Chapter 122: Hot Spring Hijinks and Shadowy Stowaways
Despite a few minor hiccups during the excavation process, the final result was nothing short of a masterpiece.
Thick plumes of white steam curled into the cool evening air, carrying the faint, relaxing scent of natural minerals. Considering the obvious need for privacy, Mizuki had thoughtfully manipulated the surrounding terrain, cultivating a dense, leafy barrier of towering trees to split the massive pool into two distinct sections. The natural wooden wall was thick enough to block both sight and sound, ensuring no one had to worry about any awkward encounters.
"Alright, everyone!" Mizuki clapped his hands, his voice cutting through the bubbling water and the ambient crickets. "Men on the left, women on the right. Let's go enjoy the hot springs!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh!"
A chorus of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the group. As Mizuki's words fell, the children and their Digimon immediately split off by gender, grabbing their towels and hurrying toward their respective entrances.
Well, almost all of them.
Yagami Taichi and Izzy were currently excluded from the peaceful migration.
"Taichi! Stay away from me!" Izzy's panicked shriek echoed across the clearing as he scrambled backward.
"Hehehe, Izzy, there's nowhere to run!" Taichi lunged forward, splashing through the shallow edge of the water like a feral predator closing in on its prey. "Come on, let's have a match!"
"Wahhh! Tentomon, save me!"
Mizuki stood by the entrance, watching the chaotic chase with deadpan amusement. He slowly lifted a hand to wipe a fake, invisible tear from his eye. Ah, what a beautiful, touching display of youthful friendship.
Shaking his head, Mizuki turned to head into the men's bath. But just as his foot crossed the threshold, a soft, familiar voice drifted over from behind him.
"Belle, where are you going?"
"We girls are supposed to go this way, you know," Mimi added, her tone laced with confusion.
Mizuki paused and glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, Belle was trailing right on his heels. She stood there obediently, her posture completely relaxed as she attempted to casually follow him straight into the men's side.
Mizuki blinked. "..."
Belle blinked back, offering a sweet, innocent smile. "~~"
Before Mizuki could even open his mouth to correct her, Mimi reached out and grabbed Belle's wrist, gently but firmly pulling her toward the women's entrance. "Come this way, Belle."
"Eh?! No!" Belle dug her heels into the dirt, her innocent facade instantly shattering. "I want to be with Mizu!"
She prepared to struggle, ready to yank her arm free, but Sora stepped up beside Mimi. A sudden, sly light flickered in Sora's eyes as she assessed the situation.
"Belle, I completely understand your desire to stick by Mizuki," Sora began, her tone dripping with gentle reason. "But don't forget... that idiot Taichi is also over on Mizuki's side."
Right on cue, Taichi's soaking wet head popped up from behind the wooden fence, a massive question mark practically hovering over his spiky hair. "???"
Ignoring the boy entirely, Sora leaned in and spoke earnestly to Belle. "I really don't think you'd want to be seen naked by any boy other than Mizuki, would you?"
It was a critical hit. Sora's logic struck Belle's absolute weakest point. The thought of anyone else looking at her made her physically recoil.
Yet, even in the face of such flawless reasoning, Belle refused to surrender completely. She puffed out her cheeks. "Fine. I won't go over there." Then, her eyes lit up with a brilliant alternative. "But wouldn't it be perfectly fine if Mizu just came over to our side?!"
Sora froze. "..."
Mimi stared. "..."
Biyomon tilted her head. "..."
Palmon's vines drooped. "..."
A heavy, deep silence descended upon the clearing. It wasn't just the human girls; even the Digimon who identified as female were struck entirely speechless. While Digimon were technically beings of pure data and lacked biological sexes, their psychological perception of gender identity was very real.
Slowly, as if synchronized by a single hive mind, every single girl—human and Digimon alike—turned their heads to stare directly at Mizuki.
Under the weight of Belle's intensely expectant gaze and the girls' evaluating stares, a sudden chill raced down Mizuki's spine. He violently shook his head, raising both hands in surrender. "Don't even think about it. I am absolutely not going over there."
"Eh~" Belle whined, thoroughly disappointed.
But before Belle could formulate another argument, Sora tapped her chin, her brow furrowing as she fell into deep, uncharacteristic thought.
"Now that you mention it..." Sora murmured, her gaze drifting over Mizuki's features. "Mizuki is a boy, sure. But has anyone actually verified that he's a boy?"
Mizuki's jaw dropped. "?"
"Sora, now that you say it..." Mimi leaned closer, her eyes narrowing as she inspected Mizuki's face. A distinct pout formed on her lips, laced with genuine jealousy. "I hate to admit it, but Brother Mizuki really is prettier than I am. Look at him! His skin is even whiter than mine..."
Mizuki let out a long, exhausted sigh. "No... do you guys even hear the words coming out of your mouths right now?"
"So, Mizuki isn't actually a boy? He's a girl?" Palmon asked, completely ignoring Mizuki's protests as she stared at him with wide, curious eyes.
"Want to know if it's true? Let's just check—"
A grinning face suddenly materialized right over Mizuki's shoulder. Taichi had somehow snuck up behind him, his hands reaching out like a gremlin ready to grope for the truth.
"Hehe... Fly away!!!"
Whack!
Before Taichi's wicked claws could even brush his shirt, Mizuki's reflexes kicked in. A heavy paper parasol materialized in his grip out of thin air. Without even looking back, Mizuki swung it like a baseball bat. The parasol slammed squarely into Taichi's chest, launching the boy backward through the air. Taichi didn't even have time to scream before he crashed into the steaming hot spring with a spectacular, geyser-like splash.
Having neutralized the threat, Mizuki shook his head helplessly. He casually collapsed the parasol and tossed it aside, letting it dissolve back into data.
"Let's stop the fooling around here," Mizuki said, dusting off his hands. "Sora, Mimi, I'll leave Belle in your care."
Sora giggled, her initial gentle demeanor returning now that the teasing was out of her system. "Hehe~ Leave it to us."
Jokes were fine, but they needed to be kept in moderation. Satisfied that the chaos had settled, Mizuki finally turned to walk into the men's bath.
But as he pivoted, he suddenly noticed a small, familiar figure standing completely still right next to him.
Kari Kamiya. "..."
Mizuki stared down at her. "..."
Kari stared blankly ahead toward the men's entrance. "..."
Mizuki rubbed his temples. "Uh, Kari?"
Kari slowly tilted her head up. "What is it, Brother Mizuki?"
"Did you... go the wrong way?" Mizuki pointed a thumb over his shoulder toward the women's bath, his expression painfully forced. "The girls are over there."
"I know." Kari nodded, her tone perfectly calm, as if her current trajectory was the most natural thing in the world. "The reason I came here is to take care of my brother."
Mizuki stared at her.
"After all," Kari added, her voice dropping into a soft, matter-of-fact hum, "Onii-chan can't survive without me~"
Looking down at Kari's incredibly obedient, stubborn demeanor, Mizuki pondered his options. He knew arguing with her when her bro-con instincts flared up was a losing battle, and he honestly couldn't bring himself to harshly refuse the little girl.
Instead, he simply stepped up to the wooden partition and knocked twice on the bark.
"Sora. Please. Lend a hand."
A heavy sigh echoed from the other side of the wood. "...I understand."
Less than two seconds later, Sora emerged from the women's entrance. Her face was the picture of utter helplessness as she grabbed the reluctant Kari by the shoulders and began physically steering her toward the girls' side.
"Oh, wait. I almost forgot," Mizuki suddenly said.
He crouched down, reaching his hand directly toward Kari's feet. His fingers plunged into the dark, stretched shadow trailing behind the little girl. With a sharp, violent tug, Mizuki yanked three Phantomon straight out of the darkness by their tattered red cloaks.
"???"
"???"
"???"
The three grim reaper Digimon dangled in his grip, their single glowing eyes blinking in absolute, synchronized confusion.
"You three, come with me," Mizuki ordered.
Without waiting for the ghostly Ultimate-levels to process what was happening, Mizuki tucked them under his arms like oversized pillows and carried them straight into the men's hot spring.
As he walked, the faint sounds of Sora and Kari's ongoing debate drifted over the wooden wall.
"Sister Sora, is it really not okay if I just wear my clothes into the water?"
"Kari, I think it is absolutely critical that I teach you about the differences between boys and girls..."
"I know all that, but Onii-chan can't do without me~"
"...Listen to me. Taichi might be a bit clumsy, but he is reliable enough to bathe himself."
"Did someone call me???"
Right on cue, Taichi's head breached the surface of the men's bath, his hair plastered to his forehead as he looked around in confusion.
Mizuki stopped at the edge of the water, looking down at the soaking wet idiot. Rolling his eyes, Mizuki casually tossed the three bewildered Phantomon straight at Taichi's face.
"Just take your bath and stop meddling," Mizuki deadpanned.
"Gurgle, gurgle~ Alright~" Taichi mumbled, sinking happily beneath the bubbles and taking the ghostly reapers down with him.
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