It didn't take long for us to reach Atago's camp, and I have to admit, I was certainly surprised by what we found. She'd managed to set up a rather nice campsite just at the entrance to a large cave, with several tents, a well-maintained fire, and several crates of rations. She must have somehow had fresh ingredients as well, as she had a pot suspended just over the fire, something bubbling away inside it. As the savory aroma wafted over to us, my mouth began to water and I immediately realized just how hungry I was. How long had it been since I'd eaten anything? There were dried rations in my pack but compared to the heavenly scent coming from that pot they may as well have been blocks of sand.

Atago turned around and must have caught the hungry look on my face because she giggled and called me out. "Looks like someone's already a fan of big sister's cooking."

"S-sorry," I stammered as my cheeks flushed. "Haven't eaten in a while, we've been…ah…busy."

Her smile grew wider and more mischievous and I quickly realized I'd picked a poor choice of words. "'Busy', huh?" she teased, "I had no idea you moved so quickly, Takao…"

Both Takao and I loudly sputtered and stammered out our protestations, our words jumbling up with one another's, much to Atago's glee. "Oh, that's too precious," she laughed and shook her head at our embarrassment. "You two turn the exact same shade of red."

Takao and I glanced at each other, saw our flushed cheeks, and immediately blushed harder and looked away. "I-it's not like that's something we can control!" she barked at her sister. "A-and you know we'd never do something so improper after we just met!"

Atago and I had the same question running through our minds, but she was the only one to voice it. "So you would do something improper with the Commander eventually?"

Judging by how red her entire face was, I was certain Takao was only seconds away from rupturing a blood vessel. "Atago, you-!" she began, then caught herself, closed her eyes, and took a deep, calming breath. Most of the redness had begun to fade from her face when she opened her eyes, although a light blush remained. "You know that's not what I meant. Now, if you will please get serious. I see you've set up a rather impressive-looking base camp. Have you found anything of note yet?"

While Atago's smile stayed on, it lost much of its mischievous nature as she nodded. "I did! I've been trying to find a way into the mountain through an underground passage, rather than through the jungle, and while I haven't found one that leads into the mountain, I did find something else in this particular cave."

"What is it?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. "Weapons cache, data storage, fresh food?"

She shook her head and excitedly answered, "Hot springs!"

I was incredulous. "Hot springs?" I slowly repeated, not sure if I'd heard her correctly.

"Yes!" she happily confirmed. "I've already made sure it was safe and put it to good use, so you can use it if you wish, Commander."

While it was certainly tempting to try out the restorative properties Takao had been praising them for earlier, I wasn't exactly comfortable stripping down and hopping into a bath in the middle of hostile territory, especially with my other shipgirls still missing. "I…ah…I don't think now's a good time…" I haltingly declined.

Atago firmly shook her head, her hands on her hips. "Nonsense! You've just come from a hard battle and you both deserve to get some much-needed rest and relaxation. Besides, it's going to be dark soon and there's no way we'll be able to make any sort of progress at night. So go on and enjoy!"

"I, ah, I don't have a towel," I said, making another feeble excuse.

"Oh, I've got one right here!" she smiled as she pulled a pair out and thrust them into our arms. "Actually, I've got two, so here you are!"

I was now running out of reasons and so I played my last card. "I'm not sure how we're supposed to use one," I said, continuing when Atago looked at me like I'd gone crazy. "I-I was talking to Takao about hot springs and mentioned we didn't have any back home and she said there's a proper way to use them and since I've never been I don't know how it is so I don't want to mess things up."

When I finished rambling, something twinkled in Atago's eye and she nodded slowly. "Well, in that case, she will just have to go along with you, then!"

Immediately, both Takao and I began objecting strenuously, and it's a wonder the Sirens in the mountains didn't hear our protests as Atago began pushing us towards the cave entrance. She thrust a lantern into Takao's hand and gave us one final shove into the darkness before she waved goodbye. "You two get some rest, and don't come back until you're feeling all better! I'll know if you're trying to leave early! Oh, and careful with that lantern, it's the only one I've got!"

We stood there for a moment, watching, dumbfounded, as she continued to wave for another few seconds before moving back to the camp, presumably to finish whatever she was cooking. As she walked off, we looked at each other, still red-faced and flustered.

"What are the chances we could wait her out and just say we did it?" I asked as I glanced towards the darkness ahead of us.

"None," Takao said with a tired, resigned sigh as she hefted the lantern and began heading off into the cave. "It would honestly take us longer to try and argue the point with her than it would be to just to go through with it. And we may still lose the argument anyway. My sister can be remarkably stubborn."

"Seems like a common trait with your class," I lightly joked as I kept pace with her. The last thing I wanted was to be lost in a cave without a light source. "Are your other sisters as stubborn as you two?"

Even in the dim light, I could see the surprise and indignation on her face. "I am not stubborn," she huffed.

"You tried to push your body past the limits of dehydration through sheer willpower," I countered with a grin. "That's pretty damn stubborn."

She harumphed daintily and averted her gaze. "Well, if you must know…Maya, definitely, Choukai is driven, but not to the same extent that the rest of us are. Probably because of her history…"

For a second, I wasn't sure what exactly she meant by that, but then it clicked. "Oh! You mean Savo Island?"

I could barely make out her head nodding in the dim light. "Hai. She won a great victory for the Sakura Empire, but the rest of us have yet to win such glories ourselves. Atago is happy with her status, but for Maya and I, it drives us on to fight harder."

I nodded, then realized she may not have been able to see the gesture and said, "I see. And it would appear we've arrived at the hot spring." In the darkness of the cave, the only real sign was the light reflecting off the water and the steam coming off the surface. I sighed and set my pack down, pushing all of my gear to the side as I unbuckled my ammo belt and holster. And then I had a sudden revelation. "Uh…how are we going to…?"

I glanced over at Takao, and saw she was thinking the exact same thing. Despite still fully clothed, she clutched her towel to her chest as though it would keep her covered. "I…uh…I'm not sure…I don't want to-"

"Right!" I finished for her, not wanting to strip down in front of a woman I'd met just a few hours ago. "Me either." I looked around and saw my gear lying on the floor, half of it still in the cave's shadows, and an idea came to mind.

"Alright," I began, "how about this: We'll face the opposite way and take a few steps until we feel like we're in shadow, then get changed, and then one at a time, we'll slide into the hot springs. If we leave the lantern where it is, it should be light enough to see where we're going but not light enough to see beneath the water. Or we could just slip in with the towels on."

"No," Takao sternly corrected me. "Even though it may seem uncomfortable, one never wears clothes or brings towels of any kind into the waters of an onsen."

"Oh." I had only been half-joking when I said I was unaware of the customs, but it appeared there actually was something I needed to be aware of. "Is…is there anything else I should know before getting in?"

There was a moment of silence, and I saw Takao running through a mental checklist. "A few things," she finally answered, "Most of which don't apply. The ones that would apply are no swimming in and no getting your hair wet."

"How are you going to keep that out of the water?" I asked, gesturing towards her ponytail.

She reached up and tugged lightly at the bow in her hair. "I can tie it up into a bun using this."

"Alright," I nodded and looked around for a moment. "We ready to do this, then?"

Takao nodded once and set the lantern on the ground. "I will let you know when I am ready to enter the hot springs."

"Understood," I nodded back and with that, we turned and headed off to our own darkened section. I began to unbutton my shirt and draped it over where I thought my pack was in the darkness. Hopefully, we'd be able to find our clothes in the dark. I unbuckled my pants and slid them off before I picked them up and carefully folded them. Just as I set them down, I heard a frustrated sigh from Takao's side of the cave.

"Everything okay?" I called out to her.

"Yes!" she snapped, and I was taken aback slightly at the level of hostility in her voice. There was a pause, and then I heard a soft sigh. When she spoke again, her voice was calmer, her tone apologetic. "No, I'm having trouble with this bow."

While my next question certainly carried risk, I felt it was better to at least ask it rather than leave her struggling on her own. "Would you like a hand with it?"

There was another long pause before her voice echoed back. "...fine. I trust you are decent?"

"Yeah, I've still got boxers on. You?"

"Y-yes. Just be quick, please."

I carefully padded across the stone floor, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the cave. I could see her skirt was still on, but she'd already removed her jacket, leaving her bra as the only article of clothing protecting her modesty. Her back was to me, and she glanced over her shoulder as she lifted her hair up into a bun with one hand and handed me a silk cloth that must have been her bow with the other. "Here."

"Thanks," I mumbled as I took the strip of silk and carefully tied it in a new bow that would hold the bun in place. I hoped. "There, all done. I'm gonna go and uh…finish changing."

She said nothing, but glanced over her shoulder and gave me a nod. As I was walking back to my side, I heard her say, in a voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you."

I paused, glanced over my shoulder, and gave her a nod. "Anytime."

Back on my own side, and certain I was sufficiently in shadow, I slipped off the last vestige of my clothing and wrapped the towel around my waist. "I'm ready," I called out over my shoulder, still facing the wall to keep from getting an accidental glance.

After a moment of silence, Takao called back, "As am I."

When neither of us volunteered, I spoke up. "So…who's going to go first?"

There was another pause before Takao finally answered. "I will. I have to make sure my hair is in place, which will take longer. I will let you know when I am ready."

I nodded, then realized she wouldn't see the gesture and replied, "Understood."

There was a quiet pause, then the sounds of her own footfalls on the stone floor, followed by a slight splash of water. I tried not to picture what was happening behind me as I heard her slip into the water and let out a soft sigh of relaxation.

"Stay calm, Thomas," I muttered to myself. "Just getting into nature's hot tub with a beautiful naked woman, no big deal…" I took a few deep, calming breaths as I waited for Takao to finish…adjusting whatever she needed to adjust.

"I'm ready," Takao announced, sending my heartrate rocketing back up again. "I shall close my eyes until you are…situated."

"Alright," I said, managing to keep my voice calm and casual. "Heading over." I took one last deep breath and turned around.

True to her word, Takao's eyes were shut tightly, although I could see her ears perked up and listening attentively as I carefully made my way to the water's edge. Fortunately, my theory on the lantern in the darkness of the cavern was correct. The light reflecting off of the water, combined with the steam coming from the onsen, was doing a good job of concealing any part of Takao that was submerged beneath the surface. Even so, my heart still raced at the thought of her being so close to me when we were both so exposed to each other.

Now at the edge of the onsen, I sat down and gently lowered myself into the water, gingerly at first, but faster as I got a feel for both the depth as well as the relaxing warmth that was enveloping my legs. I couldn't help but let out a quiet groan of relief as I lowered myself in, feeling the heat immediately beginning to work on my sore muscles.

"Oh, wow," I sighed as I felt myself hit the bottom of the hot spring and leaned back. "This feels wonderful…" When Takao smiled but kept her eyes shut, I added, "You can open your eyes now."

One eyelid peeked open, just to make sure I wasn't trying to pull one over on her, then then the other followed suit as she visibly relaxed and nodded. "I told you they were excellent sources of healing and relaxation, did I not?" she smiled.

"You did," I nodded and smiled back at her before I leaned back to stretch and enjoy the sensation of all those aches and pains slowly melting away. While my body was beginning to feel completely relaxed, my mind, however, still wouldn't let me be at ease. "I hate to spoil the mood," I reluctantly sighed, "but something about this is still bothering me."

Takao immediately straightened up, her eyes alert as she turned her gaze to me. "What is it?"

If there was something I always respected about Takao, it was her no-nonsense approach to addressing any concern I've ever had. She never made a witty quip or toyed with me if she saw I had serious doubts about something. She simply listened attentively and calmly addressed the issues, if she could. "We haven't seen any wildlife and all the plants and vegetation out there looks pretty generic," I began as I sat back up to look her in the eye. "Just…stuff you'd put out there to disguise that this island is more than likely some Siren command and control base."

"I would agree with that assessment thus far," Takao nodded, waiting to see where I was going with this.

I gestured at the hot spring we were sitting in. "So why is this here?"

She opened her mouth to answer, then stopped and shut it again as she tried to work out the answer. "That is…an excellent question, Commander. I'm not sure."

"Exactly," I declared as I leaned forward, feeling the warm water lapping gently against my chest as I spoke. "I get vegetation, hills, mountains, everything you'd expect to see on an island if you were looking at it from a distance. But this is a hot spring tucked away into a cave where nobody would ever see it. So why put it here?" As we both pondered the question, I cast my gaze back towards the cave entrance. I kept my voice low as I glanced back at the cave entrance. "Are you sure that's your sister?"

Takao nodded emphatically, trust and confidence written on her face. "Absolutely. Nobody else knows about that story but her. Well, the whole story, anyway."

If Takao was convinced, then it stood to reason that I should trust that this was her sister as well. "Alright," I conceded with a sigh. "Still, the question remains, what the hell is this thing doing here? Just have this little worry in the back of my head that this is to lure us to someplace where we're vulnerable and then capture us."

My bathing partner pondered the information for a moment before she shrugged and leaned back against the stone. "Atago will guard us, and I trust her with my life. And if she is beset by an overwhelming force, we shall not go without a fight. But there is no point in worrying about it. There is nothing we can do to prepare, nor can we train for such a fate at this moment. It is best to enjoy the moment, relax, and let the water wash away your fears, Commander. Know that I am here, and I will keep you safe. I promise."

As I gazed into her beautiful brown eyes, I saw her sincerity and earnest devotion, and I knew that she meant what she said, that I would be safe with her. Not just here and now, but for as long as we were together. That fact helped ease the last of my fears, and I gave her a soft smile as I nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Takao. And I will do the same to keep you safe and get you home."

She smiled and nodded before she shut her eyes and enjoyed the relaxing soak, and I watched her for another second before I did the same. We sat there and simply let the heat ease our tired muscles and enjoyed simply being with each other until we began to feel our fingers starting to prune.

"I think it's time we get out and towel off," I announced with a sigh. "How do we want to do this? Ladies first?"

Whether she didn't get the quip or was simply too much of a straight arrow to appreciate it, I'll never know, but she earnestly nodded and answered bluntly. "I'll go. Go ahead and close your eyes."

I shut my eyes tightly and listened as she climbed out of the hot spring, droplets splashing back down into the water or pattering lightly on the stone. I could hear her footsteps quickly move away from me, echoing further off into the cave until she called out, "You can get out now!"

I opened my eyes and looked around, barely making out the faint outline of Takao as she toweled off. Even in the dark, I could make out her shapely curves, and I quickly averted my eyes lest she catch me staring at her. I slowly and carefully climbed out of the hot springs, reaching for my towel as I padded back to my own side, already drying myself off as I went.

After I felt I had dried myself off enough, I quickly got dressed and re-equipped myself. As I slung the pack over my shoulder, I felt a gentle tap on my back and I turned to find Takao standing there, dressed and ready as well.

"Shall we go?" she asked, and I smiled and nodded.

"Lead on," I gestured towards the cave entrance, and we set off together. As we walked back out, something compelled me to speak. "You know, in spite of everything, that was really enjoyable. It was nice being able to relax and just talk with someone for a while." I shook my head and corrected myself. "No, not someone. You. It was nice spending time with you, Takao. Thank you."

"O-oh," she stammered, blushing again as she looked away. "It was nothing, Commander." She shook her head, just as I had seconds before. "It was nice spending time with you, as well, Commander. Once the awkwardness wore off."

"Fair enough," I chuckled. The cave entrance loomed large before us now, and the dim light of the setting sun illuminated everything enough for us to see without the lantern. Along with the light, something else had made its way into the cave. Something savory. "Smells like your sister's cooked up something delicious. Hopefully, she made enough for all of us."

"I'm certain she did," Takao confirmed as we stepped out of the cave, blinking as our eyes adjusted to the light. When it did, we saw Atago sitting by the fire, doling out whatever was in the pot into three bowls.

The younger sibling looked up from her meal preparations and smiled broadly as she saw us. "Ah, there you two are! And you look much better, much more relaxed."

"We are," Takao nodded, "Thank you for…insisting on us going in there. I…we…enjoyed it a great deal."

Atago nodded, and while I expected more teasing from her, I was somewhat relieved and greatly surprised when she let the opportunity pass us by. Instead, she smiled warmly at us as she beckoned us to come closer. "Good! And now that you're relaxed, I'm sure you two are famished. It's not much, but I was able to make some seafood ramen."

Takao took one of the proffered bowls and handed it to me, which I accepted with a grateful nod and examined its contents. The broth, still steaming, was filled with a generous portion of noodles, along with some chopped green onions, along with several large shrimp and scallops.

Takao and I looked at our respective dishes, then at each other, then back to Atago. "Where did you find these ingredients?" she asked, awe in her voice.

Atago gave her sister a confused look. "I always keep fresh food on hand, Takao, you know that. Well, frozen." She glanced between the two of us, who still looked concerned, and asked, "Didn't you have this on your ship?"

We both shook our heads. "All we found were a bunch of ration bars," I offered. "Nothing fresh or frozen on board."

"Perhaps it was to further drive a wedge between us?" Takao suggested. "With such a small food supply, and none of it fresh, whoever placed us together was hoping that if an immediate conflict did not arise, that one would occur as a result of insufficient food stores."

The argument had merit, and it was supported by the delicious evidence in front of us. "Damn," I muttered, "They really wanted us to kill each other." I looked over at Takao and gave her a playful smirk. "Glad we didn't give them the satisfaction."

Takao's cheeks flushed ever so slightly, but she smiled softly back at me. "Agreed."

"Alright, alright you two," Atago playfully scolded us. "We can figure this mystery out after dinner. For now, let's eat."

I felt my cheeks grow red, matching Takao's as we both nodded and tucked into our food. As I ate, I wondered what the night would bring…

A/N-So far, so good, but will they stay that way for long? Until next time, fair winds and following seas!