[Open] It's getting hot in here

[showsnopiety]

Who: Caren and anyone visiting the hot springs!
When: Post dungeon, could be right after fail/success, could be days after
Where: Hot Springs of course
What: There's a hot springs, so now there's a hot springs episode.
Rating: Could be a p-13 and beyond because some people are only wearing towels in this place.





[Win or fail, everyone needed a reason and a way to relax. With the fall of the towers, there was all sorts of good things to come from it. Some would say it was the birds; and others would say it was the hot springs.

The large, large pools of heated water. Sure, they could be used as a way to get all steamed up (or even steam punk) but after all that hard work, everyone deserves a break!

Bring your swimsuits, your towels, your drinks and snacks-who knows, you should be able to find them in the bazaars, or even on Airy. It's time to soak in the heat!]

Comments

[sky_sharkling]

[Something touched your leg under the water? It's probably whatever that very shark-like fin circling right next to you belongs to.

...it might bite depending on what happens next.

Meanwhile its owner is swimming nearby looking for his missing carrier] Kiba, where'd you go...

[acknowledges]

[His experience with sharks is- well. It's maybe a little strange to say he has some experience at all but there it is. Granted they're mostly shark-dudes, with the blue and the saw teeth and the feeling that a bite of him could go missing at any time.

-But that's totally different from sitting in a makeshift hot spring and feeling something touch him while a... a fin... goes by...

Naruto freezes in place, heart beating out of his chest.
All that work and this is how he's gonna die. He's going to be eaten in an onsen.]

[sky_sharkling]

[The fin inches closer...closer...it's probably too small a shark to really eat him but that's definitely a shark fin. Closer...]

Kiba! Stop that! [Akito to the rescue! He is all the flailing as he swims over, the fin stopping its tormenting of Naruto to go and circle around Akito instead] You can't just go be mean to people...I'm so sorry for him, mister. [So much apologetic and embarrassed. So much]

[acknowledges]

It's okay it's okay- [It's a double-edged sword because Naruto has certainly seen small harmless things that only look scary- and then he's seen scary small things that have Wrecked him.

For as traditional as his bathing habits appear to be, he doesn't look in any way bothered by the flailing and splashing that follows- though Naruto is trying to ease away from the- whatever it is as slowly as possible.]

What is that thing anyway?

[sky_sharkling]

[He takes a second to judge where the shark will be before diving on it, curling both arms around it and picking it up out of the water. It doesn't seem entirely displeased about this because hugs]

It's my carrier. His name's Kiba. He's...sort of a shark? But he can fly a little as well as swim, so I'm not sure he's actually a shark. [Slight rambling]

[acknowledges]

[He makes it look so easy...

Naruto watches the scene play out with lessening trepidation- because now there's someone here who knows what he's doing and he's- well, he's pretty sure he isn't in mortal peril anymore. Inch by inch he eases back into the water, squinting at this somewhat unexpected duo.]

Yours seems so nice'ttebayo. Mine just screams at me for no reason and pees on my stuff. [It's the first time he's met someone that shared a name with one of his friends back in the village, and he figures if this little shark thing is anything like the Kiba that's back home, he's probably a real handful.]

[sky_sharkling]

[When your shared mind space had a literal great white shark the size of an aeroplane swimming around in it 24/7, tiny catsharks didn't bother you much.

Said tiny shark is getting petted in order to keep it calm now] He's...sort of nice? He likes me, but he's really kind of mean to everyone else. He keeps trying to bite people.

[acknowledges]

[Things he never thought he would see- a tiny shark. A tiny shark that's actually... a little cute, objectively speaking. This whole petting thing is not something he would ever even dream of trying with his own carrier.]

Maybe it's cause it's around you all the time? Or it's trying to protect you? I heard dogs could be like that.

[sky_sharkling]

Oh, maybe. I hope I can teach that out of him though, he doesn't need to protect me from my friends. You hear that Kiba? [Lifts the tiny shark to look it in the face. Tiny shark just sort of blinks and wriggles like a fish out of water. Siiiiiiigh]

One day, maybe. Need more snacks to train him with. [Making mental notes before realising, hugging the shark again] Oh, I'm sorry. You know my carrier but not me. I'm Akito, Akito Wanijima. [Little bow]

[acknowledges]

Naruto Uzumaki. [It comes out a little distracted, but, well. He's still mostly face to face with a guy hugging a baby shark, it's a little mesmerizing. He isn't polite enough to bow but then, Naruto lacks many of the social graces his peers are quick to demonstrate.]

I just got here a little while ago. Ano- he's not gonna try and eat me when you set him down is he?

[sky_sharkling]

It's nice to meet you, Naruto-san. [It's alright, Akito is so used to living with less sociable and a few outright rude people that he doesn't even notice]

Same here. It's a strange new world, but interesting. Ah, I don't think so. The most he does is bite, and I think he'll be good for awhile. [How long, no one knew. Carefully puts the tiny shark down and it decides to stay near Akito, swimming circles behind him]

[acknowledges]

Eheheh no no it's just Naruto. Naruto-san makes me sound like some kinda old man'attebayo. [He's actually not sure when he last heard someone address him with honorifics- well, Hinata does. But Hinata's always done that so it doesn't count.

Instead of easing back into the bath however, his attention's been piqued and he leans forward into the space between them- expression bright with curiosity.] But that means you're just getting used to everything too right?

Hey hey hey, what do you think of all this mana stuff? And the magic?

[sky_sharkling]

Ah, sorry. It's a habit, I'll remember though! [He'll probably slip up from time to time, but he'll do his best to remember]

I'm kind of getting used to it, but it's still pretty weird. My world doesn't have anything like magic or mana, so it's all totally new to me. It's kind of fun learning it, but still strange.

[acknowledges]

[It isn't far from his own opinion on the stuff to be honest. Mana is something he can work with in theory, if he uses it as a substitute for what he'd learned about chakra- but the only time he'd tried to use magic he'd wound up blowing himself backwards off a ledge. It has principles to it, that much he's been told- and he has to practice, but it still feels a little beyond him.]

What about fighting stuff? Is that new for you too?

[sky_sharkling]

We're used to fighting in battles, against other people. But not in a war like this, where people are going to get hurt really badly. [Read: get killed. Akito can't quite bring himself to say that though]

It's a little different, since our weapon isn't exactly the same as what we're used to fighting with, but close enough to be familiar.

[acknowledges]

[Wait... he's getting lost, and it shows on his face. Naruto has always been easy to read- his emotions are there for all to see, however inconvenient they may be, and this is no exception. Okay, he thinks he gets some of it. This guy is used to some kind of fighting, but.]

"We"? You mean you've got friends from home here too?

[sky_sharkling]

Oh, I'm sorry. I keep doing that and confusing people... [Sighs at himself]

I share this body with my other half, Agito. He and I both exist in our mind.

[acknowledges]

[There are parts of this concept he understands, and parts that just go sailing right by. Naruto replays the words, tries to come up with some kind of mental illustration, and then.]

Your other... half. [The words are colored with uncertainty, but not disbelief.] Like a- person?

[sky_sharkling]

Yeah. [He nods, considering that he believes Agito is another person, after all] He's the shadow to my light, my opposite.

[He lifts a hand then to the eyepatch he wears] We use this to change who's in control. Left eye is me, right eye is him.

[acknowledges]

[Maybe it's something like what he'd encountered at that waterfall- the dark part of his heart. Except Naruto doesn't think he's ever swapped out like that, or even really been able to. His gaze travels to the eyepatch, head tilting to one side like he might somehow see beneath it and then understand the situation completely.]

Do you guys get along?

[sky_sharkling]

Most of the time, yeah. He means a lot to me, and he protects me. Sometimes we get on each others nerves, but I think that's just kind of how things are with friends. I can't stay mad at him for long though.

[It's clear just from the tone in his voice that Akito really cares for his other half. Seeing Naruto head-tilting at the eyepatch, he obligingly lifts his other hand and carefully pulls the cloth off, opening his right eye. The slit pupil and brighter gold is very different to his left eye, though it's currently also a little dull - Agito is asleep, and it shows somewhat]

[acknowledges]

Gold? [The glimpse, however brief, has Naruto straightening immediately. He isn't disgusted, just genuinely surprised. He didn't know what he was going to see beneath, not really, but he's seen lots of strange eyes in his own world- so he does the only thing he can and just goes with it.]

But how did the two of you end up mashed together anyway?

[sky_sharkling]

Yup. [Both of his eyes are a yellowish colour, but his left trends more towards an amber gold compared to the bright predatory gold of his right. He won't explain why, but he has a pretty good feeling it's a Bloody Road trait. Akira has them too, after all]

Ah...there was a point in time, when I was alone and really scared. [He's a little vague as he pulls the eyepatch back into place and settles it] Something really bad had happened. I sort of...withdrew into my mind? And while I was hiding there, I heard his voice for the first time. He was born to protect me, to keep me safe from the bad things.

[acknowledges]

Hmmn. [Naruto's arms fold over his chest and where he'd straightened to attention just moments earlier, now he eases back against the wall of the springs. Born to protect him... He's not sure he really knows anything like that. The tailed-beasts weren't meant to protect anyone, they were just locked up in people, and in the beginning it made things really hard for both of them.

But maybe it's like his bond with Kurama now. Having somebody you can count on to help you out when you can't do something alone- like an ally. His head bobs.] It's good to have a friend like that'attebayo.

Does that mean you protect him from stuff too?

[sky_sharkling]

Yeah~ [He wouldn't trade having such a close friend like his other for the world]

Hm. I'd like to think I could, but I'm not very strong or anything...I guess you could say I protect him from feeling awkward when he talks to people. Agito doesn't do social stuff very well, he gets embarrassed about it sometimes. I handle people much better than him.