The Hot Springs Episode (Female Social)

Haah, the hot springs!

Truly, from pauper to prince, this place was the quintessential center for relaxation. Sure, there were nicer and poorer versions that popped up every once in a while, perhaps some with luxury spa treatments, or some with shoddy walls that had peepholes, but no matter what the quality was, the essence of the hot spring was uniform.

Warm pool, naked people, and some good ol' fashioned relaxation. For the modern day kunoichi, whose schedules were incredibly tight between not dying on the field and trying to maintain a social life, the hot springs were usually a quick way to get an actual bath in, calm the mind, and maintain a sense of humanity. Three birds in one stone, that's efficiency!

And the best part was that, if you were a serving ninja of Kumogakure, you got into certain hot springs for free. Usually as thanks for saving an owner's life or something of the sort — but Baruga had an inkling that it was more because shinobi were the rowdy sort who could incur property damage or start a ruckus if they were barred by something as abstract as extravagant pricing. As a kunoichi, she understands the necessity of incentivizing not getting kicked out of places like these, but as a penny-pinching bourgeoisie, she's just happy to be here for free.

Hence, why Baruga was currently melting into the pool, letting the stress dissipate from her muscles as she let her hair down. Thank goodness for small mercies, she was alone at the moment, but there was no doubt in her mind that some other people would start showing up. She'd just gotten lucky in terms of timing, most likely.

Looking around, the hot springs were fairly simple in terms of setup. The usual warm, soothing water in a pool of smooth stone, with some flat rocks to sit on at the bottom. A waterfall at the far end, some greenery, and, most of all, high bamboo walls to stop peeping!

Baruga glared at the singular tree that was allowed to grow near the outer wall, but eh. There's probably nobody in it. Probably.

---

WC: 358

The past few weeks had been overflowing with the overwhelming urge to pursue training and conditioning for her upcoming mission. It would be her very first hunter mission, and it could easily be the last mission she ever did if the kunoichi didn't make it out alive. Meika was determined to execute the mission. Such a success would bring her triumph, and for once the raven haired lass would feel like she was actually moving forward.

But today was a different kind of day. Instead of pushing herself to discipline, the Kamigawa was going to take the day off to relax. Because there were benefits when it comes to changing routine. Many would believe that training every day is the path as a ninja, but Meika believed there was more than just that. Yes she did spend the majority of her time doing just that, but the kunoichi also allowed herself to be free. Too much freedom though would in all probability get her in major trouble.

Enough of all of that. It was time to go to the hot springs, Yes! Kumogakure was lovely in all of it's aspects. Being here almost made Meika forget about her life in Sunagakure. The mountains here where a sight to behold and Kumogakure where known for it's luxury of hot springs. To make it even better, the entry to the springs were free!

Meika had made it within the bamboo walls that surrounded the springs. She had her raven hair pinned up in a simple, yet elegant, kanzashi. The ornament pin was golden in color, with a short string of beads dangling from it's end. Silly as it may seem, Meika was the type that didn't like getting her hair wet.

Her eyes wandered over to the springs. The fact that another woman was already soaking within it's healing waters was a surprise to her. Of course, Meika was aware that the springs was open to the public. It was just the fact that she was unacquainted with this lass. Within these walls the kunoichi seemed to be low in numbers. There was only one other that she knew of.

Meika shifted her eyes to the edge of the pool as she escorted herself to the water. "I apologize if I've became an intrusion. This is my first time coming to this spring." Meika spoke truthfully. The last time she had a wonderous bath, she was sorta trespassing. If the woman didn't complain about her company, Meika would continue with letting her robe slip from her shoulders. The Kamigawa wanted to think she was accustomed to being comfortable enough around others. This was no where near as nerve racking as to when the Deputy found her within the Raikage's splendid bathhouse.

As her robe was discarded and folded to the side, the raven lass would finally sink into the warming waters of the hot spring. The waterfall off to the end was generous as the flowing water gifted her with serotonin. Meika felt her body relax and heal from all the training she's endured to this point. Her shoulders just barely visible above the water and the head of her dragon tattoo seemed to shift with the ripples of the spring's surface. {WC: 540}
{Claiming the 6th Christmas Calender}

Oooaaah! Girl with tattoo! Attractive girl with really cool tattoo! It's a dragon, that's so cool!

Wait. Baruga needed to get herself together, or she'd be hauled out of these hot springs faster than a Replacement Technique. Sure, this — incredibly attractive kunoichi — had muscles like pow and a really cool tattoo, but Baruga was a professional genin. Kinda-sorta. Though, come to think of it, she didn't usually come face-to-face with other kunoichi, especially in Kumogakure, but maybe that was just a population thing.

In any case, Baruga made especially sure not to show any of her internal bisexual struggle, and instead gave a confident smirk and a scoff at the 'intrusion'.

"Oh, no, go ahead. Not like I own this place."

Financially speaking, she totally could, but that was besides the point. In any case, Baruga cleared her throat and mussed up her bangs to look kind of nice, because this was a very attractive person in front of her. Alright, Ryoinsatsu, look smooth, look smooth... Resting her arms and shoulders on the stone behind her, Baruga stayed cool as a cucumber, watching respectfully as the newcomer discarded her robe finally and entered the waters with her.

Hoo, that tattoo was cool. Baruga mentally smacked herself out of her fixation and blew some hair out of her eyes, annoyance and secondhand embarassment flashing over her face before she pulled herself together for the umpteenth time in the past few moments.

"My name's Baruga. You come here often? I don't usually see other girls sometimes, but, y'know," she chuckles, down atrocious, "I guess that's, like, how it just works out."

---

WC: 271
TWC: 629

The healing water was merciless as it coaxed her body to full relaxation. She was thankful that the other woman had not offered up a complaint. 

After sinking into the - oh so welcoming - water, The Kamigawa allowed herself to peruse the other woman. She had to be honest, the lass was the exact opposite of the other kunoichi she had met within Kumogakure. 

The other kunoichi she knew possessed many scars that engraved her body. A permanent reminder of the hardships that the woman had faced within her past. Even outside of battle, that woman easily presents herself with the composure of a skilled warrior. One with brute strength.

Meika’s lips smiled as she expressed some amusement. 

This woman was much different than Enyo. Her demeanor was less intimidating, which was seen as a good thing to the Kamigawa. That made it easier for her to relax and enjoy herself. 

Her hair was the color of chestnut, rich and vibrant underneath the sun’s radiance. That thought appeared within Meika’s mind as the woman rested her onto the rocks behind her. She couldn’t help but notice the way the girl had tousled with her own bangs. 

Hopefully Meika wasn’t making her nervous. 

With a sign of pure bliss, Meika also eased herself back against the smooth rock. “Baruga~ It’s a pleasure.” Meika had a habit of repeating one’s name for the first time after hearing it. “I’m Meika. Honestly speaking I haven’t found my way to the springs until now. They don’t have this type of luxury where I’m from.” 

For a split second, Meika could have sworn that the look of embarrassment had flashed upon the brunette’s face before she had introduced herself. But maybe she had imagined it. 

By now the heat was definitely taking advantage of the Kamigawa, causing her cheeks to become flushed with color. “There are a few others within these walls, but not many seem interested in time off. Hard driven I would say.”  Meika let’s her lashes rest against her cheeks for a moment. “I don’t imagine those girl’s ever spent time here.” 

{WC: 349 | TWC: 889}

Oooh, Meika. That's a pretty name, too.

"Yeah, nice to meet you! Sometimes the hot springs can be kind of intimidating for some people, especially if they're not used to luxury bathing like this, but I think it's totally great. I mean, it beats having a single hand pump well for an entire village town, don't you?"

Baruga laughed that last bit off, memories of a side-town near one of her missions coming to mind. They had some great taijutsu specialists living there, but man, that town was dirt poor. At least Baruga felt like she had helped out, what with getting rid of the local mafia among other things. However, she's digressing. Letting herself stretch her arms over her head, Baruga moaned as her spine cracked. Hoo, yeah, that's the spot.

"Hup! Hoo... Yeah, totes. Seems like Kumogakure's big on the whole military tradition."

Baruga relaxed, rolling her eyes and talking with her hands. It was easier to relax when she focused on something that wasn't the attractive lady in front of her, yeah?

"I mean, great for my dad's hold on his position and dynasty and all — it's good to have a ninja village that's focused on military strength to keep the nation strong — but, like, literally nobody ever... takes a break, physically or mentally. I work out seven days a week, and that's considered lax by our standards. Seriously."

Baruga snorted, giving the other woman a smirk as she sunk back into the water.

"It's a wonder that most of these places haven't gone bankrupt. Must be people like us keeping 'em afloat, huh? But that's business."

The brunette leaned in conspiratorially, her eyes shifting around in a faux-attempt to look for eavesdroppers.

"What's got you here, huh? Rough week saving princesses? Assassination gone wrong? Pulled a tendon doing a backflip? You seem like a chuunin at least, maybe even a jonin."

---

WC: 317
TWC: 1206

Meika would have to agree with the woman. She herself didn't usually take the time to relax, especially since the last time got her in trouble. The lass seemed to easily get herself in bad situations.

At that this time everything seemed to be going well, and she was able to meet a very high spirited woman on top of that.

Her shoulders rolled back for a moment. Stretching the muscles and releasing a good pop. This spring was doing her in! It was nice to actually be able to spend the time becoming acquainted with another woman and her interesting stories.

"When I first came here to this village, I heard a lot of rumors that Kumogakure used to be even more brutal than this." Meika expressed some of the gossip she had caught from the villagers, "One of our past Raikages was apparently a real brute."

To Meika that made her hope that this village was armed with worthy shinobi. She had seen a few of them, and they did not disappoint her expectations on how a skilled shinobi should display themselves. But only a few was able to demonstrate their skills to the lass. Allowing her to see where she needed to try and meet.

Thinking on that caused her to wonder about the umber haired girl in front of her. What was her specialty? Meika was always the curious type.

"I wouldn't mind saving a princess," a soft laugh bubbled from her lips as Baruga assumed her rank. "You give me too much praise luv, but I appreciate it. I'm only a genin. I came here to get some time off from all the training I've been doing. There's a mission I'm preparing for that's going to either make-it or break-it for me."

It was no lie. She was readying herself for a deadly objective in hopes of proving her worth. "What about you?"
{WC: 320 | TWC: 1,202}

Baruga snorted at the mention of the 'old' Kumogakure. In truth, she was of the opinion that those values still lurked underneath the surface, waiting for the next war to break out to really come into full force.

"There's a reason we have a reputation," she supplied evenly, "and I think it'll stick for a while."

In any case, back to nicer topics. Well, more fun topics. Baruga's eyes widened when Meika revealed her actual rank, before nodding in understanding as to the important mission in question. Yeah, that seemed pretty standard. Baruga was gunning for a field promotion, herself, and she figured she'd have to deal with something particularly daunting in order to prove herself.

"Don't worry, if you need a princess to save, I'll be sure to give you a call: you seem way stronger than a genin, after all! I feel that, though. Good luck on your mission: I'm sure all your training will come in handy."

Baruga smirked, giving a mildly self-depreciating snort as she settled back into her seat. As much as Baruga knew she was more than capable as a kunoichi, she was also self-aware. She was rich, beautiful, powerful, but in terms of actual fighting ability? She had a lot to work on.

"I'm a genin, too, but maybe less experienced. I've recently gotten a contract that I think will help me break past the ceiling, so I'm kinda focusing on that for now while honing what I already know. Still need to work out the kinks before I'm ready for a combat situation, I think."

At that, she blinked at her unintentional faux-pas: she had revealed that she had a summoning contract. Eh, whatever, her particular animals weren't going to be exactly subtle: it was going to come out eventually.

"So, what's the story behind the tattoo?"

---

WC: 305
TWC: 1511

Speaking of saving princesses, Meika couldn’t help but visualize that Baruga would be the type of girl that would easily be mistaken for a princess. She held all the qualities of a confident young woman who had all the reasons to be confident. Baruga was optimistic and many other things, no doubt by the looks of it, she must have been from a very well - known family.

So in a way, Baruga could be considered a princess.

Still. . it wasn’t an everyday thing that someone considered the Kamigawa to be ranked higher than what she actually was. Whether the woman was being honest or just trying to be nice, Meika allowed herself to feel amused by her comment. Baruga didn’t seem like the type to be dishonest to merely humble a person anyways.

“If you are ever interested in some combat sparring, I wouldn’t mind going one on one with you. I find it useful to have the opportunity to experience different specialists.”

The raven - haired lass noticed as Baruga mentioned her confidentiality in a contract that she recently obtained. It was no surprise that everyone had a wild card that they depended on the most. Something that was to be defined as their turning point in a battle. Something that had to be perfected, for there was no room for flaws in their line of operation.

Meika too had her own wild card, well to be completely honest the woman had more than one. She found it difficult to rely solemnly on one quality. But that was the thing about contracts. Each individual summon had the opportunities to have many different qualities and specialize in their own path. Meika also had her own contract in mind, but for now she was focused on the transplants that she recently obtained. “I have all the belief that you’ll get it all figured out and perfected. There's a reason why I chose to become a part of this village. Despite its history of brutality, I find beauty in it and the relentless strength of its few ninjas.”

Meika knew she found a love for Kumogakure, even if she didn't originate from here, Meika had developed an unbreaking loyalty for the village within the clouds.

“Ah, the dragon tattoo~” Her silver eyes darkened at the mention of it, but her lips did not break from its grin. She never forgot it was there, but sometimes she did forget that it wasn’t something that others would easily ignore.  Still. . the admiration for tattoos was always appreciated. Meika always found her eyes searching for some sort of marking that told a story, much like her own.

She leaned further back into the warm water. Her shoulder’s rested against the rock surface behind her as she closed her eyes momentarily. “I once had a sensei that had a similar dragon that inked his back. I admired him, and everything he taught me.” Meika allowed her eyelashes to open as she trailed her fingertip along the surface of the water, creating small spirals that broke it. “Maybe it’s due to the legacy of my bloodline that causes it to feel as if he’s still close by. The tattoo was to honor my memory of him.”

Meika raised her eyes back to Baruga. A devious grin broke through her expression. “What about you princess. Do you have some sort of dark mystery? I’d love to pry for it if you allow me.”

"Like I said, I'm sure you'll wipe the floor with me, but I'll shoot my shot."

Baruga shrugged, feeling a slight pit in her stomach at the prospect of fighting someone stronger than her. She quickly grabbed onto that feeling and stomped it down, though. How was she supposed to get anywhere in her career if she was afraid of fights? Especially when there's plenty of people stronger than her. Bah, humbug. Best to focus on the task at hand. Hot spring with hot girl with tattoo, mmm.

Baruga tuned out for a little bit, half-listening to Meika's reflections on Kumogakure's strengths as a village, pondering how she would deal with that sort of thing. Her summons were likely to be her main asset in battle: possibly her primary asset. Her only other tricks up her sleeve were her middling ninjutsu, her status, and her still-classified status as a Ryoinsatsu. Hm. Best save that last one for a life-or-death situation. Maybe train it in secret?

At the mention of the tattoo, her attention snapped back into place, and the princess at hand found herself leaning forward in intrigue. Ah, a good tattoo story was great! ...And as she listened, this one was awesome, all things considered. Totally the stuff of novels and adventure, and Baruga had stars in her eyes by the end of it. All at once, she started blabbering enthusiastically - it sounded somewhat funny, given her usually regal tone of voice.

"Wow, honestly, that's inspirational. I always thought of getting a tattoo myself, but, ah, I could never match up - well, with something like that! Though, if I were to get one, I believe I may opt for a back piece - oh, ahem."

Once the topic changed to Baruga, she flushed in mild embarrassment before pulling herself together and puffing up her pride.

"Well! My mysteries are anticlimactic. It's an open secret that I'm the only child of the Lightning Country daimyo's first wife. My childhood was happy and gay, I assure you. However, I'll do you one better: given the number of people vying for my father's spot, as well as the potential ambitions of some of my siblings, I've happened to overhear some rather incriminating pieces of information out of pure coincidence."

She begun counting on her fingers, a smirk plastered onto her face.

"The council treasurer is gay and does not plan on siring children: it's a whole mess with his assigned wife, so they're thinking of shoving his brother into a monastery and adopting the nephew. The Katagawa head priest has a hit on the Suwako head priest, and everyone knows, but nobody's saying a word. Historically, three couples have fucked on my father's desk within the last three years: and none of them are my parents."

And then, her smirk grew toothy, and there was a very specific sharpness in her eyes.

"And don't get me started on Kumogakure's court ambassador."

---

WC: 488
TWC: 1999

The young Kamigawa woman had been right. Her supposition was now undeniable as Baruga mentioned the status of her father. If it really was an open secret, it was one that Meika had yet to have heard of, until now.

The raven-haired woman propped her elbow up on the wall that her body leaned against, resting her chin against her palm, as she listened to her. Meika’s smirk still remained as she witnessed Baruga’s growing excitement. Her mentioning the history of events that took place upon the surface of her father’s desk caught Meika off guard but was no less amusing than the rest. She couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

The Kumogakure princess definitely knew a lot about the politics that took place here. Which made sense given her father’s royal position. Meika’s time at the hot springs ended up being far more interesting than she had expected. Perhaps she should visit here more often?

“I’ll be honest about this conversation being the highlight of my day. I find it unfortunate that I’m needing to leave. There are a few important errands I need to be done before dusk.” Meika stood from her comfortable spot within the water. Rivulets formed along her body. “I desire to have another day like this sometime, as long as you wouldn’t mind it.” Meika proceeded to give the woman a playing wink before she made her way out of the wondrous spring. Looking forward to the next time the two women happen to run into each other for more gossip.

Meika was interested in running to one of the markets before the day ended. She was running low on ingredients for her meals, no doubt her feline at home was preparing for her demise in the absence of it’s afternoon snack. - Exits -
{ WC: 297 | TWC: 2,073}

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{Claims} 1,000 wc to unlearn 10 points in vigor | 1,000 wc to learn 10 points in speed
Time Dilation A rank (2,073/2,500)