The Burnt-Gold Hanamichi

Even Yoshitsune couldn't help but feel guilty when he realized that he'd been the only one of the two of them to peek when it was inappropriate to do so. He gulped and staggered backwards, feeling caught in the act. On the other hand, her reaction wasn't exactly what he expected or frankly, deserved; of all things, she was taking this time to ensure him that she hadn't forsaken the opportunity because she didn't want to see. This was oddly more reassuring to him than it ought to be and caused him to both swell his chest in pride and turn a bit red himself. He was searching for the right way to say "well, if you really want to see it..." when he realized that Hikari was currently concerned with knowing exactly how much he saw.

Yoshitsune knit his eyebrows and covered his mouth with his fist, contemplating deeply. One one hand, he could tell her the truth (which might still be better than what she was thinking, but he wasn't quite sure what she suspected). He could also make up a lie, which seemed easy enough, but now he had the bizarre feeling that he already owed her for getting to see her naked when she had tried so hard to preserve his own dignity. He at least owed it to her to tell her straight... privately. He made certain that no one was coming around the corner to the baths, then took a quick peek into the men's bathroom, and, finding no one, turned back to Hikari with serious eyes. With a captivating gaze, the kind that would be more at home on the stage than in real life, he begged her to listen in and judge her however she needed to. "I saw... your buttocks. You were in the doorway and there was not quite enough steam to cover it, but I quite clearly saw the details of your back, legs, and posterior."

It almost seemed like something to laugh at now rather than be embarrassed about, but he wouldn't stop taking it seriously. Yoshitsune remembered what Hikari had said... She'd honored him with those words, that his manhood would be 'wonderful' to see. He should at least repay the favor. "I-It was something that I greatly wanted to see myself! So you understand how, in the heat of the moment, I did not hesitate," he explained, now sounding like he was mounting a defense again. Thinking back to it was starting to make his nose-bleed again, so he broke eye contact and hid his nose in the black sleeve of his kuroko suit.

The whole scene was silly, but also more than a little ill-timed, given that Yoshitsune really ought to be giving his navi some support right now to lift her morale and possibly refocus her attention on the mission.
Hikari could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she awaited Yoshitsune's answer to what he saw. He wasn't saying anything right away...did he see so much he needed to figure out how to break it to her? Well, it wouldn't be the first time she'd ever been seen naked by a guy, but by someone she'd only met that day? Oh Divina, in your infinite mercy, please get them both out of this before they both died from embarrassment...or at least her. She wasn't sure that the kabuki actor was quite as close to having a stroke as she was.

But she relaxed a bit as he came clean. Just her butt...so it wasn't like he saw all her goods. That was a relief, in an odd way..."Oh, I see...w-well, I hope you found it pleasing..." ...Oddly, she wasn't even slightly upset about the whole thing. She simply hoped that he enjoyed what he saw. Granted, she didn't have the curviest, fullest rear, but she thought it was still pleasant for a man to look at.

Any further awkward thoughts were pushed aside as Yoshitsune tried to hide his nose. This retriggered her worries on that. Wait a sec...was THAT the reason...? "Oh no...is that why you've been having nose problems? Because you've been nervous around me...? I..." Here it came. "...I'm so sorry! I didn't realize I was causing you discomfort...please, forgive me!" She bent over, hands in her lap, begging for forgiveness. Most rational people would have looked at her funny for being the sorry one at this point...but all things considered, neither her nor the actor would probably qualify as most rational people.
"Yea, verily- o-or rather... er... it's not that I found it pleasing, exactly, but given the situation... I made the best I could of circumstances and... yea, it is now a fairly pleasant memory," Yoshitsune admitted, trying to decide if it was right or wrong to tell a girl you enjoyed looking at their butt when they hadn't offered it to you. She continued along a less welcome train of conversation, causing the young man to recoil and cover his nose harder. "Nervous?! Nay! I'm a fearless man living a fearless life, as you recall my mentioning. A bit of interaction with the opposite sex would never be enough to set me on edge, Priestess," he defended, wanting to make sure she was perfectly clear on that unassailable fact. "You are causing me no discomfort or displeasure at all! Yea, we've been over the differences between you and I, and I understand them, but again I stress that you cannot worry so much about whatever trouble you may be causing other parties, which, in this case, is none. We all live our own lives and to worry so completely over another's happiness is unnatural."

After finishing his scolding, he gave his nose a few more wipes to make sure he was all clean (luckily, the blood wouldn't show on his pitch black shirt sleeve), then idly turned his attention back to his PET. His eyes bulged once he realized Kabuki was naked in the bath; his nose immediately began running again, so he covered it with his free sleeve. If the camera panned around and he got a look at all of the naked men around his navi, he'd probably be a little angry as well as shocked. "Sister! You need to keep me constantly updated on your mission's progress! I have clearly missed another important development!" he barked, swearing silently as he realized he'd failed to catch yet another instance of his navi getting naked.

"Ah, well... a lot has happened, dear Brother," she sighed, having far too much on her mind to worry about the fact that she hadn't told her navi she was planning to take a naked dip with a bunch of flirty guys, something she probably wouldn't have wanted to notify him of regardless. "But I'm glad you've checked in! As it so happens, I need Divina's e-mail so that I can send her a personal communication. Do you think you could get it from Hikari? The two of us are split right now, but I have new information that may be of great use to her."

"Of course, of course. And how is the goddess?" Yoshitsune inquired, secretly hoping she might be in a bath elsewhere. If so, he might try to discretely catch a look at Divina's screen.

"I'm sorry, Brother; as I said, we split up some time ago. I'd like to know as well, but she may be busy right now... so, tell Hikari she needn't bother her navi at present," Kabuki murmured quietly.

Nodding, Yoshitsune moved his arm again, having cleared his head again. "Priestess! I have need of your e-mail address. There may come a time where I must confide in you, or you in I, and when that time comes, we'll both be happy to have the line of communication. I never know when I might require your presence, after all," he demanded, catching Hikari's eyes once more. "More importantly, my navi needs it," he clarified, which was probably useful in this conversation, so that Hikari didn't have to worry Yoshitsune might want it just for recreational purposes. Yoshitsune didn't offer his own services as available through the line, partially because he was an actor and bath attendant who had few skills that would help people in most practical situations and partially because he knew that he'd rather not help anyone if he didn't have to.
As Hikari stood back up straight, she was regaled with a response that, ultimately, didn't do anything to damage her pride in her body. Granted, she had a relative lot of that for someone with her body type and personality..."I'm glad you found it pleasing." While still embarrassing, she definitely felt better knowing it brought a small amount of happiness to the world. Unfortunately, this feeling didn't last, as Yoshitsune went on a very...Yoshitsune-ish tirade. "Of course...forgive me." Of course, that was mostly directed at the first part. They were going to have to agree to disagree on the latter.

As the man turned his focus to his PET, so too did the priestess...who immediately blushed out of embarrassedness. Why was her goddess down to wearing only her panties? And why was that large man's...thing...in full view? The answer was pretty obvious, but it wasn't one she really cared to think about. Oh dear...should she say something? Or maybe she should just be quiet?

"Priestess!"

"Meep!" Yoshitsune's address made Hikari leap a foot into the air, having just been knocked back into the real world. She instinctively placed her PET up against her breast, not wanting anyone to see what was occurring on that particular screen. "S-Sorry. I was just thinking about something, so you startled me. ...Oh, our e-mail address? It's GoddessOfHappiness@KotoMail.net. It's not fancy, but Lady Divina insisted on that. ...Say, it's customary to offer your own e-mail address when asking for someone else's. Don't worry, we're not the sort of faith to spam you with lots of requests begging you to join us. So, may I ask what yours is?" Normally this was when he'd return the favor...but all normalcy in the conversation was probably thrown out the window once he'd seen her naked from behind.
"I will not forgive you, for there must be no forgiveness! Nay, if you have done no wrong, then I cannot accept an apology," Yoshitsune returned, shaking his head and thinking to himself that he was saying something pretty cool, for sure. So absorbed was he in his coolness that he didn't think to question why it looked like Hikari had just gone up a few tens of degrees in temperature; perhaps she was just focusing on how cool he was after his speech? She was clearly interested after all, as she seemed to want his own e-mail address. Smiling, he went from shaking his head to nodding it with satisfaction. "Of course. It is..." he began, then blanked, suddenly forgetting his own alias. Thankfully, he recovered quickly enough. "It is Hideyoshi.Serioroshi@yokaactorsguild.com. That is 'Hideyoshi Serioroshi at Yoka Actor's Guild, no apostrophe, dot com,'" he explained, making sure that all of the words were clear.

"Of course, I would not begrudge you if you did beg me to join you. After all, I'm a knowledgeable sort who could tremendously benefit your religion, I'm sure," Yoshitsune mused, although he would almost certainly complain if she begged him, as he complained when she did most things. "But you're right, why clutter up my e-mail address when we can talk in person?" He was still saying mostly the wrong things, but on the other hand, Hikari was now holding his attention while Kabuki was naked on his PET; that was definitely a sign that she'd made an impression on him. "This whole adventure has been somewhat exhausting, I must admit. I'm glad you've had the chance to experience baths yourself, and also that I've managed to clean myself, but all of this foolery has left me fatigued. Unfortunately, although we're jacked in to the bath-house's network still, I'm not sure how much farther we can go from the jack-in point without losing contact. There are many connected ports here, but not all of them connect to the bath itself, you understand. As such, we probably shouldn't wander too far off."

Thus, with a contemplative look on his face, Hideyoshi seated himself on one of the benches for visitors outside of the bath and pulled a hand full of documents from somewhere inside his garb. He began reading them with surprising focus, seeming to tune out Kabuki, Hikari, and everything else around him. It was possible he was just trying to get back some credibility after nearly fainting and generally yelling about everything all day so far, but really, he looked more as though he was intently studying. He managed that for only a short period, though, before another thought occured to him; he turned his head quickly to Hikari with a skeptical frown. "Priestess! I'm curious. Does your religion have any texts or documents that you learn from? Something that lays out all of your teachings? Perhaps parables?" he inquired. "I ask because I'm trying to study the lines for the play I'm assisting with later tonight and I'm afraid it's such a shabby production that I may find my spirit broken immediately. I need some edifying text... or something that stirs my imagination and my vigor." He frowned and closed his eyes again, then suddenly had a thought. "Perhaps reading isn't going to help me after all. I need something that will set my soul ablaze with real emotion!" This seemed to be basically the opposite of what he needed, seeing as he'd finally calmed down after nearly dying of blood loss earlier.
Hikari hadn't been much in a mood or position to play along with Yoshitsune's questions, but fortunately, he hadn't really been that interested in religious texts either, for his part. The young man was excited now to have acquired a great sum of money from Kabuki's hard work, which, he had to admit, would be best put towards powering his navi up a bit. "Hm hm hm... ha ha ha! A great triumph for everyone involved in this mission. I understand there was heroism! Surely my heroism will be talked about for years to come," Yoshitsune laughed, finally accepting a role in the mission now that all of the hard work was done. "Well done, my sister."

"S-Sure!" Kabuki chuckled awkwardly. "It was a hard fought victory. On the note of victories being necessarily hard fought, I could certainly use some upgrades, if you feel like making a trip to Scilab!"

"You read my mind, Sister. That is the bond that we share," Yoshitsune nodded, although it was Kabuki that had suggested he spend the money on upgrades a few moments earlier. "Priestess," he coughed, turning to address Hikari again. "It is time that I made my way to Suitachi's establishment, in the land of Science Labs. You may join me if you wish, or perhaps our paths will split. It did seem as though you and your navi had something you needed to speak about in private. But we may reunite later regardless using the communication networks we exchanged earlier, so never fear for lack of my company." Having said that, Yoshitsune exited his home, still garbed in his kuroko uniform, as he often did. "Is there a fare for using the metroline, sister?"

"Not these days," Kabuki answered simply.

((Heading to Scilabs))
"Um, well..." But before Hikari could really speak up, the Navis returned to their PETs. The priestess looked over at her shoulder, noting the hologram of Divina on it had already formed. "Welcome back, Lady Divina! I assume everything went well?"

"...Mostly."

"Mostly?" She looked on, a bit puzzled at the terse response. "What does that mean?"

"It's a long story...but I'll explain it all when we get home."

"Oh, I see." She was eager to hear the tale...but on the other hand, they'd gathered up quite a bit of money. It seemed a shame to not immediately put it to good use. "Do you have any plans for the money you've earned, Lady Divina?"

"Hmm...I can't say I've given it much thought. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I do, actually. I think we should get you upgraded a bit. Goddess or no, you are a Navi, currently. And if we strengthen your abilities, it'll be that much easier to aid people on the Net."

"A fair point. If you think it a good idea, then I support your decision."

"Then we should head over there..." However, Yoshitsune's addressing her provided what would, to most people, be a good reason to hold off for a bit. "Oh? It seems we have the same destination. Perhaps we-" Unfortunately, the high priestess's lack of presence meant her words did nothing to stop the man as he left. "...Or perhaps not."

"Don't worry, I sense we'll be seeing him again. And soon."

"Oh...well, I'll look forward to it." Even the idealistic Hikari couldn't entirely believe her own words just then. Although, she couldn't help but feel a certain bond for him, considering he'd gazed upon her buttocks. "I suppose there's no reason to be here anymore. If it's all the same to you, my goddess, I'm going to head to SciLab first, then return home."

"Hmm? ...Oh, that. By all means."

"...Are you all right?"

"Just a little tired. It's been quite the whirlwind of a day for me."

"I suppose even goddesses get tired. In that case, I won't bother you any further. Please, get some rest until we get back to the temple." With that, she set her PET back in its holster, and exited the theater/hot spring combo. It'd been a nice soak, but she was starting to get a bit antsy after being in the same place for much of the day. A walk would hit the spot about now.

(TO SCILAB)
((Arriving from Scilabs))

Upon finishing his business both at the Temple of Divina and at the Navi Shop, Hideyoshi returned to his home away from home, the Burnt-Gold Hanamichi. "A productive outing, Sister. I've assisted the priestess and helped improve your battle performance. As I understand it, you had a successful concert too," the former actor, now stage-hand addressed his navi. Although he spoke to the PET, he was out of sight, currently changing out of his stage-hand's garb and into the more traditional work's uniform, a gold robe with a black sash, including an apron, depicting a white pool of water with steam rising up in a crude apron. His bobbed black hair and pretty (though persistently scowling) face would be visible, without the usual veil.

"Ha ha ha... It is a shame you missed my EYE~DOLL DAY~BEEEW, dear Brother," Kabuki laughed, though she had to admit, she wasn't too upset that he missed some of that mission. "Regardless, it is good that you are back. Now it's time for you to make up for the time off! UN~FORT~CHEW~NATE~LEE, that is the life of a working man!"

"Yes, well... I simply wish they'd found something less troublesome for me to do," he grumbled, shrugging on his sleeves and stepping back into view. "Apparently, the next customer coming in is going to get a free service of their choice as a special promotion: dinner, the hot baths, tonight's theater show, or a night's stay. I am to announce this and attend them during their time here. Truly tedious."

Kabuki's hair lit up pink and her almond-shaped eyes widened. Her face took on a big grin while he wasn't looking. "Here's what you should say! 'Would you like dinner... or a bath... or... WAAA~TAAA~SHIIII?" she asked, pretending to hide her face bashfully behind one of her fans. "He he he! Only joking."

"Hmph! Not a very funny joke," the young man grumbled; Kabuki would have a hard time thinking of when he'd ever heard a joked he seemed to care for. For now, though, all there was for him to do was wait near the entrance for another customer to walk in, so that he could hand them the free service voucher. "Couldn't they have at least made it so that the potential customer has to sign it at the desk first? What if they say they want to stay at the inn? Am I supposed to attend them all night, in their room?"

"Y-Yada! I don't think that would be possible," Kabuki discouraged him, fading back to black-haired as she suddenly began feeling protective (or jealous of whoever the customer would be to get that service.) "Maybe try not to steer the conversation that way..."
This is where she came from.

It wasn't long until the metroline stopped in Yoka, and she was able to take a cab to the Burnt-Gold Hanamichi. She entered through the Theater's main entrance. "Hmm Frio, we've never done something like this before. What kind of place is it?"

"Well they have an all male staff, and their probably all closer to your age then that boy you spent your day with yesterday." Frio joked. "The theater will provide you with some peaceful entertainment, the Inn and the Bath House are sure to be very relaxing. Just embrace this and let's have fun. Maybe I'll be able to have fun in Yoka's net or something."

As she walked towards the front desk, she clumsily dropped her suit case behind her. So she turned around, and bent over to get it. This caused the skirt of her dress to rise just slightly not revealing much, while the cream nylons stretched to grip her lower body even tighter. A cute woman bending over was sure to grab a stare or two from any surrounding passerby. She managed regain control of the suitcase, and finished her approach to the front desk.

"Hey how much do yall charge for the complete package? I'm looking to stay a few nights, and would like to enjoy everything yall have to offer." The lovely sharo native smiled to the receptionist or whoever would be listening to her request.
Ironically, Frio's joke nearly missed its mark thanks to the unique composition of the Burnt Gold Hanamichi... the vast majority of attendants here were old men, at least twice her age. Yoshitsune was actually the oldest of the employees, with only a few near his age, and one of those was homosexual. Of course, an outsider coming in with little knowledge of the Yoka community wouldn't know the reputation of the Burnt Gold Hanamichi... to some, it was storied and cultured, and to others, it was out-dated and really only tailored to those who enjoy the company of old men.

Yoshitsune was not an old man, a rare case here, but whether he was going to be fun to hang out with was another story. He was actually even more eager to meet someone out of the old gentleman demographic than Layla likely was, and as soon as he lay eyes upon her, he found himself praying to whatever higher power existed that she was going to come inside the building and head quickly towards the check-in desk so that she would be the next visitor in. He glared at the coughing old man headed up the pass behind her and almost bellowed a loud, audible expletive as she dropped her suit case, thinking it'd give the man a chance to catch up. As it so happened, all it gave him was a chance to get a look at her pleasantly form-fitting leggings. Suddenly, he wasn't so angry, but he was scrambling to find something to cover his habitually bleeding nose with. He settled on his apron.

That probably wasn't the best look for him; when Layla turned around, she'd be faced with the sight of the otherwise attractive young man wiping his nose on his shabby yellow apron. He finished up as quickly as he could, then set the apron back down on his lap and bowed deeply, much more deeply than he would for their average customer. "Welcome! I'd be happy to explain our full amenities and pricing to you, but first-"

The old man who'd finished coming in attempted to butt in. "Aaah, excuse me, young girl," he addressed Yoshitsune, coughing loudly into his fist as he stepped around Layla. "They told me at the foot of the mountain that if I came up here, I'd be first in line for some kind of special reward package-"

"Aaaah, you misheard! So sorry, sir! Whatever you heard, I believe you are supposed to check in at the rear counter! Please head down that hallway!" he gestured, trying to shoo away the oldster as fast as he could. Speaking of rears, he had more important business to attend to, and turned back to it as the duped old man disappeared down the hallway. "As I was saying, you can certainly check in for one of our very affordable rooms. Traveling alone?" he asked, curious for reasons not entirely professional. "Our single rooms have great rates, of course." He handed her a flier explaining their rates, showing remarkable energy given his usual lack of enthusiasm for service, then clapped his hands together. "But as I was saying! I've also been instructed to treat you to a special gift: as our milestone customer for the month, you are entitled to a free service!"

He stepped around to look over her shoulder at the pamphlet (though depending on where she was holding it, he might be looking elsewhere). "Allow me to explain your options: first, at no cost to you, enjoy our special three course dinner, all of Yoka's finest flavors in the traditional styles of our inn. Centuries of tradition can't be wrong!" In his opinion, centuries hadn't helped the dinner much, but he kept that to himself. "Second, our theater holds performances every two hours. The next will start soon: a fine performance we call 'Rider.' It's one of our most revered plays, featuring our finest actors." That one was a bald-faced lie... "Rider" was one of his least favorites, largely because he was always relegated to background work. He theorized they put it into the slot where everyone instead took dinner for this exact reason. Giving her little time to dwell on that option, he moved on to his favorite of the three. "Next, and my personal recommendation: our hot spring baths are the envy of all inns in the area, providing a relaxing atmosphere with numerous health benefits! Nothing is more fool-proof than a dip in our mixed baths; you can wear your towel in or go without, however you're most comfortable... We have jack-in ports located nearby so you can operate while you bathe, even. I'd be more than happy to demonstrate their usage to you with my personal navi, if you're interested?" he offered, trying to hide the hope in his voice and perhaps failing a bit.

For the sake of completion, he'd add in the last one. "Oh, and of course, you can also choose to use your freebie for the price off one night's stay. If you do, I can still stick around to attend you, if you so desire..." he murmured, gulping discretely as he let his imagination run wild with that idea. "Simply let me know where you'd like to use your reward and we can start right away!"

Kabuki wasn't enjoying Yoshitsune's angling at all, but she wouldn't butt in unless he got carried away. She expected that whichever option was chosen, she'd find a good opportunity to introduce herself and possibly angle the guest's navi into joining her on an outing. Whether Yoshitsune realized or not, he was going to need her as an ice-breaker sooner or later... she didn't relish being a wing-lady for her operator, but she thought that was the way it was going to go, and thus, she might as well have some fun on her own.
Layla seen the caught on to the fact that Youshitsune had shooed the old man away so that she would recieve the complimentary offer. "That's sweet of you... You're name is?" Though she seen him wiping the blood away from his nose, she figured he was a little cute, but that wasn't the priority at the moment. Selecting which offer she wanted to accept would be first on her to do list.

After he respond, she would give it a little thought. "Hmmm, Which will save me the most money. I planned on doing everything anyways. I guess I'm mostly excited about taking a dip in the hotsprings, as well as staying the night in one of your rooms. Like my navi Frio said, I think it'll be good to have gotten away from home for a little while. Oh and I'm never alone silly, I always have my best friend Frio with me." Even though he was probably referring to human company she didn't hesitate to hold up her PET as a small toy sized hologram of the lion boy Navi projected from the screen.

"He's older then the boy, but he's trying too hard." Frio yawned. "She's out of your lead bud."

"FRIO, why would you say that!? He's just being curtious the way his job asked him to do. Apologize and hush."

"Fine... I'm sorry bud. Make sure you show us a good time. We need it" his apology was half hearted and words were slightly rude, but it never took much to win him over. As seen previously with his friend WarriorMan.

"Sorry about that. He can get carried away sometimes. I'm feeling beat up after the passed week, you mind if I choose the hot springs with my gift, and we can go ahead a book a room for the weekend."
Yoshitsune was encouraged that Layla had become hung up on neither his unsightly nose-wiping nor his redirecting of the elderly gentleman who probably should have gotten her prize elsewhere. "Well, the customer is always right," he chuckled, putting on a winning smile that he'd actually literally never given a customer before this point. "My name is Hideyoshi Serioroshi," he announced, pressing one hand to his chest proudly and smiling, tilting his nose up just a bit. Layla wouldn't recognize the name, of course, and not just because it was his fake name. She probably wouldn't have recognized his real one even if he'd given it, as it was only really relevant to kabuki theater aficionados or anyone read up on the local families.

"The most money?" he asked next, tensing his eyebrows. This wasn't the right time to lie, given she could see the prices if she read over the pamphlet hard enough, but the correct answer was the night's stay... he wanted the answer to be the hot springs, but the truth was that they were actually fairly cheap compared to the rest of the package. Then, using his genius actor's brain, he realized that she said she was going to do everything anyways, so it didn't matter much. "Ahem, if you plan to do everything, you should use your freebie on the night's stay," he answered in a brief moment of helpfulness. His eyes widened for a moment, along with his smile, before he did his best to conceal that as part of his general employee enthusiasm. "Yes, excellent! The hot springs are certainly a favorite attraction of mine," he added, being truthful for once.

"Oh, brother!" Kabuki spoke from her PET, rolling her eyes despite having no distinct pupils.

"Yes, my Sister?" Yoshitsune asked impatiently.

"I said 'oh brother,' not 'Dear Brother!'" his navi sighed.

He didn't care about that, but Frio's interjection turned his smiling face into its usual somewhat sour, pouting state. "I'll have you know that my standards are very high and I myself am quite a catch... whoever you are!" he protested; the former point was true but the latter was debatable. "Also, irrelevant! I am not 'trying' at anything! I am merely naturally and organically interacting with a customer to provide the overall best consumer experience possible!" the young man insisted. "Yes, apologize and hush," he further demanded. "You will see a good time! This, I assure you!"

"Dear Brother! Perhaps you should introduce me, your own constant navi companion?" Kabuki butted in, feeling ignored.

"... Oh, yes," Yoshitsune acknowledged. "My navi is named Kabuki. She'll make her introduction on the net. For now, I'm very eager to get you started on that hot spring!" he insisted, rubbing his hands together in a way that was probably intended to look subservient, but instead looked overly eager.

Kabuki was exasperated by her operator's rude, self-serving behavior, but she'd chastise him another time. For now, she was eager to get onto the net and stretch her legs some more, plus possibly set the record straight and try to explain to the others how her operator really wasn't as bad as his posturing and horniness might imply.

The walk down the hall to the hot springs area was short; despite having a theater, a 'banquet hall', hot springs, and rooms, each of these were pretty crammed together. The mixed hot springs weren't just an option, they were the only option; the bathhouse didn't have enough of them to be choosy with who ended up together. That said, the locker rooms were still separate, so Yoshitsune was going to have to keep his eyes to himself for at least a bit longer. "We have cubbies for you to store your belongings," Layla's host informed her, though a modern facility really ought to have lockers. "I'll meet you on the other side. Be sure to grab soap and towels."

The layout of the men's and women's undressing rooms were about the same, just with blue decor in one and pink in the other. The women's room was well kept, but clearly didn't see a lot of use; right now, it only seemed to be holding the belongings of one other women, who, by the looks of her function-over-form purse, was probably not a young woman. The men's, on the other hand, was frequently used and, even now, crowded with older men Yoshitsune didn't want to look at or associate with (despite a few being his coworkers). In his eagerness to get undressed and in towel so he could head out and meet back up with Layla, he almost forgot to cut off Kabuki's screen; she gave a veiled curse as it cut off, thinking she was owed a little fun after having to endure Yoshitsune's hot air since this excursion started. Once he'd stripped, Yoshitsune wrapped himself in a towel, reaching from hips to knees, before grabbing back up his PET but keeping the viewer off.

"Now Dear Brother, remember..." Kabuki spoke a quiet warning, in case Layla was listening in somehow. "The last time you spent time in the baths with a girl, as I recall, you made a fool of yourself, passed out from blood loss, and ended up in mortal peril. I'd highly recommend that this time, you keep your composure, and don't be a perv," she recommended, though the last part was more of just a general tip for life. "If necessary, close your eyes and breath deeply-"

"Bah! As I told you before, I was feeling a little sickly last time and famished as well. I passed out from a basic physiological condition, completely unrelated to the presence of the priestess. This time, I am in full ownership of my faculties and I will show our customer a good time, as they've requested," he snapped in response. "And, she will find me so charming that we will probably exchange e-mails," he added hopefully, before stepping outside the room. Hopefully, Layla would be finished up now, or else he'd be treated to only the sights of old men and the odd family shuffling around in moist towels. He suddenly found himself wishing this was a hot tub inn rather than a hot springs inn... There wasn't a lot of privacy to be had in general around here.
Frio's ears perked up at the sound of a female navi and immediately grasped his attention. He was already looking forward to jacking into the net, but if he was gonna have a girl companion it'd be even better, especially compared to his overly competitive friend from last time. "At least you got half of that right." He laughed as the young man spoke about standards and catches.

"Frio I told you to be nice, I know you heard that sweet voice come from the PET. Don't make me keep you in yours." Layla threatened coldheartedly.

The threat caught Frio off guard, and left him with his bottom lip poking out. "Fine... I won't say anything else." With a fold of his arms, the hologram disappeared, and the screen of the PET clicked off.

"Sorry again, he can be jealous sometimes, I don't even see why. You're just doing your job the way you're supposed to be right?" She smiled, "My name is Layla Mercedes, and that was my navi Frio. We look forward to meeting your navi Kabuki." Yoshitsune directed the Sharo native down the somewhat cramped inn, leading her to the female locker room.

The room definitely gave off womanly vibes with the bright pink color. "Hmmm lucky me. I have the whole room to myself." She smiled, the cubbies would be fine, outside of overpacking clothes and personal hygiene stuff, the only thing of value she had on her was Frio's PET. "Frio, cheer up buddy. Let's focus on having a good time."

"I'm fine, but he's really looking for a window to hit on you." Frio tried to explain.

"So what if he is, he's kind of cute. There is never any harm in it." Layla blushed, often being hit on, it just showed that she loved the attention. She quickly removed both inner and outer layers of clothing making sure to store both into her suitcase before shoving it into the cubbie that was provided. "I think a towel is needed for sure.... who knows the type of people that will be out there." She wrapped the white towel tightly around her upper body, causing it to squeeze into her chest, making the bustline perk up a little. The towel wasn't very long or rather her booty caused it to rise up more then it normally would have, because it barely managed to cover it fully.

Finally finished getting ready, Layla grabbed the PET, and headed out back to meet the young man who had taken an interest in her. "Let's see how this goes."
Kabuki chuckled inside her PET at Frio's behavior; it seemed her operator wasn't the only one prone to cutesy, jealous pouting. Maybe Yoshitsune and the navi weren't as different as they thought themselves. They'd probably get along, if Yoshitsune wasn't so miserable at getting along with anybody besides pretty girls he was trying very hard with and who were being lenient towards him, apparently.

"Absolutely! My only intention is to give you the superlative service you deserve as an honored guest of our inn, Layla. I look forward to introducing you to my navi, too," Yoshitsune agreed, eagerly taking every bone she threw him. He was becoming the textbook example of a guy who thinks a girl is into him just because she's being nice to him and the effect only grew worse with every pleasant exchange. He was eager to get back to it, but first, they needed to split ways and change into their towels, which was important in its own way.

Once he was undressed and wrapped up, he re-emerged, meeting Layla on the outside. Seeing the priestess was one thing... he didn't have a lot of experience around girls, so just the fact that she was a woman was enough to excite him, even if she was a modest girl with humble features. Layla wasn't spilling over at the top like Kabuki tended to, but she wasn't empty up there either, and had plenty of curvaceousness elsewhere to differentiate her from the house's usual clientele. It took everything in Yoshitsune's power to avoid breaking out in another nasal gush right there; he took Kabuki's advice, calmed himself, counted to ten internally, then spoke again after an awkward pause.

"Very good, now we just-"

"One, two, three, four..." he repeated to himself mentally, his eyes stuck on the Layla's striking blue eyes, so unlike the dark shades common in Electopians, her very fair skin, and the hair brushing at her neck and exposed collarbone.

"-head over to the bath and submerge our-"

"Five, six, seven, eight..." he continued, struggling to keep his gaze off of her cleavage, where the freckles likely persisted. He couldn't remember the last time he had been around real boobs... let alone gotten such a good look at them.

"... bodies." He gulped, fighting every instinctive urge that insisted he let her walk first so he could get a good look as she, hopefully, removed the towel concealing her ample hips from view. Instead, realizing that she may not have been in a bath-house like this before, he took the lead and respectfully kept his eyes forward. After all, if all went well, they'd get comfortable and he might not have to sneak his looks any more, he figured. He moved to an edge of the large bath at the back of the room, where only a few others were soaking, each with a towel either dropped or folded neatly nearby them. On one side, a family including wife and husband were watching a small child kick around in the bath. On another, two old men were bickering about obscure local sports teams. It wasn't the most romantic setting, to be certain, but it'd have to do.

"Ahem," Yoshitsune coughed, quickly dropping his towel and stepping in, keeping his back to Layla and hopefully preventing her for getting too much of a look. "You don't have to remove your towel, of course; we have other bath-towels nearby. If you choose to, though, the ettiquite is generally to fold it at the edge of the bath, like so," he demonstrated. The mist from the bath hung very thick in the air, so one's body underneath the water would be concealed from view; he kept himself submerged down to the shoulders. It seemed like the surface beneath the water was uneven, such that it was possible to sit down and keep yourself submerged to the neck or as little as the navel down. The center of the bath seemed deep; it was possible one could submerge themselves completely. Swimming generally wouldn't be safe, despite the child's attempts to do so.

"There are jack-in ports all around the bath. Your PET, of course, will need to be water-proof to use it here, as the hazard of water splashing it is constant," he explained, taking every chance he could to make eye contact without being creepy for doing so. If she was looking for a chance to lose the towel without him watching, she'd have to be pretty clever about it. The old men were peering occasionally as well, but they seemed to be the only ones, and they didn't seem dumbfounded the same way Yoshitsune was, at least. "I'll jack in Kabuki. Since we will likely be here a while, I'd recommend our navis take part in a mission to keep themselves busy. There are jack in ports to maintain connectivity all around the inn, so we shouldn't have any problems, even if it drags a bit."

Hopefully, Kabuki could keep Frio out of his hair for a while...

((Jacking in, posting to Mission BBS))
Layla willingly let the young man lead the way to back bath, "I think I'll hold on go my towel for now... but maybe later I'll take it off" She gave a sly smile, with full intention of trying to pull Yoshitsune's strings. She stepped into the hot bath slowly at first, testing the temperature with just her toes first. That's nice." She finally sat down dipping the majority of her body in, positioning herself so that the water cut her body off right at the towel line, still presenting her company with a place to stare if they dared to do so.

Relaxation seemed to suck any negativity from her mind almost immediately as she sat down. The towel quickly became heavy and wecighed her body down under the water. If he was lucky she might grow tired of it and ditch it the way she had hinted. "Say, Hideyoshi, I should have asked about this before we made our way all the way back here, but are we allowed to drink in the springs? I could use a cocktail to top off this lovely setting." She gave him a little wink hoping he'd find away to make it happen regardless of the rules

"A mission does sound fun, I will go ahead and send Frio into the Net also. Here you go little buddy, have fun. I'll be here if you need me." She used one of the many jack in ports to have her Navi follow In Kabuki's footsteps.