“Ah, welcome to the Inner Path Onsen cultivators,” a gentle older female voice came after we walked into the building.

  There was a slight buzzing noise when I walked and just from my peripheral vision I saw a slight red glow coming from the corner. Something to tell the person the both of us were indeed cultivators? Niku walked in behind me and I looked around the room a little before I focused in on the woman.

  She was an older small woman that wore a muted kimono of cream and deep browns with some green in it. I only knew she was older from the bits of gray hair she had in the bit of hair she wore loose from the bun on the back of her head that was held with some brown sticks. Her skin, even as old as I guessed she was, was flawless. The only imperfection I could notice was the crow’s feet at her eyes, and a bit of smile lines. She led a happy life; I thought and smiled at her.

  The woman was standing in the middle of the small lobby type area that made the bathhouse and spa’s welcome area. Behind her was a small desk with some notebooks and papers besides a tall wide bookshelf which held plain white, luxurious looking towels. There were small trees in pots all over the waiting area and the small lanterns and candles everywhere gave the place a cozy but intimate feel to it.

  A half second after she welcomed us she turned to the shelves of towels and grabbed two. One she handed to a younger woman that was waiting off to the side and then they both walked over to me and Niku. The older woman, who seemed to be in charge, helped Niku dry herself and the younger woman who wore a much tighter and more vibrant kimono helped me.

  The towel was warm and lush and even just this bit of hospitality was nice. It didn’t take long before the younger woman, who we never got the name of, took both of the towels and left the room. Me and Niku kind of gaped at each other not quite used to such treatment but the woman in charge was back in her spot in front of the table with her hands crossed in front of her.

  “Like I was saying, welcome to the Inner Path Onsen. I am Hanae, the Yudono-Nushi. I humbly welcome two such powerful cultivators to my establishment,” she said and even gave a low bow that seemed to go on for a beat longer than I thought it would. When she straightened back up, she looked at us both expectantly.

  Niku was the first to get it and bowed, though not as low.

  “Oh,” my eyes went wide, and I followed along. When we straightened, I put a hand on my chest and introduced myself, still as Maikeru. Then I put my hand on Niku’s shoulder. “And this is my companion, Niku.”

  The woman grew a little knowing smirk. “Oh, well, welcome. How can I help you both today?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what the look was for. “Uh, we’d like a bath?”

  That was when Niku put a hand on my shoulder and stepped in front of me. Since I never knew what the hell I was doing, I was happy to let her take the lead.

  “Okami Hanae, thank you for the warm welcome. Cultivator Maikeru and I would like a bath and a massage. We’ve been on the road for a very long time, so we need something to help clean and relax us after such a long journey,” Niku sounded a little more forceful than I was used to her sounding. A little more direct.

  The woman looked at me when Niku started but when she realized I was looking a little lost and was in fact kind of dumb, she went back to Niku. It took her a minute but Hanae finally nodded her head in understanding. “Very good. Are we going to be bathing and pampered together or..?”

  “Yes,” Niku said firmly.

  My eyes went wide. Bathing together. “Uh, you s-”

  Niku turned mid-question and stared me in the eyes. “Yes, Maikeru. Why wouldn’t we?”

  I blinked. “Uh, right. Yeah. Yes. Of course. Why wouldn’t we?”

  Hanae smiled and nodded her head. The woman then shifted to the side and held an arm out to the side, directing us down the hallway where the younger woman had gone with the towels they used to dry us off from the rain outside.

  I followed Niku around the corner to a long hallway with several doors on either side. In front of two doors on either side, there was a woman bowed with the door open. Niku turned and looked back at the head woman.

  “I said we were going together,” Niku said with that bit of an edge in her voice.

  I smirked. Niku was turning out to be pretty possessive, and it was a kind of, well, it was kinda hot.

  Hanae nodded her head and got an innocent sort of expression. “Yes, you will. These are the changing rooms. We can’t have mixed company there. Change, and then you will be shown to the private massage room.”

  Niku narrowed her eyes at the woman before she turned to look at me and then at the attendant that was bowing in front of the door. It was the same one who dried me off. Her reaction to everything made me start to wonder if there was something going on. I cocked my brow and looked inside the room and it seemed just like they said: a sort of medieval locker room.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  There were wooden benches around the room and it was steamy, which told me there was some sort of steam room in here somewhere. The smell was nice, and not at all like a locker room would smell back home. The best part was that there weren’t any old dudes walking around hanging brain. Along the walls were tall wooden cubbies that looked like lockers. Some of them were open and I could see some hooks to hang your clothes and then also some fuzzy sandals and a bathrobe.

  With a glance over at Niku, who just smiled at me and nodded her head before she turned and went into the room held open for her. I shrugged and went in and looked around a little. When the door clicked shut behind me, I happened to turn and took a step backwards as my eyes went open wide.

  “Oh uh, hi,” I said to the woman who dried me off and apparently followed me into the locker room.

  She gave me a soft smile and a soft bow. “Hello sir cultivator. I was just going to help you get ready?”

  I blinked and then grew a nervous smile. By all objective accounts, the girl was a knockout. She had glossy thick dark hair that framed her face and she wore it down in a ponytail. Her almond eyes seemed to sparkle when she smiled, and curves that made my ears burn under the tight kimono she wore. I turned away quickly and moved over to one of the little lockers to hang my robe in and put my shoes into.

  When I felt her step close behind me, I stiffened and perked my head up.

  “Allow me, honored cultivator,” she breathed. Her hands reached around me for the ties of my inner robe with the smooth confidence of someone who was used to this sort of work.

  I turned and sidestepped so I could face her, but not be directly in front of her. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I gave her a little half nervous smile and a small laugh that came out like a squeak. “Oh, no, it’s alright. I’m fine, really. Been undressing myself for a little while now.”

  She paused and tilted her head towards me with a polite but confused smile. “As you wish, master cultivator. The Okami said you were new here. We are happy to attend to whatever needs you might have.”

  Well, that was out there now. Did she just look at my crotch? Was she smiling now? I pointed out the door towards the opposite locker room where Niku was getting ready herself. “Right, uh, no.. I, uh, mostly just came for the bath and to get pampered with my girl, you know.”

  She inclined her head and smiled at me. “Right, well, master cultivator, if you’d like anything. Or you should change your mind. Simply ring the chime.”

  She bowed gracefully and then turned and opened the door to go. The last thing I heard from her before she did was. “You wouldn’t want to go too quickly and disappoint your companion.”

  I frowned, and my ears were still warm, and my heart was pounding. I scratched at my head and wondered if I should leave a bigger tip to apologize. Wait, for that matter, how much was all of this? The Okami or whatever never said. I put my hands on my hips for a moment and shook my head.

  “Whatever, I have some money and I’ll be getting more,” I said to myself and finally started to take off my robes.

  When I stripped all the way down, I looked down at the funky loincloth and braided rope that held it around me. Was I supposed to take it off? Leave it on? “Well, shit.”

  Whatever I picked was going to be wrong. Would it be better if I took off my bathrobe and was in my birthday suit or… Yeah, leave ‘em on and I can take them off if I need to? I looked back in the locker and found the plush bathrobe and some sandals and put them on.

  I looked and walked around and finally found a little hallway that led to a door different from the one I originally came in. Since I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to find when I opened the door, I opened it slowly. Maybe the girl was out there waiting to attack me and she’ll try to feel me up or something.

  I wasn’t pleasantly surprised when I found a different attendant. This one male with soft features and hair worn down instead of the usual topknot. He was dressed in muted colors, much like the boss lady, and now that I really looked at him, there was more resemblance there. Son maybe?

  “Hello Sir Cultivator, if you’d follow me. Your companion is waiting,” he said and extended an arm that led down the hallway.

  I nodded. “Thank you, yes lead the way,” I replied, getting really tired of everyone calling me master cultivator.

  The walk was only a few doors down and the man slid open the door. I nodded my thanks and walked through and found Niku laying on a cushioned table on her stomach with a sheet over her body. My mouth lost all of its saliva as I looked at her and my pupils had to have grown to the size of my whole eye.

  “What took you so long?” She asked and lifted her head up from the pillow. Apparently, they hadn’t invented the tables where you could put your face through a hole yet. Maybe that’ll be my contribution to this society.

  “Oh uh, the girl, well… Nevermind,” I said. I had started to point my thumb back towards the men’s locker room, but thought better of it. From what I’ve seen of Niku, she might use one of those exploding potions and blow the place up. She used all of those in that fight with the sect, right?

  This made her sit up and wrap the sheet around her front.

  Don’t look.

  Don’t look.

  She is a person. Look her in the eye.

  “What happened?” she asked flatly.

  I waved it away. “It was nothing. She thought I was just the sort of guy who needed to, be uh…” I thought of the nicest way to say it. “Topped off.”

  She looked at me confused. “What?”

  “Uhhh… That I needed some extra attention.”

  Niku frowned and shook her head. It took her a second, but she rolled her eyes and laid back down. “Come on, hang up your bathrobe and lay down under the sheet. They’re waiting for us.”

  “Um, can I ask you a question?”

  “Hm? That depends. You turned the woman down, right?” She asked not lifting her head.

  “What? Of course I did. But seriously, should I be wearing my uh…”

  She giggled and even snorted a little. “You can. Either way, it doesn’t matter. You’ll have to take them off when we bathe.”

  I gulped.

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