Small Moments With a Ghost

Day 3: Haircut/Knife/'What did you do?'

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Cole jumped, almost dropping the pair of scissors in his hands. "Díos mio, don't DO that!" he exclaimed, turning to face the ghost half-phased through the bathroom wall. "I almost had a heart attack!"

"Get better situational awareness then," Morro retorted, crossing his arms. "Still doesn't explain to me what the hell you think you're doing."

Cole's brow furrowed, glancing first at the scissors in his hands, then down at the floor, where little tufts of his hair were gathered. "...trimming my hair?" he said, unsure of why Morro looked so upset. "I do this pretty often."

"Why?!" Morro demanded. "What did you do?!"

"Wha-nothing! My hair was just getting long and going to a barber gets expensive, so I just...cut it myself."

"...you cut your hair. Because it was getting too long?"

"...yes?"

Morro glared at him, clearly searching for a lie. When he saw that Cole was telling the truth, his shoulders relaxed. "...oh," he said, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Curious, Cole set down the scissors and faced the ghost properly. "What made you think I did something?"

"Nothing," the ghost replied, turning to face away from him. "Forget it. I just....forget it."

"Kinda hard to, since you nearly gave me a heart attack about it."

"For fuck's sake-ugh, FINE. I was...I was just wondering if you had....I dunno, done something to disrespect Wu or something."

Cole frowned. "...and I'd be cutting up my hair about that...why?"

Morro stared at him like he was crazy. "..because that's what you do when you bring dishonor on yourself?"

"You cut your hair?!"

"Yeaaaah? I mean, that's how it was done. Traditionally, everyone's hair was pretty long, and guys typically had topknots-especially those snobby elite ones. If you did something that dishonored your family, or if someone thought you dishonored them in some way, then typically your hair would get shorn off."

"Wait, what?!"

"Yeah, usually with some sort of ceremonial knife or something. It was supposed to be humiliating, walking around with short hair. Does...do people not do that anymore?"

"No. At least, I've never seen that," Cole shook his head. "Maybe in Kai's village or elsewhere, but never where I grew up. The only hair-related superstition that I know is that you're not supposed to cut a baby boy's hair until he's old enough to walk. Something about how that causes him to lose his strength or something? I dunno, I just remember it because my-my mom apparently had a fit when my dad tried to cut mine when I was little. Dad said that that was the closest my mom ever got to cussing someone out."

Cole laughed at the memory, smiling a little when he heard Morro snort a little in amusement. "Anyways," the black ninja said. "I promise, I've done nothing wrong, I'm just trimming my hair because it's getting too long. Though..." he studied himself in the mirror. "...maybe one day I'll grow it out."

"Whatever," Morro rolled his eyes and turned to leave. "Just wanted to know if I needed to kick Wu's ass."

"Awww, you'd do that for me? I knew you valued our friendship!"

"Shut up."

~~~~~

Awww, don't try to hide it Morro. You do care about your friend :D

(also to be clear, Cole had the bathroom door open, Morro just phased through the wall to be *dramatic* XD)

This one was heavily inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, specifically the end of S2 Episode 1. Love that scene, so powerful~

Hope you guys enjoyed! :D

(PS: To prepare for the next prompt, you might want to reread both of Jay's chapters in 'My Best Friend's a Ghost'. Not required, but it might help refresh your memory a little :D)