Time to Relax

Chapter 12 - Time to Relax

Cho, through their group chat, invited Noa, Keisuke and Sakura to the hot spring she and Noa talked about after Sports Day. She put in a reservation for them because the resort had a hotel area they could stay a night at. 

They decided to meet up at the train station on a Saturday morning. Cho was the first to arrive, then shortly after came Noa. A warm feeling welled up inside Cho’s stomach as she waved at the slowly approaching Noa.

“Morning, Cho-chan! Are you excited?”

“Yep! I was really looking forward to this!”

“Me too, actually! I’ve never been to a hot spring to begin with, so I’m really curious to see how it is.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait! I’m sure you’ll love it. I’ve been to a few before, but they were nothing special. This one is supposedly really good, but most things are better with friends, so I’m sure it’ll be a great memory.”

“You’re right. I’m sure we’ll enjoy it.”

Finally, Keisuke and Sakura also arrived a few minutes before the train did.

“We’re not late, are we?” Keisuke asked worriedly.

“Nope. I was getting a bit worried, though,” said Cho.

“Sorry! It was my fault, 'cause it took me ages to get ready,” Sakura admitted.

“All good! Good morning, you two!” Noa assured and greeted them.

“Good morning! We’re staying the night, so it’s understandable that some people want to prepare more than others.” Keisuke added.

As they idly chatted, the train arrived just on time, and after traveling on it for half an hour, they arrived at the place. The huge wooden building looked like a mansion with its three parts. The first building in the front was the lounge area, where all the check-ins happened and where people could relax and socialize. 

To the right, a paved path led to the ryokan building, which was the inn or hotel they were going to stay at. And similarly to the left were the hot springs and the facilities needed for them. As Cho, Noa, Keisuke and Sakura went into the lounge area through the front door, employees in yukatas welcomed them on the side.

Whoa! It feels so welcoming!

They looked around in awe while Cho led them to the check-in desk, where an elderly lady welcomed them.

“Hi! I have a reservation under the name of Cho Fujimori.”

“Right. Four people and a room for one night, food not included.”

“That’s righ…” Cho was about to answer when Keisuke suddenly interrupted.

“Wait, hold on! Are you sure it’s fine for me to be in the same room as you girls?”

“Ohh… I kind of didn’t think about that." Cho crossed her arms and rested her chin on her fist, like she was a philosopher, hardly pondering about the grave mistake she dared overlook.

“What’s the big deal? You and Sakura-chan already live together.” Noa jumped in once again with her usual teasing.

“We don’t sleep in the same room, though!”

“Nothing will happen unless you want me to do something…” Sakura devilishly grinned.

“What do you mean by that? And no thanks!”

“We all have a different futon, so I don’t think it’s a problem,” stated Cho.

Keisuke sighed and gave in.

“Fine. I swear, you three are way too careless sometimes.”

“We wouldn’t let just anyone sleep in the same room as us, Kei-kun. And that’s true regardless of gender. I wouldn’t want a random classmate to sleep next to me even if it was a girl. We only let you because we trust you. It’s that simple.”

“Noa-chan…”

“That’s right!”

“What she said,” Cho and Sakura also joined in, respectively.

“Well, it’s not just gender I was worried about, but if everyone is fine with it, then I have no more objections.”

“You guys are good friends, aren’t you? Ohh, youth…” The clerk lady remarked. “We offer yukatas to all of our visitors free of charge during their stay. All of your futons are in your room’s closet, and we also have food services, should you become hungry or change your mind. The room’s door only opens with the help of our holographic sunglasses we provide, so please make sure that you don’t lose it! Your room number is 86. Please relax, and I hope you all enjoy your stay!”

Wow! She sounds really professional… I’ll definitely write about something like this in my manga!

Cho took the sunglasses, they thanked the lady, and then went to the room they were given. The room itself was spacious enough but not too big, and it came with a toilet and a fenced terrace. Everyone removed their shoes before entering, looked around, placed down their luggages and decided to move on to the first part of their plans, which was to change into yukatas and go shopping.

Cho wanted to check out a bookstore, Noa decided on a music shop, Keisuke chose a video game seller, while Sakura put her vote on an anime-themed outlet. In reality, all of the options were fine for all four of them, since they were all somewhat of an otaku in one way or another, so they could each find something interesting to them in the other stores. 

They spontaneously thought of playing rock-paper-scissors to decide which one to go to first. The first round had a three-way tie, so they went again, where Sakura was the only one to play paper, while everyone else played rocks, deciding the outcome.

They went to everyone’s choice one by one, buying posters, acrylic stands, CDs, Blu-rays, mangas and a new video game. After bringing their stuff back to their room, Cho, Noa, Keisuke and Sakura followed their next idea and went to a karaoke place nearby.

At the karaoke place, they all agreed to not eat anything so that they would have space for their next meal, but they did order a soda each. 

Cho taught Noa how to use the machine and the microphone, and as soon as she understood, Noa stepped up as the first to sing. She chose an anime song, and her cute voice suited it perfectly. Sakura took the lead next, choosing a western pop song. Sakura’s voice was surprisingly beautiful and strong.

“I didn’t know you could sing so well, Sakura,” said Keisuke.

“I just never had the opportunity to show off before,” Sakura smugly replied. “Want to go next?”

“Sure, but I’m not good at singing.”

Keisuke’s song of choice belonged to the j-pop genre, and he wasn’t lying. He wasn’t good at singing, but he wasn’t particularly bad at it either. He was able to keep up with the rhythm; he had a good ear to try to copy the tone, and he was able to go with the flow, using his deeper voice that sounded like a murmur. Reaching the end of his song, he passed the microphone to Cho.

“Do you want to sing as well, Cho-chan?”

“I’ll pass; I’m seriously hopeless when it comes to singing.”

“Or, you could sing a duet with me,” exclaimed Noa. “It doesn’t matter if we mess up or if we don't sound good; all that matters is that we have fun together!”

“Eh? But…”

“Pretty please!” Noa insisted.

“All right. Sure.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

She’s so cute when she’s happy! I couldn’t turn her down with something like this, even if I tried.

Cho and Noa chose a retro Japanese song that could be easily sung by two people. They were often offbeat and out of tune, but they didn’t care and just had fun with it. Halfway, Keisuke and Sakura also joined in on the fun, and the four of them finished the song in laughter.

I didn’t know singing could be this fun.

They ended up singing a couple more songs from all kinds of genres, including rock, jazz, hip hop and more.

Finishing with their time at karaoke, they went back to the inn to get ready, both physically and even mentally for some, for bathing in the hot springs.