This is, as of for now, finished. I have a doctor appointment later today and I'm gonna' be busy with it most of the day, so for the moment being, I'll call this here and just state that another shot'll pop up with plausibly 'loose' ties to it at some point so that I can post this part without losing any 'oomph' on it. Maybe with the same title name for clarification, though it depends on my mood.

It was adorable and fun, and I want to expand on it.

Onward!

Watching her ribbons bob as she proceeds along ahead of me, I cock my head with wonder. Have I ever actually asked, or for that matter, has anyone asked, or is it just an unspoken mystery of the world? Like how we CPUs were like when we were first alive – were we born this size or did we grow up like little kids? No one asks, now do they? Or how people could ever listen to dubs after playing the games in subs, or why Lowee's CPU is the least child-friendly of all of us, or—you get the idea, right, me?

Yup, I do. It's just weird.

Scratching my cheek, I eye her head as it swivels to and fro, her attention shifting from place to place as we traverse around a newly discovered pretty little nature spot – discovered by Planeptune's scouts, might I add~. Her eyes sparkle a little and she seems completely immersed in her exploration – like a little kid, which makes me grin, though I won't call her out on it. Last time I'd ever see the Queen of Tsun ever let her guard down around me.

It's bothering me, though. I'm refraining the best I can, I'm giving her all she's got, Cap'n; if I push it any harder, the whole thing'll blow! No, no, we're tipping over the edge! Noooo!

"Hey, Noire…," I say slowly, unable to really help it. This question is plaguing me far too much to go unmentioned! Her head perks up at my voice, and she stops, pivoting on her heel to face me at once, her hands clasped behind her back as she beams softly.

I-will-protect-it-I-will-see-it-grow-up-healthy-I-want-to-tell-my-friends-and-neighbors-about-it-STRONGLY-AGREE-x-3.

"Mm? What's up, Neptune?" she inquires, and I frown for a moment, unsure how to best approach this question. How do I avoid making this sound… weird, I wonder? "Neptune?"

"I just, uh, wanted to ask," I start, struggling, "how, uh… or, maybe why…"

"…Hm?" Mild head-tilt, slight lean, eyes focused on me; she's way too excited about this trip. Gulp.

"Okay, uh, don't take this the wrong way… why d'ya' wear your hair up in ribbons all the time?" I finally decide to blurt it out, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. "I, um, don't recall anyone ever asking or ya' ever telling us, so, it occurred to me, and…"

Pause. Moment of silence, then… a giggle. Blink. I cock my head at her as she holds a hand to her mouth, giggling at me. Did I phrase it weird? I don't think I did. Deciding to ask, I open my mouth, but she answers first, "Sorry, sorry; you tried to be considerate over that kind of question of all things? It's just a little funny."

Pout. "I usually try to come off a little less silly when it's just you and me," I counter, and she nods while still chortling, shaking her head.

"I know, I know. I appreciate it, just… you had all of that pausing and a dilemma over asking me about my hair? It just really amused me," she answers calmly, pardoning herself a moment to turn her face away and recompose herself. After a few tiny coughs, she straightens her posture and focuses on me again, entwining her fingers in front of her while looking away in thought. "Hm… the ribbons? Let's see…"

Seizing the moment to soak in our surroundings and ensure there's no immediate danger nearby, I plop down in the grass and look up at her patiently, waiting. Truthfully, it's not as if there's a time-constraint; we decided to volunteer together to map out this region for all of the nations' benefits, and made it a two-girl adventure simultaneously. It's one of the few times we've hung out without our sisters or the other two in tow, so she shouldn't mind me taking a seat here—she just sat down, too.

"Honestly, I don't know if I've ever really thought hard about it, myself. At one point, I had shorter hair and didn't do too much with it. I didn't really like it as much, though, so I decided instead to grow it out, and the ribbons were added afterward to help keep it straight and get it out of my face so I could work, as well as help it air out a little as I wash it every morning. It's kind of a mash-up as to which was the foremost reason, I guess, but it's just stuck ever since," she explains, running her fingers through it. "It's gotten a lot silkier now, and it's stayed free and clean of tangles and damage, so I can't really complain, either."

Arching an eyebrow, I hum in wonder. "Does that actually help? Mine just becomes frizzy—well, frizzier if I let it go. And, it looks pretty silky, so you're right about that," I remark, gazing at one of her tails. They sparkle a whole lot more in the sun than most people's hair does, but if she's washing it as meticulously as she does everything else every day, then it makes sense.

She purses her lips while shifting her pupils onto me, a little flustered by my praise. "I-I'm not really sure; it's worked for me, so I don't really question it, much. Yours might be due to how short it is, honestly, or… maybe the climate in Planeptune's a bit more humid?"

I narrow my eyes in mild displeasure. "Well, that'd just suck, then! I mean, feel it – I take pretty good care of my hair, don't I?" I demand, hoisting myself up and against her – much to her bewilderment – before plopping down. "Give it to me straight, Doc; how's it feel?"

Random off-guard tsun noises. "I-I-I-I… d-don't just up and decide to get so close to me! It can be taken the wrong way!"

"We're the only ones here, y'know."

A pause filled with more stuttering tsun noises comes, but she eventually seems to find her calm as she quiets down, begrudgingly mumbling as she raises her hands up to delve into my hair.

And ooh, are her fingers gentle~! I shift in mild contentment as her hands comb through and rub my scalp and fluffy hair, her barely-audible breath slow and rhythmic. "That feels nice," I remark, and she sighs, opting to not respond. Deciding to take this time and amuse myself, I reach for and grab one of her tails and begin running my hands through it as well, and gasp. "Noire… Why is this so silky and straight?!"

Glancing at her, she averts her eyes whilst rolling them. "I-I told you; I don't really know. It just works out that way. And… who said you could touch my hair?"

I grin. "Ya' never said I couldn't?"

A grumble, but she doesn't seem to lose stride this time. "At least… as far as I can tell from feeling it, you need new shampoo, first things first. Whatever you're currently using doesn't seem to be providing it the support and nutrients it needs to maintain a fully healthy appearance. Second… maybe, just maybe, you could treat it better and have someone trim out these split ends and tackle some of these tangles?"

I lower an eyelid skeptically. "Explain that latter part; whatcha' trying to say, sister? I treat my hair pretty well!"

She purses her lips, staring at me in deadpan. "You also take naps outside, and pretty much lounge and play anywhere, now don't you?"

Freeze. "…How…"

"I'm pretty in-tune with you, Neptune," she explains matter-of-factly, smirking at her wordplay. "If nothing else, I… I suppose I could try and help you out with hair-care at some point. I'll also have to explore what brands of shampoo Planeptune has in stock; maybe Leanbox will especially help you, since they're an exceptionally tropical nation."

Raising an eyebrow, "Why not Lastation? I thought ya' loved to push your nation as the best?"

She grimaces. "It's a true statement, but it feels unpleasant when you say it like that," she mumbles, but continues before I can say anything. "R-regardless, Lastation doesn't really suffer from humidity as much as industrial pollutions and the like; our climate's stable and on the cooler and dryer side. We're more in line with Lowee than Leanbox, and I've never really conducted research into Planeptune's climate, so I'm not sure. If you're different from our nation in climate, Leanbox is your best bet."

I whistle. "You're really knowledgeable about this stuff. Kinda' impressive; ya' really care about your hair, huh?"

She nods without a moment's hesitation. "Of course; a Goddess' appearance is one of many aspects to always be mindful of. This is just another piece of a bigger picture in maintaining your image."

I mumble in mild jealous disinterest, "…Perfectionist…"

She must have heard me, as she smirks. "And that's why we're always slightly ahead in the Shares and economic markets than you other three; Lastation never budges on even the smallest detail."

Already tired of her self-praising, I squint at her. "Okay, so here's another question while we're on the topic of hair."

Her grandstanding halted, she blinks at me. "Uh… Go on?"

"What happens to your ribbons when you activate HDD? Don't you end up having straightish hair?"

She frowns. "I've never paid attention to that; do I?"

"Mm! It's a little fluffier, but it's straight and there aren't any ribbons. Ah, but your Ultradimension counterpart…," I start, but she coughs, clearly set on disregarding that topic. I don't really get why she's not fond of talking about the Ultradimension, but whatever.

"I've never really paid it mind – I don't know where my ribbons go. Why, should I remove them for a little while?" she offers, and I gasp, which seems to startle her. "W-what?"

Focusing on her closely for a moment, I narrow my eyes. "Ya' might look even nicer without those ribbons."

Fluuuuush goes the tsun, her face heating up as she stammers incoherently. While waiting for her to cool down, I slide my hand up along her hair and tug at the ribbon, undoing it and then moving my arm to get the other, removing them simultaneously… and then floof. The hair cascades down, dragging slightly against the grass as one of the tails collapses, the other sitting in my lap with my hand in it, still. Ah, right, her hands are still in my scalp, too.

She freezes for a moment, saying nothing, her eyes trained on me with curiosity. I cock my head, opting to pull myself a small distance away to see her a little better as I release the second tail, standing up to pace around her. "Hey, stand up too – your hair's dragging on the ground and that's pretty much a sin," I say, having earned a newfound respect for the silky-fluffy tails.

As she complies, I nearly trip – the sight of a tailless Noire actually quite shocking. The way it spreads out slightly, barely curling at all as it covers her back like a cape – akin to what she looks like in her CPU form, really – is really nice on the eyes. She suddenly looks more like a princess than a Goddess, and that, my dear inner consciousness or whatever I should call you, is a sight to behold.

I whistle. "I'm really likin' that change."

She shifts nervously. "A-are you being serious?"

Opting for a sound of affirmation, I incline my head as I stop behind her, extending my hands outward to start running through the shining night sky before me, dead set on keeping it clean and pristine. Giggling quietly, I make a personal note aloud.

"Long hair… might actually be a pretty nice thing. Whaddya' think, should I grow mine out?" I inquire, and Noire twists her neck slightly to eye me.

"…Maybe. You'd look a lot older and a lot more feminine, but… I'm not sure. I… I actually like how you look now," she mutters quietly, and I raise an eyebrow at this forward praise. She coughs, setting trembling eyes on me. "You're… still playing with my hair."

I scoff. "Yeah, so? I'm not done yet."

She turns her head away, sighing aloud as I beam in amusement, thoroughly enjoying myself.

"Hey, Noire," I say after a few moments of silence, decidedly invested. "Help me out with my hair later, and let's do this more often, okay?"

"…'Kay…"

A blushy tsun is not seen, but it is inferred.

I had more ideas for this, though I might do those in a later variation to add some variety to the idea or spice it up. Thoughts on that? Is it alright to re-use the same premise with different outcomes and plots each time? Been trying to avoid it, but there's more ideas popping up with the same kind of flow as time goes on. [Brief afterthought:] To add onto this - I never re-use or just change up an already written story - it's always fresh, so that really shouldn't cause too much grief. I'll probably do it.

Anyway. This was fun and I'm glad I saw it done - I'll leave it and this little blip down here be for now while I go get ready for that long drive and appointment. I'll be back in around ~eightish hours to plausibly check on things or start on the next thing. Not sure what yet, though Scientific Curiosity might just have to be Approved. We'll see; I don't want to hedge FFN's M/MA rule too much.

But, I hope you all have a good day and I'll see you again! :)

Tainted out!~