The Half-assed Prince

Onsen (Part 2)

After almost three hours of driving, we finally arrived at the inn. We were all freezing when we got out of the bus. Mom was right, it was colder here than in the city.

Once everyone had gathered their things, we all went inside the cozy lobby. Ukai-san's grandmother welcomed us with a huge smile.

"Keishin, it's been so long!!" Ukai-san's grandmother said when she spotted him.

"You're right, Obaa-chan, it's been so long since I last came here." Ukai-san replied.

"I think you were still in high school the last time you came. You were with your teammates then. Who would've thought that the next time you came here you'd be with your own team."

Ukai-san blushed at his grandmother's words, smiling sheepishly.

"Well, I know you guys are tired. The bath is ready. Your yukatas are ready in your rooms; just check the closets. Here are your keys." Ukai-san took them. "I hope you have a good stay in our inn." With a last smile in Ukai-san's direction, she turned and left.

The girls and the teachers had their own rooms while the boys were divided by year. Kei's face darkened when he heard that.

"Why do I have to share the room with those guys?" Kei mumbled, so low I was the only one who heard him.

"It's your chance to tighten your bond with them." I said and elbowed him to encourage him.

"Why do I have to tighten my bond with them when there's no bond in the first place?" He said with a disgusted look.

"Oh, c'mon Kei, don't be a tsundere now. Just do your best, okay?" I said with a wink and followed Shimizu-senpai and Mei-chan to our room.

I really hoped Kei would enjoy these 2 days. I took comfort in the fact that Yamaguchi was also with him, since Kei always appreciated his presence, even if Kei himself wouldn't admit it. Not that I wanted him to just hang with Yamaguchi all the time. I had always noticed how distant Kei was with his fellow freshmen, so I really wanted him to take this chance to get to know Hinata and Kageyama better. I knew that it wouldn't be easy given the subtle animosity in the air around the three of them, but I hoped this little get together would ease the tension between them.

I was really looking forward to the hot spring. Before even getting to the inn, I couldn't stop imagining the feeling of the hot water on my skin, the peace and serenity it would bring to my mind, and the relaxation that my body desperately needed. Sure enough, the moment I dipped into the hot spring I felt as if all the dead cells on my body had regenerated. I told myself that I should really thank Ukai-san for this. It was a good compensation for ruining my birthday and my date with Kei.

After a while, my skin was starting to feel numb because of the water. I could feel my body getting lighter as I stayed longer in the hot spring. The exhaustion that I felt during the culture festival and Mei-chan's arrival had now completely vanished.

I was glad when Shimizu-senpai and Mei-chan decided that we should leave. I was afraid that if I stayed any longer I'd just faint. We crossed with the boys in the hallway as we made our way to our room, and it seemed like they also just got out of the bath. Tanaka-san told us that they would take a walk around the place and asked us if we wanted to come. The third years, including Shimizu-senpai told us that they were not coming. Nishinoya and Tanaka's faces fell. The duo mumbled incoherently for a while, but soon recovered when Hinata reminded them that they'd have another shot at hanging out with Shimizu-senpai again tomorrow.

The place was pretty similar to our town: there was nothing much to see. As we continued to walk around we saw a small shrine and decided to stop there. The shrine was filled with snow so we just offered a quick prayer and left soon after.