Try and hide

Wide eyes stared both at the sigil for a moment, and at the good dozen or so people suddenly greeted by a nude blonde running into the building.

It was a department store. Of course it was, that was why the sigil was in place, that was why it was thoroughly filled with shoppers and staff, and far more people than Larxene had ever wanted to see her like this.

She glanced around; shelves and shelves of various things stretched out in front of her. Racks of clothes, just hanging there and mocking her, for some reason more pins out on display, and countless more things all being browsed by people whose attention was very much no longer on shopping.

Her cheeks burned.

The door behind her clicked shut a split second later, the last rush of air waving over her behind, and she took a step forwards. Going outside again was not an option, not with the Players, not with the absurdly crowded crossing... Even if not everyone could see her out there, she didn't know who could.

In here she was more visible, but at least she knew what to expect.

Breathless, Larxene darted over to the nearest block of shelves, hunching slightly so that her red face wasn't peering over the aisle. Instead she just had to deal with the people on the same side of the unit as her; she quickly adjusted her arms, nervously trying to be sure they were keeping her covered.

There was nowhere private! She whimpered, spotting a half dozen people with a suddenly clear view of her ass. Larxene quickly tried to turn, but even with her back to the shelf it didn't make her feel any less exposed; frantic now she glanced from side to side, the size of the store dizzying and the murmurs of the shoppers making her all the more ****.

Shrieking, she ran out from her inadequate cover towards the till.

Fuck, everyone could see her, everyone could-

Bare legs brushed one another, bare feet pounding against the floor, until she reached the counter. Unable to get much redder, she didn't slow, using both her arms to vault over the surface and land crouching on the other side; immediately she crossed one arm back over her tits, stilling them after her frantic motion.

A pair of employees were standing on the same side of the till as her, staring in a mix of shock and something Larxene was not going to think about.

"Yeah? What are you looking at?" she did her best glare.

Screw subtlety. With her free hand she gestured, lightning crackling between her fingertips; it didn't take much for the duo to hurry away from her.

Apparently this world wasn't used to magic. Well, outside of this Game at least. That had its advantages.

She slid down, back against the counter, until her ass touched the floor. She whimpered, one arm over her chest behind her knees, the other hugging her legs tighter around her, cheeks flaming.

This was better than being outside... right?

At least they'd done the mission. Curiously she glanced at her hand, now she had a moment of privacy; Namine's had a timer on it. Hers didn't, but then they'd completed the mission now, maybe it vanished then.

Someone stuck their head over the top of the till, looking down at her, getting a brief glimpse of the blonde's cleavage and flushed face before Larxene yelped.

Lightning crackled again. That, at least, made the stranger draw back; she whimpered again.

"Has anyone seen a blonde?"

And then she heard Namine's voice. Larxene bit her lip; damn it, she could not be nervous around that shy brat of all people, she just couldn't.

"I saw her come in here," Namine said. "Where did she go?"

Ugh, and Namine's voice just sounded wrong when she was heartless. It figured Namine valued her goodness, weak sap that she was, but hearing her having lost that part of her, revelling in Larxene's humiliation... Larxene swallowed, trying to steady herself.

"There you are," Namine said, peering down over the counter again.

Larxene squeaked. She couldn't zap her partner, not like she could someone else; they both needed to get through this.

Somehow Larxene had the feeling partnering with Namine might have been a mistake.

Namine sat on the counter, turning back to look down at the flustered blonde. Larxene squirmed, nervously looking around. As though there was anywhere to run that didn't involve baring herself to the rest of the store again.

"Feeling better?" Namine said. "You could go back outside. Getting to know other Players has been helpful."

"Don't mock me," Larxene muttered, hating how high her voice was. The girl knew as well as her why she couldn't linger around anyone.

Namine smirked.