Hyperdimension Neptunia | The Bound Warrior

Ch.29 Rei-valry Ended

{Get it? Its a play of Rivalry but with Rei- okay you guys aren't dumb, you'll get it. . . I'll continue writing now.}

Max's Pov

I land on the ground; right at the same area I was where I entered the shattered realm I just left. I hyperventilate as I try to get my bearings; desperately looking from side to side to see if they followed me. I slowly calm myself down, and I recall what happened. Matt. . . what happened to you? I stare around my surroundings as I see that they have not followed me. My mind than starts to run to the Nepgear I met in that dimension. If something like that has happened to an alternative dimension, then what is to stop something like that here? No, I can stop that before anything happens.

I hear a snap of a branch from behind a tree nearby, and I swiftly turn to it; my attention focused on it, as I summon blazefury. "Who's there!" I shout, holding my blade in front of me in my normal stance.

The person behind the tree makes a eep! sound before shifting about behind the tree. I can practically feel the terror produced out of the girl who is hiding. Scratch that, I can see the tree quivering slightly, as the girl cowers behind it.

I lower my blade; realizing that whoever it is, is definitely not wanting to fight. I look about the lush forest, a gentle breeze flows by, as the person keeps quiet. I drop Blazefury to my side and start to walk forward. The grass crunches under my feet as I approach. A tension grows in the air, as I approach. Then, I can hear a deep breath be taken as they calm down.

I can hear whoever it is panic as I approach. Then, she jumps out of the treeline and faces me. I stop in my tracks as I see a girl, trembling, with light blue hair and darker blue eyes. She has some kind of horn ornament in her hair, as well, as to a somewhat standard outfit. 

"Um... Hello?" I greet, staring at the terrified girl in front of me. Her legs are shaking like a deer and she resists looking me in the eye.

"H-Hi. . . . Max." She returns the greeting, holding her elbow with her other hand. She continue to stares into the distance; never trying to look directly at me. I drop my blade, letting it disappear away into nothing. 

"Uh, forgive me, for not remembering who you are, but who are you?" I ask; raising an eyebrow in question.

"M-My name is. . . I forgot what it was." She looks down, in disbelief of herself. She looks up again, as if remembering it suddenly. "Rei! It was Rei ryghts!" She yells, finally looking me in the eyes as she states her name; moments after realizing she was looking me in the eyes, she quickly looks away. "Um. . . I'm sorry." She says as she turns around, and runs.

I stare on in question as she runs. Rei. That name sounds slightly familiar; I think as I watch her run five feet away, before she trips on her own feet. I give an awkward smile, as I watch her. I approach again, and move to be beside her. 

She whirls up to look at me, and her eyes shrink with fear as she sees me standing over her. She quickly tries to crawl away; eventually she bumps into a tree, halting her crawl. Her chest heaves up and down, and she doesnt take her eyes off me for a second.

"I mean you no harm. You don't have to be afraid." I tell her, further confused by her fear of me. I stand up and raise my hands up in a "I mean no harm" Fashion. 

She stares at me like a feral dog and calms herself down. "F-forgive me, please." She pleads, looking down slightly. 

"For what? You've done nothing to me." I ask, my puzzlement continuing to grow.

She calms down more, and her heavy breathing has stopped. "You don't recognize me, do you?" She asks; I shake my head in response, prompting her to continue. "I'm your rival, Tari, or at least, I am the original Tari: Rei." She clarifies, continuing her cycle of not staring at me.