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"...Say, has anyone seen Hana today?"
The four assembled Precure stopped what they were doing immediately and looked up at Harry's question, exchanging glances with each other before turning to Harry with wide eyes and answering in unison.
"No, actually."
"Huh...it's weird of her to just go AWOL. Maybe she's busy with something?" Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "She did say she had errands to run earlier, but she said she'd be swinging by after...maybe something came up."
Homare took out her cell phone. "I don't have any texts from her...lemme try calling her." Homare dialed Hana's number and held the phone up to her ear. The others all crowded around Homare as the phone rang, intently listening for Hana to pick up...
And eventually, she did. "Homareeee..." Ah, that was her comical exaggeration voice...so at least they knew she was okay.
"Hey, Hana. Where have you been?"
"Um...around..."
"...You're at home, aren't you?"
"...Yes...in bed..."
Saaya chuckled. "Typical Hana~"
"E-Eh? Was that Saaya?"
"Yeah, I'm getting kinda crowded by eavesdroppers..."
"Oh...well, hi, everyone!"
"Good afternoon, Hana. Please let mama know that I would like barbecue for dinner tonight."
"R-Ruru, we don't have a grill...w-wait, mama?!"
"Good afternoon, Hana-senpai! We wish to see you, so please make haste!"
"H-Huh? Well, about that..."
"Is something wrong, dear?" Saaya leaned in a bit closer, causing Homare's eye to twitch at the repeated invasion of her personal space.
"D-Dear...hehehe...~ A-Ah! Um, well, not really, but..."
"Then please come visit~ I want to see my cute girlfriend~"
"J-Jeez...o-okay, okay, I'll come! I'll be there in a bit!"
"If you hurry, I'll make some Beauty Harry special sorbet~"
"Mechokku--! I'm on the way!" And just like that, she hung up.
Homare sighed and put the phone down. "What a piece of work..." She looked around at the four still crowding her, especially Saaya, who was practically in her lap. "...You can stop crowding me now, you know..."
* * *
About ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door of Beauty Harry. "I'm here..." With a stomach full of butterflies, Hana opened the door and stepped in. Quite uncharacteristically of her, she was wearing an oversized panda hoodie with the hood pulled up all the way.
"Ah, hello, dear...what's with the new look? I love pandas, but..."
"Yeah, that hoodie's huge on you. You hiding something?" Homare crossed her legs and leaned back.
"E-Ehehe...w-well, sorta...guys, don't freak out too much, okay?"
"Such a statement has increased the likelihood of a 'freak out' by 97.2%."
"H-Hana-senpai, wh-what happened? W-Were you attacked by a phantom head shaving demon?!"
"N-No, Emiru-chan, nothing like that...! Ugh...well, here goes..." Hana unzipped the hoodie, loosened the drawstrings, and let the hood fall...
And what it revealed was not Hana's typical voluminous, wavy bob...rather, her hair was even shorter than Homare's, chopped all the way into a pixie cut. Even the long parts of her bangs had been cut short, though they were left as uneven as before.
Understandably, everyone present was...pretty well stunned speechless by this revelation. Harry was the first that managed to get a word out. "...H...how...?"
"A-Ahaha..." Hana rubbed the back of her neck, which was quite cold without her usual blanket of hair to protect it. "S-So I went to the barber shop, since last time I tried to cut my own hair I...well..." She flipped her uneven bangs. "Did this. S-So I told the barber lady that I'd just come out as gay, and I wanted a cool and shocking new style!" Why she said that last bit in English, no one could fathom. "I told her to surprise me, and I closed my eyes so I couldn't see what she was doing, and--"
Everyone else in the room finished her sentence in unison, with the same blank, unamused expression. "You fell asleep in the chair."
"B-Bingo. I fell asleep in the chair...ahaha..."
Homare pinched the bridge of her nose. "You never cease to amaze me, Hana."
"Thanks, Homare~!"
"Hana, that was not a compliment."
"Mechokku--!" Hana slumped to the ground. "R-Ruru, h-how does it look...?"
Ruru's pupils rapidly flashed pink. "...Interestingly, my analysis indicates that not only has your cuteness coefficient gone up, your attractiveness has gone up as well."
Hana blushed at that. "A-Attractiveness...?"
"I-I must agree, I say! A short hairstyle like that suits you very well, Hana-senpai!"
"O-Oh jeez, really...? Thank you..." Hana got up on her knees and blushed.
"You could use a ribbon or headband or something to accessorize with...I'll see what I can draw up~" Harry took out his notebook and began to think.
"E-Everyone...thanks~ But...what about you, Saaya?" Hana turned to her girlfriend...and was a bit floored by just how excited she looked. "U-Um...Saaya?"
"Mmm...H-Hana, you're so cute!!" Saaya leapt off the couch and tackled Hana to the floor, planting kisses all over her face. "I'm so happy with it~! I-If you like it, that is...but oh my goodness, y-you're so cute my heart can't take it!"
"Wh-whoa, whoa, c-calm down, Saaya, jeez~" Hana couldn't help but laugh at her girlfriend's enthusiasm. Maybe this wasn't such an unhappy accident after all.
END