CPUs rest differently from humans. They require nine hours of rest after 159 hours of activity. In other words, their sleeping cycle consists of exactly seven days. Candidates reach up to half that span before needing rest during adulthood. That is why the gamindustrian week has seven days.
-Histoire
The day started perfectly normal for her, if tinged with excitement about the fact her eighteenth birthday remained but a few days away.
After hitting the snooze-button on her alarm twice, Colette worked her way out of bed and stretched with a tired sigh; there was not much thought behind the first few minutes after her waking, she simply followed her usual routine. Getting up, slipping into the clothes she laid out the evening before, grumbling about how tight her jeans felt around the hips, and pulling back the curtains to let the sun in.
As the morning light illuminated her room, this young woman enjoyed the warmth for a moment with closed eyes; then she turned and quickly made her bed with practiced motions. A quick glance around the room told her there was no need to clean up just yet, so Compa took a seat on her office chair. She quickly flicked her cellphone open to check for messages and replied to some late-night conversations. There was little else this morning, though.
With a hum, the aspiring nurse snapped the phone shut and got up, leaving the room. She quickly went to the bathroom to wash her face, checking to make sure she was presentable. However, her bedhair had decided it needed the brush.
By the time Compa was done, she could smell freshly baked bread from the kitchen; taking a peek inside, she was greeted with a smile as her grandfather set the table. "There you are, dear. The hair again?" Compa just shrugged, somewhat distracted by the prospect of food; she was hungry, which did not remain unnoticed. The elder obviously understood her plight, seeing that he motioned for her chair. "Sit, everything should be ready in a moment."
She almost did so, but then quickly shook off the lazy air and went around the table to take over the stove. "It's fine, grandpa. I don't mind helping out a little." They both knew this song and dance, seeing that similar scenes had taken place almost every day for several years. Neither argued the matter any further.
Ernest Padmore used to be a robotics major employed by the Basilicom, even having met Purple Heart herself. He had long since retired, somewhat earlier than most could have, to raise his granddaughter. Nonetheless, Compa knew that he still loved his field with a passion; every time he spoke of the things he and his teams worked on, she had tried to read up on robotics herself. Unfortunately, Compa and science did not go too well together outside of biology. Robots required a lot of math.
These days however, the elder Padmore mainly spent his days reading or playing chess.
Once breakfast was ready and both of them sat down, Compa quickly dug in with hunger that only a morning could bring.
"Say," her grandfather spoke up with a curious glance up from his hard-boiled egg after a moment. "Do you have any plans for today?"
Compa hummed through a mouthful of bread and ham, chewing a few more times before swallowing. "It's a pretty full day, actually. Now that all the stuff for nursing school is taken care of, I wanted to go shopping for groceries later. Then I'm meeting Alice and Presea in town... and I'm visiting Nepgear in the afternoon." It had taken her a few days to make enough time, much to her dislike; at least her lilac-haired friend had recuperated somewhat, no longer being confined to bed.
"Hm, care to remind me which one Nepgear was? You have so many friends, dear." He always had trouble remembering everyone she knew, which Compa could understand; she never really tried to moderate her social circle, so it simply grew and grew over the years.
Then again, Nepgear was the kind of girl that stuck in one's memory. As was IF, for that matter. "Oh, Nepgear is the nice purplette that fixed my phone last time it broke. You know, the really pretty one?"
After realising what she just said, again, Compa sighed and slapped her forehead. "You know what I mean."
"That I do, dear. Not to worry, it is just healthy to be lusting after girls as well." She just whined in response while the elder chuckled. "But yes, now I remember her. Heh." And now he looked as if he wanted to say something, though he kept his mouth shut. There was a flicker of mirth in his gaze, so Compa decided not to tempt more teasing by asking.
An hour later, she met up with her friends. Presea and Alice were an interesting pair, even after how long she knew them; both of them had the same platinum blonde hair, but everything else about their appearance could not be more different. Where Alice stood small and petite, Presea all but towered over most any other girl, with curves to match.
Both of them waved at her and greetings were exchanged once Compa reached them, their small group immediately getting to walk. "Great that you found some time, with studying and all," Alice piped up a moment later while Presea made a face at the last part.
"Ugh, I know it's your dream, but studying should be over after school."
Compa merely shrugged; she actually found that it got much easier after meeting IF. The surge of motivation the brunette inspired had long since vanished, but she got a routine going by that point. "I don't mind it too much. Oh, but I can't stay out for too long today, just a few hours. I want to visit Nepgear later." The blondes nodded in understanding, though there was a note of curiousity mixed into their gazes. Alice tilted her head slightly. "Nepgear, Nepgear... who was that again, I can't remember ever meeting her in school. Your home-schooled friend, the purple one?"
"Ah, right, the one with IF."
Presea's nonchalant realisation was followed by a momentary silence as Compa's smile dropped the smallest bit. "Yes to both." The pause held a little longer, then both of her friends dropped the matter. They did not like IF much and kept saying so.
Until Compa actually had enough and told them off a year earlier, that was. They stopped talking about IF in her presence at that point, which the peach-haired girl was grateful for. She did not mind if people did not get along, that was normal; actively being malicious about someone else, she would not have.
Granted, 'malicious' was too strong a word. They were just somewhat mean when talking about IF.
Also granted, the girl herself would not have cared in the slightest even if she knew. Somehow, she could simply shake these things off without ever bothering about them. It was a useful skill that Compa wished she had herself.
For the time being, she shook off the thought and focussed on the day; though she was already good on clothes after shopping with IF the previous week and the Nep sisters a few weeks before that, it felt like a good way to spend time. Her friends did need some additions to their wardrobe anyway, and she had more than enough fun trying on various sundresses, blouses, and skirts.
After seeing the two off a few hours later, Compa made her way not to the outskirts of town like last time, but toward its centre. For some reason she could not fathom, IF had asked her to meet up before Planeptower; the athletic girl did not provide an actual reason, either. Compa quickly decided to humour her friend, though the matter remained confusing. IF only stated she had to tell her something first.
However, seeing that she knew their mutual friend was already recuperating, Compa's concern remained at the back of her mind. She was mainly just curious.
When she arrived at the imposing tower's base, IF was already waiting for her; her usual blue coat was hard to miss even in the steady stream of people, partly because most made an effort to give the girl space. Their eyes met as Compa neared and the brunette pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning against. A moment later, they stood together.
"Hey, Iffy!"
"Hey..."
For some reason, IF's greeting had a note of sheepishness that was not there normally, making the other girl give her a curious look. "So, what did you need me for over here?" At that, IF actually began to fidget. Only a little bit, but noticeably enough for Compa to pick up on. She did not show her surprise, though; it had to be bigger than she thought if IF got nervous about it.
A moment passed in silence before the brunette sighed. "Look, it's... hard to explain. Do you mind if I just show you?"
Without the need to think about a response, Compa quickly shook her head. "Not at all." For some reason, her smile seemed to fluster IF more instead of less. She was quickly ushered into the tower's entrance area and to the elevators; curious as to where this was going, Compa simply followed her friend's directions until they found themselves inside alone.
Then IF did something weird to the buttons and Compa blinked up at the number displayed, a pit forming in her stomach. "I-Iffy? Where are we going? Is, is that...?" Her question was obvious and so was the answer, though her friend just kept quiet and refused to meet her eyes.
Within Compa, excitement warred with indignation. "But, but, but, but we can't just go there, it's not allowed!"
Her statement hung in the room for a long while as the elevator brought them ever higher, uncaring for the moral dilemma one of their occupants was in. As they passed 350, IF sighed. "It is, you know? The thing is... Nepgear lives up there."
In this moment, Compa's world ground to a momentary halt. She did not need to be overly smart to fit the pieces together at this point, but there was a disconnect between the knowledge and her feelings. There was no reason IF would lie to her, not about something like this. It was the truth without doubt.
Several seconds passed in heavy silence as Compa's eyes widened and she stared at IF with horror. "But, but Iffy! I, I can't. I can't meet the Lady like this, I'm barely presentable!" And with these words, she immediately started to smoothe out her clothes, take care of wrinkles in the fabric, comb through her hair with her fingers, whatever she could think of, while the brunette just stared back at her incredulously.
Then IF snorted and began to laugh; Compa's indignant "That's not funny!" appeared to only make it worse, though the laughter abated soon after. It was rare for IF nonetheless.
Soon after, the elevator began to slow down and came to a stop. Compa's hands quickly stilled as the feeling hit them, both girls unconciously standing a bit more straight. Their eyes immediately wandered to where they felt it coming from even before the doors opened. Once they did, the warm-looking design became little more than a footnote as all of Compa's attention was taken up by the serene beauty at the room's back.
There, at a wooden table, sat a pinkette and a purplette. The smaller one remained just as always, but the taller one stood... sat radiantly. Even hunched over she portrayed more grace than either of them could ever hope to display. Compa immediately ignored the fact that she was also spoon-fed at the moment, struck speechless as she was.
"...is this a bad time?" IF's voice cut through the gentle quiet like a knife, gaining the CPUs' attention right as Nepgear chomped down on the spoon; she blushed faintly, but Neptune's eyes wandered to the two of them for a moment and she waved them in with her free hand.
"Nah, it's fine. Just lemme finish this here and make yourselves at home. And, uh, you better give Compa a push or she will keep standing there."
Indeed, Compa's feet did not seem willing to comply. The girl remained in place, slowly getting used to the divine aura as her attention returned to the room and its other occupant. Even though it was never in doubt before, actually seeing the Lady Purple Sister before her drove the point home.
Which meant that next to Nepgear sat... Neptune. Right now, she was Neptune. It was a snap-decision Compa made while her friend gently grabbed her around the waist and carried her over to the couch. And for as long as Neptune was not on the job, she was Neptune.
As Compa slowly figured things out, IF took off her shoes to put them on the rack near the entrance. Meanwhile, Purple Sister shone brightly before returning to her normal appearance, immediately removing the daze from Compa's mind. She blinked and took a deep breath, then threw a smile toward the younger purplette after turning her head. "I'm glad that you're feeling better."
IF came to sit with her, leaning over the couch's backrest to watch the sisters just like Compa did. Nepgear fidgeted for a moment, but ultimately nodded without another word. The silence felt somewhat awkward, though Compa had no idea how to breach the topic at hand. It was rather obvious and she did not even feel as if more words were needed, but Nepgear might be thinking differently.
When the purplette next opened her mouth, her older sister immediately filled it with her spoon, much to the younger one's dismay. Yet, the look she threw Neptune had no heat in it, being answered with a giggle.
"Honestly, I take this over what else could have happened." IF observed them both critically, green eyes alert.
Which brought Compa to something else she felt she should ask. "Um, Iffy? How long did you know?"
"Hm?" The brunette blinked twice, then shrugged. "Since the dragon. Nepgear was kind of obvious by blocking it head-on, and I saw her apotheosis later that day." The purplettes nodded in agreement, though Neptune stuck the last spoonful into her sister's mouth at the same time. Nepgear defiantly bit through the metal and gulped that down with the soup as well, glowering at her sister.
Compa's eyes were transfixed at the small metal stick Neptune now held, its top obviously bitten off. IF sighed while Neptune herself snorted. Then the older sister shrugged at the younger one, and stuck the remainder of the spoon after its head. "Here, eat up~!" After two more bites and some chewing, the entire spoon was gone without much of a care.
It happened so casually that Compa might have thought this was normal, yet she intellectually knew how weird seeing this had been. But before her sat CPUs, not humans; their normal was likely much different than hers.
The disconnect made her head feel woozy, but Compa shook it off.
Yet it took her a few hours to really understand what she learned that day; it only set in when she had long since said her goodbyes and gone home. Her grandfather was present when the girl suddenly stilled and closed her eyes for a long moment, the kitchen table between them filled with empty plates and a few leftover toppings. "Is everything okay?"
Compa nodded mutely as her eyelids slid back again, then she threw the elder a gaze that held both thrill and utter confusion. "I met the CPUs today, both of them."
Instead of the surprise she expected however, her grandfather just snorted and took a sip of his coffee. "Oh, did she finally tell you?" He allmost giggled into his mug at the expression on Compa's face, his wrinkled face filled with mirth.
Several seconds passed in the weirdest silence Compa had ever been in, as she blinked at her grandfather and tried to comprehend. "Y-You know Lady Purple Sister? Why didn't you ever say anything?"
He almost laughed at her again, but kept a grip on his amusement. With a content sigh, the elder pointed his butter knife at his own face. "How old am I, sweetie?" At that, Compa had to do some quick math because she never remembered his exact age. Some mental counting later, she cast him a confused look. "Seventy-two?"
She was given a simple nod and the knife went back to his plate. "Exactly. I have been seeing Lady Purple Heart quite a few times on Jiro's project, but I wouldn't say I actually know her. Yet, I have lived here for a long time." He offered a toothy grin and motioned with one hand. "You will notice some things as you're getting older, Colette. Beauty like theirs is simply not possible for any human, though we rarely notice on a casual glance. They are smarter, stronger, better than humans, and that will always stand out in time.
"I am not stupid, sweetie. Actually, most old folks can tell you exactly who is a CPU if you give them a few hours to talk to one, civilian form or not." He closed with this, but lowered his gaze in consideration before adding something else: "We just don't tell because the Ladies walk around in their civilian forms for a reason."
He chuckled again and winked at Compa. "That aside, Jiro has a habit of not watching what he says at times. I already knew Lady Purple Heart is very much the polar opposite in her civilian form."
The comment made her crack up and giggle, nodding along with a smile. "I can see that."
She had learned many things today.