Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Sega, and whoever else worked on it.
Sleep is essential, but the deadline is even more critical… No, I'm not saying it's about me. I have a life balance…..-ish…..
….Moving on….
Chapter 25
(-)
Later, after Kurome and Bluesy escape from Gamindustri Graveyard's pocket Dimension.
Failing to capture Kurome as per her Master's orders, Bloody Nepgear had no choice but to report back to his domain. More accurately, his self-made throne room is in the uppermost part of the tower, where green spikes and edges come out disorderly. Bloody Nepgear walked along the dark-red hallway with black pipes and red energy lines around it. Her mind was blank as she did not think of anything else at that moment, not even what she should say to her master. The only thing that Bloody Nepgear needs to say is what happened with no sugarcoats for her master and herself, nothing more, nothing else.
After all, her Master likes accurate facts the most.
Bloody Nepgear walked on with an emotionless face. The hallway grew larger and larger in expansion as Bloody Nepgear was close to her Master's domain. She stopped walking when she arrived at a red blank large door thrice the size of her body. The door itself radiated a massive amount of both the Negative energy and Evolry's cursed energy. Bloody Nepgear put her right palm on the door and it immediately showed randomly generated bright red energy lines all over the door. Once the red lines had almost covered the door, it made a clicking sound that signaled the door was open to entry.
Bloody Nepgear wastes no time and pushed the door with both of her hands and proceeds inside the throne room. The throne room's interior design was similar to the LAN's Castle Secret Hall but different in some parts such as the size, color, and minor adjustments. Giant red-gold windows with modernized outbar as seen from the lines and tech parts on it, giant black-red curtains on the other ends, dark maroon walls with a combined grotesque variety of Lowee design decorations, an eerie bright red light orb was placed on top of the room to brighten the inside, a dark red floor that had square-shaped ceramics with some black pipe aesthetics, long red carpet from the door to the throne's seat, and finally, a red throne seat with the black metal outer frame and a three-step raised platform underneath the seat.
On the far end of the room, right at the Throne's seat. Bloody Nepgear's master was currently sitting on it wearing his brown-red full cloak hoodie. There's also Evolry, grinning as she leans casually on the right side of the seat with arms crossed and one leg resting above the other.
Bloody Nepgear walks along on the long red carpet and gets closer and closer to her master and Evolry. After getting nearer, Bloody Nepgear stops and kneels in front of her master and Evolry with her head down.
"I've returned…. Master…" Bloody Nepgear said while kneeling.
"Heh, finally being polite to my boss eh? Not gonna curse or spit or any other uncouth retorts on this guy right here?" Evolry asked Bloody Nepgear while pointing at her master with her right thumb.
"I realized that my actions were unfitting at the graceful presence of my master. Hence I would like to atone for my sincere submission" Bloody Nepgear said with no emotions on her face. Only obedience is what she thinks right now.
After hearing those words, The Hooded Master faintly smiled while looking down upon the Goddess in front of him. It was a satisfying sight for him as a human to have a goddess at his disposal. Evolry noticed his smile and giggled a bit.
"You could've told me that you finally got through to her, Now I won't be able to hear the usual rebelling side of her anymore. At what kind of torture did put her with as the final nail of the coffin? The electric chair? thousand needles on the body? Oh, oh, I know! Must be the ol' monster feast on her body parts bit by bit!" Evolry guessed some of the tortures.
"Hmph, none of those. All those physical tortures and experiments on her did not waver her will to fight against me…. Until it hit me. What about emotional torture?" The Hooded Master said.
"Aha! Nightmares and Illusions! Bet my credits on them" Evolry guessed again, but The Hooded Master responded with his head shaking left and right.
"No, I didn't do any of those. Instead, a simple persuasion and demonstration of her 'belongings'" The Hooded Master Answered, which made Evolry look disappointed.
"Booooooo! How dull and cheesy of you. I thought you were better than this" Evolry booed her boss with a thumbs down.
"Cut it off, I grew tired of conducting all that torture on her, and it's getting stale and inefficient in my true goal. Fun times over, Evolry. we must not stray from our purpose" The Hooded Master said the reason for his actions.
"Hmph! you're no fun" Evolry huffed and looked away displeased.
While the two were talking about Bloody Nepgear, the girl on the topic kept kneeling on the floor as they talked about her. She did not mind their words as she was used to their bickering. And she even did not mind that they talked about the pain she had to go through during her time imprisoned and tortured by the two.
"I don't have time to deal with your entertainment needs, Evolry. Deal with it….. Now then, my beautiful toy" The Hooded Master turn his head to see Bloody Nepgear and called her out as a toy with a gentle tone.
"Raise your head and tell me what happened there. I see that you returned empty-handed…. Which is quite displeasing" The Hooded Master ordered, to which Bloody Nepgear responds with her head looking at her master.
"I apologized, it was my fault that I didn't anticipate Kurome's suicidal act. I tried to reasonably talk her down to come with me to avoid damaging the girl. Rather than submitting, she surprised me with something from her chest and used me as a stepping stone to jump off the edge. Seeing that it wasn't a bluff and she did jump out of the Island, I concluded that she killed herself in the process" Bloody Nepgear explained what happened during her confrontation with Kurome.
"Hmm, resisted till the end without giving us the favor of letting our way with her. Smart and foolish" The Hooded Master commented.
"So different from what's left of this world's Kurome. Hahh….. My bets were wrong again, I really thought that she would resist and fight against our Nepgear instead of bailing out like that. I gotta check my luck stats after this" Evolry felt bummed that Kurome was not as she expected.
"Anything else?" The Hooded Master asked if there was anything Bloody Nepgear had left out or forgot to mention.
"...The thing that came out from Kurome's chest looked like a small, ghostly simple version of herself. Other than that, nothing else" The Bloody Nepgear mentioned. Seconds later, The Hooded Master had a strike of realization.
"Oi, Evolry. What did you say before?" The Hooded Master called out to Evolry on his side.
"Uh, about my luck stats?" Evolry asked in confusion.
"No, before that"
"My bets about Kurome?"
"NO, the before BEFORE that!" The Hooded Master snapped a bit.
"OHHH, About this world Kurome's leftover?"
"Yes….. I thought that we had eliminated her before. This begs the part of why she's inside the other Kurome. Did you let some of her negative soul essences loose?" The Hooded Master frowned at Evolry.
"Give me a break, man. How would I know there's some tiny bit of her essence lost? You would need a microscope to be sure that we killed her off when we bashed her. Would you really want to do that? Us playing as the whitecoats in a lab?" Evolry said.
"I would do it if it means abolishing those unwanted variables!... Ugh, Nevermind. It is partly my Insight's fault for not being cautious" The Hooded Master pinched his forehead with his right hand.
'Though I did let some of her soul essences loose, just to see how far she would survive on her own as a weak soul. Surprise surprise she did last this long…... I'll just let this slide for now. Wouldn't want to ignite angry flames above his head, hehe' Evolry thought in her head while hiding her slight smile with her hand and a cough.
The Hooded Master did not see through Evolry's act of being clean as he was thinking how there is more than one mishap in his plans. Evolry thought that since he didn't notice, she doesn't have to explain her direct Involvement. Evolry let out a slight sigh of relief, but moments then, Bloody Nepgear raised her hand in front of her Hooded Master and Evolry.
"May I speak?" The Bloody Nepgear said after raising her right hand while kneeling
"Speak then" The Hooded Master permitted Bloody Nepgear to have some words spoken out from her. Since he is tired of thinking about other stuff, at least his favorite toy may give him some insight.
The Bloody Nepgear stood up and pointed at Evolry with her right hand.
"I caught Evolry covering her smile with a cough and then she let out a sigh, a relieve sighed I mean. She did those hidden gestures after arguing about the Kurome part" Bloody Nepgear said that made Evolry gawk and The Hooded Master snapped some of his patience.
The Hooded Master and Evolry slowly turned their heads to look at each other with different expressions. Evolry looked at her master with a nervous laugh while her master looked at her with a dissatisfied look.
"Spit it out, now" The Hooded Master demanded.
"Okay, so I may let a little tiny bit of Kurome's soul away from us just for test fun. But who would've thought that she's persistent enough to stay alive in her state?... Please don't be fiery mad at me. Keep calm and don't start a fire" Evolry begs for her master to stay calm.
"...You're making an image of myself with a raging fire on my head, aren't you?"
"Perhaps"
"No matter, I can't stay mad at you anyway since you are still a crucial possession of mine. Next time, let me know about your fun. I could've at least foreseen how that poor Kurome struggled on her own and in pain. Oh, Imagine her cries as she thought for her own soul bit…by bit… with the rest of the souls in this damned place" The Hooded Master grinned.
"Hehe, and this is why I choose you as my Master. Meticulous and vicious. The perfect pair for myself" Evolry said with a grin.
"Anyhow….." The Hooded Master gets up from his throne chair and walked closer to Bloody Nepgear who stood still with an empty look.
"Oh, my Nep. Jr….. As expected of my favorite beautiful toy" The Hooded Master said with an alluring gentlemanly voice as he caress Bloody Nepgear's shoulder and head. Then he whispers into Bloody Nepgear's right ear.
"So thoughtful to me…. Obedient… Simple and Forthright for my needs… Just as I have engraved it in you through our sessions. Continue to be like this even if you fail sometimes and I will keep my end of our bargain. And maybe….we could do things together, just the two of us…." The Hooded Master slowly moves his hands to Bloody Nepgear's chin and slowly shortens the distance between his face to hers.
"In three, two, one"
Bloody Nepgear quickly removes herself from her master's grasp and steps back a bit. Then she kneeled in front of him to apologize for her behavior.
"I'm sorry, my Master. But I intend to keep serving you to an extent as per our agreement. Once the deed is done….. We'll go through our separate ways" The Bloody Nepgear said.
"Right, right. I must keep a hold of my promise" The Hooded Master said as he held back his desires on Bloody Nepgear.
"If there's nothing else, I must attend to our army and prepare myself even more next time when you order me to" The Bloody Nepgear bows at her Master before walking towards the throne's door. But just before she exits the room…
"Hold on, my Beautiful Toy. Don't forget to pay for your mistake in failing the task I gave you before" The Hooded Master said.
"...As you wish…"
Bloody Nepgear summons her red laser sword on his right hand and puts her left hand out to the front. Then, she swiftly cuts her left hand precisely at her wrist. Her left-hand flops to the ground after being cut off and red blood began to gush out from the cut that she made. Bloody Nepgear flinches in pain for a few seconds, then she quickly gathers her composure to halt her blood from flowing out continuously with her CPU energy, as seen from the Lilac light shining on her left arm. Whilst she clogs up her left-hand cut, Bloody Nepgear grabs her left hand on the ground with her right hand and gave it to her Master.
"Here it is, My Master" Bloody Nepgear presented her left hand.
"Perfect, you've shown your sincere apology without any hesitation. Now you may leave and give the Head Chef a hand, your hand to be exact. After that, do what you do" The Hooded Master said.
Bloody Nepgear nodded and exits the room with her left-hand material on her right hand. Outside the Throne Room, Bloody Nepgear walks further from the door and goes her way to the Tower's Kitchen Room where an Android Chef is waiting for Bloody Nepgear's left hand.
But before she continued on, Bloody Nepgear leaned on the dark-red wall, took a breather, and stared blankly at the ceiling. As she did, her left hand quickly regenerated back to the way it was before. Bloody Nepgear moved the new left hand to make sure there was no faulty response on the nerves, muscles, and bones. Further on after she recovered her left hand, Bloody Nepgear started to walk in the long hallway again.
"Hold on a bit longer, everyone….. I'll change our future, whatever the price I need to pay," Bloody Nepgear said with a slightly sad tone and teary eyes.
Back in the Throne Room.
"Still trying to get her onto your bed? How many times do we have to go through this boss… She prefers to rest in her Torture Room and the other Room more than your fancy-billionaire-like bed" Evolry said while she bends closely beside her Hooded Master on the Throne's seat.
"I'll just savor my time with her, no need to be hasty. Moreover, I have your 'Love' potion in my pocket if she wouldn't submit to me fully at the end of our cooperation" The Hooded Master briefly showed Evolry a pink vial from his inventory, then he quickly puts it back.
"Your call, Boss. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna explore around here and see what changes you've done. There better be the Arcade Room that I requested before" Evolry gets up and started to open a red portal.
"Before you go, Evolry. I want to ask you something... Considering your past actions without me knowing. Are you really on my side?" The Hooded Master asked a serious question, to which Evolry responds with a chuckle and an answer.
"Heh, don't worry too much about it, 'My Master'. Despite my shenanigans, I always put your needs and wants first on my to-do list. Then mine, which is the thrill and the fun itself" Evolry answered.
"Very convincing, Evolry. Very convincing" The Hooded Master said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Is that Sarcasm I hear?"
"You decide"
"Whateves, Mr. Bossy pants…. Ciao, Boss! Call my name when you need me"
Evolry enters the red portal that she made and skipped off somewhere in the Graveyard's area, leaving The Hooded Master alone in his Throne room to think about the next step that he should make and figure out how to achieve his goal. Which is to end the rule of the CPUs and exact revenge.
"I will bring her and ALL THE OTHER GODDESSES to my knees and have my way the world!… No, not just the world, but the rest of the Dimensions will be in the palm of my hands!"
(-)
22:00, HyperDimension's Planeptune, In the Item Development District.
Kurome, now covered in dark-blue cloak mode that she installed in her right shoulder mantle, wandered around the area where she landed before while not trying to get any attention from the people in the Nation or even worse, meeting the Makers and the CPU. The upside of doing this is she doesn't have to engage in any combat and expose herself to more danger now that she's alone with only Bluesy inside her but with no CPU juice to activate her CPU form and her Megaphone.
The downside, Kurome is hungry and thirsty. Her stomach kept growling sometimes as she walked and her throat felt dry. Right now as she walked, her stomach growled in hunger. Kurome could only pat her belly to calm it down.
"Easy there, bub. I'll get something to eat… Where the heck is the Job Board around here? There's not a single 'Need new Employees' in any of the shops here. Maaayyybe I should risk getting an Adventurer ID and do the usual quest stuff" Kurome thought while walking in the night within the crowd.
"Hmm, nah. My gut is telling me that I shouldn't do that. But it's only ID stuff. There's no way that the people and the CPU here know me at all, right? I'm an old-old CPU way back before all this era's technology development" Kurome talked to herself and compared the technologies with what she had in her past.
"Wait, why am I doubting my own gut? Ah, shit, the hunger is getting through me…. Worse comes to worst, I'd need to steal some. But that would attract these peeps around me. If only I had made more than one Credit Generator….. C'monnnnn, where are you Job Board…." Kurome kept on the lookout for any Job Board that she could find.
Kurome stopped at a certain spot on the sidewalk and scoured around her looking out for anything that could give her a place to get some credits and hopefully lay low in the city. Throughout the shops and the stalls surrounding her area, Kurome spots a board with a lot of papers and Job requests near a Pudding Shop.
"Yes…YES!" Kurome ran closer to the board once she set her sights on it.
"Now I just need to find the rriiiiiight job…."
Kurome examined the Job papers one by one and thought about what it would be like if she were on one of the jobs. To make sure she wouldn't be found by the Graveyard gangs, Kurome needs a job that is not crowded with people or decently attracts people like a sign man. The options available on the board were so many that some of the papers were attached to one of the board's legs.
"Maid…..Nope, that job deals with meeting a lot of people. And I can't cover myself since I need to attract them with my face… How about this, Guild Receptionist…. Nuh uh, also meet with many people and can't disguise my looks in it… Ah! Baker! This one would… Heck no, I don't wanna be Burnsy" Kurome kept on commenting about how she would do on the jobs she sees, which made the Planeptune people around her step away from her since she's kinda weird to them, particularly due to Kurome talking to herself.
Kurome did not notice the people near her and kept on looking for the right job that she needs.
"...AHA! Got it!" Kurome's orange eyes lit up at discovering a certain job paper on the board that looked a bit old but it fits her needs. Thus, she took the paper from the board and read it closely.
The job paper that Kurome took is about an Auto Workshop named the 'Metal Pipe' nearby her location that needs a new Auto-Mechanic to deal with cars, motorbikes, or anything Automotive-related. The requirements in the paper say that the workshop needs the minimum knowledge of Motorbikes such as how to maintain them, repair them, customize them, etc. Since Kurome thinks that she knows about how machines and automotive work thanks to her time as the Lastation's CPU, she thought that this job is perfect for her.
Continuing to read the paper, it is said that if anyone wants to take the job, they'll get a free room for them to stay. A disclaimer was put beside the free-room part. It reads that laundry, food, drinks, or other daily needs should be handled on their own. The Workshop doesn't have enough funds to cover all that. Kurome also read on the paper the directions of the Auto Workshop's location, the salary, and a small chibi head with green hair and a mouse hoodie.
"Haha, cute" Kurome slightly chuckled at the small chibi on the paper. Then she memorizes the directions before putting the paper in her inventory and sets off to the Auto Workshop.
"Knowing myself created a lot of things for Gearsy and me, this'll be a sinch. Wait for me, 'Metal Pipe'! Kurome's here to take on the job" Kurome said to himself and headed in the direction of the Metal Pipe Auto Workshop.
While Kurome walks on the sidewalk and away from the Pudding Shop. Two girls, Hyper Dimension's IF and Compa, came out from the shop holding two grocery bags each. IF looked to where Kurome walked away and subsequently felt a sense of familiarity with her.
"Iffy what's the matter?" Hyper Compa said to get IF to her attention.
"... It's nothing, Compa. Might be the wind that's bothering me" IF said to make Compa not get worried.
"The strong and Independent Iffy getting bothered by the wind, Now this is troubling" Hyper Compa joked at Hyper IF.
"Haha, and then the world is ending because I switched personalities. C'mon let's go, it is getting late and Neptune needs her 'daily needs' of Puddings" Hyper IF started to walk again while carrying the pudding bags, and Hyper Compa followed suit by her side.
The two girls went on their way back to Planeptune's basilicom. As they were on their way, Hyper IF's thoughts were fixed on something that made her look sad and worried. Fortunately, Hyper Compa spots her looking like that and tries to cheer her up.
"It's gonna be okay, Iffy. Have faith in Nep-Nep and the others. We just need to support them all we can" Hyper Compa said to Hyper IF.
"That's the thing, Compa. We could only support them from the back as we are now. We don't know where those monsters came from and we can't even hurt them. Only Neptune and the others could, but if this goes on even longer…. I hate that I wouldn't be able to help them more" Hyper IF said feeling guilty for her uselessness.
"It's not your fault, Iffy. Whoever's making those monsters will get their bonking. And the good news is, Plu-plu is coming to our Dimension to help us out. So cheer up and have faith in Nep-Nep and the rest, okay?" Hyper Compa holds her two Pudding Groceries with her right arm and caresses Hyper IF's head with her left hand. Hyper IF slowly changes how her face looks, from being sad to a bit more hopeful.
"... You're right, Compa. I shouldn't be like this. If Neptune sees how I am now she'll blurt out her jokes all night and we won't be able to sleep" Hyper IF said.
"Hihi, we should save that for a sleepover, once all this is over"
Hyper IF nodded in agreement, then Compa stopped caressing Hyper IF's head and began to hum along the way to the Basilicom, knowing that her friend cheered up. Hyper IF enjoyed Hyper Compa's humming noises while she glimpsed the Planeptune city's lights and activities. For now, Hyper IF decided to take her mind off the troubles of the weird monsters that had been appearing for a long while. Thinking too much about it would get her nowhere for now.
Meanwhile back to Kurome
"Is this the place?" Kurome compared the Job Paper's directions and the Auto Workshop in front of her back and forth.
The small Auto Workshop Building in front of her looked the same as the other buildings near it. Blue and white, Planeptune-modern-like design, and extra decorations that fit in a city like Planeptune. The thing is, the Workshop in front of Kurome was less clean and neat than the other buildings.
There were two parts to the Workshop Building. The Shop part where the place has a glass door with a purple border around it, a wide glass window that shows what's inside the shop, and a giant green "Metal Pipe's Workshop" word placed on top of the building as its name of the place.
The other part was a Garage for cars and motorcycles to park into. Kurome expected it to be locked behind an iron garage door, but the door was wide open to the point that Kurome could see what was inside. Inside the garage was messy. The gray walls and ceilings were a bit dirty, Many tools were laying down on the ground such as Keyrings, Wrenches, Screwdrivers, Pliers, Cable Jumpers, and other tools that an Auto Workshop needs. A variety of Spare parts for Cars and Motorcycles were around the place, but they weren't even placed properly and categorized into the same types. A green Hanging Board for hardware tools was a bit empty, and Kurome could see that some of the tools were on the big wooden table below the Hanging Board. Kurome guessed that the tools had fallen off and the owner had not put them back.
All in all, the place was not quite in working condition. Kurome had even thought that she got the place wrong.
"Well, this hurts my pride as a mechanic. How come this place had not been closed off?... Is the owner even here?" Kurome went inside the garage and noticed a black back door on the garage's door.
Knowing that she had gotten so far up to this point, Kurome thought that she might as well look inside and find the owner or anyone who was currently in place other than herself. Kurome opened the black door which was surprisingly unlocked and went further inside.
Inside there were four pathways in the hallway, including the pathway to the garage. The others were a pathway to the right of Kurome leading to a door for the shop part of the Workshop, in front of her was a pathway leading to a room which was labeled 'Kitchen' shining in low-bright on the black Neptunian-style door that, and finally to Kurome's left is a staircase to the top of the building. Kurome looked above at the grey ceiling and the white-blue ceramic floor before she began to call out to somebody.
"Hello? Anyone home?" Kurome increased her voice tone so anyone in the building could hear her. Alas, there was not a single reply to Kurome.
"Yep, the place's empty….. I wonder if there's something useful on top. Time to do the 'Barge-in-an-abandoned-house-and-grab-what's-inside' thing like in the RPG" Kurome said, planning to scavenge what was inside the place.
Just as Kurome was going upstairs, a delinquent-like girl's voice could be heard from upstairs.
"You picked the wrong house, fool!"
As the delinquent girl's voice said that, a swing can be heard near Kurome. Instinctively, Kurome summoned her single dark-blue Megaphone and defended herself. Her megaphone clashed with an Iron pipe, making a clanging sound.
"Ey, eyyyyyy! Chill, chill! I'm here for the Auto-Mechanic job!" Kurome said to reason with the girl when they clashed their weapons.
"You think I'll fall for that trick? Have at ya!" The girl parries off her clash with Kurome and swung one more time in a different direction.
Kurome couldn't see the girl's image as her eyes were still adjusting to the dark place, but she could hear the swing of the Iron pipe. Once more, Kurome blocks the attack. At that moment's chance, Kurome took out the Job Paper that she took with her left hand and show it to the girl in front of her.
"I'm not tricking you or anything! I just took this paper off from the board and went in" Kurome said whilst showing the Job Paper. The delinquent girl using the Iron Pipe looked closely at the paper for a while, then she sighed before she retracts her Iron Pipe and stopped being hostile to Kurome.
"Did you even read the date of the recruitment? It has already been months since I put this on the Job Board" The delinquent girl said which shocked Kurome and made her read it again whilst she deactivated her cloak mode by pressing her right shoulder mantle.
When Kurome sees the date period of the recruitment, Kurome sighed and covers her face in embarrassment with the paper and the Dark-blue megaphone she's holding. The delinquent girl looked at Kurome in pity, then she clicked the lights in the hallway for Kurome to see her better. Kurome uncovered her face after being embarrassed to look at the delinquent girl that she fends off against.
The Delinquent girl has light grey skin, green hair, red eyes, and pointy ears. She wears a black choke collar on her neck. She wears gloves that reach through her wrists, and the gloves are black on the dorsal side and red on the palm and have white zig-zag lines on the wrists.
On the top, she wears nothing but an open-hooded jacket and a tube top, revealing her chest and belly. Her hooded jacket is colored grey with black trimming on the outside and red on the inside, and the hood is designed similarly to Warechu's head, having his ears, nose, and white whiskers. On the back is a broken heart design with red and yellow coloring beside each of the crack's sides and black crossbones under the heart. A similar design can also be found divided by the bottom front of her jacket. Her tube top is black that has crossing strings in the middle. The same heart design on her jacket can be found on the middle of the tube top with the heart being divided by the strings.
She wears gray, baggy pants with strings and is colored black on the waistline. On her feet are dark grey combat boots with a white welt and black strings.
After Kurome finished looking at the girl's clothing and looks, the girl began to introduce herself.
"I'm… former most ass-kickingest soldier in ASIC… Linda" The delinquent girl known as Linda said.
"ASIC? Isn't that the past organization that tried to rule over Gamindustri or something?" Kurome asked.
"Surprised you could remember such a thing in the past, but yeah. That ASIC. Just in case you're going to get hostile with me, I'm not in my old ways anymore. Right now, I just want to get through the day and live. Try to at least" Linda said.
"Don't worry, Lindsy. It's not like I'm gonna execute you or something. Similarly to you, I want a job and a place to live" Kurome said with a smile.
"... Wait, did you just call me by my name?" Linda asked in disbelief.
"Hm? Well yeah, I did. Though partly your name. I have a habit of calling everyone's name with the additional 'S' and 'Y' at the end….. Am I being offensive?" Kurome said, worried that she might tick off Linda in the wrong way.
"No, no. It's fine. Lindsy's okay"
"Ah right! My name's–"
"Kurome Ankokuboshi, Yeah I know" Linda cuts off Kurome as she thought she knew her from past events and news.
"What? No. I'm Kurome Akumanuboshi" Kurome corrected Linda.
"Wha-? Oh no, it is one of those other dimension things again?"
"You guessed much. Wait, I should be hiding my identity here…." Kurome slowly gazed in a different direction as she realized she told her name and not with a fake name.
"Suck it up, you failed. You didn't even change your looks and change your face or cover it up with a mask" Linda remarked.
"Urk, you don't have to roast me that deep….. So am I in the job?" Kurome asked when she thought about the job she was supposed to take.
"Yeah. But we'll talk about the job and your circumstances tomorrow. It's already late, time for a shut-eye" Linda said, then she walked to the gray stairs.
"Follow me. I'll show you where's your room at" Linda signaled Kurome to come up to the upper part of the building.
"M'kay, Lindsy!" Kurome followed Linda on the stairs.
The two had arrived at the upper part of the building after walking up the gray stairs. Kurome could see in the short upper hallway that there were two doors, one green and the other black. Linda walked towards the black door and opened it to present what was inside the room for Kurome. Inside there's only a single futon with a pillow and a bolster folded neatly on the futon. There's also a ceramic floor colored blue-white and a gray ceiling with a bit old-looking air conditioner on the ceiling's corner. A wide window was visible to Kurome to see the outside of the room. Kurome took a glance at the city through the window and was stunned to see beautiful Planeptune lights in the night.
"Liking the room?" Linda asked.
"Yeah, it's nice. Even though it is pretty much empty" Kurome said in an answer.
"Gotta appreciate what you got unless you can make the room into a better one"
"Does that mean I get to have my way with the room?" Kurome orange eyes lit up enthusiastically.
"Yeah, sure, if you want. But that's solely on your tab. Be sure to wake up first thing in the morning. We got a lot to talk about. Have a neat rest, Kurome" Linda said her words before closing the black door.
"You too, Lindsy!" Kurome shouted from the room.
Kurome took one last glance at the night sky before she tuck herself into the futon. Seconds later, Kurome had fallen to sleep on the futon, sleeping comfortably after what Kurome had been through in the night. As for Linda, she was still near the closed Black Door, thinking about what had happened tonight. Specifically about a different Kurome and what she had called her.
"Lindsy, huh? For once, I'm feeling nostalgic over my own name…. How long has it been since everybody's calling me Underling and not my real name…" Linda said to herself.
"Guess today is not so bad, unlike previous days. Isn't this usually a sign that something big is gonna happen in a game?... Eh, whatever"
Linda shrugged off the thought and went to her room to sleep. Thus Kurome now lives temporarily with Linda in her Auto Workshop Building.
To Be Continued…
(-)
There you have it, Kurome's gonna work with Linda A.K.A Underling in an Auto Workshop for cars and such (With the GTA San Andreas quite known 'pick the wrong house, fool' dialogue). A few bits of Hyper Dimension's character's side circumstance.
Some of the sides of the story's antagonist gang, The Hooded Master, Evolry (Red colored Gehaburn), and Bloody Nepgear (think of the certain Nepgear fanart where she is bloody on her body while holding the Gehaburn Sword but in this story, Red saber).
And of course, a little bit of Background of Hyper Kurome's relations with the Hooded Master and Evolry. Not fully for now.