ZZZ: Dawn of The Black Sun

"Nya?"

"Nya nya nyanyanya nya?"

"Nya!"

"Nya nya nyaaa nyanya nyanyanya nyaaa nyanyannya!"

"Nyaa~"

Nekomiya narrowed eyes. "You're right Anby, Inky is not adequately compensated by the video store!" she said after communicating with Inky, the Video Store's first feline employee and Nekomiya's direct superior. "We have to speak to Belle about giving them a raise!"

Anby gave the black cat a few strokes. "Is one can a day not enough?"

Nekomiya huffed. "That's way too cruel nyaa! Inky deserves at least one can and a treat after every shift!" she folded her arms. "Come on, let's talk to Belle!"

The white haired girl gave Inky a few more strokes on the chin before nodding. "Understood, she should be in the lab right now,"

Nekomiya's ear dropped, eyes widening. "Nyai mean... After she's finished with whatever she's doing!" she back pedaled. "A-anyway, we can ask Wi..." she winced, catching herself, a sharp pain on her chest. "We can..." Nekomiya shook her head and shoot her hand up animatedly. "We can go to 141 nyaa!!!"

Anby titled her head. "Hm?"

"If these capitalists wouldn't give Inky proper compensation..." she did a twirl. "Then we must bring the matter into our own hands!!!"

"Understood," Anby grabbed 18 from the floor and put him behind the counter. The Bangboo swayed a little, barely registering that it's getting overtime, again. "Let's go, before Nicole returns,"

"That's the spirit!"

With that, the odd bunch stepped out of the Video Store and to the bustling 6th Street of New Eridu. It's early morning and there's a lot of high schoolers walking around on their way to school. Some stopped by the cafe shop or the ramen store. There's even some taking selfie in front of the Random Play video store, the retro nostalgic exterior of it really makes it a tourist destination.

Nekomiya lead the way, walking around the 6th Street, greeting the passerby, hissing at Howl who's just doing his job, and tried to sneakily pickpocket a passerby.

"Ehehe~" Nekomiya giggled, only to have Anby giving her a stern look. The cat girl rolled her eyes and walked back to the guy who's just leaving the waterfall ramen shop. "Hey~ You dropped this nya~" the cat girl said, handing back the wallet to him.

"Oh! Thank you," the guy replied.

"No problem nya~ Be more careful next time!" the cat girl returned back to Anby, flipping a coin she snatched from the wallet as 'compensation'. "What? He got lots of money! I'm sure he won't notice it nya~"

Anby rolled her eyes. "There has never been a case of theft in Sixth Street. Your status as a newcomer will make you the prime suspect for any sort of theft that might happen," she replied calmly. "Now let's head to 141, you said you want to give Inky a proper worker compensation, right?"

"Right you are nya~" Nekomiya walked up to the three Bangboo lining up in front of the store. "Is this the place? Hello!"

"Nhee nhaa! Neeenn ha!"

"Ooh! That sounds interesting, but we're looking for cat treats, not some strange glowing Master Tapes imbued with Ether Signals that is on sale for only 100 dennies each!"

"Naannha!"

"That's great nya~ We'll head in now! Oh, it's fine, we're skipping the one-time limited offer for the Encrypted Master Type sold for only 50 dennies each, we don't need it," Nekomiya waved the three Bangboo goodbye and stepped into the store with Anby. "Let's see... Cat Food, Cat Food..." she muttered looking around the display.

Anby took her time, lingering behind to look at all the wares. It's truly impressive, she noticed. How the 141 seems to always have everything in stock even though Hollow appears all the time. She wondered if there's some sort of amazing logistics company out there that handles all of this.

"Aww, that's cute," Nekomiya said, looking at a Penguin Bangboo on display.

"We have Amillion at home and 24 more we can borrow for free from Belle,"

Nekomiya's head snapped at her. "Twenty what nya?!"

"Twenty-four different Bangboo models," Anby replied calmly. "Belle has every design, each one suited for Hollow Exploration," she looked closer at the Penguin Bangboo. "Though, I don't remember if we have this one," she turned to Nekomiya. "If you believe this one can help us on our mission, we can catalogue it as business expense and get Nicole to approve it before buying it."

The cat girl shook her head. "Wait, wait, so you're actually super rich nya!?" she exclaimed.

"You mean you're not? In your reality, I mean?"

"No! Phaethon's account got hacked and the Video Store's the only thing Belle and... Wise had running!" she folded her arms. "We could barely pay the bill on our last get together nya! We thought we had to wash the dishes all night!!!"

Anby nodded. "I see, it appears that this is another difference between our reality," she put a hand on her earphone. "Reality Log number 23: The Video Store and The Cunning Hares are in the Red,"

"Do you really have to keep doing that nya?"

"Should I meet my own version of myself in your reality, I can give her this recording and quickly explain the situation,"

"That's very... thoughtful of you nyaa..." Nekomiya said, half confused, half impressed.

[LINE BREAK]

Nekomiya and Anby stepped out of 141 carrying a bag of grocery. They bought 31 sticks of cat treats, plus five more that Nekomiya snacked in the store.

"See, this one! It's this one!" Nekomiya nibbled on the gooey treat. "I swear, who's in charge of making these?" she suck up the treat in one go before tossing it aside. "If only they provide free samples, I'd have an easier time to pick these nyaa~"

Anby blinked. "Do cat thiren really eat cat food?"

"Well nyoo..." Nekomiya admitted. "I just like em... Back when I was a kid, I'd eat cat food mixed with dried fish nyaa..." a fond smile appeared on her face. "I didn't know any better back then and before I knew it, it became an acquired taste..."

Nekomiya narrowed her eyes. "But don't tell Nicole nyaa! She'll start stocking up on cat food instead of feeding me properly if she knows!"

"I won't, I promise,"

They made it back to the video store where Nicole stood behind the counter instead of 18. The girl gave the two an annoyed look. "Oh look who's back! This is coming out of your paychecks you hear me?" Nicole huffed in annoyance. "I swear, the lack of commitment these days..."

"Sorry Nicole, we're busy planning a worker union,"

"What?"

"Nyothing like that nya!" Nekomiya exclaimed. "We just bought Inky some cat treats!" she looked around. "Where's Inky?" she sniffed and followed the scent to the staff room.

"Ugh, whatever, just don't leave your post, you're making me work overtime," Nicole stood up and dragged Anby behind the counter, before forcing her to sit down. "There, now be a good girl and help mama with her job, mkay?"

"Understood,"

[LINE BREAK]

Nekomiya stepped into the Staff Room of the Video Store, finding it empty, safe for the black cat sitting on a sofa facing an old CRT TV. She took the time looking around, wondering if there's any difference between this Staff Room and the one in her reality.

As she looked around, she noticed what seems to be a workbench nearby. She took a closer look at it, out of curiosity. Seems to be Belle's notes on the Hollow. "No wonder Belle's a professional nya~" Nekomiya mused, looking the number of details in the notes.

Hollow encounters, enemy types, maps, locations, and even strategies can be found there. As she flipped to the older files, she noticed that the handwriting is different, way neater than the newer one. She bit her lip, realizing who that handwriting came from.

As she looked around the workbench, she found another folder, a new folder called Partner Archive. She opened it out of curiosity before immediately regretting.

At first, she thought it's just Belle's contact book. A folder she has to keep track of her friends and connection. But as she read more, it's obvious that it's way, way more than that.

Name, Age, Occupation, Likes, Dislikes, Hopes, Fears, Goals, Dreams, Motivation, Vulnerability, Insecurities, Weaknesses... The number of details were unsettling. Each of the 'partners' is given a single file in the folder. There's the citizens of New Eridu like Susie, General Chop, Tin Master, Ashe... There's the Cunning Hares like Nicole, Billy, Anby, and...

"See something interesting?"

"NYAAAAA!!!" Nekomiya leapt back, crashing against the sofa, before landing ungracefully on the floor. "Be-Belle!" her hand trembled. "J-just, looking at some interesting stuff nya!" she exclaimed, taking in Belle's unsettlingly calm demeanor.

"Okay, okay, geez," Belle held up her hands with a disarming smile. "No need to be nervous, you're probably just curious," she grabbed a file from the folder, a glimpse of Nekomiya's picture attached to it. "Let's see... Curious, love to snoop around other people's belonging..." the girl said with a cheeky grin.

Nekomiya gulped, half relieved that Belle isn't making a big deal out of it, and even more terrified knowing that Belle has a file on her. Added to the fact that she has no qualms updating it, right in front of her face nonetheless. "Y-yeah... Sorry..." she gulped. "What do you... Umm... use it for?"

"To know you guys better of course," Belle set aside the folder and sat on the sofa near Nekomiya. The cat thiren shrunk away from her, but didn't dare to run. "Aww, what'd you look at me like that for? I thought people find it endearing when other tried to learn more about them."

"Y-yeah, but..." Nekomiya bit her lip. "I mean..." she gulped, not sure how to even response. The fact that Belle isn't even trying to defend her action just... it makes her feel like she's the one making a big deal out of trivial matter. "I mean, people don't... Usually..." she gulped, trying to gather her thought. Tell her not to do this? Tell everyone about this? What is she supposed to do!?

"I..." Nekomiya forced a smile. "Sorry, for snooping around nyaa..."

"Aww, it's okay~ It's nice to learn something new about my friends anyway," Belle closed the folder and put it back on the table. "But shhh..." she put a finger on her lips. "Don't tell anyone you saw this, I sometimes put private stuff in there, you know, like stuff that Nicole, Anby, or Billy only want me to know and not anyone else?"

"Mhmm! Got it!" Nekomiya said, wanting nothing more but to bolt out of the room. "Anyway, speaking of Nicole, she must be umm..."

"Yeah, she's kinda pissed you left your post to buy cat treats, you can just tell me next time, I can stock those up myself, ahaha~" Belle gestured at Nekomiya to leave. "Anyway, off you go, we still have until tonight for another mission,"

"Got it! Thanks!"

Nekomiya left the Staff Room and closed the door behind her. Heart pounding on her chest as she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Did something happen?" Anby walked up to her, worried.

"N-no... I mean, yes... I just umm..." Nekomiya looked down, not sure if she should say it. Belle's nonchalant attitude was so unsettling, she'd prefer it if she were yelling at her. "I uhhh... Saw something that I shouldn't see and... I am too scared to tell you," she said in a very straightforward manner.

Anby nodded. "I understand, it happens to all of us," she returned to the counter. "Belle said that she'll set up a 4 dimensional recording device in the Hollow. We're going to..."

Anby's words faded into the background. "Mhmm! Okay!" Nekomiya nodded, half listening. It really felt like she just ran a lap around New Eridu while being chased by the Dead-End Butcher. She's not in a position to listen, let alone comprehend what Anby is saying.

Though, perhaps, she shouldn't be nodding along the whole time and agreeing to everything...