*Author Note*
Ah, it's finally time. I've fantasised about writing this chapter in particular for months, waiting patiently for it finally be time to write it. There's a few chapters I've been this excited to write. The Ezekial fight, Failure possessing Kai and fighting the Demon (Although both of them were multiple chapters), but this one will hold a special place in my heart.
And there's many more chapters I've fantasised about writing in the future, some in the distant future, and one that will actually happen in a few chapters time, and oh my god I can't wait.
But before I conclude this author note, this chapter will also have a song dedicated to it.
That song being Hair by Suriel Hess.
So, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I enjoyed writing it.
-Kerplunkered.
*********
A good haircut could be said to consist of many things.
...Not that Kai knew any of them.
So in this case, he was blindly relying on Cecilia to do a good job. He had faith in her though, he had always thought that her hair was pretty. It looked so silky all the time, even when it was completely covered in snow.
But now that Kai was on the topic of hair, did Cecilia have some sort of secret hair supply stash in her ring? It didn't make sense how her hair could always look so perfect, unless she just had incredible hair genetics.
No, it was the latter, Kai realised that as he watched a wide variety of multiversal hair products start appearing all around him.
Gel, some strange foam, a bottle of bright blue coloured water that apparently empowered the quality of your hair.
"Where did you get all this?"
Cecilia's hands, which were currently in the middle of undoing all the knots in Kai's hair, suddenly froze. Wondering why that was, Kai glanced back over his shoulder, only to see that she was blushing profusely.
"I... um... When you told me to go and raid the treasury while you were fighting Ezekial... I... may have stopped into Anastasia's private quarters and raided her products."
Silence.
Kai wasn't sure what to say. Was he meant to praise her ingenuity to rob more than just the treasury? Maybe he should have thought of that and have told her to raid any place in the castle that had some sort of valuables? Or was he meant to give out?
Eh, not like it matters now.
Kai simply nodded and said:
"That makes perfectly normal sense."
When he turned back around, he heard Cecilia sigh quietly behind him before getting back to work.
It was a strange feeling. Back on Earth, no barber took this much care when doing a haircut, it was always just scissors and machinery. Was this why hairdressers were so expensive?
It also didn't help his case about barbers being rubbish that Cecilia had acquired a skill that enhanced her fingers, and that she had been weaving nearly none stop for the last few days. Her fingers moved with masterfull finesse, never lingering in one place for too long.
She treated every strand of hair like the thread of a weave, applying various hair products to every one of them.
At one point, she took out some scissors and began chipping away at the large volume of hair on his head, but she didn't take much. She mainly cleared away bits of his fringe that were too long and bits that were poking out at awkward angles.
It was almost like she had chosen the vanity route rather than the practical route.
Wait, he had specified that the reason he wanted to cut his hair was that it was getting in they way of fighting, right?
Unsure, but not wanting to speak up, Kai continued to let Cecilia work her magic.
Over an hour had gone by, and yet Cecilia was still not finished. No matter how many times Kai thought she was about to wrap up, another multiversal hair product appeared and the cycle just repeated itself.
The worst part was, he didn't even have a mirror to see how it was looking, he was blindly trusting in Cecilia to not mess up.
It's not like how his hair looked really mattered though, considering that their group consisted of three humans, a wolf, a rat and a sentient sword, but it would matter once they all got out of this Subdimension.
... If they all got out of this Subdimension.
But thoughts like that were unnecessary for now, all that mattered in this moment was whether Cecilia would mess up his hair or not.
He had faith in her though.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Cecilia pulled away her hands away from the back of Kai's head, sighing in relief and stretching her fingers a little before sitting back on her heels.
To put it bluntly, Kai's hair had never felt more incredible. It was almost like it had a life of its own when he reached up to feel it. Before, it had been rough and rigid, but now it felt like his hair had been reforged from the finest of silks, or even strings, it was like Cecilia had put her weaving skills to use and had woven him an entirely new haircut.
However, there was one problem with the hairdo Cecilia had given him, one... minor issue that had been the whole reason he was going to cut his hair in the first place.
Cecilia had barely trimmed his hair, it was still roughly the same length it had been before the hairdo, which meant it would still be annoying him in battle, still get into his eyes whenever he tried to do anything.
He didn't really want to speak out about it though, and it's not like he was against having long hair...
"So... What do you think?"
Suddenly getting snapped out of his thoughts by Cecilia's voice, Kai brought his hand to the side of his head and felt his hair a little more again.
"It feels incredible, like it isn't even hair. I don't even know how you managed it, I never see you doing your own hair after all."
Unbeknownst to Kai, considering he couldn't see his new hairdresser behind him, Cecilia smiled softly, a weak blush forming on her cheeks from the words of praise.
"That's because the products I use last two months before their effects start to weaken, its the same with the makeup most of the richer people use, and even then these products are on the lower quality side. Although I wasn't able to grab any makeup before we left, Queen Anastasia had a separate room for her makeup..."
Kai's eyes widened softly at the revelation. Not that Anastasia had a separate room for her makeup, that sounded like her, and not that the products lasted for two months before slowly becoming ineffective, although that was also a bit surprising, but what Kai was shocked about was.
"You've had no makeup on this whole time?"
Cecilia's complexion was like something straight out of a movie. She always looked like she had the most luxurious products applied at any given moment, which always made her stand out. Even though the competition was non existent, Cecilia was the most attractive being in the tent by far, with Umbra being second with how incredible her fur always looked.
As for who was third place, it was probably a close completion between Kai and Esurient, with-
"...Yes?"
That train of thought was halted by the sound of Cecilia squeaking out a single word, which made Kai frown a little. Why did she sound so...
"Is that a bad thing, Sir? Do I not look..."
It was almost as if she couldn't bring herself to say those final words, which would have been the biggest lie anyway. Anastasia must have always berated her back in the castle, but even then Cecilia had been chosen for her looks to bear the King's children, so she was obviously really pretty, but she must have felt worthless in comparison to Anastasia, and maybe even Yelena, if that was the Second Queen's real name.
"No, you're beautiful, I was just a little surprised is all. You look incredible."
It was only after Kai realised what he had said did he comprehend the words that had come out of his mouth. His body stiffened up, realising the implications of his words.
Had he really just said that? Had he really said that out loud? To Cecilia?
Kai swallowed.
However, the tension that had been rising all dissolved when Cecilia finally spoke up.
"I... thank you, Sir. It is nice to hear that from you."
Kai sighed in relief, lowering his head and being glad that Cecilia had only taken his words as a compliment.
... If only he knew how red her face really was, how much she was internally praying that he wouldn't turn around and see her reaction.
... And if only she knew that her prayers were actually being heard by a God that was watching over the both of them, enjoying the spectacle more than could possibly be imagined.
Wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible, Kai coughed into his hand and said:
"However, there is one thing I would like to change about the haircut..."
Trying her best to calm down her beating heart, Cecilia took a silent deep breath before resting her hands on her lap and answering.
"What would that be, Sir?"
Kai tugged on his hair softly, pulling a portion of it in front of his eyes and obscuring his vision.
"The main reason I wanted to cut it was its length. It kept getting into my eyes, and now that it's the longest it's ever been it was starting to get really annoying."
"Oh, I see"
Coughing slightly to clear her throat, Cecilia's hands once more become entangled in Kai's hair, only to his surprise, they don't have any scissors in them.
Instead, she begins to pull back his hair into one section, almost as if it were a-
A moment later, Kai felt a strange sensation on the back of his head. Cecilia had begun weaving something around his hair, and it didn't take long to figure out what she was weaving.
And about two hours after Cecilia begun styling his hair, it was finished.
She had pulled his hair back into a loose ponytail, tying it with a band of Mana she had woven on the spot. She hadn't tied all of his hair though, there were a few stylish strands that still descended down the side of his face, beside his ears, and there was still quite a bit of hair sitting on the top of his head that she hadn't pulled back.
Once her hands had pulled away, Kai lifted his own and softly grasped at the hairband, only to be surprised at how sturdy and strong it actually was.
It was much, much stronger than the flimsy gloves she had created back when they were trapped in the cave, which meant one of two things.
Either she had improved her weaving skills dramatically in the short amount of time she had been practising, or...
Just how much did she desire to keep Kai's hair like that? The band felt strong enough that he would even have to put in a little effort to rip it.
While he was feeling up his hair, Cecilia summoned a small mirror and placed it on the ground in front Kai. He wasn't sure if she had done it on purpose, but the mirror was perfectly positioned so that it would only reflect Kai and not catch any part of her face.
And his reflection...
"Oh my god."
Pulling his new ponytail around to the side of his head, Kai stared at his hair in awe. Never did he believe that it would be this long, and never did he believe that he would have a ponytail in the first place, but it didn't exactly look bad.
... And there would be no harm in having one for a while, for Cecilia's sake, of course.
"So... what do you think?"
Kai's body was softly pushed forward as something pressed into his upper back, as if hiding themselves so they couldn't see into the mirror.
Pressing her forehead even more into Kai's back so that he wouldn't be able to see her blushing, Cecilia closed her eyes and waited for the final verdict, the judges decision.
But while she done that, Kai stared blankly at his reflection.
"It's perfect."
His blushing reflection stared back.