A/N: For everyone hanging in there, thanks for your support! I know my slow updates are frustrating, and this may not be as popular as my other stories, but I appreciate every Fav and Follow alert.

Now enjoy!

The Hot Spring

"You have a beautiful voice."

She cried out in surprise, clearly horrified that someone had been listening to her sing. "H-How long have you been there?"

"I wasn't spying on you if that's what you mean." He had that same boyish smile on his face, the same one from the day they first met.

She turned away from him stubbornly but didn't move from her spot under the tree. Today was unusually hot, and this tree provided the best source of shade with its overbearing canopy. No one else knew about this spot, so she wondered how he of all people could have possibly found her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for a place to read." He held up a book. Brave New World. She watched him as he approached her, his lithe form swallowed up by the shadow of leaves. But instead of taking a seat next to her like she expected, he went to the other side of the enormous trunk. She was slightly disappointed by this, but nonetheless grateful for his thoughtfulness. "Don't stop singing on my account."

She squirmed a bit before she started up again, her voice cautious but light. As the song progressed, she feared that he'd left, so she moved little closer to the other side of the tree until she caught a glimpse of him reclining against the strong oak trunk. She sat a little closer to him, but not so close that it would disturb his reading. She usually never liked singing in front of an audience, but for some reason the thought of him leaving before she even finished her aria made her feel crummy. His presence didn't give her the same soul-shattering feeling of judgment that ran through her core during a pageant. With him, she never felt self-conscious about little quirks that usually warranted criticism. In fact, from the moment she met him, she felt… different. And it felt good.

So as that summer dragged on, the two kids continued to relax under the tree together, him with his book, her with her melodies, each relishing one another's company.
_

She had no idea why she suddenly remembered that moment. Besides that night, she hadn't sung in front of anyone since Facultas, and even then she had only sung in front of one person…

"AH!" After crying out, Scarlet dunked her head into the water to cool herself down, which was a fruitless effort considering she was in a lukewarm sauna. This was one of those times when Art was just too frustrating to deal with, whether he was here physically or in her thoughts.

A few days after the gala, Art suddenly rewarded her with a free trip to the 10,000-Year Hot Springs Resort, along with all the benefits of a 10,000-Year Club membership. Seeing two one-day free passes, the implications of his offer made her heart beat five times fast. But then the idiot just gave her the tickets and went on his way. She totally deflated, but she wasn't about to let him ruin her trip.

My fault for falling for someone so dense.

Her thoughts were disrupted when the door opened. Seeing who had waltzed in, Scarlet did what first came to mind and threw a bucket at them. "What the hell are you doing in here? Get out!"

"Ow! Hey!" The victim that was hit by the bucket was none other than her nerdy roommate and fellow L.A.B. Rat, Beta. "There's no throwing in the hot spring!"

"There are also no co-ed saunas in the hot spring, you idiot!"

"Sorry, but if you haven't noticed, I can't really see!" Squinting through the steam of the bath, Scarlet saw that Beta was wearing his glasses, and the lenses were all fogged up. "If I'd known, I'm sure I would've been beaten up way sooner! There's no one in the locker room!" She sighed, exasperated.

Although Scarlet was looking forward to a relaxing bath, it didn't seem right to go when she had one other pass (not to mention they both were expiring soon, so it would it be a huge waste). However, she couldn't risk any of the other L.A.B. Rats figuring out where she had gotten the free passes, and since Beta was the only other person who knew about her secret job with the police, she decided to be generous for once.

Scarlet held out a hand. "Give 'em here." Beta hesitated. "I'm not going to break them! And it's not like you can do it on your own. You need at least one of your hands to hold up that towel." After another second of hesitation, Beta handed over his only pair of glasses, quickly putting his hand over his towel, the other hanging loosely in a sling.

When she had discovered the boy genius in his disheveled state, Scarlet demanded answers immediately. Beta wasn't going to be the only one who had dirt on the other members of their little troupe. Of course, he already had an excuse ready for her, but she wasn't about to believe something as lame as falling off his skateboard; Beta might have been an idiot at times, but he wasn't so reckless as to cause himself harm. He finally told her the truth after she threatened to break his other arm.

"Why are you wearing glasses, anyway?"

"Well, Superman wears a suit and glasses during the day, and no one recognizes him."

"You're not Superman. And no one in this reality is that stupid."

Beta huffed. "Would it kill you to humor me just this once? It's just really hard to put contacts in single-handedly, okay? Besides, my prescription's a bit off. I haven't had to wear glasses in years, so I didn't bother changing the lenses."

"You wear contacts?"

"How do you know so little about me?"

"Because unlike you, I know how to mind my own business." Once she was done wiping off his glasses, she threw them back at him. "Now get out!"

Beta stumbled as he caught them. "H-Hey! You said you weren't going to break them!" Hearing the crack of her fist, Beta heeded her final warning and left the hot spring.

Scarlet relished the silence and leaned back into the hot spring. He may have been an idiot at times, but his ireful presence made it easy to forget her inner qualms and for once she was grateful for it. Five seconds later, the door opened back up, and Scarlet reached for the bucket, ready to aim it at the prodigal idiot. When she saw who it really was, she quickly tossed the bucket aside and retreated further into the bath, away from the other guests who she unintentionally scared half to death. It was then Scarlet decided she was done with the baths for today. She just couldn't relax like this; if anything, the hot spring was just stressing her out more.

As she headed for the locker room to retrieve her things, Scarlet accidentally bumped into a slightly shorter girl. "Oh, sorry!" The girl didn't seem fazed by this at all, merely nodding her acknowledgement of the apology before joining her friends. One of them looked very familiar. She had brownish-blonde hair and icy-blue eyes, but the familiarities stopped there. The brunette looked a little more austere than the other girls, who clearly couldn't wait to get into the hot spring. The auburn-haired girl looked friendlier than her companions, and she had an adorable tail flitting about behind her.

That was when she recognized them. These were Nice's friends from Hamatora, and the blonde was Honey, Beta's little sister. She also worked with Art, and she was usually accompanied by a man who resembled a lion dressed like a priest.

Of all the places to run into them…

She wasn't the only one to notice this chance encounter. As soon as Honey saw her, she strutted right up to her. They were the same height, but Scarlet could see that Honey was filled out a lot more in certain areas. She subconsciously tugged her towel more snuggly around her breasts.

"Do I know you?"

Scarlet thought about lying, but then she remembered who this girl was related to. "… No, not really. I'm a friend of Art's."

Honey nodded. "I see… oh! You're that girl!"

That girl? What the hell does that mean?

The serious façade of the blonde suddenly turned mischievous. "I've heard a lot about you, but I never thought I'd actually get to meet you since Art is always hogging you in his office."

Scarlet blushed at the implication of her words. "I-It's not like that!"

Please, someone, save me from this moment!

"You're starting to sound a lot like Birthday, Honey."

Thank you, fictitious deity!

"I'm nothing like that piece of trash!" Honey denied obstinately.

Cat girl ignored her as she greeted Scarlet. "I'm Koneko. I'm sorry about my friend. You work with Art?"

"I'm a consultant for the Yokohama Police Department, but I do mostly work with Art."

The superintendent would have a conniption if he heard this conversation. Art had been right; there was nothing stopping her from meeting Nice and his friends. The only reason she had taken so long to get to this point on her own was because of Art's overprotectiveness and Break's paranoia. However, she promised both of them she wouldn't involve the Hamatora team in their business. Socializing with a few of their members in a neutral environment wasn't breaking the rules.

"I'm curious," Honey murmured. "Art seems to trust you a lot, and yet he's never introduced us. Makes me wonder how trustworthy you really are." Scarlet grew agitated. Honey had the right not to trust her, but to have the audacity to question her loyalties? She wouldn't let anyone get away with that.

However, before she could throw a fiery rebuttal, a group of men burst into the ladies' locker room. Two were carrying bats while the most nervous one held a gun. Though it initially shocked the girls, they quickly became annoyed by the interruption of their bathhouse routine.

"Shut up! Get dressed! Don't show us your filth!"

Filth?

"We have no interest in women! All female guests will be released! I repeat, all female guests will be released! We have no interest in women!"

What? Who do these bastards think they are?!

Those hadn't been her thoughts, though she shared the sentiment. Honey looked beyond pissed, and Scarlet wasn't far behind her. Not only did these men ruin their spa day, but they also insulted their entire gender. That, in addition to Honey's crack at her, finally made her lose it.

Using her Minimum, Scarlet tapped into the mind of the guy wearing sunglasses:

Why couldn't we get the other room? Women are disgusting!

"You're going to eat those words, you piece of—"

"W-What the hell!" The crook with the gun stumbled, nearly dropping his weapon.

"What's your problem?" the one on the right scolded him.

"Y-You didn't hear that?"

"Stop fucking around!"

While the men started fighting, Scarlet saw her opportunity. Before they knew it, the redhead was upon them, disarming the three misogynists and breaking a few bones for good measure. With one last kick to the face of the gun-wielding idiot, Scarlet had calmed down.

"I can't get a single day of peace without some idiots ruining it!"

Okay, she wasn't completely calm, but beating up those men was more soothing than taking a bath in an expensive hot spring.

Scarlet was sure the police were on their way by now, so she took it upon herself to direct the girls to the nearest exit. While they filed out, she began putting her clothes back on. Those three idiots couldn't have been the only ones to break into the hot springs. There had to be others, and according to the unconscious thugs, they were taking the men as hostages. She needed to find and dispatch them, and then she needed to find Beta before Art and the police showed up. She didn't want to see that jerk until she was ready.

After getting dressed, she saw that she wasn't the only one left in the locker room. Honey, Koneko, and their friend had stayed behind, and they looked prepared for a fight.

Honey smirked. "You think we'd leave after they insulted us like that? Let's make them regret hurting our pride as women!"

Scarlet nodded and cracked her knuckles. "Lead the way."

"Well, I've had enough of the hot springs for one day. Maybe I'll have a massage…"

Beta had luckily avoided the gaggle of females coming into the hot springs that day. The last thing he needed was more bruises and broken bones to match the injuries he'd recently acquired. He'd been surprised when Scarlet invited him to the hot springs, but he wasn't about to say no to a free day lapping in luxury at the most exclusive clubhouse in Yokohama. Plus it would give him plenty of time to come up with an excuse for his broken arm.

"Hmm… where's the lounge again?" He had been walking through the hallways for a while now, and he still hadn't found a masseuse or masseur. "I passed ten bathrooms in this place and I still can't find it! Fucking rich people…"

He was one room away from just giving up and having Charlie help him. Peeking inside, he was surprised to see the lion-esque priest sitting in a massage chair. "Three? What are you doing here?"

"R-R-Relaxing."

You don't look very relaxed.

"Wait, is Honey here?" The bodyguard duo was never far from each other, but knowing Honey was here didn't help him relax at all. He was even more grateful to have escaped the women's locker room before she showed up. There was no telling what would have been left of him afterwards.

"She and two friends won a free day here in the hot spring. I came to keep an eye on her."

"Well, you're sure doing a great job from in here, big guy. Mind if I join you?" Three gestured to the chair next to him, and Beta plopped right down, turning it on. As soon as the massaging mechanisms kicked in, he closed his eyes and invested the rest of his energy into becoming one with the chair. "Ahhhhh… that's the stuff..."

"Three? What are you doing here?"

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Beta opened his eyes to see three more young men coming into the room. One was a high school student who looked extremely out of place. The brunette next to him looked like he just got out of high school. He was wearing a yukata like Beta and Three, indicating he was a guest at the resort. He also wore a pair of headphones around his neck, and the bridge of his nose was covered in a bandage. The last one was a bespectacled young man around Beta's age, with spiky gray hair with a hint of lavender. Beta recognized them immediately.

Great, now Hamatora's here. This day really can't get any worse… Damn it, why did I just think that?

Not a moment too soon, three men came into the room wielding bats. It seemed wherever they went, Hamatora always brought trouble with them.

Beta knew better than to move. Like his sister, his only weapon was his inimitable intelligence. Most of his life, he was always surrounded by people who could protect him when they needed to. This was one of those instances. While the Hamatora duo chased the crooks out of the room, Three protected him and the high schooler. When the sounds of flesh hitting flesh stopped, the three of them left the room. But Beta wasn't about to stick around.

Three exchanged a glance with him before nodding, covering for him while he made his escape. Nobody from Hamatora knew who Beta was, so his absence just made him look like a spooked civilian. While everyone was distracted by whatever pandemonium had struck the 10,000-Year Hot Springs Resort, Beta broke into the security room.

The security guard stationed there had been knocked out, but that was the least of his worries. "Oh god…!" Every camera that wasn't fogged up by the hot spring mist was recording the testosterone-fueled displays of what appeared to be a floor-wide body-building contest. "What the hell is going on in this resort?!" He shielded his eyes, but he couldn't cover his ears.

"Wow! Your abdominis rectus muscle is super impressive!"

"Your biceps aren't too shabby, either!"

"Dear fictitious deity above! What did I do to deserve this!" Beta inserted a USB drive into the nearest computer port he could find blindly. "Charlie, mute!" Once sweet silence met his ears, Beta uncovered his eyes. Even though he could still see them, he could concentrate more on the task at hand now that he couldn't hear those meatheads gushing over their muscles.

Okay, think, Beta. This is the swankiest resort in Yokohama. There are plenty of big wigs to rob here. The only reason anyone would go through all this trouble is because they're trying to find someone.

"Charlie, can you download the list of people who checked into the resort today onto my phone?"

Beta scrolled through the list of guests as soon as Charlie was done. Some were names he recognized from previous hackings, but none of them seemed highly distinguished enough to be the target. He was almost at the end of the list when he stumbled upon an unusual name. "Charlie, why does that name seem so familiar?"

It's the name of the prince of the Abachahat Republic. He is very well known for being friendly to the Japanese. He is especially fond of the 10,000-Year Club. He comes here in secret whenever he visits.

"And I'm guessing he doesn't bring his bodyguards with him."

That is correct.

"Of course. Today of all days, the one and only time I'm ever going to get a free one-day pass at the most expensive resort in the Kantō region, is the one time he gets caught. Well, let's hurry the hell up and find the guy who decided to ruin my day off."

Looking past all the views of the half-naked men, Beta found the massage chair room where Three and the guys from Hamatora had retreated. There were two more than last time: one was wearing a dark red jumpsuit and sunglasses, and his hair was nearly as orange as Scarlet's; the other was dressed like a doctor, and an eyepatch covered his right eye. "Charlie, unmute Camera #10, please."

"… ess you can't relax with guards around a hot spring." That sounded like Nice talking. They must have figured out the men attacking were after the prince.

"Sure. I can understand why he'd feel that way," said the blonde carrot top, "but he is the crown prince. He can't be completely left unguarded."

"That's why we were asked to guard him undercover."

"Too late for that, pirate doctor." Glimpsing at the women's locker room camera, he saw that four young beauties had decided to stay behind and fight the good fight. "Wait a minute… Is that Honey and Scarlet?"

The most dangerous women he knew were infiltrating the resort together, and they hadn't torn each other apart yet. He didn't know if that was good for him or bad. At the moment, it was convenient. "Those muscle heads must have done something to piss them off. Honey should have tried using Mighty by now, but you don't need clairvoyance to know that those guys are just going to keep ogling their muscles. If I could just find the guy in charge. Guess I'm going to have to save the day again."

This was where Beta's talents usually shined. Some might have thought that hiding in the background made him weak, but he knew there was more to being strong than just being physically adept. Sometimes, being strong meant being the smartest guy in the room. In this case, he had to be the smartest guy in the resort.

"Strange."

What is it, Beta?

"Those meatheads in Camera #12 aren't in the hot spring or anywhere that produces a large amount of steam. It just looks like a lounge. Yet there's a mist in there. Not to mention… why is it purple?" The mist seemed to be coming from the vents at the upper corner of the room. Every room filled with super toned boneheads had the purple mist. "So it's a Minimum Holder. This must be how he's controlling the men. The highest concentration of steam is in the hot spring, so he's gotta be there. Charlie, text Scarlet and tell her we found the guy."

I don't think that's necessary, Beta.

"Just do it."

… Already figured that out, dumbass. By the way, your sister is smarter than you.

Beta deflated a little after he read the text. "Why am I not surprised? My little sister's a genius. But how'd she figure it out?"

As if to rub in his face, Scarlet sent another text:

We found pics of the guy in a locker. He's trying to help his boyfriend.

"… Charlie, when you said texting her wasn't necessary, did you already know…?"

That the masseur of the resort, Hasuda Arata, has kidnapped the prince so he can get Japan to agree to reinstate former idol, Hijirikawa Seiji. It was simple once I hacked into the employee records.

"Of course you did. Wait, Hijirikawa…. The guy in the eighteen-way relationship?! That was the worst scandal in the history of the Japanese entertainment industry! Would it have killed you to give me this information earlier!"

… I guess I thought it was simple enough for you to figure out on your own.

Thank goodness Honey isn't here; she'd think I was a total chump.

"Well, if I can't be the hero in this story, I'll settle with being the sidekick this time around. Turn off the watermain. The less he sweats, the less effective his Minimum."

And then what?

"And then nothing. We did our parts, Charlie. Now it's up to the heroes to do theirs. Unmute Camera #5, please."

Kicking his feet up, Beta reclined against the chair and waited for the finale to start.

Why are all men idiots?

Scarlet had to admire this Hasuda guy's ambition: tricking his mistress into giving him money so he could fund this heist; kidnapping the prince of the Abachahat Republic and brainwashing him into convincing the Japanese government into reinstating the disgraced idol, Hikijikawa Seiji; he even obtained a Minimum somehow. It was a crazy plan, and Hasuda did it all for the man he loved, a man who didn't even know he existed. In a way, she could empathize with him, and she was slightly impressed by nearly flawless execution of his plan. But he made one mistake:

He ruined her day off.

The guys from Hamatora had joined them sometime during Hasuda's confession. Her hair stood out like a campfire among the girls, but at this point, Scarlet didn't care. She was at least going to get a few licks in before Nice had a chance to confront her. Luckily for her, the mist had no effect on women. In fact, the steam from the hot spring was already dissipating. Someone must have cut off the water, so Hasuda couldn't use his mist to affect the men, either. However, before she could take advantage of the situation, the masseur dumped the remainder of his massaging oil, making the floor slick and impossible to walk across. His cronies slid across the floor, knocking over the Hamatora gang and serving as an effective distraction for Hasuda to escape with the prince.

"Get back here, you bastard!" Scarlet slid after them with ease, avoiding the slippery men as they tried to obstruct her path.

Who would have thought those ice-skating lessons my mother made me take would come in handy?

The young pugilist named Hajime followed her by surfing on one of the idiots, and they both sped after Hasuda and the prince as soon as they were on solid ground. There was only one way he could go from there without running into the police, and that was up. By the time they made it onto the roof, the masseur confessed to all his crimes, absolving the men who went along with the heist, while standing on the ledge of the building. Hajime and Scarlet were quick to catch him before he could jump and, using their collective strength, pulled him back onto the roof.

Hasuda knelt before them, defeated. "Why did you save me? Are you trying to tell me to live?"

Scarlet scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. I can't speak for my new friend here, but I wasn't about to let you get away with what you did that easily." She cracked her knuckles as she prepared to rip him a new one.

"Wait!" Hajime stepped in front of her before she could deliver the blow. Walking over to the meathead, the younger girl pulled out what appeared to be a deluxe coupon from Hasuda's pocket and sighed in relief. "That was a close one." Looking back at Scarlet, she nodded her consent.

As soon as released her fist, Scarlet felt all the pent-up tension that grew throughout the day leave her body, and she sighed in relief. A punch never felt so satisfying. "The next time I need to relax, I'm going to a gym." Turning back to the drooling girl, Scarlet held out a hand. "It was nice to meet you, Hajime. It was really fun fighting by your side."

Hajime stared at the hand for a moment before taking it into her surprisingly soft grip. "You too."

Turning to leave, Scarlet inhaled the fresh air and stretched her arms. She hadn't felt this good in a while. She had nearly forgotten how mad she was at Art.

Shit! I forgot about the police! I have to find a way to escape before…

The entrance leading to the roof was already being blocked off by the Sonic Minimum Holder, and from the look on his face, he knew exactly who she was.

"It's nice to see you again, Ruby."

Beta waited patiently outside the resort for his ne'er-do-well companion. He went out the back of the club to avoid the cops. And as he waited, he chortled under his breath, remembering the scene he'd been watching on the security cameras.

When Scarlet and that girl ran out of the hot spring, he missed the punch Hasuda had coming to him, but he didn't regret not hacking into the copter cams to witness it. What happened in the hot spring was far more entertaining. Men were slipping and sliding all over the place, and Hamatora had no idea what to do. The whole thing looked like an episode of a Japanese game show.

If only I had some popcorn…!

He struggled to stifle his laughter and wipe away tears of joy as Scarlet came towards him. "H-Hey! What took you so long?" Beta stopped laughing when he saw the expression on her face. He had never seen her look so nervous. "Um… did something happen?"

Beta watched her fists clench, amber eyes skirting about to avoid contact with his cerulean ones. "So… I've got… news."

"Good news? Bad news?"

"Depends on how you look at it."

"Well, throw me a bone or something! What the hell is going on?"

Scarlet brought up fist up to her mouth and bit one of her fingers anxiously. "We need to have another meeting."

R&R!