Blanc was tempted to question reality. No, that wasn't the right way to describe it. Lady White Heart, the CPU of Lowee, was all accepting of the fact that she had stepped into a alternate universe of some, any, sort. It was the best explanation, nay, the only explanation for the positively outrageous situation before her widened azure eyes. Her shaking palm covered her open mouth, her breathing taking a rather erratic turn as her whole body trembled at the sight.
"Lady Blanc?" A dull, borderline monotone voice questioned the Goddess, though she was miles away. "Are you quite alright? You look positively shaken..."
Before the Goddess was Lastation's resident Oracle, Kei Jinguji. Under usual, normal circumstances, they would have barely acknowledged each others existences aside from the barely casual mundane greetings they provided each other. If anything, they wouldn't have spoken to each other at all. Blanc had her own reasons for being here, and Kei would have acknowledged that well enough to leave her business to herself.
However, what should have been a relatively normal day had been horribly skewered by the chaotic force known as fate. As it would have it, all of her plans for this day were pretty much thrown out the window as soon as the Oracle entered her field of vision.
Blanc wondered if she was even looking at the same person anymore. Gone were her trademarked black jacket, and even her blue tie. In it's place, a white-buttoned down shirt covered her chest. It looked loose on her, it's collar slightly askew and the top button no longer serving it's purpose, exposing her collarbone. Her passably sized chest had gained a little more prominence with the lack of layers, and it would be incredibly rude of the CPU to assume Kei wasn't wearing a bra (even though the majority of females in Gamindustri never wore any, even the Goddesses themselves.) Her black shorts had stayed intact, though her obsidian shoes had been sacrificed as well. Their replacement consisted of simple white sneakers, her knee high socks forsaken for a matching white pair that only reached her ankles.
It gave the supposedly business savvy Oracle a very relaxed appearance. For someone that Noire had held on such high esteem for her work ethics alone, Kei may as well have just gotten out of bed with her current attire.
However... again, her appearance wasn't what Blanc was currently focusing on, though it did help paint a very new image in her mind that the Loween CPU never thought she needed to change in the first place. Instead of being baffled by her 'pajama girl' look alone, something a little more permanent had caught her eye. It was the very reason for her arguably overzealous reaction.
Normally, the populous of Gamindustri, both genders included, never bothered to pay attention to a woman's face. Blanc, however, was a special exception in this case. Kei's head, more accurately her hair... while it hadn't been replaced, it had instead grown longer. Her normally short silver hair was now cascading down to her back. It was so... nice-looking, to put it lightly. Very smooth, and certainly very flowing, it complemented her surprisingly well. In many ways, it looked very natural on Kei, her entire appearance as a whole emphasizing her girlish side very well.
And that was what threw Blanc off the most in this regard. Kei was known for her boyish appearance, many citizens confusing her for one on a scarily frequent basis. Seeing this new look on her... while Blanc could understand why, she couldn't understand why. It troubled her a great deal, much more than she would have cared to admit.
"Did you hear me, Lady Blanc?" The Oracle spoke again, and this time it registered. Blanc was snapped out of her dream-like stupor and locked eyes with the similarly built woman. Her artic eyes were mostly confused, somewhat concerned and only barely annoyed.
"U-Uh..." Her new look still had quite the effect on the CPU. So much so that she couldn't find it within her soul to form a comprehensible word. A blush tainted her cheeks when she realized this, placing her hands atop her head and pulling her beloved hat down to eye level. She couldn't speak if she continued to look at the transformed Kei. It was impossible. "E-Er... Ahem! I, uh... sorry."
"... It's alright." She could hear the perplexity in her voice, reddening her face even more. "I was slightly concerned about you, however. You appeared sick, dare I say nauseous. Are you feeling well?"
"I-I'm fine..." The fact that she had to hide herself and her dammed stutter certainly didn't help her case here. "I-I was just surprised... Y-Yeah..."
"By...?"
"W-Well, that should be obvious, right?"
"I don't follow."
"Do I have to spell it out?" She grumbled, silently hoping her trusted hat covered her blush well enough. "Your appearance. It.. t-took quite a change since the last time I've been here."
"Ah, yes." Blanc could hear a smile in her voice. "You are not the first to notice, and perhaps not the last. I sincerely apologize for my very shoddy appearance, and while I do not favor making excuses, Noire's recent work load has been... absured, to say the least in this regard. I've hardly had the time to take care of myself, opting to aid Noire in her needs, you see."
Under her cap, Blanc winced. She sure as hell would never be able to tackle the amount of paper Noire goes through daily. Freaking workaholic...
"S-Speaking of, is she around?" Blanc asked from the seclusion of her cap. "She invited me over yesterday, but I couldn't make it. Didn't bother to tell me what it was about, though."
"I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine." Kei responded. "I was never one to pry on the CPUs personal matters and relationships, and she left for Leanbox only an hour ago."
"Of course she did..." Blanc grumbled, now annoyed at having her time wasted.
"Uni and I have been handling her work during this trip. It is not anything that can't be done today, but as I've stated before, it has become a never ending cycle for quite a while now. As such, I look like this."
"... I see." Blanc mumbled, nodding once.
"Worry not, however." She went on. "Once all is said and accounted for, I shall return to my normal attire and cut my hai-"
"NO!" A sudden outburst grinded the Oracles words to a halt. Blanc was on the verge of a screech there, her hat flying off her head in her eruption, her flushed face given clear view to Kei. Understandbly, she raised a silver eyebrow towards the reaction, clearly not expecting it from the likes of someone she barely knew.
"Is... there an issue, Lady Blanc?" She asked, while a pixie-haired brunette tomato had taken the place of the Loween CPU. "You seem to be acting very erratic today."
"E-Er..." Dammit girl, get your shit together! It's just long, luxurious silver hair that manages to make this plain girl look very very attractive! Get over it!
Oh, if only it were that simple, she was looking the girl dead in the eyes. She very clearly wanted an answer, and Blanc was having a very difficult time providing one for her. "W-Well... eh... I-I..."
The Oracle crossed her arms, a light tapping sound being heard as specks of impatience started taking over. "What is it?"
"I-I... think your... U-Uh, your hair... s-should... s-stay l-long..." She just barely got that sentence out as a whisper, and she prayed with all her might that the Oracle hadn't picked that u-.
"Keep it long, you say?" Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap- "If I may ask, why do you feel I should?"
"..." Blanc bit her lip, the heat radiating off of her face enough to provide heat for Basilicom she was in for a week. She was witness to a look of utter incredulity being hauled in her direction, icicle orbs blinking as she brushed her long magnificent hair behind her ear. Blanc gulped.
'Tch, why am I getting so bent up over a haircut...?' She attempted to reason with herself mentally now, while Kei's look questioned her sanity. 'It's her hair, if she wants to cut it, then that's that. Right?'
"..."
'Right...?'
"..."
'Oh goddammit...'
It was a wasted effort, really. No matter what she told herself, Blanc simply did not want Kei to cut her hair. The fact the Oracle wished to in the first place baffled the Goddess to the highest degree. Had she not realized it's magnificence? It's awe-inspiring splendor? The majesty and dazzling elegance it gave off? Blanc was sure she would drop to her knees simply from touching it! It may have not meant anything to it's wearer, but this situation was particularly about her to begin with. It was about Lowee's CPU and her rapidly growing need to preserve it's beauty. She felt she needed to.
As such...
"IT'S AMAZING!"
... She said that.
"..."
'Dear Celestia, someone run me over with a truck...'
Both girls stood in silence for far longer than Blanc cared for it to be. The CPU very much wanted to die right there, it was the only feasible way to rid of the ungodly amount of shame and embarrassment she caused not only for herself, but most likely for Kei as well. The Lastationite, while normally calm and composed, looked outright baffled and at a loss for words. Blanc couldn't blame her in the least, and she would not stop her if Kei decided to punch her for being an idiot.
"I... uh, pardon?" If Blanc wasn't mistaken, she could make out a tinge of a blush on the Oracle's cheeks there. How odd. "Could you... um, please repeat that. I may not have heard that correctly."
'Well, I've already dug my own grave...' thought Blanc sourly. 'May as well plant the headstone while I'm at it.'
"... Okay, here's the thing..." Blanc began. "I might be a CPU, but even I can't tell you what to do with your, uh, body..." Another strange look, another blush. "Look! What I'm trying to say here is... well, y-you shouldn't cut your hair, Kei..." Her voice went back to a mumble, but this time she knew Kei heard her.
"And I will ask again: Why is it that you feel as such?"
"Because... w-well..." 'Just get it out, girl. You're already engraving your headstone.' "I think it suits you... very well."
To that, Kei raised both of her eyebrows. Not good. "It... suits me? I believe I don't understand what you mean by that."
'Is she seriously that oblivious?' thought Blanc in disbelief. Anyone who was lucky enough to see Kei like this would instantly realize the girlish charm she emitted. Of course, the Oracle was so used to being mistaken for a male, that it was likely she hadn't even realized it's effect yet.
But wouldn't she have known sooner if others had seen it? Perhaps that statement only extended to Noire, Uni and K-Sha. Lastation's Basilicom never received many visitors aside from the other CPUs. It was also very likely she hadn't taken their word for it if they had spoken about it as well. From what little she knew about Kei, it was that she wasn't very responsive to compliments. Work was the only thing that mattered to her, which was dull enough for Blanc to think about.
'Lastation is dull in general... Anyway!' Getting back to her earlier point, Blanc cleared her throat. "Well, let's just be simple here. Um, your hair... well, it really brings prominence to your... girlish side. Your outfit, as well. V-Very breezy."
"... Hm." Kei appeared to take that into account, easing Blanc's tensions just enough to consider that she might crawl out of her self-imposed grave. "My girlish side, you say?"
"Y-Yeah, and I know you've had trouble with people confusing your gender..."
"Indeed, I have. How interesting..." Conveniently, a full-body mirror happened to be right next to the Oracle. She turned around to examine herself, stroking her chin as her lip pursed. "Hm, I had never stopped to look at myself. However, you have a valid point..." She took a hold of her long hair, brushing it lightly with her free hand. "I do look remarkably feminine, more so than I've ever looked my entire life. How quaint."
"... Yup." Blanc calmed down a considerable amount, with the Oracle seeming to take her words into account there. Gradually, she took steps towards her. "I-I mean, you don't have to listen to me..." Wait, why'd she say that!? Abort, Blanc! Abort! "But, I think you should keep the hair. T-The outfit, too..."
'Totally saved it...'
"I will admit, it has become quite the nuisance having to correct visitors over the years..." She released her silver hair, while Blanc approached from behind her. "I suppose I shouldn't have taken Noire's compliments for granted, as well as Uni's. If you feel I should keep it this way, then I shall."
"Well, that's good..." Blanc smiled, stopping her tracks only inches behind the Oracle. Kei was only centimeters taller than her, they may as well have been the same height regardless, but remarkably paler and only marginally bustier.
'Wait, why does my opinion matter to her...?' She suddenly wondered. She replayed the words in her head. She took Noire and Uni's comments, two people she considered family, to a grain of sand, but valued her words enough to keep the long hair? Someone she barely knew?
Huh?
'That doesn't make sense...'
"I have never been very concerned with my feminine side, regardless." Kei interrupted her thoughts. "Perhaps you should consider letting your hair grow as well, Lady Blanc. It may suit you as well as I."
Blanc finger combed her short, inferior brown hair. Frowning, she considered Kei's words. "I'll think about it."
"Also, while I have pried enough on your personal matters, I must inquire why you are brushing my hair, Lady Blanc."
"What are you- Oh."
Blanc hadn't even noticed it. Her left hand, at some point, had gained a mind of it's own and decided to stroke Kei's flawlessly soft and smooth hair. It felt so much better than she had imagined, so much so that Blanc seriously didn't want to move her hands away from it.
However, her shock and surprise from performing such an action made her yank her hand away. The color red found itself back on Blanc's cheeks, her words coming out panicked and stuttered. "A-Ah, I'm s-s-so sorry! I-I-"
"I never said you needed to stop, Lady Blanc."
"... What."
Thoroughly and utterly confused, an added sense of embarrassment was felt when the Oracle, for some damn reason, turned her head and smiled directly at her. It wasn't a half smile, or even a teasing one, it was sincere. Not only that, but Kei had made the notion to turn around completely and grab the CPUs hands. She moved them up to the sides of her head, her palms coming in contact with her smooth hair once more.
Just what the heck is going on!?
Blanc had no idea how to properly respond to Kei's action. As simple as they looked, Lady White Heart knew the Oracle enough to know that she rarely smiled, much less display... whatever the hell this was so openly like this. It was confusing the poor CPU a great deal, like she had openly accepted the aforementioned alternate reality.
It wasn't helping anything that Blanc couldn't deny she was enjoying the feeling. Kei must have taken outstanding care of her hair for it to reach this level of softness and perfection. It wasn't just her hair, however. Her finger tips gently grazed the crane of the Oracles neck, almost doll like and incredibly smooth to the touch.
That description was accurate, now that she thought about. She was like a doll made of porcelain.
And that terrified her.
With the way she looked at her with those icy eyes, the very nice feeling of both her hair and her skin gracing her hands, and the way Kei held Blanc's wrists with her own hands, the CPU wondered if this was just about her hair anymore.
"Go on, Lady Blanc. I won't stop you."
"...!" In a flurry of rapid movements, Blanc forcibly retracted her hands away from Kei and jumped back several feet. Her face flushed and her heart racing, Blanc bowed unnecessarily and spoke in such a speed that she honestly didn't even care if it could be comprehended.
"IgottagotellNoireIllcallherwhenshegetsbackitwasnicemeetingyoubye!" And just like that, the CPU ran out the Basilicom faster than a speedy hedgehog covered in blue paint. Only dust remained where she once stood... and the Blanc-shaped hole in the door. How lovely.
"... She left her hat behind."
The smiling Oracle who may have been known as Kei bent down to retrieved the CPUs treasured cap. Her long hair somewhat obscured her vision, though it was dispelled easily enough as she stood back up. She held the white hat in her hands, almost hugging it in a sense. She wore it so often, it was rare for it to belong in anyone's grasp besides her own.
"She left so quickly, it's no surprise she neglected it." Kei walked out of the Basilicom's Main Entrance, opting to return to her room with her new possession. "She will return for it soon enough, and I will be waiting for her."
In the back of her mind, the Oracle knew her somewhat subtle advances may have come off a bit too obvious back there. Blanc looked so flustered and panicked, it was as if she had gotten on her knees and proposed right there.
"I'd have to calculate my next strategy for her return, but it worked nonetheless." Quietly, she entered her room and shut the door behind her, a potent blush on her cheeks as she held the hat close to her chest. "It may serve as a distraction sometimes, but I will ensure to keep this long hair intact... for her."
Needless to say, Noire had more than a few questions when she returned home later that day. And while Kei had answered most of them easily enough, when the subject of why Blanc's prized hat was placed atop her head, Kei happily reminded her of the D-Pad Hairclips the Lastation CPU kept in her drawers to end the conversation on a swift, effective note.
End.