Disclaimer: Slam dunk is not mine.
Okay, let's see. The flyer was up on the bulletin board, my brother had gotten hold of an empty classroom and I have got the supplies. What else did I need? Oh yeah, Mr Rukawa.
Just as I was about to look for him on the rooftop, he appeared. A smiling Youhei was beside him. I had filled Youhei in on the plan the night before and he agreed to help as well. After which, we were planning to go to an ice cream place and I was looking forward to it. Not as much as I was looking forward to The Plan, but nevertheless, I was keen on it.
The three of us walked towards the classroom Hisashi managed to get and to my immense surprise, a long queue had already formed. "Long" barely begins to describe the queue actually, for the crowds of people (females, to be specific) congested the corridor outside the classroom, chatting and pushing. It was total pandemonium.
This was going to be a problem. They have not noticed us yet, but when they do...
As if on cue, someone shrieked, "It's him!" The crowd turned towards us and well, all I can say is that, if the previous situation could be considered "total pandemonium", I have no word to describe what happened after the silly girls spotted their dear little Rukawa.
I attempted to drag Kaede through the throng of his fans but it was a mistake. A terrible one.
"How dare you hold Rukawa's hand?"
"Hands off, you freak!"
The girls now turned their attention to me and I realised yet again, that attention is not necessarily good. I would rather be my usual old invisible self. At least, for that moment. I dropped Kaede's hand, afraid that things might get ugly. Before their attention could turn back to Kaede, Kaede grabbed my arm and pushed through his screaming fans, dragging me along with him. Youhei was trying desperately to follow the trail left behind us before the crowds could close in again.
After squishing pass the squealing, screaming hordes of fans, we reached the classroom, almost unscathed. Sure, I suffered mild trauma and perhaps temporary deafness, but at least Kaede's shirt remained intact, despite the attempts by the girls to rip off a piece of it.
At that moment, it occurred to me that my best friend was a walking money tree. I mean, I could just grab a bunch of his things and sell them off. Maybe even collect his drool in a bottle or something. If, of course, I could find a way to do so without touching that offensive stuff. I sniggered to myself. Realising that my brother and Youhei were both staring at me as if I were crazy, I pulled a straight face again.
"Alright. Youhei, would you mind standing at the doorway to help control the crowds? My brother would do that as well. Sorry, I know it's a tough job but with the two of you, maybe it's possible. At least, I hope it is." I winced at the thought of those unruly beings just outside the classroom. Our school could do with some courses on conduct and behaviour. Those schoolmates of mine sure need them.
Youhei grinned and gave me a thumbs-up sign. He headed towards the front door, along with Hisashi.
Since my brother had arrived earlier, he had spread sheets of old newspapers on the floor and dragged the tables and chairs to one side of the classroom, leaving only two chairs and a table in the middle of the room. Kaede walked to the chairs and dragged one a fair bit away from the other, and then slumped down in it. Laughing a little, I arranged a mirror, a ruler, a water spray, a comb, a brush, a razor and a pair of scissors on the table.
"Alright, first person." I beckoned to the two at the door. Gingerly, Youhei opened the front door of the classroom a little, and allowed one girl in, then slammed the door shut hurriedly, before any others could push through. I laughed again. This was actually getting to be very amusing, in a weird way.
Upon entering, the girl, whom I recognized as Yumiko, squealed and rushed towards Kaede, hugging him. Realizing that I had messed up that one detail, I tried to pull her back. I was no match for a girl in heat. Fortunately, Hisashi walked over, peeled her off her beloved and plonked her onto the other chair, holding her firmly down by the shoulders.
"You alright?" I mouthed to Kaede. No response.
For a fraction of a second, I wondered if Kaede had actually enjoyed that hug and looked at him again, raising a single eyebrow. As if reading my mind, Kaede glared at me. I stifled a giggle and turned to Yumiko.
"Alright. I'm going to cut your hair base on the instructions Kaede, no erm... Rukawa gives me. It costs five bucks okay?" I told Yumiko, who was sulking under Hisashi's grasp. She paid up and so we began.
"Back two front half. Centre of back cut diagonally up to meet front." Kaede said in a bored tone.
Surprised at him giving actual instructions which might result in something presentable, I gave her hair a few sprays of water and combed her fringe to the front. Measuring half an inch from the bottom, I cut her hair straight across. Then, I combed the back of her hair straight down and measured two inches from the bottom. Yet again, I cut straight across. I tucked her fringe behind her ears, then estimated the middle portion of her hair, held a tuft of it and cut from where her fringe ended behind her ears to where I held her hair. The result was a "v" shape back at the base of her neck.
To be honest, she did not look half bad. Then, with the mirror, I showed her our end product. Perhaps like me, she thought it looked quite alright, or perhaps, love is really blind, but Yumiko shrieked in joy, saying, "Rukawa! You are a genius!" I bet that if it were not for Hisashi, she would have leapt into his lap, giving him half a dozen kisses. I decided to ignore my indignation that entire credit was given to the one who basically just muttered a few words.
Yumiko was then escorted by Hisashi through the back door and out of the classroom. A number of girls came and went, all pleased with Kaede's creativity and my execution. Okay, they did not exactly mention the latter, but if it were not for my cutting, their hair would not have been cut at all. And so they would not know how creative Kaede actually was. Right? Right.
Finally, Ru, Ka and Wa's turns arrived. As predicted, they were together and Youhei managed to drag all three in without the rest entering as well. Before the three of them ran towards Kaede, Youhei and Hisashi pulled them back.
"Kaede here has decided that you three were pretty and didn't want me to ruin your good looks. So, he wants to do the actual execution. Now, we can't have you crawling all over him while he worked right? What if he destroys your hair? He was banking on you three to be his masterpieces..." I said, as sincerely as possible, while dragging another chair to the middle of the room.
The three hideous creatures looked at me in suspicion but then, Kaede walked to the table, and held a scissors. There. They had to believe me.
And they had.
Youhei and Hisashi released them tentatively and they scrambled to the three seats.
"Kaede darling, I never knew you thought I was pretty. What a sweetie you are... We'll make the best couple ever!" Ka cooed in a sugary voice.
I resisted the urge to gag, as the other two also came up with some disgusting self-flattering lies.
The "sweetie" merely picked up the spray and sprayed all around their hair, complete with a good spray in their faces.
Sputtering, Ru smiled what she probably thought was a charming smile and said, "That was brilliant! Girls, don't you think he is absolutely brilliant? No hairdresser had managed to get our hair thoroughly wet before! And everyone knows that the key to good hairdressing is the wetting of the hair right?" I coughed as Ka and Wa agreed enthusiastically, throwing in their own compliments.
I could see Youhei and Hisashi fighting the urge to laugh. In fact, my brother was shaking, his face a brilliant shade of red, and his eyes watering. Finally, he burst out in laughter. The three turned simultaneously and glared at him.
Kaede muttered a "do'ahou" in their direction and they turned back.
"Yes, yes. He is an idiot isn't he? He probably can't differentiate a comb from a brush." Wa said, fluttering her eyelashes.
Yet again, I could feel my lunch crawling slowly up my oesophagus, threatening to spill out from my mouth.
I controlled myself. "Girls," I imitated Ru, "you can't expect Rukawa to do a good job if you keep moving around right?" At that, the three frantically turned to face the front again, their bodies rigid. They apologised about a million times while Kaede started cutting their hair.
He cut their hair short. When about a couple of inches were left, he picked up the razor and began haphazardly shaving their heads. There was no particular order of the shaving. He just shaved a little here and a little there, resulting in an uneven landscape. The three of us standing at the side watching tried to appear amazed.
"Rukawa! That is absolutely stunning! Magnificent! I didn't know you had it in you. Not only are you the star basketball player, you have now just proven your talent in hairdressing as well! What a boy wonder you are, good at everything!" Youhei gushed, sounding genuinely impressed.
Youhei was the boy wonder, not Kaede. A wonder in acting. It was all my brother and I could do to stop ourselves from laughing. Luckily, we were standing behind the girls and they could not see us trembling from trying to keep from letting a laugh out.
The three girls smiled brightly.
Rukawa did his finishing touches and took a step back, admiring his work, I suppose. Then, he handed the girls the mirror. All three of their eyes widened. Not a word left their mouths.
"Do you like it? My best work yet." Kaede said offhandedly.
As if those words contain an anti-freeze, life returned to the three. I really did not know how he did that, but it seemed as if he were working black magic. No other way would he have been able to do what he seemed to be doing.
"Oh yes! We love it so much! Thank you thank you!" the three gushed. Before they could rush up to Kaede to do who knows what, Youhei and Hisashi pulled them back.
Yes. It had to be black magic.
"Fifty dollars! Come on, pay up, since you are so satisfied. It would be only five bucks, but since Rukawa did the actual cutting, fifty is it. It's already discounted! For anyone else, it would be two hundred." I stretched my hand out to collect the money.
The three scrambled for their purses and paid up. Gleefully, I slotted the three notes into the moneybox we had brought along. Having a friend who knows black magic does have its advantages.
My brother and Youhei dragged them to the back door, with me following closely behind. They left the room and chattered happily together, their backs facing us. Yes, there it was, as clear as chalk on the blackboard.
Do'ahou.
Each character staring blatantly at me from their heads.
Yes, Kaede was indeed a brilliant hairdresser.
A/N: Yet again, sorry for the slow update. Suddenly had the guilt trip and so, I finally wrote. Don't know if any of my old readers would still read this, but... oh well. Actually, when I read the previous chapters, they seemed so foreign to me, as if it weren't me who wrote them. Perhaps my writing style has changed. For the better, for the worse, I don't know. Whatever the case is, chapter 12 is up! Thanks to previous reviewers btw, even though, as I mentioned, I don't know if you would still read this almost stagnant fic. (: