AN - ...this was the closest trope I could get to what this chapter is about, so. As it happens the "tradition of Makoto doing Haruka's hair" was written sooner than you probably anticipated. I have like four or five ideas floating around in my head half-written and when I sat down to write this was the one that came out. Featuring some Tachibana family-times because not everything is Makoharu. I feel like given that most of the story is told from Makoto's perspective his family should at least be given some attention in the background and occasionally more. Meanwhile, it is Haruka's LACK of parents that is given attention to contrast. Yeah, that's coming up later.
One day in the summer before seventh grade, Haruka comes into swim practice with her hair still down.
With her long raven locks falling to the small of her back, she seems to be more tired and sweaty than usual, he thinks.
Makoto watches as she holds her hair away from her neck to wipe it with her other hand. Haru catches him looking and strolls over.
Aware of the eyes of other members of the swim club on them, he questions, "What's up, Haruka? Why is your hair down?"
She ignores his question in favor of asking her own, "Can you tie it up for me?"
"Eh?"
It's the first time she's ever asked such a thing of him. Of course, until now she had always come with her hair already done.
Her eyes are steady and unwavering as she waits for his answer. He gulps nervously.
He has absolutely no idea how to tie a person's hair up, but… he doesn't want to disappoint her, so he says with more confidence than he feels, "Sure! I can try."
She nods and hands him the tie off her wrist before turning to give him her back. He hesitates briefly before gathering her hair in his hands — it's very soft he notes, but also quite heavy and wet with what he assumes to be sweat. It must be unbearably warm, which makes him wonder once more why she hadn't pulled her hair up before coming here — and stopping.
Now what, he ponders. Typically, her hair is done up in a tight bun, but he hasn't the slightest clue how to achieve such a feat. He's never in his life done a girl's hair for her.
However, a ponytail seems like it should be fairly easy to accomplish.
He hopes.
He clears his throat and asks, "Um, is a ponytail good enough for today?"
Haru is silent for a moment before responding with a small, "Yes."
He manages to pull all of her hair into one hand and rest it against the back of her head before clumsily pulling the tie through her hair. She flinches when he accidentally snags and pulls out a few strands of her hair, and he blushes in shame and apologizes.
He pulls back just slightly to look at his handiwork. The hair is all contained in the tie, but it seems rather loose so he carefully wraps the tie around her hair one more time for a tighter fit.
He takes a step back and she turns to face him. Almost immediately, as if taunting him a small chunk of hair escapes the ponytail — that he can now see is not in the center of her head like he thought, but rather off to the right by a few centimeters — to fall against the side of Haruka's face.
She raises an unimpressed eyebrow and he flushes once more, mumbling another apology.
"It's fine," she murmurs, "just try again."
"O-okay."
When his second attempt falls flat, he can't help but ask in desperation, "Why don't you do your own hair, Haru?"
Her blue eyes reveal just a hint of embarrassment before she looks away and admits, "I don't know how."
Makoto blinks in confusion. "Eh? So the person who has done your hair up to this point is—"
"My grandmother."
"So, why didn't she do it today?"
Her countenance darkens noticeably and she mutters, "…Her hands were shaking too much."
He shouldn't have asked. "…I'll try again, okay?"
Haruka nods and turns around again.
His third attempt seems promising when she turns and her hair stays firmly in place. The ponytail is still a little off-center — this time, to the left — but is otherwise passable, he thinks.
After waving her head back and forth and then testing the ponytail with her hand, Haru seems to agree and nods her thanks at him.
He smiles at the unspoken appreciation and says, "I'll help you any time you need me to, okay?"
Haruka holds his stare for a while before nodding once more and walking away. Makoto is pretty sure she is hiding a small smile behind her hand.
Her smile doesn't hold long. The ponytail falls apart when she hits the water. Her hair fans out in the pool and the poor sap in the next lane gets tangled up in it.
As she clambers out of the pool, she gives him a small scowl. His heart breaks just a little at the sight of it.
As she seeks out help from another girl, he silently vows to get better.
That night, he approaches his baby sister and begs, "Please let me practice making ponytails with your hair!"
Ran, six years old and very much a fan of her brother, accepts his request without question. He stares at her hair in bewilderment for a moment before also calling, "Mother! Please teach me how to make a tight ponytail!"
His mother strolls leisurely into the living room asks, "Why do you need to learn how, Makoto?"
He avoids her eyes and hopes he isn't blushing as he says, "Haru can't do her own hair and her grandma's getting too old to do it so I need to learn how to do it for her."
His mother is charmed by his response and gives him an indulgent smile before replying, "Alright then. I'll show you how. Watch closely."
His eyes track his mother's hands diligently as she works his sister's hair like an expert. When she has finished, the woman sits back with a self-satisfied smile and says, "There! Just let Ran-chan try and ruin this ponytail."
As if in rebellion of her mother's words, the girl lets out a feral cry and begins wildly swinging her head every which way in a desperate attempt to loosen the ponytail and cause some hair to fall out — in the process, she accidentally smacks Makoto in the face with her hair. She snickers while he spits a few unruly strands out of his mouth
She tires out after a moment, and to his awe the ponytail is still perfectly intact.
His mother must be some sort of magician.
She carefully pulls the tie out of Ran's hair and hands it to Makoto. "Now it's your turn. Just try your best."
He nods and starts by carefully combing through Ran's hair as his mother had done. When his fingers snag a tangle — no doubt caused by Ran's frenetic movement earlier — and Ran cries out sharply in pain, he stops and sends his mother a frantic glance.
"Calm down," she soothes. "Just take it slow and gentle. Be careful not to pull too hard on her hair."
Makoto nods and resumes his finger-combing. After Ran's hair seems sufficiently brushed, he cautiously gathers it all in one hand and pulls the tie over it, wrapping it once, twice.
The ponytail seems to be in the right place, but when Ran repeats her rapid head swinging from earlier, it comes undone almost instantly. The tie goes flying.
Ren, watching from the table, chases after it and brings it back to them.
He tries again. And again. And again.
"I don't understand. I'm doing exactly what you're doing! Why isn't it working?"
His mother ruffles his hair and says, "It just takes practice. How to gather the hair together and how tight to make the ponytail is something that comes from experience. Keep at it!"
It takes him about twenty tries and forty-five minutes of effort, but he finally manages to make a ponytail on par with his mother's.
The next time Haruka needs her hair done up, he'll be ready.
As it happens, she needs just such a thing the next day, as well. Apparently her grandmother's condition is worsening.
Makoto catches her before she can go to the other girls for help and convinces her to let him try again.
Just as his mother taught him, he carefully combs his fingers through her hair — relishing the feeling of Haruka's long, silky hair, so different yet similar compared to Ran's — before gathering and tying it.
He steps back and she tests her ponytail in a more subdued rendition of Ran's head-banging.
"Not bad."
She's impressed. With him.
He ducks his head, embarrassed but happy, and admits, "I practiced last night."
"I can tell." There's no smile on her face, but he can read it in her voice, and he's soaring high until—
"Can you make it into a bun?"
"…"
"…"
"…Uh."
That night, he calls out once more:
"Ran, let me practice with your hair!"
"Eh, again?"
"Mother, please teach me to make a bun!"
"Yes, yes…"
And thus, a new tradition was born.
AN - Don't you love how Haruka is just drifting through life like whatever and then there's Makoto: HEY HARU HOW ARE YOU HARU WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU HARU I LOVE YOU HARU. It can only be love that she doesn't get fed up with his mushy bullshit. Also this was mostly a comic chapter but also dark foreshadowing happened. The death of Grandmother Nanase is rapidly approaching.
