Lowee

The Hunting Festival in Lowee was a huge event that span an area which overlapped with the borders of Lastation and even deeper into those forests. The main camping area with the tents and Renaissance Fair were all located in Lowee. The responsible Guildmaster was moving around the place and taking care of all logistics and kept watch over each individual hunter's score.

And at the edge of that Camp sat a group of people. On one rock were the CPU candidate twins of Lowee, completely absorbed in eating their ice-cream. Not much farther away, next to a tree sat IF and Compa who were examining maps and quest counts while talking energetically over communicators.

But there was one other group moving along the festival grounds. They were also known as heroes throughout Gamindustri and had been friends for a quite a while. One of them was sporting a huge bazooka on her shoulder.

It was B-sha, dressed in her usual golden-red outfit. And if one paid attention it almost looked like she was aiming the weapon at a random rock formation, as if she were about to fir-

BOOM!

C-sha: "Was that really necessary?"

C-sha was the former Gold Third of Lowee and also a guild member. She was wearing a blue outfit with an overly low-cut neckline that emphasized her chest. The blue beret on top of her long brown hair was put on loosely and looked like it might fall off any second. She was watching her friend blow up the cliff with a wry smile.

B-sha: "But it's that BFF thingie, right? 'Bazooka Firing Festival'! I'm gonna keep up the fireworks all day!"

She shot another rocket at a random cliff and laughed.

C-sha could understand where the misconception came from. For some reason there were explosions all over the forest for a while now. Someone was not messing around in their hunt. Still, B-sha had a unique ability to misinterpret things.

C-sha: "You guys know about that BFF competition then? K-sha's gotten herself into something big this time."

S-sha: "Not interested."

C-sha: "Oh come on, don't say that! You care about K-sha too, just admit it."

She patted the silver-haired girl's back with a bit too much force. S-sha was tall and clad in black and grey clothing. Her red eyes were apathetic towards most of the world. She certainly had the aura of an introvert, but she really just did whatever she wanted without any consideration for others, except…

E-sha: "K-sha… is strong… I believe in her."

For a moment S-sha's red eyes had turned green, signaling the switch of souls to E-sha. The girl that had sacrificed her body to save S-sha from death. They now shared their body, but S-sha was the dominant personality for a variety of reasons. Seeing E-sha talk to someone was proof of how close they were. She usually would not even be able to open her mouth around anybody if it was really urgent.

C-sha: "See? E-sha agrees."

S-sha: "K-sha has changed."

C-sha: "So you did pay attention to her after all?"

She winked.

B-sha: "You're right! K-sha was super weird before."

C-sha: "Err… I see."

Hearing that from B-sha of all people was a little unexpected. But she shrugged and inquired.

C-sha: "And now she isn't acting weird to you?"

B-sha: "Hmmm. No, she is totally crazy. But before she was always acting super wrong."

It looked like the golden haired girl had trouble finding the words to express her feelings. C-sha just nodded. She knew exactly what B-sha meant. In the past K-sha had always acted polite and friendly, but there was something she hid from them. She was distant on the inside. They never quite managed to penetrate her shell it seemed.

C-sha: "She changed after taking over Lastation for a while. I think she's more honest with herself now."

B-sha: "I like this K-sha better. Even if she is creepy sometimes."

C-sha: (How perfectly put.)

S-sha: "E-sha wants to try the ice-cream that the kids are eating. I will move to the stalls now."

She waved them goodbye and moved away without waiting for a reply. C-sha and B-sha looked at each other and then shrugged. With another shot of her rocket launcher B-sha created an opening in the rock wall. Somehow it had opened up a passage to a secret cave!

Hunter 1: "Woaaaah! Is that the secret entrance to the Underworld?!"

Hunter 2: "You're the best Lady B-sha!"

B-sha: "Hahaha! I'm good, right? That will be 10.000 credits for using my secret entry."

Hunter 1: "Daylight robbery!"

Hunter 2: "You're the best Lady B-sha!"

While B-sha made a fortune off of the powerless hunters, C-sha kept moving on. She wanted to greet the twins at least before maybe throwing herself into the fray as well. This sunny day was perfect for some action. But then her ears picked up the familiar sound, nay the subdued voice of a small unhappy CPU!

Blanc: "You don't have to follow me around, okay?"

Vert: "But I am unfamiliar with the festival grounds. Are you going to abandon me?"

Blanc: "If only that would work…"

C-sha: "Hey Blanny! Over here!"

She called out to the short CPU who was followed by a much happier looking Leanbox goddess. C-sha didn't know Lady Vert too well, but she had this aura that asked for respect. Unlike cute Blanny, who was just a joy to tease.

Blanc: "You were here too?"

Blanc looked up with a more relaxed expression. She even ignored the nickname that she despised so much. At this point the entire guild called her that, so there was no helping it probably.

C-sha: "Obviously. Wouldn't miss this spectacle for the world."

Before they could continue their conversation they were ambushed by Rom and Ram who had noticed their big sister after C-sha had called her over.

Ram: "Finally! We've been waiting for you Blanc!"

Rom: "What… a relief."

Blanc: "What the-? You're still here twerps? Why didn't you go out to play yet?"

She really was clueless. Maybe it was rude to say so, but Blanny could really be dense when it came to her sisters. C-sha put a hand on her side and snickered.

Ram: "We want to play together with you! Right, Rom?"

Rom: "Mhm."

In response Blanc looked confused. She put her hands on top of the twins' hats.

Banc: "You know I'm busy. You should have just gone ahead."

C-sha: "Oh? So why are you here now?"

The shorthaired CPU's shoulders twitched and she sighed.

Blanc: "That green whale over there has been annoying me all this time. Can't even relax in my own Basilicom anymore…"

The 'green whale' behind Blanc was smiling without any guilt on her face. Instead she leaned back and raised a hand to greet the twins.

C-sha: (Has she been pushing Blanny on purpose to get her out here?)

Such speculations were hard to prove, but Lady Vert seemed like she would do something like that. Whether her intentions were as pure as the results suggested was of course a different matter.

Either way, an intervention was in order to keep Blanny around. And C-sha was happy to provide it. She laid an arm around Blanc's shoulder and pulled her over.

C-sha: "Don't be like that. The Golden Pair can't fall behind some newbie hunters, right?"

Blanc: "Stop it with that freakin' name!"

C-sha: "You know, I've been thinking about that too. 'Golden Pair' is a little tacky. How about 'Golden Duo'? Or the 'Golden Twins'? Hm, we don't look that much alike. Maybe that's a better name for your sisters."

Blanc: "Put a sock in it, fine, Golden Pair it is. Just stop."

She pushed her hunting companion off and gritted her teeth. They were testing her patience today. C-sha laughed.

Rom: "Golden…"

Ram: "…twins?"

Woah. Maybe that name had rung truer with them than expected.

C-sha: "Now that we got our team back together, let's go for some hunting! All four of us."

Blanc: "…whatever. I can't convince you otherwise anyway."

C-sha: "Nice. The best hunters in the guild gotta be on the top of the Lowee Hunting Festival. So let's catch ourselves some dinner!"

Blanc: "So it's all about the food for you after all…"

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Purple Heart: "Cross Combination! Hah!"

She executed one of her skills and destroyed another King Crab. This little brook was surrounded by an awful lot of monsters. It was a little unsettling, even to Purple Heart. In the last hour she had moved farther away from the center of the hunting grounds, to get some distance from K-sha's haphazard sniping. Going deeper into the dark parts of the forest was not recommended for normal hunters. Only veterans dared to go this deep. Straying too far from the camp would mean that one had to fight their way back through all of the bushes and monster holes. For a transformed CPU on the other hand that kind of problem did not exist as she could just fly above the trees if necessary.

Purple Heart: "That was the last of them."

Her voice sounded somewhat strained. She hadn't taken a break for even a second. At least she had made some progress with her levels and quests.

IF: "There should be a waterfall close-by. Maybe some big guys are hiding there, so check it out."

Purple Heart: "Behind the waterfall… It does seem obvious."

She agreed. Her braided twintails were fluttering behind her as she sped along the brook that eventually turned into a small river and then ended with a giant waterfall. Nature was mysterious in Gamindustri to say the least.

With a super-human jump Purple Heart leapt off the waterfall and fell straight down towards the surface of a small lake. Water splashed everywhere as her feet hit the cool liquid and stopped right before she sank down. Rather than 'walking on water' she was just floating right on top of it.

Now facing the waterfall, she could already see through it. The water was perfectly clear, but there was also some dim light coming from behind the torrents. Jackpot?

Purple Heart: "There is something behind it as anticipated. I will investigate now."

IF: "Just be careful. It might be an ambush."

The possibility was very real, but Purple Heart was not afraid. She raised her blade to the side and then cut the waterfall open in one beautiful motion. In a second she slipped through the opening, before it collapsed again. The inside of the waterfall cave was lit in red. And the source of that ominous light lied right before her. A deranged looking beast, attached to a long rusty chain. Its fangs were about the size of her arms and the claws had scratched deep marks into the walls.

Purple Heart: "Who chained it up here?"

She contemplated for a moment, but then the wolf like beast's red eyes sprang wide open. It roared and fought against its binding chains with reckless abandon. Purple Heart went into a defensive stance to be ready for an attack. The wolf struggled with all its might and with a rippling motion the chain burst off the wall. The beast's jaws were gushing with drool and blood.

Purple Heart: "Come then!"

They both moved forwards and with an earth shattering impact they met in the middle of the cave. The long fangs cracked as they were smashed by the barbed sword. Purple Heart moved to the side to use the wolf's power against it and let it slip by. She then followed by cutting through its defenseless side and tearing a huge chunk of HP from it.

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Twisting her blade, she had her back turned to the yowling beast and took a breath. Swiftly she turned around and was faced by an incoming razor sharp claw. The monster was in its death throes, but a cornered beast…

Purple Heart: "Too slow!"

Her sword deflected the claws and then she followed up with a high kick that penetrated the wolf's stomach and kicked it into the ceiling. It growled one last time before smashing down into the crater on the ground. Slowly it dissolved and left behind nothing but silence in the waterfall cave.

IF: "Are you alright Nep?"

Purple Heart: "Yes. It was some sort of Fenrir I believe. It seemed to be chained to something…"

She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she noticed something eerie. The red light had not disappeared. It had come from behind the wolf and now it wasn't obscured any longer. A gigantic red glowing seal was carved into the wall.

And it was cracked.

Purple Heart: "That doesn't bode well."

She whispered before the seal broke open in a blinding glow.

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K-sha was pressing the trigger for the umpteenth time. Her trigger finger felt numb and her eyes hurt by now. Each recoil of the weapon made her whole body shake. While she could still fantasize about Noire for the longest time she could now feel the repercussions of using this weapon for too long.

It had become increasingly hot around the energy core and she had to cover it with several layers of isolating material just to keep it at a bearable level. There was also the fact that each shot was so blinding that she felt disoriented afterwards. She had not brought her sunglasses along today, but there was no guarantee they would have helped much anyway.

The results though… The results made it worth it. At least that's what she was telling herself while her head was pulsing in pain. She had effectively eliminated everything in this area for the last two hours. Certainly the forest looked a little 'banged up' now, but it was going to regrow eventually!

Because of these circumstances, when a giant red light emanated from far into the forest she at first wasn't even aware anything had happened. Using a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her forehead she took a few seconds of rest. Her stomach felt numb from lying down on the rocks so long.

K-sha: "I wonder how Miss Neptune is doing?"

It was just an afterthought, but she would find out the answer very soon. The earth started rumbling as if on cue and sirens resounded throughout the forest. K-sha jerked back in surprise and immediately got up from her lying position. As she put a hand above her head to shield her eyes from the sun she immediately noticed the origin of the anomaly.

A whole bunch of giant robots were spawning from somewhere in the forest.

K-sha: "CPU Breakers. Ancient models."

She analyzed automatically. Why did she know about these historical things? It was part of her education of course. Just not the one she received in school right now.

Whatever the source of these things was, they would probably go on a rampage indiscriminately. She pulled up the prototype to assist in destroying the targets…

…but what about the contest?

These things were not part of the Festival, right? She would not earn any points from destroying them. Instead this was the perfect opportunity to take care of more monsters while everyone was distracted.

To become even closer with her Noire…

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Purple Heart: "Why does it seem like Lowee always has some nation toppling problem?"

She asked in exasperation while blocking another incoming giant axe from one of the CPU Breakers. Those machines were gigantic and floated above the ground. They had two giant arms and almost dragon like heads and chassis designs. In each giant metallic hand they held huge melee weapons. But they were capable of shooting laser beams from their eyes as well.

And there were a lot of them. Whoever put that seal there should really have been clearer about what kind of apocalypse was locked up behind it!

Hadn't she put one of Planeptune's mascots in Lowee's territory just to seal a similar threat from spawning again? So there was ANOTHER seal by someone else as well?

This headache was only accompanied by more impacts to the ground as the robots were pushing her back.

IF: "What did you do this time Nep?"

Purple Heart: "There is no time for finding someone to blame Iffy. There is an army of killer robots on the loose."

IF: "Not again!"

Compa: "We are coming to help you Nep-Nep!"

Purple Heart: "I appreciate it, but I don't think you will make it in time. Can I ask you to evacuate the festival grounds for me?"

IF: "…yes, let's do that Compa."

Compa was resisting for while, but Neptune blended their voices out. She had to focus her entire attention on the death and destruction aiming to smash her.

Neptune: "Victory… Slash!"

She sliced a V-shaped energy explosion into one of the robots and made it crush down in electrical sparks. Too bad that a replacement appeared right on top of its exploding fellow's corpse.

Purple Heart: (This could be trouble even for me.)

The sheer amount was the problematic factor here. Her damage output was good, but she couldn't cut them down fast enough.

Swing! Slash! BOOM!

Axes, lasers and rocks were trying to put an end to the CPU's life from every direction. Time for plan B. She jumped off a rock and rapidly flew towards the sky. From up here she had a better view on just how bad things were. And she also noticed that these things could fly…

With pure reflexes she managed to dodge a homing axe that was aimed at her, while also not getting hit by anti-air lasers. And those robots were also using boosters to come into her range.

She twisted her body around and dived head first into the crowd below. Up here she was just a huge target. But on her way down she was suddenly surrounded by six CPU Breakers. They all unleashed a mechanical roar before performing a combination attack that would surely have crushed her.

Instead half of them exploded in a bright white light! Not wasting a second, Purple Heart slashed through the remaining two in her way and landed on a tree. Her heart was pumping fast and she looked towards the direction of the assisting shot. K-sha was standing on a nearby cliff and holding up her prototype sniper rifle with strength alone. It looked incredibly heavy.

K-sha: "Please dodge Miss Neptune!"

She yelled.

Purple Heart knew what would come next, so she flew away as fast as she could. In a huge continuous sweeping motion the black weapon blasted through a dozen of the giant robots and blew them to bits. Now that they were provoked they headed for the black haired girl at rapid speed. K-sha retaliated with more shots, but she was clearly unable to keep it up as she suddenly collapsed.

Purple Heart moved instinctively and stabbed the back of another robot in front of her. They managed to somehow pincer attack the enemies from both sides until they were mostly destroyed. Sadly these were just the outliers, while the majority had spread all over the forest.

Purple Heart reached K-sha and sank down next to her. The high school girl looked like she was going to faint any moment now. The huge prototype weapon next to her was glowing red from heat. And the muzzle looked as if it was going to melt soon.

Purple Heart: "Are you okay?"

K-sha: "Yes, I'm fine... But I think Uni's rifle is done for."

She said with one eye closed and still breathing heavily. Her hands were covered in cloth to prevent the burns, but she still looked much too worn out.

Purple Heart: "I'm sorry for forcing you to assist me."

K-sha: "Haha… No worries. If these things run free they will attack Lastation. And I couldn't face Noire if I let that happen."

Purple Heart: "Indeed."

So K-sha was still thinking like that. Purple Heart had to think about how Blanc would react if she realized this was her doing as well. Some work lay before them.

K-sha: "Even without this thing I'm still ready for combat."

Suddenly K-sha pulled out her Uzis from out of nowhere and returned to her hardened veteran soldier face. It was very jarring.

Purple Heart: "You look exhausted."

K-sha: "So do you."

Purple Heart: "I suppose that's true."

There was no arguing that. And even if they wanted to rest, these robots were not going to wait.

K-sha: "I took out 23."

She suddenly declared. Purple Heart smiled weakly.

Purple Heart: "16."

Was her short reply before she grabbed K-sha and took her along to fly to the next wave of enemies.

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Lastation

The hunter's guild of Lastation was still relatively big compared to Planeptune's and Leanbox's, but in recent years many hunters and huntresses had moved over to Lowee. Noire did have some regrets over her politics towards monster hunting in the last decade, but it was important to put safety over fun. They had made so much progress in most other fields that she felt they could afford some losses in that sector though.

Either way, the Guildmaster of Lastation's Guild was a snot faced brat who preferred to go on and on about his achievements and how great his blade was for way too long. Right about now Noire regretted taking a look at the festival altogether.

So when the sirens blared and the news of a massive robot attack came in she almost felt relieved.

Noire: "Round up the militia and guards and create a blockade at the border of the forest. I don't want a single of these machines to make it through to our cities!"

She yelled commands to her subordinates and organized a swift response to the crisis. After making sure that a defensive line had been prepared she activated HDD and flew ahead to take care of the robot army directly. Whatever they were, they had spawned in the middle of the border and were now attacking both nations, so it was clear that they weren't part of a secret Lowee project to attack Lastation.

She felt an inkling of guilt for even remotely considering that Blanc would break the non-aggression pact. They had been through too much together to have doubts about that now.

To her surprise some of the CPU Breakers had already made it quite far into Lastation. She proceeded to cut them to pieces with her oversized sword and used their death explosions to propel herself forward.

Uni said she would go to the Festival too… Black Heart's wings pressed out even more boost than before.

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Lowee

B-sha: "Take that!"

A rocket exploded in the huge robot's dragon like face. But aside from some burn marks there was not a single dent in its armor. IF, Compa and B-sha were trying to hold off the first wave as well as they could, but the very first enemy they faced was a stronger variant called 'CPU Breaker Maximus'.

IF: "Blazing hellfire will burn all things to ash; Demonic Inferno!"

Moving her hands up, she summoned a giant fire pillar from the ground and burned the machine with the heat of hell itself (well not really). Maximus was not impressed and proceeded to crash through a stall for medieval bootstraps.

IF: "We may be out of our league here."

She confessed.

Guildmaster: "Don't give up yet ladies! I've drummed all hunters together to help you out! There are quests for all those dastardly robots that are trying to ruin our Festival ahahaha!"

Compa: "Mr. Guildmaster!"

Things were looking up now. They all felt a little relieved. Only to witness Guildmaster getting crushed by Maximus gigantic tail. The overly muscular man was rammed into a crepe stand and buried in wood and delicious sweets!

B-sha: "You monster! That crepe was the best in the festivaaaal!"

Now the former Gold Third member was mad and pulled out the big guns. She summoned her own robot that totally didn't resemble a certain brand that starts with 'G' and unleashed a torrent of attacks on Maximus. This time the robot took some damage and began an evasive maneuver.

Compa: "Are you alright, Mr. Guildmaster?"

She had hurried over and was already unpacking some bandages. But Guildmaster just gave her a thumbs up. He had protected the tablet that was keeping track of everyone's progress with his bulging muscles.

Guildmaster: "I'm fine young lady…! As a Hunter I have to set an example. Just take care of your friends first!"

He laughed heartily while coughing blood. Very convincing.

B-sha: "S-sha what are you doing over there?! Come and help me smash this trashcan already!"

Somewhere farther away S-sha was busy testing melon flavored ice-cream. She wasn't a fan of sweet things herself, but E-sha wanted it, so she would eat a whole gallon if she had to.

S-sha: "Not interested."

IF: "Why are all the strong people so difficult to deal with around here?"

She sighed while performing a string combo on Maximus' tail. The machine spun around and send her flying back. B-sha's robot used the opportunity to give it an uppercut. In an unfortunate turn of events Maximus hulking chassis crushed straight through the ice-cream stall, destroying it utterly.

S-sha: "…"

The melon ice was dripping off her hand. Inside her mind S-sha could feel a wave of sadness and disappointment coming from her soul mate.

S-sha: "In the name of my blade… I shall pass judgment upon thee!"

The grey haired girl raised her arm above her head and summoned her sword, shield and wing in a pillar of energy. What followed was a one-sided massacre of the most horrifying kind. Safe to say, Maximus was nothing short from vaporized by the end of it.

IF: "Is everyone powering up through their stomach around here?"

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On Lastation's side of things Neptune and K-sha were still desperately trying to stop the robots' advances by themselves. By now Planeptune's CPU had run out of energy and returned to her human form. They were fighting back to back and still managed to keep things under control. On their way here they had saved a few cornered hunters who had chewed off more than they could swallow. While they had run away the two of them defended their backs.

Neptune: "Lookie here, we get quest points for smashing them now too!"

K-sha: "49th!"

Neptune: "You've been keeping track this whole time?!"

To be honest she was too tried to think about numbers anymore. There were metal parts strewn about the whole forest already, but still new CPU Breakers arrived. Had she just been imagining that their lines were thinning out?

Neptune: "You don't have to pretend to be fine, okay? Just go and take a rest if you feel like collapsing!"

The taunt was more a way for her to force herself into motion again.

K-sha: "A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal!!"

Gun fire behind Neptune covered the weak points of a few machines.

A sword slash cut through the head units of a few robots behind K-sha.

They had taken on each other's foes in a mirror attack! They had surely gotten synchronized now. And yet they still didn't perform combination attacks or Coupling Skills. No matter what, they could not combine their forces!

?: "Lace Ribbon Dance!"

A huge Breaker came flying from the west and exploded in three of its companions. Cutting through the explosion with her black sword was Noire, or rather Black Heart. She had finally made it all the way here.

Neptune & K-sha: "Noire!"

Black Heart: "Can any of you please tell me what's going on here?"

She asked and stabbed her sword into the ground. Her white flowing hair was shaking in the breeze of the explosion.

Neptune: "T-the festival reached a new level?"

She put her arms behind her head and whistled. K-sha and Noire both raised a brow.

K-sha: "I am not sure. It seems a seal has been broken and unleashed this army. We are protecting Lastation from this half, but the other is still attacking the festival grounds."

Black Heart: "Why is there always some nation toppling problem in Lowee?"

Neptune: "Oh! Oh! I've been saying the same thing!"

She energetically pointed at Noire. For some reason she felt super rejuvenated since she arrived.

Black Heart: "Then let's make short process of those impertinent machines over here and interrogate Blanc about this later."

With a light move she pulled the sword out of the loose earth and moved forward confidently. There were no footsteps behind her indicating that they had followed her though.

Neptune: "Sorry, Steel Heart, but we gotta decline that offer."

K-sha: "I'm very sorry Noire! But we can't do that."

Black Heart: "What? Why?!"

Neptune: "We still got to finish our contest. And there is a rule that says we can't team up with anyone."

Black Heart: "You can't be serious! Look at yourself, you can barely stand!"

Neptune: "That's just an optical illusion~"

K-sha: "As long as my arms can move I can shoot down my targets."

Their absolute confidence was moving, even if completely foolish. Black Heart shook her head violently.

Black Heart: "This is stupid. Either come with me and work together or go get yourself fixed up!"

Neptune: "This is important, so write it down, my dear Black Heart. Sometimes a friend has to let a friend do what a friend must do. Friend me? I mean, get me?"

Black Heart: "Absolutely not."

Neptune: "Argh, you are so stubborn, just fly and let your wings take you to the people who really need your help! I know you're worried about her!"

She shooed Noire away with both hands and laughed. In the end Black Heart just sighed and left them with an annoyed expression.

K-sha: "I will take the hundred on the left…"

Neptune: "Then I will take the rest!"

They moved forward with a war cry (or a war sigh, as they were lacking the proper oxygen capacity to do a real one) and jumped back into the fray!

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Two hours passed. At the end of a brutal skirmish, covered over and over in bruises and even more machine oil, sat Neptune and K-sha, back against back. They were both huffing as if they had ran several marathons and their sweat covered hair hang down in strings. Warmth permeated from their backs and flowed over to the other as they tried hard to get their hearts back to pumping normally.

For a while they just sat in silence and kept their eyes closed.

Then Neptune finally raised her voice. A question escaped her that she had been trying to suppress for a while now.

Neptune: "You know, if you won this contest, just theoretically though! What… would you do with Noire?"

It was an awkwardly worded question. Completely unlike her usual self. Her rival stayed quiet for a bit.

K-sha: "I don't think I understand the question."

She replied honestly. Neptune had to force her grey matter into one last sprint before blacking out.

Neptune: "I mean… what are your plans with Noire in the future?"

K-sha: "To kindle our love more and more until we are inseparable!"

Stab! Those happy words felt like a triple layered sword through Neptune's back.

Neptune: "Y-you want to tie her up that badly?"

She asked jokingly.

K-sha: "Marriage?! I didn't think that far yet, Miss Neptune! So embarrassing~"

Neptune: "I didn't say anything about marriage tho…"

Neptune felt exhausted and tired, but her mind wouldn't stop moving even now. K-sha wasn't doing this for fun. That's what Iffy said. She probably didn't even do this to 'win'. All she wanted was to get closer to that stubborn Noire.

Then what was Neptune's stake in this?

Just to prove that she could win? That she could become friends with anyone?

That Noire was already close to her?

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Sitting on a chair in the café area of the Renaissance Fair was Vert, who had been enjoying her tea and some other… observations. She was leaning her head on one gloved hand and hummed wistfully under the afternoon sun. In just a bit the festival would end for today.

Vert: "Oh dear. Is it my turn already?"

She spun a spoon inside her freshly brewed tea, while displaying a slightly troubled expression.

Vert: "The same Nep time, the same Nep channel. You will be back for more, isn't that right?"

She winked.

To be continued