Pink Scissors and Morning Light

Yuki adjusted her pink hair bow and checked her scissors earrings in the salon mirror. The morning sun streamed through the windows of her magical hair salon in Nakaibito village, making her pink dress shimmer.

"Another beautiful day for haircuts!" she said, polishing her favorite silver scissors. Her pink nails gleamed as she arranged her tools.

The bell above the door jingled. Maki burst in, her own magical hair supplies floating behind her in sparkly bubbles.

"Yuki, we have a problem," Maki said, catching her floating comb. "Five boys in the village refuse to cut their hair. Their parents are furious."

Yuki's pink eyes widened. "Refuse? But everyone loves haircuts!"

"Not these boys. Ren, Riku, Haruto, Kenji, and Hiroto. Their hair is so long and messy, people mistake them for girls. They won't even come near scissors."

Yuki picked up her phone and scrolled through the village social media. Sure enough, photos showed five boys with tangled, greasy hair covering their faces.

"We'll help them," Yuki declared, slipping her phone into her pink purse.

The Great Escape

Yuki and Maki walked through the village market, their magical scissors clinking softly. The morning air smelled of fresh bread and flowers.

"There!" Maki pointed across the square.

Five boys sat hunched on a bench near the fountain. Their hair hung in greasy tangles past their shoulders, covering most of their faces. One boy nervously bit his fingernails, the pieces falling into his messy bangs.

"Ren, Riku, Haruto, Kenji, and Hiroto," Yuki whispered.

An elderly woman with kind wrinkled eyes shuffled past them, shaking her head. "Poor boys look like wild creatures," she muttered. "Their parents are at their wit's end."

Suddenly, angry shouts erupted from the other side of the market. Three sets of parents marched toward the fountain, their faces red with frustration.

"That's it!" one father yelled. "We're dragging you to the salon right now!"

The boys jumped up, panic flooding their faces. They scattered like frightened rabbits, running between market stalls.

"Wait!" Yuki called, but they were already gone.

Maki sighed. "This is worse than I thought. They're terrified."

The parents stopped in front of the magical girls, breathing heavily. "Please," a mother begged, "you have to help us."