Neo/Weronika (Neonika) D4DJ One-Shots

Second Best Victory

Incredible. Truly... incredible. It was a rare day Elsie Largo was so genuinely surprised, especially by Seperack, yet it was also a rare day when she... defeated Neo! It was such a monumental thing, Elsie could barely even bring herself to think about it. Even more, though, Weronika was... behaving... civilly! She wasn't rubbing her victory in everyone's faces, shouting and whooping like they expected. Instead, she spoke with dignity, purpose, and power. Her voice was low and smooth, her eyes were convicted but calm, wise beyond her years.

Just what the heck is going on here?! Elsie wanted to clutch her head and shriek. The only reason she had even a modicum of understanding was because of how carefully she'd studied Neo and Weronika up to this point. They brought out sides of each other that no one else could even see, let alone command and control with such seeming ease. Neo brought the thinker out of Weronika, the strategist. They'd seen shadows of it before, at the boardgame café, but this was a whole new level. And as for Neo? Weronika brought out her inner child.

In all other times and places, Neo Lone was the textbook definition of an ice queen. Whether onstage in front of hundreds or thousands, or alone in practice with only her three unit-mates, she never had any time for any nonsense at all, and her definition of "nonsense" was insanely strict. If the action was not directly and immediately conducive to fostering and facilitating Abyssmare's growth and continued improvement, it was an action that had to be eliminated at once. And yet whenever Weronika challenged Neo, no matter what it was, Neo always accepted with a smirk.

For the whole week, Weronika wasn't the only one practicing and researching their fighting game to death. Neo was too. Their graceful, dignified, unflappable leader was doing the exact same thing their token pet/mad dog was! And eagle-eyed Elsie could see that the teasing, playful smiles Neo gave Weronika—though disturbingly uncharacteristic—were realer than any other she'd ever given before. Neo knew how to pose for a camera, how to take a compliment, but when she was laughing at Weronika, it was her honest reaction, not something for the crowds or cameras.

Perhaps Elsie Largo has... underestimated Seperack... After all, it was not Elsie who outwitted Neo or so effortlessly got playful smirks out of her. It wasn't even Sophia! It was Weronika. Stupid, stubborn Weronika. She ran headfirst into the problem over and over again until it was solved. Elsie would've said such methodology was folly, and yet somehow, the childish meathead managed to use her childish, meaty head and make it work. While the rest of the world wouldn't dare challenge Neo once, let alone multiple times, Weronika was fearless.

And it seems she has learned that muscle is not everything. As a cultured aristocrat of high and proper society, Elsie Largo was well-versed in classic literature from around the world, and she knew well of the Greek Gods Ares and Athena, and their usual antics. Weronika was taking a page out of Athena's book, it seemed, even though Weronika would've once proudly scoffed that excluding the books she read to her siblings before bedtime, she hadn't read a real one in years, somehow dodging every English—or now Japanese—assignment thrown her way.

And then there was Lone, playing with her, toying with her, taunting and teasing as she laughed and indulged in the games—literal and metaphorical—just as much as Weronika. In fact, during the middle of the week, they had an early one-match pre-showdown "practice session" together, and it was Elsie and Sophia's misfortune to walk past their bedroom door just as the grunting, groaning, and shouting was at its loudest.

Elsie can only imagine what Smith is thinking! Amber eyes darted to the unit's DJ. She watched Neo and Weronika just as intently as Elsie.

Sophia knew Neo better than anyone—maybe even Neo herself—and she could confirm that Neo's bond with Weronika was uncanny, fateful, and powerful all at once. It wasn't just that they brought out sides of each other that no one else ever saw. They were also so similar despite being so different. They were a perfect pair of foils, and as the unit's resident empath, Sophia could see and sense it clearer than any of them. Especially since it involved her precious, beloved Neo-sama.

"They're like fire and ice... Yet they can trade off so smoothly...!" Sophia breathed. Neo could tame Weronika's fire, and Weronika could melt Neo's ice. Neo could bring out the thinker in Weronika, and Weronika could bring out the mischievous child in Neo. They were like the iron that sharpened itself on other iron. They fed off one another, grew off one another, and it was that one similarity that truly connected them at their very cores. It was also what made Neo's relationship with Weronika unique to anyone else in either of their lives.

While Elsie and Sophia were motivated by fear and love to always treat Neo with respect as a superior, Weronika had no such reserves or qualms. She saw Neo as an equal, a fellow human, no matter how tall the pedestal was that everyone else tried to put her on, including Neo herself. It was refreshing, and the competitor in Neo loved it all the more. You clash with me. We butt heads. I like that.

"Congratulations, Seperack, I do believe that this is your second best victory."

"Second?!" Weronika wise and tempered tone slipped for just a fraction of a second.

"Your first was the day we met, and you were granted the honor and privilege of working beneath... me." Neo flashed a dazzling, cocky smile.

"Watch it, Lone!" While Weronika lunged at Neo, Neo nimbly dodging her attack. Her chuckle was low and breathy, eyes inviting Weronika to accept her latest challenge and keep the fighting game going just a little while longer... It was time to wrestle!

As soon as it finally clicked for Weronika, her frown turned back into a savage, wolfish grin. Elsie and Sophia could only throw themselves behind the living room couch, wondering why on Earth Neo had to love poking the bull, the sleeping bear-onika, so much! Yes, she was competitive, and thought such impish things were fun despite her outwardly mature and dignified persona, but Elsie and Sophia still wanted a home to come to every day! What none of them realized, though, was that Neo was completely sincere in what she said about Weronika.

Another reason the two of them were so connected by fate—even though they spent most of their time bickering and bantering—was that they both conveyed emotion and affection in a similar way: gruffly. What I said was truth, Weronika. The day we met, the day you joined me, that was the first day you moved me... After so long as the unmovable object, your unstoppable force came barreling through right into the heart of my life... And THAT is your first, greatest, and truest victory.

It was the day Weronika caught Neo's eye, and attention, because one day, she would capture Neo's allegiance as well. That, in turn, opened the door to Weronika someday winning Neo's affection. But only after a ton of trial and tribulation first. Not that they would have it any other way. The diva smirked. The way she saw it, the only consort worthy of a winner like her was a fellow winner.

I demand, expect, and accept only the best! So, what say you, Weronika, will you stand by my side? A golden trophy for a golden fighter and a golden winner. Though who between them was the trophy was anyone's guess.

AN: Based on their card story, I love this ship too much LOL! Oh, the pain of being a Neonika fan in a world of Neosophi and ElWero, LOL!