Chapter 412: Bathing Together?
After finishing dinner, the three walked toward the ryokan they had booked.
Ichika had already been here for nearly a week, so she was very familiar with the area.
"Tengu Mountain? How could I have time to climb that? Just because you didn't have scenes these past few days doesn't mean I didn't have to film." Nakano Ichika answered Sakurai Saki's question.
It was freezing.
Ichika suddenly recalled the heat in Tokyo. In recent years, Tokyo had been extremely hot—sometimes during summer it even exceeded 40 degrees. Walking under the sun felt like being an ice cream bar, unsure when she'd melt and drip into a sticky puddle on the ground…
Recently, TV often aired reports about heat stroke too.
Thinking about that, Nakano Ichika felt a little warmer.
She exhaled—her breath instantly turned into a white mist in the cold air.
Nino suddenly chimed in: "Is there a real Tengu on Tengu Mountain?"
Sakurai Saki shook his head and said: "I don't know, maybe there really is."
"Will they handsome?"
"In reality, Tengu are probably ugly, aren't they? In mythology their shared traits are a red nose, red face, and holding an uchiwa fan. It's only in modern works that they've been made good-looking…"
Listening to the two talk like full-on chuunibyou, Nakano Ichika lightly patted her cheeks, reddened from the cold wind.
Too chuuni. She couldn't handle it.
Surely they didn't really believe Tengu existed in real life?
Turning onto another street, the three walked in and were greeted by a small park with almost no equipment—just a seesaw and a swing set.
Nino's eyes flashed with mischief. She stepped across the road, grabbed a handful of snow.
"Ichika!"
Hearing the call, Ichika—hands tucked inside her puffer jacket—turned her head on reflex, only to be struck directly by a snowball.
"Nino!!"
Ichika pulled her hand out, grabbed a handful of snow from the roadside, and hurled it straight at Nino.
"Ugh! Why did you hit me in the face!!"
Nino shielded herself with both hands, blocking the snowball as she loudly complained.
"You attacked first!?"
Ichika didn't bother playing big sister anymore.
The two quickly descended into a snowball brawl.
Sakurai Saki instinctively stepped back a little, then—
"THWACK!"
A stray snowball slammed directly into his forehead.
He wiped the snow off with his hand.
'You two are forcing me, huh!'
A true supporter of gender equality, Sakurai Saki joined the battlefield!
...
A few minutes later.
"Eh, your snowball-making speed is ridiculous!!" Nino shouted—right before another snowball hit her chest and bounced off.
The damage wasn't high, but the humiliation was MAX!
The very next second, Nino let out a "hmph hmph hmph" sound, bent down, scooped snow with both hands, and charged at Sakurai Saki like she had nothing to lose.
"Go die!!"
"Hey, don't tell me you're going full kamikaze?!"
Sakurai Saki immediately ran for his life.
This girl was insane! She dared to use close-quarters combat with freezing snowballs!!
The icy snow would deal continuous cold damage to her hands—Nino's strategy was basically "hurt the enemy 1000, hurt herself 800"! Even if she managed to shove two terrifyingly cold lumps of snow into Sakurai Saki's shirt, her hands would be numb before the cold reached him.
And as expected—
"So cold!! Sakurai-san!! Stop running already!!"
She clearly knew this would happen, yet she still insisted on using that tactic!
Nino, you're too naïve! You think I'll go easy on you just because you act spoiled?!
Dream on! Don't underestimate a man's determination!
"…Stop already, tonight I'll wear whatever cosplay you like!! Any outfit!! You can even choose the underwear and the pose!!"
Nino unleashed her ultimate condition.
Immediately, Sakurai Saki's steps, caught between desire and conscience, became as heavy as if they were sinking into swamp!
Too despicable!! Woman!! She dared to use that method to control a man!!
She understood Sakurai Saki's weakness far too well!!
"Sensei-chan!! Surprise!!"
Just as he was about to raise his hands and surrender, Nakano Ichika suddenly appeared from behind—no one knew from where—and tackled him to the ground!
Her face full of excitement, she lifted the snowball in her hand, ready to shove it into Sakurai Saki's clothes.
Seeing the snowball only a few centimeters away, and unwilling to take the damage, Sakurai Saki immediately hugged Ichika tightly—everyone knew that once you hugged someone, you couldn't attack them with a snowball anymore!
"W-what are you doing? We're in the middle of a snowball fight… Mm, don't hug me."
Caught in his arms, Nakano Ichika suddenly began struggling. Her embarrassed voice had none of her usual big-sister composure—she looked exactly like a flustered girl caught off guard, not knowing how to react.
"Your body's freezing, let's stop this snow battle. Let's go back to the ryokan before you get sick tomorrow." Sakurai Saki changed the topic, but when he noticed the snowball in Ichika's hand, he still refused to let go.
They'd hugged several times during filming earlier in the day anyway.
Something this small—Ichika definitely wouldn't mind, right?
"L-let go of me already." Nakano Ichika suddenly felt like all the strength in her body had disappeared.
Soon after, Nino caught up to the two of them.
"Eh? How did a snowball fight turn into hugging?"
Sakurai Saki released Nakano Ichika—her face flushed red, whether from the cold or embarrassment—then stood up and brushed the snow off himself.
"Nino, let's go back. Or you'll catch a cold."
After intense movement, they would start sweating. He would probably be fine, but the two girls didn't have the same stamina—if they caught a cold, it would be troublesome.
"Alright. Ichika, you…" Nakano Nino saw Ichika crouching on the ground like a little duck, silent with her head lowered.
Nino approached, leaned to her ear, and whispered: "It was just a hug, why are you that embarrassed?"
Nakano Ichika quietly stood up and brushed off the snow. "Let's go. Back to the ryokan, it's not far."
Seeing her flushed cheeks, Nino knew Ichika wasn't cold—her heart was warm and flustered enough.
She kept telling Nino to stay away from Sakurai-kun, yet the moment he hugged her, she practically melted.
...
After a few more minutes of walking.
The three saw a house glowing warmly with lights, its roof covered in thick snow. A few hardy plants grew near the entrance.
They followed the stone path inside.
"Ah, my room has a rotenburo (outdoor bath), it's right in front of the room. I asked the owner to clean it today… I heard there are lots of hot springs in this area, so the more luxurious rooms usually have private rotenburo."
"Sensei-chan invited me?" Nakano Ichika teased, glancing at him.
She was preparing to act all big-sisterly again.
"Umu. Ichika and Nino can bathe first. The public bath here doesn't change the water often, sometimes it's dirty."
His calm expression made Ichika lower her guard.
Bathing with Nino should be fine, right?
...