Off The Beaten Path

Emus was fine, but Nysia was starving so of course she was pretty eager to get to the food as she had a seat. "It's fine, just thanks for cooking we both appreciate it."

"I know its pretty open field but have you thought of what you might like to do in the future?" Emus asked them.

Usagi nods "Yes. When the Master feels I'm ready, he'll pass the responsibility of the shrine onto me and I'll take over the spiritual duties after he retires." she says "Please don't worry about my happiness. I'm quite content up here." she says with a smile. Though, that smile also hid something behind it.

Emus wasn't the type to tell someone how to live their lives if they were content though he wasn't sure if Usagi would be happy here long term. Their master was on the older side and once he passed, it leave Usagi all alone in the mountains. The peaceful and quite atmosphere probably be a bit maddening when alone at least for himself after a while but he wasn't her.

"Well, if you're set. and content" Emus said after a bit after drinking a bit. "Though if you ever change your mind we'd be more then happy to help out with what we can, like a place to crash or something while you figure stuff out."

Usagi nods, still smiling "Thank you, but I'll be fine." she says "If it's me being up here all by myself, let me put your mind at ease. I have the spirits to keep me company and, of course, the Guardian of the Mountains."

"If you're sure and content, we're not going to press it." Nysia assured the young woman. Even if personally this sort of thing wouldn't be for her. She suppose the spirits would be enough company but she'd like people she could physically interact with among other things.

Emus decided to change the subject a bit, since there wasn't much else to say on it in his opinon. "We'll be leaving later tomorrow to head back kicking and screaming back to school. If you're not busy though the three us can hang out again before we have to bounce. There's suppose to be a big test coming up."

The sooner he was done with the bullshit known as high school the better in his mind.

Usagi nods "Well, before you both leave, please spend the night here and tomorrow, if you like, I can fly you both into town." she offers "Unless you want to experience the thrill of hiking back down the mountain, in which case. I'll guide you to the trail."

Emus liked the idea of it; it certainly didn't hurt. "Yeah, sure. We can both stay over for the night unless you have issues with it Nysia?"

The young woman shook her head. "Nope, it sounds like a plan." They Could fly, but it was better not to draw as much attention. Then again it was Japan, they just could be confused with cosplayers or something anyway.

While they Could fly, they didn't know the way off the mountain and with the fog, they could still get lost. "Well, enjoy yoyr meal." she says as she says a quick prayer before eating.

Emus wasn't exactly looking forward to going back to school and he knew his sister was in a similar boat to things. One of the Only saving graces were friends there but other then that they could both definitely just leave it. 'Just one more year..' After that? He wasn't too sure. College wasn't for everyone despite it being the common wisdom for young people.

After lunch, Usagi goes about doing the dishes "Please feel free to use the hot spring whenever you wish." she says "I'll get some robes for ready and the futons ready for the night." she offers.

That sounded like a real good idea for the both of them, espeically since it would be a first. Even so Emus felt that as a guest they should be helpful as long as he was present. "Sounds good, we can check it out now. Do you want help with the dishes?"

Usagi shakes her head "Oh no thank you." she says "I have everything under control. You two just relax."

With that the two excused themselves to go enjoy the hot springs for the first time. They had seen it on their way here so it didn't take them too long to find the springs again. Normally Nysia was a bit more self conscious but it wasn't like she was in the middle of a crowdd beach or anything.

Nysia sunk into the water with her head just above the water after stripping down from her normal clothes along with Emus as she gave a content sigh. "Ah. Man we've been missing a lot.."

"Yep. Sure as hell missed out." Emus could almost fall asleep in a spring like this but knew that be dangerous so he didn't let himself get too comfortable. But seriously, why hadn't he gone til now?

Usagi finishes up with her chores and goes to gather up thinks to start dinner wit. It was gonna be a simple dinner. Rice, pickled vegetables, grilled fish. No soup tis time ad she still needed to lay out the futons for her friends as well as get them some robes. She aso needed to ask the Master if he was going to join them as well as get Bun-Bun's food ready. She had a full plate tonight.

The two teens finished before too long and by this time it seemed dinner was ready for them. Since both were Alusarian's even if they didn't know the fact, they both were naturally ready to eat again already for the current time, Emus a bit more in this case.

"It smells good. Thank you for making our portion of the food." Nysia knew Usagi was doing it as a friend but they were both raised to be polite so it didn't hurt.

"Will your master be joining us?" Emus asked the young woman as he got a seat. He never actually got the man's name which lead to his imagination of being some mysterious dude who had given up his name or only certain people. Maybe it was like some alias they used because they made a lot of enemies in the past since they used to be some sort of badass.

Or, you know, no one ever asked for one reason or another.

Usagi shakes her head "No. He's still deep in his meditations. When he's like this, he barely eats and drinks." she explains "He's trying to reach a state of enlightenment, through meditation, which could take years." she mumbles the last part, but brightens up "However, once he attains enlightenment, I will be here for him." she says, no doubt in her mind that her Master would gain what he seeks.

This surprised them both. "Wait years?" Emus asked. "What's the longest time they've been in that state?"

Usagi shrugs "He goes about a week at a time between meditations." she says "Master is Very strong willed, so I believe that he can reach enlightenment in no time at all."

Nysia and Emus supposed that made sense, but there was one question on the young woman's mind. "So what happens if he reaches it and how would you know?"

Usagi sakes her head "I don't really know. But I'm certain my Master would let me know." she says "But enough about that. What do you two plan on doing after you graduate?" she asks.

"I'm going to go to college. I like animals so I want to go there so I can be a vet or something." Nysia explained soon enough, knowing this for a while what she wanted to be.

"I don't know, unfourtnately." Emus admitted. "To be honest college never interest me much but a lot of people push for it. I'll figure something out."

Usagi nods. She understood what Emus meant. Before she knew about herself, and even after, she wasn't sure about what she wanted to do with her life. But now, she knew she was gonna take over the shrine once her Master was gone.

"Maybe an early job? I'm sure you can find a good one with your skills." Usagi says.

"Work and figure things out huh? That might not be too bad of a idea." Emus knew back in the day that's how most things went. You went to school, graduated and then had a family. He wasn't sure he wanted to move things too fast. "I'm also gonna say the generic 'I would like to have a family someday' but that's more of something when I got settled. I'm young so not looking to rush things. I do like helping people, so I figure if I keep with that and what my skills are good at I'll figure out something.

Usagi thinks for a moment "Maybe a police officer?" she suggests "Sure the Hunters handle the supernatural crazies and the Unknown Heroes handle the super powered crazies, but they are few and far in between. It's the police who handle the everyday crazies, and they're far more numerous." she points out "They have it much harder and could use someone with your skills."

The young man hadn't really thought about it, but it seemed like something to look into at least. "You know, I never thought about joining the police but that might not be a bad idea. I had actually thought about joining the Hunters earlier but you brought up some good points. I think you have to go to college for it though. I think."

Nysia briefly shook her head. "You do. It doesn't take as long as one would think though from what I heard."