Hori trailed behind the old woman, observing her shriveled features as if fascinated. The hunched back, grey hair and slow pace had her intrigued.
Most of the staff at the Kantei were middle aged workers who were forbidden from talking to the young miss.
Throughout their walk, she was completely quiet. Not knowing how to start a conversation with someone so old.
"W-wow, Haruki-san is quite popular around here." Hori tried saying with such a low volume, not confident in her communication skills.
Luckily, the woman heard and replied.
"Ahh, He sure is. The boy's a looker after all." The sly granny grinned at Hori, making her awkward.
"It's not just his beauty, though." She continued.
"His mother is a really respected law enforcer. It's honestly odd seeing Haruki-kun here so often. I heard his mom lives a little far from here, so it's weird how he frequents us despite the long trek." She blurted information Hori didn't ask for, the old lady was the talkative type.
Hori pondered however. 'I don't remember seeing his mother at the inn in the forest, to be honest, the distance from there to here isn't as far as this grandma illustrates.' she was confused and suspicious at the same time.
They eventually arrived at their destination, surprisingly, it wasn't the public women's bath.
"Ah, ma'am, this is different from what I expected." Hori chimed.
"The public women's bath has some customers now, I take it you're the shy type, so you can do your business in here."
The woman gestured to a clean compact bathroom with a female icon on the door.
Hori's eyes gleamed.
"I don't usually do this but it's alright since yer friends with Haruki-kun. This is the female employees bathroom so you shouldn't worry about anyone interrupting. I'm the only one that uses it." She concluded.
Hori immediately bowed.
"Thank you so much Grandma! I-I honestly wasn't mentally prepared showering with strangers." Hori laughed with relief.
Eguchi-san giggled. "A city girl ain't ya?" The woman teased.
Hori smiled and tilted her head.
"I suppose I am." She responded, genuinely smiling for the first time in a while.
Eguchi-san showed Hori all the necessary things. Bathing supplies and a clean new towel.
Before leaving, Hori abruptly called her back, as if her words stumbled on each other.
"I-i'm so sorry for troubling you further. But could you please help me with something!" She bowed again.
The grandma was intrigued so she stayed to listen to Hori's plea.
The blue haired girl stood back up and fiddled with her fingers. "Y-you see... My clothes are...ehm... ma'am could you please. Ugh this sounds so inappropriate...!" Hori shielded her face in embarrassment but finished what she started.
"Ahem, ma'am could you please remove my clothes?!" She yelled begging with both hands.
"Say what?" The woman must've misheard.
"P-please! It's nothing immoral. It's just... since I found myself wearing this, it's been practically impossible to take it off." Hori admitted with a helpless face.
"Then why'd you put it on kid?" Eguchi-san asked.
"That's the problem, I didn't tho.... please could you just help me? I can't ask anyone else, you're the only woman I know to beg of such a thing." She pleaded once more. Hori was just dying to get out of the costume.
The grandma scratched her grey hair.
"....uhhh..."
She squinted both eyes, seeing Hori doing the puppy dog eyes Haruki did earlier. The kid learned fast.
Eguchi-san hesitated, it was such an odd request. She sighed and reasoned there was nothing wrong with it. 'Teens always get themselves into trouble...now she's saying she just woke up like that? What a half-assed lie.' The woman sighed and gave in.
"Okay, we'll do it here since nobody's around." Eguchi-san said aloud. Ordering Hori to enter the bathroom for privacy.
"Thank you very much!" Hori appreciated, but honestly wasn't sure how they'd do it. 'It's been a serious pain, I couldn't tear it off no matter how hard I tried!' She cursed as she stepped on the wet tile.
Grandma was already on it "It looks really tight, but I think it's made of some kinda tape or something." She commented as she closed the bathroom door, correct infact. The clothes looked like plain tape wrapped over and over on Hori's body. Not exactly a "Cloth" honestly.
Eguchi-san circled Inori, inspecting the fabric that hugged her tightly. Looking intensely as if searching for something.
Hori was embarrassed at first, seeing another person stare hard at her body. But her mind reasoned logically.
'She must be looking for an opening or closing from the myriad of wraps on my body.'
She wasn't wrong. Since the costume looked like wrapped tape, if Eguchi-san could find a starting or ending point, she could simply just unwrap her free by tugging at it.
'However that will be extremely difficult. Who knows how long it'll take?'
Her thoughts were interrupted by an odd feeling at her waist. Eguchi-san had already found the opening, just beside her lower abdomen.
"Got it." She said. Without warning, the old woman dragged it with immense force! Sending Hori spinning like some cartoon character as she was quickly unwrapped in a swift motion.
Her head was dizzy by the time she stopped spinning, trying to maintain balance as her feet stumbled.
The old hag stared at the now free girl. Before her wrinkled face wore a surprised expression. "Do....all cosplayers not wear anything underneath?" The woman asked innocently at Hori who finally maintained balance.
Her fingers brushed her shoulder.
Her eyes dropped.
It was all skin now.
The red hadn't reached her cheeks yet when her body moved on its own.
She crashed into the tub, steam and water closing over her head like a shield.
"Th-thank you very much!" She said with her words bubbling. Eguchi-san simply smiled.
"You can use the red tooth brush over there, it's new...I think."
The woman pointed at a cup that held brushes. She waved and left, granting Hori privacy as she closed the door shut.
Now alone, her flustered mind raced. 'How didn't I reason I'd be naked under that?!' Hori face palmed hard. Her scolding stopped as soon as she fully acknowledged the feeling of water touching her bare skin. "How I've missed this~" she laid more comfortably in the tub, forcing some water to pour out due to her size.
Inori stared at the local ceiling of the bathroom, simply entranced by the bliss she was feeling. It felt as if she were finally at peace. Being fully naked often brought such sensation, especially when one was in the tub.
"Ah, I should shower first!" She told herself before dozing off in the bath, she needed to thoroughly scrub her privates before enjoying a long soak.
"Wait, no. I'll use the toilet first." That made more sense, she needed to relieve herself after 7 days.
Hori nodded twice and stood up, the warm liquid trickling down her smooth shoulder. Now standing in the tub, she brought strands of her long hair to her front, covering her chest.
With her hair swept forward, Hori's back was bare.
Something was wrong....
A bulls head inked in deep black, spread across her skin — from the curve of her shoulders down to her lower back, wide as a brand.
She didn't notice, humming obliviously. The thought of looking behind herself never crossed her mind.
---------------------------------------------------------
After flushing, Hori decided to brush her teeth before showering.
She paused before grabbing the red tooth brush from the 3 she saw. Meticulously cleaning her teeth, spitting in the sink below.
At last she took a shower. The smell of bathing products finally entered her nose, the soothing feel of soap lathered on her skin, her long dark blue hair finally greeted shampoo after a while.
"Ahhh wonderful~~" the experience honestly felt better than a good meal.
To close, she poured warm water on her features, letting out a satisfying moan.
Hori grabbed a towel and wrapped her developing figure. Drying her soaked hair with another piece of cloth. While she did that, she heard a gentle knock on the door. It was Eguchi-san.
The woman simply provided spare clothes for her. It only dawned on Hori, what exactly did she think she was going to wear.
Her appreciation was evident from bowing behind the closed door. Once Eguchi-san had left, Hori peeked outside and quickly grabbed the clothes.
She wore the slightly tight white singlet first, it hugged her chest just right serving as a make-shift bra.
Later putting on a green shirt that clearly wasn't for a girl.
Black plain shorts were also provided which she briskly wore. Feeling strange not wearing underwear beneath such loose clothes.
Finally done with everything, she opened the door, releasing a huge wave of steam from the bathroom. Hori smiled confidently. She no longer reeked of various odors, curious why nobody pointed that out.
Miraculously, she found her way back to the counter. Retracing the steps her and Eguchi-san took to the bathroom.
"Ooooh~ looking good!!"
Haruki complimented Hori with a smirk. He was also done freshening up, spending more time in the sauna than one would normally. His hair rested freely on both shoulders, with a small white towel around his neck
Haruki was dressed in the same clothes he arrived in.
Hori's cheeks flushed as she played with her hair, "Thank you again for treating me to this, Haruki-san." She caught Amane, the attendant and Eguchi-san's son, gazing at her intensely. Freshly cleaned and dressed in his clothes, she exuded a natural beauty that seemed to captivate him.
Haruki clapped both hands to bring him back to earth. Amane immediately snapped out of his trance, speaking enthusiastically to Hori, "I-I hope you enjoyed our services." Hori blinked, replying with a smile, "I did, thank you very much sir!" She bowed, her voice loud and clear this time.
For the first time in 8 days, Hori felt genuine euphoria.... the blissfulness of it all vanished within a second. Incinerated by a deadly explosion.
The hot spring's tranquil surface shattered, unleashing a massive wave of steam into the air.
The springs evaporated instantly, fueled by intense heat. As the explosion's force radiated outward, rocks hurtled in all directions, sending shockwaves through the local streets. Trees swayed violently, and birds took flight, startled by the sudden eruption! A bombing had occurred!
In the aftermath, the area around the hot spring was transformed. Rocks littered the ground. The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and explosives.
The floor was hot against Hori's back. Her clothes were ripped, hanging loose on her curled up frame.
She lifted her head with effort, trying to wave off the pain like it was something she could shoo away.
_Tiiiiiiiiiing~_ — a piercing ring filled her skull, scattering her thoughts before they even formed.
Her forehead bled profusely, it had been pierced by multiple shards of glass. Not deep enough into her skull, but caused various cuts.
She painfully coughed up blood and fluids in her attempt to speak.
'What just happened? I— I can't see...!'
Dust choked the air, smearing her vision. She tried to stand, legs shaking like some fragile object. Just Then she looked down.
Horror slammed into her gut. A shard of wood — as long as her forearm — jutted from Hori's calf, punching a ragged hole straight through flesh.
The sight hit like a blow. Her knees immediately buckled, and she crashed back to the floor.
'M-my leg.' at first there was no pain, her brain was too disoriented. She tried calming down by inhaling deep, but only coughed seriously due to dust and smoke.
'A-an explosion?!'
She began to crawl on the floor, her arms desperately dragged her bleeding body.
Hori's voice cracked as she sobbed, "What's happening... ! W-what now?" Tears streamed down her ash covered face, her body wailing for help like a lost child. The relentless barrage of horrors left her scarred, unable to catch a break.
An eerie silence fell as Hori's wails were cut short by a foreboding sound, the snap of kindling igniting in a furnace, accompanied by a low, menacing growl that seemed to vibrate through the air.
The sky darkened as a colossal shadow descended upon the blemished hot springs.
The wind howled, whipping dust and debris into a frenzy, as if the very air itself was terrified.
Hori covered her head in fear. Trying as much as possible to vanish from existence. In her quivering, a piece of paper fell on her head. Ordinary, white paper. Before she knew it, more pages fell across the entire area, Katsuyama's Streets were filled with it.
With a thunderous roar, perfectly carved wood hinted itself in the fading light. The ground trembled beneath its presence alone as a beast landed on a building mere feets away.
Hori turned slowly, feeling an intense hot gaze burning her back.
An otherworldly voice spoke, unmistakably not human.
"Delicious livestock. Oh the seductive sent of roasted flesh. Yes. Arson is pleased...."
Behold, it was a Chinese-themed dragon, its body intricately crafted from wood, with delicate white paper frills adorning its arms and neck like ethereal fur.
The wingless demon cackled maniacally, its laughter dripping with amusement as it basked in the humans' terror. Hori on the other hand, was frozen in place, her body quivering with fear so intense it vibrated like a plipped guitar string.