Hot Spring Guardians

Olympia was having the time of her life. In her first week in Japan, she found herself already in an official match. She lost, but it had been one heck of an exhilarating fight. Now, she was on her way to one of Japan's best attractions, the hot springs! Ever since she heard about them they had been on her mind, the thought of relaxing in pools of naturally heated water, letting go of all her troubles, feeling the soreness just melt away. Just thinking about it like this was making her excited!

And the best part was her guide. Noriko had beat her up pretty badly in Olympia's first match, but other than that she seemed quite nice. Olympia was looking forward to getting to know her better, perhaps making another good friend out of this experience. And a part of Olympia wanted to see Noriko naked. During their fight they had gotten quite close, physically speaking, and what Olympia felt made her quite curious.  

The onsen they were going to was Noriko's suggestion, a small place in the mountains outside of the city. Being new to Japan Olympia had quite a bit of difficulty finding the place. She eventually found a taxi who was willing to go that far out of the city. It costed her quite a bit, but it was better than getting lost along the way. The driver was pleasant enough, speaking enough English so that they could communicate. Olympia learned that the onsen she was heading to wasn't particularly well known, more of a hidden gem than a tourist attraction for foreigners. But that's what Olympia wanted, a nice out of the way place to relax in peace.

The driver dropped her off at an old-looking wooden lodge nestled between two large evergreen trees. The air was crisp and chilly, the steam from the bathing pools billowing in the air behind the lodge. It seemed quite deserted. Olympia looked around for Noriko, wondering whether she had arrived first, or if Noriko was already inside.

It had taken awhile to find the perfect spot, though it had been mostly based off of her own preference as her companion hadn't been rather picky in their correspondence. Onsen were quite a big deal, for the locals as well as the tourist population who simply wanted to lounge in what they just treated like a natural hot tub. She had been sure to avoid the crowd and the commercialism by choosing a rather remote location, owned by a single family rather than a company. She had reached out to a few of her old stable mates to actually be able to secure an invitation to actually use it as those in charge kept it fairly exclusive. Small, quiet, outdoors, everything she wanted from it. Most of the onsen in Tokyo proper were crowded slightly noisy affairs with modernized looks, many of which were indoors. Tattoo policies were also lax here. She hadn't wished to pry if Olympia had any ink on her body, so this worked well as a blanket precaution.

She had more or less flooded Olympia with onsen information. Lists of therapeutic benefits, local springs near Tokyo, mineral counts if she had a preference (which she hadn't, unsurprisingly), pages of onsen history, as well as a long list of generalized etiquette and practices. To say she was overly prepared would have been an understatement. It had been weeks since she had really gotten a chance to sit down someplace nice and chat with a person who wasn't her trainer though, being able to also spread a little of her country's culture to a foreigner was an added benefit.

Noriko was a punctual woman by nature, but today she had been early. As the self appointed guide, it fell on her to look after Olympia, and make sure she was properly cared for and educated. She had driven herself to the remote location, her car was actually the only one in the designated lot. From there, it was a long walk up a aged stone laden path to the lodge itself. Simple, traditional craftsmanship, very stereotypical for what most people tended to think about when Japan was discussed rather than the more modern cityscape. She had been pleased, finally being here in person. She had spoke with the owner briefly in person, explaining who she was and about her friend so the sudden arrival of a foreigner wouldn't be a shock.

With time to spare, she went about preparing herself for the onsen, taking a quick shower in the lodge's facilities and dressing herself down into the patternless pale blue yukata she had brought with her. Feeling already refreshed, she could hardly wait to actually test out the onsen herself, but felt it best to wait. She didn't want to leave her guest waiting around for her. She had moved back to the main room, peering quietly out the window to wait for Olympia's arrival. Her timing couldn't have been better, no longer than five minutes had passed before she caught sight of the girl outside. She made sure to inform the owner, one more time before she moved up to the door, opening it wide.

"Hello!" She called cheerfully from the doorway, she remained partially inside, not looking to walk herself out into the chill while still slightly damp. The soft yukata wasn't very heavy, generally used a light kimono for the summer time and in cases like this where one wanted something easy to slip on and off. She brought a hand up, waving. "Glad you made it! Hope it wasn't too much trouble." She waved Olympia on, inviting her inside.

Olympia didn't have to wait for long. Noriko's familiar voice came from doorway of the lodge, drawing Olympia's attention. She immediately cracked a wide smile and waved at her companion, before running over.

"Hey Noriko!" Olympia said cheerily, "Sorry for being late, it took a really long time to find this place! Even the taxi driver was having trouble!"

Olympia noticed that Noriko seemed to have already gotten started. Her hair was slightly damp, and she wore what the blonde assumed to be a bathrobe. Olympia was not completely oblivious to onsen, knowing just enough to get by. She knew that before bathing, it was customary to first wash up so as to not pollute the shared water. That much made a lot of sense, it was kinda like showering before going into a pool. At such a traditional looking place though, Olympia had no doubts she was going to make quite a few faux pas.

"Thanks for bringing me out here," Olympia said, "After all that you've told me about onsen, I can't wait! And I'm going to need it too hehe..." She continued to grin, hiding behind her smile the nagging pain from their previous match.

Olympia took off her rather dusty sneakers, setting them on a rack by the door. "Please excuse me, I'm coming in!" she said, remembering the Japanese etiquette of announcing your entry into someone else's home. She paused for a moment, drinking in her surroundings. The inside looked very traditional as well, with sliding doors and a soft tatami floor.

A member of the staff came up to Olympia, offering to take her to help her get changed. "Don't worry about me Noriko," Olympia said, "You go and enjoy the onsen first, I'll come join you in a little bit!" With that, Olympia turned and followed the short Japanese lady deeper into the lodge so she could properly clean herself up.

Noriko had a large genuine smile that was all over her face, even so far as her eyes. She Olympia made her way up to the entryway, she had stepped back to allow her friend inside. She clasped her hands before her giving her a deep polite bow in greeting. She looked a great deal different with her hair down and slicked back from water as opposed to being light and bouncy in her usual ponytail. As she rose to stand straight, she lightly placed her palms to the obi of her cotton kimono.

"Your timing is actually nearly perfect, I only just washed." She punctuated her speaking with a small nod. "I'm glad you were able to find it alright... I should have sent you the directions I used." She had the good fortune of having a fairly good set of directions provided to her from a friend. While it lacked real names of streets, it had a fairly competent set of landmarks to follow that made the ride easy for her.

"Heh... me too actually." She half smiled, trying to keep herself from wincing. She was still rather sore herself. She pressed down on her obi lightly, feeling the sore ache in her abdomen with a soft sigh. She blinked as Olympia allowed her to excuse herself. She had fully intended to walk the blond through everything step by step. If Olympia was comfortable enough though, she wouldn't turn down being able to retire to the onsen immediately though. "Alright. Just make sure you do to the right one when you're ready." She gave a soft last. While she was pretty certain they had the place to themselves, there was no real telling if anyone was in the men's bathes.

Noriko quietly excused herself as they parted ways, traversing the narrow wood halls lined with paper screens. It was a pleasant reminder of home, something she was missing now that she lived in the busy city. It was the little things. The light creak of the floor beneath her geta. The light shifting of the air that came from a building that lacked a perfect air tight seal. The humidity wafting down through the hall as she neared the spring itself was warm and inviting. Pulling back the screen door she peered out over the onsen smiling. She walked outside, glancing around slowly to find it was empty save for her.

Closing the door behind her, she made her way to the edge, setting her geta aside. She quietly worked her obi off, folding it up nearly to place next to her geta. Hiking up her yukata, she stepped into the waters, being mindful not to let the garment touch. Shrugging the soft kimono free, she stood naked in the waters, folding the garment up carefully to lay with her things. Carefully she maneuvered slightly deeper before lowering herself down into the steaming waters. With a soft sigh of content, she sunk down into the slightly obscuring waters all the way up to her neck, letting the soothing heat wrap itself fully around her. "I missed this..." She whispered softly to herself as she let her eyes drift shut.

Olympia gave her friend a small wave before following the small Japanese lady to the change rooms and the showers. The first thing she did was rent a yukata that had a similar look to Noriko's, though it was in a much uglier shade of grey. Then Olympia found herself a set of towels and a locker to hold all her stuff. She thanked the lady for her help, giving her a small bow of appreciation, before heading into the change rooms and the shower area.

It was not a large space, with only enough room for 4 people. But it was very well equipped. Olympia knew from Noriko that Japanese showers were a bit different than what she was used to. She was expected to rinse, soap, rinse, scrub, and then rinse again. And that was exactly what Olympia did, taking her time to thouroughly clean everything. It was quite refreshing and left Olympia feeling like her skin had never been clearer.

She toweled off quickly, donning her ugly yet rather comfortable yukata and a pair of wooden slippers. Then she headed for the baths. Olympia had to pause for a moment to remember which kanji was for men and which was for women. She knew she picked the right one when she saw the back of Noriko's head bobbing above the water.

Unlike Noriko, Olympia wasn't shy about being naked outside of the water. By the time she reached the edge of the pool, the yukata was already just a pile within her arms. She tried to fold it as best she could, but the garment didn't quite make sense to her. She left it in a pile beside Noriko's stuff, before stepping into the water.

"Wow it's hot!" Olympia said as she gently stepped into the hot spring. She had to take it slowly, letting her body get used to the heat. "Whew!" she said when she was finally all the way inside. Olympia sat down next to Noriko, a respectful distance away to not get too much into her space just yet. She closed her eyes as well, letting her body relax.

"I see why you like this so much," Olympia said, "There really isn't anything more relaxing!"

Olympia’s footfalls went unnoticed by Noriko as she soaked in silence. It wasn't until her companion spoke that her eyes finally opened. She peer back with a smile. “Oh yes, be caref-” her face reddened as she blinked at the already disrobed blond in all her splendor. The sumo was quick to turn back around facing the open air of the view beyond the spring. She slowly sank in the waters until just her nose and up was visible, trying to hide her embarrassment.

She remained quiet, listening to the gentle disturbance in the water as Olympia moved further into the spring. Once the blond was close enough, Noriko was able to see the ripples emanating out from where the girl was, finally daring to take another peek. Seated beside her friend, she sat up a bit more, still low beneath the waters, but enough to only be neck deep. “Ah… yes. I find there is very few feelings quite the same as the natural waters one can find here. Man has been hard pressed to recreate it, but it is never quite the same.”

She had no reason to be nervous, so why was she still blushing? It must have just been the heat… yeah. Must be that. She did her best to compose herself and act naturally. Olympia seemed fine, she didn't want to make the girls first time at an onsen awkward. “I hope you’re recovering well.” She stated softly, her eyes shifting forward again, looking away from her bathing buddy. She fought back the urge to apologise again, there really was no need.

“You were very impressive in the ring. I have no doubts you take many who might underestimate you by storm.” She believed that. Just by looking at Olympia, it was hard to really tell how strong the woman was, much of that applied to her as well. They didn't have the builds traditionally associated with such raw strength, but the two had been fairly evenly matched in her eyes. Had it not been for years of competition against foes big and small, she could see herself being taken by surprise by the blonds might

“You were my first official match you know… I won't soon forget it. It was…” she raised her head, mulling over a few words in her head before settling on the politically safe one to mention in front of polite company. “Memorable.” She peered sidelong over at Olympia, hoping her rather vague complement hadn't offended. It was hard to tell with the blond, she seemed to get fired up over things Noriko had assumed to be inoffensive during their match, she clearly was tiptoeing around it now, trying not to upset her new friend.

Olympia noticed Noriko hiding her face when she was entering the water. At first she wondered if she had offended Noriko in some way, then when she noticed the blush on her cheeks Olympia realize what was going on. Noriko was embarrassed to see Olympia all naked! It struck Olympia as a little odd that Noriko would feel such a way, after all they were in a public bath. She chalked it up to the more conservative Japanese culture Noriko was brought up in. Her friend seemed to relax and get much more comfortable when she was fully submerged.

"I'm feeling a lot better!" Olympia said, "I have to say though, for my first match I didn't expect anyone so tough! You're trained in sumo wrestling right? It's my first time fighting against that style, I had no idea what I was doing!" She laughed, thinking back on some of the stupid moves she pulled. "It was memorable, you're right!"

Olympia sat back, leaning against the rock walls of the pool, letting the heat wash over her. Her back felt the worst, after taking that huge hit from Noriko at the end of the match it had been bothering her this whole time. She fidgeted a bit, trying to loosen up the crink. As she did her legs brushed up against Noriko's under the water. She made no comment, though she did give Noriko back her space.

"So! Question for you," Olympia said, "What brings a girl like you to AFW?"

Even with the soothing heat, a shiver managed to roll up her spine when Olympia’s leg briefly touched her beneath the steaming waters causing her to sit up a bit straighter. She fidgeted slightly, visibly taking a moment. She turned slightly, shifting where she sat to partially face Olympia once she checked to make sure that blond was mostly submerged. She really didn't want to awkwardly converse with the girl without making eye contact, to her that seemed rather rude.

“Well… there is only so much one can do in sumo when one is a woman. While their are amateur leagues all over the world, including here in Japan, it still isn't just… traditional sumo. It's a male only thing. As much as I love it, it's limiting for me. So I decided to try things here, in AFW.” She let out a long sigh, leaning back into the rocks as she sunk a bit deeper.

“The exact reason why here instead of anywhere else is still somewhat lost on me. Part of it is the challenge, sure. Some of it is wanting to spread what I do to a wider audience… I don't think want to be too far from home as well. It's weird coming from an atmosphere surrounded by people who support you to dive into something new and be just... Stranded a bit on your own, ya'know?"

“What about you?” She tilted her head curiously as she eyed Olympia. She had wondered quite a bit about this woman since they had first met. For the most part the woman had remained a living question mark. She hadn't wanted to barrage her new friend with questions, but she supposed it wouldn't be so bad if they were just casually sharing with one another. “What were you doing before AFW and got you to make the switch? You seem like a natural.”

Olympia nodded as she listened to Noriko describe her situation. She had never even heard of women in sumo before, which was part of why she was so surprised in their match. She related to the feeling of being stranded, especially considering her past.

"Well, I think you came to the right place!" Olympia said, "Sumo is definitely welcome in the AFW. I've heard that in the past one of the champions was a sumo wrestler. Of course, what you'll get as opponents won't be the traditional sumos you would have faced, you'll probably get a lot more that are like me!"

"As for me... Well it's a bit of a long story," Olympia said, "Before coming here I was in London, trying to finish up school. And before that I was in Russia!" She turned her head upwards, looking like she was remenescing about the past. "I don't know if you read my profile in the AFW files, but they have my name recorded down as Olympia Starr. That's just a pseudonym. My real last name is Bukhanina."

"A few years ago I was competing as part of the Russian national team, in judo," she said, "I was all set to make it onto the Olympic team, but then I saw some pretty nasty stuff go down during training camp. I had to report it to protect my teammates. It caused a big stink over in Russia, during which I had to leave the country or wind up murdered by some mobster. So I wound up in Britain under an assumed identity as a student. To pay the bills I got involved in some small time European leagues, mostly underground stuff. And it was from there that I got invited to join the AFW!"

She turned to Noriko and flashed her a grin. "Now don't go telling anyone about all that!" she said, "It's our secret, OK?"

“Really? I should look into that…” Noriko hadn't dug to hard into the history of AFW or it's former champions, though this warranted a bit of investigation. Olympia seemed to know far more about all of this than her, which was a bit surprising. She couldn't picture the cute blond sitting at a computer reading through the entire history of the league.

Noriko smiled as she listened to Olympia’s backstory, at first anyway. As it went on she had a growing look of concern for the girl. She hadn't expected this much or for it to be quite so heavy. It didn't seem like the girl was making it up either, regardless of how outlandish it may have sounded on paper.

She blushed at the grin and claims this was a secret between them. Did she really not tell others this? So why her? She nodded several times, trying to convey she understood how serious this could be. “Y-yes of course. Your secret is safe with me.” She couldn't help but worry though, even if this wasn't her problem. “How… do you remain so cheerful after all of that? Your smiles seem to come so easily.”