~Dream One~
"So... you're sure that we can go in the onsen right now?" the little girl walking beside her looked up at her, a mixture of uncertainty and hope in her large brown eyes.
Yukiko smiled down at her. "Of course. I made sure to check that it's open for women to use it right now!" She looked sheepish. "So... we won't have the same problem we did last time."
"That's good," Chie affirmed from behind them, and she sighed contentedly. "At least now we'll get to relax without worrying about a bunch of perverts."
The five of them - all four girls on the Investigation Team plus little Nanako - exited the changing room, all wrapped in towels ... but as they were walking towards the hot spring, Yukiko heard a voice - or rather, heard multiple voices - that made her heart stop for a horrified moment.
"You kiddin' me? It ain't even a contest: Chie, for sure."
"....yeah, I'd totally go with Chie, too."
They were male voices. They were male voices that she recognized. Sure enough, there they were: Souji, Yosuke, and Kanji, all sitting back and relaxing in the waters of the hot spring. As Yukiko stared in dismay, bubbles broke the surface - followed by Teddie, who spouted water from his mouth... before he caught sight of the girls and froze, as did his brothers-in-arms.
It was Rise who broke the very awkward silence, yelping in a voice equal parts horror and anger, "W-wh-what are you guys doing here...?!"
"Yeah!" Chie nodded in affirmation. "This is our time to use the spring!"
Teddie answered her, now looking (and sounding) oddly cheerful despite the situation. "Oh, well... Yosuke said that since you were in the spring when it was our turn the other night, then we should use it tonight when it was supposed to be your turn!"
Yosuke, on the other hand, didn't look nearly as happy as he sputtered in response, "H-hey! Ted...!! You weren't supposed to tell them that!" Meanwhile, Souji simply sighed, putting his face in his palm.
How... how dare they...?! If one had a good imagination, one might have been able to literally see the cloud forming over Yukiko as shock turned into dismay which turned into anger. "Y-you... you aren't the only ones staying at this inn, you know!" The girl stepped forward, her hands balled and on her hips as she glared down at the boys. "What if one of our other customers had come in?! Did... did you even think about that...?!"
She was just getting started when an object sailed over her shoulder to smack Yosuke right in the face - a bathing sandal, she realized. Yukiko looked over her shoulder to see Chie tapping the sandal's counterpart against her hand threateningly, her cheeks a bright red.
For a heartbeat, everything was still ... until Rise and Naoto joined in, grabbing anything nearby that they could and hurling it at the four boys in the spring, who promptly sprang out of the water, ducking and covering their heads with their hands as they fled to the other changing room on the other side of the onsen. As the boys ran, Yukiko saw that Kanji's nose was bleeding ... though whether it was because he'd been hit in the face by a projectile or for some other reason, she didn't know.
"Wh-why can't anything go our way for a change?! Just once?!" She heard Yosuke shouting to his fellows in frustration as they scrambled into the other room and shut the door behind them - and then they were gone.
***
*this would be Yukiko waking up, and sighing at the dream - not yet knowing that anyone could have seen it yet. How embarrassing...*
Yukiko smiled down at her. "Of course. I made sure to check that it's open for women to use it right now!" She looked sheepish. "So... we won't have the same problem we did last time."
"That's good," Chie affirmed from behind them, and she sighed contentedly. "At least now we'll get to relax without worrying about a bunch of perverts."
The five of them - all four girls on the Investigation Team plus little Nanako - exited the changing room, all wrapped in towels ... but as they were walking towards the hot spring, Yukiko heard a voice - or rather, heard multiple voices - that made her heart stop for a horrified moment.
"You kiddin' me? It ain't even a contest: Chie, for sure."
"....yeah, I'd totally go with Chie, too."
They were male voices. They were male voices that she recognized. Sure enough, there they were: Souji, Yosuke, and Kanji, all sitting back and relaxing in the waters of the hot spring. As Yukiko stared in dismay, bubbles broke the surface - followed by Teddie, who spouted water from his mouth... before he caught sight of the girls and froze, as did his brothers-in-arms.
It was Rise who broke the very awkward silence, yelping in a voice equal parts horror and anger, "W-wh-what are you guys doing here...?!"
"Yeah!" Chie nodded in affirmation. "This is our time to use the spring!"
Teddie answered her, now looking (and sounding) oddly cheerful despite the situation. "Oh, well... Yosuke said that since you were in the spring when it was our turn the other night, then we should use it tonight when it was supposed to be your turn!"
Yosuke, on the other hand, didn't look nearly as happy as he sputtered in response, "H-hey! Ted...!! You weren't supposed to tell them that!" Meanwhile, Souji simply sighed, putting his face in his palm.
How... how dare they...?! If one had a good imagination, one might have been able to literally see the cloud forming over Yukiko as shock turned into dismay which turned into anger. "Y-you... you aren't the only ones staying at this inn, you know!" The girl stepped forward, her hands balled and on her hips as she glared down at the boys. "What if one of our other customers had come in?! Did... did you even think about that...?!"
She was just getting started when an object sailed over her shoulder to smack Yosuke right in the face - a bathing sandal, she realized. Yukiko looked over her shoulder to see Chie tapping the sandal's counterpart against her hand threateningly, her cheeks a bright red.
For a heartbeat, everything was still ... until Rise and Naoto joined in, grabbing anything nearby that they could and hurling it at the four boys in the spring, who promptly sprang out of the water, ducking and covering their heads with their hands as they fled to the other changing room on the other side of the onsen. As the boys ran, Yukiko saw that Kanji's nose was bleeding ... though whether it was because he'd been hit in the face by a projectile or for some other reason, she didn't know.
"Wh-why can't anything go our way for a change?! Just once?!" She heard Yosuke shouting to his fellows in frustration as they scrambled into the other room and shut the door behind them - and then they were gone.
***
*this would be Yukiko waking up, and sighing at the dream - not yet knowing that anyone could have seen it yet. How embarrassing...*