Lala has managed to move on from Camus and becomes a powerful magician. When Arle goes missing, she endeavors to find her, but when she arrives in a strange town, she's met with an even stranger boy. Requested by a tumblr anon!

Lean On Me

It was shocking when Lala realized Camus was only an illusion, like a lightning bolt flashing across her eyes, briefly blinding her, but she could still see.

At the tender age of six, she fell in love with a mirage. He was there when needed, but at the same time, he wasn't, a ghost mingling among young magicians. He was simply a means to an end, a rival to keep Arle focused on her goal and gone when his role ended.

She truly thought he was real. She chased and chased, but she could never reach him. He always dashed away before she could even hold him, his glossy dark hair and vibrant violet eyes keeping her awake for long stretches of the night when she was a girl. She remembered washing to hold his hand and lean into his shoulder, that girlish, storybook ending never quite leaving her.

Lala was happier now. A decade had passed since kindergarten, and Camus became a sweet dream. He was someone she visited in the dead of night, a friend to keep her slumbering self company as she grew up. Little by little, Lala distanced herself from him, and soon enough, her heart opened up to others as Camus grinned behind her.

Now focused on magic, she was master of effects. She could alter someone's status with a quick spell. Dizzying them or forcing them to sleep or even making them fall in love, they were all her treasured skills. She studied and practiced just like her friendly rival Arle, and in her own right, she was a heroine of their quaint magical village.

Though, she never really mastered Puyo battles. She enjoyed watching them, but participating in them seemed silly, but when Arle vanished because of it, all bets were off. She guarded her village and searched for a way to find her, realizing she had no choice but to pop as many Puyos as possible. Through clumsy efforts and several failed chains, she eventually succeeded, opening a swirling wormhole and leaped into a world unknown, hope propelling her forward.

She hadn't expected the warp through space-time to be so...rough.

She conked her head on the side of a bridge in a sunflower field when the portal shot her out. Consciousness slipped from her faster than one could turn off a lamp. She didn't even have time to groan. All she could make out was a bright blue sky before the darkness enveloped her.

The first sensation she felt was something skittering across her hand. Tiny legs pricked her skin, stirring her from a dreamless sleep. Her head pulsed as if her brain was nudging against her skull, and any of her thoughts became a jumbled, incoherent mess of stretched vowels and sudden pangs.

"Hey. Hey. You okay?"

The monotonous voice pierced through her thoughts. Groaning, she blinked open her eyes, coming face to face with a boy only a few inches away. She took in his mismatched eyes, one a fiery red and the other as blue as the deep sea. He had a gentle disposition, hardly moving at all as he lowered his voice.

"Can you move?" he asked, and she realized he was lying on the ground with her.

Lala managed to roll onto her side, her scarlet dress dirtying. Rubbing her head, she sat up and took a closer look at him, his attire throwing her off. He wore a simple white jacket with sleeves as blue as his eyes and dark colored pants. Compared to her elegant, flashy battle-ready dress and bows, his outfit seemed almost futuristic, something she would never see in her village.

Yet, it was that peculiar, large, crimson claw with the pointed, razor-like fingers that made her eyes widen. She sensed an odd aura emanating from it, one she couldn't exactly place. She raised her hands to her chest, readying a spell only to hiss. The pain in her head swelled, and she grasped her skull, another moan slipping past her clenched teeth.

"You're hurt," he said, getting up to his knees. "Here. Stay still."

His command didn't hold any weight. They were spoken in a calm fashion that, despite the scratchiness in his voice, comforted her. Lala watched him, her mind-altering spell still tickling her palms as he eased closer.

Then, he clutched her waist and held her in the air like a bride with his powerful claw.

She almost shrieked. Her cheeks burned hotter than any flame. She clapped her hands over her mouth, her pinprick eyes taking in his lackadaisical expression.

"Teach will know what to do," he said, offering his free hand for the ladybug that circled his head.

"What? I-I-h-hey! Who-who are you?" she blurted, lowering her hands to her lap.

"Sig. You?"

"I'm Lala."

"Pretty name."

Her lips parted into a smile. Compliments were always an easy way to win her over. Lala crossed her legs and peered at Sig as he began carrying her to a distant town, one she could faintly make out through a swathe of trees.

"You're in Primp Town," he said, "It's good here. You'll like it. There's lots of nice bugs, too."

With her luck, she managed to find quite a charming boy. Even if he seemed a bit off putting, the gentle way he carried himself and the soothing tone of his voice charmed her idyllic side. She never truly lost her spark of romanticism that followed her from her childhood, and Lala found herself still grinning, wrapping her free arms around his neck.

As Sig tilted his head, his smile tugging at the corners of his lips, she giggled and said, "Oh, I think I'll like it here very much."