•[•]•[•] Noire [•]•[•]•

Hurriedly entering the house, I shut the door behind me slightly harder than I wanted to. As I lock the door, I realize that Hiroshi is still outside so I quickly unlock it. Flying up the stairs, I escape into my hideaway of a room. Burying myself in my covers, I begin to toss and turn underneath the bed sheets.

I like you. Just thinking about the words makes my heart skip a beat.

"Did he really just confess to me!?" I squeal into my pillow as I hug it tightly to my chest. I wasn't even expecting him to just say it so suddenly! At least give me a warning, you idiot!

Hearing footsteps make their way up the stairs, they disappear into Hiroshi's room. Throwing the covers off of my body, I approach the door and find it cracked open. Taking a small peek inside, I find him sitting at his desk.

Should I talk to him? B-but what would we even talk about? With a defeated sigh, I close the door and make my way into the bathroom. As I begin brushing my teeth, I hear the bedroom door open, followed by Hiroshi's appearance in the doorway.

"H-hey." He gives me an awkward wave before passing me and grabbing his toothbrush. "Did you finish your ho-"

"I finished my homework already." I answered his question before he could finish as I spit out my toothpaste before escaping the bathroom. Accidentally slamming my door shut, I flop onto my bed, my thoughts rushing back into my head like a tsunami.

Wh-why is it so hard to talk to him!? We both have feelings for each other, right!? So why is it so awkward between us!? I bury my face into the pillow. Shouldn't we be doing romantic things like going on an overnight trip somewhere or going on a cute dinner date or sleeping together? O-oh wait, we've already done those things.

"Ugh, why is this so frustrating!?" I exclaim, getting out of my bed and throwing the door open.

"Hey, Hiro-" Rushing out of my room, I bump into Hiroshi.

"Are you alright?" He apologizes as I regain my balance, a blush quickly rising to my cheeks.

"Y-yes, I'm okay." A pause. "Um, I actually didn't do my homework yet."

"Would you like some help?"

"S-sure." I awkwardly lead him into my room, sitting at my desk and fumbling with my textbook.

As I pull out a sheet of paper, Hiroshi speaks up. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"For what?" I respond as he sits on my bed.

"I'm sorry for confessing to you so suddenly."

"You don't need to be sorry for that. B-besides, I like you too."

Another pause.

"A-anyway! Since we both like each other, does that mean that we're a… c-c-couple now?" I stammer, a blush rising to my cheeks as my eyes flick to the floor.

"Actually, I was gonna talk to you about that." I look back up at Hiroshi as he continues. "I know this is probably not what you wanna hear, but is it okay if we wait to start our relationship?"

"Why do we need to wait?" I pout, furrowing my brow. "Are you telling me that there's someone else on your mi-"

"Noire." He interrupts me. "I like you."

"Y-yeah, I know…" I mumble, my face burning red.

"So," Hiroshi looks at me. "Are you willing to wait for me?"

"Alright." I cross my arms over my chest and give him a sideways glare. "It better be worth it."

"It will be. I promise." He gives me a pat on the head before getting up from the bed.

"Hey," I grab onto Hiroshi's sleeve before he can leave and stammer, "D-do you think we could sleep together? J-just for tonight, of course!"

"If you'd like to, then we can." He blatantly accepts my request.

"Aren't you supposed to like… be more flustered or something?" An eyebrow twitches as I glare at him.

"I mean, we've already slept together, so it's nothing new." He shrugs before lying down on my bed and pulling out his phone.

"W-well, let me finish my homework." I let out a defeated sigh as I slump in my chair. "It shouldn't take too long, so just entertain yourself or something."

"On it." Hiroshi mockingly salutes me before turning his attention back towards his phone. Quickly finishing the assignment, I toss it into my notebook before turning to my bed to find him browsing on his phone nonchalantly. This is totally not cute. I glare at Hiroshi, who doesn't look up from his phone.

"Scoot over." I demand, poking at his shoulder. He shifts over and I awkwardly crawl onto the bed, turning away from him. Hearing his phone turn off behind me, I then feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

"Is it okay if I do this?" I can feel his breath against the nape of my neck.

"D-do whatever you want. Don't you dare think about touching me in a weird place." Despite my harsh words, I relax in his arms.

"I won't, I promise." He laughs, hugging me closer to him. Okay, maybe this is a little cute.

...

"Welcome back to the Hyper Dimension club!" Neptune adjourns our side chatter and begins the meeting. Everyone had come with boxes and bags full of the supplies that Nepgear had requested.

"Thanks, everyone! I couldn't've done this without you all!" Nepgear exclaims, her eyes shining at the sight of all of the parts before her.

"How long will it take for you to finish the N-Gear?" Neptune asks, looking at Nepgear who furrows her brow in thought.

"Give or take a few weeks." She says with a nod.

"Is there any way that you can speed up the process?" Uni speaks up. "With Planeptune not being able to produce Shares anymore, there's a high chance that the other nations will be in trouble. With that said, we don't know how quickly the next attack will come."

Everyone's expressions turn grim at her rebuttal. Nepgear puts a hand on her chin. Much to our dismay, she shakes her head. "I'm sorry, everyone. The best that I can do is two weeks, and that's if everything goes as planned."

"Even if you finish in two weeks, we still need to actually obtain the Share Crystal." Blanc interjects.

"That shouldn't be a problem." I immediately respond, crossing my arms over my chest. "Vert and I have our Share Crystals with us. As far as we know, Neptune is the only CPU without any Share Energy. No matter the location, we should simply be able to fly there without any trouble."

"That's a good point." Neptune says with a nod. "So, in conclusion, Nepgear is going to spend a couple of weeks remodeling the N-Gear, and once it is ready, the two of you, Noire and Vert, are going to bring Blanc to the Share Crystal so that she can retrieve it. When we have completed those tasks, we will reconvene here and discuss our plans for our return to Gamindustri. Does anyone have anything else to say?"

"One question." Hiroshi speaks up. "I know that we've brought this up multiple times, but do we know if Vii and I are able to join you girls when you return?"

"Well the fact that Fujita-san is the main protagonist of this series, it's only right if the author makes it possible for them to go to Gamindustri, right? There's absolutely no way that he won't be able to come with us!" Nep asserts with a confident nod.

"W-well, I like the optimism in you, Nep," Vii responds with a shaky laugh.

"Let's hope that everyone in this room is able to go back to Gamindustri." Neptune says, the rest of us nodding in agreement. "Well, I believe that we can stop here for now! Thank you all for attending today's meeting!"

"Would you like to do something this afternoon?" Hiroshi asks, slinging his bag over his shoulder as the rest of the club members begin to file out of the clubroom.

"I'm not sure," I respond, putting a finger on my chin in thought. "Maybe going to a park would be nice."

"Sure, let's do that." He gives me a nod, the two of us making our way out of the classroom.

As we walk down the hallway, I glance down at Hiroshi's hand, which swings back and forth with each step. Reaching out my hand to take hold of his, I quickly change my mind and pull away, a blush rising to my cheeks.

Exiting the building, the two of us are met by the soothing, autumn breeze. Although we are walking in silence, it feels far from silent. Maybe it's because of the continuum of thoughts peppered throughout my head; maybe it's the lively traffic; maybe it's the wind; maybe it's because I'm with Hiroshi. My lips curl into a small smile as I look up at him, watching as he blows a tuft of hair from his face. He then gives me a sideways glance, making me avert my gaze. Hearing him chuckle, I turn back to him with a confused look.

"Wh-what is it?" I ask.

"Nothing." He replies, a smile plastered on his face.

"Then why were you laughing?"

"It's cute seeing how many times I've noticed you looking at me recently."

"I-I haven't been staring that much." I mumble, my face burning red. Suddenly, I feel a hand embrace mine. Instinctively pulling back, I instantly regret my decision.

"S-sorry." He mumbles, rubbing the back of his head with a blush. "I thought that it was a good idea to hold your hand."

"I-it's okay." I stammer. Awkwardly reaching over to hold his hand, our fingers dance with one another before finally connecting.

What is this familiar feeling? I think to myself as we cross a street. I then flashback to when I first decided to help Hiroshi make dinner and cut my finger. Reminiscing the memory, I lean against his shoulder with a small smile.

Finding ourselves in the park, Hiroshi begins to lead me to the playground. Letting go of my hand, he briskly makes his way over to the swingset, which remains vacant. Looking back to me, he motions for me to come.

"Hey, have you ever been on a swing before?" He asks as I approach him.

"No, I haven't. It doesn't look that entertaining." I retort, turning my head with a huff.

"Wait until you actually try it." He gives me a wink as he grabs a chain that is connected to the seat. "Sit down here."

As I sit down, the seat wobbles, making me lose my balance and tip backwards. Before I can fall, a hand catches me.

"Grab onto the chains. It'll help you maintain your balance." He says as he sits me back up on the swing. Grabbing onto the chains, I look up at Hiroshi, waiting for his next instruction. "Lift your feet up from the ground so that I can push you."

"Like this?" I extend my legs straight out and Hiroshi nods, moving behind me. He then begins to push me forwards before letting go. I feel the wind gently caressing me as I swing back and forth.

"I guess this isn't so bad." I say with a huff, Hiroshi sighing as he pushes me again.

"It's a lot more fun when you do it yourself." He replies, leaving my swing and sitting on his own. Gradually, my swings become smaller and smaller until I remain still on the seat.

"Aww, why did it stop?" I pout, puffing out my cheeks at Hiroshi as he laughs.

"Let me show you how to swing by yourself." He says before pushing himself backwards, pausing at the apex of his swing before swinging forwards. As he moves forward, Hiroshi kicks his legs out from beneath him, propelling him further.

Watching him repeat the motions, I begin to replicate what he had shown me. Kicking off of the wood chips, my feet slide out from beneath me, making me yelp and nearly slip off of the seat. Glaring at Hiroshi who bursts out laughing, I try again. Managing to kick myself off of the ground, I begin to swing back and forth, gaining more and more momentum with each swing.

"This is actually pretty fun!" I call out to Hiroshi.

"I don't know a single soul who doesn't enjoy swinging." He replies as he passes me.

"But, I must admit, flying is much more exhilarating than this." I retort.

"Right…" He sighs, slumping in his seat. "You know, sometimes I forget that you're a Goddess."

"How could you forget that I'm a Goddess?"

"I just can't imagine a Goddess having a crush on me." He chuckles.

"W-well, when you put it like that…"

"You should take me flying sometime." He grins as I stop swinging. "Prove to me that flying is better than swinging."

"Okay." I blatantly respond, standing up and turning into my HDD.

"W-wait, I didn't mean now!" He exclaims, hopping off of his swing.

"Why not? You showed me how to swing, so I don't see why I shouldn't show you what it's like to fly." I refute, putting a hand on my hip.

"So how are you gonna show me if I can't fly?" He asks, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest. Walking behind him, I wrap my arms around his chest.

"Like this." I begin to levitate, lifting Hiroshi up along with me.

"Y-you know…" He looks back at me with a blush. "This is really embarrassing."

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." I ask mockingly as I continue to lift him up into the air. He kind of reminds me of a cat when you pick it up like this. It's actually pretty cute. I think to myself as he slumps in my arms in defeat.

As we gradually get higher and higher, the swingset beneath us becomes smaller and smaller. Soon enough, we end up just beneath the clouds, gazing at the scenery before us. The entire city of Ksugakari is visible to us.

"Wow…" Hiroshi says in awe, panning across the city. "I guess you're right. Flying really is better than going on a swing."

"Right?" I giggle. "I told you that it's better than going on a swing!"

"B-but there's only one problem." He begins to squirm in my arms, making me look down at him in confusion. "I-I'm afraid of heights."

"Oh yeah?" I smirk, loosening my embrace around Hiroshi, making him shriek.

"Hey, don't scare me like that! What if you really drop me!?" He glares at me and I innocently look away, whistling.

"Whaaat? I would never do that to you!"

"Please don't."

We then fall silent, enamored by the view before us. Wow, this is really nostalgic. I guess I really do miss Gamindustri. I let out a sigh, Hiroshi looking back at me with confusion.

"Is everything okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, everything's okay. Being able to enjoy this view really brings back good memories." I reply with a smile. "Anyway, shall we head down?"

"Sure." He gives me a nod. "I-I think I'm getting a little sick."

"Oh whatever, you wuss." I sigh before beginning to descend. Setting Hiroshi down onto the ground, he lets out a relieved sigh.

"As beautiful as the view is, it's nice being able to stand on something again." He says, stretching his arms above his head. "Can we do this more often? It was actually really fun."

"I would love to." I respond with a smile. Suddenly, I hear a growl escape from Hiroshi's stomach.

"Oh, man! All of this really worked up an appetite." He laughs and rubs his stomach. "Let's get something to eat, shall we?"

"Let's." As we exit the park, he stops, making me turn around and give him a confused look. Holding out a hand, he gives me a warm smile. Happily making my way back to Hiroshi, our fingers interlock, leaving us to head off to dinner.