Morning Preparations

Yuki adjusted her scissors earrings and checked her pink nails one more time. The morning sun streamed through the windows of Hair Magic Salon, casting rainbow patterns across the polished floor.

"Ready for another day?" called Maki, twirling her thinning shears like a magic wand. Her green hair sparkled with glitter as she spun around.

"Always!" Yuko laughed, her blue pigtails bouncing as she tested her clippers. The buzz filled the air for a moment before she switched them off.

The three magical hairdressers had been best friends since they discovered their powers. Each possessed special tools that could work wonders with hair, but today felt different somehow.

"Did you hear about those boys from the village?" Yuki asked, arranging her scissor hairpins. "The ones with the really long hair?"

Maki nodded. "People keep mistaking them for girls. Their parents are getting upset."

Through the window, they could see parents marching down the street, looking determined and frustrated. Something big was about to happen.

The Storm Arrives

The salon door burst open with such force that Yuki's scissors earrings jangled. Five parents stormed in, dragging five kicking, screaming boys behind them.

"Please help us!" Mrs. Tanaka gasped, wrestling with a boy whose long black hair covered his entire face. "People keep mistaking Ren for a girl!"

The other parents nodded frantically. Each boy had hair so long and tangled it reached their shoulders or longer. Riku's brown hair was greasy and matted. Haruto's blonde locks hung in stringy clumps. Kenji's dark hair stuck out in all directions like he'd been struck by lightning. Hiroto's red hair was so wild it looked like a bird's nest.

"NO!" Ren shrieked, clinging to a salon chair. "I won't let them cut it!"

"Scissors are evil!" Riku wailed.

"They'll cut my ears off!" Haruto sobbed.

Yuki exchanged worried glances with Maki and Yuko. She'd never seen children this terrified before.

"What happened to make them so scared?" Yuki asked gently.

"Bad haircuts," Mrs. Tanaka explained. "Really, really bad ones. Now they refuse to go near any salon."

The boys huddled together, trembling at the sight of the magical hair tools.