Fuku must mimic a spirit's provocative dance herself

William managed to take out two more biwa players before the others readied their next technique. A swirling pool of unnatural black liquid appeared at the samurai's feet, picking up into the air as though by an unseen wind. He was **** to abandon his attack against the strumming spirits and focus on the new challenge at hand. If something like another onyudo emerged, he'd have to tackle it head-on.

To his surprise, what appeared was not a demon, but an over-sized treasure chest. He would never admit it to himself, but riches like these were one of the most exciting parts of his adventure. There could be rare weaponry inside, the kind that, once honed by a master blacksmith, would serve him for many adventures to come. Opening them was a little addictive...

... But he wasn't that stupid. The biwa players were still playing their music and now with eerie, toothless smiles spread across their faces. They were clearly waiting for him to open the chest.

"I don't trust this. There's no way the ritual's complete already," he mused.

"I agree," Fuku spoke through exhausted breaths. She was red-faced from more than just embarrassment now-- the ceaseless dancing was taking even more out of her than the fighting was out of William, with no chance to rest. "You should continue... to focus... on the biwa players... This is no time to be distracted... by a big chest...!" she huffed, while hopping from one foot to another, bouncing all the while. Each heave of her bosom was so heavy that it seemed her bra could pop off at any time.

William's eyes narrowed. "Yes, but... it can be hard to resist the allure of a big chest," he admitted to himself in a quiet mutter, watching sweat fly from Fuku's swinging breasts in sprays of droplets. "Each shikigami is part of this ritual. I suspect this chest belongs to a mimic-- a mujina. However, we cannot ignore it if we are to continue. I'll need to open it either way," he reasoned, raising his voice so she could hear.

Fuku was well-versed in spirits, and thus, she knew all about mujina. Raccoon-like spirits, not inherently hostile, who love to play games with travelers by popping out of boxes and mimicking one's appearance. If the one who opens the chest performs to their satisfaction, the spirit will leave that one be and grant them riches. If the spirit is dissatisfied, however, they retaliate with great **** as punishment.

"Perhaps... it is worth a try... after all... you'll need to... t-to access it yourself..." Fuku gasped, feeling as though the biwa players were pushing her stamina well beyond its limits.

William nodded, then, cautiously, popped open the chest. It was a bit like a child opening a jack-in-the-box. No matter how sure the child is of what will happen, or how many times he may open the box, he still fears the startling appearance of what's inside.

Sure enough, the samurai flinched backwards, as a human-shaped creature popped out of the box. Only... this time, it wasn't him. The mujina had taken on the appearance of his unfortunate onmyo magic teacher instead. Whereas the original was red-faced, both humiliated and exhausted, this Fuku was grinning with a giddy excitement.

The music above stopped. The forest was strangely silent.

"I've... I've recovered control of my body," Fuku explained, placing her hands on her knees and huffing with exertion. "William... you focus... on the biwa players. I'll take care of my double for now."

"That makes sense-" William began, reaching his hand down to his satchel for another kunai. Before he could grab one, he found his wrist clenched by the mimicking Fuku. She giggled and shook one finger in a forbidding gesture. "It seems I'm not permitted to attack," he growled. It was true in a literal sense-- attacking a mujina would immediately evoke its wrath. This one clearly wanted to play a game, one which he was a part of, despite not being the one duplicated.

Fuku nodded, stepping forward. To this point, she'd left too much of the heavy-lifting to William, an unfortunate consequence of the ritual's set-up. Now, she could put her knowledge of spirits to use. She put on a more amiable smile, trying to match the spirit's expression. "Very well, spirit. I'd be honored to play with you," she began, matching its pose exactly. If this mujina was like others, it'd be a stickler for accuracy. "What gesture will we perform today?"

The mujina laughed-- the shrill, echoing laughter of a spirit-- before placing both hands above its head in a diver's stance. As she struggled to follow along with the swift movement, it immediately dived into the hot spring.

The master onmyo mage sighed impatiently, then mimicked the motion, diving right after the creature in a mirrored movement. William guarded himself from the splash with one arm as the two briefly disappeared into the deepest part of the pool, then re-emerged. The mujina thrashed its hair wildly and she was **** to watch along.

"How am I doing, Master William? Have I matched its movements so far?" Fuku questioned, feeling slightly tense. The retaliation from these monsters was swift and brutal at any sign of disobedience.

"You... er..."

"Hm?" Fuku questioned. William wasn't watching the spring-- not good. She needed him paying attention to help her along with this game. "Now is not the time to be bashful, William. I-" she started, turning her eyes back towards the mujina.

The creature, grinning from ear to ear, was still wearing the same amount of clothes... but they were soaking wet, of course. With the exception of the skirt, they'd all been made of very thin, white fabric. Now, they clung to the shelf-like curves of the spirit's mimicked body and, worse, had become pretty transparent. The shirt was completely see-through and the bra wasn't doing particularly well either. Her nipples weren't exactly visible, but the shape was easy to make out against the wet fabric of the bra-- they were larger than she herself often remembered they were.

She resisted the urge to look down and confirm her outfit was exactly the same. It probably was. If she tilted her head down now, she'd be adding an extra movement-- a risk she couldn't afford to take. "I... I see now why you were averting your eyes," she spoke, trying to sound more composed than she felt. The springs were hot, but the heat upon her face had nothing to do with that. "Please... simply wait for me to complete this part of the ritual."

"Yes, Miss Fuku." William focused his mind on meditation, to distract himself upon the scene in the hot springs. Calm the mind. Empty the mind. Don't think about-

His concentration immediately fell apart as the loud sound of splashing came from the spring. The creature had begun to dance, clapping its hands and giggling. It sounded like Fuku was trying to keep up.

"W-Wait! Not that!"

William's eyebrow twitched as he felt something slap him across the face. The sensation of something soft and wet remained there. He opened his eye just a tad... and was met with complete darkness. He reached up to grab whatever was blindfolding him and pulled it away. It was the damp, blue skirt Fuku had been wearing, looking now more like a washcloth. He blinked a few times, then went bug-eyed-- he couldn't resist trying to get a peek. Another skirt hit him in the face when he did.

"Please wait without looking!" Fuku reiterated. The spirit had tossed its skirt off and she'd been **** to do the same, now standing skirtless in the water with a mortified expression. Her soaked panties were slightly transparent, like the top, meaning that if one was to look close enough, they'd see not only the faint, dark coloration of her neatly trimmed pubic hair, but also, the contours of her ass and her pussy's lips, as the thin fabric clung tightly to her body. She continued to splash around the hot springs, dancing and clapping, as she tried to mimic the movements of her doppelganger. It was a difficult sequence to follow.

This prancing, red-faced, mostly naked woman was now basically unrecognizable as the master onmyo mage she normally was.

"Miss Fuku, I believe I should be in the clear to attack the biwa players now. If it's alright with you, I'd like to remove this from my face so I can see-"

"Hold on just a moment!" Fuku pleaded. "The dance is sure to be over momentarily! Once it is, you can look, but until then, I'd... I-I'd really rather you didn't! For the sake of our continued relationship as teacher and student, you understand?"

It took all of William's discipline not to pull the makeshift blindfold off. There were so many excuses he could use. It'd be for the sake of the ritual. It would allow him to attack. For that matter, the thing was sopping wet-- it didn't exactly feel great, leaving it matted onto his face. Furthermore... what warm-blooded human being could resist an opportunity like this? He felt like he was undergoing the training of some ascetic monk, being denied what he considered basic human impulses.

The surviving biwa players, grinning at the spectacle in front of them, now turned to one another and nodded in confirmation. They weren't out of surprises yet.

Roll 7!

Outfit durability: 12/28 (wet sailor suit top cut open to reveal wet white cotton bra, wet panties)