Quality goons were something of a luxury... shame most people couldn't seem to understand that.

"Who are these children you've pulled from the streets?"

"The only ones capable of keeping your heads out of your asses."

Okay, so maybe Kurome was a little bit bothered, just the tiniest bit.

"Oh?" The woman spoke, followed by a mildly savvy laugh. "So it thinks it's hot stuff. Darling~ Listen closely: we deal with professionals around here. Perhaps you're best suited to the daycare."

"Perhaps you're better off ironing the wrinkles around your eyes; being withered is considered an elderly trait."

"Charming, it can use big girl words." The fairly well endowed maiden leaned into the screen, leaving only the upper half of her chest visible, along with her lips. Why giving a facefull of neck mattered was beyond Kurome's understanding, but the twisted smirk was more than irritating now. "Seeing as you're so well trained, why not put that training to use and do something that matters? Say..." That smile was really unbearable now. "Taking care of a few, shall we say 'stragglers' for me?"

"Who?" Kurome spat, feeling a particular irk at the back of her mind as the flab around her cleavage jiggled for no rhyme or reason.

"A few uncouth simpletons, no different than yourself. They've made the prime mistake of stealing from me, and I'd quite enjoy seeing them brought to justice; my justice." The skank sucked in a breath, shadowing her lower lip with her hand. "My oh my, am I going too fast for you? Maybe I should have prepared some drawings; will the pretty pictures help?"

"Save it." Kurome shot out as the chill creeping down her spine burned with the fury of a neutron star. "It will be done."

"Of course it will." The woman returned, her chest bouncing unprovoked once more. A bit of her raven black hair slipped in between the mounds of excess blubber, sucked in no different than that of a vortex, and Kurome had the insatiable urge to break every bone in the bitch's body. "Now shoo, I can only tolerate so much disappointment."

With that the feed cut, and Kurome had to take a deep breath. Okay, so it wasn't such an easy meeting after all.

Zaeda's a whore - noted.

"I think she likes you." Lonk slipped in; his contribution was both unwarranted, and unappreciated. Kurome corrected his misguided belief accordingly.

"Really? I couldn't tell."

"Don't be like that." His arm slipped around her, and he was dangerously close to having his fingers ripped off one by one, especially so if he inched them any closer to where they seemed to be going. Much to his unknown luck - and Kurome's ultimate relief - he stopped just shy underneath her ribs. "She usually leaves everyone in tears. Besides, she gave you a mission; that's never happened before."

"I'm not seeing the benefit." Kurome said, worming from his arm and over to wake both Linda and Warechu, who were petrified previously as the woman's glare rained down on them. "And why should I carry out her mission anyway? We work for you, not her."

"But~" He skipped on over again, his grin playful. "She's also a boss of this little salad bowl-"

Salad bowl? That was the single worst comparison he made yet, and she had a feeling it would only get worse.

"-So technically that makes her your boss too. Come on, it'll be easy."

"Easy huh?" Kurome rested her hands stiffly on her hips. "And what makes you think that?"

"It's a simple beating and kidnapping." He pumped his fist against his chest. "She asked for justice, meaning she wants you to sack the suckers and bring 'em here. Once you deliver the goods to me, I'll see to it that they're sent to her."

"And what happens once she gets them?" Kurome questioned, her eyes twitching a little from how easily he talked about the - surprisingly first - definitively evil criminal act. He shrugged with a smile.

"I have no idea." He spouted brightly. "Sometimes I see them in different places, and sometimes I never see them again. It's like a roll of the dice."

"Oh wow..." Kurome kept her face perfectly plain. "It sounds so great. I sure do love human trafficking."

"That's the spirit!"

She wanted to slap herself so immensely hard, but it was starting to leave her face sore, and so she decided since last night that she'd quit it; that vow was being tested a lot sooner than she expected. Lonk however was in a sunny mood, and his absolute joy was undeterred. Literally seconds later a ding was heard. Lonk reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and checking it.

"And you're starting now."

"What?"

"Yep." He held the scroll out for her to see. "Apparently the doomed villains are running some sort of operation over in Leanbox."

"What!" Warechu nearly screamed. "Why over there?!"

"Beats me?" Lonk shrugged. "But she wants them ASAP, so I'd get a move on if I were you." He pulled the phone back, squinting down at the message. "Apparently, one of them is named Jiff... I think, or is it Jif?"

"Please." Kurome sighed, already feeling worn out. "Don't add vocal spelling to the list." Her dwindling sanity had already tanked deep enough. "We'll head out tomorrow, okay?"

"Not a problem. I got a base over there too, so you'll have a place to lodge while hunting down our newest catch."

Another ding echoed out, and Lonk looked to the phone again, paused, and faced her.

"Not mine."

"No." Warechu called out from over yonder - just before the exit of the room, the filthy runner! "That's me."

"Who's chatting?" Linda asked, and Warechu slipped the phone back into his pouch... pocket... he slipped it away somewhere on his person.

"Day job boss. Okay, new change of plan, chu. Linda and I will deal with this mission." He eyed Kurome. "Boss wants you in tomorrow."

"Why?" She questioned, watching as the guy offered a worthless rebuttal.

"Not a clue."

"Right..." Kurome crossed her arms. "I know I shouldn't ask, but will you two be able to handle the job without me?"

"You bet, chu." Warechu smirked as the self-assurance slipped throughout his words, infecting them with his overconfidence. "We might not look it, but our careers as professional criminals are long, and girthy."

"Never say that again." Kurome was laying out the command right then and there; she was not having this happen again, ever, period.

"Point is, we got this, chu."

Kurome was nearly certain they didn't have it, and made a note to finish up whatever Chuko had planned tomorrow as fast as possible. Idiotic as they were, Kurome enjoyed having disposable meat-shields to take the blows for her, even if they weren't really good at that either.

.

.

"You feeling okay, Uzume?" Nepgear tried as they wandered down the sidewalk nearest Planeptower. "You've been down ever since you arrived here in Hyperdimension."

"It's nothing." The coolest girl ever - facts by the way - laid out. "I just have this weird feeling in my chest."

"Do you want to talk about it?" The younger sister asked, visibly concerned. Uzume found it cute how the Nep-sisters always tried to keep everyone smiling, but she was having a hard time retaining a consistent one herself. Still, a little talk wouldn't hurt; it was like... free therapy, wasn't it?

"I don't know. It's just, I feel like... like something's off. There's just something wrong right now, and I can't put my finger on it. Like, like something bad might happen soon."

"You mean like an alien invasion?" Nepgear threw out. "Where sentient cars and creatures invade from the bowels of hell, where they spontaneously decided to kill all birds, and a bird controlled by a talking fruit has to delve deep inside the bowels to gun them all down and save the world from the most powerful being in the universe?"

"Huh?" Uzume stared blankly into Nepgear's tense eyes, with the one remaining braincell she still had, doing it's best to kick her mind back into gear. "Where... did you even get that idea?"

"Saw it on an internet video, on Neptube."

"Sometimes I worry about you, Nepgear." Uzume then proceeded to flush any and all aspects of that troubling explanation from her mind... and it's gone. "Okay, how about we just get to the place already. I want to see where you're taking me, and completely eviscerate whatever it was you just said."

"We're already here." Nepgear said, pointing to the place next to them. The shop had a massive sign above the face, saying promptly: Lasers - straightforward and to the point it would appear.

"Remind me again, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean?" Nepgear tilted her head. "I never told you anything in the first place."

"Right... right." Uzume remembered now: Nepgear literally stopped her in the tower on the bottom floor, just as she was about to grab a snack from the vending machine, and told her to follow. After much prodding and some back and forth, which was a product of the recent downward mood Uzume found herself chained with, she relented "Okay then, tell me for the first time."

"I've invited Uni, Rom, and Ram out today for a game of laser tag here at the new shop; they just opened a week ago, and we've heard some super cool stuff about them." Nepgear told as the stars in her eyes grew exponentially. "They use virtual reality to set up a series of crazy arenas, and it scans you into the game beforehand, so you can play as yourself!"

"Easy there, Gearsy." Uzume pushed the girl back down on the flats of her boots again. "We're here already, so don't waste all that excitement on telling me everything when we can see it instead."

"Yes, of course." Nepgear cleared her throat as she toned it down, slightly embarrassed at her outburst. "Let's head inside. I'm sure the others are already there."

"Cool." Uzume quipped as they pushed past the door, and then Uzume opened her mouth yet again. "Cool!"

"Yeah~" Nepgear's inner technophile was showing, but it hardly mattered here.

The inside was almost identical to the design of an RGB keyboard - Uzume wasn't versed enough in tech to offer a better analogy. Color-shifting bands stretched across the ceiling and walls, with most of the stalls being open, and showing the various 'players' in their booths, laid down in some sort of up-standing pods as helmets obscured the upper half's of their heads.

"Damn..." Uzume was in awe; it was something out of a science fiction movie... then again, as she thought about it, the red-head realized she really shouldn't have been so shocked. Planeptune was, in and of itself, futuresque; this was just another testament to it.

"Isn't it cool, Uzume?" Nepgear was bright, more so than most of the shimmering lights. "Now come on, we're supposed to be meeting up with the others at the cafeteria to decide on which game to join."

"And yet you're both late anyways." Nepgear jumped as the voice snuck up from their left, and Uzume flung a glance over, seeing Uni with her arms crossed and wearing an impatient look.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Uzume threw out playfully, to which the Lastation candidate rolled her eyes.

"Don't apologise to me, just try to be quicker next time."

"S-sorry Uni." Nepgear pulled herself from her fright, having restored her senses back to their optimal levels. "It took me a little longer to get Uzume to come with."

"Really?" The twin-tailed wonder sent a skeptical glance to Uzume, who admitted with a grin.

"Yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I wasn't feeling too great today, so I might have made things a little more difficult than they needed to be."

"Whatever." Uni dismissed, but even with her apparently careless attitude, she bore the etchings of concern. "Just come along already; Rom and Ram haven't shut up about wanting to get a move on."

"Oh?" Nepgear presented her intrigue honestly. "Why? Have they figured out what they want to play?"

"You know what?" Uni spun around, a huff in her voice as she started down towards the nearby path, headed right for what seemed like a walled off room. "I'll let them tell you."

"Um... okay." Nepgear eyed Uzume, who just shrugged. Whatever the twins did to tick Uni off must have been pretty wild for her to leave it to the two themselves to reveal. Either A: Rom and Ram talked her ear off, or B: she was tired in general. The betting play seemed to be on the former, as every step taken by Uni was forced and sluggish, even if she did her best to pretend she wasn't at her wits end. Uzume took this chance to press for a more explicit description of their activity of the day.

"So, what type of thing should I expect from this place?" The dimension hopper asked. "I haven't been to this type of arcade before, and I haven't got a clue about what I should expect."

"Well..." Uni seemed to perk up a little. "I got the two to agree on the setting at least; space themed. The game mode is capture the flag, and from what I'm assuming, we'll be randomly assigned to teams once the game starts, but we can choose to go in as a group, being all assigned to a random team together. They'll put you in one of the chambers - which I'm certain you've already seen - and load you into the arena of choice; randomly chosen from a list fitting the theme. Since it's your first time, you'll probably be given a quick chance to customize your character's loadout and appearance."

"Loadout?" Uzume whistled as they neared the cafeteria, spotting the chaotic storm that was the Lowee sisters. "Huh. I thought we'd just be given the standard light guns."

"Nope." Uni's voice perked up, displaying a more... excited air. "We're given the choice of what classes we want to play, and given a form of game chat between teammates, which allows us to talk from anywhere on the field."

"You're finally here!" Ram was the first to call out, a cross look on her face. "What took you so long?! We've already passed up two games just waiting here!"

"Sorry." Nepgear apologised again. "We were caught up in things..." She shook herself, shoving on a determined face. "But we're here now, so the game can begin!"

"You bet!" Rom cheered, and Ram gave off a lowly smile, followed up with a much more reserved cheer.

"Yay."

"Right." Uni stopped, slipping off the mask of professionalism and letting her true giddiness shine. "We're taking the next available game, so now's the time to strategize. Have any plays ready?"

"Well duh." Ram smirked, taking a small booklet from her coat and opening it on the table. "Spent the last half-hour plotting out our plan of attack with Rom, isn't that right?!"

The strawberry dressed twin said to her blueberry counterpart, and said berry nodded.

"Yeah, it's super cool."

"Super cool?" Uzume winked, stretching herself and cracking her knuckles, now up to indulging in this game of war. "Well count me in! Alright girls-" She crossed her arms, a competitive smile sprung to life as her face darkened in anticipation. "Hit me with the play!"

.

.

"Thanks for coming." Chuko bowed politely from her side by the large gray truck. "I know I asked for you to come in tomorrow, but I didn't expect them to change the order to today."

"Not a problem." It was indeed a problem, but Kurome didn't actually have anything planned for this evening anyway, so there wasn't any real excuse she could have used to get out of this predicament. She chose to roll with the punches, popping the next necessary question to her employer. "Know why they rescheduled so soon anyway?"

"Their machines broke down suddenly, and they need the replacement parts for tonight's games." Chuko started, hopping up on the truck and motioning to Kurome. The girl complied, picking up a crate and handing it to the snowy mouse, who pushed it in place.

The miniature shop-keep was using her own truck this time apparently, which was a good thing as Linda and Warechu took off for the next ship to Leanbox literally two minutes before Chuko called; the bus wasn't too crowed at least. Apparently, the business mouse was trying to call Warechu to request the help of both Linda and him as well, but the stupid rat had instead given his shitty flip-phone to Kurome in case she needed to reach them, resulting in Chuko reaching her directly. Kurome at this point filled in the woman, and accepted the sudden change of plan.

"Is their equipment usually as garbage as you're making it sound?"

"Unfortunately yes." Chuko's voice gained a sharp edge. "Which makes no sense, because they rake in more general profits than we do, and here we are with a better - and more reliable - service!" She was getting just the barest bit heated. "I mean seriously, they're a VR arcade for goddesses sake! The least they could do is keep their tech up to stuff!"

"I see..." Kurome placed another crate on the truck, and continued to speak her questions as Chuko moved it into place. "But they're paying us for the parts, right, so why do you sound so upset? Isn't this just another opportunity?"

"Because, my innocent little employee, they're taking their customers for granted." She came back, taking another box and setting off again. "As business owners, we should be striving to offer the best service possible to maximize customer experience and guarantee a loyal basis of spenders. It's a mutually beneficial relationship that bolsters business opportunity and effectiveness, so when others disregard this fact and lazily let their quality drop, it creates a deep - if understandable - distrust from the consumers. They assume we're taking advantage of them."

"But don't we overcharge them anyways, relying on their lack of knowledge about the product's value?" Kurome threw out, but Chuko never broke pace.

"That's besides the point, and we do not overcharge; we just add a little extra tax for our service quality. The customers might not always agree with the prices, but they accept them because of our stellar service! To them, we're both reliable and consistent. They know what they're getting when they come to us, and they know what to expect. This chain of comfort and understanding is broken when businesses choose to actively push the limits of their customers patience, and it creates a stigma of business abusing the consumer's willingness and tolerance. This stigma bleeds into innocent businesses such as ours, and soon enough they'll assume we're taking advantage of them too!"

"I understand." Kurome spoke, reeling over the excuse. Part of what Chuko ranted about was true, and while that was the case, Kurome knew the only reason Chuko cared was because the whole fiasco had a chance to cut down on the store's profits. She did this out of panic, rather than any real care for quality business.

It didn't matter though, work was work, and Kurome wasn't one to turn down cash.

"Okay!" Chuko hopped off the pan of the truck, clapping her paws as she headed around for the front. "Come along now, I'm driving."

"You're coming with me?" Kurome took her place in the passenger seat, and Chuko pulled out onto the road.

"Well yes! I'm not going to leave everything to you, especially when you're going to a place that values quality so little." The fair-coated mouse huffed. "I can't have you picking up their bad habits."

So that's it. It was all in service to her again; sleazy little scamp. Kurome got comfortable, allowing the road to blend as she asked one last question.

"So where are we going anyway?"

"Lasers." Chuko told, coming to a stop just before a crossing. "It's having issues with several of their booths, and we are both selling, and installing, the parts needed to fix it up."

"I'm not sure I'll know how to install it." Kurome tossed, but Chuko seemed to have expected this.

"And that's why I'm coming along; to make sure it gets done right."

"Of course." Kurome sighed one last time as the road blurred into a mush. "Of course.

Author's note

...

Once again we're back at the less exciting of places, but every story needs it's time to relax.

Linda and Warechu take off for Leanbox, Kurome takes her shift a day early, and would you know it, Uzume and the others just so happen to be spending the evening in that very same destination.

Oh boy.

See you soon.