Back at it again with another UniGear fic. A little longer this time, still just as fluffy with a little hurt/comfort thrown into the mix.

I hope you enjoy. I really enjoy writing these two.


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G.C. 2009. Lastation's Basilicom

Uni's bedroom


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Rain.

Nothing but rain as far as she could see. It was mild at best, and the droplets gently hitting against the window was almost soothing.

For Uni, Lastation's CPU Candidate, she spent at least ten minutes doing nothing but staring out the window. She sat with her knees on her bed, chin resting on her crossed arms as she gazed outside.

This had been her attempt to calm herself. To clear her mind and ease her anxiety so she wouldn't end up losing sleep later over this.

It wasn't working.

Blowing out a frustrated sigh, Uni pushed herself away from the window and flopped backwards onto her bed. No good, her heart was still pounding and her mind was still racing. No amount of attempts to calm herself were working. If anything, she was more anxious now.

Which was, suffice to say, the exact opposite result she wanted.

It was only a matter of days now. In just a few short days, she—along with the other Candidates and all the friends they picked up along the way—would be traveling to the Gamindustri Graveyard to free the captive CPUs.

It was something Uni dreamed about for three years, she dreamed about the day she'd be able to save Noire and the others from their capture.

Now that moment was just a few days away, and Uni was anxious.

What was she supposed to say to Noire when they rescued her? Was Uni even prepared for that? What if Noire just wanted to go back to what was 'normal' between them before this? Were they even guaranteed to win? What if they all just lost like their sisters did and they'd be held captive while ASIC destroyed what was left of Gamindustri and—

"Uni?"

The young ravenette jolted, startled by the sudden voice that tore her out of her spirling thoughts. She quickly glanced around to see Kei Jinguji, Lastation's ever dutiful—and frequently controversial—Oracle. She was looking at Uni with a raised eyebrow, undoubtedly noticing the expression that Uni was making when her thoughts threatened to turn on her.

Uni quickly fixed her expression, wiping her eyes of the tears that she didn't notice had formed around her eyes, and forced herself to relax. "U-Um, hi Kei."

"I… didn't mean to intrude so suddenly, pardon my rudeness." Kei didn't bring any mention to Uni's state, which she was silently thankful for. "But I wanted to inform you that you have a visitor."

"... A visitor?" Uni was downright befuddled as Kei nodded in silent confirmation. "Who the hell is visiting in the middle of the evening?"

"I believe you could figure that out for yourself," The boyish Oracle wore a knowing smirk. "After all, she was quite insistent on seeing you in particular."

"P-Please don't say that!" A high-pitched voice squeaked from out in the hallway. "Y-You make me sound creepy!"

Uni knew who it was instantly. "N-Nepgear?"

Kei stepped aside, allowing Planeptune's Candidate to enter into the frame as she shot the Oracle an exasperated look. "H-Hi, Uni! Long time no see?"

Despite her surprise over seeing her at such an impromptu time, Uni gave her a blank look. "... It's only been a few days since we last saw each other, you know."

"A-Ah, well…" Nepgear looked bashful, pressing her index fingers together as she blushed. "T-That's just something my sister used to say to everyone, so…"

"Remarkable, you managed to get through a single exchange normally," Kei decided to butt in, giving Uni a smug look. "I believe that's what they refer to as progress."

"Shut up…" Uni muttered.

Smirking, Kei continued. "With that said, I'll be taking my leave. Try not to cause any trouble."

"U-Um, are you sure you don't want to stay…?" Nepgear spoke up timidly, earning her a confused look in return. "I-I mean, we're not really forcing you to leave, right Uni…?"

"Uh… sure?" In truth, Uni didn't have the slightest idea how to even deal with the woman's presence if she just so happened to stay with her and Nepgear. That wasn't to say that Uni disliked having Kei around, but their shared ability to sit and converse like normal people was defective at best.

For a moment, Kei pursed her lips. She looked like she was contemplating what to say, before she ultimately sighed and shook her head. "... That won't be necessary. I'm certain you two have much to discuss amongst yourselves, your visit here alone is more proof of that, and I sense that me staying here would simply make things awkward."

"O-Oh, I see…" Nepgear nodded in understanding, though she looked a little disappointed.

"Besides," the Oracle added. "Somebody needs to prepare dinner. I hope you don't plan on staying long, otherwise I may need to make an extra plate…"

What Kei failed to mention was that dinner was entirely left to the Basilicom's maids. The young ravenette knew the Oracle just wanted an excuse to leave and leave them alone.

"Ah, I don't plan on it…?"

"Then I'll be leaving." With that, Kei retreated from the bedroom, leaving the two Candidates alone as she shut the door behind her.

"W-What a strange woman…" Nepgear muttered. Uni certainly didn't find herself disagreeing with that statement.

Now that they were alone, Uni found herself paying attention to the details of Nepgear herself. Her long lilac hair was damp and the usual white long-sleeved shirt that she wore was wet, nearly see-through. She seemed cold, shivering as she hugged herself.

"Nepgear did you…" Uni blinked, processing the sight. "Did you fly here in the rain?"

"Ah…" Nepgear blushed. She really hoped that Uni wouldn't mention that…! "M-Maybe?"

"... You're an idiot." Shaking her head, the young ravenette pushed herself up from the bed. "Here, I have some towels you can use…"

"Oh, Uni you don't have—"

"Upupup!" Uni quickly silenced her as she stepped into her bedroom's bathroom. "None of that 'I don't deserve this' crap. You're literally gonna catch a cold if you don't get dry."

As Uni said that, she plucked a towel from the bathroom and tossed it to Nepgear. Planeptune's Candidate caught it, albeit after fumbling a bit.

Uni did have a point. Wouldn't that have been embarrassing, to get a cold right before they were supposed to head out to save their sisters?

With that in mind, she started drying her head.

"Why are you here anyway?" A pause. "I-I mean, it's not like I hate you being here o-or anything!" In classic Tsundere fashion, Uni crossed her arms and huffed while she blushed."I-It's just, why now? And out of nowhere? You could have at least called first!"

Nepgear gave her a questioning look, letting the pink towel rest on her arm after she finished drying her hair. "Um, Uni, I don't have your number…"

"..."

Right, why would Nepgear have her number? They've only known each other for a few weeks, and Uni spent most of those weeks avoiding Nepgear outright. Of course she wouldn't have Uni's number.

"A-Anyway…" Nepgear ended the silence after Uni stood there dumbly. "I just… I wanted to check on everyone before we went to the Graveyard. I visited Rom and Ram before I came here, and some of the friends we met over this journey…"

"O-Oh, I see…" That made sense. Wanting to check on your team before such a vital mission was a smart move, to ensure everyone was ready and there weren't any doubts or second-thoughts. It felt like something Noire would have done.

"Hey, wait a minute… Did you save me for last?"

"Um…" Nepgear answered that question with a sheepish smile and an unsure look. "G-Goodness, I didn't mean it that way! I-I just, er…"

"... Pffft…" Uni couldn't help but crack up when she saw Nepgear's flustered face. It was just too good! "Relax, I was just messing with you."

"O-Oh…" Nepgear calmed down, looking flustered. Seriously, did she have to be so easy to mess with? "Um, what do I do with…?"

"Give it to me." When Nepear held up the damp towel, Uni took it and proceeded to toss it into the hamper in her bathroom. "So, uh, are you actually planning on staying for dinner or…?"

"Uh, well, Compa is cooking for us tonight, and IF would have my head if I missed dinner…" Nepgear looked apologetic, but it wasn't like Uni really wanted her to stay over for dinner or anything! "But, I just really wanted to talk to you, to everyone. We haven't really had a chance to sit down and talk, you know?"

That… was something Uni never thought about. Amidst all the fighting and running around, Uni never actually had a chance to just stop and properly talk to Nepgear, to anyone else really. The young ravenette knew that a part of that was her own unwillingness, but it wasn't like Nepgear wasn't busy either.

If anything, she was the busiest of all, leading an ever-growing party to save Gamindustri from the clutches of ASIC. Uni still felt guilty for not helping her sooner, but she knew, deep down, she would have just gotten in the way with how weak she was. Just like she would have gotten in Noire's way back then…

"Uni?"

For the second time, Lastation's Candidate was snapped out of her spiraling thoughts. "What…?"

Uni must have looked a lot worse than she thought, since Nepgear was giving her a really concerned, outright worried, look.

"Are… are you okay…?"

"..."

Was she okay?

She felt her pride swelling up just at that question. She felt compelled to huff and tell Nepgear that of course she was okay. It was silly to even question it!

But…

Uni couldn't remember a point in time where anyone ever stopped to ask how she was. Not from Noire, definitely not from Kei. That was just the way of things in Lastation. Work took precedence over everything, even silly things like emotions.

Uni thought it was normal. Uni never dared to question it. If she was having issues, it was just a failure on her part and she just needed to be more like Noire. That had been her creed for the last three years.

But now, she felt that crumbling. She felt her emotions start to spiral out of control, all because Nepgear asked if she was okay.

She just wanted to say yes and move on from that, but…

"N-No…"

As she felt herself falling apart, as she looked at Nepgear with what was likely a broken expression, Uni knew that for the first time in her life, she wouldn't be judged simply for having emotions.

"I-I'm not okay…"

She didn't notice when Nepgear crossed the room, but she felt herself being pulled into her arms.

She just realized that this was the first time she'd ever been hugged. Huh.

Maybe that's why it was so easy for her to start crying, as she felt Nepgear's embrace around her tighten.


Uni couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself.

After she had managed to calm herself down, she and Nepgear had opted to sit on the edge of her bed. Her eyes still stung from the tears, and Nepgear didn't quite let the younger ravenette go as she gave her a concerned look.

Where did that come from? How did she allow herself to fall apart so easily? All Nepgear did was ask her a simple question, and she just… she just…

"Uni…" Nepgear called to the silent ravenette, her tone gentle and soothing. It did its job in helping Uni relax. "Do… Do you want to talk?"

Once again, Uni felt her pride swelling up. A voice in her head called her weak and pathetic for opening up like this, that Nepgear would use this information against her somehow.

She pushed those thoughts away.

"Nepgear… do you know how long three years is?"

Nepgear pressed her lips into a thin line, silently contemplating that question. She looked down at the floor, staying that way for a few moments. Before Uni could ask what was up with that reaction. "I… erm, I wish I could say I do, but it's… complicated."

… Oh. Right.

Of course Nepgear wouldn't have an idea. She was stuck in the Graveyard for all that time. Her perception of that time would have been extremely skewed at best.

They were lucky that they were away from all of Uni's guns, because the Candidate would have taken one of them and shot a non-lethal round into her head to knock herself out right there.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"No, no. Don't worry." Nepgear assured her. "It's just… When I was in the Graveyard, I just felt so… tired. I had no energy, it must have been the wires sapping the Shares from me. I was unconscious much more often than not…" Nepgear closed her eyes, likely remembering something unpleasant as she continued. "When I was awake, it was… it was so painful. Everything hurt so much, I was so numb to everything around me that I didn't know if days, months or years passed. It was… awful…"

Uni felt a tightness around her chest.

Three years. Nepgear endured that for three years. She went through that much pain for all that time, with no way to escape. Unconscious or not, going through that type of experience for so long…

Was Noire suffering the same way? Was it worse?

Her chest tightened even more.

"G-Goodness, I'm sorry…" Nepgear shook her head. "I'm supposed to be consoling you and I'm talking about me…"

"... Don't apologize for something like that, idiot." Uni glared at her. "You… you went through all of that, I should be the one consoling you! I-I don't… I don't deserve pity, when I'm such a failure…"

"Uni… you're not a failure." Nepgear assured her, which caused Uni to scoff. "You're not! You're so strong and brave, you've done so much for Lastation all this time, I'm sure Noire would be proud of you!"

"If I was strong, I could have saved her years ago." Uni turned away. "If I was just more powerful, I could have saved you all…! But instead… I was stuck here doing dumb Quests for little drops of Shares!" She huffed, wiping away more tears with her sleeve. "Hpmh, it's not like ASIC was bothering us anyway. We're the heart of Gamindustri, they're smart enough to know to leave us alone, so was I even making a difference…?"

Nepgear was silent. She didn't know how to respond to Uni's doubts and issues, much as she wanted to. It hurt seeing Uni in pain like this, but the fact that she couldn't offer her much comfort hurt even more.

"You know… you're the first one I've talked to about this…" Uni admitted. "I never… I never talked to anyone, not like there was anyone to talk to…"

That statement surprised Nepgear. "What about Kei?"

Uni let out a laugh. It sounded bitter. "Kei… she's not a bad person, but she's all business. She's basically running Lastation all on her own, so she never has time. But… even if she did, she'd never talk to me. It's not her style, it wasn't Noire's either. I was… I was all alone…"

She didn't mention the fact that Kei was the one who basically raised her, since Noire never had time for it herself. Even back then, it was painfully obvious that their Oracle had no idea how to raise a little kid. She only went on what she knew, and it resulted in her raising Uni more like a future business partner than family.

Even then, the rare times that Noire was around for her were spent drilling in the duties of a CPU into her head. There was simply no time for games with her, and Uni learned quickly what failure meant in Lastation.

She never held it against either Noire or Kei for being the way that they were, for how they raised and nurtured Uni since she was little. Lastation women were known for two things, their pride and their work ethics. The CPU and Oracle were the embodiment of both those traits, while the Candidate struggled to keep up.

They were strict for a reason, they just wanted to prepare her for her future duties. But… even then…

How couldn't she feel bitter about it, after spending time with her fellow Candidates? Nepgear, Rom and Ram… they all spoke so highly of their sisters and all the time they spent together. They were family, even with their Oracles.

It never felt that way with Noire and Kei.

Would it stay that way after Noire was rescued? Could Uni even bring that up to her sister? Three years was a very long time, and Uni had so much to say, but… could she say any of it at all?

"... You're not alone anymore, Uni."

She felt Nepgear's arms wrap around her body, her head resting against Uni's exposed shoulder. Naturally, she blushed from the contact. "H-Hey, what do you think you're doing…?!"

"Hah, sorry…" She heard the smile in Nepgear's voice as she spoke. "I just… I wanted to let you know, you're not alone anymore. You can talk to me, to Rom and Ram. I can't imagine what you were going through those last few years, so… I wanted you to know, we're here for you."

"..."

For a moment, Uni was at a loss for words. She had no idea what to say to this dopey, optimistic girl who was so intent on making her feel better. This girl who, somehow, was going to lead the charge to save their sisters in just a few days time.

"... i-idiot…"

Muttering to herself, Uni closed her eyes and let Nepgear stay there. She wasn't going to admit just how darn cozy Nepgear felt beside her, that'd may as well be admitting she lost…!

But…

As long as she was there, as long as Nepgear was fighting by her side, Uni knew that everything would be alright.

"Hah, I think I'm gonna miss dinner after all…"

"?! Hey, I was just joking earlier! If you're staying over, then you get the couch!"

"Huh? But your bed is big enough for the both of us, isn't it…?"

"T-That's not the issue, idiot!"

Yeah, everything was gonna be just fine…


Kei Jinguji was a failure.

Not as an Oracle. By the contrary, she was nothing short of exemplary. While she wasn't Lady Noire, she managed to lead Lastation in her place through its most troubled times. Compared to Planeptune, Lowee and especially Leanbox, Lastation was still thriving as much as ever thanks to her leadership.

No, as an Oracle she was perfect. Rather, Kei Jinguji failed as a person, as a human being.

She couldn't quite help but stay behind and listen in on the conversation between Uni and Nepgear. She leaned against the door, her ear pressed against the wooden frame as she listened.

She knew that Uni was hurting. She was a busy woman, but she wasn't blind. From a logical standpoint, she knew that this meant she had to provide some sort of emotional support for the young girl.

But she simply… hadn't.

How could she? She was the worst type of person to come to for emotional issues and support. Kei lived in her work, her entire life was around work. She was raised to be immaculate, pristine and perfect in the work environment. Anything less was unacceptable.

But that meant she couldn't help Uni, no matter how much she wanted to. How could she ever offer the girl anything resembling emotional support, when she lacked such things herself?

Yes, Kei Jinguji was a failure of a human. When Uni needed it the most, Kei had failed to deliver on every single aspect.

She had thought Nepgear was weak when they first met. Someone who couldn't walk two feet without jumping at their own shadow.

But underneath that exterior lied a burning determination. She was driven to do right, to protect Gamindustri and save the CPUs, even in the face of overwhelming odds against her. She was no coward, she was willing to do everything to protect her home.

Most of all, she had given Uni the support that Kei had failed to deliver. For that alone, Kei approved of her.

For the first time in a very long time, a genuine smile came to her. Perhaps it was childish to allow herself to be this hopeful, but they were making progress for the first time in years. She could afford to allow herself to feel hopeful, right?

Thinking that, she pushed herself away from the bedroom door and resumed her walk down the hall. She truly had to reward Nepgear in some fashion for helping Uni, preferably after this whole mess was fully behind them.

'Maybe Uni's hand in marriage would suffice…'

Kei snorted to herself. Like that would ever happen…

… Well, it wouldn't hurt to buy an engagement ring in advance, right?


No long winded, reminiscent A/N like the last story. Instead, I'll commend you for making it to the end. You deserved it.

Maybe I'll do more fluffy one-shots like these. They're nice and really easy to make. Who knows.

Until next time!

Midnight Comet