-ds- -21 - A Hot Spring Trip - Mizuhara Misono... Apr 2026

Misono back in her yukata, hair damp, sitting by the open window. A tray of cold soba and pickled plum sits untouched beside her.

A single firefly drifts past her line of sight. She doesn’t try to catch it. Just watches.

(smiling faintly) Even you’re on vacation, huh. -DS- -21 - A Hot Spring Trip - Mizuhara Misono...

(whispering) ...Alright. Just this once — no thinking.

(to herself) Even hot springs come with notifications. Misono back in her yukata, hair damp, sitting

(quietly, almost surprised) Ah.

But the water keeps steaming. The wind moves the maple leaves. Somewhere inside the ryokan, a wooden kachin echoes — a guest sliding a fusuma closed. She doesn’t try to catch it

That’s not a plan. That’s a promise to myself.

She stays until her fingers prune. The moon rises behind the steam.

Soft trickle of bamboo shishi-odoshi — then clack.

A private outdoor bath, steam rising off black stone. Maple branches overhang the fence, lit faintly by a red lantern.