Hot Springs and Ryokan

[battymynameis]

Guess what, y'all. It's time for a field trip. We're heading to a Hot Springs and an Inn for the weekend, and everyone is invited. This place is huge, and has multiple springs both indoor and out. There's separate bathing, mixed, and even a spot for foreigners and prudes who like to keep their swimsuits on. Table tennis? Got it. Room service? You bet. Massages? Possibly. Ghosts? Maybe.

1. Hot springs: after you rinse off come take a relaxing bath. There are multiple options as to what kind of bathing environment you can have, so please choose wisely. Also, please read the signs. None of the springs will kill you, but if you choose the wrong one you might end up with some... adverse effects. Cursed springs might just be a Thing.

2. The Inn: you'll be here for a few nights so find your rooming buddy and get friendly. Whether bonding over food, games, or even just exploring the place there's certainly something you can find to occupy yourself. Just don't be too curious after curfew. The staff are pretty insistent, but they aren't cops so responsibility for your actions are your own.

Comments

[shieldher]

Just remember that I feel the same way.

[Like Ritsuka ever unloads on anyone. But that's the point, isn't it? Mash gets so easily caught up these days in unloading the fact that Ritsuka doesn't unload on her, and it's a mess. But if even that can help some . . . that might be the way forward after all. Ritsuka just isn't the type to deal with things in the same way. It's hard to navigate, but they're learning; Mash wants to learn. Even if it takes the rest of their lives.

That's a nicely romantic thought to have as they lean together, faces close, staring out at the pleasantly cool and starry night.]

I want you to feel like you can tell me anything. But . . . I can wait.

[fujimaru]

Thanks. For being patient.

[ Ritsuka knows herself: she's nowhere near the level of closed-off wariness that plagues a lot of people she knows, but she's also not the most forthcoming. Some of that is just not thinking of her experiences as worth bringing up, some of that is not being aware of her own troubles until they've percolated too dark and deep, and some of it is just... flat-out not being the best at speaking her feelings all the time.

But if Mash says she can wait, then Ritsuka trusts that. ]

I promise I'll tell you, when I can.

[shieldher]

. . . Thank you.

[It means a lot. Mash may not know everything, or even close to everything, about Ritsuka yet, but she does know this about her: that this is a thing that's hard for her for whatever reason. It's hard for Mash sometimes, too. But no matter what, she trusts Ritsuka isn't just putting her off on this, either. It's a process for both of them.

She leans harder, less shy in it than she was.]