Chapter 19: A Favor in Orange

The heat was unbearable. To combat the cruel and sweltering climate, Uni and Nepgear invited the CPUs for a day of cooling off in their new pool in East Nepstation.

It was no surprise that once Uni and Nepgear moved in together, the entirety of the basilicom had been altered to suit their tastes, and the pool was a brand new addition to the many alterations that had happened.

"Spike time!" Shouted Uni. She jumped and smacked the volleyball to the other side of the pool net. She and Nepgear had challenged another CPU couple to a casual game of volleyball that quickly started to heat up.

"Not bad, Uni…," came the sunny smirk of Uzume as she readied herself. "… but you're a few years too early for that trick against me!" Shouted Uzume with a headbutt that launched the ball back.

"Don't give up, sweetie," shouted Nepgear as she too smacked the ball to keep the game going.

"My... you both sure are perfectly coordinated like a good lovely couple, but we're better! Dream box go!" Came the combined shouts of Ultra Vert and Uzume. They joined their left and right hand together to form a combined smack toward the ball.

"Kyaa." The ball had hit the water on the side where the younger Nepstation couple were, splashing them with defeat.

"Alright!" Shouted Uzume. "Did you see that everyone?! How about you, Umio?"

The fish companion of Uzume floated on the water with the help of a chair floaty with a lemonade drink resting in a cup holder. He had on a hat with shades on to ward off the heat. "Very splendid, Uzume. I could feel the waves of the impact from here," he said with a tip of his hat.

"Oh, Jeez. Why the heck did you both shout randomly together?" Demanded Uni with her arms crossed from the other side of the pool.

"Oh, that? We have a habit of shouting random cool lines like that," said Uzume with a hand behind her fiery red hair.

"Indeed, I find it cute when we combined delightful keywords from both of us," said the happy blonde. The jovial couple from Ultra then celebrated with a succession of victory jumps while in the pool. Their celebration was viewed by a brown-haired CPU with a lot of thoughts crashing together.

Near the pool, two beach chairs had Blanc and Vert as they took in the sun. Blanc's sunglasses hanged low on her face as she looked at Ultra Vert's energetic bouncy boobs with a displeased look.

Vert was laid flat on the pool chair and tilted her head to look at her wife. "Honey… you're doing it again, aren't you?" Said Vert who was casually soaking in the sun without so much as a worry in her head.

"Ah! No, I wasn't! It's just... odd to see my wife's lookalike… with someone else," she said meekly.

Vert smiled softly and lifted her sunglasses. "It would seem my wife isn't satisfied with just one gorgeous blonde. Could you be amassing a harem of identical me's?" Her soft, yet alluring gaze pierced the brown-haired CPU instilling all sorts of feelings, like betrayal, hurt, and nervousness.

Blanc's face turned red with embarrassment. "Cut it out, Vert! I'm not a pervert! I'm not into that Vert like that, but it feels awkward to see… well… the love of your life's image with another woman. It… almost like a breach of our intimacy to see them act… like that."

Vert allowed herself to give her wife a gloomy stare since she could understand. "Oh... then it's a matter of the metal dogoo in the room? Then be the better woman and talk with Uzume more," stated the online gaming-addicted blonde.

"Huh?" Said the brown-haired girl.

"Well… from what I gather from your woes, you say it's awkward but you haven't tried to talk to Uzume. I know that you two never happen to have the perfect time to get close outside of being friends of other friends. So just talk with her more. If you do that, then you will see how different they are to us. And you'll see how compatible she is with the other me. Of course, that doesn't mean that she's compatible with me that's with you." She had to add that last part or else the whole argument would be lost on her wife.

"It's not that easy," stubbornly said the once CPU of Lowee.

Vert made a face. "Isn't it? I talk to myself all the time. We have so much in common after all. You won't be able to stop seeing them as an invasion of our intimacy if you don't get to see how they differ from us—food for thought, my lovely wife."

"Weirdo," remarked Blanc. She didn't hate Uzume at all. For the overall situation, it felt odd that they both shared a lover of the same type, and even more odd that their paths hadn't crossed at all. In truth, she wanted to talk to Uzume but it's been a long time that the opportunity had grown stale, and approaching it now was awkward.

She felt her wife kiss her tenderly on the cheek. "I guess no matter how hard I try, I'm not enough for you. Ugh, the struggles of the wife," she said with a fake hurtful expression.

"Cut the crap out!" Blanc, finding it hard to commune with her heart and channel what she felt into words, decided to go big and let her actions do the talking with a passionate kiss to her wife's lips. Not even her deep-ocean-level internal problems could have kept her from letting her actions take charge, unlike her words.

A chorus of gasps and cheers was heard from the four CPUs in the pool.

A squirt of water from a water gun drenched them in the face soon after. "Hey, don't go too overboard; we have kids here," came the stern remark from Noire. The water gun leaned on the top of her shoulder and her other hand pointed to the small kid pool that was attached to the larger one. In that pool, Rom, Ram, Euri, and Peashy were happily playing.

"…But they weren't even looking over here," said a drenched Vert. Both she and Blanc were too stunned to even reply to the iron gaze from Noire.

Neptune laughed to herself from across the pool while she had a pudding cup in her hands. Her companion was Histoire who was engrossed in a rather entertaining book. "Well… better them than me. I do find it ironic that Noire of all people would be lecturing Blanc, the protector of the kid's innocent minds… with a lecture about when it's time to cool off the steamy pipes. I bet Blanc is the ravenous flower inside the pipes ready to devour with urgent intent if Noire hadn't head stomped the situation."

Histoire had been agreeing carelessly due to her focus in the book up until the final part that the pudding addict had said. "Oh, Neptune—stop. It's spontaneous remarks like that that get you hit over the head with a rather large-sized mallet," puffed Histoire.

Over by the kid's pool, they were all hyperactively having a good time.

"Hey, check out Euri!" Shouted Ram above the shoulders of Peashy as they formed a tower.

This was the first time that Euri had been to a pool, as far as her memory was involved. The water felt strange and exciting with how it made her effortless and floaty. It wasn't anything close to flying as she felt evened out instead of having to go higher. It also felt even better than when her mama Noire would run a bath for her.

The commotion that Ram had made a while ago that focused on the pink-haired CPU was because Euri was doing moves similar to karate, probably because of all the kicking and arm movements the three-year-old was engaging in to feel the water with every part of her body.

"Think fast, Ram!" Happily shouted Rom. In her hands, she held a rather large water gun that blasted the clueless twin.

"Ah!" Ram fell backward into the water, stirring up the water into small violent waves that hit the others.

Euri clapped and smiled at how funny her friend Ram had fallen.

Ram laughed heartfeltly with Peashy. "Man, that's super refreshing that I'm not even mad. But… I'm still going to hit you with your own medicine!" Ram pounced on her sister as they struggled for the water gun.

"Hey, Europi, come give it a try! I'll grab your legs nice and tight so that you won't fall." Encouraged Peashy with elated hops, and with a full-on sunny grin that could rival Uzume.

The pink-haired three-year-old immediately stopped clapping and a look of dread appeared on her small face. "No, no, I don't want to," she said stubbornly.

"Huh?" The other three CPUs looked at Euri oddly.

"It's really fun—you feel like a giant towering over everyone else," said Ram while casually blasting her sister on her side with the water gun.

"I don't want to feel like a giant," said Euri with a pout.

Both Rom and Ram looked at each other worriedly but respected the girl's firmness.

"To each their own, as Blanc would say. I remember being scared of falling the first time you put me over your shoulders, Ram," said Rom.

Peashy moved across the water, looking undiminished in her desire to share her wild fun with the little one. "You'll love it! Neptuna was the one that put me over her shoulders the first time I tried it out." The yellow-haired CPU wiggled her fingers as she approached Euri like a lion approaching their prey.

"Ah!" Euri ran around in circles in the small pool trying to get away from the persistent Yellow Heart.

The commotion had drawn Noire over to them. "What's going on over here?" She demanded.

During that time, the yellow-haired CPU closed the distance and forcibly lifted the pink-haired girl when she dived underwater and emerged underneath her like a sea monster.

"Kyaa!" Frantically wailed Euri like someone that had stepped on an anthill.

As soon as Euri saw Noire, she launched herself away from Peashy's shoulders toward her parent. "Papa!" She shouted with tears in her eyes.

"Papa?" Said both Rom and Ram, leaving a lingering snicker that was hard to verify during the panic.

"Ah!" Noire's mouth was left gasped as she watched the tiny body of her daughter move through the air like a frog jumping from one lily pad to another. She reacted quickly and put her body between her daughter and the hard stone floor.

The weight of her daughter latched onto her chest and her footing slipped from the extra weight. The rough ground crashed against Noire's bottom. "Ouch..." whimpered Noire from the impact. Her pain subsided when she looked down to her arms to see her daughter burying her face in her chest as an expression of comfort and safety. "It's okay, Euri… hmm… Papa is here..." she said softly, feeling the shared sadness that her daughter was feeling.

"What the nep happened?" Said Neptune with her spoon in her mouth, completely forgotten due to her equal panic that she shared with her wife.

The three other young CPUs in the kid pool grew timid and small.

Peashy looked away with a fidgety movement.

"P-ko... what Nep-foolery was going on?" Said Neptune with her hands on her hips.

"Aww... Neptuna, I didn't mean to be rough with Euri," she said apologetically.

Ram stepped up as well. "We were playing around and Euri started to freak out." She gave a half-truth to at least soften the hard stares they were giving to her friend.

"By playing around, they were lifting each other on top of the other with the legs resting on their shoulders," said Noire. She sounded more informative rather than holding any animosity.

"Oh, P-ko. I get it that you girls like to play around roughly, but Euri is still too young for that. This kiddy pool is shallow for her to be falling from that height. Heck—that pretty much goes for all of you too," said the purple-haired girl.

"Sorry," came the reply of the three young CPUs.

Noire gazed at her daughter with a worried look. "Why did you jump like that?"

Euri's eyes were covered in tears. Her nose generated sniffles that went with the tears. "Too high up... scared to fall," she whimpered quietly.

Noire hugged her lovingly, expressing to her daughter that no harm could cross her. "I see. I don't want you to be afraid of heights, sweetie. Just remember that I will always be here to catch you before you fall," she said while rubbing the soft hair of the three-year-old.

Euri relaxed into the black-haired goddess with a teary smile of content.

"Euri, sorry about playing rough with you. I got too excited and didn't think very grown-up of me. Pee promises that she won't be that reckless with you until you say it's okay," said Peashy with a smile.

A while later, all the CPUs were together at a table near the pool. A lovely spread of food laid covering the table from inch to inch.

"Wow, Uni and Nepgear. You guys sure did go all out on this spread—thanks a bunch," said Neptune.

"It's no problem, sis. With all of us here together like this, we didn't want to leave the party underwhelmed. It's a shame that Compa and IF couldn't come."

"It was too short notice for them, Nep Jr. If I remember correctly, they went to go visit Compa's grandpa. Pfft, Goodluck Iffy if he's anything like how Compa quotes him," said Neptune with a nervous smile.

"It's just that we don't get to hang out like this like we used to," said Nepgear; a hint of sadness expressed.

They all knew the reason as to why that was the case. With all the CPUs finding their significant other, everyone grew accustomed to spending the majority of their time with their other. It was selfish when pointed out but this complacency came about with familiarity and intimacy that they equally enjoyed.

It was Nepgear and Uni that wanted to break the monotony of the typical day and who could blame them?

"Gosh, I guess that is true that we don't spend that much time together," said Neptune.

"It's not a bad thing, but it does leave a void from time to time," said Nepgear. While she was voicing her inner anguish, she also didn't want to place shame in the heart of her older sister.

Uzume and Ultra Vert looked at each other.

Uzume then cleared her throat for the next set of words were going to be important. "If that's how it's gotten, then it's a good thing Vertsy and I have decided to hold an event day for our long-awaited wedding." She said with a grin.

Neptune, Noire, and all the others halted whatever action they had been doing at the time to look at the Ultra Leanbox couple.

"No way—really!?" Happily shouted Neptune.

"That's right. Uzume and I decided on it after talking about sweets and fancy dresses for a charity gala event we were doing. We ended up thinking more about the style of the dresses and ambiance that most would have raised eyebrows mistaking the charity for a wedding."

The red-haired CPU tenderly held onto the hand of her wife. "Hehehe, our daydreaming got away from us, and eventually it was clear to us that it was time for that wedding we always wanted."

"I'm so proud of you both," said Histoire.

"Yeah, and it's a great way to visually show the nation how much you are both committed to ruling together," said Noire.

"True, although, we didn't hear any snarky or curious comments about the people asking when the wedding was going to be," said Uzume.

"That was because Leanbox was in an economic decline. People then were more worried about how the CPU would turn things around," added Umio.

Both Uzume and Ultra Vert humbly nodded silently. They felt pleased with all the positives they helped create to get Leanbox back in business.

"But I thought you were already married," said Rom.

"We are married, but we never had a wedding ceremony. It's like having a birthday party but no cake," giggled the redhead.

Euri tilted her head. "No cake?"

And the twins nearly choked on their food. "That's so lame!"

"—yeah!" Agreed Peashy with a spoon held up high.

Ultra Vert had a sweatdrop on her head, yet her smile held firm and genuine. "Hehehe, that's why we aim to fix that. Here's the invitation to our wedding. It's in a month. Feel free to wear any wonderful dress—except white, as that will be our traditional choice," said Ultra Vert.

Everyone glanced at the colorful front image of their invitation that had a painting of a lush green field, and a warm orange horizon. At the center of the image, two figures were holding hands together.

Vert stood up from her chair and placed a hand on her chest along with a fire in her eyes. "Other me… do you possibly have someone already that's going to marry you? If you don't, then allow me to be the one to."

Everyone else looked taken aback, especially Blanc. Her face looked pale and stuck between confusion and annoyance. "What the hell Vert?"

Uzume and Ultra Vert glanced at each other with a pondering expression. Ultra Vert stood up with a small smile. "You are too kind, other me. Although, I feel that the attention would be divided if you were the one marrying us."

Uzume agreed with her wife. "Plus, we already have a person that's going to be marrying us; or should I say fish?"

All eyes looked at Umio who looked rather introverted from all the eyes. "That would be me, yes. With Vert's authority and a few online courses on my end, I acquired the necessary tools to properly join Uzume and Vert in a union of marriage. Of course, it's only for show as a much higher power has already granted them eternal union," he said with a light-hearted laugh.

"I see…," said Vert with gloom painted across her eyes. "How about the maid of honor then?"

"You really won't stop until you're a part of this aren't you?" Said Blanc under her breath.

"Ah, other me. I really wish I didn't have to keep chopping you down, but Noire from my dimension will be my maid of honor—and Uzume's maid of honor is going to be the Neptune from our world," she said definitively.

It was Neptune's turn to join Vert in the desperation of madness. "SAY WHAT! Are you telling me that I'm not going to be the best Nep to join you on the alter?!"

Unknowingly to the others, Euri looked confused as to what Ultra Vert had said about her mothers.

"It was a tough call, Nepsy. I'm sorry." That was all she could say as no amount of justification could make the situation better.

"Neptune, see it from their point of view. Those two live over there which makes things more convenient to organize the ceremony plans, and it's not like they haven't stayed in touch with them," said Noire.

Neptune sighed with a sad nod. "Yeah… you make all the sense, sweetie. Still, we're all happy for you two," smiled Neptune.

"Hehe, I'm sorry Nepsy. It's just that we've been helping them out with baby Blake after Noire came back from the hospital that we all kind of gotten closer because of all our time helping them out in Lastation," said Uzume.

Ultra Vert placed a quick hand on her wife's shoulder to indicate that she had said too much.

Both Neptune and Noire looked uncomfortable all of a sudden with the info that was dumped on them like a nuke.

"Her name's Blake…? That's… very Lastation of her," said Noire softly, allowing herself to admire the name, but that's as far as it went.

"Hmm… has it really been nine months just like that? Wow…," uttered Neptune while looking at her wife.

Uni and Nepgear looked mystified at the realization that none of them from Hyper had seen the new addition to the Ultra Lastation family.

Blanc and Vert remained neutral with their emotions yet understood that it wasn't their place to speak.

Uzume cleared her throat. "Umm… sorry. That might be a sensitive subject that I stupidly said—"

"No, it wasn't stupid. Neptune and I are happy for them that they found their own happiness, but… can we just not talk about it for today? Will cross that bridge soon but right now isn't the time for it." She glanced at her daughter who innocently smiled back at the black-haired CPU.

"We understand," said Ultra Vert.

"S-sorry… I shouldn't have said too much," said Uzume quietly to her wife when the others started shifting to a different conversation.

"It's all right, dear. They knew all along that Noire was pregnant but daily life has the habit of making people forget things when they aren't part of their world. Maybe it was a good thing—at least it won't be a total shell shock when they do have to see the others face to face," said Ultra Vert.

The sun was soon setting and everyone was getting ready to head home. Noire had Euri sleeping with her head resting on her shoulder.

A few feet away, Neptune was talking to Uni and Nepgear. "Well, we should probably get going now if we want to catch that train back to West Nepstation," said Neptune.

Both CPU candidates looked at each other with question marks dancing on their heads. "Train? Why not fly back home? Isn't that faster?"

"It is but we don't want Euri to open her eyes and freak out when we're so high up. She might be afraid of heights," said Neptune.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sure it's just a phase and she'll be itching to fly in no time," said Uni.

Across the pool, Vert was helping the twins dry off. "My… you two were dry already until you decided in jumping back into the pool five minutes ago," she said with a fond gaze.

Blanc had been putting stuff away in a bag that she brought when Uzume walked up to her. "Oh hey, Blanc. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Blanc grew hesitant when she heard her name from the red-haired CPU. Not knowing what to do, she glanced at her wife who silently encouraged her to lend an ear to the other CPU.

"Sure..."

Uzume grew happy and her sunny smile intensified where no one would blame the Boxwee CPU if she threw some shades on. That might have even helped her not looking like a deer caught in headlights.

They rejoined the table under the protective shade of the pool umbrella.

Uzume stirred her ice tea that she had been nursing almost as a means to sort her thoughts out before she approached Blanc. "Thanks for hearing me out, Blanc. Umm... how have things been with you? We don't tend to find the time to keep ourselves updated," she said with a small voice.

Blanc widened her eyes and quickly calmed her emotions before talking. "Things have been going alright. Vert and I are doing great and our consoles are booming."

"Consoles? As more than one?!"

Blanc nodded. "Pretty much. Rom and Ram went behind my back and wrapped Vert around their little fingers." She sighed yet let out a lighthearted chuckle. One thing she loved about her wife was that she would do anything to please her sisters. "All three of them designed our handheld called the Boxwee Switch."

"Oh wow! You know, Vertsy has been talking about making a handheld too."

Blanc shifted in her seat while she mused over the cute nickname. Jealous guilt crept up behind her for never having a cute nickname for her wife. She wondered if she too would fawn over the idea. "That's nice. Don't get me wrong, our handheld is great but the LSeries stands head and shoulders above that."

"Wait, Series?" Asked Uzume for confirmation of what she heard.

"But of course. Variety is always a good thing. The LSeries has LBox series B and LBox series V. Noire and Neptune had the benefit that the gamer base of theirs was similar in taste. Vert and I had to get creative as her gamer base is more of the older and self-proclaimed alpha male while my gamer base is geared towards younger and more innocent at heart. That's not to say that there isn't some overlap between our bases. But the LBox series B is for those who want the full well-rounded experience of all the games that fall under both Vert and me. While the LBox series V is a cheaper system than the former, it's geared toward online gamers only, with rich online features that improve the gaming experience. LBox series B does have online benefits for the casual at heart, but series V is just naturally built to better handle the many stresses of online play on a longer duration." Blanc like a natural saleswoman proceeded to list out the arduous list of features for both consoles.

Uzume could not hide the fact of how dizzy she felt when Blanc laid out all the nifty features. "Wow... why does it all sound so complicated?"

"I don't blame you but it was that or risk having gamers get angry for just wanting to have one certain thing. Just see it like this: Boxwee Switch is for the gamer on the go, LBox series B is for those who want the best well-rounded experience, and LBox series V is for those who only play online games. There's an extensive list of the pros to online gaming that Vert made, but... I rather not overload your brain any more than it already has, so read up if you're interested."

"I will. Vertsy and I don't nearly have a system that grandiose. All we have is one console that we named Dreambox."

Blanc smiled interestedly at the redhead. "Hmm, wasn't that the name you both shouted out when you scored the winning point earlier? Hmm, regardless, that name has a giant standard that it must keep to then."

"You're telling me, hehe. Of course, Vertsy and I are ready for that challenge."

"Blanc! Are you ready to go!" Shouted Ram from across the pool.

Blanc and Uzume looked at each other with a dumbfounded look on their face. "Give me a minute!" Shouted the brown-haired CPU.

"I guess we really got sucked into our own world there. Ah! I forgot to tell you the main reason I asked you to talk with me!"

"Well... I'm still here. Come on now, tell me," urged Blanc.

Uzume leaned back on the chair and determinedly locked eyes with Blanc. "I want to give Vertsy the inner walk experience," she said quickly and with timid undertones.

Blanc stared at her for a full minute then leaned forward, unable to properly sort her confusion. "You what?"

"I... I know it sounds odd, but I wanted her to experience that. You and... your wife had gone through it, just as well as Nepsy and Noiresy too. It's not hard to see that glow of radiant joy after it's done. It's the kind of glow that tells the world that they can handle anything it might throw at them."

The Boxwee CPU dawned a sad understanding expression. "Uzume... it's not that all cracked up to be. When you do that ritual, you're putting yourself on the line. And besides, why do you even need to try it if you already have pretty much everything from the uplifting ritual?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Aside from being stronger with shares when you join two nations together, there's not much else the inner walk offers. Having a baby, being joined through shares, and sharing a life together are the highlights of both of them. Still... it's not the same. The uplifting ritual still lacks one thing that the inner walk offers."

"And that is?" Asked Blanc with a raised eyebrow.

"The validation that you and the one you love actually belong together." Uzume looked away, her sadness shown on her face. This angered Blanc.

"Dammit... that's a crock of shit, Uzume. If you feel it in your heart that you two belong then theirs no need for validation from some trial."

"But didn't it make you feel better once you overcame it?"

"I... I did feel better, but..."

Uzume stood up and leaned forward. "No buts. I wish… I wish I could have given Vertsy that experience. Sadly, it wasn't in the cards."

"There's no sense in getting sad over this. You and she are together, isn't that enough? Besides, you can't go back in time."

"Yeah. I'm aware of that. That's why I want you to write us a story that depicts us going through that trial," she said with a steadfast smile.

Blanc nearly fell back on her chair after the unexpected request from the redhead CPU. "Say what?!"

"I heard a lot of good things about how talented you are as a writer and I wanted you to write a story about Vertsy and me doing our inner walk."

"Who did you hear that from? I mean… that is true… mostly… ugh—besides, you do know that this isn't going to be a one-to-one accurate story right?"

"I'm okay with that. I'll settle with a what-if. I just want something for Vertsy to look at and feel the same feeling you all felt when done. Doesn't writing capture a moment?" She said, looking eager and desperate for Blanc to agree already.

"I think you are referring to a picture capturing a moment," said Blanc with her hands folded.

"You could use wonderful words to capture a moment just fine—it's like a picture but with words. That's my gift I want to give her," she said with downcasted eyes.

"I'm not sure about this," said Blanc trying to find a way out of this request.

"Please Blanny. There isn't anyone better than you to take this task. You know what trials your Vertsy faced—"

"That's a private matter. And what about you? How am I supposed to know about your faults?"

"We can spend more time together to get to know each other better," said Uzume with a hopeful joy in her eyes.

Blanc blushed in embarrassment and shame. Here she had been thinking that the moment that she needed to get to know Uzume was lost, and here comes that sunny CPU offering to be the one to usher in them getting to know each other better. "But you're going to be biased because your side of the story is going to be what you think your faults are."

"You are right again... however, even though the 'what if' story might not be a one-to-one exact story, I would like it to be endearing like a love novel. It would also help me channel some of my thoughts that I couldn't properly say to Vertsy. As much as she and I have grown closer as a married couple, there are some murky blue spots that I never went into detail about with her."

"Murky blue spots, huh? I doubt she'll see you differently regardless."

"I know she won't, but I would still like to tell her that side of me, and I think telling her about that side of me through a romantic novel is the best medium to show my love, as well as help me talk about it too."

It was hard for Blanc not to smile at the sweet gesture that the redhead wanted to put into words via a romantic story. The redhead did go through a lot of hardships in her life that ultimately ended with her meeting them all. "Hmm... a romance novel. Very well. As my wedding gift to you, I'll write an imagining of a what-if inner walk that you and your Vert will take. Not only will you find the words to tell your wife about that part of you, but also you'll make it into an endearing romantic triumph that will sure to sway her."

Uzume jumped out of her chair and reached across the table to kindly hold the other CPU's hands with hers. "Alright! Thank you, Blanny. You made Uzume one happy valley girl!" A loud gulp resonated within Uzume's throat as she tried to backpedal what spat out of her mouth. The best she could do was give Blanc a half-smile that had a whole lot of embarrassment to it.

"You're welcome… and don't call me Blanny—I can't stress that enough." She pulled her hands away from Uzume and rubbed her forehead with a sigh. "Then to properly make this story accurate, I guess we should get started with finding a day to chat all about what makes you… you. Also, I would need you to talk about your wife, so that I can compare any unique traits. As much as you might think that my wife and your wife are the same, they must have their small differences," said the brown-haired CPU while she thought about what her wife had explained to her early on.

"Yes, I understand that. Will tomorrow work?"

"Absolutely! I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight with all the anticipation," happily cried Uzume.

"That's good. The sooner we get the research done, the sooner we can work on the story," she said with a nod.

I got this idea from a friendly reader that made me ponder at the fact that I did gloss over Vert and Blanc's inner walk trials. That was an original idea that I thought of doing and I only did basic plot points before I shifted to Nine Versions of Purple that I was writing at that time. I found that idea and the current story idea that involved Uzume and Ultra Vert's wedding to have some overlapping gain. I've spent a few days going over how it would play out and I think I got what it takes to include it into the story. It might take some time, as I've been working on my other story. I'll do my best to make it a wonderful experience. Until then, I hope all of you have a good day.