Remember that us who live so long can not entrust so much knowledge to humans; the incursion that brought me to use this vilest of all powers is proof of that. Thus, I ask of you to not even let them know her name. I will be gone very soon, my dear; you are my last creation and also my legacy. I am aware of just what burden I push upon you who has just been born, but there is no other way. Please, Histoire, I beg of you to make sure such a catastrophy can never happen again!

-Eden's Silver Heart, the old goddess

Two weeks passed as the Makers worked; Tekken and Falcom were not meant to stay for long, but it was more than enough to clean up the countryside. All larger monsters near the cities were crushed bit by bit; some more spawned during that time, but Nepgear had gone to work on exterminating those.

It was a bit much in IF's opinion. Many of the monsters they fought were not even remotely close to one of their cities, but Neptune told her it was to make the best use of her colleagues' time. After Black Heart and Green Heart already sent them over, just having them sit idle would be rude.

At this point however, IF began to feel tired; adjusting to fighting monsters of this size took longer than she expected. Working hours could be longer than usual, which cut into her little bit of free time. With her being adamant about doing all her exercises and practice, IF was left more and more drained.

The days would likely get a bit less taxing soon, though; their special assignment was to end soon, as their colleagues had to return home.

Rubbing her eyes once again, the young woman closed in on their lounge after leaving the elevator. A mixture of sleep-deprivation and surprise was what prevented her from not fully rounding that particular corner; once the information of what she saw in the corridor was processed by her brain however, IF quietly turned around and went on another way toward her destination.

She definitely did not see two redheads making out right there. And even though she definitely had not seen anything of the like, and could definitely not still hear it as she began her hasty retreat, the rosy colour on her cheeks took a while to fade away.

Only Tekken was there at this time of day, with Steamax being out on a solo mission again. "Good morning," the other Maker greeted IF with a faint smile when she entered.

"Morning." IF sounded about as ready for work as she felt, but that would not stop her from participating. "How are you doing?"

The leanboxian shrugged slightly and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "Oh, quite fine; I do look forward to a slower pace, though. It's tiring. How are you?"

"Well enough." It was only half of a lie; IF was mostly tired, but nothing else. Going by the look Tekken gave her, she was not convincing.

They looked at each other for long, uncomfortable moments; then the martial artist sighed and spoke up: "I know I of all people really shouldn't say this, but you should go a little slower for a while. Running yourself ragged now isn't going to do you much good."

IF squinted and shook her head to clear it. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and gave Tekken a serious look. "I know that myself, but I can manage. It should be alright once we slow down again."

"And if more big monsters start spawning tomorrow?" Tekken had a point and IF knew that as well; she was simply too stubborn to just go home as long as she could still work. Lastationite work ethic, Neptune would have called it. Though there was also another reason that not even her Lady knew.

The younger one closed her eyes in thought, wondering how to get out of this without being childish. She only had the truth in that case, and figured she might as well say it. "You're not wrong, but I really have nothing to do aside from sleeping if I go home now. And doing that over the day would ruin my sleep cycle." Or rather, she doubted she could keep herself from going to sleep far too early without anything concrete to occupy her mind.

Tekken frowned slightly and gave her a searching look. "Nothing? Are you sure, no hobbies or anything you can do?"

Seeing that she had yet to find any hobbies, IF merely shook her head. "Nothing aside from exercising."

For some reason, her admission first made Tekken smile, then had her frown deepen immediately after. The leanboxian closed her eyes and tapped her index fingers together for several seconds; it became a rather uncomfortable silence to IF, who felt herself being judged. Had she been more awake to pay attention to her colleague, she would have seen the faint blush on her cheeks ahead of time.

Ultimately, Tekken sighed and opened her eyes to meet IF's. "Then... how about you take me into town today?"

The younger woman sat in surprise; she had not expected this turn of events at all, but she was not oblivious enough to miss she had just been asked out. She considered Tekken again, finding an attractive young woman who just displayed interest in her.

Now, while IF was not that dense, her disassociation with most of her peers left her with little idea about what went on outside of her focus of attention. Otherwise, she may not be as surprised to find someone interested in herself. She had her fair share of admirers throughout school and after, yet none of them had the courage to actually speak with her.

Seeing that this was the first time someone noticeably expressed interest in her, the young woman actually had to think about the matter for a while. Tekken did not meet her gaze as she waited for a response, the brunette being on her own to decide.

In the end, what brought her to a decision was a simple question: why not?

"Sure."

She was quite surprised how much a single word could brighten up the older woman. Tekken beamed at her, which made the brunette feel rather sheepish. It was around this time that she realised what exactly she just did; her own cheeks quickly turned pink and she only barely managed not to avert her eyes shily. "Just... I'm probably not good at this. You'd be the first person I ever go out with."

Tekken shook her head, smile unwavering. "That's fine, my sample size is two and I... really do not think either one was impressive. Well, technically three, but that third one was with RED and she doesn't count." The leanboxian paused for a moment and looked around, finding them still alone. "Actually, where is she? And Falcom, toooooooh." The fact IF blushed scarlet in remembrance told her all she needed to know. "Uh..."

Embarassed silence took hold of the room while neither woman looked at the other; IF tried to calm herself while Tekken remained in her own thoughts.

Neither of them was helped by the fact that, seconds later, their missing colleagues strolled into the room. Their clothes were a little bit dissheveled, hastily put back into place, and both women's hair was tousled. RED beamed even more than usual. "Now what's going on here? Anything interesting happen?"

The redheads both got seated while Tekken blushed a little further; IF did similarly, but channeled her embarassment into boldness instead. "Probably not as interesting as what you were up to." Her quip had at least Falcom join the group of red faces.

"Oh, so we're found out already." RED, however, did not appear to be bothered at all. She simply smirked and shrugged. "Well, figures. By the way, you look horrible. Take a day off." Her cheerful tone had not even wavered, making it take a few moments for IF to realise just what had been said to her.

She had already opened her mouth to respond, but a voice from the door stopped her: "Yup, I agree!"

Following her call, Neptune entered with a cheery wave; Nepgear followed right after her, the younger CPU curiously examining the room's atmosphere. The older one had her eyes on IF, who knew she did not look that bad. "Anyway, the brunt of the work is done, so you are taking at least today off. I'm going to ship you to Lowee next week, so you should be well-rested."

IF closed her mouth and sighed; arguing would not help with Neptune.

Looking around, the brunette's eyes fell on Tekken once more, who had managed to get over her embarassment and was watching the scene. A plan began to form and IF got up. "Sure. Have fun on the job, you two," she told RED and Falcom.

Her reaction got a round of surprise from the redheads and purplettes, though Tekken apparently caught onto what she said by the time IF reached her side of the table. "Wait, what about Tek?" Falcom appeared confused, as did RED. Neptune already understood and smirked, but did not say anything.

The leanboxian got up as well, an apologeptic smile on her face. "Sorry, I think I need a break today as well. That is fine, right?" Her question went to Neptune, who gave her a thumbs up and made a shooing motion. Both Makers strolled to the door, though IF could not help but cast a glance back; their remaining colleagues were still dumbfounded, now having to shoulder twice the work.

In this case, IF did not mind leaving them up to it; Falcom she felt sorry for, but RED earned it. Getting to see Neptune baffled like that was a nice bonus.

She also may or may not be curious how going out with someone would be.

That was, until IF realised she had not the slightest idea how it actually worked.

The young woman panicked for a moment and quickly ran through her options of where to gain such knowledge. Then she dropped these notions and sighed. "Just so you know, I don't know anything about... dating." All that indicated her continued embarassment was the slight pause she left.

Tekken shrugged faintly and gave her a reassuring smile, though. "That's fine, I'm not all that sure either. I didn't even think you would say yes, so this is already a step further than I thought it would get."

The admission brought a chuckle out of IF, who could not help but find it funny. "I didn't think I'd say yes, either." Her own admission made the leanboxian snort and they shared a miserable smile.

It was actually quite comforting to know that she was not the only one who had no idea how to do this.

IF's stomach decided to constrict in this moment, reminding her that she did not eat as much this morning; the tiredness had an effect on her appetite. She considered the woman by her side as they rode the elevator down. "How about we grab a bite to eat first and take a stroll around the city?"

Her proposal was considered for a moment before Tekken nodded. "I like the sound of that. You don't mind choosing the place, do you?" She did not just try to be considerate, IF knew; seeing that she was the only native one, her knowledge of the area naturally trumped Tekken's.

"Not at all. We can go check some guides for Nicos and decide where to go over lunch, too." It would be an early lunch, but neither of them minded that. Tekken readily agreed with the idea.

As they left the Basilicom however, IF cast a glance at her companion. "I can't promise some fancy place to eat, though; really not my thing." She figured that with how often she heard about people going to dinner at some restaurant or something like that, there had to be something to it.

Thankfully, Tekken merely shrugged. "Not my thing either, to be honest. I just need enough nutrition for the day and my training." She thought for a moment and cast IF a soft smile. "We seem to think similarly, that's good."

The brunette nodded, happy with the situation that had stopped appearing as unapproachable.

Over the next hour that consisted of leading Tekken to one of her favourite diners and having a hearty meal however, one particular problem revealed itself quite prominently: people around them kept staring.

She tried her best to ignore them and many at least made an effort to leave them both in peace, but there were still enough for IF to feel uncomfortable in the end. Tekken noticed as well, a sympathetic smile on her face. "Yeah, I forgot about that for a while. You're still not used to it."

"That's not it," IF replied quietly, motioning for the two of them. "It's more... this here."

"Oh... yes, I see what you mean." The older woman sighed and finished off her drink. Neither of them had anything left on their plates. "All we can do is ignore it, I guess." Her soft voice held a note of confusion, but IF paid no mind to that.

They left a little later, with the younger woman insisting she pays. With a month under her belt, she had recently received her first paycheck, if it could be called that. "Seriously, I have more money than I know what to do with."

Tekken snorted, but gave an agreeing nod as they wandered the plaza to look at different shops. "Mhm, I know that feeling, too. I'm a simple girl with simple needs." She noted it with faux seriousness that got a laugh out of IF in turn. Then however, the leanboxian gave her a more serious look. "I get it, though; we have to do something few others can, and we risk our lives every day. You should save it for bad times."

"I am," IF returned with a roll of her eyes. "Throwing it out on stuff I don't need is dumb." Though she had to admit by herself that some items had tempted her, now that she had no more need to be frugal.

Tekken merely smiled. "It's good to know that you're responsible like that." Then she looked around at the various storefronts with a sigh. "I really don't think we will find anything interesting here."

While a little sheepish about the compliment, IF could easily agree with her last notion. "Yeah." Except that she had no idea what else to do. Seeing that her kind-of date offered nothing either, she assumed they were both at a loss.

On that assumption, she just suggested something that came to mind easily: "How about we take a walk in Virtua?" No big monsters for a change, just the occasional Dogoo and a chance to actually take in the unbound nature. A warm day in late summer was perfect for that, especially with the clouds protecting them from direct sunlight.

Seeing Tekken's face light up, IF figured her idea was good enough; she led the way and they soon passed the Guild checkpoint before the safe zone. All three agents currently at the post had wide eyes when the two Makers passed by, their hasty bows going ignored.

Once outside, IF took a deep breath; the air was slightly different, she could not deny that. Tekken did similarly and looked around. "So, I heard this place is mostly to get a look at nature untouched by man?" She began to wander in one direction at random, away from Nicos. "We can still go see places in town later, right?"

"Yeah, but let's wait with that until all the tourists are tired." IF threw the leanboxian a wry smile, who chuckled. All the tourists would be around town now, as it was a bit after noon.

"I don't mind that. It's also nice to just... take a walk in peace." Tekken remained quiet afterward, though she became somewhat sheepish after a while. "Though I'm getting a little itchy; I was planning to do my exercises later, but now I probably don't have the time..."

IF focussed for a moment and skewered a pair of Dogoos on shards of ice, then considered what the older one said. Thinking of it, she would also lack the time to finish her own practice and exercises. "Does it count for today if we do that together?"

A little surprised, Tekken punched the air and had her magic carry the attack right into another curious slime monster, which died as quickly as the previous two. "Oh, that might be fun." She put a finger to her cheek. "But I'm not sure... I do a lot more than most of the others, so if that's fine with you?"

"Sure, I don't see why not."

. .

. .

In the evening, two exhausted women were lying next to each other; faces flushed, drenched in sweat, and panting.

"Okay," Tekken got out in-between gasps, "I didn't, expect, that." She slowly rolled her head around to look at IF. "You're pretty, pretty enduring."

"Right back, at you," IF returned, though she lacked the energy to smirk. The last few hours had been intense. Neither of them had ever met anyone who could keep up, and their bodies stung almost everywhere.

With her general exhaustion and night approaching, IF was tempted to fall asleep then and there; yet some part of her still had the discipline to keep her awake until she had showered and gone home.

Fortunately for both of them, her gym would not close for a while, though most other patrons had left by this time. They were basically alone after their extended exercise session.

By herself, IF noted to never try Tekken in that regard again. As expected of a fellow Maker, the other woman's training regimen was about as rigorous as her own. There went their entire evening, as they got to it right after a tour of the city. She was hungry.

Once she finished catching her breath, the brunette slowly pushed herself up until she sat, a faint smile finding its way on her face. Tekken did similarly, though she also looked around and took in the mostly empty room. "Huh. Is it always like this?"

IF shrugged as she got to her feet. "Most of the time; they are open until ten, but it's usually just me who stays until after half past eight on weekdays." The other woman made an understanding noise. as they both regarded each other.

It was quite surprising when Tekken spoke up, though: "You know, I haven't had such a nice day in a while. It's fun to take it easy at times, and to work out with someone who can keep up." IF nodded, though the next words stopped her cold: "Um... if it's okay, can I kiss you?"

This question was unexpected, even more so because IF had completely forgotten this was actually a date. Blood rushed into her cheeks and turned them bright red as she averted her gaze; Tekken herself turned a faint pink again and fiddled with her thumbs. "S-Sorry, that was a weird thing to ask."

"N-No, it's fine, I just..." IF almost stammered as she responded, thankful for the fact they were alone. She risked a glance at Tekken, her blush renewing. "It's just, unexpected, is all. I never kissed anyone."

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she admitted it, much less nonchalant than she usually would be. With so much of her being focussed on just staying awake and upright, she could not effectively fight her own embarassment anymore.

Tekken fidgeted again and risked a glance as well, their eyes meeting. "I see, um..." She was pretty, IF thought by herself in these moments. She wondered if she wanted to be kissed, realising that they just had spent half a day together on a date and got along. She enjoyed herself so far, and at this point she had gotten curious about how it would feel like.

Marshalling her will, IF took a deep breath and tried her best to relax. She gave Tekken a weak nod. "It's okay." Yet this was difficult, especially when she saw the surprise on her date's face. The leanboxian stood still a moment longer, then took a step toward IF. When she remained where she was, Tekken took another step, and one more until they stood right in front of each other.

IF had closed her eyes by the time their lips met; a soft kiss was what she felt, little more than a peck. Warm, too, but not in any way overwhelming like the things she read in the few novels she read in the past. Just... nice.

Tekken's arms wrapped around her and she slowly did the same, pushing back into the kiss. They separated and met again, holding each other steady in these tender moments.

Both of their faces were flushed once more when they separated for the last time; IF reluctantly opened her eyes to take in the woman she still held, and who still held her. Tekken appeared a little sheepish, though they both smiled at each other.

The younger woman slowly loosened her arms after a few seconds, the older one following suit before each of them returned into their personal space. IF was not sure what to say in these moments, a notion which Tekken picked up on well enough.

"I think we should wash up," she told IF softly. They were both still sweaty and tired from their workout; a hot shower would do well to wash all the sweat away and relax their abused muscles. "I can wash your back if you want?"

That offer, however, made IF take an involuntary step back. She was not completely airheaded and with the kiss they just shared, she could imagine just what Tekken suggested. "I-um, that's..." She began to stammer, blushing luminously and shaking her head, knowing this went much too far for a first date.

The other woman tilted her head in confusion, but accepted her decision and let IF lead the way to the showers. They picked up towels on the way.

Once inside, IF quickly made her way into one of the first stalls, leaving a furiously blushing Tekken behind. She quickly set everything up with practiced motions, slowly making it over her embarassment; her reaction had still not been fine for how flustered she had been, but she could not help it this day.

After a minute of relaxation under the hot water, she could hear Tekken tap against the stall's wall. "It's... sorry. Gym showers back home are all communal, so I thought it would be the same here. I didn't mean to take things further."

IF kept quiet for a moment, relieved yet still feeling a little flustered. Now that she was presented this clearly with the prospect, she had to admit to the tiniest bit of curiousity.

However, any such ideas were rejected when she responded to Tekken: "It's okay, I guess. Sorry for overreacting." She wanted to say more, but had no idea how to express herself without becoming a stammering mess. She wiped some of her hair back behind her shoulder and sighed quietly.

"It's fine, IF." The older woman sounded thoughtful. She stayed quiet for long moments and sighed deeply. "To be honest, I would not mind taking things further with you, but it's fine if you don't want to." The younger woman felt that this was rather awkward to talk about; them being separated like this helped, though.

"I'm... sorry, I'm not really comfortable with that idea."

"It's okay."

The ensuing silence lasted until both of them were clean and dressed once more; neither Tekken nor IF were ready to break it before that point, not even capable of holding the other's gaze for long.

By the time they left the gym, the two women were walking under the last rays of the sun. IF felt glad for the fact few people were around at this time of day; most were either still at work or eating dinner. She really did not need an audience for trying not to be an embarassed mess.

Seeing that Tekken remained silent, she figured it was better to say something herself and sighed. "Look, it... it was fun. All of it up until now." IF thought that was a good start; it definitely got the other woman's attention. "I never really thought about going out, so I didn't think I would enjoy myself like I did. Thank you for that."

"...oh. You're welcome. I had fun, too." Tekken brightened as she spoke, a spring entering her step. Neither of them brought up their kisses, though the pink hues on their cheeks revealed their thoughts quite clearly.

In the end, IF figured she should address the matter: "What does that mean for us now?" What few reading material she had consumed about this matter usually had people get together at this point, but she felt absolutely not ready to commit to an actual relationship. Her chest clenched up at the thought.

"Mhm..." Tekken put a finger to her cheek and shrugged, her next words releasing the tension from IF: "Anything we want it to mean, though we're both Makers at the moment. I don't think anything serious would work at all, unless one of us would be okay with leaving her home behind to live elsewhere." They both knew neither of them wanted that, so she did not even pause to wait for a response. "So for now... how about we just keep today as a nice memory, and maybe go on another date next time we get assigned to the same place?"

"I'd like that." And the younger woman had to admit to herself that she meant it. Her quick response brought a smile to Tekken's face; then the Leanboxian perked up and rummaged through her pockets. "Ah, right. We should exchange numbers so we can stay in contact." She quickly produced her phone, the smile turning a little more goofy as she did. IF pulled out her own phone, happy with the prospect of adding a new number to it.

They exchanged cheerful nods once they were done. Night fell in those moments, and the two became aware of the fact it had become dark. Tekken looked around with a certain surprise. "This late already?"

IF snorted, though she felt similarly. Where it was usually the mindless repetition of her many exercises that chased the hours away, this day had been quite pleasant. "So it seems." Then her empty stomach reminded her of something. "How about we grab a bite to eat and head home afterward?"

Tekken looked delighted at the idea.

. .

. .

After a hearty meal, Tekken kissing her goodbye, and the trek home, IF fell into bed and was fast asleep immediately.

Elsewhere, a party of three was sitting together; two CPUs and an android, enveloped in comfortable silence. Steamax was browsing another porn magazine he had purchased recently, with Nepgear glancing over at it from time to time in idle curiousity. The younger purplette busied herself writing code on her N-Gear.

Neptune, in turn, had draped herself over her sister's lap while reading through some of her own business reports.

Steamax, despite his continued interest in the conundrum of human biology, was paying attention to the two goddesses nearby. He could tell something was on their mind. The silence, though peaceful, he could not stop himself from breaking eventually: "Credit for your thoughts?"

Both CPUs turned their attention to him; Nepgear fidgeted slightly while Neptune cast a worried glance her way. That was enough for him to know this concerned the younger sister. He subtly moved his head to watch her more directly, waiting for either an explanation or a refusal. If she did not want to talk about it, she would say.

After a few moments of quiet, Nepgear lowered her gaze and sighed. "It's just... I'm a little envious of IF right now. With our studies and new duties, I couldn't spend any time at all with Uni aside from the dance. Every time one of us is free, the other has to work. It's... frustrating."

She paused her work and swiped around on the device in her hands, grimacing. "Like right now, she is out exterminating monsters." It was followed by another sigh. "And I am pretty sure IF and Tekken went out on a date today, so... argh!"

She only barely stopped herself from throwing the N-Gear away, flipping it up in the air instead. By the time it fell, the Candidate was lying next to her sister; Neptune caught the device instead. "Goodness, I'm a mess."

Seeing her sister's distress, the older CPU exchanged a helpless look with Steamax; he had never been in love, but the signs were rather clear to him. And now IF, who he heard had a track record of not being involved in any romance, went on a date before her. Even if it was just imagined, he could roughly understand her feelings.

Neptune sighed as well and patted her sister's head, then she pulled out her phone. A few rapid-fire text messages were sent out and responded to, then she gave her sister a nudge. "Hey, little Nep."

"What is it, sis?" Nepgear groaned as she turned her head, only to see Neptune smirk at her.

"Switch on your HDD and get over there. All of Uni's work for the week is cancelled, and so is yours. Off you go." Steamax quietly took a picture of Nepgear's flabbergasted expression. It lasted only a moment longer before she surged back up and hugged her sister tightly.

"Oh, sis, thank you! I love you, you're the best!"

"Hehe, you know it. Godspeed, Nepgear." Neptune chuckled and shooed her Candidate away, who gave her a kiss on the cheek before dashing up the stairs to the roof. A moment of divine presence later, she was gone.

The two that remained looked at each other. If Steamax had an eyebrow, he would raise it. Neptune just shrugged and sat down properly again, turning off the N-Gear and picking up her reports. "What can I say? It's not a matter of if they get together, but of when. It's probably just as bad for Uni, so throwing them a bone is the right thing to do. Ah, young love."

She said it with faux wistfulness, but Steamax had to agree with her statement. He chuckled nonetheless and let the matter be.