Time for my second favorite Neptunia character and hold on to your hats, cause there's gonna be some action...and I mean monster battling, okay?
About you: You're a strong fighter who takes on dangerous quests who goes by the nickname of Lone Wanderer (Apologies if you're going by a different nickname with this story, lol.) You have a long partnership with Uzume who you first met a while ago and may have feelings for you.
(F/W) = Favorite Weapon.
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Just because there's peace across Gamindustri, that doesn't necessarily mean that every single inch of the world is safe. Many places are still just as dangerous and travelling through the Zero Dimension via the portal that never seems to close is no exception.
That dimension is where you were currently at, for you had a tough job to do. Your life consists of a lot of trouble when wandering across the Zero Dimension and taking down strong monsters that normal guild people wouldn't try to do.
But in recent days, you haven't been wandering the dimension alone. During a hunt quest in which you had to find and slay a Survival Mecha in Datoyna Cave, a CPU came in to provide assistance and helped you take it down.
On one side, you were grateful for the assistance, but at the same time, you couldn't help but feel a bit of your pride being taken down a notch. Once the hunt quest was over, the CPU introduced herself.
"Hey there, the name's Uzume Tennouboshi." She greeted as she put her megaphone away. "Yeah, it's pretty badass, I know. What's yours?"
You put your (F/W) away and stood casually. "The name's (Y/N), many call me the Lone Wanderer."
"Lone Wanderer huh, sounds pretty cool."
"Well it's not much, but thanks I guess..."
Uzume smiled. "Say, you looked pretty tight when you were fighting that big robot."
You wanted her to get on with what she's saying, but you thought it'd be ride, so you just let her continue speaking.
"I know, maybe you and I should team up. You never know when you might help again on the next quest. So what do you say, wanna be partners?"
At first, you were reluctant to accept her offer, but the first impression you got from here was that she was just as a strong as you, confident and kind of attractive. You couldn't help but at least be intrigued by her. Plus, she was a CPU so you were curious on what her HDD form would be, something you would find out eventually.
So turning the clock forward to the present, you were sitting outside the large tents at Uzume's base that was left abandoned ever since Neptune and the whole party revived Uzume. You heard of the story behind Uzume thanks to Histoire who gave you a detailed explanation.
In all honesty, you preferred Uzume over Kurome cause of how awesome she is. You could definitely see her as your equal for years to come, but what about on a personal level? That was something you wanted to find out.
You sat near the fireplace and you were alone for a while until Uzume came from out of the tents and sat along side you.
"Yo, (Y/N)." She greeted. "You good?"
"Still sharpening my finest tool." You answered as you were cleaning your (F/W) till it shined as bright as the night sky. "What about you?"
"Kinda decent, even though we've been in this dimension for a while."
"What do you mean by that?"
Uzume looked up to the sky. "Well, it's been some time since we've started this partnership, I'm wondering if there's something else we haven't tackled yet."
"Hmm, something we haven't worked towards yet." You wondered if it was getting close on a personal level, but you weren't really sure. "Could it be something like lo-"
*RUMBLE*
You were suddenly cut off when you heard a slight rumble in the distance. Instantly sensing danger, you got up and drew your weapon out.
"What the heck was that?" Uzume asked as she got up as well.
"Trouble...and it's coming this way."
Just then in the distance near a forest, a large monster appeared from behind it. It spotted you both and roared before coming towards you.
"Ugh, it's one of those giant floating ones with the tiny heads." You said. "Welp, time to get fighting again!"
"Hold up, let me join in!" Uzume called as you charged straight at it.
*ROAR*
"Got a present for ya, bro! HIYYAAAHHH!!!" You attacked it without warning, dealing some damage to it.
"Hey, save some for me!" Uzume joined in. "HIYAH! ROAAAAAARRRRRR!" She went for Dream Roar which did some serious damage.
Because of how loud she yells through the megaphone, you had to always not be within her range, or your ears would be damaged for a long time. After she did her attack, you went for one of your skills that slowed the monster down. Uzume attacked again and the two of you got into a working rhythm in taking turns and attacking.
"Alright, (Y/N), one more should do it." Uzume said.
"Got it, shall I deal the finishing blow?" You asked.
"Nah it's cool, leave this one to me." She then brought something out, it looked like a crystal. "Share crystal...transform!"
That's right, you still hadn't seen her transform yet, so this would be your first time seeing her HDD appearance. A moment of brightness blinded you for a moment until it faded away, when you opened your eyes, you were in for a quite a shock.
In Uzume's place was a girl with orange hair and a white swimsuit attire and other accessories. In first glance, she was like a very happy and lively girl.
"Transformation complete." She said in a very high and cute voice.
"Wh-what the heck?!" You were surprised to see her change in personality and appearance. "Is that you, Uzume?"
She giggled. "Yes, it's me, now watch as I beat this no good, meany monster."
You stood back and watched with eyes wide open as Uzume finished off the monster with her finisher skill, Special Dream Combo. You've only seen it twice before, but even so, you just couldn't believe how much power she was showing in all of the moves that made up her finisher. The monster shattered into pixels, the battle was over.
She landed beside you and smiled with a big smile, she was a completely different person. "We did it, (Y/N), we nabbed this victory!"
"Uhh, yeah...who are you, again?" You responded, blinking.
"Oh, I'm Orange Heart."
"Right, so that's your HDD form?"
Her smile grew more. "Yeah, ain't I the cutest CPU you've ever seen?"
You looked away and cleared your throat, for she was right. She did look very cute...but knowing that she can go from a serious badass to a cutesy girl made you question if there is such a thing as logic in Gamindustri, but then again, why does that even matter right now? You shook my head and looked back at her.
"Well, if you're cute then I guess you are..." You said quietly.
"Awww, you're very kind." She replied. "You're quite cute yourself, you're like, totally blushing."
"Huh? I'm what?!"
She was right, you had started blushing a little and you tried to hide your face away behind your (F/W) before it got worse.
"Hehe, you're so cute when you're nervous, (Y/N)." She said in a slightly teasing manner.
"Umm...could you not tease me and uhhh-"
Before you could finish your sentence, Orange Heart transform back into Uzume. "Guess I'm outta time."
You sighed to yourself. "Alright, looks like we're done here." You said as you got back to being serious again. "Shall we go back to Hyperdimension?"
"Why, there's still one more monster we haven't beaten yet."
"Oh yeah, which one is it?"
"I think it's the one we'll find at that stadium at the far north west of the dimension."
You frowned. "Seriously, we have to go all the way there?"
"Oh come on, you're not that lazy, are ya?"
A bit of tsundere came out from your words. "O-of course not!"
"Then let's get going, partner."
'Yeah, partner...guess that's what I am to her.' You thought in your mind.
As the two of you walked along the path that was deemed the most safe thanks for Uzume, Neptune and Nepgear when they first arrived here, you give a few glances at Uzume and thought of both her normal and HDD appearance.
The more your thought about it, the more you realized that you were beginning to like her more. Although you considered yourself a strong fighter, even you had to admit that a CPU can still outshine a normal person's strength, due to the power they gain from the shares.
After what seemed like a marathon walk, you two finally arrived at the stadium, you stopped to catch your breath and sat on the grass whilst Uzume did the same.
"Are you getting tired already?" She asked.
"Well I'm not a CPU, so my endurance may be lacking." You answered. "But that doesn't mean I'm weak, I can still go toe to toe with those monsters."
"Who said anything about you being weak? The way I see it, you're pretty tight when it comes to fighting."
You smiled a little. "Well, thanks..."
"Aw come on, I'm trying to praise you. It's not like I'm growing fond of you...ah!"
You looked at her. "Huh, you're fond of me?"
"Um uh n-nevermind. Let's just get back to the quest and then we can rest back at Hyperdimension with Nepsy and the others."
You nodded, thinking of not wanting to push the subject further. "Okay, time to go to work again."
You and Uzume entered the dungeon stadium and began slaying a few monsters along the way. The kitties and the pipes were no match for your strength as you both went deeper into the dungeon.
When you got to one part of the backstage area, you came a cross a giant vader, a Gigavader to be more precise. According to the quest, this was the last one to slay on the hunt quest. You drew your weapon out and got ready to strike.
*GIGA*
"Bring it on you pixelated freak!" You exclaimed. "Let's attack together."
"Right." Uzume nodded as you both charged in to attack.
The Gigavader put up a valiant effort, but due to it being limited in what it can do, it didn't last long against your combined attacks.
*GIIIIGAAAAAA*
It vanished away and the quest list appeared, notifying you that it was now complete and can be handed in at the nearest guild, which was in Hyperdimension. Unfortunately during the battle, you took a minor hit and your shoulder had been grazed, so it wasn't bad, but it still hurt.
"Nothing a little spit couldn't fix." Uzume said, noticing your wound.
"Uhh, I don't think I need to do that." You protested. "I'll be okay to get back, no problem."
With that, you both exited the dungeon stadium and made the long trek back to the portal and teleported back to Hyperdimension. It had been several hours, but you were kinda glad to be back in the peaceful and sunny part of Gamindustri.
Even someone like you wanted to relax after a time of roaming into dangerous areas and slay monsters. After taking a short breather, you walked back to Planeptune and into the Guild to hand in the quest.
"Here you go, miss." You said to the receptionist. "All done."
"Many thanks, (Y/N)." She replied. "And here is your reward."
You obtained 20,000 credits and a pair of shiny bracelets with blue swirl designs around them. You assumed both of them were for you, but you immediately disregarded that thought and looked at Uzume who looked back at you and smiled. You gave her one of them, not knowing what they do in terms of stats.
"Here you go, one for you." You said as you put yours on your left wrist.
"Cool, thanks." She replied before putting it on her right wrist.
You two then left the guild and walked to the basilicom. The staff there knew you well enough so you had no problems with being around the CPUs and their friends. You went to the back of the basilicom and up a few stairs before entering Neptune's room where ot no surprise, she was in the middle of a gaming session, along with a friend of hers.
"Hey Nepsy, we're back." Uzume said.
"Oh, it's Uzume and the male guy who's reading his own story, huh?" Neptune responded.
You were confused by this. "Eh?"
"Don't worry about it too much." A cute voice intervened. "Nep-Nep likes to defy all things to do with logic. Oh and welcome home Uzume and (Y/N)."
"Hey there Compa." You responded. "What are you here for?"
"I'm cooking for her and her boyfriend who she got together with a few days ago."
"Huh? You have a boyfriend, Nepsy?" Uzume asked.
"Yeah, haven't you read the previous stories yet?" Neptune responded. "The guy I have is super cool."
"Hah, he can't be as cool as I am." You boasted before adding words you didn't even bother to check. "Even if my partner is kinda beautiful."
Uzume gasped and looked at you. "Woah! Wh-where did that come from?"
"Oooh, sounds to me like you're getting buddy buddy with each other." Neptune smirked. "Want me and Compa to leave the room?"
"I'm in the middle of cooking, Nep-Nep." Compa answered.
"Oh yeah, it'd totally suck if this scene got roasted in a fire. Forget what I said just now."
"Anyways...what gives, man?" Uzume asked you.
You were so red in the face. "Oh crap...s-s-sorry, I didn't know what I was thinking. I uhhh I mean...yeah, I was practicing for the real thing, ha ha ha..."
"That didn't sound like practice to me." Neptune said.
"Uhh Nep-Nep, you should probably leave them be." Compa added. "Besides, I need you in the kitchen right now."
"Okie dokie, I'm coming."
Neptune got up and went to the kitchen, leaving just you and Uzume. Both of you blushing in bright red, not knowing what to do next.
"Practice, huh?" Uzume asked as if she was feeling disappointed.
You had a few seconds to correct this. "No, that's not it. I mean you are beautiful and that you're cool too. Heck, you're even cute when you're Orange Heart and I don't tend to like cute things as I used to. But you're able to make to think otherwise and that makes you amazing. You make me open up to others and I like you for that."
You weren't sure of where all this came from, but you were saying a lot of words without even thinking right. But you went silent and looked at Uzume who was blushing before she started to show her cute expression, you knew what this meant, Uzume was going into daydreaming mode. Where she speaks in a valley girl manner.
"Uzume totally understands what you are saying. You are like, very cute too. You beat up the meanie monsters and we always win." She said in an adorable way. "So, even after this, Uzume would love it if you took Uzume out on a date, (Y/N). Because...Uzume likes you too. Then after we date, we can fall in love and become one. And then, we'll be super duper deep in wuv, not love, wuv!"
You couldn't help but smile at her response, so you stood close to her and put your hands on her shoulders as if to calm her down.
"Are you sure, Uzume?" You asked. "I am a human despite being so strong and all."
"Y-y-yeah, I guess you could be a cool boyfriend." She answered normally. "But you'll have to prove it to me sometime."
"And how should I do that?"
Uzume grinned at you. "By starting with this."
She suddenly grabbed your face and smashed her lips on yours, shocking you completely as you experienced your first kiss. You then settled into it and put your arms around her waist with her arms around your shoulders.
You felt like you achieved a far bigger reward than the bracelets you got from the quest. Once the kiss was over, you smiled at her and nodded, confirming that you will indeed take her out on a date soon.
"Well what do ya know?" Neptune commented. "Uzume's found her cool guy."
"Huh? Nepsy is watching?" Uzume responded before blushing in red. "I-I can't look like this, I'm way too embarrassed now..."
You laughed silently as Uzume hid her face in your chest as you hugged her close. You had a feeling that this would be the start of an exciting yet cool relationship.
THE END
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All done, and I love it when I do some action stuff. Which makes a change compared to my comedy and slice of life stuff.