logs | (catch-all)

Well, if it makes you uncomfortable you don't have to. Or we could get you a bathing suit? I'm sure they sell them somewhere in Mirth...

（ a little weird to wear one in an onsen, but she's not going to complain about it. breaking tradition to be comfortable is more important than conforming, anyway. ）

No! Th-that's even worse!

[She'd stick out like a sore thumb. Moreover, it would be a mark of her cowardice. Or draw further curiosity, unwanted curiosity.]

I'll do it! [It's blurted out before the conclusion even settles in her mind.] I w-will — I will conquer the hot springs!

[Her free hand clenches into a fist and her jaw sets with determination. Though there is still sweat sprouting along her hairline.]

I r-refuse to f-fail another ch-ch-challenge...

（ wow, she is so cute. sakura just beams at her, and — ）

Oh! The crystal. Did you feel that? I think it's charged up.

（ where it sits between them, it's now softly emanating heat. surely that's proof enough, right? ）

[Her greatest weakness, a direct beam of dere energy...free her from its forces.]

Oh! [She flexes her fingers. It's about what the woman had said it would feel like. She waves Esmeralda over and the woman takes a quick peek at their hard work.

"That does look well handled, ladies! Good show." She smiles brightly at them both. "It'll fetch a fair price for sure. Here you are, your earnings. Make sure to spoil yourselves rotten. Two gorgeous things like you, ain't nothing worse than tucking your coins away for when you're too old and pickled to enjoy them. Off you go, now!"

Fukawa doesn't even get to protest the compliments. She's much too flustered by the incoming trial. Her hand curls over her share of coins and she thrusts them into her pocket.]

It's n-not far, I don't think? The springs?

Nope! It's just a few blocks away. It's a nice spot, I've gone a few times after my shift at the clinic.

（ self-care is important. sometimes, you just need to relax. ）

So you've already left your sc-scent all over the place. [Fukawa purses her lips.] Okay, well. L-let's go then. At least it won't be two strangers appearing suddenly. Th-that's way too suspicious.

[How, she will not clarify. Her only goal is to never be perceived, so a jaunt to the Hot Springs poses a vital threat.

Nevertheless, they arrive shortly. Towel rentals are cheap, and the place is dead quiet. They'll have it to themselves at this time of day, thankfully enough. Fukawa's eyes dart around nervously, though they purposefully miss Sakura each time. Each mounting second before they shuck clothes and descend into the water is another tick on a time bomb.]

Y-you go in first. I need to...prepare myself.

[Mentally.]

（ freshly warmed by the pre-onsen shower, she's feeling clean and is even enjoying the cold air on her skin. even getting here with fukawa, she thinks, is a step in the right direction, so she's not going to say anything or try to cajole her into it. she's braver than most people think, isn't she? she said she'd do it, and sakura believes that, so she shucks her the big, fluffy towel and keeps the small hand towel neatly folded and nested atop her hair as she steps down into the water. like this at least, she's not terribly self-conscious about herself or her body — her, ino, tenten and even hinata sometimes go to them together, so being around similarly-aged girls in a hotspring is entirely normal to her.

she sinks down gratefully at one edge of the rocky outcropping, leaning back into a scooped-out section of rock worn away by generations of use. politely, her back is to fukawa now, a clear indication she's not looking and won't.

she rests one arm along the lip of the pool, sighing contentedly as the warmth seeps into her bones. ugh, it feels so nice to just relax! ）

It's the perfect temperature. They really know their stuff here!

[A shower before you stew in more water? Horrific.

But Fukawa, too terrified to misstep, has dutifully scrubbed herself free of filth and shampooed her overlong hair, which she now pins at the top of her head. The front desk was kind enough to supply her with clips, though there's enough of it that it takes some time to wrangle. By the time she pads over to the onsen she's nearly as peeved at the thought of it falling as she is of losing her towel.

Sakura isn't looking, though. That's good. She checks behind her, to the left then right. Then, very skittish, dips a toe in.]

Ah!

[Hot.

Slowly, she lets herself tread forth. She only shucks the towel when it would be impossible to keep dry, and sinks to her shoulders with a tight squeak. At least her feet touch the bottom here. And it's not so wide. It should be simple enough to escape. The pressure of water and heat on her newly scrubbed skin is...nerve-wracking. She is audibly seething as she approaches the edge, hugging her breasts below the water and gripping the dry rock for peace of mind.]

I feel like I'm b-being boiled into ramen broth. Who knows how many people have been pickling in here already?

（ sakura, who is clearly luxuriating in the hot 'ramen broth', just sort of laughs. she tucks an errant tendril of hair back up into its clip, and then lets her hand sink below the water. she watches it a moment, distorted by the water's flow. ）

The water is circulated — remember, the hot spring is fed by an artesian spring warmed by geothermal activity. And it's usually too hot, and too high in various mineral contents for any bacteria to survive for long. Perfectly safe, I promise.

[Have yourself a roll of the eyes at that.]

You're such a know-it-all.

[So spoke the bookworm.

Taking Sakura's cue, she too fixes her hair, lifting both hands for one final adjustment. Though she quickly realizes she's left her chest uncovered, and hastily finishes the job one-handed. Constant vigilance and all that.]

You're s-supposed to pick one, you know. Brains or brawn. It just m-makes everyone else look like a lazy shit.

[Or there's the third option: beauty. Which Sakura also has. What chance does anyone else have when the deck is so stacked in one person's favour?]

（ omg fukawa she's not going to ogle you!! sakura doesn't quite roll her eyes, but she does pointedly scrub her face with the tiny towel that was folded neatly atop her pinned hair so she's clearly Not Observing any of that fumbling. ）

Hey, I work hard to be a know-it-all.

（ endless nights pouring over old medical manuscripts was just the start. ）

And frankly, if other people are that worried about holding themselves up in comparison to others, that's their issue, not mine.

（ it's not like she doesn't know where it comes from, that anxiety and uncertainty. she compared everything to ino, from the length of her hair to their respective test scores and certainly to things she'd never actually admit to, like being jealous of ino's bust. but she's worked hard to move past it all. ）

[It's the principle!! Okay!!]

People r-rank other people against each other all the time! [She must not have gone to any facsimile of high school. Boys always graded the girls, teachers graded the students, and the economy grades the graduates. It's a dog-eat-dog situation from start to finish.

But for once, Fukawa leaves well enough alone. It's not a fun conversation to have for the billionth time. She always hated trite pep talks, and the people here are twice as likely to give them than anyone back home.]

It helps that you have u-useful knowledge, at least. Who the hell needs a literary devotee in a world gone to shit?

（ literary devotee... it makes her think of jiraiya, and although she was never as close to him as naruto, there's a little pang of loss that thrums along her veins. ）

I think it's one of the most useful skills someone could have, especially in a place like this. Stories are hope and humanity and wonder. It's a way to hold back the night. Bring other people closer. Make them feel connected to something bigger than themselves. Humans have been telling them as long as we've had language. There's always value in that. Anyone can learn to fight or set a broken bone, but any sort of storytelling takes a skill that's harder to teach.

（ now that fukawa's... mostly settled, she directs her attention back to the girl, head canted curiously to one side. ）

What's your favourite genre?

[Fukawa is transfixed. The whole speech through she is reticent, unwavering in her gaze. Her jaw muscles clench.

No one's really said as much. She wanted to believe it. Claimed it several times herself. But desperate times had called for people of desperate measures, and no one had the time of day for a bespectacled bookworm. Much less one that came with so many wretched caveats.

At the close she looks to the water. Waits a moment before she speaks.]

I w-was a romance novelist. [A beat.] B-but not that trashy, pornographic kind. Proper literature.

Ah, really?

（ look she's... maybe read a trashy pornographic book or two (thanks again, jiraiya) but she's absolutely a sucker for romance, so she just lights up at this revelation. ）

Are any of your books here? Can I read one?

Uh — [For some reason the idea makes her squirm. Is it because they're naked? It's because they're naked.

Don't look at her tits, you imbecile!]

Y-yeah! They're at the library!

[She bites at her lip.]

B-but I bought copies f-for myself, too. I'll give them to you, if you're really that bored.

You think I need to be bored to read?

（ excuse you, she's a grade a nerd. sakura reads medical texts for fun. ）

Which one's your favourite?

You actually do it for fun? [Color her surprised.] Wow. M-most teenagers just complain about reading anything l-longer than a sloppy text message. They're all addicted to manga and TV and mind-numbing v-video games.

[But Sakura is Not Like Other Girls. Fukawa brightens some, smiling in spite of herself.]

Um, b-but, I suppose of everything published, my last book is probably the least painful. So Lingers the Ocean. It's, um, about f-fishermen.

Even the title sounds pretty.

（ she's gonna read the book, fukawa, and you can't stop her. ）

My first mission was to help a fishing village.

[ah...blushu. do not perceive how much this pleases her.]

Really? [Though she is quick to change gears now, being given a fresh inch to take a mile with.] Are you going to g-give me some details this time, or should I invent some for you?

It was pretty boring. We were just meant to escort someone building a bridge to protect him from bandits and the like. I guess you could invent something more interesting than that...

（ 'boring', she says, as if sasuke didn't almost die, as if naruto and kakashi hadn't been in danger, as if she'd done something more useful than standing on the sidelines gripping a knife in a sweat-drenched palm. she still has nightmares about finding sasuke's body pierced with senbon, lifeless and cold. ）

They don't give dangerous missions to the new genin.

[mighty fine ommissions you have there.]

Genin? ["Peasant?" It doesn't sound like work for peasant class. Their homes seemed to share a number of linguistic and national components, but applied in different ways. Japan by another name.] S-so...if you were hired to escort people, trained in both martial arts and medicine, and some magic crap...

[She gnaws on her lip, squinting at the rock bed.]

Something like a shinobi, maybe?

[Is she even talking to Sakura any longer?]

That's right.

（ if she hadn't wanted fukawa to figure it out, she wouldn't have given her so many hints, it's not like she's particularly averse to lying. but she'd decided that maybe the girl was trustworthy after all. in a way, she's also keeping her word to naruto and sasuke by not directly telling her. ）

Ah?

[Slight pause.]

You admitted! Ha!

[Wait.]

Unless th-this is a clever diversion...

Hmm... you think?

（ oh, now she's just going to tease her mercilessly. sakura grins, wrinkling up her nose playfully. ）

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