"Hahhhhh," five boys chorused at the same time.
Submerging themselves in the hot water while keeping their towels wrapped around their waists, they let out their stress from the previous days.
The girls were able to convince them to wait a whole hour before they finally got out of the bath and swapped places with them.
Naturally, they gave an hour in exchange for their service in protecting them.
It was worth it, Kirito thought as he let himself submerge passed his chin.
It had been a long time ever since he had bathed in a large body of water like this in SAO, the last time feeling like a distant memory from a different lifetime.
It's best that they don't know... he thought of his guildmates. They'd kill me without telling Sachi...
She'd understand though... probably... hopefully...
...Okay, maybe I shouldn't tell her soon... Maybe we can come here without anyone else...
He was distracted from his thoughts by a slight disturbance across the surface of the water.
He turned his head slightly to see Ducker skimming the surface of the pool with his fingers, letting it flow between them as he moved his hand in a circle.
Turning his head away, he noted Keita and Sasamaru who were leaning against the rocks behind them.
He couldn't help but enviously take note of their exposed bodies. Admittedly they were not particularly muscular, but they were no doubt more masculine than he could've said about himself.
Kirito had always had a complex about his body; It had primarily stemmed from how similar he had looked to his sister, who was by all means «girly»... at least regarding her features, her personality was something else all together.
Still, it had led him to create an avatar that was his ideal self, manliness and all. He remembered the despair that he felt when it was stripped away from him on that first day, along with the despair he felt from the situation itself.
Unable to stop himself, he glared and scowled at his oblivious guildmates who were enjoying the hot spring with their eyes closed.
All of a sudden, a wave of heated water washed over his face.
"Ow! Hey!" Not fully standing up, he turned to his right and put up his arms, bracing for another splash.
Through his upturned arms, he glared at his assailant – Ducker.
The blond boy smiled broadly, as if proud of his prank.
"Sorry, Kirito," he apologized insincerely. "You were making such an ugly face."
He continued to glare, but as soon as he opened his mouth to make a retort-
*splash*
Another wave of water struck him, this time getting in his mouth.
He spat out the water. At the same time he could hear the others chuckling at him.
"Wow, thanks for being so supportive guys," he snarked at the bystanders. At the same time, he used his gloved left hand to return a wave of water at Ducker.
They chuckled a bit more before somebody finally responded to him.
"Just give it to him," Keita suggested. "A sneak attack is the only way any of us have a chance of beating you."
Kirito let out a snort before leaning back, hoping that he wouldn't get splashed again.
...Although now that the surprise wore off, he couldn't help but appreciate the way they were treating him.
"Thanks... everyone..." he said without thinking. Immediately, the relaxing boys sat up a bit and looked at him curiously. "For accepting me," he clarified shyly.
There was an awkward silence for a bit. Suddenly it was broken by the sounds of four waves crashing into the poor boy.
"Oh, come on!" he shouted.
"That's for being sappy!" Tetsuo teased with a grin.
"I'm pouring my heart out here!"
This time he didn't take the aggression lying down and instead used both arms to send waves at his friends.
With a playful grin, he decided to make this a bit more interesting. Slightly pulling his arms back and opening his palms, he activated a «Martial Arts» skill with both hands and aimed them at the surface of the water.
A larger wave than any other immediately erupted, drenching everyone around him.
There was only a moment for him to grin before a playfully angry growl sounded, "Oh, NOW you've done it!"
All of them laughing together, they continued their silly water war for their remaining time. Nobody knew whose team they were on, so the water hit everyone indiscriminately.
***
If anyone had told me that I would have a hot springs chapter for males when I began writing, I would've called them insane. But now I see, there needs to be some times where friends can just be friends for a bit.
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Sword Art Online - The Midnight Shadow
FanfictionUsing all his power, Kirito was barely able to save the lives of his guildmates, but his guilt of putting them in danger drove him to leave them anyways. However, he did not have to return to be a solo player, as there is someone who will always sta...
