Hm? Oh, that. No, Lizzie, I don't know who your other mother is. I'm not a woman for relationships, so I had this arranged without being informed. Do you think it would be better to have two parents?... ah, I'm glad to hear that. I thought about it for a long time before making my choice. All I know is that it's a woman, and the only one who knows the details is our Lady. If you still want to know when you turn eighteen, I will ask her to tell us.
-Isabelle Fontaine
Four months passed in relative quiet, aside from the usual occurences. IF got used to her work and saw herself slowly grow not more powerful, but better at what she did. She started to learn how to best move against specific large monster types, became more secure in her Awakening, and got used to working with her colleagues.
Fighting with Steamax and RED was different to fighting with Nepgear; they could not adjust themselves to IF's own style so seamlessly and would never even try to do so. Standing together meant to fill gaps the others left, and so each of them adjusted a little for that.
In these four months, the only unusual occurence she saw was her success in somehow stopping everyone from throwing a large birthday party for her. She really had not needed one of those for her nineteenth, though Mari had insisted on baking her a cake... and many of the younger children gave her presents.
She vowed to herself to visit more often at that point and actually managed to go through with it.
Now it was the middle of December. IF had been a Maker for almost half a year, meaning that her surroundings no longer became tense when she was around. All eyes were still on her more often than not, but it got better. Children ran up to ask her to sign things from time to time, but she did not mind that kind of attention; the other kind, the journalists and reporters, mostly stopped bothering her after the third month.
What took some of the attention off of her was the goings-on in Lowee, though. Lady White Heart had announced the birth of not one, but two Candidates to the Land of White Serenity. It had happened a mere two weeks ago, which meant she still had at least another ten days of peace and quiet while everyone talked about the divine twins. Maybe a little longer.
As of this moment, she was seated opposite to Compa; her peach-haired friend wore a familiar bright smile, clad in her favourite wooly sweater as she was. She had shaped up a little since moving in with her boyfriend, IF thought. They rarely saw each other these days, with one of them being out fighting monsters and the other studying hard for her nursing school, so the differences became a little more noticeable. Compa had never been ugly, but always a little pudgy. She was not lean now, either, but different enough to be noticeable.
When IF had asked, her friend noted that it was because she figured being a little stronger would be good for a nurse. She had to move patients around that might not be able to move by themselves, so she began to work out a while ago and get into shape.
"We can go to the gym together sometime if you want," IF offered with a little smirk. Compa shivered and made a face.
"I'm not sure that is a good idea. I can't keep up with you." She took a sip from her tea and sighed. "But sure, we can do that. Just don't be mean when I collapse, yes?"
IF snorted and waved off the notion; she knew her friend was joking. "Can do. I'll be careful not to hurt your fragile feelings." The faux-unamused look that brought her made IF chuckle. "Anyway, how is Hubert doing?"
She had not seen either of them recently and was reasonably curious; IF knew she would have heard if they broke up, not to mention that the response to her question would not have been a fond smile if they had. "Studying for exams," Compa offered with a giggle. "They are still two months away, but he wants to stay on top of everything." As to be expected of an aspiring doctor, really. "I left him alone for a while so he can focus."
"Ah." IF nodded in understanding, or as much of it as she could muster as one who never even considered to extend her education beyond what was mandatory. "So he's busy for a while longer. You don't have classes over Winter Solstice, right?"
She forgot the specifics on that end again, them not being relevant enough for her to remember for long. Compa confirmed her question before deflating in her chair. "The free time is nice, but it's still sad we didn't get any tickets for 5pb.. We both wanted to go..."
She was right, IF realised. The concert would be on the twenty-fifth, not that the brunette had a ticket herself; she was a fan just like Compa, though perhaps not as enthusiastic about it, but tickets had been sold out long ago.
On the other hand, she was free that day. And many more, for that matter. "Do you want to hang out that day? I'm free until January starting tomorrow because a certain someone forced me to take a vacation again." She grimaced a little and wondered whether she should actually use that time to go traveling for a bit at some point, but decided to think about it some other time.
Compa just chuckled. "Oh, Iffy, that's the, what, fifth time this year?"
"Fourth," the brunette corrected, "the one time was me taking a day off on my own." Well, it had technically been Tekken asking her to do so, but she felt that still counted. Her friend still laughed and at this point, IF could see why it would be funny.
She still did not think it was, but she understood that others thought so.
"Ah, the one where you had a date with Tekken, right?" They had never really spoken about it before, though IF did mention the fact they went around town together the next time they met afterward. Compa appeared mischievous, perhaps trying to tease.
IF merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes." And there went the mirth, replaced first by confusion, then by bafflement.
"Wait, you really went on a-" "Yes." Though IF had to admit that the giddiness taking over now did not bode well for her. Compa's eyes shone.
"Y-You're dating-" "No." "...huh?" They were back to confusion, which she figured was for the best. "A date. Nothing more, nothing less. We are not an item."
Though there had also been kisses, which she decided not to mention in this conversation; that part was a pleasant memory between her and Tekken.
Compa blinked and nodded. "Oh. Okay. At least you had fun, right?" That, IF found, she could confirm without hesitation. Her friend smiled again as well. "That's good; the important part is to have fun after all."
"You're right," IF agreed before checking her phone. "Speaking of fun, it's about time I get to work." She ignored Compa's snort, having very much said it like this for that exact purpose, and finished her own tea before getting up. "See you."
"Yeah, see you!"
. .
. .
A few minutes later, the youngest Maker entered Planeptower for her last workday of the year. People offered her respectful nods as she passed, which IF returned. The way up was so familiar she barely had to pay any attention to it at this point, her feet carrying her where she had to be. Her mind wandered, busied by the prospect of three weeks of free time.
She really needed a hobby. Even Uni and Noire had those, as IF found out on her last phone call with the lastationite Candidate.
By the time the young woman reached her destination, she had decided to start trying different things instead of just thinking what would be good. First on her own, then after asking Nepgear to write her a list of pastimes she might be interested in.
"Hey Iffy!" RED greeted her with a bright smile, which IF returned. They waved at each other and the brunette stepped in, sitting down opposite to her older colleague moments later. It was only the two of them, with Steamax still scouting around somewhere. "Ready for another boring day?"
"Don't jinx it," she muttered, though heading out did sound like a good thing. RED chuckled lightly and waved it off while IF pulled out her phone to browse Chirper. "How's your day been going?"
"Oh, same old, same old." The redhead beamed. "Had a nice talk with Chris after getting up; she's going on break early, too."
IF raised an eyebrow at that. She already knew that this was Falcom's actual name, or at least an abbreviation, seeing that RED blabbed it out in the past. She could also tell what this meant. "So she is coming over soon?"
"You know it!" She snapped her fingers at the same time, cheer exuding from the other woman. "New Year's will be great!" Then however, RED's expression turned mischievous and she leaned over with a grin. "How about you invite Tek over, too? I'm sure she'd love that."
The implication, half-true as it was, had IF blush. She tried her best to appear unbothered by her flushed cheeks and raised an eyebrow at her colleague. "I'll consider it, but probably not. We aren't that close."
RED could easily continue the teasing, but left it at that and gave her a shrug. "You aren't that close right now, but you could be if you wanted." She was not pushing and IF knew it.
She still felt like she had to respond instead of letting things stand like that. "Which is the point. We don't want to, and we already talked about that." Then IF decided to kick the ball back into her friend's court. "So how about you and Chris? Still at girlfriend, or a step beyond by now?"
Much to her satisfaction, the older woman's cheeks turned a shade of pink; RED was not immune to embarassment either, no matter how boisterous she always acted. The older woman played with her Dragon's snout for a moment, then sighed. "Eh, we're taking our time getting used to each other. It really doesn't help that we have a long-distance relationship."
She let the silence hang for a long moment, considering IF with a look from the side. "To be honest, I'm considering to quit next year and move to Lastation. But I'm not sure if I should commit to it that quickly."
The younger woman blinked in surprise; she had not expected such a revelation. "Oh. Wow... does Nep know?"
"Not yet." RED shook her head, the usual cheer gone and replaced by a thoughtful expression as well as a light frown. She leaned onto the table and placed her forehead on her folded arms. "I'm still not sure about anything." Her dragon leaned aside and slithered onto the table without prompting, rolling up like a snake before watching the brooding woman.
"I see," IF said. She understood that somewhat, though the last year taught her to rely more on Neptune than before.
A few minutes passed in silence before the younger of the two had an idea and perked up. "Actually." RED raised her head to look at her, a curious gaze which IF met with a smile. "How about you ask Nep to switch you with a Maker over in Lastation? Maybe one of them wouldn't mind to be over here for a few months. Then you could see if living together with Falcom goes well."
Her friend blinked and straightened up, mulling the idea over. It was not the best, considering that it still required either CyberConnect2 or K-Sha to be willing to stay abroad, but it did sound like something to at least try. IF was quite happy with it and going by her smile, the woman opposite to her apparently thought similar. "I like the idea; thanks, I'll go talk to Lady Nep this evening."
IF showed her colleague a thumbs up and leaned back in her chair, glad that the heavy topic was basically concluded.
They sat in companionable silence for a while, neither willing nor needing to talk. IF went through whatever Chirper gave her and RED dozed on the table.
Both of them became alert when the doors swished open; their eyes were on the entrance, but there was no one there.
IF blinked and let her gaze roam over the area again before noticing the shock of blue hair poking out from one side. A pair of purple eyes peeked inside, taking in the two women. IF almost called out to whoever it was, but RED did so first: "It's okay, come on in!"
"U-Um, i-i-is it really o-okay?" A soft voice stuttered at them and their visitor pushed herself a little further out of her hiding spot. She did not reveal herself, though; IF was confused by the turn of events and wondered who this might be. No civilian that shy would tread up here, and she never encountered anyone from the staff who would hide from view like that.
"Of course it is," RED called back before addressing IF: "Now take the serious look off for a bit, would you?" That turned her attention to the redhead, who was grinning at her; IF raised an eyebrow at the older woman.
"What are you talking about? I always look like that."
"Exactly. You should smile some more, Iffy."
It was an argument they had before, so they were only retreading old ground. From the corner of her eye however, IF saw the newcomer sneak into the room while her attention was elsewhere. She turned her head a little to take the woman in properly, finding her rather more petite; shoulder-length and bright blue hair, a checkered blouse and blue jeans, and a fearful expression. She was lean like most of the Makers, a guitar case slung over her shoulder.
When IF smiled at her however, she flinched back and almost made to flee before RED grasped the brunette's face and turned it to look at her. "Sorry about that."
They stared at each other for a long, silent moment. IF considered a sarcastic response, and decided to go for it with a grin: "Don't let Chris know you're doing this with other people." RED's eyes narrowed a little even while she flushed pink again, but her grip did not waver; the younger woman sighed over that and flicked her gaze to the new arrival again.
Not that she needed to notice the little mole on her temple to know who she was. Maker 5pb., the most successful leanboxian idol of at least five generations.
She vowed to herself not to ever tell Compa about this; she would not mind knowing that reality much differed from her views of the singer, but IF felt her friend should be allowed to have her dreams.
"It's not that," her colleague finally said seriously, giving IF a look from up close. "Just keep your eyes on me until she got used to you, yes?"
"Sure."
She saw little sense in it, but complied; RED let go of her head and sat back down, with 5pb. taking a seat to IF's right hand. "T-Thank you," the idol muttered, her apology almost drowned out by the soft scraping of a chair. She maneuvered her guitar case against the table before sitting down. "I'm s-sorry f-for the inconv-venience."
"It's fine," the brunette immediately answered without turning her eyes away from the motionless Ryuki; she still saw 5pb. flinch from the corner of them. It was difficult to suppress a sigh, knowing that she would have to deal with a rather more difficult problem for a while.
Now that she had her eyes on the golden dragon however, IF noticed it shifting ever so slightly where it was rolled up. She had been curious about this for a while, so now felt like a good time to bring it up: "I was wondering, where did you find him?"
She had fought alongside the creature often enough to know it truly was an Ancient Dragon. Malformed and mutated it may be, but its body held the same colossal strength. Ryuki was capable of the same fiery breath and just as durable as any other of his kind; asking how she tamed something like that was tempting, but IF felt it would be a little too much.
RED merely grinned and threw a capsule of meat over the table; her pet struck it with snake-like speed and gulped it down while flopping onto the table, apparently too lazy to curl up again. "Little me found the lazy butt sleeping in the mud."
"...did you just feed him and he followed you around?" RED actually laughed once IF asked, a free and happy sound that made the dragon perk up for a moment.
"Pretty much; it's been, uh, a long time now and I still haven't figured out why he likes me so much." As if on cue, Ryuki rolled over and apparently played dead. Or slept, she could not tell for sure. "I don't even know how intelligent he actually is. Mostly he's more like an animal, but sometimes he acts far too smart for just that."
The dragon did not react and IF quietly let the matter lie at that. She cast a quick glance to 5pb., who did not notice it with her eyes still on the tamed monster. She considered not to ask her question in regard to the idol's looks, but decided she might as well. "Hey, 5pb.?"
Her words immediately made the blunette flinch, but she at least did not run away or something like that; IF counted that as progress, even though RED wore a somewhat tense expression. The youngest woman made sure to keep her eyes elsewhere, rude as it otherwise would have been. "Just wondering, are you and MAGES. related?"
5pb. had purple eyes instead of blue ones, but they shared their build and soft features, though the loweean Maker hid hers under smirks and frowns. Their hair was also a quite similar shade of blue, if not outright identical.
In her opinion, those were enough similarities to ask about. RED blinked and eyed the Leanboxian herself, then scowled. "Heck, why didn't I ever notice that?"
IF stopped herself from quipping, though she figured it was mostly because she had framed the picture she took with her colleagues in Lowee. With months between seeing one and then the other, it was difficult to notice the fact at best.
The Planeptunians turned their attention back to their colleague, who had started to play with her hair. "I-It's, um..." She started and stopped herself, obviously unsure what to say; IF got the feeling this had little to do with her this time, though. 5pb. took a deep breath and let go of the blue strands in her hand. "I... yes. She is m-my little sister."
This once, the other woman spoke with nary a stutter; she also kept her eyes firmly on the dozing Ryuki, unwilling to look at either of them.
"Well, damn," RED mutters into the ensuing silence. "I never thought about it before, you're so different."
"And on the other side of the world from each other," IF added while trying not to look at 5pb. for now. "I probably hadn't noticed if I hadn't seen a picture of MAGES. yesterday." Because she would not admit to framing pictures she took with her fellow Makers.
However, her words made the blunette shrink either way; she averted her gaze from them entirely and flinched when Ryuki snapped upward to catch another ball of meat. "...sorry," RED mumbled a moment later.
"We won't pry," IF promised her colleague; she really wanted to pry, but pushing 5pb. felt more than just a little wrong.
Just as expected, the reassurance made her relax and even coaxed the smallest smile out of the blunette. "T-Thank you," she murmured, glancing toward IF. The brunette risked a glance of her own and found that 5pb. did not flinch back this time. She still averted her gaze, but it felt like a lot of progress for a single hour.
All was quiet for a while, the three of them returning to a state of calm; RED played with her dragon, IF sharpened her katars, and 5pb. began to tune her guitar after a little time passed.
"Say, Iffy," the redhead spoke up at some point; IF only gave a grunt of acknowledgement as she eyes her weapon up close, letting her colleague talk. "Did you get tickets for the concert?"
She paused for a moment to flick her eyes between both older women, but leveled them back onto her task a moment later. This did not feel like a good subject with the artist herself in the room; RED knew her better, though. IF decided to trust her judgement and went to answer: "I didn't hear of it until everything was sold out." Which sounded like a lot of time, but had really only been six hours or so; her colleagues knew that, too.
She received an understanding hum from the other planeptunian and saw 5pb. look between them from the corner of her eye.
"So you're a fan?"
"Yes."
Who was not a fan of 5pb., aside from those who wanted to be contrarian? IF just did not rub it into peoples' faces, and the stern look she sent RED told her as much; the older woman chuckled. "Just curious, Iffy."
"Um..." They almost did not hear the soft interruption; both women fell silent and turned their attention to the idol, who averted her gaze and shrunk back into her chair. "D-Do you w-want t-t-to go?"
She almost asked what 5pb. meant, but then it became clear and IF blinked. She was not sure what to say at first, the blunette's offer being quite clear. Her colleague seemed to take her silence differently, though; she quickly elaborated, blushing as she spoke: "I-I h-h-have a f-few tickets m-myself, um..."
Though she trailed off, the blunette appeared to look for words. At this point, IF figured that was enough excitement. "Okay, stop." 5pb.'s mouth snapped shut. "Take deep breaths." She did, though still huddled into her chair; the idol gradually relaxed and IF shed the tone she used for something warmer. "Anyway, I'd love to come. Thank you."
She blushed a little further and nodded.
Then IF thought of something else; Compa had told her about it earlier. She also knew both her and Hubert had tried hard to get those tickets. An idea began to form.
"Though... mind hearing me out on something?" Her question caught the blunette's attention and IF smiled warmly.