Looking at Anko in the mirror, with her hair down, Renji complimented, "You have beautiful hair!", making Anko smile. He combed her hair with his fingers, smoothening it with each run. Her hair responded obediently, as [Hair Manipulation] took effect.
Anko looked red in the face, feeling everything. He could sense her bashfulness, but it was quickly fading. She got used to the feeling pretty quick. Then came anticipation and doubt.
Renji smiled at that, and started the massage. Rubbing some oil, he took her head into his hands from behind, and massaged her scalp.
If it was the past life him, at most, it would be a slightly pleasant experience. Now though, he had more tricks!
He used [Hair Manipulation] to subtly vibrate the roots of the hair touching his fingers. The idea was to stimulate the nerve endings there. His impeccable instincts about hair were guiding him on where to focus at any time.
Anko wasn't ready for that! The stimulation made her involuntarily close her eyes, and lean back wanting more. With every pass, she could feel tension leaving her body!
Kurenai and the others could see the effect the massage was having on her. Her face was turning red, breathing became slow and her entire body relaxed in to the chair!
Renji added some hair pulls, and lightly played with her hair to add some variety, and keep things interesting.
By five minute mark, she practically melted in to the chair!
Renji smiled playfully, "Let's kick things up a notch. After all, you wanted the premium service!"
Without waiting for a response, he used the second effect of the skill.
[Hair Manipulation]
[Effect 2: Controlled hair can interfere with the senses of an opponent upon direct contact.]
Using this, he made her senses more active, touch more sensitive.
The effect was immediate! Anko couldn't hold back and started moaning, and her body weak like a jelly! Her eyes rolled back in to her head from the sensations!
Seeing her like this, Kurenai and the others were blushing deeply. Still, Kurenai was carefully observing the process to make sure everything is okay. She couldn't find anything off though. From her perspective, Renji was only using some massage technique, albeit special, to achieve this.
Once ten minutes are up, he slowly eased up the massage and collected her hair in an oily top bun. He squeezed it and looked into Anko's eyes in the mirror, smiling. "All done. How do you feel?"
Anko's unfocussed eyes slowly recovered. At first, she felt she couldn't even lift herself up. But rapidly, she recovered her strength, and mentality.
All the mental strain she was feeling ever since the Kyuubi attack seemed to have disappeared. Her mind felt sharper than ever before!
"That... What was that technique?! I've had body massages before, but this was simply amazing!"
Renji felt proud, "It is a premium service after all. I used the best technique I can use right now."
Renji wasn't worried about any holes in the story. If anybody asks, he would say he remembered this technique being taught by his mother, and that he used to practice on her.
While chatting, he felt the energy stored in that hair bun.
'Around 80 units, just under the 100 unit Jonin average.'
He absorbed 70 units immediately.
'That's the amount I'd get by absorbing from 70 civilian women! While doable, it would take too long and too much effort! Working on elite Kunoichi hair is still the best repeatable way to get more energy.'
Kurenai came to Anko's side to talk. Renji gave them some privacy and started to prepare for the next service, hair wash.
He looked at the still blushing faces of every woman in the salon.
'I should be careful with this technique. If a woman comes with their partner, and they see them become like Anko, I would be resented. I don't need to worry about any retaliation with my current power, but, it would be a problem if they prevent repeat visits due to this. I would be losing out on another source of energy.'
'This problem may happen with traditional women too. If ever the Hyuga women try these, with their crazy traditional thoughts, I wouldn't be surprised if they feel humiliated and attack on the spot!.'
'From next time, I should clearly explain the effects of the massage and keep my distance from the women as much as possible when not dealing with hair.'
By the time he's out of his thoughts, he was ready to start the next step. Looking at the duo, he could see Anko cheerfully whisper something in Kurenai's ears, causing her to blush deep red.
He couldn't help but stare, 'Kurenai's pretty cute.' He shook his head rapidly, 'Not the time, Ren!'
He then walked up to them slowly.
"Anko-san, are you feeling ready for the hair wash?"
Anko perked up and nodded rapidly, her hair bun swinging to and from, making him chuckle.
With her signal, he brought a basin and put it behind her. Pulling the chair back, he placed her head in the basin, and opened the hair bun. Anko watched him working seriously, 'I haven't noticed before, but he's pretty cute.'
Renji carefully washed her with the best hair soap he could find. At the same time, he used [Hair Manipulation] to stimulate the roots again, this time to bring all the accumulated impurities out of the pores.
Anko felt great throughout, feeling the water running through her hair and on her scalp. She felt cleansed, if that's a thing, and pleasant from the technique. And, she felt her hair becoming more lustrous?
Renji also subtly modified the hair with [Hair Manipulation], so dirt would have a harder time to stick to it. After all, this is the premium service.
When finished, he put her hair in a towel and twisted it so it would stay.
"Hair wash is done! How are you feeling?"
"That felt good, pleasant even! Still, did you do anything else? Like the special technique you used for massage? After all, it was supposed to be a premium service." She winked at him playfully.
He smiled confidently, "Of course! The basic version would be, washing hair to remove accumulated dirt. I use a special technique to open the pores on the scalp, so anything stuck in there would be removed as well."
Kurenai was listening curiously.
"The premium service would have this as well. As a bonus, I use an expensive product on hair, that makes it harder for dirt to stick to hair for a few days! I'm sure you will see the exact effect in the coming days."
He didn't say more, keeping silent about the details with a mysterious smile. He wanted the customers to figure out the effects themselves. After all, they would trust their real experiences more than others' words.
"That sounds incredibly useful!" Anko said, touching the while towel on her head.
Kurenai agreed in her heart. As a shinobi, she goes on missions for days at a stretch. It was always inconvenient, making sure they don't smell. Hair is especially tricky. And, as a woman, she is particular about hygiene. If what Renji said was true, that would be one less thing to worry about.
Anko was satisfied with that. Both the services exceeded her expectations! She was looking forward to the styling process.
Renji looked at Anko, "Anko-san, it would take a while for your hair to dry. Could you wait in the seating area for a bit? Have some refreshments, or check out the magazines if you want."
Anko briefly wanted to use chakra to just dry her hair fast, but she stopped herself. Today's an off day for her and Kurenai, so there's no hurry. She wanted to experience everything the salon has to offer. She was also hungry from everything that happened, so she was more than happy to do as he asked.
Renji signaled an employee to take care of her.
As Kurenai was also about to leave with Anko, he stopped her.
"Kurenai-san, while we wait for Anko-san, would you like to do try one of our services?"
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed this! This is my take on a modified hair manipulation power being used in a non-combat way. Also, we won't be jumping in to romance so soon, or at all, I haven't decided yet. I want to build it up, see what my characters would be like after a while.