Kuwabara tried to take his father's words to heart and not let Sakura's rejection get him down. It was hard though, seeing her at school every day and knowing that she thought he was ugly and beneath her notice.
He had never really considered his appearance before. He'd just sort of assumed he was good looking. Now he found himself studying the mirror to see. He was tall, taller than any of the kids in his class, and his body did seem to be mostly arms and legs. His orange hair was the same color as his mother's had been, so he liked that. But his eyes were kind of small, and his nose was crooked from that time Urameshi had broken it. He just felt awkward now every time he looked in the mirror.
"You know what you need?" his dad said one day. "You need a new hairstyle. You've had this little boy cut for too long now."
"What kind of new hairstyle?" Kuwabara asked, curious.
"It's a good one," Mr. Kuwabara said. "I used to wear it a lot. It's called a pompadour. Let me get my hair gel and you'll see what I'm talking about."
A few minutes later Kuwabara eyed his dad's handiwork in the mirror. It made him look different; more mature, Kuwabara thought. He grinned widely. "I like it. It's me."
Mr. Kuwabara grinned down at him. "I thought you would."
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