[X] Ask to wash Yukari's hair. If it relaxed her to wash yours, then...

***

Some time is spent turning over the conversation in your head, but you at last elect to file the information away for later. While it's been illuminating, you simply don't have the energy to deal with it all right now. Feeling a bit restless again, you consider simply attempting to sleep despite your poor mood, but watching Yukari twirling your locks between her fingers gives you an idea.

"Would you mind if I washed your hair too, Yukarin?"

Yukari blinks in surprise, but gives you a smile and a nod. A strange feeling, sort of like an internal vibration, rushes through you, and then--

Yukari sits up from her position in your lap, her back to you. You shake your head in confusion - weren't you just in her lap? A confused mumble escapes you, and the gap youkai looks over her shoulder at you.

"Manipulated the border between my position and yours." She giggles in amusement and turns to face forward again. "You'll get used to it one day."

Once you've oriented yourself properly, you take a glance at the rock against your back. A bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner are set carefully atop your towel on a small flat of the stone. Yukari has taken a seat directly in front of you, mercifully not in your lap, but close enough that you'll have no trouble reaching her.

First things first, you'll have to remove the long pins that hold her hair in an elaborate bun and loops. It's impressive that she managed to arrange her hair so perfectly, presumably without help; you wouldn't be surprised if it required the use of gaps to accomplish, and it almost leaves you regretful that you'll have to dismantle such an accomplishment. Still, you pull the pins out one by one, noting with interest that one pin is different than the rest; while the majority of the hairpins are simple and gold, one pin has a small blue and purple butterfly at the head. Must have been a gift from Yuyu.

You set the pins aside carefully, sticking them through your towel to ensure they don't roll away. Taking a thick length of her golden hair in hand, you run your fingers through the soft strands; she really has nice hair. You're going to need a little help to wet it though, as you don't have the easy access gaps she does, and there's enough of it that just cupping some water in your hands isn't going to cut it.

"Would you help me wet your hair, Yukari?"

The woman obliges you by leaning forward and submerging her head for a moment, carefully collecting the long hair that splays across the water and pulling it under. When she surfaces, you grab the bottle of shampoo and squeeze a large blob of the stuff out into your hand. You can't really judge how much she'll need, but you're fairly certain it'll be more than this. Regardless, you set to work rubbing the thick gel into her scalp.

Your ministrations elicit a strange sound from Yukari - it's not unlike the purring that you drew from Chen when you petted her, but it has a certain more steady quality to it. Not smooth enough to be a hum, not throaty enough to be a purr. You take it to mean that she likes this.

"It's so nice to be pampered sometimes, especially when the one doing the pampering actually wants to do it. Ran always grumbles about me being too dependent when she does it these days; I miss when she was always eager to wash my hair for me."

"I can't see why she wouldn't want to. You have lovely hair."

She lets out another pleased humming noise in response, moving on to hum out a soothing tune that you can't place. It's a nice piece, though. You continue kneading her scalp for a bit before you begin running your hands along the full length of her hair. You go back for another glob of shampoo at one point, but Yukari seems content to let you tend to her hair at your own pace. After letting her hair sit for a few moments, you judge it timely for her to rinse her hair out.

"Dip again, Yukari?"

She does so, making sure to wash the shampoo from her hair thoroughly. When she surfaces again you start in with the conditioner. Her hair's become a bit stiff from the shampooing, but the conditioner goes in with much more ease; you do end up using quite a bit more of it, but that's to be expected. You ask her to dip again when appropriate, and...

You're done.

You actually do feel surprisingly better after that; that sort of mindless repetitive motion is soothing, especially with the proximity to another person it involves. You lift the golden waves of her hair up in your hands and find that it feels like holding up a sheet of silk, an illusion only helped by the soft sheen of the almost luminescent strands. Her hair has a volume and bounce to it that lends it a natural sort of body, even when wet. It really is...

"Lovely."

You lean forward and wrap your arms around Yukari from behind almost instinctively, resting your chin on her shoulder and your head against hers. She reaches up and brings her arm about your head, as if to hold you in place for the moment. As your hand tangles itself in her hair, she tangles her own hand in your hair.

The two of you sit there together in satisfied silence for some time, just watching the ebb and flow of the starlight, and the ripples of the water.

"I should thank you again for letting me wash your hair," Yukari speaks in a whisper, "I haven't washed anyone in ages."

You respond to the melancholy tone in her voice by snuggling a bit closer.

"Would you like to do it again some time?"

"Yes, I'd like that."

A pause, then a sigh.

"You should head to bed now, dear. Tomorrow will be another early morning."

"I'd intended to, but I've had trouble with settling down. It's fortunate that ghosts don't need sleep."

"Children make the same claim," Yukari laughs softly, "but they should listen to their elders."

She slips out of your grip, and you suddenly find yourself falling.

---

The countless eyes staring at you. A shudder, and your skirt and sash materialize.

This alien place is not so strange this time through, but you're not compromising your modesty for those creepy floating eyes...

---

You land in your futon with a thump, your jacket drifting out of the gap and morphing into a blanket on reflex. You're oddly dry, and as you reorient yourself, Yukari leans out of the gap looking every bit as dry. She's now clad in what looks to be a purple nightgown, and she slips out of the gap to drift down and land gently at your bedside.

"Yukari, wha--"

She silences you with a shushing motion, and begins to tuck your blanket in firmly.

"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."

Leaning over you, she plants a light kiss on your forehead, and you suddenly feel a little sleepier. The warmth in the smile she flashes you melts into the warmth of the blanket around you, and a yawn escapes you. With your blurring vision you can vaguely see a new gap opening. You probably have enough time to say something to her before she actually leaves.

[ ] Ask for a lullaby.

[ ] Thank her and go to sleep.