I absolutely refuse to let up. I bring you yet another one-shot. Though real not, do not expect me to continue this fast, I've just had a real light stretch in my schedule and a lot of good ideas to write down. Regardless, I was finally able to watch the Thanksgiving full of nepunepu, and it was one of the most needlessly adorable things I've ever seen. Although it was painful to see poor Nepgear hung out to dry lol. So that's why I wrote this, everyone needs a little cheering up! While this one is far more of a wholesome friendship one-shot, I think that's ok, anyway I'll stop rambling, I hope you enjoy it!
Synopsis: Uni had noticed Nepgear is a bit down after blowing her speaking role at the opening of the Nepunepu festival, and organizes a way to cheer her up.
Uni had to admit; it was mildly funny to watch her best friend flounder about on national television. She wasn't quite sure the circumstance by which Neptune had decided to miss a festival in her name, much less why the older Neptune they had met when they had accidentally stumbled through a dimensional gate was there. But it was amusing in a way, although she did feel bad for her compatriot, but she had to say if she was given the opportunity she would have done way better.
But that sense of mild amusement was soon replaced by genuine pity and worry, Nepgear had been bummed about it for a little bit now and Uni was starting to worry. Nepgear was one to wear her emotions on her sleeve, but at the same time she absolutely hated when people tried to help her, she hated burdening people. And while Uni respected that, at the same time,
"That girl, she really ought to let us help her" Uni huffed as she sat at her sturdy pure mahogany desk, this wasn't ordinary mahogany, this mahogany was cut down from a tree in the gamindustri graveyard! Guarded by an ancient dragon! Uni had felled the beast herself, before crafting this illustrious desk herself!
Embellishments aside, Uni was surprised to hear a voice talk up, turning to the entrance of her room, she saw Noire standing there, a smile on her face,
"Jeez, if you're that worried about her, why don't you just do something to cheer her up?" Noire added with more than a drip of sass in her voice.
"Noire! You scared me" Uni could feel her breathing start up again as she gave a glare to her sister, "Also here, I finished these" She pointed to the documents at the side of her desk, as Noire walked up to pick up the papers, an act she had performed on countless days, she couldn't help but notice that the stack was far lighter than it usually was. Narrowing her eyes, she couldn't help but think that perhaps worry for her friend was weighing heavily on the young goddesses' mind. Sighing, she offered some advice,
"I'm serious, if you're worried about Nepgear, then you should do something for her, you know how those two can get, they don't like to worry others, that's why you gotta show them how much of a good… friend you are" Noire tried her best to talk coherently as she patted Uni on the back.
"Hmph who even cares, she should just figure it out by herself" Uni huffed as she turned her head back to her work. Not quite sure how to react to the kindness her sister had shown her. Sighing, Noire took her leave,
"Man, do I really talk like that? I think I owe Neptune an apology…" Noire let out quietly. Walking into her own room, she quickly made her way to her own desk, taking out a book, and crossing a line off of her notes. If one were close enough, they may be able to see the title of the book she was reading, 'Being a great big sister; for dummies!'. "Perhaps going all out after being a cold turkey isn't the method…" She thought aloud as she continued her planning. One day. One day she would be a good big sister!
Back in the room Noire had just left from, Uni couldn't help but notice how distracted she was from her work. Every time she tried to get focused, she couldn't help but think of how out of it her friend had looked the past week or so,
"Something nice for her? The only thing I can think of that would get her spirits up would be a giant robot with like a 30ft drill or something…" After thinking it over a bit longer, she couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, "She probably already has one" But that did leave her in a conundrum, what could she do to cheer up the Planeptunian candidate? She clearly couldn't think of anything on her own, so pondering it a bit further, Uni figured she could ask around. I mean surely she wasn't the only one who had noticed how off Nepgear has looked?
But who? Surely her own sister had noticed her mood, and after all, it was her fault that she was like this. Uni pouted at the thought, this really was all Neptune's fault. Knowing her she didn't intend to do so, I mean surely she changed her ways since victory? Right? Ignoring the irrational meta thought, Uni figured even if Neptune had noticed, she would be a poor choice. After all, if she wanted to plan something big, Neptune would just spoil it.
So, who else did that leave? Who knew Nepgear well enough, and Uni could trust?
-Planeptune, 3 days later.
Nepgear had to admit, even though nobody blamed her, bombing the speech at Neptune's celebration did bother her. I mean wasn't it the job description to be able to do so? While everyone told her it was fine, that she could grow into it, it wasn't important now. Wasn't she training so one day she could rule the nation? Sighing as she walked along the streets of the capital city, she had been taking out quests and been working hard to take her mind off it. And partially to try and make it up to Neptune, who had worked like a dog for the festival, only for Nepgear to blow the grand opening ceremony.
As she made her way through the streets, she felt a buzz on her upper thigh, quickly reaching and grabbing her N-gear, noticing the name on the other end, she felt a smile on her face.
"Hey Uni, it's rare for you to call me" She greeted her friend, he gave her a scoff on the other end.
"Wow, is that any way to greet someone?" Uni responded, mildly annoyed.
"Goodness, you're right, I'm sorry, how are you Uni?" She nervously corrected herself.
"Alright enough, enough I forgive you" Uni instantly shifted her tone, chuckling as she offered amnesty.
"Well, that's good" Nepgear smiled, focusing on multitasking so as to not ram into any person on her walk. "Say, why did you call?"
"I was getting there, jeez," Uni said, almost nervously, which Nepgear thought was mildly odd. Sure, Uni was already a nervous person, but they were talking over the phone, "Do you, uh do you wanna come over so we can hang out or play some games?"
Nepgear felt her mood improve instantly at this, "Yeah, that sounds fun!" Nepgear gave her response, and she swore she could hear a sigh of relief on the other end, which she thought was adorable, considering she knew how Uni could get sometimes.
"Ok, sweet, I'll see you here in a few then?" She asked, and before Nepgear could offer her response she could hear something happen in the background, and soon heard the voice of the caller yelling out, "Hey! You two, stop messing around, and don't stretch out your outfits!"
"What's going on?" Nepgear asked curiously, soon receiving a response,
"Oh, u-uhh nothing! See you in a bit!" Uni frantically yelled as she ended the call, leaving Nepgear mildly confused, nevertheless, she quickly made her way out of the city, transforming before making her way towards Lastation.
It wasn't often Uni invited Nepgear to do anything, usually, it was Nepgear who had to drag her friend around, so to say Nepgear was excited to spend time with her best friend was an understatement. She could feel herself a little giddy as she sent out a message to Neptune and Histoire explaining where she would be, enjoying the serenity of the flight, before arriving at the Lastation basilicom.
Landing in front, making her way in, Nepgear was greeted by the familiar sight of the front reception of the basilicom. Making sure to bow as she greeted the front attendant,
"Why hello, I am here to visit Uni" Nepgear amicably started,
"Yes, of course, Lady Black Sister is waiting for you in her room, Lady Purple Sister" The guard returned the bow with one of her own as she instructed the visitor.
"Thank you so much" Nepgear offered as she made her way past the desk towards where she knew Uni's room was, quickly finding herself in front of the grand doors, however as she approached the door, she swore she could hear multiple voices on the other side. Although due to the thick door, she couldn't quite determine who the voices belonged to. Raising an eyebrow, she used one of the door knockers as she announced her presence.
"Hey, Uni! I'm here!" She called out, and she could hear shushing on the other side of the door. Soon thereafter receiving a response,
"Ok! The doors unlocked!" The raven-haired candidate called back, taking that as a cue, Nepgear turned the handle, and made her way into the room, having no way of anticipating the sight that would await her.
"Surprise!" Nepgear heard three voices call out, looking in front of her she felt her heart stop at what awaited her.
Uni, Rom, and Ram were in front of her holding what appeared to be a cake modeled after Nepgear's signature hair accessory. However, that wasn't what warmed Nepgear's heart the most. The trio all were wearing a version of Nepgear's sailor dress, with matching socks and even a little d-pad in their hair.
"You guys…" Nepgear said with tears in her eyes. She did have the best friends. Soon after, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, looking down to see the longer brunette hair, signifying she was dealing with Ram. Soon thereafter Rom added herself, and after carefully placing down the cakes, Uni joined in on the group hug. "Why did you guys?" Nepgear managed out.
"Because you were being a loser downer! So, we decided to cheer you up!" Ram smiled widely as she gave her explanation.
"Look, I'm you Miss Nepgear *sparkle*" Rom beamed as she looked up.
The group stayed like that for a few moments before breaking away.
"Let's go get some of the cake!" Ram eagerly yelled as she rushed over towards the sugary delicacy.
"We made it infused with magic" Rom quietly explained as she too made her way over towards the cake. In truth, the cake had been a joint project by the three CPU candidates, and while they made way more of a mess than Noire really felt was necessary, the trio thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and were eager to taste the fruits of their labor.
"Jeez, wait up you two, I'll cut the cake, just wait!" Uni chastised the twins, as she slowly made her way to where she had placed the cake. After wiping her eyes of any stray tears, Nepgear caught a better look at the dressed-up girls. They were all… so cute! Nepgear could squeal at just how adorable all her friends looked at the moment.
As Nepgear made the voyage to the congregation of cake, she couldn't help but ask, "Say, where did you guys even get those outfits?" As far as Nepgear knew, she was born in these clothes (as little sense as that made) And it was difficult to find any others, and it was almost exclusively reserved to Planeptune.
"Oh uhh," Uni could feel her face heat up slightly at the question, in truth…
Uni sighed as she hung up the phone. While the twins certainly had good ideas on how to cheer up their friend and comrade, how exactly was she supposed to go and get 3 perfect replicas of Nepgear's outfit in the perfect sizes?
"Jeez, you'd have to be a professional seamstress to make those" She grumbled, before coming to a conclusion she didn't quite enjoy. Professional level seamstress? She certainly knew one. But the thing was…
Tossing her pride to the side as she grumbled making her way down the hall towards her sister's room, Uni knocked on the door as she repeated the magic phrase,
"This is for Nepgear…" She whispered to herself, and soon she heard a call from inside the room,
"It's unlocked!"
Uni opened the door as she made her way into the room, spotting her sister at her desk, "Hey Noire? Can I ask a favor?"
"Crap it's Uni!" Noire quickly panicked as she threw some strange-looking yellow and black book into her desk. Uni raised an eyebrow as she witnessed the sight. She figured she could ask about that later, right now she was focused on the task. "Uhhh so you said something about a favor?" She tried to play it off.
"Uhh yeah, this uh this may sound weird, but can you make me 3 versions of Nepgear's normal outfit?" Uni asked, fighting the redness making its way on her face, this really was an odd thing to ask.
"And why exactly do you need that?" Noire asked, wrinkling her nose. Maybe she should ask a little more about Uni's personal life? Also electing to ignore that, Uni seemed to know that Noire would be capable of such a feat. She figured the cat was out of the bag a long time ago.
"I uh decided to take your advice, me, Rom, and Ram are gonna do something for Nepgear" Uni tried to smile as she explained the trio's plan.
Sighing a bit, Noire was relieved in a way, this was way more wholesome than… whatever it was her mind had decided this was about at first. "It may take a bit, but I'll see what I can do, ok?" Noire responded, surprised for a moment as she saw her sister give her a brief hug,
"Thank you, sis," Noire smiled. And after Uni made her way back down to her side of the hall, Noire made a note, 'hugs are nice, should do more' she wrote in her book.
Back in the present, Uni offered a soft chuckle as she explained, "Noire made them for us" Nepgear could only be impressed yet again by the raw talent exhibited by the Lastation goddess. The outfits were almost flawless replicas, and they seemed to fit the ladies perfectly.
Soon, slices of the cake were distributed amongst the group, and as they all took a bite of the pink cake together, all let out noises of the agreement upon the delicacy reaching their mouths.
"Sooo good~" Nepgear was the first one to talk.
"Wow, Rom! We should totally become bakers!" Ram yelled as she made short work of her slice.
"Yummy! Magic cake" Rom showed an equal amount of enthusiasm for the sweet treat.
"Wow, this is really good," Uni said in mild shock, she had been mildly worried at the twin's suggestion of using magic to amplify the cake, but yet again she seemed to be left in shock at the raw ability of the two. They really were scary in how good they were at magic at that young of an age.
The idea for the cake in the first place had been one of Uni's ideas, she was well aware of the affinity the gearhead had for sweets, even if she tried to hide it at times.
After a short while (and Ram devouring her third slice) the group decided to make use of their time by playing some games on their consoles. The group, being not nearly as over-competitive as their older sisters, thoroughly enjoyed themselves with the various games they picked out. Eventually, however, the twins made their way out, they had promised Blanc they would be back no later than 5, and as the hours dragged on, they were getting dangerously close to not being able to make it.
"Thank you, girls, so much for today!" Nepgear gave them both a quick hug as they prepared to leave.
"Don't thank us, dummy! It was Uni's idea" Ram said mildly embarrassed, she didn't get that way often, but she sometimes didn't know what to do when genuinely praised.
"Uh-huh uh-huh, Uni thought of this" Rom echoed the sentiment of her younger twin, before the two transformed, waving goodbye as they made their way back to the snowy nation they inhabited.
"Say, Uni is that true?" Nepgear asked as she looked over.
Uni was poking her fingers together, she was hoping the twins wouldn't out her like that, but they had played along so well, she figured they earned the right." Well… uh yeah" Uni meekly spoke.
"Well thank you, and I think you look really cute in that outfit" Nepgear genuinely spoke as she brought her best friend into a tight hug. "Seriously that meant a lot to me"
Uni could only smile brightly. As long as her friend was smiling again, it was worth all the embarrassment and then some.
Another one-shot in the book, more peeps to respond to I see
end5- why thank you, I really don't like to comment on my own work, but I was quite fond of that one, took me a long time to get it to its best state, but I think it came out well. Disaster is a great device to inspire change in characters, but it's sweet to read a nice and wholesome change.
Gigarot- Nepgear is actually really stubborn sometimes in the games lol, gotta love feisty Gear. See to me the idea behind merging nations never really made sense to me (at least in the regular hyperdimension, re;birth 1 is its own beast) cause it wouldn't be just them affected, it would change everything for all the to be CPUs, which I doubt those two would do, cute idea, nonetheless.
Fedacheese- yea it's a pretty common setup tbh, there are a few pieces of art that have been going around for a few years that show that kind of setup off, so I thought I'd give it a spin of my own.
Thank you all, see you next time.
