In the end, despite how many times the declaration had been made, no words had been eaten by neither Neptune or Noire.
Naturally, the two CPUs had resumed their gaming session once again after their most recent scuffle. However, rather than a racing game, this time they had opted for a fighting game, in the hopes they would find a clear winner and once and for all decide who was the... well, they weren't sure after a while, they were so caught up in fighting. Something about taste? Had they been arguing about food?
After a few dozen rounds of hard boiled action, they weren't really sure anymore.
Even more unfortunately for this determined duo of divas, after so many rounds, it was apparent that they weren't getting anywhere. The results were so close that neither CPU found themselves particularly happy with winning just one match at this point. They found themselves at a loss! How could they decide who was... whatever they were trying to decide at this point? Where to order food from, maybe...?
And that was when one of them had casually remarked that this particular fighting game had a character customization option...
It didn't take long to figure what would happen next.
"Hahaha, what do you think of my handiwork? It totally looks just like you, Neptune!"
"H-Hey, I have some boobies... Gimme that! I demand the controller! Do as I say, or I'll make yours bald!"
"Fine, here, ta-Hey, you don't need to grab!"
"Victory!"
"Hmph..." Noire settled back down into her seat as Neptune eagerly began messing with the Neptune character they had been building for their epic rematch together. At first, it was going smoothly enough... sort of. Neptune had taken away her hoodie for some weird battle armor, but fine, Noire supposed they didn't have to dress like they normally did so long as they could recognize who they were. And when she added a little to her height, Noire held her tongue even then. Everyone liked to roleplay sometimes, right? Even if that totally defeated the purpose here, who was she to judge?
After all, when she came in and made a perfect, gorgeous replica of herself and beat down this weird looking thing Neptune was... making...
Watching the real Neptune move the number on the chest customization tool on the screen as high as it could go, leaving the character in a state that put both Vert and Peashy to shame at once, though... That was just painful.
"Now let's start on my butt!" The girl whose only resemblance to the woman on screen was her hair color declared gleefully.
Aaaaand that was enough. Noire could see an intervention was in order. Immediately.
"Okay, okay, stop. Neptune, you said 'some,' not 'look, I've got dogoos in my shirt!' Give me that back." Without waiting for Neptune to even make a word of protest, Noire snatched the controller back from the other CPU before she could do any more damage to the fighter-to-be on the screen. "Honestly, have some pride, would you? Just because you can't be as good looking as me doesn't mean you have to have stupid complexes like Blanc does... We don't need two of you running around."
Prepared with the best retort ever, a retort to make Noire so self conscious about herself she'd make her own fighter look nothing like herself, Neptune opened her mouth to deliver the best, most devastating, most fantabunepriffic insult ever... and caught herself as she caught a glance at herself looking down at her from on the screen.
Unlike when Noire had been messing around earlier... Now, Noire's take on "her" was actually kind of pretty. It was less hideously proportioned than hers from a moment earlier was, anyway.
"Now let's find something to put in your hair..." Looking totally cut off from the world, Noire's eyes were shooting across menus, clearly in search of something to match those so familiar ornaments that Neptune wore. The craziest thing about this, Neptune realized, was that Noire hadn't looked over at her once since she had taken over the controls. "Ah! That'll work. Perfect."
Well... How about that then?
Although... Wait. Neptune blinked, remembering her earlier thoughts. Hold on a second! If she didn't hurry, her window for getting in a comeback would slip away! Quick, she had to think of something fast, or she'd look like she had given Noire that victory!
"Heeeeeeeh... I never said I didn't have pride, Booby Heart." Neptune coughed into her hand awkwardly. That was not the master insult she had intended to say before. It was too bad, really- The timing was gone. "It sounds to me like you're making it sound like you think my pretty self is something to be proud of... What's with that? You're losing your touch, Noire!"
Ha... Hahahaha! T-Take that, Noire! Neptune's Fail Combo! It, uh, it puts tsunders off guard and then she'll come back with the real finisher after! Th-That's what it is!
Surprisingly, Noire didn't respond to Neptune's comment. Whether she had been failing at insulting her or trying to egg Noire on for more... something, information or who knew what, Neptune wasn't sure, but she wasn't apparently going to be getting it. Was this really Noire?
Neptune was so surprised that she actually pinched herself — ow! — and still, nothing happened. Why wasn't Noire snapping or chewing her head off? That was the perfect comment for one of Noire's usual, flustered remarks! Could it be that Noire... Oh, Neptune had no idea! What was the answer!? This was so unlike Noire! Neptune was in uncharted territory here!
Less than she actually realized, though. The real answer to Neptune's conundrum was extremely Noire-like. Little did she know it, but what Neptune was witnessing was really nothing more than shy old Noire showing a side of herself she usually didn't show to others. All in all, it was really no different than some of the other things they'd done together today.
"You're pretty good at that." The purple haired CPU remarked after a few moments more of watching Noire create. She hadn't intended to say it. She hadn't intended not to say it either. Really, she hadn't even realized she had been thinking it. It was true, so she had said it.
It seemed to take a moment, though not much longer, for Neptune's comment to register. Once processed, Noire's fingers stopped their focused movements.
"Thanks."
It was strangely natural. Neither flustered nor forced.
"Yeah, yeah... Y'know, I'm kinda surprised..." Feeling she had the 'go-ahead' from Noire now, or maybe this too was just coming from her, Neptune continued. "I wouldn'ta pegged you for the type to get so into this. It's more Vert's kind of thing, isn't it?"
There was a brief pause on Noire's end. She neither spoke nor resumed the game, rather, she seemed to be mulling something over.
"Oh, well... We've cross played some games sometimes, Vert and I, so I want my character to look nice... And Uni too, sometimes." It wasn't the most confident answer, but it seemed like a reasonable one... if not for the fact that she clearly was still intending to speak. Now came a bit of a pause on Noire's end. It was as if she was debating something, like she was weighing the pros and cons of what she was about to say next. It wasn't like she would be risking anything replying to Neptune, would it? "I always... try to pay a lot of attention to detail when putting my outfits together. I wouldn't want to look like I'm not fashionable or anything you know...!"
While Noire nodded to herself with that, as if she had just given Neptune confident affirmation of something, Neptune felt like Noire was leaving something out. But that... sounded silly and cocky enough, not to mention tsun enough, for a Noire answer...
And why had that first answer of Noire's made Neptune feel like Noire had said something dangerously close to something else that... that... thaaaaaaat...
After a moment, her eyes widened in realization.
Cosplay!
That was it! That was what this was, wasn't it?! She was witnessing the same state of mind Noire must have as when she worked on her cosplay!
Was this luck? Should Neptune thank the... the herself for this moment, or use it while she could for some prime time teasing? What a chance she had been given! But... Oddly enough, she wasn't really in the mood to take advantage of it and kill the mood just yet. Besides, she still had to play the game, right? And, like, maybe she and Noire could pig out later or something too, right? After all, this had been... kinda fun, yeah? Yeah...
Just as she was thinking positively about this situation — Celestia forbid! — Neptune was pulled out of her ruminations suddenly by something thick and plastic poking on her shoulder. Giving Noire the strangest expression she could muster, Neptune made to shove the controller away.
"Okay, okay, I'm listening!" When did Noire get to be the pokey type anyway? Wasn't that her job? Ack! Someone was gonna steal her niche? Not if she had anything to say about it... "Alright, what gives?"
"You don't have to be so dramatic about it..." Noire rolled her eyes before clearing her throat. Neptune had to smile awkwardly. She had probably been the one to act all weird there, rather than Noire, hadn't she? Well, good! That was her niche too, wasn't it? "So Neptune, I was thinking... Now don't say anything, but will you listen to me about something?"
"What's up, Heart Stuff?"
Noire raised an eyebrow at the name, but chose not to comment on it. Besides, she had something more important to discuss with her fellow CPU now anyway.
"About the fight... I just got a really crazy idea. Now don't say anything until I finish, okay? Because, well..." Coughing into her hand, Noire seemed as though she still was unsure as to whether or not whatever she was planning was a good idea. Now that she had spoken up, however, she didn't really have the ability to not finish her thought. "What if we make two more characters?"
Neptune blinked. Where was this coming from?
"Hold on..." Neptune tilted her head. Was Noire going to go for a "You make me, I make you, then we make ourselves!" kind of angle with this? That would only have worked if they'd been blindfolded or in different rooms, wouldn't it? Tilting her head to the other side, Neptune repeated Noire's words for good measure. "Two more?"
"Two more." Noire nodded. Why was she being so serious all of a sudden!?
"Yeah, Noire, I heard you the first time!" How could she have repeated what Noire had just said if she hadn't?! Before Noire could protest, Neptune thrust her arms to her side, almost stomping her foot just to hammer her point home that much further. "That's not what I want to know! What I want to know is who are the two more?"
"Oh... Who..." The black haired CPU's response was quiet. As if she hadn't expected this. Why wouldn't she have?
Well well, what was this, then?
Now Noire had clammed up all of a sudden. Neptune was very... intrigued now, to say the least.
"Well, um..." Noire averted her eyes. She swallowed. "About that..."
Now Neptune was really curious. It must have been reeeeaaally good
"Plutia and Kei."
NOPENOPENOPE.
The speed that Neptune's face changed expressions, the way the blood rushed away from her face, it was almost like she had traded in one facial sprite for another. It was surreal, like something out of one of Vert's games.
"What the nepping nep are you-"
"Y-You take Plutia and I take Kei!" Noire hurriedly added, holding up her hands as if this addition would explain everything. It made sense to her, at least. "I-It would be symbolic!"
Neptune did not agree with the sentiment.
In fact, it appeared that Neptune so did not agree with the sentiment — or so did not want to be caught by anyone beating up a Plutia avatar behind the other CPU's back — that Neptune promptly stood up and left the room.
Considering how well everything had been going up to this point, suffice to say, Lastation's CPU couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Noire stared, watching her leave. Had she spoken out of turn? Was the original plan really that much better...?
"... Ah..."
... Well, maybe not...?
Returning with a glass of water she had gone to retrieve from the kitchen, Neptune took a long drink of it and spit it out, spraying water everywhere in the most comical, over the top manner she could muster.
"That's the craziest idea I've ever heard in my entire life! Plutia would kill me!"
Contrary to her words, however, Neptune just grinned at Noire, slinging an arm over the other CPU's shoulder.
Suddenly Noire got a bad feeling about this.
"Which is why we're gonna do the friendly thing and switch off." Neptune pushed even closer. They were practically cheek to cheek now. "Like friends."
"Eh?" Noire wasn't sure what thing to react to as Neptune pulled away. The proximity she had just had and then lost with Neptune? The "switch off" Neptune hadn't fully explained? That Neptune had just called Noire her f... f... f...
Before Noire could finish that f... f... f... f...ing thought, Neptune placed her hands on Noire's shoulders, looking the black haired goddess square in the eyes.
"I'll fight Kei for you and you can fight Plutia for me." If there had ever been a time for Neptune's teeth to glint dramatically, or maybe her eyes — or both even! — this was it. "How's that for symbolic? Gets you all hot and bothered, right?"
Neptune was confident that Noire would back out of this now that Neptune had pushed Plutia onto her. Even as a computer controlled character, this was Plutia they were talking about. Who would want to take on a challenge like that? It wasn't like back when she was still interested in the other Planeptune CPU. She would much rather just pass this on — or pass on the fight entirely! Why would she want to fight Plutie in the first place?
Besides, for some reason, she kind of didn't want to fight against Noire as much anymore anyway, so...
"That's a great idea!"
Wait what? What what what?
"You'll have to make her for me though, okay?" Why was Noire smiling like that at her? Were those sparkles? They couldn't be, right? Noire didn't sparkle. She was seeing things as a result of the prospect of facing Plutia's wrath, that had to be. "I don't remember her as well, and you need to make it as close to accurate as possible!"
Neptune was aghast.
She would be.
She had no idea she had just told Noire to — symbolically, only symbolically, that is — destroy her one, and as far as she knew only, rival in love.
Anyone would have taken that challenge up.