Ayaka sat in the hotspring, trying to soothe the anger from her, but it seemed it wasn't working. She'd been caught sneaking to Mineral Town again....Even though she was suposed to stay in the Valley at all times. She'd been visiting her beloved cousin, too...

Why did they forbid there meetings? Wasn't life something that wasn't ment to be controlled? Then why where her parents being so unreasonable? ....Maybe it was because of James. He was such a spineless man...Not ther heir Pa wanted at all. And yet.... he follows her around like a lost puppy....

Ayaka let out a frusturated groan and sunk lower into the water, concealing everything nose-down. Why was it so hard to enjoy herself these days?

Miharu gripped the towel around tightly as she darted toward the hot springs. She had never even set foot into it, for good reason! When she was young, when she was in a pool, she saw a person pass out in the nearby hot tub! She was afraid the the hot water of the hot springs would overwhelm her small body. But she decided that she was brave and she would only stay in for 30 minutes tops!
She finally saw the steam rise from the springs. She closed her eyes and ploped herself into the water. The warmth wasn't actually really bad, it was like taking a warm bath. She exhaled and smiled. Miharu opened her eyes and noticed that there was a girl sitting infront of her. She sat up straight and smiled sweetly at her, "Oh. Hello!"

Ayaka blinked, raising herself from the spring slightly, so her face was out of the water. "Oh...Hello..." she replied, smiling polietly. "I'm Ayaka Woulfe...and you?" she asked, sticking to manners and polietness, for it was something she held dear.

No matter how low her own self-confidence was, she loved to boost the confidence of others, even if it only pushed her deeper into her own little black hole.

Miharu Giggled, still a bit ditzy from the Springs. "My name is Miharu, I am thirteen years old." She said politely. She went underwater for a second, then popped back up, smiling. "Ahh! That felt soo good! It is so nice!" She squealed. There was something about the spring that was making her a tad hyper. "So, how old are you?" She asked

Ayaka smiled, chuckling at how hyper Miharu was. She came to the springs to relax, but it seemed to Miharu it was an adventure of some sort.... Shaking her head once, she came back to reality to hear her question.

"13? You make me feel old, girl. I'm 19..." Ayaka replied, frowning slightly. Now she felt old....Bah Humbag. At least she was old enough to drink... Even if Pa had given her drinks of his beer since she was only 12....

"Really? Nineteen years old shouldn't make you feel old! That's only seven years apart!" She said trying to make her feel young again. It's not like she was forty or something, even if she was that age she could use the old 'Really? I thought that you were in your mid-20's at most!' saying she used to get on their good side.
Miharu wanted to splash around, but it seemed that Ayaka wanted to relax, so she just swayed her hands side to side underwater.

Ayaka chuckled, grinning. "Well, yeah, I guess..." she mused, smiling to herself. "So, Miharu, you like coming to the hotsprings?" She asked the girl, remebering her first time here with her mother.

Her brother had really wanted to go to.... It had been quite embarrassing.... Blushing, Ayaka shook her head. She had to stop randomly delving into her past memories while conversing with others...

She nodded, "Yeah! I like it alot! even though this is my first time." She replied feeling very proud of herself.
She remembered when her mom tried to drag her into a hot springs, she started screaming loudly, and kicking her legs. She was terrified. So her mom didn't make her.
"So," She said, trying to make a conversation, "do you come here often?" She asked

Ayaka smiled, chuckling. Miharu must be very excited... "Do I...?" Ayaka asked, musing over it. "Well, Yes, I believe I do....It's very relaxing here..." She commented, grinning. "Sometimes the warmth just sucks the other emotions from your bones..."

She smiled, "I know! It's like all my bad emotions are sucked away!" She agreed. She really loved the time she had in the hot springs! Very much, she was glad that she went today.
"So, What else do you do for fun?" She asked.

Ayaka chuckled, nodding again. "Fun...?" she questioned, blinking. "Well, I'm good at construction working...I find that fun...." She commented, smiling. "But...otherwise....I....um... like building sandcastles....and climbing trees..." Ayaka explained, her face flushing slightly as she explained her likes.

Miharu was somewhat surprised at what she liked to do, "I like those things to! I also love to cook and bake things!" she smiled, "I also like to sing!" She giggled. She always sang when she was in a good mood, and she sang herself to sleep every night. Singing was more of a habit then a hobby, but it was a good habit!

"I'd like to hear you sing some time..." Ayaka commented, smiling. "I suck at cooking..." She mumbled, rubbing her temples. "And singing...." she mused, chuckling. "But I like fishing~"

She grinned. "The steady beat of fishing is almost as good as the Hotspring sometimes..." Ayaka mused, comparing the two. They did have the same effect for her...

"Really? Are you good at fishing? I have never caught a fish before, My brother caught a fish before." She said. Her brother,Masahiro hadn't caught a big fish, it was the length of a pencil. But it was still one more fish than she had. But she remembered that he gave her the fish to cook on the campfire because she thought that she couldn't do anything. He said, 'Usually I don't like campfire-cooked fish, but your cooking always tastes good'

"I've caught many" Ayaka said, grinning. "It helps brring in the bacon when the family buisness' hits a slow spot..." She explained, scratching her head. Ayaka remebered clearly the day her Father demanded she learn how to fish. She'd been reluctant, but, fishing really was calming...And it did help bring in the bacon. Mmm, bacon...

"Hmm, maybe you could teach me how to fish sometime!" She smiled, "And maybe I could teach you how to cook!" She exclaimed. Miharu looked down at her hands, they were shriveled up and frail. She raished them from under the water and laughed, "If I stay in the water for a bit longer, I might become a raisin!"

Ayaka scratched her head, chuckling. "I'll teach you how to fish anytime...And..." Ayaka blinked, frowning. "Good luck with teaching me to cook...I'm pretty horrible..." She exclaimed, chuckling darkly.

Ayaka raised her own hands, noticing them gaining a wrinkly quality too. "Oh, I suppose that could happen..." she taunted, almost as if she was trying to make Miharu believe she'd become a raisin.

"I bet I could teach you, just as long as you don't want to make baked alaska!" She joked, She hadn't even made baked alaska! Just imagine a cake on fire! How would you eat it? "I'll just teach you how to cook spagetti, I learned how to make that when I was 6!" That should be simple enough, boil water, put noodles in, strain, sauce, then serve.