Travelling to far-off regions in order to spread good will and stem the tide of violence in the age of warring states was good for the heart and soul, but not so much for a young lady's skin. That was the rationale Rushuna used in order to go several miles out of their way to stop at a rustic old bath house, anyway, but Yajirou knew better than to get between his well-endowed companion and her indulgences. That wouldn't stop him from complaining about it, however.
"You know, we could just keep following the main road and be in town by sundown. I'm sure they have baths there. Not to mention beds. And hot food."
Rushuna just smiled, however, and tugged at her neckline to let her cavernous cleavage breathe. "Sure, but what's the hurry? We can spend the night and won't be so dirty and sweaty when we do reach town. Besides, I've heard the bathwater in this region was really something special!"
"And don't go thinking you can do anything perverted just because we're out in the middle of nowhere, either," Mikan piped in, making a vein in Yajirou's forehead start throbbing.
"Like I ever have so far!" Rubbing his forehead, the swordsman sighed and asked, "Okay, so if this bath is so special, why is it all the way out in the backroads instead of somewhere civilized?"
Rushuna hmmmed and tapped her cheek in thought. "Well, the way I heard it, the water came from what the locals called the Divine Spring. They would bathe in it for health, strength and prosperity. But then one day, a gang of bandits showed up. The people were strong enough to drive away the bandits whenever they came around, thanks to the blessing of the Divine Spring, so they didn't have anything to fear. The bandit leader was jealous and angry, though, so he sneaked in one night under cover of darkness and planted a bomb right at the source of the water, sealing it up! After that, without the blessing of the spring, the villagers slowly weakened and grew sick until they were targets for the bandits. Eventually, they drifted away and abandoned the area, believing they'd been cursed by the spirit of the spring."
"Wow. That's some story," Yajirou replied. Then his eyebrow arched at Rushuna. "But even if it's true, wouldn't that mean the water's sealed off?"
This made Rushuna laugh softly, looking a little embarassed as she held up two pickaxes. "Well, that's why I picked these up at that last town!"
"So instead of taking an extra hour or two to get to a town with a bath, you go off on a side trip to an abandoned bath house that may or may not actually have any water at all?"
"I guess it is kind of inconvenient. Hehe! Well, think of it as an adventure," Rushuna said as her companion just sighed to himself. It was going to be a long couple of days, he could tell.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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