Husky's Melancholy

 is the thirteenth chapter of Natsumi Mukai's +Anima manga.

Synopsis
Igneous Giesrieg sits down on a park bench in Astar, after filing a report about his recent incident where military swords were reforged into civilian tools. Fly Greena Aight sneaks up on him, and Igneous is annoyed at the use of his nickname, Iggy, but even more annoyed that Fly already knows about the incident. Igneous rants about the +Anima children, and Fly tries to discourage his hostility towards +Anima, understanding his hatred of Kim-un-kur and advising him not to equate the two. Fly expresses his belief that it is time for society to accept +Anima, and wonders about the friends that Cooro has made.

Cooro, Husky and Senri are sitting around a campfire. Senri is admiring a flower that he took from outside Harden's home. Husky is annoyed that Nana Alba is taking a long time bathing. She shows up shortly after wearing new clothes that Margaret had made her. Husky makes a snide comment about girls always making people wait, and Cooro compares the situation to when Husky needed to buy clothes, but Husky retorts unlike him Nana already had suitable clothes. Cooro and Senri go take a bath, but Husky stays and rests. Nana admires Husky's skin and hair and notes that she has never known him to take a bath; she theorizes that Husky is in fact a girl.

The group arrive at a town and wonder if they are near the ocean yet, but learn that they still have a long way to go. They split up to browse the shops, and Nana stalks Husky hoping to uncover proof that he is a girl. A shopkeeper assumes Husky to be a girl which frustrates him, he turns around to see Nana with a huge grin. She accuses him of having a secret, and after an extended silence he claims that everyone has secrets. Nana tries to encourage Husky to confide in her, but he refuses. She then suggests he grow his hair, believing it would make him look prettier; he thinks Nana is making fun of him and runs away. Cooro and Senri come over to find out what's wrong and Nana explains her theory to them; she recruits them in exposing Husky's secret.

Husky is sitting on a crate in an alley thinking about his early childhood, being likened to a girl, and being bullied for looking like one. Some boys come over and start flirting with him, so he attacks them. Cooro flies up to create a diversion while Senri grabs Husky and they leave the town.

Nana reminds Husky of when she confided in him about how she became a +Anima. She wants Husky to feels as good as she did about being able to talk about their secrets, and so knocks him out with her Ultrasonic Screech. When he wakes up he is wearing a dress over his clothes. He immediately takes it off and questions Nana why she would do that. He then demands Cooro takes off his clothes, while he also does so to prove that he is a boy; he didn't want to be the only naked one. Senri, unprompted, also starts taking his clothes off. Husky explains that he doesn't bathe with the others because he goes in water almost every day to fish.