Witch notices something peculiar about Draco during their Puyo battle, and Draco refuses to believe it. Requested by a tumblr anon!

Fuzzy Chaining

"Fan letters, please!" Draco cried as nuisance Puyos slammed down onto her, smothering the poor dragon woman.

Buried, her limbs and tail twitched. She cringed underneath the hard surplus of Puyos, pushing on the ground to force herself out of the mess. A dull throbbing formed in the back of her head, and she groaned, gritting down on her molars as Witch's cackle echoed in her ears.

"What a fool," she chortled, cupping her chin. Leering down the snarling Draco, she tapped her broom against the grass. "Well, with that settled, please give me what I asked for."

Snorting, she snatched a strand of her hair and yanked it off, snapping, "There! There's your crummy dragon woman's hair. I hope your potion combusts."

"There's no need for hostility." She plucked the hair and carefully set it into a plastic ziplock bag. Rolling it up, she stuffed it into her robes. "Thank you kindly for your business."

"There was nothing kind about burying me like that!"

Laughing again, Witch tittered off and tilted her head. She supposed Draco had a point. She had gone overboard with a 13-chain, but Draco's moves during their Puyo battle surprised her. As usual, she didn't rotate despite Arle telling her repeatedly that she could and should.

However, what truly surprised her were her clear mistakes. Draco tried to put purple and blue Puyos together, her expression writhing in discomfort as they refused to pop. It was as if she hadn't realized what she had done, allowing Witch to thoroughly crush her with such childlike errors.

"Hey, did you lose on purpose?" she wondered, her lips curving back into a smile when Draco grimaced.

"Whaaat? No way! I put my heart and soul in every fight!" Crossing her arms, she leaned forward and glared at the mischievous magician. "Are you saying you don't think I fought well?"

"Oh, my, not at all. I would never say that," Witch crooned, her sing-song voice earning her friend's deepest ire, "but I would say that you made some obvious mistakes. You know you were putting blue Puyos and purple Puyos together...right?"

The blank expression crossing Draco's face said it all. As Witch suspected, she hadn't realized what she had done. Draco spun back around, her fingers raising in the air as she seemed to be re-doing her chains. Witch leaned around her, watching her nose wrinkle and brow crease, confusion burning in her eyes.

"There's no way I did that. Not a chance." She huffed and gripped her elbows, her tail smacking the ground. "I lost fair and square. Don't make excuses for me when there aren't any to be made."

Rolling her eyes, Witch sighed. She knew what she saw and wouldn't doubt herself. "To be perfectly honest, you haven't had the best luck in Puyo battles. Can you even see what you're doing?"

"Huh?" Draco lifted her her head, stiffening. She looked like a deer in headlights, transfixed by her question.

"When you're chaining, you're making some common mistakes. You don't rotate. You don't put the right Puyos together." Itching her scalp, she pursed her lips. "I know you used to be a lot better at this. I mean, you took on Arle almost at the top of Satan's castle. What happened?"

She let Witch's words hang between them. Deep in her heart, she knew Witch was right. It had been concerning her since she had lost so easily to Arle on the island. Afterwards, subsequent Puyo battles ended with her squinting at her board and slamming Puyos into places that cut off her chains. Every single time, she was left fumbling and scrambling to counter only to get slammed with nuisance Puyos while the victorious cheering of her opponent echoed in her skull.

Gnawing on her lower lip, Draco sighed through her nose and rubbed her neck. She couldn't come up with a valid reason or argue against Witch. Excuses rolled in her head, but they sounded pathetic like off-key karaoke.

Gasping, Witch said, "You know, I thought I've got it. Stay there for a second."

Draco's eyes never left Witch's backside as she skipped a few paces away. She watched her summon a Puyo board, and Witch began stacking reds on one side, yellows on the other, with a plethora of greens and blues mixed in-between. Tilting her head, she watched the fuzzy Puyos latch together, forming a mesh of colors like a splatter painting.

"So far, I've made a 6-chain down below leading up the center, and I can set off a smaller chain over here." Witch pointed at the upper right corner. "Can you see how many I can set off?"

A low hum slipped past Draco's lips. She balled her hands into fists, her eyes narrowing into a deep squint. She tried counting, hesitantly raising her finger and uttering, "Uh, that's a 2-chain right?"

"No. Not even close."

"H-huh? Whaddaya mean? If you made a 6-chain-"

"I lied." Witch pulled Draco closer by her wrist. "See? Look again."

She did, disgruntled by her falsehoods. Witch had connected her Puyos in a brilliant, zig-zagging fashion that extended all the way to the bottom of the board. She counted a 10-chain with a couple extra Puyos lingering towards the bottom.

"I think you need glasses," Witch announced, breaking through her stupefaction. "That's the only reason why you're failing so miserably at Puyo."

Horror beseeched Draco as her mouth dropped open, revealing her tiny, sharp fangs. She stepped away as Witch lazily directed another Puyo to the top of her board, ending her chain and collapsing it all away. Shaking her head, she tried to form any pitiful retorts, but Witch was already digging into her robes.

"Considering how well I know you, I'm assuming it's sun damage. You're always tanning, and you never wear sunglasses. Closing your eyes each time doesn't really help, ya know?" She flipped open her robes, revealing a shockingly varied assortment of glasses neatly tucked into several pockets. "So! That's why I'm going to be generous and give you a discount on my magical eyewear! They're hip, fashionable, and cute! See any to your liking?"

"Wh-whaaa-?" Stumbling forward, Draco clutched her knees as she bent down. She flicked her gaze between the assortment of glasses, each polished and colorful with shining rims. "How did-? Did you plan this? Was this a set-up so you could sell me some glasses?"

"Maaaybe. A saleswoman never tells her trade secrets." She set her finger to her lips and winked. "Now, since we're such good friends, I'll make this a good deal. I need a few more of your hairs for a plethora of potions, and in return, you can pick any pair that you like." She shrugged. "Of course, you'll still need your eyes checked by a professional, but these will help in the meantime."

Draco groaned. She knew it was a good deal considering what had just happened. Defeated, she pulled out a few more hairs and slapped them into Witch's palm, who quickly placed them into her bag.

"Excellent! Now, please, select whichever suits your fancy."

"Yeah, yeah, don't rush me." She narrowed her selection down to a fine red pair, the rims adorned with a splash of orange. Setting them on her face, she straightened and found the world to be slightly less blurry. She could even make out the dimples in Witch's smile and gasped. "Whoa! These ain't too shabby! A pretty girl like me could really make glasses work!"

"Ohoho! I'm sure you can. If you need a second pair, that will cost you."

"B-but I gave you like five hairs!"

"Ah-ah-ah! My proposed deal was one pair for some extra hairs and not anymore."

"Well, whatever! Thanks, I guess."

Chuckling, Witch summoned her Puyo board. "Then, shall we go another round to test your glasses out?"

"Oh, you're on!" Draco proclaimed, her Puyo board appearing.

Unfortunately, she forgot to rotate and was left smothered in nuisance Puyos once again.