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Arisu awoke to the sound of someone banging on his bedroom window. He lazily opened his eyes, trying to make out the two figures on the other side of the window. After a few more blinks he realized it was Karube and Chota and stood up to open the window for them. The second the window was open he was practically dragged out by Karube, who threw him over his shoulder and began walking towards what Arisu could only guess to be Karube’s own apartment. Arisu tried to shake out of Karube’s grasp but in his half-asleep state he ended up giving up after a few useless tugs.
By the time they reached Karube’s apartment, Arisu had fallen back asleep, so he was a bit shocked to wake up in a rolling chair with a pair of scissors dangling in front of his eyes. “Ready for your birthday gift Arisu?” Chota chuckled from behind his right shoulder, causing Arisu to flinch from the sudden sound and turn towards him.
“What the hell are you guys doing?” Arisu groaned, sleep still sticking to some syllables. Chota only smiled, directing Arisu’s attention back to the person holding the scissors. Arisu looked up to see Karube, a smirk on his face and he spun the scissors on his finger. “We’re giving you a makeover, or really I guess an un-makeover.” Arisu’s mind was spinning as he tried to process what was happening, and before he knew it he began to hear snipping sounds and saw dark strands falling in his peripheral vision.
“Oh,” was all Arisu said, his lack of movement showing his acceptance of what his friends were doing. Karube had cut his own hair, so it couldn’t be too bad, right?
His hair had been quite long, his parents not allowing him to so much as cut an inch off. Arisu thought it would be better to focus on the current situation than try and think about his parent’s future reaction. After about ten minutes of reckless snipping, Karube chirped out “Done!”
Arisu was about to spin himself around to see the damage in the mirror behind him, but Chota stopped him. “Ah ah, before that we have a few more surprises for you!” Chota hurried off into the room next door, the crinkling of packing being heard by the other two. After a few minutes he walked back into the room, holding something behind his back. He looked at Karube who gave him an affirmative nod before turning back to Arisu, “You ready?”
Arisu had no idea what to expect, so all he could do was give a hesitant nod of approval. With an expecting smile, Chota revealed what he was holding. It was a blue button-up shirt, beige dress pants, and a binder. “Happy birthday!” Chota yelled, Karube turning to Arisu and patting him on the shoulder as he said the same. Arisu was speechless from shock, standing up to accept the gifts. As he grabbed them, Karbue grabbed his shoulders and guided him to the bathroom, giving him a slight push forwards and ushering him to put everything on. Arisu gave him a look of “Alright alright” before kicking the door closed to get dressed.
Chota and Karube returned to the room they had cut Arisu’s hair in to patiently wait for him to finish, giving each other quick looks of excitement every so often. Their bodies jolted as they heard the creak of the bathroom door opening, standing side by side and facing the entrance to the room to see the final reveal.
Arisu entered slowly, his head tilted down in embarrassment as he stepped towards his friends. “Damn, that really suits you Arisu,” Karube spoke first, trying to ease Arisu’s unease. “Yeah, you look much better than Karube did when he got all dressed up for that date last week.” Karube playfully elbowed Chota’s side before urging Arisu to step towards them and face the mirror.
Arisu closed his eyes as he was directed by Karube in front of the mirror, psyching himself up to see how he looked. He squinted one eye open before opening both, his lips slightly parting as he saw himself in the mirror. It looks…..like me. Of course, Arisu knew that would be too cheesy to say out loud, so he criticized Karube’s choppy haircut as he tried to fight the tears building up in his eyes.
“Thank you guys, really.” Arisu wiped his eyes as he turned around, hugging his two friends tightly. The three of them smiled, Chota letting out an “I can’t breathe” as Arisu squeezed the life out of him. Arisu couldn’t ask for better friends.