I have the worst feeling that this has already been done a thousand times...

Anyway, as far as I know (and I don't know a lot, so forgive me), no explanation is given on how Riku's hair came to be so short in Dream Drop Distance. This is my theory. I don't usually write this much character interaction, and I almost never attempt humor, so tell me if this was okay or if it was terrible. XD

No offense intended to anyone who likes Riku's new haircut. I just think he looks kinda funny. XD

Reviews aren't required but they are very much appreciated. Thank you very much for visiting and please enjoy!

It was a beautiful day on the Destiny Islands. Warm sun, white sand, blue sky, bluer water. Tropical flowers bloomed and not even the thick clouds that typically rested on the horizon were present.

Well, actually, it wasn't really all that special, since essentially every day on the islands looked just like this one, but it had been so long since Sora had seen his home that he appreciated it anyway. To that end, he decided to spend the lovely day in the best way he knew how—dozing off on the beach. And he wondered why Kairi always called him a bum...

Feeling like he had reached some sort of heaven—that was the only possible explanation for how good he felt—Sora gave an audible sigh of pleasure, stretching a little but otherwise not stirring from his spread-eagle position on the sand of the Play Island beach. He knew it was getting later in the afternoon, and he really should get up, if only to find someone to tell his mom that he probably wouldn't be home for a long time, but he found himself far too comfortable after two years of fighting the darkness to even try to make the effort.

So wrapped up in his bliss was Sora, that he didn't hear the footsteps coming towards him until someone's foot was pressing on his belly and demanding, "Get up!"

A little alarmed, being as in Sora's experience, "Get up" usually meant "Sora, Heartless are attacking and they'll kill you if you don't wake up right now, and don't even expect me to save your sorry butt, you big palooka," the boy threw himself into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes wildly and searching for the threat.

Then he frowned, because it was not a Heartless, but his best friend Riku standing over him, arms folded in impatience but a tiny smile tugging at his thin lips at Sora's frenzied reaction. The older boy flicked his head a bit to get the hair out of his eyes, a habit he seemed to have picked up upon his silver hair growing so long, and Sora winced at this—while he was not easily annoyed, Riku just looked like a malfunctioning robot when he did that.

"Hi, Riku," Sora smiled, easily forgiving his friend's aggravating habit, "Whatcha doing here? You woke me up. Wanna spar? I love sparring. Hey, I bet I could beat you now! I mean, the score's only like, what, 103 to nothing? Or was it 203? I dunno, it's been a while..." Realizing he was rambling, as usual, Sora smiled apologetically and waited for the flick in the forehead or playful insult. When he received neither of these punishments for his silliness, he carefully reevaluated his friend, who was still standing there, not having said anything since "Get up." Sora frowned when he saw that Riku looked a little disturbed about something, toying idly with his hair and glaring at nothing in particular.

Sora was generally optimistic, but Riku looked so moody that he quickly jumped to the worst possible conclusion—that Riku had come to tell him that they were needed again and they were leaving right this second. Sora almost didn't want to hear what Riku had to say, but still dared to inquire, "What's wrong?" The younger of the two gave a shaky, slightly watery smile, already emotionally preparing himself for his friend's news.

There was silence for a moment, during which the brunet became increasingly nervous, and he just wished that Riku would spit it out, because he couldn't stand the suspense...

When the pair of scissors landed at his feet, Sora was just confused.

"... Uh?" he articulated, sloppy in his bewilderment, staring first at the shiny, red-handled scissors and then his friend's troubled face.

Riku stared at him dismally. "Cut it off."

"... What? Riku, you okay?" Sora knew Riku could be a bit... off sometimes, especially now after their journey, but even this seemed a little out there. He was used to Riku talking to himself or being disconcertingly overprotective towards him and Kairi, but he was not used to Riku just walking up and making a random demand, especially one as obscure as "Cut it off."

On cue, Riku reiterated, "I said cut it off."

"Cut what off?"

Riku sighed witheringly, rolling his eyes like he couldn't believe Sora didn't understand his decidedly cryptic request. "My ear, stupid, what else?" His tone dripped with sarcasm—sarcasm that, unfortunately, he had forgotten that Sora was prone to missing.

Sure enough, Sora looked stricken. "Your ear?"

The silver-haired boy stared at him, one eye twitching ever so slightly, clenching and unclenching his hands—Sora didn't know what he was so upset about, but he was pretty sure that Riku was imagining his neck between his taut fists. Which was unsettling, to say the least. "No!" Riku barked, exasperated.

"Then why—?"

"I was being sarcastic, Sora!"

"Then what do you want me to cut—?"

"My hair, you dolt!"

Sora blinked at him once—probably out of confusion at the strange insult, or, even more likely, perplexity at the request itself—before bursting into a fit of laughter so intense he fell back onto the sand, clutching his sides at the sheer hilarity. Admittedly, Riku was a bit hurt by this, his pride even more so, and snapped defensively, "What?"

The younger of the two continued to giggle while sitting up. "Riku, you've always had long hair. With short hair, you'd just look silly."

Riku narrowed his eyes, a little irritated at his friend for bringing up that unwanted reminder. "I know."

This statement seemed to deeply confuse Sora, because he even got into his trademark, over-exaggerated "thinking pose" to mull over the comment. "If you know you'd look stupid..." Riku glared at the word, "... Then why do you wanna do it? ... Somebody at school made fun of you, didn't they? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Sora's voice rose in pitch with each "huh," and while the younger looked mildly concerned for his friend, the flicker of amusement in his eyes at the prospect of big, bad Riku getting made fun of for his haircut was too obvious to ignore.

Riku "hmph"ed at this, pointedly blowing a strand of silver hair out of his eyes. Clearly, there was only one way to explain this to Sora without getting asked stupid questions. "... It can't be long until we're called on again, Sora. You know that."

The mention of their ongoing efforts to save the universe instantly brought out Sora's more mature (if only slightly) side, and he quickly sat up straight and nodded tersely in agreement.

"Fighting with long hair is annoying. It gets in the way. It would be a hindrance to our journey. So while I know I'd look... different with short hair, I really just think we should get rid of it. So..." Riku folded his arms. "I think it'd be best if we cut my hair now, so that if we're called on short notice and we have to leave, we won't have to worry about it."

Sora nodded solemnly in understanding, and then looked up at Riku again, a flicker of hope in his eyes at the idea of maybe suggesting an alternative that wouldn't make his friend so apparently miserable. "You could just tie it back. Would you do that?"

Riku sighed. "No. I'd really look stupid then. Come on Sora, cut it and let's get it over with."

Sora folded his arms, eyeing his friend a bit suspiciously. Riku trusting him with sharp objects? He didn't like it. "Why me? Can't you cut it yourself? Or get somebody else to do it?"

"I already tried cutting it myself and I couldn't reach," Riku defended himself, and then went quiet for a moment, staring into space thoughtfully. "And as for why I came to a klutz like you... I think you should know why by now."

A blank stare. "... Um..."

The older boy resisted the urge to smack his friend in a mixture of affection and exasperation. "It's because I trust you, you twerp."

"... Really? You do? Even with your hair?" Sora asked, looking quite awed and a little nervous at this information.

Riku shrugged. "You saved my life, didn't you? I can at least let you make an attempt. So come on, the faster you do this, the faster we get it over with, huh?"

"Well... Okay..." Sora reluctantly picked up the scissors from their spot on the sand, taking a few experimental snips at the air. Each sound, sharp like glass, made Riku wince as he sat down in front of Sora, shoulders tensed nervously, back to his friend. While he trusted Sora completely, enough to carry the weapon of prophecy that would save the universe and his life several times over, a pair of scissors was another matter entirely. He found himself praying that one of his friend's big clumsy hands wouldn't slip and sever his jugular, because that wouldn't be much fun for anyone involved.

He felt Sora take a stand of his hair, and then put it down, and pick it up, and put it down. Soon, Sora's worried face filled his vision. "Riku, are you sure? I'm not too good with scissors... I mean... remember what happened the last time I cut your hair?"

Riku shuddered a bit at the memory of an eager three-year-old Sora holding a pair of safety scissors, ready to cut his hair, since the boys at preschool had made fun of Riku's long tresses and he didn't know who else to go to. While his hair did end up a bit shorter, he also ended up with no bangs and at least half a dozen cowlicks, all gelled back with thick mint-green toothpaste. "Did you really have to bring that up, Sora?"

"Sorry! Sorry. I just..." Sora giggled, seeming to forget all about his consternation for Riku's haircut. "That was kinda funny."

"It was not! My mom was so mad—" Realizing he was getting off-topic, Riku snapped, "Just cut my hair, okay, Sora?"

Sora still looked a bit unsure. "We could go to a barber..."

"No."

"Your mom could do it..."

"No."

"My mom could do it..."

"No."

"... Kairi could do it?"

"Sora."

"Sorry! Fine! I'll do it! Just don't blame me if you end up looking stupid!" Face dragged down into a childish pout, Sora took the scissors and proceeded to hack off a good foot of Riku's silver hair.

Silence.

"... Oh." Sora giggled nervously, staring at the handful of silver hair in his fist and suddenly feeling a bit faint. "I guess I should have asked you how short you wanted it?"

Riku buried his face in his hands, groaning miserably. "Just finish cutting it, Sora..."

Half an hour of cutting, re-cutting, evening, and fretting (on both Sora and Riku's parts) later, Riku's hair was finished and the pair stood at the edge of a rock pool, both peering in at the elder's reflection.

"It looks nice," Riku mumbled, fiddling with the edges of the silver hair that didn't even reach his chin.

"Yeah!" Sora nodded briskly in agreement. "Yeah, it does."

A moment of silence passed.

"Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"... You look like an idiot."

"Agreed."