Hey, everyone! Thanks to all those who read and/or reviewed! It's much appreciated! Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter; I've just been busy with school starting up again so soon! Anyways, this is the typical hot springs "episode," except it's the girls doing the sneaking instead of the boys, lol. Isn't role reversal fun?
But first, let me try to answer some of my reviewers...
Inikus - The chapter titles remind me of something, too, but I can't really figure out what it is myself, lol! I'm thinking maybe the episode titles from an anime called Blue Seed...that's the only thing I can think of, but I'm not exactly sure if that's right. As for Maya, those are probably the two main reasons (there is a third that comes up later, though...), although he thinks of her more as a friend than anything else (especially as the story progresses...and she becomes even stupider...lol). As for Tasaka, he still doesn't like Shuichi, but he tolerates him - mainly because he doesn't want to be as crazy as Seita (because who would want to be as crazy as Seita, lol). Seita's still always out for revenge and trying to make Shuichi's life miserable, though, and there is still a lot of competition between Tasaka and Shuichi, especially because they're both the class representative of their respective classes (which will be seen a lot during the sports festival arc). The other problem is that poor Tasa-chan is always having to fend off Ritsuki that he doesn't get much of a chance to hate on Shuichi as much, as opposed to Seita, who sadly doesn't have a social life to keep him preoccupied...
splout - I hope you don't mind Maya too much; in a way, she's supposed to be annoying (hence why the others, especially Namiko, tend to get frustrated with her). Still, I think that she's pretty funny. Also, I read over chapter five and I'm still lost as to how Shuichi was out of character like you pointed out. If you could maybe be more specific, maybe I could try and revise it or be more aware when writing future chapters - it would be much appreciated! As for the question of Maya looking like Shuichi's mother, that's actually debatable. Yusuke and Kuwabara think so, while Keiko doesn't (as will be reinforced in later chapters as well). It's two against one, but Keiko's a more reliable source. So it's really up to the readers and what they think - as well as what will make the story more enjoyable for them. As for in the actual manga, I'm not sure if Shuichi's mom and Maya even look remotely similar...of course, a few years have passed, so you can assume that Maya's looks changed a bit as she entered high school to resemble Shuichi's mother more...anyways, it's really up to you! Whatever floats your boat, I guess, lol!
Alli-dunno - I'm a big fan of Shuichi and Kaito's odd friendship, too, so I'm glad you like it! Kaito ended up being a great addition to the story so I'm glad I added him and made him have such a prominent role in the story.
Aishuu - I'm glad you enjoyed! And thanks so much for the nice review! It's very appreciated!
Phew! That was pretty long! Sorry about that! Anyways, without any further adieu, let the wackiness and insanity of Everybody Loves Shuichi! continue!
Chapter Ten: Hot Springs Mission! Operation Enter the Men's Bath!
The next evening, Shuichi, Tasaka, Kaito, Kyoji, and Seita sat in the men's bath, taking advantage of the few spare hours of free time they had to use the hot springs. The warm, spring night sky with the hot waters of the bath were both relaxing and welcoming to Shuichi, who had been under a lot of stress over the last couple weeks. At least the dilemma with Tasaka had been remedied slightly, although Tasaka seemed to shoot him a few scowls every once and awhile. Still, it seemed Tasaka was truly trying to hold temper and even had attempted to start up a few casual conversations with Shuichi, even if there still was an obvious suspicion still lingering in Tasaka's gaze.
However, the rocky friendship concerned the other boys little, particularly Kyoji who slinked over to the bamboo wall that separated the men's bath from the women's bath. "Just think…beautiful, naked teenage girls - right on the other side!" Kyoji eagerly exclaimed. "Imagine Ritsuki!"
Kaito smirked a bit. "As insufferable as that woman's personality is, she does have some valuable assets."
"There's got to be some way we can get over there," Kyoji continued.
"Don't be absurd," Seita said. "It's absolutely impossible."
Swimming back over to Seita, Kyoji urged, "Come on, Seita; you've got to want to take a peep, too! I mean, even Namiko would look good to you if you were to see her naked."
Seita's face turned bright red at the thought as he stuttered, "Well…I guess…I mean…"
"I'd look at that, too, even if she is kind of crazy," Kaito concurred. "Although, I'm sure Shuichi would like to see a certain other female friend of his…" He trailed off as he and Kyoji began to snicker.
Shuichi frowned sternly, however, his cheeks turning slightly pink, and said, "I really don't think it would be wise for us to continue to discuss these types of things."
He was right, as always, because Tasaka had been slowly, but furiously boiling as the conversation had progressed. Suddenly, he snapped, most likely due to the implications of his sister, and irately and self-righteously stood up, indignantly declaring, "You better not even think about entering the women's bath, you disgusting perverts! Don't you have any respect or decency! I won't allow any of you to harm my sister's good virtue or the virtue of any of the other young girls in the bath! Do you think Maya or Namiko would be so low as to sneak in and spy on us? You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"
The boys all frowned, a bit startled by Tasaka's fierce scolding - but more so by the fact that he was standing naked in water that only reached as high as his lower thigh. Hesitantly, Shuichi dared to speak up and said, "Um…Tasaka…?"
It was then that Tasaka noticed how conspicuous he was being. His whole body turned bright red and he hastily dropped back down to the water, sitting down so that the water covered up to his chest. Meanwhile, Kyoji grumbled, "Great, now what are we supposed to do? Tasaka's basically ruined the whole trip."
Kaito shrugged. "I suppose we'd understand better if we had a sister."
Kyoji frowned a little. "But I do have a sister and I still don't get it."
Kaito sighed and shook his head before turning to a still beat red Tasaka and commenting, "You should just be lucky that Hiroshi wasn't here, eh, Tasaka?"
Tasaka's face managed to turn even redder while Shuichi blinked in surprise and remarked, "That's odd; where is Hiroshi?"
Namiko and Maya spotted Ritsuki in her towel, huddled with Hiroshi as the two stood next to the women's bath, discussing some secretive plan. The two girls exchange quizzical glances before they swam over, taking their towels from the side of the bath and wrapping it around themselves. Emerging from the bath, Namiko and Maya curiously walked over to Ritsuki and Hiroshi.
"Um…Ritsu…?" Namiko first asked when Ritsuki suddenly turned to her with a wild grin.
"Hurry up and get dressed!" she ordered. "We've got a mission!"
"Mission?" Namiko asked as she and Maya stared at Ritsuki in puzzlement. However, suddenly the "mission" clicked in Namiko's head and she blushed frantically. "You're not talking about sneaking into the men's bath again, are you!"
"Exactly!" Ritsuki proudly exclaimed and then pulled out two maps that she and Hiroshi had designed, handing one to Namiko. "This one's for you and Ma-chan; me and Hiroshi have studied the area fairly well and we've tracked out a course for you. Me and Hiroshi are going to go around from the other side; we'll attack from both sides. As soon as you get to your side, just give some sort of signal and then we'll pounce! They'll have nowhere to run!"
"But, Ritsu, we can't - "
Ritsuki interrupted her, however, as she swung her arm around the reluctant and skeptical Namiko. "Come on, Nami! This is your one big chance to see Shu-chan - in the nude! How could you pass up an opportunity like that! After all, don't you want the first guy you see naked to be Shu-chan?"
Namiko frowned, her cheeks flushing a bit more. "Shu…chan…" Ritsuki was right; how could she pass up to see her beautiful, wonderful Shuichi Minamino in all his glory? Her eyes flashed with a ravenous sparkle at the thought of her beloved Shuichi, his soft red hair flowing, his warm gaze twinkling, his chest bare, and roses all around him. Suddenly feeling enraptured by the image (as she couldn't imagine very much else unless it was from his waist up), she cried resolutely, "All right! I'll do it!"
"That's the spirit, Nami!" Ritsuki applauded.
Meanwhile, Maya frowned, placing a finger worriedly to her chin. "But…isn't my brother over there…?"
"Don't worry, Ma-chan," Ritsuki then insisted. "You'll have plenty of other things to be looking at besides your brother."
"Okay…" Maya trailed off, still a little bewildered as to what was going on.
"Now, let's go!" Ritsuki cheered and the girls were off with Hiroshi.
Namiko and Maya walked through the woods outside of their inn in the dark, Namiko now dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and Maya dressed in a casual spring dress. Namiko led the way, using the flashlight Ritsuki had provided her to read the map Ritsuki had given them. Namiko stopped for a moment and bit her lower lip as she studied the map with confusion. She was certain they should have gotten there by now; could it be they had gotten lost somehow?
"Is something wrong, Nami?" Maya asked.
Namiko furrowed her brows as she looked around. She could not see the inn anywhere in sight. She then looked upward, hoping the stars could somehow be her guide although she had no idea how to use them to figure out her direction. Unfortunately, it didn't matter, anyway, as the canopy of the trees blocked the view of the night sky, leaving the woods even darker. Namiko shuddered, feeling cold and worried. Say if they had really gotten lost and they were lost in the remote woods beside Mount Kurama, never to be found again? How was she supposed to find her way using some makeshift map in the middle of the night to begin with? If only she had been given a compass or something to point her in the right direction, although she doubted even that would help her as she had no idea which direction her inn was.
"Maybe we should try going back…" Maya suggested, recoiling her arms worriedly to her chest as she shuddered with the cold breeze. "It's been almost an hour…"
"An hour?" Namiko asked fearfully. It certainly shouldn't have taken them an hour to get from the women's bath to the men's bath; they were only a few yards away from each other, separated only by a thin wall of bamboo. How could so much time have passed?
"Nami?"
Namiko let out a laugh; there was certainly no need to worry her innocent comrade or to have both of them desperately trying to fend off panic. "Yes, let's go back!" she said, even though she had no idea where "back" was. "Don't worry, Maya! I know the way."
Maya frowned doubtfully, making Namiko feel all the more uneasy; if even Maya was doubtful, they were definitely in trouble. But Namiko pursued on, leading the way as best as she could.
The girls continued walking for awhile longer until they heard a screeching sound coming from atop the trees. Both girls let out a cry and grabbed onto each other in fright. Trembling, they looked around. "What was that?" Namiko asked in a shaky voice.
"I don't know," Maya answered honestly. "Probably just a bird, right?"
"Right…" Namiko skeptically replied, not entirely convinced. Trying to compose herself, she released Maya and said, "Maybe it was a bad idea to follow Ritsu. I knew it was immoral. I should have never agreed to it! I was trying to betray my beloved Shuichi for my own selfish reasons! No wonder why fate has scorned me!" She let out a sob, her composure quickly falling to her anguish.
Maya, meanwhile, patted Namiko on the shoulder. "It's all right, Nami; at least we're not lost, you know?"
Namiko sharply spun around and took hold of Maya by both shoulders. "Don't you get it, Ma-chan? We've been circling these woods for over an hour! We can't see the inn anymore! There are scary bird things flying all around! We're most likely going to starve to death out here by the time anyone finds us or be eaten alive by a bear or worse!"
Maya smiled stupidly and optimistically insisted, "But we're still not lost!"
Namiko let out a sigh of aggravation and cried, "Of course we're lost! We're out in the woods and we don't know where we're going! That's what lost means!"
"We don't know where we're going?" Maya asked innocently.
"Yes!" Namiko shouted in exasperation . "Why do you think we've been traveling around the forest for the last hour!"
"Because we're looking for the men's bath," Maya answered proudly.
"Yes…but…" Namiko struggled helplessly. "But we can't find it."
"Why not?"
"Because we're lost!" Namiko nearly screamed before falling to the grass and sobbing.
Maya frowned and replied, "I'm sorry, Nami, but I'm sure whatever it is that you lost you'll find again."
Namiko let out a shrill, frustrated sigh as she suddenly felt the urge to rip out her hair. "I didn't lose anything, Ma-chan. I - "
"Oh, I'm glad you finally found it!" Maya interrupted. "I told you that you'd find it eventually! Now let's get going!" Maya then began blissfully and ignorantly walking again while Namiko started to sob once more.
"To think, all this aggravation just to see my beloved Shuichi…" she muttered in despair when suddenly the sound of male laughter caught her ear. Namiko immediately perked up with a newfound hope, sitting erect and listening attentively. Her eyes widened and she began to laugh as the sound came to her ear once more. "Ha ha!" she exclaimed, leaping to her feet and clasping onto Maya, who was going in the opposite direction. "Listen, Maya!"
Maya paused to listen and then said, "Hmm, that sounds like men laughing…" She then shrugged and continued to walk in the opposite direction.
"Maya!" Namiko snapped in frustration as she began pulling her in the direction of the laughter.
Soon, the two girls could also hear the sound of running water - a sure sign that the hot springs was near. When they reached a tall, thick wall of bushes and hedges, the girls fell to their knees and began to crawl. "Just a little farther," Namiko whispered to Maya as they crawled through the bushes, the light from the hot springs slowly beginning to seep through the branches. "Almost there…and soon I'll be blessed with the beauty of my darling Shuichi!" She giggled excitedly as she and Maya reached the edge of the bushes.
"This is it!" Namiko declared as both girls pushed their way out of the bushes and onto the walkway outside the men's bath beside an inn that looked oddly unfamiliar. And before them towered a fat, old, ugly and completely naked man. Both girls turned deathly white as their hair went on end and their eyes widened in horror. Then, they both let out a loud, high-pitched, ear-piercing scream.
"Did you hear something?" Shuichi asked in bewilderment as he sat in the men's bath with the others. He could have sworn he heard the echo of some sort of scream in the distance. But the others simply shrugged nonchalantly and Shuichi sighed and thought no more of it, returning back to his relaxing hot springs bath.
"Ew! Ew! Ew!" Namiko repeated over and over again as Maya kept saying, "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!"
The two girls had somehow managed to retreat back to the woods where they now sat in utter disgust and fright, their eyes tightly shut as they tried to erase the horrific image that had already engraved itself in their memories.
"I've been scarred for life!" Namiko cried in despair. "The first man I was supposed to see was Shuichi, not that…that horrible…" She let out a wail of suffering, unable to finish her sentence. "How could this happen? How did we get to that God-forsaken inn with that terrible hot springs!"
"Because we were lost?" Maya suggested.
"Of course we were lost, Ma-chan!" Namiko sobbed.
"We'll just go back, Nami," Maya then desperately said. "And then maybe we'll just forget the whole thing."
"That's easy for you to say; you forget everything," Namiko countered with some resentment. "But me - that repulsive man will forever be etched in my poor, sullied mind!" Namiko then shook her head, her resolve slowly returning to her with a newfound desperation - one that refused her to yield, even in the face of death. "No, Ma-chan! We have to find the men's bath - the real men's bath! It is no longer a question of curiosity or desire; it is now a question of necessity! We need to erase the horrible image of that horrible man from our minds and the only way we can do that is if we replace them with the beautiful sight of Shuichi! Even Kyoji or Tasaka or Kaito - anyone would be better than that man! We've gone too far to give up now and I refuse to allow the suffering we endured at the grotesque sight of that naked man be in vain! We must preserve, Ma-chan! It's the only way we can save ourselves from our terrible fate - the next time either of us will ever get to see another naked man is probably when we're married and that won't be for years! Can you really go years with having the sole image of a nude man be that revolting old man!"
"Um…" Maya trailed off, completely perplexed by Namiko's long-winded speech and elevated rhetoric.
"Exactly, Ma-chan!" Namiko, however, declared. Unfortunately, her determination quickly shattered as she stared down at the map that she didn't know how to use. "But how will we ever succeed when we're completely lost? By the time we find our way back, Shuichi and the others will have already left the hot springs."
Maya blinked a few times as she looked over Namiko's shoulder to study the map. "Oh, we're right here," Maya said simply as she pointed her finger at their location. "So we just have to go this way!" She then confidently began to strode, much to Namiko's confusion.
"But…Ma-chan…wait!" she called after her before she began to follow.
Within fifteen minutes, they had found their way back to the inn. "Here we are!" Maya exclaimed as the two girls looked over the bushes to see the five unknowing boys sitting in the bath still.
"You know, you're a very baffling person at times, Ma-chan," Namiko commented with a quizzical expression. She then looked forward and frowned, furrowing her brows in disappointment. "Well, we're not going to be able to see anything if they're all sitting down."
Maya nodded, frowning as well. "Hey, where do you think Ritsu is?"
"Um…she said to give some sort of signal…" Namiko recalled. "But do you really think she'd be waiting around for that long? I mean, it's been an hour and a half already…"
"But we should still try, right?" Maya asked.
"Well, I guess Ritsu would know best when handling this type of situation," Namiko reasoned, almost certain that Ritsuki must have done this sort of thing before. She then rubbed her chin and wondered aloud, "But what kind of signal can we give? It has to be something that Ritsu and Hiro will notice, but the others won't catch onto."
"How about that?" Maya asked, pointing downward and Namiko looked to see a small rock sitting beside her feet.
"I guess that could work…"
"I'm not getting any substantial shots," Ristuki complained as she lay hidden in the bushes with Hiroshi on the other side of the men's bath, using her digital camera's zoom lens to snap some pictures of Shuichi and the others as they sat in the hot springs. "I mean, I got a couple of pretty good ones, but most of the time they've just been sitting, unfortunately…"
"What do you think is taking Ma-chan and Nami so long?" Hiroshi asked.
"I don't know; maybe they got lost," Ritsuki offered.
Hiroshi let out a sharp chuckle. "Lost? Getting to a bath only a few yards away?"
Ritsuki suppressed the urge to giggle at the ridiculous notion. She then said, "I guess they're probably still debating about the moral integrity of the mission. But, don't worry, Hiro; if I know anything about curious, naïve teenage girls, I know that they can't resist taking a harmless, little peek of a cute naked boy when presented with the opportunity. They'll come around eventually."
It was then that they heard Seita let out a cry of "Ow!" Ritsuki and Hiroshi anxiously looked on to see what all the fuss was about as did the others in the bath.
"What's wrong, Seita?" Kyoji asked as Seita grabbed onto the side of his head in pain.
"Someone through a rock at my head!" he indignantly exclaimed and the other boys gasped in surprise.
"But why would anyone want to do that for?" Kyoji persisted.
"How the hell should I know!" Seita snapped as the pain in his throbbing head increased and Kyoji cowered slightly.
Meanwhile, Shuichi's face became grave as he narrowed his eyes; something had surrounded them. He could sense at least four, lower-class demons of some kind perhaps, readying to attack.
As Shuichi darkly contemplated, Ritsuki let out a small squeal of excitement, sitting up. "That must be the signal!" she whispered. "Now it's time for strategy Damsel in Distress!"
"You think that Nami and Ma-chan will catch onto it?" Hiroshi asked.
"Of course; they're smart girls, after all," Ritsuki lightly replied and then let out a loud, high-pitched scream.
The boys all gasped at the sound of a girl's scream. "Oh, no! That sounded like one of the girls!" Kyoji exclaimed.
"You don't think some pervert's snuck into the women's bath, do you?" Kaito asked worriedly and the other boys' expressions became filled with apprehension.
Namiko, in the meantime, said, "I get it!" She then turned to Maya and instructed, "Ma-chan, I want you to scream 'Somebody, help!' as loud as you can, okay?"
"Okay…" Maya trailed off, a bit confused to what exactly was going on, before she closed her eyes tightly and screamed desperately, "Somebody, help!"
Tasaka, Kyoji, Kaito, and Seita all gasped once more and now urgently rose as Tasaka fearfully cried out, "Maya!"
Shuichi's eyes, on the other hand, widened, suddenly piecing the pieces of Ritsuki's diabolical plan together and, rising himself, exclaimed, "No, wait! It's a trap!"
But it was too late for they were all soon face to face with a slightly bewildered Maya and a gushing Namiko.
"Ma…Maya!" Tasaka stammered in disbelief.
"Shuichi!" Namiko then cried, her cheeks turning pink as she clasped her hands and pressed them against her breast in an ecstatic, enamored daze.
The five boys' expressions became filled with both panic and embarrassment as they stood there naked in front of the two girls, their bodies turning bright red in embarrassment, particularly Shuichi, who was the main focus of Namiko's loving stares.
"Smile, boys!" a familiar, female voice then came from behind them and the five boys turned to see a grinning Ritsuki with a smirking Hiroshi and her digital camera in hand as she snapped a picture, zoom lens, flash, and all.
The boys' already bright red faces contorted in their humiliation and panic for a moment longer before anger set in, particularly with Tasaka, who shouted to Ritsuki, "Hey, give us that camera, you little - "
"Now, now, Tasa-chan! I'm saving these pictures for posterity!" Ritsuki cheekily interrupted with a giggle, snapping a few more pictures before her and Hiroshi fled.
"Come back here!" Tasaka called furiously after them, but it was in vain as he was unfortunately too embarrassed and too naked to actually pursue them. Irately, he made an indignant fist and exclaimed, "That stupid, evil woman! She's even corrupted my sister!"
"Shu…ichi…" Namiko, meanwhile, swooned once more before collapsing in her lust.
"Nami!" Maya cried, catching the nearly fainted Namiko as she fell to her knees. The five boys' turned back to them in concern as Maya worriedly shook the blissfully smiling and passed out Namiko. "Wake up, Nami! Wake up!" She then looked up at the five boys in puzzlement, blinking a few times, and asked, "Hey, where'd all of your clothes go?"
And the five boys sighed in disgust.
"At last, our trip is over," Miss Nagai said in relief the next morning as she stood on the bus again, her, Mr. Fukuda, and their students on their way back to Mieou Academy from the Kurama Onsen. "Thankfully, it was completed without incident, wouldn't you say, Mr. Fukuda?"
"Yeah, yeah, unfortunately," Mr. Fukuda grumbled, reminiscing bitterly about the mundane last couple days while Miss Nagai grinned triumphantly, pleased by her fellow colleague's disappointment.
Meanwhile, Maya and Namiko giggled as they looked through the pictures on Ritsuki's digital camera while Hiroshi and Ritsuki hung over the seat behind them to get a good look as well. Shuichi, Tasaka, Kyoji, Seita, and Kaito, on the other hand, glowered irritably over at them - and tried their best not to blush.