Leanbox, Gamindustri

Place: Basilicom

Date: September 10, 2019

Time: 8:11 P.M.

Black Heart stood on the balcony of Vert's Basilicom. Everyone had gone in to shower while Black Heart stayed behind to inform Histoire of their victory. Neptune had wanted to wait for her, but Black Heart managed to convince her to go ahead with everyone.

Now, Black Heart was pacing back and forth as she felt her body temperature slowly rise. She was already exhausted and wasn't sure how long her HDD will stay. If what happened last time occurs again, she would just worry everyone.

"I won't collapse, will I?"

I cannot say, Uranus answered.

"Are you able to seal the Planpetune shares again?"

No. I did say that was the last time I will be helping you, no? I had warned you before.

"I know, I know. What do I do?"

Uranus sighed, In all honestly, I think you had burned a great amount of Planeptune shares during that fight. They should all almost be converted to usable shares for you.

That was great news to Black Heart. "Really?! So… I will be fine, right? If I revert back…"

Theoretically, yes. But you have access to Planeptune's share crystal now. Planeptune shares will keep pouring into you if you don't learn to control the flow.

"Can't I just announce that I am not Planpetune's CPU?" Black Heart questioned.

I assume the people of Planeptune knew you aren't their CPU. This has nothing to do with faith. Ever since I approve of you as Planeptune's CPU, substitute, of course, you have access to use the Planeptune shares crystal. When I sealed those foreign shares off, it was also sealing the gateway to Planeptune's share crystal too. Now, it's impossible for me to close it again. The flow is much too big now. It's like agitating a wound, making it worse.

"T-Then what now?" Black Heart inquired

All I can advise you is to practice controlling the flow of shares. If you can control the shares intake from Planeptune's Share Crystal, you won't end up getting shares poisoning. You can even stop the flow yourself if you gain control.

"Okay, okay." Black Heart was liking the sound of that. "H-How do I practice?"

That is something you have to figure out yourself.

Black Heart sighed, fearing that answer.

"Noire? Are you out here?"

Black Heart turned to the glass door to see the blonde fairy floating over. "Histoire."

Histoire smiled when she saw the orange hair and blue eyes. She can't help but see Black Heart as her old-time friend. "Noire, is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm just a bit worried about turning back to my base form."

"Ah yes." Histoire nodded her head, understanding Black Heart's worry. "You might get a fever again…"

Black Heart nodded, confirming Histoire's guess. "My body temperature is still pretty hot right now. I thought I could cool down with the night air, but it doesn't seem to help."

"Maybe a cold shower could do the trick? You can't exhaust yourself by staying in that form," advised the oracle.

Black Heart huffed, "I know. I just don't want to worry Neptune."

"Well, this is something we can't hide from her. I never expected you to use that form again."

The Lastation goddess sighed, "I didn't either, but I ended up relying on it again. Even though I promised I wouldn't. Sorry, Histoire. I know you told me to keep this a secret."

"What's done is done. Have you explained to Neptune yet?" Histoire inquired.

Black Heart shook her head. "No, I haven't told her. She'll feel guilty if I told her what happens if I use this form."

"Even so, she'll have to know sooner than later."

Black Heart knew that very well. She can't hide this forever. Knowing Neptune, she's gonna start shooting questions at her once she's out of the shower. Black Heart was not ready for that. It would be better if she could have a proper conversion with Neptune after she returns to her base form safely.

"Noire! I finished my shower! I heard you were still out here!"

Black Heart internally groaned, fearing her worse nightmare. "Neptune! Yeah, I wanted to cool down a bit since I'm feeling hot."

"Yeah, no kidding! Your face is as red as a tomato!"

"Wait, really?!" Black Heart touched her cheeks to feel them burning.

Histoire flew up to Black Heart's face and touched her forehead with her tiny hands. "You are indeed burning up."

"Did you catch a cold?" Neptune worriedly asked. "Wait… We don't catch colds?"

"No, we don't, but it seems I can catch a fever," Black Heart revealed. "I think a cold shower will help me.

"A fever? S-Should I ask Vert for medication? Do they even work on us?" Neptune questioned.

"Neptune, calm down," Histoire said. "Noire will be okay, right?"

Black Heart nodded. "Histoire's right. It will pass. I'll be healthy by tomorrow morning. I'll shower and turn in early."

"Oh, okay…" Neptune was still concerned for Black Heart, but she didn't really know what to do with sickness. She knew CPUs could get ill from overwork, but it's not like they were sick with a cold or fever before.

Black Heart walked over to Neptune and kissed her on her cheek. "I'll be fine. Don't worry. I'm gonna hit the shower. You should relax. You just got home after all."

Neptune smiled as her cheeks were dusted pink. "Alright, you Lovely Heart! You're making this old Nep blush."

"Then I'll head in." Black Heart moved around Neptune and entered the Basilicom. All she could do now was try reverting back during the cold shower. She just hoped she wouldn't collapse.

Leanbox, Gamindustri

Place: Basilicom

Date: September 10, 2019

Time: 8:33 P.M.

Neptune walked back into the Basilicom with Histoire following. She watched Black Heart turn down the corner where the showers are. Neptune turned down the opposite hallway where she could hear light chatter and laughter.

Entering the living room, Neptune was greeted by the candidates playing on the PlayStation console with Peashy. The purple CPU smirked and joined in on the candidates.

"Yo, let me join in on the fun too!" Neptune chuckled.

"My goodness! Neptune, you scared me!" Nepgear voiced.

"Neptuna!" Peashy cheered as she hopped into Neptune's arms.

"Let's switch to the Wii," Uni suggested. "PlayStation can't hold that many consoles, but the Wii can with its wireless connection."

"Don't be rough with Vert's items, understand?" Blanc voiced from the couch.

"We're not rough with it!" Ram said and stuck her tongue out at her sister who was reading.

"Phew! That was a nice shower!" Plutia walked into teh living room while drying her wet hair with a bath towel. "Thanks for letting us stay over, Hyper Vert!"

Vert smiled, "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Plutia. I should be thank you all for saving Blanc and me."

"It was all Uni, Rom, and Ram. They were so quick in getting you guys out," Nepgear praised.

"Yeah! Rom and I were like vroom!" Ram happily explained until the tv screen showed a Game Over. "Hey!" The younger white candidate turned to Uni and pouted.

Uni only grinned, "Should've been paying more attention."

"That's not fair!" Ram whined. "I didn't even see you start the game!"

"Y-You can try again," Rom voiced.

"Girls, play nice," Blanc scolded on the couch.

Plutia plopped herself down on the couch opposite the one where Blanc was sitting on. She was wearing a green nightgown that she borrowed from Vert. Currently, all the Ultra counterparts were borrowing nightwear from Vert.

"My, these are some interesting merch you have," Ultra Vert voiced.

Vert's eyes sparkled. "Are you interested? Those characters are from this popular MMORPG game that came out. I'm not sure if they exist in your world yet, I'm sure you would love it!"

"Oh, do explain more!" Ultra Vert urged.

"And there they go," Ultra Blanc sighed as she sat down next to her counterpart.

"I didn't think we all would have similar hobbies," said Blanc.

"It's only similar, but we are all our own person," Ultra Blanc stated.

"Yes," Blanc agreed.

"What're you all playing?" Plutia asked.

Neptune smirked, "Super Smash! Let's go!"

Plutia's eyes sparkled, "Ooooooh! I wanna play!"

Just as Plutia stood up, she felt a pair of hands sit her back down. "You should sit and relax. It can get pretty chaotic when you guys play games," Ultra Noire said as she moved around to sit down next to Plutia.

"We aren't chaotic," Neptune denied until her character was shot off the platform. "Hey! You started the game without me!"

Both Uni and Ram smirked. "Should've been paying more attention."

Neptune immediately tackled the two, playfully, and now they were rolling on the carpet. Nepgear had to pull Rom and Peashy out of the way, but Peashy jumped in on the rolling around.

Ultra Noire snorted, "Right. Chaotic."

"Noire! How was your shoooower?" asked the iris CPU.

Ultra Noire blushed as she replied, "I-It was nice!"

"I knooooow, right? Hyper Vert had a veeeery spacious bathroom!" Plutia said.

The ultra black CPU wondered, "Maybe I should add a spacious bathroom to my basilicom?"

Plutia's eyes sparkled. "You shoooooould! Then we can all share a bath together!"

Ultra Noire's eyes bulged from what Plutia said. "W-Wha?"

"It was so much fun when we took a shower with Neppy at my place, but my bathroom wasn't that big, so it was pretty cramped…Hmmm… Maybe I should also add a spacious bathroom in my basilicom!"

Ultra Noire wasn't really listening anymore as her brain was down in the gutter. A bath with just her and Plutia? It wasn't like they hadn't taken showers together before, but now that she understood Plutia's feelings it was a lot more embarrassing.

"Nooooooire? Your face is red? Are you feeling okay?"

"Huh? Oh! Um… yeah! I'm feeling just great!" Noire assured.

Neptune caught wind of what Plutia said and looked at Ultra Noire. Her face was red, but not as red as Black Heart's when she saw her. "You should take better care of yourself, Noire. My Noire was also very red and she was burning up with a fever."

"What? Reeeeeally? Is she okay?" Plutia worriedly asked.

"She said she was gonna take a cold shower and turn in early. I'm gonna go check up on her later. So yeah, you should be careful, Noire," Neptune said.

"My sister with a fever?" Uni's eyebrows furrowed with worriment. "She didn't collapse, did she? I can probably understand why she caught a fever."

"Oh yeah, Mode Uranus takes a lot out of her, after all," Ram mentioned.

"I-I hope… Miss Noire is alright. She… ended up in the hospital last time after using M-Mode Uranus," Rom said.

"She what?" Neptune looked at Rom with blank eyes. The last time Noire was in the hospital was when Neptune had that call with Vert. That was a memory that Neptune did not want to remember. The room suddenly became tense.

Blanc jumped off the couch and hurriedly announced, "Rom, Ram, it's time for bed."

"What!? It's not even that late!" Ram complained.

"Rom, Ram, bed. NOW." Blanc gave them no room to argue.

"No, no!" Neptune stood in front of Blanc as she looked at the twins. "Repeat what you said. What happened to Noire after using Mode Uranus?"

Rom shrunk under the purple CPU's gaze. "U-Um…" She glanced at her sister.

Ram was looking hesitant and realized why Blanc wanted them to leave. "O-Oh wow! Blanc's right! I-It's time for bed! Haha…ha…"

"Y-Yes… bedtime," Rom nodded.

The twins quickly got up and ran away.

Neptune turned to Uni, who tensed up. The Lastation candidate glanced around the room and then shakily said, "O-Oh… uhhhh. I-I guess it's my bedtime too…"

"You have a bedtime, Uni?" Nepgear questioned.

"Yes! Starting, now!" Uni quickly got up and ran away.

Neptune turned to Blanc who quickly avoided eye contact. She then turned to Vert, who was busing herself with her figurines. She had heard the conversion and decided to pretend like she didn't hear any of it. She knew how protective Neptune could get about Noire.

Plutia gave Neptune a concerned look. "Neppy?"

"I'm gonna go find Noire, excuse me." Seeing that the candidates ran away and both Blanc and Vert didn't want to explain, she could only get answers from the person herself.

The mood in the living room wasn't pleasant after what happened.

Ultra Noire groaned as she stood up. "I think we all should just head to bed early. I'm sure we're all tired."

"Yes, I also agree," Ultra Vert said.

"I'll show you all to the guests' rooms. We do have limited space, so I hope you don't mind sharing," Vert revealed.

"I'll stay with Peashy!" Ultra Vert happily announced.

The blonde chirped, "Yay! Room with Bert!"

"I'll head off first since I'm sharing a room with Uni, Rom, and Ram. Goodnight everyone!" Nepgear waved and went down the hall where the other candidates ran off.

"Then I'll…" Plutia looked at Ultra Noire but then frowned. She quickly moved her eyes to Ultra Blanc. "I'll share a room with Blanny then…"

"Huh?" Ultra Blanc was surprised by that. She would have thought Plutia wanted to share with Ultra Noire.

"You… want to share with Blanc?" Ultra Noire felt her heart drop. Didn't Plutia like her? Why would she want to share a room with Blanc instead of her?

"Yeah! I figured you would want some space to yourself," replied the shorter girl.

"W-Why would you think that?"

"Weeeeell, I figured you wouldn't want me seeing you cry, since you don't like anyone seeing you cry," Plutia explained.

Ultra Noire became confused. "Why would I be crying?"

"Neppy will most likely be sharing a room with Hyper Noire."

"I know that. They are lovers, but what does that have to do with me crying?"

Plutia tried to be careful with her word choice. "Ummm… Won't you be sad?"

Ultra Noire blinked. "Sad? Why would I-" Then it clicked. She had a crush on Neptune. Not just a crush too, she loved Neptune. And she told Plutia all about it. She told her feelings about the other CPU to Plutia who probably had feelings for her at the time. Ultra Noire suddenly felt like a jerk. She wanted to slap herself more than anything now.

"Noire?"

"Yeah… I guess I do need the room to myself…" Ultra Noire softly murmured.

Plutia didn't like it when Noire was feeling down. "It's okay, Noire! There will definitely be someone that loves you just like how Neppy loves the other Noire! You just haven't met them yet!"

This time, Ultra Noire, Ultra Blanc, and Ultra Vert were confused. They all heard Plutia's confession during the battle, did she forget? She did lose a lot of blood during that time so maybe she didn't realize what she said herself.

Ultra Noire gulped and decided to ask. "Ummm… Plutia? I know you said your memories are a bit fuzzy during our fight with Rei, but do you remember what you said to me?"

Plutia tilted her head and everyone could see the question marks that were popping out of her head. "What did I saaaaaay?"

Ultra Blanc sighed, "Oh goddess. I'm gonna share a room with my counterpart. It seems Noire and Plutia will be sharing the room together. You don't mind, do you, Blanc?"

Blanc shook her head. "Not at all, Blanc. There seems to be something happening without Vert or my understanding."

"Then I'll guide you to your rooms," Vert said. "Miss Plutia and Ultra Noire can follow later. It seems they have some speaking to do."

Vert lead the group away, leaving behind the iris and black pair. Ultra Noire wasn't sure how she should start this. Was she even ready to start a relationship with Plutia? After how she treated the girl, Ultra Noire wasn't sure if she deserved her anymore.

Ultra Noire loved Plutia before, but then she went after Neptune. Doesn't that mean her love was shallow? She wasn't even sure if she actually loved Neptune. Maybe what that dark power said was right. She was just a player. She thought Plutia didn't understand what love was, but it was actually her, herself, that didn't understand what love was.

Plutia swayed on the balls of her feet, waiting for her best friend to speak. "Noire?"

Ultra Noire took a deep breath and decided to start from the beginning. "You're pretty dense, you know that?"

"H-Huh?" Plutia didn't expect that response.

"We've been best friends since we were little. And that never changed. We stood by each other's side for so long, but then you went and became a CPU. It felt like you were slowly leaving me. I didn't want to lose you so I did my best to become a CPU too. Maybe that way you can finally see me as more than just your friend."

Plutia blushed at her claim. "Noire…"

Ultra Noire felt the heat rush to her face as she recounted the times she tried to get Plutia's attention. "I wanted your eyes to always stay on me, but it started getting tiring. You only saw me as a friend. Anything I do didn't get through. I thought, maybe you just couldn't see me that way. Maybe, I was doing everything wrong. Maybe… I… was what's wrong."

"That is noooot true!" Plutia denied. "There is nothing wrong with you, Noire! You're perfect juuuuust the way you are! You were always there to catch my back if I ever fell! You always helped me when I mess up! So if there's anything wrong with someone then it's definitely me!"

Ultra Noire smiled. "Say… Plutia? You might not remember, but I want to hear your words from your own heart again. How do you feel about me?"

Plutia paused as her face paled. Fear stretched across her face as she took a step back. "H-How I feel? About you?"

Ultra Noire closed in on Plutia and exposed her own heart. "I've been so engrossed with my own self that I didn't even notice. Maybe I am the one that's dense. I should have been loyal to my own feelings instead of giving up and looking for new love. I've been a jerk to you, Plutia."

Plutia shook her head. "You have not, Noire. You're aaaaaaalways so nice!"

"Plutia… I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."

Plutia smiled as she assured, "You didn't hurt me at all, Noire. And even if you did, I wouldn't stay mad at you."

Ultra Noire sighed, "I should have noticed. You were pretty obvious now that I think back on it, but I was blinded by Neptune, that I couldn't see you anymore. I wished I could take back the words I spoke to you, but I can't. I hurt you, didn't I? When I said I would confess to Neptune."

Plutia paused as she remembered that scene. Her heart broke from how in love Ultra Noire was with the other purple CPU. "W-What? Of course not! I-I support whooooever you want to love, Noire…"

Ultra Noire wanted to cry. Why did she ever want to stop loving Plutia? What was wrong with her? Even though Plutia loved her, she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness to make Ultra Noire happy. What an absolute idiot she's been?! Ultra Noire covered her face as her tears came out. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Plutia."

"Noire?" Plutia started to panic. Why was Ultra Noire crying? Did she say something wrong? Did she realize that Plutia didn't actually support her love if it wasn't with her? Could it be that Ultra Noire knew of her feelings for her? "I'm sorry, Noire! I reeeeeeally do support you! So even if you don't feel the same as me, I'll aaaaalways put you first! You don't have to worry about me! I love you! I love you, Noire! But I'm happy to put it aside! So, please! Don't cry! I-If…" Plutia swallowed her feelings and whispered, "If you're scared that I…. I might hurt you and lover… Theeeeen… Then I'll stay away from you…"

Ultra Noire looked up from her hands at what Plutia said. "What?"

"I'll stay away from you," Plutia repeated, more sternly this time. "I won't bother you… I promise…"

A life where Plutia won't be near her… Ultra Noire can't imagine that. What kind of life would she have if the iris CPU wasn't in it? "Don't say that… Why would you say that?!"

"Huh?" Plutia flinched from Ultra Noire's outburst. "B-But…"

"Didn't you hear anything I said?! I want to be by your side! All this time I just want to stay with you! Is it so hard for you to just look at me?!" Ultra Noire wiped her eyes as she sniffled. "Is it so hard for you to just keep me by your side and see me?"

Plutia felt like her heart was being crushed. "But… I thought… You don't like me like that…"

"I don't know anymore," revealed Ultra Noire. "I loved you, Plutia. I did. But… I actually just don't know what love is. I thought I did, but I actually don't. Look at how I turned out. I'm pathetic."

"You're not pathetic, Noire."

"I am. I thought I had love all figured out, but I was too overconfident. I was just an idiot running my mouth. I don't have love figured out. It's just all a mystery and it only hurts."

"Then…" Plutia hesitantly moved closer to the black goddess and reached her hand out. She gently removed Noire's hands and kept them in her own. "Should we figure it out together?"

Ultra Noire looked into Plutia's eyes to see fear, but affection and love were also in them.

"I've been tooooold that love is complicated. I'm also quite new to it. It's also a mystery to me. Sooooo…" Plutia took a deep breath and softly said, "I would… If you would have me, that is… I would be happy if we can discover love together… I-If you are willing to have me, of course…"

"Plutia…" Ultra Noire choked on her voice from hearing Plutia's heart. "Plutia. I… I want to be with you!"

Plutia also cried tears. "Me too, Noire. I want to be with you too!"

Plutia collected all the courage she had and stood on her tippy toes, she moved slowly so Ultra Noire could push her away if she wanted, but she never did. Plutia closed her eyes and pressed her lips to the taller girl. Ultra Noire closed her own eyes and returned the kiss.

They both stayed like that for a while. Just enjoying the moment. The weight they had on their hearts finally lifted making them feel lighter than ever. This will be a night they will remember.

Author's Note

Alright! We got the ultra pair out of the way, the next chapter will be our star pair that have been split by the author's hands since the start of this story! Neptune and Noire will finally have some sweet sweet alone time together! Yay! So I'll see ya all then! Thank you for reading!

-Shiena

P.S. Love is sooooo complicated. Plutia and Ultra Noire had it rough (- - lll)