I'm 'Broccoli' because it represents me perfectly. It's small, and healthy, and all the other kids hate it!

...ah, wait! No, don't cry, Mina!

-Maker Broccoli

New Year's Eve was approaching and the people of Planeptune had already begun preparing for the festivities.

Meanwhile, IF and Nepgear were out patrolling like they were every weekday since the end of October. It became colder, to the point where IF actually carried pocket warmers and infrequently asked Nepgear for a little heatwave. Snow fell once in a while and the wind liked to squeeze coldness through the gaps in her coat.

Not that it stopped IF from doing her job; she marched on undeterred, though while ducking her chin under the coat's protective collar. Green eyes roamed the partly frozen landscape, noting that one perk of it was that she did not have to trudge through mud all that often. Nepgear walked by her side, unbothered by the forces of nature or the increasingly low light levels. With the winter solstice just past, daytime was fairly limited.

Not all was bad, of course. IF flicked her wrist to the side and engulfed a gaggle of Dogoos in fire, paying no more attention to the flashes of light as she pondered. Uni had been introduced on her recent birthday, just like Nepgear had. The internet exploded just as strongly as it had the first time.

But there was more than that. Looking back, this year had seen an abundance of new celebrities. Not only the two Candidates, but no less than six new Makers. Planeptune's RED first came to mind, confusing IF a little when she thought about it; she felt as if too much happened to still be in the same year.

Then there were the Leanboxians Tekken and Cave, as well as Lowee's MarvelousAQL. All three appeared competent and strong when she looked them up in the past; by herself, IF wondered if she could keep up with powerhouses like them.

And, of course, Lastation's Falcom and K-Sha. These two she might have met two months ago, had they been at their headquarters instead of out and about. She heard later that K-Sha was busy practicing for a sniping competition with Uni, the only opponent who could beat her with the rifle. She still did not know what Falcom had been doing, or where Cyberconnect2 had been in all this, but she did not feel like asking her friends.

Privately, IF did not know for sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. She did not feel ready to present herself to the Makers, but having the chance to meet some of them was not a small thing either. Some part of her wanted to meet them.

In a way, the young woman was well aware of how vain she must sound if she ever voiced these thoughts. She was friends with three CPUs, acquainted with one more, and had been present for the apotheosis of two of them. Makers were not common, but there were many more of them than deities.

Nonetheless, IF felt a little sad over the fact the current generation would likely have completely switched out by the time she joined them. At eighteen, she figured she still had between five and ten years to go before then. Some of the women currently serving appeared as if they would get along well enough with her.

A lone boxbird crossed their path, paper wings beating uselessly as it chirped a challenge at the two women. IF rolled her eyes and motioned for Nepgear, who took the lead and bisected the creature once they got close. She did not even need her superior speed, IF could follow her movements with her eyes just like that.

As the monster died, they shrugged at each other. It had become routine by this point.

"So," Kylian asked them conversationally and IF could hear the rustling of plastic wrappers over his microphone. He definitely did it on purpose to tease them. "Any plans for the festivities? Boyfriends or girlfriends to spend the evening with?"

He was mainly teasing with his words as well, seeing that he already knew neither of them was in a relationship. IF simply ignored that part of the question, with Nepgear doing much the same; the purplette was first to respond to the actual question, though: "I wanted to stay home and spend some time with my sister. We are both so busy recently, that will be nice."

"No plans yet," IF added a moment later. She had considered visiting her own home, if the orphanage could be called that, but was not sure about the matter. She had yet to actually do this, though many of the children dropped by her place after school. Mari also called her every week, so it was not as if she stopped interacting with everyone.

She had still felt a little weird when she was told that little Louise was adopted the previous week, but thought nothing of it.

"Oh, I see," the older man responded after another moment. "Well, I'm planning to throw a party with the other operators in my group. Feel free to drop by if you want, one or two more are always great." He dropped the teasing notions for now, though they all knew those would be back soon enough.

"Thanks, I'll think about it." IF did not feel like doing that, but it was a nice gesture in her opinion. She knew well enough that she would have given a flat no in response a few years ago; meeting Compa and Nepgear had done wonders to her ability to talk to people.

They continued their patrol quietly for a few minutes, the deterioriating lighting and their phones already telling them that it was almost time to head home. A handful of small monsters crossed their path and ceased to exist, but nothing exciting happened.

Then Nepgear turned her head to IF with a quiet "Ah", immediately gaining the brunette's attention. "Right, Sis wanted to talk to you. She didn't say what it was," Nepgear continued, heading off that very question a moment before IF could ask. "I think it is something private, so you should call her about it later."

Her response was an understanding nod, more or less interrupted by Kylian's chuckling. "Oh? Is-"

They both turned their headsets off before he could say whatever tease he had now. Knowing him as well as they did by now, it would have been some kind of comment about Neptune having interest in IF.

Nonetheless, she kept thinking about what the elder CPU wanted from her. She would find out soon enough, but she was curious nonetheless.

. .

. .

Later that day, IF opened her door with a sigh and flipped the light switch; work was over and she finished her daily workout, leaving the young woman with a few hours to spend. She was not particularly tired from her routine, but there was little else to do this day.

IF slipped out of her shoes and put them on the rack, then slid her feet into a pair of slippers she had already prepared beforehand. The brunette made a quick round through her living room, throwing her coat over the couch as she went. Then she carefully pulled her pistol out of the holster strapped to her hip and placed it in front of her weapon cabinet. The katars followed a moment later, once she unbound them from her belt.

She spent a moment considering what to do next, then dug her phone out of the coat. There was a message from Compa telling her the other woman would love to do something together, which solved the issue of free time during the evening. Her friend was also sad that Nepgear did not have the time. IF quickly sent a reply to hammer out the exact time and place, then considered her weapons.

She could clean them, apply a whetstone to her katars, and take a shower easily before it was time to head out and meet up with Compa. Which decided her course of action for the remainder of the afternoon, even though a glance out of the window would make one believe it was already night.

Before IF got to her newly set work however, she flicked her phone shut and open once out of habit, then pressed speed dial three to call Neptune.

It rang for the better part of two seconds before being picked up, a cheerful voice greeting her: "Hey there, Iffy! How's your day?" The brunette did not even roll her eyes anymore, sitting down on the couch for whatever her friend wanted.

"I prefer to work when it's not snowing, but great outside of that." The purplette giggled, but stopped herself when IF continued: "I heard that you wanted to talk to me. Did anything happen?" She doubted that Neptune of all people needed help from her specifically, but she could not think of anything else.

Her friend, apparently, could. "Well, uh," she started in a slightly more subdued tone, "it's rather the opposite, y'know? Something didn't happen. You haven't looked at your family's possessions yet."

"...oh."

IF had no other response; she had completely and totally forgotten that this was due. As an adult in the legal sense, she now held ownership of her parents' belongings as the only living relative. In fact, she had barely even taken notice of the fact that the content of their long frozen bank accounts had been transferred to her own the previous month.

The young woman took a long moment to swallow the lump in her throat and calm her heavily beating heart, grateful for the fact Neptune kept quiet. Taking a deep breath, IF lowered her head slightly and leaned back to rest against the soft couch. She felt surprisingly weak all of a sudden.

"Sorry," she finally got out. "I don't know how I could forget that. It just never crossed my mind." She really had no idea on that end.

Neptune immediately cut her off there, though. "It's fine, we can just do it later. How does the weekend sound, Saturday evening?"

"Sure?" She was not particularly looking forward to the weekend now. IF knew it had to be done sooner or later, but she felt that she would rather not do this at all. Taking a deep breath, the brunette counted the days... and paused. "Wait. Saturday? Do you really have time that day?"

This Saturday was the last day of the year, which indicated that the purplette would be rather busy. However, Neptune just giggled in response. "Not really, but I want you around for New Year's Eve anyway. I already know you've got no other plans."

She broke into actual laughter over IF's defeated sigh.

After a few moments of mirth, Neptune got serious again, her high pitch going down a bit: "But really now, this is kinda important. And private, so please don't bring Compa. Nepgear won't be around, either. Just us." IF nodded, even though her friend could not see it.

She was still not sure how to feel, but Neptune taking this seriously helped her to make that decision. "Alright. When do you want me there?"

They quickly figured out the time and chatted for a bit, but Neptune soon had to get back to work and left her alone with her thoughts. IF spent a long minute just staring at her phone before flipping it shut. She had much to think about and, for once, did not want to think about it.

So instead, the young woman put the device aside and made her way into the kitchen to prepare a late lunch; the synthesizer took a moment to boot up once she activated it, enough time for her to fill the two tanks with water and base nutrients respectively.

After a moment of consideration and scrolling through the menu, IF decided to have a stew with lots of vegetables and meat. She pushed her bowl into the machine and adjusted the ports to make sure everything would end in it. Then she closed the lid, activated the synthesizer, and got herself an apple from the fridge. An actual apple in this case, harvested in Leanbox.

As the young woman munched on her little treat and peeled herself out of her clothes, she wondered how people in other nations could live without being able to synthesize their food. She could have every flavour and composition, with no downsides, ready in thirty minutes. IF knew this particular technology was native to Planeptune; a select few in the other nations may also have it, but most people rather did things their own way.

The latter she could understand, though it was difficult to imagine not having this convenience. Mari had made sure to teach her how to cook herself, but the effort it involved, from preparing the ingredients to cleaning all the pots and pans afterward, felt like time IF could better spend otherwise. She still cooked once in a while for the novelty of it, but mainly so she retained the skill.

All things considered, the Land of Purple Progress was her home after all; she could not imagine living anywhere else. Lastation was an interesting place to be, but not one where she wanted to stay indefinitely.

On the other hand, the brunette reasoned with herself as the remains of her snack landed in the bin for bio-trash, she had no real idea how her synthesizer worked. They learned the theory behind some of its basic processes in school, but IF could not even remotely figure out how it managed to create the correct shapes, flavours, and textures. If it broke, she had to call someone to get it fixed.

It was similarly with the stove for people who cooked regularly, but still a little different. Perhaps that was why the practice had remained even in Planeptune.

Successfully having distracted herself, IF left her meal to be prepared and stepped into the bathroom to take a shower. The last seconds on the timer ticked down by the time she had finished, thrown on a shirt and skirt, and wiped the shower area mostly dry.

The young woman quickly grabbed her blow dryer, opened a window so the humid air could escape, and went back to the kitchen.

She ate while drying her hair, one hand holding the spoon while the other had the device; she switched at times, mostly drying her hair over the meal and finishing up soon after, the plate and her synthesizer quickly cleaned up as well.

Seeing that she was meeting a friend later, IF actually took out a comb and went over her hair for a few minutes; it still only reached to her shoulders, so getting it presentable did not take too long.

Once that was done, she took another look at her phone's clock and nodded, then brought her weapons over to the kitchen table; with them, she carried her tools. A whetstone, several clean pieces of cloth, oil, and a few other things.

Cleaning and sharpening her weapons was a relaxing task, all things considered; IF could just let her mind rest as she kept moving her hand in the same patterns. She kept her attention on the clock, but finished a bit before it was time to head out.

With her pistol soon stored in the cabinet and the katars back on her waist, IF considered if she really wanted to go out like this. A glance into the mirror showed her what she already knew; a girl with green eyes and chocolate brown hair, clad in a blue and white t-shirt as well as a black skirt. The skirt in particular made her feel a little self-concious, as IF had basically never worn one outside unless she had to.

On the other hand, she wanted to try being a little more open with her wardrobe for a bit; as a compromise, she threw over another coat from her wardrobe, quickly emptying the pockets on what she had worn over the day. That coat, together with her worn clothes and undergarments, wandered into the currently empty clothes basket. She would do the laundry in a day or two, when there was more gathered together.

Over the last two months, IF had quickly learned many things about having to live alone. She still thanked the heavens for the internet and its numerous sources of information.

After a moment of consideration however, the brunette also got herself one of the few pantyhoses in her possession. She could tough out the cold, but did not feel like doing so. She had gloves and a hat in her pockets in case it grew colder, and considered taking a scarf along as well. Though that felt like a bit much, so she dropped the idea.

Once everything was in order and the windows closed, IF took a quick glance around to double-check and grabbed her helmet before leaving and locking the door behind her. Like most places, her building had a parking lot; this was where the elevator brought her and she quickly snapped the helmet shut.

IF had parked her motorcycle nearby, which meant that she could swing herself on it within moments; she should be wearing protective clothing, but forewent it because her healing magic was strong enough to treat anything non-lethal aside from broken bones. Not that she expected to get into an accident; sticking to the regulations usually lowered such risks as close to nonexistence as possible.

On the other hand, IF reasoned as she checked everything over and started the engine, it was cold outside. She only had a handful of experiences driving in the snow and knew that the streets might be slippery in places.

She was not only looking out for herself in these moments; Neptune had given her this machine as a birthday present after all, which meant she wanted to take good care of it for as long as possible. Crashing it was a big no on her list of losing it. Even if it was an older model, Nepgear had modded it over the years and kept it in good condition.

After some moments spent pushing her machine to the exit area, IF quickly operated the panel to open the doors and drove off, the automatic closing them behind her. It was convenient insofar that it kept the cold out.

She easily made her way through Nicos' streets, turning this way and that on the mostly free roads. Snow gently covered most houses and decorations, but the ground had been freed. She passed many people on foot; now that IF actually had a way of transportation for herself, she finally understood why one would not take the walkways when they could drive themselves. It was simply faster.

She still would not use this method particularly often, seeing that she had two working legs, but it was good for going out with a friend. Else she might be forced to run, which would end up with her being sweaty and smelling over the whole evening.

A prospect which IF did not mind, if she was by herself. She at least wanted to be presentable around her friends, even though Compa would not care in the slightest. Neither would the CPUs, but it was the principle of the thing.

After some consideration, the brunette turned from the usual colourful downtown area into the R18-district, where most of the lights were going toward red tones. It was a bit of a shortcut, though she felt weird driving through here.

Of course it was clean and well-maintained like every other district, but something put IF at odds with it. The escorts, bartenders, and other workers on the way to or from work paid her no mind, though she gathered a friendly wave or a smile whenever she made eye-contact with anyone. It was not the people that made this place feel weird, either.

In the end, the best explanation IF could find was that this district simply held nothing of interest for her. She had obviously been curious what happened in it before the time she was legally allowed to enter any of the places, from casinos to brothels, but she barely cared once Mari told her even back then.

Like that, she soon left the area behind and reached her actual goal. It came as a pleasant surprise that Compa was already waiting for her near the movie theatre; IF could see her as she passed by, knowing that she was seen in turn.

Compa had gotten used to the fact that the brunette was always five minutes early long ago; this was one of the few times she actually showed up before her, though. The two of them exchanged greetings while IF checked that her bike stood properly and locked it, leaving the helmet safely stowed away.

"I hope you chose us a good movie?" IF was already curious what her friend had picked out after all; Compa nodded cheerfully as they entered, then passed a ticket to her.

"Just wait here for a moment, I'm getting us some popcorn." And off she was, leaving IF in the warm lobby.

The brunette unbuckled her coat, but left it on out of habit. There were many people around, from small children to older folk. Looking at the displays for movies, she could see why; there was a lot of variation these days, to draw in as many customers as possible.

Compa quickly returned with her overpriced snack and ushered IF along, through the crowd and into one of the theatres; they needed a minute to find their seats and soon found the whole place packed with people, most of them teenagers and young adults like themselves. The brunette did notice a fair share of children, though.

The age of the audience already gave her a good idea what kind of movie this was going to be; IF had not really checked, trusting in her friend's ability not to choose total garbage. She quickly found that Compa must have decided to go for something with a more martial style. Though it was rather generic, an adventure driven by action sequences.

IF was not sure what to think of the lazy bum of a protagonist at first; he got tempted into pulling out a mythical sword because he was told it would fulfill a wish of his. Which turned out as wrong, much to the audience's amusement.

Then he was stuck with a fairy who could turn into a sword, or was the sword, who insisted he aid her in a grand task. IF did not really pay too much attention once explanations about goddesses and evil gods were given, she was more interested in that fairy's design; she appeared a bit as if the producers had taken Histoire's avatar as a baseline, then changed a few things, sized her up to human size, and set the wings to sprout from the height of her hips instead of further up.

These two at least kept bickering, which added a nice personal touch to the adventure even as they met more people who joined them. The cast was diverse and well-played for most of it, though IF began to get annoyed with the other female lead's constant complaining somewhere around the middle. That was also where the story began to get interesting, so she forgave the matter easily.

She did not know how exactly, but IF actually came to like the protagonist toward the end; while aloof, he did follow through and kept up with everyone else. She could see his character develop as the story went on.

Once the final battle concluded however, things became strange. One of the main cast was dead, some impressive emotional acting, and then the protagonist was engulfed in white light. The credits rolled right after, leaving the audience wondering what happened there. A song played over the credit scenes, one particular note in them telling them that the music had been composed and sung by 5pb. herself. It definitely enhanced the entire experience.

"Hm... did they really have to end it on a cliffhanger?" Compa did not appear too happy about it, though the fact her eyes were still wet from the death scene earlier made it clear she was not mad. IF just shrugged and offered her friend a handkerchief, which was taken with a quiet "thank you".

In retrospect, she was amazed with what the studio created there; CG had been used and she spotted it once or twice, but they managed to hide it well, particularly in the scenes where the actors actually used magic. It did not really touch her as much as it apparently touched Compa, mainly because she already had so much fighting in her everyday life.

That aside, the movie had been more enjoyable than she would have given it credit beforehand. Compa agreed when she told her that.

The two exited with the general crowd but quickly broke off to the parking lot.

IF considered what to do next; the night was still early, so they could go elsewhere. Her mind was drawn back to the district she passed through earlier; theoretically, she thought, they could check out one of the clubs there. They were old enough to be let in now.

However, she also knew she had work the next day; if she already decided to make a first experience with alcohol, she would not do that before a workday. The train of thought made her curious, though. "Hey, have you been to a club yet?" Which also broke the momentary silence that had hung between them.

"Hm? Oh." Compa gave her a curious look over the question. "Yeah, the girls went there a few times and I tagged along." She gave a thoughtful hum before casting another glance her way. "It's nice, but I don't think you would like it. Too loud, and basically everyone below twenty-five is trying to hook up."

IF blinked at that. "Huh." She was admittedly a little surprised by the assessment. Not particularly its accuracy, but mostly its honesty. Compa used to be somewhat nicer in phrasing these things.

Playing over her surprise, IF nodded and pushed her hands into her pockets. "I guess. I'm mostly just curious because everyone else seems so interested. Or maybe I just want to do it once so I can be sure it's not my cup of tea," she offered with a shrug. "Thanks for the warning, though." Compa shrugged back, though she also smiled. IF did not think much of it and changed the subject instead: "Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve?"

She got a reaction this time, though it took a moment to register how her friend's smile turned apologeptic. "Yeah, I do. Sorry-" "It's fine, I'm busy myself. Nep wants me at her place for some business." IF immediately interrupted the apology, knowing that it would go on for a bit if she let Compa gather steam.

She rather remind herself of what was coming up on Saturday than make Compa worry. Though, in retrospect, the brunette was amazed how she had managed to keep her mind off of it for the last few hours.

On the other hand, now she really wanted to just go home. So with that settled in her mind, IF turned her attention back to Compa, who fidgeted a little. Their breaths were coming as white clouds from the cold, but she could tell her friend was not nervous due to the cold.

Instead of raising an eyebrow at the other woman, IF huffed. She knew this kind of situation by heart by now. Compa wanted to tell her something, but did not know how to approach the topic. "Come on, out with it."

She stepped a little bit aside from the main path in case someone else wanted to reach the parking lot, her friend following a moment later with a nervous giggle. "Ehehe, well, it's, um, I wanted to say before... I'm actually going on a date that day."

Now it was for IF to pause; that was not exactly what she had expected to hear. On the other hand, it made sense to her after a moment of thought. Compa had been dating before, but went without a boyfriend for the past year after her last breakup. They rarely talked about it, though; IF was no good for relationship advice and her friend appeared to dislike talking about her relationships with someone who had none, perhaps out of unnecessary consideration.

Which was not to say that she had not jumped in to comfort her the previous time; it was probably the only time she had ever been in the same room as some of Compa's other friends without any kind of tension between them.

Shaking off these thoughts, IF offered her friend a thumbs up. "That's great for you, but why so nervous? You know I don't mind." Her question made Compa giggle again, though she blushed a little as she did.

"Well, hehe, most of my friends are kind of busy. So I might not have had anyone to gossip with just yet. It's very recent, he asked me out two weeks ago." The other woman appeared a little flustered, though IF merely shrugged and accepted the unspoken question.

"I don't mind listening, but not out in the cold." IF nonchalantly pointed over to a nearby cafe.

Compa's head turned to follow the motion, then she nodded with a grateful smile. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Thank you and sorry I'm making you listen to me about this." IF considered this for a moment as she began to lead the way to the next crossing; Compa probably did not want to make her feel bad for not having a partner herself.

However, the brunette shrugged again. "As I said, I don't mind. I told you before it doesn't matter to me and I don't mind being by myself. Besides," she added with a smirk thrown at her friend, "I'm curious what kind of guy you found yourself." IF had rarely interacted with Compa's boyfriends over the years; it was partly because they often belonged to the crowd that did not get along with her, partly the fact Compa and her usually hung out with Nepgear, who had love problems of her own.

No matter how airheaded Compa could be at times, she was incredibly sharp when it came to people. She introduced a boyfriend to Nepgear once and never thereafter. Now that she thought about it, IF finally realised how right her friend had been with that decision.

The two young women quickly made their way to the other side of the street and into the cafe, where they secured a booth in a corner and placed their orders. A cup of tea and a salad for IF, some coffee and a slice of cake for Compa. The thought of sweets tempted IF as well for a moment, but she had already eaten some chocolate earlier in the day and found that to be enough.

Once they had settled down, the brunette gave her friend a nudge. "So, out with it. What's he like? How did you meet?"

"Heh," Compa laughed quietly while fiddling with her thumbs. "He's really sweet, all around. I, um, we met at school, actually. He, his name is Hubert, he studies medicine at the moment. We have a few classes together and he just came up and asked me out one morning." Her muscles relaxed as she spoke, Compa being obviously happy to explain the matter. "I admit I didn't notice him much before. He is nice and has a few friends he usually hangs out with, but more... plain, I guess? Nepgear's kind of plain."

IF immediately understood what Compa meant, though it was hard to put into words. Taking her inhuman beauty aside, Nepgear had a friendly but normal character; a friendly girl next door that nobody noticed particularly much because her presence was so natural. Yet this concept was hard to put into words.

Once she nodded, Compa went on with a thoughtful look. "So he asked me out and I said yes on a whim." IF had to bite back a comment there, but her friend did not seem to notice as she went on. "Then, come Saturday, we meet up in town and he gives me flowers. A whole bouquet." Compa motioned for the size of it with her hands as she spoke, her excitement clearly visible.

By this point, their orders arrived and the two took a momentary pause to take a few bites.

Compa was back at it moments later, still smiling. "But really, he is a total dear and a gentleman, too. And- uh, no, I really shouldn't talk about that." She blushed a little and turned her head away, making IF roll her eyes in response.

The brunette decided that her friend had asked for it and nudged her lightly. "Was that supposed to be 'And he is a great kisser', perchance?" Compa simply nodded, still embarassed. IF reasoned that it was more about getting into territory she knew she should not gossip about than the act itself; Compa was no prude.

"I see," IF finally allowed, though she held an amused smile nonetheless. Her friend was obviously happy despite her current embarassment. She considered teasing a little more, but decided against it this time.

The two of them kept talking on the matter for a while; in time, IF came to realise that Compa had found a match. She would have to get a look at him herself to be sure he was like her friend described him, but that was only a minor concern. Compa fell head over heels, as even IF could tell. She mercifully did not say anything and indulged the other woman.

When they decided it was time to head home however, IF's thoughts were drawn back to the following Saturday. It was for other reasons, but the leap to her own troubles could hardly get any easier. Yet she kept quiet about the matter, unwilling to bother her friend with it.

The thought remained with her as she carefully passed through Nicos, the capital's travel having slowed down a notch since her last ride. Compa's arms were linked around her waist, the other woman clinging to IF as she drove; her offer of taking her friend home had been accepted. Moments like these were what IF kept the spare helmet around for.

While most of her was focussed on driving, the brunette did have a bit of time to think about what was going on. Mari had hammered into her that she was not supposed to bottle up her feelings; it came naturally, the unwillingness to bother people she liked. IF did not want to darken their days with her own worries.

It was tempting, though. She knew she could always talk to Nepgear and Neptune; the feeling with them was different.

Deep down, IF unconciously remembered the power of their presences; the warmth and security that one could feel just from being around their divine forms. She knew she could confide in them, that they would not falter from anything she could say as long as it was honest.

She knew the same thing about Compa and Mari, and to a lesser extent her old team, too. Yet it felt less pronounced; her mind was able to push these notions aside, but it could not do the same with the CPUs.

The one person IF definitely did not want to bother about this was Uni, though; her newest friend had enough on her own plate, having to restructure her own head and getting started on public work at the same time.

So after dropping Compa off and wishing her a good night, IF carried on. She paid little mind to the electrical engine humming under her, thoughts directed at finding her favourite park. It was vast enough to have a few streets lead into it, which she took before turning off the bike and wandering off.

As the dark trees surrounded her, illuminated only by a few faint streelights, the young woman flipped open her phone and took a deep breath. Neptune had told her to call whenever she felt like talking, an offer which IF had rarely taken her up on.

She sat down on a wooden bench that was rather cold, but ignored the sensation in favour of leaning back and looking up at the stars. Even from within the bright city, one could see some of them where she was. The parks were vast enough for that; no monsters, but one could almost forget they were in the city.

Her finger pressed down one button for speed-dial; by herself, IF noted that Neptune had been right once again. Stargazing was relaxing after a long day.

"Hiya, Iffy! What's up?" And there was the woman herself, bright and cheerful as always. IF chuckled, wondering what to talk about. She wanted to hear a friendly voice for a bit.