Chapter Fifteen
I sit beside Megumi, both of us grinning ear to ear, on the window seat on the back row of the bus. In the distance, I can see pillars of soft white steam rising from large traditional buildings. We glance at each other and squeal excitedly. A few people turn their heads and give us disapproving looks. Xander sticks his head between the seats and grins at us.
"This is so cool, Kor! I can't believe you got Dad to agree to it!" he says. Of course, he's not excited about the hot springs or shops or Yokai hotspots or ancient temples. He's excited about the theme park. The towering rides are the only scars on the landscape. Everything else here is several centuries old, with nothing changed apart from repairs and safety measures. Really, the area is stunning even with the screaming roller coasters. Even Jase has stopped flirting with the local girls to stare out of the window, completely awestruck. The only noises are the low chatter of the locals and the happy gurgles of little Emmie as Mum rocks her gently. I smile. If only life was always as carefree and touristy as this… I rid myself of the thought. It's better to experience a culture by becoming a part of it than by seeing only what the locals present to visitors. Most tourist attractions and 'little slices of Heaven' are just lies and deception dressed up to look nice under the guise of being how the area's culture truly is.
"I asked Mum, actually," I tell Xander, and he nods in understanding. "She spoke to Megumi-chan's parents and got them to help her convince him." Beside me, Megumi smiles kindly at Xander. He beams back at her before turning back to Hanako and leaning against her shoulder. Her head shifts so that it's on top of his.
"They're so cute together!" Megumi coos. "They're going to be friends for the rest of their lives." I smile, even while knowing that Megumi would have a very different view of their friendship if she knew who and what Hanako is. I'm glad of how peaceful everything's been lately, though, because it means that the Akiyamas have let their guards down enough to not realise that one of the people they're travelling with is a Yokai.
The bus stops and Mum stands up. She looks around the bus and makes eye contact with every member of our group. We all get up at pretty much the same time. We all make our way to the front of the bus and clamber off, thanking the driver as we do so.
"Have we got everyone?" Mum asks, counting everyone off on her fingers. She nods twice.
"The resort's about five minutes away." Dad says twice, once in Japanese and once in English. Our group begins to walk along in the direction of the plumes of steam.
It actually takes less time to get to the resort than expected, even with Takeshi stopping a couple of times to cough. Once we've checked in, we find our way to the three rooms- each with either two double beds or two sets of bunk beds- and go into one of them to sort out the sleeping arrangements.
"I would say boys together and girls together, but we don't have an equal number. We'd need to put a boy in with the girls." Dad says.
"How about me, Takeshi, Korin-chan and Ezra-kun go together, and Xander-kun, Chiasa-chan, Jase-san and Satoshi go together?" Megumi suggests.
"I want to go with Korin-nee-chan." Hanako says, latching herself onto my arm.
"I honestly don't care who I'm with, just as long as I'm not with Jase." I say. Ezra giggles.
"I think that's what everyone's thinking, Kor." he murmurs. There's another arrangement on my mind. I agree with the one Megumi suggested. I don't want Hanako to be with any of the Akiyamas, if possible, but, if she does have to be with one of them, I want it to be Satoshi. He's less likely to kill her on the spot than Takeshi or Megumi are.
"I agree with Megumi," Takeshi whispers, his voice slightly hoarse. "If we end up with a repeat of what happened on the orienteering trip, I want Megumi, Korin-chan and Ezra-kun to be there." I have to strain to hold in a sigh of relief. Now that Takeshi's used his injury as a reason for the arrangement he wants, we'll probably go with that arrangement. Dad shares a look with Mr and Mrs Akiyama. Mum frowns in confusion and, probably, frustration at not knowing what's going on.
"Yes, I think that's a good idea. We'll have the arrangement Megumi and Takeshi suggested." Mr Akiyama says, nodding.
"If we go to our rooms and sort out our stuff now, will we be able to use the baths before dinner?" Megumi asks excitedly. Mrs Akiyama nods, smiling.
"Of course. Just make sure that no one stays in for too long. No more than an hour, and make sure you have at least an hour's break before getting back in." she says.
Ezra, Takeshi, Megumi and I walk down towards the baths, all in our bathing suits.
"Which one shall we go in first?" I ask. "They have water slides here. Can we go on them?" Takeshi slaps his hand over my mouth.
"Shut up, Korin-chan. You're giving me a headache." he says. I open my mouth slightly and stick out my tongue. Takeshi withdraws his hand in disgust. "She just licked me!" I grin.
Ezra shakes his head, "Weirdo." he mutters exasperatedly.
"I'm sorry, Takeshi-kun. I've never been in a hot spring before, and I'm really excited. I'll try to be a bit quieter." I say sheepishly. Megumi stares at me, stunned.
"You've never been in a hot spring before? What have you been doing with your life?"
"We don't have them in England… Or in any of the other countries I've been to…" Megumi gasps.
"You haven't lived until you've been in a hot spring! You'll love it, trust me." she says. I nod with a smile.
"S-so which one should we go in? There are loads of different types." Ezra says.
"How about not the one containing coffee or the one containing wine?" Takeshi says, staring pointedly at me.
"To be honest Korin would probably try to drink out of the coffee one." Ezra remarks. I poke my tongue out at the boys.
"Jerks." I say, and Megumi giggles.
"You know we all love you really, Korin-chan." she says, draping her arm over my shoulder. I smile cheerfully at her.
"So shall we just go in the normal one?" I ask, "The others are all drinks." Takeshi nods.
"Yeah, I think it's probably a good idea to keep Megumi away from the sake pool." he says with a teasing smile. Megumi shoves him gently. The four of us start laughing. We reach the normal water pool and open the door. We walk through and see that there is only one other person in there.
"Wow, it's a lot emptier than I was expecting." Ezra says as the four of us step into the water. We wade over to the other side and sit on the ledge. Takeshi coughs hard into his hands for a few seconds. I place my hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?" I ask softly. He nods and gives me a weak smile. It worries me, though, that, while he doesn't seem to have had any proper coughing fits since the orienteering trip, his coughing is becoming much more frequent. It used to be just the occasional large fit, but now, it's a small fit for thirty seconds every ten or so minutes. Megumi wraps her arms around him and kisses his cheek. She looks as though she's about to cry, just as she always does when Takeshi coughs. He gives her a reassuring smile.
"What's the betting that Satoshi, Jase-san, Xander-kun and Chiasa-chan have gone to the arcade?" Takeshi asks.
"Of course they have. Xander and Chiasa-chan will be playing the dance games and Jase and Satoshi-kun will be flirting." Ezra says. The four of us laugh at how predictable they are.
"Hey, Ez, do you remember how when we first came in August, Dad plotted to have Jase share a room with Xander so that Jase wouldn't be able to bring girls home?" I ask. He nods, grinning.
Takeshi laughs, "I share a room with Satoshi for exactly that reason." he says.
The four of us chat and laugh, sharing anecdotes and generally just being the idiots that we are, for about half an hour, when Takeshi starts coughing. I look over at him and realise that his cheeks are flushed crimson.
"Do you need to get out, Takeshi-kun?" I ask, taking hold of his free hand. When he stops coughing, he nods slightly. We stand and Megumi and I both help to support him. We wade across to the steps that lead out of the pool. Ezra grabs all of our towels from the rack and the four of us make our way through the resort back to our room. Ezra swipes the door card and we enter. We sit Takeshi down on my bed, because it's nearest to the door.
"The ice dispenser is about thirty seconds away. Should I go and get some ice?" I ask, recalling seeing the ice dispenser on the way back to the room. Megumi nods. I grab our jug off of the counter and sprint down the corridor. I place the jug under the opening and press the button. I wait as the ice falls into the jug. The moment the jug is full, I sprint back to the room as quickly as I can. I open the door and enter. I hold the jug of ice out and Takeshi sticks a shaking hand into it, taking out a chunk of ice and placing it in his mouth. Megumi sits beside him, rubbing little circles on his back.
"Anyone gets dizzy if they stay in for too long, which is why my mum told us to limit ourselves to one hour out of two," Megumi explains, "Takeshi's condition probably made him more sensitive to the heat, and it acted as a trigger, I guess." Takeshi nods. His eyes are slightly glazed and don't seem to be focussed properly.
There is a soft knock on the door. Ezra walks across the room and opens it. Satoshi stands in the doorway, looking worried.
"I went to find you guys because I won something on a game that I thought Korin-chan might like," he says. "The girl in the pool said that you'd left because one of you had a coughing fit. Are you okay, Takeshi?" He walks across the room to us. I stand up to let him sit beside Takeshi. He smiles gratefully and sits down.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Takeshi says weakly, "I stayed in the water for too long is all." He leans his head against Satoshi's chest. Satoshi rubs small circles on his brother's back. He sticks his other hand into his pocket and takes something out.
"I won this in the arcade, Korin-chan," he says, holding the object out to me. "I thought you might like it." I take it from him and look closely at it. When I realise what it is, I begin bouncing up and down with excitement and it takes every ounce of effort in my body not to squeal. It's a keyring with a plastic figurine of Mako from Girls Und Panzer!
"Thank you so much, Satoshi-kun!" I say. He smiles at me.
"I'm glad you like it. I was trying to get a Pikachu one for Chiasa, but I ended up with that one instead." he says. I grin. "See, I even knew what it was. I guess we're all a little bit nerdy."
Takeshi whispers something that I can't quite make out, but it sounds something like, "I'll take an ice chip, and eat it." I smile at him and giggle. Megumi pouts.
"Am I the only one here who doesn't like anime?" she asks. Takeshi, Satoshi, Ezra and I share a look. We all nod.
"Even Ezra likes Pokémon." I say. Megumi rolls her eyes.
"I'm surrounded by weirdos!" she exclaims, and the rest of us laugh at her.