damned_institute | Day 42: Pearl's Beauty Salon

Sheena had let go of Kristoph's arm as the man opened the door to the salon and held it open for her. Held it open for her. If it was possible for the ninja to have little hearts in her eyes, the simple act of holding that door open would have caused them. "Thank you," she said quietly, stepping into the salon.

The hearts and such disappeared quickly from her eyes as she took in the salon. She'd never been inside one before and it was a bit... intimidating. She looked a little uncertain and moved just a bit closer to Kristoph as he clearly understood the right kind of social protocol places like this had. She hid her hands behind her back, embarrassed at the state they were in as if she didn't belong in a place like this.

Which she didn't, but Kristoph had asked her and how could she have refused him? Hopefully, the people in here wouldn't make fun of her for her chipped and abused nails. At least she didn't have any ink stains on her hands ~~yet~~.

"Um... um... Hi?" she said in a quiet voice to the closest employee.

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The gestured might have permanently endeared him to Sheena, but Kristoph saw it as nothing more than require propriety. Respect and civility for all of God's creatures ~~until they became dispensable~~; he would have acted no different if another had been in her place. As it stood, however, his end goal was not hurt by the reaction.

He stepped through after Sheena, blue eyes coolly assessing the value of the setting. It hardly amounted to his usual place, but the circumstances and the pressing need made it necessary to turn a blind eye at the flaws. Any other chance, he would have not downplayed his obvious disgust with certain aspects.

"Good afternoon," greeted Kristoph, sounding relatively eager to be in the salon. "My friend and I would be most appreciative of a manicure."

"Oh, good morning..." The girl behind the counter had turned toward the pair with a cheerful smile as they entered, but her expression froze once she actually looked at them, her voice trailing off into nothing. She gave a nervous glance toward the entrance to the back room, but there was no sign of her employer arriving to take over for her at the moment.

Her shoulders slumped just a little as she turned back toward them, but the girl made a valiant attempt at a welcoming smile. She appeared to be in her late teens at best, her bleach-blonde hair pulled back into a twist that looked careless enough to be only the product of careful effort. "Ah. I...I think Pearl's busy right now, but I can help you?"

She set down the book she'd been reading and stepped out from behind the counter, gesturing toward the nearest table as she approached it, and at the same time trying not to look as though she was trying to stay as far away from the two of them as she possibly could. "My name is Janice, nicetomeetyou."

Sheena's eyes narrowed just a fraction at the way Janice was acting. She was used to this kind of treatment being Mizuho, but she wasn't happy about it. Though, that was more because she was of the opinion that no one should be treating Kristoph like that. She was a volatile ninja lacking in social skills, but Kristoph was a gentleman.

She certainly wasn't feeling any better about the state of her nails.

Hoping that maybe a little show of bravery in the face of a very uncomfortable and unfamiliar situation, Sheena stepped from her date's side as she tore the appropriate coupon out. "Can I get one of whatever it says on this thing?"

She really wasn't sure what all a manicure entailed other than it made nails pretty. Like Kristoph's.

Oh, dear. They seem to have run across a rather cautious young woman. Perhaps wary of two potentially insane inmates running amuck and ruining the establishment, to the point she'd overlooked his request. How unfortunate. It was a tad insulting to witness, but ultimately, needs came before comfort.

"A manicure." He smiled without malice. "Please."

Janice paused for a moment to eye the coupon like some kind of potentially deadly weapon, then nodded and reached out to take it, careful not to let her hand touch Sheena's as though insanity was catching or something. "Right, right, manicure. Ah, just have a seat."

With another brief look toward the back room, from which Pearl still hadn't emerged, the girl motioned toward the client's chair at the table before taking a seat on the other side. "Ah, did...both of you want a manicure?" she asked, with a somewhat dubious glance in the man's direction.

The ninja grit her teeth, hand behind her back curling into a fist. This girl was asking to be decked. Why did she keep checking the back, like the person back there was some kind of damn savior? If Sheena hadn't been with Kristoph, she would have laid into this girl.

Instead, she sat down where indicated after giving Kristoph a dubious look. "Yeah," she replied to the girl. "That gonna be a problem?"

Kristoph could laugh, if not for the dire need of having his nails cleaned, polished, and shined right this moment. Instead, his lips widened to an unpleasant smirk, angled just enough to hide it from the right people. "I was hoping to be included, yes," he mused. "That is, if it isn't much trouble."

If not, the man could raise a level of 'trouble' appropriate for the situation. Anything for his love (not the girl, of course).

Since Kristoph's words seemed to have the necessary power, the girl got started on the ninja's nails. Sheena, for her part, had no idea what to expect and was very embarrassed by her chipped and rough nails. She fought with her hands, so having really nice nails like Kristoph's was just a waste of time, for the most part, and it was something the nobles got to have done to them. Not Mizuho dirt like her.

Sheena watched the process as it unfolded, wincing every now and then when the woman started digging a metal pick thing into her cuticles. She was ninja, though, so she would grin and bear the pain, even if it was a new kind of pain she'd never experienced before. Maybe her nails would end up looking a quarter as nice as Kristoph's. Maybe she'd manage to not ruin them over night. She was fascinated by the ordeal.

"Hey, Kristoph," Sheena said to the older man since the girl doing her nails was pretty focused on just getting them done and not in striking up a conversation with the patients, "I never did ask you - what do you do back home?"

Day 42: Pearl's Beauty Salon - NOON

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