Hair!? - Seimei and Khaiya
Monday July 2, AC204  
0600
By Keeley Dubus


"Hello Seimei, what can I- Seimei!" Khaiya stared at
her, "What happened?"
 "A minor mishap during training, however the
commander insisted that I get a thorough check-up done
by you before I began my duties for Basic 2." She kept
her face void of expression. Khaiya didn't need to
know Tatakai was the cause of most of her wounds- it
would interfere with his own work.  
"But Seimei, you look like-"
"Superficial wounds, I assure you.  You know how
easily I bruise."  He reluctantly nodded and gestured
for her to sit on a nearby stool.
"Superficial. Right...This needs suturing. I want to
make sure it heals cleanly." Khaiya examined a
particularly deep cut on her shoulder and shook his
head.  "You did a good job of cleaning it up, but I
want to make sure it heals without any problems." 
With an admonishing look, he turned to get some
supplies, "You are superhuman Seimei." He said to her
quietly, gathering the needed supplies, "Not
invulnerable."
Seimei ignored him for a moment, closing her eyes and
taking a quiet breath.  After taking ensigns Davidson,
Kung, and Di Milo to their rooms, she'd returned to
the Commander's office as he'd requested.  And been
reamed out by Commander Maxwell for not seeking
medical aid immediately.  He'd ignored her assurances
that she was fine and could start helping with the
classes after a brief clean up and threatened to have
her confined to her bed unless she had someone examine
her.  And here was Khaiya fussing just as badly.  She
shook her head.  Sometimes she didn't understand
people. 
"This happened on a training exercise?" His tone of
voice was skeptical as  Khaiya returned with an armful
of supplies and went to work, starting with the worst
cut on her shoulder. 
"I haven't been authorized to talk about it."  
He glanced up from her shoulder to examine her face,
meeting her perfectly blank expression with a frown. 
"In other words, you won't tell me what happened."  
She simply raised an eyebrow and waited.  With a shake
of his head, he gave in and went back to work. 
Some impulse made her reach out with her free hand and
gently touch his arm.  "Khaiya, I'm fine."  
"I know."  He smiled slowly, reaching up to gently
clean a cut on her cheek.  "Just try to be more
careful."
"Of course."  Her expression told him that he should
know better than to question her ability to take care
of herself as she pulled her braid forwards over her
shoulder to allow him to begin his ministrations on
her back.  A soft snap was the only warning before her
hair band gave way and the neat braid unraveled in her
hands.
Khaiya blinked as he found himself engulfed in a cloak
of hair that seemed to twine itself around him and
Seimei.  "Seimei-" He choked and pushed a large
section from his face to stare at her in shock.  He'd
never realized exactly how much hair she had.  It
wound around her in a black shiny curtain that seemed
almost alive as it clung to her face and shoulders,
wrapping around her waist and the stool she sat on.  
She sighed and began to attempt to gather the strands
together and back into her customary braid.  "There is
a reason I keep it braided."
"I imagine."  He fought to hide his amusement as
several strands escaped her hands to cling to her
wrist.  "I never realized how long your hair was…
"I haven't cut my hair in seven years."  A strand
slipped free and slid down into her face, making her
sneeze softly.
He blinked in shock, and then shook his head, "Seven
years?  I don't understand..." 
"Understand what?"  Her attention remained on her
efforts to tame the unruly strands that refused to
allow her to confine it.
"You're always talking of efficiency and control."
"Yes."  She raised an eyebrow at him and the moment of
inattention caused her to loose her grip on another
section of hair, it spilled down her shoulders in back
before she could catch it again.
"So why?"  He began to count on his fingers, his face
intent on her as she continued to struggle with her
hair.  "Not that I'm an advocate of cutting your hair
of course."  He flipped his own lengthy hair in
emphasis.  "I just don't see why YOU'D continue to
maintain something that's such and obvious
inconvenience.  Wouldn't logic say that you should
keep it short?"  His question was probing and she
stopped, letting her hair go to slide down her back
again.  
"I was kept shaved."
"What?"  He blinked; obviously this wasn't what he'd
been expecting.
"The scientists shaved my hair because it got 'in the
way'.  I wasn't allowed to grow it at all until the
Professor took me away."
His eyes lit in comprehension suddenly and he nodded.
She pulled a section over her shoulder, gently running
her fingers through it and pulling out the tangles. 
"When we first escaped, I wore a hat to hide it, but
once it was long enough, the professor asked if I
wanted to keep it short or let it grow longer."  She
blinked and looked up at Khaiya.  "It was the first
time I'd ever been given a choice in anything.  And I
decided that I wouldn't allow it to be cut."  She
seemed to shrug and went back to braiding her hair;
capturing the errant strands and twisting them back
into a neat rope.
"That's amazing."  His voice was soft and he reached
forwards to catch a strand that her fingers had
missed, gently tucking it away with the rest of her
hair.  "You realize what this means Seimei?"
She continued to braid her hair, careful to keep a
hold of her hair so it didn't unravel again.  "What it
means?"
"I was watching you while you talked about your hair,
and there was a definite feeling of attachment.  You
have a connection to your hair Seimei, even if it's
only on a subconscious level.  And your refusal to cut
it means that somehow you were able to recognize it,
even with the drugs that you take."
Her eyes widened and she stared at him.  "You think-"
"I don't know what to think," a slow grin spread
across his face, "the drugs you're taking should
suppress everything.  But somehow, for some reason,
some part of you managed to override that.  It's a
breakthrough Seimei.  We may have found the key to
getting you free of these drugs for good." 
She slowly finished her braid, thinking about what
he'd said.  To be able to feel, to be able to finally
be able to feel like everyone else around her… it was
something she'd always thought impossible.  But now
Khaiya was telling her that there was a chance, simply
because she chose not to cut her hair.  She looked up
at him, and then got to her feet, wrapping one arm
around him tightly while the other held the end of her
braid.  
"Seimei?" He stiffened, eyes widening in surprise at
her unexpected gesture 
"Thank you."  Her words were almost too quiet to hear
as she rested her head on his shoulder.  
"Umm… you're welcome."  He relaxed faintly and
laughter filled his voice.  "Now get back on that
stool while I finish checking you over, you managed to
really mess yourself up this time."
"I told you, they're-"
"I know, superficial.  I swear, you could be shot and
bleeding to death and still insist it was just a
scratch."  He pulled one of the ties from his own
hair.  "And here, I think you need this more than I
do."
She simply accepted the tie and bound her hair,
allowing him to fuss without any further protest.