Humans breathe to take in oxygen, which they need to stay alive; but why do CPUs?
As is generally known, deities are born from Share Energy and their bodies are made exclusively out of it; logically, they should not need to take in oxygen to keep their metabolism going, especially considering the amount necessary to power such strength, endurance and speed. It is therefore viable to assume their organism to gain something else from the surrounding air.
Furthermore, it is also known that Share Energy is generally the only necessity for a CPU to have; everything else is merely a convenience, so one can assume that particles of Share Energy, or maybe even Sharicite, are present in Gamindustri's atmosphere.
-Excerpt from "A Theoretical Analysis of General Share Distribution"
Eh, we breathe so we appear less unnatural to humans.
-Neptune's unsent response
No less than four months had passed since IF's heart-to-heart with Neptune; with April having begun a few days earlier, her moving out to live by herself was now six months ago. Time passed quickly.
She had taken up the habit of talking to Neptune; nothing special or important, just about her day. The purplette called it a 'soft-counseling', though IF was not entirely sure what to make of that. She felt lighter these days; Nepgear said she smiled more than she used to, but that was up to debate.
Either way, IF was glad with the slight turn her life took.
In regard to turns in life however, Compa had her beat; the peach-haired girl moved in with her boyfriend two weeks earlier. Seeing how happy she was, IF could not help but be glad for her.
In addition, she would get to meet this boyfriend soon; it took a while to schedule a get-together, seeing how all of them were busy. However, now that Compa was on break from nursing school and Hubert's semester at university had ended, they finally managed to find the time.
Their meeting place was innocious enough, being the mall she had become quite familiar with over the last few years. As IF waited for the other two, she quietly rubbed her temple with one hand and focussed on pushing out the irritating feeling. She suspected a cold coming up, but the headaches were more tenacious than usual. She simply failed to ignore them, somehow.
And as if that was not enough, her body had apparently decided to wage war on her by throwing period cramps into the mix. Something which she had had before, but could not just ignore this time because of that persistent headache.
She shrugged it off when she saw a familiar face appear around a corner; the two of them exchanged waves as Compa made her way over, the young man by her side following with a friendly smile. IF curiously examined him, noting the black hair and that he was only a little bit taller than Compa. She could not make out his eye colour on this distance, though.
What she could make out were his dark jeans and dark blue shirt, the latter of which had a stylised guitar and '5pb.' printed on the chest.
"Hey, Iffy," her friend greeted once they met up, hugging IF briefly before letting go and giving her a chance to shake hands with her boyfriend. "This is Hubert."
"Nice to meet you, I'm IF." the brunette offered as they shook; she kept her confusion about his weak handshake to herself while Hubert gave her a nod.
"Likewise. Colette told me a lot about you, I'm glad we finally found a time that works." His voice was a pleasant baritone, though it did not exactly fit with his appearance. Not remotely as jarring as Neptune suddenly dropping two octaves while in her civilian form, but noticeable.
IF cast a glance to her friend, who did not give any hints as to what exactly she had told her boyfriend. The brunette rolled her eyes at that. "I don't really care what we do, so you choose."
She felt a little bit out of place being alone with the couple, but Compa had insisted as she was one of the last to actually meet Hubert. Nonetheless, IF had already decided to try making the best of it. "But I can't stay for too long. Feeling a little under the weather." It was a white lie, really. There was no need to bother her friend about something as fleeting as a headache.
"Oh, that's alright," Hubert told her with a smile. "You shouldn't push yourself for us. Just say if you don't feel well." Compa nodded along, obviously in total agreement. The sight brought a weak smile on IF's face and they wandered into the mall proper.
A few steps in however, Hubert's brows furrowed and he considered IF again. "Though I could swear I saw you before, somewhere." He pondered that for a moment while IF raised an eyebrow at him.
The subject brought a giggle out of Compa, who mischievously pointed at the brunette's shiny B-rank badge. "You probably did. Iffy is the Guild's rising star!" Her mirth only grew over the stinkeye IF sent her way; they had this discussion often enough for Compa to know that IF did not think herself that good.
Much to her relief, Hubert did not join the banter; he kept musing a little longer, then began to fish for his phone as realisation hit him. "Ah, right." They took a step to the side as to not bother anyone walking in after them while he flipped through some pictures. When he held the phone out to them, it showed a slightly younger IF, in the process of exchanging fire with an Ancient Dragon.
At least the force with which her palm hit her forehead did not worsen the headache. Compa giggled while her boyfriend was simply confused. "Please don't remind me," IF told him with a grimace. She held back on mentioning the phantom pain she had at a few rare times, but only barely. Cooking her arms from the inside out was not an experience she wanted to repeat, or to be reminded of.
"She doesn't like the attention," Compa helpfully supplied while Hubert pocketed his phone; he just nodded understandingly and dropped the matter. "Anyway," the aspiring nurse continued with a bright smile, "how about we go shopping for-" "No."
She blinked at IF, who had her arms crossed and shook her head. "Nonononono, no. I know how that sentence is going to end, and no." Her vehement refusal made Compa break out into hearty laughter, much to Hubert's confusion.
IF had been clothes-shopping with Compa before. She already decided for herself that she would never, ever, do that again. Not only had her friend the habit of trying to get her to wear casual clothes in public, she also always took many hours to look through everything the stores had and which might be even remotely interesting.
IF was still not comfortable wearing anything but her regular clothes outside; she did not mind picking something else while at home, but the young woman felt weird without her coat on.
"Um," the man in their company caught their attention as he slowly raised a hand. "Do you mind if I pick our first stop?" IF merely shrugged; Compa motioned for him to do so while her giggles died down, coaxing a fond smile out of Hubert. The brunette tried to pay attention to these things for a change, curious how those two interacted.
So they wandered through the mall, quickly descending to the lowest floor as Hubert led them. IF followed curiously and soon found their destination: a pet shop. Not a place she usually visited, though she did not feel any dislike toward the idea.
Once Compa saw it, she squealed in joy and IF realised why he chose this place. She threw Hubert a sly smile, to which he blushed and averted his gaze.
They entered the slightly warmer shop, but Compa immediately made a beeline for a certain area further in; IF and Hubert followed, the former amused and the latter fond. They saw where their journey went a moment later, to a pen filled with guinea pigs. Some other children were around this place as well, the entire situation only bringing amused smiles from the staff.
Though IF noticed that most people cooing over the animals were rather younger than them. She even recognised one girl from the orphanage.
Then again, those guinea pigs were cute even to her. It merely took much more to make her squeal over cuteness; such as remembering two perfectly adorable Candidate-kids.
She shook her head to get the image out of her mind; one of their number was already on a high, she did not need to follow. IF simply watched the little things go about their day, running around, eating, doing nothing particularly productive.
Then her headache worsened for an instant, making her brow furrow as she tried to ignore it. This had been happening for a while now, though she managed to get by.
"Iffy, look! Look at this cute one!" Compa's call snapped her out of it; her friend was looking into the pen and pointed right at a specimen with yellowish golden fur that was sitting in front of her. IF pushed the pain aside and wandered over, taking in the guinea pig curiously. She had to agree that it was cute how the critter stared up at them.
As she came closer however, the animal squeaked in alarm and ran off. Following this one, all the other guinea pigs in the pen also retreated from her for some reason. IF tilted her head in confusion while everyone else looked either at the scared animals or at her. Then she shrugged and took a few steps back, suppressing a sigh. Whatever this had been, she felt that it really could have happened in a better situation.
Hubert and Compa were also eyeing the guinea pigs in confusion while IF fought with her headache again. The staff had already moved in to check the animals, who had relaxed with IF out of their sight. Whatever happened appeared to be over.
The brunette was confused, but decided not to think too much about it. Not that she could, with her mind and body trying to knock her out.
A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting on a bench in the atrium; IF was slumped back against the wall behind them, eyes closed as she silently bore with her predicament. Toughing it out as usual became much more difficult for some reason.
"That was weird," Hubert noted with a curious glance toward IF. "Do animals usually react to you like that?" Both women shook their heads, which made him lower his own in thought. "Hm."
Neither of them knew for sure what had happened, or why. However, IF was not really in a condition to keep thinking about it. The pain in her head continued to increase and her body began to feel weird, both light and heavy at the same time. Something different from her magic was crawling under her skin.
"Hm-oh. Is everything alright? You look pretty pale, IF." Hubert's voice only weakly reached the brunette, who fought with the shudders running through her body. The cramps were basically forgotten by this point, she just wanted to go home and lie down.
Whatever she had was pushed back under her will as the young woman aligned her feet and got up without a word. Then it returned and finally overwhelmed her; IF stumbled forward, her chest tightening painfully. Hands caught her and Compa shouted something, but she could not make anything of the words.
Her eyes widened as her heartbeat sped up, becoming so strong that she could audibly hear it. Then it slowed down, together with everything else; it was as if she was lowered to the ground in slow motion.
Then it sped up again, and everything became dark.
::
Compa sniffled as she watched her unconcious friend on the ground; she already called an ambulance, but that would take a moment. Hubert was still checking her over as best as he could, but Compa herself could do no more.
The small crowd that formed talked among each other about whether there was someone who could help, but she paid them no mind. Her heart was throbbing, and she wondered just why the world had to be unfair like that; why IF of all people?
This woman was always strong, unbent. She was a constant, one who could withstand anything and everything, yet there she lay. Brought down by her own body.
As she still lamented however, she could feel something creeping through her mind. A familiar sensation. It wiped away the young woman's sorrow and replaced it with surprised awe in an instant.
In the same moment, mist began to seep through IF's skin and clothes. A deep, strong blue that put their minds at ease with its mere presence. It wafted not far from the brunette, enveloping her but never once taking sight of her.
Hubert was still in the process of falling backward when it receded into IF again, like a gentle fountain that had suddenly been reversed.
There was no sound among the people who saw. IF lay still, but breathed much more evenly now; the rush of power was gone, yet they all had felt the sensation that came with it. The feeling of inferiority, the knowledge that before them was someone powerful.
A champion.
Compa's wide eyes gradually returned to their regular size as a smile spread over her face. She had only felt this particular sensation once before, during a parade in the previous year, but she knew it as instinctively as she knew the soothing aura of the gods.
IF had not displayed divine power, yet what she did was as close to it as any human could ever be. The pinnacle of humanity's ability.
Her friend had awakened.
The somber mood was broken when medics rushed into the atrium, quickly homing in on the small crowd around IF; everyone parted immediately, letting the professionals get to the unconcious woman. Compa herself got up from the ground to answer questions and explain the situation while one of the men ran a medical scanner over IF's form.
As the crowd dispersed and Compa went over every detail she knew, she felt herself relax. Her friend was safe and sound.
. .
. .
When she came to, she felt horrible. Her insides were still cramped up and she was exhausted, much more so than she should be by any means.
As her eyes fluttered open, the sight this action yielded was merely a white ceiling, illuminated by soft, indirect lighting. With it came a weird smell that she felt she recognised from somewhere. IF blinked slowly, accustoming her eyes to the light and feeling for other sensations.
She was lying in a bed. The pillow her head rested on was a tad harder than her own. Her clothes were not as they should be, and she felt the mattress against her skin. It was quiet in the room, and turning her head to the right told her that it was dark outside.
That she was at the hospital became rather clear by this point; even though covered by a warm blanket, IF could tell she wore no more than one of the thin hospital gowns she saw on television before.
She remained as she was, though. For a few moments, IF allowed herself to wallow in self-pity over how horrible she felt. She did not even know what happened to her, just that she was apparently in the hospital.
Before her mind could run through different scenarios of injuries or sicknesses that would end her career however, her nose distracted IF. Once it had accustomed itself to the unusual smell that was probably antiseptics, she realised there was another prominent scent in the room. One that she knew quite well; like the clean air after rain.
It was completely quiet in the room.
"Hey, Nepgear." IF broke the silence before turning, finding her friend as expected. Nepgear sat as still as a statue until that moment, but a relieved smile spread over the purplette's face when their eyes met. Sound returned to the room as she began to breathe again.
"Hey, Isa." Her voice was soft as she greeted the brunette, full of emotion IF could not decipher at the moment. She even used the other nickname her and Neptune had adapted in recent months; hearing it made IF feel bad almost immediately, as it revealed just how worried her friend had been.
"I'm glad you are awake now," the purplette started after a moment; she did not give IF the chance to go back to her own thoughts, answering a question she did not even know she had: "Visiting hours are long over, so Compa isn't here anymore. They let me stay because I am your partner at the Guild... but I would have pulled rank if they hadn't."
Hearing this was touching, though IF was too exhausted to become emotional. She felt like long ago, when she just started out her training and fell into bed dead tired every day. Only that there was no pain in her muscles, just the exhaustion. The weird feeling made her sigh, but she managed to throw Nepgear a weak smile. "Thanks."
No more words were needed; her friend could guess them all anyway. The CPU merely smiled and helped her sit up. "How are you feeling?"
"You mean aside from worn out and hurting? Pretty good." The brunette winced at her own tone and sighed again. "Sorry, just... period cramps on top of all this, it's not a good combination." Her explanation got a sympathetic nod from the purplette.
"I can not say I can relate, seeing that CPUs do not have periods, but I definitely do not envy your situation." The purplette offered her a glass of water as she spoke, which IF slowly emptied. She felt much better afterward, noticing that the blasted headache was finally gone. "They have you stay over night, but you should be back out tomorrow. It is nothing serious, just exhaustion."
For some reason, the last statement brought a chuckle out of Nepgear, who gave IF a mirthful grin. The brunette was trying to remember what might have brought that on, but came up without any good explanation. The last she remembered was being at the mall.
"Okay, I bite," she relented in the end. "What's with that grin?" As expected, her question only increased her friend's amusement.
"You know, this event was so you that I am surprised none of us expected it." She pressed IF back down onto the mattress as she spoke, her hand gentle but not accepting any resistance; IF complied, tempted to close her eyes and fall asleep the moment her head came to rest on the pillow again. Yet she forced herself to stay awake, eyes on Nepgear, who smiled at her warmly. "You see, I have it on good word that you awakened."
A beat.
Another.
IF simply stared at her friend, mind rattling as it tried to work out the words. It took a long moment to truly understand what she had just been told.
Were this any other opportunity, she might have gotten riled up by the idea. With how she felt at the moment however, she could only relax into the mattress with a "huh" and keep staring at Nepgear. "Does it always feel like that?"
Her question brought another chuckle out of the other woman, who gently began to stroke her head. "Not at all," Nepgear started with a soft tone. "From what Sis and I brainstormed, it's likely you have been yourself again. Did you feel unwell over the last few days?" IF nodded, noting she had had a strong headache since the previous morning. "Yeah, that should be it. You see, Awakening is usually heralded by symptoms like that. Not the cramps, those are just unfortunate."
Nepgear's soft voice and ministrations made IF sleepy, but she kept herself awake as she listened. "The Awakening proper triggers within minutes to a few hours; some people pass out from it, but almost all of them report exhaustion afterward. I think you know it happens between sixteen and twenty-five?" A nod. "Good. Anyway, it could have happened to you any day now. We have over a dozen witnesses to confirm it, too."
The purplette considered for a moment, then shook her head. "Anyway, from what we figure, you have been fighting it subconciously ever since. For at least twenty-four hours. Your force of will is astonishing as usual."
She easily ignored IF's snort, keeping up her petting as her smile widened. "Congratulations, you are the one person in a million." IF felt a pleasant sensation from how Nepgear's fingers ran through her hair, as unused as she was to the feeling. She enjoyed it a lot, and was almost sad when her friend stopped. "Now, I think you should rest up properly. You are obviously still tired, so I will take my leave now and call Compa."
Nepgear got up with those words, pushing her chair back to the wall and making sure IF was tucked in properly. "We will be back tomorrow."
The brunette nodded tiredly, unhappy about being by herself but also relieved that she could sleep some more. "Well, good thing tomorrow is Sunday," she noted idly, more to herself than for Nepgear; her friend caught onto her intention however, the simple fact that IF would not miss work that way. Shaking her head in fond exasperation, the purplette walked to the door. "Good night, Isa."
"Good night, Nepgear."
She was asleep moments after the CPU left, a smile etched onto her face.