DISCLAIMER

Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Idea Factory, Compile Heart, and all other official parties involved with the Neptunia series.

I own NOTHING.

To all veteran fanfiction readers, writers, and reviewers, please be aware this is my first ever fic. As such I apologize in advance if I put this together rather sloppy. Also be aware that I am not one to plan very far ahead, just making things up as I go, so the story may or may not take odd turns in the future. You have been warned.

With that out of the way, let the story begin!

CHAPTER ONE

DAILY LIFE

*DING DONG DANG DONG*

"Alright class, that's it for today's lesson. Your assignment for tonight will be to use the material we just went over to answer the questions on page 137, due Monday. That's all," said the teacher at the front of the classroom. She was a woman roughly in her mid or high twenties with auburn hair held in a bun with some pins. She wore a simple pair of glasses that went well with her outfit: a white long-sleeve button-up shirt under a dark green blazer vest with a black knee-length skirt and black heels. It was simple but also standard for all female teachers.

"All rise," said one of the students. The others followed her directions. and stepped out of their seats. "And bow." Again the others followed her directions and example before rising again. Some of the students began chatting with one another while others gathered their things to go to clubs or home. All except one.

Seated near the back next to the windows was Kainen Nomura. A 17-year-old boy with somewhat messy brown hair and dark green eyes. He was wearing the standard school uniform for boys. He had his arm propping up his head as he blankly stared out the window. Nothing was going through his mind at the time. He was just waiting for time to pass by.

"Yo, Kainen!" called out someone. Kainen looked towards the source with a somewhat disinterested look, his head never leaving its propped position. A boy approached Kainen's desk with a goofy grin on his face. He was a little shorter than Kainen with short, spiky black hair and brown eyes. "Hey man, I got my allowance early from my old man this week. Wanna hit the arcades with me or something? It's been a while since we really got a chance to hang out."

Kainen stared silently at his friend for a moment before returning his gaze to the window. "Can't today, Daisuke. I got cleaning duty."

"Eh?" Daisuke said with a raised brow. "So what? You're quick with that stuff, right? Just go ahead and get started. Heck, I'll even help if you want."

"Thanks for the offer, but..." Kainen raised his free arm and pointed to a group of students near the front of the classroom; some girls who seemed to be gossiping about who knows what. Girls were always so complicated to him. Never could tell what they were thinking. "They're probably gonna be here a while. I can't start 'til they leave. Plus..." He then pointed to the window. "It looks like it's gonna rain later. I don't feel like getting wet if I can help it."

True to Kainen's word, dark clouds were gathering in the distance. One could even see flashes on the cloud line in the distance. It looked like it was going to be quite a storm.

"Ouch. Tough luck, man," said Daisuke. "Maybe next time then?" Kainen could only half-heartedly nod. Normally he was more upbeat, but being stuck with cleaning duty coupled with the impending storm killed his mood. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll catch you later then." Daisuke then turned to leave. No sense in staying if his friend wasn't in the mood to do anything. Kainen then let out a heavy sigh. All he could do was watch and wait.

Having just finished his cleaning duties, Kainen started gathering his things from his locker. He even got out a small umbrella he always brings with him. Good thing, too, considering it had started to rain. He started out the door until he saw someone else standing under the veranda.

It was a fairly short girl with shoulder length dark brown hair wearing the girls' uniform for the school. She had a hairclip shaped like a flower holding her bangs out of the way on the left side. She was just standing there tightly holding her bag to her chest, as though she were debating running into the rain or not. Not one to leave well enough alone Kainen called out to her. "Hey. Ayame."

"Ah, Kainen-senpai!" The girl turned around towards Kainen. "Why are you here? I thought you would have gone home by now?"

"I had cleaning duty today," he replied. "Would've finished up sooner but some of my classmates stuck around longer than they should have. What about you? Why are you still here?"

"Huh? Oh, um..." Ayame started to fidget a little. "I was, um... working on something in the Home Ec. room. But..." She turned her eyes back out to the rain. "When I was done it had already started raining and I don't have my umbrella. I was thinking of using my bag for cover and making a run for it, but then all my school things might get wet. But in the end, I couldn't really decide. I really am hopeless..."

"You sure are." Hey stepped forward and opened his umbrella, making sure she was completely under it. "Come on. I'll walk you home. Besides, if I know your dad he's probably bawling his eyes out wondering where you are right now." Ayame looked a little surprised at his act of kindness. She was about to argue in some way but Kainen quickly cut her off. "You just said you don't have an umbrella, right? Plus, your house is mostly on the way. It's not like I'll lose time or anything."

She could only stand there blinking a few time before smiling, a light blush coming into her cheeks. "Thank you, senpai. Even when we were children you always seemed to save me from my troubles."

Kainen turned his head away slightly with her last statement. "That's just your imagination. Now let's get going before the rain gets worse." Ayame nodded in agreement before the two started walking home. Truthfully his far shoulder was getting a little wet but it was alright. He'd waste no time 'biting the bullet' for a friend, but he was too modest to ever admit that kind of kindness.

Kainen stood there with a big smirk on his face. Not that he could be blamed with the comical sight in front of him.

"Ohh, my dear, sweet Ayame! You've come home!" A man with short black hair, glasses and a stubble on his face was holding Ayame in a hug and rubbing his cheek against hers, as though he was making sure she was real. He even had rivers of tears coming from his eyes. Whether they were from worry, relief, or some combination of the two Kainen couldn't tell. He wore a light-blue button-up shirt with some dark-blue jeans.

"Daaad, stop it! Your beard is scratching me! It's making me itchy!" Ayame rebuked, but she still had her own awkward smile. Her father acting like this was nothing new. She was his world. Of course, this also made him a little overprotective of her, but he never did anything too outrageo... Okay, that's a lie.

"Thank you for bringing Ayame home, Nomura-chan," thanked a woman with long light-brown hair that reached to the center of her back and dark blue eyes. She wore a simple yellow shirt and light-blue long skirt all under a pink apron that read 'Namatame Bakery' in red letters over the heart area of it. Ayame's home was also the neighborhood bread store. "Itsuki was about ready to call his team in the police force to find her. He was worried someone might have kidnapped her."

"It's no big deal. It was mostly good timing really," Kainen replied, though now his smile was somewhat forced. "And could you please stop using 'chan'? I'm fine with you calling me by my first name you know." Ayame's mother held her grateful smile without a response. He could swear sometimes she does it on purpose. "Well, I need to get going. I'll catch you guys later."

"Ah, wait! Senpai!" Ayame finally pried herself from her father's grip and rushed over in front of Kainen. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped midway. She then turned her gaze downward and started fidgeting again. It even looked like her face was turning red. She didn't get wet but was she catching a cold? Finally, she started digging through her schoolbag and presented a small pink bag tied closed with a yellow ribbon. She held it out to him with both hands with a big "Here!"

Kainen took the bag. "Um, thanks. What's in-" Before he could finish Ayame took off into the back where the living area was, leaving him staring at the small bag in his hand. Kainen wasn't stupid. He had a good idea why she gave it to him. They had known each other for years; more than enough time for bonds to grow. He even thought about actually asking her out on occasion. But there was always one thing holding him back...

"It's always a beautiful thing to see a young man receive a gift from a cute girl. Just remember..." At first, he had a big, goofy grin on his face, but just as soon as Ayame's father placed his hand on Kainen's shoulder his expression grew dark and serious. "...If you ever make my daughter cry, there will be consequences. Understand?"

Feeling the chill crawl up his spine, Kainen could only respond the same way anyone else in his position could. "Y...yes, sir. I understand." It was nice to know he had her father's approval, but he still would have to watch himself. One wrong move and he'd be in an early grave. Her father is a police officer after all.

"Well, you should probably get going. I'm sure your own parents are worried about you." Just as quickly as before, Itsuki's expression went back to being cheery. Kainen put away the bag before opening up his umbrella again. Ayame's parents waved and said their good-byes as he went out the door. Could this day get any more eventful?

The door opened and a soaked Kainen rushed through, struggling to close the door behind him. Once closed, he stood there dripping for a bit. "...Great. Just great. As soon as I drop her off the storm picks up. This is so much crap..." As if on cue, there was a bright flash from the windows followed by a large boom of thunder. If it was just rain he would have been fine with the umbrella but as the rain grew worse some strong wind started to pick up, rendering it near pointless.

"I'm home..." he said as he kicked off his soaked shoes and stepped into the living area. As he turned on the light he realized he must be the only one home, or else the lights would already be on. His mother was probably working late again. It was a normal occurrence he had grown accustomed to, but it would still have been nice.

Wanting to brighten his otherwise crappy afternoon, Kainen stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge looking for something to snack on. Inside was... "HALLELUJAH! PUDDING!" It was just one cup but pudding was his little slice of heaven. He quickly grabbed that, a spoon, and a soda and headed upstairs to his room.

Before he could get started on his snack time he had to change clothes. He was still dripping some after all. He threw his schoolbag on his bed and quickly changed from his school uniform into some blue jeans and a red t-shirt. As he started to dig into his snack he remembered the gift he got from Ayame.

Kainen retrieved Ayame's gift from his bag and opened it, revealing it held cookies inside. Quickly popping one into his mouth he found it tasted alright. It was a little on the bland side, but still good. Wait... Was this why she was in the Home Ec. room after classes? Now that he thought about it, normally she had an umbrella with her in case of unexpected rains. Was that just an excuse to meet up with him? Is she more clever than she lets on?

Deciding it would solve nothing thinking about it, Kainen's mind wandered to ways he could entertain himself. And what would be better than his favorite pastime: video games! He had a small TV in his room but it was decent enough for his purposes. Hooked up to it was his Playstation 3. He didn't have very many games for it but they never failed to entertain him.

Scanning through his selection, he decided on a game he hadn't played in a while. "Ah, 'Hyperdimension Neptunia: Victory'. You're always good for some laughs." Truthfully, he idolized the Neptunia world. He often imagined himself in such a world, fighting monsters or going on adventures with the game's characters. Despite all his friends and everything, Kainen never really felt he fit in here. He was just living life day to day; like he was rails or something.

Throwing the game in the console he was soon brought to the main menu. Controller in hand and munching on his snacks, he quickly selected 'LOAD GAME'. He had long already beat it, but he still found it fun to play. Just as the game started to load up his save file the was another bright flash and boom from the windows. This time, however, it was accompanied by a power outage.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment in the darkness. For a few seconds, there wasn't a bit of movement or sound in the room aside from the patter of the rain on his window. "WHAAAATT!? No... No, not now...! Not now, NOT NOW!"

Kainen scrambled back over to his console and started pressing buttons, trying to turn it back on but to no avail. He wasn't really worried about the console so much as he was his data. The game was in the middle of loading his file when the power outage happened so he was worried his data might have become corrupted. Sadly he wouldn't find out until the power came back on, and who knows how long it would be before that happened.

"Noooo... Why is this happening now?..." Defeated, Kainen lay lifeless on his floor. Not having access to his games, the boy had lost his spark. It seemed like life wanted to throw a lot of crap in his face today.

Suddenly Kainen's TV turned on, yet the rest of the room remained in darkness. Had power really come back on? He sat back up and stared at the screen. The image was fuzzy with static, but the TV was indeed on. Soon a message appeared on the screen.

Do you want to be a hero?

Will you help save our world?

Yes

No

"What the hell...?" Confused, Kainen simply stared at the screen for a bit. He took another look at the console and TV. He realized that the power indicators for neither the console nor the TV itself were on, yet there was indeed an image on the screen and a cursor appeared when he tapped the controller's directional pad.

Kainen stepped over to his window to see if maybe something weird was just going on with his house's lighting only to see that the whole neighborhood appeared to be without power. He returned to the controller and scrolled back and forth between 'Yes' and 'No'. Alarms were going off in his head as his sense of reason told him to just leave well enough alone. Yet his curiosity kept nagging at him to dig deeper into this mystery. Assuming the message was true, the thought of becoming a hero was enticing as well.

After a few minutes, which seemed like hours to him, of continuous scrolling between his options, he ultimately gave in to his temptation and selected 'Yes'. The message faded away immediately after. Soon another message appeared in its place.

Thank you, young hero.

Your journey will be filled with peril,

but keep moving forward and you will find its end.

We await your arrival.

The screen began to glow brighter and brighter. The light began to fill the entire room, blinding Kainen. Yet for some reason, he kept feeling a pull towards the screen. Almost as though he was losing touch with gravity. "...Whaat theee HEEEEELLL!?-"

Finally, the light dimmed to nothing, returning the room to darkness. Except there was one less thing in it. Kainen himself. The boy had vanished into thin air. What had happened to him? Only time would tell.

And there you have it. Sorry if some of you find it a little short but I'm still learning here.

Stay tuned for more. I think I might be able to churn out a chapter each week if I work on it a little every day.

Till then, catch ya later! Zeno out!