A/N: HEY FOLKS. It's been a long time since this sucker has been updated, but I just finished this and I figured you guys would want to see it right away. Here's hoping I get more motivation and chances to work on fic now that I've officially graduated from university and I'm not writing 2000-3000 word essays every week!
When Chisame was a young girl, she could remember driving through the countryside with her parents to get to her grandfather's house. She remembered sitting in the backseat of their old car, the one her father refused to trade in even when he had the money because it was still 'perfectly good' even though the air conditioning didn't work anymore and one of the windows was permanently stuck shut after one of her cousins slammed the door too hard. She remembered the stale smell of a hot car in summer, remembered her parents talking quietly while she pretended to be asleep in the back seat, remembered feeling sick to her stomach from the heat and the cheap food they bought while on the road.
This trip, she mused as she stared out the window, wasn't anything like those trips. Or any of the trips she could remember in her life time. It wasn't like she'd never been on trips before; her family wasn't exactly poor and considering the school she had gone to and the class she was in it wasn't like she was unfamiliar with adventure. But those were all trips other people had dragged her on, places she had either begrudgingly gone on or been dragged on totally against her will. This was her trip, the one she had chosen to go on of her own free will even if it had been embarrassingly impulsive. There was a tug of familiarity about the way the quiet countryside passed by outside the car, but in this case she didn't feel nauseated, or irritated, or anything of the sort.
Well, maybe irritated. That one she could cop to, considering how Rakan seemed to be intent on loudly bellowing every song that came on the radio completely off key. Part of her wanted to snap at him and ask him why his singing was so bad if he was apparently the best at everything, as he so often claimed to be. Another part of her said that attention was exactly what he wanted, and it was more productive just to keep ignoring him.
"Come on, Chisame-chan, sing along with me!" he encouraged loudly, throwing up his hands. She'd been worried more than once that he would end up punching a whole clear through the car roof, but he seemed to be more in control of his movements than she expected of him. He certainly wasn't drunk, that much she was sure of— she knew it would take way too much alcohol.
Chisame sighed and thunked her head against the glass of the car, letting her eyes slide shut. She could hear Jack calling her a party pooper in the background, but continued to ignore him. The scenery outside was nice enough, but she still felt tired enough that it wasn't keeping her awake. She'd dozed on the flight, but between Rakan and her generally awkward sleeping schedule she hadn't gotten as much rest as she would have liked.
The small window between the passenger area and the driver's area slid open, startling Chisame out of her half-asleep drifting. "We're almost there," the driver announced. "Need me to call ahead for anything for you, sir and ma'am?"
"A comfortable bed and some peace and quiet?" Chisame murmured against the cool glass. There was a pause where it seemed like the driver wasn't sure whether she was joking or not, but Jack seemed to make up her mind by laughing his usual booming laughter.
"Just let them know we're on our way, little lady," Jack replied, patting the back of the seat he was seated in.
"Yes, sir," the driver replied, the dividing window sliding shut again. Chisame rolled her head in Jack's direction, trying for a glare but not able to put much venom behind it. She was starting to acclimate to Jack's particular brand of being annoying, and found that each and every time he did something irritating she became less and less bothered by it. Now it just seemed commonplace, not worth getting worked up over.
She knew she would probably regret thinking that the next time he did something phenomenally stupid, but at the very least it meant she wasn't spending so much of her energy on being annoyed. She could focus on other things, like enjoying her vacation.
And sleeping. The longer it took them to get to their destination, the higher that desire rose on her list of priorities. She hadn't had a terrible time sleeping the night before, though it had obviously been cut short by Rakan waking her up to take her to the airship port, and she'd dozed on the ship itself, but she still felt exhausted. It wasn't hard to imagine it was the trip catching up with her. The past few days had been hectic and it had been a long time since she was that active. Back when she was a teenager and running around with Negi it might have been different, but she'd spent the last few years being mostly inactive and in front of a computer screen.
Her head must have been lolling to the side, though she only realized it when she jerked it up suddenly at the sound of Jack's usual booming laughter.
"Come on, Chisame-chan," he said, reaching over to prod at her shoulder with one of his massive fingers. "You're not gonna make me carry you again, are you? I'm a tour guide, not a taxi service."
Chisame grumbled and tried to kick him, but it was really more like nudging him with her foot, that was how little energy she had. The car was pulling into somewhere and she could hear the gravel drive crunching under the wheels. She took a moment to wake herself up as it pulled to a stop. She wasn't really awake when the chauffeur opened up the door for her to climb out, but she was at least awake enough that she didn't have to make Jack carry her.
"When I asked you to be my tour guide, I didn't think I'd be spending so much time in cars and airships, being forced not to sleep." Chisame stretched her arms above her head as she stepped onto the gravel drive, standing on the tips of her toes to stretch her legs at the same time. She couldn't decide which she liked less—all of the walking, or being crammed into so many small seats. While she stretched out her cramped, tired muscles, Jack tipped the driver more than she was obviously expecting based on the way her eyes widened to take up almost the whole top half of her face.
"You're sounding pretty cranky, Chisame-chan. Maybe you really do need a nap." Jack reached out to pinch her cheek like she was some kind of adorably fussy child, which she immediately responded to by slapping his hand away. "It'll aaaaall be worth it; just trust ol' Jack."
"Not if my life depended on it, old man," she grumbled, but still followed him when he led her up the gravel drive and towards an old-looking building at the top of a small hill.
The place looked like it might have been a really nice place once, quite a few years ago, but now it was more focused on being functional than anything else. The wood structure of the building was still strong, but dirtied a blackish colour by weather and time, and over the years it seemed like they had added onto the place a few times without much concern as to making sure everything lined up properly. There was a mismatched jumble of outbuildings and extra wings tacked on in whatever materials she assumed were the cheapest at the time. White chimney smoke or steam rose up from behind the building.
Jack was courteous enough to hold the heavy-looking door for her, which was nice and concerning in equal measure. The chauffeur followed behind carrying Chisame's bags, which she only just then realized she had left behind; Jack was carrying his own. She stepped inside and was immediately struck by the scent of cooking meat and something floral, almost like perfume.
The woman behind the counter looked like an elf right out of a fantasy novel, tall and spindly with fair skin and long pointed ears. She gave them a professional smile and folded her hands neatly on the counter.
"Welcome." The sound of her voice reminded Chisame of the tinkling of wind chimes in the summer. "Ser Rakan, I presume? Your room is ready, and your other accommodations have been prepared."
"Room singular?" Chisame arched an annoyed eyebrow in Jack's direction, to which he responded with a typical grin and chuckle.
"Don't worry your pretty little head, Chisame." He reached over and ruffled her hair as he said it, like he was trying to banish those worries that way. Or maybe just trying to patronize her. "You don't even know where we are yet."
Well, that was true, and for once she decided to bite her tongue about the fact that it was his fault she didn't. All of his secrecy and his love of surprises… Though she had to admit, he was doing a good job of keeping her entertained. Never a dull moment with Jack Rakan at your side.
"I can give you a tour of our facility, if you'd like." This time the spindly elf girl was addressing her. Chisame wasn't sure, but it felt like the first time the staff at a place they had visited was really taking notice of her rather than her guide since she had arrived. "Our staff will bring your bags to your room."
Jack nudged her in the small of her back when she didn't respond to the receptionist immediately. She'd assumed it was one of those rhetorical questions. Embarrassed, she mumbled out a little, "Yeah, sounds good."
"Excellent." She rang a little silver bell sitting on the desk, and a couple of creatures that looked like goblins in amusing little bellhop outfits like in Western-style hotels came out to fetch their bags from the chauffeur, who retreated out of the building and presumably back to her car to ferry more famous and/or rich people where they needed to be. "If you'd just follow me…"
She came out from the back of the desk and Chisame realized for the first time that her legs were furry and had hooves like a goat. She even watched as she breezed past them towards one of the hallways branching off of the front area to see if she had a fuzzy little tail poking out the back of her dress (she did, and Chisame couldn't help but be amused by that). As she called to them to follow her down the hallway, Chisame took a moment to take in her surroundings.
It definitely wasn't as nice as the hotel Jack had booked for them in the capitol city, that much she could say for certain. She would describe it was… quaint. Raw wooden boards and white plaster and soft golden lights. The wispy woman turned to address them roughly halfway down the hall, but didn't stop walking.
"The rooms you see here are our spa and treatment facilities. We offer full-body massages, skin treatments, and other things. You'll find a brochure detailing all of our services in your rooms." She gestured to the doors lining the hall, each of which had a plaque detailing what was in each room. "In the opposite hallway you'll find the bath facilities. Many of our customers use them in the event of bad weather, but even in clement weather the baths offer many rejuvenative properties and our bath salt mixtures are renowned for their calming essence. And here—" She paused automatically without having to look to see the fact that they had reached the end of the hallway. Clearly she had given this tour plenty of times. "You'll find our outdoor springs. People from all over the Hellas Empire and beyond come to enjoy their healing properties…"
"A hot spring?" Chisame looked at Jack with another one of her artfully raised eyebrows. "You've taken me to a hot spring?"
"You seemed like you needed to relax," Jack replied with a simple shrug. "You're always so high-strung. Besides, you wanted a rest, didn't you?"
"I'm only high-strung when you're around. Funny how that works." Still, she couldn't argue with the wanting a rest part. She hadn't exactly travelled all the way to the magic world to go to a hot springs resort when she could just as easily go to one just a few hours from home… but as just one stop on her journey, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"Like I said, Chisame-chan; just trust ol' Jack." He waggled his finger knowingly at her, and she just stuck her tongue out at him almost by reflex.
The receptionist, realizing she wasn't really being paid attention to, cleared her throat. "I can take you to your room now, if you'd like."
"That's a great idea." And if Jack thought she wasn't going to demand an explanation for the singular room, he clearly didn't know her as well as he thought he did.
Chisame had to admit that even now, sometimes Jack still managed to surprise her.
She stepped out onto the balcony as the man in question dealt with the boring parts of checking in, including getting the room keys. All of the actual rooms seemed to be on the second floor, since the rest of the hotel seemed to be dedicated to the spa and bathhouse. No wonder they'd had to build so many mismatched extensions onto the place.
The view, though—it more than made up for any other lacking aspects. Mountains and lush forests stretched as far as the eye could see. Every time she thought she had seen the most beautiful sights the magic world had to offer, Jack turned around and proved her wrong once again, like he was making it his mission.
"One spare key for one wandering maiden." Suddenly there was an old fashioned silver key being dangled right in front of her face. She quickly grabbed it and stuffed it into her pocket before Jack could pull that stupid move where he pulled the thing he was offering away too fast for her to grab. She could see that as something Jack would pull; he pretty much acted like a child, after all. It just made him laugh. He seemed to laugh more than he made any other noise, even talking. There probably wasn't a lot that someone like Jack couldn't laugh at, considering he had even managed to come back from the dead.
"So." She turned herself around so she was leaning back against the wooden railing instead of leaning over it to look at the scenery. The wide double-doors were slid all the way open so the mountain breeze could cool down the otherwise stuffy room. It was big enough to be a small apartment (and was probably bigger than hers, how that she thought about it) and had all the furniture and fixtures you would expect. A television, a table to sit and eat at, comfortable seating, an attached bathroom—and two separate beds in an alcove that overlooked the same scenic view as the balcony. One looked like a normal bed made for a single person, while the other was practically king sized, and the room clearly wasn't designed with it in mind. "A single room, huh?"
"Hey, cut me some slack." He put his hands up in front of his chest defensively, but since he was still grinning like a moron it wasn't really that effective. "It's not easy to get one room in this place on short notice, never mind two. Or maybe you were hoping for just one bed…?"
She punched him. It was pretty much reflex at that point, as was the blushing that was turning her face the colour of a ripe tomato. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately, it was hard to tell and the answer changed depending on how she was feeling at the moment) his real body wasn't nearly as vulnerable to her punches as the one he'd been using at the reunion, which was starting to feel like it had happened a lifetime ago. It didn't even make him stop smiling; made him grin even wider, if anything.
"C'mon, Chisame. Are you telling me you don't trust me?" He reached out to ruffle her hair, and she just huffed at that like it wasn't even worth the effort of getting mad at. It admittedly didn't annoy her as much as it once had.
"There's a good reason I call you an old pervert, you old pervert." She adjusted her glasses. She had spent quite a few years perfecting her completely unimpressed look, but unfortunately Jack seemed just as unimpressed by it. "But if we're at a hot spring, we shouldn't be wasting our time standing around in our room, right? Just seems like a waste of time."
Jack grinned. "Then lead the way, Chisame."
Chisame folded up her glasses and set them in the provided box along with her clothes. Her hair tie was next, leaving her long hair hanging down loose, which was a rarity nowadays. She could recognize the Chie look when she looked in the mirror, but it was obvious that she was older. Frown lines were the biggest indicator.
She set the box into the cubby, making sure her label was tightly affixed to the box to make sure no one took her things accidentally—not that any of it would deter and intentional thief. As long as no one took her glasses, she really didn't care; it was probably a testament to how weird or fucked up her school life had been that it wouldn't exactly be unfamiliar to have her clothes stolen. (Or maybe that was just one of the dangers of being a young woman. That was an even more fucked up thought, so she didn't linger on it too much.)
The warmth of the steam hit her full in the face as soon as she stepped out the door and into the open air bath area. It struck her with a mineral smell, pretty typical of a natural hot spring as far as she knew. There was some loud feminine giggling coming from behind a rock but she couldn't see the source. The hot spring was big enough that there seemed to be several different pools.
Chisame removed her towel as she slid into the hot spring, the warmth immediately soaking into her weary muscles and bones. It had been a tiring couple of days so far and she had done more walking than she could remember doing since the original magic world incident. Maybe a hot spring wasn't the most original place for a young Japanese woman to go on vacation, but it was definitely what she needed at the moment.
Carrying her towel with her, Chisame moved from the main pool with the many other lingering women to one of the side springs. The tacky brochure that had been left in her and Jack's room had advertised that there was something like thirty separate hot springs on the property and that the guest should "in no way feel limited to the main body of the springs, should they wish to venture further".
The spring she found after a few minutes of wandering seemed to be kept separate from the others, for whatever reason; it was only a small pool, and you had to get out of the spring and cross a small concrete pathway to get to it, though the rock walls all around kept you nicely blocked in and separated from any peeping eyes.
Leaving her towel at the side of the spring, Chisame slipped back into the hot water with an audible sigh. It wasn't like there was anyone around to see or hear. Nobody else seemed to be around, which was surprising considering she had seen quite a few people staying at the spa. Jack hadn't been lying when he said the place was busy...
Chisame closed her eyes and let her mind drift elsewhere, to the point that her head started to feel fuzzy. She knew she needed to be careful about falling asleep in the spring or she might end up drowning herself, but honestly she was so tired that the concern was only lodged in the very back of her mind. It could have been as short as a couple of minutes or as long as an hour when she realized she heard footsteps, and then the splash as someone else lowered themself into the water. She wasn't concerned—the hot spring was hardly a private affair, after all—until she heard the sound of a distinctly male sigh.
Instinct was to squeal in surprise and cover herself, and instincts were generally useful things. She jolted upwards and grabbed for the towel behind her, wrapping it around herself. Had she wandered into the male area of the baths, or had a man done the opposite? Or maybe—
"Jack?!" Her face immediately flushed that same brilliant red from earlier, as much anger as embarrassment. "What the Hell?!"
"Didn't you read the brochure, Chisame?" He wasn't at all bothered, but she expected that from an old pervert like him. "Half a dozen of the springs are mixed springs… it's funny, I never pegged you for a mixed bathing kind of women. Guess you learn something new every day."
Chisame ground her teeth. Of course she had missed that part of the brochure. No wonder this place was so out of the way and no one else was using it!
(It never even crossed her mind to consider that Jack might be trying to trick her in some way. There was a time when it would have been the very first thing she considered. Things really did change, not that Chisame would ever consciously acknowledge it.)
Jack looked perfectly content, leaning back with his hands folded behind his head. The big idiot didn't look like he had a care in the world. Maybe at the beginning of the trip Chisame would have said that was exactly the case—and she still figured that was mostly true, all things considered.
"Relax, little lady. You don't have anything I haven't seen before." He chuckled and stretched. He didn't have anything she hadn't seen before, either—especially from the waist up, considering the fact that he rarely ever wore a shirt. The only time she could remember him wearing one in as long as she'd known him was when he had been wearing a full suit. "But if you're feeling self-conscious, I'll close my eyes while you climb out and head back to the lady's side."
She fumed silently. He would tease her if she left now. 'All in good fun', of course. She glared viciously at him in silence, the hand holding her towel in place shaking with frustration—before yanking the towel off, dropping it on the edge of the hot spring, and dropping into the cloudy water.
Jack was getting pretty used to having Chisame around. He'd missed their back and forth over the years, he had to admit. Kept him on his toes, especially when Nagi had been gone so long he had been starting to worry he was losing the knack. She and the kid had been a breath of fresh air. He'd always had to wonder why those two hadn't worked out…
Chisame was staring at him like she could burn holes through him with her eyes. Had he gone too far? Nah, she was a tough girl, she could take his ribbing. She was probably just cranky. Maybe even thinking he had tracked her down just to torment her, though it had honestly been pure coincidence that he'd found he same mixed bathing spring she had while just trying to look for some privacy—the last thing a man wanted was to be bothered by strangers while he was taking a bath, right?
Ah well. If it bothered her that much, he could let her have the spring; there were plenty more where that came from, after all. But just when he was about to make the offer to vacate the premises for her, Chisame—
—took her towel off and sat back in the springs.
There was only a split second between when the towel got removed and when she sat back down and everything disappeared into steamy water, but that split second was enough to cause his brain to shut down. Critical system failure, as someone like Chisame might say. He recovered from the surprise pretty fast, but not fast enough for Chisame not to notice. She raised an eyebrow at him—she was doing that a lot lately—and crossed her arms over her chest. Not like she was trying to hide it, but like she was about to scold him.
"What was that about not having anything you haven't seen before?" She slid even further into the water until the only thing above the water was her head. That long hair of hers floated out around her in every direction.
"Eh… you can't really blame me for being surprised, Chisame-chan. Last time I saw you naked in a spring you practically had a heart attack. Did you really change so much over the years?" He stuck his thumb and forefinger under his chin like he was considering a very important question. Well, in his mind, it was a very important question.
"You just caught me by surprise that time." Chisame waved her hand at him like she was waving him off. "Not that I'm really all that happy about you seeing me… but even if you're an old pervert, you're pretty much harmless. Just obnoxious."
He leaned back against the edge of the hot springs, oh so casually. Well, she was just full of surprises, wasn't she? He'd figured that he had Chisame all figured out, but she kept throwing him all kinds of curve balls.
Ah, well—the fire of youth. It would keep him young. Provided Chisame didn't send him into a heart attack first.
Hot springs liked to say that they were the most rejuvenating experience a person could have. Chisame very much doubted that, but she had to admit that it was exactly what she had needed to help soothe her tired muscles.
Wearing a fuzzy white robe with a towel around her head, Chisame wandered around the apartment-like room Jack had rented for them. It was nice and cool with the breeze blowing in through the open doors. She'd never gone to a hot spring with her parents—it wasn't really a kid thing, at least not for a kid like her, and by the time she'd gotten old enough she had stopped going on trips with her parents even when she was home.
Once again she found herself out on the balcony. It was late evening now and the sun setting behind the mountains gave everything a rosy golden hue. It was so picturesque it was almost sickening, and once again the thought that she could make a living just selling picture post cards snuck into her brain. Maybe she could make that suggestion to Asakura, as "thanks" for sending her out here unexpectedly—investigative journalism wasn't exactly a high-paying career these days, after all.
"Hellooooo. Anyone in there?"
Chisame winced as a couple of meaty knuckles rapped on the back of her head. At least Jack seemed aware of his own strength. He could probably knock her head clean off her shoulders otherwise…
The swordsman leaned against the railing next to her. It seemed like it was becoming a habit for the two of them to gravitate towards each other like this. She wasn't sure that was a habit she really wanted to be forming… but at least it meant that he wasn't likely to run off on her, like she was worried he was going to do at the beginning of the trip.
She didn't respond to him. She didn't think he was really looking for a response; he was just poking at her for the sake of poking at her, or maybe just to catch her attention.
The response she did give him was to lean in against him, her head resting against the massive bulk of his upper arm muscles. She reached up to take her glasses off of her face and folded them, holding them loosely in her fingers as she closed her eyes. The cool breeze rang the chimes hanging off of one of the other nearby balconies.
Jack chuckled and reached over with his other hand to give her head a pat. She didn't complain for once, just leaned against him, pale cheek pressed against dark arm.
Through his skin she could hear—no, she could feel the steady thu-thump, thu-thump of Jack's heartbeat.
