1.3 - Shu vs. Ryuto

Convo w/ Minakkun and Aoi

Middonaito: …

Minamoto: Hmm? Hey? You okay?

Aoi: Middonaito is just happy that he has made 1.3 now, AND updated it after months of inactivity.

Minamoto: What? Really? Did he just have writer's block again?

Aoi: It's school time yet again, remember? And he's working on 5 other fanfictions already. And also MY story, Magica. Plus he kept forgetting about publishing 1.3, that he has written 2 months ago.

Minamoto: Oh, yeah...

Middonaito: •sheds tears of joy•

Minamoto: Huh. So, Aoi, should we do the disclaimer?

Aoi: Alright. We do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia and its characters. They are owned by Idea Factory and Compile Heart.

Minamoto: Only a few original characters, and the plot itself is ours.

Middonaito: Ah, so, enjoy 1.3! I... Put a lot of effort into... This masterpiece.

Minamoto: Okay, Middo, and we have to cut Middostation here. See ya at the end of the chapter.

Aoi: Wait, we didn't make disclaimers in the first tw-

Shu's POV:

Ryuto... Just hearing this fatso's name boils my blood. He had killed my father 3 years ago when he dove too far into investigating the Ryuto Thug Gang. Shit...

"Ha, this is going to be interesting..."

"Let mom go!" I shouted.

Ryuto retorted, "Or what? Be all lightning fast again, you wimp? Tsk. Let's fight outside. I'll make this outskirts remember who's the boss here."

This douchebag. He must have learned of my glove through that crowbar thug. I can't really surprise him with-

THUD!

"Gahk!" I grunted as the fatso pushed me out of the house. Thank goodness he let mom go.

"Come on, boy! Gimme a show to enjoy as I slowly kill you..."

"NO! SHU! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" my mom pleaded, but I have to disobey her.

"Sorry mom, but I have to fight."

"Finally, let's do this! Raaagh!"

Ryuto lunged at me with what seems to be a meat cleaver, luckily I had dodged it with ease. His moves are easier to predict because of his own body weight.

"You won't get away from me, boy!"

Ryuto kept rushing me with his cleaver, in a desperate measure to chop me. I just kept dodging because his own body gives him away, and I haven't found a weapon to use.

Come on, at least a metal bar's fine...

Raku's POV:

This is not good. If Shu-sama just keeps dodging, he'll exhaust his own energy and get chopped off with that sicko's cleaver. And all I have done will be for naught.

Wait, Protocol 0, of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner!

I shout out, "Shu-sama! Catch!" as I throw a memory card at him.

"Eh?" Shu-sama said while catching the memory card.

"What is this thing? I need a weapon, not free space..."

I reply, "Just insert it on your phone!"

While in a state of confusion, Shu-sama just nodded and ran off to somewhere not far away but where Ryuto can't easily get to him.

Shu's POV:

What is this thing Raku gave me? He better not be trolling me...

Of course, he wouldn't troll me.

I quickly insert the memory card into my phone, then a button popped up. It says, 'Need voice activation for first time use.'

I quickly ran back and shout to Raku "What do I do next?!"

"Protocol 0, Activation code 7258, activation key Raku Hanazawa."

After hearing that blabber, I just thought, *"Is Raku nuts?!"

But...

"Voice activation code accepted. Activating Protocol 0..."

My phone then shone real bright, I was temporarily blinded.

"Wait, Protocol 0? That means-"

When the light shone down, I was surprised to see that in my left hand, I was holding some sort of sword, with a semicircle on it, like it was somehow bitten at the edge.

"Protocol 0, Shu-sama's own battle weapon. A sword that amplifies your glove's power. Now, you can efficiently use your teleportation and modification power without it easily exhausting," Raku explained.

"'I' designed this?!"

"There's more..."

Moments later, it seemed like Raku was shining bright and then I realized... My power is going up, it's all so shocking, and then...

"Establishing connection... Shu-sama, can you read me?"

"Eh?! How'd you..."

"My Gadget Ability, Modificatio's Modification, gives me the power to provide a person with a little power, while also assisting them like an AI would. Pretty cool, right?"

"That's kinda cool, anyway, contact me when you find this fatso's weak spot. I'll take care of the rest..."

"Okay, Shu-sama."

Okay, so Raku can now help me out in the sidelines, while Ryuto won't know what hit him. Perfect.

"Heh, so you now have a cool sword and now, I should be afraid of you? Think again!"

I smirked and answered, "Heh, you WILL be afraid of me."

"Don't talk big, bastard!"

I kept my composure, and...

"Spacetime Dilation, DNA code 72486, voice pass talgivine, access!"

With that activation code whispered, the glove began to shine and time itself stopped.

"I can't get help from Raku now. I gotta find this fatty's weak spot quick."

I look at Ryuto from different angles. Shit, no weak spot found yet...

"Shu-sama, it's his arms!"

"Huh? Raku? How?"

I turned around to see Raku flailing his arms around just fine, like Spacetime Dilation didn't affect him at all.

"Hey, it's because our minds are linked by Modificatio's Modification, and partly because I'm a GPU," Raku explained, not talking in my head because of the Spacetime Dilation. Gives us a chance to talk.

"Ah... Then, why his arms?"

"He uses them in full power whenever he tries to hit you with the cleaver. Now that you activated Spacetime Dilation, you can hit his arms so that when time passes again, he gets a very excruciating pain. That'll help you take him down."

"That's... Actually a good idea..."

Raku then cried out, "Quickly, use the last few charges for the final strike, as well!"

"Right!"

It all comes down to this. If this theory proves successful, I'll have freed the Outskirts from Ryuto's control. If I fail, then I'll have no chance of retreat and he'll strike my chest in an instant. All right, keep your cool, Shu. Let's end this.

I swiftly run to Ryuto and strike with the sword into his right arm, trying not to cut it off, then strike his left arm, also not cutting it off, just leaving a deep wound.

"Aight, at least one charge remaining, time for the final strike..."

Turning up the sword, in an attempt to make the sword into the likes of a baseball bat, I strongly swing it towards Ryuto's big belly.

"BATTER UP!"

BOOM!

"Ahhhgk!"

"*pant* *pant* And that's that."

I look at Ryuto, who's lying on the ground, somewhat bleeding from the wounds.

"Shit, we gotta get the medic!" an underling said.

"Yeah! Get him back to the hideout, quick!"

As they carefully carry the injured boss back to their hideout, I shouted in joy.

"I... Defeated Dad's killer... I've avenged you dad."

"Shu! Shu, you all right? Are you hurt?" my mom said as she rushed to where I was standing.

"I'm okay, mom, I didn't get hit."

Mom just hugged me all of a sudden, making me get all embarrassed.

When mom stopped hugging me and went back to the house to clean up, I went up to Raku.

"So, GPUs can't be affected by time's rules, eh?"

"Yeah, now are you ready, for Protocol 101?"

"My father used to say, 'Seek the truth, nothing but the truth, no matter the risk'," I turned around for a while. I have quite an adventure ahead of me. And I'm finally ready.

I continued, "I'm gonna find out the truth behind the Goddesses' disappearance, and the truth behind the GPUs," while looking back at him.

Raku looked at me and just said, "You're just like the Shu-sama I got to know..."

"Actually, if we are going to be friends, I'd like it if you just called me Shu."

"…Huh? Why?"

"You said 'I got to be friends', right? Just call me Shu, Raku."

His eyes then sparkled with amazement, and replied, "Yes, Shu! Ahaha!"

And thus, our Goddess Search has begun.

1: The Search Takes Root