hi again! school starts tomorrow and im not….. ready…..

here's the most self-indulgent thing i've ever written. y'all ever play nier? old game from like. 2010? no? okay. i see.

nier, to give a brief summary, is a game with a post-apocalyptic setting. basically, humanity's just barely made it past the apocalypse and now they're struggling to get by as is thanks to these monster things called "shades". it's set way in the future so there's still a bunch of what we'd consider "modern technology" lying around without purpose 'cause no one remembers how to use it. the game itself is really good and whenever you boot up the game you're treated to about 45 seconds of laura bailey firing off curse words with no filter (the game's already rated m) so i highly recommend it.

i reference a few of the towns and locations so if you're curious about them just look up "(town name) nier" to get a brief descriptor. there's also a few footnotes i'll include too if you're uber confused about something.

"Another one! Look, they just keep coming in!" Chika pointed wildly at a small influx of travelers making their way through the town. "This is like, the third big group this month!"

"They don't seem to be too tired. They probably came from that small village not too far away." Just behind Chika stood You, stretching a little bit in the sunlight. "I'm glad it's sunny for once."

"Ugh, I'm just glad they're not from the Forest of Myth. All the people there are all so talkative and weird."

"I prefer Forest of Myth villagers to the ones from the Aerie. They practically jump at the sight of their own shadows."

"Yeah, well, that's 'cause of all the Shades in the Aerie! None of the villagers ever go outside unless they have to." The Aerie was always more preferable to go to, to Chika anyway. The villagers there were to-the-point when it came to business (which, due to the nature of her family and their business, tended to be the only reason she went to the Aerie in the first place), versus the residents of Facade and the Forest of Myth, whom she could barely understand.

"I wonder how much money they paid for an escort," You said, staring at the tall, muscled man leading the villagers into Seafront. "They don't look like they're rolling around in excess money."

"An escort? Hmm, he probably wasn't cheap to hire, but there's a lot of them. They all probably pitched in something to get here." There was a sudden gust of wind, pushing the smell of the salty ocean further into the town. A few seagulls passed by overhead, taking advantage of the tailwind, and calling out to each other as they flew away. Their calls almost masked the sound of someone approaching the duo, probably with wet feet judging by the sound it made when they hit the ground.

"Oh, here you are. Chika, your sister was looking for you."

"Gah, I just got off my shift for watching over the shop!… Can you just run back to the shop and tell her you couldn't find me? Please, Kanan?"

"Sorry, not this time. She says it's urgent business." To Chika, it seemed like if her sister had said otherwise, Kanan probably would've let her off the hook.

"You should probably hurry." It seemed You was going to get moving herself. "I'm leaving anyway; I was gonna make dinner tonight."

"Ehhhhh, fine…" Reluctantly, Chika made her way down the stairs. "AAAH! What was that!?" Something really cold had suddenly splashed lightly in her face.

And there stood Kanan, hold a bag full of not-quite dried fish.

"Take these."

"Dried fish again!?"
"Tell my mom if you don't want them."

Of course, of course it was deliveries. These were easily the worst. Having to traverse the plains to make it anywhere was the worst. Having to fight Shades to get to any other town or village was the worst. Admittedly, she could be worse off, like those villagers who had come into Seafront, who had to hire a mercenary in order to pass through the Southern Plains unharmed. Unlike them, she knew about the Shades. They didn't like to come out in direct sunshine. The smarter ones wore armor. The bigger ones were exponentially more dangerous.

Chika wasn't nearly as strong as the muscled man who lead the villagers to Seafront, but with a grass sickle in one hand (and a bag of oranges in the other) and the knowledge of how to pick her battles made her capable enough to travel safely between towns.

Her current destination, the Aerie, was one of the few towns she knew of that Shades were essentially left unchecked. As much as she resented the loquaciousness of people living in the Forest of Myth, and the difficulty of understanding those who lived in Facade (And how hot it was!), the eeriness of the Aerie was always… chilling, to say the least. After all, the place was literally built over a canyon. Everyone stayed in their houses, and their voices always trembled when they spoke.

It was also one the longer trips by foot. The journey, just to the Aerie, usually took a few days if she traveled with decent urgency. She'd stop by a small village once she got tired enough and usually sleep just outside the village. Once she approached the gates, she waved at the guards and sat down outside. Sleeping outdoors was annoying, what with the sun never setting and the constant heat, and it seemed like no one in the village ran an inn.

"You there," Uh-oh. Due to how dignified the voice sounded, Chika immediately snapped up and looked for the voice's source. "Sitting by the gates. Don't rest there, it's deplorable." It was coming from a girl who looked older than Chika herself (maybe about Kanan's age), though definitely less casual-sounding.

"Sorry…" Despite not being in the wrong, she rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. "I mean, wait! I'm traveling around, so I don't have any place to stay!"

"And you are so devoid of any kind of common sense and humility you don't even bother to ask?" Aaah, this girl was starting to get on her nerves…

"Listen, alright? I'll be gone by tomorrow, so I don't see the problem!"

"Of course you wouldn't. You're probably one of those heathens from Seafront who usually runs around barefoot."

Chika was at a loss for words. The girl had hit the nail right on the head.

"Okay, okay! What do you... want me to do then?"

Well, that whole ordeal had definitely been unexpected. The proud girl (she'd introduced herself as Dia Kurosawa) had let her stay over at her house until she was well-rested. She'd had to resort to trading a few oranges for some breakfast as her host didn't go that far (it seemed like she had a younger sister, and was probably setting aside some of her meals for her). But now she was back on the road to the Aerie. The Northern Plains were probably bigger than their southern brethren, but there were also less places for Shades to hide, even more so with the lack of overcast. There were a few sheep bleating here and there, but nothing that would bother her unless she provoked it. Even the large boar, not too far from the entrance to the Aerie, seemed to be trotting around, minding its own business.

Once she entered the tunnel, Chika immediately felt the cold rush of air. If she thought she was hallucinating, this was clear proof she wasn't. The former railroad (Was that what it was called?) was a stark contrast to the soft, grassy fields of the Northern Plains, not to mention the now-sleeping bats were probably the farthest cry from fluffy sheep and boars.

Alright, just a few deliveries… She opened up a note her sister had given her before departing. The village chief… the lady who lives next to the village chief… and a Mr. Sakurauchi? Okay, she'll admit. She had no idea who that was. The village chief, on the other hand, would probably know.

I'll just head his way and ask him. Hopefully he knows who Mr. Sakurauchi is.

The nice thing about Mr. Sakurauchi's house is that it was recognizable, apparently. Though the chief himself refused to make an actual appearance (aside from his hand, to receive the oranges), he did direct her to where the house in question was. After climbing the last ladder, Chika ran out the way she normally would to leave, but made a sharp left turn. Indeed, as the village chief had said, there was a small hut-looking location that almost looked deserted. The area itself wasn't as well-lit as it could've, so she kept her weapon in hand.

Slowly… slowly… keep your eyes open…

"AAAHHH!?"

"GAAAAAH!"

The first scream didn't come from her, she swore that to herself.

"Wh-Who are you… a thief!?" The voice was that of a girl, probably her age. She had long red hair, with part of her bangs clipped back behind her ear. Her clothes implied she was probably middle class. "We don't have a-anything worth stealing, s-so…" She seemed to be reaching for something, most likely a weapon.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on! Just a delivery person!" Chika put down her weapon and waved her bag of oranges rapidly. "J-Just oranges!" The girl continued to glare at her, and drew a cooking knife.

"O-Okay… I'm gonna… put down the grass sickle…" She dropped the kama, then kicked it a few feet away. "And you're gotta put down the knife. Alright?"

The girl didn't budge, but she was still visibly shaking. Slowly, she placed the knife down on a table.

"I was told a Mr. Sakurauchi lived here?"

"That's my father."

"Oh! I guess he's out." Slowly, she approached the hut, hoping the girl wouldn't pull a fast one on her. "He already paid in advance, so here you go! This is the last delivery, so keep the bag." Curious hands opened the bag as fast as they possibly could.

"... Oranges?"

"Eheh, I figured you weren't listening to me while I still had the sickle… but yeah! Takami Family oranges! Straight from the heart of Seafront!"

"Seafront… that's a long way from here…" The girl then gasped and looked up at Chika apologetically. "I-I'm so sorry! You probably didn't come all this way just to be accused of robbery!"

"No, no, it's no big deal… uh…"

"Riko. Riko Sakurauchi."

"Chika Takami." She extended her hand, and was relieved when Riko shook it.

"What's Seafront like…? I've never been…"

"Oh, well, it's usually really warm, especially on the beaches! There's always a lot of people in the streets, and a bunch of merchants and fishers too!"

"... What's the ocean like?"

"Ehh… well, depends. It's super salty, but usually it just runs up to the beach and forces the sunbathing seals have to move. If it's super stormy out, then it might eat up some of the docked boats. Like a huge monster!" She moved right in front of Riko's face, scowled, and put her hands up. "ROOOOOARRRR!"

Riko seemed surprised by the sudden change in Chika's demeanor, and giggled.

"Ever since I was little, I've wanted to see the ocean with my own two eyes. And hear it."

"Hear the ocean?"

"Yes." It seemed she was lost in her thoughts, until she jolted back to reality. "Hold on a minute." Riko had walked to the further part of the hut, clearly digging around for something. After a bit, she walked back to Chika, a few pieces of paper in hand.

"I've been wanting to compose a song for forever, too," she held up the sheets of music so Chika could see them. "Ever since I went to that village between the Northern and Southern Plains and heard that lady sing that song, I was infatuated with music. My father couldn't supply me with any instruments with our current financial situation, so I just took to learning music myself."

"That's… amazing," Even though the sheets of music might have well have been an ancient language to Chika, she could see the hard work Riko had put into writing each note, from just how crinkled the paper was and the ghosts of notes that had been erased due to discordant combinations of sound. "Really, that's amazing. I mean, I can completely peel an orange in one go in under four seconds but… this requires some serious dedication and talent."

"Ah, thank you…" Riko took back her sheet music and hid her face behind them. Was she embarrassed? "I haven't really talked to anyone in a while, especially anyone my own age."

"I'd figure as much. You're on the way outskirts of a town where people barely even leave their houses."

"With good reason! You probably saw all the Shades crawling around here…" Well, to be quite honest, Chika had probably seen no more than 2 of the smaller Shades this time around, but it probably wasn't wise to ignore Riko's feelings.

"Eh, they're not much of a problem if you know how to deal with 'em," She pointed at her grass sickle, still on the ground a bit of distance away from her. "Mind if I get that?"

"Oh… sure, go ahead…" Either she had forgotten Chika had discarded her weapon, or she was sad about her leaving; Chika couldn't tell. Maybe it was even a mixture of both? "My dad should be home soon. Thank you for the oranges!"

"No problem!" Chika was already on the old railroad tracks, but then stopped and turned around. "Next time, ask your old man if you can go to the ocean! I wouldn't mind taking you!"

"R-Really…?" Her voice had come out a little weak from the surprise.

"Really really! I promise!"

- the "village" where ruby and dia live is your home village in nier. it does have a name, but in the game its "(whatever you named your main character)'s village". it's also the same town riko references being "between the Northern and Southern Plains". so. yeah.

- in the nier universe, the sun doesn't set. ever.

- speaking of riko, her family is staying where kainé's hut thing is in the actual game

- the lady riko mentions singing was… supposed to be devola from the game. i couldn't think of anyone i wanted to put in her position, so it's devola.

- you may ask, "well, where are yoshiko, mari, and hanamaru?". they're not mentioned, but i've planned for yoshiko to be a forest of myth citizen, mari to live in facade, and hanamaru to live in the village that dia and ruby live in

- "okay so, what about u's?" i actually planned out a drakengard au for them before i started writing this (nier is a spinoff of the drakengard series, and takes place after the first and third drakengard games, but that's really messy timeline stuff), so by this point they're probably all dead. or in an alternate universe. you decide!

inbox me on my tumblr if you're curious about nier or my shitty love live aus with it!