Muscles

"Senior Sister, are you sure that you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Senior Sister gritted out as she cut down the lush foliage before us.

"Are you sure, Senior Sister? This could be remnants from the poison," after all, bleeding from one's orifices[1] is a dangerous thing! ( ´△｀)

Especially twice now!

"Senior Sister, maybe we should take a short break, just to be sure," I suggested as Senior Sister continued to storm through the jungle, carving out a small path.

This nose bleed could be an underlying side-effect from the poison! (⊙△⊙)

"No, we must meet up with them as soon as possible, there's no telling what would happen without us there," she said, as she checked the tracking array.

Senior Sister does have a point; however, how would I be a good junior if I let my senior charge into a danger laden jungle, just after she barely recovered from poisoning?

However, as much as I would like Senior Sister to take it a bit, I supposed Senior Sister is right about reuniting as quickly as possible. After all, our group doesn't know anything about or whereabouts, and they could think that we're dead!

Also, I wonder how Shao Xiu Lan is doing.

Although I couldn't help but feel a bit of bitterness thinking of her name, she is still part of our team.

But still, I didn't know she would betray us like that! ʰᵘʰ (ꐦO_O）

Ah, what did those bandits offer that managed to sway Shao Xiu Lan.

Aiyah, I suppose we can ask that question when we reunite with the others.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Senior Sister sighed as she flashed me a small smile before patting my head. "Now, come along, we should be able to meet with the others in half a day."

"Hmm, alright, Senior Sister."

Sigh, there's no use if Senior Sister doesn't want to talk about it.

"Em, good."

Navigating our way through the green jungle, I looked up at the sky, which was blocked by the large green canopy and vines. The birds' songs and chirps gave the area a relative peaceful ambiance, but who knows how long that would last.

Looking at Senior Sister's back, I couldn't help but pout a little.

Aiyah, Senior Sister, is acting so strange, ah.

What's wrong with worrying for a little, she does it all the time! (#｀3´)

Plus, Senior Sister is always scolding me for not worrying enough and not being careful enough, so what's the problem?

Sigh, why does a maiden's heart have to be so complicated?

One moment they want something, and then they want another. Sighhh.

Hmm, maybe I did something that upset Senior Sister earlier?

But, she doesn't seem mad, just averse to the topic.

Herm, strange…「(°ヘ°)

Earlier that day…

"Fuah!" Whew! That felt nice! (* ^ ^ *)

Nothing better than washing off the grime of the previous night!

Aiyah, I can't see anything. I can't believe I lost my ribbon, ah.

It's strange not having my hair tied back.

Oh well, it's just a ribbon. I suppose I can get another one if we find a nearby town. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Raking my fingers through my hair that dripped before my eyes, I suddenly felt a pair of sharp eyes on me.

Eh? Is Senior Sister here to take a bath too?

Sure enough, Senior Sister was standing there in the trees' shade on the small lake's shore. Standing as still as a stone, Senior Sister looked as if searching for something, her eyes scanning up and down.

Eh? Was there something I wasn't seeing?

Oh well! I'll ask her later!

Smiling over at her, I was going to wave at her until I noticed something startling.

"Senior Sister, you're bleeding!" Σ(゜゜)

Streaming out from Senior Sister's nose was two thin red lines streaming down her face as they escaped her nostrils.

Instantly, Senior Sister used one to cover her nose and mouth before wiping away the blood with a handkerchief. "It's fine; the air is just humid," she answered hastily before trying to hide her face and walk away. "I'll just meet you back in the cave!"

Hah? How can that be? The air was still relatively cool, so how could Senior Sister start bleeding from the heat?

"Hah, wait!" Scrambling out of the water, I grabbed my clothes before throwing them on. Wringing out my wet hair, I uncaringly let them soak into my clothes as I ran up to Senior Sister's side, yanking on my boots in the process.

"Y-you! Why are you rushing to return with me?"

"Eh? But what if I get lost?" (´･_･`)

Me finding this area waterfall was a strike of mere luck! Who knows how I'll find my way back!?

"Well, you should've thought of that before leaving the cave," Senior Sister grumbled.

Eh? Is Senior Sister mad at me? ∑('＝';)

"Are you mad?" Senior Sister is looking a little red…

"Sigh, no, I'm not."

Ah, thank goodness. That was close! (´∀｀)

"Senior Sister, stop walking so fast! It's hard to catch up!" Chasing after Senior Sister, I struggled to keep up as I tried my clothes together. "Are you sure that you don't want me to check it out?"

"I'm fine," Senior Sister sighed as she held her nose as a small red river tried to drip out. "This is nothing to worry about.

Look for yourself."

Letting go of her nose, it was a little red, but Senior Sister was right: nothing dripped out anymore.

"Okay, I guess it was a temporary thing…"

"Emm," Senior Sister hummed in agreement as the cave started to come into view, just past the trees.

Arriving at the cave, Senior Sister suddenly said, "You didn't dry your hair."

"Huh?" Oh, right.

Lifting the damp and limp locks of hair, small droplets of water flowed out as they soaked into my clothes. "I didn't have any talismans left over, so I guess I'll have to let it dry on its own."

"Hmm," Senior Sister hummed. "You'll get sick if you walk around with wet hair.

Sit down; I'll dry it for you."

"Alright!" Wow, Senior Sister is going to dry my hair! \(≧∇≦)/

I watched as Senior Sister took out a dry cloth and walked behind me, and sat me down on the ground.

Hehe, this is so exciting!

Placing the cloth on my head, I felt as Senior Sister's fingers started to massage my scalp gently. I couldn't help but let out a small moan at how relaxing this was!

Ahh, this feels so good! (*°∀°)=3

Sigh, it's like all the stress from the past week seemingly melts away.

Hmm, I must say, Senior Sister might have magic fingers or something.

"Ahh.."

"Feels good," Senior Sister asked as she started to move the cloth down my head to dry off the ends of my hair.

"Em, yeah!"

It was almost so good I nearly forgot what I was going to ask! "Oh, right!

Senior Sister, back at the waterfall, you seemed to be looking at something.

What was it?"

"W-what," Senior Sister paused as she folded up the wet cloth before she regained her composure. "What are you talking about?"

"Eh?" But I saw Senior Sister's eyes move up and down. Could it be a trick of the light or something?

"But, you looked at something…"

Hmm, what else was there that would catch Senior Sister's attention?

Well, I suppose there was that waterfall, which looked pretty lovely. Or maybe, the water? It did give off a relatively peaceful aura, and it had a pleasant light shade of blue to it.

So, maybe Senior Sister was looking at the waterfall and then the lake?

Hmm…

"Was it me?"

"W-what-" Senior Sister's face suddenly had a pale pink tint to it.

Oops, did I say that out loud?

"It's okay if you were looking, I don't mind!"

"Wh-what?"

"Yeah," flexing my arm, I pointed to it. "You were looking at my arms and stomach, right?"

"I-I," Senior Sister stuttered as her hands started to shake.

"Here, no need to be shy; we're both women, after all!"

Grabbing her hand, I placed it on my bicep. I could feel her hand tremble a bit before lightly squeezing them. "I-It's very firm…"

"Ahh, thanks, Senior Sister!" I should be thanking Senior Sister after all, as it was she who put me through hellish months of sword training.

As much as I hate to admit it, Senior Sister's training is super efficient at strength and stamina building!

Well, I suppose Senior Sister isn't amazing for nothing.

Suddenly, I felt Senior Sister take her hand off my arm. "Eh? You're not going to touch my stomach?"

"W-wha- what!"

Hmm, strange. The girls before were always adamant at touching it—especially Shao Xiu Lan and another girl from before.

"Enough of this!" Senior Sister suddenly looked as red as a lantern. "We're wasting time; we must move!"

Eh? What's this? Since when did Senior Sister get so opposed to being near me?

She never had this problem in the past.

"It's alright, Senior Sister, you can touch them if you want," grabbing her hand, I pressed it to my stomach. "Unless…

You don't like to do this?" 「(°ヘ°)

Tilting my head, I watched Senior Sister's face turn into various shades of color before she took in a few deep breaths and sucked in her lips.

Suddenly, a fountain of red spewed from Senior Sister's nose once more!

"Senior Sister!"

[1] orifice - an opening in one's body, like your nostrils and ears, for example.