Chapter Text
Fukuzawa had decided that his family was due for some time away from the city. The whole family was tired. Between work and school, it was clear they were all dangerously close to burnout.
When he announced that the whole family was going on a trip to an onsen, he was met with excitement all around. Seeing as none of them except for Ranpo had ever been to one, it was a new experience for almost everyone. The train ride there only seemed to build anticipation.
Atsushi spent the whole ride glued to the window. His tail was out and he couldn’t seem to put it away. It lay flicking on the seat next to Kunikida. Kunikida, for his part, had a book out, but his eyes were anywhere but the page. Dazai happily walked up and down the length of the whole train with Kyouka. Ranpo was mildly pleased to see that the only thing they had pilfered so far was some paper to make paper airplanes with. Yosano had her nose buried in her medical textbook, while Fukuzawa sat with his eyes closed (he was taking a nap, Ranpo noted).
The train didn’t seem to move fast enough. It took far longer than Ranpo’s liking to reach the right stop for them to get off. They all had a filling lunch a local restaurant before beginning the next leg of their journey.
From here, the family rode a bus further into the mountains. Finally, they had arrived. The onsen itself was a humble building. It was old, not dilapidated, but certainly not in its prime. The best part was that Fukuzawa and his family were the only guests for their weekend stay.
After checking into their rooms, it was decided that they would all have a long soak in the heated water of the hot springs before dinner. The hot springs were at the back of the building. The first entrance they reached was the women’s entrance. Yosano looped an arm around her younger sister’s shoulders, pulling the eight year old close.
“Come on, Kyouka, let’s get away from these idiots,” she smiled smugly.
Ranpo stuck his tongue out in response. Was that what responsible, twenty-three year old adults did? Nope. Did Ranpo care? Also no.
He promptly dragged his brothers the other direction towards the men’s side of the onsen. Kunikida pulled away.
“I’ll be there in a moment. I want to drop my notebook off in our room. I don’t trust it around Dazai and water,” Kunikida glared at Dazai.
Dazai smiled innocently.
“Alright. We’ll meet you and Dad in the onsen,” Ranpo agreed.
Without another word, he grabbed Dazai and Atsushi and pulled them along. He managed not to get them lost.
“Alright! I’ve been looking forward to this for a while,” Ranpo smiled as they entered the changing room.
It wasn’t until Ranpo was almost completely undressed that he realized that neither one of his brothers had moved.
“Well? What you waiting for?” Ranpo cocked his head.
“I… um…. Do I need to take my bandages off?” Dazai anxiously twisted his shirt hem.
His hesitation was matched by Atsushi. Of course. Their scars. Ranpo grimaced internally. He had forgotten about this very important detail.
Ranpo hated seeing the scars on his youngest two brothers. Atsushi’s were primarily on his back. Dazai’s were all over, but they were concentrated on his chest, wrists and thighs. Neither boy liked others to see their scars either (though Atsushi was slightly more relaxed about it than Dazai was).
“It’ll be fine. We’re the only guests at the onsen, so no one will see you,” Ranpo reassured them.
Atsushi gave him a skeptical look before shedding his clothes obediently. He then scampered off to the water. Dazai was far more hesitant.
“Maybe I’ll go read a book,” Dazai edged his way towards the door.
“You've been looking forward to this all week. I think you should join us,” Ranpo urged, “It will just be us. No one else.”
“But Dad-” Dazai started.
“Has already seen your scars,” Ranpo shrugged.
“Kunikida-” Dazai tried again.
“Knows and doesn’t care.” That wasn’t strictly true. Kunikida always looked grieved by any sight of his brothers’ scars. That being said, Ranpo was willing to fudge the truth on this one.
“Atsushi-” Dazai tried one last time.
“Won’t care either. Besides, you’ve seen his scars,” Ranpo pointed out.
Dazai fidgeted, shifting from one foot to the other.
“If you’re really that uncomfortable, you don’t have to come, but I think you would have a lot of fun,” Ranpo urged.
Dazai slowly began shedding his clothes and bandages. He was clearly embarrassed. By the time he was done, he couldn’t even bring himself to look up from the ground. He slunk into the onsen, cheeks already red before he even got in the steaming water. Ranpo just shook his head in worry.
They were joined by Kunikida a moment later. The blond did not approach the water with the childish eagerness of Atsushi and Ranpo nor the hesitance of Dazai. Instead, he marched in an almost robotic manner.
Ranpo arched an eyebrow. His brothers were so weird.
Kunikida took a seat next to Dazai.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Kunikda asked with no small amount of worry.
It couldn't be more clear that he had never been to an onsen.
“We are supposed to do nothing. It's relaxing,” Ranpo hummed happily, stretching his arms like a cat.
“How is that even possible?” Kunikida’s frown deepened.
“You do nothing,” Dazai huffed.
“Yes, but what does that mean? Even just sitting still, your body has a laundry list of automatic functions that it continues to do. Furthermore-”
Dazai simply tackled Kunikida into the water to get him to shut up. The splashing battle that followed lasted until Fukuzawa came out.
Fukawa and his boys stayed in the heated water for as long as they could. Predictably, Atsushi got out first. He was soon followed by Kunikida. Ranpo waited around for as long as he could before also leaving. As he left he made a comment to Dazai:
“Hey. Don’t forget to get out before you burn your nerves.”
“I don’t have nerves,” Dazai haughtily snorted.
Ranpo was half afraid this statement was true.
“Whatever,” he scoffed.
He trusted that Fukuzawa would watch over Dazai and prevent him from doing anything stupid. Fukuzawa and Dazai joined them in the shared rooms a little while later. It was clear based on Fukuzawa’s rather wilted posture and Dazai’s jaunty skipping who survived the onsen the longest (it was also a further tally on the list of incidents that lead Ranpo to suspect that Dazai didn’t feel pain).