Oh wow. I actually updated a lot sooner that I had expected lol. Well, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well…" Shalnark pondered, "Machi and Shizuku are girls, so it's only reasonable to put them in the same room together. The problem is the third roommate. Hmmm, it should be…"

"Me!" Phinks chimed in. :D

"No," Machi replied sternly.

"Just throw Korutopi in there since he looks like a girl with his long hair anyways," proposed Nobunaga.

"…I'm offended..."

Nevertheless, everyone agreed wholeheartedly.

Shalnark stepped into the center of the circle that the group had unconsciously formed. "Feitan, Phinks, and I would be in one room- Nobunaga, Franklin, and Bonorenofu in the other. It's about a quarter to six, so I guess it's about time that we order something to eat. I'll go check what kind of food they have. "

With that, their crowd dispersed. Franklin, with his big bulk of a body, ran, or rather shuffled, quickly to catch up to boy genius. "Shalnark, trade rooms with me."

"Why?"

"Oh you know, just cuz'."

Awkward silence.

"You don't want to room with Nobunaga, do you?"

"Nope."

Shalnark looked over both shoulders to make sure that the subject of their conservation was nowhere near the vicinity. He hunched over and whispered, "I don't want to be in the same with him either."

"Can't you just trade out Feitan or Phinks?"

"Can't. Those two come in a package. They're like tar and feathers…you know, when you tar someone."

"Oh…wait! What if you room those two with Nobunaga?" Franklin nudged Shalnark jokingly.

Shalnark placed his hands on his hips, the way mothers do when they scolded their children. For a moment, Franklin thought that Shalnark would tell him "no"; instead, the lad said, "Franklin, I like what you're thinking."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There really was nothing much to do at the inn except bathe in the hot springs, which was precisely what they did, or most of them did anyways. Actually, only a few of them really did.

Phinks observed the scenery before him. There wasn't really much to describe except for the abundance of trees. They were everywhere. Sounds of forest creatures could be heard from a distance. It made the Spider a little paranoid. What if someone was hiding behind the verdant scenery? Somehow, Phinks immediately thought of Hisoka lurking somewhere out there. He shuddered.

"Phinks," Franklin called out.

At the sound of his name, Phinks snapped back to reality. He took off his robe and stood bare before the body of water. He couldn't help but notice how toned his muscles were. His gaze shifted to the robe. It looked lonely on the floor.

It's okay, Phinks mentally comforted the object, You'll be reunited with my totally hot body in an hour or two. Until then, just wait.

He always did thought he was too sexy for clothes anyways. That is, if you ignore his lack of eyebrows.

"Where's Feitan?" asked Franklin.

"Oh, he's still unconscious, so I dragged him into our room."

Franklin stifled a snicker as Phinks slid into the scalding hot water. Phinks and Feitan would be devastated if they found out that they'll be spending some nights with Nobunaga. Franklin felt bad. Just a little. The idea of someone waking you up in the middle of the night to philosophize about a pen, slipper, or underwear was not exactly appealing.

"And can you believe that there's only one huge sleeping mat AND blanket?!" Phinks raged. "We have to share! SHARE! Heartless bastards like us don't SHARE! In fact, that word is forbidden. FOOOOORBIDDDEEEENNNN. And…"

As Phinks raged on and on about his miseries and woes, Franklin shifted his attention to Bonorenofu, who was still dressed in bandages. "Not going in?"

"Music, not water, is what can alleviate my soul," the mummy casually replied, "and so, I must seek the highest altitude this inn can offer and stare at the mountains and the everlasting rays of light that the sun and the stars provide. There, I will call upon the strength of my ancestors and produce a music so beautiful, but so powerful, it will create an entirely different level of battle, accompanied with both beauty and melody; furthermore…blah, blah, blah…"

Franklin sighed. A simple "no" would have sufficed. He wished he had someone to talk to. Phinks was sulking in the corner, Shalnark was getting food, Feitan was still unconscious…just now, Bonorenofu went off to go mountain/sun/star-gazing… Korutopi was somewhere… and then there's Nobunaga…he was not someone you wanted to talk to, unless you wanted to engage in a conversation of a samurai's ethic code or the inconspicuous messages that the dead leave behind. Speaking of which…

"Ubo would've loved this…he said that hot springs help shape and relax his muscles…" Nobunaga muttered.

Here we go again, Franklin thought. He could feel the symptoms of a premature headache beginning to take place in his cranium.

Meanwhile, Machi had been fighting a long, hard battle. This was it. The outcome of this fight was about to be determined. This bobby pin…it was the last of her supplies. With grace and accuracy, she placed the accessory delicately on her hair.

I DARE you to fall out of place. Just see what happens if you do. Go ahead. Just try it.

Machi glared at her hair's reflection as she silently threatened it, her aura blazing wildly. Her muscles strained in tension, her hands shook from bottled up anger, and her sweat dripped on the side of her porcelain skin from the uneasiness of it all. For more than half a minute, Machi was frozen in suspension. She waited three more seconds. The lock of troublesome hair did not move. Alas! The battle was won! Machi sighed inwardly in relief. She can finally join Shizuku in the hot springs. A quick glance at the clock told Machi that a good half hour had already passed since the time that Machi was supposed to meet her comrade. She gathered her belongings and bolted out of the bathroom.

As Machi reached the door to the springs, she slowed down. Two doors stood right next to each other. The entry to the women's area was on the right, while the men's was on the left.

If Shizuku asks, a throng of flying fish was trying to chase me.

Ahem. Yea…that was believable enough. Just as she was about to slide the door open, a horde of naked men stampeded out the men's hot springs, followed by an angry and naked Nobunaga. Machi's right eye twitched. She had just been scarred for life. Through the doorway, she could see Franklin and Phinks half submerged in the water.

"Uhh, Nobunaga was making a fuss about the water, the tourists told him to shut up, and Nobunaga got mad," Franklin briefly explained.

Machi nodded and quickly closed the door to the men's hot springs. Just then, a horde of crying women stampeded out of the women's area. Machi waited a few seconds. No naked woman was chasing them apparently… She peeked into the women's hot springs. Only Shizuku remained in the water. Her back was turned to Machi.

Did she threaten those women? she wondered.

Machi coughed so as to let the young girl know of her presence.

"Oh, Machi! You're here."

As Shizuku turned to face Machi, the place suddenly turned brighter. Rays of imminent pure and holy light shone from her chest area.

Machi's knees shook and slowly plunged to the floor. She could see why those women ran in despair. An "F" cup! Heck, she would've ran too if she didn't train herself to remain stoic at dire times such as these. But she did, which was why she was just going to calmly walk away…with the wall as a support for her debilitated knees.

"Machi, you look sick. I think you should just call it a day." Shizuku politely called out.

Machi did not hear Shizuku. She was drowning in a sea of despair. She began to roll against the wall, on her way to wherever the wall will take her when she stumbled upon a door. Machi opened it and took a peek. It was a private bathing room! Machi made sure that no one was in the hall before she entered the room and hastily locked it. As she threw her robe carelessly on the floor, beads of sweat were beginning to form on her body as the steam hugged her.

She slipped into the water, and felt the cool, hard tiles beneath her delicate feet. She relaxed and stretched her legs, only to find that she couldn't. There was something rock-hard in the water that was keeping her from doing so. Machi started kicking it.

"Did they put a boulder in here? I just want to relax, damn it!"

There had just been too much trauma inflicted upon her this past couple of minutes. Now all she wanted was to spend some time alone and cool off. Was that too much to ask? No! Machi answered herself as she relentlessly kicked the object.

"Too damn stubborn to break, are you?" Machi growled. Her temper was almost at its breaking point. "We'll just see about that."

Just as Machi focused all her nen into her right foot, a murderous aura filled the room. She froze. Something dark was rising from the depths of the water, something evil. And when the creature had finally emerged, Machi let out a scream.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Made a very slight change to this chapter because apparently, I was half blind when I read the manga. Thought Bonorenofu had rings to keep the holes in his body open…but when his fight scene had finally been animated, there weren't any .