I forgot to tell you guys that I will expand canon in this story (e.g., fleshing out C-Sha's backstory). I probably don't need to tell you guys that since you saw it a lot in the last chapter, but I thought I should let you know in case of confusion.
A Feeling For Her
Chapter 3
Armistice Festival
Lowee - March 5, G.C. 2018
Today was Armistice Day—a national holiday celebrating the end of the Console War. Each year, one of the CPUs would host the Armistice Festival in their nation. Everyone from all over Gamindustri would come over to play games and honor those who sacrificed themselves in the war.
The Armistice Festival was set to take place in Lowee this year because it was Blanc's turn to host the event. She and Financier planned the event six months in advance, so the preparations for the festival went smoothly. They even managed to get it done right before the deadline, which was good news for Blanc as it was one less thing she needed to worry about.
It didn't take too long for many people to show up at the festival, flooding the streets as they were eager to eat, drink, and play games. Blanc walked through the bustling crowd of people with the other CPUs and Gold Third.
"It's about time I appeared in this fanfic!" Neptune beamed. "I was waiting forever!"
"And you're already breaking the fourth wall. How charming," Noire deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
"You really went all out with the festival, Blanc. I like it," Vert complimented, smiling.
"Thanks." Blanc glanced around the streets, not really paying attention.
Uzume gazed at Blanc with curious eyes. "What's wrong, Blansy?"
"Nothing. I'm just looking for C-Sha," Blanc looked at her friends. "Has anyone seen her?"
B-Sha took a bite from her chocolate bar before answering Blanc's question. "She's looking for Irem."
Blanc raised her eyebrows. "The baseball player? How does C-Sha know her?"
"They're sisters." S-Sha answered before taking a sip of her favorite blue wine.
K-Sha looks at Blanc with a cheerful smile. "She was hoping you two could meet!"
"O-Oh…" Blanc stuttered. While it wouldn't be the first time she'd met a celebrity, she was still nervous. If she was going to meet Irem, she wanted to make a good impression. After all, the female baseball player was C-Sha's sister.
"Hey, Blanny!" a mature female voice called out.
"Hm?" Blanc turned around to see C-Sha waving and walking towards her. She was wearing an off-shoulder light gray dress with a thigh split that matched her slanted eyes and accentuated her chest. Blanc couldn't help but blush as she gazed at her partner in awe.
Her admiration was cut short when she saw Neptune and Vert smirking out of the corner of her eye. She scowled, glaring at the two goddesses.
"Cut it out."
"We aren't doing anything," Vert lied as she kept grinning. Blanc knew that annoying blonde bimbo was deliberately trying to piss her off!
"We're just watching you ogling at C-Sha!" Neptune giggled.
Blanc's glare hardened. "For the umpteenth time, I do not—"
She stopped herself when she saw C-Sha approach her and the rest of the group. "Hello, C-Sha!"
"How are you?" C-Sha asked, giving her a quick hug.
"I'm doing good!" Blanc replied. While returning the hug, she saw a shorter brunette wearing a red baseball uniform and white pants. "I assume the person behind you is your sister."
"Yeah." C-Sha nodded as she let go. "Remmy, this is Blanc and her friends: Neptune, Noire, Vert, and Uzume."
"Nice to meet you all," Irem said as she gave them a polite nod and smile.
"You're a baseball player? But you're almost as short as me!" Neptune remarked.
"Call me short again, and I will braid your veins." Irem shot Neptune a death glare.
"Yikes!" Neptune exclaimed with widened eyes.
"Remmy…" C-Sha frowned. She then looked at the others with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, Neptune. Remmy is very… sensitive about her height."
I'll say, Blanc thought.
Irem then shifted her piercing gaze to Blanc. It almost made her feel a little self-conscious.
"It's finally nice to meet you, Lady Blanc." Irem smiled at her. "C-Sha has told me a lot about you."
"It's… it's nice to meet you too!" Blanc tried her best not to stutter.
"Say, why don't we try the games?" C-Sha suggested.
"Heck yeah! I've been dying to get that blue hedgehog plushie at ring toss!" Neptune chirped.
"I want to get that big bear plushie for Noire at balloon darts!" K-Sha said, which made Noire blush.
"How about we split up?" Vert suggested. "That way, we can all try the games we want."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Uzume remarked.
"Let's all meet back here before I give my big speech," Blanc directed.
Everyone nodded in unison. "Right."
The group split up to play different games, with Blanc tagging along with C-Sha and Irem.
"So, what do you wanna play, Blanny?" C-Sha asked.
I was about to ask you the same question. Blanc thought. "Hmmm…. How about the high striker?"
"You okay with that, Remmy?" C-Sha said. She looked at her sister, who was fixing her ponytail.
"Yeah," Irem responded with a smile.
Somewhere far from the Armistice Festival, Hajime and Shun were talking to Azna=Leb on the phone at their secret hideout.
"You want us to capture those girls during the festival?!" Hajime exclaimed in disbelief.
"Is there a problem, Hajime?" Azna=Leb questioned.
"How in the world are we supposed to capture them while they're at a festival?!" Hajime asked in a sharp tone of voice.
"I don't know, and I don't care! Just get those damn girls!" Azna=Leb ordered. "And don't fail me again, or else you two won't get the money!"
Before Hajime could make another comment, Azna=Leb had already hung up on him.
"Goddamn it!" Hajime threw his phone at the wall in anger. "He is starting to get on my last nerve!"
"Hey! Don't break that phone!" Shun scolded.
"I won't, I won't," Hajime grumbled. He began to pace back and forth, thinking about how he and his partner could take on this difficult mission. "Who knew being a mercenary can get so complicated?"
"Ya can say that again," Shun sighed as he folded his arms. "But we gotta keep our eyes on the prize! Cash is at stake here!"
"But how are we supposed to capture them at a time like this?" Hajime inquired. "There are dozens of people at the festival, and guards will watch the place like a hawk!"
"I think I have a plan. Here is what we'll do…" Shun whispered the details in Hajime's ear. When he was done explaining, Hajime looked at his partner with dilated eyes.
"That's a crazy plan!"
"But it just might work if we play our cards right," Shun claimed.
Under normal circumstances, Hajime would usually protest and argue for a more reasonable course of action. However, these were not normal circumstances. He simply sighed as he went over to pick his phone up from the floor.
"I'll call Azna=Leb and tell him what we're gonna do," Hajime said as he began to dial Azna=Leb's number. It didn't take long for the former politician to answer the phone.
"Yes, Hajime?" Azna=Leb asked.
"We've come up with a plan to capture them—"
"Great! Now get to it!"
"But I think you might wanna hear the plan first…" Hajime said.
While walking alongside C-Sha and Irem with a stick of cotton candy in her hands, Blanc realized that meeting Irem wasn't so bad. In fact, she found out that Irem was an avid bookworm, and they eagerly exchanged book recommendations.
On top of that, this evening was going great. No mishaps or rowdy drunken idiots making a spectacle like what happened at the last Armistice Festival in Lowee four years ago. Oh, how Blanc longed to forget all the awful stuff that had happened, as it caused a significant dip in shares that year. Fortunately, this year's festival could make up for it, as she'd heard nothing but good things from several people.
"This cotton candy is delicious!" Irem remarked before taking a bite.
"I knew you wouldn't regret coming here!" C-Sha smiled.
"Wait, you didn't want to come to the festival?" Blanc questioned, surprised.
"Yeah," Irem admitted. "I wanted to spend my Armistice Day reading a new mystery novel that I bought, but C-Sha persuaded me into coming to the festival."
Huh, Blanc thought, blinking. She figured most people would want to come to the festival to celebrate the day she and the other CPUs signed a peace treaty to end the Console War. So many people died in that war, and it wore everyone out, including her.
"Though I'm glad I came this year," Irem added while smiling. "I haven't had this much fun in a while."
"Well, I'm glad you liked it!" Blanc beamed.
"Blanny, Remmy, look!" C-Sha gasped, pointing.
Irem's smile widened when she saw what C-Sha was looking at. "No way… no freaking way!"
"Hm?" Blanc turned around to see what the two sisters were getting so excited about. "What? The all-you-can-eat buffet?"
"Blanny, you shouldn't have!" C-Sha gushed.
"You are too sweet to us!" Irem added.
Blanc knew C-Sha had a big appetite and couldn't fight on an empty stomach. However, she didn't expect C-Sha to get this excited over an all-you-can-eat buffet. But then again, she should have expected this level of enthusiasm from her meat-loving partner.
"Shall we go to the buffet? For old time's sake?" C-Sha grinned, looking at her sister.
"Hell yeah!" Irem dashed towards the buffet. "Race you!"
C-Sha was not far behind. "C'mon, Blanny!"
"C-Coming!" She wasn't sure why they were making such a fuss about an ordinary buffet until she saw them pile loads of food on their plates before sitting at the table.
Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into? she thought as she walked over to sit with them.
"Aren't you gonna grab a plate, Lady Blanc?" Irem asked curiously.
"I-I'm not hungry," Blanc replied. "And please, call me Blanc."
"Ready to lose, Remmy?" C-Sha teased.
"I should be asking you the same question!" Irem retorted playfully.
Before Blanc could ask what was about to happen, C-Sha and Irem began wolfing down their food like there was no tomorrow.
"S-Slow down, or else you two are gonna choke!" Blanc cautioned, but her warning didn't stop the two sisters from gobbling up their food.
"Relax, Blanny!" C-Sha said before scarfing down a cheeseburger. "We used to do this many times when we were kids!"
"We're practically professionals!" Irem added before taking a big bite of sushi.
"At what? Stuffing your faces?!" Blanc mocked, but it wasn't in an unkind way. In fact, she was more amused than disgusted by their mini-eating contest. Besides, she secretly thought they had better table manners than Rom and Ram.
Out of the corner of her eye, Blanc could see the staff's horrified expressions. She figured they had never seen two gluttons guzzle drinks and devour their food as if they had never been fed in their entire lives. However, she wasn't bothered by it; if she was, she would've snapped at them to stop.
"Can I ask you guys something?" Blanc asked.
"Sure!" chirped C-Sha as she took a bite of tempura.
"Does gluttony run in your family?" While it wasn't a serious question, Blanc wouldn't have been surprised if everyone in C-Sha's family were chowhounds.
"We're not gluttonous," Irem refuted before gulping down a small can of soda. "We just have big appetites!"
"Right…" Blanc deadpanned.
"Getting full yet, Remmy?" C-Sha smirked.
"You wish!"
"You better get comfortable, Blanny, because we're gonna be here for a while!" C-Sha suggested.
"Well, it's a good thing I brought a book with me." Blanc took out a green book and began to read. She didn't mind waiting for C-Sha and Irem's eating contest to be over, as she wasn't in a rush.
Rom watched her twin sister Ram stare intently at a fish bowl with a toy fish inside. Ram had one ping-pong ball left in her hand, but she was determined to win the game.
"You can do it, Ram!" Rom encouraged.
"Ha!" Ram uttered loudly as she threw her third and last ping pong ball cleanly into one of the fish bowls.
"Congratulations, Lady Ram!" the man behind the game said. He gave Ram a clear bag with an actual goldfish swimming inside it.
"Woohoo!" Ram crowed as she took the bag in her hand.
"Good job, Ram! What should we name him?"
"Hmmm… How about George?" Ram said.
"Why George?"
"Because he looks like a 'George'."
"I think we should name him Goldie instead," Rom suggested.
"Why? Because he is a goldfish?"
"No, because his scales look golden! See?" Rom pointed at the goldfish.
"Oh… Well, I still think we should name him George."
"No, we should name him Goldie!" Rom asserted.
"George."
"Goldie."
"George."
"Goldie!"
"George!"
"How about we ask Nepgear and Uni to see which name sounds better?" Rom suggested.
"Fine…" Ram grumbled.
The twins walked over to the older CPU candidates, but they stopped in their tracks when they saw Nepgear and Uni chatting.
"Y-You added wings to the Nepgeardam?!" Uni sputtered.
Nepgear nodded. "Yep! Although the wings are a little faulty. Each time the Nepgeardam tries to fly, it goes straight through the wall."
Uni couldn't help but laugh. "I could come over and help you with the Nepgeardamn after the festival."
"Thanks, Uni," Nepgear pecked her cheek, causing the ravenette to blush and smile. "I appreciate that."
"Get a room, you two!" Ram blurted out.
Nepgear and Uni turned around to see Rom and Ram standing before them.
"Don't be so rude, Ram…" Rom chastised, though she wasn't too upset about it. On the contrary, she was more annoyed than angry with her sister ruining Nepgear and Uni's moment.
"H-How long have you two been standing there?!" Uni sputtered, blushing.
"We saw the whole thing," Rom answered.
"Nepgear, Uni, we have a question for you." Ram held up the goldfish she had just won from the fish bowl game. "Rom and I are having trouble naming our goldfish. Do you think his name should be George?"
"Or do you think his name should be Goldie?" Rom added.
"Hmmm…" Nepgear tapped her chin with her finger. "Those are good names, but how about you name him Bubbles?"
"Why Bubbles?" Rom asked.
"It seems like a cute name for a goldfish," Uni answered.
"Bubbles…" Ram echoed. "I like that name! What do you think, Rom?"
"I like that name too," Rom responded with a smile.
"So it's settled! His name will be Bubbles!" Ram said. "Thanks, Nepgear and Uni!"
"No problem!" Nepgear giggled.
Uni smiled. "Anytime."
Just when the twins were about to play another festival game, many people started screaming and running away. Rom wasn't sure why, as she couldn't see anything through the stampeding crowd.
It was a blur, and everything was happening so fast. Before she could ask what was going on, Rom had been separated from her sister and the other CPU candidates.
"It's working! It's working!" Shun burst with excitement.
"I can't believe you released not one but two skunks at the Armistice Festival…" Hajime said as he watched a peaceful festival turn into pure mayhem in a blink of an eye. "And why two?!"
"Because why not? Enough chit-chat! Let's hurry up and find those brats!" Shun commanded. "And use ya walkie-talkie to tell me if ya got one of 'em!"
Hajime nodded. "Got it."
The mercenaries split up and slipped into the crowd to find the girls. Hajime pushed and shoved his way through the masses of people desperate to find the exit. He tried to scan the area through the chaos, but it was hard to see when everyone was like a stampeding herd of panicked, wild-eyed cattle. Luckily, Hajime wouldn't get trampled easily due to his tall and hefty build. The girls he and Shun were supposed to capture, on the other hand…
"Of course, that crazy idiot didn't think about the consequences!" Hajime huffed. "This is exactly why I do the planning!"
The thought of failing the mission because the girls got trampled made his stomach churn, but he didn't let anxiety deter him. He'd made a contract with Azna=Leb and was determined to fulfill his end of the deal. He could feel his worries melt away when he saw a young girl wearing a blue overcoat with white puffballs.
There she is. Hajime thought, smiling. He bulldozed his way through this madhouse until he was finally close enough to grab the girl and lift her onto his shoulder.
"Help! Help!" the child shouted.
"Rom?!" a female voice said.
"Don't worry! We're coming for you!" another female voice added.
Uh oh. Hajime recognized those voices. It was the CPU Candidates Nepgear and Uni. He quickly fled the scene with Rom in tow.
He grabbed his walkie-talkie. "I got Lady Rom. Do you have Lady Ram?"
"Yeah! Now let's get the hell outta here so we can report to Azna=Leb!" Shun replied.
Hajime wasted no time in running away while Rom yelled for help. He felt his heart racing as he desperately tried to look for the back exit. Images of getting caught by one of the older candidates flashed in his mind, motivating him to sprint as if he was trying to win first place in a marathon. When he finally reached the back door exit, he dashed outside.
"Phew…" Hajime heaved, out of breath from running so fast. "I… can't believe… that plan… actually worked…"
"Ya better believe it!"
Hajime turned around to see his partner Shun with a triumphant smile, paying no attention to the angry screaming child he had over his shoulder. Hajime frowned as he watched his partner saunter over to him.
"You better thank your freaking lucky stars that crazy plan of yours worked! Those girls could've been trampled to death!" Hajime fumed.
"Relax, Hajime!" Shun chuckled as he tried to calm Hajime down, but his smug smile and carefree attitude only infuriated him more. "We got the girls, didn't we?"
"Barely!" Hajime raged. "What if the plan failed, huh?! What if—?!"
"Look, we got the girls, so there is no use complaining about it!" Shun interrupted. He walked past his indignant partner. "Let's just take them back to our place so we can tell Azna=Leb."
"Azna=Leb?! You're friends with that jerk-face!" Ram gasped.
"Whoa, whoa! 'Friends' is a strong word," Hajime said, following Shun. "We're just doing what he hired us to do. Nothing more."
Besides, Hajime would never, ever be friends with someone like Azna=Leb. He only agreed to do this because of the payload. He had bills to pay, just like everyone else in Gamindustri.
"You won't get away with this!" Ram swore. "When my sister finds out, she will find you two and kick your butts!"
"Yeah!" Rom concurred with a sharp nod.
"I would like to see 'em try!" Shun snickered, unfazed by her threat, still high on his plan's success.
As Hajime continued to walk behind Shun, his frown softened when he noticed Ram holding a bag with a goldfish.
"Is that your goldfish?" Hajime asked.
"… Yeah. His name is Bubbles." Ram grumbled. "What's it to ya?"
"You better not hurt him!" Rom warned.
"What? No!" Hajime said, offended. "I was just asking because… well, I got a fish tank at my place you could put Bubbles in."
"Really?" Rom, Ram, and Shun asked in unison, surprised.
"Oh, sure!" Hajime concurred. "The tank even has a filter!"
"When the hell did you get a fish bowl tank?" Shun queried, looking back at his shoulder to look at Hajime.
"Couple of days ago," Hajime answered. "I was planning on buying a fish at some point, but I guess the twins can have it."
"That's… kind of you…" Rom remarked, blinking.
"For a kidnapper." Ram chimed in.
"Hey, I'm a mercenary, not a complete monster," Hajime retorted gruffly, hardening his gaze at a frowning Ram.
Blanc let out a dejected sigh. Everything was going great at the festival until the skunks somehow crashed the party, causing absolute bedlam. Animal control arrived quickly to fix the situation, but it didn't make Blanc feel any better. Thanks to those damn pests crashing the party, the Armistice Festival has been ruined. She had no doubt that something like this would cause Lowee's share rate to drop. The festival was a huge deal to many people because Armistice Day was one of the most important holidays in Gamindustri.
She watched the animal control workers put the caged skunks in the back of their van. One of the workers came by to tell her that the skunks would be released into the wild where they belong. Blanc flatly thanked the female worker, who tried to comfort her before heading to the van. Although it was sweet of her to do that, there was nothing anyone could say or do that would cheer Blanc up. Then, while staring down at her empty hands, a sudden thought occurred.
Where are Rom and Ram?
She glanced around the area and saw no sign of her sisters, which she found pretty strange. Sure, there were a lot of people in the building, but everyone got out, which means her sisters should be out here just like everyone else. The thought of something terrible happening to them made her heart race and shoulders tense. She got up and began searching for Rom and Ram.
Calm down, Blanc. I'm sure your sisters are around here somewhere. You just got to find them, that's all, Blanc thought. Maybe they're with C-Sha and Irem. Yeah, that's it!
She started searching for C-Sha and Irem, but when she found them, her eyes widened. Her sisters were not with them as she had hoped. If Rom and Ram weren't around here, then where are they? She tried to stay calm and collected, but that was impossible to do when her intuition kept telling her something wasn't right.
"Blanny! What's wrong?" C-Sha asked, rushing towards her side with a concerned look.
"Yeah, you look like you seen a ghost!" Irem remarked.
"Something… Something awful has happened to Rom and Ram…" Blanc stammered, looking at C-Sha and Irem. "They're not here. I searched everywhere… and they aren't here!"
"Blanc!" a young female voice called out.
The three brunettes turned around to see Nepgear and Uni running towards them.
"What's wrong, Nepgear?" C-Sha asked.
"I… I think Rom and Ram were kidnapped!" Nepgear disclosed.
Blanc's worst nightmare had come true. She prayed to the One True Goddess that she was wrong, that her sisters were okay, but they were not.
"What?! How, Nep Jr.?" a shocked female voice inquired.
Blanc turned around and saw Neptune and the others approaching with shocked expressions as well
"I-It happened when the skunks got into the building," Nepgear explained. "Uni and I saw a man grab Ram!"
"And I assume someone else grabbed Rom because I heard her cry for help," Uni added with a solemn expression. "We tried to go after them, but Nepgear and I lost them in the crowd."
"I-I'm sorry, Blanc…" Nepgear apologized tearfully. "I really tried to save them, but…"
Uni gently patted Nepgear's back in an attempt to comfort her.
"It's not your fault, Nepgear," Blanc consoled the young candidate, sighing as her heart began to slow down. However, her mind was still uneasy, knowing her sisters were being held captive somewhere by two strangers.
"Did you get a good look at them to see who it was?" Vert asked with a concerned look in her eyes.
"N-No…" Nepgear sniffed. "But I heard one of the men talk."
"What did he say?" Blanc questioned.
"He said something about reporting to someone named Azna=Leb…"
Dread turned into rage when she heard that name and what he had done. Her hands clenched into a fist, shaking it as she felt her pulse begin to elevate.
"I'll kill him…" Blanc seethed in white hot anger. "I'll. Kill. Him!"
That's a wrap!
Neptune: Again, with the cliffhangers!
Neptune, you know I'm going to be leaving cliffhangers at almost every single chapter I make. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Also, all my fanfics will be on this website and Archive Of Our Own (my username is the same on the latter).
