Northerly had always been told to take care of himself. He often made it a point to have a good self-care routine. He brushed his hair and tail every morning, ensuring it was always soft and shiny. He also maintained his nails with a small kit and washed his face to keep his skin clear.
He did this for two reasons. One, he thought that it made him look like the others around Tracen. It had been a while since he had started at Tracen, and he had adjusted to the classes and training. Even with all of that, most of his classmates had some sort of hygiene routine, which meant he was right about it being the norm.
The second reason was that it made him feel good. As much as he wondered if it was ok for a man to be doing this girly stuff, his mother had encouraged him to maintain good hygiene. And being clean was nice, and running his hands through his tail had become a semi-habit. He liked soft things.
Today, this was more important than most, however, because he had been invited by some classmates on an outing to go on a girls' trip.
Normally, he would have refused, but they convinced him that he would be the least interesting to the media.
The classmates in question were Tosen Jordan and Gold City.
This whole event stemmed from a conversation they had several days earlier.
He had just finished in the gym with Ryan and had just finished his shower when he was called over by Jordan and City.
Tosen Jordan had light brown hair, which she wore in two fluffy twin tails tied with a deep blue ribbon. Her right ear had a golden clasp around its base tied on with another blue ribbon. Her nails were quite spectacular, well-shaped and several different bright colours.
Gold City had beautiful platinum blonde hair just below her shoulders. She wore a light blue bowtie around the base of her right ear. Her skin was perfect, and it seemed nothing about her was out of place. He had learned that she was a model.
"Heya North," Jordan waved him over.
"Me and City were just checking Umastagram, and we noticed Curren's vid from a while back. When we checked you out, we found out you really take care of yourself. And seeing as we got a three-person ticket to a salon, we thought you might wana tag along!" She was surprisingly forward, considering they had only spoken a handful of times before this.
"We thought you might have fun. And we haven't seen you go out very often; we thought you could use a break." City had spoken to Northerly a few times, and he had come to find out she's quite the busy Umamusume. On top of her training and schoolwork, she also worked quite often as a model.
He was surprised by how much they had noticed about him since he really didn't do much but train, study and post on Umastagram.
"I would love to, but I don't want to deal with the media right now. Ever since Curren posted her video, I have seen myself pop up on Umastagram occasionally" He hoped that would be a suitable excuse.
"Don't worry 'bout it North! The press will be all over City, she's toats popular." Jordan was right, City was a successful model who was constantly out for jobs. Maybe he really could blend in if he let the cameras follow City.
"Regardless, the reporters don't often bother us out in the street anyway; many have gotten in trouble for doing so. If someone asks, just politely refuse. And if you really need to get out of it, just pretend your Japanese is bad, you are a foreigner after all, that should work." City was quite knowledgeable about how to get out of interviews.
In the end, he was convinced by them, and that leaves him here, at the dorm's gates in his own clothes for the first time since he had set foot in Japan.
He was surprised by the difference between what Jordan and City wore.
Jordan had a white long-sleeved, wide-neck crop top that was frilly at the end of her sleeves. She paired that with some denim short shorts with a frilly waist.
Gold City wore black skinny jeans with a red wool shirt and a grey checkered cardigan. A golden necklace hung around her neck, resting on her chest.
He had a baggy button-up flannel shirt and loose-fitted jeans, along with a scarf, as was customary for him nowadays, even though the weather had started to warm up.
"Mornin North!" Jordan waved him over.
"You've never been around the city, have ya? You're in for some good vibes." She was clearly quite excited.
"We're going to her favourite salon today, all paid for by a satisfied client from one of my jobs the other day." City held up three tickets and handed one to each of them.
The ticket read:
Salon, and onsen full day premium experience, Umamusume specialists!
That was quite the outing.
"I will just follow you two then, I have never been in a salon before, so you can show me first." He planned to do as much as he could without compromising himself. He was very concerned about the onsen, but he could decide that later.
"We'd better get movin', it would be lame to arrive late." Jordan declared before turning towards the shopping district.
They walked through the crowded streets. There must have been hundreds of people all going about their day. Many stopped to steal glances at the trio as they walked. Umamusume were very popular in Japan, so seeing them out and about was quite the treat. Northerly hadn't noticed, but his ears had folded, betraying his unease.
Luckily for him, Jordan was right; almost all the attention they did receive was directed at City. There were no reporters or journalists, but they did stop a couple of times to take pictures with fans.
Before long, they arrived at the salon. It had a sign on the door reading 'Umamusume Specialists.'
A large building decorated with floral arrangements and ribbons sat before him. as they entered, Northerly was assaulted by the overwhelming sweet fragrances and fantastical bright colours.
"Quite th- You alright North?" Jordan tried to start her spiel about the salon before taking a look at him and shifting her tone dramatically.
He realised his mistake and shoved his anxiety away with a sharp breath; his ears returned to their upright position, but he couldn't help but run his hands through his hair.
"I am fine, it's very... bright" He wasn't technically lying, but he was definitely more afraid of the several stylists and the open window view of them.
The staff approached them, and one by one they were led to a leather chair with a sink behind it and a foot bath at its base. The staff sat him down and pulled his tail through the hole in the chair.
He didn't know whether he was ok with all the touching going on, but the others didn't seem to mind, so he just let it happen for now. Although he was a little uncomfortable with the tail touching. His mother had told him it's quite the disrespectful thing to do, touching an Uma's tail.
"And what can I do for you today, Miss?" A young lady in a floral apron stood in front of him.
"Whatever they are having done. Except for my face, the scarf stays on." He had hoped that wasn't rude, but he didn't really know how to express it less bluntly.
She did seem a little upset about his comment, but quickly swept it away with a smile.
She tilted the chair back and began to wash his hair as he stared up at the ceiling. It had always been his mother who made sure his hair was nice; she liked it out and long, seeing as it covered his lack of human ears.
It was strange having someone wash it for him. They used a different soap here; it felt smoother than the one he used, and it smelled much better.
After his hair was washed, she moved to his tail. It was still sort of comforting to have someone else brush his tail; maybe he didn't hate it after all.
She commented that both his hair and tail were practically perfect even before these washes.
That felt good; at least someone could attest to his efforts.
After the washes were done, the salon girl left him, and an older lady took her place. She took him to a private side room to have a massage. She said it was designed to reduce fatigue and improve recovery of his muscles. She focused mainly on his legs and back.
When she was done, she told him to wait a few minutes before going out to the nail section.
He didn't know the massage had accomplished its goal, but he certainly felt relaxed. However, the masseuse was quite annoyed that he wouldn't remove his shirt or scarf.
Lastly, he walked out to the front of the shop where they had several nail artists waiting. Jordan was already there, positively beaming as she and the nail lady spoke eagerly of some new nail polish brand.
"What colour do you want your nails?" The artist asked as he sat down.
He didn't know, but he felt extraordinarily uncomfortable with the idea of colourful nails. After several difficult conversations with the artist, he opted for a clear polish in the end.
After they were all done, they thanked the employees and bid them farewell before beginning towards the onsen.
His ears picked up the staff talking about his weird habits like running his hand through his tail and his propensity to avoid eye contact. Especially they were intrigued as to why he would not remove his scarf.
He did his best to pay them no mind as they headed away from the salon.
"How was that? Did you have fun, North?" City asked as they made their way to the onsen.
He thought for a moment before replying.
"I certainly feel more relaxed, but I don't know about fun" he knew he felt something about this experience, but whatever that feeling was, it clawed at his chest, begging to be set free: He simply could not allow that. He took a sharp breath, drowning this difficult feeling once more.
"That's good, it's your first time at a salon after all, I'm sure you'll have more fun next time." She looked a little defeated but didn't press him about it.
"You didn't colour your nails? That's killin' my vibe." Jordan grabbed his hand and held his nails in the sun.
"I could not decide on a colour." He lied.
"You'll have to come see me one day, I'll help you so long as Tickezo doesn't bother me."
"Maybe one day." He lied again.
They arrived at the onsen, which was a quaint building with a curtain covering the doorway inside; it was clearly labelled with male and female sides. Unfortunately, this meant it didn't have a private bath. City and Jordan joyfully entered, but Northerly stood frozen, trying to come up with an excuse.
"You coming North?" City asked as she removed her cardigan.
He panicked a little, and some nearby onlookers began to notice his distress.
"S-sorry, I can not do public baths, I should have said so sooner." He stumbled over his words.
She looked at him; she didn't seem to expect outright refusal. But it was obvious to her now, too. it wasn't just his ears and tail that gave away his discomfort now. She eyed him with growing concern.
"I think I will go, I can pay you back for my rudeness." He apologised before dashing through the shopping district, unfortunately drawing more unwanted attention. He just ignored it and got back to the dorms as fast as he could.
He dashed past Kiseki, who tried to say hello but was ignored as he made his way into the dorm building and up to his room, almost bumping into Digitan on his way there. Who had been following him a suspicious amount lately.
Slamming his door, he sank and slumped up against it. His chest burned, and his mind roared.
He felt as though he couldn't breathe. Gasping for air that wouldn't come, he looked into himself for some solution.
Although a straight answer was far from what he would find.