A Girl from a Picture Book (Part 2)
A Bloom Time-Lapse Event Side Story
A Hanami Bath
Shamo: Now, this is my humble way to thank you for today. I’ve prepared a special bath for you, so feel free to go in when you’re ready.
Kokona: Wow, I wonder what it will be like!
Shamo: Fufu, that’s a secret. Please, look forward to seeing for yourself.
Shizuka: That sure sounds intriguing…
Chisa: Maybe… We’ll get to experience the strength of Niagara Falls in full force in an open-air bath!
Panda: Hey! No chance for that in our small bathhouse!
Kokona: Well, let’s hurry up and find out!
Kathrina: …Right. Shamo-san went through the trouble of preparing it for us, after all…
Yae: Um… I’ll join you all a bit later.
Kokona: Huh, what’s wrong? You don’t want to come with us?
Yae: No, you see, Hiirgai-san…
Noa: Why are my drinks gone as soon as I drink them… I’ve done nothing to deserve this…
Kokona: Ahaha… She’s still drunk.
Shizuka: As they say, no one’s blessed twice…
Kathrina: If her fans saw her like this, I bet their admiration would evaporate in an instant.
Yae: Please, don’t say that. I respect Hiiragi-san regardless of the state she’s in.
Shizuka: Woah, Yae-chan, your trust in others is immeasurable!..
Kokona: But it’s true she can’t take a bath being like this…
Panda: Actually, wouldn’t it be better for her to lie down? She doesn’t look very well…
Chisa: She’ll be fine. I’ve seen her in a much worse state.
Panda: Let’s not let it get to that!
Kokona: Yeah, we should take care of Hiiragi-san, after all! There’s no way we’ll be able to relax otherwise!
Shamo: Don’t worry about Noa. Let the adults take care of her, and go enjoy the bath.
Yae: But…
Kathrina: Shamo-san’s right. Let’s go. It’s not like all of us here will be of much help anyway.
Shizuka: Yes. Besides, I think it’s better to just let her rest.
Shamo: Exactly. Given how she is, she’ll be fast asleep the second her head hits the pillow.
Kokona: Well then… Thank you for looking after her.
Kokona: What is it that Shamo-san has prepared for us, I wonder?
Yae: Maybe, new bath toys?
Chisa: Like, an AI-equipped, fully automated rubber duckies?
Panda: No way!
Shizuka: …hmm.
Panda: Huh?.. Sniff, sniff.
Yae: What’s that scent…
Kathrina: …what a pleasant smell.
Chisa: That’s…
Kokona: …the scent of sakura blossoms!
Everyone: Woah…
Kokona: Look! There are sakura petals floating in the bath!
Yae: It’s so beautiful, right, Kokona-san?
Kathrina: Hot water makes the gentle smell of sakura fill the air.
Panda: Uwa, I’m getting emotional… Ah, damn! I forgot my phone!
Kathrina: Hold right there, it’s bad manners to bring a phone into the bathroom, you know.
Shizuka: At least, wait until everyone got in.
Panda: I get it. Anyway, I can’t help but wonder how much it cost, to get all these petals.
Chisa: Don’t ruin the romantic atmosphere. In the face of this beauty, you should cast aside mundane things like money, Panda.
Panda: Ugh, can’t argue with that!..
Yae: I’m sure it was a present from a florist she knows.
Kokona: Huh? Hey, Shizuka-chan. What’s that brown thingy in the bag?..
Shizuka: It’s brown and soggy, huh?.. Isn’t that a bark of a tree?..
Chisa: It’s from traditional Chinese medicine. The bark of a sakura tree.
Kokona: Wow, you know that?
Chisa: Bark extracts are said to be effective against skin problems, and inhaling the steam soothes your throat and can help stop coughing.
Panda: Sassu, you really know a lot, huh…
Chisa: No, I just found a note Shamo-san left for us in the changing room. Here, take a look.
Panda: You should have said so! Now I’ve praised you for nothing!
Kokona: Come on, girls. But I’m surprised Shamo-san has also used the tree bark. I thought it was just the petals.
Kathrina: According to the note, the petals are used to decorate the bath, but the sakura bark is what gives it healing properties.
Yae: So, the sakura bark heals the body, and the view of the sakura petals soothes the soul.
Kokona: Yae-chan, you’ve summarized it well!
Shizuka: Well, enough looking at it, let’s get in and enjoy the bath.
Kokona: Yeah. We should thank Shamo-san later.
Kathrina: Ah~… I feel like the fatugie of the day’s melting away…
Yae: The scent of sakura… It fills my heart with joy…
Panda: Receiving such a precious gift, you’d just want to go back to sakura viewing, wouldn’t you?
Shizuka: Since you and Kokona fell asleep right in the middle of it, it’s no wonder you’d want to go back, right?
Kokona: Yes! I’m hoping to always enjoy it with everyone from now on!
Chisa: It will be a sakura viewing revenge arc.
Kathrina: But next time, I’ll make sure to prepare the script in advance. I’ve had enough of ad-libbing as a host.
Everyone: Hahaha…