Sukeban

Mami didn’t really know how it had happened. The only thing she could remember was hearing a shrill scream before she found herself on the floor. She was far too tired and the rude awakening was making it hard for her mind to process anything that was going on.

The blonde let out a soft groan, bringing a hand up to touch her forehead lightly. She slowly let her eyes flutter open, wincing from the harsh sunlight coming that assaulted her. Where was she anyway? She couldn’t quite remember where she had ended up last night; she couldn’t quite remember anything at the moment really. Mami let her eyes drift over a bit and she saw two familiar, big brown eyes peering over the edge of the bed at her.

That’s right. She was at Tomomi’s house; she had come here in her desperation last night and stayed over. But why was she on the floor? She knew the scream had to have come from Tomomi, they were the only two in the room as far as Mami could remember, but that didn’t explain why Tomomi had shoved her off the bed like that.

“Are you okay?” Tomomi asked softly. If Mami was in a better mood and in less pain, she probably would have made a really sarcastic comment in response. Oh she was fine; she just got shoved off the bed for no apparent reason. Just fine really.

But before Mami could respond, both of the girls were startled by the sudden sound of a door opening. Tomomi jumped up, her body whipping around to face the door in an immediate reaction. Tomomi swore that she felt the life drain from her body when her eyes laid on her parents. Right about now, she was really praying that Mami would have the common sense to stay absolutely still so Tomomi’s parents wouldn’t see her.

“Are you alright? We heard a scream,” her father said in a rushed tone, the worry obvious in his voice.

“Don’t worry, papa. I just fell off the bed and scared myself, it’s no biggie. I’m sorry for scaring you,” Tomomi apologized, rubbing the back of her neck and laughing nervously. She was getting better at this whole lying thing. Her father sighed but Tomomi could tell that it was a sigh of relief and not frustration.

“You’re so clumsy, just like your mother,” her father said. Tomomi had to stifle a laugh as her mother smacked her father, giving him a harsh glare. Her father had an odd sense of humor, one her mother often didn’t understand. He had the same sense of humor that Tomomi did.

“We’re glad you’re okay,” her mother said, turning her attention back to Tomomi. “Come down for breakfast soon, okay? We don’t have much more time before we have to leave, you know.”

“I’ll be down soon,” Tomomi promised. Her mother smiled before grabbing her husband’s arm, pulling him out of the room and shutting the door behind them. It was nearly instantly that Tomomi heard her mother start in on her father; her mother did always overreact to things. It was where Tomomi got her skills at overreacting from.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Tomomi crawled back up on the bed, lying on her stomach as she looked over the edge at the still sprawled out blonde. Mami was looking right up at her, one of her hands gently rubbing the top of her head.

“Care to explain why you pushed me? Did you forget I was here or something?” Mami asked the girl. She could see Tomomi’s small fingertips gripping the edge of the comforter that flowed down the bed, a small red tint beginning to show on her face. Why was Tomomi blushing? Maybe she really had forgotten that Mami had stayed the night.

“N-no… I didn’t forget…” Tomomi responded slowly. Mami raised an eyebrow at the slow tone Tomomi had used, she was acting really strange. Stranger than usual.

“Then what was it?” Mami continued to prompt.

“Well, you were… We were… Um… You kind of sort of had your arms around me.” Tomomi had said her last sentence as quickly as she could, nearly quick enough that Mami wasn’t sure she had heard it right.

The blonde let out an audible groan, covering her eyes with her hand. Not again. She never understood why she did that. Whenever she slept in the same bed as someone else, she would always wake up with her arms around them no matter who it was. Whenever she stayed the night with Haruna, their mornings would be rather interesting for this reason, especially if Rina was there to see it. At least Mami knew now why Tomomi had started blushing like that when she first asked her question.

“Sorry, Tomo, that’s a bad habit of mine,” Mami apologized finally. She let the hand leave her eyes, looking back up at the brunette whose face was now even redder. Mami smiled at the way Tomomi’s face looked. She was getting a lot more used to Tomomi’s sensitivity and in a way; she was almost finding it pretty cute now.

“So are you okay?” Tomomi asked. Mami was brought back to reality by the girl’s soft question. Mami gave her a gentle smile, pushing herself up and off the floor with a soft huff. She had pushed herself into a sitting position, running her fingers through her still matted hair.

“Well I would be better if I hadn’t been shoved down like that,” Mami mentioned, giving the brunette a sly smile.

“I-I’m sorry! I was just surprised,” Tomomi apologized quickly. Mami laughed softly at the girl’s apology. She really was so easy to mess with.

“I was kidding, Tomo. You don’t need to apologize so often.” Tomomi huffed out a breath of air at Mami’s explanation. She didn’t like being tricked like that, even though Mami hadn’t technically tricked the brunette at all. “Hey, don’t you have a breakfast to get to?”

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Tomomi exclaimed in surprise. She jumped off the bed, turning around just in time to see Mami pull herself back up on the bed, turning onto her side.

“I’ll stay in here, don’t worry. They’ll never know I’m here,” Mami said, knowing right away the thoughts that were probably going through Tomomi’s mind right about now. She saw the sweet smile that Tomomi had given her, the brunette nodding happily.

“I’ll bring you some food after they leave, which will be soon, I promise,” Tomomi responded. Mami let out a soft chuckle as she watched the girl turn on her heel, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Tomomi really was an interesting girl.

***

“Come sit down, Mami,” Tomomi said, motioning to the spot in front of her. The brunette was perched on the bed, her legs brought up beneath her so she was sitting in a cross-legged position and she held a hair brush in her hand.

The blonde girl across the room gave a little sigh, shaking her head before she pushed herself off the chair. Why did she agree to this? She didn’t really know. Tomomi had just asked her with those eyes of hers if she could fix Mami’s hair and, for some reason, Mami just wasn’t able to say no to her. So here she was, sitting herself down in front of Tomomi and she was going to let Tomomi do whatever she pleased to Mami’s hair.

Mami felt the girl’s delicate fingertips wrap themselves around her shoulders before pulling her back, making her crash backwards against the bed. The blonde let out a soft growl at Tomomi’s actions, to which the brunette could only laugh at her. Mami felt the fingers move from her shoulders and over to her hair, pulling out the strands that had been pinned between Mami and the bed, tossing them over the blonde’s shoulder.

Mami could feel Tomomi run her fingers through her hair first, her fingertips getting caught in a few of the knots in her hair. The storm she had found herself stuck in last night had really done a number of her hair and since she didn’t fix it before she fell asleep, the sleep had only made the knots and tangles that much worse. Tomomi had a difficult task ahead of her to untangle the mess that was Mami’s head.

But Tomomi was happy to take on that task. She grabbed the brush she had sat on the bed, holding a clump of Mami’s hair in her other hand. Tomomi started from the top, raking the brush down Mami’s locks. It didn’t take long for the brush to get stuck in Mami’s hair.

Tomomi grunted softly, giving the brush a hard yank. The brush sprung free, finally getting through the knot but not before causing Mami some pain. Tomomi could see Mami visibly tense as she had yanked the brush but it was really the only way to get things done. There wasn’t any better way to get the knots out of her hair.

“Sorry, Mami,” Tomomi apologized softly. She ran the brush through the clump of hair a few more times, just to make sure that all of the tangles were out of it. When she felt satisfied, she laid the strands over Mami’s shoulder, grabbing the next round of hair. She was planning to do it section by section; it would be a lot easier for Mami this way.

Tomomi raked the brush through her hair again, finding herself stopped on another knot. Glaring at Mami’s head, Tomomi pulled the brush hard but it wouldn’t budge. It had become so tightly entangled in her hair. Tomomi blew out a huff of air, laying a hand on the back of her head and giving the brush another sharp pull. This time, Tomomi could hear a cry of pain come from the girl below her.

“Jesus, Tomomi! It feels like you’re ripping my hair out!” Mami shouted at her. Tomomi giggled softly at Mami’s angered shout. She knew the girl was just reacting from the pain and Tomomi found it kind of amusing.

Tomomi gave a small grunt, putting as much force as she could into her next tug. This time, the brush came dislodged from the tangle, running through the rest of Mami’s hair. But the brush didn’t come dislodged without another painful shout coming out of Mami. Tomomi took a small break, looking down at the brush that now had multiple strands of Mami’s hair hanging off of it.

“I think I am pulling out your hair,” Tomomi mused aloud.

“You’re what?!” Mami’s body bolted forward with her shout, which only made Tomomi laugh again. The brunette reached out, pulling the girl backwards again. Mami looked up at her, growling lowly and glaring at Tomomi.

“I was kidding, Mami,” she informed her. Even if Mami looked angry, Tomomi didn’t feel scared of her right now. Tomomi felt completely comfortable around Mami right now.. If anything, Tomomi was finding her anger humorous. She didn’t believe that Mami would hurt her. This anger was different than the anger that she saw directed at so many people. Mami didn’t seem truly angry; she was more just frustrated with all the pain she had to go through in order to get the knots out.

Mami blew out a huff of air as Tomomi pushed her head down, resuming where she left off with the brushing. Tomomi didn’t know how long it had taken her; she had just kept brushing and yanking whenever it was needed. Soon enough, Mami’s hair was finally free of the tangles, the golden blonde locks cascading over Mami’s shoulders.

When Tomomi was done, Mami pushed herself off the floor, stepping away from Tomomi. That girl might as well be holding a weapon in Mami’s opinion because of how painful she had made that small task. Mami was making a note to never let Tomomi touch her hair again if this is how she did it. The blonde lifted up a hand, running her fingers through her hair. She had to admit, her hair was much better now. It was back to normal. It was free of tangles and felt really smooth.

“You did a good job,” Mami complimented. Tomomi smiled at her blonde companion before picking up the brush and extending it towards her.

“You might have a few bald spots now though,” Tomomi said, trying to control the laughter that wanted to come out. She watched as Mami glanced down at the brush, a look of horror crossing her face when she saw how much of her hair was wrapped around the brush.

“What did you do?!”

Tomomi couldn’t control it anymore. The brunette let her laughter free, tossing the brush behind her and onto the bed. Mami was really funny right now; she was taking Tomomi’s words so seriously and freaking out so much about her hair. It was a really girly thing for Mami to be doing and that’s what amused Tomomi, she never expected a girl like Mami to be this feminine about anything.

“I’m kidding, Mami,” Tomomi said when she had calmed down enough. Mami’s glare softened, the blonde scoffing and tossing her hair over her shoulder. She walked back over to where she had been seated before at Tomomi’s desk, slipping down into the chair. Tomomi was acting really happy and carefree today. It made Mami happy to see the brunette being so comfortable around her instead of always cowering in fear like she usually did. It was a big change in behavior for Tomomi and Mami wanted this change to be permanent.

“Thank you for the help,” Mami said in a soft tone, giving Tomomi a small smile. The brunette returned the smile. She was happy to see Mami in such a good mood. Mami was acting a lot more like herself today; she wasn’t acting so odd like she had last night when Tomomi had found her outside. Tomomi still didn’t know what caused that but she was beginning to believe that Mami would tell her on her own time.

“Hey, Mami, can I ask a question?”

“Go for it,” Mami said with a shrug.

“What’s your natural hair color?” Mami cocked an eyebrow at the question, a curious expression on her face. That was certainly one question she hadn’t been expecting Tomomi to ask.

“What makes you think I’m not a natural blonde?” Mami let out a huff of air when Tomomi starting giggling at her question.

“Mami, when was the last time you met someone Japanese with natural blonde hair?” Tomomi noted. Mami smiled at her comeback, Tomomi really was getting better at all of this. Mami could tell that she was slowly beginning to get more comfortable around each of them slowly.

“All right, Tomo, you got me. I’m not a natural blonde.”

“So then what is your hair color?”

“Why do you even want to know? It seems like a pretty boring set of details to be interested it.” Mami could feel an odd sensation come to her body when she saw the sweet smile Tomomi was giving her. There was something about this girl that just reeled Mami in. The blonde couldn’t really explain what it was about Tomomi that did that to her.

“I just thought that if I’m going to stick around, it would be good for me to get to know you all a little more. Since you’re here, I thought I’d start with you.”

“Fair enough. Fine, my natural hair color is black. Content now?” Mami asked. Tomomi could hear the amusement in Mami’s tone and it made her really happy to hear, Mami seemed to be having a lot of fun right now. “Should I ask if you’re a natural brunette?”

“Of course not!” Tomomi replied with a small laugh. “My natural color is black too. I dyed my hair because I was ready for a change, the same thing gets boring, you know.”

“You know, Tomo, you’re a really interesting person.” This time, it was Mami’s turn to smile as a surprised look crossed Tomomi’s face. The brunette hadn’t been expecting to hear Mami say something like that. Tomomi had decided to take it as an odd compliment of sorts.

“Can I ask just one more question?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Why did you dye your hair such an extreme color?” Blonde might not have seemed extreme to others but for someone to go from black to blonde, it seemed a bit extreme to Tomomi. It made her curious as to what Mami’s motives were.

Tomomi heard Mami let out a soft sigh, the blonde leaning back into the chair and tilting her head backwards. She was debating on how to answer that. She could answer it truthfully and risk more questions from Tomomi or she could lie. Thing was though, she didn’t really have a lie to tell Tomomi. Sometimes the truth was the only option and it looked like this was one of those times.

“Everyone always told me how much I resembled my mother and I just… I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to resemble her anymore.”

“But why?”

“That’s a secret,” Mami said, winking at Tomomi. She wanted to laugh at the blush rising on Tomomi’s face again. She had been hoping for a reaction like that. Mami glanced over to the clock on Tomomi’s desk before she stretched her arms and pushed herself out of the chair.

“Are you leaving?”

“I should, it’s already 3. Your parents will be home in a few hours, won’t they? And I guess my mother will be wondering where I’m at.”

“I guess you’re right…” Mami couldn’t help but notice the disappointed tone Tomomi was speaking with. Did she really want Mami to stay that badly? Mami was really finding all these little things about Tomomi really cute.

“We’ll see each other again after school tomorrow. But before I go, I want to ask… Can I give Haru your phone number? It’ll be good for her to have if she ever needs your help.”

Tomomi didn’t really like that idea. She already didn’t like the fact that the boss knew exactly where she lived, so she wasn’t excited about the boss knowing her phone number of all things. But this was Mami and in an odd sort of way, Tomomi trusted Mami. If she felt that it was okay for Haruna to have Tomomi’s number then Tomomi wanted to trust that Mami was making the right call.

“Yeah, you can give it to her,” Tomomi answered finally. Mami smiled, nodding her head.

“Thank you, Tomo. I guess I’ll see you later then.”