Sotona was sat alone in the room waiting for the inn lady to come and take her to the baths. Gojyo went to join the guys. Berry ran up to the door holding the bathing utensils with one hand when she heard a soft knock on the door. Outside stood the woman wearing a yukata in the same lavender hue smiling at the girl.
"Ready?"
"Yes,ma'am. Once again thank you."
"It's nothing."
Both women chatted all the way to the baths and inside. They were alone so Sotona felt less embarrassed.
"There we go." the inn lady said as they both were now clean and got rid of all the soap from them. Berry noted that although the woman took a towel, she didn't wrap it around herself,so Sotona followed her actions.
Berry toed off her zori of her feet like Sumire,the inn lady did,lay her towel on the edge of the steaming pond and slowly stepped into the water. She went in deeper and sat on one of the stone shelves. The warmth washed over the girl as the water reached barely above her breasts.
"Come in deeper." Sumire encouraged.
"Thank you but that's deep enough for me. " Sotona laughed shaking her head.
Just as Berry was beginning to relax she heard some shouting from where she and the other woman came,so she looked over her shoulder. That's when her heart sank and albeit the hot water warming up her body Berry turned deathly pale. Next to the entrance the both women came out were another door... and the voices were all too familiar. She sat there petrified as Gojyo, Goku and Hakkai emerged running into the pond followed by Sanzo strolling behind. The priest was also the only one that had a towel around his hips. Only when the men jumped into the water did they noticed the two women. Berry covered her chest with her arms and crossed her legs tightly.
"You didn't say it was a co-ed bath!!!" Berry yelled.
"I didn't?"
"No!!!" Sotona cried her face reaching the deepest shade of red possible.
"Oh, sorry. I must've forgot." the lady chuckled.
Berry was seriously trying to think of a way out of this situation. She couldn't go to get her towel. It was too far away and she'd have to emerge out of the water. But she couldn't go deeper into the water too. Truth be told... Sotona was afraid of water reservoirs larger than a bathtub. Just getting into that pond took all the courage she had. Going deeper was impossible. She was stuck.
"Gojyo!" she yelled "Hand me a towel." she leaned forward so that her front was under water to her neck and pointed at her towel on the edge of the pond.
The red head looked from her to the towel and then back grinning widely and approached her.
"No." he said.
Berry looked from Goku to Sanzo, Hakkai then back to Gojyo raising an eyebrow.
"You want me to get it myself?"
"How about you go in deeper. Then you won't need a towel." Gojyo smirked grabbing her wrist.
"No!"
"Oh, come on." he laughed.
"No! Stop it!" she started struggling as he tried to pull her in.
Finally she snapped.
"STOP!!!" she half cried, half yelled slapping Gojyo hard across the face with her free hand making him let her go.
"Shut up."
Berry turned around with tears in her eyes to Sanzo who was standing at the edge of the pond and he threw her towel at her. She wrapped the wet towel which landed in the water beside her around her body and scrambled out of the pond to where she left her yukata and then to her room. She forgot about her zori at the edge of the pond and about the wet towel she threw onto the floor when she reached her yukata. She run up to the room, locked the door and lay on the bed curling up and sobbing.
After few minutes there was a knock on he door.
"Berry? Berry are you okay?"
'Gojyo.' the girl thought tensing.
"Berry?!"
"Go away!" she yelled choking at her own tears.
"Berry!" the red-head was now shouting and pounding his fist at the door.
"Shhh..." she heard Hakkai's calming voice " You'll disturb the neighbours."
"But she won't open."
"Let me try,Gojyo."
"Good luck."
There was some shuffling behind the door followed by a soft knock on the door.
"Berry-san? Are you alright?"
Silence.
"Could you please let me in? It's hard to talk through the door like that."
Still nothing.
"I'm sorry if we scared you. We didn't mean to embarrass you, too. Gojyo just wanted to play. You know how he is."
Hakkai was waiting a bit for some kind of response but received none.
"When you'll calm down, please open the door."
She heard the door to a neighbouring room being opened and shot and she pressed her face to the pillow.
'I'm sorry... God only knows how sorry I am for slapping you,Gojyo. Why couldn't you just let go? I know I did many wrongs... but why do I have to be punished like this?!? Not only did Gojyo saw my personal weakness... now, he also saw another one... Back at home no one would have fought of entering a pond... He probably hates me now... He probably thinks I'm a coward and won't want to have anything to do with me, such weak and stupid girl... That was really a rotten day. First I woke up with this annoying craving and I had to fight it all the time, I got lost and now this. All I need to finish that "perfect" day is those disgusting bugs to fly in.' she turned her head to the window to make sure it was closed and faced the wall again. 'It's not my fault I'm scared of butterflies and moths. How can anyone like them? They're sooo disgusting.' she hugged her knees curling up as much as possible and sobbed repeating in her mind over and over again: 'I'm pathetic. I'm worthless*'
* One of meanings of "Belial" is "worthless";the other is "Lord of Arrogance" or "Lord of Pride". Sotona insists on people using her nickname "Berry" rather than her first name,Belial, because it makes her feel like they think she's worthless.
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