"Maybe we could give her a buzzcut!"
"Oh! Oh! Or a mohawk!"
"You two will do no such thing!"
"Oh come on! Lighten up, Satsuki! You're the one who was droning on and on yesterday about getting a new look! And now that we're trying to help you, you're shooting down every suggestion!" Ryuko told her sister exasperatedly. Mako and her were only joking, but she could see that her sister was very tense about losing her long commanding hair.
Ryuko raised the scissors in her hand above her head. "Okay, how about a new bang? Like, one to the side this time." She put a thoughtful hand to her chin as she examined Satsuki's hair in the mirror.
The older girl shook her head. "No, no. That's not anything new. Besides, my eyebrows would stick out." She sighed.
"More so than they do now?" Ryuko's teasing jab was met with a real jab- to the gut. Wheezing and keeling over from having the wind knocked out of her, she coughed, "Okay, maybe I deserved that."
"Take this seriously Ryuko-chan! This is the start of Satsuki-sama's new life! We shouldn't take it so lightly!" Mako scolded her, having one of her lecturing moments.
"You were just joking as much as I was! And besides, it's just a freaking hair cut!" Ryuko grunted, still holding her stomach. She had forgotten her sister was a trained fighter. She made a mental note not to tease her so close to her hands and feet.
Mako wagged a finger. "Back in middle school we learned about how in our culture in ancient times, cutting your hair meant the start of a new life and forgetting the past! Can't you see, Ryuko-chan? Satsuki-sama wanted you to be the the one to cut her hair because she wants to forget her past and spend her future and new life with you!"
Ryuko blushed, then looked down at Satsuki sitting on the edge of Mako's bed. "I-Is that true, Sis?" She asked. She never thought that Satsuki of all people would want to spend their life with her. Well, besides Mako. And after all that they had been through, why not? They weren't trying to make up for the years apart, they were starting over. Without Ragyo looming over them. Without having to worry about Nui.
Without Senketsu.
Ryuko clutched her shirt. She couldn't think about that right now.
"Indeed, Ryuko." Satsuki told her, turning to face her. "You are the only blood family I have left. Forgetting the past is all about growing up. And don't you think I'd look grown up with a hair cut?" She smiled and laughed a little. Ryuko liked hearing her laugh. It was rare, but it was genuine and real when she did.
Ryuko smiled. "Yeah. Like a thirty something year old mom!" She teased, sticking her tongue out. She voiced her discomfort when Satsuki tugged at her cheek. "Ow! Ow! Sorry!" She picked up the scissors again and began to work.
She began by snipping away layers in the back. Satsuki winced when she saw the long strands of cut hair littering Mako's pink bedspread. But by the time Ryuko had reached the front, she had calmed, and was anticipating her new look.
"And..." Ryuko snipped away one last frayed strand, then smiled. "Done!" She beamed. "Congratulations, Satsuki, you look like a young hot mom!" She handed her older sister a handheld mirror off of Mako's vanity and waited for her response.
Satsuki looked into the mirror and raised both her eyebrows. Her hair was cut into a bob, messily done, but beautifully so. It was uneven in some places, she could tell, but that added on to the charm of it. She liked it.
Mako gasped. "Oooh! You look so good, Satsuki-sama!"
Ryuko puffed her chest out. "Heh, I know right?"
Satsuki smiled. "You did a good job, Ryuko." She was glad that she chose Ryuko to do it.
Ryuko grinned. "Thanks, sis."