#so uh...yeah

Meow:It's the goooood shiiiiit

Junkitty:I just want to lie down and laaaaaazeeee around.

Catsuni:My brother will kiiiiillllll me if he found out ate this craaaap.

Hajime:Ah great, now they're totally out of it.

Makoto:Now I need to make sure Junko doesn't get in trouble or causes trouble for everyone while she's like this...so basically the same thing as always.

Shuichi:At least they should be easy to handle like this?

Suzuran glanced around the hallway, making sure no one was watching, as she looked at sister Blue Poison’s door. As much as she used the phrases “brother” and “sister,” she was initially an only child before coming to Rhodes Island, and she wasn’t sure if what she was about to do would make Blue Poison mad or not. Since she’d never seen Blue Poison mad, and she didn’t want to, the Vulpo had decided to wait until the Anura was out of her room before surprising her, but it didn’t seem like she was leaving any time soon...So, after having watched the door for five minutes, Suzuran decided it was time to begin Operation: Nine-Tailed Frog, whether said frog was in her room or not.

Opening the door wasn’t an issue - it wasn’t locked - but closing it behind her quietly was, because with nine tails one of them was bound to get nearly caught in the door if she wasn’t careful. Fortunately, she was, leaving her and the backpack she’d brought with her safely inside. Blue was easy to find - she’d fallen asleep on her couch watching a movie - so all Lisa had to do was take everything out of her bag, put it on the coffee table, and then she could…

Wait, what if she didn’t put them on, though? That wouldn’t be very helpful if she just left them in her room. ‘Hmm. Arene says he’ll draw on people’s faces while they’re asleep. This is kind of like that, isn’t it? I think it is. Alright, I’ll put them on for her, then!’

An hour or so later, Azureus woke up sneezing. “Ah...ah-choo! Hmm? I must’ve fallen asl- eh? Is there something on my head?” She felt the top of her head, and sure enough, there was what felt like a headband with...ears? What?

“Why am I-” Walking over to a mirror, the Sniper noticed it was more than just a headband. In addition to what looked like a Vulpo ear headband, someone had redone her hair and, strangest of all, put a belt on her with nine pink tails flowing behind it. “Who...How...Alright, Azure, let’s think for a moment. A nine-tailed Vulpo - well, there’s only one here at Rhodes Island: Suzuran. Someone snuck into my room and dressed me like her...Who, though?”

Fortunately, thanks to her particular line of work, the Anura actually had a way to figure out the answer to that question. Still wearing the costume, because disturbing it enough to take it off might ruin the method she had in mind, Blue left her room to go to her lab. Along the way, she passed the Doctor, who stopped in their tracks for a moment. “Um, Blue?”

“Oh, Doctor! Sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush, but I have time for you.”

“Right.” Their mask seemed puzzled. “Just wanted to say, um, it’s a good cosplay.”

Blue blushed. “Um, thank you, Doctor, but it’s-”

“Doctor!” Blaze charged them from down the hall, several Operators hot on her trail, and the de facto power-behind-the-throne of Rhodes Island had to make a run for it. The Sniper watched the chase round a corner, simultaneously flattered, embarrassed, and completely confused by what’d just happened, before continuing on with her quest.

“Alright, this should be simple enough,” she told herself aloud as she approached her work table, put on a pair of gloves, grabbed a pair of tweezers, and plucked a strand of her own hair as well as one from the belt and another that’d found its way onto her sock. “The DNA sequencer should be able to tell me who these belong to, if they aren’t mine. If they are, I should be able to swab the belt for DNA instead as long as I’m careful.”

Of course, the analysis would take time, time which Blue could use to get lunch...And, after the Doctor’s compliment, she decided she might as well keep the costume on while she went to the cafeteria. It was well-made, even if its existence was vexing and the fact she’d woken up with it already on was creepy. Almost as if someone had wanted to give it to her but didn’t know how to- Wait a minute. Maybe she didn’t need that DNA test result after all.

Azureus found the Vulpo leaving one of Warfarin’s medical lectures; upon seeing her wearing the costume, Lisa’s eyes lit up, but she didn’t stray from her route as the Sniper fell into step with her. “Good afternoon, Suzuran. Can I ask you something while we walk?”

“Of course, Big Sister Blue.” She smiled at her.

“I woke up from a nap wearing this,” Blue explained, “and I was wondering if you knew who made it for me?”

Suzuran nodded. “I did.”

“Were you also the one who put it on for me, then?”

“Mmhmm.” The Vulpo pointed to her own tail-cloud. “I know that Big Sister Blue wants to make friends, but people don’t want to, and I want them to because I’ve tried your cakes, and they’re really good, so I thought, since people like me, they might want to be your friend if you had tails like mine.”

That was the most childish thing Azureus had ever heard...and yet, if the Doctor’s reaction earlier had been any indicator, she might’ve been onto something. “You’re trying to help me make friends?”

“Uh-huh! Is it working?” The sincerity in her voice almost stung the Anura. To think she’d at first suspected something far worse had happened…

“I think it might be,” the Sniper replied, “but, um, it’s not polite to do that sort of thing. Entering another person’s room without permission is not only rude, it’s also dangerous.”

Lisa gasped. “Oh! I’m sorry, Sister Blue, I didn’t know. I wanted to be sure you wore the tails at least once, and I waited for you outside your door, but you didn’t come out, and I...I...”

“I know, Suzuran, and I’m not mad. I just wanted to be sure you knew, okay?” Seeing the Vulpo react like this pulled at Blue’s heartstrings. It was like watching one of Mousse’s cats meow outside a door to be let in.

“Okay.” Still, Suzuran was visibly dealing with the fact that she’d done something wrong, which meant she was in trouble. “I’m sorry.”

Nope, that was it, that was too much. The Anura had to cheer her up, no two ways about it. “Have you had lunch yet? I was going to go eat before I came to find you; we could eat together.”

“I’m...I’m not in trouble?”

“Why would you be in trouble?” Blue tamped down the urge to head-pat the Vulpo. “You were trying to help, after all.”

She nodded. “Mmhmm.”

“So, how about we get lunch, and then you can come help me finish my movie if you have time? I fell asleep about halfway through, but I don’t mind restarting it.” Wait, maybe she shouldn’t have-

“Okay!” Lisa beamed. “It’s almost time for my afternoon nap, but I’ll help you finish your movie first.”