Bald Situation:
One time in New Los Angeles- NLA for short, or New LA works just as well, too... I was just walking around, minding my own business, when a series of bizarre events occur. My name is Cross, a member of Team Elma, one of BLADE's highest-ranked teams. The Division I work for is the Reclaimers, though that's due to personal reasons. Elma, who also happens to be a Reclaimer, is the only one who knows my reasons. She also happens to be my team leader.
And then there's Lin Lee Koo, the youngest member of the team. She's associated with the Outfitters, and has excellent mechanic skills, if not perfect. I also see her as like a surrogate little sister, which took me by surprise when I learned she sees me as like a surrogate big sister. She had also invented the Skell Flight Module, which will make a big difference in all future missions. She's also almost always accompanied by a Nopon named Tatsu, whom we had accidentally rescued from the Ganglion.
And then, there's Mia. An energetic girl who wanted to join BLADE, even though a man named Walter just kept rejecting her, seeing her as nothing more than a mechanic. I helped Mia start an adventure to prove to Walter of what she's capable of. She managed fine on her own, save for the occasional help from me. After I rescued her from the Ganglion, she dissected the ways of the Definians and gave Walter the information. Impressed, he finally allowed Mia to join BLADE. She said that she now dreams of being on the same team as me. I asked Elma if Mia can join, and Elma said yes. Mia became associated with the Curators as a result of joining Team Elma.
Now, here's where my story begins. I was just walking by when this Mediator named Justin approached me. "Oh. Hi, Justin." I greeted him.
"Uh... I'm sorry, but... how do you know me?" Justin asked in a confused tone.
"Justin? Why ask such a silly question? It's me! Cross!" I said.
"Huh. ...I'll admit, you do look like Cross, but..." Justin nervously said. "But?" I asked.
"Well... ...Yeah." Justin nervously said. "Yeah?" I asked.
"Never mind. Maybe you should look at yourself in the mirror." Justin explained.
"The mirror? Is there a bit of dirt on my face?" I asked. Justin only replied by shaking his head. "Huh." I said.
As I was walking to the Administrative District, I was confused by his behavior. "What was Justin's behavior all about? Why did he not recognize me?" I thought to myself as I was walking along. I then decided to shrug it off and keep going. Eventually, I arrived at the Hangar, where BLADE troops and mechanics work together, both on ground gear and on Skells. As I was walking, I was hearing murmurs of something about a mystery girl that looks like the Blue Reclaimer, herself, but was bald.
...Yeah, I am also known as "The Blue Reclaimer", due to my curious blue skin. And my dedication to working as a Reclaimer, myself. Anyways, I was exceedingly confused by the commotion, wondering what they were even muttering about. After all, there is no way I can even be bald. I have yellow hair with hints of green. I even have a lock of hair that sticks up. That's one way to make my already distinct appearance even more recognizable.
"What is their commotion about? Someone who looks like me, yet is bald? This is... confusing, so to say." I thought as I was approaching the lift, which Americans call an elevator. I used it to go to the upper levels of the Administrative District, and eventually approach the BLADE Barracks. Along the way, I noticed Gwin, an Interceptor who works for Team Irina, was looking at me with a confused look.
"Excuse me, Gwin? Why do you look confused?" I asked.
"Err... Who are you? And why do you... mostly... resemble Cross?" Gwin nervously asked.
"Weird. This is just like Justin's behavior." I thought before I directly said "I AM Cross, Gwin. Honestly, why are people thinking I am some sort of doppelganger?" I asked.
"Uhh... Take a look in the mirror and find out." Gwin suggested.
"...I suppose. If Elma, Lin, and Mia behave this way, I will look." I complied.
I was becoming more and more confused as I wondered why people failed to actually recognize me. After all, I have blue skin, I have an even more enigmatic "02" tattoo, I have yellow eyes, as well as the aforementioned hair. Which of the others is missing? I looked and discovered that, as always, I still have blue skin. So... what could possibly be missing?
I decided to find out once I spoke to Elma, Lin, and Mia. "Elma? Lin? Mia?" I asked.
"Mia's back at the Ma-non Ship, Cr- Umm... excuse me, but... who might you be?" Lin asked.
"Yeah. I'm surprised you entered BLADE Barracks, even though this is the first time I've seen y-" Elma said before I interrupted her.
"Not you guys, too!" I grumbled. "It's me! Cross!"
"C-Cross? Is that... actually you?" Lin asked.
"Well, yeah! What, who else could have blue skin, yellow eyes, yellow hair with hints of green, a "02" tattoo, or a British accent?" I asked.
"Um... yeah. One of those things is missing, Cross." Elma nervously said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Err... You might want to look in the mirror, Cross." Lin nervously said.
"Yes... Tatsu agree with Linly, friend." Tatsu agreed.
I sighed before saying "Might as well." I, then, walked to the bathroom mirror, wondering why people were failing to recognize me, wondering which part of my appearance is missing. Obviously not my blue skin. But when I looked, that's when I realized the commotions from earlier suddenly made sense. ...I was bald the whole time! That was why people were having trouble recognizing me!
"Aah!" I yelped as I reacted from the sight of me being bald. As I blinked, I suddenly found myself on my bed, startled. I discovered it was a dream, but it just felt so darn real. Concerned, I decided to grab a mirror on my bed desk to see if I was bald for real. But when I looked in the mirror, I was relieved when I realised I still had my hair the whole time. "Whew... Glad that wasn't real. Still... why was I bald in the dream?" I asked after sighing relief.
Then, I looked at the clock to see what time it was, and discovered that it was 5:46 A.M., which was early morning. I figured, might as well get up, hit the shower, eat breakfast, then seek guidance about this bizarre dream. When I hit the shower, I decided to use Ma-non Oil Shampoo, which became Mia's favorite shampoo. Once I was done from the shower, I decided to grab my bath towel. But I discovered, much to my dismay, that Lin had placed her bath towel on top of mine... again. "One of these days, I'm going to have to ask Lin about this." I said as I shook my head.
Once I got changed, I had some breakfast. A bowl of cereal, with a side of fruit salad. I also had some tea to drink. I can't remember what flavor it was, but it was soothing. Once I was done, I put my dishes in the sink. It was a habit I made sure to pick up once I became part of BLADE. Otherwise, Lin would've scolded the heck out of me for not putting my dishes in the sink if I did just that. She did scold Tatsu a couple times over this.
Anyways, the person I decided to seek consolation from regarding this dream... is a bald man, named Bozé Lowes, who happens to be a Harrier. He was once a xenophobe, but I had to give him some tough love, to the point where I demanded he help an injured Ma-non named Jejebba, or else, we are not rescuing his student, Reggie. Bozé ended up helping Jejebba very reluctantly.
But that time had a positive effect later. A transmitting device that Jejebba gave us ended up saving us from a Definian ambush. Bozé had come to admit his xenophobia was making his Buddhist beliefs and ways deteriorate. But when he heard from Reggie that Jejebba was concerned, Bozé admits that he found his satori as a result. According to Bozé, "satori" means "enlightenment".
Anyways, he was in his usual spot, on the very southwest corner of the Commercial District, alongside Reggie and Jejebba. "Um, excuse me? Bozé sensei? Good morning." I asked.
"Ah, tis a fine morning, indeed, Cross. So, what can I help you with?" Bozé asked.
"Um... well... I had this odd dream last night. And it's something that I think you could answer." I replied.
"I see. Tell me about this dream that you had last night." Bozé requested.
"Very well. In the dream, people were having trouble recognizing me. When I looked in the mirror, I realized that it was because I was bald the whole time... without somehow noticing it. I woke up shortly after I noticed it." I said.
"Oh, really?" Bozé said while trying not to chuckle.
"Yep. To think nobody recognized me... due to me being bald without knowing it." I said.
"Well, Cross, if you ever need to meet my stylist, I can book an appointment." Bozé said while smirking.
"...Might as well do it." I thought as I looked annoyed. After getting into a pose, I did something that caught Bozé completely off guard. "...KATSU!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Bozé was, indeed, startled. And it wasn't just him. Reggie and Jejebba were startled, too. To the point where the two are holding onto each other like a hug, while looking shocked at my action.
"Did... Did you just "katsu" me? Me?!" Bozé asked while still reeling in shock at my actions.
"Yes, Bozé. That joke wasn't even funny." I said with a very annoyed expression.
"In that case, forgive me for offending you. That was not my intention." Bozé apologized.
"Apology accepted, if you promise not to joke about the idea of me being bald again." I said.
"In any case, have you had that kind of dream before?" Bozé asked.
"No. It was only my first time." I replied.
"I see. Well, think of it as nothing more than a minor dream. One that'll likely never happen again." Bozé suggested.
"Sure. I think I can handle that. Thanks, Bozé. See you next mission." I thanked Bozé for his words of wisdom.
"See you, then." Bozé replied.
As I was walking away... "It looks like you're not the only one who makes a loud "katsu", Sensei." Reggie said.
"Yeah. But you must admit, the idea of Cross being bald would sound funny." Bozé jokingly remarked.
But then... "KATSU!" I yelled, even though I was a fair distance away from him. The trio were startled again.
"I, uh... think she heard you." Jejebba said.
"...Yes. That she did." Bozé said with a look of shock on his face.
"When I go see my sister, Wikaye, remind me to warn her to not joke about the idea of Cross being... you know, bald." Jejebba nervously said. Bozé and Reggie nodded at the same time.
"Looks like I'll have to take back accepting Bozé's apology..." I said as I walked away. This is where my bizarre story ends.