"Are you ready?"
Yuri smiled at him with an unusual amount of excitement in her purple eyes. It looked like she'd been looking forward to this for a long time.
MC attempted to smile back, but failed horribly as he watched her pick up the silver blade from the desk, raising it into the air for inspection. Its blank surface glinted as it reflected the bright lights of the bathroom.
He gulped. It looked so much sharper than he'd imagined.
"Uhm, I'm-" He coughed briefly, his throat feeling overly dry. "…I'm really not sure about this, Yuri. Kinda starting to have second thoughts."
"No need to be nervous." Yuri said calmly, pulling her eyes away from the blade to give him a reassuring look. "It may seem a bit weird and uncomfortable at first, but I guarantee you'll feel so much better afterwards."
MC gulped again, but then shook his head, trying his best to keep an open mind.
"…okay." He said. "I trust you."
Yuri's excited smile widened, turning into one of exhilaration.
"Thank you for granting me this opportunity." She said, her voice breathy as she raised the blade anew. "It's something I've always wanted to do to you."
"Well, y- you were kinda the obvious choice." He replied, intent on looking into her eyes instead of the object in her hand. "Since I d- don't think the others have much experience handling kn- knifes, least of all me. Even if I could move my hands, I'd probably just make a mistake and cause a b- bloody mess. Like what happened the last time I tried it."
"You have nothing to worry about." Yuri said, moving closer to him. "I have very steady hands. Just relax, okay?"
She reached forward, carefully placing the blade on his skin with precision rivaling that of a surgeon. He couldn't help himself from releasing an involuntary shiver at feeling the sharp, cold edge.
"H- h-" He swallowed. "How much do you think this is going t- to hurt?"
"Well, I hear everyone has a different experience with their first time." Yuri said considerately as she kept the blade firmly planted on his skin. True to her word, her hand wasn't shaking whatsoever. "But again, I wouldn't worry if I were you. You know how much I take care of my knives. This one is so sharp, I doubt you'll even feel it. You're in the capable hands of a professional."
"You've d- done this to other people?"
Upon asking this, he noted an embarrassed blush spreading across her face.
"Well… no." She denied. "To be perfectly honest with you, I've… only ever really done it to myself. But the principle should be the same, and I've read a lot about the subject. It should be fine."
MC released a deep, shuddering sigh.
"Y- you better just get started b- before I change my mind about this."
"Certainly." Yuri said, readjusting her grip around the blade, somehow managing to keep it unmoving as she did so. "I am so proud of you for giving this thing a chance with me. I promise that you will not regret this."
MC took a deep breath, desperately wanting to appear brave in front of Yuri. However, he completely and utterly failed in this task the moment he felt her slowly dragging the blade across his skin. He shut his eyes tightly, fearing he wouldn't be able to control his body's movements if he watched this happen live. He had to keep absolutely still, so as to not cause Yuri to make a mistake.
He found himself… surprised, by the feeling that followed in the blade's wake. Yuri had actually been completely correct in her hypothesis. This didn't hurt at all. There was a slight tingling sensation on the area of his skin where the knife had made its impact, but he wouldn't call it unpleasant, per se. If he had to be completely honest, it felt… kinda nice, actually.
"You know, you could open your eyes and look at the result." He heard Yuri say with a light giggle as she pulled away the blade. "It's really not that scary. If I could be so bold, I'd say it's actually… rather beautiful."
Taking another deep breath, he nervously obeyed. Slowly opening his eyes again, he looked into the large mirror in front of him, seeing the rectangular line of smooth, pale skin paved through the white foam that'd been plastered all over the lower half of his face.
"Wow." He said, shifting his head around to look at the clean line going from the bottom of his lips and all the way down past the chin from every angle. "That's- really impressive, actually. I can't exactly reach up to feel it, but judging purely from how it looks, I don't think I've ever been this smooth before!"
Yuri gave another small giggle as she carefully began wiping the shaving cream from her razor blade.
"I told you I knew what I was doing. Would you like for me to continue?"
"Well, it'd look really silly if we stopped now, with just one smooth line among the mess of facial hair, so… by all means!" He joked.
Laughing mildly, Yuri positioned the blade on his face anew and dragged another thick, precise line through the cream all the way down to his throat, leaving not so much as a single hair behind.
His nervousness and anxiety about doing this had all but faded away now that Yuri had proven to be just as capable as claimed, leaving him perfectly able to watch and truly appreciate her steady hand movements as she continued making his face more presentable.
"I'm so glad you suggested doing this for me." He said when she paused to wipe the razor clean again. "It was really getting out of control. Would have ended up looking like a total caveman by the end of the month if not for you."
"It's my pleasure, don't mention it." She replied cordially, making another expert line. "So, uhm… you really couldn't shave yourself? Before the Paralysis, I mean?"
He felt his cheeks go hot beneath the cold shaving cream.
"Now you know my terrible secret." He said. "Every morning, I used to go to the barber to make my face decent for school. I probably spent more money on that than any other thing per week, but at least I didn't have to endure the 'Scarface' nicknames if I tried it myself."
Yuri laughed again.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of. It does take a bit of practice before you really master it." Yuri said as she effortlessly removed the last section of cream, after which she began wiping his face with a clean towel. "What do you think?"
He blinked, caught off guard by how fast she'd been. He looked up at the dark-haired reflection in the mirror, meeting his own bright, yellow eyes.
He'd always been kinda self conscious about their unique coloration, but since joining the Literature Club and seeing the equally uncommon eye colors of half its members, they didn't really seem like that big a deal to him anymore.
He lowered them instead to inspect the new, silky surface of his chin and cheeks, marveling at Yuri's masterful work.
"I literally can't thank you enough." He said, awestruck.
"Nonsense, it was no trouble at all." Yuri said, reaching up to place a soft, warm hand on his cheek, lightly caressing it to demonstrate its smoothness. "If you so wish, I can easily take on the role of your barber and do this for you every morning from here on out, free of charge."
"Oh, no, no, no, I couldn't make you go through that-"
"It's fine, really, I want to!" Yuri assured him. "I find these sorts of activities really relaxing, you'd be doing me a favor by allowing it! I… I've always wanted to be a hairdresser, actually."
MC raised his eyebrows, surprised at her admission.
"You have?"
He watched as the Yuri behind him in the mirror slowly nodded, her face lighting up in mild embarrassment.
"A- after my parents died, I h- had trouble finding happiness in just about anything." She said. "I had no friends, I didn't know how to make any, and I wasn't sure if I really wanted them, anyway. Nothing seemed to really matter anymore, not even my books."
"I'm sorry." He said, sympathetically.
"But everything changed when I went to my local hairdresser, who'd always been a good friend of my mother. She was so kind and patient with me, always walking me through the process as she worked on me. She even let me stay for hours at her clinic, allowing me to watch her work on others to help me decide what kind of hair I wanted for myself. We must have gone through nearly a hundred different styles before settling on the one I have today."
As Yuri told her story, she seemed to almost instinctually reach up and stroke one of her purple locks.
"…in many ways, my hair is the part I like most about myself." She finished her story.
"Makes sense." MC responded. "If I had naturally purple hair as beautiful as yours, I'd probably be pretty proud of it as well."
"T- thank you." She said, giving him a blushing smile.
"But that's really cool, actually." He said. "Have you considered applying for a job in a salon?"
Yuri's smile faded a bit.
"Unfortunately, wanting something is very different from actually doing it." She said, sighing sadly. "The first caveat of the idea is that I'd be forced to talk to strangers. Already there, we have a major problem."
"I really don't think that's as big an issue as you think." He reassured her. "When you first get going, you can speak about all sorts of things for hours, and that's not even mentioning how fantastic you are at listening. I'm convinced you'd do great after getting used to it."
"B- but what if I get a rude customer, or they criticize my appearance, or…!" Yuri argued, her face going redder.
"You've been in a Club with Natsuki for years, do you really think anyone is comparable to her?" MC smiled. "And besides, no one is gonna dare criticize the woman handling sharp objects that close to their throats. They've all seen Sweeney Todd."
Yuri couldn't help giggling reluctantly.
"I- appreciate your support." She sighed, regaining her composure again. "And maybe you are correct. But those aren't my only issues concerning this."
"No?" He prompted, already prepared to refute whatever argument she'd come up with. It didn't matter to him how many doubts she had, he'd do whatever he could to ease her insecurities and make her realize that this dream job was firmly within her grasp if she wanted it.
"No." She confirmed, taking another deep breath. "You must understand, this is someone's appearance that I'd be tampering with. The version of themselves they wanna put out into the world, the main thing that people are gonna judge about them, all in my responsibility! If I make even the smallest mistake, I'd ruin their image, possibly forever!"
"No, you wouldn't." MC denied confidently. "First, I know you're too much of a natural at this to make a mistake. Second, people wouldn't care if you did. Most people go to the hairdresser because they have no idea how they want to look, and would be satisfied with just anything half-way decent. Third, and most importantly: hair's not permanent. It'll all grow back in a matter of months. You're overthinking this."
"No, no. I only know the theory of hairdressing, I'm much too inexperienced to actually do it." Yuri shook her head. "I'd need someone to practice on before I even start considering this. Someone whose hair would pose such a challenge that I'd be ready for… anything…"
MC raised a confused eyebrow as he watched Yuri's purple eyes slowly shifting around before making an appraising landing on the top of his head.
"Wait… what exactly are you getting at here?" He asked tentatively, feeling an involuntary shiver down his spine.
"MC…" Yuri hesitated, attempting a sweet smile that only made him more worried. "…would you mind if I used you as a blank vessel in order to further my future career and eventually get the job of my dreams?!"
He blinked, twice, trying to comprehend her request.
"You want to cut my hair?!" He exclaimed in disbelief.
"Well…" Yuri said, blushing even deeper now, still keeping up her nervous smile. "I need a subject with the kind of hair I'd be able to experiment with. The kind where no one would be upset if I messed up something. The kind where any alterations I'd make would be considered an improvement."
"Yuri! Not you, too!" He said, feeling betrayed. "I thought you were the only one on my side after Natsuki, Sayori and Monika all made fun of my hair?!"
"Uh, well…" Yuri said, clearly struggling to come up with a response.
"You explicitly told me you liked it when I asked you!"
"Well, I really like you, and that haircut is technically part of your being!"
He raised an eyebrow, and Yuri released a "giving up" sigh.
"Okay." She said at last. "I thought it looked okay when you first joined the Literature Club, back when it only occasionally covered your eyes. But then it kept growing, and you kept refusing to cut it, and after it went past your shoulders I just… lost all ability to defend it any longer."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing." He said, shellshocked.
"I'm sorry." Yuri smiled apologetically. "I lied to you in an attempt to spare your feelings because I thought you wouldn't be able to handle it otherwise. I now see that in doing so, my deception has only made the heartbreak of the truth that much worse. I promise to refrain from doing this again, and take care to be upfront with you from here on out, showing you the same respect and trust as you've shown all of us."
…ouch.
MC blinked at Yuri's speech, feeling like he'd just been socked squarely in the jaw by a heavyweight boxer.
He knew it hadn't been Yuri's intention at all, but she'd nevertheless just given him a brutal, painful reminder of all the secrets he was still keeping from her and the other girls about the true nature of his nightmares, and the guilt that followed with it.
After that, how could he possibly refuse her?
"…fine." He said, closing his eyes. "You may cut it."
"Huh?!" She exclaimed, clearly caught off guard. "R- really?!"
Opening his eyes again, he looked himself over in the mirror one more time, frowning at the long hair he'd been so proud of.
"You… really think it looks bad?" He asked. "I… always thought girls really liked boys with long hair. Like Loki, or Thor- before that awful Ragnarok movie, I mean."
"We do." Yuri assured him, clapping his shoulder sympathetically. "But… you're not Tom Hiddleston or Chris Hemsworth, MC. 'Long hair' for boys is usually meant in relation to stuff like army cuts. And this…"
She drove her slender fingers in between the locks of his hair, raising it high up in the air to demonstrate its excessiveness in the mirror.
"…well, it's just a little too much of 'a good thing.'" She smiled sadly. "Some guys can pull it off, but… I don't think you are among those, sorry."
He sighed, feeling the overwhelming defeat.
"Well, better trust the upcoming professional hairdresser." He said, attempting a smile.
"Y- you can keep it if you want, you shouldn't feel like you have to do this just to appease me! Me and the others will still love you regardless of your appear-"
"Nah." He interrupted. "I know nothing about style, and there's no reason to keep having this kind of hair if I'm the only one who thinks it looks kinda cool. Just… let me keep some length, maybe? If you can make it look good."
"Of course." She beamed at him before opening the bathroom cabinet where she located a rather large scissor. "Thank you for this, MC. You've truly helped me more than you could ever imagi-"
"WAIT!" He exclaimed, making her recoil away from him in shock. "S- sorry Yuri, but- can I just get a minute to say goodbye, first?"
"To… your hair?" Yuri asked, looking bewildered.
"…is that weird?" He asked, blushing.
"Yes." She nodded, stonefaced. "Definitely weird."
She then surprised him by bending down at his eye-level, putting the scissors aside to grab hold of his cheeks with both hands. Fixing him with an intense, purple-eyed stare, she leaned forward and pressed her soft lips against his.
Although initially alarmed by this gesture, he was immediately put at ease as he felt the overwhelming aroma of lavender wash over him, calming his senses and making him melt into this very first kiss between them.
He had no idea how long it lasted, time was completely meaningless in this heavenly embrace. But like all good things, even this had to eventually end.
Yuri broke off, as red in the face as he felt, but smiling in clear satisfaction. He opened his mouth, attempting to say something in the wake of this experience, but found himself at a complete loss for words.
Luckily for him, it seemed Yuri had kept most of her composure intact.
"But don't worry about it…" She said, continuing her sentence from before as if nothing noteworthy had just occurred. "…in this house, we're all a little weird."
He was sitting in the wheelchair, slowly getting steered towards Monika's massive living room.
MC stared at the closed door as it got closer and closer, unable to shake off his anxiety. As was always the case when getting transported anywhere while his limbs were out of commission, the experience was slightly akin to being on a rollercoaster ride, slowly being carried further and further upwards, completely unable to bail out before the inevitable downfall.
This admittedly irrational, but not completely unfounded nervousness was something he'd had to learn to deal with and accept during his stay here, and personally he'd claim to have gotten a pretty decent handle on it lately.
Today however, things were different from usual. Or rather, he was different, thrown off by how much lighter his head felt now that approximately seventy percent of his hair had been severed from it. He was much more aware of the presence of his ears now that they were fully exposed to the open air.
He didn't know anything about hair or styles, so he'd given Yuri mostly free reign in deciding the look. The only request he'd had was to not make it any shorter than Bruce Campbell's in the Evil Dead sequel they'd recently watched together.
He was of course aware that a haircut didn't change anything about who he was as a person, but it was still… new. He wouldn't call it a "bad" new, but at the same time, it didn't really feel like a "good" new, either. It was just new, and whether good or bad, he'd have to spend some time getting used to it.
Time he couldn't have hoped to get enough of before having to be moved to the living room and show off his new appearance to the others.
He'd fully reached the door. The moment was almost upon him. He braced himself.
It didn't come.
"Are you ready?" A timid voice asked from behind, and it was then he was reminded of the differences between this, and a rollercoaster ride: Yuri was the one in control of the chair, and she'd never push him into something unless she was completely sure he was comfortable with it.
"…do you think they'll like it?" He asked, quietly.
His caretaker promptly placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"I know they will." She replied with an unusual amount of confidence for her. "You have nothing to fear."
He sighed.
"Okay." He said. "Let's go."
Yuri gently opened the door.
They were all in there.
Monika was sitting by a table, Sayori by her side. Judging from the mess of papers and textbooks scattered around them, it seemed as if their Club President was helping his childhood bestie with her homework. Math, if he read her bored, glazed over expression correctly.
Natsuki was sitting by herself on a nearby couch, a concentrated look on her face as she focused on reading a book- a real book by the looks of it, thick in length, and without any pictures present within the text. He recognized it as the second book Yuri had gifted her as part of their "reading exchange," where the both of them would recommend a book and/or volume for the other to read in a so far working attempt to gain a mutual understanding and respect for each other's interests.
They were so deeply immersed in their respective activities that they didn't even look up as Yuri drove him further into the room.
That was, until Sayori's eyes started moving away from the table as Monika tried to explain advanced geometry, drifting absently around the room until landing directly on his head.
Her eyes widened as she stared at him for a few seconds.
Then, she released a high-pitched scream at the top of her lungs.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The cozy atmosphere of the room was immediately replaced by chaos as the two other girls jolted in alarm, Monika nearly falling out of her chair and Natsuki dropping the heavy book directly onto her own foot.
Before they had time to question Sayori's display of apparent lunacy, they too noticed his presence within the room
The alarm on their faces gave in to confusion, then comprehension, and finally excitement as they all started cheering wildly.
"Uhm… tada?" Yuri tried, awkwardly raising her voice to be audible over the clapping of hands.
"FINALLY!" Sayori was the first to approach them, driving her hands through his shortened hair without hesitation or restraint, savoring how it felt against her fingers. "Oh my God, it looks so much better now!"
"Gee, thanks." MC said, but was unable to refrain from smiling in the face of her infectious excitement as she kept exploring every inch of his scalp with her hands, looking like she'd just discovered the eighth wonder of the world.
"Yuri, you did this?!" She asked in awe. "It's amazing!"
"Y- yes." Yuri replied, as always unsure about how to respond to Sayori's overwhelming praise. "I d- did."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop the presses!" Natsuki butted in, a large smirk on her face as she approached him as well. "You mean to tell me that MC's been a boy this whole time? I just thought I was gay!"
"Hilarious." He rolled his eyes as she began cackling.
"Very nice." Monika said, circling around him like a shark, inspecting his appearance from every angle. "I can't wait to take this new MC for a ride and see how he compares to the old one!"
He felt his face heating up at Monika's unsubtle advancement, but kept smiling nonetheless at seeing the sheer amount of positive reactions to his new look.
Huh. He thought. Everything went so much better than expected.
A heads up- I'm going to put this story on a bit of a hiatus after this chapter. Don't worry, I have everything planned out, with a real ending in mind, and I fully intend on finishing this- it just might be a little while.
I wouldn't say it's because I'm burned out on Paralyzed, but for the past few months I've been thinking non-stop about this other, massive idea for a project that I just can't wait to get started on already.
Sorry to the current fans of this story, but like I said, it's NOT dead, and I WILL get back to it when I start feeling like it again. It's entirely likely that writing this new story will tire me out so much that I'll take a break from that to continue this, but we'll see. I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks for all of your continued support, it really means the world to me!