South Third District
Kirinji Hell Hot Spring door
Shuichi stood at the door and looked up at the plaque.
Suzuko stood next to him, half a step behind. She held the corners of her clothes with both hands, tightening them again, loosening them again, and kneading the poor fabric into several small folds, looking around.
I keep thinking in my mind what to do, will my brother take the initiative? Then I quickly give up the idea, and then quickly come up with another idea.
"Is this right here?" Shuichi asked.
"Well..." Suzuko's voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
Shuichi didn't think much and walked towards the door.
After just two steps, there was a sound of footsteps inside the door, and the sound of clogs was clear and loud.
The door was opened, and a wave of hot air with the smell of herbs came to my face.
Tenjirō Kirinji stood inside the door. He was wearing a loose dark gray yukata, his belt was tied loosely, and he was wearing wooden clogs. The iconic aircraft head outlined an exaggerated outline in the backlight, like the tip of an anchor pointing directly at the ceiling.
There was a smile on his face, "Captain! Please come inside!"
Kirinji made an exaggerated welcome gesture
The body leans forward, the head is straight but the eyes are facing the ground, and the hands are drawn back, as wide as a curtain call on the stage. The whole person's posture finds a wonderful balance between "respectful" and "exaggerated performance".
Shuichi walked in with Suzuko
When Suzuko passed behind Shuichi, Kirinji glanced at her face
Suzuko felt the eyes shrinking behind Shuichi, but immediately felt that this was wrong, and stood up again. She took a deep breath, stood up again, straightened her back, and clasped her hands in front of her.
"Well... I heard there is mixed bathing here..."
Kirinji raised his eyebrows slightly, as expected. "There are some, please come in."
He turned sideways to get out of the door and pointed toward the depths of the corridor. "It's just a little small."
Then Kirinji turned around and walked to Shuichi to lead the way, his clogs making a rhythmic sound on the wooden floor.
Shuichi was about to lift his feet when he suddenly thought of something and turned his head to glance at Suzuko. The redness on Suzuko's face faded slightly, but the faint blush at the base of his ears could still be seen.
"Let's go" Shuichi said.
Suzuko nodded and followed.
Three people walked into the corridor one after another.
Kirinji stopped in front of a wooden door, opened it, and stepped aside.
"This is it."
He said, "You two take your time and just call out if you need anything. There are separate changing rooms and tea rooms inside, and clothes and Zanpakutō are placed on the shelves inside."
After saying that, he bowed slightly, and the sound of clogs gradually faded away along the corridor from where he came.
This is a small hot spring room.
The pool is made of natural bluestone, and its edges have been polished smooth and rounded by time. There are a few clusters of unknown moss growing between the stones, glowing with fresh green in the steam.
There is a thin layer of heat on the water surface, mixed with the bitter smell of herbs, flowing slowly in the air.
The light leaked from the window in the center of the ceiling, and after being filtered by the steam, it became soft and hazy, casting a blurry halo on the surface of the pool, gently swaying with the slight movement of the water waves.
Shuichi got into the water first. The moment the hot water covered his shoulders, he involuntarily exhaled a long breath. The fatigue from days of reviewing documents seemed to be soaked away by the temperature. He leaned his head back on the stone edge of the pool, closed his eyes, and his mind was temporarily empty for a while.
No wonder Shiba Ichisegawa and Shiba Chuanlu love to go to hot springs every time they have free time.
Really comfortable
The Shuichi event focused on the ceiling. Heat emerged from the hot spring and gathered on the ceiling and then slowly dissipated.
There were gentle footsteps behind me. The footsteps stopped for a while at the edge of the pool, and then there was a soft sound of water, which was an action of testing the water temperature.
Then there was the sound of the friction of cloth and the sound of cloth falling to the ground.
Shuichi's eyes were still facing the ceiling, but because of the sound, he shifted uncomfortably in the direction of the sound and saw a vague shadow.
Wow!
Suzuko entered the water very lightly, with almost no splash. The water surface of the hot spring fluctuated slightly for a few times, and then returned to calm.
Shuichi turns his attention to Suzuko
Suzuko was sitting diagonally across from him, not far away, with the waterline just below her collarbone. She lowered her head and folded her hands on her knees. Her body below the water was murky, with only her shoulders and neck exposed.
The moisture soaked a few strands of her hair and stuck it to her cheeks, with tiny droplets of water hanging from the ends of her hair.
Her face was very red, spreading from her cheeks to her ears, and even her neck was glowing with a faint pink color. She didn't know whether it was due to the heat of the water or some other reason.
She lowered her head and stared at the water, as if studying how the heat rose.
Then she moved, very slowly, her buttocks moved sideways inch by inch on the rocks at the bottom of the pool, moving so slowly that it was almost impossible to tell that she was moving.
There were extremely fine ripples on the water surface.
Shuichi watched the ripples slowly swinging towards him from her direction without saying a word. He just leaned against the wall of the pool, his eyes falling quietly on the water, as if he didn't notice the movement.
Suzuko moved a short distance and stopped.
After a while, she moved a little further
Shuichi ignored her actions and continued to stare at the ceiling
Finally, she stopped at the diagonal side of Shuichi, about an arm's length away. She lowered her head, lifted her hands from her knees, stretched into the water, and gently fiddled with the water flow with her fingers on the bottom of the water.
No one spoke.
The hot spring water made a soft sound, and the heat slowly rose between the two of them.
Suzuko's face is still red, but his breathing has become slightly shallower.
Shuichi looked at Suzuko: "... How about the water?"
"Okay... ok"
Suzuko answered subconsciously, but quickly recovered: "Very comfortable"
"Hmm"
It's quiet again, Suzuko has been afraid to come closer, but Shuichi is indifferent
The water waves were still moving slowly, going around and around, spreading out and closing again. Suzuko's fingers were gently circling under the water, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find a suitable beginning.
Then just soak it in.
I don't know how much time passed, but Shuichi looked at Suzuko again. At this time, Suzuko was paddling in the water and curling her hair in boredom, and the rosiness on her face had faded.
"Suzuko, do you know, this boss is Soul Reaper"
Suzuko's fingers stopped, and the tiny ripples on the water surface also quieted down. She raised her head, with a little more doubt in her eyes. "Huh?"
"Still Captain-Class"
Shuichi sounded much more casual when he said this.
But it was enough to make the air feel a little different after those words were spoken.
Suzuko picked up his head involuntarily
"Eh~!!!!"
The sound was more than one tune higher than before, and the last note bounced in the hot air of the hot spring and spread to the roof.