Last night, Kazusa had been in her room when he arrived, but today, she was in the bath—she had only just gone in, and there was no telling when she would be done.
"Why not sneak a peek? She's still developing, but Kazusa's figure is already perfect enough to be called stunning. I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
Youko seemed to have had a little too much wine. Her cheeks were flushed, and as she leaned in to whisper, the strong scent of alcohol was unmistakable.
Her words were like the tempting whispers of the devil, laced with seduction.
Fortunately, Chisato had already relieved most of a high school boy's uncontrollable urges on Utaha the night before, so he remained remarkably composed.
"No need, I'll just wait here for her."
"Ahh, how boring. But think about it—what if Kazusa deliberately chose to take a bath at this time, hoping you'd barge in?"
"That possibility has no basis, and besides, I don't think she would want me to do something like that when she hasn't even fully forgiven me yet."
"Whatever, you're no fun at all."
Holding a wine glass in one hand and the bottle in the other, a slightly disgruntled Youko wobbled as she stood up from the couch, unsteadily making her way upstairs.
Chisato watched her go and couldn't help but sigh, rubbing his forehead.
You've only just recovered from your illness a few days ago, future mother-in-law.
"Youko-san, for the sake of your health, you really should drink less."
"Yeah, yeah, got it. You sound just like Kazusa. You two aren't even married yet, but you're already acting like a married couple—aren't you jumping the gun a little?"
She waved her hand dismissively, clearly not taking his words to heart, and disappeared from the living room.
Normally, Youko-san wouldn't be in such high spirits. Something good must have happened today.
Chisato didn't dwell on it too much. The TV in the living room was still on, providing a way to pass the time.
Late-night variety shows in Japan were as chaotic as ever.
Watching well-groomed celebrities get mercilessly pranked, their expressions contorting in the most ridiculous ways, Chisato found himself quite amused.
Time slowly passed, but he wasn't in a hurry. About forty minutes later, Kazusa's voice called out from the bathroom.
Hearing her, Chisato turned off the TV and walked toward the bathroom.
As he got closer, he finally made out what she was saying.
"Mom, are you still in the living room? I forgot my towel. Can you grab one from the cabinet outside?"
The Touma household's bathroom had two sections: upon entering, there was a sink and a vanity for daily washing, separated by a frosted sliding door.
Behind that door was the shower and bathtub.
Hearing her request, Chisato naturally turned his gaze to the cabinet beside the sink, where the towels were stored.
The scene before him felt oddly familiar. Before Kazusa had gotten mad at him, the two of them had shared a rather intimate moment in this very spot.
He reminisced for a moment, then silently grabbed a towel and knocked on the bathroom door.
When the door slid open just enough, he reached in to hand over the towel.
But what happened next sent a rush of blood straight to his head, forcing him to instinctively cover his nose.
Not realizing that Chisato was the one outside, Kazusa—assuming it was her mother—thought nothing of it and yanked the door open completely.
And just like that, she stood before him in all her unguarded glory.
The bright bathroom lights illuminated her sharp, confident features and her smooth, porcelain shoulders.
The towel slipped from Chisato's grasp and fell to the floor as a faint mist from the bath curled around them.
Their gazes locked.
Kazusa's expression shifted rapidly—first from cold indifference to stunned blankness, then from blankness to bashful embarrassment, and finally from embarrassment to sheer outrage.
All of this took place in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, Kazusa's arms flew up to cover her completely exposed chest.
She stared at Chisato, who was frozen in place, clearly about to say something, but before he could utter a word—
WHAM!
Overcome with shame and fury, Kazusa lashed out with a powerful side kick.
Great.
Up until now, Chisato had only been focused on the upper half of her body, but thanks to her sudden attack, he unwillingly caught a glimpse of… other details.
Her bare, porcelain-smooth feet still glistening with droplets of water, the perfectly sculpted lines of her legs stretching upward—there wasn't much to see, but there wasn't supposed to be much to see…
Well then. An unexpected bonus.
BANG!
Kazusa had forgotten that the bathroom was a cramped space.
Her long, beautifully shaped leg had no room to move freely, and the kick was stopped in its tracks by the edge of the sliding door.
Metal clashed against flesh, and naturally, the metal won.
Her ankle throbbed in pain, and to make matters worse, she had just been completely exposed in front of this shameless idiot.
The pain and humiliation combined were too much. Kazusa's lips quivered, and tears welled up in her eyes before spilling over.
Chisato had heard the dull impact, and when he saw her pitiful expression, his heart clenched with guilt.
After quickly saving and backing up the vivid memory of what he had just seen—because, of course, that was essential—he rushed forward, arms outstretched, wanting to support her.
"Don't come near me!"
Kazusa, flustered and furious, shoved him away with one hand.
The push itself wasn't a problem for Chisato, but she had forgotten something crucial—her left ankle was still in pain, and she had no proper footing.
With only her right foot supporting her weight, the force from her push made her stumble.
Scientifically speaking, she had no chance of regaining balance.
After a couple of frantic hops, her footing finally gave way on the slippery tiles, and she toppled backward.
Instinctively, Chisato lunged forward, grabbing her arm, but in his own panic, he also lost his balance.
At this point, there was no way to correct things. The only thing he could do was cushion her head with his hand to prevent injury.
SPLASH!
Predictably, both of them plunged into the bathtub.
The moment he hit the water, Chisato felt two soft, buoyant shapes pressing against his face, cutting off his vision.
Meanwhile, oblivious to the chaos unfolding in the bathroom, Youko hummed a piano tune as she made her way downstairs.
Finding some of her favorite snacks in the fridge, she turned toward the source of the noise she had just heard.
Curious, she wandered over to the bathroom and peeked inside, chewing on an edamame pod.
Inside the bathtub, her daughter was completely naked, pinned beneath Chisato, her legs raised over the edge, her delicate toes curling—whether from excitement or sheer terror was unclear.
"Oooh~"
Youko swallowed her snack and cradled her flushed cheeks, giggling in a way she never would when sober.
"So, you two finally made up. That's wonderful! But Chisato, no matter how excited you are, you really shouldn't celebrate by hugging Kazusa in the bath. You'll catch a cold."
What kind of insane logic is that?!
Who would celebrate their reconciliation like this?!
"It's not what you think, Youko-san!"
Chisato jerked his head up, flustered and desperate to explain.
"Kazusa, listen—"
"Don't look at me, you pervert!"
Kazusa had reached critical levels of embarrassment. Her bright eyes were swirling in a frenzy, all traces of rationality gone.
Before Chisato could say another word, she shoved his head back underwater, pressing it down firmly.
And once again, his vision was filled with softness.
Well… whatever.
I can't breathe, but honestly… This isn't so bad.
As he felt the warmth and pressure surrounding him, Chisato found himself surrendering to the moment.
_______
50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
_______
If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!