Today's chapter
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The jeep didn't just drive; it assaulted the mountain.
Sasha Izumi drove with the reckless abandon of someone who believed gravity was a suggestion rather than a law of physics. The vehicle bounced, skidded, and roared over a "road" that was little more than a goat path carved into the side of a cliff.
"Woo-hoo!" Sasha yelled, slamming the gear stick down as they drifted around a hairpin turn that overlooked a sheer drop into a misty valley. "Look at that view! You can see all the way to Nagano if you squint!"
"I can see my life flashing before my eyes!" Akira shouted from the back seat, gripping the safety handle so hard his knuckles were white. "Is this part of the tour? The 'Near-Death Experience' package?"
Honoka, sitting in the passenger seat, was surprisingly calm. She had one hand on the dashboard and the other gripping the door, but she was smiling.
"It brings back memories!" she laughed, the wind whipping her hair through the open window. "Remember that time we drove the ambulance through the rubble in Kyoto to bypass the traffic?"
"Don't encourage her, Mom!" Akira pleaded as the jeep caught air over a bump. He felt his stomach perform a complex gymnastic routine. "I am too young to die in a traffic accident. I already did that once!"
"What was that?" Sasha yelled over the engine roar.
"NOTHING!"
Shino, sitting next to Akira in the back, remained perfectly still. He looked like a statue meditating in the middle of a hurricane. His eyes were focused on the road ahead, analyzing every bump and dip with a terrifying lack of emotion.
"Sasha," Shino said calmly, his voice cutting through the roar of the engine like a laser. "The suspension on the left rear is vibrating at an irregular frequency. Ease off the throttle by 10% on the descent, or we risk an axle fracture."
"You got it, honey!" Sasha beamed, not slowing down at all. "I'll just drift the corners to reduce the load!"
"That is... an acceptable compromise," Shino nodded, closing his eyes.
Akira looked at the man. Are they insane? Is this couple insane?
For the next hour, they climbed higher and higher into the Hida Mountains. The dense pine forests gave way to jagged rock faces and patches of snow that refused to melt even in the height of summer.
Finally, they crested a ridge.
Sasha slammed on the brakes. The jeep skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust and gravel, mere feet from the edge of the overlook.
"Welcome," she announced, gesturing grandly at the windshield, "to Kamikochi Village."
Akira unclenched his hands from the safety bar and looked out.
His breath caught in his throat.
Nestled in a small, hidden valley between three towering peaks lay a village that looked like it had been frozen in time. The houses were traditional gassho-zukuri style, with steep thatched roofs designed to shed heavy snow. Smoke curled lazily from stone chimneys, blending with the low-hanging mountain mist. A crystal-clear river cut through the center of the valley, sparkling like liquid diamond under the afternoon sun.
It was impossibly picturesque. It was the kind of place that usually harbored a dark secret in an RPG — like a cult or a hidden dungeon — but right now, it just looked like paradise.
"Whoa," Akira whispered, forgetting his nausea.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Honoka murmured, her eyes wide.
"It's not bad," Sasha grinned, turning around in her seat. "Taking jobs in the middle of nowhere has its perks. No smog, no villains, just fresh air and neighbors who pay you in vegetables."
"Don't you have work today?" Honoka asked, looking at the couple. "I thought you were monitoring seismic activity. Shouldn't you be... looking at seismographs?"
"Nope!" Sasha popped the 'p'. "I took a personal day. The tectonic plates can handle themselves for twenty-four hours. Today, we are going to do everything this place has to offer. The full Kamikochi experience!"
Akira sighed, sinking lower in his seat. "Does the experience involve sleeping?"
"Sleep is for the weak!" Sasha yelled, kicking the door open. "Let's go! We're burning daylight!"
The rest of the day was a blur of activity.
They trekked through the village, the air smelling of pine and woodsmoke. The locals were friendly. Everyone waved. Everyone stopped to talk. It seemed Sasha and Shino were practically royalty here.
"Oh, Sasha-san! Shino-san!" an old woman called out from a vegetable stall. "Is this family?"
"Best friends from the city!" Sasha boomed, grabbing a radish and taking a bite out of it raw. "This is Honoka, the best doctor in Japan, and her son Akira, the future heartbreaker!"
Akira tried to shrink into his tracksuit collar. "Please stop introducing me like that."
But the damage was done.
As they walked past the small village school, recess began. A horde of children, ranging from five to ten years old, poured out into the yard. They were loud, energetic, and seemingly starved for entertainment.
They spotted the strangers. They spotted the red hair.
It was like a beacon.
"Whoa!" a little boy with a runny nose yelled, pointing a stick at Akira. "Look at his hair! It's like fire!"
"Is he a hero?" a girl asked, her eyes wide.
"He looks like an anime character!" another shouted. "He looks like the main character!"
Within seconds, Akira was surrounded.
"Hey, Mister! What's your quirk?" "Do you have games on your phone?" "Why is your forehead marked? Are you a ninja?" "Can you breathe fire?"
Akira looked down at the sea of small faces. He panicked. In his old life, he wasn't good with kids. In this life, he was basically a kid himself, and mentally, he was still just fifteen. He had no idea how to interact with them without being sarcastic or awkward.
He decided to go with the 'Cool and Mysterious' persona. It was the safest bet. It worked in anime.
He crossed his arms, looked into the middle distance with a brooding expression, and said in a low voice, "My power is not for display. It is a burden I carry alone."
The kids gasped.
"He's so cool!" "He's definitely the boss!" "Boss! Boss! Boss!"
The chanting started instantly.
"Wait, no," Akira tried to backpedal, realizing his mistake. "I'm not the boss. I'm just a tourist. I'm here for the hot springs."
"THE BOSS HAS SPOKEN!" the runny-nosed kid screamed, saluting. "WE MUST SERVE HIM!"
Before Akira knew what was happening, he was being led around the playground like a deity. The boys brought him 'tributes' (cool rocks, a beetle, and a slightly rusty spoon). The girls, meanwhile, had formed a fan club.
"I'm going to marry him!" a girl with pigtails declared, clinging to his left arm like a koala.
"No way! I saw him first!" another girl yelled, grabbing his right arm. "He's going to be my husband! My dad owns the rice shop!"
"I can cook!" a third girl shouted, presenting him with a mud pie. "Eat this, Boss!"
Akira stood there, immobilized by children, looking like a deer surrounded by wolves. He held the mud pie gingerly. He looked up desperately for help.
Ten feet away, by the fence, the adults were watching.
Sasha was doubled over, clutching her stomach, laughing so hard that no sound was coming out. She was pounding the fence post with her fist. Honoka was wiping tears from her eyes, snapping photos with her phone.
"Mom!" Akira mouthed.
Honoka just gave him a thumbs up and continued recording.
Even Shino had a distinct tremble in his shoulders as he covered his mouth to hide a smile.
Traitors, Akira thought, narrowing his eyes at them. Every single one of you. I will get my revenge. I will put salt in your coffee. I will replace your shampoo with mayonnaise.
"Mom!" he called out. "Help! I'm being forcefully married! This is a kidnapping!"
"It's good for your character!" Honoka called back. "Learn to lead the masses, Boss! It's vital hero training!"
The torture lasted for another hour until the school bell rang, saving him from a life of polygamy and mud pies. As the kids ran back inside, waving goodbye to "The Boss," Akira slumped against the fence, exhausted.
"I hate children," he muttered. "They are sticky and loud."
"You are a child," Honoka reminded him, patting his head.
"I was never that sticky."
By the time the sun began to dip behind the peaks, painting the snow in shades of violet and pink, Akira felt like he had run a marathon. His social battery was drained, recharged, and drained again.
"That," Sasha announced, wiping dust from her cargo pants, "was excellent. But now, it is time for the main event."
She pointed up a winding stone path lined with lanterns that glowed softly in the twilight.
"The Hot Springs."
The Kamikochi Onsen was built directly into the mountainside. It was open-air, separated by a high bamboo fence into men's and women's sections.
They split up at the entrance. Honoka and Sasha went left; Akira and Shino went right.
The Women's Bath
The water was hot; it felt heavenly against the skin after a day of hiking. Honoka sank into the rocky pool until the water reached her chin, letting out a long, contented sigh.
"Wow," she breathed, watching the steam curl up toward the stars appearing in the twilight sky. "This is exactly what I needed. This trip has been... a lot. Amazing, but a lot."
Sasha sat on a submerged rock nearby, wringing out a towel. She looked perfectly at home in the water, her muscles relaxed. "You bet. Mountain water cures everything. Broken bones, broken hearts, and even city stress."
The two women sat in silence for a while, the only sound the gentle trickling of the bamboo water feed and the rustle of the wind in the trees.
Honoka leaned her head back against the smooth stone edge. Her expression softened, losing the playful edge she had maintained all day.
"I'm so glad," she whispered, almost to herself.
"Glad about what?" Sasha asked, tilting her head. "That we survived the drive?"
"No," Honoka chuckled. "Well, that too. But... Akira."
A small, sad smile touched her lips. "I'm glad he turned out to be such a good kid."
Sasha raised an eyebrow. "Where did that come from? Did the fan club earlier make you sentimental? Seeing him worshipped by kindergartners?"
Honoka shook her head. She looked at her friend through the steam.
"I told him everything," she said softly. "About his father. About how he died."
Sasha sat up straighter, her playful demeanor vanishing instantly. The splash of water was loud in the silence. "Everything?"
"Before the trip," Honoka said. "At the cabin. I finally broke. I took him to the palm trees... and I told him everything. How stupid Akira was. How Quake killed him. How I... how I blamed the pregnancy for grounding me."
She looked down at the water, tracing ripples with her finger.
"I was terrified, Sasha. I thought he would hate me. Or hate his father for being weak. Or hate himself for existing."
She took a shaky breath.
"But he didn't. He... he just held me. He didn't ask questions. He didn't get angry. He just wrapped his arms around me, used his quirk to warm me up, and let me cry on his shoulder all night."
Honoka looked up.
"He took care of me. He carried me back to bed. He made breakfast the next morning. He joked about it to make it less awkward. He visited the grave and talked to his father like an old friend."
"He's only thirteen," Honoka whispered. "But he acted like the man of the house. He's so strong. Much stronger than I was at his age. Stronger than I am now, maybe."
Sasha listened. She moved through the water and sat next to Honoka, wrapping a strong arm around her friend's shoulders.
"Akira — Big Akira — would be so proud of him," Sasha said firmly. "He would be boasting to everyone in the afterlife right now. He'd be annoying all the other spirits. 'Look at my boy! Look at him go!'"
Honoka laughed, a tear finally escaping and rolling down her cheek to join the bathwater.
"He would," she agreed. "He absolutely would."
"And he'd be proud of you too, Honoka," Sasha added gently. "You raised him alone. You did great."
Honoka leaned her head on Sasha's shoulder, closing her eyes. "Thanks, Sasha."
The Men's Bath
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bamboo fence, the atmosphere was... different.
Akira sat in the water, submerged up to his nose. He was staring at a rock. It was a nice rock. Very mossy.
Five feet away, Shino sat in the water. He was staring at the horizon. He looked like a zen master contemplating the nature of the universe, or perhaps thinking about dinner.
It had been ten minutes of absolute silence.
Akira shifted. The water rippled.
This is awkward, Akira thought, his internal monologue screaming. This is painfully awkward. I am drowning in hot water and social anxiety. Is this a test? Is he testing my patience?
He looked at Shino. The man hadn't moved a muscle. He was just... existing.
Okay, Akira. You can do this. Make conversation. Bond with the male role model.
Akira cleared his throat.
"Soooo," he started, his voice echoing slightly off the stone walls.
Shino turned his head slowly to look at him. His expression was blank.
Akira scrambled for a topic. The weather? Too cliché. Politics? Too heavy. Quirks? Too work-related.
"Do you..." Akira tried, pointing a finger gun at the man in a desperate attempt to be casual. "Do you like games?"
Shino blinked. He seemed to consider the question for a long moment. He looked at the finger gun. He looked at Akira.
"No," Shino said simply.
He turned his head back to the horizon.
Akira slowly lowered his finger gun. He sank lower into the water until the bubbles covered his mouth.
Understood, Akira thought, accepting his fate. Silence it is. I will now become one with the moss. I live here now. The moss is my family.
He closed his eyes and sat in the silence, listening to the faint sound of his mother and Sasha laughing on the other side of the wall, wondering if drowning in a hot spring was a viable way to escape social awkwardness.
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Have you been a situation like AKira's? Cuz this scene is based on true events.
And I see the powerstones nearing 400 powerstones. The bonus chapter is near.
Plus if you want, you can read up to +10 chapters (It's 9 right now, the final advanced chapter will be up soon) and support me you can alway join my P@treaon. (Just search up Joe_Mama p@treon on google.)