Chapter 48
Hikan's POV
I woke up in my room in the Planeptune Basilicom, Neptune had made the Basilicom her new living quarters and since she was on the idea that I was living with her, she had a room made just for me, it looked exactly the same as my old room in my apartment that burned down,
A bed with black blankets and sheets, a large window over my bed, red wallpaper, flat screen TV in the corner and a game console hooked up to it, along with a bean bag chair.
I got out of my bed and stretched, that race we had tired us all out, the race ended in a draw between all of us, we all made it to Lowee at the same time and we all flew back to Planeptune as fast as we could.
"I still think I won though…" I muttered and got out of bed, I had my shirt off like always and my hoodie was hanging on my door, I opened my closet and pulled out a black tank top and put it on, I don't think I'll need my hoodie today, but I'll take it Just in case.
I grabbed my hoodie and draped it over my shoulder, then opened the door and walked out of my room, the hallways were mostly white and purple, the living area was on top of Planeptune tower, which is the tallest building in Planeptune, Neptune basically made this her little play area and home, almost all the rooms had a game system of some kind and beanbag chairs, believe me you do NOT want to see her room.
Upon arriving to the living room, I already saw Neptune and Nepgear playing a game and I snuck in and sat on the couch, they didn't even know I was there… Yet. The living room was as you expected, couch, TV's… Game console… Beanbag chairs… Neptune has too many of these!
"No way! I lost again!" Neptune shouted as a game over screen popped up on her side, Nepgear gave her an awkward smile,
"I'm sorry Neptune, I'll try and go easier a little bit." Nepgear apologized and I started laughing,
"Your sister was just born and you're losing games to her? That's priceless!" I said as I laughed and Neptune turned around and looked at me,
"No! I was just going easy on her!" Neptune argued and I cracked a smile,
"Suuuure you are." I teased and got up, "well, I'm gonna walk around Planeptune a bit." I said as I turned towards the elevator, yes we have an elevator.
"Wait! I'm coming with!" Neptune said as she jumped in the air, "it's been awhile since we had a date Hikan, I think now's the perfect time!" She said and I laughed some more,
"How about we all go? Me, you, and Nepgear, that's if you want to go Nepgear." I said as I looked at Nepgear, she smiled and nodded,
"Sure, I would love to go." She said and I nodded as well,
"Then it's settled, let's go you two." I said as I walked towards the elevator, Neptune ran past me and Nepgear walked up next to me,
"So you were the one that stopped Akumu?" She asked me and I looked at her, seems like she was already told,
"Yeah, I took care of him." I replied and Nepgear smiled at me,
"Thank you, if you didn't, Neptune wouldn't even be here now and neither would I." She said and I raised my brow,
"You've grown attached to her rather quick. Don't worry, we're in peace right now and I won't let anything bad happen to Neptune or you." I explained and Neptune called after us,
"Hey c'mon!" She yelled and Nepgear and I walked into the elevator and Neptune clicked the ground floor button and we went down the tower…
We first went to an arcade of Neptune's choosing, since she already said too and dragged me along.
Mostly what we did was a few games, got something to eat, went back to games and me winning almost many times, Nepgear gave me quite a challenge in some of the FPS virtual games, but I still won.
"Hikan, you're really good." Nepgear complimented me as I pulled the helmet off,
"Not sure why, I usually don't play many games." I replied and Neptune jumped on my back,
"It's because you got the author's spirit! He's going to have you good at things no matter what." Neptune told me, I facepalmed as I heard the sound of the fourth wall shattering even more,
"How about we head to the park? It's a nice day out and I'm about done with the arcade…" I said as I glared over at one of the claw games.
"Sure, I don't mind, you came with me to an arcade, so we'll go to where you want to go." Neptune said and all three of us walked out of the arcade and started towards the park…
Wow, this is bringing back old memories, all three of us walked to the park and where we ended up was a place i'm never going to forget,
"Hey Neptune." I called out and she stopped and looked at me,
"Hmm?"
"Doesn't this place look familiar?" I asked her and she looked around,
"Um, is it bad if I don't?" she replied and I chuckled,
"Let me remind you." I said as I walked over to her and pointed at the nearby vending machine and then the table, "Know anything yet?"
"Oh! This is where we first met! All the way back in chapter 1!" she said and I nodded,
"Yep, c'mere you two." I said as I walked over to the vending machine, I looked inside to see that they restocked on pudding, "Neptune, Nepgear, want some pudding?" I asked and Neptune's eyes sparkled,
"You will? This is why I love you!" Neptune said as she hugged me, I looked over at Nepgear,
"You want some as well?" I asked and she nodded,
"Okay, thank you." she replied and I walked over the vending machine and pulled out my wallet, thank you Shizuki for the credits.
I put in the desired amount and saw three pudding cups drop down, I reached in for the pudding cups and pulled out three chocolate ones and walked back to Neptune and Nepgear.
"Here." I stated and handed them their cups and we all sat down by a table. Again, brings back old memories, "this was the same table when you saw me Neptune."
"Hm? Yeah it is." Neptune agreed and I looked over towards the park, all of this is bringing back old memories, "Anyway, Hikan, Nep. Jr let's go!"
"What?!" I shouted and I saw that Neptune already finished her cup of pudding "did you even taste it?!"
"Of course I did. So let's go!" She said grabbing both my arm and Nepgear's and started to drag us to the next destination.
"Wait Neptune!" Nepgear yelled and I struggled to get out of Neptune's grip…
After a bit of dragging and walking, We were now at the Planeptune lake, I was sitting in a tree and was watching the clouds go by before I heard someone,
"Heeey! Hiiiiikan!" Neptune yelled and I glanced over at her,
"What is it?" I asked as I jumped down,
"Well, I was wondering if you could fish again you know? Remember last time." She replied, yeah I remember, I showed her how to fish.
"Sure hang on." I said as I closed my eyes, I wonder if this would work…
I held out my hand and a fishing pole appeared in my hands, she stared at me in amazement,
"You keep learning these new tricks." Neptune said and I smirked,
"Nothing wrong with trying." I said and I walked over to where Nepgear stood, she was staring into the water, "hey Nepgear." I called out to her and she looked back at me and smiled,
"Hikans going to fish for us." Neptune stated as I sat on the ground next to Nepgear, Neptune sat on my right.
"Don't stand behind me or in front. Don't want the hook to catch on ya." I said as I sent the hook out into the water,
"So Hikan, can you tell us what happened when you went to fight Akumu?" Nepgear asked and Neptune tugged on my arm,
"Yeah, I want to know too!" Neptune said and I laughed,
"Sure, why not a little story inside of a story." I said and took a deep breath, "after I sent Neptune and the other goddesses back to Gamindustri, I went back to the central building in Celestia and met Akumu on the roof, basically all we did was exchange a few hits and trash talk each other, then we crashed through the ceiling and started to fight again, however I didn't know that the more I used that power, the closer I was to death. But anyway, Akumu got the upper hand on me and was able to shoot me out of the building and he drug me all the back to the portal entrance and opened it, but I refused to go back and he almost beat me, too bad for him is what I had planned. When he stabbed me with his sword, I used that opportunity to stab him with my sword, locking us together then, with the last of my power, I destroyed Celestia and Akumu and I fell back to Planeptune, and Neptune knows the rest." I explained and then sighed,
"Wow, Hikan you're amazing." Nepgear complimented me and I smirked,
"Just doing my job I guess." I replied, I looked over at Neptune to see that she was asleep, I let out another sigh of frustration,
"Looks like she's done." I said and Nepgear gave out an awkward laugh,
"Neptune likes to sleep." She said and I looked at her,
"Enough about me though, what about you Nepgear? Do you like it here?" I asked and Nepgear nodded.
"Yes, I met a lot of great people and an amazing big sister!" She replied and I almost lost my grip on my fishing pole, something was tugging on it and it was strong!
"Whoa!" I yelled as I almost fell into the lake, something this strong had to be big,
"Hikan! I'll help!" Nepgear yelled as she grabbed the fishing pole and helped me reel in the "fish", but it wasn't much.
"On the count of three."
"Okay!"
"One. Two. THREE!" I counted down and we both pulled as hard as we could, and a huge splash came out of the lake. We looked up and we met a sight.
"What the hell is that?!" I yelled, the creature looked to be like a giant serpent, only its scales were green and it had two wings on both sides, it had razor sharp teeth and had no legs, but it was floating because of its wings and its head was shaped like a Cobras head, I've never seen this kind of monster before!
*SCREECH!*
It let out a high pitched screech and I had to hold my ears, but before I could react the creature flew towards me, it knocked me back then bit my leg and lifted me off the ground, I managed to move my leg so the fang wouldn't stab my leg, I materialized my sword and slashed at its head, making me drop instantly,
"Hikan!" Nepgear yelled and ran towards me, I did a front flip and landed on the ground,
"Nepgear, get back!" I yelled and dodged another attack by the creature, it shot a wind sphere by the looks of it.
I ran towards Nepgear and lifted her off her feet and ran towards Neptune, the creature spun in a circle, making a small tornado appear and lifting Neptune off of the ground, I heard townspeople screaming and running.
I sat Nepgear on the ground, "find shelter! I'll handle this!" I yelled and ran towards Neptune, while hearing Nepgear's screams behind me,
I jumped up and the tornado disappeared and Neptune started falling over the lake, I ran up a tree and jumped off for a boost of momentum and charged towards Neptune,
I was able to catch her and she was still asleep, "Neptune Wake Up!" I yelled and she opened her eyes,
"Huh… What's going on…" She muttered and we landed on the other side of the lake,
"We got a problem. Look!" I said as i pointed up to the creature, which was now flying in the sky towards us,
"Holy shrimp! What is that thing?" Neptune yelled, looks like she never saw it before either,
"I don't know, but it's not going away, it's fast too." I said and the creature let out another screech.
*SCREECH!*
"That's louder than a banshee!" Neptune yelled holding her ears,
"I had enough of this bastard." I said as I closed my eyes, Neptune followed my lead,
*Ching!*
"We'll end this quickly." I stated as my wings materialized behind me, "Shall we?"
"Let's."Neptune agreed as we flew up after the creature, the creature shot fire out of it's mouth, I flew in front of Neptune and absorbed the flames into my blade, then shot it back at the creature, causing it to dodge to the right and charge at Neptune, she flew above it and when she was right above it, slashed down with her sword, causing the creature to serpentine out of the way,
I increased my speed and flew up next to the creature, I started to slash at it with vertical and horizontal slices over and over, the creature screeched in pain with each hit, then I lit my sword on fire and smashed it down on the creature, sending it flying towards Neptune and she threw her slash in as well, then the creature flew up,
Neptune and I increased our speed once again and charged towards the creature, we slashed at it and repeated this as we flew above and through it over and over again, then when the creature fell to the ground, me and Neptune used our last attack,
"Let's go Neptune!" I yelled and my sword lit on fire once again, and Neptune's sword shined a purple glow as we charged towards the creature,
*SCREECH!*
As a last attempt, the creature glowed a fluorescent green and a spirit of a dragon appeared above it and charged towards us, erupting fire from it's mouth, I pulled my sword back and slashed at the air, making a fireball erupt from my sword and collided against the spirit dragons flames, causing an explosion,
Neptune and I charged toward the creature once again and appeared right in front of it, "Dual Victory Slash!" We both yelled as we slashed the creature one last time and flew through it,
*SCREECH!* *BOOM!*
The creature let out another screech and then an explosion erupted behind us, whatever that creature was, it was definitely something I haven't seen before and clearly Neptune didn't either.
"We got it, Neptune." I stated but Neptune didn't reply, "Neptune?" I looked at her and she collapsed on top of me, she was completely exhausted, looks like that last move did her in,
I reverted back into my regular form and Neptune did the same, she fell asleep as soon as she transformed and I heard Nepgear yell behind us,
"Neptune! Hikan!" she ran up to me and hugged me and Neptune tightly, "Is Neptune okay?!" she said concerned, I nodded.
"She's just asleep, that creature wore us out." I said and picked up Neptune and put her on my back, "Let's head back to the Basilicom, she's had enough." I said and Nepgear nodded, then we started walking back,
During our walk back, Nepgear broke the silence, "Hikan… i'm sorry." she said and I looked at her,
"Sorry for what? You did nothing wrong." I said and Nepgear shook her head,
"You're hurt." she said and I looked down at my leg, I saw blood and a wound on it, but it wasn't that big.
"It's fine, I've been through way worse than this, don't beat yourself up over it." I replied and Nepgear looked at me,
"I wish I could of helped you two though…" she said and I started to see tears well up in her eyes,
"Hey hey hey, there's no need to be upset, don't cry." I said and placed my hand on Nepgear's shoulder, "Nepgear. There's no reason to be negative, you gotta stay positive or you'll regret it someday… like I did…" I said and Nepgear looked at me,
"What do you mean, like you did?" she asked and I looked at the ground,
"I wasn't always like the person i am now, before I was an emotionless wreck and I never trusted anyone, I would always be negative about things and look where it got me, I almost killed a lot of people, but Neptune and the others saved me and I was able to live in peace again." I explained and Nepgear stared at me for a little bit,
"Hikan…" she said and I gave her a reassuring smile,
"It's fine, just promise me not to be so negative. Okay?" I asked and Nepgear stared at me before nodding,
"Okay! I'm sorry for being all emotional." She replied and I smiled again,
"That's the spirit." I said as we continued our walk back to the Basilicom…
The rest of the walk was pretty much silent, occasionally with the exception of Neptune's breath going down my neck made me blush a few times, but other than that, it was fine.
We were back in the Basilicom and was going up the elevator, when door opened it revealed Histoire, Compa, and IF in the living room chatting about something.
"We're home." I greeted and walked into the living room, all three of them looked over at me,
"There you three are!" IF said and looked at Neptune, "Are Nep and Nepgear alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine, I'm guessing you heard about the creature?" I replied and Histoire nodded,
"Yes, the strange thing is, this creature that you fought was something I've never seen before." Histoire said, looks like Neptune wasn't the only one.
"Hikan, you're hurt!" Comps said as she pointed to my leg,
"It's nothing that bad, we all know I've been through worse." I said and started to walk towards the stairs, "I'm gonna take Neptune to her room real quick, I'll be right back."
I walked up the stairs and towards Neptune's room, she tightened her grip on me and her breathing went down my neck again, causing me to blush.
I opened the door to her room and was met by a sight I should have expected, I saw a bunk bed in the corner of the room, both had pink sheets and blankets, next to the bed was a desk with a little journal on it and in another corner of the room was yet again another TV with a game system hooked up to it and beanbag chairs.
"Your room is exactly as I would expect it Neptune." I said and walked over to her bed, I laid her down on her bed and was about to leave, but she grabbed my hand,
"Hikan… Don't go just yet…" Neptune said, I looked back at her and her eyes were still shut, I don't know if she's awake or asleep…
"Alright, I'll stay for a little bit longer." I stated and sat on the edge of the bed, but Neptune shot her eyes open and pulled me down, she was now on top of me and was giving me a mischievous grin.
"I'm not letting you go yet!" She said and I smiled at her,
"I can just pick you up if I wanted too, but I guess I'm just not feeling it." I stated and Neptune started poking my stomach,
"Is it just me, or did your bod get manlier?" She asked me and I shrugged,
"Maybe it's just me as a CPU now." I answered and Neptune leaned down on me, our lips inches away from each other, I could smell her breath too… It smelt sweet.
"It's just us in here you know…" She whispered and I touched her cheek and leaned in to her ear,
"Not right now Neptune, I got to finish this chapter somehow." I whispered back and picked her up off of me and sat her down on the bed,
"Aww, that stinks, darn you author!" She said and I chuckled a bit.
"Enjoy your little break Neptune." I said and patted her head, then walked out the door and back down to the living room.
"Hikan, what did you find out after fighting the creature?" IF asked me and I shrugged,
"It wasn't like the other monsters, it was stronger that's for sure, but this monster was after me specifically, it went after Neptune once or twice, but focused its attacks on me." I explained, everyone in the room listened quietly as I told what happened,
"Is there any reason why?" Histoire asked and I shook my head,
"Nothing comes to mind."
"It's fine now though right? You defeated it?" IF asked and I nodded again,
"Yeah, we took care of it, but it worries me just how a monster like that was able to get into Planeptune." I said and Histoire flew up to me,
"It's fine now Hikan." She said and IF walked up and nudged my shoulder,
"Yeah, we'll investigate Planeptune when Shizuki gets back from Lowee." IF stated and I glanced over at her,
"She's in Lowee? Did something happen?" I asked and IF shook her head,
"To be honest, I'm not sure, Ozaki actually came all the way over here just to get Shizuki, he said that it was a secret." IF said, Ozaki keeping secrets? The only secret he's ever kept that I know of is that he was with The Saviors.
"Must have been something important if he came to Planeptune from Lowee just to get one person." I said, my curiosity is rising again, even if it is a secret… Gah! I just HAVE to know now! "I'm going to Lowee!" I said and walked towards the stairs,
"What?! You just got back and you're leaving again?" IF shouted and I glanced back at her,
"I need too! My curiosity always beats me!" I said as I walked down a flight of stairs and turned a corner, revealing another door that led to a balcony.
"Wait Hikan!" IF and Histy both yelled as I was about to walk out, "You mustn't tire yourself out. You're a CPU now so you have limits." Histy said and I nodded,
"I know, but my curiosity beats me everytime!"
*Ching!*
"Tell Neptune and Nepgear I'll be back soon!" I said as I flew into the sky, I heard IF yelled behind me,
"Be careful!"
I was flying in the sky towards Lowee, seriously what does Ozaki need Shizuki for?
Shizuki's POV
I was in Lowee with Ozaki after he came to Planeptune to get me, he was wearing his white winter suit and I was kind of surprised that he came to get me from Planeptune, but he said that he would explain why on our way back to Lowee.
"Care to explain why you came to get me now?" I asked me and Ozaki glanced back at me,
"Lady Blanc wants you for some reason, she wouldn't even tell me why." he answered, Blanc wanted me for something that she wouldn't even tell one of her personal guards? Something must have happened.
We arrived at the Basilicom and when we Ozaki opened the door, a bucket of water fell on his head and we heard laughing,
"Score!" Ram yelled as she poked her head out, Rom was also with her,
"Sorry Mr. Ozaki!" Rom apologized before the two ran off, I looked at Ozaki and he had his eyes shut and was clenching his fists,
"You alright?" I asked him and he nodded,
"Y-Yes… they're just… kids…!" Ozaki said as he started walking again while I followed close behind him, we kept walking until we reached Blanc's door to her room
Ozaki knocked on Blanc's door, "Lady Blanc, I've brought Shizuki with me!" Ozaki said and I heard Blanc's voice through the door,
"Thank you Ozaki, Shizuki can you come in here please?" Blanc asked and I turned the doorknob and walked in, Blanc was sitting on her bed and was reading a book, then sat it down when she saw me.
"Is something wrong Blanc?" I asked and the door shut behind me, I looked back and I heard Blanc get out of her bed and she walked over towards me,
"Shizuki, I need to ask you a favor." she said quietly and I looked back at her,
"Alright, what is it?" I said and she blushed a little bit,
"Can… you t-tell me… all you know… about… H-H-Hikan." she struggled to say, I stared at her for a bit before widening my eyes,
"What? That's all you needed to know?!" I shouted and Blanc gritted her teeth,
"Shut up! Do you want to let all of Lowee to hear you!" Blanc yelled and I tensed up a bit,
"S-Sorry, just got a little confused is all." I said and I put my hand to my chin, "I can tell you about Hikan, but I need to keep at least some secrets." I said and Blanc nodded,
"That's fine."
"Alright, then grab a seat, this will be a long one." I said and we walked over to her bed and we sat down, then I started to explain what I knew about Hikan…
"Is that all?" Blanc asked and I nodded,
"Yeah, and you know what that means right?" I said and she nodded,
"Yeah, it's close isn't it?" Blanc asked and I nodded,
"Keep it a secret from him, we'll tell the others, but keep it a secret from Hikan." I said, then got up, but we heard a knock at the door.
"Hello? Anyone in there?" A voice said, that's Hikan's voice!
"Yes?"
Hikan opened the door and poked his head in, "There you are Shizuki." he stated and walked through the door, "Hey Blanc." he said with a wave and Blanc smiled at him,
"What brings you here?" she asked him,
"I was just wondering what was going on is all, did something happen that Shizuki needed to come over?" He asked and Blanc stepped in front of me,
"Yes, there was something wrong in the caves and Ozaki couldn't get through it, so we called Shizuki to help out." she lied then turned to me, "Right?"
"Yeah, we got it all cleared up." I agreed and Hikan smiled,
"That's good, just wanted to make sure that the same incident didn't happen like in Planeptune." Hikan said, incident?
"What happened in Planeptune?" I asked him and Hikan sighed,
"Another explanation eh? Alright, transition go." Hikan said as he started explaining…
"That's an odd one, I haven't heard of that type of monster before." Blanc stated, Hikan and Neptune apparently fought a serpent dragon by the way he described it, I haven't heard about it either.
"Same here, maybe a new species?" I suggested and Hikan shrugged,
"I hope not, dealing with one of those things was tiring enough." he said and looked outside, "crap, it's dark."
"No matter, you two can stay in the Basilicom, you're always welcome here." Blanc said and Hikan smiled at her again,
"Thanks Blanc." he said and she blushed again, he walked out of the room and I looked back at Blanc,
"I'll let the others know what we're doing." I whispered and Blanc nodded,
"Okay."
Hikan's POV
The next morning, I woke up on in my borrowed room in the Lowee Basilicom, I hopped out of bed and put my hoodie back on and walked out of the room.
I met Shizuki walking towards the living room rubbing her eyes, "Yo, Shizuki!" I called out to her, she looked back and waved at me,
"Hey Hikan, sleep well?" she asked me and I nodded,
"Yeah, the beds here in Lowee are comfortable! I fell asleep as soon as I laid down." I said and Shizuki nodded,
"Definitely." she agreed and we walked into the living room,
"You heading back to Planeptune?" I also asked and Shizuki looked over at me,
"Yes actually, I went ahead and woke up early just so I can make it back." Shizuki answered,
"You mind if I ride along with you?" I asked and she blushed a little,
"S-Sure, I don't mind…" she muttered, was she embarrassed again? It's only a motorcycle ride.
"Alright, let's go ahead and head out." I said and took hold of Suzuki's arm,
"Wha?! Hikan let go!" she protested and I kept pulling her,
"Come on, I know you Shizuki and when you say that you're 'heading out now.' then you mean head out in about maybe thirty minutes to an hour." I said and opened the door to the outside,
"Hang on Hikan!" she said and I picked her up,
"Not gonna happen!"
"I didn't even bring my bike."
"That's alright."
*Ching!*
I flew into the air while carrying Shizuki princess style and flew in the direction of Planeptune, she was looking around and staring at the view,
"This is… beautiful." she said and I smirked,
"Yeah, you're going through the same thing I did when I was flying here." I replied, you can see the snow of Lowee on the trees, again giving it the peaceful vibe.
"Hey Hikan." Shizuki called out to me and I looked down at her,
"Hm?"
"What is it like being a CPU?"
"Well, my age and looks never change now and it's better that the power of a CPU comes from belief from people instead of using up my life force." I replied and Shizuki started laughing,
"That's better then anything." she said and then snuggled against my chest, "But, it's still sad that even though I have this curse, I still grow older." she said and I patted her head,
"So what? We'll always be friends, no matter what." I told Shizuki and she looked up at me while blushing.
"H-Hikan…" she muttered and I smiled again,
"I love you." I said and gave her a quick kiss, then looked at where I was going again.
The rest of the way was silence, Shizuki and I landed back on the Planeptune Basilicom on the balcony, I reverted back to my normal form and opened the door, I was immediately greeted by Neptune,
"There you are!" she yelled tackling me to the ground, she sat on my stomach again,
"Gh! Geez Neptune, I've only been gone one day!" I said and pushed her off, sending her toppling over on her back,
"It felt longer!" she retorted as I jumped to my feet and offered her a hand,
"Everything to you feels longer." I said with a laugh and pulled her to her feet, I looked over at Shizuki, who was watching us with an intense stare.
"You two act like a married couple…" she muttered and I put my hand behind me head,
"Heheheh, sorry…" I apologized and Neptune shrugged,
"He has his own harem, we're all basically his wives, so it's fine." she said and I looked over at Neptune,
"Harem or not, nothing will stop me from protecting all of you." I told both of them and they smiled at me,
We walked into the living room and I saw that the game was on still, looks like Neptune saw I was coming and rushed to the balcony door.
"Hey Hikan, want to play me in a match of PvP?" Neptune asked me and I looked over at her,
"Done losing against Nepgear?" I said sarcastically and she puffed her cheeks out,
"Hey! I beat her once!" Neptune argued, probably because Nepgear let her win… seriously that's pretty bad…
"Alright, i'll play you, Shizuki you want in?" I said while turning to Shizuki, I caught her with a grin on her face,
"You're on!" she said and already had a controller in her hand, looks like someone is ready.
"I won't let you two win!" Neptune said as she grabbed her controller, I picked up my own and sat down between them.
"Let's do this." I said with a smirk, then we started playing…
"Zzz…"
"*Snore*"
We played for 10 hours straight… Neptune and Shizuki both fell asleep at the 7 hour mark and Nepgear came down and played a few matches against us, she and I won most of them, Shizuki won some and Neptune… she won once, but she did the whole "stay out of the fight" stuff.
I had both Neptune and Shizuki's heads resting on my shoulders, Neptune had her arms wrapped around mine and Shizuki just had her head on my shoulder, I was still playing the game and I almost wrapped up the story mode, but this last battle was a cheap fight, you couldn't win.
"Aw man…" I muttered as the main character collapsed again, I'll try again later… besides it's time for bed. The only problem is I'm not really tired.
I managed to get out of Neptune's grip and I turned off the game system and TV, then I laid Shizuki down on the couch, walked over to Neptune and picked her up, I carried her princess style to her room and I looked down at her, she laid her head against my chest, she looked so cute too…
I opened the door to her room and I saw Nepgear sleeping with her head resting on the desk, I laid Neptune on the bottom bunk, I covered her up with the blanket and stroked her head a little, then poked Nepgear's shoulder.
"Hey, Nepgear." I called out to her and she moved a little, "Hey, wake up."
"...Huh?" she said as she raised her head and rubbed her eyes, "H-Hikan? Is something wrong?" she asked me,
"Nothing's wrong, but I wouldn't recommend sleeping here, it'll hurt your back." I told Nepgear and she looked up me with a drowsy look,
"Alright Hikan, thanks for telling me." she said with a smile and got off the chair, she walked over and climbed up to the top bunk, while I walked towards the door, I looked back at them for a second,
"Night you two." I said as I walked out the door and shut it, then started walking back to the living room,
When I got there, Shizuki was tossing and turning, while holding herself, not only that but her yukata was unbuttoning itself… allowing me to catch a glimpse…
I found a blanket sitting on a chair next to the couch, Nepgear was the one that got this when she joined us in our little game night, I covered it over Shizuki then walked towards the stairs, went down and started towards the balcony,
I opened the door and walked out onto the balcony, Planeptune glowed with a purple glow and I could see people walking about below me, and the stars shining in the night sky, this view has to be something should see for themselves…
"..." I sat there staring into the distance, then closed my eyes, all the things that happened… to think that I would be standing here today, but not as the old Hikan Masato… the new Hikan Masato… a CPU and the guardian of the other CPU's and Candidates… and the hero of Gamindustri…
I opened my eyes again and raised my hand in front of my face and then smiled a little, the CPU's would never help me huh?
"That's what you thought Saito." I said to myself as I dropped my hand and walked back inside, I walked up the stairs towards my room.
I opened the door and threw off my hoodie and my shirt, then collapsed on the bed, then shut my eyes again, waiting for sleep to consume me…
"Zzz…" I snored as I laid on my bed, I heard my door creak open, followed by footsteps walking towards me, come on I was finally able to sleep and now people try and wake me up! "...Go away…" I muttered as I flipped over.
"Poke." a voice said as I felt a poke on my cheek and kept poking over and over again,
"What…?" I said as I turned over again and opened my eyes, "Blanc?" I said, standing beside my bed was Blanc, why was she here in Planeptune?
"Did you sleep well?" she asked me and I rubbed my eyes,
"Well, I slept for maybe 5 or 6 hours, but that's basically it." I answered as I sat up, Blanc looked away from me,
"You… don't have a shirt…" she said as she blushed a little and I laughed a little,
"Sorry, hang on." I said as I rose out of bed and walked over to my closet, grabbing a red T-shirt and threw it on, then turned back to her, "What are you doing in Planeptune?" I asked and Blanc turned back to me,
"We all came over actually, Me, Vert, Noire. All of us." Blanc said and I tilted my head,
"That… doesn't answer my question."
"Nepgear wanted to see Rom and Ram again, and Noire brought Uni over and Vert came over for Shizuki. You get the idea." Blanc told me, so everyone wanted to talk I guess.
"Alright, and you came to wake me up?" I asked and Blanc nodded,
"Yes."
"Well, you got me up so I guess I got to go. Come on." I said as I walked for the door and opened and held it open for Blanc.
We both walked out of my room and started to head for the living room. When we got there, everyone was talking and they all looked over at us.
"The dead has risen!" Neptune said as she stood up off the couch,
"I like to sleep, okay." I stated as I heard Shizuki laugh,
"I see Blanc got you up no problem." Shizuki told me and I rubbed the back of my head,
"Yeah, was there something you needed?" I asked and Shizuki facepalmed,
"Hikan, you need to stop sleeping you know…" she muttered and I shrugged,
"Hey, I didn't get as much sleep okay? You and Neptune fell asleep before-"
"Hikan, someone wants to see you." Histy interrupted me as she flew in between us and I stared at her,
"Who?" I asked and she pointed to the outside,
"The guild requested you for something." Histy answered and I nodded,
"Alright, i'll head over there now." I said as I walked down the stairs and towards the door to the balcony,
*Ching!*
I jumped off the balcony and my wings materialized behind me, then I flew towards the guild.
I landed at the entrance of the guild and reverted back to my normal form, then walked through the doors of the guild, the guild representative immediately saw me and waved,
"Hikan!" the guild member shouted and I waved over at her,
"Hey, what did you need with me?" I asked and the guild member looked towards a door,
"Something came up that we wanted you to look at, we don't want the CPU to be interrupted by this." The guild member said and I nodded,
"Alright, what did you need?" I asked and the guild member pressed a button and a tablet appeared in my hand,
"The details are on this tablet, it's like a standard quest." she said and I looked at the tablet:
Go to the cave on the outskirts of Planeptune and get rid of all the monsters.
Reward: 5000 credits
Alright, seems simple enough.
"Alright, i'll head out now." I said and turned towards the door,
"Good luck!"
I walked out the door and looked at the coordinates, I don't think i'll need my CPU form, or HDD as Histy would call it, so time to have a little run!
Is this really it? Kinda boring… I ran towards the cave and went inside and all I found were previous monsters I fought, I knew their moves and their weaknesses, they never proved a challenge at all.
"Time to go back… I guess." I said as I started walking back, but I stopped when I heard something behind me,
"You…" a voice said, I looked behind me and was greeted by another cloaked figure,
"Oh good, another one of these… you know this is getting old." I pointed out, seriously how many cloaked figures were in this fic?
"You… No. Not yet." the figure said and turned around,
"Are you doing us a favor? No fight scene?" I said and then facepalmed, "Dammit Neptune…"
"Now's not the time for this, but you'll see me soon Hikan." he said and then disappeared, I let out a sigh and turned around again,
"Again with the clichés…" I said and started walking until I was out of the cave…
"Y-You're back already?!" The guild member said confused and I tilted my head,
"Yeah, it surprised me too, but yeah the cave is cleared." I replied and the guild member nodded,
"O-Okay… here's your payment." she said and handed me 5000 credits, I smiled and put them in my wallet,
"Alright, I'll see you later." I said and started to head out the door.
Shizuki's POV
Since Hikan was gone, we were setting up his little "surprise" for him, this has got to be perfect!
"Shizuki! Is this good enough!" Neptune yelled and I looked at what she was talking about,
"Perfect, he'll be very happy when he sees that." I replied and then the phone started ringing, "Hello?"
"Shizuki!" A guild member shouted,
"Oh, hey is something wrong?" I asked and the girl was practically on the verge of passing out,
"Hikan has already completed the quest and is on his way back!" she shouted and my eyes widened, he got it done already?!
"Crap! Thanks for telling us." I said and hung up, "Hikan's coming back already." I said and Noire looked over at me,
"What?! But we're not done yet!" she yelled, we need to stall him somehow!
"I have an idea." Blanc said as she came around the corner with a couple books in her hands and sat them on the table,
"What is it?" I asked and she looked out the window,
"I'll stall him until you are all done, what time do you think you'll be finished?" she asked and I looked at the clock, it was 2:00 PM,
"Probably 5 to 6." I said and Blanc nodded,
"Okay." she said as she took a book and walked towards the elevator, Neptune poked her head up and her eyes widened,
"Good luck." I told her and the elevator doors closed, hopefully she can stall him for long enough.
Hikan's POV
I was walking towards the Basilicom, but on my way to the entrance, I saw the door open and Blanc walked out with a book in her hand, i'm guessing she saw me cause she was looking in the direction I was going.
"Blanc?" I called out to her as I walked up the stairs, she never took her eyes off me,
"Hello Hikan, I wasn't expecting to see you." she replied and I got to the top of the stairs,
"What are doing here?" I asked and she blushed a little,
"I… was giving your books back…" she said quietly, my books? Oh yeah I left them in Lowee.
"Thanks Blanc, I guess i'll be seeing you?" I said with a smile and Blanc looked up at me,
"Wait, I actually came here to… ask you… out." she struggled to say and I tilted my head,
"What was that last part?"
"I want to ask you out." she said and I smiled, she came all the way here to ask me out?
"Sure Blanc, I'll go out with you." I said and she blushed again,
"Hikan…" she said and then smiled and nodded.
We both walked down the stairs and Blanc linked her arm with mine and I started to lead her to our first destination.
Since Blanc likes places that are quiet, I took her to the Planeptune forest, ever since that whole Ancient Dragon incident where me and IF first went, the forest has been cleared out and you could walk around freely.
I also knew a secret spot where I usually go to pass some time, that's where I'm taking her.
"Hikan, where are we going?" Blanc asked me and I looked at her,
"We're almost there." I said and when we turned the corner, there was a opening in the forest,
When we went through, Blanc's eyes widened as we arrived in an opening in the forest, the opening had trees going around in a whole circle around it and it wasn't very big, but in the middle was a single tree, I use that tree to sleep occasionally or just to stare at the sky. The flowers just started blooming too.
"We're here." I stated as I walked into the clearing, allowing the Sun's rays to hit me, I turned back to Blanc and she was looking around the area,
"This place is… Beautiful." She said and I walked back to her,
"I found this place when I was investigating the forest, I had a feeling you would like this place." I told her and she smiled again, just seeing this smile fills me with warmth, I held my hand out to her and she took it,
I pulled her with me to the one tree and started to climb it. I stopped not too far, just to the one branch sturdy enough to hold my weight and laid down on the branch, the sun's rays beamed down on me, I looked down at Blanc and saw her sit down under the tree and began reading her book, I flipped back over and stared up at the sky,
My eyes slowly started to shut, I quickly opened them again and hopped off the tree, I landed on the ground in front of Blanc,
"What's wrong?" she asked me and I looked back at her,
"Sorry, I was falling asleep up there and I didn't want to fall out of the tree or something." I replied and Blanc sat her book to the side,
"You do look tired, didn't you get any sleep last night?" Blanc asked me and I ran a hand through my hair,
"N-No… Not much…" I muttered and Blanc sighed,
"It can't be helped then, come here." she told me and I walked up next to her,
"Alright." I said and sat down next to her, she blushed a little then patted her lap.
"Here… put your head here…" she muttered and I blushed as well, a lap pillow?
"O-Okay…" I said and laid down, then put my head on her lap, her warmth resonated onto my head and I kept blushing.
"This… is the first time I ever did this… to anyone…" she muttered and I looked at her face, it was beet red and she was looking away from me,
"You… don't have to do this… Blanc..." I said and then she looked down at me,
"Does it at least… make you happy?" she said and I stared at her, this did feel comfortable…
"It's comfy, and at the same time… heartwarming." I replied and she gave me a smile,
"That's good, as long as you're happy." she said as she reached for her book, my eyes grew heavy again…
"Is this alright?" I asked again and Blanc looked down at me,
"It's alright, just take a nice nap." she said and my eyes immediately shut, I couldn't hold them up any longer…
Blanc's POV
Oh he's asleep, I didn't think that he would fall asleep that quickly.
I just finished the book I was reading, I looked around the opening that we were in, this place really is peaceful, I looked back down at Hikan.
"Zzz…" his face looked so innocent, I don't understand how someone like him was feared all that time ago…
"Hehe, Shizuki was right, he does look cute when he's sleeping." I said and sat my book down, never taking my eyes off him,
My hand started to move on it's own as it moved to his head and I began to rum my hand through his hair,
".. Mmhg…" Hikan mumbled and moved his head a little, which tickled a little bit, I couldn't stop stroking his hair,
"Stroke… Stroke…" I repeated, his head would move a little and his face would smile a little, he looked adorable…
"Mmhg…" Hikan mumbled again and he moved to the side, again tickling me.
"What time is it?" I asked myself, I didn't have a phone with me or anything, so I'll need to borrow his, "Excuse me."
I reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and opened it, 4:50… it's about time to head back, but is Shizuki done yet?
"I'll stay safe, I know a library around here that I'll take him too, but will he want to go there?" I asked myself as I looked down at Hikan again, "Hey… Hikan." I started to rub his head,
"Mmgh…"
"Hey wake up."
"...huh?" Hikan rubbed the top of his head and our hands touched each others, he took ahold of my hand and then rubbed his eyes with the other hand.
"Did you sleep well?" I asked him and he looked at me,
"Yeah, thanks Blanc." he said as he got up and stretched,
"Hey, do you want to go with me to another place?" I asked him and he looked back at me,
"Sure, wherever you want to go." he said, he'll go wherever I want too?
"I wanted to take you to a library I know around here." I stated and Hikan flashed me a bright smile,
"Sure, of course I will." he said and my heart skipped a beat and I blushed again.
"T-Thank you…" I muttered and got up,
"Come on, let's get going then." he said and walked over to me, I smiled and nodded,
"Yeah."
Hikan's POV
Blanc and I went to the library to read for a bit, which was all we did, to think that there was one place in Planeptune that was actually quiet.
It was close to 6:00 and we were now walking back to the Basilicom, Blanc had her arm linked with mine and was walking close to me,
"Did you have fun?" I asked and Blanc nodded,
"Yes, thank you for taking me out." she replied and I chuckled, even though she offered me first.
We came back to the Basilicom and we walked in, then walked to the elevator and walked in, the elevator doors shut and we started going up,
Blanc kept stealing glances at me and I looked outside.
"Hikan." Blanc stated out of the blue and I looked back at her,
"Hm?" I stated and turned my full body around, the elevator doors opened and Blanc stepped out, the lights were shut off and Blanc walked into the darkness, "Blanc wait!" I said and stepped into the darkness, but as soon as I stepped one foot, the lights flashed on,
"Surprise!" Neptune yelled and everyone stepped out of hiding, I stood there surprised about what was going on.
"...What?" I said confused and Shizuki walked up to me,
"Oh come on Hikan, you're saying you didn't expect this?" Shizuki asked me, I looked around the room, there were balloons up and streamers, along with a big banner at the top of the room that said "Happy Birthday Hikan!"
"My… Birthday?" I said and then Noire walked up,
"Shizuki told us that today was your birthday and we all got this set up for you." she explained and I looked at everyone,
"All of you… did this for me…?" I asked and everyone nodded, I felt a smile form across my face and tears well up in my eyes, "Thank you… all of you." I said and Neptune grabbed my hand,
"Now's not the time for that! Let's party!" she said and everyone pumped their fist into the air.
"Yeah!"
The party went on for at least 6 hours, everyone either got tired and fell asleep, or they stayed up with me, but ended up sleeping anyway.
It was only me that was up, I was cleaning up the scraps that were all left of the cake and whatever was lying around, it seems everyone did their own part in all of this, Compa, Shizuki and even Nepgear helped make the cake, Noire was in charge of making sure that everyone worked, Neptune helped Rom and Ram color the banner, and Uni and Vert did some of the decorations.
I don't mind cleaning up the place either, everyone worked hard just for this simple birthday that I don't even care about really, I never had an actual birthday party before.
"First time for everything huh?" I asked myself as I threw the last bit of trash in the bag,
I walked towards the stairs and walked down one floor to the door that led to the balcony with the bag dragging behind me, once reaching the door I opened it and walked out,
*Ching!*
I started to spin in a circle and threw the bag into the air then, with my speed, flew towards the bag and charged a fireball in my hand,
"Hah!" I shot the fireball and started to burn the trash, leaving no specs behind, then flew back to the balcony,
I reverted back to my regular form then walked back inside, then walked through the halls until getting back to the living room,
I looked at the table and saw Rom and Ram sleeping, they were both covering something, I slowly retrieved what they were covering without them waking up, then took a look.
"Well I'll be…" I said, the thing they were covering was a picture, there were big blocky figures of me, Blanc, Neptune, everyone was on this picture. They must have spent a long time working on it,
"Heh, thanks you two." I said and sat it back down, then walked over towards the window.
Everything that happened was because the CPU's helped me, all of them helped me overcome my worst nightmare… they believed in me, and because of that I'm here now.
I closed my eyes for a second then opened them again, looking towards the sky through the window,
"I'll protect them all…" I said, if there is one thing that I know, this is not the end of my journey…
A/N:
Assassin: And there ends The Journey. I made this chapter the longest because it was so special, I want to thank ever-
*Knock Knock!*
Assassin: Who could that be? I was just finishing the A/N!
*Assassin walks over to the door and opens it, revealing Neptune, Hikan, and Noxious.*
Neptune: Hiya Mr. Author Guy!
Hikan: Hey there man.
Noxious: I see you finished it.
Assassin: W-What are you three doing here! Nox you're not supposed to be here until we start writing Two Friends, Four Goddesses again!
Noxious: Hey I just came to see how everything is going!
Neptune: Hey we're here now, less explanations more author wrapping up time!
Assassin: Fine, now as I was saying before I was interrupted, thank you all that have read this entire story, I honestly never thought I would get as much support as I did, but you all proved me wrong, you stuck with me through the whole times that I wouldn't upload or when Two Friends, Four Goddesses took up most of my time. You all stuck with me for the longest. Thank you all!
Neptune: I can't really say much, I know you all love me of course. But thanks for reading all of this.
Hikan: Thanks for what all you guys and girls did, I do appreciate it.
Noxious: Now let's wrap this up so I can continue writing, I think you all that are reading Two Friends, Four Goddesses are really wanting the next chapters and we'll have the next chapter ready to be published in a week or two, so get ready!
Assassin: Oh one more thing, if you haven't checked already, then you should go and check out ChangeHeart's story! He's up to 117 chapters on his story and all of them are amazing! He's pretty much my sensei in all of this and he's the one that encouraged me to write again, big thanks to him!
Noxious: Oh yeah I forgot about ChangeHeart, I may stop by to see what he's doing after this.
Assassin: well then, all together now!
*Everyone in the room points towards the computer.*
Everyone: Thanks for reading with us and we hope to see you all in the next story!