Chapter 40

"Why am I being dragged along into this?" Erez asked, as he followed Vicki and Samantha down the hotel's hallway.

"Because it's a great cultural experience and time to bond," Vicki said.

"Or because we've been stuck on a stuffy plane for nearly a day and could all use a wash," Samantha added.

"Calm down," Vicki said. "From what I've seen, Japanese baths are the perfect places to wind down after a long trip!'

"And where have you heard that?" Erez asked. "In an Anime?"

"I've read the manga too," Vicki said offhandedly. "And also in travel books and such. It'll be fine."

Erez paused as they came to the entrance of the bath. "Shouldn't there be two different rooms?" he asked. "One for men and one for women?"

"Don't be silly," Vicki said. "At this hotel, it's unisex."

Samantha paused too. "I wasn't ready for that kind of a bath," she said.

Vicki rolled her eyes. "That's why we'll change into our bathing suits first."

Samantha shook her head. "Even if I were fine with that, what if there are other people in there? I am not going into an occupied unisex bath."

Vicki sighed. "You two are killjoys. Look, you two change, and I'll double check to make sure we're alone first. If somebody else shows up, we will leave."

Samantha looked at Erez and shrugged. Erez finally caved in too, and said, "Fine, but you two better look away while I'm changing."

"Then let's get to this!" Vicki said.

They entered the small dressing room, and changed into their bathing suits in the shower stalls. After double-checking that the room was empty, Vicki led them into the main bathhouse. About half of the space was taken up by a tiled floor around various faucets, but the rest of the room was occupied by a long hot tub. Although it was late at night, the water was still kept at a warm temperature, with steam filling up half the room. To liven the room up, the far wall was adorned with traditional artwork, as well as some statues and even a small sōzu, which was clapping in the far corner of the room.

Vicki grinned widely. "This is so cool!" she said. "I've always wanted to come to one of these! It's not quite as nice as some of the opened air bath houses I've read about, but this totally rocks."

They quickly rinsed off at the faucets and then entered the main hot tub. Samantha lowered herself into the tub and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. The warm waters felt great against her skin, especially on the exposed ice burn on her arm, which had started to heal.

"Now what?" Erez mumbled, feeling slightly uncomfortable. This was not a social experience he was used to.

Vicki laughed. "Now we can just sit back and chat."

"Chat about what?" Erez said. "We had plenty of time to chat on the plane ride over."

"Yeah, but that was with all the adults hanging around us," Vicki said. "There's just some stuff you can't really talk about when the grownups are around."

"Stuff like what?" Erez asked.

"I dunno, just whatever you want to talk about," Vicki said. "Favorite television show. New cooking recipes you've tried out." She flashed a sly grin. "Any potential crushes you have."

Erez turned even redder and sank further into the water. "Why would you want to talk about that?" he stammered.

"I think it's a healthy conversation topic," Vicki said. "I know you don't do a lot with people outside of school, but there must be some girls you like. Back me up on this, Samantha."

"Don't bring me into this," Samantha said dully. She didn't want to make Erez more uncomfortable than he looked.

"Fine," Vicki said, admitting defeat. "Well, there are some boys I like back home. There's this one guy who was in my Japanese class who was awfully cute; he was fun to flirt with."

"You'll flirt with any good looking boy," Samantha muttered. "I can't even tell if you have any real preferences."

"I have standards," Vicki snipped, but now she turned on Samantha. "What about you? Who do you have the hots for?"

Samantha blushed uncontrollably. "Nobody in particular," she said. "I don't really fit in with stuff like that, given my whole 'tomboy' status and all."

"Fine, don't share," Vicki said, rolling her eyes. "I'll just go over more details of guys I like. Now, there's that one boy who works at the city pool…"

Samantha sunk further into the water. It wasn't so much that she didn't find other boys attractive, but her self-consciousness of her unfeminine qualities prevented her from ever seriously thinking about dating. Samantha knew it shouldn't bother her, but it still did anyway. Sometimes she wished she had the self-confidence of Vicki.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard something move in the water at the far end of the tub, which was shrouded in steam. Suddenly, a new figure rose, and Samantha realized they were not quite alone.

Vicki and Erez noticed this a few moments later, as a Japanese lady seemingly appeared out of the mist. She had been sitting back in steamy part of the hot tub, which is how the three had overlooked her. She turned to the three of them and curtly said something in Japanese.

"Oh no, we're not alone!" Vicki said, quickly bowing to the lady. "Gomen'nasai, Gomen'nasai!"

The lady blinked, and then spoke in English, although with a thick accent. "You are American tourists?" she asked. "It is unusual for anybody to be in here so late." Her eyes focused on Erez. "Especially with mixed company."

"Oh, you speak English," Vicki said, half disappointed that she couldn't further practice her Japanese. "We just arrived pretty late, and I read that the bath was unisex…"

"No, not unisex," the lady said. "It runs in shifts. For some hours it's for men. At other times, like now, it's for women."

"Oh," Vicki said, the realization hitting her. "I must not have translated that part correctly."

"I apologize for our disturbance," Samantha said to the lady. "We just got off a long plane ride, and we thought we were alone in here."

"Do not fret," the lady said, taking notice of the concern on Erez's face. "I do not wish to alarm you; just to inform you of the mistake so you can avoid it in the future. In some ways, your arrival was good fortune, as I had dozed off, and your conversation awoke me." She gave a short bow to the three of them. "Kon'nichiwa, My name is Sato Hikari. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

"Kon'nichiwa," Vicki said, repeating the bow. "I am Kesler Vicki, and these are my friends, Peregrine Samantha and Beacan Erez."

"I think you got our names reverse," Erez pointed out.

"Actually, in Japan, we speak our family name first," Hikari explained. "But I understand the confusion. I studied over in America, and the cultural change did baffle me at times." She paused. "Although it is unusual for American children to be on their own, especially in a foreign country. Are your parents not with you?"

"Technically, no," Vicki said. "We're traveling with a group, and the three of us wanted to get cleaned up before bed, especially when we wouldn't get a chance to take a bath tomorrow cause we're supposed to be very busy and…"

Samantha elbowed Vicki in the side. "We don't need to bore Miss Hikari with all our plans," she said, trying to give Vicki the hint to not spoil any of their secrets.

"Actually, we would refer to her as Sato-san, because that's her surname," Vicki said, not missing a beat.

"And what kind of group would be traveling as such?" Hikari inquired.

"Well, I guess it's more like a family trip," Vicki continued, using the cover they had previously agreed upon while on the flight over. "They've been taking us all over the place, partially for business needs, and partially for the fun of it."

"You're family?" Hikari asked, now focusing on Samantha, whose bronze skin stood out quite a bit against Vicki and Erez's paleness.

"They're technically our uncles, so in a way that makes the rest of our cousins," Vicki said. "That's why we're so close. They figure if we're together, we're fine taking a bath here without them, if just for a little while."

"Ah, that is good," Hikari said. "I just want to make sure you are well taken care of. In our culture, we take care of our younger children, but I understand that Americans can differ quite a bit on the matter."

"Yes, our cultures are different, but that's part of what makes it so fascinating to travel here," Vicki said. "You said you've been to America. What did you think of that? Where did you travel to? What are the best places to travel around here? I know I might not get a lot of time to wander around tomorrow, but there's so much to see and do and…"

Hikari held up her hand to cut her off. "I am sorry, Kesler-san," she said. "But it is very late for me, and I have already stayed in here for too long. Perhaps if you are here tomorrow night, we may continue our conversation."

"Are you here a lot?" Vicki asked. "Do you work in the hotel?"

"I am working nearby, and have been staying here for the convenience," Hikari said, stepping out of the bath, where Samantha could see that she was wrapped up in a towel, and had a nice, lean body.

"Sayōnara," Hikari said, walking to the changing room. "Enjoy your bath."

Vicki grinned sheepishly at her two friends. "Well, for a surprise visitor, that could've gone a lot worse."

"Well, it was so strange of you to have misread the bit about this being unisex," Samantha said accusingly.

"Honest mistake," Vicki said with a shrug. "I am still learning the nuances to this language."

"Well, that was still super awkward," Erez said, slouched down in the water.

"Yes, but we probably would've never met such a gorgeous Japanese lady otherwise!" Vicki said. "That's why Japanese bath houses are the best; the culture and social benefits are great."

"Just next time, read the sign properly," Samantha muttered, leaning back herself in the hot steamy waters. "For now, let's just relax in silence."