Chapter Text
The young woman walked through the streets, a shadowy glow from the nearby hollow being the only source of light in the shadow of the many large abandoned buildings and construction sites, a pristine white ghost city watched over by a dark sun.
The streets were nearly empty, but not empty enough. With lightness in her feet, the young woman dragged a wheeled suitcase behind her, which attracted the attention of some… less than savory looking people on the street. This whole sector looked abandoned, save for gang members.
She… hadn’t gotten the address wrong…. had she? Nekomiya looked down on her phone— checking the IK-map app. She double, triple, quadruple checked. And yeah, this was the place.
“Oh~ Maybe this was a forward base of operation?” The location is close to a hollow and she imagined the rent had to be quite low. She felt a little tinge of sadness about not being invited to the house but… This would do for now. She’d show them!
Once she was at the base of the building, she stood in front of the main door. She extended her hand to open it– Only to realize there was a passcode.
“A passcode eh~?” This had to be a test of some kind.
Nekomiya cracked her knuckles.
1234
No response.
Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.
4321.
No response either. Hmm…
Nekomiya spent 10 minutes inputting passwords, without success…
She had…, One last guess in mind.
A nby. B illy. Nicole. 1 2 14…
This was it eh…?
This whole excursion was an elaborate setup to tell her she wasn’t welcome…?
Nekomiya sighed as she input the passcode…
Wait no response?!
“What are you doing?” Nekomiya jumped. Turning around, she was Anby standing behind her, a plastic bag in her hands.
“Oh ummmm— Nicole didn’t send me the passcode so I was trying—”
Anby wordlessly closed the distance between the two. “Wa WAAAA~~” Nekomiya panicked, as Anby’s arm brushed past her hair and above her shoulder, pinning her against the wall. Nekomiya scrambled backwards, her face red, but Anby kept pushing forward and—
Oh wait, it's open? Nekomiya was internally grateful for her thiren dexterity saving her from an embarrassing loss and balance and subsequent fall.
“The door has been broken for years. You don’t need a passcode.” Anby stated.
Eh—?
Nekomiya wouldn’t consider herself out of shape. It’s true she hasn’t been working out as often since she left the red fang gang but she wouldn’t consider herself a slouch either. But the trek up to the 30th floor with the suitcase was a fight for her life.
Nekomiya panted as she finally dragged the suitcase to the last floor.
“F—finally nya…” The thiren girl took the time to catch her breath. Her kind may be stronger and more agile, but they lacked endurance. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but dragging a large suitcase to the 30th floor required her to push herself in a way even a hollow wouldn’t.
“Can't the— landlord fix the elevator?!” Nekomiya screamed. “I was… fighting for my life… in there Nya…”
Anby shook her head. “The landlord can’t fix the elevator.”
Nekomiya didn’t have the time to ask, before Anby opened the door.
The apartment was very colorful… If you consider chaos as colorful! Stacks of bags and boxes rose from the ground, there were colorful splotches on the ground that Nekomiya couldn’t identify— That is until she looked at some of the bags and noticed the small bottles of multicolored nail polish.
“Anbyyyyyyyyy~~ Did you get it?” Nicole’s voice came from deep inside the labyrinth of cardboard boxes and plastic bags. And soon after, she herself appeared, wearing nothing but a towel for herself and another towel for her hair— her face white from some skin lotion.
Anby grabbed something from the plastic bag she carried and threw it in Nicole’s direction, who catched it in midair.
Nicole’s eyes widened as she saw Nekomiya. “Wait… Is today—” Confusion soon turned to panic, as the young woman quickly retreated into a side room Nekomiya assumed was the bathroom.
“I-IT SEEMS I UNDERESTIMATED MY ROUTINE!” Nicole boasted. “I will help with the unpacking once I am ready!”
Anby sighed. “This way.” She led Nekomata through the mountains of clutter. The apartment was laid out longer than it was wider. The living room (currently filled in junk)led to several doors along the right..
The first door she passed had a sign hanging by a pin, Billy was written in Gold against a grey and red background, in the style of a Starlight Knight episode title card. The rest of the door was covered in various collector stickers.
The second door was covered in neatly organized movie posters.
The third door was the bathroom Nicole had darted out of.
This left two doors, of which one was decorated with various colorful stickers of various shapes and sizes, as well as a crude painting of a stack of dennies painted with what Nekomiya assumed was nail polish. The smell of nail polish coming from the other side was soon noticed by the thiren girl who pinched her nose.
“Bweh! It smells in there!” The girl exclaimed. Eventually, Anby opened the last door.
The room was small but homely, the window’s view wasn’t fantastic (drab buildings with special view on the hollow that was a bit too close for comfort) but it gave the room an otherworldly glow as the sunlight filtered into the room through tattered curtains.
The carpet had seen better days. In one corner it was marked, the residual signs of heavy furniture apparent. There was also residual traces of various liquids having been dropped from said furniture and staining the carpet.
“Wo— woah this place is actually quite cozy…” Nekomiya mewed.
“We used this study as our base of operations and as storage.” Anby indicated.
“Oh is that where all the clutter in the living room comes from?” Nekomiya asked.
Anby shook her head. “Not all of it.”
Eh?
“I’m done~~” Nicole’s voice echoed, as she stepped out of the bathroom. “Welcome home, Nekomata! From today onwards you are one of us!” The pinkette crossed her arms and grinned defiantly.
“Yo!” Behind her, the door opened, and Billy stepped through, carrying something with him.
“Welcome home Bi— WAIT WHAT IS THAT?!” Nicole gasped in shock.
Billy was carrying a large but soft looking fabric… A body pillow?
Wait, is that the Red Starlight Knight?!
“Oh! I bought it at a yard sale!” Billy (somehow?) blushed. As a Starlight knight superfan, it was my duty to scour the auction for rare promo material!”
“Billy…” Nicole exhaled in disbelief. “That’s a—”
“But maaaaaaan! I almost didn’t buy it! That other guy was ADAMANT about buying it! It was a battle of hearts… And in the end I emerged triumphant!” He did a little jig as he hugged the pillow in pride and glee, as pink blush pixels appeared on his facial LED display.
Nicole locked eyes with Anby, who nodded wordlressly. Billy disappeared into his room, and Nicole skittered closer to Nekomata. “...Do not tell him. his innocence must be preserved.”
Nekomiya nodded.
Billy soon emerged from his room, whistling. “Hey what are you guys doing?”
“N–nothing!” Nicole stuttered.
Anby nodded, and Nekomata followed.