A/N: ANNNNNNND HERE'S CHAPTER 38!!!! Do you think we'll reach 40 in this update??? Heh, maybe XDDD Btw, anyone playing the Re Zero mobile game? I thought it's pretty good XD Anyone wanna join me?? Anyways, here's chap 38!! Please enjoy~~~!!!
"Oh snap, we almost forgot about the most important thing!" Aki shouted when they almost reached their ryokan. "What is it? Did you forget anything at the resort?" Emilia asked, and Aki shook his head. "No, we're here on a trip, and when students like us go on trips, buying snacks and drinks and stuff from a convenience store enough for two nights is a must!!" He shouted, and the girls all stared at him. However, Subaru, Hinata, and Haruka were making the same look that was now on Aki's face.
"You're right!!! How could we forget something so important!!!" Haruka shouted. "Okay okay, don't panic!! There's a convenience store over there!! Let's go now!!" Hinata shouted, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder at the convenience store they just walked past. "Thank god you remembered!! Almost overlooked the best part of an overnight trip!!" Subaru shouted, turning to the girls, who were all still looking rather confused. "C'mon, I'll explain as we go." Subaru said, smiling. "Eh, what's going on now? Why're you all getting so worked up?" Emilia asked, tilting her head.
The eight all turned back and walked toward the convenience store, and Subaru started explaining to the girls. "Well, this is... uh... sort of a tradition of students going on trips together. You remember the school trip that I mentioned to you before?" Subaru asked, and they nodded. "When students like us go on school trips, we usual buy a lot of snacks and drinks so we can stay up all night playing games or chatting. Those serve as important fuels that can power us through two all-nighters." Subaru said, and they arrived at the store.
Sensing the eight approaching, the doors opened and allowed their entrance to the convenience store. "Irasshaimase." The clerks standing at the counters greeted them as they entered. "But isn't that a bit unhealthy?" Emilia asked, and Subaru laughed. "Well, that's the whole point of the trip, isn't it? We don't get to stay together like that and eat a bunch of junk food normally nor do we have the time to do so. It's a very rare event that usually only happens around three times throughout your time as a student. The rarity and freshness of such things are what that matter." Subaru said, laughing.
"Mnnn, Rem still isn't exactly sure what is going on, but the point now is to buy snacks and drinks that we want and eat those as we stay up all night?" Rem said, clapping her hands together. "That's right!! Buy snacks!! Eat snacks!! Stay up all night!! Ah maybe not the whole night till around one is probably enough since we've got more activities tomorrow, but you get the spirit!!" Subaru said, giving them a thumbs-up. "So should we get going now? I see Kouyou-san, Tsuyumi-san, and Natsuno-san are already quite done." Emilia said, pointing at the three, all of them carrying a basket that was about half filled with chips and drinks.
"Don't underestimate them, they're just getting started." Subaru said, laughing. "Mattaku, what kind of people come up with ideas like this?? Such childishness." Ram said, sighing and holding her forehead. "Apparently, teenagers in this world are all more or less weird in the head, Betty supposes." Beatrice said, sighing as well. "Oi oi Natsuki, I know they're foreign to this but don't keep your introduction too long. I'm taking care of the drinks and Tsuyumi and Natsuno are getting the chips. You lot go get some sweets and cup noodles, yeah?" Aki said as he stopped by and walked off again.
"Roger that!" Subaru said, waving at him and turning back to the girls. "Well, ladies, allow me to introduce you yet another big part of the Japanese food culture, the cup noodles." Subaru said, bowing at them and waving his hand toward the cup noodles section. Rem and Emilia giggled as they moved toward the aisles with rows and rows of cup noodles, all with different flavors and in different boxings.
"Here's all the cup noodles!" Subaru said as they girls' eyes all widened again at the rather magnificent view. "Wow, that's a lot!" Emilia exclaimed, her eyes moving from rows to rows. "Ram has seen these several times when she went to the convenience store on the gourmet street but never bought any before. Barusu, what exactly does it taste like?" Ram asked, looking mildly surprised. "Well, taste for yourself. Here, I recommend these for a start." Subaru answered with a grin, handing her a basket in one hand and holding a cup noodle in the other. "Huh, tonkotsu, is it? Alright, Ram shall give it a try." Ram said, taking the basket and putting the cup noodle in it.
After giving the the other girls a basket, Subaru went looking for the cup noodles he wanted as well, occasionally giving suggestions to the girls about what to buy. "Ne Subaru, how do you think this cup noodle will taste?" Emilia asked as she walked to him with one in her hands. "Ohhhh that, that one's pretty famous for its spiciness. See here, it says karai, and when they say so, they mean it!" Subaru said, and Emilia nodded, now looking at it more apprehensively. "Hm... thanks for telling me that. I'll go put it back." She said. "Oh wait, mind if I have that? I figure I should get some for those three as well, and Hinata likes it spicy." Subaru said, and Emilia nodded again and handed him the spicy cup noodle.
"Nee-sama Nee-sama, how does this one look?" Rem asked as she took one off the shelf. "Hm, it has an interesting cover art." Ram said, taking the cup noodle from Rem. "Oh that's the Pikachu cup noodle! Pretty popular, that is!" Hinata's voice said from behind, and the two girls turned around. "Ara, Natsuno-san. Have you had this one before? Ram can't see what the inside looks like with a cover art like this. How does it taste?" Ram asked. "Personally, I like it! But I like a lot of food so not entirely sure if my taste is reliable, haha. But like I said it's very popular, so give it a try!" Hinata said, grinning, and Ram nodded.
"Wakatta wa, we shall consider buying it." Ram said, and the twins nodded their thanks to him. "Great! By the way is Subaru around here? I'm here to tell him what cup noodles we want." Hinata asked. "Rem believes Subaru-kun is at the next aisle with Beatrice-sama and Emilia-sama." Rem answered, and Hinata nodded. "Thanks! Oh, we got the snacks as well so come and see if you wanna add anything before we go to the counter!" He said and headed to the other aisle, from which sounds of Subaru teasing Beatrice could now be heard. "Rem, let's go see what else they have here." Ram said, putting the Pikachu cup noodle in Rem's basket, and Rem smiled and nodded.
"Na Bea-ko, how 'bout this one?" Subaru said as he handed Beatrice yet another cup noodle for children. In the past five minutes Subaru had been suggesting nothing but children cup noodles to her, and now, feeling that words were no longer necessary, Beatrice decided to resort to something more primitive. With an almighty stomp on Subaru's foot, Beatrice walked away to the other isle, leaving Subaru kneeling on the floor and holding his foot. "Subaru, it's fine to tease, but remember to keep it moderate, alright?" Emilia said, reaching out a hand and pulling him up.
Still hopping on one foot, Subaru laughed weakly. "I know I know, but Bea-ko is just too fun to tease... hahaha..." He said, and Hinata came up to them. "Dude I saw that, you asked for it." He said, patting Subaru on the back and laughing. "I'm here to tell you what cup noodles we want." He said, and Subaru showed him the basket he was holding, now half full as well. "Don't worry, I got it." He said. "Ohhhh not bad, Subaru! Ah wait Aki says he wants to challenge the spicy one this time." Hinata added, and Subaru nodded. "Alright, I'll put that in later as well. By the way, you got the snacks?" Subaru said, and Hinata nodded too, now showing him and Emilia the basket he was holding.
"Yep, got all our favorites. Oh and for you girls I'm not really sure what you like or if you eat snacks at all so I just picked some popular brands. I think Aki's done with the drinks as well so you might wanna come and see if you want to buy anything else." Hinata said, looking over to Emilia. "Thank you, Natsuno-san. I'll go get Beatrice now and we'll see if we want to add anything later." Emilia said and went to get Beatrice. "Alright, let's go see if Rem and Nee-sama are finished as well." Subaru said, and Hinata nodded, and the two walked off.
About ten minutes later, each of the girls all got three cup noodles that they wanted to try, and Subaru finished picking the cup noodles for himself and the rest of his friends as well. The girls also added a few more sweets to the snacks bucket since they never really ate candies that often and wanted to give them a try too. As for the drinks, Aki got them the usual soft drinks and several nice looking juices, and finally, they paid the money and left the convenience store, now fully prepared for the nights that awaited them.
"Alright people, cough up." Aki said as they left the store, and each of them handed him the money as he paid for everything first. After giving Aki the money they owed him, the eight headed back for the ryokan. They were all looking forward to dinner. The on-snow activities they did for the whole day left their bodies quite exhausted and hungry, and it was around six now, so they were just in time for the start of the dinner of the night.
The eight entered the ryokan, and, taking off their shoes again, headed back to their rooms to put down their bags and things they bought just now. "Aight!! Dinner time!!" Hinata said happily once they all met up again outside their room. "What's the food here like?" Emilia asked as they started walking toward the dining area of the ryokan. "Definitely good, I can tell you that!" Subaru said, laughing. "Yes, we've worked that out ourselves as well, Betty supposes." Beatrice said, rolling her eyes, and the others laugh. "What did you want me to say then? I haven't eaten here before!" Subaru said in defense of his previous statement.
"Well then, let's wait and see what they have! Subaru and I got the information about the food ready but we'll save that for later!" Hinata said cheerfully, and soon, they arrived at the dining area which just began their service a while ago. Not a lot people were here yet, so they had almost all of the seats to choose from. Taking out the meal vouchers that came together with the ticket envelope, Subaru handed the worker them, and the worker lead them in. Seeing that they were an eight-people group, she lead them to a long table with four seats on each side.
The eight arrived at the table and sat down. On the left side of the table sat Emilia, Subaru, Rem, and Ram, and across them sat Beatrice, Hinata, Aki, and Haruka. Seeing that they were all seated, the work started introducing the dinner provided tonight to them. The food provided in Naraya was set, and the style of the food was the famous Kaiseki ryōri, a traditional Japanese cuisine with multiple courses. After the worker finished the introduction and left, Subaru and Hinata spent a few more minutes explaining to the girls what Kaiseki ryōri was and what kind of food was provided.
"Like you just heard, there are ten courses for tonight, which is typical for Kaiseki ryōri. And you ask what Kaiseki ryōri is? It's a multi-course, traditional Japanese cuisine. It usually has around ten courses, give or take one or two, and in our case, we have exactly ten. But don't get intimidated by the number of courses provided. Each of the courses is actually light and delicate. We'll tell you what each one is one by one." Subaru said, and turning to Hinata and nodding, he started of the small lesson on Kaiseki ryōri.
"There are ten courses as I mentioned just now, and today, the first of the ten is Sakizuke, an appetizer." Subaru came to a pause, and Hinata continued on part two. "The next one is Owan, the soup." He said. "Next, Hassun, which sets the seasonal theme and is usually sushi with several smaller side dishes." Back to Subaru again. "The fourth is Mukōzuke, fresh sashimi."
"Then, it's Shiizakana, usually roasted beef."
"Next is Nimono, simmered foods, typically delivered to you in lidded bowls."
"The seventh, Nabemono, a hotpot."
"And then we have Meshimono, the rice."
"Second to last, Tomewan, a miso-based soup served with rice."
"And last but not least, Mizugashi, a seasonal dessert, may be fruits, ice creams, or cakes." Hinata said at last, coming to the last course of the meal tonight.
The girls and Aki and Haruka all gave them a round of applause as the two bowed their heads and hi-fived. "That was very interesting!! Thanks for yet another good lesson!!" Emilia said, fascinated by the traditional Japanese cuisine, and Rem nodded. "Hai, Subaru-kun, Natsuno-san! Thank you for the lecture! Rem wants to try it next time she cooks!!" Rem said determinedly, and Subaru laughed. "I'll be looking forward to it!" He said, patting her on the head. "Betty supposes cuisines such as Kaiseki ryōri are very popular in Japan, right? Why didn't you bring us to any restaurants that provide it? Didn't you say we get to eat all kinds of food in the gourmet street?? Unbelievable, in fact!" Beatrice said, and Ram nodded.
"Ram agrees, Beatrice-sama. Barusu is either too stupid to remember telling us this or neglected it again as he did to many other things." Ram said, her eyes moving to Subaru. "Okay, first thing first, Kaiseki ryōri is freaking expensive!!" Subaru said, throwing the same look now on Ram's face back at her. "Secondly, I didn't neglect it! It's just that, unfortunately, there are no Kaiseki ryōri restaurants on the gourmet street, or I'd bring you there if, uh, my wallet says yes." Subaru said, and Ram let out her iconic 'ha'. "And you call that street the gourmet street when it misses out on this traditional Japanese cuisine." Ram said, folding her arms.
"Yeah yeah whatever. Put away your inflating attitude, the food is coming." Subaru said as he saw the workers walking toward them with trays in their hands. Soon, their food was served, and their meal finally began. The food was, as expected, very well made. Everyone was amazed by the appearances and deliciousness of the food, and even Rem, the best at cooking here, was constantly giving compliments as they ate. The plates and bowls used to carry the food were very delicate as well, all giving off a strong sense of Japanese culture. About forty minutes later, the dinner was finished, and everyone was very satisfied. Thanking the worker as they left the dining area, the eight headed back to their rooms for a rest since it was better to go in the onsen at least half an hour after a meal.
"Ahhhh... the futon feels great..." Aki said, falling down on the futon that was previously made, letting out a long sigh of relief. "Don't get too comfortable or you'll fall asleep." Hinata said, chuckling, sitting down as well. "Ah it's fine. Oh, throw me the gums. It's in the bag by your foot." Aki said, and Hinata reached his hand in the bag and pulled out a bag of mint flavored gums. "Thanks," Aki said as he caught the gums thrown to him. "Yo, let's try the yukata on." Subaru said, pulling open the drawers in which four sets of yukata in plastic bags were placed.
"Oh yeah, almost forgot." Hinata said, getting up and taking one set for himself and throwing another at Aki. "Thanks again." Aki said again, catching the clothes. "I'll give the last set to the girls. They're still one short." Subaru said as he picked up the last set in the drawer and left the room. The girls' room was next to theirs, so he just put his foot at the door to his room, preventing it from closing, and knocked on the girls' door.
"Coming," He heard Emilia's voice answer as the door opened. "Yo, Emilia-tan. Here to deliver to you our extra yukata." Subaru said, handing her the clothes. "Ah, thank you, Subaru. Tsuyumi-san was just about to show us how to wear it." Emilia said, thanking him and taking the plastic bag from his hands. "Great! I'll be looking forward to see Rem and you in it!" He said, laughing. "Oh, tell Bea-ko not to worry if the yukata is too big for her. I'll go ask for one in kids' size at the counter!" Subaru said as he gave Emilia a thumbs-up, and she giggled.
"Betty heard you!!" Beatrice's annoyed voice said as a slipper flew over Emilia's left shoulder and hit Subaru in the face. "Looks like your message is already delivered, Subaru." Emilia said, covering her mouth and giggling again. "Itetete... that was quite a nice shot... damn you Bea-ko... anyways, I'll see you all in half an hour!!" Subaru said, rubbing his nose where it got hit, and Emilia nodded. "Mn, see you later, Subaru." She said and closed the door, and Subaru returned to his room.
"Ay, not bad." Subaru said after closing the door and seeing Hinata in yukata, and Hinata grinned back. "Alright, I'll get changed as well." Subaru said, reaching for his set. A few minutes later, he was in the yukata, looking at himself in the mirror. The yukata provided there was white with indigo linings and check design. The obi, that is to say the belt, placed around the waist was the same indigo as the linings on the yukata. Also, in the closet, haoris in tawny color were provided in case it was too cold to just wear the yukata. However, for the moment, they were just going to use the onsen in the ryokan, so wearing the haori was unnecessary.
"Man, I look quite good, don't I?" Subaru said, squinting at his own reflection in the mirror. "The yukata, yes," Hinata said, and Aki got up, walking to them. "The guy in it? Not really." He finished the sentence, and Hinata burst into laughing. "Ah shut up." Subaru said, rolling his eyes. "Aki you'd better get changed now too, or we'll all have to wait for you when we go." Hinata said. "Yeah, you're right." He said and grabbed his set and started changing. Subaru looked away from the mirror to Hinata.
His figure was more similar to Subaru, so the way he looked in the yukata shouldn't be too different from him, however, Subaru just felt that something was odd when looking at him in the yukata. "Not being rude here, you look nice in the yukata, but something kinda feels off." Subaru said, and Hinata laughed. "I know right?? I think it's probably because of the hair. I got my mom's blond hair." He said, looking up and running his fingers through his blond hair.
"Alright, I'm done." Aki said as he finished changing, and the two turned to him. Aki, with his height nearing 190, seemed to be a bit too tall for the yukata. The sleeves were halfway up his forearms and a lot more of his legs were showing than Subaru and Hinata, but the gap somehow fitted him alright, making him look rather wild. "That looks a bit too small for you, doesn't it?" Hinata said, and Aki shrugged. "I think it's fine. Probably because I'm pretty slim for my height, it doesn't feel too tight around my shoulders." He said, turning his arms around and twisting his body.
"Well guess it's fine if you say so. But you can go change it at the counter if it turns out too small in the end." Subaru said, and Aki gave him a thumbs-up. The three chatted for a bit longer before Subaru stood up and looked over to the door. "Wonder if they're done. I'll go have a look." Subaru said, taking a step toward the door, but the next second Hinata and Aki both reached out a hand and took hold of his ankle and wrist. "Not so fast you perv." The two said in unison. "The heck are you two on about I--" And he realized how wrong what he just said sounded.
"Oh shit that wasn't what I meant--" Subaru spluttered, trying to get rid of the two's grips. "You know what I was saying!! They're foreigners and all that-- LET GO OF MEEEEE!!!" He screamed and tugged harder but to no avail. Just as Subaru was about to scream again, someone knocked on the door. "Subaru-kun, are you all changed? We are ready now. May Rem and the others come in?" Rem's voice said from the other side of the door, and Subaru and the two stared at one another for another second, and they let go of him and Subaru hurried to answer the door.
"Yeah we're finished! Just a moment." Subaru called as he pointed his middle finger at the two snickering on the tatami. "Come in." He said as he pulled opened the door, and in came the five girls, all in yukata now. "How does Rem look, Subaru-kun?" Rem asked, turning red immediately as she saw Subaru ver. yukata. Smiling, she turned around in a circle, showing him the yukata. Although what the girls were wearing were exactly the same as what they were wearing, Subaru couldn't help but held his breath. The yukata, a type of clothes that wrapped tighter around the body, made the curves of the girls' bodies stand out perfectly. The color of the yukata, though being one of the most basic colors, fitted the girls very well too.
"Yukata saikoooooooo!!!" Subaru shouted, punching his fists in the air, turning a bit red as well. "Mou, Subaru, saying weird things again." Emilia said, smiling as well. "I suppose we look fine in these? I've always wanted to try some Kararagi styled clothes. This is a nice change." She said, and luckily, Haruka was walking toward Aki and didn't hear her, and neither did Hinata and Aki. "Barusu, just this time, Ram allows you to admire her good looks in yukata. But please exercise some control over your heavy breathing, it's starting to get on Ram's nerves." Ram said. "The hell are you talking about heavy breathing?!" Subaru said, his head snapping to her.
"And do something with that drool of yours too." Ram added. "I wasn't drooling!!!" Subaru shouted. "It's alright, Subaru-kun. Rem understands." She said, walking to him and wrapping her arms around his. "Understand what????" Subaru shouted again. "Oh, Natsuno-san and Kouyou-san are in yukata as well. You two look nice too." Emilia said, walking around Subaru and looking at Hinata and Aki, the latter now arguing with Haruka. Beatrice was standing a bit behind her, trying to shield herself.
"Bea-ko, why're you hiding behind Emilia-tan? It's alright, just come out already. We won't laugh." Subaru said, trying to look around Emilia at Beatrice, who was still trying to hide herself. "Hora, Beatrice, come on out now. Don't worry." Emilia said encouragingly at Beatrice, who finally walked around her, her arms folded and her face slightly red. "You two! Stop treating Betty like a child, Betty supposes!! How annoying, in fact!" Beatrice said crossly. Finally seeing her, Subaru immediately knew why she was trying to hide herself.
"Well, you can always go ask for a smaller one if you think it's too big, you know?" Subaru said, suppressing a laugh. Beatrice's yukata was indeed a bit too big for her, and her sleeves were rolled up several times, and the hangings of the yukata was already touching the floor. "Urusai kashira, omae!" Beatrice shouted, turning away. Laughing, Subaru, with Rem still clinging to him, turned around at Aki and Haruka, who were still arguing.
"What is it this time?" He asked, and Hinata laughed. "You just listen." He said. "Don't make me repeat it again!! Go cover up your front you shameless idiot!" Haruka shouted, pointing at Aki's chest, which was half opened. "Ah cut it out will you? It's not like I'm bothering anyone!" He fired back. "Oh yeah? Tell you what! Not everyone wants to look at your filthy chest!! Mind you, there are five ladies here!!" She shouted. "Hm, that's odd. Why do I only see four?" Aki said, his eyebrow raised.
"Oh screw you!" Haruka growled with steam bursting out her ears. "Well he's not wrong, seeing that Bea-ko is still a loli--" And there came a hard jab at Subaru's right side. "You just don't know when to keep your mouth shut, Barusu." Ram said, sighing. "Anyways! Just freaking cover that up, will you??" Haruka shouted again, and Aki stuck out his tongue at her. "Can't do. The yukata is one size smaller for me and closing it up makes it hard to breath."
"THEN JUST FREAKING GO ASK FOR A BIGGER ONE!!!!" Haruka shouted and swung her leg at him.
Laughing, Hinata got up and put a hand on Subaru's shoulder. "You good?? I think we can get going now." He said, and Subaru, recovering from the stinging pain on his right side, straightened back up and gave him a thumbs-up. "Alright, let's go, minna!" Hinata said cheerfully, walking to the door and pulling it open for them. "By the way, you look good in yukata, Beatrice-san." He said as Beatrice walked past him. The expression on her face softened a little bit, and she nodded at him and walked out the room. "We're going for Hana no Yu. You two just catch up whenever you're finished, yeah?" Subaru said, taking one last look at the two now throwing punches at each other, and left the room with Hinata and the girls.
The group headed for the outdoor onsen, Hana no Yu, and soon, they arrived at the entrance and headed to different directions. "I'll see you in a bit." Subaru said to the girls, who waved and walked to the women's entrance. Subaru and Hinata entered through the men's entrance as well. "Oh, you caught up alright." Subaru heard Hinata said as he took off the yukata again. "That damn female Machamp...!!!" He growled and started taking off his yukata too. "Ah cheer up already." Hinata said, laughing.
The three finished undressing and wrapped a towel around their waists and headed to the onsen. "Nice, lucky us! No one is here yet!" Subaru said, glad to find out that no one was there to share the onsen with them. Excited, the three went to wash their bodies first. "Woooo, it's already feeling pretty good here." Hinata said as he turned on the tap, filled his wooden bucket with hot water, and poured it down his head. "Yeah, the water is onsen water too, after all." Subaru said, doing the same.
A few more minutes later, their bodies were washed, and grabbing their towels, the three walked to the onsen. Putting their foot in first, they checked the water temperature. It was hot yet comfortable. Stepping in, the three sat down at the edge and poured some water onto their chest, and finally, they moved into the water. "Ahhhhhhhh......." The three said in union. All the strength left their bodies as they let their bodies sink deeper into the hot water. Subaru let his body go down in the water all the way until only his head was above the water and rested his head on the edge of the onsen bath.
"Maaaaaaan this feels great..." He said weakly as he soaked his towel in the hot water, folded it, and put it over his head. "Thank you so much, Subaru's Mom and Dad... we owe you a big one for giving us the tickets..." Hinata said, reaching his hands up and stretching his muscles. On his right side, Aki didn't let his body sink as deeply into the water as Subaru. His shoulders were still above the water, but he had his arms stretched out widely on the edge of the onsen bath, looking very relaxed and satisfied. "Don't know how the girls are doing..." Subaru thought, but the thought was pushed out his head as the three all let out another long and relaxed sigh as they all emptied their minds of everything, just focusing on enjoying the hot water they were in now as much as possible.
On the other side, the girls were just walking out the changing room and about to go wash their bodies. "Great, no one's here. We have the onsen all to ourselves." Ram said, looking satisfied that they were the only ones there. "Eto, we wash our bodies first, just like when we go to a public bathhouse, right?" Emilia said, and Haruka nodded. The girls all walked to the showering area and turned on the taps. Hot onsen water flowed out, filling up the buckets they put below the taps.
"Okay, since Natsuki and Natsuno aren't here, that leaves it to me to tell you something about the onsen." Haruka said. "The onsen here is from the source called Shirahata. The water is closely monitored by the workers here. After being collected from the source, the onsen was then stored in a place called Yugoya, where the water would be cooled down from 55 degrees Celsius to 45 degree Celsius. And finally, the water in the onsen bath would be kept at 42 degrees Celsius, the perfect temperature for people to enjoy." Haruka said as the girls washed themselves.
"So the water isn't directly poured into the onsen bath?" Emilia asked, pouring water down her head. "Nope, it's very carefully processed. There are two people whose job is to keep the water at its best state. They're called Yumori by the way." Haruka said, and Emilia nodded again. "Tsuyumi-san, is there anything special about the onsen here?" Rem asked. "Yes there is, Rem-san. The water here has the effects of easing pain from various illnesses, as well as dissipating fatigue and muscle soreness. Oh, it also helps improve skin condition, so it's also pretty famous for skincare." Haruka finished explaining, and Rem nodded again, give her a small applause of appreciation.
"Alright, now we're all washed, time for the best part!" Haruka said, smiling, and the five grabbed their towels and got up, walking toward the onsen. Fixing her hair up into a casual high bun and dipping her toe in the water to check the temperature, Emilia was the first one to enter the onsen. As soon as she put her right foot in, a surprised look spread across her face. The other girls followed as well, stepping into the water slowly, and one by one, they sat down at the edge, pouring water on themselves just a the guys did, and finally, they all sat down in the onsen that was steaming constantly.
"Haaaaa........." They all had a rather similar reaction with the guys, sinking their bodies in the hot water and resting their heads on the edge. "This is amazing... Nee-sama..." Rem said in a relaxed voice, her eyes closed in enjoyment of the onsen. "Agreed, Rem... This is just so good..." Ram replied in the same relaxed voice. "Ha..... Betty wishes Nii-cha is here..." Beatrice muttered with a dreamy look on her face. "Yeah... your nii... Your nii-chan!?!?!" Haruka's head jolted up a few seconds later. Their brain functions were now half a beat slower as they all let the strength in their body leave them in the hot water.
"A-Ah! That's just our, um, pet cat, yes!" Emilia said, hastily, covering up for Beatrice. "Oh, okay, haha..." Haruka said, letting herself slide back into the water. The five remained silent for a few more seconds. "Haaaaaaaa........" They all let out another long sigh as they, just like the guys, emptied their minds of all thoughts, enjoying the onsen that was curing their bodies of all tiredness and soreness.
They just sat in the water in silence like that for the next five minutes, looking up at the dark sky, thinking nothing but the relaxing onsen. A while later, they heard another group of people entering and talking. They didn't spare them much attention and only vaguely registered that someone else was about to join them. The newcomers showered themselves as well, and a few minutes later, they walked toward the onsen bath as well.
Emilia moved a bit toward Rem to allow the newcomers a wider entrance into the onsen. "Ojamashimasu~~~" They said, and hearing those voices, the girls all looked toward them. "Ara, Shiori-san?" Ram asked, recognizing the girl now stepping into the onsen. "Hai?" Shiori reacted instinctively when she heard her name being called, and it took her a few more seconds to register who called her. "Eh? Ram-san??" Shiori exclaimed, and the girls behind her all exclaimed as well.
"What? Ram-chan? So that means..." Nico's voice said as she looked around and immediately spotted the people she was looking for. "Rem-chan!" Nico said with a happy look on her face. "Emilia-san is here too!" Kotoha said, surprised as well. "And Beatrice-san too!" Yui said in the same surprised voice. "W-Wow, Tsuyumi-senpai as well." Aya, the last in the group, said at last, and hearing that, all five's heads turned to Haruka. "K-Konbanwa, senpai..." The five said together, a bit embarrassed that they spotted their senpai the last and forgot their manners.
"Iya iya iya, it's fine, no need to get so tensed, haha." Haruka said, laughing, and the five's expressions softened. "What a coincidence to meet you here, minna." Emilia said, smiling. "Are you all here on an onsen trip as well?" She asked, and Shiori nodded. "Yeah, we are. Today's our second day." She answered. "Oh, is that so? We just got here today and spent the whole afternoon skiing and snowboarding." Rem said. "Ahhhh I knew we should've gone there! We could've joined you too!" Kotoha said, sighing.
"Aw it's okay, Kotoha-chan. We got to meet them here, didn't we??" Nico said. "Are N-Natsuki-senpai, Natsun-senpai, and Kouyou-senpai w-with you too?" Aya asked. "Eh? How did you know?" Emilia asked, surprised that she knew who they were with. "Well, isn't that obvious?" Yui said, smiling. "Mind telling us what you did today? I'm curious." Shiori said as the five moved closer to Emilia and the others. However, just as they moved closer and the steam cleared out a little bit, they were able to see them more clearly. And as the their outlines became clearer, their five classmates' eyes all fell upon Emilia and Rem's fronts.
"DEKAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" They all shouted in unison before any of them could start talking. With the encounter with their five classmates, the night seemed to be going toward a rather exciting direction, the girls all thought.
A/N: Alright, another chap done!!! I think we'll hit 40 in this update I got so much more stuff to write XDDD Anyways thanks for reading and moving on to chapter 39!!!