RaKoLa

Chapter 3: Aspect; Hairdo

"Hold still."

"Okay."

As a woman, Kokonoe did indeed take pride in her appearance. Although she didn't concern herself with it all that much; being a hybrid with a quality set of genes meant she didn't crack easily, and wouldn't for many more years to come.

Aside from genetics there wasn't much the pink-haired cat-girl bothered with in regards to her own looks. She wasn't a girly girl, but she was a woman who liked to flaunt nonetheless.

She liked to flaunt her twin pink extremities; an expression of pride in her racial background despite the gripe she had with her father. She also liked to flaunt her signature black thong; a nice aesthetic that was comfortable, sophisticated, and brought a share of sex appeal that conformed with her feline curves. Then there was her modified white Kaka coat that showed off her midriff – she may not be opulent as her buxom acquaintances (a personal lacking feature the scientist still soured over, predominately in regards to her chest) but she was slim and well-toned, hence why she willingly flashed her flat abs. And despite her small frame the cat-girl packed a mean punch; lethal when backed by her spiked knuckle duster. Plus her strength wasn't anything to scoff at either (her armaments weren't lightweight ya know).

Other than physique and attire, Kokonoe never put much emphasis on her hair.

Sure, it was long and pink; the natural colour conveying both feminine and sweet qualities in the woman that only came through when she wasn't acting like a severe and bossy cynical bitch. However there wasn't anything more to it than the initial display. Her trademark ponytail with two triangular tufts of hair to overshadow her own cat ears since they were noticeably small.

Her knowledge of hairstyles was rather limited. There'd only ever been one other style she adopted and that was a long time ago. What she'd been using regularly was a conventional style the scientist couldn't be arsed to change. Kokonoe was far to immersed in 'important things' to worry about putting her hair through a catalogue of troublesome styles lacking in any sort of long-term practicality.

At least... that's what she was certain of.

But, yes, 'important things'. Such as developing new tech and upgrading armaments and tasting delicious treats; new and old... and getting 100% completion on every video game she owned and planned to buy... and watching anime, and reading manga.

The refashion of her hair however? No, neither at the forefront or on her mind in general.

That had soon changed though.

When Lambda came home and politely asked Kokonoe if could try out different hairstyles with her, priorities began to shift.

At first the hybrid, lightly, dismissed the blonde's kindly asked request with the excuse that she was busy; meaning she was lounging in the living room as she ate snacks and watched an animated cyberpunk film. She figured Lambda would've taken the hint and went on her way – because she knew the cat-girl didn't like to be disturbed when engaged in 'important things'. But the blonde didn't go about her way. She was very adamant and Kokonoe didn't know why. The blonde was like her; never fussed over the style of her hair.

So why the sudden interest all of sudden? She wondered.

Assuredly, Kokonoe wasn't the type to break under pressure. With the Lambda however, the scientist didn't fare so well, anymore; learning just how weak she was when it concerned the girl.

Whether it was her purity, her adorableness, or her gentle soul, Lambda had this charm about her. One that the scientist registered as magnetic; harbouring an attraction the force of her Graviton couldn't compare to.

"But, Master?"

The way in which Lambda had spoken the title had her back tingling; ticklish sensations running down and through her tails inciting a twitch. It wasn't much, but Kokonoe learned in due time that being called 'Master' in that tone was a precursor to the jackhammer that broke through her defences with ground-breaking ease.

When the blonde silently moved and showed up in the cat-girl's direct line of sight, unexpected, a one-sided battle of attrition ensued. One inevitably in the blonde's favour.

The girl's a damn charmer and she doesn't even know it.

Big round eyes. Bright; filled with wonderment and curiosity, and red with a brilliant scarlet shade. When feline slits locked with those dazzling orbs, Kokonoe instantly felt her resolve being chipped away until she was at the girl's mercy. A pair of of spellbinding red circles made the pink-haired scientist a sucker for the cute and credulous bio-weapon.

"You like this one, yeah?" She asked the blonde whose deadpan look denoted a measure of enthusiasm.

Lambda was kneeling in front of the scientist holding a handheld mirror while looking at her own reflection. She in fact did "like this one". Her long hair had been unwound from it usual braid and tied into pigtails.

Unable to see it, but Kokonoe knew full well that the Lambda was smiling, and the girl's avid approval of the hairstyle was validated further by the rosy pink blush on her cheeks.

Nodding, "Do you like them too, Master?"

Kokonoe had allowed (thanks to a loss of resistance) Lambda to put her own hair in the same style beforehand. Her two pink tufts left untouched so as to make a distinction.

"Uh, yeah... sure." It was a simplistic and childlike hairdo. Aside from reminding her of another red-eyed blonde who ticked her off on occasion, there wasn't anything more to add.

Then again... out of the two, Kokonoe preferred to see the style on Lambda instead of the haughty bloodsucker. Lambda + Pigtails = Ka-Ka-Ka-Ka-Kawaii!

No way she'd say that aloud. She'd choose to be indifferent than to gush over how increasingly cute Lambda looked with the different style.

"May we try some alternative styles, please?" Once again, red spellbinding circles – reflecting hopefulness and fervour – stared into amber eyes with narrowed pupils.

"... Yeah," sighing in defeat with a shrug, "why not."

If spending a portion of her free time doing what the benign girl wanted to do for a change would make her happy, then who was she to say no, especially to that face. Azure knows how much the blonde had done and continued to do for her.

Diligent, sincere, and while a bit dependent still, Lambda went out of her way to care for and watch over the pink-haired hybrid whenever she overworked herself and failed to take her own well-being into account (simple things like draping a blanket over her when was she passed out over her desk went a long way). The blonde did a lot for the cat-girl without asking for anything in return, so what would it hurt to indulge her red-eyed... friend... .

Yeah... I suppose we are. Kokonoe mused, "Whaddya wanna try next?" She waited as the girl flipped through the pages of a fashion magazine; red eyes analytical as her mind logged the styles that caught her eye.

She stopped, "May we try this one next, please?"

Pink eyebrows coupled with a white tomoe-shaped fur each rose inquisitively.

The page showed an attractive woman whose hair was braided on one side – giving the illusion of a shave – whereas the rest of her hair was adapted in a sleek yet wild Mohawk.

... Cool. She hadn't expected that. Then again, there wasn't a lot to expect from a girl whose new fancy was still in development, "Yeah. We can do this one." Lambda readily crawled over to her side and got to work.

"Koko-chan," addressing the scientist by a nickname she agreed only to use when at home (damn whoever heard and started calling by it).

"Hm?" Eyes resuming their focus on the TV, Kokonoe didn't notice her friend's soft smile.

"Thank you."

"..." She wasn't used to mushy-gushy stuff; felt awkward.

But, she supposed that a quick mushy-gushy pat on the side of the Lambda's head would suffice. Just this once.

"Nn," and a complimentary grunt to go along with it.

Kokonoe never put much emphasis on her. However, this... was proving to be, kinda fun.

"... Mind if I choose the next one?" She asked, uncaringly. Though that was just a ruse.

"Not at all." Lambda responded, a slight evident trace of excitement in her voice.

The side of the cat-girl's mouth quirked a little bit.

Maybe she'd change her hair more often.

Mugen7: Since I wrote this one on the fly (then redrafted it afterwards) I decided to post this as the next chapter in place of the one I originally had planned to post (kept getting pushed back more 'n more due to other matters).

New characters announced for CTB; cool - It shouldn't anymore, but I'm still somewhat surprised the whole of the original Calamity Trigger line-up wasn't brought forth. It's obvious people are stilled griping on a lack of a Masked Bitch (A "blasphemy" as some might say, and it seems he won't be added to the roster, but don't take my word for it). Plus, as cool of a cat Jubei is... heh, it's funny to me that Tao's taken a back seat to him – girl should've been out time ago in my opinion (already a Tao player ready to fume if she ain't official, ha!).

S'all for now. L8r.