Hair

Author: Seth


“Where has she gotten herself to this time?”

Naebi was not in the best of moods as she stalked through the halls of the Militia, her aura of frustration fashioning for her a very wide personal bubble.

This happened every week. The Bean had taken it upon herself to ensure that Fuu took at least one bath a week, so whenever the start of the new week came around, the small blue haired girl would suddenly disappear from the Militia grounds. Often, the Naebi would find the unruly girl sequestered in an abandoned, idiotically hard to reach, and above all filthy corner of the compound. For the most part, the orange haired girl would have to resort to lassoing Fuu and dragging her, kicking and screaming, to the bathhouses.

Naebi’s countenance darkened even more as she turned one final bend. So it was going to be one of these weeks, was it?

Every now and then, Fuu would abandon her twisted little game of hide-and-seek for a straight up escape from the Militia compound. Whenever this happened it was useless to chase after the simple-minded girl, and Naebi would have to jump her infuriating charge when the crimson eyed girl wandered back in search of bananas.

Naebi was just about to leave the Militia headquarters in her token gesture of pursuit when a flash of yellow caught her eye. Backtracking quickly, the red haired girl inspected the small copse of deciduous trees that populated the Militia’s courtyard.

“I know you’re here, Fuu.” Naebi called out as she stared snipping out a rope of water around the arms. “It’ll be a lot easier for the both of us if you just come down quietly.”

Nothing. Not that she really expected much.

“There’s five bananas in it for you if you come down now~” The water mage’s voice took on a darkly songlike quality. “The longer to take, the less you get~”

Still nothing. Naebi raised an eyebrow. Usually she’d get some kind of reaction, even if it was just a small one.

“Five.” A gentle, silent breeze blew through the courtyard.

“Four.” A small russle. Naebi grinned. Just a little more…

“Three.” Fuuya quickly scurried out of her hiding place, though she stayed in the tree.

“Bananas?” Asked the blue haired girl. “Where?”

Naebi smiled. This round was as good as hers.

“I won’t even let you see ‘em unless you come down~”

Fuu looked mistrustfully at Naebi, but the Bean might as well have been able to see the cogs working in the banana fanatic’s mind. Even the possibility of…

Fuu suddenly grinned and launched herself from the tree.

Naebi, on the other hand, was no longer smiling. In fact, the orange eyed girl now wore a shocked expression of dawning realization as Fuu hurtled toward her.

A resounding crack echoed throughout the Militia compound, causing several passers-by to wince. Both the girls hit the ground.

“Crazy girl…” Naebi groaned as she sat up, tenderly rubbing the point of contact on her skull. “Why’d you-“ The Bean suddenly stopped dead and pulled her hand away from her head. Slowly, she rubbed them together, her face falling as she registered the faintly oily sensation.

As if to add one final nail to the coffin, Fuu bound onto the short redhead, rubbing her own head of unkempt hair against Naebi’s in much the same fashion as would an overfriendly dog.

“Where bananas?”