“Do you dye your hair?”
The question was a simple one. But for Hinako Ninomiya it was a painful remainder of bad memories.
Flash
Hiding in her closet, as a little girl, listening to another of her parent’s arguments over of her.
“She is not MY daughter!”
“Only you could be her father, Husband! You’re the only person I have ever been with, the only person I have ever loved!”
“Bullshit! The girl has RED HAIR! You either lied about having pure Japanese ancestry or she isn’t my daughter!”
“Husband, I have never lied to you! I know my proper duties as your wife and I would never do such unforgivable things!”
“My family’s proud lineage has no such foreign influence it can only be yours! Even her eye color is odd! You woman, disgrace me!”
Little Hinako silently cried in her hiding place as her parents continued an argument that never really ended. She did not want her parents to be so sad and angry. She didn’t want the other kids in school to make fun of her for being so weak, sickly, and even for looking different. She didn’t want to be born this way!
She was watching television before her parents started their latest argument, and she saw an interesting commercial. Maybe there was a way to solve some of her problems…
Flash
That was the day she asked her parents to let her dye her hair. After they began dyeing her hair her father told people that her mother dyed her hair red over some foolish fancy. Her mother lost some face because of it but didn’t say anything contrary.
Not long after that she became really sick and had to go to the hospital, where this nice old man taught her some aerobics that let her be able to drain other people’s ki.
“Ranma, why would you ask me that,” she asked him. She kept her composure over being asked such a rude question openly hidden. It wouldn’t do to show anger and make him become defensive.
“It’s just that, the roots are a different color than the rest of your hair. It looks more reddish than brown.” Surprised, she reached up and grabbed her hair. A second later she realized that she wouldn’t be able to see the roots and rushed to her bathroom.
Looking into the vanity mirror, she realized that her natural hair color was beginning to show, and that it was probably because different brand of hair dye she bought this time didn’t last as long as her normal one. Damn generic trash!
She noticed Ranma walk cautiously into the room, his reflection present in the mirror. “Ninomiya-san, gomen,” he spoke in a low voice. “I did not mean to say something that would bother you so much.”
“Ranma, I told you before, call me Hinako. Also, there is nothing for you to apologize for. I… yeah your question brought up some bad memories but I have moved on, I am an adult now.”
“Hinako, I don’t know what made you decide to dye your hair, but I think you would look beautiful with red hair.” Ranma’s voice was held so much emotion she couldn’t help but to turn around and look at him face to face.
His eyes captures, his blue-grey eyes gazed intensely into hers, leaving her feeling vulnerable and protected at the same time. She idly noticed his eyes seem to… shift, to change color. He spoke, and what he said shook her to her core.
“The red has always suited you Elly.”
No one knew about that but her dead parents.
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(Posted Mon, 29 Nov 2004 19:34)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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