A Gamindustrian Tale

[Naron]

My, hello. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance; please allow me to introduce myself: I am the Magical Tome Histoire, guardian and advisor to the people and deities of Gamindustri.

Our world is orbiting a single, yellow star and currently holding 4,165,592,112... plus one... plus one... plus... eh, let me spare you the exact number of human inhabitants. Terribly sorry.

It has been 59,049 years since the system was put in place as is and only little longer since CPUs, Console Patron Units, began to spawn as gods and goddesses to watch over our world. I have guided them ever since.

It is a harmonic relationship between the deities and their people, the latter's reverence empowering the former to protect everyone. The faith that strengthens them is what we call Share Energy, a form of power without equal in this realm. In difference to the far more approachable and quantifiable magic, it is only CPUs who can wield Share Energy and put it to good use for their nations.

However, every nation falls in the end. Infighting is one reason, but more sinister means are likelier to cost a CPU's life. Oftentimes, entire generations are lost at once. Nations shatter when left without a deity, be it either due to powerful Monsters attacking, or the darker parts of human nature winning out. Much is lost each and every time.

Yet another always rises from the ashes. Human perseverance is unique indeed, for they always keep a hold of the previous nation's gifts; be those technology, art, or others. When the next generation of CPUs is born, they can build upon what is left from those that came before them, rising ever higher in the process.

...
Goodness me, I have been rambling again. I hope you can forgive me for that?

Ahem... despite everything that was said, CPUs are not the focus of this story. Just between the two of us, it would be rather bland if they were; there is little going on in a deity's day to day life, between work and what little free time they can find.

...although an exception could be made for the girl I chose as my current partner.

Humans, despite being comparably weak overall, have their own ways to shine. Great heroes rise from time to time, to stand aside the CPUs. It is all of them that keep a nation running, who work with each other and help those in need, allowing their protector to focus on the most important matters alone.

It is also humans who fight back the Monsters, courtesy of the Deity of Sin.

Despite your curiousity, I would rather not talk about Her in detail. Just know that She is anathema to all of existence... and there is no other cause that cost as many CPUs as fighting back Her advances. Hatred, strife and every other negative emotion empowers Her ever so much more, to rise again and make another attempt to bring forth the end.

But enough of this. I promised you a story of a human. Of a heroine.

Although... before we begin, how about a little glimpse at the current generation?

. .
. .​

A thundering roar echoed over the plains and made birds flee; with it came the sound of crunching and a pained buzzing.

It was even terrain the creatures had gathered on; a veritable army now stood together. Behind them a robed figure holding up a blue staff faced down their similarly dressed opponent. All kinds of fantastic animals and even some barbarian warriors had come to their aid; there were cobras the size of cars, bears with two heads and even a rabid donkey rampaging against the comparably small horde arrayed before the red sorcerer.

However, despite just having lost their last house-sized beetle, the robed figure on that side kept calm and raised their red wand. The remains of most creatures they called upon so far still littered the battlefield, insectoid wings waving slightly in the upcoming wind.

"Tsk, I knew that was the wrong decision," the figure commented with a dismissive gaze on what had been their strongest creatures. There was a handful of small fry left, but they knew full well of how this was not enough of a sacrifice. Not if they wanted to summon something capable of withstanding the next charge.

There was, however, the Old Rules they just recalled.

Quickly reciting them, the figure began to smirk while their wand started to glow; a bright, scarlet light blinded the blue horde and the sorcerer's voice boomed: "With the blood of the fallen and the living, I call forth the creator of existence! Come, Ancient White Dragon of Apocalypse!"

The light died down on their last word, but wind came up and stopped the enemy creatures from charging their battered foe; the earth began to shake and crumble right in front of the smirking figure, their red wand solemnly directed at its epicenter.

A volcanoe started spitting ash into the sky far off in the distance while a creature rose from the ground, towering far above anything the blue horde could muster; it was, without doubt, a dragon. Its bleached-looking wings spread to reach over far to the forests to its right and to the wide lakes to its left; claws the size of houses tore open the earth ever further and twenty snake-like heads screamed a challenge at the heavens.

"Oi... this is getting slightly unfair," the other figure mumbled while quickly going through their options. Sadly, none of the spells they had at the ready would work due to the dragon's immunity to all magic. This looked bad.

"And now, my Ancient White Dragon of Apocalypse, attack them all and finish this duel!"

::​

"You know... this is kind of lame."
"Yeah..."

Both sides put down their cards and the bespectacled man who just won the match sighed. "The game's really getting worse with every expansion..."

"Told you so," his taller companion replied with a small smirk and a wink. "But you just had to go and buy the new expansion anyway."

"I'm sorry, okay?" the first one defended himself, but quickly lowered his head and put his cards back into order. "Let's find something else to play."

While they were busy putting away their cards and browsing through the assortment of arcade-games offered to first-class travellers, the woman sitting behind them had to suppress a sigh. She knew the feeling those two had very well, seeing that she loved this particular game quite a bit herself. Heck, she actually had several outfits from its human characters back at home.

To think that she had been so proud about its origin being Lastation; now it really was more of an embarassment.

Alas, it could not be helped. Her nation brought forth this enjoyable game that had turned into an abomination. Some things worked, some things did not, that was life; of course, Noire was not the kind of person to just let life have its way normally, but there were limits on how much she could influence her industry.

Aside from that, today was her day off; no thinking about work, no matter how difficult it was.
Even with how boring this train ride ended up being so far. It had been hours of sitting and drawing rough drafts of what outfits she could sew next, a few blueprints for weapons she might forge to pass the time at home...

She quickly scratched out the doodle of a petite girl in a cute hoodie. No sir, that had never been there.

It was ridiculous, in a way. Goddess Black Heart, ruler of the most successful nation in Gamindustri, bored half to death by a few hours of free time. Noire sighed and smoothed out her grey skirt where the notepad ruffled it a little, then looked out of the window and at the rising sun. It was still early, all things considered. She would reach her destination no later than noon.

For now, the goddess marveled at the pastures her train passed. Far-stretching and green, they were much different than the desert that preceded them. Goddess Purple Heart, Neptune, did marvelous work in reshaping the land. Noire did her best to ignore the patrolling Bit-drones and wandering Monsters; this train was as safe as could be, protected by its fellow machines.

The Land of Purple Progress indeed. Planeptune.

A part of her reflection appeared on the window; a single red eye looking back at her, lips drawn into a half-smile and all other muscles in her face relaxed. It would not stay that way, she already knew; that was all the more reason to be greatful for the fact CPUs could not get wrinkles.

Noire was on her way to Planeptune's capital, Nicos. Just like every year, the four of them had found a date to come together and just... relax. It was Neptune's turn to choose a location this time, she was their hostess.

They allowed themselves no more than a single day for a vacation. She still believed even that much was unnecessary, considering how often CPUs traveled to discuss international business. Even when everyone stayed at home, they almost constantly talked to each other over Scope.

Alas, Neptune was not okay with that. She insisted they take at least a day to meet each other in person and without work looming over them. It made sense, in a way... and Noire got used to it by now. She just reallocated her workload and took shorter breaks in the interim. The moral victory in this matter was hers.

. .
. .​

One only noticed how fast the train was going when it started to slow down.

On top of the decreasing momentum however, Noire got to marvel at the city she currently entered; Nicos was a sea of shining metal illuminated by the sun, its skyline dominated by the largest building in all of Gamindustri: Planeptower, the nation's main Basilicom, reached a full kilometre into the sky. Adding to it was the metal canopy wrapped over the buildings closest to it, as if the tower had donned a cape.

Of course Noire knew the specs, all the solar power panels worked into the canopy and how it supported the giant structure. Yet it was an amazing sight even after seeing it for the first time three hundred years ago. Neptune had it built over three decades, oftentimes joining the effort herself when she found time.

Unfortunately, the large tower soon fell out of sight when the rails led her ride from one of the larger parks into downtown; buildings in Planeptune generally grasped for the sky, so she could only get glimpses of what was behind the first row by looking in-between. It was not much longer until she could disembark from the train and stepped onto a clean station. Dozens of other passengers did the same before and after her. Probably right before rush hour, lucky her.

The CPU also noticed quite a few people that made the ride from Lastation take deep breaths and simply did the same. Air in Planeptune was much cleaner than in her own nation, mostly due to the fact that industry here worked off of alternative forms of energy. Her own factories ran mostly on coal and oil.

It was a little humid this day, so there might be rain approaching in the afternoon or evening. Depending on what her host planned, they might have to readjust their plans.

A faint breeze ruffled Noire's red shirt and made her twintails flutter lightly; the air felt nice on her skin. Though, going by their shivers, it might be a little cold to the humans around her.

There was no luggage to pick up and nothing else to take care of, so the CPU went for the stairway leading downward and headed toward the main terminal. She gently nudged a suitcase on the verge of falling over back up straight while passing by, but nothing else happened.

Nicos itself was... different. Where her own cities mostly relied on well-crafted stone and mortar for buildings and tar for the roads, her neighbouring nation built basically everything out of creamy grey plasteel and superhardened metal. The city shone like a jewel by day.

Then there were the people; all kinds of colours, from the hair on their heads to the clothes on their bodies... and they all had some place to be, some place to go.

Carefully maneuvering herself through the mass, Noire quickly took a stairway upward that brought her from the sidewalk up onto one of the walkways, the bands of hardened energy rolling throughout all of the city. It was... efficient, at least. Also confusing to people unused to basically walking on air, though Noire had a lot of practice from flying around. The walkways were mapped out rather extensively and their borders marked by forcefields to make sure no one fell off.

Yet, the ability to just see traffic pass below and head on to wherever one had to be was interesting, something that most did not get to see normally. It also allowed to split up the crowd somewhat, making the sidewalk on ground level more maneuverable. Not that there was much of a crowd left when Noire turned away from the downtown area, making her way to the outskirts of Nicos. Neptune gave them directions beforehand, so it was pretty easy to navigate the city.

Plus, the girl herself was already waiting in the middle of the sidewalk, perfectly visible in the small trickle of passersby.

Well, she was a woman by all means, but Noire was loathe to think of her as such; Neptune was a little less than a hundred and sixty centimetres tall, petite, and had two big d-pads clipped into her hair, left and right over her eyes. The white hoodie reaching lower than her skirt did not help the image, neither did the short and tousled looking hair; its colour was a bright purple, almost pink.

"Nowa!" And of course, she jumped her the moment Noire got in reach, clinging to the taller CPU with long-practiced ease. "You're here!"

She wanted to scowl and chide her, she really did. But it was nice to have someone be genuinely happy to see her. Neptune had been like that for as long as she could remember, anyway. So Noire just huffed and carefully plucked the lean arms off of herself. "Of course I am."

At least no one was paying much attention to them. This was not Lowee, where public displays of affection were discouraged. After setting down her colleague, Noire looked around. "Where are Blanc and Vert?"

"Not there yet," was what she got in response. Neptune turned around and wandered back to the building she had been standing at, a family restaurant. Nice, open facade and bright colours... that would be a good change of pace at least.

While taking up a position next to Neptune, Noire plucked her skirt back down from where it got a little wrinkled; the purplette just looked at her with this infuriating almost-smirk. Noire knew it always preceded some kind of comment, so just seeing it already strained her patience. She threw a calculating gaze back, only for Neptune to start beaming. "Yep, still no friends."

...

Noire just huffed and ignored the comment. Of course she had friends, she did so for a long time! The other CPU just never accepted the fact after their early years and continued teasing her like this; not everyone could be a social butterfly like Neptune and Vert.

"Naw, stop pouting at me, Nowa!"
"I am not pouting... and stop calling me that!"

It was, for lack of a better term, difficult to interact with Neptune. This sly little girl knew exactly what buttons to push to get through her guard... but at least she also knew when to stop.

"My, flirting so early into the day?"

Both of them turned their heads to look at the third member of their group; casually clad in a green and white sundress, with her curly blonde hair flowing down to her rear like a stream of liquid gold, was Vert. The tallest and also most developed member of their group smiled pleasantly at them, her eyebrows raised slightly and the mirth visible within the twinkling of her blue eyes.

Noire felt a faint blush creep onto her cheeks, but fought it down without mercy and snarled at the taller woman: "This was in no way flirting."

"Would there be any need to deny it so if there was no truth in it, Noire~?" It was said with a playful note on the name, then Vert hid her mouth behind a gloved hand to chuckle. "My, oh my~."

Fuming, Noire tried her best to give a retort; then she noticed quite a few more gazes being on them now. The lastationite CPU dressed a little more inconspicuously to not gain as much attention, but Vert played her eternal youth to the fullest with just a hint of cleavage on the dress, as well as quite a few frills and pristine white gloves to accentuate her being a classy lady.

And people looked at her, men and women alike.

"Nah, just teasing. Good to see you made it." Neptune immediately went in and wrapped her arms around the far taller woman, only for Vert to reciprocate and then press her face into aforementioned cleavage without a second thought. The blonde's hand went through her hair a few times before she answered: "But of course, I would not miss any of these rare occasions for the world."

Noire just rolled her eyes; that was so like Vert she did not even bother. Neptune played along and even buried her head deeper for a moment, then she let go and reemerged. The blonde turned to greet Noire as well, but she only raised an eyebrow at her old friend and held out a hand.

Neptune's clinginess she could bear with and Blanc was as happy about personal space as she was. Vert, however, was indecent to a fault. She thrived from the attention she garnered with her appearance and her preferred method of teasing was to be far too inappropriate. Such as right now, when she used the hand Noire held out to pull her into a tight hug as well, even though she all but told Vert she did not want that. "Yes, yes, hello Vert."

She bore it with stoicism born from centuries of this same song and dance. Of course she could try dodging the hugs, but Vert would just continue to try. Resisting made her more assertive, so the best bet was to ignore her until she lost interest and went to bother someone else.

It was a nice feeling to have these firm arms wrapped around her, granted... but not appropriate!

"Weird that you'd show up at the right moment to drop that line, though," Neptune noted while looking up and down the street. Then she pointed at a nearby crossroad. "You've been hiding around that corner, haven't you?"

After giving Noire one last squeeze, the blonde snickered and let go. "I am afraid I have been found out. In my defense, I rarely get the opportunity." Noire resisted rolling her eyes again; showing exasperation only spurred those two on and she was outnumbered right now.

Or not, considering who she just spied walking down the staircase nearby.

Shorter than even Neptune by a few centimetres, clad in a simple white sundress and with short brown hair framing a completely neutral face. Blanc was the epitome of calm when their gazes met, red silently asking blue for help.

"Oh look, its Blanc!"

And there the neutral expression went, replaced by a frown while both of Noire's tormentors turned their attention to the brunette. Her own gaze became apologeptic now and they shared a moment of mutual understanding. Not that it stopped the petite girl from treading ever closer, her grimace only a little push away from actually taking over the girlish features.

And then the other two were upon her, Vert going for her hug first. She made it a rather normal one though, which may or may not be connected to the fact that two small hands were firmly clutching her hair. The unspoken threat was clear.

After Neptune hugged their last member as well and she noticed once again that she herself was the only one getting tackle-hugged, Noire greeted her with a small wave and a weak smile. "Hey there, Blanc."

"Noire."

Others might only hear the cold voice and assume she was rude, but Noire knew to listen to the missing edge that indicated Blanc was not in a bad mood. With a glance at Neptune and Vert, the taller CPU motioned for the building they stood in front of. "Now that everyone is here, we should go in."

"Great idea! Onwards, ladies!" Vert chuckled while Neptune led them into the restaurant with an almost inappropriate amount of enthusiasm; Blanc only snorted and Noire rolled her eyes again.

The place was rather empty at this time of the day, two hours before school let out and in the middle of the morning shift. It was furnished with bright wood and some leanboxian artworks, the tables sturdy and well-maintained. Noire took in a great many details about the place, from the faint smell of food coming from its kitchen to the fact the windows were arranged so light could never fall directly onto the tables.

After looking around for a moment, the four of them claimed a table at the back wall; none of them really wanted to talk in code because other patrons were listening in, after all.

Neptune gently readjusted her choker while the others checked the menu, the sleek silver metal sitting only slightly loose against her throat. Noire once again wondered just how this trend managed to stay in Planeptune for more than fifty years by now. Vert had a wide variety of comments on the fact basically every citizen wore one of those, be they made of leather, metal or other materials.

It was not particularly important, anyway. Every nation had its quirks.

While they were ordering however, Vert did what she usually did: she leaned forward exactly far enough to allow the waitress a good look into her cleavage, making the poor girl blush and try to turn her eyes away while also futilely attempting to listen properly. In the end, she was forced to ask Vert to repeat herself because she missed half of the order.

Noire just rolled her eyes over the familiar display and idly took notice of Blanc's frown deepening. The neutral lines around her eyes had yet to break, so she was not that angry up until this point. They all knew that she was as prude as her nation. Lowee's goddess had never been comfortable with that kind of thing in public.

But Blanc knew better than to try stopping their companion. It was as futile as attempting to stop Neptune from being hyper. The purplette on her part got going the moment the waitress was out of hearing range: "I've got another invitation for a marriage last week. And this time I'm actually going."

The others shared smiles over that. Those poor souls that thought it was a good joke to formally invite their goddess to such things were always in for a surprise with Neptune. Nonetheless, Noire already saw another headache coming. "Are you sure you can spare the time?"

She did that whenever she could, as Noire well knew. She herself had no time between all the work she was doing for Lastation, but usually sent a letter apologising about having to turn down such invitations; it was a template she just needed to alter marginally, but still.

"Nah, I'll be getting cake and a lot of baffled faces, that's time well spent." Neptune already had her arms folded and leaned back against the chair, a clear sign she would not argue the matter of her 'time well spent' again. Instead, the purplette changed the topic. "Anyway, how's your story going, Blanc?"

The brunette shrugged while Noire watched her. Blanc had been writing fanfiction and original works for centuries, although she never really got to publish them. No matter when they met, the smaller girl always had something she was working on. Just like Noire always had another outfit to make or weapon to forge.

"I made the mistake of looking at the beginning again. There are inconsistencies that need a major rewrite to edit out, so the whole thing is on hold." And there was the reason nothing she wrote was published. As a perfectionist, Blanc was not content with anything she created so far.

"That does sound like a lot of extra work. What was it you were writing again?" Vert did sound curious, even though all of them remembered well enough what it was. Blanc knew that too, according to her raised eyebrow.

"A battle harem." The look in her eyes dared them to say anything about it, but Noire saw no reason for that; Blanc made it clear she was trying to write a proper story with the concept, not just some throwaway stuff hiding the fanservice like certain anime her nation produced.

Vert just chuckled about their colleague's defensiveness and Noire was tempted to huff again. It was always the same with the teasing bunch. Better change the topic before the table exploded. Thinking of Vert brought her to another question. "Say, how is your next edition going?"

"Hm? Ah, yes." The blonde winked at her, indicating that she noticed what Noire was doing and decided to humour her. It was only half of the truth, though; the black-haired CPU was looking forward to their next session.

"Progress is good, I believe. There are still some balancing issues on supplemental rules I added in after your latest... creation, but with the new releases this month taken into account, I should be done within the next three months."

"You're still hoping that Noire won't find any loopholes to abuse?" Much to her annoyance, that was Blanc's first comment on the matter. It was not her fault if the rules had some obvious flaws she could use to her advantage, even less so if her fellow deity and game master did not catch them beforehand.

At least Vert was fair enough to let her get away with them. Then she fixed them with the next edition. It went like this ever since the ruler of Leanbox took up the hobby of creating tabletop-rulebooks; the other CPUs were always her testing group. After all, nary a human could break a system that a goddess could not break.

"You make it sound as if it was my fault the rules have holes visible all the way from Lastation. That aside, someone has to pick up the slack from Neptune playing whatever."

The purplette was busy sipping from her drink, making Noire realise that those had been brought when she was not paying attention. She focussed on her friends, considering how much one had to read out of their body language and expression to know what they were actually thinking. It was somewhat nice to know them that well, though; few words were needed when they did not want to talk.

"You are the powergamer and I'm the roleplayer, there is no problem with that. We can carry a party of three."

"Now hold on!" Neptune gave them both stern looks while Vert chuckled in the background. The petite girl got up and pointed at Blanc with fake indignation. "My characters are perfectly viable and you know it."

"You played a vampire with a fear of blood," Blanc provided.
"With enough endurance that he never had to feed!"

"Or that blind archer," Noire added with a tiny smile while idly playing with one of her twintails.
"I skilled her on finding enemies on sound!"

"Or..."

::​

Their banter was observed from the counter, a gentle gaze resting on the four women from behind an old pair of glasses. The owner of this restaurant counted himself lucky to serve the whole pantheon yet again. This was the second time.

Most of the younger ones would not know to tell them apart from regular customers, even though the spotless skin and overall beauty were a good sign for it.

What tipped him off was a very simple fact, though. The young purplette had been among his customers for the last fourty years, almost ever since he started his business here. She only showed up once or twice a year, but one took notice of such things.

Seeing them talk and joke with each other, he could be content. Even though they were deities, all four of them, they ruled well. One could feel as if nothing was wrong with the world.

 

[Naron]

One rarely fails to notice how... eccentric our heroes are. It is quite sad that their quirkiness is oftentimes born from tragedy.
-Jinguji Kei

---

Despite all the fallen leaves, or the cold wind rustling both them and their kin still attached to the trees, it was a day of cheer. Not a single cloud covered the sky, courtesy of the CPU's might.

Deep green eyes followed a stray rabbit fleeing from his little family. Their owner, Jack Fontaine, was content about his life on this autumn afternoon. He did honest work at the Guild, found a wonderful wife, and today they were celebrating the birthday of Planeptune's second goddess yet again.

"Papa, look!" And, of course, they now had their little sweetheart.

Four years old and soon turning five, Isabelle jumped around the fallen leaves and laughed while kicking away at them. Several strands of hazel hair spilled from her wool hat, the colour quite obviously inherited from his wife Nina. In Jack's opinion, it fit the little daredevil much better than his own dark pink.

"I'm looking, sweetie!"
"Yay!"

Jack let out a pleased sigh and squeezed the hand that wormed its way into his grasp; there was no better way to spend a national holiday than with the two most important women in his life.

Plus, he added after a moment, Virtua Forest was always a sight to behold; in difference to the neatly trimmed parks inside the capital, this extension of Planeptune's network was wild and untamed. Both Fontaines had been stationed here often enough to appreciate its more natural flair.

And, going by how enthusiastically their daughter was running around, so did Isabelle.

"It's a nice thought, isn't it? Isa was born the same year as Lady Purple Sister, maybe this means something?" His wife wore a thoughtful look even while her eyes followed the playing girl. Jack just rolled his eyes over the thought; Nina was a little more devout than him, though that may be because she was born in Lowee and converted only recently.

He could not help but tease her a little about it. "I'm sure the Lady will let us know if our baby is a chosen one."

"Oh, you." Nina playfully batted his shoulder, but he could see the mirth in her smile.

"Oh, oh! Tell me, tell me!" They both looked down at their child, Isabelle giving them a wide-eyed stare with her arms raised at them; Jack picked her up and let her ride on his shoulders, much to her joy. Nina just giggled at the sight and held her daughter's hand. "Tell you what, Isa?"

"The Lady!" So she heard them talking and decided to investigate. Jack was happy with how outgoing his daughter was, all things considered; she always had questions about everything. It could be exasperating, but he indulged her anyway. "You saw her on TV before, right? Lady Purple Heart."

"Uh... maybe?"

He chuckled and got walking again, holding onto his daughter's legs with care. "Heh, doubt you would mistake her for someone else. The Lady made Planeptune so that everyone can be happy here."

Isabelle listened in awe, much to his delight. Jack had little time to spend with his daughter, but he made as much of it as he could in-between work. It was more necessary than ever before since Nina returned to service just last year.

"Ohh! And the... the gu... gi... uh..."
"The Guild?"
"Yes, that! Is that fun?"

Both adults snickered over the innocent question. Fun was a word to describe all the people one could meet, or the banter after a shift was over. Aside from that, boring, dangerous, and rewarding were the runner-ups for how they would describe it. But then again, it was something special for them either way. "It is. That's how Mama and Papa met after all."

They continued on their way, greeting the patrols they passed and enjoying the afternoon. Isabelle waved happily whenever they met anyone, even after Jack let her down to run around again.

Some time later however, he had to realise that this day would not end as he expected. For before them, a large figure had appeared and blocked the way. Several metres tall, its armoured head peeked at them from within a heavy and colourful shell; its stubbly green legs were grinding against the ground as the behemoth slowly marched forward.

A Turtle.

All three of them stopped at the Monster's sight, Isabelle quickly running back to her mother; Jack felt cold seeping into him from seeing what they just found. It was not just a Turtle, but a pack of purplish blue Wolves as well.

Nina's breathing grew shallow and she took a step back, as did he. While the Monsters were still creeping up on them, he drew his cellphone and pressed the emergency call button, their Guild-trackers having been left at home. Nina was already brimming with magic, making the creatures even more cautious.

He knew they had no chance against that many. A lone Turtle they could outrun, a small pack of Wolves they could hold back. But this was a larger pack, backed by something they could hardly hurt, if at all.

All these thoughts raced through Jack's mind in an instant, cutting off the moment his call was answered by an unfamiliar voice: "Fontaine?"

"Virtua Forest, southeast. A Turtle and at least one pack of Wolves." He did not bother explaining any more to the operator. There was silence for a moment while Jack continued to think; his heart was beating fast, far faster than it ever did before.

"Alright, we're on it. Hold out." Then the line went dead and he lowered his phone, giving the wife a curt nod. However, their threatening poses did little to stop the Wolves. They were waiting... and their eyes were not on either of them, he realised.

"Mama? Papa? What's going on?" Isabelle's voice shook and she weakly held on to their coats. Neither of the adults turned their head away from the Monsters, though; they would attack in that very moment. But Jack knew it would take at least a few minutes for any kind of help to arrive; patrols in the forest were reduced for the holiday. Those were minutes he did not have.

"Nina, go." His wife almost turned to look at him, but thought better of it and just answered with a curt "No". Jack cursed mentally, knowing that now was not the time for this; he was better in melee than his wife and that many enemies would not let her get any distance.

She knew that, too.

"Not the time. Take Isabelle and go. I'll hold them here."
"Papa?"

He knew what he was doing and what it meant. The Wolves were inching toward them and fanned out while the Turtle continued to stomp forward; they made some steps back once in a while, but it was getting closer.

Jack blinked a few times in quick succession and grimaced at the fact his wife was still next to him... but the heat in the air dissipated a little bit.

A beat, then everything happened at once; Nina took up their daughter and turned tail, the Wolves jumped and he drew his dagger.

A quick shot from Jack's sidearm punched a hole through the first Wolf's hindleg, laming it while the rest jumped. His daughter's shouting grew weaker already as he rolled below the next two jumping at him... but half of the pack ignored Jack and charged after his family.

He shot a small hole into one more and managed to sink the dagger into a third's eye, making the creature yowl and explode into fragments.

Jack managed a back and forth for an amount of time he could not measure between his erratic hearbeats. Somehow he could keep the Wolves at bay and stay away from the Turtle, but eventually his bullets were used up and he lost his dagger on the way. A weight settled onto his back and sharp teeth lodged themselves into his shoulder. Shouting in pain, the man threw himself forward and tried to push the creature off... only for another to bite down and halfway through his leg.

He could barely feel anything there within moments, becoming partly aware of something wet leaking out while the pain clouded his vision. It became more difficult to think straight through the haze. Another one tackled him to the ground while the first two ripped around his shoulder and leg, slowly numbing the agony that coursed through him, the closing Turtle still in his vision. It seemed oddly smug...

And then there was light.

A streak of dark purple struck through the approaching creature, cutting it clean in two while six fiery lances pierced through the Wolves. Flashes of white as everything exploded and a figure knelt down beside him, the warmth of her flames reminding him of how cold he felt.

But this was not about him... there were still more, he realised. After Nina and Isabelle!

Jack slowly raised his head until he could see what his body already knew; a regal face scrunched up in sorrow, pristine skin and a purplish black armour encompassing her; a CPU. His Lady.

"Please..." His voice broke, but he managed to point in the right direction before the goddess could stop him. "Please... my wife... daughter..."

Purple Heart's eyes snapped to where he pointed, even though his words were little more than a whisper; then she turned them back to him calmly. "Very well."

The goddess understood what he wanted; he was glad that she did. Despite the cold paralyzing his mind, Jack was sure of this: if it had to be anyone, he rather it be him and not them. His vision blacked out again, even the light no longer able to stop him from getting tired.

But as blackness surrounded him, Jack's thoughts were with his wife and daughter. A gust of air was the only indicator that Purple Heart was gone.

I beg of you, my Lady... please make it so that they survive....

::​

Godspeed was a word many used in jest. But when a deity wanted to go somewhere fast, few mortals were able to even percieve them moving.

The fact she was given inaccurate directions complicated the matter, though.

Purple Heart rushed through the forest, rolling around trees and only barely hovering above ground. Her eyes snapped around and all her being was focussed on filtering the air; even the slightest noise could- there!

Turning a few degrees, the CPU rushed faster and toward the screams she heard.

Other thoughts were on hold as she broke through the underbrush and took stock in an instant; smoke and small fires all around a small clearing, the ground covered in ice. Two Wolves present, ready to jump.

Before the Monsters stood a slumped and bleeding woman, blocking the way to the crying child behind her. The destruction was centered around her.

Purple Heart moved when the Wolves jumped and hit them before they reached their target, crushing both with her bare hands. Skin, flesh, muscles, and bone gave way at once and the creatures exploded into particles of light before they even knew what hit them.

Then she rushed further and caught the woman carefully, lowering her to the ground. Several deep gashes were distributed all over her body where the Wolves struck and she had lost a lot of blood already. Tuning out the girl's cries, Purple Heart grasped for what little healing magic she had and got to work.

Green light traveled from her hands into the weak body below her, the small echoes telling her how bad the injuries actually were. Or rather, how much blood was already out of the system.

The additional shock of Purple Heart's presence had made her patient faint, open wounds quickly soaking both human and goddess red. They closed under the mere amount of magic, but not fast enough. Healing magic could not replace lost blood.

Purple Heart could feel this life fading, the familiar throbbing in her chest following the realisation at once. She was a CPU, a goddess... and yet unable to fulfill her purpose, to save this life.

Not that she stopped trying, pouring as much of her power into the body under her hands as she could without hurting it. Alas, the erratic heartbeat slowly grew weaker.

And a small figure leaned against Purple Heart's shoulder.

One eye snapped over to the scared child, taking in flushed skin around her widened eyes and disheveled clothes. A few cuts and bruises, but otherwise fine. More tears rolled down the girl's cheeks as she looked down at her mother; Purple Heart only felt worse for it.

This was not the first time she had been in this situation. It never stopped hurting.

Then the woman's heartbeat ceased and she stopped breathing, the soothing green rolling off of her still form now. Purple Heart knew she could use electricity to try reviving her, but help would not arrive in time. Not like this. So she let her go, to rest with her husband.

The magic faded out as she stopped pushing it, falling still and pressing her hands against the ground. She could feel the small frame clutching her side, a source of warmth against the chill that crept down her spine.

"W-Will mama... be okay?" The words came weak, interrupted by a hiccup and a sniffle. Looking closer now, she could see how the girl's clothes were torn in some places. Snot ran from her nose and she watched the CPU pleadingly.

Reassurance was what she wanted, but what should the goddess say? What could she say? Purple Heart did not lie unless she absolutely had to, but this... how could she tell the truth to a child?

They stared at each other for a while, the time lost to the upset girl and the mournful deity alike. Then Purple Heart caught the sound of a hovercraft in the distance.

I have to get it back together.

She cleared her mind and decided, then raised her hand skywards. With a jet of purple light streaking upward, the CPU signalled her people where to find her.

With that done, she reached out and swept the girl into a gentle hug. The iron stench of blood hung heavy in the air and clung to both of them, but this was all she could do. "How much I would love to tell you she will be alright... but that would be a lie. I am so sorry I could not make it in time."

The child in her arms stiffened for a moment, then a new bout of tears flooded her processor. Purple Heart quickly replaced the armour with a soft robe to make it less uncomfortable, then she held her charge close and let her cry.

There were far too many children like her; she was their deity, yet she did not even know their names. Purple Heart suppressed a sigh and held the girl tight, allowing her to grieve while the sound of jet-engines grew closer. There was movement in the forest, agents swarming out to secure the perimeter. They moved with high speed just as usual.

"I...I want Mama... and Papa..."

The goddess gently cradled her charge and kept quiet; she did not feel capable of speaking properly right now. There were no words to describe what she felt.

Despite their speed, none of them made it in time.

. .
. .​

She watched the people gathered with mixed feelings. Many had come, though none were family. It was good to see the solidarity to their fellow human beings and -in many cases- coworkers. Purple Heart saw Guild agents, operators and even a few people that had just been nearby and joined to express their condolences. Especially the latter stuck out a little between the black and grey, being clad in casual wear instead but welcome nonetheless.

Both parents had died of blood loss, leaving behind their four-year-old daughter and a few other things the CPU had conserved for the time being.

Right now however, her thoughts were with young Isabelle. The child sat amidst other people, staring blankly ahead; she got out of the whole ordeal a week ago, mostly unscathed physically. Mentally, however, she was traumatised. Others might not see it as clearly, but Purple Heart... no, Neptune knew.

She had not arrived in HDD, but in her civilian form and garbed in her usual purple robe, face hidden by a grey veil. Nonetheless, everyone recognised her in an instant wherever she treaded. This was the least she could do after she failed in her task. To be here and speak, even when the deep voice of her larger form was difficult to imitate with this petite body.

It did not matter much, though. She had seen it a thousand times and more, the pain of a child losing the people they loved most. Just like she saw loving parents lose their babies. It never hurt any less, but she knew the ones who hurt the most were them.

Sadly, she did not have the time, or she would have taken care of all the children herself. Playing favourites was even worse. All she could do now was hope for others to work things out in her stead.

::​

While people were talking quietly all around her, Isabelle did not really care. She did not get it, either. Mama and papa went away and would not come back... but why? It was not fair, not fair at all.

She felt like crying some more, but the hollow throbbing in her head was all she had now. There were no more tears and her throat hurt from screaming so much.

Above all else however... she felt so empty. As if something was gone and left a big hole deep within her.

. .
. .​

Marianne was not sure how to feel about her situation.

She was in her mid-twenties and had started working at Sunflower Orphanage just a few months ago. For now her superiors only had her supervise a few children at a time, to let her get used to the workings. She was greatful for that; even after studying for this and taking a great many courses, those rascals were a handful.

And then came Isabelle. Almost five years old, the girl was docile and kept to herself most of the time; instead of being interest in the TV or computer, she instead tried her best reading books and played outside in her remaining time.

At first Marianne was glad about the easier assignment in-between everything else, but these feelings vanished when a coworker told her why this girl acted the way she did. Isabelle did not smile, did not speak except if necessary. This was unhealthy in many ways, though she at least talked properly to her therapist.

Once she knew this much, she looked up the matter by herself; the state kept hold on the Fontaine's possessions and financial means until their child was old enough to inherit them. There was no close family for her to stay with either, as both of her parents were only children. With her father's parents having passed on duty for the Guild as well, and her mother's parents in Lowee refusing to take her, she was now here.

By herself, Marianne doubted that the quiet little thing she tended to could thrive in Lowee's cold, which probably would have become a problem even if the grandparents had decided to take her in.

With all this on her mind, the pinkette did her best in trying to help Isabelle get back into a healthy mindset. She ate plenty and seemed at least content, but never really got along with any of the older children; for whatever reason, no matter whom she asked, everyone said they found Isabelle creepy.

Meanwhile, all of the younger children around loved Isabelle; she spent time playing with them whenever she had some, showing a more honest smile and actual joy. It vanished soon enough each time, but Marianne could hope from seeing that.

In the end, what appeared as an easy task turned out to be the most taxing of all; not because she had to give Isabelle special care, but because she wanted to. Many of these children were suffering from traumatic events in one way or another, but only very few to that extent. She wanted to see Isabelle become whole again.

Much to Marianne's surprise however, the girl soon ambushed her in the hallway with a determined expression; pudgy cheeks were pushed out and the tight line her eyebrows formed would have been intimidating on an adult... as it was, she only looked adorable. Marianne did not let the sight distract her, though; if Isabelle looked at her like that, she knew, this was important.

"I want to train." Which was not among the things Marianne expected to hear in this moment. She blinked owlishly at the girl in front of her, readjusted her glasses, and nodded understandingly even though she did not get it. "I see; why do you want to train... and what?"

She went down on one knee to be on eye-level with her charge, whose green eyes stayed on her in a hopeful stare. Isabelle hesitated for but a moment before blurting it out: "I wanna be a Maker, so I got to be strong!"

This declaration was met with another bout of surprise, though the adult did not let it show. She just pushed a few pink strands out of her face to gain time and tried to figure out what to say. Marianne knew that becoming a Maker was but a fleeting dream many children had. To be one of the nation's great heroes.

But what was she supposed to respond with when confronted with that very dream, and in this manner no less?

In the end, Marianne decided to try an approach she read about and that one of the older men had said worked well enough: "So you want to exercise, hmm... give me a week or two and I can see about that."

"Really?!" Isabelle appeared genuinely surprised to get her way, to which Marianne just booped her nose with a smile. "Of course, dear. You have to work hard to become a Maker, though"

"That's okay, Mari! I'll do my best!" Following that declaraton, Isabelle hugged her tightly. The adult smiled by herself, knowing that it was but an empty phrase no matter how genuine. Isabelle would cave under the exertion within two weeks and let it go instead of insisting if she told her no from the get-go.

Years later, she would think back to this very thought and laugh at herself for being so dumb. She would also praise herself for going along with it.

After making a proper appointment with a fitness trainer and getting the girl set up, she sat in on the practice sessions. Watching, encouraging... and waiting for Isabelle to give up.

Two weeks passed, yet she kept going.
Four weeks passed and her vigour had yet to decrease.
Six months passed and Marianne began to feel awe.

This awe would grow ever further for a long while.

::​

While she was not busy working out or attending school however, Isabelle herself had yet one more thing to practice. She was scared that someone might force her to become a mage if she went to the test for magical aptitude; that was why she never went, even though magic coursed through her every fibre. She could feel it, just like her mother used to describe the sensation.

In these days, to Isabelle, becoming a mage meant being unable to be a Maker. It was a misconception, yet one that took years to be cleared up. She found a nice spot in a nearby park, secluded from the normal routes and covered in stones; that was her practice area, where fire could be spouted without having to risk it catching the trees. Light remained unseen through the thick foliage in summer and her healing magic was used solely on herself, tending to self-inflicted burns from using too much magic at once or losing control.

Isabelle did not mind the pain or the effort of keeping things a secret despite her busy schedule. She was determined to fulfill her dream by any means necessary.

 

[Naron]

Heck yes, the Guild's one of the best things we have. Simple, efficient... probably a small bureaucratic nightmare, all things considered. Everyone of age can join and earn themselves some pocket money from bashing Dogoos. Plus, it frees up the CPUs to do more important stuff. Everybody wins!
-Unnamed Guild Agent

---

The room was quiet except for the scratching of pens on paper. Two supervisors made their rounds among the dozen participants of this examination, their steps level from years of practice.

At their next passing each other, the men exchanged knowing looks at the frantic work happening around them; it was the infamous last five minutes and, like any student could attest, these were the most stressful minutes of any exam.

Only one did not seem bothered, a rather young girl whose eyes were carefully flying over the sheet in front of her; curly brown hair fell down to her shoulders, effectively hiding the green orbs from view. When one of the supervisors passed her again, he took note of the fact she was gently tapping her pen on her finger.

It seemed this one was just better at masking her anxiety, the man reasoned, knowing that there were some of those once in a while. He went on with that thought, leaving the girl to herself. Unbeknownst to him, this particular applicant had no need to hurry; she was busy double-checking everything.

-Last Name: Fontaine
-First Name: Isabelle
-Date of Birth: 26th of October, 494
-Age: 14

-Reason of Application: To gain first-hand experience in Guild matters, assist the CPU by fighting Monsters and obtain combat experience.

With the essentials taken care of, her eyes darted over all the questions and problems again; some were easy -Two people are fleeing in opposite directions, one followed by a Wolf and the other by a Fenrir. Which do you save and why?- while others were more difficult -describe Planeptune in twenty words or less- but she was rather happy with her solutions.

When the clock started ringing, one supervisor immediately called out. "Time's up, everyone. Pens down, we will now collect your answers."

Isabelle put down her sheets with a satisfied sigh and then stretched sore fingers a little. The girl leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath; two hours were quite some time to spend on this and her forehead felt hot from thinking so much.

It was harder than she thought it would be. But probably not as hard on her as it could have been, if her fellow applicants' groaning was any indication.

She was glad that the Guild took applications for a special license twice a year, in June and December respectively. If they did not and only offered it annually, she would have had to wait even longer to apply. Fourteen was the minimum age to apply for joining the Guild early and she was determined to make it, despite of how brutal the examination was supposed to be. So far, it had lived up to Isabelle's expectations.

On the other hand, to her, the hard part was over now. Next up was the physical half of this whole process. This thought made the girl relax some more as she got up, striding after one of the instructors and toward the gymnasium. Her large blue coat gently swished around her lithe form.

They were told not to bring gym clothes and to just appear in whatever they would wear in the field. Naturally, she brought her much preferred clothes; black shorts and a tight shirt for the best possible movability, as well as her trusted coat to conceal the rather short clothes. After wearing blue with white linings for so long, it felt unnatural not to wear it anyway... and privately, she liked the far oversized clasps a lot. It contrasted nicely with her hair and the green ribbon she worked into it.

They were given some water while a dozen other instructors entered the room, each of them with a clipboard and sharp eyes. Names were called and the applicants went to whoever they were assigned to, then the physical examination began in earnest.

They had her sprint, jump, pull weights, run an obstacle course and quite a bit more than that. There were no limitations, though; each time, Isabelle was asked to do how much she saw fit... so she did, which seemed to surprise her instructor a little. Each time. Yet there was no time to ponder the reasons, she had work to do.

When Isabelle was done an hour later, refused the optional magical examination, and went through a medical checkup, she was finally told it was over and that the Guild would inform her of her results within a few weeks. Isabelle was happy with that; she gave this her all and was pretty tired, as well as soaked in sweat.

Nonetheless, the teen felt she could still do a light jog; three kilometres, then a long shower and dinner. She liked the sound of that; with it being the weekend, she had time.

::​

Meanwhile, the staff several storeys above the gymnasium were in a state that could be best described as 'freaking out'.

"Seriously, what?"
"What are the odds?"
"How can such a little girl-"

Everyone was talking over each other while the screens all depicted the same... or nearly similar results. Going through the first five applicants had been easy, none of them did more than average and would not expect to pass anyway. This one however, especially with the results on her fitness coming in as they worked, was different.

At first most of the five office workers thought their colleague was messing with them, but then they checked the answers themselves. A great many of the questions asked were to determine character. They were purposefully worded vaguely to allow subjective grading, too.

All to ensure that no one could pass this test, except for individuals that were already forwarded by the Basilicom; in most cases by Lady Purple Heart herself.

There was no such order in this case. While some of them would not mind just doing the usual, these results were outstanding enough to ask for an outside opinion. Who but the CPU could make such a decision, they reasoned.

So when the door finally slid open to reveal their ruler, the men and women quickly nodded at her and motioned for the large front screen. One man took to manipulating the footage shown, the rest went back to grading the remainder of this batch. Yet all of them glanced back up at the beauty standing amidst them once in a while. They all felt the force of her presence even without seeing her.

Purple Heart herself was watching some of the exercises with interest before casually flipping through the girl's written exam. Her expression never really changed from the casual friendliness, full lips slightly tugged upward and all the other muscles in her face relaxed so as to not give anything away.

"What should we do about this, my Lady?" The man initially responsible for grading this sheet stood at a loss; he knew his job and that no one was supposed to pass, which was why there was no passing grade on it anyway. They never publicised the test or its results, so no one could argue about it.

A few contemplative seconds after he asked his question, Purple Heart's lips parted slightly; their corners rose a little higher, then the goddess offered a weak nod and put down the sheet. "Please forward all data about this applicant to Histoire. We will take a... special approach."

::​

Isabelle was halfway past the neatly arranged beds of Loweean flowers to her left when she turned back to the large building. It was an amazing sight, even amongst the large skyscrapers of downtown Nicos. Even with Planeptower casting its shadow over it, the local Guild HQ stood tall and vast. More than fifty metres in height was small in planeptunian terms, but this building was several hundred metres wide to compensate.

It shone brightly in the evening sun, polished metal interrupted only by accents of purple and silver plasteel. The fact they arranged flowers and streets around it to make it stand alone helped set the building apart from every other; it was big enough to warrant a large parking lot, two connections to the underground network, and three connections to the walkways.

The walkways were, in fact, her chosen means of transportation from here. Jogging up a set of stairs that seemed to end in mid-air, Isabelle carelessly hopped onto the barely visible stream of solid air. Running on these lanes was frowned upon unless one had enough space to stay out of everyone else's path; with the traffic picking up however, that was not possible.

A cold wind ruffled Isabelle's hair and coat, making her shiver. Most of the sweat dried by now, but it was still not a nice feeling to be outside at barely positive temperatures. December indeed... but there was her stop, right next to her favourite park. She stepped off and took the stairs, then quickly fell into a slow jog.

Anxious she may be, but this would not stop her from anything.

. .
. .​

It was only a week after the examination and tension had already taken a hold of Isabelle, the girl waiting for what kind of response she would get. Mari kept throwing her reassuring looks, but that did not really help; this special license was important to her.

Yet she did not expect the news to appear at breakfast; her heart skipped a beat when one of the other staffmembers called out to her: "Hey IF, you've got a letter!"

They always did this, handing out mail during mealtimes. All of the younger children were around at that time and none of the older ones were allowed out beyond curfew.

She was also pretty glad about the nickname sticking by now; even if it alienated quite a few of the older children, she liked this more than her actual name. It sounded weird.

IF felt a litte short on air while the man strolled between the tables and toward her; maybe she tied her choker too tight today, the girl reasoned; it stuck to her throat a little bit more than was usual. She quickly clasped it open and tied it again.

Sadly, this did not help with her sudden bout of anxiety; it only provided a distraction until the letter was given to her, with the Guild's official stamp on it. Almost everyone knew where she went the previous Saturday, so it was no surprise that her direct neighbours tried to take a peek over her shoulders. Tough luck, both girls were years younger than her and thus smaller. She may or may not have slumped over a little to allow them to look, though. Keeping such things a secret was useless anyway; they would know whether she passed within days.

When IF turned her gaze onto the neatly written lines however, her nervousness was gone rather soon. There was no mention of how her exam went, no. It was a summons to the Guild HQ on this very afternoon, signed by Histoire herself.

There was no reason given, just the summons and a reminder to contact the office in case she was busy at that time. IF read the letter again, but there was nothing there to sate her curiousity.

"Weird, is that how the Guild does it?" The girl to IF's left shoulder asked.

The one to her right shrugged at her. "No idea... do you know, IF?"

The brunette took some relief out of the fact she was not the only one confused; then she returned a shrug of her own and frowned at the nondescript message. "I was supposed to get a letter with my results, not... whatever this is."

Some others were listening as well, even though she could tell they tried to be discreet about it. IF just rolled her eyes and folded the paper before pushing it into her bag. Their interest would wane over the next few days anyway, it was always like that.

::​

School went by almost in a blur; classes on Friday were usually interesting, but IF had a hard time concentrating today. The letter returned to the forefront of her mind more often than not and she wondered just what the Guild might want if they asked for her to come over again.

The idea most prominent was that they wanted to talk about her employment, but her mind beat it down each time it came up. Yet IF always returned there no matter how many other ideas she found, hope growing where her concious mind tried to salt the earth against it. Through it all however, she wondered why they would not add a note about her passing the exam in their message if she was right.

When IF left her new school that day, she still had no idea what to make of this. With clubs not being mandatory in high school, she could get going before most others; some clubs sounded interesting, like the weapon maintenance club, but IF probably knew enough about the topic already. She prepared herself a lot over the years.

After a quick stop at home, where she stored away her notebooks and other school supplies before clipping a trusted pair of katars to her waist, IF headed out toward her destination. She decided to get lunch later, after visiting the Guild. As it was, she might have been too nervous to eat anyway.

It felt a little weird to stroll toward the Guild so soon, though. IF just did her best to shrug it off and went on, happy about the sunshine; there was at least some warmth for her to enjoy despite the wind.

Upon reaching the Guild and talking to the receptionist however, things started to get weird; while other people were asked to wait in the entrance area, the young man immediately told IF to be on her way after giving her a storey and room number. No one stopped her when she entered the spacy elevator, either.

That was probably not what happened normally, the girl reasoned. She rose almost to the building's top before leaving her ride, carefully tapping over a sturdy blue carpet as she went. Some others, all of them adults, walked by her with passing glances and nods. Men and women, all clad in simple suits or casual clothes. No one seemed bothered about her being here despite the fact that her coat stood out quite a bit, not to mention that IF was obviously still a teen.

Once she found the room she was told and knocked carefully, IF turned to actually read the plaque attached next to the doorframe. What she saw gave her pause: black letters formed merely one word, standing out against the white background.

Histoire.

IF blinked slowly, but the door was gently swept open by an unseen force before she could understand the implications of what she just saw. Turning her head, the brunette found a friendly gaze directed at her, belonging to a woman no taller than her arm was long. "You are right on time, Ms. Fontaine. Please, come on in."

IF moved without thinking much about it, still awed by seeing the faintly glistening wings from up close. They were a gentle silver colour, much in difference to the blue and purple robe her... host was wearing. "O-Of course, Lady Oracle." It came a little delayed and both of them knew.

Histoire never once faltered in her gentle smile, the remainder of her face deceptively soft and nondescript. She maneuvered the blue book she was sitting on closer to a desk in the room's back while beckoning IF to sit opposite to her. "Please, not so formal. This is neither an official, nor a public occasion. Although it might count as the former, if you squint."

IF was at a loss, but already in the process of regaining her bearings. She nodded slowly at the blonde sitting opposite to her; Planeptune's Oracle, direct assistant of the CPU and thereby head of the Guild alongside her counterparts from Lowee, Leanbox and Lastation.

But also the chronicler of Gamindustri. Any child knew that within Histoire, the history of tens of thousands of years was stored and maintained. Ever since she was created by the old goddess, the progenitor, the Tome had existed in this world.

She had come to maybe be allowed to join the Guild early; the last thing IF expected was to be talking about it with Histoire herself. The girl still shook off her stupor, knowing that now was not the time to stare like a kid.

"Of course, Lady Histoire. I'm just... a little surprised." Her voice was still a little weak, but IF could deal with that. Somewhat more difficult was fighting down her rising blush, courtesy of the tiny woman's soft chuckle; this was definitely not her greatest moment, embarassing herself like this, and in front of the Tome no less.

"Oh, I can imagine. I rarely find the time to take a stroll, so most children would not expect to meet me. Please be at ease." Her voice was kind and compelling, making the girl relax a bit while she shuffled around on the chair and tried to occupy her hands with something; IF ultimately folded them in her lap and quelled their activity by focussing on the conversation. "Yes, something like that. I-It's an honour, Lady Histoire."

Of course she had hoped to meet the Tome one day. Everyone did, just like everyone was hoping for a chance to meet a CPU at least once. Dreaming of it and experiencing it were not the same things though, as IF learned in these minutes. The fairy gave her a friendly nod before levitating a set of papers around on her desk. "I am afraid I do not have much time to chat today, so we should get started. Though... why do you think you got summoned here, this sudden no less?"

IF blinked a few times and turned her gaze lower while thinking for a moment. She could at least guess how this all worked. This was not normal, she was sure of it, but figured that being too specific might be bad. "I think something unusual happened during my examination last week," was what she offered in the end. It was difficult to hold the edge of apprehension out of her voice, if her attempts fooled the Oracle at all. The Tome's pokerface was remarkable.

However, all Histoire did was nodding twice and leaning forward to skim the topmost sheet in front of her again. "That is indeed the case. I assume you gave it your all last Saturday?"

"Of course I did!" IF blurted out without thought; she wondered with upcoming disappointment why anyone would think she did not, her shoulders slumping. Then the girl realised she just snapped at the head of Planeptune's Guild and her eyes widened. "Sorry... it's just... I trained really hard for this."

And for the first time since she entered the room, IF saw Histoire's smile break; the fairy grimaced and shook her head before levitating more papers around. "There is no need to apologise, Ms. Fontaine. I should have worded my question better, terribly sorry." Then she offered one of the sheets to IF with a weak smirk. "I was mostly asking to make sure there were no more... impressive secrets hidden within such a young girl."

IF flinched and sat a little more straight than she already did, her thoughts going to the magic she was hiding, but played it off somehow and took the offered paper into her hands; it rustled gently while she went over the... evaluation.

Isabelle Fontaine:
-Character: A
-Knowledge: A+
-Wisdom: A-
-Intelligence: A
-Strength: S
-Agility: S+
-Endurance: S
-Technique: A+
-Physical Condition: S++
-Magic: /

"Do note that these ranks are in comparison to your age group, not the population overall. C would denote an average person of sixteen years." Histoire need not have bothered, IF knew the grading system; it was uniform to most of Gamindustri anyway. What confused her much more were all those outstanding grades... and the fact she never heard about anything above S existing in the first place.

IF stared down at what she saw, the filled out bars remaining as they were. When she looked up, Histoire had a hand in front of her face to hide the wide smile she knew was there. "Rest assured that you did not mess up, Ms. Fontaine. Quite the opposite, in fact; as you should be aware, there should be no grade above S. You broke the scales in more than one regard."

"Huh... what does that mean, then?" IF was really not sure what to make of this. If she did exceptionally well, why exactly was she here?

The Tome just nodded again before lowering her hand and folding it together with the other. "I hope you will keep what I tell you now a secret, as it is not meant for children to know. These examinations held by the Guild are not supposed to be passed, except by applicants already scouted and approved by either Purple Heart, or me."

Something within her froze and IF sat in silence over the revelation. It was... hurtful to hear this; she was not scouted, so all the effort would be in vain anyway. Despite the outstanding grades she could still see in front of her, they would not even give her a chance. In an instant, everything had broken down.

"But... why?" She had trouble keeping the pain out of her voice; after all the time IF invested to get a head start in her career, she felt it justified to be upset... but not to cry. Not right here, at least. Children cried to get what they wanted and she refused to be a child.

"..." Sadly, something must have tipped off the Tome; maybe her lip quivered for a moment or something like that. Whatever it was, it made Histoire's smile become more gentle. "We have long since known that children, especially teenagers, believe themselves to be grown up and ready for the harsher parts of reality... while the opposite applies. Most of your peers are not at all prepared for actual work in this institution, Ms. Fontaine."

A quiet sigh escaped the Tome as she lowered her gaze. "Every generation loses a few children that think they are ready and set out on their own... but with this, we can at least keep some of them from doing so. The arbitrary difficulty of this examination serves to discourage them from getting in over their heads."

It made sense, even. No matter how much she did not want it to make sense, it did. IF knew her own feelings on the matter well enough to tell that she was no different from what Histoire just explained. In the end, she would have to wait another four years and join the regular way, just like everyone else.

"I see... are there really that many?" Resignation was setting in by now, but IF rather not show it to Histoire; instead, she decided to at least find out as much as she could for now. The Tome, however, chuckled. "As I said, only a handful... not that the CPUs are happy about even just that many, and neither am I. Even if this procedure allows to just save one in a generation, we would still keep it."

The human girl nodded in agreement, beginning with the arduous task of filing away her disappointment. It was for a good cause and she simply ran into it. Maybe it even saved her own life, IF reasoned. She might not be able to join the Guild today, but at least she would leave a good impression with the Oracle for being understanding.

After Histoire let the conversation lie for a few long moments, she offered a nod to IF before shifting a little on her book. "Granted, while you did not pass due to the nature of this exam, we believe it prudent to make an exception in your case, Ms. Fontaine."

IF paused at that, her thoughts halting and turning back around; hope bubbled deep down, but she might have easily misunderstood. Although, with how wide Histoire smiled now, this might actually be what she thought it was; they would allow her to join early despite everything. Deep within IF, the emotional rollercoaster continued to spin back; sad acceptance was thrown out to be replaced with overwhelming joy.

Her eyes continued to widen together with her lips as the Tome shifted another sheet of paper to her. "Your results are unprecedented. Nonetheless, the Guild does not allow anyone below sixteen years of age to obtain a special license on principle, not even acknowledged talents. If you would be willing to participate in another examination in two years time, we will grant you a special license and enlist you as one of our agents."

Somehow, the words made her feel at ease. IF relaxed and took a deep breath while going over the sheet with shining eyes; it was a contract of employment, holding everything that Histoire just said and so much more.

"I don't mind that." And why would she? It was everything she wanted, even though IF would have to wait another two years. On the other hand, this meant she had another two years to exercise, train and study to make sure she would not end up disappointing them.

The Oracle quickly led her through signing the document, then signed it herself and quickly copied it for IF to read in detail, if she so desired. IF on her part thought about framing it and putting it somewhere in her room.

"That concludes the matter I wanted to talk to you about. Though I ought to mention that you will have to partake in a mandatory training regimen about survival outside of a city, like all of our new agents do. It will be held in May, during your summer break, so you may attend either next year at fourteen, or the year after at fifteen."

She already heard about that one, so IF just nodded and gently folded the copied contract before putting it into one of her pockets. "I guess I'll wait until I'm fifteen, then; that way I will have all the things I learn still in mind when I start."

"Likely so," Histoire allowed with twinkling eyes. "On another note, I believe you should keep in mind to open a bank account. We can not pay you otherwise." This one gave her pause for a moment; money was something she never really concerned herself with. IF did see the mention of pay and that the exact amount would be decided at a later date, but she paid little attention to it over everything else. It was good that the Tome actually reminded her of doing this. "Thank you, I will take care of it in time."

"Certainly... now, I believe this would be all, unless you have any questions left?" Of course there were many question she could ask Histoire; no being in the entire world knew more than the Tome.

However, she already took up her time and was not exactly feeling well in asking for more of it; Oracles were incredibly busy. "Not right now, no."

"Very well." Histoire took to the air and slipped off of the large book she usually sat on, making it hover behind her instead. "It was nice talking to you, Ms. Fontaine. Have a good day." She offered a tiny hand, which IF shook with care before returning the smile.

"Likewise. Thank you for having me, Lady Histoire." With that, IF left the room and gently closed the door behind herself; her face started to hurt from how wide the no longer suppressed smile grew in mere instants. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

IF took a deep breath, then shook her head a few times to clear it again. Only then did she start her journey back down, to the main entrance.

This time, she found it difficult not to start skipping.

 

[Naron]

I do not get why people assume this; why should I hate my colleagues? We are few and after three centuries, I have internalised the fact they are the only ones I have. Yes, we are at war with each other, but this does not change anything. There is no one human I could love as much as any of them.
-Purple Heart

---

Monday again; the weekend went by in a flash with all the excitement. Even if it took another two years, IF could not be happier about succeeding; she did what no one else did before.

Not that her good mood or the faint smile she allowed herself stopped people from dodging out of her way or ignoring her when she went past; it did not matter to begin with, though. IF got used to this kind of reaction a long time ago. All the preparations, training, and studying left her with precious little time to relax in the first place, so this was fine for her.

Granted, some of her classmates did try talking to her. She just had so little in common with any of them that conversations did not last for long. Other people her age were weird, with how they always wanted to goof off and laze around instead of actually doing their work. There was no better feeling than knowing she did everything she set out to do for the day.

IF carefully maneuvered around smaller crowds of people and into the first lecture hall for the day; high school was different in that there were no classrooms anymore. The students had to pick their curriculum and then seek out the rooms their respective courses were held in.

A quick look over the rows of seats they arranged in a rising fashion told IF that she was a little early; most were still empty, with some of her peers standing around and chatting instead.

Either way, she knew no one would take a seat in first row anyway; it was as if they were afraid of the teachers or something like that. IF liked sitting there, it helped concentrating on the lecture while the buzzing of people talking was only behind her and not all around.

With her bag set below the seat, IF took out her folder and began to idle around for a bit, balancing a pen on one finger and failing, double-checking her timetable for the day and still basking in the joy of having made it into the Guild. Two more years to prepare and she could finally start to follow her goal in earnest.

Some time passed before another girl caught her attention as she wandered over to the front row. That was not really unusual, but IF could remember the few people who voluntarily took those seats well enough. This one was not one of them.

She only followed the girl's movement from the corner of her eye, though; it would be rude to stare outright. All she could make out ahead of time were a wooly sweater in warm colours and checkered trousers in red and black. IF put down her pen before it could fall again when the other girl stood next to her. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all." IF really did not mind; she rarely cared who sat next to her, considering that class was about following the lecture, not chatting with your neighbour.

She had been sitting slightly slumped over to rest, the slight tiredness creeping back after she shook it off on her morning run. With all her excitement, IF completely forgot some of her homework due Monday, so she had to stay up until midnight to get it done the day before. Which, of course, resulted in her getting only six hours of sleep that night, two hours less than usual.

Shaking off the thought, IF snuck another glance at the girl taking a seat next to her; her hair was somewhere between orange and yellow, reminiscent of peaches. Her eyes were of the same colour and once she actually sat down, IF noticed that she was a little smaller than her unexpected neighbour. Just a few centimetres, but still noticeable.

Going by the faint smile on her round face and the warm gaze however, she seemed to be friendly.

They sat next to each other in silence for a bit; IF did not mind the quiet, it gave her time to think and relax a little more. One day of missing sleep was not exactly good, but not the end of the world, either. She knew she must not let it become a habit, though.

She wanted to be her very best for the Guild.

"You look happy. Did something good happen?"

The brunette blinked and turned to look at her neighbour, who was watching her and waiting for a response. People rarely talked to her by themselves, so that was unusual in itself. Then IF realised she was actually smiling; for however long, her lips were faintly curled upward. "Yes, actually. I'm glad it went through."

The other girl nodded in understanding, ignoring the fact IF said basically nothing; it was not really the time to brag about her achievement, if there would ever be such a time. It did not discourage this girl, though. "That's good to hear; everyone should have good things happening to them."

"That's a good view to have." Her response was somewhat noncommital, but IF had trouble finding anything to respond with; she did not know this person at all, so her knowledge of which topic might work in a conversation was zero. Not that her neighbour minded much, she just continued on with a bright smile: "I think so, too. Smiling makes you look a lot better than frowning all the time."

"I'm not frowning much, though." IF only noted it to keep the conversation going.

However, it did make the other girl blink and tilt her head. "You don't?"

This got her attention, though. IF wondered for a moment, if maybe what the girl said before was not meant in general like she thought it did. Only one way to find out: "No, I don't. Do you think I do?"

There was a momentary silence as they looked at each, broken only when her neighbour started to giggle. "Ehehe... how embarassing..." A faint pink showed itself on her cheeks and she averted her gaze for a bit before slowly meeting IF's gaze again. "I, uh, I actually thought about talking to you a few times before, but you always looked so serious and busy that I didn't want to bother you."

She was not sure how to respond to that; her usual expression did not look that intimidating, did it? Trying to think back for a moment, IF was rather sure to have checked it in the mirror a few times. Then she figured she should clarify it anyway. "It's not really like that, actually. I don't mind spending some time talking to people."

After another moment, she realised she forgot something. "Oh, and I'm IF." Her words made the other girl smile again and she stopped fidgeting altogether. "Nice to meet you, I'm Compa."

She said nothing about the nickname at all and seemed overall just happy to be talking with her. What a weird girl, they both thought.

Nonetheless, so much open friendliness was a nice change of pace and IF reluctantly returned the smile before glancing at the clock and sighing. "Class is starting in a minute." Which meant they had no more time to talk.

"Hmm..." Compa eyed the clock as well. Then she brightened and offered an idea of her own: "How about we eat lunch together? We can talk some more then."

This did sound tempting; whether she had company or not was of little concern to IF, but having someone to talk to might be nice for a change. She usually ate by herself and read a book. "Sure, I don't mind."

"Great!" Compa was outright beaming now, her reaction making IF wonder for a second or two. Her new acquaintance appeared to be surprisingly open with her feelings. Not that she minded, for as long as the same was not expected of her. So while the teacher entered the room and everyone else took a seat, they quickly exchanged a few more words on where to meet up later, then class started and IF focussed.

. .
. .​

When she arrived in the main building after her last class let out, Compa was already waiting for her with a few other girls in tow. Introductions were had, but IF did not bother remembering any of their names; she saw the frowns and grimaces directed her way when they thought she was not looking.

So instead of spending time on people she would not get along with anyway, IF focussed her interest on the one nice person in the group. Compa either did not notice or did not mind as some of her other friends went to get food from the cafeteria; IF brought her own, a mixture of vegetables, fruits and meat with a generous helping of noodles. The kitchen staff was nice to her again, she noted. That did not stop her from rolling her eyes at the sight, even if it was good-natured. Everyone at home knew how much she exercised, so the cooks always made her a bit more than was actually necessary. Not that IF complained.

Compa was glancing over at IF's lunchbox, her own being maybe half as filled. "Woah, that's a lot for a girl... are you sure you want to eat all of that?"

The brunette shrugged and picked up a fork. "That depends on how hungry I am, to be honest."
Then she smirked at Compa. "A growing girl needs to eat, after all."

She got a few obvious and a few less obvious looks, but ignored them in favour of watching Compa's amused expression. The other girl shrugged and went to start on her own lunch. "I guess... I have to watch how much I eat or I get all plump."

IF was not sure about that comment; from her point of view, Compa was showing quite some curves for a fourteen-year-old, but did not really appear out of proportion. She did get what was meant, though. "Eh, it's actually the other way around for me. I exercise a lot, so I need to eat." Although this was a topic she was not particularly interested in talking about; training was good, but also monotonous. IF had little to do aside from reining in her body at those times. "Anyway, what's your focus?"

Her question made Compa perk up. "Oh, I want to become a nurse, so I'm focussing on medicine, first aid and all the other stuff I need for that." The girl motioned with her fork while explaining, enthusiasm and excitement evident in her voice. IF nodded slightly in understanding. "Ah, so that's why we have so few classes together; I'm more going for a general education with focus on science."

Seeing that they had completely different foci, their classes were vastly different; IF's only course in the medical wing was on fitness. She stayed in the science centre or gymnasium otherwise.

"Oh, I see. Do you know what you want to be later?" Not that Compa seemed to mind at all, she just continued eating. IF methodically devastated her own lunch as well, enjoying the bites a bit but chewing quick. In-between, she answered the other girl: "I'm going for the Guild, actually. It sounds right for me."

Compa smiled over her response and IF was vaguely aware that others were talking... but then again, it did not matter that much. Having someone friendly to talk to was nice.

Today was a good day without doubt.

. .
. .​

It took a few days until they managed to get lunch together again; IF found that she liked spending time with Compa. The other girl was a gentle soul.

She was a little confused when the two of them were the only ones at their table, though. IF did not particularly mind it being just them, but Compa was obviously a social butterfly. Seeing her show up without anyone else woke her interest. "Just you today?"

The other girl shrugged slightly and took her seat next to IF. "The others didn't want to eat with you, so it's just me."

That, on the other hand, made a lot more sense. Except for one little fact, which had IF raise an eyebrow and lower her fork again. "Oh, I see. It's a little surprising you would come talk to me instead of your friends, though."

It took a moment, but then Compa started to giggle and gave her a bright smile. "Now now, it's not like I'm abandoning the others. You're my friend, too."

Her words made warmth bubble in IF's chest, although she did not let it show; she just ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I'm glad to hear that."

Then she focussed back on her meal. Friend. The word did sound nice, especially after IF already resigned herself to another four years without anyone to really talk to; it had been the same during elementary school and middle school, so she was used to it by now.

The girls ate in silence for most of the time; Compa kept stealing glances at her that IF pretended not to notice while she took care of her meal. If the other girl wanted to say something, she would come around eventually. At least that was her reasoning.

Although, now that she thought about it, IF was obviously not an actual name. Compa may be, she was not sure. With a contemplating glance at her schoolmate, the brunette decided asking about it was fine: "I'm curious, is Compa your actual name?"

"Hm? Oh, no. Not at all." Peach-coloured hair flew when the other girl shook her head. "It's Colette, actually... but that's hard to say for children, so my friends back then just made Compa out of it. It kind of stuck and I think it's cute."

At least Compa had a nicer story about it than she did; the other girl was giving her a curious look now. "What about you? IF sounds pretty strict."

The brunette paused her hand in mid-air before lowering the fork and shrugging. "I thought of it during break between elementary school and middle school. It's actually Isabelle, but I don't really like that anymore... so I shortened it to initials instead."

There were quite a few people who thought it funny, which she could understand by now; just initials was incredibly uncreative. Considering IF was ten at the time, she considered herself forgiven. Compa just nodded in understanding. "I think it sounds pretty, but I get what you mean."

Neither of them spoke for a while as they finished up their respective meals and put away the silverware. Once they were done however, IF took a look at her phone to find that they still had about half an hour before their afternoon-classes started.

"Actually, IF... I was thinking we could maybe go do something together?" Her eyes blinked over to Compa, deep green meeting faint orange in surprise. That was unusual in itself, although she kind of did mention she thought of them as friends.

IF pondered for a moment, knowing that she could shift her timetable around well enough. So she gave a slow nod and felt the muscles in her face pull taut. There was her smile again, apparently. "Sounds good to me... I'm a tad busy on weekdays, though... and this Saturday doesn't work at all because I need to help out at home. How about Sunday?"

Now it was for Compa to think, which she did with a hand on her chin and a happy grin on her face. "Mhm, I think I... oh, that fits well. I wouldn't have time on Saturday anyway. Sunday afternoon, maybe?"

Only now did IF realise how she just sounded; she ought to make time instead of blocking everything but what was convenient for her. Flushing a faint pink and barely stopping herself from squirming, the brunette nodded quickly. "Yeah, that sounds fine."

How embarassing; even Compa having time on Sunday did not make it much better. Not that her new friend seemed to notice IF's thoughts, considering how she beamed at her.

. .
. .​

With the date and meeting place set, everything was fine and the remainder of the week passed quickly enough. Unfortunately, IF failed to realise that going out into town meant shopping. Which in turn meant that she was completely unprepared for being dragged around clothing stores. At least Compa allowed her to be embarassed and not come out of the changing booth. She did not like to take off her coat in public unless she had to.

That did not stop Compa from trying on a lot of different outfits, from sundresses to coats similar to IF's own; she seemed to have fun showing off and IF honestly did not mind giving her opinion, even though it was in no way based on knowledge. She just said what she thought, which appeared to be enough to keep her new friend happy.

Once they left the store however, Compa gave her a sad look. "You're not having fun, right?"

Surprised by the insight, IF only shrugged and buried her hands in some of her wider pockets. "Not really, no. It's not your fault, I just don't get why people are so excited about buying clothes. Or shoes."

She was not one for vanity, much preferring to spend her time on exercises and studies. Granted, there were a few cute shirts she wanted to get for herself, but... not when anyone could see. She would go back and pick those up later, IF decided.

Meanwhile, Compa's face fell and she lowered her gaze in understanding. "Oh, I see. I guess you're not one for shopping... ah, I know!" The girl perked up about as fast as her expression went down before. "You choose what we do next, that's only fair."

Confronted with that kind of logic, IF yielded and offered a weak smile of her own. She was not exactly happy with how this day was going. Compa only tried to be nice, so she might as well try to be more enthusiastic about things. Yet she had to think about the rest of her training regimen for the day, bringing the schedule back out in her mind every few minutes. It got a little better when she was in the lead, though; now IF had something to occupy her thoughts with.

Sadly, Compa was not any better at hiding her lack of enthusiasm for the weapon store IF choose to visit; the brunette liked looking through the different models and comparing specs, if just for the fun of it. As it seemed, she was alone on that one. It was not for a lack of trying, though; Compa followed her around and they talked a little about one thing or another, smalltalk without much substance. IF hated this kind of thing a lot, but just staying quiet all the time was rude.

After a while though, with the two of them eyeing a well-crafted rapier, Compa spoke up: "I... I guess we don't have much in common?"

IF shrugged and wondered what to say; it was always the same, most people just did not share her hobbies. Or lack thereof. "I guess so."

She tensed a little, waiting for the usual dismissal... but Compa just kept quiet and watched IF for a while before offering a brighter smile. Her eyes lightened up as well. "It's fine, I'm sure there is something we can do together."

Despite the fact she was already prepared for a letdown, relief coursed through IF nonetheless. She kept it under a lid, though. "Yeah, there probably is." She turned away from the weapon in front of her and pondered what else they could do; there was still an hour or two to spend before it got dark. "How about... we go get some tea?"

It was not something she usually did, mostly because her allowance was tiny and the drinks from those stalls overpriced, but having something hot to sip from during winter sounded like a good idea. With how Compa nodded, she seemed to think the same.

So the two left the store and returned into Planeptune's cold weather, shivering a little as their boots crunched over fresh snow. IF always mourned the fact this particular shop was a good ways away from the mall, so they could not enjoy more friendly temperatures for a while longer. To pass the time, she tried to strike up a conversation again. "Say, what kind of weapon do you use?"

"Huh?" Compa turned her head around after having taken the lead again, registering the question before shrugging a little sheepishly. "Um... nothing fancy. I'm not a strong girl, so I just got myself a beam saber. I'm not planning on going out."

That sounded reasonable to IF; beam sabers were light, easy to carry and worked well against most Monsters. They also came with the added perk of requiring no real maintenance; the blade could not become dull or bent and broken hardware could be repaired basically everywhere. They were good for weaker people and those that just carried a weapon for safety reasons.

Compa grabbed the small handle out of her coat's pocket and showed it to her for emphasis; not a model IF knew, but she did not spend as much time on beam tech. Though a plasma cannon would be interesting to see, she had to admit.

"What do you use? I guess something more traditional, I heard the Guild doesn't like beam weapons much." Compa's musings caused IF to blink.

"Huh." She heard the same thing and said as such. "I read that, too. It's mostly because getting used to the weight of any other weapon is difficult if you use one of those for a while... and the battery life is not really good for near-constant use; your electricity bills would skyrocket if you had to charge one after an eight-hour shift five days per week, too."

Compa giggled a little and IF felt pretty good with herself; weapons were a topic she could work with. "Anyway, I'm using a pair of katars. They complement a speed-oriented style pretty nicely."

They wandered up to one of the stalls in the main plaza now, the white plasteel and metallic buildings drowned out by warm reds and greens from the market put up here. There was not much going on this day; only a few people were out here, either socialising or entertaining their children.

Turning away from the plaza, IF noticed Compa giving her a curious look. She only spoke after each of them got herself a cup of hot tea, though: "What were katars again? I kind of forgot most of the lessons we got." Compa sheepishly hid herself behind the styrofoam cup as she said it.

IF took a probing sip of her own tea and burned her tongue, then shrugged. "It's fine, I forgot a lot of things, too. Katars are a little longer than daggers, but attached to the arm instead of held in the hand. Here, hold that for a moment."

She handed her cup over to Compa, who held onto it with just her fingertips; probably not to burn them, seeing that she did the same to her own cup. IF ignored it and felt under her coat for the familiar shape of her weapons, strapping them off her waist and holding one up for her friend to see.

Then she slipped her hand through the tight band and pulled it over her arm until it sat properly; with the hilt now fixed in place, her blade began at wrist-level. "I can still use my hands like that, it's useful."

"Ohhh!"

Granted, those were cheap weapons, not anything of quality. It did not stop IF from being happy with them; the hardened cloth wrapped around her arm was tight and ensured that the weapon would stay in place even under stress. The brunette pushed it back off after another moment, returning the katar to where she got it from. "Anyway, let's find a place that's a little warmer."

It did not even take long until they found such a place, as the shopping mall IF thought about earlier was not that far away anymore; they found an empty bench inside, so the two girls sat down and idly looked around at the people surrounding them. No one really paid attention to them as everyone was busy doing shopping for the upcoming holidays.

It was a weird Sunday, that much she knew; IF quietly nursed her cup and took another sip, wondering if that was what she missed out on during the last eight years. She did not regret her decisions, although it felt good to spend time with someone else for once. For some reason however, Compa kept throwing glances her way; IF noticed and waited for the other girl to speak up.

They sat like this for a few minutes, the cups soon empty and the soothing warmth trailing down into her belly gone. IF rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow at her new friend. "Okay, I give... what's up?"

Compa flinched and shook her head quickly "Nothing." IF's brow did not lower and the other girl soon averted her gaze, squirming in her seat. The brunette bent over to throw away her cup, but then she was right back to staring. Until Compa gave. "Um... it's just, I've been wondering... you said you're busy on weekdays, are you working somewhere?"

The question made her think back to the conversation with Histoire; technically, IF was working now... or would be soon. She already had the contract signed after all. Nonetheless, she shook her head. "Not yet, but my training eats up the time I have between school and homework."

It also ate up half of her weekend, although she figured leaving that out would be better for now. She knew from experience that people reacted weirdly when she told them and Compa was already sitting with visible contemplation.

"Huh, do they give that much homework in your science-class or do you train a lot? I mean, you did say you had to eat because of that but... um..."

IF was not stupid; she dismissed the thought before, but now she was sure that there was more to this. Suppressing a sigh and bracing for whatever it might be, the brunette nudged Compa's side. "How about you just say whatever you want to say?"

Compa on her part flushed in embarassment and averted her gaze. "I guess I was that obvious. It's just, I heard the others talking and...."

She paused, looking around to make sure nobody was listening. IF did not even bother checking, people rarely cared unless things got loud. Once she was sure no one seemed interested in their conversation, Compa turned her gaze back to IF. "It's just... with how much you eat, I heard people saying that you're, um, wearing that wide coat to hide how you actually look, um...."

Now the smaller girl blinked in understanding. She almost snorted after realising what this was about. "Wait a second, they think I'm fat? That's all this is about?" The tension fled her form in an instant, replaced by relaxation and a little mirth. True, she was not completely comfortable with others seeing her, but IF could not be happier with her body. It was healthy and strong.

Compa, oblivious to the brunette's thoughts, nodded shily. After a moment of consideration, IF just rolled her eyes and decided to make an exception for once. For a new friend. So the girl began to unclasp the buckles on her coat with a sly smile. "You really could have just asked; pretty sure none of the people you heard talking are in my gym-classes."

::​

Compa was not entirely comfortable. She told her friends off for talking like they did, but the thought remained in her mind like a comfy kitten that did not want to go away from a warm hearth. Her feelings were also mixed on the fact that her newest friend seemed to care so little about it. She noticed IF ignoring the others, but figured it was alright because they would not get along anyway.

Then her thoughts halted when the girl she spent the afternoon with opened the final clasp and slid off her coat.

First of all, how could anyone wear shorts and a tight shirt under a thin coat in winter? Or wait, was that a one-piece?

The second thing Compa noticed was entirely different, though. Aside from faint traces of acne that passed by, like she had herself, IF's skin was taut and looked smooth. Muscles rippled under her skin with every movement. Her arms and legs were a little thick for a girl, making her look not petite and frail, but nimble and strong.

IF let Compa's gaze glide over her features a little longer before stretching her back and shrugging slightly. "It's true I'm a little overweight, seventy kilos to about one fifty five in height. I'm pretty sure most of that weight is muscles, though." After a few more seconds of surprised staring, IF slid the coat back on and hid her features again, the contours vanishing under their cover before anyone would start staring. Compa also noticed that her newest friend was blushing for some reason.

Wait. Wait....

She just now realised, she did kind of ask IF to spend an afternoon together with just the two of them. And now after what just happened... did she ask the other girl on a date without realising? Compa paused, trying to think of what they did together.

Let's see... no hand-holding, no flirting, I think? No weird events or anything like that... huh, I'm in the clear. At least she was pretty sure about that. Compa knew she liked boys, so accidentally asking out a girl again would have been all kinds of weird. But why was IF blushing? She was pretty, so there was really no need to be embarassed in her opinion.

"You're pretty is what I think."
Mouth, no! Wrong signs, wrong signs!

In this very moment, with IF's green eyes widening and the pink hue on her cheeks turning a deep scarlet, Compa wanted to kick herself. She wanted to clarify or say anything at all, but with her luck today, things would just get worse. So she kept quiet and waited anxiously for what reaction she might get.

"T-Thank you." The brunette's voice was soft and weaker than usual, but the blush on her cheeks already vanished. IF did not meet her eyes, though. Compa was vaguely aware of some passing glances going their way now; IF seemed to notice them as well, seeing that she sighed and got up. "We should get going."

So back out into the cold it was; she much preferred that to the awkward atmosphere inside the mall. Once they were wandering the streets of downtown Nicos however, she realised they were mostly alone on the snowy streets and completely alone on the walkway. IF kept quiet for long minutes, though... and Compa did not feel it in her to break the silence.

In the end, it was IF who spoke up. "Um... I'm not sure how to say this, but I think there is a little something I should mention." She made a noncommital sound and turned her gaze to the brunette, panicking on the inside that the other girl did think it was a date after all.

"So... I realised a bit earlier that, uh, I'm probably giving off the wrong impression? I mean, with how I asked and everything, it makes it sound as if I asked you on a date, but I really didn't. So I hope you didn't get that impression."

Compa took a moment to digest her friend's words before relief flooded her; then she became aware of the hilarity of it all, breaking into giggles. "Heh. Hehehe...."

She could not help it, Compa had to giggle over her realisation. She was not the only one who had been worried after all. After catching herself and offering a content sigh, she smiled a little brighter at IF. "Sorry, I just... I was worried about the same thing."

This time, she could see it a little better than before; the moment IF actually realised what was said, how her lips curled upward and the weird line between her eyes vanished. The brunette worked her jaw for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Alright, good that went off without any further embarassment."

The energy field continued to transport them along as both girls stood next to each other with goofy smiles on their faces. Compa giggled again and nodded. "Yeah, that's good. We should do that again during the holidays. It's fun."

"Yeah, it is. I wouldn't mind."

 

[Naron]

Why do you have that many pictures down here, sis?... Huh. I can not imagine human friends, to be honest. Can we go meet them when I'm older?
-Purple Sister

---

Now that another year had ended and school started up again, Compa was a little bit sad. IF and her actually managed to meet up thrice a week over the holidays, but would have to go back to once or twice again.

Simply put, she was amazed; never before had she met a girl so focussed on her goal. IF's determination made Compa ponder her own actions more than she used to, seeing how little effort she gave her own studies recently. Going out with friends was just so much more fun.

It bothered her a little that IF did not seem to have any friends; the other girl freely admitted it when prompted, without being bothered much by it.

Furthermore, Compa learned a lot about responsibility in the time she knew her newest friend. That was why she decided not to go out the week of the winter solstice, after her grandfather got a cold; instead she stayed at home and took care of him just like he always took care of her when she was sick, despite his protests and reassurances.

Weeks went by and in the end, Compa remained happy about having found the courage to talk to IF that day; they were great friends. The peach-haired girl remained unhappy about being unable to celebrate the winter solstice with her, though. Not that there was much to celebrate, but having a nice get-together sounded like just the right thing to her.

Either way, Compa was determined to invite IF for the summer solstice or Day of Creation.

"I still don't get what you like about her. She's antisocial, doesn't go to any events, doesn't even talk to anyone... I give her that she's hot when the coat comes off, but that's all she has going for her." Ah, Alice. Just as usual, the smallest member of their group tried to push the topic; Compa was not exactly happy about it, but she decided that fighting over the matter would be too much. She much preferred if everyone stayed nice.

The petite blonde absent-mindedly played with her ponytail while watching Compa, everyone else looking either impartial or uninterested. Compa herself shrugged at her friend. "We get along and she is nice enough." It was the same response she gave the last four times anyone asked. Not that the others believed her, though they did not argue the matter anymore. That was a start, maybe they would actually believe her if she said it often enough.

Then, all of a sudden, sirens began to howl and the five of them stopped with what they were doing. Compa flinched at the sound and Presea almost dropped her fork; they all knew this sound from the annual test drills and two real cases that had taken place during their lifetime before.

Monster alarm.

People on the streets started to move quickly now; all over Nicos, everyone older than ten years old prepared their weapons just in case before seeking shelter in nearby buildings. Many opened their doors for others and soon the capital's streets lay empty.

::​

IF was just as surprised by the whole thing as anyone else; she had been halfway through her run when the sirens started up and quickly stopped to seek shelter. Home was too far and as she looked around, an elderly woman waved at her from her doorstep. The girl nodded appreciatively and jogged over, together with a gaggle of other people.

Everyone was let inside with a Thank You to the lady, who clapped her hands and ushered them in after they took off their shoes. A businessman muttered under his breath over being late for work while a street cleaner and a second office worker worriedly looked out of the windows. The elementary schooler in their group was following their host around as she made the place more presentable, chattering excitedly at the smallest prompt.

IF wanted to go out into the streets and patrol for Monsters that made it past the city's defenses, just like the Guild agents had begun to do by now. What stopped her was the vivid memory of Histoire's words; that most people her age were too full of themselves and charged ahead without thinking about it.

As much as she hated it, she would have to sit this one out. Breakthroughs were unlikely in the first place, but getting reckless now might end up hurting her more than sitting tight and maybe missing an opportunity.

Her thoughts were interrupted by something cold touching her fingers; IF blinked down at the glass in her hand, then back up at her host, who held a tray and a grandmotherly smile. "Here, have some refreshments, dear. You must be thirsty after exercising."

"Oh, thank you," the brunette mumbled in surprise before taking a sip and nodding appreciately; the elder just ruffled her hair and moved on to her other guests. IF bore it and started looking around to pass the time, noting fine suits and overalls and everything in-between. People sat in some mixed groups, discussing some show or other. Another elder was with the little boy right now, telling him a story; the child listened raptly, a sight that IF knew all too well from home.

Then her eyes fell on a few boxes pushed to the side and she got an idea. When her host passed by the next time, she gently pulled at her sleeve to get her attention. "Ma'am? What are those for?"

The old lady followed her gaze to the boxes, then she shrugged weakly. "Oh, I am still busy moving in and my son carried those, they are too heavy for me. Living in the capital is much different than toward the sea, I tell you, dear. Why do you ask?"

IF simply smiled and got up. "I can give you a hand with those," she said. Some other people noticed their conversation and started listening in while the woman showed a pleasantly surprised expression. "Oh my, thank you, dear. But they are really heavy. Are you sure?"

"Don't worry," the brunette reassured her host and went over to lift the largest box; it comfortably fit onto her angled arms, easily going up. Having something spacious like this in her hands was still different from lifting weights at the gym, but not too different. IF held up the box and only barely managed to flash a smile over it. "See? Now where does this go?"

She went through the flat under her host's directions, a spring in her step about being able to repay the kindness; a few other people followed with the remaining boxes rather quickly and everything was set where it belonged within minutes. Those who had nothing to carry kept them updated over what was going on outside, their cellphones receiving new chirps from the Basilicom steadily.

When sirens called again to note the lockdown's end, everyone said their goodbyes and headed out. The old lady saw them off at the door with a wide smile on her face; one which IF shared as she shook out her legs a few times. Then it faded and returned to a neutral expression as she got going again, mind back on the exercise.

Or she would have, had her phone not rung this instant. IF could not help but roll her eyes at the additional interruption. The sweat on her skin had mostly dried, but it was still January and she stood in the cold taking a phone call. "IF speaking?"

"Ah, Iffy! I just wanted to make sure you're okay... I mean, you said you're going to Virtua, right? And then the alarm and I got worried and-" "Compa?" She gently interrupted her friend's babbling and let the annoyance fade; Mari and everyone else at home knew that she was fine either way, so someone calling to check on her was an unusual experience.

IF turned and started walking while reassuring the other girl. "I'm perfectly fine, don't worry. I was still in the city when the alarm started. What about you?"

"Hm? Oh, right; I was with my friends, but we all decided to go home now. I still have homework to do, too and-" Compa happily chatted away while IF went up on the walkways, wandering over solid air and toward the capital's border. It was true she was going to Virtua Forest, but not just to train like she told her friend. Or Mari, for that matter.

The brunette knew that she would have to go there and further outside when working with the Guild. She barely remembered what happened that day, yet had to make sure seeing the place would not trigger her. This task in itself filled her with dread that went suppressed, but the fact she had someone just talking at her helped take some of it away. IF's tense muscles relaxed fractionally, the girl herself breathing in crisp, cold air.

"So, um," Compa started reluctantly after a while. IF just waited patiently for her to continue while stepping aside to clear the way, letting a group of Basilicom-attendants pass in the other direction. "I was wondering... is it okay if I come visit your place sometime? I noticed I've never really seen it and got curious."

The brunette paused in her step for a few moments, pondering what to say. She did not really want to show her home to people, but Compa was a friend. In the end, this was what made the difference to her. "Sure, I guess? Just don't expect too much."

"Don't worry, Iffy; I'm sure it's a great place. See you in class tomorrow!"
"See you."

IF ended the call and sighed over the nickname made out of her nickname. Compa probably did not even realise what she actually called her and the brunette did not have the heart to tell her. Her phone quickly wandered back into one of her many pockets and the girl took up speed.

The road soon fell and led into a tunnel with no less than four security checkpoints; they were manned with twice as many people today, which IF could understand in light of what happened. Virtua Forest was the only publicly accessible area outside a city all around Gamindustri, after all. She reasoned there should be no tourists around this afternoon, though; they would probably stay in the city right after a monster alarm.

Nonetheless, men and women she passed nodded at her or waved, to which she responded in kind while jogging past.

When next the girl saw daylight, it was in the middle of untamed nature; the area around the exit was free of leafless trees and bushes, but they were not far away, growing without order or control. It looked much less clean or orderly than the parks inside, but also something else IF had trouble describing even to herself. Her dread slowly left and she began to walk, head turning this way and that. Cold wind rustled bare wood and made her coat flutter as she went, uncomfortable tension rolling in her stomach.

She did not feel much different out there, she thought while stepping around a large root. Aside from the fact there were no actual pathways to follow, she might as well have been inside.

The only thing IF would never, ever see within a city was the group of Dogoos hobbling by, just a few dozen metres away.

She stilled and watched the monsters with sharp eyes, immediately recalling what she read about them. Dogoo, weakest known Monster. Monocoloured slime with a short animal tail and snout, as well as large eyes. Appears cute and is not hostile while approaching, but corrosive on the inside. A dozen and more can merge together into a Giant Dogoo that is much more dangerous. Preferred strategy is jumping on the target and drawing them in for digestion once they got a hold on it.

It was her first time actually seeing monsters; she avoided Virtua Forest so far for fear of reacting badly to it, which her schools and the orphanage accepted when they organised their field trips. The Dogoos themselves, half a dozen by her count, noticed her after a few more seconds and turned to hop her way with wagging tails. They did look goofy instead of threatening, but IF knew it was just a trick. Weak as they were, their main targets were children fooled by their cutesy behaviour.

Strangely enough, her excitement was barely noticeable, now that she began to focus on the threat instead.

The brunette took a few quick glances around and sighed; she had only her katars on her and was too young for a firearm anyway, so her only way of dealing with them without getting into touching distance was magic. Magic that she would much rather keep a secret but was also dying to test out.

After another glance, IF focussed and drew on the power surging through her body. She plucked the smallest possible piece off of the mass and directed it through her arm, into her palm. With one hand directed at the closing Monsters, IF's eyes narrowed. Once she pushed, a tongue of fire licked out of her skin; it easily bridged the remaining ten metres before engulfing her targets, making them boil before popping like overripe fruit. Silvery light shone for but an instant as all six Dogoos disintegrated into particles that quickly vanished.

The whole area steamed for a few seconds before surrounding cold air rushed in and returned the equilibrium; IF regarded her slightly stinging hand, then the slightly scorched earth. Nothing caught fire in the wet and cold weather, which was a plus; considering her barely passable control and incredible reserves in Spellpower, she really only could use fire in situations like these.

"...should've taken the damn test...," the girl muttered while walking away; she was a stupid child back then, the consequences of which she now felt. It made her first slain monsters feel much less of an accomplishment than they should have.

IF tried to teach herself what any mage learned under a teacher over the years, using books and the internet as best as she could, though quite a bit later than any other potential mage. By the time she realised nobody would force her into a line of work she did not want because of her high SP, it was far too late to get the basics down into her instincts.

At this point it was simple embarassment stopping her from having her magic assessed, as well as the fear that her lack of control might lead to trouble with her contract.

Into her mixture of euphoria and unhappiness stumbled a lone Dogoo as it crossed her path, which she drowned in a wave of white light from her left hand; then she once again thanked the Lady and her ancestry for having three affinities instead of one as was normal; they were fire, light, and healing respectively.

Of course she knew she could use the other elements and pure magic, yet she did not dare. Her control over the elements she was most inclined to was already nothing to speak of, so she really did not need to have shenanigans happening, such as accidentally electrocuting herself.

Another problem, she found, was that her prodigious amount of Spellpower made it even more difficult to control her magic. Another three Dogoos exploded into particles when her light crashed into them. She could only guess how much she had to put into her magic, but the feeling and instructional videos were enough to tell her it was a lot.

Quite some time passed quietly as IF wandered, occasionally greeting a Guild-patrol or civilians walking past, but without anyone stopping her. Then she heard the rustling and turned her head immediately, coming face to face with the aggressive gaze of a Wolf.

IF blinked only once before assessing her situation, knowing she had no time for fear. Drawing her weapons would take too long, which left only magic, seeing that she was dumb enough not to strap on the katars.

Kicking herself mentally, the girl drew some more fire into her arm and turned fully to the Monster, which slowly stalked forward and began to growl at her. IF knew they were fast and smart, but also pack hunters. This one was definitely alone -she would have seen an ambush in this area- and appeared to deem her easy prey. From what she read, IF had to wait until one jumped so they could no longer dodge.

So she waited as it drew closer, closer, and closer still.

The misty breaths each of them produced almost touched before the Monster leaped, only to be bathed in fire the moment it left the ground; yet IF had not properly adjusted for something stronger than a Dogoo, which allowed it to push through and sink its teeth into her hand.

The girl squeak-screamed in surprise as pain surged through her whole arm; It hurt horribly, burning as if she had once again tried to control far too much fire.

IF quickly grabbed for the Wolf's muzzle with her free hand to pull, then pushed the injured hand down. Despite the pain gnawing at her mind and a layer of crimson forming on her hand, she did not cease, pushing through with gritted teeth. Her hands slowly parted the offending Monster's jaw.

Even though it tried to bite down again, it was ultimately unable to stop her. IF took her strength together and pushed another gout of flame right down its gullet from a single finger. The beast squealed in pain before exploding into light.

IF immediately clutched her bloody hand with a hiss and pulled more of her Spellpower there; many, many accidents had given her a good idea about how to use healing magic on herself. As green light began to glimmer around the wound, her pierced flesh quickly knitted itself back together. IF spent that time staring at the crimson droplets falling down from it. It was a morbid sight, yet one she felt she had to get used to in time.

Sighing and trying her best to ignore the pain, IF grabbed for the package of tissues in one of her pockets; shredded skin had regrown without even a hint of scar tissue by the time she finished wiping off the blood. Her hands kept shaking all the way, still filled with adrenaline that came much too late.

The girl took a few deep breaths to relax her body, though she was still coiled like a spring. She slowly calmed down physically when nothing happened for a while, the cool wind soothing where blood had warmed her skin before.

Be it either the fact she was treading away from usually used paths or simple luck, no one had spotted her or her predicament thus far. IF decided not to push it, pocketed the bloody cloth and checked her phone's compass to make sure she was turning in the right direction.

That Wolf scared her, but she knew it could have been much, much worse. No getting triggered by either the monsters or the environment, no nothing. IF pushed down her agitation and calmed her upset stomach by walking steadily. Traces of blood were still on her hands, but nobody would notice those before she got to wash them.

All in all, the girl found, she was quite happy with the day's results. Several Dogoos, a Wolf, and all of them without having been seen by anyone.

IF hugged herself in delight, knowing that this was only her first step. She had two more years to prepare; once it was time, that she swore to herself, something like this would not happen again.

. .
. .​

Days went by peacefully and Saturday soon arrived, with Compa humming happily as she tied her shoelaces. It was almost noon and about time she headed over; a strip of paper with the address for IF's place was stored in her pocket, just in case she forgot it on the way. Several embarassing incidents of that kind taught the peach-haired girl to be cautious in this regard.

Unfortunately, her belief that nothing in the world could surprise her this day took a damper at around the time she came down from the walkway; as the girl took a little hop off the last bit of its energy field, she spied a sign proclaiming the nearest building to be Sunflower Orphanage. A quick double-check with her note confirmed that this was the place.

Compa took a deep breath as some things started to click into place. Now she knew why IF never talked about her parents even if she tried to prompt her into it.

A faint throb went through her chest at the thought of her own late family, the pain lessened by time and her grandfather's care.

After another moment she used to steady herself and shiver in the upcoming breeze, Compa carried on and through the front gate; with the orderly lawn unoccupied in this time of year, there was nothing to distract her from the sign put up right before a crossing. It instructed all first-time visitors to go straight forward to the reception; recurring visitors as well as inhabitants were allowed to skip that and continue on to the orphanage proper over the right turn.

After reading the instructions carefully and rubbing her running nose, Compa nodded to herself and went through the doors up ahead. They slid aside in front of her and fell back in place once she passed, warm air immediately making the girl's cheeks prickle as she looked around.

Aside from her and a middle-aged woman manning the counter, there was no one in sight. The pinkette gently marked her progress in whatever she was reading, then offered her a friendly nod. "Welcome to the Sunflower. I take it you want to visit someone?"

Compa nodded enthusiastically before realising she ought to say something, which she quickly added in with the hope nobody noticed the pause: "Yep. I'm Colette, uh, Padmore." She had no idea if her full name was in any way relevant, but might as well say it just in case. After a moment of thought and a faint blush, she offered another addition: "I wanted to see Iffy... ah, Isabelle."

There she went and went two for two feet in her mouth.

Contrary to her expectation however, the adult's expression brightened; even though she chuckled, too. "Hehehe, is that so? Isabelle rarely gets any visitors, that's quite a surprise. Though you better not mention that nickname inside or no one's going to let her forget it. Come on dear, I can show you where to go... and I'm Marianne, by the way."

She tapped a few buttons and got up while pushing a few strands of hair aside; Compa took note of the few wrinkles adorning her forehead and cheeks, as well as the gentle yet firm stride she showed once standing. Then she decided she liked her.

They passed through a door in the back, where her guide high-fived with a tall man to tag out; he entered the reception-area as they left it, leaving Compa to look around at the clean hallway. The walls were white at first, but turned yellow after the next set of doors; those led them into a somewhat bigger hall filled with shoeracks and a door outside.

She left her shoes here on the rack closest to the exit, the brown plush carpet soft under her socks once she set foot on it. Marianne gave her an appreciative nod before shepherding the girl along.

"It's nice to meet you after all," the woman remarked as they went down another hallway, its walls brimming with pictures and drawings. "Isabelle did mention you a few times. I'm glad she made a friend in school."

Compa just hummed in response, not really having any good answer beyond "She is nice". Her guide did not seem to mind either way; the two of them passed through spacious hallways and by well-furnished common rooms. A few gazes went her way, though Compa hardly noticed while taking in the place. It was her first time seeing an orphanage from the inside, though she already realised it was not much different from most normal houses. Just bigger and with more people.

As they wandered on, chatting a little about school, the teenager soon began to hear a choir of children giggling and squealing happily, with some more shouts and other sounds mixed in. Marianne's eyebrows rose the tiniest bit, but nothing else on her face gave away what might be going on. The two approached the common room the commotion came from and stealthily peeked inside.

Only to find IF on all fours, with a little boy and girl riding on her back. Other children were playing around those three while the brunette walked easily, showing a fond smile to the world.

That was all Compa could see before a calloused hand gently pulled her back around and a few metres away. "You shouldn't mention that to her," Marianne told her with a gentle gaze and a nod toward the mostly open doors. "The younger children love her, but Isabelle gets easily embarassed if people see her like that. Okay?"

She quickly nodded. "Okay, I won't say a word.... but I never thought Iff-ah, Isa does things like that." It took a quick correction to not spill IF's nickname, which the older woman took with an appreciative wink and a shrug.

"I'm not entirely sure why," she honestly told Compa, "but she did this ever since she was little. It's sad she will never go into work with children, but that's not who she is.

"Anyway," the woman mumbled while turning back to the doors. Then she rapped on them a few times. "Have you seen Isabelle? Her friend is here." The only response was a lot of frantic whispering and rustling, followed by a ruffled IF walking out. The girl herself was followed by a few tiny heads peeking out of the room, watching them.

Compa pretended not to notice the children and waved at her friend, who did the same before ushering her away. She did not resist, though her and Marianne exchanged knowing looks before Compa was around a corner and out of sight.

The walk to IF's room became quiet after that, interrupted only by new directions. Her friend had a room of her own, just like every child here at fourteen and older. The inside of it was almost exactly how Compa expected it to be, too: neat and tidy, but also barren. Nothing but a sky blue wallpaper adorned the walls, no toys or dolls or plushies were placed on the bed and desk. IF had no other furniture except for a wardrobe, either.

"Sorry, I don't really spend much time in here. Guess it shows." She apparently noticed Compa's frown for the instance it was there. IF turned her chair around and sat down on the bed, so her visitor eagerly took the offered seat. She used this moment to check out the small stack of books next to IF's laptop, finding a pleasant surprise which she brought up immediately.

"You're interested in history, too?" Compa excitedly pointed at the two topmost books for emphasis, her joy rising once again. Now she knew they had something in common, not that they needed to to get along.

IF only shrugged in response, though. "A bit. I'm mostly reading recent history... and there isn't really anything about the time before Tari, anyway."

That last part was unfortunately true. Compa knew it by heart, seeing how often she scoured nearby libraries and the internet. The actual reason behind Tari's fall was still unknown to this day, almost one and a half millenia later. Goddess Blue Heart had vanished one day, the same day large parts of the inland fell to ruin and became the desert later formed into Planeptune. With that, many historical accounts of previous nations were lost.

"I see, I'm really curious about these things. Did you know Tari was founded somewhere between Planeptune and Lastation? They're still finding old ruins to this day, too." It was nice to have something to talk about, Compa found. IF obviously agreed, considering how fast she relaxed. "I saw the first part somewhere, but the second is new. Do they find anything interesting?"

The peach-haired girl shrugged in response. "They still haven't found the capital. I read that lastationite teams recently found a few buildings underground, too. It's an old shopping mall or something like that, and the first time we ever got preserved Tarian clothes. Turns out their styles were pretty similar to our own, but fancy robes were used for special occasions instead of suits and dresses."

Compa continued with a few other tidbits from other places and the like, content with the fact IF paid attention and asked questions. The topic might be a bit unusual, but their friendship was probably not normal in the first place.

They left the subject matter soon, talking about school and homework and other things. Now that she somehow got the ball rolling, Compa had no trouble finding more to talk about; it was always like that, only the start remained difficult. IF answered her and offered a lot of trivia, too.

At some point however, there was a knock on the door and Marianne's faintly familiar voice called out: "It's time for dinner, girls!" Her friend blinked in confusion before flipping open her phone to check. Compa was confused as well, mainly about the time they just spent chatting. Then she realised she never really got to talk with IF for long. It was nice.

In addition, there was really nothing else to do here; her friend had no games or movies, or anything else of that kind.

"Alright, I'm coming!" IF waited a few seconds before sighing, then got up. "Time sure was flying today." They shrugged at each other, though neither of them seemed unhappy. Compa got up as well, all smiles yet again. "It was. You should come by at my place sometime, too."

The other girl took that with another shrug. "Sure, I don't mind."

. .
. .​

IF only barely suppressed another sigh as she was let into the Padmores' apartment. She should have expected that 'sometime' actually meant 'as soon as possible'. Which, in this case, was right the following day.

With their greetings out of the way, Compa already led her through the hallway and into a spacious living room. There however, their path was blocked. By an old man holding a tray and a smile. "Look at that, my little Colette brought someone new. Perhaps you are the one for her?"

Even though his tone made it clear he was joking, IF failed to stop herself from blushing. Compa did not fare much better, though she started to pout instead. "Why do you do this every time, grandpa?" It came out more as a whine, though the elder responded by chuckling and holding the tray out to them. "Because embarassing your grandkids is the best part of being old. Here you go, girls."

The hot chocolate seemed to mollify her friend somewhat; IF took one of the offered mugs as well after thanking her host. Looking at him more closely, she started to notice some similarities. He was not that old yet, perhaps in his sixties or seventies; fine lines had already left wrinkles, but his hair showed but a scant few white strands amidst its light brown. His features held the same softness his granddaughter possessed, and he had the same peach-coloured eyes.

That was all she could actually consider before they were off with their drinks in hand; Compa's room was right behind the living room.

Its spaciousness was the first thing IF took note of. She did not dabble much in how much housing cost, but her original assumption of Compa being from an average family was immediately revised; her friend was at least upper middle class. This room alone was thrice the size of her own; on top of that, it was filled with various things from plushed toys to a wide TV on the wall.

"You have a nice room," IF could not help but comment while turning her head. Once she was done taking in the furniture, her gaze wandered to the walls; their cream-coloured tone was barely visible below an onslaught of posters, many of them depicting bands and idol groups. Most of those she did not recognise.

Impossible to oversee, however, were half a dozen images of Purple Heart herself; it was all the same shot, depicted from the waist up in a flowing blue dress. The ruler of Planeptune smiled down at IF from every wall, her expression filled with high expectation and a soothing note alike.

The brunette kept looking at her with a mixture of feelings she did not like; she faintly remembered Purple Heart from when she was a little girl.

It took her several seconds to get a grip and continue examining everything; if Compa noticed the pause, she did not say anything. Nonetheless, IF quickly searched for a distraction and soon found it on those very walls. "Is that 5pb.?"

Not that there was any mistaking her. A soft face framed by blue hair, her frame clad in black and purple with just a hint of skin visible where shirt and skirt met. She stood all alone amidst what was mostly groups, holding up her guitar.

The leanboxian idol's meteoric rise to the top was almost unmatched in its speed, having taken about a year. Now 5pb. was twenty years old and likely the most famous singer around the world. Her secret was none, too. With her together rose the interweaving of song and magic, yet none that tried could hope to match 5pb.'s genius.

To IF, who always liked to listen to music during her exercises, she was rather familiar. Ever since she picked up her first 5pb.-disk sixteen months earlier, at least half of her dedicated playlist consisted of this woman's songs.

Compa happily took her question and started talking, taking her through an experience similar to the previous day.

Some thirty minutes passed with idle chatting until IF made her first mistake of the day; she had been wondering about the topic before, but seeing how well-off her friend appeared only spiked the girl's curiousity. "I've been wondering, what are your parents doing for a living?"

The way Compa stilled immediately conveyed many things. Her gaze was lowered gently, then the girl shook her head twice. Words unspoken passed between them, injecting guilt into IF: she was not the only one who lost her parents early.

Then however, a weak voice interrupted her frantic search for a way to change the subject. "I... I'll tell you if you tell me about yours?" Compa appeared as insecure as she sounded, obviously unused to speaking about the matter.

In IF's mind, curiousity and decency held a short but bloody war over what to do, but were quickly forced to a compromise by the rest of her. "Only if you're really okay with talking about it. I won't force you."

The smile she got in response told IF she did the right thing. Compa took a deep breath, then closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't know... are you okay with it?"

It was a good question, all things considered. IF had no idea how she would take talking about the matter. In the end, she figured she rather start instead. Compa was her first actual friend, so she really did not mind sharing with her. The brunette slowly sank to the ground and crossed her legs, eyes on her friend.

"I don't really remember much of it, I was four at the time. I know it was Lady Purple Sister's birthday, though." No one could forget such a date, after all. "We were out on a stroll in Virtua and got attacked by Monsters. No one near enough to help and too many to fight, especially with me there." Another wave of guilt rolled in, this one much different than the other. IF forced it away, she knew it was not her fault. "Most of this is from what other people told me. My mom ran away with me while dad held them up, and Lady Purple Heart even showed up to help. She wasn't fast enough for them, just for me... she's really the only thing I can still remember."

Something deep within her kept on throbbing as she spoke, but IF was overall fine. She would have expected it to hurt a lot more.

Meanwhile, Compa observed her with teary eyes, taking note of the slightest shaking in the brunette's shoulders. She could tell IF did not even realise it, with an inner strength Compa lacked. It was inspiring once again, bringing Compa to gather her courage and take over once her friend finished. "Eh, well... I guess yours is a little more impressive than mine, not that it's any better."

She immediately clamped down on herself for almost starting to ramble again, then continued after a pause. "I don't remember my mothers at all. You know how some lesbian couples have their children together?" It was not an uncommon practice for both sides to have each other's child at the same time, allowing for siblings of the same age without them having to be twins. "Well, that's what my mothers wanted to do, too..."

She trailed off, paused and frowned at herself for the lump in her throat. "They both died during childbirth. Grandpa took me in immediately and cared for me, so that's really the only big difference to you in the end."

IF kept quiet over that, considering her response before sighing. "That much bad luck is rare... what about your sibling?"

Again, Compa just shook her head. "Stillborn. I never even got to know my mothers or my sister... but it's been so long, I think the time helped me a bit. Grandpa took good care of me, too."

IF winced and lowered her head, unable to comprehend how much statistics alone had spit into her friend's face. With Planeptune's advances in technology, losing the mother during childbirth was barely even possible.

It took Compa a moment as she licked her lips, but then the girl weakly changed the topic; she was shaking quite a bit more than IF had before. "I have my uncle Jiro, too. Well... he's not really my uncle, just someone grandpa gets along so well with. He doesn't visit all that often, but he is really sweet."

The brunette just shook her head with a weak smile and wandered over to place a hand on Compa's shoulder. "Sorry to hear that... I guess we have something in common after all?"

Despite everything, the peach-haired girl barked out a laugh and covered the hand gratefully with her own. "You're horrible, Iffy..."

Afterward, the afternoon actually became rather pleasant to the girls as they forgot about that conversation. They played some of Compa's games, enjoying themselves and chatting about trivial matters. As much as IF usually disliked doing so, she did not mind the distraction for either of them.

In time, both of them would get to think about what the other said. Both of them would learn more about each other from that, their bond growing.

 

[Naron]

The Land of White Serenity is everything its name promises and more; even though only a native would remain comfortable staying outside for long, especially at night, Lowee is the most peaceful nation of the four in appearance. Loweean air, albeit cold, is clear and refreshing. The people might appear quite detached because few are seen outside in less than thick winter clothes, but they will always have a warm welcome for anyone who wants to withstand the cold and visit them.
-The Hitchhiker's Guide to Gamindustri, Volume 3: "Lowee"

---

A snowstorm was coming up, which would end the day's activities early in northern Lowee without doubt. It would cover everything, even the crater left behind by a lone figure roaming the frozen landscape. Its brown and grey form alone sullied the white blanket of innocence.

Blanc wondered whether she should suppress the storm for her citizens, but ultimately decided it was fine to let this happen once in a while; in addition, walking through this kind of weather was a feeling she rarely got to enjoy.

She was Lowee's White Heart, currently returning from the extermination of a swarm of Phoenixes. The avian monsters rarely appeared this far to the north, being more common in Leanbox and Lastation. On the other hand, Lowee had an overabundance of Dolphins and Whales in exchange.

The wind already began to pick up, curling her brown hair all around; she enjoyed the sensation, sighing in content over her tingling skin.

Either way, Blanc decided to call it a day and return home in a few hours; they were ahead on paperwork anyway, especially with Mina's contributions. The Nishizawa family's second daughter was more than just pulling her weight even though these were still her early years as Oracle. This was a great ease on the CPU herself, who could spend more time killing Monsters that way. Now she even managed to get herself some free time.

On the flipside, she knew, it was probably better not to leave Keiko unsupervised for too long. Her previous Oracle, despite being sent into retirement because she kept working too much at her old age, was still coming by to help out. She would definitely work overtime again if Blanc did not send her home.

Her feet carelessly pushed the snow aside without any trouble, the cold not much of a bother after all; she was still clad in a heavy coat, though mostly for the feeling of wearing something warm and fluffy. There was quite a bit of distance toward the next town and a small forest of pine trees stood close to where the goddess walked; they huddled around a set of hills that might protect them from the wind.

Amidst the calm thoughts of how to start her next manuscript however, something yellow caught her eye. At first Blanc assumed it to be a snowrose, knowing that those were in bloom at the moment.

Idling with the thought of plucking such a flower and wearing it in her hair for the time she spent here, the CPU turned her head; what she found, however, was not a flower. It was close to yellow in appearance only; strands of hair rolled in the wind around a person's head, who was collapsed on the ground face-down.

The brunette cursed under her breath and rushed over at speeds that sent the small layer of snow on the ground flying in all directions; all the while she called out to the human and quickly assessed the situation.

First of all, it was a girl. Maybe a young woman; the fact it was so easy to see was that she had neither a coat nor any kind of protection against the cold; she wore indoor clothes, a blue skirt and a light green shirt. Turning her around and checking her body revealed that the girl was unconcious, as well as freezing.

"Damn it... just what are you doing out here?!" Anger bubbled up from within Blanc, but she forced it back down and quickly lifted the petite frame in a princess carry. Flying to a hospital would probably take too long, so she had to stabilise her first. With a snowstorm coming up.

Forcing the storm away would not help in the slightest, though; Blanc just sighed and stomped down, having the earth around them convulse and form up into a hill around the two. Snow melted or was pushed away while the CPU's power formed a cave with a small entrance, big enough to move around in; however, she sealed the entrance shut with ice.

The only things she still needed now were more light and warmth, the former mostly for when her freezing charge came to. There was little else on her mind at the moment, she just split her attention between recycling the air within this enclosed space and warming it at the same time. At least this was no large area she had to keep under her control, or she might tire herself out.

Only half a minute had passed so far, so she made good time. Blanc allowed herself a small grin before gently putting her hands on the girl's mid-section, right below the breasts. Forcing a wave of healing magic, the CPU calmed herself. Her charge should be fine, even though the frostbite was nasty.

Once more, she cursed the fact she had no aptitude for healing magic. Every CPU could do some, but none of her generation possessed any significant healing capabilities. It was enough to treat basically any injury a human might have short of death, but that took time. Plus, the effects on CPUs were nonexistent. If Blanc ever got lucky enough to get a Candidate, she truly hoped for one with a healing aptitude.

The CPU shook her head and switched topics in her mind. She really did not expect her break to end like this, not even close. On the other hand, this was better than not finding the girl at all.

Her magic slowly worked through the frozen tissue and repaired what it could, but the aftereffects would probably still be uncomfortable; she treated frostbite quite often over the years, so Blanc knew that by heart.

Nonetheless, the immediate danger was soon over. A wave of relief surged through the brunette at the sight before she quickly warmed the air up some more; considering that the child's clothes were not as cold as the ground they sat on, taking them away would not help either.

With one last effort, Blanc hardened the ground below her charge and had it warm up as well, then she slumped backward and came to sit at the wall.

A few minutes later, she knew, and that girl would have been dead. Lowee's climate was harsh, so she wondered what in the world brought one of her people to run outside dressed like this.

Now that Blanc had time to take a closer look, she started by quickly checking the girl's pockets; nothing inside, she really only had what she wore on her person. The brunette wondered if maybe a carriage broke down, but discarded the idea. Such a thing would not happen in the middle of a snow field; not to mention that none of the few cities close enough together to keep streets aboveground were nearby. The next town lay a kilometre away and this girl was probably from there.

Aside from that, she appeared to be a pretty girl as well; even though her blonde hair was damp from lying in the snow and dissheveled, it did show signs of good care. The child was slender and sported a peaceful expression while asleep. Taller than Blanc herself and also a little bit above the average female citizen, if she saw that right. All in all, her age could be anywhere between sixteen and twenty.

Her appearance gave no indication for why this girl was out and about like this, outside of the protective walls. Blanc pondered the matter for several moments.

Then an idea formed and reared its ugly head, reminding the CPU of a problem her nation still faced. She carefully crouched forward and took off the girl's shirt to check her arms. Nothing. Nothing on her back, either; Blanc decided not to check other places and just assume it was not domestic abuse after all. It was a rare occurence anyway, especially with her bringing down the hammer on any offenders - sometimes literally, in the most horrendous cases.

In this case, the pun did not manage to tease a smile out of her. Abusive families were still the number one reason for frozen corpses to be found out in the wild. The very same thing that almost happened to this girl, had she not been around.

Blanc gently warmed the shirt with some more air before pulling it over the blonde's head again. She must be passed out from exhaustion, considering that all of this moving around and the sensation of magic flowing through her body did not wake her up.

After heaving another sigh, Blanc returned to the wall, head tilted to both keep an eye on her charge and on the small layer of ice separating them from the outside. A small mental snap made it flow around and become as clear as glass. Blanc passed the time looking outside, watching how snow and ice began to fall. The storm howling out there was just a dull roar inside, unable to get in no matter how much frozen water it threw against the barrier.

She was missing out on walking through the storm. It did not matter much, but the brunette was still a little disappointed. Her charge healed and would only need a check-up to make sure, so Blanc would have to wait for now.

. .
. .​

She became a little bit restless after some hours had passed, but Blanc could cope with doing nothing quite well. Her cellphone was upgraded with Planeptunian tech, mostly because they simply had the best electronics imaginable; she needed to be reachable at any time, even in a storm such as this one.

However, the brunette held back on making any calls; she just sent a note back to Lowee Castle so no one would worry about where she went. The remainder of her time, Blanc spent creating the framework for her new story; doing something this dark was not what she usually did, but it was worth a try. Maybe this one would finally become good enough to be published.

When she noticed the little bit of daylight subsiding, the CPU got a fire going while opening up the ice; taking care of the smoke on top of keeping the air warm was just calling for it. The constant strain on her terraforming-abilities was already tiring and only centuries of experience kept her in a state to keep this up. As well as Lowee's high Share count, that was.

The storm was still going outside, though in the process of subsiding, when the girl stirred with a groan. Blanc was already by her side the moment her eyelids rolled open, blue eyes staring at the cave's ceiling without much comprehension; the CPU gently put an arm under her shoulders and helped her sit up while explaining: "I found you out there in the snowfield. You're safe now."

Her charge blinked a few times and turned to look at the storm roaring on the outside, still partly walled off with ice. There was a hole letting in cold air, but Blanc quickly converted it and kept the warmth inside as well as she could. It was probably warmer in here than a summer day in Leanbox, where most people did not even leave their homes to stay out of the sun.

"Um, I... I... oh heavens!" The whisper ended in an outcry while the girl grabbed onto Blanc and held on for dear life; probably the shock from realising what almost happened to her. The brunette got this kind of reaction before, so she knew just to hold her tightly until she calmed down a bit.

"Oh no, I never... I, I almost...."
"Shh, it's fine."

Blanc gently stroked her back, letting her cry it out and repeating what she said before when necessary; a minute or two passed and the girl soon calmed down. At that point, Blanc slowly stopped comforting the child and let go, holding her at arm's length. "What's your name?"

"F-Fina. T-Thank you for saving me, I am so glad...." She trailed off, but Blanc merely smiled and let go of her shoulders; this one took her situation better than a few others she saw. Fina herself took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, then her own lips curled into a bright smile. She once again looked at the brunette and bowed her head. "I mean it, I am incredibly grateful for what you did. Truly you must hold the Lady's blessings for such a kindness."

She just waved it off; anyone would have helped out when they found a person passed out like this. Even though it was a little bit amusing to be praised with her own blessing again. However, More important to Blanc right now was what brought the blonde out into the snow. "It's nothing, really. What were you doing out there in the snow to begin with? And in indoor clothes no less."

Fina looked herself over at that and, for some reason, blushed heavily. "Oh, uh... well, I kind of ran away without thinking straight." The girl lowered her gaze sheepishly, not meeting Blanc's confused expression. "You see, I was not in much luck up to now. I have two older siblings, so I can not inherit the family business. My grades in everything but math were just average, too. What I mean is, well, I always wanted to be an accountant and I got the math down for that, but... a boy my age from a well-off family was interested in me; mother pressed for me to accept his proposal, but I didn't want to.... so...."

She stopped there, but this gave Blanc more than enough to work with. The brunette finished what the blonde left hanging in the room: "So you ran away?"

Fina just nodded sadly and pulled her legs up to her chin, a cold breeze from outside playing with her hair. "It is pathetic, really. I do not want to get married and stay at home. I do not like Koujiro that way to begin with, but all I managed was to almost die two or three hours after running off and now I'm bothering the nice girl who saved me with all of this. Ah, what would my Lady think of me?"

She started rambling at this point while Blanc thought about the problem at hand; it would not do to just bring this girl back home. Even though arranged marriages were legal in Lowee, it was unusual to do it like this. Either the family arranged something very early, when the child was around six to ten years old, or not at all. She also long since made forcing a child into an arranged marriage against their will illegal. Sadly, the border between nudging them to accept and forcing them was not very clear.

"Fina." The girl shut up in an instant and focussed her attention on Blanc, who looked back with interest. The flickering fire cast shadows over their faces. "How old are you?"

"Um, seventeen." So that was as expected; the CPU nodded once and decided to just do what she always did in a situation like this one. People in Lowee could go and live by themselves earlier if they had a valid reasoning, after all. Nonetheless, she should ask just to make sure. "You have no desire to marry that boy, so why not leave your home properly? You're old enough to live by yourself."

Fina shivered a little, whether from the question or from the air was unsure; she also lowered her gaze and looked as if she would break down in tears again. Then however, she spoke sadly and without ever looking at the brunette: "Mother only wants for me to be happy. She just does not believe in me is all. If I did that, it would break her heart and I do not want that... just what kind of daughter would want to hurt her parents like that?"

So the problem was not that the mother wanted to better her standing, but that she wanted a good future for her child too much? Of course, it was never easy. Blanc mulled this over; she already knew what she wanted to say, but Fina was currently a bit unstable and might not be happy to hear it. What was more, the silence between the two of them quickly became awkward. "You have to make that decision, though. Things rarely turn out perfect for everyone, but they won't get better for you if you don't try."

Both of them kept quiet again, the silence stretching while the fire slowly subsided; Blanc threw more of the wood she grew previously onto it. As the flames started to lick at their new fuel, a quiet grumbling could be heard and Fina clutched her stomach. "Uah, I'm hungry."

Blanc did not have any food with her. At least the storm was almost completely gone, so they could get going soon. "I will bring you back home in a few minutes." Still, this was no good for Blanc. She did not want to leave this girl to herself in such a situation; she should at least give her a proper choice here, not just between a predetermined path and a complete unknown. "If you feel like taking matters into your own hands, I can get you a job and a place to stay."

Now the blonde looked up in surprise, which made Blanc smirk a little; the shadows hid it from her charge, though. Of course she would look after them, that much was nothing.

"B-But... how can you say something like that? I mean I'm grateful, but shouldn't you ask your parents about something like that first?"

What was that cracking noise, Blanc wondered. Only to realise she still held a piece of wood a moment ago. Throwing the paste aside and against the wall, she scowled at the flinching girl. "I'm thirty freaking times older than you, so cut the crap!"

With how Fina looked like a deer in headlights, the CPU quickly reined in her boiling anger; snapping at Vert was okay, she could take it. Snapping at a child, or most any human for that matter, was not. Just why were there so many people thinking she was a kid?

"Th-Thirty... oh heavens!"

...
So much for not giving herself away.

While Blanc was still getting unhappy about what she just blurted out without thinking, Fina kneeled before her and quickly continued: "I-I'm so sorry, my Lady! I had no idea it was you and, and-"

"Enough." It never changed; not over all the generations she saw growing up, people still did this kind of thing the moment they found out. "I'm not mad at you, so stop that."

"Ah, of course. I, I'm, um...."

Blanc got to her feet with a suppressed sigh. She understood that most people were not really ready to talk to their Lady properly, but it was nonetheless annoying that anyone she just revealed herself to kept on stuttering. "Aside from that, I mean it. If you want to change your life, I can lend you a hand."

Fina stopped and stared with wide eyes while the CPU just rolled hers. "You're one of mine, a child of Lowee. So get back to your feet this instant." She did not raise her voice, but the blonde stood ramrod straight a moment later, as if she just screamed at her. Blanc smiled and held out a hand. "I ask again; do you want to live your own life, or what another believes is best?"

Fina lowered her gaze again, but then looked up with glistening eyes. "I want to be myself, I want it so very much. But... could you... could you maybe tell my mother? I'm sure she will be happy that way, so I have nothing to regret."

It was actually heartwarming to see such a caring daughter; whatever kind of woman gave birth to her must have been really lucky. "That's all you need? Fine with me."

They kept standing as they were for but a long moment; the smiling goddess and the flabbergasted human being; then Fina began to beam and happily took the offered hand.

 

[Naron]

Fighting against the dark is not just a task for the goddesses. Every day, brave adventurers and hunters are pushing back the advance of the Deity of Sin; all the Monsters wandering Gamindustri are Hers by birth, created from the malevolence that is Her being. They haunt the world and will do so for all eternity, just as She will.

All those that feel the strength to fight can make a difference; with every Monster extinguished, She loses the tiniest fragment of strength. With every Monster slain, She will need more time to rise again. With every Monster destroyed, another day might be safe.
-Histoire

---

Almost two years have passed since we left off. It is now the year 510 of the planeptunian calendar, the first day of November.

IF turned sixteen the previous week, never having anticipated a twenty-sixth more than this one. Now, with the turn of a new month, her career as a Guild agent would officially begin.

The young woman had never once ceased in her exercises and practice, returning with light steps and boundless determination to succeed. Where she walked the corridors shily two years prior, now her stride was much more confident. Her increased ability was not the only reason for that, though.

After all, the first friendship she ever found was holding strong. Despite the fact they still found few hobbies to share, or IF's awkwardness around Compa's other friends during any gatherings, they got along as well as on the first day, if not better. Though, admittedly, IF would prefer if her friend held smaller birthday parties.

She shook off these thoughts upon reaching her destination, never even noticing the curious looks she got from time to time. Her youth was no longer as apparent, for she had grown almost a full head taller; some still took note of it as she walked past, having glimpsed the badge clipped to her collar. A purple background just like everyone else's, but sporting a silvery J that identified her as a junior member. She was young, yet obviously ready for whatever may come.

Once IF knocked and opened the door, she was greeted by an empty conference room. Mostly empty, that was; the Tome hovered toward its center, offering a gentle nod in greeting. "Miss Fontaine, wonderful. You are a little early, but that is fine. Please, take a seat." She motioned for the only table currently taken by someone else, someone who gave the girl pause.

Her first thought, despite of how alien it was for IF at this point, was that the girl was pretty. Her skin may have been sculpted for its lack of any impurity, with light purple, almost pink hair flowing around soft features like water. It was even just a little longer than her own, reaching slightly past the stranger's shoulder.

The girl wore a modified middle school uniform, white with purple hems and buttons; a big 'N' formed the center of its ribbon. Her shoulders were pulled in and she seemed to make herself smaller over the scrutinising gaze, yet her lilac eyes took in IFs appearance in a similar way. They shone with curiousity and intelligence, yet the girl did not meet IFs gaze while nervously adjusting her metal choker.

After a few moments that felt much longer, IF blinked and shook herself slightly. Then she offered the friendliest smile she had and a nod before sitting down with one seat between the two. Histoire took note, but did not comment on the matter. "I believe introductions are in order." She gently motioned for them. "As the only minors currently employed by the Guild, the two of you will be assigned to the same team. You are of the same age as well; Isabelle, Nepgear, I expect you to work hard and do your best."

They both nodded at once, though IF's thoughts were with the girl by her side. Nepgear appeared a little too young to be eighteen, so she already guessed her having a special license. The purplette's eyes were on her again, too. When IF turned her head to meet Nepgear's gaze, she was given a weak smile in return. That was enough for her.

"Now then," the Tome continued. Both girls turned back to her and found a pair of bracelets floating their way. "I took the liberty of preparing your trackers. Please wear them at all times you leave the city, as they allow us to locate and contact you at a moment's notice if necessary." She paused while both girls gently pulled the elastic material over their right hands. Once it came to rest on their wrists, the trackers pulled themselves taut.

These were one of the few marbles of Sharicite engineering that the Tome herself freely offered to any generation. The solid form of divine Share Energy could be sculpted into any shape at will by an experienced CPU, yet mistakes were easily horrifying in their consequences due to its potency. Just like the Share Crystals used to focus a deity's Share income for measurements, a tracker's core was created from Sharicite. It reacted to the energy released by a dying Monster and even allowed to identify the type.

These were the Guild's backbone, automatically noting any one agent's amount of monsters killed and having a bounty transferred to their accounts for each one. Civilians could rent them as well if they wanted to earn a little extra during their free time, though that came with a monthly fee.

Lastly, trackers had powerful communication devices installed, to be used only in emergencies; if someone was in trouble, they could call for help immediately. This fact alone was what Histoire did not mention out loud, for one of the main reasons it was installed into the design sat in front of her.

During her short lecture, the Tome took note of the fact IF was busy moving her hand this way and that, making sure that her new possession did not restrict her movability. The sight was encouraging, yet heartbreaking all the same. She adored the children that grew up to become warriors as much as she loathed the fact they were needed.

Once she was finished, Histoire motioned for the girls to stand. "Please head back to the first floor locker rooms. Your team is waiting for you there, three other members in total. Your main duties will be scouting and fast response. As most other teams are already on duty at this point of the day, you will have no trouble identifying them." Or rather, they would have no trouble identifying the girls; the thought went unsaid, though it was on all of their minds.

With a final mention of their timetables being sent via e-mail later, the Tome ushered her newest employees out of the door and saw them off.

She was the only one to notice the other observer thanks to her additional and improved senses. Nepgear could also tell for other reasons, but would know better than to turn around. IF had no idea, never once noticing the head being pulled back behind a corner; framed by the same lilac hair as her new colleague, yet somewhat more youthful and with a bright smile etched onto it.

At first there was a nervous kind of silence hanging over the two of them. IF pondered speaking up or waiting for Nepgear to do so, but every second they walked on made more clear that the first step was up to her. After half a corridor, she took a deep breath and began: "So we're partners for the time being. Its nice to meet you, I'm IF."

The purplette flinched almost imperceptibly when spoken to, but quickly got herself together and nodded in response. "Ah, yes. I'm Nepgear, it's a pleasure to meet you and to work with you." They awkwardly stopped for a moment to shake hands, both being surprised by the respective other's strong grip.

When they got going again, the tension had subsided somewhat. Nepgear moved a little less apprehensively while IF considered what to ask her about; the purplette was unlikely to speak up by herself, or so she reasoned. Much to her surprise, Nepgear was the one to carry the conversation along. "So... why are you here?"

Her voice rang much softer than IF's own, a note of curiousity mixed with cautiousness; they were both trying to find out how far the other was comfortable with, in their own ways.

IF shrugged in response and dug her hands into her pockets. "It's what I wanted to do for as long as I can remember. I don't really have a reason, I just want to." Though she knew it was just part of the truth. That she wanted to save other children from ending up like her sounded like a bit much to tell a stranger, though. "What about you?"

"Oh, you know..." Nepgear started nervously, all the while poking her index fingers together. "I uh... I'm practicing for my actual job later. My big sister said the Guild is great for getting some combat experience in, so, um..."

"I see." IF really only said it to spare Nepgear from the embarassment. She was honestly curious how and why a girl as awkward as her had been forwarded to pass the examination, but figured she should not pry too much. The only other job she could think of that required this kind of experience was a combat teacher; which, IF admitted to herself, Nepgear might be more cut out for from what she showed thus far.

They soon reached their destination without any further conversation, having to ask for directions once after missing a sign. The room was almost empty save for a handful of people, three of which had their eyes on them the moment they entered. Dozens of lockers lined the walls, reminding IF that she got one of those reserved for herself as well.

Nepgear had already clamped up again, so the brunette took the lead and strolled toward the group that looked their way. Two men, one woman, all somewhere between their mid-twenties and early thirties. The badges pinned to their collars all had a D noted, marking their ranks.

What immediately caught IFs eye was the woman's tan; her skin almost matched her dark brown hair, being but a few shades lighter. Then her eyes were drawn to one of the men, who took a step toward them as they came close. Dark pink strands fell around a good-natured smile and big blue eyes, making him feel less overwhelming despite the fact he stood at almost two metres.

"You are our new reinforcements, I take it? Nice to meet you both, I am André." He shook their hands without ever breaking his smile, then motioned for the woman. "The lady is Alexis."

He got a raised eyebrow for some reason, then Alexis huffed and raised her hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you girls. And yes, it's natural. I'm a born Leanboxian." The last part was directed at IF, who felt her cheeks heat up a little. She had been caught looking.

"And lastly," André continued, pointing at the redheaded man leaning at the wall. "This is Gabriel. Don't mind him being gruff, we-" "Always get the 'special' children." His features were a bit sharper and an unhappy look was thrown their way the moment he interrupted André. Then he pushed off the wall and came over to them.

"I will be honest," he started with a measuring glance. Nepgear wilted a little, though IF stood her ground without averting her gaze. "The three of us are some of the poor bastards that have to babysit special licence holders. We've had six of them in the last eight years, not counting you. Out of those, all but one were either pushovers or thought they could take the world."

IF felt a little angry at being treated like this for someone else's behaviour, but she could also understand why this would be concerning. Gabriel sized her up and sighed, some of the hard lines in his face vanishing as he did. "Don't get me wrong here. I will give you the chance to prove me wrong; just don't expect me to come rushing in if you bite off more than you can chew."

"That's fair," IF conceded. A mixture of relief and apprehension flooded her system; though she was fighting an uphill battle, her teammate did not appear unreasonable. So she held out her hand with a nod. "I'm IF, this is Nepgear." He took it without hesitation before shaking hands with the purplette as well.

Alexis shook her head with obviously faked exasperation while André shrugged. "I'm sure they will do well," was all he said.

Once the introductions were over, Gabriel told them to find their own lockers; once that was done, they sat down at a table in the adjacent common room. Weapons were spread out and Alexis nodded to herself. "Looks like we're having a melee-focussed composition this time."

Next to IFs katars, Nepgear provided a one-handed sword. André had carefully placed a heavy metal club on the table while Gabriel crossed two shortswords in front of him. Alexis did the same with her daggers, but also produced a submachine gun.

Taking in the weaponry, IF felt it was time to note her own situation: "I'm actually planning to get myself a gun, too. I have the license already, but I don't have the money to buy one yet." That got her a few understanding nods, considering that the possession of a firearm was allowed only at age sixteen and higher.

"Sure thing," Gabriel told her before snapping his fingers and having bright light glide out of them, forming an orb that floated above the table. It cast weird shadows over their faces while he looked around. "What about magic? I'm the only one with some, but my light is pretty solid."

IF shook her head with a tinge of nervousity, though Nepgear took the attention off her with a nod. "Yes, actually. I have some potent healing magic."

"Ohh, nice!" That was Alexis, who started grinning from ear to ear. "A healer is always great."

IF found herself agreeing, albeit quietly. She could not even imagine what a catastrophy her early magic sessions would have been without her strong aptitude for healing magic. However, the attention on Nepgear made Gabriel speak up again with a look at her weapon. "Why do you leave one hand free? Fencing style?"

The purplette slowly shook her head and fingered her sword nervously. "Not really, um... I can grab it with both hands if I need more strength in my swings, but most of the time I use my off-hand to help move around."

"In a skirt?"

The question was asked drily, but IF immediately understood what he was asking about. An acrobatics- or agility-based style like her own could be rather flashy; in Nepgear's case, that would be true in more ways than just the one. The girl herself started to match hair and face in colour, though she quickly shook her head. "G-Goodness, no, uh... I'm wearing shorts underneath, don't worry."

"Ah, got it." Gabriel dropped the topic with that reassurance before turning to IF, measuring the brunette. "What about your coat? Won't that get in the way, or do you use it to carry equipment?"

IF for her part held onto the cloth from within her sleeves, unnoticed by anyone else. She liked the coat and would rather not take it off. "I practiced getting it off in one motion if I have to, but it's wide enough not to hinder me most of the time."

"And probably torn within the week," Alexis quipped from the side. The Leanboxian seemed more amused than anything else, though.

IF just shrugged at her. "I have a dozen of them." After all, she already had considered this particular problem. In the end, no matter what she wore, it would get torn sooner or later anyway. Alexis threw her an amused look, but kept from commenting further.

Gabriel just shrugged and went back on topic. "Whatever, that's almost it for the basics. Do you have ear protection?" His question visibly confused Nepgear, but IF just nodded and pulled out a pair of blue ear plugs. "Sure." She did learn how important those were for her hearing while studying to get that firearms license. Guns were loud.

"Oh, that. Just let me..." And the purplette started rummaging through her pockets before producing a similar pair. Gabriel nodded again while IF put the plugs in, his voice barely different even before the electronics came to life. "Good to know you have your basics covered. Now we're getting started on the job."

André rolled out a map of the capital and its surroundings, with Virtua Forest marked visibly. Gabriel continued: "For the time being, we are scouts. Our duty isn't extermination first and foremost, but keeping track of Monster movements. On top of that, our group is designated as fast response, too. If anyone nearby is in trouble and calls for help, it's our job to roll in and bail them out." He tapped the area of Virtua Forest. "That's where we're stationed. They send us to Virtua every time we get one of you."

IF nodded in understanding; she got the gist of it and was secretly a little relieved to get less dangerous work for a start. Histoire's words still echoed through her mind at times, reminding her not to try going too fast. Not that it made a difference, considering that IF already went above and beyond her peers. Though it would take her a few more years to realise this.

"Anyway," Alexis took over, "you two are minors, so you aren't going to work full shifts with us. Is it the usual deal, fourteen hours?" IF nodded again. She read in her contract that as a junior member, she would work fourteen hours per week. To be allocated as she saw fit. Ten Credits per hour sounded good to her as well, being a little above the minimum wage.

Nepgear gave the same response, which was followed by the other three exchanging glances. André shrugged and Gabriel did the same after a second or two. Then the redhead adressed them a moment later: "That's it, really. Any questions?" Two headshakes. "Okay. We've still got... a few minutes before we have to get going, they gave us a halved shift today to fill you in. Anything outside of work you want to ask questions about?"

IF did not really feel like she should ask any personal questions, even though it was basically an invitation. Nepgear seemed to think the same, considering she seemed to wilt a little closer to the brunette. Then she perked up, though. "Oh, right. Alexis said she is leanboxian... uh, what about everyone else?"

The older woman smiled over that while the men simply shrugged, not even surprised. ""Planeptune,"" they said in an almost perfect unison that made IF suspect they were used to the question. She herself added a quick "Same" and eyed the purplette, who confirmed that she was planeptunian as well.

Then a question of her own wormed its way back to the forefront of her mind, so she turned to her fellow teen. "You said your sister suggested the Guild to you?"

Nepgear fidgeted a little before nodding, though she had grown less tense already. Before she could say anything though, Alexis threw her a wink. "She a beauty like you?"

Her transition from girl to tomato was rather visible, accompanied by confused noises and succeeded by embarassed silence. Then Nepgear nodded again, eyes on the table. Looking at her once more, IF could not disagree. She read the term 'legs for days' on the internet before, but this girl was the first to actually impress its actual meaning into her. And that was on top of everything else.

Shaking off those thoughts, IF stopped staring. Alexis thankfully took all attention off of her, so nobody noticed. The older brunette held a mischievous smile as she leaned closer to Nepgear. "So what's she doing? Care to introduce me?"

The purplette continued to avert her eyes, mumbling almost inaudibly: "I-Inquisition."

It took only this one word to wipe the smile off of Alexis' face. She sat back down with a sigh. "Oh. Sorry."

IF was surprised as well; she had not expected the planeptunian inquisition, but she knew not to ask. These people were supposed to keep their work a secret so they could investigate cases of corruption and the like more easily. Asking Nepgear anything at all would risk her sister's job.

"Well," Gabriel broke the awkward silence a moment later. "I guess we should leave it here. Let's head out and see how you two keep up." Nobody disagreed, so they all packed up and got going.

IF learned many lessons that day. Yet the most important of them would be that work, any work, is not always exciting.

 

[Naron]

Your rank denotes the Guild's assessment of your experience, general capability, and combat ability. Higher ranks will receive more dangerous tasks, but also higher pay. The ranks are, in ascending order:

J (Junior Member, set while younger than 18)
F
E
D
C
B
A
S
-Guild Agent Handbook, Introduction

---

"It was actually pretty boring," IF closed her recounting. "We walked around Virtua, kept an eye out for traces and killed a few Dogoos. That's it."

She had expected it to be underwhelming, but not to this extent. Everyone knew Monsters could not spawn near humans, the occasional oddities excluded. It still irked her that the worst she had seen were blue blobs with cutesy animal faces.

Compa, who walked by her side, was intrigued nonetheless. She listened with rapt attention to any little detail the brunette offered. What felt like little more than a long stroll to one girl, the other saw as the beginning of a great adventure. "I'm sure there will be a lot of interesting things happening soon!"

Seeing how excited her friend was, IF could not bear being realistic about the matter. She just smiled to herself and turned her attention back to the street. "I guess."

"So, this girl, uh..." "Nepgear?" "Ah, yes, her! What is she like?" Compa sounded eager to hear about the purplette, possibly because IF only talked about her briefly. The peach-haired girl was surprised to hear there was someone their age beside IF, but happy about the chance for her friend to make a new friend.

IF did not respond at once, taking a few seconds to mull over what to say; Nepgear and her only spent a scant few hours together so far, most of it focussed on their respective tasks.

That was when Compa stumbled and fell with a startled sound. IF quickly came back from her musings, but failed to catch the other girl. "Hey, are you okay?" Her question was mostly instinctive, though Compa grimaced in response and looked down at the hand she tried to catch her fall with. From her position, IF could see that she scraped it rather badly; slight traces of red tinged it.

"Ouchie, that's worse than usual." Compa did not sound too hurt about it, more annoyed for some reason. The aspiring nurse sighed and let IF help her up, then she looked back down at her hand; a faint green shine enveloped the palm, quickly knitting the skin back together.

Once this light died down, the people nearby stopped watching. Everything was visibly fine, so neither of the girls needed any help. Not that IF noticed, her attention was mostly on the hand Compa had just returned to pristine condition. "You're a mage?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah." It had never come up over the years, yet Compa appeared a little sheepish about not having said anything. "I'm pretty average, though. My affinity is healing magic, so I'm really good with little cuts and scrapes and stuff. I can do the others too, but I'm... not really good at anything except ice." The smaller girl created a small orb of flickering light on her fingertip for emphasis; it sputtered out after a few seconds.

This was still much more than IF herself dared to do, though she could understand the sentiment. She nodded and changed the topic as they got back to walking, their target being the mall. "I see. Nepgear is a healing mage, too. I haven't seen her do anything yet, but she said hers was pretty strong."

Her friend's lips formed an O for a moment, then curled into the familiar smile. "She sounds nice, now I have to meet her."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," IF warned with a light frown. "I think she's pretty anxious, so I can't just go ask to hang out with her." She had considered, but they only knew each other for a day now. IF planned to give Nepgear some time to get used to her.

Then, just as they turned the corner toward the mall, she spied a familiar curl of lilac in a shop lining the street. Pink hair was common in Planeptune and she was used to it from being around Mari. Although light purple tones were not all that rare either, something made her pay attention to this one. It took little more than a second glance to be sure this was indeed Nepgear, considering she wore the same uniform as the day before.

IF slowed down and stopped to take in what she saw, with Compa doing the same while following her gaze. The purplette was busy going through a number of circuit boards on display, moving quickly from one case to the next. Her back was turned most of the time, but she turned sideways and revealed her profile to the watching girls for a few seconds; there was a joyful grin etched onto her face.

"Is... is that her?" Compa sounded as confused as IF felt, though she knew that kind of thing was not too weird. Everyone had their hobbies.

Although, she admitted, she did not take Nepgear for the kind of girl that liked to play with electronics. With how well-maintained her appearance was, she put her a little further into the category of people who wasted way too much time on it. Which was not the kind of person she usually got along with, though Nepgear was also good enough to be an agent at sixteen.

Her train of thought stopped there, seeing that Nepgear had made a full turn now. Her eyes were on them immediately, once again adopting the deer-in-headlights feel they displayed the previous day. At least IF thought so for a moment, because that was how long it lasted before being wiped away; the brunette raised her hand in greeting, which the purplette returned immediately.

It was an awkward situation indeed, though no one but them took note of it. Nepgear quickly motioned for them to wait and darted away, before emerging a few minutes later with a little bag. She fidgeted a little while walking up to where they were waiting, but IF doubted that Compa even noticed. Her friend was already beaming.

"I, uh, didn't really expect to meet you this early. Hello, IF. And...?" "I'm Compa! You must be Nepgear, right?" "...yes?" Compa excitedly shook the other girl's hand while IF threw her an apologeptic look. Nepgear appeared a little overwhelmed, so she decided to try helping. "I didn't expect you to be into electronics."

"Huh?" The lost gaze she got in response confused IF. "Why not? That's a pretty normal hobby, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's just..." She already hated herself for having said anything. Instead of responding, she just made a vague motion toward her colleague. Compa took over from there, though her words made the brunette's ears heat up: "Oh, she means because you're so pretty and all. I mean, I get it, most girls who like tech-stuff look a little more rough or don't care all that much, so-"

As Compa went on, Nepgear herself just looked down at herself and then took a step aside to be in front of the window again. Her reflection appeared as lost as herself while she took in how she looked. IF did notice the faint blush all over her face, but refrained from commenting.

"W-Well," the purplette finally interjected once Compa paused, "I actually liked tinkering since I was little. Machines are fun. But anyway, what are you doing today? I'm pretty sure school didn't let out yet." There were only very few students on the streets around them, after all. IF glanced around before shrugging and accepting the distraction. "Our last class for the day was cancelled, so we got out early."

"Ohh!"

"What about you, Nepgear?" Compa's question made the other girl blink, then she seemed to grasp what was asked.

"Ah, right. I'm homeschooled and my schedule varies a little. Sis told me that store had a new batch of parts coming in, so I wanted to do some shopping before we head out later."

IF quickly interfered with Compa's cheerful questioning here, else it would have gone on for a while. "We were on the way to the mall to get some lunch. Do you want to come?" She did not even need to ask her friend if it was okay; Compa loved meeting new people.

Nepgear for her part appeared somewhat flabbergasted, though it took only a moment until her expression transformed into a grateful smile. "Oh, if that's okay? I'd love to."

::​

"So," Compa restarted the conversation once they all placed their orders and took a seat. "Iffy and I were talking earlier and she said you're a mage?" She waited for the purplette to nod, then continued with delight. "Really? What's your SP? I'm at three forty-two."

Spellpower, IF noted to herself, the quantification of magical energy a person could store. Any Basilicom had Sharicite-based equipment to measure a given person's SP. She also read that the most common amount was between 240 and 360, averaging out at three hundred.

Nepgear tapped her fingertips together and fidgeted a little before giving in to Compa's hopeful smile. "Um... a bit above a thousand?" To IF, this meant she was already in the category of gifted mages. She did not consider to ask how much 'a bit' was.

"Wow, that's a lot! And you have a healing affinity like me, right?"

"Uh, yes. Um..." Nepgear hesitated with another glance at IF, then sighed and lowered her head. "I have fire, too."

Now she had IF's attention; having two affinities was rare. She quickly ignored the voice whispering that she herself had three, fast enough to catch another amazed sound from her friend. "Ohh! Um, actually... how do you find out you have more than one affinity? I don't really get how that works."

This time the brunette answered, seeing that she read up on the topic and brought personal experience. "It's like with the first one. If you just use magic without turning it into anything, it can turn into any element you have the affinity for." She thought for a moment, then went with the first example she could think of. "With Nepgear, hers would turn into healing half the time, and the other half is fire. Statistically, that is... I read some reports of mages who didn't find out about their second affinity for decades."

IF stopped when she felt their surprised gazes on her, to which she blushed a little and averted her own. "Stop looking like that, I just did some research because I was curious."

"Iffy knows so much!" Compa only appeared excited like usual now. Though for some reason, Nepgear started giggling a moment later. She hid her mouth behind a lithe hand, the gentle laughter making both of them wonder what this was about.

"Ehehehe... Iffy..."

So there it was. IF quietly hid her face in her hands while their food was served.

. .
. .​

They got along quite well, all things considered; a week went by since their first meeting and Nepgear had quickly warmed up to Compa. The purplette quite liked her goal of becoming a nurse when it was brought up. Thanks to Compa, IF and Nepgear had actually thought to exchange numbers. Neither of them did it all that often, so the idea slipped their minds.

"I was wondering," Alexis broke the quiet the team had descended into. Her eyes were firmly on Nepgear and IF, though she paid attention to her surroundings as well. "Mid-term exams are soon, aren't they? How do you juggle your studies with work and everything else?"

The brunette shrugged. "Eh, I can just shave off some time from my exercises if I need more to study, but I should be good." Between Compa and Nepgear, she still had enough time to read a book at times or do something else to relax.

The purplette just deflated a little before poking her index fingers together again. "I, uh, I'm homeschooled, so I don't really have mid-terms. My tutor does expect a lot from me, though. But that's normal for me, no real change there."

"Is that so? Interesting. Say, IF, how much time could you 'shave off' from your training?" Alexis appeared genuinely curious, so the younger brunette decided to indulge her.

"If I don't do anything at all, I get... about four and a half hours a day, I think."

"You what?!" The men, who had been ahead of them so far, both turned their heads while Alexis' gaze bored into IF's eyes.

The brunette just raised an eyebrow. "That's with preparing myself and all, I do exercise four hours and three minutes per day."

It took a moment until the older woman stopped working her jaw; once she did, she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Not sure I believe you. That's insane at sixteen, or any age really."

Even though André and Gabriel had already turned back around, IF could tell they were still listening. She just shrugged again, knowing that doing this much was normal for her. "I started small when I was young and slowly ramped it up. At ten it was an hour per day. I have been adding three minutes per month since then, with two months off each year, that's half an hour per year. I'll probably stop once I hit eighteen."

Alexis continued muttering about this under her breath, but she did not say anything else. Nepgear just shrugged when IF looked her way. "Why don't you add another three in these two months each year?"

She shrugged back. "Thirty minutes sounds better than thirty six, that way I'll land at exactly five hours at eighteen."

Like this, they fell back into their usual quiet concentration. One of the older members would point out less visible tracks or other clues once in a while, which the two girls quickly took note of. Neither of them had given Gabriel cause for complaint so far. Granted, there had been no real battle to test their resolve, either.

They were quite far out this day. Despite it being the middle of November, surprisingly many trees outside of Virtua Forest's safe zone still displayed their leaves. Pine trees in particular worked with the remaining foliage to create a dim twilight, despite it still being at least an hour until dawn.

Wolves howled somewhere ahead, the noise telling them that these Monsters were not far away anymore. It grated on IF's nerves a little, but she refused to let something like this bother her. She slowly double-checked her katars' straps to make sure her previous blunder would not repeat itself. Then she snapped up a hand and cut a mosquito in half, the bothersome insect having sirred close by her ear.

"I heard there are lots of mosquitos in forested areas," she started. Gabriel snorted in response, but she pre-empted him before he could even turn around. "I know it's close to Winter, but I haven't seen many in Virtua at all during summer, either. There is a lot more in the city."

"Ah, that thing." André chuckled a little before motioning with his club; the weapon pointed at a Dogoo wiggling about in the distance. "That's one thing those little pests are good for. Mosquitos sit on them and get eaten a lot, so you won't find as many of them outside."

IF made an understanding noise, then silence blanketed them all again. All to be heard was the soft noises of boots on untreaded ground, the occasional cracking of a treebranch, and sounds of monsters in the distance. Nothing happened for a while.

Until the wind turned.

Within moments, the howling intensified and Gabriel started cursing under his breath. The redhead stopped in his tracks and everyone else fanned out. "Damn, we're too close! Get ready!"

Nepgear was in the front immediately, taking point together with André; IF just fell back a few more steps while Gabriel did the same, bringing their team's sole mage and gunslinger into the center. If any Monster snuck around their first line, it was IF's duty to keep them off her team.

They only had about that long before half a dozen Wolves broke through the fading underbrush; their purplish blue fur stood out against their surroundings, having never been meant as camouflage anyway. Each of the creatures stood a metre tall and rushed into the fray, growling as they went.

The first one did not even see what hit it, its head coming off cleanly while Nepgear rotated away; IF's eyebrows rose in shock at the sheer speed displayed. While she returned to focus on her task, André's club smashed into the second Monster's head and the next two were cut down by a hail of bullets, courtesy of Alexis. All of them exploded into bright particles.

Then she spotted one more Wolf halfway around the group, a quick glance to the other side revealing two more. IF knew she could not get all of them, so she did the next best thing. "Two to your right!" After shouting the warning, she took off at the sole monster trying to circle left.

Everything felt so slow in these moments, from her own body to everyone else. IF's heart beat fast and strong as she propelled herself forward, the Wolf turning to meet her gaze. It jumped the moment their eyes met, but the brunette stepped aside in time. She made a half turn to face the same way, then rushed her right blade forward and into its neck as it passed.

Sharp steel cut through a thick hide, strings of muscles and even the spine, doing the same on the other side and severing this head as cleanly as Nepgear had done just a few seconds before. The Wolf did not even know what hit it when it vanished in motes of bright light.

IF turned back after a quick glance around, only to find their front line done and one Monster at the flank being skewered by three spears of light. The other one used the moment to rush in and jump at Alexis; it barrelled the older brunette over by the time Gabriel made his magic spears turn to their next target.

She considered jumping in, but instead gave the Wolf a kick into its jaw when it came close to her. The disorientation was enough to keep it in place for a moment, enough time for Gabriel to skewer it.

Nepgear rushed over to Alexis the moment the last Monster died while André kept guarding in the front, just in case there were more. IF and Gabriel did the same to the side, shielding their injured ally.

"Come on, it's not that bad." Though the woman herself did not seem to agree on needing aid.

With a hand on Alexis' collarbone, Nepgear began to emit a gentle green glow; it seeped into her patient's skin and flooded her body. Then the purplette nodded. "You're right, nothing is broken or torn... okay, I guess." She let go and both of them got up from their sitting positions.

Meanwhile, Gabriel wandered over to IF with an unreadable expression. He kept quiet for a moment, making the girl wonder what she did wrong. When he spoke, his voice was quiet: "You know, for a moment I really thought I'd have to chew you out for jumping in my line of fire. Good thing you didn't. Oh, and nice kick you gave it there."

Then he lightly clapped her shoulder and wandered off, leaving a confused IF behind. Her cheeks turned a faint pink under the partially hidden praise, but she shook that off quickly and focussed. The slight upward curl of the lips would remain for the day, though.

With everyone in good health, they quickly got going again. Back to the lighter area, where they were actually supposed to patrol. IF kept thinking while the adrenaline gradually left her bloodstream, allowing her to stop shaking after a while.

She wondered why this encounter felt so easy. They were outmatched two to one and Wolves, while not particularly powerful, were no enemies to scoff at. Then again, her team had a plan and competent people carrying it out. Perhaps that made the difference.

Nonetheless, IF felt exhilarated by her personal success; she had practiced all of her basic stances and movements, a hundred sequences for each and every one per week, for the past four years. This was the first time she ever got to use them on a Monster, yet her body moved without any concious thought behind it. She could have missed the neck easily, but it worked out.

This meant that all her practice was finally paying off. Her judgement appeared to be good as well; she managed not to get in anyone's way, if just barely this time.

On the way, Alexis came up and gave her a pat on the shoulder as well. "Good work. That was your first real fight, but things get easier after a few weeks."

The brunettes nodded at each other with faint smiles, then IF sighed. "Yeah, I will need a bit to get used to this."

They both knew it would not take long for that to happen, not in their line of work.

 

[Naron]

As Gamindustri's largest organisation outside of its nations, the Guild is an international institution. Each nation's Oracle serves as the head of their branch to promote equal treatment, while also allowing for fast movement of agents throughout the world in case of emergencies.
-Guild Handbook, Structure

---

November passed into December without anything out of the ordinary happening. IF was already used to her work, the infrequent battles doing their part on that matter. At this very moment however, she was just cold. Temperatures were now regularly dropping below the freezing point.

Naturally, this did not stop them from going out. Neither of them could wear much thicker clothes if they did not want to compromise their mobility. IF was better off than André and Alexis, though; those two were even shaking a little, the leanboxian woman doing so despite wearing tights and anything else she could get away with. Nepgear, clad in no more than her usual clothes, did not seem to mind.

And Gabriel, of course, was smirking at them from beneath a thin sheen of fire. It was barely visible beyond the steam it produced where snowflakes hit, laying around his body to keep him warm.

"Mages are unfair," she heard Alexis whisper to André, who chuckled in response. The cold did not get to his good mood at least.

Gabriel apparently heard them as well, seeing that he snorted in Alexis' direction. "You say that every year. Any Loweean would still run around in shorts and a shirt."

Nepgear was the only one giggling about his exaggeration; IF noticed how she really did not seem to care about the cold despite the goosebumps it send down her own legs. The brunette knew she was not that bad with low temperatures herself, so she attributed it to her new friend using some more sophisticated means of keeping warm than Gabriel was.

Indeed, they had become fast friends over the last weeks. Nepgear slowly managed to leave her shell around IF and Compa as well. She was surprisingly knowledgeable about all kinds of technology and even helped her decide on what kind of gun to buy; a nice and reliable pistol now waited in its holster at IF's hip. The purplette even modified its hilt to fit her hand perfectly.

A Wolf's howl pulled IF out of her own mind, making her focus again. With no actual task at hand, she ended up thinking too much at times. This day their duty was to patrol a marked area near the tourist spots, killing anything that entered but not pursuing.

It was slow going.

After a while of wandering around, IF sighed and turned her head. Almost invisible through the snow, Nicos' downtown area reached for the sky not too far in the distance. It was hardly visible without direct sunlight to light it up. "Will all of our patrols be so close to the city?" She did not particularly mind, but the brunette took note of it; aside from one or two pursuits into deeper parts of the forest, they had never once left the safe zone.

"Yes, for now," André told her after turning his head in the same direction. Then he pointed over his shoulder at Nepgear, who blinked their way. "It's because of you two, actually. They won't just throw you into the thick of it. From how this usually goes... I'd say we will be here for at least another six months, then it gets deeper into the forest and on actual hunts."

Both girls made understanding noises and IF dropped the matter. She might have felt not taken seriously if she had known before, but it was still hard work.

"That aside," Gabriel chimed in from the other side, "they check the actually dangerous hotspots with drones."

That was news to her. IF never really found anything on how these things worked in detail; the few searches she made on the topic yielded little concrete data, too. "I didn't know they use Bits." The ball-shaped Bit drone was Planeptune's most common model, mainly used to patrol railways and other large stretches of land.

"Nah, they don't use Bits. Or any autonomous drones, really." Gabriel shook his head and explained: "The Guild has many operators for that kind of task alone. You wouldn't want the stuff you send out to suddenly join a dangerous Monster instead of reporting it, right?"

It made sense to IF, who felt a little awkward in receiving that lecture. In hindsight, she should have guessed it right away. "Yeah, that makes sense." All autonomous machines more sophisticated than some mechanised arms in a factory eventually lost control. Everyone knew that the Deity of Sin's malicious influence could somehow distort their code. The sole exception to this day was Maker Steamax, Planeptune's first and only fully sapient android.

From the looks on her colleagues' faces, their thoughts were with the Deity of Sin as well; the eternal scourge of Gamindustri, whose spawn they fought day by day.

"That reminds me, have you heard of the heroine's curse?" Alexis looked between IF and Nepgear while the men groaned in unison.

"Don't answer," André dictated them with a pained expression. "It's her favourite conspiracy-" "-and we heard it much too often already," Gabriel finished. Alexis only pouted at them while IF considered.

However, it was the purplette by her side who spoke up first. "Um... I can't say I ever heard about this before. But I am curious...." She continued to fidget and failed to meet Gabriel's eyes, who sighed and dropped the act.

IF only barely managed not to make a face at the situation and gave her friend a light pat on the shoulder. "I saw it mentioned before, but never looked into it. What's it about, Alexis?"

With Nepgear saved, she focussed on the older brunette. Alexis smiled and gave her a grateful nod. "So, see, we have tons of names all throughout the world. There is really no limit to it all. But somehow, all children given one particular name all die early. And I mean really early, most often before their first birthday."

IF was suddenly no longer sure she liked where this was going; it was morbid and sounded absurd. Alexis either did not notice the slight frown making its way on her face, or ignored it. "No one really knows why, but secure sources confirmed that every child with that name dies. There is no other connection, it doesn't matter where they live, which time of the year they are born, what genders their parents are, nothing. Their names are the only thing they have in common.

"So the theory goes that there is something that kills these children and makes it look like perfectly normal accidents. Because come on, all of them dying makes no sense. If there was nothing unusual about the matter, at least one or two should be alive and grown up."

Alexis paused for a moment to take a deep breath. IF and Nepgear exchanged glances, neither of them all that happy with the topic anymore. Gabriel and André just shrugged.

"So," the older brunette continued without paying any mind to them, "what kind of things do we have out there that could do that? I mean sure, the CPUs and Histoire might be able to do it, but why would they? And the only other thing we know is... Her. So She must be the one doing this." She did not say the name, but everyone knew she meant the Deity of Sin.

"But why would She do that?" Nepgear was first in voicing the question, though IF thought the same thing.

Going by Alexis' smirk, that was exactly what she expected. "You see, we can't know for sure. But if She can do it to some people, She could do it to others, too. Why that name in particular? The theory is that it's the name of an old heroine who messed up Her plans, no idea if she was a goddess or a human. Someone She hates so much She'd prevent anyone from ever having the same name again."

IF barely suppressed a sigh, mainly because she could see this making sense in a way. She was not sure what she felt about the matter, but planned to look this up.

"You still don't know if every girl really was on record," Gabriel chimed in with a roll of his eyes.

Alexis only smirked back and raised a finger. "Really? I got the chance to ask Lady Histoire about it a few weeks ago." She visibly enjoyed everyones' gobsmacked expressions over giving out the new information. "I asked her if it's true that every child with that name died as a toddler or infant. She said yes."

And now IF knew she did not have to look this up. No one lied about an answer the Tome had given, or the question asked. Yet there was one question she still had: "Okay, but what is the name?" The older brunette had not mentioned it once during her tangent.

Alexis frowned for a moment and measured both girls. Then she nodded at herself for some reason. "The last piece of evidence. Arfoire."

As she spoke the name, a shudder ran through all of them. For but an instant, they knew something abominable had looked their way. A gaze they could not even comprehend brushed through their very souls.

IF understood. If it had been just her, she could have brushed it off. But all of them having the same reaction was too much to be a coincidence. This name could gather the Deity of Sin's attention.

They all stood around in a heavy silence for a bit. Alexis coughed and changed the topic with a wince, which IF was thankful for. "So, uh, how's school going? Your winter break starts soon, right?"

The younger brunette nodded slowly and brought her mind back to the upcoming break. "It's still half a month, but yes." Another thought made her throw a glance at Nepgear. "What about you? Any changes on your end over the break?"

Her friend nodded in turn, a weak smile making its way on the purplette's face. "My workload gets halved over the break. It's nice to have some more time to spend." IF immediately felt sympathy for the other girl; holidays were really the only times she could spend with friends, considering how much of her schooldays was taken up by exercises and now work. Nepgear's tutor appeared rather strict from what she mentioned.

"Heh, the struggles of a rich girl," Alexis commented with a wink. Nepgear immediately shook her head.

"Ah, I wouldn't say we are rich... sis just wants me to learn a lot is all." She did not elaborate and neither of them asked; Nepgear had a weird home life, they all knew that much.

"Hey look, a distraction!" All eyes wandered to André, who pointed to the side, at a larger group of Dogoos hopping along a few dozen metres away. His toothy grin was soon matched by everyone else; nobody complained.

Gabriel took in the group's size for a moment, then he pointed at André, Alexis, and IF. "Okay, that's a few too many to just stomp on, they might merge. You three break them up by luring them in different directions, Nepgear and I shoot them down." Everyone nodded and they immediately went. IF noticed a few red Dogoos among the mass of blue slimes, but paid them little attention. None of them had any metal colours, so it was fine.

Looking back, she noticed orbs of light and fire orbiting Gabriel and Nepgear respectively. They began to shape into tiny spears as she watched, the two mages conversing in hushed voices. Her other teammates were almost in position, the three of them forming a rough triangle around the dozens of Monsters.

Then, once she got a nod from André and Alexis each, IF stepped forward and kicked a rock to get their attention. The others did similarly, making parts of the bunch turn toward them instead. The Dogoos snuffled, but started to hop their way quickly. Their bouncing advance remained slow but steady, about half of the whole group following IF and a rough fourth each after her allies.

While slowly backing up to stay separate from the Monsters, she idled with the thought of just burning them all in one blaze. IF knew she could do that easily, but it was no more than musing on her part in the end. During her pondering, the brunette almost missed the slaughter; a dozen lances crashed into the Dogoos, leaving gaping holes in the Monsters for a moment before they exploded into light. Aside from one of the light versions, all projectiles made fluid turns and came back for most of the rest before it could do more than bounce in surprise.

After the third time, there were no more Dogoos near IF.

While the mages moved over to freeing up the others however, she noticed something lying on the ground. A somewhat fatter Dogoo had died there with the third volley.

IF slowly wandered closer and got down on one knee, her throat constricting to the point she could barely breathe. When the splintering sound of dying Monsters subsided for the last time, she forced the nausea away and took a deep breath. "Gabriel? Take a look at this." Her voice remained calm, though even the girl herself could hear the faint shiver in it.

The others were with her quickly, looking down at the partly dissolved clothes with a mixture of horror and understanding. Child-sized.

Alexis quickly ushered her up and away while Gabriel took IF's previous position. André thoughtfully blocked Nepgear's sight, though the purplette had already averted her gaze. She was looking between Gabriel's and IF's backs, her gentle expression replaced by one of sorrow.

IF felt like throwing up. Her stomach churned and something was rising up. She forced it back down and took another deep breath, eyes closed and fists clenched. Alexis kept an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, that's the ugly part of the job." She could feel IF tense up, then relax. The girl took this much better than she herself had the first time.

"Found her," Gabriel noted after some time. He held his tablet pc in one hand, the Guild's database of missing people displayed; his expression was grim. "She was reported missing yesterday, four years old. I'm going to call in now." Nobody stopped him.

IF slowly managed to unclench her fists, noticing the fact she cut herself with her nails for the first time. Nepgear quickly took care of her, probably grateful for the distraction.

They had to wait but five minutes until a small hovercraft homed in on them, landing nearby and letting out a man in specialist uniform. He quickly took their recounting of events and carefully placed the recovered clothes in a container, then thanked them before flying off again. During those minutes, IF remained seated where she was on a bare root, snow gathering on her head almost as fast as it could melt.

She had never stopped to consider how this would affect others. Even if she admitted to herself part of the reason was that others should not end up like her, IF knew it was mainly for herself. She did not want to be weak.

Today was the first day she truly understood that even with all the strength she acquired, those around her were no stronger for it. This child was no one she knew, but it could have easily been; it could have been Compa, too. A deep cold emerged from somewhere deep within at that thought.

Nepgear, seeing her friend's distress, excused herself quietly and went off into the forest, stomping a lone Dogoo underfoot as she went. No one stopped her, thus no one saw her determined expression. Once she was out of hearing range, the purplette flipped open her phone and speed-dialed the one person she could ask for advice.

It felt much longer to Nepgear, but her phone had only rung once before the call was picked up. "Did something happen?" Her usually chipper sister sounded more serious at this moment, leaving out much of her usual cheer; they both knew Nepgear did not call during work except in emergencies.

A quick explanation later, the girl anxiously waited for her sibling's response. She had no idea what to do to make IF feel better, but she knew she hated seeing her like this.

Neptune's answer came softly, understanding. "There's not much you can do. 'Be there for her' is the best I can tell you. But you're a smart girl, and a sweet one. You'll figure it out from there. Now shoo, go back."

The last part came with more cheer, which made the younger sister giggle. "Okay!"

With her own spirits lifted for the moment, Nepgear ended the call and went back around the time the specialists took off again. With IF still sitting, she made her way over and offered a hand to help her up.

It took a moment for the brunette to notice the gesture, but she took it nonetheless. Nepgear easily lifted her off the ground and to her feet; then she gave her friend's hand a little squeeze before letting go. IF's eyes widened the smallest bit, but she cracked a weak smile in response.

"Um... do you need a...?" She felt a little sheepish having to ask, but offered her handkerchief nonetheless. IF appeared to consider her question for a moment, but shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks."

They were interrupted by Gabriel, who had an eye on his wristwatch. "We're about done anyway, let's head back." He looked around for disagreement, but no one spoke up. So he pointed toward the faint lights signalling Nicos' position. "That way."

With how oppressive the snow had felt after their find, IF was glad that it stopped falling on the way. Her hair was cold and clammy, making her wonder if she should wear a hat next time. Then she felt a warm gust and found a perfectly pristine Nepgear drying her with flickers of flame and wind. "You're going to catch a cold," the purplette noted when their eyes met. IF just snorted, but let her continue.

They made it into town after some walking, exchanging nods with the staff manning the main tunnel. Once the group moved by the first parking lot however, something jumped out from behind the wall. "Surprise!" Someone, in fact, who nearly bowled IF over and came to rest on Nepgear's back.

While Gabriel and Alexis each took a step back in surprise and IF needed a moment to get upright again after dodging, Nepgear just turned her head with obvious surprise. A petite figure was attached to her back; their soft facial features and lilac locks were so similar that nobody needed any introductions to know they were related. In difference to Nepgear's long hair however, the newcomer's barely reached her shoulders.

"Well," IF broke the silence with an amused tone, "you never mentioned having a little sister." That one was a good ten centimetres smaller than Nepgear, with a cheerful smile and shining lilac eyes. She somehow managed to keep the expression even while pouting, though Nepgear fidgeted a little.

"Um... I don't, actually. This is my big sister, Neptune."
"Hey there!"

She waved the moment she was introduced, an adorable blob of joy that IF could not really believe was the older one. She gave both of them incredulous looks, as did the other three. "Yeah, not buying that." Alexis looked them both over with a mock frown. "I was promised a pretty woman."

"Nope~" Neptune popped the p cheerfully and pointed at herself. "There's two Neps in this family. I'm the cute big sister and Nepgear is the hot little sister." For emphasis, one of her arms went lower before pressing at Nepgear and pushing her bust up. The taller purplette blushed and swatted her sister off her back. "Sis, stop!"

Neptune only giggled, but complied and unlocked her legs from Nepgear's waist. She landed on the ground with ease, a perfect picture of innocence next to her flustered sibling.

IF needed another moment to comprehend just how different they were; yet, she could see their similarities in almost everything, from their features over the hair to the colouring of their clothes. Neptune wore a big, white sweater with purple embroidery and striped thigh-highs, a big D-Pad clipped into her hair where Nepgear had two.

Once the adults were done being amused by Nepgear's state of being however, they soon caught onto the fact Neptune greeted especially IF with enthusiasm, as well as the younger sister's hopeful expression. They exchanged glances among each other, followed by a set of nods. Then Gabriel spoke up, gathering the younger ones' attention: "I guess we'll leave you three to it then. See you tomorrow."

Only Nepgear appeared to catch what he actually meant; IF nodded and raised a hand while Neptune pouted. "Alright, I guess? I mean, I don't mind giving you guys a ride." She pointed at one of the cars, then shrugged. Gabriel just eyed her car in turn. "You realise there wouldn't be enough room for all of us, ma'am?"

Now Neptune looked back and forth before counting everyone; the car she had motioned for was a normal one, four seats and a potential fifth one. "Oh, huh... I guess. Have fun anyway!" Back was the cheer as she waved as well; the other adults chuckled and shook their heads, waving as they went off.

"So, nice to meet you, Iffy." The brunette hardly had any time to comprehend what was going on before her hand was taken and shaken enthusiastically.

However, she did notice the nickname, throwing Nepgear a glance; the purplette quickly shook her head. "No no, I didn't tell her. Goodness...."

Neptune cocked her head to the side, but quickly dropped the matter in favour of giving IF a little push. "No idea what you're talking about, but I meant it when I said I'm driving you. Hop on in and tell me where to." IF followed her a little more slowly, slightly overwhelmed by the pure cheer this being next to her exuded. Nepgear smiled apologeptically, yet said nothing.

Once they were all seated, with the teens in the back and Neptune in front, the older purplette skillfully brought her car on the road. It was quiet at first, yet their driver's gentle humming made it near-impossible for the heavy atmosphere to return; Neptune followed the radio's tune, a gentle song of 5pb. currently playing.

Nepgear fidgeted from time to time, but ultimately broke the silence herself. "It's, uh, we get that a lot recently." When IF glanced her way, she quickly elaborated. "About sis being my little sister, I mean." The brunette made an understanding noise and took a deep breath, noticing the earthy scent surrounding both sisters for the first time. It was similar to the pleasant smell after rain fell.

Shaking off this thought, IF sighed and addressed the elephant in the room. "I... I never really thought about it. So far this was just about me." It hurt a little to admit, though she still saw no fault with it. She wanted this for herself first and foremost, to prove to herself that she could be strong.

Nepgear nodded, a faint frown drawing sad lines over her face. "I get that, I guess. I haven't really thought about it before myself. Or... at least not imagined how it would feel, even without actually seeing anything." The purplette hesitantly offered her hand again, which IF took and squeezed. Knowing that she was not alone with those feelings, the brunette felt a little bit lighter.

Then again, she was never one to mope for long. After another deep breath, she let go and threw her friend a smirk. "Not like you were out of it at all. I guess you're better at stomaching this than I am."

Much to their surprise, the next response came from the front seat. Neptune had an eye on them in the back mirror, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Yup, my little sis is a tough one. She's just hiding it under that timid shell of hers. Maybe it's time to break out and become a beautiful butterfly soon?"

Nepgear blushed under the praise while IF snorted as quietly as possible.

They managed to talk about a few more normal topics and by the time IF stepped out of the car in front of her home, she actually felt reasonably well again. She would still have much to think about between hitting her mattress and falling asleep, but for now she was okay. She raised a hand to see the sisters off. "See you tomorrow."

Nepgear and Neptune both waved, the latter much more enthusiastically than the former. ""See you!"" They even spoke in near-unison, making the brunette smile, before driving off.

Night had fallen at this point, though neither purplette was bothered by it. Neptune had turned off the radio and snuggled further into her seat, hands firmly on the steering wheel. Nepgear relaxed a little more and offered her older sister a bright smile. "Thank you for the advice, it really helped me there... it sounds so obvious in hindsight, but I really wasn't sure what to do." Neptune only hummed in response, which prompted her to just carry on. "IF is a nice girl, I'm glad I met her after all. Maybe I can introduce her to Uni sometime, I'm sure she would like another friend, too."

The older purplette simply giggled before throwing an amused glance backward, catching her sister's eyes. "I'm sure she'll like her, though not as much as you." With her goal of flustering Nepgear complete, she turned her attention back to driving and the conversation faded out for a bit. Both of them kept their own train of thought going until the younger sister finally realised something that was said earlier.

"When you said that about the butterfly," she started hesitantly, "did you mean it? Do you really think it's going to happen soon?" Neither of them even commented on the fact it was a rather obvious simile, at least to them.

Neptune shrugged in response. "You know I can't say for sure, it's different for everyone. I was fifteen, Blanc was fourteen, Noire was twenty four and Vert thirty." She frowned slightly, ignoring Nepgear's attentive stare. "But I have a gut-feeling it will be soon."

Nepgear took the words in before smiling. Then she giggled. "Ehehe, are you sure it doesn't just want more pudding?" The question made Neptune giggle in turn, though she did not deny it.

"Say, did you see the building she lived in? It looked rather big." Nepgear steered the conversation elsewhere afterward. When her sister motioned to elaborate, she offered a thoughtful expression. "I haven't asked her yet, but she mentioned not having much money. How could her family live in such a big place?"

She still pondered the implications, but her sister's words cut her off: "She's got a big family, y'know? Being an orphan and all."

"Oh." In this moment, Nepgear was incredibly glad not to have kept the question for IF. It would have been awkward, maybe have made her angry despite how mellow she usually was. The purplette cringed slightly to herself, imagining all the horrible things that could or could not have happened to their budding friendship.

Until Neptune sighed loudly, that was. She rolled her eyes and gave Nepgear a look. "Now don't be so surprised, everyone's got some things they aren't happy talking about. Just be cool about it, she won't bite your head off for being rude without knowing." The younger purplette nodded quietly, deep in thought again. Even the city's lights flickering in through the windows did not disturb her.

Neptune let her be in her own head for the time being; she was overall happy with the day and the fact her sister did not have to brood over what happened earlier.

 

[Naron]

While I do agree with my dear friend Black Heart that hard work is important, I believe she overemphasises that side of the coin. Good rest and enjoyment are just as important to a fulfilling life.
-Green Heart

---

The temperatures began to rise again in February. Their team was going strong, carving through Dogoos, Boxbirds, Wolves, and other such things with no real trouble. They had a good routine going by this point, while also getting along well enough.

"Foundation Day is coming up already, isn't it?" Alexis slowly ran a whetstone over her daggers as she spoke, with IF doing the same opposite to her. The only other person at the table was Nepgear, with the men still poking through their lockers. IF nodded lightly at her fellow brunette, the motions so used that she needed little focus on her hands. "Yeah, it's the tenth already. Just two more weeks."

She had to admit that she liked the atmosphere in the Guild; it was much more relaxed than IF initially expected, but not bad in the slightest. She diligently worked away while eyeing Nepgear, who was reading something on her tablet.

That was when André took the seat next to her with a curious look. "Speaking of, do you have any plans for the holidays?"

With most institutions except the essentials like the police and the fire department being off-work on those days, IF had free time. She could join the volunteers who kept patrolling, but doubted that her team would go along with it. "Nothing yet," Nepgear replied while the younger brunette was still thinking. Her free admission made IF give up and offer the same response.

It was at this point that Gabriel sat down next to Alexis and thus opposite to Nepgear. "I'm planning to hit the arcade so far, but nothing yet for the second day."

Alexis was next, putting down the whetstone and offering them all a bright smile. "I've got two whole days for myself, so I'm going to stay at home all day watching TV, eating sweets, and tending to my flowers." She appeared genuinely happy saying it, so IF swallowed the remark she had thought of. Once Alexis returned to her work, this time on the other dagger, the younger brunette turned to André. "What about you?"

"Taking my girl out, though I'm still thinking about where to go." He did not really pay much attention to them at the moment, carefully checking his club for any cracks it might have acquired in the field. His answer made the other adults roll their eyes for some reason.

After some time spent quietly, someone else spoke up: "Hey Nepgear, you up for a round?" When the younger girls turned their attention to Gabriel, they found him holding three blue spheres in the air. Their semi-transparent hue made it easy to identify them as pure magic, its neutral and also natural state. Nepgear looked over the other people at their table for a moment, then cast a lost look at her challenger. "Goodness, right now? Is that safe?"

The invitation was obvious, the game known to all of them without any explanation. Gabriel just shrugged. "Bonus rule: if either of us hits one of the others, that's a loss." Nepgear mulled that over for a moment, then created three orbs of her own. "Okay, I guess? Do you mind?" There were affirmative noises from all of them, with IF already back at her work.

Spellball was as interesting as it was basic, but she could not play it. Her fine control was that bad.

"O-Okay, goodness...." Nepgear quickly schooled her face into an expression of calm, making her spheres rotate in a triangle-pattern before zipping off; Gabriel's bounced into them halfway, pushing two into each other and the third back. Once his orbs neared Nepgear however, three tongues of fire lashed out from her forearms; they caught two and popped them with their heat while the third escaped.

Then Nepgear's orbs were with Gabriel, the first hitting a thin spike of light and breaking apart. However, the second came right after it and pushed through his defense before slapping against his collarbone.

Both combatants stared at each other for a moment, the girl starting to blush over her quick victory while the man's expression remained unreadable as he rubbed the lightly reddened skin. Then he sighed and made his remaining sphere dissolve. "Okay, you're out of my league." Nepgear did not respond, choosing to remain in flustered silence.

IF had still paid attention of course, even if she could not play the game; she tried after hearing about how magic students used it to practice their control and multitasking. Unfortunately, it was already much too late at that point; with much of her free time spent on physical exercises, she had too little of it to make any meaningful difference to her own fine control as schoolwork picked up.

She finished with her second katar and put the whetstone back into her kit, then produced a half full bottle of oil and a clean piece of cloth. Alexis did the same, though the older brunette brought up another topic when no one else was forthcoming. "So, did you hear the full story about Foundation Day before?"

IF shook her head while Nepgear tilted hers slightly, neither of them knowing what Alexis was talking about. Their companion grinned. "Okay, so, you know how the official dates are the twenty-third for Planeptune and Lowee, and the twenty-fourth for Lastation and Leanbox? From what I read, the actual dates were really different from each other." She paused for a moment and stared off into space, then sighed. "Can't remember which days it was, but they're scattered throughout the year.

"So then they agreed on these two days instead, to have the celebrations around the same time in every nation. I think I read that Histoire asked them to. Makes sense, too; things are already a little weird with just Planeptune celebrating Lady Purple Sister's birthday-" Nepgear twitched for some reason "- and only Lastation celebrates Lady Black Sister's."

"And we get two days off instead of just one if it was its own holiday for each nation," André noted with a wink, to which the brunettes snorted. By herself, IF wondered what those actual dates were, a moment before Alexis started to frown. "I just remembered, Planeptune's would be the third of June." She apparently tried to recall the others as well, but came up empty.

IF could not help but be amused that Planeptune's 'birthday' was just a day after Compa's. Which, she realised, was just another four months away again. About as long as she was already working for the Guild. Time passed rather fast.

. .
. .​

With her friend's birthday over, their next holiday soon followed: the summer solstice. IF shook off the thought and focussed on her lesson; she had a bit of trouble concentrating. It became warm now, in the middle of June. Their teacher spent a lot of time talking instead of writing anything or asking questions, too. IF felt drowsy for some reason.

Once she got out of her last class for the day, IF made her way outside in quick strides. She overheard some students talking about the upcoming holidays, too; even if it was just three days, plans were already made. The brunette faintly wondered if her friends would be up to do something with her; Summer Solstice was more of a family thing than Winter Solstice, though much less so than the Day of Creation.

By herself, IF decided to take it a little easier for those few days and do something fun for a change. A new arcade had opened up in the neighbourhood, which she was curious about.

. .
. .​

Another two months went by without much out of the ordinary. It was the middle of August, and the Day of Creation neared.

IF remained at home that day, helping mostly the younger children with decorating the hallways; she currently worked her way over the higher windows in the main hall, with some small mages attaching stickers and figures up above her head. The ladder she was standing on was not the most stable, but she could manage; one of her little helpers held on to it just in case.

More children were putting up decorations on ground-level, quickly making room when someone carrying bigger boxes or the fancy tableware came through. Everything went well ahead of schedule, so she knew they would be done by the end of the day.

The entire week surrounding this particular holiday was free for everyone, as it was Gamindustri's most important day; an incomparable atmosphere of cheer surrounded it, from the children hoping for nice presents to the adults finding time to indulge in their hobbies and spend with their loved ones.

IF still wondered if the nineteenth of August really was the specific day that Gamindustri had been created, but there was no way for her to find out. She knew that Histoire herself had entered this holiday into the calendar and stood to it for tens of thousands of years, though. There was no reason to doubt the Tome.

The brunette shook her head and went back to her task.

When two girls her age entered to find her however, IF was already busy playing with the children. She only noticed Compa and Nepgear watching them from the sidelines after a while, resulting in her quickly getting up and trying to force down her embarassment. Aside from a pink tinge going over all of her face and ears, she actually managed.

"Everyone is so lively," Compa noted as a way of greeting while Nepgear nodded along; if the purplette noticed the gaggle of children spying on her from behind the corner, she did not mention it. IF could understand them, though; Nepgear had grown a little bit more over the last ten months, in almost all regards. She was a beauty without even trying, as they found out over time. No cosmetics, no long baths, no nothing. She got out of bed in the morning, maybe brushed her hair a few minutes, got dressed, and headed out.

Neptune had even snuck them pictures of sleeping Nepgear and morning Nepgear, just to prove the point. IF did not take much longer for her own morning routine, but she still felt a little envious about it. Then again, Compa needed about twice as long as the other two together to be presentable, so she was not too upset.

Shaking off the thought, IF nodded at the children. "Of course, Day of Creation is only once a year after all. Don't tell me you weren't looking forward to presents as a child." Compa only giggled in response while IF smiled and herded her friends out of the room. "I'm a little surprised you're here and not with your families."

The other two shrugged back at her; Compa explained that her grandfather was meeting with this uncle of hers, Jiro. Nepgear noted that her sister headed out for business she did not specify, like every year around that time, and said nothing about her parents. Neither IF nor Compa asked.

"Actually," the peach-haired girl started a bit later, "my grandpa told me a story about the day, do you want to hear it?" She looked between them, receiving two nods and continuing happily: "Heh, so it's said that all the former CPUs at the Graveyard awaken during the Day of Creation. Just that one day, to look at Gamindustri and see what became of the world they used to protect. We celebrate and are our best that day, so they can rest assured that everything is good."

For some reason, the explanation sent a pang through IF's chest. It was a short yet touching story, even though no one could know if it was true. "That's nice to imagine. I'm sure they would be proud seeing us like this."

The other girls nodded along and a staff-member passing by them in the opposite direction could not help but smile.