Written when the author realized how very few Hanagumi fics are out there compared to Yona and romances…

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Kanna Bismark decided that she needed a haircut as she puffed on her cigarette an hour ago. No, she wasn't going to get a haircut to symbolize of something pathetic like losing a boyfriend or something significant like finding a new direction in life under Hao-sama's command.

Kanna Bismark was going to get a haircut because maintaining waist long hair after long journeys around the world, training and combat in the last year was a pain in the butt. She didn't know how Hao could possibly maintain his long silky hair that never seemed to be in disarray but she wasn't willing to ask or go to the lengths that he just had to go through to keep it in its pristine condition.

She was vain… but not quite that vain.

An hour latter after making her decision…

"But Kanna! I love playing with your hair!" Macchi whined as she bounced all over the place with the only pair of scissors known to be in the possession of the newly formed Hanagumi. Kanna cursed up a storm as she ran all over trying to capture the hyperactive seven year old child.

Kanna should've known better than to ask Macchi to do something as simple as 'get the scissors' and ask no questions. Hao encouraged Kanna to be patient with her team and try to get them to follow her orders by starting with simple tasks. Unfortunately Kanna snapped after a few too many 'what are you going to do with it?' from Macchi and stupidly answered the twit's question. The next time she needed something, she was going to ask Mari to get them for her. But as of now it was too little, too late.

"For the last ?#$!ing time! Give me the #$!?ing scissors or I'm going to summon Ashcroft to tear you a new $$$hole!" Kanna snarled.

"282 times… Kanna used bad words again! I'm going to tell Hao-sama that you're still swearing!" Macchi taunted.

"$#!," Kanna swore. She had forgotten that she 'trying' to clean up her language and had asked Mari and Macchi to keep track of how many times she swore over the course of the week. Kanna turned around for a moment to see Mari's reaction to her slip up and found the girl was looking at her with disapproving green eyes.

"283 times. Mari thinks Kanna needs to try harder…" Was all that Mari said as she played with Chuck.

Kanna really, really needed a cigarette but she was completely out at the moment. At least Hao-sama was not trying to get her to quit smoking.

'I don't mind Kanna if you smoke, but if I want to recruit more people and convince them of my dream for a world of Shamans… Well I would like you to curb, um, your cursing…' Hao said with a merry smile a few days ago.

"Why am I trying so #$&ing hard?" Kanna asked the dusky sky miserably. Macchi and Mari weren't sure whether the older girl was talking about getting the scissors or attempting to clean up her language.

Eventually the other two assumed it was both.

"284 times," both chimed at the same time. One was voice bored, the other was energetic enough to power several bored Maris and then some.

Macchi scampered away from Kanna with the agility of a ferret and mounted the highest peak of a sloping rock. Kanna glared at Macchi with fiery anger and growled. There was only room for one individual at the highest point and the slope was very steep.

"Get down here… And I might not kill you, you little #!$&…" Kanna snarled.

"285 times," Mari announced in a bored voice.

"&$#."

"286 times!" Macchi announced gleefully.

"Give the #!&$ing scissors Macchi!" Kanna shouted and attempted to scramble up the rock. She almost made it to where Macchi was but the orange haired girl merely giggled and kicked Kanna lightly in the stomach as momentum was lost in Kanna's journey up the rock. Kanna tumbled down and landed on the sandy bottom in a heap.

"287 times… I didn't think you would put so much effort in trying to stop swearing. I was only joking about it, I didn't really mind if you swore or not Kanna," Hao announced as he appeared in the air in a burst of flames. Macchi felt the heat for a brief moment but it was gone in an instant.

Hao floated in the air right next Macchi.

"Hao-sama," Macchi said in an awed and startled voice. She smiled nervously and twiddled the scissors in her hands guiltily.

"Macchi, please give me the scissors," Hao asked politely.

Macchi quickly gave the scissors to Hao and smiled widely.

"I was going to give it Kanna eventually," Macchi explained.

"Mari knows Macchi is lying," Mari stated as she walked closer to the rock so that Hao could see her clearly.

"What?! Why you…" Macchi screeched indignantly.

"Now, now. If Macchi says she was going to give it Kanna eventually, then it must be true," Hao said soothingly.

Macchi smiled triumphantly but found that the feeling of triumph over Mari was short lived and quite hollow when Hao announced his next words.

"But you should apologize to Kanna. She's your team leader and deserves respect," Hao lightly scolded Macchi. It was rather funny to see if one didn't understand the dynamics of the entire situation. Hao looked no older than eight and yet he controlled all three girls with the firmness one would expect from a gentle father trying to resolve a squabble amongst children. Then again, Hao was over a thousand years old.

Give or take a few years.

"But… But…" Macchi sputtered. Kanna picked herself from off the sandy ground and shook the sand in hair out. Kanna for her part did not gloat over the fact that Hao was making Macchi apologize, all she wanted was the damn scissors.

It was Kanna's sense of priorities that helped Hao make his decision to assign Kanna to Macchi and Mari.

"Mari thinks Macchi should apologize," Mari intoned gravely.

"You just want to suck up to Hao-sama," Kanna muttered under breath. Mari looked offended and hurt though it was quickly gone from her face.

Kanna did have a problem with saying the first thing on her mind without thinking of the consequences. But Hao knew that she would eventually learn restraint… After a few hard lessons.

Mari turned and left without a word. Kanna realized that she had once again pissed off her team mate.

"Way to go fearless leader… I'm sorry I didn't give you the scissors but you have got to work on your attitude problem," Macchi snapped at Kanna. After bowing to Hao, she scrambled down the rock and went after Mari.

Kanna felt chastened by Macchi's words but outwardly looked proud and unrepentant. Hao made no comment and quietly landed without making a sound. He approached Kanna and gave her the scissors.

"May I ask what you plan to do those scissors?" Hao asked.

"I'm going to cut my hair Hao-sama," Kanna answered. Glad to have something dwell upon rather than her poor relationship with the other two Hanagumi.

"Ah… So how are you going to do that?" Hao asked.

"I don't understand Hao-sama…"

"How are you going to cut your hair?" Hao asked once again, clarifying.

Kanna remained silent and realized she hadn't quite thought that far. She didn't trust Macchi to cut her hair without doing something strange and Mari was a bit too peeved at Kanna to cut her hair willingly.

"… $#!&."

"I'll cut your hair," Hao offered brightly. Kanna stared at Hao for moment.

"Don't worry about it, I think I can cut it myself Hao-sama… I think."

"Nonsense, I don't mind at all," Hao waved off Kanna's concern and motioned the taller blue haired girl to sit on the ground. Kanna obeyed reluctantly and sat down.

With a flourish, Hao removed his cloak and wrapped it around Kanna. It smelled of sweet grass and burnt wood, a surprisingly pleasant scent Kanna realized. She closed her eyes and heard the scissor blades part, then:

Snip.

"Shoulder length… Can you please cut it to shoulder length?" Kanna asked suddenly. Though her eyes were closed, she knew Hao nodded and went back to cutting.

Snip, snip.

It went on steadily for a few minutes as Hao made progress. Darkness was fast approaching but there was no urgency in Hao's steady cutting. No words spoken for awhile.

"You have very beautiful hair, you know. Why would you want to cut it?" Hao asked breaking the silence. He was almost finished cutting Kanna's hair.

"I can't exactly maintain it… Believe me, I tried," Kanna answered candidly.

"Ah, too much of a pain…" Hao observed in a quiet voice. He finished snipping off the last of Kanna's of hair to make it shoulder length.

Kanna opened her eyes and noticed how much lighter her head felt without the extra hair she had. To confirm what had happened her hand went up to her shoulder length hair. She saw a small pile of blue hair around her and felt Hao unwrap his cloak from her neck. He shook the his cloak to dislodge the hair on it and noted that he would have to clean it latter. Hair fell into his eyes again and he brushed it off to see clearly again. He saw Kanna admiring the shortness of her hair and the airiness it gave her.

"You know I wouldn't mind a trim of my bangs… Would you do that for me?" Hao flipped the scissors to off it to Kanna handles first.

The request threw Kanna off balance but she managed to recover.

"Of course Hao-sama."

The cutting was simple. An inch or two just needed to cut from his long bangs to keep them out of his eyes. When Kanna was finished, she decided to ask a question that had been bugging her for awhile.

"How do you keep your hair so nice Hao-sama?" Kanna asked with genuine curiosity. To her, it was the biggest mystery in the world.

"I'm afraid that is a secret, if I told you then everyone would want to know… Ask me a different question," Hao said jokingly.

"… How come you keep your hair long then?" Kanna asked.

"Because men with long hair are $!ing sexy," Hao grinned unrepentantly.

Kanna stared at Hao with disbelief.

Then she started laughing.