tkworld Chapter 586 Hot Spring Inn
Chapter 586 Hot Spring Inn
The hot spring hotel recommended by the proprietress wasn't the kind of place that people would push to make money by recommending to acquaintances.
The hotel was really nice. It was located on a gentle slope on the edge of town, surrounded by bamboo forests. The hotel was a traditional wooden structure, and the corridor floor was covered with soft straw mats. The air was filled with a faint smell of sulfur and the unique fragrance of bamboo. Instead of being unpleasant, it gave people a sense of relaxation and peace of mind.
The complimentary kaiseki meal, while not as delicious as what the two of us could cook ourselves, was still definitely of high-end restaurant quality.
Every dish is beautifully presented, with small plates, bowls, cups, and goblets adorning the entire table in a colorful array. It's not the kind of dish that's "pretty but not tasty, exquisite but not filling"—it's the kind of food that truly satisfies you, makes you feel full, makes you feel good, and leaves you patting your belly and sighing with satisfaction.
Naruto and Sasuke sat together, chatting and eating like any ordinary couple in the world.
After dinner, the two of them went to check out their accommodation. The moment they opened the door, a faint scent of tatami mats wafted out.
The room wasn't large, but it was decorated with great care—a traditional Chinese ink painting hung in the niche, a pot of tea and two teacups were placed on the low table by the window, and a small plate of snacks was placed next to it. The bed was already made, and the white bedding looked soft and fluffy under the dim light.
On one side of the room, a small door leads to a small courtyard enclosed by a bamboo fence.
In the very center of the courtyard was a small hot spring pool built of stone, with a thin layer of steam floating on top. This was not the kind of large hot spring like a public bathhouse, but a private hot spring for the two of them alone.
Naruto stood by the pool, already imagining the scene in his mind, but he was more concerned about something else.
What exactly did Satsuki buy at that clothing store...?
This question had been stuck in Naruto's mind ever since Satsuki walked out of the inner room carrying those large bags.
This is unusual. In the past, no matter what she bought, Satsuki would always have Naruto keep it safe, or at least let Naruto take a look at it to confirm what it was.
But this time was different. After Naruto sealed everything he bought into the storage scroll, Satsuki didn't let Naruto keep the scroll; instead, he took it himself, as if afraid someone would steal it.
Naruto didn't even have a chance to sneak a peek.
Even when Naruto directly asked Satsuki to show him the item, Satsuki anxiously refused.
This is quite unusual for Satsuki, who has always doted on Naruto.
Previously, Satsuki's attitude towards Naruto was: "Watch if you want," "Tell me what you want," and "I'll support whatever you do."
That unreserved, all-encompassing attitude that made him feel loved by the whole world was one of the things that made Naruto most fond of Satsuki. But this time, Satsuki refused.
So Naruto felt just like Rohan Kishibe, who was attacked by a "cheap trick"—he really wanted to see it no matter what.
What kind of clothes were they? What kind of clothes could make Satsuki so shy? What kind of clothes could make Satsuki refuse his request so unusually? Were they cute? Were they sexy? Were they… His throat bobbed, and those images started flooding his mind again uncontrollably.
Clothing stores, at their core, sell clothes. If Zuo Yue wants to dress up, she'll do it for herself sooner or later.
She couldn't possibly buy a piece of clothing and never wear it, nor could she hide it in a storage scroll for a lifetime. So Naruto didn't choose to try to secretly look at it, even though the thought kept nagging at him. Instead, Naruto chose to wait for Sasuke to show it to him himself.
So, Naruto decided... since they were staying at a hot spring inn, they should first...
"Naruto, go wash up first."
Satsuki's voice drifted over from the side.
"...Huh?"
"Naruto, go wash first, then I'll go... I need to go first... Anyway, Naruto can go soak in the hot spring first!"
Her voice suddenly rose in the last few words, as if she was using the volume to cover something up.
So, Naruto, feeling dizzy, soaked in the hot spring all by himself.
Although it was very comfortable and the environment was quiet, with only the rustling of bamboo leaves in the wind and the soft "gurgling" sound of hot spring water gushing out from the cracks in the rocks, a sense of loss kept welling up in Naruto's heart.
He wanted to soak in a hot spring with Satsuki... but before he could even speak, Satsuki indirectly rejected him.
He really wanted to experience it. In the warm hot spring, steam rising from the surface, he couldn't see the other person's expression, but he could feel their presence beside him. He could pull Zuo Yue close, letting her lean against him, her back against his chest, her hair brushing against his chin. He could lower his head and whisper things in her ear that he wouldn't normally be too shy to say, and hold her even tighter.
Naruto's face turned red. Every night, Naruto couldn't help but think about these things.
He lifted his face out of the water and looked up at the deep blue night sky above.
Naruto's throat bobbed again. He felt he might need to soak in this hot spring a little longer. Until his mind cleared, until he stopped thinking about all that nonsense.
Meanwhile, in her hotel room, Satsuki listened to the commotion in the courtyard. After confirming that Naruto had entered the hot spring and wouldn't be back for a while, she slowly took out the storage scroll from her pocket.
Then she untied the sash, unrolled the scroll, and chakra flowed from her fingertips into it. The pile of things she'd brought from the clothing store, outwardly unremarkable but inwardly blush-inducing, spilled out onto the floor.
Satsuki crouched down and began rummaging through the inside.
First of all, if it's a hot spring, those fluffy styles are completely unsuitable.
Cheongsams are even less suitable; soaking silk fabric in high temperatures would be too wasteful.
After eliminating some variations of the clothing, such as the kind that could barely be called a "JK uniform," which consisted of a shirt and tie on the top but only a piece of fabric on the bottom that was hard to describe.
There were also styles that resembled a kind of "doctor's uniform," but with at least 80% less fabric than a real doctor's uniform—Satsuki discovered that only one type of clothing was suitable for the hot spring environment.
No, she wasn't sure if the word "clothing" was appropriate for that thing. Because this thing—it just looked like a ball of yarn.
Those lines didn't so much "cover up" the important parts as they "marked" them.
Satsuki picked up the ball of thread from the pile of clothes, held it up to her eyes, and examined it from all angles. Could she really wear this? What difference would it make if she wore it or not? No, wearing it might be worse than not wearing it at all.
Satsuki didn't have time to think anymore. She felt that if she kept standing there like this, Naruto would be back by the time he finished his hot spring bath.
She had to make a decision, get dressed, adjust her mindset, and then stand in front of Naruto in a way that even she found unbelievable.
Satsuki's throat bobbed. She began to change her clothes.
She didn't dare look at herself in the mirror. Her fingers fumbled awkwardly among the straps and buckles, taking several times longer than usual to finally manage to put it on.
Her heart was pounding. She took deep breaths, forcing herself not to care too much about the almost nonexistent fabric covering her body, and began rummaging through the shopping bag.
She still didn't understand why they were giving away high heels, but the proprietress gave her another free gift in addition to the high heels.
Satsuki hadn't looked closely when she was in the shop; she'd just casually stuffed it into her bag. Now, she wanted to see what it was.
After a quick search, Satsuki's fingers touched something wrapped in a white plastic bag. She took it out of the bag, turned it over, and looked at the instructions on the packaging.
"……."
Zuo Yue's first reaction was—did the landlady put the wrong thing in? Because at first glance, this thing looks very ordinary.
It's something that's usually sold in ordinary grocery stores, something that any household can easily buy. So ordinary that Zuo Yue felt this thing shouldn't be among this pile of clothes and shoes that made her blush.
The next second, Satsuki, who was already a married woman and had experienced the things between husband and wife, and was no longer a naive little girl, understood.
Her pupils dilated suddenly, and she flung the thing away as if she had been burned.
Then she picked it up again, shoved it back into the bag, and decided to take it slow—starting with the simplest thing first. That…that one, forget it, that one was a bit too…too…too beyond her current mental limit.
And so, Satsuki realized something irresistibly—humans were incredibly sophisticated in their ways. But Satsuki's heart still stirred… Satsuki's throat bobbed.
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(As for what the items were... use your imagination, Shenhe took them all and deleted them.)