CH 19

“At your house……?”

“It’s okay. My brother is away for work.”

“That’s not okay ! Wait, is it okay?　  don’t know !”

It would be unethical if he wasn’t there, and awkward if he was.

“I mean, why at your house, Yua?”

“My brother is a hairdresser, so he has a lot of tools and stuff.”

“I-I see.”

It was a very logical suggestion. It seems that my brain, which was directly connected to the love affair, was out of its mind.

Yua looked at me suspiciously.

“What are you so nervous about? –Oh, perhaps……?”

Ba-dump !

I prepared myself to be teased again, but contrary to my expectations, Yua said with an awkward look on her face.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t attack you again.”

“Ah, yeah……”

Yua fidgeted with her hands in embarrassment.

“Well, if Seita kun wants to attack me, then it’s a different story.”

“No, I won’t do that !”

“….So you won’t.”

And she looked sad.

“No, no,… it’s not that I won’t, but I can suppress it with logics and reasons.”

“Then it’s fine.”

She smiled relievedly.

“Would you like to go to the pharmacy just in case?”

“No, I won’t !”

I was so ready that my resolve was shaken.

We didn’t stop at the pharmacy, but headed straight for Yua’s apartment.

◇ 

I was sitting on a chair in the middle of the living room in Yua’s apartment. I had a cape around my body and a leisure sheet on the floor.

“I just want to trim the ends of your hair,” 

Then, Yua turned on the hair clipper.

–It turned out to be a more serious than I thought. ……

It would be nice if she could just show me how to get a good haircut and how to do it.

Yua combs my hair and slides the hair clipper along the comb. The hair falls into  the cape. Her movements are smooth and steady, as if she’s used to it.

“You’re good.”

“I sometimes cut my brother’s hair.”

“Are you going to be a hairstylist?”

“I don’t know yet.”

She said, but her hands never stopped moving. She looked like she was in a good mood, as if she was about to start humming a tune.

“Okay, it’s done.”

The haircut was finished in about 15 minutes. When I asked her to show me in the mirror, I saw that my hair looked a little neater.

Yua brushed my head and nape of my neck with a brush and collected the hair that has accumulated on the cape. The post-processing was quick.

As I watched in admiration, she picked up some of the collected hairs, dropped them into a zippered pouch, sealed it, and pocketed it.

“Wait, wait , wait ! What was that !? What’s up with those flowing motions, what were you doing !?”

“What?”

“You collected my hair.”

“No, I’m not. It’s not for a strange reason like you think, Seita kun.”

“Then what is it?”

“I just wanted to use it as a charm.”

“Just as I thought ! ! And don’t say “charm”. It feels like witchcraft.”

“You are so naïve, Seita kun.”

For some reason, I was taken aback. It’s too unreasonable.

After the cleaning is finished, she starts styling my hair.

“How do you want it done?”

“Like the youngsters today.”

“That’s not a very youngster-like line.”

Yua giggles.

“Then, do you want me to lift your bangs a little?”

“That’s it.”

She wets my hair with a misting spray, and while applying the blower, she starts to straighten my hair. My hair is parted on one side, and the bangs are lifted and swept to the side.

Just because my bangs are no longer covering my forehead, my face seems to have a brighter look.

Yua put down the blower and picked up the hair conditioner.

“Seita kun has a lot of hair, so a grease type would be better.”

“Is that so?”

“The more gloss you get, the lighter the volume of your hair will be. On the other hand, if you don’t have volume, it’s better to use a matte finish to remove the gloss from your hair.”

“Hee.”

As expected of her, she knows a lot from her brother, who’s a hair stylist. Come to think of it, the last time I met her brother, I was using matte wax. That’s probably why my hair looked a little too shaggy.

She styled my hair by making it stand up with a hair conditioner and stretching it out by her hands.

“……”

Yua was silent. She was in a good mood just now, but for some reason her expression is dull now.

“What’s wrong? No way, you failed…..?”

“Eh? I didn’t fail.”

“Then, you’re not feeling well?”

“I’m fine. It’s just……”

“Just?”

“…….No. Nothing.”

Yua tied her lips and continued working in silence.

–……?

I wonder what happened all of a sudden. Did she feel the difference in ability with her older brother who is a professional hairstylist? If it wasn’t because of her physical condition, it would be a relief, but I was a little concerned.

She dried my hair and fixed them with spray at the end.

“Okay, it’s done.”

“Oh……”

The weight of my hair had been lightened.

“Amazing !”

“Thank you.”

And then, she averted her gaze. She looked embarrassed, but her expression still seemed clouded.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine.”

She smiled.

“More importantly, have you learned how to do the sets? You’re going to have to do it yourself next time.”

“I think I’ll be fine. Oh, I’ll have to buy some hair conditioner on the way home.”

I feel like a new person and my mood is uplifted.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to accompany me to ZU sometime? And maybe you could help me look at some clothes.”

The tension was so high that even an invitation to go on a date came out from my mouth without hesitation. Yua looked a little surprised, then smiled and said, [Sure, let’s go.]

After serving me a glass of juice and enjoying a little conversation, it began to get dark outside the window. In autumn, the sun goes down earlier than usual..

“I should go home soon. Thanks for today.”

“….Yeah.”

I went to the front door, sat down on the entrance floor and tied my shoelaces, and suddenly Yua was on my back.

“What the……!”

Her arms are wrapped around my torso. A soft bulge was pressed against my shoulder.

“W-what’s wrong, suddenly?”

Yua put her chin on my shoulder and whispered in my ears.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a charge.”

‘Oh, right. Have you revived?”

She didn’t answer my question, but mumbled something in my ear.

“I’m Seita-kun’s girlfriend, you know.”

“…..Huh? Yeah……”

Yua still hugging me.The desire to continue to enjoy the demonic feeling on my back and the fear that if her brother returned to this place now, he might kill me. 

“Um….., Yua?”

Yua pulled her body away from me. When I turned around, there was the same bright smile as usual.

“Then, we’re going on a date on our next day off, right?”

“Yup, that’s right.”

“Yay.”

She smiled, showing her teeth.

After leaving the apartment, Yua’s strange behavior had been bothering me a little, but my excitement after I got a new hairstyle and the confidence in my ability to get a date drowned it out.

I walked home with the lightest step since entering high school.