[KinKi AU] Tangent -- Chapter 1
I've been avoiding writing AU (equals multi-chapter-ness, questionable characterization, random plug-ins/cliches/plot-holes in my case)... but, it happened. `_=
Chapter 1 of probably 8 or more, judging from the current skeleton.
Disclaimer: This writing is fictional and has no commercial purpose. Characters are real persons belonging to themselves.
Pairing: KinKi Kids
Genre: AU, drama
Rating: G
Summary: Tsuyoshi the hairstylist was contracted to Kouichi the solo artist. Complications arose as they became more and more entangled in each other's world.
Credits: Sprouted from Tsuyoshi's remark that he would like to be Kouichi's producer. The opening scene was much influenced by a Chinese KT fanfic, "Semi-Lover" by Rhodora (thanks to peachie_cyo for sending it to me).
---
Tangent
1: Next Best Superstar
Tsuyoshi leaned forward in his seat. "You want me to stand in for Okishima Shuuji-san?"
Joushima's expression was unwavering as usual. "Yes, would you do it? For someone as high-class as him, it has to be--"
"He is too high-class for me, too," Tsuyoshi protested. "I thought he had retired-- you remember that year when his wife's condition suddenly worsened? Even though she did pull through..."
"Right... He did quit the regular job, but from what I know he's been taking up private commissions from time to time. But now he's told the big boss that he'll be taking indefinite time off, which I feel will be the start of actual retirement."
"So this take-over will be permanent?"
"Yes. But he has only one regular client as of now, so it shouldn't be too taxing for you."
"Only one?" Tsuyoshi frowned. "Must be quite special."
"Johnny's Entertainment."
Tsuyoshi's mouth made an O shape.
"Yeah, that powerful company. A lot of your juniors are on their contracts, too. In Okishima-san's case, I heard he was doing this as a favor for the president, whom he knew from his early career years." Joushima took the folder he'd been perusing on the desk and gave it to Tsuyoshi. "The customer is the agency's current number one idol."
Tsuyoshi's hand paused before it touched the folder. "Doumoto Kouichi?"
"Yes. You know him?"
"Seen him in a magazine once," Tsuyoshi replied, flipping through the portfolio. "His last name caught my attention."
"Ah, of course. So, what was your impression of him?"
Tsuyoshi contemplated his answer. "The style was... surprisingly ordinary for Okishima-san's level."
"It's probably by the agency's request. You know, pop idol image and all."
Tsuyoshi studied the photographs. "He does have quite interesting facial features... but if that's the image they want..."
"I know that won't be much incentive given your preferred style," Joushima nodded. "But the point is, we need a big enough name to take over from Okishima-san while maintaining goodwill with the agency, and you're the highest-rated stylist we have right now."
Tsuyoshi nipped his chin. "What does the agency think about this?"
"I'm not telling them yet until I have a good offer at hand."
"You're worried about Miyake, aren't you," Tsuyoshi stated flatly.
Joushima returned his look steadily. "They'll most likely go to him if you're not taking this up."
"Styling is not about competing for customers," Tsuyoshi said unhappily.
"I know it isn't. Still, you cannot pursue this passion without customers to work with."
Tsuyoshi sighed. "What is the schedule like?"
"Mostly on demand. He is on an average of four or five different programs a week, but of course not each session will need styling."
"Busy guy." Tsuyoshi was impressed.
"At least two major projects in a year will require more intensive commitment from you, though. You may have to go to filming sites on occasions. Other than that we'll just have him here, I believe. He's been driving personally to Okishima-san's place for most of the appointments."
Tsuyoshi closed the folder and stood up. "Don't forget that I'm not Okishima Shuuji."
Joushima smiled. "You're Doumoto Tsuyoshi. Twice crowned top hairstylist of the year by three leading fashion magazines in Japan."
Tsuyoshi rolled his eyes. "You only ever praise me when you need a favor, don't you."
"Ah, but that's what bosses do. Need to keep egos in check, you see."
"In return, how about my proposal the other day about putting up a fish tank at the lobby..."
Joushima cringed. "I will approve it as long as it's not that what's-its-name long ugly fish--"
"Endlicheri Endlicheri," Tsuyoshi supplied readily. "And it may be ugly, but it's symbolic of--"
"It's going to scare the customers away," Joushima cut him off.
Tsuyoshi pouted, and turned away.
"Those other pretty tropical fishes you have are fine though!"
Tsuyoshi walked out the door, but Joushima smiled. Tsuyoshi didn't return the portfolio to him.
--
All eyes in the salon turned when the door was pushed open. Even with part of his face hidden under a bucket hat, Doumoto Kouichi was pretty much recognizable.
The receptionist showed him to the couch at the lobby, then went to call Joushima.
"Where's Tsuyoshi?" Joushima asked on his way out of his office.
"With a customer at the back. He should be done soon. I've reminded him of this appointment five minutes earlier."
"Okay."
The idol had, rather unexpectedly, come alone without his manager. He was keeping a neutral gaze at the colorful corals inside the fish tank, fingering the hat in his hand, when Joushima arrived.
Tsuyoshi rushed out just after they had exchanged pleasantries.
"This is Doumoto Tsuyoshi-san, who'll be in charge of your hairstyling from now on," Joushima made the introductions. At Doumoto Kouichi's surprised look, he smiled and added, "Yes, your surnames happen to be the same."
"Doumoto-san," Tsuyoshi greeted politely. "You can just call me Tsuyoshi."
"Ah, then please call me Kouichi, too," Kouichi replied immediately.
Tsuyoshi exchanged looks with Joushima. "Is it all right?"
Kouichi didn't look worried at all. "Of course."
"Then... shall we start, Kouichi-san?"
"Yes, please."
Seemed like an easygoing man, Joushima thought. That was good in a way -- that personality would be unlikely to clash with Tsuyoshi's complicated moods -- but it unsettled Joushima a little to leave him fully in their eccentric stylist's care, without his manager's presence.
Then again Tsuyoshi had worked long enough in this industry, and Joushima could trust him to be reasonably compliant with the rules of the game when needed be. He returned to his office after throwing one last warning glance at Tsuyoshi, who nodded with a roll of the eyes as he brought the guest to one of the chairs with better privacy.
"Is there a cut you have in mind?" Tsuyoshi asked, once Kouichi was properly seated and robed.
Kouichi thought for a moment. "The new single is a fast-paced dance music, so maybe something with an energetic feel."
"You'll be performing live?" Tsuyoshi ran his fingers through the hair texture, already brainstorming.
"Yes, towards the end of the show."
"Something light but durable, then... Is there anything I shouldn't do?"
"...Eh?" Kouichi turned to look at him, confused.
"I mean, if you're averse to any type of hair gel, if you absolutely don't want glitters... anything like that?"
"I think... anything... will do," Kouichi said slowly. "I usually left everything to Okishima-san."
Tsuyoshi's eyes lit up, but he restrained himself. "Should I maybe... talk to your manager about the image?"
"Ah, Manager-san said to refer to the portfolio he had sent to Joushima-san."
"Oh," Tsuyoshi was slightly deflated.
"Could you shorten this part for me, though?" Kouichi pointed to a spot where his bangs started. "It always falls down to my eyes during rehearsals."
"Let's see." Tsuyoshi promptly took the handful of hair and marked a point with his fingers. "If I follow this length towards the left, then build the other side upwards... it should give you the energetic look you want."
Kouichi blinked. "Then it's fine," he said. "Frankly, I don't know much about styling, so as long as it is not anything drastic, please go ahead."
While Joushima wouldn't necessarily agree with his standard for 'drastic', Tsuyoshi felt his spirits returning. "Great," he smiled widely. "I'll get to it. Do you have time for a wash?"
"I have one hour," Kouichi replied. "But I don't need the wash."
"That's fine, too," Tsuyoshi said, though not really understanding. He sprayed some water onto Kouichi's hair, then drew his chair closer to start cutting.
Only then did he understand. "Your hair smells really nice," he commented, before he could stop himself.
"Eh? You think so?" Kouichi was slightly surprised. "I've been using this shampoo that supposedly promotes hair growth..."
"Do you have that problem?" Tsuyoshi asked, forgetting to be subtle.
Kouichi cringed, and swept up the hair at the sides to show him his temple. "You notice the hairline at this part is pretty high..."
"Ah, that's true," Tsuyoshi cringed along with him. "Well, there are ways to work around that..."
"I'll be relying on you, then."
"No problem."
Ten minutes into the work, a staff popped his head from behind the partition.
"Tsuyoshi-kun, sorry, but could you come to the phone for a sec? It's Takeuchi-san's manager."
"Ah, from earlier-- Right. Koyama-kun, could you help me prepare this curling iron in the meantime? Hai~~ thank you. I'm sorry, Kouichi-san, I'll be right back."
Kouichi looked up from the magazine he'd been flipping as Tsuyoshi's figure disappeared behind the partition. The boy who just came over smiled at him politely.
"I'm sorry about the disturbance. It won't take long, the customer just needs to discuss some quick points."
"Okay," Kouichi replied.
Seeing the guest taking up another magazine, Koyama didn't attempt any more conversation, and got to his job.
"Ah, excuse me?"
"Yes?" Koyama looked up.
"Do you have other magazines?"
"Oh, sure, I'll bring them over--"
"Uhm, auto magazines if you have them, please."
Koyama stopped in his tracks. "Eh... au... auto? We're subscribed to only fashion magazines... but I can maybe find a sports one if it's okay?"
Kouichi looked disappointed. "Never mind then, it's all right."
"Sorry about that..."
"Don't worry about it," Kouichi said, and swayed in his chair. "I should've picked one up on the way here."
"I'm back." Tsuyoshi turned up, saving Koyama from further awkwardness. "Is this ready, Koyama-kun? Thank you."
Koyama took his leave with a bow and a worried glance at the idol.
"Sorry for the wait," Tsuyoshi said to Kouichi as he resumed his work. "One hour, right? We'll finish in time, don't worry."
Without the magazine's distraction now, Kouichi's attention fell at the brisk dance of fingers above his head. "That's fast."
"Oh?" Tsuyoshi had had people praising his speed before, but he hadn't expected the comment from Kouichi. "I'd think you're already used to Okishima-san's technique..."
"He takes his time with the cut, usually," Kouichi replied. "We fix the appointments early. If I'm in a rush, then he prefers not to do the complicated trims."
How envious, Tsuyoshi thought. If left to himself, he would *so* take forever to come up with an ideal shape, too. "He can be amazingly fast when he wants to, and still keeps that grace. The last competition he entered years ago... I watched that recording over and over."
"Ah, is that so." Kouichi settled with a neutral response. He recognized a fanboy when he heard one, and they weren't likely to appreciate knowing that he, as the person privileged enough to experience the marvel firsthand, had not been paying attention.
Tsuyoshi, on his part, recognized the lost look for what it was, and decided to let go of the topic. "Okay, we're done with the front. Is the length all right?"
Kouichi made a few sharp turns of the head for testing, which made Tsuyoshi take an apprehensive step backward. "Yes, this is fine."
"Great. Just a bit of touch-up, then we're done."
Kouichi nodded. He went back to silence, the quiet snip-snip-snip lulling his eyes to close for a rest.
A sudden stimulus on the back of his neck made him sneeze without warning.
"Ah!" Tsuyoshi let out in dismay, the tip of his scissors having slipped to undeserved strands of hair.
"Sorry," Kouichi sniffed and rubbed his nose.
Tsuyoshi's brain was already full of emergency plans to salvage the shape, and he unconsciously gripped the back of Kouichi's neck to stop further disturbances.
Kouichi sneezed once more.
"Oh! Is it too cold?" Tsuyoshi asked in realization. "I'll adjust the temperature."
"No, not that." Kouichi waved, stopping Tsuyoshi's steps. "Just now, you were brushing over the fine hairs..."
Tsuyoshi looked at the part he was working on just now. Too gone for symmetry. I'll cut upwards a bit more... He pulled himself out of the reflex thoughts and back to Kouichi. "You mean... it tickled?"
"Yeah."
Tsuyoshi tilted his head. "Never heard of people who sneeze over that, though."
"But I do," Kouichi said, a hint of childish deviance in his tone.
"I'll be careful," Tsuyoshi replied quickly, getting back at trimming. "I'm going to change this part a bit, is it all right?"
"Uh-hm," Kouichi asserted, not really seeing the difference. He was just glad that the change mentioned took only two more minutes.
Tsuyoshi almost felt pity when he applied the hair gel before sending Kouichi on his way. Short as the exposure was, the original fragrance of that hair had somehow grown on him.
--
"This afternoon seemed to go pretty smoothly."
Tsuyoshi turned. "Leader. You're still here?"
"Just closed another deal with Yoshimoto," Joushima replied, watching as Tsuyoshi tidied up the equipments he'd been experimenting with. "So, you're getting along okay with your new customer?"
"He's fine," Tsuyoshi answered cheerfully. "Sadly lacking concern for his own image, but then he lets me do what I want, so."
"You sure that's all right with his agency?"
"As long as I don't shave him bald," Tsuyoshi listed the options on his fingers, "or give him dreadlocks, or the Afro, or paint him with more than three colors. The yankee styles don't suit him anyway, so I won't do those for him."
"Good," Joushima said warily.
"He'll be perfect for that layering technique I've been wanting to try out, too," Tsuyoshi's eyes turned dreamy as he brushed his fingers over his set of scissors. "It's so difficult to find a lady with such defined bone structure."
"I'm glad this assignment works out for you, then," Joushima said, pushing in a bottle of hairspray that was out of line. "Wait, *lady*, you said?"
"Don't worry, I'll wait for a suitable program," Tsuyoshi replied nonchalantly. "You won't believe the things these idols do nowadays..."
---
Author Notes:
[*] Okishima Shuuji was Kimura Takuya's hairstylist character in Beautiful Life.
[**] A compilation of Kouichi's sneezing incidents is linked from here.
It's probably already obvious that I made up most of the styling decisions based upon very poor knowledge. =P Criticisms on that aspect will be very very appreciated. Any form of feedback or ideas will be warmly welcomed, too. =)
Chapter 1 of probably 8 or more, judging from the current skeleton.
Disclaimer: This writing is fictional and has no commercial purpose. Characters are real persons belonging to themselves.
Pairing: KinKi Kids
Genre: AU, drama
Rating: G
Summary: Tsuyoshi the hairstylist was contracted to Kouichi the solo artist. Complications arose as they became more and more entangled in each other's world.
Credits: Sprouted from Tsuyoshi's remark that he would like to be Kouichi's producer. The opening scene was much influenced by a Chinese KT fanfic, "Semi-Lover" by Rhodora (thanks to peachie_cyo for sending it to me).
---
Tangent
1: Next Best Superstar
Tsuyoshi leaned forward in his seat. "You want me to stand in for Okishima Shuuji-san?"
Joushima's expression was unwavering as usual. "Yes, would you do it? For someone as high-class as him, it has to be--"
"He is too high-class for me, too," Tsuyoshi protested. "I thought he had retired-- you remember that year when his wife's condition suddenly worsened? Even though she did pull through..."
"Right... He did quit the regular job, but from what I know he's been taking up private commissions from time to time. But now he's told the big boss that he'll be taking indefinite time off, which I feel will be the start of actual retirement."
"So this take-over will be permanent?"
"Yes. But he has only one regular client as of now, so it shouldn't be too taxing for you."
"Only one?" Tsuyoshi frowned. "Must be quite special."
"Johnny's Entertainment."
Tsuyoshi's mouth made an O shape.
"Yeah, that powerful company. A lot of your juniors are on their contracts, too. In Okishima-san's case, I heard he was doing this as a favor for the president, whom he knew from his early career years." Joushima took the folder he'd been perusing on the desk and gave it to Tsuyoshi. "The customer is the agency's current number one idol."
Tsuyoshi's hand paused before it touched the folder. "Doumoto Kouichi?"
"Yes. You know him?"
"Seen him in a magazine once," Tsuyoshi replied, flipping through the portfolio. "His last name caught my attention."
"Ah, of course. So, what was your impression of him?"
Tsuyoshi contemplated his answer. "The style was... surprisingly ordinary for Okishima-san's level."
"It's probably by the agency's request. You know, pop idol image and all."
Tsuyoshi studied the photographs. "He does have quite interesting facial features... but if that's the image they want..."
"I know that won't be much incentive given your preferred style," Joushima nodded. "But the point is, we need a big enough name to take over from Okishima-san while maintaining goodwill with the agency, and you're the highest-rated stylist we have right now."
Tsuyoshi nipped his chin. "What does the agency think about this?"
"I'm not telling them yet until I have a good offer at hand."
"You're worried about Miyake, aren't you," Tsuyoshi stated flatly.
Joushima returned his look steadily. "They'll most likely go to him if you're not taking this up."
"Styling is not about competing for customers," Tsuyoshi said unhappily.
"I know it isn't. Still, you cannot pursue this passion without customers to work with."
Tsuyoshi sighed. "What is the schedule like?"
"Mostly on demand. He is on an average of four or five different programs a week, but of course not each session will need styling."
"Busy guy." Tsuyoshi was impressed.
"At least two major projects in a year will require more intensive commitment from you, though. You may have to go to filming sites on occasions. Other than that we'll just have him here, I believe. He's been driving personally to Okishima-san's place for most of the appointments."
Tsuyoshi closed the folder and stood up. "Don't forget that I'm not Okishima Shuuji."
Joushima smiled. "You're Doumoto Tsuyoshi. Twice crowned top hairstylist of the year by three leading fashion magazines in Japan."
Tsuyoshi rolled his eyes. "You only ever praise me when you need a favor, don't you."
"Ah, but that's what bosses do. Need to keep egos in check, you see."
"In return, how about my proposal the other day about putting up a fish tank at the lobby..."
Joushima cringed. "I will approve it as long as it's not that what's-its-name long ugly fish--"
"Endlicheri Endlicheri," Tsuyoshi supplied readily. "And it may be ugly, but it's symbolic of--"
"It's going to scare the customers away," Joushima cut him off.
Tsuyoshi pouted, and turned away.
"Those other pretty tropical fishes you have are fine though!"
Tsuyoshi walked out the door, but Joushima smiled. Tsuyoshi didn't return the portfolio to him.
--
All eyes in the salon turned when the door was pushed open. Even with part of his face hidden under a bucket hat, Doumoto Kouichi was pretty much recognizable.
The receptionist showed him to the couch at the lobby, then went to call Joushima.
"Where's Tsuyoshi?" Joushima asked on his way out of his office.
"With a customer at the back. He should be done soon. I've reminded him of this appointment five minutes earlier."
"Okay."
The idol had, rather unexpectedly, come alone without his manager. He was keeping a neutral gaze at the colorful corals inside the fish tank, fingering the hat in his hand, when Joushima arrived.
Tsuyoshi rushed out just after they had exchanged pleasantries.
"This is Doumoto Tsuyoshi-san, who'll be in charge of your hairstyling from now on," Joushima made the introductions. At Doumoto Kouichi's surprised look, he smiled and added, "Yes, your surnames happen to be the same."
"Doumoto-san," Tsuyoshi greeted politely. "You can just call me Tsuyoshi."
"Ah, then please call me Kouichi, too," Kouichi replied immediately.
Tsuyoshi exchanged looks with Joushima. "Is it all right?"
Kouichi didn't look worried at all. "Of course."
"Then... shall we start, Kouichi-san?"
"Yes, please."
Seemed like an easygoing man, Joushima thought. That was good in a way -- that personality would be unlikely to clash with Tsuyoshi's complicated moods -- but it unsettled Joushima a little to leave him fully in their eccentric stylist's care, without his manager's presence.
Then again Tsuyoshi had worked long enough in this industry, and Joushima could trust him to be reasonably compliant with the rules of the game when needed be. He returned to his office after throwing one last warning glance at Tsuyoshi, who nodded with a roll of the eyes as he brought the guest to one of the chairs with better privacy.
"Is there a cut you have in mind?" Tsuyoshi asked, once Kouichi was properly seated and robed.
Kouichi thought for a moment. "The new single is a fast-paced dance music, so maybe something with an energetic feel."
"You'll be performing live?" Tsuyoshi ran his fingers through the hair texture, already brainstorming.
"Yes, towards the end of the show."
"Something light but durable, then... Is there anything I shouldn't do?"
"...Eh?" Kouichi turned to look at him, confused.
"I mean, if you're averse to any type of hair gel, if you absolutely don't want glitters... anything like that?"
"I think... anything... will do," Kouichi said slowly. "I usually left everything to Okishima-san."
Tsuyoshi's eyes lit up, but he restrained himself. "Should I maybe... talk to your manager about the image?"
"Ah, Manager-san said to refer to the portfolio he had sent to Joushima-san."
"Oh," Tsuyoshi was slightly deflated.
"Could you shorten this part for me, though?" Kouichi pointed to a spot where his bangs started. "It always falls down to my eyes during rehearsals."
"Let's see." Tsuyoshi promptly took the handful of hair and marked a point with his fingers. "If I follow this length towards the left, then build the other side upwards... it should give you the energetic look you want."
Kouichi blinked. "Then it's fine," he said. "Frankly, I don't know much about styling, so as long as it is not anything drastic, please go ahead."
While Joushima wouldn't necessarily agree with his standard for 'drastic', Tsuyoshi felt his spirits returning. "Great," he smiled widely. "I'll get to it. Do you have time for a wash?"
"I have one hour," Kouichi replied. "But I don't need the wash."
"That's fine, too," Tsuyoshi said, though not really understanding. He sprayed some water onto Kouichi's hair, then drew his chair closer to start cutting.
Only then did he understand. "Your hair smells really nice," he commented, before he could stop himself.
"Eh? You think so?" Kouichi was slightly surprised. "I've been using this shampoo that supposedly promotes hair growth..."
"Do you have that problem?" Tsuyoshi asked, forgetting to be subtle.
Kouichi cringed, and swept up the hair at the sides to show him his temple. "You notice the hairline at this part is pretty high..."
"Ah, that's true," Tsuyoshi cringed along with him. "Well, there are ways to work around that..."
"I'll be relying on you, then."
"No problem."
Ten minutes into the work, a staff popped his head from behind the partition.
"Tsuyoshi-kun, sorry, but could you come to the phone for a sec? It's Takeuchi-san's manager."
"Ah, from earlier-- Right. Koyama-kun, could you help me prepare this curling iron in the meantime? Hai~~ thank you. I'm sorry, Kouichi-san, I'll be right back."
Kouichi looked up from the magazine he'd been flipping as Tsuyoshi's figure disappeared behind the partition. The boy who just came over smiled at him politely.
"I'm sorry about the disturbance. It won't take long, the customer just needs to discuss some quick points."
"Okay," Kouichi replied.
Seeing the guest taking up another magazine, Koyama didn't attempt any more conversation, and got to his job.
"Ah, excuse me?"
"Yes?" Koyama looked up.
"Do you have other magazines?"
"Oh, sure, I'll bring them over--"
"Uhm, auto magazines if you have them, please."
Koyama stopped in his tracks. "Eh... au... auto? We're subscribed to only fashion magazines... but I can maybe find a sports one if it's okay?"
Kouichi looked disappointed. "Never mind then, it's all right."
"Sorry about that..."
"Don't worry about it," Kouichi said, and swayed in his chair. "I should've picked one up on the way here."
"I'm back." Tsuyoshi turned up, saving Koyama from further awkwardness. "Is this ready, Koyama-kun? Thank you."
Koyama took his leave with a bow and a worried glance at the idol.
"Sorry for the wait," Tsuyoshi said to Kouichi as he resumed his work. "One hour, right? We'll finish in time, don't worry."
Without the magazine's distraction now, Kouichi's attention fell at the brisk dance of fingers above his head. "That's fast."
"Oh?" Tsuyoshi had had people praising his speed before, but he hadn't expected the comment from Kouichi. "I'd think you're already used to Okishima-san's technique..."
"He takes his time with the cut, usually," Kouichi replied. "We fix the appointments early. If I'm in a rush, then he prefers not to do the complicated trims."
How envious, Tsuyoshi thought. If left to himself, he would *so* take forever to come up with an ideal shape, too. "He can be amazingly fast when he wants to, and still keeps that grace. The last competition he entered years ago... I watched that recording over and over."
"Ah, is that so." Kouichi settled with a neutral response. He recognized a fanboy when he heard one, and they weren't likely to appreciate knowing that he, as the person privileged enough to experience the marvel firsthand, had not been paying attention.
Tsuyoshi, on his part, recognized the lost look for what it was, and decided to let go of the topic. "Okay, we're done with the front. Is the length all right?"
Kouichi made a few sharp turns of the head for testing, which made Tsuyoshi take an apprehensive step backward. "Yes, this is fine."
"Great. Just a bit of touch-up, then we're done."
Kouichi nodded. He went back to silence, the quiet snip-snip-snip lulling his eyes to close for a rest.
A sudden stimulus on the back of his neck made him sneeze without warning.
"Ah!" Tsuyoshi let out in dismay, the tip of his scissors having slipped to undeserved strands of hair.
"Sorry," Kouichi sniffed and rubbed his nose.
Tsuyoshi's brain was already full of emergency plans to salvage the shape, and he unconsciously gripped the back of Kouichi's neck to stop further disturbances.
Kouichi sneezed once more.
"Oh! Is it too cold?" Tsuyoshi asked in realization. "I'll adjust the temperature."
"No, not that." Kouichi waved, stopping Tsuyoshi's steps. "Just now, you were brushing over the fine hairs..."
Tsuyoshi looked at the part he was working on just now. Too gone for symmetry. I'll cut upwards a bit more... He pulled himself out of the reflex thoughts and back to Kouichi. "You mean... it tickled?"
"Yeah."
Tsuyoshi tilted his head. "Never heard of people who sneeze over that, though."
"But I do," Kouichi said, a hint of childish deviance in his tone.
"I'll be careful," Tsuyoshi replied quickly, getting back at trimming. "I'm going to change this part a bit, is it all right?"
"Uh-hm," Kouichi asserted, not really seeing the difference. He was just glad that the change mentioned took only two more minutes.
Tsuyoshi almost felt pity when he applied the hair gel before sending Kouichi on his way. Short as the exposure was, the original fragrance of that hair had somehow grown on him.
--
"This afternoon seemed to go pretty smoothly."
Tsuyoshi turned. "Leader. You're still here?"
"Just closed another deal with Yoshimoto," Joushima replied, watching as Tsuyoshi tidied up the equipments he'd been experimenting with. "So, you're getting along okay with your new customer?"
"He's fine," Tsuyoshi answered cheerfully. "Sadly lacking concern for his own image, but then he lets me do what I want, so."
"You sure that's all right with his agency?"
"As long as I don't shave him bald," Tsuyoshi listed the options on his fingers, "or give him dreadlocks, or the Afro, or paint him with more than three colors. The yankee styles don't suit him anyway, so I won't do those for him."
"Good," Joushima said warily.
"He'll be perfect for that layering technique I've been wanting to try out, too," Tsuyoshi's eyes turned dreamy as he brushed his fingers over his set of scissors. "It's so difficult to find a lady with such defined bone structure."
"I'm glad this assignment works out for you, then," Joushima said, pushing in a bottle of hairspray that was out of line. "Wait, *lady*, you said?"
"Don't worry, I'll wait for a suitable program," Tsuyoshi replied nonchalantly. "You won't believe the things these idols do nowadays..."
---
Author Notes:
[*] Okishima Shuuji was Kimura Takuya's hairstylist character in Beautiful Life.
[**] A compilation of Kouichi's sneezing incidents is linked from here.
It's probably already obvious that I made up most of the styling decisions based upon very poor knowledge. =P Criticisms on that aspect will be very very appreciated. Any form of feedback or ideas will be warmly welcomed, too. =)