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[text/video] un: @skull

[A few days after gravity is restored to the station, Ryuji returns to the mess hall from Haru's garden to find a small robot flipped upside down, panicking through a series of morse beeps and boops, which- okay, that's kind of cool, and quickly figures out that the paneling and suction entrances of the little guy means it's probably meant for filtration and cleaning.

Looks pretty study, looks... waterproof, maybe? He lends a hand to get him right side up and it starts slowly moving forward. Ryuji takes out his communicator and immediately films this as it happens, because, why not?

He posts two videos on the network- the roomba moving down the hall and one, a few hours later in the fitness center as it crawls from the edge, and dives right in.]

Oh shit! Are you supposed to do that?

Whoa, whoa- I don't know how to fix you if you--- WHOA, COOL.

Hey, sup?

Just lettin you guys know the pool looks crystal clear now. All thanks to this little dude.

I figure I should give 'em a name but uh

Everything that comes to mind is kinda lame

Anyway, I think it's good? Anyone wanna give it the first try?

[Complete with file0033.png - a picture of crystal clear water.]

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[He's.... he's joking, right??? Hajime's pRETTY SURE HE'S JOKING??]

try not to cut anything off you'll miss, cause i'd really rather not be the one to stitch that back up

[That's. That's on Alucard. Anyway he's absolutely coming over, knocking a few times on Ryuji's door. Knock knock, binch, open up so he can cut your ears off.]

[He grimaces at the comment. There's something about mentioning the idea of cutting himself there that makes him viscerally feel something a phantom pain of threat down there. Ugh, thanks Hajime.

But he is acutely aware that he'll arrive soon, and tries to tidy up a little bit. Not even for appearances or anything like that, but because the room always feels smaller when there's 2 people in it... and if Ren comes back from wherever he is, it'll be even worse with 3.

Answering the door, he's got the scissors in his hand, held on by the loop of the metal half with the thumb hold on it.]

Good timing. I just finished up and I'm smooth as hell right now.

Oh, great. And here I thought you'd gone and cut it off.

[...Eugh. That hurts to think about. And while he's still totally not convinced that's what Ryuji was actually doing, he's still... taking the scissors by the other end of the handle, not the blade. He's just going to head into the bathroom to wash them really quick, first. yeah.

Let's get away from that thought, shall we??]

I'm surprised you haven't tried using bleach on your hair or something by now.

Wow. You know what? You can screw right off into the land of... wherever people go where they screw off to.

[He deflates a little bit.

Nice comeback, dweeb.

Rolling his eyes- he hopes Hajime knows that HE'S KIDDING and that he didn't TRIM HIS PUBES with his only pair of good scissors. But now that that's out there in the world, he might, one day. Exactly when Hajime needs to borrow them and he's long forgotten this exchange.

Either way, he follows him, leaning up against the door to the bathroom with arms crossed.]

Oh? I was hopin' to use some on your little bean sprout.

[He just laughs. What a great comeback, 10/10. Comeback of the century right there.

He shakes the scissors a few times to get any residual water off them, raising an incredulous eyebrow at Ryuji through the mirror.]

Sorry, what? Blond isn't my color.

[White on the other hand? Maybe that could be kind of cool.]

What are you talkin' about? You could totally... rock blond...

[Ryuji can't even keep a straight face while he says this. It takes time to build up to this level of looking cool while continually box-dyeing your hair.

Except, he was kind of fucked. He'd been meaning to ask Ren to help him out with touching it up.]

My mom used to help me dye it. She hated it at first, sayin' that I looked better with my natural hair color, but the first time I tried it on my own, it came out bright orange and I had to take a few days off of school. So she started to help me out. It was kinda like our Saturday night tradition.

[Watching him, he waits to see if he's really going to do it. If he's really going to cut his hair. By himself.

Yes, this is the only form of entertainment on Reverie Station.]

[Hajime just snorts, opting not to dignify that with an answer. He kind of just... hovers the scissors, combing his fingers through his hair and trying to pretend like he knows what he's doing. It really can't be that hard, right? Just... separate some of his hair and chop. Get hair all over Ryuji and Ren's bathroom instead of his own.

He glances back in the mirror again though. Briefly, there's the idea of taunting him for being a mama's boy, but he swallows it immediately. He's just not the kind of person to mock that kind of relationship.]

It sounds like you guys are close, huh?

[Okay, he's... taking a deep breath, straightening his shoulders and-- snip.

The tiniest bit of hair falls to the sink. It's like he didn't even do anything.]

[Hajime is going to pick up that hair off the floor and the sink, right? He's not planning on leaving his luscious locks all over the place for Ryuji to pick up, piece by piece, until Ren comes in and asks him what the fuck he was doing.]

Yeah. I may not be the best son in the world, but I don't wanna cause her any grief.

[He's definitely a mama's boy. Punk with a heart of gold.

He looks over at the tragic piece of hair fall downward, and he winces. Ryuji doesn't feel like standing, so he walks in, grazes past Hajime and sits down on the toilet. There's really nothing in the way of him knowing how to cut hair, so it's not like he can offer advice on the matter. Maybe he could do better with a buzzer.]

Oh my god... you look so much better already.

[He smiles, offering a thumbs up for Extreme Encouragement.]

[That's kind of cute? Hajime can't help but smile with a bit of fond envy. It's nice to have a good relationship with, well, one parent, at least, though he definitely doesn't envy what little he knows about Ryuji's dad.

He'll... probably clean up after himself. Depends on how quickly he needs to retreat from the inevitable fashion disaster that his hair will become.

Instead, he just makes a face at Ryuji's encouragement and snips off a longer piece. Hmm... okay, that's. Maybe a little too short? it's fine, he can just move some of the spikes to cover it later. Assuming he doesn't murder any more of them.]

Great, that means by the time I start cutting yours, I'll be a pro at it.

[Snip snip snip. He's kind of lucky that his preferred hairstyle is a pointy mess, because at least that makes it a little easier to keep the shape. If he messes up, it's fine, he can just say that's part of the style.]

It's kind of lucky you found these scissors at all, huh?

[The world has a way of balancing things out. One amazing mom, one shitty dad. One extra long strand of hair, one pitifully short. Ryuji watches on, trying not to make Hajime too nervous by being especially intent on it, but he's curious to see how he holds up to the entire experience. It must be pretty awkward to do this in a mirror since you're not actually watching your own hands, and then there's always the trick that as you move your hand where you think it'll be closer to your head, it's actually going in the opposite direction entirely.]

I mean. That's kinda the plan here.

[He leans down from the toilet seat that he was sitting on to bring out a first aid kit. It's been sitting there since Lisa brutally murdered his hand the last time he tried to pick her up.

Leaving it there, comically, of course. Just in case he cuts his ear off.]

It's strange as hell that they were in the tub. Stuff just appearing out of nowhere, especially stuff that's... pretty damn sharp... that's kinda worrysome. You know the weird thing is, though. These look familiar. I can't really say with any certainty, but I gotta say.

I think these mighta been my actual hair stylist's.

[He shrugs.]

Yo- I don't know shit about hair cutting, but... I think you wanna go up and down when you're cutting and not straight across. Otherwise you're gonna end up with a bowl cut. Is that what you're doin? I can't even tell.

...Wait, seriously?!

[He was absolutely just starting to cut straight across, so he pulls the scissors away from his head and starts inspecting his style the best he can in the mirror. Oh... hm.]

Here, you do it!! If they're your stylist's scissors, then you know how they work, right?

[He turns the scissors over in his hands and tries to pass them off. Please take them, his spiked hair is his signature Look^TM, he can't afford to loose it.]

[THIS WASN'T HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.

He looks at the scissors like they're a sacred weapon, wielded only by a select few who have had the appropriate training. Can he... really do this?

Looking up at Hajime, there's obvious worry in his eyes.]

Dude... you trust me enough to do that?

...I trust you to know if you mess it up, I'll do the same to yours.

[It's said in a manner to imply it's a joke, but would he? ...No, he wouldn't, he's too nice of a boy, but he'd think about it.

Also he'd probably not come out of Ryuji and Ren's room until it grew back so that's a secondary punishment.]

Maybe it'll be easier if I can just tell you what to do.

Can you really mess up mine, though? It already looks kinda like a mistake anyway.

[Just to prove he's right, he holds out a chunk of his own hair and clips down into it, pulling out a few pieces of strands. For the most part, it still looks like bedhead express in here, and he places the remnants in the garbage.

Point proven, he looks at Hajime, and then points to the toilet.]

Alright. You command, I'll cut. But you gotta be sitting or else there ain't no way in hell I'm gonna be able to see your head right.

[And if he does mess it up, having Hajime live in the family room wouldn't be the worst thing that could possibly happen. Just saying.]

I wouldn't have said mistake... [he hedges, because it's not like he, a boy who's probably never used a hairbrush in his life, has anything to comment on re: bedhead.

But he does as he's told, taking a seat facing backwards on the toilet to give Ryuji better access to his hair. His shoulders are starting to itch preemptively, a kind of this is a mistake feeling as he glances toward the mirror.]

Just be careful with this bit, I kind of like it.

[--The ahoge, that is. He tugs his fingers against that stubborn, expressive bit of hair. It's starting to droop under its own weight, but if that part is getting cut, he's going to be the one to do it.]

...And don't cut my ears off. You know, there was a serial killer back home who went after boys using scissors?

[When Hajime is placed sitting, facing the wall, he moves forward and tries to examine this mop. He smirks, realizing that he's seeing the ahoge from the first time at this angle, and it kind of just... falsely tries to intimidate him from cutting of it. He knows he shouldn't... he was just told not to.]

Hmm... It's kinda like a skyscraper in your hair.

[Okay. Now or never, dude.

Ryuji starts capturing panels of his hair between his fingers, holding it from the root and clipping at the back of his head. He doesn't want to admit that he's actually pretty damn nervous about doing this, so his concentration picks up tenfold.

He can't let Hajime down if he trusted him to do this task, so he does what he thinks is right- cutting upwards into the hair and angled. He's looking to take some of the length down and he makes sure to trim the edge pieces that look like they're threatening to fray.]

Don't worry, I'm not tryin' to turn you into Da Vinci or anything.

[Van Gogh, you dumbass.

Ryuji continues- the cut isn't anywhere near perfect, and uneven, but he's trying his earnest best at it, and look! no bald spots.]

How'd they do it? Like... stab through the chest or somethin'? [And then he grimaces--] They didn't like... cut the dude's dicks off, did they?

[It bounces a little when Hajime laughs. He wouldn't call it a skyscraper, but sure, whatever Ryuji.

He'd stop short of calling this relaxing, though, keeping a careful eye on what Ryuji's doing in the mirror. As careful as he can, anyway, straining his eyes to keep a view in the mirror without actually disturbing Ryuji's, uh, handiwork. But it is kind of nice, having somebody he likes to spend time with doing something like this.

I think you mean Van Gogh...]

Hey, careful, you're getting kind of close to my head! [Wincing at one of the longer bits of hair that floats to the floor. Ugh...]

A-Anyway, uh... I never followed the news reports that closely. I think he just stabbed them with the scissors? There was some kind of calling card, too, like... he'd write something on the wall. I can't remember what it was, though.

[He grimaces himself, because ow?? Don't make him think about that, that hurts to think about??]

I wonder if it was a hairdresser who did it. I don't think they ever caught the guy.

[His eyes widen at the complaint of his hair getting cut down to size a little closer than he wanted it to. He feels bad- this is something that isn't reversible, and when it comes to these sort of things, Ryuji was especially hard on himself, and it shows as his shoulders lower and he frowns.]

Sorry... I'll try to get better at this shit if we're gonna be here for a while.

[Before this becomes a ritual for all his friends. God, the last thing he ever saw himself doing as a profession was a hair stylist of all things. But he sure can hold a conversation like one, so he's practically half way there, right?]

Well, if you ask me, it's a pretty deeply messed up thing to do. Especially if they're a hairdresser. I mean, you kinda trust them implicitly, right?

[He eyeballs that ahoge, pursing his lips and biting down on the bottom one as he draws it in closer to his mouth.]

Don't move. It's kinda do or die here.

[Snip, snip- he cuts into it, trying to remember how long it looked before, when they had first arrived at the station.]

Your hair grows kinda fast, huh?

Hey, don't worry about it. I mean, better to practice on me than somebody who's actually pretty vain, huh?

[Hajime won't flip out if his hair is messed up. It's already kind of its own entity, it'll grow back. Just be careful!! Lest the seaweed grow out of control and start committing Crimes.

He'd nod in agreement, but he doesn't want to throw off what Ryuji's doing, so he just hums.] Yeah, I agree with that. I mean... the police have to know something about him. Maybe it's just not available to the general public.

[Oh he's... he's going after the ahoge. Hajime holds his breath as if that, too, might help steady Ryuji's hands. Please, that's the source of his protag power.

He doesn't let out that breath until he's sure Ryuji's done.]

Uh... yeah, I guess it does. It always has. Girls have it lucky, right? They can just grow their hair long, and nobody'll say anything about it.

[It's hidden because Hajime is facing the opposite direction, but he's smiling down at this idiot below him. The ahoge is safe and sound, an inch or so shorter than it was before, and probably a little bit more relaxed than it was when he came to the station to begin with, but it's okay- it'll grow back. If he thinks it's the source of his protag power, that's utter bullshit and Ryuji would call him out on it. Tell him that it's really in his heart and not in his hair.

He hums at the mention of the police.]

Yeah, typical. The police are always useless until the very last moment, y'know? And then they take all the credit, becoming heroes for capturing the criminal. Even though people died. If they did their jobs...

[He doesn't continue this strain of thought, even though hating police is pretty much the most basic of punk tenants.]

Huh? That what you think? Tons of guys in Tokyo are growin' their hair out and putting it up in knots. Did that fad not hit your world yet? [He grapples onto Hajime's shoulder, trying to get him to turn-] Okay, face front. Little bit more and we're done. You can't see the mirror so you gotta trust me.

Anyway, long hair's a pain. I wouldn't say that you're lucky if you're a girl and can grow it out. Ann's hair took so long to get it up into pigtails and she was always late 'cause of it. And then there's all the effin' product... the constant worry that you're gonna get split ends. We're the ones who have it lucky. No one expects us to take care of this shit, we just... apply some wax and go, for the most part.

[Have you SEEN a Dangan protag?? Ahoges, every one of them.

Hajime frowns a little, looking straight ahead at the wall and choosing not to comment. He's grown up thinking the police were there to help, but after his encounter with Hope's Peak security, and the general willingness to overlook what happened to Natsumi... yeah. He's not a big fan.]

Oh, uh... I never paid much attention to trends.

[Plus he's from almost a decade before Ryuji's time AND fashion tends to skew toward the absurd in his experience, so. There's that. He does his best not to wince as he catches a glimpse of his relaxed ahoge from the corner of his eye as he turns, but it's fine. It'll grow back. Yeah.

It's kind of awkward to face forward with Ryuji close enough to cut his hair, so he closes his eyes.]

Ann's... another one of your friends? [He hums again; he'd never really thought about it from that kind of perspective. He'd also genuinely never worried about split ends. His hair was cut often enough to avoid those, and also,] I don't put anything in my hair, so I never thought about it.

[Those spikes? All anime protag natural, baby.]

That much is pretty obvious.

[He smirks at the back and forth exchange of that, and then realizes that he's getting too much away and doesn't want Hajime to jab at him with scissors in his hand or something like that. Total tragedy averted, he carefully starts working on his fringe.

He can't remember what it's exactly supposed to look like? Something with a part in the middle. Something... where it spikes outward? Aw, screw it. If he's fucking it up, Hajime will tell him where he shouldn't cut, right?]

Yeah, Ann's one of our friends back home. Actually, she's been my friend since middle school. We got along pretty crappily until high school, though. Not that we hated each other or nothin', just... our social circles didn't move together, y'know?

[And then he's baffled- what do you mean you don't have to use product? Ryuji's been suffering for weeks.]

Hey!!

[Just because he doesn't pay attention to trends doesn't mean he isn't trendy and fashionable!! If Ryuji weren't holding scissors right in front of his eyes, he'd definitely get a punch in the shoulder for that. It's enough that he opens his eyes for a good-natured glare, though, which potentially averts disaster.]

Oh, uh... in the front, this bit here, [he tugs right in the middle of his forehead.] You can trim it shorter, it just kind of... doesn't flatten out no matter what I do.

It's nice that you've had friends for so long, though. I... never really had anybody like that. I mean, most of the people I knew in middle school, even the people when I went to my old high school didn't have any ambition, you know? They were just content to live ordinary lives, while I... focused really hard on trying to get into Hope's Peak.

[he laughs, self-deprecatingly.]

In hindsight, that was pretty stupid.

Edited 2018-06-27 15:51 (UTC)

[He'll take that glare, a thousand times over, too. It makes Ryuji feel more alive to know Hajime will continually call him out on his bullshit, and he wouldn't give it up for the world.]

Right. You got that anime hair thingy goin' for ya, by the way. [Crazy, wild, does whatever it wants without gelling or globs of Gatsby.]

Tch. Whatever, man. If I had 100 yen for every dumb thing I thought or did when I was a kid, I'd be richer than the president of Sony. [This? This is the one copyright that Atlus allows.]

I uh. I think we're done? I dunno. Wanna get a good look in the mirror? You almost look like a new man. Everyone's gonna have to start callin' ya Mr. Handsome.

My business is gonna be boomin'~. [It's such a sing-songy voice that it's obviously sarcastic. Sarcastic of what? His own abilities, of course.]

No I don't!

[Between naturally-blonde yakuza heirs, Gundam's... whatever it is he's got going on, and some of the other SHSLs Hajime's seen in passing, his hair is relatively normal. It just has a mind of its own. Sentience, if you will.

Hajime doesn't know Sony, but he doesn't really have to to get what Ryuji's saying. He just laughs, shaking his head now that there aren't scissors right in his face. He's a little nervous to look, but he does turn, steeling himself as he looks in the mirror.]

Oh, it's... not bad.

[He sounds surprised, forgive him. He was a little afraid it would just end up an uneven mess, and while it is kind of uneven, it... could be interpreted as style? Maybe? He runs a hand through his hair to try to sweep out any extra bits, checking to make sure it's still got its classic spiky shape. It's not a bowl cut, he'll take it.

He laughs again, giving Ryuji's arm a light punch as he stands up.]

You'll have one repeat customer, at least. ...I'll pay you in fabricator food.

[Which is worse than not paying him at all, huh.]

Want me to get yours?

[text/video] un: @skull

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