I apologize for taking so long to make this chapter. Life got in the way, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my writing.

UPDATE 8/22/2022: I just had to edit the ending.


A Feeling For Her

Chapter 4

Desperate Measures


"C-Calm down, Blanny."

"Calm down? Calm down?!" Blanc repeated, glaring at C-Sha. "Azna=Leb hired strangers to kidnap my sisters, and you want me to calm down?! Who knows what that bastard plans to do with them!"

"Well, standing here wondering about it isn't going to bring them back," Irem said, causing Blanc to glare at her.

"I believe what my sister was trying to say is that we'll find them," C-Sha reassured her. "Azna=Leb's lackeys couldn't have gone too far from here."

"Um… I don't mean to interrupt," Neptune asked, tilting her head to the side, "but who the heck is Azna=Leb?"

Blanc looked at Neptune. "He's an asshole who invented the License System. He tried to get C-Sha and me executed so he could take over Lowee!"

"I guess he's still bitter about us foiling his plan," C-Sha remarked. "That's why he hired two guys to kidnap Rom and Ram."

"So, how are we going to find them?" S-Sha inquired. "We have no idea where the kidnappers took them."

"And the only thing we know about the kidnappers is that they're working for Azna=Leb," Uni added.

"What if we ask Affimojas?" Neptune suggested, and everyone looked at her. "He might know something about Azna=Leb that could help us!"

"I don't know if we should… do that…" Blanc hesitated, pulling back slightly.

"C'mon, Blanc! He's the only guy we know who has dirt on everybody!" Neptune said. "Besides, what do we got to lose?"

"Our dignity?" Noire remarked with a single raised eyebrow.

Blanc was somewhat unsure about the idea since this was Affimojas they were talking about. The same man who'd plunged Gamindustri into chaos just so he could make a quick buck!

At the same time, though, Blanc was desperate. She was willing to do anything to get her sisters back, even if it meant seeking help from a dubious info broker like Affimojas.

Blanc sighed. "Alright, let's do it."

"Are you sure, Blanny?" C-Sha asked. "We can come up with something else if you're not comfortable with this plan."

"No, it's fine," Blanc reassured her.

"But how are we supposed to get Affimojas to talk?" K-Sha asked. "It's not like he'll give that information to us willingly."

"I'm so glad you asked!" Neptune beamed. "We all know Affimojas has a thing for busty blondes, right?"

"Yeah?" Everyone said in unison.

"Well, who's the bustiest blonde we know?" Neptune grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.

Blanc and the others immediately stared at Vert, whose eyes widened with shock.

"No!" Vert exclaimed.

"But—"

"No!" Vert glared at the purplette. "I refuse to do anything of the sort!"

Neptune gave Vert the puppy-dog eyes. "Please?" She begged.

"I said no, and that's final!" Vert asserted as she crossed her arms and frowned. "Besides, why can't you get C-Sha to do that? All we have to do is put a blonde wig on her!"

Blanc scowled at Vert but didn't say a word. For some reason, the thought of C-Sha flirting with Affimojas rubbed her the wrong way.

I don't want to see that! Blanc thought. C-Sha trying to butter that degen—Wait a second. Why do I care so much?!

C-Sha shrugged. "I'm more than willing to do that if it means—"

"Absolutely not!" Irem exclaimed, glaring at Vert. "I'm not letting anyone put a wig on my little sister just so she can seduce a pervert!"

"Let's be reasonable—!"

"How about you be reasonable, Lady Vert!" retorted Irem. "We're just asking you to flirt with the man, not sleep with him!"

Vert crossed her arms and frowned. "No means no."

"Vert, if you do this," Neptune blurted, "I'll let you be Nepgear's older sister for a week!" Neptune blurted.

"What the goodness!" Nepgear exclaimed, looking at her sister with widened eyes.

"Hmm…" Vert tapped her chin.

"Still unconvinced? Fine, I'll sweeten the deal for ya!" Neptune continued.

"But she didn't even say no to your first deal yet!" Nepgear pointed out. However, her complaints were ignored.

"I'll also buy that new update for Four Goddesses Online 2 for ya!" Neptune added.

"Don't I get a say in this?!" Nepgear asked.

"Alright, we have a deal!" Vert finally agreed, shaking Neptune's hand.

"What?! Neptune!" Nepgear fell down to her knees.

"Woohoo! Point one for the protagonists of protagonists!" Neptune cheered. "Now, let's go to Lastation, everybody!"

"What… just happened?" asked Uzume.

"I'm not sure," Blanc replied, blinking.

However, she knew one thing: It was going to be a long day.


"Hajime!" Shun yelled.

His once tidy secret hideout now looked like a tornado hit it, thanks to Rom and Ram. The two girls ran around the living room, touching everything in sight with their grabby hands. Various items were scattered across the wooden floor, from paperwork and books to crystals and action figurines.

Shun stood in the middle of the room, his right eye twitching as he waited to unleash his fury on his partner. The second he heard footsteps, he turned around and glared at Hajime, who opened a soda can to take a small sip.

"What is it?" Hajime yawned before taking a sip of his soda.

"I thought I told ya to tie these brats up when we got home!" Shun scowled as he pointed at Rom and Rom, who continued to make a mess of the place.

"I know you told me to do that, but given that it's a stupid decision, I've chosen to ignore it," Hajime sassed before taking another sip of his soda.

"Why?!" Shun growled, gritting his teeth. He looked like a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode at any moment.

Hajime narrowed his eyes. "Because I have morals. That's why," he retorted. "Just because we're holding these kids hostage doesn't mean we have to treat them like garbage."

Shun wanted to rebut, but he couldn't think of anything to say, so he just facepalmed and heaved a frustrated sigh. "Just help me clean up this damn mess. Azna=Leb will be here soon, and I want this place to look good."

"Hey, mister!" Ram called out to get Shun's attention. "Can you tell me what this—?"

Shun finally had enough of the twins. He turned around to glare at them. "Stop!"

Ram stopped talking, and Rom paused.

"This is mah house, not a playground or an amusement park!" Shun explained sternly. "As long as ya brats live here, ya live under mah rules. Got it?"

"But we don't even live here! You jerks carried us here against our will!" Ram pointed out as she frowned at Shun.

"Yeah!" Rom agreed, nodding. "We didn't ask to be here."

"And I didn't ask for details! Now clean this mess up!" Shun ordered. "I want this place to look neat before Azna=Leb gets here."

"Fine…" Ram and Rom grumbled in unison.

"Since when do you care what Azna=Leb thinks?" Hajime asked while putting down his soda so he could help the twins clean up the living room.

"I don't," Shun answered casually. "I just don't like livin' in a messy house."

Everyone started cleaning up the house, with Rom and Ram occasionally asking Hajime what certain gadgets did. Shun picked up various crystals off the floor before heading straight to his bedroom, which had more colorful gemstones neatly organized on top of floating wooden shelves.

"Lousy brats," Shun muttered as he put each gemstone back in its original place. "And he wonders why I don't like kids."

Before placing an orange crystal, Shun closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to remain calm and not let these twins get to him.

Just keep your eyes on the money, Shun thought, and he repeated that phrase in his mind until he calmed down.

When he was done putting everything away, Shun walked out of his bedroom to see a tidy living room, which made him feel a little happier. There was something about a clean home that made his frustrations melt like ice in the heat.

"That's much better." Shun grinned and looked at Hajime, who was standing next to Rom and Ram. "Take the girls to the guest room. Make sure you lock the door and windows so they can't escape."

Hajime nodded. "Alright." He looked at the twins. "Come on, girls, let's go."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Ram retorted, crossing her arms and frowning.

"Ram, we better do what they say…" Rom whispered, but it was loud enough for Shun and Hajime to hear.

"I would listen to your sister if I were ya, brat," Shun growled. His ominous gaze caused Ram to gulp and nod. "Now, get going."

As the twins quickly followed Hajime to their room, Shun took this opportunity to rest on the couch before Azna=Leb arrived.

He yawned while staring at the ceiling fan. Words cannot describe how completely and utterly exhausted he was right now. Hell, he could fall asleep on the couch if he wanted.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do that, at least not right now. Azna=Leb could ring that doorbell at any moment, so Shun had to stay awake for the time being. Taking a nap wasn't even an option because he would be out like a light the second his eyes closed.

Forcing oneself to stay awake in a tired state was easier said than done. The heaviness in Shun's limbs and muscles tempted the shorter mercenary to fall asleep. He would shut his weighted eyes briefly before opening them.

This would happen several times before Shun finally gave into fatigue. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he heard something.

"Shun!"

Shun jolted upright. "I'm awake! I'm awake!" His eyes wandered around the room until he saw the person who called his name.

It was his partner Hajime, who looked very unamused. The taller mercenary was frowning, and his green eyes were narrow. Even though Shun was dog-tired, he could tell there was something wrong with Hajime as he wasn't usually a perpetual frowner, unlike a certain politician he knew.

"O-Oh… Hey, Hajime," Shun yawned, rubbing his eyes.

Hajime crossed his arms. "Don't 'Hey' me. What's your problem?" he snapped, gritting his teeth.

"What are you on about?" Shun asked as he squinted his eyes at his partner.

"I'm talking about your attitude problem!" Hajime clarified. "You didn't have to be rude to those girls!"

Shun sighed. "Ya know I don't like kids."

In fact, he disliked them so much that he initially declined to help Azna=Leb. However, he changed his mind when the former politician promised to reward him and his partner with a million dollars if they succeeded.

While Shun felt it was too good to be true, he needed the money. He was tired of being poor and missing out on all the good stuff that life had to offer.

"Can you at least try to be civil towards them?" Hajime entreated. "They're just kids."

"Alright, alright," Shun said.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Shun walked to the door to open it. He saw Azna=Leb standing in front of the doorway with his usual stern expression. "Hey, Azna=Leb."

"Hello, Shun," Azna=Leb replied back. "Can I come in?"

"Of course. Come in," Shun answered, stepping aside so Azna=Leb could enter his house.

Shun closed the door behind him and locked it. He was surprised to see Azna=Leb act so politely because the redhead was often somewhat grumpy. Not that Shun was complaining, as it meant that their conversation would go much smoother.


"The fans are going to be in for a treat now!" Neptune beamed.

"I'm not sure if they're as excited as you are, Nepsy," Uzume said.

Though it took them a while, everyone finally made it to Affimojas's private airship.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Blanc asked, looking at Neptune. While the purplette's plan sounded good on paper, she still had some doubts about it succeeding.

"We're the good guys of this series, Blanc! There's no way we can lose!" chirped Neptune.

She's acting like we're invincible, Blanc thought before knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" Affimojas asks.

"It's the CPUs," answered Blanc.

"And Gold Third!" added C-Sha.

There was a brief moment of silence before Affimojas answered, "Come in."

Blanc opened the door and walked inside, with the rest of her friends following after her. She saw Affimojas sitting behind his desk, typing on his laptop.

"What can I help you ladies with?" Affimojas asked, his eyes still glued to the computer screen.

Blanc wasted no time beating around the bush. "Do you have any information about Azna=Leb?"

Affimojas stopped typing to look at her. "Maybe. Why do you ask?"

"That bastard sent two guys to kidnap my sisters during the Armistice Festival," Blanc explained. "We need to know where he's keeping them."

"I can tell you where he lives," Affimojas offered. "Steamax gave me his address a while ago."

"Really?!" Blanc beamed, raising her voice a little. She felt like she had won the lottery. Knowing where Azna=Leb was would make finding and rescuing her sisters much easier. "T-That's… That's great—"

"But! It'll cost you." Affimojas leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desks and clasping his hands together.

Damn it! I knew there would be a catch! Blanc thought as she sighed. This was Affimojas she was dealing with. "Alright, how much?"

"100,000 credits."

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed in unison.

"T-That's highway robbery!" Noire exclaimed.

"Eh. I would've charged way more than that," B-Sha shrugged. She muttered 'Ow!' when an annoyed C-Sha bumped her shoulder with her elbow.

Blanc gritted her teeth. "Why, you greedy mother—!"

"Affie~! Affie~!"

Blanc turned her head around to see Vert sauntering toward Affimojas. She softened her gaze, leaning over his desk while thrusting her chest in his direction.

"We're all friends here. I'm sure a handsome guy like you can give us a more generous offer," Vert cajoled.

I think I'm going to be sick, Blanc thought while grimacing at the scene. While she generally didn't think flirting was gross, seeing Vert act like that towards Affimojas wasn't something the brunette didn't need to see.

Affimojas sputtered. "Well… I—"

"If you can't do it for my friends," Vert twirled her blonde hair with her finger and gave him a suggestive smile. "Can you at least do it for me? I hope that's not too much to ask~"

"O-Of course—" Affimojas cleared his throat before continuing, "I mean, of course not! Let me go get the document."

He pulled open a drawer to take out a piece of paper with Azna=Leb's address. "You can have this for 600 credits."

"That's much better~!" Vert pulled out her wallet to give him 600 credits. "Thank you so much."

Affimojas gave the piece of paper to Vert, who gave it to Blanc.

"Let's see," Blanc began to study the document with focused blue eyes. "Hey, I know where this place is."

"You do?" asked C-Sha.

"Yeah, we've been before." Blanc showed the taller brunette the document.

"Hey, you're right!" C-Sha agreed when she saw the address.

"Let's go, everyone!" Irem commanded, motioning others with her hand to follow her. "We got two kids to rescue and a ginger that needs his ass kicked!"

"Thank you, Affimojas!" Neptune beamed, waving back enthusiastically before following the rest of the group.

"Anytime!" Affimojas waved back.

Once everyone was out of the airship, Irem shut the door behind her.

"I'm assuming you and Blanc will lead the way since you two know where this place is," said Irem.

C-Sha gave her older sister a curt nod. "Yeah." She looked at everyone. "We better make it to Lowee before something terrible happens to them."


"What are you doing, Rom?" Ram asked.

"Shhh!" Rom hushed. She was standing in front of the door, pressing her ear against it. "I'm trying to listen to what they're saying."

"Let me hear!" Ram walked over towards where the older twin was. She pressed her ear against the wooden door. "This door is so cold!"

"Shhh!" Rom hushed her sister again. "I need to hear them!"

"Great job capturing those girls, Shun and Hajime!"

"Oh, it was nothing!" Shun grinned at Azna=Leb. "All it took was a little ingenuity to get the job done!"

"Now, about that ransom—" Hajime asked.

"What ransom?" Azna=Leb asked dismissively. "I don't remember mentioning a ransom for the girls."

"Well, we are holding these girls hostage. So obviously, there's going to be money involved," Shun explained. "How else are you gonna give us the million dollars?"

"I don't want their money!" Azna=Leb growled. "No amount of money could ever heal the pain they caused me. I'm going to have those girls killed!"

Rom's heart dropped, and her face turned pale as a ghost. The word "killed" rang in her head over and over again.

"Oh my god…" Ram uttered as she began to shake uncontrollably. "Oh my god."

"L-Let's stay calm," Rom quavered, her heart racing with each passing moment.

"We're about to get murdered, and you want me to calm down?!" Ram shrieked.

"Shhhh!" Rom hushed as she quickly covered her sister's mouth. "We can't let them know that we're listening!"

Ram nodded slowly, and Rom moved her hand away from her younger twin's mouth. She pressed her ear to the door again to hear what they were saying.

"D-Don't you think that's a bit… um… excessive?" asked Hajime. "There has to be another way to do this. I mean, they're just kids!"

"So what? Those kids are related to the same middle-aged woman that ruined my life! She and C-Sha deserve to pay!" Azna=Leb ranted.

Rom didn't hear Hajime or Shun utter a single word after Azna=Leb began ranting like a madman.

She backed away from the door, still shocked by what she had just heard. However, now wasn't the time for her or Ram to stand around doing nothing.

"How the heck are we gonna get out of here?!" Ram whispered frantically.

"First, we need to figure out how we're gonna survive before we can escape," Rom explained, trying to stay as calm as possible. "Maybe we can convince one of them to be on our side."

"Hey, that's a good idea, Rom!"

Before Rom could explain more, she heard the door being unlocked.

The two sisters quickly stood beside each other.

"We might have to fight," Rom said. "Get ready."

Ram nodded. "Right."

Once the door opened, they saw Hajime standing in the doorway. He was staring down at the floor, looking almost… sad.

Hajime closed the door behind him before walking toward them.

"You better stay away from Ram and me," Rom warned.

"Yeah!" Ram added. "We'll transform and kick your butt!"

Hajime let out a sad chuckle. "So you two heard what's going to happen, huh?"

Rom didn't say anything, and neither did her sister.

"Figured much," Hajime sighed. "Listen, I'm gonna make sure nothing bad happens to you kids."

Rom stood there, blinking at the man. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. One of their kidnappers was going to be on their side!

That said, she still wasn't sure if she could trust Hajime. For all she knew, this could be a trap to get her and Ram to lower their guard.

Ram narrowed her eyes at him. "How do we know we can trust you?"

I was about to ask the same thing. Rom thought, glancing at her sister before looking at Hajime.

"I know I'm the last person you two want to trust right now, but I want to make things right," Hajime explained. "No one deserves to be murdered, especially by an assassin."

"An assassin?" Rom blinked at him. "You're… not gonna kill us?"

"Of course not! I'm a mercenary, not a killer!" Hajime asserted. "Besides, Azna=Leb told me he was hiring someone to kill you guys, but I'm not going to let that happen."

Rom weighed her options. A part of her didn't want to trust Hajime. He kidnapped her and Ram, only to have a sudden change of heart? That sounded suspicious to her.

On the other hand, another part of Rom wanted to trust him. Even though he was a bit gruff, he was much nicer than that other guy. On top of that, he let them keep Bubbles!

Maybe I should give him a chance, Rom thought. He could be our ticket to freedom!

"Alright, We'll trust you," Rom finally spoke after thinking it over.

"We will?" Ram looked at Rom.

Rom nodded. "With him on our side, we'll be able to escape and go home!"

"How do you know that?!" Ram questioned.

"I don't know, but he seems genuine to me," Rom explained. "If he wants to help us, we should take him up on his offer."

"A-Alright." Ram looked at Hajime. "I'm only trusting you because my sister does, so you better not disappoint us!"

"You two have my word. I won't betray you," Hajime promised. "Now get some sleep, you two."

"Goodnight!" Ram said.

As Hajime closed the door, Rom couldn't help but feel lucky.

We're coming home, sis. Just you wait! Rom thought as she climbed into bed. Blanc and the others hid in a large bush. They peeked over it to get a better view of Azna=Leb's house while trying not to give away their hiding spot.


"So, how are gonna sneak in?" Uni asked.

"Why don't we just walk through the front door?" S-Sha proposed. "He doesn't seem to be home right now.

Neptune looked at S-Sha as if she was crazy. "We can't just walk through the front door! A bad guy would never make it that easy!"

"I don't see why we couldn't just walk in," Irem reasoned. "There's only three of them, and I'm sure they aren't stronger than any of us."

As everyone discussed what to do, Blanc saw S-Sha walking toward the front door.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Blanc asked loudly.

Everyone stopped talking to see S-Sha opening the front door and walking inside the house. It wasn't before she stepped outside.

"I was right. He isn't home," S-Sha confirmed.

"Wait, for real?" Neptune asked, and S-Sha nodded.

"I have an idea," began C-Sha. "Blanc and I will go inside to grab Rom and Ram while the rest of you stay out here."

"That's a great plan," Blanc said, getting up from the bush.

"Why do we have to stay out here? What if you three need help?" K-Sha asked.

"We need someone to look out just in case Azna=Leb comes back," C-Sha said as she got up from the bush. "Text me if he gets here."

K-Sha nodded. "Alright."

"I'm coming with you two," Irem said as she stood up to follow Blanc and C-Sha. "You two could use backup."

Once the three women were inside the house, Blanc turned on the lights. The living room was richly decorated with white furniture, giving the room a sort of elegant vibe.

"I'm surprised he can afford all this," Irem remarked, looking around.

"Let's just find the twins and get out of here," Blanc directed.

The trio split up to look for Rom and Ram. A few seconds turned into several minutes as they searched all over the house. Every room was searched. Even the closets were checked, but there was no sign of Rom and Ram.

"I'm starting to think they aren't here, Blanny!" C-Sha said as she walked down the stairs to see her.

"If they aren't here, then where are they?!" Blanc's eyes darted across the room. The possibility of her sisters not being in his house made her heart race with fear.

"Guys, I think I found something," Irem called out.

Blanc and C-Sha ran towards Irem, who was at Azna=Leb's computer desk looking through some paperwork.

"I think you might wanna check this out, Lady Blanc," Irem handed a piece of paper to Blanc.

She glanced over the document, reading what was on it. Her eyes hardened when she saw the names and phone numbers of the two men that kidnapped her sisters.

"Hajime and Shun," Blanc gripped the paper so hard that she could rip it in half if she wanted to. "They're gonna pay!"

"And check this out!" Irem handed C-Sha another piece of paper. "That has information about where those crooks live!"

"So that's where Rom and Ram are," C-Sha said, studying the paper. "I wonder why he would have this just laying out here?"

"I guess he was trying to memorize this information," Blanc answered. "Anyway, we better get out of here before he gets back."

They quickly walked out of the house, with Irem closing the door behind them.

"Did you guys get Rom and Ram?" Vert asked.

Blanc shook her head. "No. They aren't even in the damn house!"

"Then where the heck are they?!" Uzume asked.

"They're in Arcton," Irem responded. "It's a northern town far from the capital city."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Arcton!" Neptune exclaimed.

The pudding-obsessed goddess was right. Now that they knew where Rom and Ram were being held, Blanc and her friends could go to that town, rescue her sisters, and throw those bastards in jail!

At least, that's what the brunette wanted to say out loud. She knew they were on borrowed time trying to find her sisters, but even goddesses like her need to sleep.

That's when she had a plan.

"Hold on a sec, Neptune!" Blanc blurted, causing Neptune to stop and look back at her. "How about we split up and go to Arcton first thing in the morning!"

Neptune tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Why do we need to split up when we already know where your sisters are?"

"To increase the chance of them being saved," Blanc answered. "We need to find them as soon as possible, and the only way we can do that is if we split up into groups."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Noire said with a curt nod.


I just want everyone to know that all my stories, including this one, are now on Wattpad. My username is the same on that website, so make sure to check them out.

I also just want to you guys know I will be starting school next Friday, so it might take me a little longer to finish writing future chapters.