Autumn Leaves

Author's Note: Blanny will be making her first appearance in this chapter. She is a bit different from the Blanny-Blanny-Bii in the games. She is still very young here; and will go through some development to become the White Heart we all know and love.

Pardon Rei's narrations; she has gotten hold of her dark powers, so her personality is going haywire.

I have seen that Dankey Ape is how Megadimension Neptunia Victory II called Donkey Kong. I am not sure though as I saw that in a flash when watching walkthrough videos, so a confirmation will be nice as I am trying to fit this as V's prequel, so keeping things accurate will be a boon!

Special thanks to RibbitSeason, RamzaJinnRuu and Unknownpersn, for the follows and favorites for the previous chapter.

Also, thank you to AIYF Productions and Bulldan for your support. And everyone who read this as well, thank you for taking your time to read this.


Key:

Italics: Past Rei's thoughts

Bolded Italics: Current Rei's thoughts on the past events

Bold: Emphasis


Chapter 2: A Peculiar Case

Competition came in the form of two newly formed, so-called nations. Intelia and Leco. The two of them only gained territories in the size of the middle-sized cities in Tari; a true testament to the capabilities of their weak CPUs. Maybe I was being a little harsh. Tari was, after all, a thriving nation. Comparing Tari with those two measly countries wasn't exactly fair, right?

It was crystal clear who the leader of the Gamindustri was. Boosting a booming economy and advanced technology, Tari was seen as the heaven of Makers, who brought in a vast amount of varieties in Tari's offerings. However, the saying that whenever there was a leader, there would be followers rang true. It did not take long for copycats to emerge, delivering similar experiences to the rival hardware. With that said, the territories of the duo had been expanding, as their shallow libraries began to grow day by day.

Grr… I needed to find a solution to put a stop to their advancements. Who did they think they were? Challenging me, the very first CPU… How amusing. I would see to myself that they were completely destroyed.

Until the day a golden opportunity presented itself.

I had heard much praises about an aspiring Maker who produced one of the most popular arcade games that went by the name Dankey Ape. Eager to gain more exposure for her breakout hit, the Maker was taking the idea of offering her services to one of the CPUs into considerations. With the venerable reputation of the platformer game, it was obvious that she would be of great use to any of us goddesses.

She was just what I needed to get rid of those two pesky goddess wannabes. Transferring her immense popularity to my hardware would be the last straw to their meager nations! I mused. And Makers were not that hard to please. They were money grubbers. There were no way that those two could offer more credits than me with Tari's wealth.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Your smirk is creepy, you know." That little bug spoke up suddenly, startling me out of my trance.

"Well, Croire. Have you heard about the news that the Maker of Dankey Ape is planning to join hands with a CPU? I am thinking of how to win her heart over. Not that it is difficult for someone as great as me." I informed Croire, but I would not be surprised if she already knew, with her constant outings.

"Oh, that." She shrugged, confirming my intuition that she knew about it. "Say, what's your plan, Your Highness?"

I did not like her taunting tone. Not one bit. I sneered at her. "Do it with all of your heart and soul, fly. The Maker should be easy to sway with credits on her doorstep, no?"

"Your people are praising and worshipping you frequent enough. Your ego is really insufferable, you know?" Croire retorted, ignoring my glare. "As for the Maker, well, do what you wish. Good luck with that."

For some reason, I felt Croire was hiding something in her grin. I shook the thoughts away. Probably some useless comments about having fun again, like she always did.

Little did I knew how wrong I was.


Striking first was always a strategy that worked out for me. Sending a sum of credits to her with values enough to make every Maker in the continent went green in envy, I was pleased to know that I was the one to start things off with my aggressive and attractive approach. The two CPUs were quick to respond, sending up their requests to her as well. Copycats doing what they did best. Not that she would actually consider their offers. Tari was always the best choice for Makers. Only second-rate Makers would consider residing in those two countries. A Maker capable of waging a battle for her alliance would never degrade herself like this.

It was just a matter of time before I discovered she was not just another Maker.

It was mere days before she replied back, declining my offer. I learned that she opted for Leco soon from the spies I assigned to the place. To say the least, the result was unexpected. Makers naturally flowed to me; I had never felt the needs to send over invitations as Tari was already filled to the brim with them.

The one time I did, I failed.

It sent a tingling feeling down my spine. A spark of curiosity to see who dared to defy me.

That was a decision that I would never regret. As painful and distant our current relationship was, I would never give up the moments spent with her. Not for the world.

Even though that wish, in itself, was selfish, I did not care. Being a CPU was already selfless enough, why couldn't I, for once, be selfish?


Seeing Leco's shares soared after the girl's induction only fueled my desire to see for myself what kind of person she was. Then, perhaps, tried to whisk her away from that godforsaken nation; my pride might be wounded, but Leco's progression showed me her usefulness.

I might be rash at times, but this time I had decided against it. Patience paid off, in the end.

I got a second chance after a couple years. A godsend, I would say, if I was not a goddess myself.

She had broken ties with Leco. The second I heard this, I knew a visit was due.


Walking alongside a path guarded by maple trees on its sidelines and feeling the crispy, orange leaves under my feet, I felt like I had entered into another world. Tari was technology-focused, everything designed to give off a technological, modern vibe, the oriental aura of this place was foreign, but not unwelcomed. It was a good change of pace.

Seeing where the prestige Maker lived garnered some surprise. For someone who thought of such a thrilling, unprecedented gaming experience to come from such a traditional background was strange, to say the least. Following the address on my note, I trekked along the trail, marveling at the scenery around me. Of course, this was not as beautiful as Tari. I guessed it was a nice change of scenery then. Perhaps I could consider letting the girl build something like this up in Tari to attract more citizens in.

A small commotion soon drew my attention away from my musings. A small child, not older than six, ran along the road, yelling intangible things in excitement as she held a shiny new toy up high. Staring at her newly acquired toy with an intensity enough to burn a hole into it, she failed to take note of the dried branch in front of her. Frantically waving her small arms, she screamed as she lost her balance and fell back, expecting to drop to the ground with a thud.

She fell into an embrace, the pair of hands catching the little girl seemed to appear in a flash with incredible agility. The girl looked up with a beaming smile, snuggling into her savior.

"Blanc, thanks for catching me! I know I will always be safe with you!"

Blanc? That was the Maker I was looking for. This place was very close to her home too, so I would take a wild guess and assume this was our first encounter then. The girl I was in search of spoke up with a voice so soft that I had to strain my ears to hear her words.

"That's nothing. Be careful next time, okay?" The reply was monotonous, but the child still nodded enthusiastically, skipping away once again.

With the playful child out of the way, I finally got to see her.

Dressed in a similar fashion with the child before, she was fitted into a red and white kimono. The golden pendent fastened upon her thin neck was an exquisitely designed five-petal flower, which reflected the sunlight, creating a glowing image for her. An oversized hat was placed onto her head, framed by short, sandy brown hair. Her petite frame seemed to accent her youthfulness, not being much older than the girl she saved from a nasty fall.

I was shocked. I never thought that the famed Maker would be someone so small and delicate, like a porcelain doll that would break with a single rough, careless touch.

I had learned not to judge a book by its cover not long later.


The girl in front of me stared back, a blush emerged on her pale face as I did not retract my glance.

"Miss…? What… Can I help you? It is embarrassing to be stared at…"

I was shaken from my thoughts with her hesitant inquiry. Putting on my best smile on, I spoke. "Blanc, right? You are the one behind Dankey Ape?"

She nodded with a quietly spoken question. "What about it?"

"I am Cyan Heart, the CPU of Tari. There is something I want to discuss with you."

She froze and looked up at me again, nervousness clear in her sapphire eyes. I thought she was going to reject me, but she then turned around, beckoning me to follow.


Cliffhangers. :D

Blanny is going to have her chat with Rei the next chapter, with some bonding times attached. She is now very anxious, as she knows that she is no match with a CPU, especially said CPU being Rei, and her previous rejection may have angered Rei. But Blanc is Blanc so she is braving through this now, please stay tune for how things played out between the egoistic goddess of Tari and our favorite petite, mortal-for-now future CPU.

And please, please leave a review for how you would like their relationship to be. I have a basic plot thing planned in my brain, but not in detail, so your thoughts can help me to churn the ideas out. The other reason is well, I really want to hear from you!

P.S.: I have been wanting to put all of my focus to Autumn Leaves, but I am all aboard on the 20th Anniversary of Pokémon hype train, and I started a Pokémon fic because of that.

*Sigh* I am such a lazy person, so… I will try to keep updates in a monthly basis, as I will be taking turns to write the two stories.

Brainstorming also gives me ideas on two new Neptunia fanfics, which I will start one of them after Autumn Leaves finished. No peeking for now, because I talk too much already.

Thank you for the read, everyone. I will now bow out.