"We still haven't found him yet. Can it really be that he's...?" Nepgear trailed off, not wanting to say what she hopes hasn't happen to her older brother.
"Nepgear I think it's still too soon to just say that Neptune is...well you know," Nereus said, looking at the other side of the river, scanning to see if there's a riverbank with, hopefully, Neptune lying on the ground. "Besides, we only have walked for half an hour and it's still a long way to the ocean."
"Yeah, but...Neptune could be really hurt. He might be unable to swim a-and he could have..."
"Oh come on Nepgear. Like Nereus said, the ocean is still a long way from here and there's plenty of ground for Neptune to get washed up on," Uni reassured.
"You said that Neptune was hit by the troll's club. That is kind of a problem if you're talking about been hurt," Logan said a-matter-of-factly.
"Oh, Neppy saved me from that bad troll's club...I feel so guilty." Plutia said.
"You don't have to feel guilty Plutia." Nepgear said.
Nereus looked at her over his shoulder, "She's right. He saved you, it's was his choice and you should appreciate and respect that."
"Ok...I feel much better now," Plutia smiled but then bumped into Uni, "Hey what's that?" Uni pointed at a ball of light on the ground, "is that an item drop?"
Nereus walked to the ball of light and picked it up. The moment he did, the ball of light faded and in its place is a delinquent mask.
"A delinquent mask? Don't these drop from delinquent cats when they are slayed?" asked Nereus, holding the mask up for them to see.
"Yeah, they do. But look, there's another over there, an item drop," Nepgear pointed near a tree where another ball of light laid on the ground. She walked over to it and then she saw another one out of the corner of her eyes. The next thing she knew she found three other item drops lying around, "There's more around here."
"If these are item drops then that means that someone must have fought delinquent cats here," Uni said and walked up to Nepgear's side, "But why would they leave the item drops behind?"
"Not unless if it's actually a something," Nereus said, "If another monster attacked the delinquent cats then it wouldn't care about the item drops."
"No, it's definitely a person," Logan said.
Everyone looked at him except Plutia who was lost in dreamy and slow thoughts, "So how do you know it's a person?" Nereus asked.
"I see some expressions of footprints around here," Logan pointed at the ground, "The dirt isn't soft or wet but I can tell. You just have to look closely and hard."
Nereus, Uni and Nepgear looked around at the ground. Nereus was the first to see them, "You're right, there are footprints around."
"Mhm, I can see them now," Uni finally noticed. Nepgear nodded.
"And it looks like there's only one person fighting," Logan walked ahead all the while looking around the ground. He crouched down and traced the outline of a footprint, "The pattern of the sole of the shoes is the same for all footprints. And they are not very old, almost...maybe half an hour ago. He or she was also fighting with something sharp, a knife or a sword."
"How do you know that?" Nereus asked.
Logan pointed at a tree, "Simple there's your answer," The tree that he was pointing at had a long cut. Nereus walked over and eyed the cut while tracing a hand over it, "You're right, it's definitely made by a blade."
"And the trail goes on a bit more here," Logan walked forward a few more steps, "There's another cut on that tree trunk there," he said, pointing at a tree with a sword cut on it, "More footprints and then it stopped here," He stopped at a random spot.
"So it just stopped here? Where did that person went?" Uni asked.
Logan scanned the surrounding and his gaze settled on a tall bush in front of him, "This bush has been tampered with," He walked up to the tall bush and pushed aside the leaves and stems with his gloved hands, "It would look like that that person might had got pushed through this tall bush and rolled down downhills."
"Whoa, you analyzed this all like a professional hunter or tracker," Nepgear complimented.
"Well maybe it's because I am both."
"Really?"
Logan nodded, "Hunting and tracking is like a family business in my family. I even trained some other hunters back in the town."
"Ok. So we know that whoever that person rolled downhills and...wait," Nereus looked at each of his comrades in turn, "You suppose that whoever that person was, happens to be Neptune do you?"
"Really? If it's him then we have to go help him! He could be injured and...or..." Nepgear said hysterically.
"Calm down Nepgear, we can't just go down there without knowing if it is Neptune or not."
"But I think we should at least try and look. Maybe there's a chance that..."
"U-um, e-e-excuse me, but um..."
Everyone jumped at the sudden intrusion of the unknown voice; a voice that belongs to a young shy girl. Her voice sounded like it came from all around them.
"What the goodness? Who said that?" Nepgear looked around her.
"Who are you? Where are you? There's no need to be afraid of us little girl," Nereus said in a loud voice, looking around at the surrounding trees.
"Ahhh, she sounded kind of scared...there's no need to be scared...we won't hurt you. Come out," Plutia said.
"Hey, what's up with all those leaves?" Uni pointed at the leaves flying around above them.
"Um...t-they are actually m-me," the girl's voice said. The leaves then flew towards a single spot all at once. The group watched as the leaves accumulate together at that spot and suddenly the leaves molded into a girl that looked to be no more than ten years old. When she took her form she immediately took cover behind a tree.
"Did she really just...?" Logan stopped mid-sentence, stunned at what he saw.
The girl peeked from around the tree trunk, "H-h-hi humans...ehh..." she stopped there, as if her next word was stuck in her mouth and she couldn't get them out.
"Aww, she's so shy..." Plutia approached the tree the girl was hiding behind. The girl retreated behind it, "Hey, I won't hurt you...honestly," Plutia crouched down a feet from the base of the tree, "What's your name?"
The little girl peered over behind the tree at Plutia, "S-Shelia..."
"Whoa...what a pretty name for a pretty girl like you. My name is Plutia and you don't have to be afraid of me and my friends."
"I don't think she is an ordinary girl Plutia," Nereus said.
"Really, but she looks normal to me...what's wrong with her?"
"Well, to be able to turn into a bunch of leaves, is really shy and has an aura different to humans is what you call not human."
"Nereus is right. I can feel that her aura is different from ours," said Nepgear.
"Then what is she?" asked Uni.
"It's simple to tell Uni, she is a dryad."
"Dryad? You mean the tree spirits?"
"Yes, they look like humans but way more...superior, you can say, when it comes to appearances and magic. They are also usually shorter than humans. Like fairies or dwarves and like I mentioned, really shy."
"I wondered what she wants with us."
"Hey, why were you asking for us?" Plutia asked the dryad girl.
Shelia leaned out from behind the tree, "Ah...your friend...lord Pan asked me to bring you all to his temporary home."
"Friend?" Nepgear approached closer to the tree, "Does he have lilac-hair and purple eyes?"
"W-well, he looks a lot like you."
"That is Neptune!" Nepgear shouted which startled Shelia that she immediately hid back behind the tree.
"Goodness, he's safe."
"Neppy is alright...yay...!"
Nereus grinned, "Huh, I knew he wouldn't just go down easily. Ok, so you said that you were supposed to lead us to him. Well then, lead the way."
Shelia took a step out from behind the tree and then slowly took another, "Ok, I think it's right this way," she pointed towards the tall bushes. She walked over to them, "Come on," and then walked through them.
Everyone followed cue, except Plutia who was lost in thoughts again. When they got through the bushes they slid down the decline. When Plutia realized everyone was gone, "Hey wait for me...!" and run through the bushes. But she didn't know about the decline and when she stepped through she toppled forward, and rolled downhills. She stopped rolling when she made it to the bottom.
"Ow...I'm dizzy..."
"Plutia, are you all right?" Nepgear asked.
Plutia stood up, wobbled in a ditzy manner for a bit and said, "Yeah I'm okay..."
"Geez you need to be more careful," Nereus said.
Plutia gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry..."
"Ok, this way," Shelia signaled them forward. She walked onwards and the group followed her. After a dozen steps, Shelia stopped.
"Shelia, why did you stop?" Nepgear asked. When they got to her they saw why.
Lying on the ground was the dead body of a minotaur. They could see multiple sword wounds on the body.
"Looks like Neptune had more than delinquents cats to deal with," said Nereus.
"Your friend must be a good fighter," Shelia said.
"Yeah, he has a lot of talent I'll say. So um, where do we go now?"
"Oh right, sorry, this way, please," and they continued onwards.
"Here you go, lord Pan."
"Thank you Yuumi. Go on, have one Neptune."
Neptune took a tea cup, which conveniently survived whatever disaster came across the house, filled with tea and took a sip. The tea was nicely brewed and was at the right temperature. He bet the tea leaves used were well-grown.
If that was the right word to describe it; the tea leaves came from a tea plant that lord Pan, god of nature, grew out from the soil. And by that it means that with a wave of his hand, the stem of the tea plant sprout out of the ground and rapidly grew into an adult plant.
Lord Pan also grew a tomato plant, an apple tree and grape vines along the walls. Talk about a god of nature.
And it was that fact that made Neptune a bit uncomfortable. He was sitting on a stump which is one of three that Pan grew out of the floor, and next to him was that god. Neptune had a hard time believing that but now that he was sitting close that said god he can feel an atmosphere around the half-goat. An atmosphere that speaks volume compare to an ordinary human.
Lord Pan took a bite out of a beautifully red apple. Yuumi was sitting opposite of Neptune, sipping tea. He had just learned that Yuumi was a dryad, a tree spirit which accounts for her short height and beauty. Neptune picked a grape and popped it into his mouth. It tasted really sweet and fresh. He had never tasted a grape this delicious before.
It went on like this for a while. No spoke. Yuumi stood up from her stump and walked over the opening behind the house and was looking at the forest. Lord Pan seems to be in thought, his eyes were closed and his expression was of that of peace. Neptune just sat there, don't feel breaking the silent.
"Hey, Yuumi!" came a shout.
Neptune looked to where the shout came from and saw half a dozen pretty girls running towards the house. Some of them were around Neptune's age and some younger.
"Hi girls!" Yuumi waved to them.
Lord Pan opened his eyes and looked at the approaching girls, "Well it seems your friends are back for another visit."
"Every one of us wants to visit you, lord Pan."
Neptune watched as the girls, who are all dryads he bet, ran into the ruined house, step up to Pan and bowed to him, "Good afternoon, lord Pan," they all said at once.
Pan gave a warm smile, "Afternoon to you too girls, come and sit," he gestured to a bunch of stumps that he grew out of the floor. Everyone sat down but then one of them noticed Neptune, "A human? Why is a human doing here?"
"Um, hi..." Neptune said awkwardly.
The dryad girls mumbled amongst themselves while taking glances at him. The glances he got weren't hostile or mean but they were dubious, distrustful and of course, shy.
"Hey, come on girls, you can trust him. He's not like some wild boar or skunk," Yuumi reassured.
'Did she just compare me to those?'
"Yuumi's right, he's a friend. No need to be shy," Pan supported.
Trusting their god's word, the dryad girls came out of their shy demeanor around outsiders. And by 'came out',
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Where did you come from? How did you get here?"
"You're kind of cute."
"He looks kind of feminine, don't you think?"
"Yeah, a bit I guess."
"Hey, do you all think he will look good in a dress?"
Neptune sweat dropped. He made the dryad girls nervous at first but all of a sudden they got a 180 degree turn and now they seem to be taking an amusement to him which he wondered would be a good thing.
Lord Pan was chuckling heartily and Yuumi scrunched up her face and calm her fellow dryads down, "Ok that's enough now. He's a guest to lord Pan and I'm sure he's feeling uncomfortable with your...bickering."
"You usually don't have many human guest before my lord," one of the dryad girls said.
"Yeah, humans don't get lost in these woods often," said another one.
"And if they do not many were lucky to escape with those monsters out there."
"So, how did you girls get past all those monsters?" Neptune asked.
"It's simple; we just hide inside the trees," answered the youngest of the dryad girls.
"Oh yeah, you dryads live in trees. You all just jump in and swoosh, you in."
"Yes, just like that."
Pan put down his tea cup asked the dryads, "So what's going on with you all?"
"Oh, nothing much," one replied and then so on:
"Yeah I guess. The forest is quiet as usual except for the monster prowling."
"And no one died from monster attacks."
"Not in years now."
"Yeah lord Pan, did you heard?"
"Know what?" he asked, taking a bite out of a grape.
"I heard from a bold eagle that he saw the Olympian god, Ares and the Aztec god, Huitzilopochtli were having some kind of argument and then it turned into a fight in the mountains to the east."
"Oh dear, a fight between two gods of war could be disastrous."
"Well it couldn't have...until the Buddhist god of war, General Guan Yu, came and ended the fight before it could begin."
Pan laughed a little, "Ironic, a fight between two war gods was dissolved by another war god. But yet again, Guan Yu, despite being a god of war, has always been peaceful. Luckily he came upon them."
"Lucky is right. It turns out that he was actually going to the Water Dragon spirit palace to fetch the monkey king, Sun Wukong, who is causing trouble again there again."
"That monkey has also been trouble," said a dryad girl who helped herself to the fruits.
"Well everyone that wasn't the only story about gods," another one said, "I was talking with some fishes yesterday and it looks like Lord Poseidon and the Hindu god, Lord Varuna were having a debate about the nagas' aggressive behavior lately."
"And I thought nagas were good," said the youngest dryad girl.
"Not all."
"Hey by the way, isn't it almost time for Lady Persephone to go back to the underworld, to her husband, Lord Hades?"
"Yes. It would look Lady Demeter won't be growing plants or flowers anytime soon. She always gets upset when Lady Persephone goes back to the underworld."
"Lady Demeter has always love Persephone," Pan said before munching on a piece of tomato. As he chewed he looked out at the opening at the sky, "Hmm, it would seem that the Shinto gods, Raijin and Fuujin are having their friendly duel again."
"Really, how can you tell?" asked Neptune.
"I can faintly sense it and I'm familiar to that feeling."
"Man, looks like a lot of things happen even among the gods."
"Of course there are."
"Hey old man Pan," when Neptune said that, Yuumi and the dryad girls twitched, "Do you actually live here?"
"No Neptune. Where I live is everywhere. I travel all around Gamindustry, visiting and staying in every forest and woods. Nature is my home. This house you see here is just a place I found and decided to settle for now," Pan picked up his tea cup and was about to take a sip when his eyes darted to the door, "Hmm, it seems that Shelia has come back with your friends."
"Really?" Neptune looked behind him at the door and then sat right up and walked towards it. He grasped the doorknob and turned it. Right at the door was Shelia, who was about to knock, and behind her were...
"Neptune!"
"Neppy!"
Immediately Nepgear and Plutia literally jumped onto him and hugged him. Neptune almost fell down but he managed, "Whoa, you two really sure miss me," and hugged them back.
"Goodness Neptune, I was really worried when you fell from that cliff. I almost thought you were gone," Nepgear half-shouted, small tear drops starting to form at the corners of her eyes.
"You made us all worried..." said Plutia, whose expression was the same as ever, "Um...Neppy."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for saving me back then...I'm so grateful..."
Neptune grinned, "Nay it's nothing Plu. I didn't want you to get hurt."
"Huh, you almost got yourself killed though. I figured it would happen eventually," Nereus came in with his arms crossed.
"Ho what's up man?"
Nereus raised an eyebrow, "That's your best comment?" He sighed and then gave Neptune a smirk. The two boys raised their fist and fist-bumped.
"You all sure are good friends," Pan walked up to them. The newcomers looked at the nature god and saw that he was a satyr.
"Oh, are you lord Pan?" Nepgear asked.
"Yes I am. I gonna say you sure do look a lot like your brother."
"Yeah, a lot of people say that."
"Hmm," Pan stared at them with keen eyes. He looked at every each of them except for Logan who he knew at first sight was human. The youngsters on the other hand...
Uni felt a bit uncomfortable, "Um, why are you staring at us like that?"
"Apologizes young miss, but I just find you youngsters intriguing."
"Oh? What's intriguing about us, Mister Satyr?" Plutia asked.
"Hey!" Yuumi softly yelled. She stood up from her stump, "You can't just call lord Pan like that!"
"That's okay Yuumi, nothing wrong there."
"Mm? What did I say wrong...?"
"Because you weren't being formal and respectful Plutia," Nereus walked past her and towards Pan until he was a respectful distance from him. Much to everyone's surprise, Nereus bowed to the god, "I'm sorry if we didn't formally greet you my lord."
Lord Pan waved his apology away, "No need to be like that young man. I don't really care about being greet or treated formally and royally anyways."
"If you say, but I must admit that I am surprise to meet you, a god, here. It feels like a pleasure."
"Well then the pleasure is all..."
"WHHAAATTTT?!" Nepgear, Uni and Logan shouted in shock. Plutia remains composed.
"G-g-god?! Wait, lord Pan...Pan...Pan the god of nature! Oh gosh I forgot, I'm sorry," Nepgear apologized.
"He's one of the Olympian gods grandpa told us about. And now he's right us in front of us. Ah-oh," said Uni.
"A god...I don't believe this...I thought they were just myths," said Logan.
Nepgear and Uni bowed. Logan remains dubious and Plutia was lost in thoughts again.
Lord Pan laughed softly, "Don't worry, it's not every day mortals get to meet us."
"And does that make us fortunate to meet you?" Nereus said.
Pan shrugged, "Maybe."
"Well if that is then looks like this adventure got on the bright side. So you guys got the trolls and I'm alive. So what now?" Neptune asked.
"Well we can just go back home now. After this I'm exhausted," Nepgear answered.
"Yay, home...I really want to take a nap..." Plutia grinned while her friends sweat drop. They all have the same thought, 'Don't you sleep all the time?'
"Well since you all are tired then you should have some tea and fruits then, my treat," offered lord Pan.
Knowing not to turn down a god's generous offer Nereus accepted, "Thank you lord Pan. It's an honor to have tea with you."
"Yeah I want some."
"Me too."
"Thanks mister Pan..."
"Count me in."
So then Neptune, Nepgear, Plutia, Nereus, Uni and Logan had a tea party with the nature god and dryads. Both humans and dryads treated each other kindly. And lord Pan was treated with respect as always. But he felt irony from the five teenagers when they tried to be as respectful as they can, 'They are treating me as someone who is above them, but they don't even know who they actually are,' he thought.
An hour later they all went out in front of the house. It was already mid-afternoon, Pan offered to send them back to their village, "All right," he walked over to a random spot in the opening and then he held out a hand. All of a sudden, the ground rose up in front of him. Soil and tree roots mixed and intertwined to form what looks like an entrance into the earth.
"Here we go, go through this entrance and you will find yourself near your village."
Uni looked into the entrance saw a tunnel leading off. All she could see was the dirt, roots and darkness, "Through here? This looks like it will take us a long time for us to get back home."
"It will look like it but it will be a shorter walk than you think."
"Well I guess we should trust the god here," Neptune said.
Nereus walked up to his sister's side, "As if we should doubt."
"Thank you for your help lord Pan," Nepgear thanked and bowed to the god.
"It's my pleasure Miss Nepgear. I'm not one to not give assistance."
"We all give thanks to you lord Pan, we appreciate your help," said Nereus, "Well let's go everyone."
"Well see you girls," Neptune waved to Yuumi and the dryad girls.
"It's nice meeting you all," said Yuumi.
"You all should come back and visit us," one of the dryad girls said.
"Yeah, you will always be welcome by us," said another.
Nereus walked into the entrance, followed by Logan, Uni, Plutia and Nepgear. Neptune went last but Pan stopped him, "Neptune, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah sure, what is it?"
"You really don't know who you are?"
Neptune shook his head, "Nope."
"Well I hope you will find out soon."
"Okay...why do you hope so? Is there something special?"
"Yes, Neptune, you and your friends are special."
"Huh, Really?"
"Yes and I will let you know this."
"Ok, what is it?"
Lord Pan leaned in closer and whispered, "You're not human Neptune, and so are your friends."
Neptune was confused, he wondered if he heard him right, "Wait, what?"
"Neptune! What are you doing back there?" Nepgear shouted from inside the tunnel.
"Looks like you should go now. "
"But wait, what did you mean that we're not human?"
"You have to find out yourself. The same reason Balthazar sent you all off."
"You mean gramps? But do we need to find it out ourselves?"
"Let's just say it is better that it's not an ambitious quest you all have to take. It would be like learning from an experience one discovers themselves."
Neptune scratched his head, "That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Sounds like a really bad excuse for the author when he didn't plan it all out."
"Maybe, but for now just go home. I'm sure you all will discover who you all really are."
Neptune frowned at Pan and then shrugged, "All right," he walked towards the entrance and when he was the mouth he gave farewell sign without looking back, "Well, see you later, old man," and descended in.
"Farewell to you too," Pan said as the entrance suddenly retracted into the ground, "CPU Candidate."
"So what were you talking with about with lord Pan?" Nepgear asked as she walked through the tunnel.
"Oh, um, nothing," her brother replied.
They were waiting for Neptune to follow them. When he caught up to them the entrance behind them disappeared. They were engulfed in darkness for a moment before Plutia cast a spell and a ball of light appeared, illuminating the tunnel.
"Well we're trapped in here," Logan said.
"This is a tunnel, we just follow it and if lord Pan was right, we will be close to the village," said Nereus.
"But it would be a long walk wouldn't it? We are kind of far from your village."
"Yeah but I think we can really trust lord Pan on this."
"Alright then," Nereus went on first and the rest of them followed.
"Hey, guys," Neptune called.
"What is it Neptune?" asked Nepgear
"Old man Pan knows gramps; he said his name was Balthazar."
"He does? Are they friends or something?"
"I'm not sure; he didn't mention anything about that."
"So grandpa's name is Balthazar. Wonder why he never told us his name."
"Must be for a reason," said Nereus.
"Or we can blame the author for that."
"I guess so."
"And old man Pan also mentioned something else; he said that...whoa, is that light?"
A bright ray of light suddenly appeared in front them and what looks like an opening out of the tunnel, "Where did that come from?"
"I'm not sure," said Nereus, but I'm sure that's our way out. Come out," Nereus walked towards the bright opening and everyone followed. And when they immersed out of the tunnel, they found themselves in some woods.
"Wait, does this place look familiar?" Uni asked.
"Yeah," Neptune walked a few steps around and looked at the surroundings, "I think I have been here a lot of times before. Yeah, this is close to the village."
"You're right," Nepgear supported.
"So if we are close to the village then which direction is it?" asked Uni.
Neptune faced towards a specific direction and pointed that way, "It should be that way," and everyone walked towards that said direction.
"So Neptune, what was it you were saying just now?" Nereus asked.
"Well, Pan said something about us. He said about whom we really are, Logan is not part of it by the way. He said something about who we really are and he also said that we're not human."
Every eye was on him, "Wait, we're not human? What does that mean?" Nereus wondered.
Neptune shrugged, "No idea."
"You sure you heard him right? If you kids look pretty normal to me," said Logan.
"I definitely heard him right."
"But what's not human about us?" Uni asked with her expression scrunched up.
"I don't know," Nepgear said, "But grandpa has always said during our training that we are actually stronger than an average human. Does that have to do with what lord Pan meant?"
"I'm not for sure," Nereus thought hard about all of this, including everything from the old man, the purpose of their training, the purpose of sending them away and their loss of memories. So far, all they have are just question with no answers to.
"Hey, everyone...we're back home..." Plutia said and pointed. And there in the open fields, the village.
"Heck yeah! Looks like old man Pan's tunnel got us home after all," Neptune cheered.
"But we were just walking through that tunnel for more than a few seconds. How did we get here already?" Uni asked.
"I don't know. But maybe that tunnel is more than meets the eye," which was Nepgear's only answer.
"Well we can ask him if we ever meet him again. For now, I want to eat something, I'm starving," said Neptune.
"Didn't you ate back at lord Pan's house?" said Nereus.
"Yeah but I'm not full enough."
"And I really want to lie down and take a nap..." cooed Plutia. Everyone except Logan sweat dropped.
"Ok, let's just go now," and they walked back home.
It was night time already. Right after entering the village, they went to Kain to let him know they have finished off the trolls. He had asked that they have taken longer than usual and their only reply was to say that it was a long story. They got their reward which was a bag filled with credits which they split among themselves. They offered some to Logan but he refused, saying that he was to lead them to the wooden bridge only and he was paid beforehand. Then he took his horse, bid farewell and left for the town.
The five of them went home and settled down. The moment they do, Plutia went to her room and took a nap, which Neptune and Nepgear thought was the obvious thing for her to do. With nothing else to do, they just do the chores of getting the house cleaned and lighting lamps, candles and hearth up for the night.
Currently, Nepgear was in the kitchen preparing dinner and Neptune was left with the duty of folding the clothes. When he finished he took the clothes to his and Plutia's room. As he opened the door to his room he thought, 'Man I'm beat. Haven't feel tired after a long day for a while now. It sure was a long one and lots of things happened,' he placed his and Nepgear's clothes into their respective drawers and sides of the cupboard. As he closed the bedroom door behind him he thought, 'I got clobbered off a cliff into a river by a troll, got rescued by a mermaid and then fairies, met dryads and a god. Some event flag that fall triggered...wait a second,' Neptune then remembered about his weird dream after he fell into the river, 'What was that anyways?' he wondered as he made his way to Plutia's room, 'I heard and saw a woman. She called out to me and but I couldn't hear what she was saying. Something about finding something and then a card...wait, did she mean that I have to find some cards? Hmph, guess if it was some story-related stuff I will just wait for later chapters.'
He opened the door to Plutia's room. But he was lost in thoughts that he forgot that she was taking a nap. Or she had taken a nap.
When he walked into the room his thoughts were interrupted by a figure by the window. When he looked his heart skipped a beat.
Plutia was standing there, in the ray of the bright moonlight, wearing nothing but a pair of white panties. Neptune saw that she had just taken her clothes and bra off. Now he was looking at her body in full view for the first time ever. Technically, this is the first time he had ever looked at a girl almost naked.
It was like that for a few seconds. In those seconds they stared at each other. In those seconds it was enough for Neptune to take in Plutia's body. He knew that she was petite and wasn't well-endowed or sexy looking but he took in her curves from her hips and waist and her back. He looked at her legs and her stomach and then her chest. He couldn't have gulped a second time there as this would be the first he saw a girl's chest much less saw one naked. She was not well-endowed as he thought and there isn't anything to stare at but somehow Neptune felt his heart skipped a beat again as he saw her breast and her nipples. And to top it off, the moonlight shined down on her and her skin seems to shine. And all of this Neptune felt almost drawn to for a split second. That feeling he had in his body. That feeling was almost like lust. No...It was lust.
"Neppy..." Plutia calling his name snapped him out of his dream-like trance. He looked at her and saw that her cheeks were starting to blush, her lips pressed together, her body shook slightly and her eyes quivered as small tears formed at the corners of her eye. She quickly covered her chest and Neptune immediately panicked. He dropped her clothes, and ran out of her room and closed the door behind him. And there he stood for a moment, still grasping the doorknob. Then from the kitchen, Nepgear called, "Dinner's ready everyone. Come on let's eat.
Neptune exhaled after realizing he was holding his breath. He leaned against the opposite wall, 'Ah man, I just messed up bad time,' he covered his face with his hands, 'How am I gonna face her now? Forget about fan service.'
"Neptune, are you alright?" Neptune turned towards the direction of the kitchen and saw his sister at the doorway, "Neptune is everything all right?" Nepgear asked with a voice full of concern.
"Um," Neptune didn't want her sister to know so he put on his usual grin, "Yeah I'm fine, nothing wrong at all."
Nepgear wasn't convinced. She can see that her brother was troubled, "Are you sure? If there's anything wrong you can always ask me."
"No it's nothing sis. Come on, let's just have..." before he could finish, the door opened and Plutia came out fully dressed. When they saw each other they saw nothing and even avoid eye contact.
Sensing the atmosphere Nepgear asked, "Um...is there something wrong? You two looked kind of embarassed."
The two of them didn't say anything. All three stood there in silent...until Neptune finally snapped out of guilt. He dropped down on his knees and went into begging positon, "I'm so sorry Plutie! I'm really am! I forgot to knock and then I just barged in! I'm so sorry! It's my fault and I deserve punishment! Beat me, slap me or torture me, it doesn't matter! I just really am sorry!"
"N-Neptune, what's wrong? Why are you begging?"
"Your big bro just did something bad and really wants to apologize for it. So Plu, go on. Do whatever you want with me. I just want to let you know I'm really am sorry."
Neptune was still, waiting for Plutia's answer. But then he felt a hand on his head, "That's okay Neppy...I can't get mad at you...especially when you apologized so hard. So I forgive you."
Neptune looked up at Plutia, who was on her knees in front of him. She looked into his eyes and he looked back. And in those eyes Neptune found something. Neptune saw what he had seen since they first met: the beauty in them.
He stood up and when he did, Plutia hugged him, "Neppy...I still want to say...that I'm glad you are okay. I was so afraid when you fell into the river."
Neptune didn't know what to say back but the way she was hugging him he knew he had to hug back. When he did he said, "Well I'm all right. That's all that matters right?"
"Mhm," they broke from the hug, "You're my friend Neppy. If anyone else like Nepgear, Nereus or Uni was in the situation...I would be so sad."
"We all made it home safely so you don't need to be worried about that anymore."
Plutia grinned, "Hehe, you're right. And by the way...you were so cute when you were begging just now...I almost thought of accepting your offer to slap you and beat you and torture you...it sounded like we could have so much fun," Plutia said with her expression kept completely calm and with a cheering smile.
And it left Neptune's and Nepgear's spine tingling, "Ok Plu, enough with the sadism and let's just have dinner already."
"Ok..." Plutia cooed.
"Um, I still have no idea what happened," Nepgear said.
"Nothing you should be concern about sis, let's just go and have dinner."
Nepgear wanted to keep asking but decided to drop it and head for the kitchen. Plutia followed behind her. Neptune watched them go, his eyes on Plutia until she went into the kitchen. As he stood in the small hallway, the words of Irie the mermaid echoed in his mind.
"Well do you have a beautiful girl in your village?"
"Yeah, you know, or a certain girl that caught your eyes? Someone you found attractive?"
Those words swam and echoed in his mind, "Maybe I do have a chance with her," he didn't want to tell Irie and he was pretty sure he hid it well. His thoughts went to just a few minutes ago, to when he saw Plutia in her panties. The image of her in that moment would probably stay in his mind. And he could feel his heart beating faster and he could feel the lust again. In his chest he felt that feeling; he felt it when he first saw lay eyes on Plutia a month ago. That feeling...love at first sight?
"Neptune, come in and eat already. The food is gonna get cold," Nepgear called from the kitchen.
"Ok," and Neptune headed towards the kitchen.
Ok, done. These last two chapters give me the most headaches. But I'm glad i finished them. I would need a break...
So leave a review. Love it, like it, criticize it, tell me what's bad and what's wrong with it. I would appreciate it. It can help me improve.