Week 2 - Rest & Relaxation
- Location
- Massholistan
You'd think the one of the most popular bathhouses in Konoha would be more frequented during a time like this, but it's practically a ghost town. The only one other person who seems to be here is the attendant who welcomes you inside. Though you can't help but notice the small instant of surprise that flits across her face when you check in, but if there's an indication for why she's surprised she doesn't show it. Still, they accept your registration, and you're not exactly in the habit of wasting money. Well, on everything that's not new weapons, but then, is buying weapons really a waste of money?
Checkmate budget. Better luck next time.
Inside the bathhouse is just as deserted as the outside. You're the only one in the changing rooms as you carefully stack your clothes and weaponry in the locker provided and slip into the robe provided. Not that the simple locker will actually do anything if a determined shinobi wanted to steal anything from you, which is what the explosive tag booby trap you carefully place on the inside of the lock is for. Never hurts to be prepared.
With one last thought, you quickly slip a handful of kunai into the pocket of your robes. You'll have a to clean the later to make sure they don't rust, but it's worth it. You haven't actually ever not been armed since you took up weapons training, and you don't see a reason to start now.
With that taken care of you push open the screen door that leads out into the actual spring area. You take a second to look around and give a soft whistle of approval. You knew this was one of the more sought after bathhouses in Konoha, especially after you got the bill, but there's a difference between intellectually knowing something and actually seeing it for yourself. Steam gently curls up from the outdoor grotto, the dark rock contrasting off of the almost cerulean blue of the water.
A massive wooden wall stands off to the side, cutting this grotto off from the next one, and you can see how it wraps around and merges the rock formations on the other side of the pool. The trees all around have been carefully trimmed to preserve their beauty, while also preventing any pesky voyeurs from finding purchase. Again, not enough to stop a determined ninja, but then, when you lived in a village with a clan that could simply see through any wall you simply had to accept some privacy risks.
You quietly pad across the stained deck to the row of hooks, hanging above the small table stacked high with towels, scented oils , soaps and other such accompaniments. You take a moment to wash yourself down. You're not normally one to be all over beauty products, you're fairly certain Neji uses more hair products than you do, but this is a rare opportunity to pamper yourself. Outside of the constraints of your apartment, equal parts too small and lacking in hot water. You even unfurl the small ribbons holding your buns in place, letting your shoulder-length hair fall down completely in what feels like ages.
Then the moment of truth, you dip your two in the water and let out a contented sigh. Scalding, just like you like it. It only takes you a second to completely sink in, letting the water wash over you and wipe away the stress of the last few weeks. The pool itself is massive, easily able to fit 15 people, more with only slight crowding. Normally, you'd have to share it, they're communal baths after all. For now though, it's all yours.
You lean back, sinking down and letting the steam flood through your lungs. This worth it. This is completely worth it.
The physical stressors are the first to go, the little aches and pains that are part and parcel of training with Gai-sensei. They're not as present as they were even a month ago, but they're practically an inevitability. A crick in your neck you didn't even notice you had, a slight pain when you over-rotated your shoulder, a lingering ache in your lower back, they all get washed away.
The mental stress though, those take far longer. Worry about Lee and Neji, wondering about what happened to Kin, anxiousness of the events that only seem to keep happening. All these blend together with the stress and worry of a thousand different little things you need to take care of. Will you be good enough, can you even be good enough? Everything's happening so fast, and it's taking all you can to just stay on top of things. You let out a deep sigh and sink lower in the water, letting the air blow bubbles in front of your face.
You close your eyes and just try to let go, letting your mind drift into empty nothingness as you breath in...and out...in...and out...
You hear a soft sound, like muffled voices, and the faint sound of footsteps, but after cracking an eye open to confirm that no one's coming into this stall you pay it no heed. Guess more customers finally decided to show up. You heave a contented sigh as you finally feel the hard knot of stress weighing on your mind finally start to loosen up.
Then there's the slightest sound of wood scraping against rock and your eyes snap open. That came from directly in front of you. The only thing directly in front of you is the outer wall. You sit up slightly, the water splashing slightly at your sudden movement and narrow your eyes. You look around, but you see nothing. Still, it doesn't hurt to be careless, and you feel the world sharpen around you intensely, everything coming into focus sharper than the edge of one your blades as golden light blooms. Then you see it, tucked away where the wooden wall meets rock, a solitary gap, probably a mistake of the building process.
And a single blue eye.
You've never grabbed a kunai so fast in your life.
Checkmate budget. Better luck next time.
Inside the bathhouse is just as deserted as the outside. You're the only one in the changing rooms as you carefully stack your clothes and weaponry in the locker provided and slip into the robe provided. Not that the simple locker will actually do anything if a determined shinobi wanted to steal anything from you, which is what the explosive tag booby trap you carefully place on the inside of the lock is for. Never hurts to be prepared.
With one last thought, you quickly slip a handful of kunai into the pocket of your robes. You'll have a to clean the later to make sure they don't rust, but it's worth it. You haven't actually ever not been armed since you took up weapons training, and you don't see a reason to start now.
With that taken care of you push open the screen door that leads out into the actual spring area. You take a second to look around and give a soft whistle of approval. You knew this was one of the more sought after bathhouses in Konoha, especially after you got the bill, but there's a difference between intellectually knowing something and actually seeing it for yourself. Steam gently curls up from the outdoor grotto, the dark rock contrasting off of the almost cerulean blue of the water.
A massive wooden wall stands off to the side, cutting this grotto off from the next one, and you can see how it wraps around and merges the rock formations on the other side of the pool. The trees all around have been carefully trimmed to preserve their beauty, while also preventing any pesky voyeurs from finding purchase. Again, not enough to stop a determined ninja, but then, when you lived in a village with a clan that could simply see through any wall you simply had to accept some privacy risks.
You quietly pad across the stained deck to the row of hooks, hanging above the small table stacked high with towels, scented oils , soaps and other such accompaniments. You take a moment to wash yourself down. You're not normally one to be all over beauty products, you're fairly certain Neji uses more hair products than you do, but this is a rare opportunity to pamper yourself. Outside of the constraints of your apartment, equal parts too small and lacking in hot water. You even unfurl the small ribbons holding your buns in place, letting your shoulder-length hair fall down completely in what feels like ages.
Then the moment of truth, you dip your two in the water and let out a contented sigh. Scalding, just like you like it. It only takes you a second to completely sink in, letting the water wash over you and wipe away the stress of the last few weeks. The pool itself is massive, easily able to fit 15 people, more with only slight crowding. Normally, you'd have to share it, they're communal baths after all. For now though, it's all yours.
You lean back, sinking down and letting the steam flood through your lungs. This worth it. This is completely worth it.
The physical stressors are the first to go, the little aches and pains that are part and parcel of training with Gai-sensei. They're not as present as they were even a month ago, but they're practically an inevitability. A crick in your neck you didn't even notice you had, a slight pain when you over-rotated your shoulder, a lingering ache in your lower back, they all get washed away.
The mental stress though, those take far longer. Worry about Lee and Neji, wondering about what happened to Kin, anxiousness of the events that only seem to keep happening. All these blend together with the stress and worry of a thousand different little things you need to take care of. Will you be good enough, can you even be good enough? Everything's happening so fast, and it's taking all you can to just stay on top of things. You let out a deep sigh and sink lower in the water, letting the air blow bubbles in front of your face.
You close your eyes and just try to let go, letting your mind drift into empty nothingness as you breath in...and out...in...and out...
You hear a soft sound, like muffled voices, and the faint sound of footsteps, but after cracking an eye open to confirm that no one's coming into this stall you pay it no heed. Guess more customers finally decided to show up. You heave a contented sigh as you finally feel the hard knot of stress weighing on your mind finally start to loosen up.
Then there's the slightest sound of wood scraping against rock and your eyes snap open. That came from directly in front of you. The only thing directly in front of you is the outer wall. You sit up slightly, the water splashing slightly at your sudden movement and narrow your eyes. You look around, but you see nothing. Still, it doesn't hurt to be careless, and you feel the world sharpen around you intensely, everything coming into focus sharper than the edge of one your blades as golden light blooms. Then you see it, tucked away where the wooden wall meets rock, a solitary gap, probably a mistake of the building process.
And a single blue eye.
You've never grabbed a kunai so fast in your life.
~///~
Naruto Uzumaki was beginning to think he'd made some mistakes. Well, scratch that, he'd definitely made a lot of mistakes, but today; today he felt like he was setting a new record. The first one had been believing that pervert when he said he was just stepping out for a moment. Number two was leaving out his wallet. Which led to him to mistake number 3, which was coming here in search of him. Creeping along outside a bathhouse wall, which given this was his first and only idea of where to find his erstwhile teacher, said a bunch of things.
Most of which he was currently trying to ignore. "Pervy sage?" He peeked around one of the rock formations, "Come on you idiot where are you?" If experiences held, he'd probably turn up in an hour or three, but unfortunately Naruto was not willing to wait that long. Especially with his wallet on the line this time.
Then he turned the corner to the last grotto, only to find it empty. No peeping toms in sight whatsoever. Which means the rumor he heard about that pervert being around here didn't even mean anything, and poor froggy is probably being bled dry right now. He let out an audible groan as everything set in.
Then he noticed it, tucked away right where the wooden wall met the rock wall. Carefully carved so that it looked like a simple fault of construction, exactly in the spot so no matter the time of day someone standing in front of it would be in the shadows. Naruto paused for a second, temptation beginning to unfold. Froggy needed him, but...
Unfortunately, trouble and Naruto had a rather long-standing and committed relationship, because at that moment a contented, and distinctly feminine, sigh and faint splashing of water drifted over top of the wall. Hormones raged with common sense, and as in most growing boys, hormones won a decisive victory. Surely a little peek couldn't hurt?
Naruto would never actually find out the answer to that question, because as soon as he levered himself up into position to see a faint glimpse of brown hair several things happened in quick succession. First, his sandal slipped on the wet rock with a faint skittering sound. Second, the sun felt it was boring up in the sky and decided it rather liked this bathhouse right here, enough to pay a visit. Third, as he reared back blinking spots from his eyes, a kunai sprouted from the indent in a shower of sparks. And fourth, as he fell back with a shout, he realized Hello mistake #4...when did you get here?
The blonde-haired genin hit the ground with a thump. He slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head with a groan. "Ah man I-"
"You have fifteen seconds."
"Wha-" He glanced up, only to see two golden irises staring down at him from over the wall, brown hair framing a brilliant golden circle over a somewhat familiar girl's face.
"Ahaha...I...ah..." Naruto gave a weak laugh.
How in the hell is he going to get out of this one?
[ ] Just tell her the truth, she probably won't kill you right?
[ ] "Play" dumb
[ ] Book it.
[ ] Make something up.
[ ] Write-in.
Most of which he was currently trying to ignore. "Pervy sage?" He peeked around one of the rock formations, "Come on you idiot where are you?" If experiences held, he'd probably turn up in an hour or three, but unfortunately Naruto was not willing to wait that long. Especially with his wallet on the line this time.
Then he turned the corner to the last grotto, only to find it empty. No peeping toms in sight whatsoever. Which means the rumor he heard about that pervert being around here didn't even mean anything, and poor froggy is probably being bled dry right now. He let out an audible groan as everything set in.
Then he noticed it, tucked away right where the wooden wall met the rock wall. Carefully carved so that it looked like a simple fault of construction, exactly in the spot so no matter the time of day someone standing in front of it would be in the shadows. Naruto paused for a second, temptation beginning to unfold. Froggy needed him, but...
Unfortunately, trouble and Naruto had a rather long-standing and committed relationship, because at that moment a contented, and distinctly feminine, sigh and faint splashing of water drifted over top of the wall. Hormones raged with common sense, and as in most growing boys, hormones won a decisive victory. Surely a little peek couldn't hurt?
Naruto would never actually find out the answer to that question, because as soon as he levered himself up into position to see a faint glimpse of brown hair several things happened in quick succession. First, his sandal slipped on the wet rock with a faint skittering sound. Second, the sun felt it was boring up in the sky and decided it rather liked this bathhouse right here, enough to pay a visit. Third, as he reared back blinking spots from his eyes, a kunai sprouted from the indent in a shower of sparks. And fourth, as he fell back with a shout, he realized Hello mistake #4...when did you get here?
The blonde-haired genin hit the ground with a thump. He slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head with a groan. "Ah man I-"
"You have fifteen seconds."
"Wha-" He glanced up, only to see two golden irises staring down at him from over the wall, brown hair framing a brilliant golden circle over a somewhat familiar girl's face.
"Ahaha...I...ah..." Naruto gave a weak laugh.
How in the hell is he going to get out of this one?
[ ] Just tell her the truth, she probably won't kill you right?
[ ] "Play" dumb
[ ] Book it.
[ ] Make something up.
[ ] Write-in.
Oh hey there Naruto. I'm sure this is going to end well for you. Oh, and obviously you guys are going to be controlling Tenten at the start of next update. This was just too funny not to do.
Also oh hey, daily updates. Maybe these will be a regular thing. (Spoilers: Probably not)
Also oh hey, daily updates. Maybe these will be a regular thing. (Spoilers: Probably not)
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