Letting off steam

A smile crossed Kyōchikutō's lips as she felt steam on her face, she had not even entered the springs yet but their warmth greeted her. She emerged from the changing rooms, nothing more than a towel wrapped tightly around her body and another holding her hair in a bundle. She could feel the condensation building up on her neck and chest already, the heat radiating from the various pools of roiling water and pouring steam. Stone steps would weave between the natural pools, flowered trees and shrubs giving each their own sense of privacy. Every now and then she would see a head or two just above the surface of the water in one of the pools, though the steam and bubbles left a sense of anonymity. While she did not come here too frequently, she had come enough times that there was a pool she preferred above the others. It was further down the stone path and off to the side, and was the only pool surrounded by rose bushes. She would swear that this pool was slightly warmer than others. Kyōchikutō thought that perhaps this one was not used as often as the others, as the rose bushes slightly overgrown and their thorns scratching at her exposed thighs as she passed them. Coming to the last step, she would look around. Not so much looking for other people but just to enjoy the moment. With that, she would let the towel unwrap and flung it over a bit of one of the bushes. There was no chill in the air, but there was still a moment of a shiver up her spine as she stepped into and sunk up to her chin in the roiling waters.