A/N: I really, really need to stop this habit of making "2 Part" chapters, because I end up working myself to the bone trying to push Part 2 out in a timely manner. I'm risking burnout for this and not the fun kind with Crash mode.
Still, with this mammoth of a chapter finally completed (And totally not forgetting about this in my last A/N), Go Hclegend! 1k views HYPE! Thank you all! I didn't think I'd get to what, 32k words deep into this, but seeing you all reviewing and following really does warm my dead heart! (Between this and the "last" chapter, that number has jumped up by nearly 500 views! Jeez!)
but due to this being a Part 2 and being posted so soon afterwards (Much to this author's chagrin, I got into Super Nep RPG hard for like 4 hours and still found time to finish this instead.), I'm still taking ideas on the title change to "Sociopath with a Spellblade"! The next chapter (probably!) won't be out for a couple of days, so get your suggestions in now!
Post Posting Edit: Before I get to the comments, I'd like to clarify that I will be trying to pace myself from now on. No more 2 parters, no more 5k+ words in a day type bullshit. It's clearly not healthy and I'm sorry that I worried anyone by writing/posting this absurdly fucking fast. I was shocked when I saw that this chapter had over 6k words in it! Time flies when you have a marathon writing session. But yes, I will calm down I swear to fuck. If I write more than I need to I can put a chapter on hold for a day or two and take it easy. (I actually wanted to post this a day or two later, but PART 2. I will stop.)
Just wanted to get that out of the way. Back to the... Author's Note.
With that, I did somehow get some mail after firing the Muffins horse. I think she found a new job being an extra so it's all good.
Blaze1212: I think Iffy's quite honest for most things. Just don't mention Compa~
endershadow98: Oh,don't be sad, I'll find some clever way to work it in, just for you!
Archwriter Akusui: Well sorry folks, Megumin filed a C&D on me, so the epic Micheal Bay-esque helicopter chase/mecha battle had to be scrapped. I hope this explosionless version will suffice, you monster.
Enough talk, have at you!
After Nepgear was convinced was to come out of the bathroom under the promise of not being molested, we all eventually settled down. The concert was going to start soon and I really didn't want to miss any of it.
Checking my watch, it was about 2:45pm at this point. My best guess would give it another fifteen minutes before things kicked off. Taking a look outside, it was packed. People really were taking advantage of the free concert, it seemed. I saw a beach ball flying across the crowd and even a bit of pre-show bodysurfing. I was glad I wasn't down there at least, it looked jam packed to the brim.
The 3 others in my party were exchanging stories. I believe IF was talking about some guild story or other, Nepgear seemed content on messing with her smartphone and Vert was sat back, listening intently with a smile on her face.
I sat down on a free chair and opened up my User Interface menu, mostly just to kill time. Nothing particularly interesting was on the InterNep, but I was able to browse a tad more efficiently than I was beforehand. I also took the time to sort my inventory alphabetically (aside from Serenity, which I kept on the top slot for easy access if needed) and grabbed a beer.
Hey, free drink is cool and all, but I like listening to music with a buzz.
"Ah. Leanbox Brew? Not a beer person myself, but it's always nice to see a fan of my brewery." Vert visibly beamed as she looked at my UI. "Oh, are those the Lastation UI Gloves? I thought only wealthy Lastation business-types used those."
She seemed to be rather curious about her rival's tech. "Yeah, it was a gift after some… Misunderstanding. I'm mostly using it for the inventory function, though."
Nepgear for her part was trying to be stealthy about watching silently, but I could see her look at the screen with intrigue across the room. "Hey, NepG. You curious about these puppies too?"
Nepgear was shocked at being asked through a screen so suddenly. "M-maybe. I've wanted to get a pair to see how they worked, but that would involve reverse-engineering and if those are a gift…"
"Ah. Well, it's just like a tablet screen. Just connected to these gloves… Somehow." Fuck if I know how these actually work, I just like the hammerspace inventory and stupid news articles.
"Well, the technology is certainly fascinating. Seems that Black Heart's R&D team made a solid product for once. Now if they could sort out their InterNep…" Vert gave a sly chuckle. Jeez, that was a sick burn. I think it was.I don't exactly get it but it sounded like a burn so I politely chuckled back. As long as Noire didn't know it's all good.
I took a look at the time. 3:10? That's odd, shouldn't have the concert started by now?
Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that 5pb. has gone missing. If you find her anywhere, please return her to the backstage. Please have a nice day.
Son of a bitch, I set a flag with that line, didn't I. Oh well. Getting up and stretching my body, I walked over to the window and took a quick look for 5pb..
Ah right shit, I don't know what she looks like. Turning back from the window, I noticed the other three looking at me. Ah, I guess I need to figure something out.
"Someone got a picture of 5pb.? If what has happened to her is what I think, I might need to hurry the hell up. Nepgear obliged and gave me a portrait of her face via her smartphone.
Blue hair, pink-ish eyes, a headset on for some reason and a mole. Good enough.
"Well ladies, no point in standing around when my music's in danger." I emphasize my point by chugging the rest of the can before making a three point throw towards the nearby trash can. It seemed to have worked.
"Well, considering she's under contract in my nation, it would be irresponsible to stay. Let me help, Koei." Vert affirmed, getting up.
"Well, I can't trust you alone with a CPU now, can I?" IF too got up. Also, rude. I was fine with Noire after the stomach wound, but she wouldn't know.
This left Nepgear. "W-well, I'm not much of a fighter, but I can provide moral support!" She leapt from her seat, the result recoil resulting in- woah panty shot.
I quickly averted my eyes. I saw nothing, I swear. Even if the matching pair was cute on her. Regardless, we all started to shuffle out of the VIP Lounge on our quest for music.
Vert has joined the party.
This has been a bust so far. Looking up and down the stage revealed nothing and the stagehands and roadies had no clue where she went either, as she liked to keep her privacy between shows.
Speaking of privacy, the last place we could check was in fact, 5pb.'s room itself. Why? Because the obvious first place to check wouldn't yield any results, duh. Also, it was locked and only 5pb. had the key.
"Well ladies, we've searched every avenue but this one and there's no key. What do we do now?" I ask rhetorically as I grab Serenity from my inventory. "You maaay want to take a few steps away for a moment." Waiting until they obliged, I pointed Serenity at the door. "Frostblast!"
Grunting from the recoil as the spell launch, it made a direct hit on the door, freezing it solid and even cracking it a bit. All this left was getting through the door itself. I had the perfect method, too.
"FBI, OPEN UP!" I scream at the top of my lungs before booting the frozen door. I only expected it to shatter a bit and possibly injure my foot. To my shock several pieces of frozen wood flew into the dressing room, leaving enough room to see in and- Jesus fucking christ.
5pb. was in there, just bound and gagged. From what I could see from her expression, she was a combination of glad that someone actually found her and terrified by the random dude screaming at the top of his lungs and kicking in the door.
Unsurprisingly, when I turned to look at my compatriots, I saw a facepalm, a similar fearful expression and a half lidded look from IF, Nepgear and Vert respectively.
"May have overkilled it a bit." I blush. Walking over to the idol, Serenity in tow, I began to chop away at the ropes holding her arms and legs. Despite the fact that just seconds ago I scared the shit out of her, she remained perfectly still. I'm sure IF could have done this too, but I need to make this up to her somehow.
Eventually, she was freed and able to take off her gag rag, coughing and spluttering as she inhaled sweet fresh air again. Giving her space to breathe for a few minutes, she eventually gained her land legs and stood up to face the group.
Her face looked the same as in the portrait, expression aside. Now that I could see her clothing, it was ll frilly black with pink accenting, complete with armbands and skirt. Of course she was essentially wearing a bra for a top, that can't be warm. All this and I'm missing out her stomach tattoo, a music note with a heart next to it. How cute. Cute was the world of the day here, she's an idol after all, adorableness was to be expected.
Oh, right. Her terrified expression. The crew did say she wasn't exactly sociable outside of work. And the aforementioned door kicking. Taking a step back, I gave a "Somebody deal with this girl this is outside my expertise" sort of expression. Nepgear obliged and carefully approached, as if the idol was made out of glass.
"5pb., don't worry, We're here to save you. Are you alright, though?" Nepgear's voice was soothing and trustworthy. She sounded like the kind of person with genuine compassion for others. Eugh, gross.
The idol simply nodded, before realizing why we came looking for her in the first place. "Oh!" She softly yelled. "No time to chat, I have a performance to do! Thank you ever so much!" And off she shot.
"Mystery solved, ladies." I give my best attempt at a "Good work, team!" tone, but it didn't seem to work, what with the unsure looks on Vert and IF's faces.
"Well, if we're all done here, I'll be heading back to the VIP Lounge." Vert stated simply. "While 5pb. isn't my cup of tea, my actual cup of tea is going to get cold if I hang around here any longer."
"I'll keep an eye on you, then. Arsonist, Nepgear, you coming?" IF asked.
"Goodness, I might get lost if I don't come with!" Nepgear jogged after the other two.
I declined to respond. 5pb. wouldn't tie herself up and lock the door. Honestly I don't think that's even physically possible, so I had to investigate.
Looking around the debris of my… dramatic entrance, I eventually found the handle to the door. Surprisingly, it and the lock was intact. Inspecting it with my hands, the handle was… asymmetrical. One side of the handle was an ordinary lever based handle, the same as any other door. What was interesting was the other side.
The other side of the door's handle had a smaller, but wider build. Testing the leverage, I was shocked to see that pulling that side of the handle also affected the locking mechanism. The door could be unlocked from the inside, no key required!
Of course this is a standard safety feature in hotels and the like (Even Lowee's hostel had one, it wasn't relevant at the time, but it's a very similar handle.) but for a private changing room for an idol sensation? That makes at least some sense. It would allow 5pb. to safely keep her door locked at all times without having to lock and unlock the door each time she came in and out. This probably also explained why nobody we asked had a copy of the key, as 5pb. could have simply let herself out if she somehow lost or broke her key and asked her staff to get a new version of it cut.
But that still left whoever tied her up. How did they even get in without a key? Lockpicked, maybe? Walking around a bit more, I moved a bit more debris aside to see a broken bobby pin near the shattered door. Whoever came in broke their lockpicking tool coming in and didn't have a spare? What kind of person doesn't bring a backup lockpick? Furthermore, why tie her up, then leave? Surely they would have seen the locking mechanism.
I leaned on the wall racking my brain over this. It could have simply been a thief who saw 5pb. setting up and decided to tie her up before stealing her things. But what kind of thief would have rope and a gag, but not a second bobby pin?
Good grief, this was stupid. I'm just overthinking this.
"Woah, someone really did a number on this door. Oh, dammit, she escaped?!" I suppose I didn't expect the person to come back.
Walking in (Failing a spot check to see me, apparently.), the female sounding person was completely obscured by their… edgy bear cosplay. That's the best I can describe it as. It's a simple black bear hoodie with matching sweatpants, gloves and boots.
Now I had one of two options here. Sneak away quietly and inform the authorities (For all that would help with such a vague description.) or confront this suspect myself.
Now I wouldn't normally go with the latter, or even the former (Social anxiety, ho!), but this person both delayed 5pb.'s concert and wasted my time and energy thinking about this stupid mystery way too hard.
Of course, this is after I had downed a Leanbox beer earlier and the alcohol was just about kicking in. So, equipping Serenity for the first time in a while, I opted to kick them in the back, knocking them over before approaching them, blade pointed at their neck.
Getting a better look at her facial features… she looked like a corpse. I don't mean to sound racist, but she was literally gray all over her body. Along with that, her hair was a simply Leanbox green (or a discount version of it, if you insist), ears that wouldn't be out of place in a medieval fantasy novel, weirdly tall irises of red and a belt around her neck.
Wow. My mind went to the gutter for a moment with the gray skin and the belt around her neck, but it seemed to be a fashion statement more than anything else. The only other thing of note is that she was flat and the only thing covering her torso aside from the jacket was a very conspicuous black bra with two halves of a broken heart adorning each side of her flat chest. And a belly button piercing.
Oh right, she tied up 5pb. Why am I describing her when I should be interrogating her?
"Agh, cheap shot." The girl rubbed her head, glaring at me before looking at Serenity and throwing her hands up in surrender. "Woah, I don't want any trouble, I'm just staff he-"
"Bullshit. Maybe don't exclaim "Oh damn, she escaped." before walking into a strangely empty room with the door kicked in." I stepped closer. "Now, you are going to tell me why you did this before I make you like the fucking door." I started charging up a Frostblast for emphasis.
"Threatening murder over something so petty? Why don't you put that away so we can talk like adults?" She replied, clearly not impressed with my abrasive attitude. Maybe I shouldn't have done this. Pulling away Serenity for a moment, I was going to ask before she pulled something out of nowhere and smacked me across the face with it. "Psyke! Didn't you notice my gloves, idiot?"
Regaining my focus, the girl was now stood up, her gloves emitting a soft light. Wait, UI Gloves? But they're nothing like the ones either me or Noire had.
"Cheap shot." I mutter, pointing Serenity towards her… Lead pipe? What? This girl has UI gloves but uses a pipe? "Well, I notice them now. Not only that, you've pissed me off!" I yell, before opening my inventory up, finding the Burned Stump from long ago and threw it at her face, causing her to fall over.
Making doubly sure the pipe was away from her this time, I made sure I didn't accidentally kill her. Nope, just knocked out, with some blood running down her face indicating that I may have broken her nose to boot. Whoever this was wasn't much stronger than I was, if that. Probably went a bit overkill with the stump, though.
Regardless of my thoughts and feelings on this matter, a hand on my shoulder indicated that I was not out of this yet. Using my free arm to take off my potential assailant's hand, I turned around with Serenity in hand and prepared to figh-
Oh, it was just IF. A very pissed off looking IF. "Koei. I leave you for 5 minutes and you assault someone." Ahhh, shit.
After explaining my side of the story (Up to and including the part where the girl basically admitted to tying up 5pb., in the first place) IF did eventually calm down, but I think I did break her trust for a moment.
IF for her part, decided to take me for my word and informed security about what happened, up to and including my part of the story. The good news is that due to the circumstances revolving around 5pb.'s almost kidnapping, that my assault on Linda (IF apparently knew this girl as a troublemaker already and had apprehended her for petty thefts before, probably part of why she took me at face value.) wouldn't be counted against me and even if Linda was to try and charge me, she would have to explain why she was sneaking around a restricted part of the stadium. (During the investigation it was fine, as I was with Vert. Separating from her though did count as trespassing.)
The bad news was that I was being fined 10,000 credits for the door. When I told them that I didn't have that, they simply shrugged and took the credits in my account and called it square for helping out 5pb. Sucks, but I'm not exactly a war hero here, so it's understandable.
Of course this meant when I got back to the VIP lounge under escort (I still had my ticket, thankfully.), I took to sneakily placing as much food as I could into my inventory. It was going to go to waste anyway, and I still left plenty for the others. Look, if I'm going back to square one, I want to make sure I at least have something before I end up on the street.
Aside from that, though…
"Thank you everyone for being so patient! Some emergency business came up and I was late, but you loyal fans were extremely kind and patient! Thank you all!"
The crowd at up her apology like I ate up the pizza. To be fair, her on-stage persona was far less intimidated than her normal self. Maybe it's just a direct conversation she's afraid of. Understandable, at least.
"And now, without further delay-"
"You're breathtaking!" I heard somebody heckle to 5pb. They seemed fairly close to the front too, so it got picked up in the microphone.
5pb. for her part, simply pointed to the would be heckler and yelled back "You're breathtaking! You're all breathtaking!"
You could hear the cheers and applause from the soundproofed VIP booth, it was so deafening. And kind of impressive, too.
"5pb. knows how to rile a crowd up, doesn't she?" I said, in a half surprised tone as I drank another beer. I was originally going to simply rent a room in a nearby hotel after separating from my acquaintances, but after losing my savings, Vert offered me (Along with Nepgear and IF) rooms in her Basilicom for the evening as thanks for keeping her company for this concert and if I had to guess, possibly for the whole 5pb. thing as well. She seemed fully aware of what happened to me, as she did give me a compassionate look as I came back from a quick bathroom trip a few minutes before the concert finally started. Nepgear for her part was as naive as ever, simply waiting for the next song to sing along to. She seemed to like 5pb., but considering her age, I wouldn't be shocked.
The concert itself was well, an idol concert. 5pb. Player her greatest hits, which seemed to be mostly anime openings. I mean names like Symmetric Generation, Miracle! Portable Mission and My Dear 5pb. Chan (which just sounded like an ego booster to me), how could I not?
Also for some reason, while everyone spoke perfectly fine English, she sang in Japanese. I don't know why, but everyone else seemed fine with it so I ignored it. It had a good beat to it, at least.
Of course, the concert had to end on her iconic song, the one that rose her to fame in the first place, Dimension Tripper! Normally I'd be against excessive punctuation, but quite honestly it was easily the best song out of her library. Little wonder how she became so popular with a song like that.
Just like that, the concert was over. It was probably cut a bit short, but I still felt it was a good time. Sneaking a smidgen more food into my inventory (I hope it doesn't go off…), we all left for Vert's Basilicom.
Now with everything that had happened today, it was already 7pm and the moon was ready to greet us as we approached the lean box (HA) where the Basilicom was located. When I said this nation was built differently, I wasn't kidding. Still, we arrived and the rooms were already prepared. I, being tuckered out and all, took myself to my quarters with a quick "G'night." And off I fucked.
I was only going to surf the InterNep and drink, but a knock came at my door. Deja vu, have I made this reference before?
"Come in."I say disinterestedly, closing the UI Gloves' menu as whoever knocked made themselves known. It was in fact, Vert.
"Ah, Lady Vert!" I perk up my voice, having sudden interest in talking to the one who was kind enough to let me stay the night here.
"Good evening Koei. I trust that you are well?" Vert greeted warmly, ever the diplomat that she was.
"Yeah, thanks again for the rooms on such short notice. I'm sure that Nepgear and IF would have been fine, regardless, but me…"
"Do not worry, Koei. It was my pleasure to have you around today. Truthfully I had been wanting a little bit of excitement, so your… Eagerness was much appreciated."
Huh. I approached Vert from my temporary resting spot. "What do you mean?" I'm curious, yet wanted to keep within my bounds.
"Well, you've probably seen my Share count, haven't you?" Going straight in with that, huh.
"It's impressive, even a little intimidating. Is it related to your lack of excitement?" I prod, led on by Vert's not so subtle hinting.
"My, yes. Having "borrowed" 5pb. Ever since she first performed Dimension Tripper here in Leanbox has led to a massive burst in Shares. It almost feels like cheating to have her support Leanbox exclusively, as people come to Leanbox and put faith in me through her just for hosting her and taking care of any expenses she has."
"And despite your guilt, you can't stop as this is a war, isn't it?" I go in for the metaphorical kill.
"Right on the money, Koei." Bingo. "I understand that Lowee has lost almost all of it's Shares. Poor White Heart must be desperate at this point, but it seems that 5pb. just appeals to the Lowee crowd too much."
"She is…" I mutter, eliciting a sly grin from Vert. Uh oh.
"That being said, I understand if you've lost faith in her. It must be hard to have faith in someone who can't even keep their own followers, right?" Is she trying to convert me? Con… Vert… Goddammit.
"Look, Lady Vert, I sorely do appreciate your help and your offer, but I must decline." I'll leave out the part where I never had faith in Blanc in the first place and how she hates me, as she must assume I'm from Lowee at this point.
"Ah." Vert's grin softened. "I was merely testing you." What?
"Excuse me?" I ask with some hesitation, knowing I'd probably regret this.
Vert turned away from me. "You probably wouldn't understand, but I despise this war for one very personal reason. The fact that I'm taking from her shares hurts more than any battle I've taken part in."
I stayed silent, contemplating the implications of this entire conversation. Obviously it seemed like she wanted an end to the Console War, just as Noire did, but something told me that it wasn't just for the sake of peace.
"Sorry to be a disturbance, I understand that today's been rough on you. But if you do ever meet White Heart…" Vert turned around, a clear blush on her face. "T-tell her that I think her human form is cute!" She then ran off, slamming the door behind her.
"I uh… Okay!" I said to nobody in particular. It's weird that she'd trust me with that information, but I assume these feelings have been bubbling for a while and she hadn't confided to anyone before hand because well, they're enemies.
Ah, forbidden love. Well, with that, guess I'll turn in for the ni- why are my hands vibrating? Opening the UI, I saw some text on screen:
Phone Call from: Noire. Accept? Y/N
Goddammit, sure. Whatever. Accepting the "call", unsurprisingly, Noire's face popped up on the screen.
"Oh hey, Koei! Fancy seeing you here…" Noire started the conversation as if I had just run into her. It was weird.
"Noire, why the fuck do I get phone calls on my gloves?" I state simply, completely done with conversing at this point. It's been a long day, alright?
"Gah! S-sorry." Noire flustered, nearly knocking the "camera" on her end over. "I just wanted to beta test this calling feature real quick to see how the video feed works on these gloves, is all." To her credit, it was pretty decent quality. Though at this point it made me wonder what the utter hell these gloves were made out of.
"Seems to work fine on my end. More importantly, I don't recall seeing a phone call feature on these?" I really didn't, but I did do the bare minimum of browsing so I might have missed it.
"We're installing it on the next firmware update that releases at midnight. Hugely requested feature from business types who wanted video calls on the go." Noire explained. Fair enough, I guess. "Plus, you can save your contacts on the UI Gloves and call them anytime! Isn't that cool?"
"It is pretty neat, I gotta admit. But why me in particular?" It was pretty random getting a call from the CPU of Lastation after only seeing her off this morning.
"Ah… Well… I already had the number on that pair for testing the initial feature back when it was in alpha. Don't look at me like that, while I did make them beforehand, I spent all night updating the firmware!" Fair enough.
"Makes more sense than making them from scratch in a single evening, I suppose. So the feature's ready for launch then?"
"Yup!" Noire shot a thumbs up. She seemed oddly excited. Maybe it's because it's a pretty cool advancement in technology. "I forgot to tell you this, but don't wear your gloves in bed. It's more of a safety precaution, but during updates the gloves… Well, they can get quite warm." That is less cool.
"Ah, thanks. Will that be all?" I wanted this over with before midnight. Burns are not good for holding swords, and I'm going to have to get back to questing starting tomorrow.
"I believe that is it. Love to stay and chat, but update day is pretty hectic. Later Koei!" And with that, Noire disappeared. I hope there's a non-video mode for this, I'd hate it if every conversation was broadcast for anyone to see. Ah well, if that'll be all…
Silence. My god, I was finally at peace.
Knock knock. "Hey Arsonist, this is your room, right?" IF's voice came from the other side. Fucking hell.
"Yes, what do you want and please make it quick." I reply, some exasperation in my voice. I was getting tired of this.
IF entered, a jingling bag in her hand. "Yeah, I'll be in and out. Just wanted to refund some of the Credits you lost today. It wasn't entirely your fault, after all."
"Oh. Thanks." I took the bag off of IF and looked inside. Yup, those were Credits. I stored them in my inventory, then took the bag out and gave it back to IF. That auto sort feature is pretty neat.
"I was going to say keep the bag, but thanks. Should be about 2500 Credits in there, just for you to get some supplies for tomorrow. Good luck, Arsonist."
"Thanks, Stalker. Wait, why are you doing this for me?"
IF wasn't entirely out of the room, but she didn't turn around. "I know what Noire did to you. Trust me, this trip to Leanbox seemed to be coincidental at first glance, and I'm glad you didn't suspect anything, but well… Stalker isn't entirely wrong at this point, I must admit."
"Should I be worried?" I am going to be worried regardless, even if IF has the best interests in mind for me, I don't want her following my every goddamn move.
"Well…" IF turned and leaned on a wall "I suspect you want to visit Planeptune tomorrow, as you don't want to confront Blanc nor do you want to retread old ground. That and your UI gloves have Histoire inside their firmware and neither you nor Noire know why she's there and are hoping to ask the Oracle directly, right?"
I uh… Fucking hell, Stalker was on the money. "You and Nepgear are heading to Planeptune regardless of what I say, so I might as well come with you." I admitted defeat. IF just simply had my thoughts on lockdown. "But how did you know about what happened?"
"I asked an informant of your location after I couldn't find you in Lowee. They said you were holed up in Lastation General with a nasty slash wound. That and Lastation's shares having a sudden drop led me to think that something between you and her happened. After that I asked to see the medical record from that informant, said it was a sword slash specifically." IF didn't miss a beat, did she?
"You differentiate those?" I mean, slashes are slashes either way.
"Monsters can have poison or paralysis imbued into their bodies through mutation, so generally medical personnel will check for what kind of wound it is beforehand." Huh, I guess that checks out. If you get bitten by a dog instead of a snake, unless it has rabies you'd probably just want the wound cleaned up rather than potential poisons flushed out. I'm not a medical professional anyway.
"Uhh… Okay then. Still a stalker, though." I clarify. "I mean it's super nice of you, but it's getting kinda disturbing how you're following my every step."
"Remember what I said back in Lowee? Just precautions for someone of your persuasion. Honestly, I was going to stop after you made it to the Lowee Basilicom, but-"
"I never made it because I managed to somehow go entirely the wrong way. Yes, I didn't head to Lastation on purpose, though you probably figured that one out too." I rolled my eyes at Sherlock. Probably would be a better nickname, but I doubt she'd get the reference.
"Actually ,I just figured you wanted to stay away from Lowee and Blanc for a bit and just ended up fighting Noire by accident." I guess my lack of direction threw even Stalker Holmes off. Not shocking, even I don't know how I managed that.
"Anyway, I might as well come out and say it; Histoire wants to see you in Planeptune." IF stated factually."Originally I only mentioned her and the fact that I knew who you were, thinking you'd go straight there or right after dealing with your Blanc situation, but then you went to Lastation instead. And then here. Now I'm just giving you a reason to go at this point." Huh.
"I probably would have been clearer about it, but thank you for letting me stumble about for a bit, as well as keeping an eye on me. I'm sure Histoire is sick of waiting for me, though."
"You are several days late, yes. It's not like Gamindustri is in any real threat, though. That's why I haven't exactly been dragging you to Planeptune myself." IF was really being open, huh.
"Well, thanks for that. I've just been enjoying the world so far, which is weird because usually I opt to get things done ASAP. I guess none of this is normal…" I pondered. I haven't really thought about home since coming here. After meeting Blanc, it kinda just went on the backburner due to higher priority things.
"With that thought, I'll leave you to rest. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow Koei. Rest well." And with that, IF left.
"Later IF!" I yell out after her, deciding to drop my nickname just this once out of kindness. Still, that left Nepgear to talk to. I wonder if I shou- Oh fuck it's 11pm already? Time flies when you're conversing and surfing the Nep, I guess.
Hmm, maybe one more beer wouldn't hurt...
A/N: I'm almost starting to miss Koei being alone. Keeping this balancing act of conversations and continuity is hard, holy fuck. I kinda forgot partway through IF and Koei's talk about how "Stalker" originated and wrote this whole bit about how IF has been keeping an eye on him the entire time, completely forgetting I did that just 3 chapters ago! Thankfully I managed to salvage it somewhat clumsily, but I dunno, maybe this is the start of a beautiful, hate filled meme-fest of a relationship. KoeIffy, anyone?
Nah, Koei was too dense to go start the actual fucking story, never mind actual advances from IF. Stick to Compa, IF-chan, she'll love you all the same~
Speaking of love in the air, Vert thinks that Blanc is cute! I'm about as subtle as a wrecking ball when it comes to romance, this is probably why my idea for a VerBlanc oneshot never came about. This is why we can't have nice things, goddamn shippers!
Oh and next chapter's going to be an absolute bitch. Hoo boy, Arc 2 is almost over and nothing of significance has happened to poor Koei. Ah well, he takes a pipe to the face well! See you in Planeptune!
god help my fingers