(I was sick and went to get an IV yesterday, so there was no update. Sob, sob.)
Jogo squatted beside the hot spring with a pipe between his teeth. Thin wisps of white smoke rose slowly through the humid air before the steam from the geothermal waters swallowed them.
His body had mostly recovered, but the hideous scar where he had been severed below the neck was still clearly visible, like a centipede clinging to his skin. Kenjaku and Kashimo slowly walked over to him. The three squatted side by side, each in a different pose: Jogo stared intently at the water, Kenjaku tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robes, and Kashimo propped his chin on one hand, his gaze resting lazily on the distant wooded mountains.
"Yo! Jogo!"
A cheerful voice came from overhead. A stark-naked figure covered in stitches dropped out of the sky, plunging into the hot spring like a cannonball.
Water splashed everywhere. Scalding spring water flew in every direction, splattering Jogo and even putting out his pipe. Mahito's head emerged from beneath the surface, his trademark grin on his face. He paddled with both hands like a dog that had just been dropped into a bathtub.
"Uh..." Jogo looked down at his extinguished pipe, then at the figure having the time of his life in the water. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Your body's pretty much recovered..." Mahito said with a grin, scooping up a handful of water and pouring it over his shoulder as he spoke. The scalding water ran down his skin, and his stitches turned faintly red as they soaked in the hot water.
"It's doing fairly well." Jogo emptied the water from his pipe and put it back between his teeth. "It's comfortable here, and hardly anyone comes