Quick greetings and subtle waves were what Nanashi was doing while traversing the dusty streets of Iwagakure no Sato with no particular destination in mind. Wearing a simple gray Kimono with the Guanyin clan and medical symbol, they being one and the same, stitched on the back. A cream-colored sash secured the outfit, keeping it from falling open. Covering his feets were a pair of wooden geta, evaluating his already impressive height a few inches and made a small tapping noise with each step. To an outsider, Nanashi’s attire might seem outdated, odd even, for he didn’t dressed like one would expect from someone born in such a modernized age. His clothing attire was more suited for the days of the old than the new. However, the people of Tsuchi no Kuni had come to respect his traditionalist views on clothing, with some of the older generation being proud that there was at least one person who found the style of old to be pleasing. Although they wouldn’t say it out loud, some of the clothing choices of today’s youth was unsavory, to say the least, lacking class and elegance that was prominent back in the day.

The sudden breeze whipping through the village was welcomed by him. Having trained this morning after finishing up at the hospital, making sure everything was in order for the staff. He had worked up quite the sweat and the breeze did wonders in cooling him down - though the slight sheen of sweat was still visible on his visage. At least he didn’t stink. His muscles ached from the workout, yet he welcomed the feeling. It had been a long time since he had worked out, having been scooped up in the hospital for a month, slaving away at the work presenting itself there. Along with not being able to workout due to the decisions of the Daimyo’s Court placing him on inactive reserves until recently were the decision was overturned by the Tsuchikage. Not only was Nanashi allowed to return back to active duty, but he always also offered the title of Sannin. Something that he didn’t hesitate in taking, not because of the prestige that comes with such a title, but the freedom gifted to move through other villages unhindered. Plans were already in the making for him to visit the other Hidden Village, especially Konoha. He dearly missed his student in the hidden village, and he constantly wonders how she is doing there.

Not to say he didn’t have any students in Iwagakure. For he did, although the relationship between him and Yuurei Jet was more keen to an apprenticeship than anything else. It having been transformed into such after becoming a Sannin. He could have taken anyone on as an apprentice but chose Jet due to being familiar with the young lady, having been her Jounin sensei in the past. Having a decent grasp of her skills and personality, it made making a training schedule for her easier than taking on someone entirely new and having to learn what makes them tick.

"Good day, Guanyin-san", cutting through Nanashi musing was the owner of the one local co-ed Hotsprings in Iwagakure. A few minutes passed with the two talking about nonsensical topics with the owner relaying any information deemed useful for the Head medic. After exchanging pleasantries, disappeared into the back, placing his clothes in the provided locker and showering before exiting and entering the hot springs.

Thick steam did little to hinder Nanashi eyesight that let him knew that he had the whole area to himself. . . for now. Easing into the water, the heat doing wonders for his aching muscles, Nanashi placed the towel on the side of the bath and drifted off into relaxation. . .

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639 . . .

Sorry Nana for taking so long pls don't spank me o.o
Also, Ashi's actually 14 now. Ashi's birthsday was 2 weeks ago

The day was slowly nearing its end. A young girl basked in the warm sunlight, together with a crowd of other ordinary people on the streets of Iwa. From her outfit, a stranger couldn't even tell that she was a shinobi, if we ignored the headband around her waist. Her attire might have seemed a tiny bit provocative though: a black skirt short enough to not even reach her knees worn in combination with a pair of thin, black tights underneath, some leather sandals and a sleeveless, white top. She noticed the judgemental looks on the faces of some of the people who'd look at her, especially the elderly ones. Ashi wasn't usually the type who'd dress like this at all, especially since she's still only 14 years old, but today was different. She actually just returned home after a brawl with a really weird chick completely drenched in sweat, only to find her twin brother Mitsu in the shower. So she just changed into the lightest clothes she could find, tied her hair up into a ponytail and headed out, with the hot springs in her mind. It was clear her bro wouldn't come out for a long time, recently his showers started taking a lot more time than before for some strange reason. It was definitely quite annoying.

Ashi kept walking with a fast pace, still sweating because of the sun. She got beaten up quite hard, and was really bruised up. The hot springs would not only wash away the sweat, but help with her exhausted body as well. There's no better way to relax after a tough day than to let yourself go loose in some hot water. Her shyness might prove to be a tiny problem, but after a day like this Ashi really didn't give a shit. It would still take her another ten minutes or so to get to the place she usually went to. But at that exact moment - a miracle occured. In front of her shone a shiny castle of gold, the greatest spa in the lands. Or at least that's how it looked to her after a day like that... The truth was, it was just a local co-ed which had next to no customers. Fully aware of the situation, Ashi pondered. To go in, or not to go in? Right then, a gentle breeze blew, cooling the girl intensely due to all of her sweat. The problem with that is, when the wind stops blowing, you return to being even hotter than you were before. This was the drop that spilled the cup: it was decided. Ashi would go inside. Well, not like anyone goes here anyway. I'll have the whole place to myself anyways, so why the hell not... She forced herself to believe that and walked in. But appearently, the owner wouldn't let her in. Old fart. "You're too young hun." Eh? Ehh? This was unacceptable. This was enough to piss her off, and in less than 5 minutes of dealing with the fiesty girl's raging fury the owner yielded. In fact, she even got to go for free. And so tossed all of her clothes in a locker and walked in, with a wide grin of victory on her face. The  steam immediately engulfed her in a state of relaxation. As far as she could see, there wasn't anyone there. Just as expected. In fact, there was one man, but there seemed to be a rock between him and Ashi, preventing her from seeing him. This was due to the  springs having two seperate entrances, for each of the dressing rooms. Obviously the man and her entered from different places. Ashi let her childish instincts get a hold of her and jumped in the water as loud as she could, leaving the towel behind. This was exactly what she needed...

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And just like that any semblance of peace and quiet had been ruined. And he was being to enjoy the tranquility that came with bathing along, although, considering this was a public bathhouse, he should have expected company sooner or later.

Even from the distance presenting itself from the indoor bath and the storefront,  it did little to stop him from hearing the squabbling going on. From what he could hear, seemed like someone underaged wanted to venture into the Hotsprings. With standard bathhouses, there isn't an age restriction, granted a child must be accompanied with an adult unless they are a shinobi in which they can enter them without the need of a guardian or parent figure; the only reason the latter is possible is due to laws stating once you graduated from the academy, you are considered an adult by the governing body and allowed some of the privileges.

However, co-ed bathhouses or bathhouses that allowed mixed bathing had very strict rules regarding who can and can not enter them. In most cases, unless the shinobi is sixteen years of age and of Chuunin rank or higher they are prohibited from entering the co-ed bathhouses. It has little to do with ageism and rather their attempt to keep a safe environment for all. Even though most of visit them are locals it doesn't mean one can fully trust their fellow man or woman when enticed by a younger someone of the opposite or same gender or younger shinobi whose strength is usually greater than the average civilian.. Hence, rules being in placed preventing such encounters from happening; unfortunately, not all of them can be prevented, mishaps and ignorance by new assistances allowing for a few to slide between the cracks. No matter the regulations and laws put in place, nothing is absolute, nothing is perfect.

Slowly his body began descending deeper into the warm water until his head was the only thing remotely visible. Shoulder length, silvery gray hair, having grown out from not being cut, something he plans on fixing in the following days, sprayed out on top of the water, straying only as far as they were allowed. He had tuned not the rest of the conversation after hearing the owner repeatedly telling the person, most likely a brazen, hormonal teenage boy who wanted to hopefully catch a glimpse of some grown woman's tits, ass and maybe the holy grail, a real pussy, instead of relying on their stash porno underneath their futon or floor boards, "no". There wasn't any need to intervene, the owner had spunk, to deal with ruffians, and enough common sense to know when to call for help if things escalate too quickly. Not like he had an obligation to help, but nevertheless, he would because he does like this particular owner more so than others.

The splashing of water, as if someone just through a boulder, alerted him that no longer was he alone. He was now sharing the springs with another individual. Remerging from the water, globule droplets rolling off his body, Nanashi looked towards the woman side where the noise came from. Curious about the individual who had disturbed his peace, Nanashi swarm towards the rather big rock between the two side. The rock wasn't actually big enough to block either side from looking in on each other. But it was wide enough for a man of Nanashi's stature to hide his upper body if he was shy, something he is not. Swimming towards the rock, position himself his arms were overlapping one another on the rock and his head resting on them with the rest of his body submerged or hidden by the rock, he finally got a decent look at the woman -

. . .

or maybe a teenager. He took note of her raven colored hair, his yellow eyes traveling downward and stopping at her breasts. From what he could tell they were of a perfect size, big enough for a handful but small enough not to be wasteful and still retained their natural perkiness. Unfortunately, anything else about the female was obscured by the water.

Most would find Nanashi's acts distasteful and shameful, but he really didn't care what others thoughts. Seeing how his time in Hotsprings was interrupted, Nanashi decided to strike up a conversation with the woman who he's openingly ogling "Was it you who made that large splash? Luckily my towel didn't get wet from the water that came from such an actions. Take it this is your first time at a co-ed hot spring?"

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Before she knew it, a voice adressed her. A male voice, an almost gentle one in fact. "Was it you who made that large splash? Luckily my towel didn't get wet from the water that came from such an actions. Take it this is your first time at a co-ed hot spring?" Surprised, Ashi looked up in the general direction from which the sound was coming from. Up there, on the rock, layed a head, resting on a pair of overlapped hands.  Ashi instinctively ducked down, since the water had currently only reached up to her breasts. Hopefully the person didn't see anything, due to all of the steam. She blushed violently, and inspected the guy's face more closely. She couldn't see it clearly since her eyes still didn't get used to the steam, but she noticed that he looked older than her. Roughly 5 years older, in fact, but it was hard to tell. Definitely wasn't bad looking, and Ashi's heart started racing uncontrollably. He was looking straight at her. She tried to calm down and responded quickly, the words just rushed through her mouth. "Uhm yeah I guess... Didn't expect anyone else to be here though..." The situation was an awkward one to say the least, and Ashi couldn't help but to look back towards her towel. Hopefully he didn't get to see anything so far, but she couldn't be completely sure he wouldn't see unless she wrapped herself in the towel. To avoid an awkward silence, Ashi immediately continued the conversation, still with a rushed and nervous tone. "So uhm, you come here often..?" The more she started at the guy's face, the cuter he became in her eyes. She was still blushing severly. The white hair suited him well, unlike a certain other person who she'd met earlier that day. Made a goddamn fool out of her, that weird pervert... The thought made her suddenly realize: was it possible that this guy was a pervert too? He was looking straight at her when she was completely naked... But she crossed the idea off in her mind; there was no need to jump to conclusions. She was subconsciously blinking faster than usual while still starting at the guy, wondering what he'd have to say.

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Cute.

The way she instantly looked in his direction, surprise clearly written across her adorable, round face, reminded him of a kitten that was unexpectedly caught during something it shouldn't have, or snuck upon, and subsequently scared. He couldn't help but to release a low, gentle chuckle in response to her reaction. It continued when she submerged herself under the water, an attempt to prevent him from seeing parts of her nude body only meant to be seen in the confines of a bedroom, a dusty red hue creeping across her cheeks, sign of embarrassment, while doing so, before tapering off into nothingness.

With her breast no longer in view, the yellow eyes of Nanashi were focused on her face, now having a better opportunity to do so. Her heart-shaped, baby face, was only enchanted by dark coloration of her hair, making her look more beautiful than some of the other women who visited this hot spring. The soft features of hers also had the added bonus of making her appear younger, but not to the point of questioning her age, and how she was allowed into this particular hot spring. She gave him some good eye candy to look at. And, if he was being honest with himself, it has been a long time since he had seen a decently beautiful, young, woman nude, seeing how his missing-nin of a girlfriend has been seen or heard from in quite some time, so she either gotten herself in trouble and hiding or is dead somewhere, therefore, unavailable help him in that department. He wondered if she would mind if he. . . .

Banishing the thoughts to a corner of his mind, not far enough to be forgotten, a gentle smile spread across his visage, having taking note she was attempting to calm herself down from the awkward situation. She confirmed his assumption about this being her first time at a co-ed bathhouse "I don't particularly mind some nonsensical playing in the water, as long as it doesn't go overboard, but others who come here might not take to kindly to your previous actions. Just a bit of advice from someone who frequents theses places when not on duty. ", his words lacked the reprimanding tone some might have expected, it being simply casual.

"There is no need to feel embarrass or anxious for sharing a bath with someone of the opposite gender. We are just two people sharing a bath not out of want, although I admit the company is nice, but out of necessity in wanting relax and enjoy a nice soak.  Be confident in your own skin because you have nothing to be ashamed of. From what I can tell you are beautiful.", he said, noticing how she looked back at her towel than him, "If it makes you feel better, I only caught a small glimpse when you ducked in the water." A partial lie that might be, Nanashi having seen plenty of her breast, he said it to ease her worries.

Shrugging his shoulders, when asked if he came here often, "You can say that. When I'm not busy running Iwa's hospital or when not doing missions or training, I tend to frequent this place. I like it better than some of the other ones due to not many people come to this one due to the strictness of the owner.", he stated, taking note of her ever present blush "The name is Guanyin Nanashi. So, can I get the name of the blushing princess before me? Who is either imagine what I look like nude or can't handle the heat of the springs." the last part said in a joking manner.

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Hearing the guy call her beautiful was definitely embarrassing, and more than anything else, completely and utterly unexpected, but it was actually kind of nice in some way... His words were encouraging and they helped her self asteem, after being completely shattered several times just that day. How the hell did Ashi manage to lose against that green haired bitch... Her body was actually quite bruised up, and she even got a cut on her right arm. This was, in fact, the first time Ashi got beat up. The hot water was really working wonders for her body right now. Speaking of her body... He saw me. He actually saw me? Ashi's cheeks kept puffing brighter and brighter, while the white-haired person responded on her question. "You can say that. When I'm not busy running Iwa's hospital or when not doing missions or training, I tend to frequent this place. I like it better than some of the other ones due to not many people come to this one due to the strictness of the owner. The name is Guanyin Nanashi. So, can I get the name of the blushing princess before me? Who is either imagining what I look like nude or can't handle the heat of the springs." He spoke with such amazing confidence. Ashi was afraid of the direction that this seemed to be going in, but hell... He was a doctor! And a shinobi! And good looking! She instantly responded to his question, flattered that he had called her a princess, but still embarassed about the other things. "The latter, definitely the latter. My name's Ashi, Ashi Yuryo... I'm a shinobi too actually, though I doubt I'd be able to stand up to a person that runs the hospital?" The truth was, she wasn't even able to stand up to that green haired hoe... She looked at him- no, she looked at Nanashi, with awe. He was an actually important person that seemed to be interested in her. The situation was definitely a first for her. She didn't know what to do, so she simply waited to see what he'd say with a cheerful smile on her face.

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The feeling of embarrassment came in two parts; first, an individual tries to make themselves believed that no one saw what they did, or didn't do. If someone did catch them, they still try to rationalize their's actions or inactions and followed closed by them denying anything and everything involving the circumstances at hand. If none of this work, and the witness mention seeing them, or even acts like that saw them then comes the feeling of humiliation or mortification, depending on the situation at hand. And let's say, the person was caught nude, then they will either try to cover themselves up, blushing due to be caught in such an awkward situation or try to act like everything is fine, attempting to turn the tables on the source that caught them and making them blush, in an attempt to cover up their own embarrassment at the situation at hand. The woman before him was doing her best to imitate a cherry; her cheeks growing redder and redder by the second. If he didn't know any better, Nanashi would think the heat was getting to her.

Leaning his head on the opposite arm, the previous one having gone numb from laying on it. His eyes soaked in the woman's, from what it can see, appearance, savoring and committing every trace of her visible body to memory. A gaze that wasn't one of staring, never remaining on a certain part of her for long, moving onward before the feeling of uncomfortableness settled within her stomach. A look of approval and admiration for the females form, not the lecherous looks of a pervert who only cares for certain assets of a female body. However, his eyes did linger on her hair a split second longer than necessary. It causing unwanted images to surfaces, but they were quickly pushed to the furthest corners of his mind.

"Someone got caught with their hand in the cookie jar,", Nanashi silently mused. It didn't take a genius to figure out she, Ashi, was lying about the cause of her blush. It's oblivious to anyone that she was imagining what he looked like nude, her blush only increasing whenever she looked at him.  Oh, he was going to have some fun with this "You sure it's the water, hime? It is too hot for you to handle?", the once numb arm having dipped a finger in the water and was making small swirls "Or could it be something else? Your blush seems to only increase whenever you're looking at me."

Ashi being a shinobi didn't surprise Nanashi much. He vaguely remembers talking to an Academy teacher when they brought up a comment about a Yuryo member named Ashi, and her test scores. Although the practice is hardly done nowadays, Anbu Captains like Nanashi, do look for potential recruits while they are still in the academy. She was brought to his attention, however, he didn't have time to look into her. Maybe he will do that sometime later.

"Nice to meet you, hime,", Nanashi chuckled at her flattery " Giving time you might even surpass me. Your sensei can very well help with that." Encouraging the future generation was something he did on a regular basis when he isn't giving them a dose of reality. "So, hime, I came here to relax after training. What about you?"

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