Interlude - 翠 AKA Any Colour, So Long As It's Green

‘You’re changing colours, again? For a straight-laced workaholic, you’re oddly concerned about your image, heh.’

‘Yeah; I change the colour following my mood,’ the lips of the emerald–eyed woman with a double–bun hairstyle parted, but before any sound came forth, the black and purple-haired woman seated on the edge of the bed opposite hers interjected.

‘So much colour–changing and I’m pretty sure they’re always shades of green. Do you actually own any other colours?’ Hikari interrogated, with a condemning glare.

Well, it’s nice to know that you’ve been paying attention, at least. ‘Nope,’ the doctor cheerfully replied. ‘All shades of green; mint for when I feel relaxed or just not in any particularly special mood, given that it’s light and doesn’t draw too much attention. Bright green for when I’m feeling particularly energetic or cheerful and darker, more forest-like shades of green for whenever my mood isn’t particularly great or I’m wearing more formal clothing.’

‘Eh?’ Hikari remarked, still glaring and her voice full of curiosity. ‘So, the best time to flirt with you is when your nails are either light or loudly-coloured. I see…’

‘Does your mind ever come out of the gutter, even for a moment?’ Tsubaki scorned, with a suitably condemning facial expression.

‘You’re asking me that as if you’re not the root cause of my mind being stuck there,’ Hikari smirked. ‘So, we know what the colours are, but I’ve never seen you mix it up, with a finish other than matte though. I guess you’re not really into that?’

‘It’s not even so much that I’m not into showy finishes, but the gel polishes which I do use are all vegan. That said, I’m not particularly fussed about the finishes either. Like one of the reasons I don't use much makeup in general; it’s not like I’m expressly trying to catch anybody’s attention anyway.’

Ugh, you sound like a total square with that last bit. ‘Vegan? I knew you were vegetarian, but I didn’t know it was because you were vegan?’ Hikari quizzed, tilting her head, perplexed.

‘I’m not a vegan, but I don’t like the idea of crushed beetle shells or fish scales being needlessly harvested for something that ultimately could be made without. Imagine; one bottle could contain any or all of the following ;

‘Carmine, which comes from crushed insect shells. It’s pretty common for makeup that uses red pigments.

‘Guanine, which commonly is found from fish scales, is regularly used for shimmery effects in nail polish.

‘Perfumes are often made from musk oil, shark liver oil or ambergris; musk oil is normally a dried secretion, painfully obtained from a variety of animals and ambergris usually comes from whale intestines.

‘Beeswax, Keratin, Lanolin, Oleic Acid, Retinol, Shellac, Squalene and Tallow are also animal-derived ingredients that are pretty common. Sounds pretty rank, right? You’re making that face like you’re repulsed, but I bet your nail polish has at least one or multiple of those ingredients,’ the doctor lectured and finished with a condemning stare.

After a brief rummage around in her mini backpack, Hikari returned to her seated position on her bed.

‘Oi, don’t throw it, you idiot! What exactly am I supposed to catch it with?’

‘Um, your mouth?’ Hikari replied, with a mischievous grin.

The doctor stared blankly for a moment before rolling her eyes. ‘If it’s not something flirty, it’s something stupid.’

‘I’ll let you read it for yourself then.’ After traipsing the small distance across the bedroom, she knelt down at the edge of the doctor’s bed and held up the little purple bottle a short distance in front of the doctor.

Hmm; PH102… Looking through the list… I didn’t see this coming. ‘Excuse the phrasing, but; colour me surprised. It’s got a lot of chemicals, but nothing animal–derived so far as I could tell. I’m guessing it’s a lucky coincidence, but you pass the animal-friendly test on this occasion,’ Tsubaki reluctantly conceded.

‘Great! Well, it’s nice to know that we have at least one thing in common,’ Hikari concluded, softly, with a friendly smile as she gazed up at the doctor.

Ugh, not now, please. I really don’t need you turning me on at this time of morning, or the dangerous fizzing sensation that I sometimes get filled with when your cool, enveloping gaze isn’t inhibited by you saying something stupid.

If you weren’t doing your nails and I leaned in to kiss you right now, what would you do, Tsubaki? Your silence and paralysis with that straight face is pretty telling. Tick, tock, Tsubaki, tick tock…

References

As ever, they're available in the corresponding chapter of the illustrated version. Mercifully, for anybody bored by environment/ ecology content, there's only one more chapter with these sub-themes and it's a fair way away.