The Onsen

The Onsen
Bate / Meta

The long celebration to close the end of the year is finally coming to an end in Kalmari Town. The plaza that was once bustling with children and partygoers alike is slowly starting to dwindle as the night ticked on.

Bate, who has been busy the entire month with endless celebrations, and nonstop errands for Squidmas & the New Year festival, is barely keeping up with his two students who don’t seem to feel the weight of the holiday season. The pair are walking a bit further in front of him- with candy and toys in each hand. Both are happily chatting and telling his teacher to keep up while they run to whatever remaining booths are open.

“Ooh, teacher!!!” Meta calls out as he runs to the elder, and holds out his bag of toys for him to take. “ I still have some tickets left! Can you hold my toys while I play this game real quick?!!”

Bate doesn’t say a word takes the bag from his hand. He watches as the two kids race to the booth before letting out a tired sigh. He looks around the plaza, and spots a small bench not too far from them. Slowly but surely, he makes his way to it and he proceeds to gently set aside his cane, all the toys, souvenirs, and food his students got from the celebration.

Over the last few hours , Bate sees himself as more of a lackey as time went on today- just following his students the entire evening, and holding all of their spoils from the festival. He doesn’t mind it, though- he knows spending moments like these with his boys won’t last forever. Still, even Bate knows he’s no spring chicken. Keeping up with two boisterous kids for an entire day has certainly pushed Bate over his usual limit.

“My, you’re looking quite tired there, Sir Bate.”

Bate is pulled away from his thoughts, and sits up slightly when he was addressed. Standing in front of him is a younger looking squid with a stack of papers in her hand. Her fins were beautifully decorated with seasonal winter flowers, and her mantle and feet have several distinct patterns and markings to them. He quickly recognizes her as the newest owner of the local onsen- a location not too far from here that specializes in it. If he recalls, Iri is her name- her family passed down the family business to her not too long ago, and she spent the last several months renovating and updating everything before finally opening it again this month. She been actively trying to get new customers to visit- memorizing names, and trying to learn about all the citizen of Kalmari Town.

Apparently, he was her new target.

“How are the kids-“ She pauses for a moment to think. “Your students, correct? Meta…and…..”and…”

“Arthur.” Bate replies.

“Ah, yes! That’s the one.” She gives a small chuckle. “Quite a handful aren’t they?”

“They…can be at times..” He says.

“I knew you’d say that, and I know just the solution for it!!” She snaps her finger and hands him a paper from her stack. “Come visit my newly renovated onsen!!”

Bate wordlessly takes the flyer as she rambles on.

“If you visit by the end of the week, you’ll receive a generous discount for the rest of the month.” She circles the warrior several times as if to observe him. “Protecting Kalmari Town and raising two kids to booth must take a toll on you.”

Bate couldn’t get a word in as she just continues.

“Just imagine how relaxing it’ll be to take a refreshing dip to help rejuvenate you.” She goes on as if pitching an infomercial. “We have all sorts of amenities as well- private onsens, specialty mineral soaks, and beneficial drinks & snacks!

“It…certainly sounds nice, but-“

“And don’t even get me started on the health benefits.” She playfully taps his cane. “A battle scarred warrior like yourself /needs/ a break once in a while, wouldn’t you agree? Why, a dip in one of my onsens can offer things like improved circulation, muscle relaxation, and a huge relief from all that stress you’ve been carrying. Doesn’t that sound amazing???”

“I, ah…well…I don’t think-"

“Trust me, Sir Bate. You won’t ever need to visit Mends again once you’re done with me.”

“How did you-“

“I’ve been around. Hey! I had no idea now many injuries you’ve sustained over the years protecting this town. You’ve been through the wringer, haven’t you?”

“Are…you going through my medical records?”

“So on top of that, I’ll apply a hero's discount too!!” She blatantly ignores his questions.

“Iri…”

“It settled, then. Great!!!” She beams. “I’ll schedule you in for tomorrow!”

“But-“

“One private onsen coming up! And several more in the upcoming weeks this month!! What time works best for you??”

“I didn’t even-“

“Tomorrow evening, got it.”

“Can I just-“

“Thank you so much for supporting my business, Sir Bate! You’re the greatest!!!!”

She runs off in the opposite direction, passing by Meta and Arthur who was now heading towards a very flustered Bate.

“Who was that lady yelling at you, Teacher??” Meta asks when they finally reach him.

“She seems kinda crazy…” Arthur says as he and Meta watch her heckle another not too far from them.

“Arthur….” He tiredly sighs, and looks up to see what they’re seeing. “On second thought…probably.”

———-------------------

“Heya, Bate! Heading back, too? Oh- let me help you with those.”

Gordon says as he helps Bate with all of Arthur and Meta’s belongings. Nonsurat and Alba aren’t far behind, and joins the group as well.

“How’d you kids like it? I see you two won quite a lot of prizes~” Alba giggles when Gordon had to resort to using all of his specter hands to hold them.

“It was great!!!” Meta shouted in excitement. “I won the very last game, and beat Arthur!!”

“Only because I was distracted!!” Arthur huffs. “That crazy lady kept bugging teacher.”

“C-Crazy lady?” Gordon and Alba speak in unison as they glance back at Bate.

“I..ah…” Bate mumbles. “Have an appointment tomorrow. At the onsen…”

“But you hate onsens.” Gordon says.

“Tell that to the new owner.” Bate replies. “I couldn’t get a word in, she placed everything before I could refuse.”

“Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing her passing out flyers.” Gordon recalls. “She likely saw you as an easy customer when she spotted you juggling all those bags.”

“The frail posture, evident limping, bad back, and walking cane certainly doesn’t help…” Alba adds.

“Gee, thanks Alba.” Bate gruffs. “Just what are you implying?”

“All I’m saying is an evening at the onsen may do you some good. I go there all the time, and you should definitely give it a chance. Besides, it’ll help you relax- I didn’t want to be the one to say it, but you always get so stressed during the holidays.”

“I am perfectly relaxed.”

“Teacher, I’m tired!!! Can you carry me???” Meta asks, through he doesn’t wait for Bate to respond and starts crawling on his wings to get to him. Arthur does the same as well, and both start bickering, kicking, crying and arguing who gets to be held.

“Okay, fine, maybe one visit won’t hurt.” He says.

———-

“Right in time! Good evening, Sir Bate! We’re happy to have you, your personal onsen is ready.”

Iri bows and leads Bate inside. “We have plenty of fine dining option when you’re done, as well as several drink bars. Oh! And over to the right is where you can place all your belongings. When you’re ready, would you like any assistance?”

“T-thank you. I..I think I’ll manage.” Bate weakly smiles.

"Oh course. Don't hesitate to call us if you need anything. Thank you once again, Sir Bate." Iri bows one last time and head off to assist several other customers. Bate takes his time to look around the newly renovated location for several minutes before finally heading to the storage area to put his belongings away. He figures the faster he does this, the sooner he can leave.

He carefully makes his way to the showers to quickly clean himself off before heading to his designated onsen. The area is moderately busy- many young adult and elders are chatting amongst themselves as they relax in the warm springs. Several call out to him to say hi, and Bate returns it with a small wave and a smile.

When he finally reaches his private onsen, Bate is quite surprised. The onsen is a relatively large rock pool- towels are left on a bench, and several bottle waters as well. Large wooden fences are blocking the other pools, which is a boon for Bate since he prefers privacy above all else.

Setting his cane down, Bate makes his way to the center of the pool and takes his time sitting down as not to slip. The warm water hits Bate like a freight train when he’s fully emerged, and the elder couldn’t help but let out a content sigh. From his wings to his back to his legs- he feels incredibly at ease.

He tunes out the world and noises surrounding him as he allows his aching, old body to finally relax. Nova, maybe he really did need this. He gives a smile, and basks in the warmth of the hot springs for several good minutes-

“Cannonball!!!!” A voice shouts loud as water splashes everywhere.

Sweet Nova…..

Bate immediately opens his eyes and sees Meta floating across from him. A huge smile is on his face, and the child happily waves at the elder.

“Hi, teacher!!!”

Bate just stares at the child, clearly not amused in the slightest.

“Why aren’t you with Gordon?”

“I was, but I wanted to see where you went!” Meta says. “How come none of us were invited?!! It’s like a giant pool party!” He flaps his wings that causes more splashing.

“G-Gumball, stop splashing.” Bate scolds. “The springs are for resting, not playing.”

“Resting?” Meta flips on his back and idly floats above the water “Don’t you do that already, ummm…all the time??”

“This is different, Gumball. You can’t be here.”

“Awwww, no fair. We don’t even have a bath at home. How come you can go here and I can’t??” Meta whines.

“Next time, Meta, I only paid for myself. I’ll get in trouble if-“

“I’m terribly sorry, Sir Bate, but I’ll have to charge you extra for inviting guests~” Iri’s voice calls out as she steps a bit further in. “I wanted to check to how you were doing, but I didn’t expect to see little Meta here as well! Don’t worry, I’ll provide a discount since he’s just a kid.” She smiles and heads off to calculate his new bill.

“So does that mean I can stay now?!!!” Meta gasps in excitement. “Hurray!!!”

Meta flings his arms in the air as he paddles back to the rocks to jump off of them again.

"Nova..." Bate tiredly sighs from his student's shenanigans, and proceeds to sink lower into the water in defeat.

-The End-

Artist Comment:

January 3, 2026

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First illustration of 2026!!!

Bate isn't the type to go to onsens- he actually hates them. XP But after having a little run in with its owner, Bate didn't really have a choice to reject. XDDD It looks like Meta was curious where his mentor was going, and decided to join him as well!!! 8D No day off for Bate when Meta's around!!

SO!!! For 2026, I'm hoping to finish more elaborate pieces this year! Just a small few~ I've been working on an overview of some popular shops in Kalmari Town...or for the West Nova bio in general. But because I'm not a huge fan of drawing stores/shops they typically get put on hiatus. Here's a little sketch of the Kalmari Town Onsen I've been working on it since the North Nova bio. ToT I pulled it up again, and finally got the fence done...which was the reason I stopped in the first place. XDDD I'm gonna try to work hard to REALLY get West Nova bio done this year. (Or maybe just a smaller, separate page for Kalmari Town.) ^v^

Comics, of course will be worked on, but these kind of projects will take a loooot of time because they're so detailed. I hope it won't cause too much of a delay in art, but I think the wait will certainly be worth it~ <33