Mahou Madness!

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"Umm... Are you okay?..."
Luca asked quietly once they were on the mostly empty bus and sitting away from everyone else, she had noticed Namiko acting strange recently... And considering how much she had helped Luca come to terms with things... It was only right that she returned the favor and did whatever she could to help Namiko!

 

[twinkletide]

Namiko didn't say anything for a while. A couple of times she opened her mouth as if preparing to do so, but it would just shut, uneventfully.

"I'm fine," she said quietly. "I'm just...worried about you. I want to help you. Back there, I..." She stopped.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Luca didn't interrupt, she knew some things could be hard to say... But soon realized she might need to encourage her just a little...
"Umm... Back there what?..."
She asked, hugging Namiko and gazing up into her eyes.

 

[twinkletide]

She couldn't say no to those puppy dog eyes. "It felt like you just let it happen," she said. "Do you not...care about yourself? Because I do. It hurt to not be able to do something about it. I understand why, and I understand I'm being irrational, but...imagine a chimera attacked me and I told you not to fight back. And it's...it's..." She deflated and sunk back into her seat, completely exhausted. "...strange. I...care about you a lot," she whispered.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Luca sort of understood now... She knew her refusal to fight back could cause people to worry... And now she felt a little guilty for it...
"I... I wanted to fight back... But if I did... Namiko might have gotten in trouble! At school it would just be detention... But if you fought them at the arcade the police would come and take you away... And then I would be alone and I don't think I could handle that..."
She admitted, on the verge of tears for some reason...
"You... Care about me?..."
She acted like that was the single greatest thing ever said.

 

[twinkletide]

Luca's reasoning was understandable, but no less frustrating, if not because of her but because she almost left Luca alone out of some stupid shit. Namiko smiled weakly and looked into her teary eyes in what she could only hope would be a comforting expression. "Of course," she said, and lightly stroked Luca's head. "A lot. Very much. I...want to protect you, Luca." That last sentence carried an uncharacteristic amount of resolve, strength. She intended to do so, is what was behind those words.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Luca tightened her hug as she was stroked... It felt so nice... She had tried stroking her own head but it wasn't anywhere near as nice an experience as this...
"No one has ever protected me before... Umm... I wanna protect Namiko as well! I may not be very strong but I will do whatever I can!"
She declared, with a sudden burst of her own resolve!

 

[twinkletide]

"Thank you," Namiko said, still smiling. "Thank you." As Luca's arms tightened around her she closed her eyes and the world melted away in a comfortable haze. For once the facts and chaos of life fell away, and all that was left were two cardinal propositions:

• Luca has me.
• I have Luca.

"Thank you Luca," she said, but a better way of saying it would be: I love you.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Luca stayed silent for the rest of the trip, just hugging Namiko... She had to admit she was probably crushing on her at this point... That was a whole different set of confusion for her...
Eventually the bus stopped at their destination and they had to get off.

 

[twinkletide]

Namiko was jolted awake by the inertia of the bus. She looked groggily around for a few moments. "Huh...oh." Somewhat glumly she stepped off the bus with Luca, began limping towards her home. She remembered away. The whole time Namiko kept her conspicuously close, shoulder-to-shoulder, a little bump of warmth.

"How do you feel?" she asked, not even knowing anymore why she was asking; the earlier span of time seemed so distant and blurry.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Luca was keeping just as close... She was trying and failing to convince herself she was just cold... Honestly all Luca wanted to do was cling to Namiko forever... As embarrassing of a desire as that was...
"Umm... I think I'm okay... T...though everyone at school is gonna see pictures of me in a dress... And I don't know what to think of that..."
She admitted as they entered.

 

[twinkletide]

The staggering weight of the proposition froze Namiko on the steps of the house temporarily. She groaned as she followed Luca in. "We'll...deal with that when we get there," she said. Honestly, as much as she wanted to rip those pictures out of their hands, with the proliferation of info nowadays it was likely that the pictures were already sitting on someone's homepage. And even for those who didn't see them, they sure as hell would hear about them. So the only thing they could bear to do is mitigate the damage, which would be rather difficult, considering how damaged Luca's reputation was already,"

"Anyways, what now?" Namiko said as she stepped inside, yawning. "Should I go home now? It's getting kind of late." They could almost see the sun tapping its watch in annoyance.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"Umm... I guess that's okay... I just hope they aren't too mean about it..."
Luca wasn't sure how she would handle having her gender used against her as an insult... But was sure with Namiko there she could cope.
"Oh... I guess... You don't like staying over do you?..."
She asked, honestly Luca wanted to stay with Namiko again, but was scared to ask.

 

[twinkletide]

Luca's meek declaration brought Namiko back mentally in the house. The house; this large thing, this fearful thing. How it made her feel, how it wrecked her the last time.

...but Luca was here. She needed her, Luca did. And if it was for Luca, it could be okay. Even fun. Or comforting. Something other than negative.

"Don't like staying over?" Namiko said, with a mock look of confusion. "When did I say that? I'd be...glad, to stay over," she said, smiling. "Under one condition. Um..." She felt like this would be a tough sell, but she needed to say it. "Please...don't cook breakfast or dinner for me. I love your food, but I..." She trailed off. "...It's complicated. You can make lunch if you'd like, but for those meals...I'll just pick something out of the pantry. Please?"

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Luca's face lit up like a beacon at hearing that Namiko would be okay with staying over, though she was visibly confused and maybe even a little hurt at the weird food condition... Still, better than being alone!
"Umm... Okay... Though only eating pantry food is not very healthy!"
She warned, as if Namiko wouldn't know that.
"And I will make you a really good lunch! So you don't get malnutrition!"

 

[twinkletide]

Namiko sighed in relief and patted Luca on the head. "Thank you," she said. "Anyways, since we're not going back to the arcade anytime soon, want to play more games? I saw a copy of Smash Bros. lying somewhere..." Luca really did have a calming presence; she barely even felt the fear now, save for a small gnawing tumor in the corner of her brain.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"Oh! Yeah! I never really play smash bros cause I wanna play with a friend and online isn't the same!"
She declared, happily running up to her room to set up the console and get the game going, she was clearly excited... Luca really did seem easy to distract from a bad day, and one that may lead to many other bad days at that...
When Namiko reached her room the game would be ready to go.

 

[twinkletide]

As Luca rushed up to the room like a kid on Christmas day, Namiko admired her figure. She was becoming more womanly by the day.

More womanly. Did it even matter what the source was at this point? Her only worry was that it might have some sort of negative side effect; but who was she to be cynical about a practical deus ex machina?

She followed her up the stairs and picked up a controller, sitting cross-legged on the carpet. "Hmm...who do you want to play as?" Namiko asked as they went to the huge roster page.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"Hmm... I think... Robin!"
She declared, picking the female version and readying up, from the way she leaned forwards slightly it seemed Luca was eager to get playing, even if she had never actually played Smash before...
"So what about you? I umm, I have all the DLC and stuff... Just in case someone ever wanted to use the DLC characters".

 

[twinkletide]

"Huh...well, guess I'll also go the Fire Emblem route," she said moving the cursor over to Corrin and choosing the female skin as well. She leaned forward as well. Unlike with Soul Calibur she was pretty good at Smash. It was also, ultimately, a mathematical game, and she was good at those. She could often forget to block, however, which could be a problem. They chose Battlefield and got ready to fight. "Good luck," she said in a consciously gaudy tone, as if this were an actual competitive match.