ANNOUNCEMENT
Hello everyone! I'm Peachounette78.
So, as you can see, this one-shot is an entry for Sylph writer's contest. And I thought I'll never be able to publish it because of the recent upload issues (argh I nearly punched my laptop yesterday when I tried to upload my story) but well I'm glad it's fixed now.
Ah, before I forget, please don't be blame me if you see grammatical and vocabular mistakes, as English isn't my native language. Also it's the first story I publish on this site.
And of course, Tales of Vesperia is Namco's property, Letha is Sylph Writer's property.
I think that's all. Now enjoy!
Welcome to Letha's hair salon
And there it is, another camping night for the group. Everybody was beaten up after a day of walking, running, fighting (also back in the Quoi Woods searching for Letha, as she had immediately rushed for hiding after seeing a giant centipede)...
And as it wasn't enough already, tonight was Rita's turn to prepare dinner... So the meal finished to knock them out. Everybody regained silently their sleeping bag (yeah, in fact, no more tents, as Rita accidentely put a fire on it when they were fighting the centipede) and, a few minutes later... snores.
But, for some reasons, Letha couldn't sleep at all. She kept tossing and turning in her sleeping bag.
« Huh, I'm feeling Rita's food turning over and over in my stomach... Ooh great... Next time, I'll be sure to not let her cook... especially at the end of the day when I'm completely OUT... like tonight! »
She turned once again, now facing the dying campfire.
« One sheep... two sheeps... three sheeps... » She frowned. « Huh, no way, it's just getting on my nerves... Maybe I'll go for a walk... »
She was about to get up when she saw Yuri coming back from his patrol.
« Hey, it's already this late? Man... »
She suddenly gets the uneasy feeling he was staring at her and, she don't know why, she immediately closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
« Well, guess he wants to regain his sleeping bag immediately, better not try to piss him off. Whatever. I bet it's now Judith's turn... »
Footsteps coming from her left, and then Judith's voice following, confirmed her she was right.
« My turn then, right? »
« Bingo! Sometimes, I'm surprising myself.» Letha thought.
« Yeah, » the swordman replied. « It's actually quiet around, you shouldn't have troubles »
« Okay then, I'm off. »
Aaand... silence again, for a few more minutes.
« Yuri surely went for sleep now. I think I'll join Judith » Letha finally sat and threw a look around her.
« Huh? »
Actually, Yuri hadn't yet regained his sleeping bag. Still sitting in front of the campfire, he was...
« Hey wait, you've gotta be kidding me... He's sleeping like that? »
Sitting cross-legged, his right arm leaning on his knee and his hand helping him to support his head, yeah, he was sleeping. Letha stood up and walked toward him for a « better examination ».
« He even didn't make the effort to regain his sleeping bag... well, that's just him. »
As she walked around the campfire, she suddenly remembered something. She slowly turned to look at the sleeping swordman, while a devilish smile appeared on her face.
« Hey... no one is looking around... he's asleep... here is my chance! »
She quietly get back under the tree where she had settled her sleeping bag for the night, caught her bag to get the colorful ribbons she had bought at Heliord.
« Eh eh... I've planned to do that since we left Heliord... Here is my revenge, Yuri Lowell! »
She bought those ribbons just before they left Heliord, at the shop where she had worked for a short time. As she was laughing quietly and thinking about how she's going to put her plans into execution, she didn't heard the footsteps coming from behind.
« Hey Letha, can't sleep you too, right? »
The young woman shrieked and froze, nearly dropping the ribbons on the floor. Behind her, Karol leaped backward, surprised by her reaction.
« Hoaw! »
« Ah, it's you, Ace! Don't scare me like that! »
Panic took over her. Karol's scream was loud enough to wake up everyone. She looked around her, but fortunately, there were just some groans, and Rita can be seen tossing in her bed. As for Yuri... nothing changed. Letha heaved a sigh of relief.
« Wha... What is it, Letha? What are you doing with that? »
« Shh! » was Letha's answer, a finger on her lips. Then she has started searching into her bag again. « It would have been better if I had a comb... »
« A comb? I have one if you want, but... »
« Really? » Letha looked at Karol with sparkling eyes.
« Why do you want one? »
« Eh eh eh... you'll see it... » She smirked.
Karol shivered.
« I... I have a bad feeling about that... » He went back to his sleeping place, searched in his bag, then came back once again to Letha. « Here it is »
« Thanks, Ace! » Letha took the comb and examined it attentively. It was a lovely pink comb, with flower patterns. She frowned. « Huh, it's me or do I have the strange feeling this comb is related to Nan somehow? »
The young boy jumped.
« Of... of course not! » He mumbled. « I... er... someone gave it to me... and... »
Letha looked at him with suspicious eyes. « Yeeah, yeah. Well, it doesn't matter. Now I've got everything I needed! »
« Everything you needed? For what? »
« Hey, I told you, you'll see... but it's a secret between you and me, okay Ace? »
« Well... I'm not sure... »
Letha started to walk over Yuri and quietly kneeled behind him. Karol has joined her, not sure about she's going to do.
« So, » Letha whispered, « What will suit him the better? Hum... »
She delicately gathered all of Yuri's hair into her hands. « Okay, let's start with that ». As she began to brush his hair with the comb, Karol looked at her, astonished.
« You... you... »
« Wow, his hair are actually than I thought... soft as silk!». Then she made a plait. « Well, my hairdressing skills aren't so bad... I just know what I need to know to take care of my own hair »
« You're not serious, aren't you? »
Letha was too occupied by the plait that she didn't heard Karol's remark.
« There, finished! »
Yuri's hair was now tied into a long plait. Karol was looking both Yuri and Letha, mouth opened like a fish out of the sea. Letha was now looking at her work but didn't seemed satisfied.
« Huum... no, it's too common. Let's try something else. » She undid the plait.
« My, my, what are we doing there? »
Letha and Karol both looked up to see Judith walking toward them.
« Judith, what are you doing here? » the Ace asked.
« I shall return the question to you » the Krytian replied with a smiling face. Then she looked at Yuri's hair, still in Letha's hand. « Oh, a hairdressing session? Sounds interesting. »
« Well, this is just revenge. Revenge. Oh, maybe if I do that... » Using the comb, she managed to tie the hair into a bun. Well, the bun wasn't perfect as some hair was spilling there and there...
« Wow, he must be really tired » Judith whispered.
« Huh? » Letha said with a distracted tone.
« You know Yuri, he's always on his guards, even when sleeping. But there, he doesn't seem to notice that someone is playing with his hair. »
« You're right, that's weird. It's not like him. Hey, maybe he's doing that on purpose? »
The Krytian, moving like a cat, slowly approached him.
« Hum, he's sleeping soundly. There shouldn't be any problems. So, are you finished? »
« Wait, » Karol said, as Letha was finalizing the bun with some ribbons. « Judith, don't tell me you're with her? »
« Why not? It's funny, after all. And I believe Yuri will be very happy that we brushed his hair for him»
« Fu... funny? And what if he wakes up? I don't think he'll really appreciate it... »
« Tada! There it is! So, what do you think? »
Judith examined the bun.
« A little bit messy, don't you think? »
« Really? Karol, what do you think? »
« I... I think I'm going back to sleep » He mumbled. « I don't really want get involved into troubles if he wakes up... »
« Well then, good night Karol » the Krytian said.
« Yeah... good night, Judith, Letha... »
Letha waved joyfully her hand to Karol, who now had disappeared in the sleeping bag. Then she gets back to Yuri's hair.
« So, back to work! ... Huh, I didn't thought it will be so hard to comb his hair! »
Judith looked at her, amused.
« Why a hairdressing session just for him? » she asked.
« Because of what happened back in Heliord. When we were trying to seduce the guard. »
« Well, you've managed to make him wear the knight armor... »
« Yeah, but that wasn't enough. Actually, the idea came when I noticed those ribbons displayed at the shop where I worked. » Then she had a devilish smile. « He'll pay for that. I'll make sure he'll feel the same thing as I had, when I was seducing the guard... »
« Wow, you're really mean, aren't you? »
« Eh eh... »
Letha finally undid the bun, brushed once again the hair and gathered them into two bunshes.
« And this one? »
Judith laughed a little bit.
« Hey, not bad... »
After several attempts (Letha, helped by Judith, first tried the « school kid » plaits... She even thought about a rockstar hairstyle but unfortunately she didn't have gel), they finally opted for bunches. Letha finalized her work by adding ribbons there and there. She hardly kept herself from laughing as Yuri now really looked like a lolita princess, with his bunches and the ribbons.
« What a cute little princess » Judith confirmed.
« Ah, if only we had make-up and a lacy dress, it would have been perfect. Oui, parfait (1). »
Letha deeply breathed.
« Well then, mission complete. Wow, although it doesn't seem like it, all this had tired me out. Okay, going back to sleep now! »
« Well, I shall return to my patrol. Thank you Letha, I had great fun. »
« Oh, it's nothing. It was just revenge. » She yawned and regained her sleeping bag. « Good night! »
Before she closed her eyes, she could see Judith leaving the camp with a graceful smile.
Next morning, Letha woke up in a good mood. The first thing she did was to look for Yuri. And it didn't took much longer to find him...
« Yuri... what is that? » This was Estelle's voice.
« Huh? What do you mean? And... why are you looking at me like that? »
« Hum... your hair... »
« My hair are fine... »
Judith, who was just passing by, told him:
« You should watch yourself in the river's reflection. I'm sure you'll love it. »
Yuri looked at her, uncertain about what she was trying to tell him. Anyway, he did as she said, kneeling on the river bank next to the camp... and grimaced.
« Hey, what the hell is that? »
« What's the matter, boy? » Raven inquired, as he was folding his sleeping bag. When he looked back at Yuri, his eyes opened widely. « Ooh, I see... hey, if you were a girl, then I wouldn't mind... OUCH! »
« Shut up, you old pervert! »
« Oh, Rita darling! This is how you're greeting this old man in the morning? I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you jealous, ya know... »
« Stop talking nonsense! »
Yuri sighed.
« Whatever, who did that? »
Karol was hiding under his sleeping bag, pretending to be asleep. By examining Yuri once again, Letha suddenly bursted out of laugh, unable to keep herself much longer. Surprisingly enough, Judith joined her, though she was laughing more discreetly.
« So it was you two, right? » The swordman whispered. « Huh. »
« I have to admit it, you look more weird with that on your head » Rita commented.
« Thank you, Rita » Yuri said dryly.
Estelle was first staring at her companion, and finally snickered.
« I'm sorry, but... You look really funny »
« Oh great... »
Yuri quickly untied his hair and removed all the ribbons. Between two laughs, Letha could see that he was actually blushing a little bit.
« Yeah, mission successfully complete! »
Then she suddenly stopped.
« Now, I think I have to prepare myself as he certainly won't let it be like that... but oh well, his face right before was priceless! »
Phew! Finished!
I hope you liked it.
Actually, the idea of writing that one-shot came when I suddenly remembered a fan artwork, with Yuri sleeping and Estelle brushing his hair. Next to them was Rita, imagining Yuri with braids. Sorry but I can't remember who did it...