Waking the Dead 2.0 || May 18, 2063 || The Mandatory Hot Springs Episode

[kawaakari]

[The skies are clear, the air is cool, and overall? Conditions are perfect for spending the entire afternoon and maybe even the entire night at the hot springs within Seigi. It's open to Zangyaku operatives and their families, along with any of their guests.

Oh, they're also communal. Surely no one minds? It's just skin, after all.

You're allowed to smoke, drink and eat while you're chilling out in the pools. You can also play cards, have a round (or several) of ping pong, flop around... anything goes, as long as you don't kill anybody!]



OOC Notes:
+ Make your own threads, plot out your own shenanigans and whatever else. Just remember: War Hounds and the rest were probably invited there after lunch, and are more than welcome to spend the rest of the day there. Y'all might want to specify the time. :3
+ NPCs are available on call beyond the threads I set up in here (if I end up setting some up, anyway)! Lemme know if you have questions.

Comments

Mid to late evening

[kawaakari]

[She arrives without announcement, and - after checking up on everyone in the area and making sure that they are all enjoying themselves - she is disappearing into the changing rooms. When she steps out, her hair is up, and she is in nothing but a towel.

It is normal, is it not? This is an onsen, after all.

Taking a dip now, and enjoying the water together with some sake and one of her pipes. She's occasionally joined by her Whisperers or members of the Searing Wind, but generally? Everyone leaves her to her own devices.]

[bostova]

[ Yulia thought she'd be okay with the hot springs. And then she found out it was communal. That was okay. Until she remembered Mexico. And then she wasn't okay.

Because the standard procedure, apparently, was to go in with just a towel, a bathing suit, or nothing at all.

But she really, really wanted to bathe in the springs (how could she pass that opportunity up?). It takes her a while to gather up the courage and just walk out there in her towel, but eventually she does. It's really a good thing she's dexterous enough not to trip or slip, so she manages to get into the spring without making too much noise or commotion.

She also makes sure to sink in low enough in the water so nothing would show too much.

And it just so happens that Yulia is close to the side where Kasumi is. So she smiles (awkwardly) and nods a hello. ]

Good evening.

[kawaakari]

Good evening.

[Smiling up at the girl, and moving to make more room. It's a calculated gesture: she can feel Yulia Bostova's discomfort, and the last thing that she wants is for a guest under her roof to fail to enjoy herself.]

Here. Why don't you join me? I could use the company.

[Besides, she is curious about this one. She has read her file.]

[bostova]

[ She blinks, a little surprised at the invitation. But she nods and moves closer, holding on to the towel that covered her. ]

Thank you for having me. [ That... that was the polite thing to say, right? ]

[kawaakari]

It's nothing.

[Leaning back now, looking perfectly at ease with being in a place like this. She had been the same earlier, with men and women coming around to join her.]

Tonight is a good night for something like this, don't you think?

[bostova]

Mm, [ she nods ] it's very relaxing here.

[ She tries mimicking Kasumi, being so at ease in the springs, but all she manages to do is sink a little further down in the water. ]

[kawaakari]

[And while Kasumi notices, she isn't saying anything. Comfort and mental well-being is paramount.]

I hope that the lot of you have enjoyed your stay with us thus far.

[bostova]

[ Yulia at least brightens up at that. ]

Da, Japan-- Seigi is very beautiful. I like the place, and Shin Yamatai also.

[kawaakari]

You were able to go around Tokyo and Shin Yamatai, correct? There is much to see between those two places alone. The rest of Japan has a lot to offer as well.

[bostova]

Not much of Tokyo, but we went around Shin Yamatai. It would be nice to visit more places, but... There is always another time.

[ Maybe. Hopefully. ]

[kawaakari]

There is indeed, now that you are a part of our conspiracy.

[Smiling a little kinder now.]

I never did get to congratulate you personally.

[bostova]

Ah... [ Her cheeks are pink, but it isn't because of the hot springs. ]

You do not have to...

[kawaakari]

Nonsense. We are sisters now.

[This girl is endearingly simple. Also good-hearted, and concerned for her son.

Might as well.]

Have you thought about the division that you wish to join now that you are with us?

[atlas_shrugged]

[ His mind has tactically gone through every angle he can think of. The most strategic way to do this: Just approach Kasumi and sit down like it were nothing.

After Taning's little comment earlier, Brig's worried that Hikaru may know about his evening conversations with the Lady of the Night. But Brig isn't hiding anything; he just wants to keep things on the down low cause he's not quite sure about what he's been doing, or feeling. He knows Kaz overheard the comment too. He'll probably tell Kaz soon. Get it off his chest. See what his blademate thinks.

Brig brings with him a bottle of sake. He takes off his towel as he sits down beside Kasumi in the water. ]

I hope you don't mind if I join you, Kasumi-san. [ He smiles as he offers to pour for her as her cup's running dry ]

[kawaakari]

I don't mind at all.

[Lifting her cup in his direction, smiling in return.]

I hope that you are enjoying yourself.

[atlas_shrugged]

[ After finishing pouring, he leans back onto the side of the pool and into the water ] I actually am, Ma'am. Sat down with Inquisitor Setsuna, listened to Inquisitor Selene's music on the koto, had a crazy pingpong match with my blademate, and had a drinking marathon with the Brands.

[ He lights a cigarette and takes a drag ] And you?

[kawaakari]

A crazy pingpong match, you say?

[Lifting an eyebrow at that. Everything else seemed pretty normal, in her opinion.]

[atlas_shrugged]

[ He's noticing how she totally deflects his questions. He's gotten used to it. ]

Well, apparently Taning, Inquisitor Fukuzawa's student, gets super supernatural when he's high. [ Brig thinks of how inhuman the match got. It makes him smile. It was so much fun. ] That, his mage-stuff and his iaido-mastery was just a bit too much even for me to beat. Close or no, Taning owned that match.

[ Brigade chuckles a bit ] He becomes a pingpong god, and a very loose-mouthed goofball. [ He says the last word with fondness ]

[kawaakari]

I see.

[She is open about her amusement. No need to hide it.]

He is rather different from his master.

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brig thinks on how he met Taning ] For a while, when I first met him, I think he could've ended up more like Tohru. [ He takes a sip of his sake ] But having spent more time with him, yeah, he is very different. They're only alike when Taning goes on serious-mode.

[kawaakari]

Well, they do appear to have several things in common beyond their dispositions.

[Yeah, she's kind of read Taning's file. It's her job, okay.]

He does appear to be good for Tohru, though.

[atlas_shrugged]

I don't know Inquisitor Fukuzawa enough to comment on that, really. But if he is, I do believe I would like to get to know him better. [ He does mean it. As hardedge as Tohru is, Brigade respects his ability and personality. And his undying love and loyalty to his son ]

I'd have to agree on him being good for him though, Ma'am. [ He wants to call her by her name again, but old habits die hard ] Taning, actually, has been very good for everyone in the Blade, I believe.

[kawaakari]

Perhaps you should approach him sometime, if you haven't already.

[And that, my friend, is the only warning that you're going to get.

That little mental message is for Tohru, of course.]

And is Taning good for your blade because he helps you watch over them?

[atlas_shrugged]

I do plan to, Ma'am. Just setting up when to approach him. I'd like not to waste his time. [ Because Brig respects the no-nonsense aura Tohru gives off ]

No, not really, Ma'am. Although, yes, I do watch over all of them. [ He takes a drag of his cigarette. ] It's more that Taning is a good influence. He keeps everyone grounded. He reminds everyone, by just being Taning - not the Obrimos Mage, not the Iaidoka Master, not the Adamantine Arrow; Just Taning Marasigan - , to be good people, and that they are good people.

[kawaakari]

And you feel that you cannot do that as well?

[Watching him now.]