Welcome to Gaia! ::

A big name in the city, Sugar Salon has been known to have the very best of it's class! From that one man on the magazine, to the woman who is so well known we can't even bother to mention her name for it is impossible that you don't already know about her.. Indeed, this salon is simply perfect in every way.. Well, if you were to go into the city. Out here, it's owned and run by the newest members of Sugar Salon, the prodigies from beauty school sent out to test the waters in a place where they can't possibly ruin the salon's name. Thus, Nirvani's own Sugar Salon was made!

Hours
8 a. m. - 8 p. m.
Closed Sundays and Holidays

The Stylists

• Owner/Hairstylist - Kade Waldroup
  
• Stylist - Haruka Koyama
  
• Makeup Artist - Leda Reed
  
• Nail Technician - Open!
  

Haruka had been working at the salon for a very very long time, over twenty years, and she could probably count on the one hand the number of times Kade hadn't been there to open the salon. Perhaps that made her lucky, that her boss was so dedicated to his business that she could take a bit of a break. She knew, from brief conversations with other stylists when she was on the mainland visiting her grandparents (when they were alive) or her uncle's family, that not all people were so fortunate. That's why it surprised her, when she showed up to work and the lights were off and the doors were locked. Kade hadn't appeared all day, and when she called at his home, he wasn't there. It was concerning, yes, especially as this trend continued, but Haruka wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, that he just went on a trip or something and forgot to tell her. Maybe he even met a guy and that was why, however uncomfortable that rhyme made her feel.

Anyway, it had been a day or two of being in the salon all alone, when she heard the door open and someone call out. Haruka had been in the back, cleaning and doing other busy work. The voice startled her, and she almost dropped the bottle of cleaner she was holding. As fast as her (admittedly slow) reflexes allowed her, she set down the cleaning supplies and whirled out of back. "Kade?" she cried as she appeared in the main room. She straightened immediately when she saw that, no, it wasn't Kade, it was the sheriff. Well, yeah, that made sense, Kade didn't sound at all like that, and besides, Romane had called for 'Mr. Waldroup' and Kade wouldn't have done that, but... Well, Haruka had just gotten excited. "...Hello," she greeted Romane warily. The sheriff did not look like she was there for a haircut, so she had a feeling that any news she brought would not be news Haruka particularly wanted to hear. "Can I help you?"

She already had the handgun out and aimed at all possible entryways before the second footstep could sound from the back. Steps that were caused by Haruka Koyama, unfortunately – though, she was lucky to have found anyone considering how empty the town had seemed. She slowly lowered her gun, but didn't put it away just yet. Romane didn't know if this was really Haruka yet, after all. She could be any number of people – with a clever mask and wig, someone could appear to be anyone. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the woman and kept her finger on the trigger as she glanced back at her officer. She seemed alert, but obedient – not bothering to take over when her superior was present. Good, she liked that. Julian had always been a bit too outspoken.

“Mrs. Koyama. I am Sheriff Murrow and this is Officer Dahl. We have been informed of the disappearance of Ms. Li and have arrived to ascertain her whereabouts from Mr. Waldroup.” She didn't feel like she needed to explain why she would think Kade knew anything. Anyone who had been in this town for long knew that Mr. Waldroup was always on top of any snippet of gossip. As such, it was simple logic to ask him if he had any tips for the police. “Where is he?”

Anneliese should have been jotting notes down like a diligent officer, but why do that when she could simply remember things herself? It wasn't like she needed reminders. Plus, there wasn't even much to go off of in the first place according to this Koyama person. The only thing they really learned was that their missing person count might have increased. Were they really going to try to question everyone in the vicinity? That would be such a waste of time. Everything needed to be cut down to the chase to make life easier, and she had a pretty good solution to this problem.

"Yes, Mrs. Koyama. Ms. Li has been reported missing, and we are currently investigating this matter." Anneliese replied curtly to the woman before turning her attention back to her boss. "Sheriff, if I may suggest, I recommend that we do an aerial search in order to find whoever might be missing. I have a helicopter that we can use." That she had conveniently stole a few days back.

Well, Umi had some spare time on her hands and her color was starting to grow out so the first chance she got, she looked up the salon and decided to pop over to have her roots fixed. The salon, like most everything else on the island, was easy enough to find but she found herself a little nervous as she headed inside.

She'd always had her hair done by great stylists but she was basically on a tiny island in the middle of the pacific. The chances of finding a decent stylist here seemed pretty slim. She was a little worried they might ruin her hair--in which case, it might be better to have them just dye it back to its normal black and let it stay that way for a while.

Black was just so...drab. So perhaps she'd luck out.

Stepping inside the shop, she loitered at the door, waiting for a receptionist or someone to notice her. Maybe she should have set up an appointment.

Umi laughed slightly when approached by a talkative stylist. "Well, I'm not exactly a natural blue," she said. "But, no. I do not have an appointment. Still, if you are willing to take--what is it? A...ah...walk in? I would be glad." She took his hand and gave it a light shake. She still wasn't quite used to hand shakes as a form of greeting but it would be rude not to do it. "Umi Farouk. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Umi glanced to the side, as Kade mentioned the rabbit and smiled slightly. "Oh, no! I am not allergic. Is he yours? He is adorable! I have not been in a salon with a pet rabbit running loose. It is cute!"

Without thinking, she crouched to see if she could entice the bunny closer. "Then do you have more at home? I have never had a pet before, actually."

The good news was that she already liked Kade. So hopefully he was also a good stylist. It would be terrible to have her hair ruined by someone she liked.

"Oh, thank you," Umi said. "Though I suppose I should pass the compliments to my father since he is the one who named me--hoping for a son, I think." She was a bit absorbed with scratching the friendly bunny between the ears, and almost forgot to spell out her name for Kade. "Oh, yes!" She stood, brushing her jeans off. "U-M-I F-A-R-O-U-K--it is not hard to spell. Not as hard as most people seem to think it is."

"I think, today, to just touch up the blue." She glanced up at the hair falling in her eyes and reached to straighten a bit of it out thoughtfully. "And maybe a trim, I think? Just to give it a bit of shape again--it's grown out a little since the last cut." As Kade wrote her into the schedule, she glanced down at the bunny by her feet, thinking about his offer. She wondered if a pet would help her dad--pets were good for stress, right?

"Do you know if rabbits are good for people are having high blood pressure? For helping them to relax and be calm? My father, he has that kind of problem..."

"Then maybe I will get one for my father," Umi said, following Kade. She plopped into the stylist's chair, studying herself in the mirror. It was definitely time for a cut. "Yes, I moved here with my mother and father not long ago--he is not well and needed to move somewhere he could get away from, ah, the stress? I decided to leave school to help my mother take care of him while recovers."

She smiled a little regretfully. "It is a little sad to not be recognized yet in a town as small as this but I don't manage to get out much these days. Not outside of going to work. I did go to the Tomato Festival--that was fun. And the Valentines...which was not so much."

"But this town seems quite nice. I like it. It is a bit like some of the smaller villages in France--sort of quiet and friendly, yeah? At any rate, I like most the people I have met so far."

"Have you lived here long?"