A/N: Hey there guys/girls StarKnight07 here with the fourth chapter of my story! But before we start, I want to say (this is so late) Merry Christmas for those who celebrates it and Happy new year! Anyway let's start the chapter! (btw, Happy Chinese New Year as well!)
Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Idea Factory and Compile Heart. I only own my story and my OC.
Chapter four: "Visions (Part two)"
"Take this!" Leo said as he attacked me with his sword.
I dodged his attack and do a counterattack. Leo dodges my attack and stand side-by-side with Max again.
"Nice reflexes, I'll give you that." I said as I take a breath. "But, can you two dodge this?" I said as I dashed towards them.
"Here he comes, Max!" Leo said as he and Max dodged my attack with a little bit of struggle.
"Heh, you guys are fast as always." I said as I swing my katana left and right.
"Geez, being sarcastic like Grimoire-san now? C'mon Max!" Leo and Max dashed towards me, trying to land a hit.
"HAAAAH!" Leo shouted as he swings his sword at me, I dodged his attack successfully, but Max pulled a sudden attack with his scythe at my back, damaging my sweater and his attack also hurts.
I summon my pistol and started shooting. Leo and Max dodges every bullets with ease. "Nice reflexes, and also that hurts Max." I said as I make a distance from them.
"Heh, all according to plan. Let's continue, Max!" Leo said as he, again, dashed towards my direction.
"Oh no, you can't do the same thing twice!" I said as I reload my gun and ran towards the opposite direction of Leo. Maybe I look like a coward because of this, but screw it. This stupid battle scene is the result of some edgy teenager's stupid mind anyways. Why am I breaking the fourth wall? I'm not that meta.
I searched everywhere for Max, I don't want to be suddenly attacked again. And it seems that Max is actually chasing me too, but he's so fast that you can't see him with naked eye. Just like Death itself, huh.
"I see you, Max! Cloak Break!" I said as I shoot a bullet towards a running shadow, or Max. The bullet dissolves, letting out a blinding light towards Max.
"Tch, not gonna work this time, eh?" Max said as he changes his plan, now he's attacking me nonstop with his scythe, I'm blocking them all obviously.
Not long after that Leo joins Max, making it harder for me to block all of their attacks.
"Goddess dammit, you guys really love to make this hard for me, huh?" I said as I summoned another katana and start counterattacking.
I always hate using two katanas in the same time, it reminds me of some overpowered character that has a girlfriend yet he loves his sandwiches more. Ugh. Wait, why am I saying things as if I know lots of stuff? It's like my memories are still with me all this time.
I pushed Leo and Max while thinking about this new question.
"*huff* *huff* let's finish this, shall we?" I said as I gripped my katanas more tightly.
"Yeah, this strike will determine the winner!" Leo said as he and max dashed towards me for the last time.
I did the same and when the three of us are close enough to each other-!, "Take this, FLAMING STRIKE!" "GUSTY EDGE!" Leo and Max said respectively as Leo's sword is engulfed by flames and Max's scythe is engulfed by wind aura or something.
"Bring it on! GRÉVE DE LUNE!" As the three of us shouted our respective finishing attack names, our weapons collided, and!-
*BOOOOOOOOM!*
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS THINKING?!" Uzume kicked my head as she yelled at the top of her lungs.
I hold my head in pain. "What the hell, Uzume?! I'm exhausted from pulling that move, and you kick my goddamn head?!" I looked at the training ground, so that's why Uzume's mad.
It looks like me, Leo and Max create a giant crater due to the explosion.
I stand up but immediately falls to the ground again because of fatigue.
"Heh, that's what you get, stupid!" Uzume said to me while looking at me with a bored face.
"Shut up, you said that I should beat their asses." I said as I try to stand up again.
Wow okay I fucked up, well those two did too. My sweater and jeans are in terrible states, and I cringe every time I move my right arm. I walked to Leo and Max, who were lying unconscious on the ground.
"Hey, wake up you two." I said as I lightly shake their body with my left hand.
"U-ugh.. what happened?" Leo said as he opened his eyes. Max woke up not long after Leo did as well.
"It's a draw. And our last clash made this huge crater." I said as I pull them with my left hand, Leo first and lastly Max.
What, you guys thought that I'm strong enough to pull the two of them just with one arm? I'm not that strong. Great, now I'm breaking the fourth wall again.
"Can you guys walk? It'll be a pain in the ass if you guys can't."
"How rude, of course we can" Leo answered my question with an annoyed tone as the two of them walk to Uzume, I follow them while holding my right hand.
"Oh yeah, Hikacchi, help me out tonight, okay? It seems that the leader of the rebels want to 'speak' with us, you know that I'm bad with political things, so help me speak with them okay?" Uzume said to me.
I nodded while looking at the afternoon sky.
"Well, let's go back to the Basilicom. My right hand feels like it's being crushed by magical purple vines or something." I said as I walked to the training ground's exit.
"Wait a minute…. IS THAT A JOEY JOJO'S WACKY TRIP REFERENCE?!" Leo said as he starts to run to catch on to my peaceful strides.
"Hikacchi, should we wake Acesy?" Uzume asked while looking at Ace, sleeping peacefully as he holds his spell book.
"Nah, he's tired because of using his wings of atonement attack. He'll wake up eventually." I said as I thought about something important, but maybe I'll remember it later.
"Chief, why don't you play your harmonica?" Leo asked me. Wait, I can play harmonica?
"Oh yeah, your favorite harmonica! Play it, Hikacchi!"
"I want to hear it again, as well." Uzume and Max said to me.
Since I don't know anything about my life in the past, I act like I'm searching for my harmonica.
And as if my lucky stats are maxed out, I found it on my jeans' right pocket.
'Wait a minute… this is the dagger that Grimoire sent to me when I met Lady Kurome…' I thought as I looked at the harmonica.
It seems that the blade is in the harmonica itself, and there's a button that, if pressed, can release the blade.
"Well, here goes nothing." I played the harmonica as the four of us walk to the Basilicom.
But if we stayed at the field, the four of us might met a cloaked figure, watching us from the trees' shadows.
"Eh… so he doesn't have any memories about this era, huh… this is gonna be hard…" The cloaked figure said as he slowly walks into a portal that he made.
"Hikacchi? Are you okay?" Uzume asked as we went inside.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I need to make some coffee first if I wanna help you 'talk' with those bastards. Where's Max? "
"He went to check on his and Acesy's parents' grave." Uzume answered my question.
I nodded as I walk to the kitchen. I grabbed a mug while waiting for the water to boil and I stand in front of the counter while looking at the instant coffee powder that is in the mug.
'Why am I experiencing all of this? I thought that my life in the past is chaotic, but it feels like my past life is peaceful… living together with Lady Grimoire, Uzume, and Histoire somehow makes me feel at ease…'
The sound of boiling water brings me back to reality. I pour the hot water into my mug and I stir the coffee with a teaspoon.
I walked to the living room and I sat at the sofa. This coffee is good, even though it's just a cheap instant coffee.
"If my life is this peaceful, I think staying in the past is better for me…" I took another sip as I looked at the clock on the wall.
'06:30 PM, huh…' I thought as I finished the coffee in one go, absolute madman achievement unlocked.
As I walked to the kitchen to put my empty mug, a Basilicom member opened the living room's door.
"Excuse me, sir. The leader of the rebels is here." He said to me after I put my mug into the kitchen sink.
"Hey, is Uzume gonna be alright? Just tell me your honest opinion." I asked the member.
"U-uh… I don't want to be rude, but… Lady Uzume definitely can't talk with a serious tone, considering her personality in her human form and her HDD form is almost the same…" The member said with uncertainty.
I sighed while patting his shoulders. "Thanks for your honesty, please call Uzume, I bet she's on the observatory room right now." I said to the member.
"Yes, sir!" The member said as he went to the observatory room.
I walked to the main hall and there he is, the leader of the rebels. Seriously he looks like that dude that wears a tuxedo for battle while holding a glass of red wine. Mister edgy writer sure loves his Joey Jojo references.
"Are you the leader?" I ask him.
The man bowed slightly while holding his fedora from falling down.
"Yes, my name is Wil-"
"Let me guess, Willam?" I had to cut him off because oh my Goddess the references are plain obvious.
"N-no, my name is Wilson. Wilson Sycamore." He said to me with a confused tone.
"O-oh, sorry about my rudeness. My name is Hikaru, you may know me as the leader of the Shadow hunters." I introduced myself to him.
Even though he's a rebel that maybe wants to kill Uzume, I still need to be respectful to him, must be because of 'him' teaching me lots of things in the past. Wait, 'him'? What am I talking about?
"Anyway, Mr. Sycamore, please sit, Uzu- Lady Uzume will be here in a few minutes." Sycamore nodded and he sit on one of the chairs in the main hall.
I did the same as I crossed my hands.
'Dammit, you asked me to help you yet you're late. This is kinda awkward.' I thought as I looked at Sycamore, he's thirty years old if I'm not mistaken, five years older than me, huh.
"Sorry I'm late!" I and Sycamore looked to the door to our living room, Uzume walks to me and Sycamore.
"*sigh* please take this seriously, 'Lady' Uzume…" I said to her sarcastically.
"*huff* *huff* Sorry we're late, Lady Uzume wanted to see the stars so bad that she literally hugged the telescope and stayed still for fifteen minutes while shouting 'NO!' again and again." Leo said while trying to control his breathing.
Is it that hard to persuade Uzume? This is her problem, after all. Well, technically all the Basilicom members' problems.
"Anyways, please sit Lady Uzume, you too Leo." I said while giving some hints to Leo.
Leo understands what I mean, so he sits beside me while Uzume sits on what seems to be her favorite chair, considering it's the only chair that's orange in color, the rest are white in color by the way.
"So you're the leader? Wilson, correct?" Woah I've never seen this side of Uzume before, well maybe I did, but since I lost my memories…
"Yes, my name is Wilson Sycamore. And I want to- OW!" Sycamore yelled in pain. The reason? He put his legs on the table, and I made an invisible fire-style magic circle right before his legs made contact with the table.
"Watch your manners, Sycamore. Maybe you are five years older than me, but I'll show you hell right here and right now. Stop acting like it's a severe burn, I know who you are, since you told me your name. You are the fire expert Wilson Sycamore. I bet you could create flame circles that's far more powerful than mine, especially since I'm a water-magic user." I said with a mocking tone.
This Sycamore guy is a powerful opponent, even though he acts like an old man.
"Hikacchi! Do you really need to cast a spell on him?! That's rude!"
"And I did it because of him acting like a douchebag. End of story. Well then, Sycamore. Explain to me, no, to Lady Uzume and Leo as well, what do you want? Making a rebellion against Lady Uzume, or to me and my fellow Shadow hunters means instant death. And aren't you a little confident? You didn't bring your comrades tonight. Is that because you thought that you alone could defeat Lady Uzume? I have one word to say to you, it's 'MUDA'." I answered Uzume's question and starts interrogating Sycamore.
Leo sighed as he facepalmed due to my sudden outburst.
"It's not like that you see…" What the?! I can feel some menacing aura surrounding him, I slightly look to my right, and it seems that Leo can't feel the menacing aura. Uzume can't feel it as well. Is it because of my actions that made Sycamore… mad? Triggered? Butthurt?! Okay stop it, Hikaru. Just stay calm.
"…I'm not underestimating Lady Uzume, nor you and your fellow Shadow hunters. I just want to talk. You see, this nation is wonderful. Everyone smiles every day, did their work 100%, and also they follow you, Lady Uzume, as their Goddess. But behind all that happy situations, there are lots of cases where your people died from poverty, mostly those who lived on the outskirts. Wars between villages, crimes involving rape, murder, and other disturbing things that I don't want to mention. What do you think is the cause, O Goddess?"
Oh crap, I think that statement made Uzume shocked. She wanted to say something, but she bit her lip.
Leo looked at me as if saying "WHAT SHOULD WE DO LADY UZUME DEFINITELY CAN'T ANSWER THAT" to me. I hate to do this, but…
"Uzume, go to your room." I said with a firm tone.
"E-eh?! Hikacchi, what do you mean?" Uzume asked with a shocked expression.
"Go. To. Your. Room. NOW." I looked straight to her eyes.
She was shocked, of course she was. She's the Goddess and I'm nothing but a guardian to her, but she definitely can't answer Sycamore's question. While holding her tears, she nodded and she quickly leave the room.
"I'm sorry." I said under my breath.
"Chief, why did you do that?" Leo asked. I ignored his question as I catch my breath to calm down a little bit.
"Listen here, you old bastard. Uzume did her best to protect her nation. THIS nation. Do you think that being a Goddess is easy? I'm not a Goddess, hell I'm a guy so I can't be one. But I sure as heck know that being a protector of a nation is a hard task. So I ask you again, WHAT is your true objective? I told Uzume to leave this room so that she can't be your puppet. She may be a strong individual, but she's still a new Goddess, considering this year marks the 7th anniversary of her being an immortal being."
I don't know why, but I remember a certain day seven years ago, the day where Uzume took the CPU title.
"Ha! So you already knew that I want to make her depressed? You're sharp, or maybe it's because of your little 'trick'?" Sycamore asked.
Little trick? What's that about? But something's definitely wrong, Leo. He's pale, very pale.
"You don't, I repeat, YOU DON'T talk about Chief's power here, you bastard!" Leo shouted as he tried to attack Sycamore with his sword, I restrained him obviously.
"Leo, what the hell, man? Calm down!" I don't know why but Leo's at his limit now. I need to make him calm down, fast.
"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?! HE'S MOCKING YOU!"
"But still, calm down! It's not like you to act like little kid!" I shouted back at him.
"CHIEF WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP, IT'S SCARY BEING ALONE Y'KNO- O-oh… I'm sorry I'll go to a café first, I guess." Not knowing about the little commotion we have here, Ace slammed the entrance door and closed it again as he starts to leave to a café.
"Okay, never mind about Ace, but Leo calm down please. Also Sycamore…" I stood up, and kicked Sycamore's face with a decent amount of force.
"To be able to make Leo that furious… you've got some balls" I said while holding back my anger.
Leo is a calm guy, even Ace can't make him angry.
"And you also got some frickin' balls to kick me in the face, Hikaru!" Sycamore said as he stood up, grabbing a switch from his pocket.
"And what the hell are you going to do about it?" I asked him.
He smirked while playing around with his switch as he looked around the main hall.
"Oh, I don't know… maybe if I pressed this tiny button the Basilicom would explode? What do you guys think, Shadow hunters?"
What the?! Did he put explosives everywhere?!
"You bastard! How many bombs have you placed in this Basilicom?!" Leo asked. Sycamore laughed so hard that he actually cried.
"Oh, I don't know. How many breads have you eaten in your life?" he asked Leo as he wiped his tears.
"So you REALLY want to be killed, huh?! MY PLEASURE, FANGS OF WAR, TEA-"
"I would love to see you use your amazing power, but note that my explosives are special. A sudden burst of mana and Boom!" Sycamore said.
Leo stopped himself from crushing his crystal.
"What are you gonna do now, Shadow hunters?! BWAHAHAHA!" Sycamore laughed again. Crap, this is gonna be hard.
"Well, what's your next move, Hikaru? Use your power, maybe? Hmm?" Sycamore asked. Leo's anger is being played again.
"You know what? I don't give a damn. Do what you want, Sycamore." I said as I shrugged.
"W-what did you just say?" Sycamore asked. "
C-chief, what the heck are you even saying?" Leo asked as well.
"I have my reasons, the way you asked me is the important role. You were shocked, correct? Someone would too, but you're different. This Basilicom is guarded 24/7, and as far as I know, there's no spell that could create explosives, except the ancient ones, which means… you were trying to catch us off-guard, and I saw through your moves, Sycamore!" I said as I pointed at him.
Leo cracked his knuckles while laughing. "Oh, so it's a trick after all, eh? I lost my temper, so I'll break your skull!" Leo said.
Sycamore sighed as he plays with his switch once again. "Hah… Busted, aren't I? Well maybe as a last resort before I start my little rebellion… *press*" He pressed the button on his switch.
.
.
.
.
.
Nothing happened.
"….Is that it? My sword's ready to take your soul, even though it's Max's job." Leo said as he swings his sword left and right.
"Oh, you'll see…" Sycamore said as he… starts to count with his right hand?
"Listen well, you idiots! Five seconds from now, the game will start! Five… four… three… two!... ONE!"
As he closed his right fist, signaling the end of the countdown, my ears started to bleed.
"Guh… Guah!" There's blood coming out of my ears and mouth.
As I slowly kneeled to the floor, I can see Leo's worried face, shouting "CHIEF" and Sycamore's smug face. As my face kissed the floor, Sycamore said, "Let's start the game, shall we?" and explosions were heard from every corner of the Basilicom.
{END OF CHAPTER FOUR. SAVE THE PROGRESS}
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A/N: Oh boy, another late update…. I'm sorry, for like the second time (yes I love to count my mistakes, a weird hobby of mine). So yeah, basically Hikaru got tricked by thinking that Sycamore was bluffing, and I feel bad for making Uzume go to her room. As always reviews are appreciated, be it critics, suggestions or helpful tips!
Anyway, please go check out OverMach's stories! If you love a certain Japanese drama about people fighting monsters in tight spandex, you'll definitely love his story. There's lots of anime references as well.
I'm didn't get paid for this, just like him. StarKnight07, signing out!
*I lost everything… I don't give a damn about this life anymore…*
Next Chapter: "The Fall"