Arfoire opened her eyes and sat up in bed. Her head was spinning and she felt a twinge of pain between her eyes. “What is this?” Arfoire wondered, as she threw her covers off of her and swung her feet over the side of the bed. Arfoire closed her eyes tightly and began massaging her eyes.
Arfoire had gotten back from a quest early and decided to take a nap before trying to take on any other quests. Her friends IF and Compa both told her how hard she had been working, but warned her not to overdo it.
“Is this what they were talking about?” Arfoire wondered out loud.
As Arfoire spoke, her mind was flooded with a million thoughts, but it was impossible for her to make sense of them. Finally the pain subsided and so did her dizziness. “What was that?” Arfoire wondered, as she stood.
Arfoire wasn’t sure why, but she had felt this kid of thing several times in the past. “I hope I’m not sick or anything.” Arfoire made her way into her kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. After that she brought the glass up to her lips and started sipping the cold liquid.
Several days ago Arfoire had met IF and Compa while staying at the hospital. Thanks to them, she was able to find some steady work completing quests. They even helped her find an apartment.
The apartment wasn’t that fancy though. It had one large room that acted as both her living room and bedroom. She had a small kitchen and a bathroom and that was about it. She did have a nice balcony that faced another large building, but she could look down at the street and watch people walk past.
Arfoire placed her glass in the sink before heading back into the main room of her apartment. Taking a seat on her bed, she buried her face in her hands. “Alright. Let’s make sense of this.” Arfoire thought to herself.
“For some reason I feel dizzy and I get this weird pain. After that I start to feel better, but memories start flooding back into my head. Why?” Arfoire wondered, aloud. “I remember things I shouldn’t remember too! Like what are DQN zombies and what’s a HachimaJin?” Arfoire asked herself.
Even though Arfoire didn’t know what those things were, she had a feeling that they were actually monsters. There were other monsters she remembered as well. “Maybe I need to take another nap.” Arfoire thought, as she started leaning back.
The sound of knocking erupted from the front door, causing Arfoire to groan loudly. “So much for that idea.” She breathed.
Arfoire stood and made her way to her front door. Standing on the other side was IF and Compa. “Hello Arfoire!” Compa said, smiling brightly.
“Sorry to drop in on you like this.” IF said, the girl was holding a box in front of her.
“It’s no problem. Come on in.” Arfoire said, stepping aside so the two girls could walk past her.
“Are you okay?” Compa asked.
Arfoire nodded her head. “Yeah, just a bad dream.” Arfoire said, almost forgetting how perceptive Compa was.
“Are you getting enough sleep? You really shouldn’t work so much you know.” Compa said, worriedly. “Have you eaten anything today? I can make you something really yummy.”
“I’m okay, I’m okay!” Arfoire said, the woman couldn’t help but smile. “I didn’t meant to worry you or anything.
IF sighed. “That’s Compa for you. She worries about everyone and she takes care of everyone too.” IF sat the large box she was carrying down. “But she’s right. If there’s anything you need just let us know.”
“Thanks.” Arfoire said. “Why are you two always so nice to me? You don’t know me and you don’t owe me anything. So…”
“Were friends, right?” Compa said.
“That’s right!” Said IF. “Speaking of which… Aren’t you going to ask me about this box?”
Arfoire turned to the large box that IF had carried into her apartment. “I was wondering.” She admitted.
“Try opening it.” Said IF.
Arfoire made her way over to the box, but hesitated. “Is something going to spring out from this box, or scream boo?” She asked.
“Don’t know. Don’t remember.” IF said, shrugging her shoulders.
Arfoire sighed deeply, before turning her attention back to the box. After a few moments more of hesitation, Arfoire reached down and pulled off the lid. At first, Arfoire had no idea what she was looking at. “What is… This?” She muttered, as she reached inside and felt cloth.
Arfoire pulled the object out and gasped. She was holding a large, long brimmed, dark purple hat. “Oh my.” Arfoire said. “Is this for me?”
“Of course!” Compa said, happily. “We remembered you saying something about losing your hat so we decided to pick a new one out for you.”
“We wanted to find something that matched your unique style.” IF said, not wanting to mention that the girls went to a Halloween shop first.
“This is amazing!” Arfoire said, as she placed the hat on her head. “Thank you so much!” Arfoire wore a large smile on her face, as she showed the hat off to her friends.
“I’m glad you like it!” Compa said. “We were a little worried that it might not fit, but I’m glad we were worried for nothing.”
IF giggled. “Well Compa. Worry is what we do best.”
“That’s true.” Compa said. “Anyways Arfoire. Would you like me to make you something to eat?” The girl asked, turning to Arfoire’s kitchen.
“I couldn’t ask you to do that. After you gave me this hat.” Arfoire said.
“It’s no problem. I’d be happy to cook for you!” Compa said.
“You should just let her cook for you Arfoire. She’ll worry even more if you don’t.” Said IF.
Arfoire’s shoulders sagged. “Well if it means that Compa won’t worry. I guess I don’t mind.”
“Great!” Compa said, as she made her way into Arfoire’s kitchen.
“It’s a pretty small kitchen, huh? Sorry if it’s so cramped.” Said Arfoire, as she took a seat on her bed.
“Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t bother me.” Compa said, as she opened Arfoire’s refrigerator to see what kind of food she had inside. “How does a nice hotpot sound?” She asked.
“Sounds great!” Arfoire said, though she wasn’t sure what a hotpot even was. “That’s weird. Hotpot does sound like something I should know, but I don’t. I know what a DQN zombie is, zombie dogoo. I know that HachimaJin can create monsters, but I don’t know what a hotpot is.” Arfoire’s eyes went wide for a moment. “Wait… How did I know that HachimaJin could make monsters? I just remembered it a moment ago.”
“Are you okay?” IF asked, in a small voice.
“I’m alright.” Arfoire said.
“You can talk to us.” Said IF.
Arfoire looked down at her feet for a moment, before she turned her eyes to IF who wore a concerned look on her face. “Listen… IF…”Arfoire began, grabbing the brim of her hat and pulling it down so her eyes were hidden. “Have you ever remembered something that you can’t make sense of?”
“Uh…” IF began, tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. “Not really, but you have to remember that you’re suffering from amnesia. It’s normal for you to start remembering things that you can’t make sense of.”
“Yeah, but…” Arfoire began. “For some reason the only thing I’m remembering now are the names of monsters. Why is that?”
IF shook her head. “Don’t know.” IF thought about this for a few moments. “Maybe you really were a monster hunter or something. If it was your profession than it would explain quite a bit.”
“Maybe.” Arfoire said. “I do feel like I’ve traveled around the world before. Staying in one city feels new to me.”
IF nodded. “I’m sorry Arfoire. I wish I had some advice for you about this. I’m sure you’re going to learn a lot about yourself as time goes on. You’re not in this alone though, so if you start feeling overwhelmed just call me or Compa, okay? It doesn’t matter how late it is, we’ll pick up and help.”
“Thanks IF.” Arfoire said.
IF giggled. “To be honest with you. Compa and I have a couple of friends named Neptune and Nepgear. I really can’t wait to introduce you to them.”
“Neptune?” Arfoire said. For a moment the name hung in the air, but soon Arfoire felt gripped with anger. Her hands shook a bit and she had to squeeze them shut just to stop the shaking.
“Yeah. Neptune’s goofy and Nepgear’s the mature one. You’d think that Nepgear was the older sister, but she’s actually the youngest.” IF explained.
“They both sound lovely.” Arfoire said. “Why do I hate them so much?” Arfoire wondered to herself. “I don’t even know who this Neptune and Nepgear are, but I know that I hate them! Same with the goddess of Planeptune! I haven’t even spoken to them! Or… Maybe I have?”
Arfoire forced the thought out of her head as she and IF patiently waited for Compa to finish cooking dinner for them. After dinner, IF and Compa excused themselves. “We’ll see you later!” Compa said.
“See you!” IF said.
“Bye!” Arfoire said, waving goodbye to her friends. Arfoire gently closed the door before turning around and pressing her back against the door behind her and then she took a deep breath. “I was going to go on another quest, but now its too late.” Even though Arfoire wanted to feel annoyed, she couldn’t bring herself to feel that way. Instead she pushed off the door and headed back into her living room.
The box that IF had brought had been left behind. “I wonder if she’s going to want that back. I’ll hold onto it.” Arfoire said, as she took the box and found a corner for it to sit in. After that Arfoire turned on her television and started flipping through the many channels.
“ Feel uneasy now. Like I’m waiting for something bad to happen.” Arfoire thought to herself.
***
“I’m really glad that Arfoire liked her hat.” Compa said, walking next to IF. “I hope she wears it all the time.”
“Same here.” Said IF.
“So…” Compa began, trying to find the right words. “Arfoire’s feeling kind of down, huh?”
“You heard us?” IF asked.
Compa shook her head. “Every once in a while she would look a particular way and I could tell she was worried about something.” Said Compa. “Something’s on her mind, huh?”
“Yeah.” Said IF. IF told Compa everything that Arfoire had mentioned to her. When she finished, IF mentally kicked herself. “I hope Arfoire doesn’t mind me telling you this.”
“I’m sure she won’t mind.” Said Compa, giggling. “Anyways, I think you’re right. Maybe Arfoire was just a monster hunter, but it’s hard to tell. Overtime she’ll regain more of her memories. We just have to be there for her when she gets them all back.”
“You’re right.” IF said.
Compa and IF continued to walk in relative silence for a few moments before both girls started thinking about Neptune and Nepgear at the same time. “I wonder what Neptune would say to Arfoire if she were here. I mean she lost her mem…” IF began, but her words trailed off.
“Yeah. I remember when we first met Neptune had lost…” Compa began, but stopped speaking as well.
Both Compa and IF exchanged glances with each one another. “Wait… Neptune lost her memory before? When?” IF asked.
“I don’t know.” Compa said. “It just slipped out before I thought about it.” Suddenly both Compa and IF winced in pain. A strange pain formed in the space between their eyes and they also started feeling a bit dizzy.
The pain and dizziness suddenly stopped and the girls were left breathing hard. “That was weird.” IF said, rubbing the spot between her eyes.
“Yeah.” Compa agreed. “Did you remember anything else?” Compa asked.
“Maybe.” IF said. “Nothing substantial. I just remember the times we spent with Neptune and Nepgear, but I don’t remember exactly.”
“Yeah. I remember we met Nep-Nep after she had gotten hurt once and I had to take care of her. That’s also around the time we met Ge-Ge too, right? Do you remember that?”
“I do.” IF said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s go home and get some rest. Maybe were both tired.”
“Yeah.” Compa said, but both girls had a feeling there was more to all this.
