"Miss Kumasaki" the assistant called out.
Riiha Kumasaki turned her head to the voice, with her eyebrows raised.
"Can you follow me, Mr Hamada wants to see you really quickly."
Riiha couldn't tell whether to be excited or nervous, Mr Hamada was the director of the famous film productions, someone that she hadn't had a one on one conversation with yet.
"Uh okay sure" she got up from the sofa and followed the assistant. Like many films, the director for many films, mostly adventurous or romantic. Like his best pieces, the movies takes place during 1940s-50s or based on school life . Riiha Kumasaki was a small town girl from Kansai to has big dreams in acting and joined the talent agency to act, where now she had been casted for a new film which would be shot in two days. Today Riiha has been called by the director for an important meeting.
The assistant led her to Mr Hamada, fashionably dressed as ever in a office wear, who was in conversation with women Riiha couldn't put a name to. She looked to be about 40, with big red glasses and curly brown hair.
"Hey Riiha!.. Baby, how's it going?" Mr Hamada extended his hand.
"Great thank you" she said as they shook hands.
"This right here is our producer, Mrs. Yamamoto, I don't think you guys have met right?" He said as he gestured towards the women to his side.
"No not yet, it's good to meet you" Riihy gave her a warm smile.
"Likewise" Miss Yamamoto replied cooley in an accent.
"We just wanted to take a quick look at your hair if you don't mind?"
Riiha Kumasaki was caught off guard by the request.
"Uhh yeah of course" she flicked her hair from behind her to over her shoulders. She never really thought of hair as something special, it was dark brown, thick, straight and reaching to a length just above her bra strap.
"Just going to get a feel for it" Mrs. Yamamoto said as she came closer to her with her hands reached out. Her fingers were thin and Riiha could feel the many rings on them as she ran her fingers through it and tousled it slightly.
"So?" Mr Hamada said to Mrs. Yamamoto as she returned to her side.
"It's nice and thick so worries there. I mean I think you're definitely right it would look stunning on her." Mrs Yamamoto continued analysing Riiha as she spoke.
Riiha began to wonder what exactly they were talking about. It was something that you had to get used to as a actrest, people would be talking about their right in their face, analysing the face, hair, dimensions. It was something Riiha had become used to over the years. At the age of 21, she had been modeling for over 4 years now.
Mr Hamada scratched his chin and looked as if he was thinking long and hard.
"Okay Riiha," Mr Hamada broke the silence. "Right now we're in the midst of a couple last minute changes for tomorrow. I was speaking to some of the others and we want to move you to the to be our next movie."
Riiha nodded slowly, originally she was in the opening group, but it wasn't uncommon for these sort of changes to take place.
"But… we're gonna have to make some changes to your appearance first, specifically your hair"
Again Riiha slowly nodded. Each group had a different look, so again this was to be expected.
"I'm not too sure if you have seen what the guys and girls in that group look like but it's quite a dark look, with like heavier, darker makeup to go with the clothes. But also, and this is what they guess what we want to ask you, the 2 girls we already have, they have a bit of an androgynous look. That's sorta the look that we're going for with the women in that group."
Riiha started to get some tingles in her stomach, she had an idea where this was going.
"So yeah we want to give you something short too, to match the others. Are you okay with that?"
Riha swallowed. As someone who had always had hair at least shoulder length, going short wasn't something she had truly considered. I had framed this as a question, but she knew how these things worked. It wasn't her decision, the decision had already been made for her, she could either accept or be on the bad side's creative director.
"Umm I guess I'm fine with that" she said uneasily. "How short is short though?"
Mr Hamada gestured towards Mrs Yamamoto who moved next to her again.
"It's going to be short," she said as she moved behind her and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "All this we'll have to get rid of, what I'm envisioning is something sleek, to show these beautiful ears."
Riiha Kumasaki felt her mouth go dry. It was properly short, way shorter than she had anticipated.
"Ideally we want to get you cut right now" Mrs Yamamoto said with a glance at hier watch.
Never thought a day like this would This was happening right now, no time to prepare or anything. She felt light headed. Just like that it had been decided she would go from a long haired girl to a short haired one.
"Luckily I can assure you that you are in great hands, .Miss Kejoro,my friend here has been my head stylist for years now, and she runs a very established salon back in ."
"That's great" Riiha Kumasaki said even though her words had done nothing to calm her nerves.
"Come down to the parking lot, I'll drive you there, I'll get my stuff ready.
Riiha nodded, still coming to grips with what was unfolding. "Okay sounds good" she gritted through her teeth. She walked swiftly to the drinking fountain and gulped down a glass of water, quenching her dry throat.
"Where did you go?" a voice asked her from behind
It was Ruri, a girl from marketing department as they had been talking to earlier in the day. Riiha must've looked frazzled because she then asked;
"You okay?"
"They're cutting all my hair off" Riiha blurted, feeling more overwhelmed by the minute.
"What?" Ruri said as she took a step closer with a confused look on her face.
"Yeah, I'm in a shoot tomorrow and they're giving me this pixie cut.After we reach there ." Riiha said with panic in her voice.
"Woah," Ruri said, the surprise clear on her face. "I mean you're gonna rock that I can just tell."
"I hope so" Riiha said as she bit her lip in concern.
"Come give me a hug" Ruri opened her arms and the two embraced.
After about 10 seconds Riiha pulled back and took a deep breath, trying to control her nerves somewhat.
"Okay, okay, I can do this" She said to herself but aloud.
"Go get it over with babe, I know you're gonna look even sexier" Ruri said with a sincere smile.
Riiha Kumasaki smiled back.
"Thank you"
She took another deep breath and started walking to the car where Mr Hamada was taking.They reached at 4 and entered a salon caed "Katsumi Kejoro"
As she entered, there were crowd and on each side were 4 black salon style chairs facing circular double sided mirrors. Behind the table, in the corner, sat 3 washing basins. They wished the owner Katsumi Kejoro who stood next to the right most chair.
There was no one else at the station. Riiha Kumasaki's legs felt weak as she approached her.
"Please take a seat" said Katsumi posing and patting the seat.
"Thanks" Riiha said as she lowered herself onto the chair.
The chair was turned and Riiha now could view herself in the mirror. In front of her under the mirror was a small black towel. Atop it sat a pair of silver scissors, a razor, a comb and a few sectioning clips. She gulped, knowing these would be the tools used to remove her long hair.
"Nervous?" Katsumi asked as she placed her hands on the back of the chair.
"Yeah, can't lie I am" Riiha said, forcing a timid smile.
Katsumi nodded and pursed her lips slightly.
"Nothing wrong with that love, it's a very big change you're about to go through. But… if it's any help, I can assure you that when I'm done, you will look stunning." Katsumi Kejoro came to her side and looked at her in her eyes. "I promise you that okay?"
Riiha did feel slightly better by her sincerity and nodded gratefully in return.
"Keep calm, it'll still be feminine, so you don't need to worry about that alright?"
Again Riiha nodded.
"Okay, well I like all my clients to know exactly what I'm going to do so I'll quickly run through the sorta steps we'll take.
Another couple nods from Riiha.
"Just real quick I'll take you over and give you a quick shampoo and condition. Then I'll get rid off the bulk, the hair we know we won't need." Katsumi Kejoro pulled her hair back behind her to demonstrate. "So that's when most of the hair is gonna be removed. Then I'll section the hair a bit and finish the shape. So like I said earlier it's gonna be short, really only a couple inches all over."
She flicked Riiha's hair back over her shoulders, giving her a chance to take in how much of a change this was about to be.
Riiha recognised it. "Yeah, yeah I did" she said, struggling to get coherent words out.
"Well something like that is the plan." Katsumi then picked up the razor from the counter in front of her. "I'm going to be using my feather razor for the whole cut, maybe the scissors for a bit ."
Riiha looked closely at the razor, shuddering at the idea that very soon it would be slicing away her long hair. katsy placed the razor back on the counter.
"Any questions?"
"No"
"Let's get started then I don't wanna drag this out for you" Katsumi turned the chair to the side and Riiha pushed herself up.
Katsumi Kejoro went ahead and positioned herself behind one of the sinks. She motioned for Riiha to sit, and she slid into the leather seat.
A towel was draped over her shoulders, and sge could feel her hair being pulled up into the basin. Water started gushing out from the tap.
"Temperature okay?" Katsumi asked
"Yep, no problem"
Riiha closed her eyes as the shampoo was worked into her hair. She couldn't believe how quickly this had all happened, she hadn't even had time to tell her boyfriend. Now she suddenly had this fear her boyfriend would be angry at her. She remembered what she had learnt in her mediation course and tried to clear her mind.
Katsumi Kejoro washed out the shampoo and began massaging in the conditioner. Riiha tried to appreciate the feeling of her long hair being pampered, fully aware her long haired days were ending any minute now. The sound of the water being turned off sent shivers down her spine. She could feel her hair being pulled up and a towel being wrapped around it.
"Alright let's get you back to the chair then" Katsumi said as she gently tapped her shoulder. Reluctantly Riiha Kumasaki rose and followed her to the chair. She looked out at some of the other girls getting their hair done. She slowly lowered herself back into the seat.
miss Kejoro reached under the table and pulled out a white cape. She unruffled it and draped it across Riiha's body, clipping it around her neck. The towel was pulled from her head and her hair fell down against the cape. Wet it was almost black in colour and contrasted against the white of the cape. Katsumi Kejoro wrung out her hair with the towel before reaching for the comb on the table.
"Ever had anything short before love?" she asked as she began combing through the hair.
"Uh no not really, about to my shoulders is the shortest I think" she said breathlessly. She was struggling to control her nerves at this point.
"Well it'll be a very foreign feeling then I guess, having it off your neck. Off your ears even too." She paused to smile at Riiha through the mirror.
Riiha could appreciate she was trying to be helpful but her description of her ears free of hair made her feel like throwing up.
"I'll give you some tips for styling and stuff once we're done." She added.Katsumi continued combing through her hair, pulling it from root to tip down her back. The wait was killing Riiha, she almost wished she could skip until this was all over.
As if she was reading her mind, Katsumi Kejoro moved to the counter. Riiha watched intently as her slender fingers picked up the razor. She turned to face her and raised her eyebrows.
"Let's do this shall we love" she said silkily. She grabbed the armrest tightly under the cape. Slowly she nodded slightly, trying to come to grips with the cropping that was about to occur.
Katsumi Kejoro moved to behind her and Elise could feel her sectioning away a segment of her hair. She was struggling to breath at this point.
"Here we go" Katsumi said calmly. Riiha squeezed her eyes shut.
Riiha could feel tension on her scalp as the section was pulled taunt. Then a tugging feeling as the razor went to work. She couldn't help wince as she heard the razor, sounding like it was almost sawing at her hair.
Suddenly the tugging stopped. Riiha opened her eyes only to see Katsumi holding a chunk of her severed hair.
"A souvenir for you" she said as she dropped it onto the cape. It slid down and settled in Riiha's lap. She swallowed hard, struggling to look at the 10 inch long mass of hair now sitting atop her legs. Whether she liked it or not there wouldn't be any going back.
The hair had swung forward, suddenly without so much of the weight and Riiha could see just how short it already was. It hung to just past her chin, the ends raggedy from the razor.
She felt another section being pulled back and again felt the razor running back and forth against the hair. After just a few seconds she heard a plop sound as it hit the hard floor.
Again she felt Katsumi pull her comb through another section, before her fingers pulled out the hair. With a few swift swipes another clump of hair slapped onto the ground.
"How's it coming along?" a voice called out, surprising Elise. She turned to see Mr Hamada standing behind her."Well no tears yet huh?"
Riiha Kumasaki realised her throat was completely dry and croaked in reply "It's going okay"
"Almost removed all the bulk, then I'll take it tight to the head." said Katsumi
"Great, I'll let you get back to it then. You're gonna look great" he gave Riiha a thumbs up as he left the hair station.
Katsumi recentered Riiha's head and again took another section between her fingers. Without pause the razor sliced through the hair and Riiha watched as the stylist let it drop to the floor.
"That's the majority of it off" Katsumi announced as she then ruffled the remaining hair. Riiha swallowed glumly, her hair was now reduced to a shaggy chin length mop. Already it was significantly shorter than anything she had before.
"My god" Riiha said softly turning her head side to side.
"Don't worry it's still very far from the finished product" Katsumi said as walked to the counter and grabbed some clips. Using her comb she began to section the remaining hair.
"You're hair is gonna dry in about 2 minutes flat now you know" Katsumi said attempting to lighten the mood.
Riiha still looked rather shell shocked but replied; "Yeah I bet it'll save me some time in the mornings"
Katsumi Kejoro had sectioned the hair into 4 sections, one atop her head, 2 on either side of her head and 1 at her nape area. Katsumi picked up the razor again and gently pushed Riiha's chin to her chest.
Taking some hair between her fingers she quickly sliced through it, 4 or 5 inches of wet hair landing on her neck before Juliet swiped it to the floor. She worked efficiently, taking down the length to only a few inches. Riiha couldn't help cringe as she felt more and more hair fall to her neck. She could tell it was short from how tight against her skin Katsumi's hands were.
Once the section was complete Katsumi tussled the now short hair. She razored away any hairs that sat wrongly before moving her seat so she was at Riiha's left side. She unclipped the hair and took another section between her fingers. With a quick swipe another clump of hair was removed, this time it tumbled down the cape into her lap. For the first time Riiha could see just how short her remaining hair was. It spiked out from her head, protruding no more than 2 or 3 inches from her scalp. Riiha swallowed hard, she could see her new look beginning to materialise. She could feel her eyes begin to water.
She just watched silently as Katsumi took section after section between her fingers before sending the hair down the cape or to the floor. She tilted Riiha's head to the side.
"Now we can see those gorgeous ears" She remarked. Seeing her ears exposed like that was a foreign feeling for Riiha.
Katsumi straightened her again and after razoring away a couple more sections of hair, the left side was complete. Katsumi Kejoro then wheeled herself to the right side and undid the clips there. The hair flopped down, reaching Riiha's chin. The left side of her head ominously foreshadowed what was about to happen to the right side.
Katsumi didn't waste anytime, her razor quickly removing length. More and more strands slid down the front of the cape. Riiha felt sick as she noticed how large the pile in her lap had become. The first 10 inch chunk Katsumi had cut sat rigidly atop her legs and surrounding it were smaller strands. Not wanting it in her vision anymore she lifted the cape from underneath with her hands. The hair slid slowly down the front of the cape, plopping onto the floor.
The barberette sent more hair to the floor as she finished with the right section. She then unclipped the final top section. Using her comb she pulled the remaining hair forward covering Riiha's eyes. Katsumi brought the razor up to her eyebrows and began slicing away more of the wet hair. After a couple chunks were removed, Riiha's vision was no longer blocked and she watched as more hair tumbled into her lap. It was hard to believe the girl she saw in the mirror was even her anymore. There seemed to be barely any hair left at all.
Katsumi continued, giving her a fringe that sat just above her eyebrows. She took more hair further back in the section between her fingers, bringing it down to the correct length. More wet hair was casually tossed to the ground after it was razored away. A few moments later and the last long strand was tumbling to the floor. She moved around her head, carefully going over the hair she had already cut, perfecting the look.
The cape was then unclipped and pulled away. Riiy's hands almost immediately went to her head. The shock almost made her jump, there was almost nothing between her head and her fingers, just a short pelt of her dark hair.
"Looks amazing on you " Katsumi said warmly, admiring her handiwork.
Riiha stood up from the chair, noted the piles of hair laying around her, and moved close to the mirror to properly inspect her hair. It was a very delicate cut Riiha had to admit, Katsumi was obviously an expert. But its short she said to herself, turning her head side to side. This change would take a while to get used to.
"Do you like it dear?"
Despite how big of a change it was Riiha found herself nodding.
"Yes, yes I do" she replied. At least Katsumi had made it as feminine and sexy as possible Riiha noted to herself.