Some kind of joke on 'steamy' (Open to everyone)

To say it had been a long day would be a bit of an exaggeration. Actually, it was only a long last few hours, and that was entirely her own fault for practicing so long. But either way, Kirika was worn out from all of it, and there was no better cure for that than a dip in the hot springs. Truly it was some kind of divine intervention that there was a hot spring resort so close to her new school.

She made a fair bit of noise as she approached the hot springs, just to alert anyone who might be around that she was there. It seemed to be especially steamy today (or maybe it was always like this), so she couldn't tell if anyone was. Then, as she reached the hot springs, mostly naked without a care in the world for that fact, she stepped into the hot water and slowly lowered herself in. She sank in until the water was up to her shoulders, fully submerging the arms that were now so sore.

"Ahh, so much better," she said, letting out a long, satisfied sigh. Hot water was the original miracle drug. This, Kirika was sure of, and would hear no argument against it. It felt so good that she wasn't even bothered by being almost naked in a public place where there could be and probably were other girls around. ...Actually, that wouldn't have bothered her anyway. The idea of being embarrassed by it was lost on her.

After a somewhat long day, Akira also found herself heading to the hot springs. Unlike Kirika, however, she wasn't doing so to relieve any aches or pains. Granted, it would probably help with relieve the chronic ache she felt from her crippled shoulder, but the pain wasn't that bad, so she was more or less used to it. Either way, she was mostly here because she had always been curious about hot springs, hearing from several people about how wonderful they were. Upon discovering that there was some near the academy, she couldn't resist. Regardless of the reason for coming, she was looking forward to it.

There was one thing she wasn't quite sure about. The whole "getting naked in front of complete strangers" thing. Akira was mildly self-conscious about her body. Her chest was practically flat and she was tall for her age. Worst of all, she had a somewhat nasty-looking scar on her shoulder, the result of a severe injury she sustained a few years ago and the subsequent attempt to repair some of the damage via surgery. It was thanks to that surgery that she could move her arm at all, but the damage was too extensive to fully repair...at least, not without consulting an extremely skilled surgeon. Unfortunately, it would cost a small fortune just to be put on the waiting list of surgeon of that skill, so Akira decided to make due with what she had...for now, at least

Either way, she couldn't quite bring herself to go into the water fully exposed, so she kept a towel wrapped tightly around her as she inched into the steaming water. The temperature of the water was a lot higher than she expected, but it didn't take long for her body to adjust to it. Though, between that and all of the steam, she could see why some people had advised that she not stay in there very long. Still, once she was able to lower herself into a sitting position, it hit her all at once. She could see what the huge deal was...this felt absolutely wonderful. "...holy crap this is awesome..." Was all she could get out. Truth be told, she hadn't even noticed there was someone else in the water. Lowering herself so that only her head was above water, she let out a content sigh. This was definitely going to be a regular thing for her.

Ah! Company! Kirika was, as it turned out, alone at first, but that didn't last forever. She had been soaking for several minutes, eyes closed and mind somewhere else -- possibly drifting up toward the sky with the steam -- when she finally heard the telltale sloshing of someone else getting in. Her eyes snapped open and she managed to get a good glimpse of the new arrival as she slowly eased into the water. Pretty brown hair and eyes, a deliciously slender figure...a bit lacking in the chest area but Kirika didn't have a problem with that. And quite a scar on her shoulder. Kirika couldn't help but wonder if there was an interesting story to go along with it. Something like getting involved in a sword fight and being cut...nah, that was getting her hopes up.

The only really disappointing thing was that she had wrapped herself up in a bath towel. It was to be expected, even if it was unfortunate. Kirika had to remind herself occasionally that not everyone had her level of overflowing confidence. Or...sheer lack of shame, for that matter. True, she was still in a towel herself, but she'd only done that to avoid potentially making people uncomfortable if she wasn't alone. She'd just as soon ditch the thing as keep it.

Actually she kind of wanted to do that now.

Pushing that thought aside, Kirika grinned as the girl commented on the water. Nice and direct. She liked that. "Well said," she responded, not thinking at all about the fact that the girl might not have noticed her. Now that she was all the way in, Kirika noted, it was a bit harder to see her. Much like how she hadn't been able to tell if anyone else was around at first, she suspected the steam could be hiding her as well. She pushed herself just slightly out of the water; enough to sit up and cringe a little at the colder air now on her shoulders. The lengths she went to for other people.

Akira was feeling quite relaxed, and she was definitely seeing why everyone made such a big deal over these hot springs. Until now, she just assumed it was a glorified bath, minus the soap. But now, she could see clearly that it was so much more than that. She didn't really know why, it just was. Naturally, when the voice of another female came seemingly out of nowhere, it caught Akira a little off-guard. She quickly sat up, making sure her towel was secure, and began looking around. It took her a moment, due to the heavy steam, but she soon found who the voice had come from.

Due to the combination of the heat, how pretty sure was, and suddenly remembering that the both of them were more or less naked, her face was a bit red. It was mostly due to the heat though. "Er...s-sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was here..." Real smooth, Akira. Of course, ever since the incident where her best friend deeply betrayed her, she's had a hard time dealing with people. Even if it was only for a second, she was afraid that she might somehow be bothering Kirika by showing up there, even though it was a public place. Regardless, now she just felt awkward. Desperately trying to think of something to say, she found herself looking over the other person. Indeed, she was rather attractive.

Huh, was this girl really apologizing? Was there even anything to apologize for? This was technically a public place and what she'd said was a sentiment probably shared by everyone who visited it. Odd. Not in a bad way, though. Of course, there wasn't much that Kirika did consider 'odd in a bad way', but she still couldn't help but be intrigued by the girl. The more reserved types tended to be more interesting. "Hey, don't worry about it. You've got nothing to apologize for," Kirika said back.

She gave a small wave so that the other girl could more easily see her (assuming she hadn't already) and sat up just a little more...nope, that was quite enough of that. Forgetting that idea, Kirika sank back into the water and let the hot water cover her shoulders again. "So, my name's Kirika. What's yours?" she asked, as bluntly as could possibly be done. She'd never been much of one for formalities, and anyway they seemed like a bit of a joke when she and the other girl were both all but naked together.