real value was taken. Please understand that we'll do what we can for you, but we can't just up and pursue them." Renka stated plainly.

Red shook her head. "Don't underestimate Warechu and Underling. Did you actually see them flee? For all you know, they might have taken something small that was just outside the kitchen!"

"Red, please. They already said it's not their fight. We can't force people to help us if they don't want to." Iffy said.

But the Mikagura sisters went silent for a moment until Hanabi broke the silence, "Hmmm. Now that I think about it. They did take the evergreen incense just outside the living room entrance. Not sure why. Oooh, what else could they have taken?" Hanabi began groaning, holding her head when Renka and Kafuru quickly made her sit down again.

"Relax that noggin o' yours, Hanabi. We don't need a kaboom here." Renka said.

"But I wanna help." Hanabi frowned, Kafuru patting her on the head.

"Just leave it to us, sis." Kafuru said, before turning back to the others. "Anyway, we don't keep anything of value around the kitchen. Least not stuff we can replace. Though they did take our sacred Shinto ritual bowl."

"Renka's red coral necklace?" Hanabi asked.

"I stuck that in my room last week, Hanabi. I know they didn't go in our rooms." Renka replied. "Hmm. Mom and dad's weapons, our Goshin pillows, the Shinto mahogany chest. Most of the real valuable stuff is either in our rooms or just too inconvenient for a bunch of thieves to dash out without us noticing."

"Come to think of it, why would we keep anything of high value in the kitchen?" Kafuru scratched her chin. "Only thing I can think of was Hanabi's gold spatula, which really isn't gold, which they took."

"I'm still mad about that!" Hanabi steamed through puffed cheeks.

"… And Kagura's ribbon, which is hanging on the top banner on the inside." Kafuru finished. But just then, Renka's eyes began to widen and her mouth began to drop. "What is it, sis?"

"Ya know, ya keep that thing open and eventually a fly's gonna drop in for a visit." Iffy lightly joked, but then Renka bolted into the kitchen.

"Good job, Iffy. You scared her off." Blanc said.

"Yeah, Iffy! Don't scare the sexy wifey away." Red puffed her lips at a stuttering IF.

"I-I-I was just!" Iffy could barely make out words.

"Relax, Iffy. I was only kidding." Blanc replied.

"Oh, you were, Lady Blanc? Well uh…" Red sweatdropped before smiling and pointing a finger up. "In that case I was also kidding!"

"Like hell you were, Red!" Iffy's head grew to a ridiculous size, showing angry sharp teeth and white, pupil-less eyes.

Blanc laughed lightly, "I guess Vert was right about one thing. You are cute to mess with."

Iffy nearly blushed in frustration when they heard Renka scream. Rushing into the entryway of the Mikaguras' kitchen, they found Kafuru and Hanabi just as equally confused. "Renka. Take deep breaths. Tell us what they stole." Hanabi placed both hands on Renka's shoulders.

"The Yoma Soul Essence! The red orbs! They're gone!" Renka said frantically.

"THAT'S WHERE YOU HID THEM!? I almost used those to flavor my curry rice one day! Luckily, I didn't since I thought they were marbles" Kafuru added.

"They were easier to keep track of after a hard day o' yoma hunting!" Renka yelled.

"So… something of value was stolen after all?" But no sooner had the words left Blanc's mouth when the Mikagura's rushed up to them, saying 'We're in!' in perfect unison. "Well that was easy. Good thinking, Red." Blanc said, to which Red smiled and nodded in return.

"So, what do you say, miss Renka?" Iffy held out her hand towards the Mikagura. "Let's try not to piss each other off?"

"Yeah, let's try not to piss each other off, okay?" Renka said before both her and Iffy turned to Kafuru.

"H-hey! What are ya lookin' at me for!?" Kafuru stuttered.

"You are kind of a little instigator, Kafuru." Hanabi replied.

"W-w-well… i-in that case, you should keep the pervy red weirdo under control too!" Kafuru pointed at Red.

"I am not pervy! I just like to have fun! You're the one who mocked our Blanc for her washboardiness!" Red retorted.

"ReeeEEDDD!" Blanc's angry eye flared up as she gritted her teeth.

"Why so angry when it's true?" Kafuru asked.

"Kafuru! Quit it!" Hanabi tried to protest.

"How about I come over there and I'll squash those air-tight sacks into pancakes! Then you BOTH join me and Iffy in the flat club!" Blanc growled. Iffy was left in shock, unsure of whether to be offended or complimented.

"Yipes! I'll save you, gripey wifey!" Red put an arm around Kafuru. "Though uh… Lady Blanc is really scary so just in case, I'll say 'ladies first' and put you in front!"

"There are so many things wrong with what you just said that I can't even know where to begin! And get off me!" Kafuru yelped.

A sigh left Renka's mouth as she facepalmed. "Here we go again."