Snyderverse Neptunia Snippets

by Derald Snyder

Snippet 27- Meeting The Family

Timeline- Before the final scene of the 'Vert-Mom' chapter of 'Mother's Day, Ultradimension Style'.

Ultradimension Vert set down before the apartment building, reverting from HDD to human form. According to the records, this was the address where her biological father, Taro Hakozaki, took residence. While under normal circumstances she might have left well enough alone, being born out of wedlock and all, the revelation of her counterpart's Oracle being named Chika Hakozaki had motivated her to find out if perhaps she really did have a half-sister... Looking at the buzzer, she didn't know which one corresponded to the Hakozaki's apartment, so she simply pressed the button for the landlord.

"Who is it?" a raspy male voice answered.

"It's Lady Vert, could you let me in, please?" Less than a minute later, an elder male NPC appeared at the window, doing a double-take before unlocking the door. "Thank you very much, sir."

"Ah, to what do I owe this honor, Lady Vert?" the landlord asked as Vert stepped in, closing the door behind her.

"I'm looking for the Hakozaki's apartment, actually. Could you direct me, please?" Vert politely requested.

"Third floor, apartment B," the NPC pointed.

"Thank you," Vert gave a small curtsy before heading up the stairs... two flights later, she came up to the door labeled '3B', gently rapping on the mahogany. "Hello, is this the Hakozaki residence?"

"Just a moment!" a muffled female voice came from behind the door. A minute later, the door opened, revealing a woman in her fifties with graying black hair, dressed in a short-sleeved blouse and long skirt with an apron, her face bearing a passing resemblance to the photo of Chika that Vert had been shown by Peach and Neptune. "Oh, my! L-Lady Vert?!" she gasped in disbelief.

"Hello, Mrs. Hakozaki. Is your husband home?" Vert inquired.

"Ah, I'm afraid he's still at work..." She looked back to check a clock further inside. "Ah, actually, he should be driving home now. Might I ask what this is about?"

"May I come in?" Vert requested. Mrs. Hakozaki promptly opened the door wide and stepped aside, allowing the CPU to walk inside. While the apartment wasn't in the best shape, it was far superior to the ramshackle abode that Vert's mother had called home until recently.

"I'm afraid the only tea I have is iced tea," Mrs. Hakozaki apologized as she quickly strode toward the fridge.

"That's quite all right," Vert nodded with a smile, pulling out a chair by the dining table and sitting down. But then she noticed a familiar lingering stench in the air... (Somebody smokes in this house,) she realized.

Apparently her thoughts were evident in her expression, as Mrs. Hakozaki promptly said, "I'm sorry about the smell. I'm afraid my daughter has picked up some bad habits... She smokes, she drinks, she can't even keep your legs closed..."

Vert felt her heart nearly leap into her throat. (So it's true... They really do have a daughter...) Shaking her head, she spoke aloud, "Ah, I'm sorry that you're having trouble with your daughter... I'm guessing she's in her teenage rebellious phase?"

"She's twenty now," Mrs. Hakozaki shook her head. "She can't even hold down a job because she's more interested in getting her next time with a boy than anything serious..."

"Old lady, are you talking smack behind my back again?" a younger voice called from the next room, the stench from before suddenly becoming more intense... sure enough, a young woman with bright green hair walked in, dressed in skimpy black clothing and sunglasses, a lit cigarette in hand.

"Chika! Put that out!" Mrs. Hakozaki ordered. "You stand in the presence of our CPU! Show some respect!"

"CPU? Please," Chika Hakozaki took a drag from her cancer stick, nonchalantly blowing smoke. "As if she would seriously come here! This is obviously an impostor!"

"An impostor, am I?" Vert stood up, crossing her arms with a frown on her face. "Well then, feast your eyes on this, young lady!" With that, she was engulfed in a pillar of light, fading to reveal her HDD form of Green Heart!

"Waaaaaaah! G-G-Green Heart! I mean, LADY Green Heart-!" Immediately Chika threw her cigarette on the floor and extinguished it with her foot, before kneeling and bowing down before the goddess, her head touching the floor. "I am SO sorry for my disrespect! I beg you not to smite me for my blasphemy...!"

"Fortunately, I am a kind and merciful goddess. I do not 'smite'," Green Heart said curtly, before reverting to normal. "You may rise, Chika. And kindly remove your sunglasses." This the greenette did, rising back to her feet and doffing her shades, revealing dull red eyes. (She's the spitting image of the picture I was shown...) "Well, I can certainly see why your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, so to speak."

"Please don't encourage her, Lady Vert," Mrs. Hakozaki shook her head. "It was bad enough when Taro and I learned she'd lost her virginity... it's a damn miracle she hasn't had an abortion yet."

"I use protection!" Chika mildly protested.

"Shame on you, little Chika," Vert gently reprimanded. "You remind me of my mother in her younger years! Her bad habits caused her to miscarry a child before she gave birth to me! Do you really want to go through all that?"

To her credit, Chika gritted her teeth, blushing red as she averted her gaze. "I... I..."

"Wait, your mother?" Mrs. Hakozaki cut in.

"Of course. I may be a CPU now, but I was born as human as you are," Vert explained. "Though I will admit I was... estranged from Mother for quite a few years; it was only this past Mother's Day that I finally reconnected with her. She's mostly learned the error of her ways by now, though she still likes to hit the beer on occasion."

"I see..." Mrs. Hakozaki nodded thoughtfully. "But, I still don't understand why you've come to visit us..."

"...Ah. Well..." Vert shifted uncomfortably. "Does the name 'Natalia' mean anything to you?"

"Natalia?! You mean that broad my husband had a fling with, then paid off to try and keep quiet?!" Mrs. Hakozaki's face darkened. "That bitch damn near destroyed our marriage! What the hell does she have to do with this?!"

"...Your husband didn't pay her off," Vert shook her head. "The money was meant to cover medical expenses."

"Medical expenses...?"

"You mean... that Natalia bore a child from that fling?!" Chika realized.

"Exactly. You're quite perceptive, Chika," Vert smiled widely.

"Oh goddess..." Chika's mother shook her head in disbelief. "Am I glad I didn't know that back then, or we definitely would have divorced... but wait, what does Natalia's child have to do with you visiting us?"

"It's quite simple, Mrs. Hakozaki... that very child is she who stands before you now, as Leanbox's CPU," Vert dropped the bombshell.

The elder woman's vision darkened, a thunder strike resounding in her mind. "Y... you... Ohhhh my goddess..." She slumped back in her chair, one hand to her chest, panting heavily...

"Wait, WHAT?!" Chika gasped. "But if you're her child, then that means..."

"That you are my half-sister, dear Chika," Vert beamed at the greenette. A low piano chord sounded as Chika went white with shock, falling on her rear end, her head thumping against the cupboard behind her as she stared listlessly at the ceiling... "Well, you took that a little better than I expected," Vert observed with no hint of sarcasm in her voice. Just then, she heard the door opening behind her...

"I'm home!" A man's voice called, said man stepping into the kitchen/dining room a moment later... he was quite handsome, his graying green hair perfectly combed, wearing a standard business suit and carrying a briefcase in one hand. "Dear? What's wrong?" he took notice of his wife first, before seeing Vert standing there. "Wh- Natalia?! What the hell are you doing here?!" he demanded angrily.

"You are mistaken, good sir," Vert replied calmly as she turned to face him fully. "I am your CPU, Green Heart of Leanbox. But you may address me as Vert."

The businessman who could be none other than Taro Hakozaki looked over the blonde, recognition suddenly dawning. "OH! L-Lady Vert! I-I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for jumping the gun!"

"It's quite all right. You are Taro Hakozaki, I presume?" Vert said serenely.

"Y-yes, I am. Uh, might I ask why you've deigned to visit us?"

"Father!" Chika grunted, rising unsteadily to her feet. "L-Lady Vert claims that she's that Natalia's child!"

"Natalia's... Wh-WHAT?!" Taro's briefcase slipped from his hand, clunking to the floor.

"Please, sit down before you hurt yourself," Vert quickly took him by the arm, guiding Taro to the chair she had just been using and seating him in it. "Now then, the fact that you mistook me for Mother pretty much proves my assertion, I would think."

"...Oh, goddess... you really are her spitting image..." Taro grunted in disbelief. "Wait, don't tell me..."

"Yes, that's why I'm here. Part of the reason, anyway," Vert nodded. "Taro Hakozaki... you are my biological father."

"Th-this can't be true... this is impossible!" Chika whimpered in denial, her hands clutching the cupboard behind her like it was her lifeline.

"No... I feel it in my gut... I know it to be true," Taro sighed. "I never thought that mistake I made years ago would come back to me like this..."

"Me neither," his wife managed to get out. "But... why now?"

"As I said before, I only recently reconnected with Mother," Vert said with a slightly guilty look. "Part of the reason I ran out on her when I came of age was because she refused to give me a younger sister, due to her earlier miscarriage. I know it sounds petty, but I really disliked being an only child... and it only became worse when I ascended as CPU, as it made me feel separated from everyone else... That's why I latched on to Neptune's sister so hard when I first challenged them for superiority..."

"And you lost," Chika pointed out.

"I sure hope your mother chewed you out for pulling that stunt when she found out!" Mrs. Hakozaki grunted, some fire coming back into her voice.

"Oh, she did," Vert nodded grimly. "But at least now, I won't have to do that anymore... not when I have a half-sister right here," She turned her head to smile at Chika.

"No... I won't..." Chika shook her head vigorously. "I am not becoming a CPU! You are not going to force one of those things down my throat!"

"If that is your preference, then so be it," Vert concurred. "I've learned from my mistake with little Nepgear. That being said, I would at least expect you to clean up your act, if you want to work at my Basilicom."

"W-work at your Basilicom...?" Taro grunted.

"Of course. I've already extended the same courtesy to Mother, to get her out of her squalid living conditions," Vert elaborated. "What kind of loving, merciful goddess would I be if I didn't extend the same offer to the rest of my family?"

"Ah... I think I'm okay with my current job," Taro replied. "That being said... I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Chika go to work for you."

"What?! You can't be serious, Father!" Chika gasped, scandalized.

"Haven't I told you that you need to do something constructive with your life?" Taro asserted. "Despite the circumstances, this would be a golden opportunity for you. And I'm not about to let you throw it away."

"...I agree," his wife spoke up. "It's about time you learned some responsibility, young lady. And your father and I won't take no for an answer!"

"You're horrible...!" Chika whimpered... only to gasp as Vert drew her into an affectionate embrace.

"Now, now, it's not as if you're being sent to a labor camp like that false king George used to do," the CPU assured her sister. "As long as you pull your weight, you'll be treated fairly, and paid a fair wage as well. And if you're worried about nicotine withdrawal, my mother should be able to help with that. If she can kick the habit, so can you..."

"...Oh, all right," Chika gave in, halfheartedly retuning the hug. "But, please don't parade me around like some sort of trophy..."

"Yes, I think it would be better if you didn't publicize this affair, Lady Vert," Taro nodded.

"That's fine," Vert nodded in agreement. "Just the fact that I actually have a sister is enough for me. I promise I'll only tell my fellow CPUs about this, is that acceptable?"

"I suppose," Mrs. Hakozaki sighed. "If you can get my daughter to shape up, I'll look past you being Natalia's bastard child..." She chuckled and shook her head. "You know, when I asked for divine intervention to save my daughter from her self-destructive behavior, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but hell, I'll take it..."

"So will I," Taro nodded. "So Natalia works there, you said?"

"Yes, she does," Vert nodded, finally letting Chika go. "If you drop Chika off there, at least promise me you'll be civil. I'll make sure Mother does the same."

"Of course," Taro nodded. "I think as long as we don't bring up the past, we should be fine... But boy, does this give new meaning to the phrase 'everything happens for a reason'..."

"Indeed it does... indeed it does," Vert concurred with a slight smile. "Thank you... Father."

"Yeah, that's gonna take some getting used to..." the businessman sighed, rubbing his nose a bit.

"Tell me about it...!" Chika sighed, her mother nodding in agreement.

*Snippet 27- End*