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"Ey, Hisaki? You aren't dead, are you?" Hisaki replied to the overhanging Shinigami with a moan before he got up. As he opened his eyes, what he saw was a nightmare. A wasteland coated in an unholy purple light. Not far from the gate was a massive wall of whipping clouds. It was a storm that loomed over the landscape, its winds shredded all that stood within. Even the earth below it was pulled up and flying through the air like a ragdoll. At Hisaki's position, the storm created a heavy wind that picked up dust and sand that threatened Hisaki's sight.

Hisaki squinted through the dust, and saw some sort of civilization just outside the swirling storm. Hisaki ignored the deafened complaints from the Shinigami, and walked towards the settlement. It was a harsh trip; the constant winds buffeted Hisaki violently and unendingly. Because of the violent wind, it took Hisaki nearly a half an hour to reach the colony outside of the storm.

The colony was small and thickly set. So thick, in fact, that once Hisaki stepped in, the wind seemed to disappear. The houses were arranged in a thick circle. They were made with some sort of black wood that creaked and moaned. The entire settlement shifted with each redirection of the wind, and seriously didn't look like it should last another second knowing the violent waves of air outside.

Hisaki wandered over to a nearby rickety shack, labeled as a hostel. Hisaki grasped the doornob, and found that it was jammed shut. Not locked, just jammed. Hisaki gave it a good thrust with his shoulder, and came tumbling into the building.

Hisaki got up, brushing the dirt from his clothes, and looked around the vacant area. Everything seemed to be covered in dust, and there didn't seem to be anyone around. Hisaki grimly mumbled, "Big Surprise..."

The genin approached the front desk, and looked over the counter at the ledger. According to it, no one had checked in or out in nearly three weeks. Hisaki blew the hair on his forehead out of the way and looked around at the sorrowful, abandoned rest stop. "Well Shinigami? What do you make of it?" The reaper, arching his neck for the low ceiling shook his head, "I'd bet minions of Lust took this poor souls from their escape. This sort of settlement isn't uncommon in the underworld. Sometimes souls escape their eternal torture in someway, and find others that also escaped. Together, they build some sort of semblance of their home on earth, if for nothing more than to hold on to their sanity just a little longer. Pitiable situation really."

Hisaki suddenly felt a little sick to his stomach, and said to the looming spirit, "How easy is it to get into a place like this?" He said so, knowing full well what the answer probably was. Easy.

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Oasis smiled at Hatsuma and rocked from side to side "Yea it was alot of fun in that maze, there were some crazy traps too." she states with a smile as she ate more of her freebie "OH the guy said its Dango, its really yummy. here, try one." she states holding one of the three she purchased up to Hatsuma. "Sp what did you experience in there anyway, like what kinds of traps?" she questions with a smile. Oasis chomped at her dango a little more as she looked arond "Hey, do you think there is a neat bathhouse here? bet it wont esplode like the last one." she states with a big grin on her face.

"it will be a trade then... " Hatsuma stated pulling the other taiyaki from the bag and passing it over to Oasis before taking the last few bite of her own. She took hold of the dango and promptly stood up as Oasis continued talking. "I didn't actually run into any traps until my way out, though I only saw the triggers for them... the section of the maze I was in was designed more to be elaborate and confusing then it was to be dangerous..." Hatsuma explained and tapped at her chin in thought for a moment as Oasis mentioned finding a bath house... their last experience was rather embarrassing however Oasis did make a point that circumstances were out of the ordinary, it wasn't likely for there to be another brawl thrown into the bath house like last time. "Visiting a bath could be interesting I suppose, we can look for one if you'd like..." Hatsuma finished her contemplations and took one of the dango from the stick and ate it her expression not changing though the food was quite delicious as well.

Yua was glad to finally be out of the maze, she glared at the man who escorted her out and then looked down at herself, she looked gross and her hair felt disgusting to touch she needed a bath so badly it was not funny. Yua sighed and remembered she had seen a bathhouse somewhere, she began to make her way through the village trying her best not to bump into people out of courtesy since she was practically covered in mud from the maze. But she was having a hard time not bumping into the people the streets where as crowded as ever, You looked around and saw a low hanging roof she leaped up from the crowd onto it and began to move across the rooftops finally she spotted the bathhouse, and made her way towards it. Once inside she gladly stripped down and set her Scroll down next to the hole that held her clothes, she would have to find a place to wash them later. Then she made her way inside and into the warm water. It was so relaxing Yua just let herself melt into the water.

Oasis blinked lightly staring up at the large building, it had to be the biggest bathhouse she had seen yet. Her eyes were set wide and unblinking as she looked at it in very obviously childlike awe. After a few moments she let out a few hollers before racing at the door nearly toppling several patrons as she blitzed through the doors. "ITS SO HUGE!" she chimed out loudly now that she was inside the building, she didn't wait long to find the counter and greet the person there she saw the chart and realized there was a some kind of charge for this place, which mean they had fancy things. She chucked the required amount of ryo to let her try just about everything before she crashed the dressing room. She was obviously excited about this place. "HURRY HURRY!" she shouted after Hatsuma as she stumbled all about the dressing room as she unclasped her belts and other hooks and such to release as much of her wardrobe in a single swing as possible. Oasis stuffed the red-orange wardrobe she wore into a cubbyhole and paused as she noticed something familiar in another spot, she blinked and looked a little closer sniffing at it a few times a devious little grin came to her face, her new friend from mist was here too wasn't she. Oasis finished undressing and in a likewise fashion to her entering the dressing room she crashed her way into the bathing room as well.

Hatsuma calmly entered after Oasis and gave a greeting to the man at the counter in the form of a respectful bow before paying him the require Ryo for the bathing service. She followed along the path of Oasis' frantic dash to the bathing area and was in the dressing area before to long. Oasis was already midway towards the bathing area by the time Hatsuma got there. She proceeded to remove her garments the same as last time folding each article before proceeding to the next the whole event holding some nostalgia to it as they had done this just days ago. Once she finished she followed after the over anxious Oasis into the bathing area grabbing a longer towel to cover herself in as she did. Aside from the elaborate decoration the bathing area was almost identical to the one back in wind country save the few pipes that seemed to come in at the edges of the bath no doubt for administering special blends of minerals and oils for those who would pay the higher price for the bathing. Inside the bath there was someone who had gotten a similar idea as Oasis in bathing. judging from the girls age she was likely to be a shinobi here for the exams, if not entered into them at the very least observing them.
"Excuse us..." Hatsuma said with a bow as she entered the bathing area. the greeting was multi purpose the first being a notification of their presence the second reason was to apologize for Oasis since she was at one of her most hyper moments.
she then noticed that the two had met earlier which meant she was a shinobi from another village also entered into the exams.

Hisaki's eyes opened slowly. In the time that he'd slipped into his flashback, the bath had cleared out. Hisaki guessed that many of the people weren't used to the hot water and the feeling it gave those in it. Hisaki removed himself from the mini waterfall, and returned to his origional position. Although the bath wasn't his alone, it was still fairly qui- Thought too soon: A ball smacked and ricocheted off of Hisaki's blue-black hair. The impact sent Hisaki's face into the water abruptly. In an uproar, Hisaki stood up, and looked for the source of the ball-throwing. Alas, only feet away from the side of the spring were a pair of teenage boys about the same age as Hisaki, wearing swim trunks and passing a ball back and forth.

"Not proper onsen behavior," Hisaki grumbled, trying to ease back in the water. Perhaps if he ignored the ambient noise they were making, he might be able to relax again. Unfortunately, his plan had no effect on reality. Hisaki's ears picked up on every detail. With each pass of the ball was a loud, piercing 'thook'. After that was a swish as it passed through the air. At the same time, there were yelling taunts like, "Right back at you." and "Take that!". Hisaki heard the ball veer off course and hit another patron, who complained about the ruckus. The boys sneered back, threatening to kick the old man out. Apparently they were the sons of the Innkeeper.

Hisaki sighed, and said under his breath, "This place is no different than home. Can I ever get a lucky break with these places?" Hisaki felt another smack to the back of the head by the ball, but refrained from attacking the kids. Sure, he could rip them apart if he wanted, but it wasn't worth it. For now, he just had to relax, even if the ambiance was destroyed by their ball throwing. Another sound cut the advertised 'relaxation'. Two men entered the area: One sounded like a famous patron, and the other sounded like a Clerk. "Here we go Shiganosuke-san. The bath has plenty of room now that peak hour has passed, just as I said. Please, enjoy your stay at the famous Honeyasume Onsen." The clip clopping of wooden sandals signaled the clerk's leave.

Hisaki took a deep breath of the mineral vapors and breathed out slowly. It seemed that after this man came in, the ball throwing had stopped, Thank god for important people. They always set the riffraffy-sort straight.

Again, Hisaki was way off. In the time that the ball was silent, the boys had been preparing. Suddenly, there was a tremendous yell, "GO LONG!" Followed by the yell was the pattering of feet on the wet stone floor. Then there was a skidding sound, followed by a yelp by one of the boys. A second yell came from directly above Hisaki.

Hisaki casually looked upward, expecting maybe the ball was going to land on his face, or maybe the second boy would be flying overhead. Instead, he saw a falling wall of solid muscle and fat coming straight for him. Hisaki didn't have time to react. He didn't even have time to yell. With a colossal wave, the massive Sumo Wrestler known as Akashi Shiganosuke flattened the young ninja.



Hisaki dragged himself from the Inn Infirmary, wiping a bit of sweat from his face, "This is friggen ridiculous." Apparently, the two sons of the innkeeper have been warned of their reckless behavior countless times. The threat they gave the man in the spring was merely a bluff. According to the staff, the two sons would never have the power to kick a guest from that inn, especially with the hijinks they get into.

Hisaki fumed as he saw his reflection in a nearby glass pane. His face had several bandaids on it, and his naked shoulder showed signs of bruising. The Inn offered Hisaki a free stay until the end of the event, but even so, he was pissed. Hisaki trudged up to his room and slammed the door behind him, "This place is a madhouse! I thought by coming to a ritzier place, I'd escape this insanity! Nope! Madness follows me wherever I go!" Hisaki looked at himself a little better in the mirror, and sighed, "Something tells me that the girl's side wouldn't have these issues."

His imagination took over, painting a scene of the most elegant beauty. Crystal waters, sparkling, water softened stones, a trickling brook to create the mood, and a serene glade of bamboo the block out the rest of the world from that little spot of paradise. Then there was a splash of color: Girls, females, lighting the baths with their infinite beauty and grace. No rugged men, or testosterone sport-types. Just giggling, happy, relaxing images of beauty.

Hisaki fell backwards on his bed, face red at the thought. He said to himself quietly, "You know, Hisaki, there is a way."

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Hatsuma followed suit and sat on one of the washing station chairs making sure her towel was secure. She reached for a bottle of shampoo as well as a wash bucket. She began the rather arduous task of washing her hair, it was rather long and reached to her lower back so she would likely need a bit of the shampoo. She took a small wooden cup from the washing bucket and poured the water from it over her hair numerous times in order to get it wet enough for the soap to lather when it was applied. Hatsuma stayed quiet while the other two were conversing and instead concentrated on the washing of her hair. she applied the shampoo and began lathering it up stroking the lather along her hair starting at the base and going to the ends. she did this process rather ritualistically as well though she utilized her additional arms to assist in speeding the process along a bit. Hatsuma's gaze also remained on the two more for the purpose of stopping Oasis if she started giving out to much information about the sand village or wind country in general.