Request

By The Chichi Slaughter House

Warnings: Spoilers for up to episode 12 of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, first attempt at the series, NiaxYoko shoujo ai and hints of NiaxSimon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and I never will.

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Her hands were gentle as they cut my hair. Not like her words, which earlier had been harsh and cold toward me. I knew I had touched on her nerves when I was talking to Simon about Kamina, but I had to have said something. Anything to get Simon back to himself and away from the shadow of the one he called his brother. I had never met Kamina, so there was no way I was going to allow him to compare himself to that man for the rest of his life; not when I thought he was wonderful already. As far as I was concerned, no man could be better than Simon, not even my father. Though I knew by now what I really was to him, the image I had clung to of him was nothing when I looked at the boy who had saved me from that ravine and eternal slumber.

He had rescued me, but then again, so had she.

My hair had been destroyed by her gunshots, and as I had stared across to her, I had just believed in her and closed my eyes. If she was going to kill me, then so be it. At least I would have died meeting more of my kind; and what lovely people they had been. Yet, though she had shown jealousy toward me and didn't like what I had said, she didn't kill me. She just used me to distract the enemy from where she was really aiming, and had helped to save us all.

That's why I had passed her the scissors cheerily and put myself into her care. I had loved my hair more than anything else about myself, but I was not angry. What had been done could not be erased, and it would be better to have my hair tidied up than looking like scraps.

As she cut, I could see the amount of hair on the ground growing larger and larger. I had no idea how long or short it was going to be; had not specified anything so that she would not feel bad if she messed up. Yoko-san had continually said that she didn't know how good it was going to be, but that had just made me smile. I trusted her, and that was all I needed in order to let her do it.

Every now and then her fingers would stroke my hair to the side or brush over the skin of my neck or ears. I wanted to giggle because it was ticklish, but I held it back as I didn't want her to think I was laughing at her. Oddly, sitting there staring out at the landscape with her was fun. I'd never done something like this before and found it enjoyable; I'd always been playing with the various dolls my father had provided me with. Sitting and being still had usually been incredibly boring and a punishment. But this felt like a reward.

I closed my eyes again as she made a few more snips here and there, sounding worried but I didn't feel nervous at all. I'm sure whatever she had done with my hair would look great. The thing they called the sun was to our right; blessing us with its many rays of warmth and providing us with light. Yoko-san then asked me about the earlier battle, and I told her the truth, which she said seemed stupid, before saying she actually meant herself. Obviously she was talking about her earlier coldness toward me, so I said nothing, content to wait.

A moment later, and my hair was done, Yoko-san bringing a mirror around to show me my new hair. It was short and cute; I found it rather refreshing in a way I couldn't explain, which I expressed joyfully. I felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. She told me it looked good, and I turned to her, happier than I had been in a long time, both of us smiling happily. I sensed then just how good a person Yoko-san was and got up from my chair, flinging my arms around her neck tightly. Berating me for my actions, she dropped the scissors onto the floor and wrapped her arms around my back for a few moments, returning my embrace. I could not help but feel the soft press of her breasts against my chest before she let me go, and I found myself a little envious.

Whilst she had been jealous of me, there were things about Yoko-san that I was jealous of too. She was a strong, capable person with many talents and a great body, and in comparison, I was a mere child who could do nothing. I wasn't even a princess anymore; just a castaway from a father who had hated me for thinking on my own.

Saying my thanks again, I rushed off to find Simon. After Yoko-san had saved me and everyone, I knew I could not just sit around doing nothing like I had done from the start.