"Then, I guess it's my turn next..." Natsukawa Kanade spoke up, glancing at the slightly awkward Hikigaya Hachiman.
Kanade had a good read on people, and Hikigaya's hesitance in this kind of atmosphere was as clear as day. Kanade figured it was best to step in and give the poor guy a little more time to adjust.
"Actually, I—"
Before Kanade could get another word in, there were two quick knocks on the door. A young male teacher peeked his head inside, looking slightly rushed.
"The hot spring pool will close in 30 minutes. Same goes for the bathhouse," he informed them in a clipped tone. "If you haven't showered yet, you better hurry."
With that, the teacher disappeared, heading off to the next room, leaving the group in awkward silence.
"…Huh, the teachers are pretty considerate," one of them commented after a moment.
"No, no. You're overthinking it," Hikigaya waved dismissively, his tone tinged with skepticism. "This is just crisis management. They warned about this during the morning rally, remember? It's probably because of what happened last year."
"Last year?"
"Yeah, some idiot missed his bathing slot, tried to sneak into the bathhouse afterward, and ended up getting caught by hotel staff. Apparently, they thought he was a thief."
"Pfft, really? That's so dumb."
"Idiots like that are one in a million," Hikigaya muttered, though his deadpan delivery didn't exactly convey much confidence. He turned back toward Kanade with a look that said, You were saying?
"Ah, right, where was I…?" Kanade scratched the back of his head sheepishly. His eyes flickered to the clock on the wall. Then, feigning a sudden realization, he clapped his hands together. "Oh no, look at the time! It's getting late. We've been chatting for hours, haven't we?"
"Wait, you're leaving already?" one of them asked, sounding genuinely disappointed.
"Yeah, sorry about this, but I've got something I need to take care of," Kanade said with an apologetic smile. "We can pick this up next time, though!"
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced by the excuse. But instead of calling Kanade out, he merely curled his lip and shrugged.
"Alright, just don't miss curfew," Hikigaya said, his tone flat but his gaze sharp.
"Hehe, don't worry about me," Kanade replied, waving nonchalantly as he slipped out of the room.
Once outside, Kanade sighed softly. He hadn't exactly been lying, but his real reason for leaving wasn't something he felt like explaining. He was running late for his bath because he'd spent the afternoon hanging out with Kaguya, completely missing the scheduled time.
Now, he was left scrambling to figure out where the bathhouse even was.
"Excuse me," Kanade said politely to the receptionist at the front desk. "Could you tell me where the bathhouse is located?"
The receptionist smiled warmly and gestured down the corridor. "Go straight down that hallway and keep to your right. You'll see it right away."
"Thank you very much."
Kanade followed her directions and soon found the bathhouse. A wooden sign outside read, "Reserved – No Entry for Outsiders." It seemed like Shuchiin Academy had booked the entire hotel.
Kanade furrowed his brow slightly. The lack of separate men's and women's bathhouses struck him as odd, but he figured the women's section must be elsewhere. Still, it wouldn't have hurt to add clearer signs.
"Whatever," Kanade muttered to himself as he stepped into the locker room.
After neatly folding his clothes and placing them in a locker, Kanade entered the bath area. The hot steam greeted him like a warm embrace, and he let out a soft sigh of relief. The setup was simple but elegant—rows of washing stations and a spacious bathing pool, its surface shimmering with the soft glow of rising steam.
Kanade grabbed a stool near the edge, quickly rinsed himself off at one of the stations, and sank into the warm water with a satisfied exhale.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed softly against the steamy bathhouse walls, drawing closer and closer. Finally, the owner of those footsteps settled down nearby. Out of the corner of his eye, Natsukawa Kanade could see the person stretching out a delicate, slender hand, struggling to squeeze out some conditioner.
"What beautiful hands," Kanade mused absentmindedly. "But for a guy, they're almost too refined. They look like they'd break if you squeezed them too hard..."
Of course, it wasn't really any of his business. He had no right to comment. The most he could do was kindly point out the obvious when he noticed the other person struggling.
"That one might be empty. If you don't mind, you can use mine—"
"Thank you…"
"..."
"..."
The silence that followed was unbearable.
To put it simply, a teenage boy and girl had unknowingly encountered each other in the same bath.
And to make matters worse, there was absolutely no prior intimacy between them.
"I think I need an explanation," the girl spoke through clenched teeth, her voice sharp and dangerous. "Are you some kind of pervert who deliberately sneaked into the women's bath because you saw that I was inside?" Her expression twisted into one of sheer indignation as she instinctively turned slightly, arms crossed over her chest. The sheer weight of her glare felt like it could crush him.
"Calm down! Yukinoshita, this is a misunderstanding!" Kanade waved his hands frantically, nearly slipping on the wet floor.
"Oh? So this is your official criminal declaration?" Yukinoshita Yukino narrowed her piercing gaze at him.
"Of course not! Why the hell would I do something like that?!" Kanade practically yelped. "Someone showed me the way—Wait, no, no, think about it! There weren't any gender markers outside the bathhouse!"
"..."
Yukinoshita paused. She furrowed her brows slightly, contemplating his words before finally exhaling in visible frustration.
"Turn around," she ordered.
"Huh?"
"How long do you intend to stand there staring at me?" she hissed.
"Oh! Oh, right! My bad!" Kanade spun around so fast that he nearly lost his balance again. He obediently averted his gaze.
There was a brief rustling sound behind him, and then something warm and soft was suddenly thrown over his head.
"Put that on."
Yukinoshita's voice carried its usual chill, but there was something else in it this time—a blade-thin layer of irritation and restraint, like the coldest edge of winter.
Kanade, knowing full well that she was pissed, quickly wrapped himself in the bathrobe she had tossed him. He made sure to lower his head, assuming the most harmless posture he could muster, like a scolded puppy.
Thank god it was Yukinoshita he had run into. If it had been some other girl, he probably would've been drop-kicked through the door by now. But even so, his suffering wasn't over. The real problem lay in the aftermath...
Social death was definitely on the horizon.
"Did you see?"
"Ah?" Kanade blinked in confusion, then realized what she was asking and immediately started waving his hands again. "No, no, I didn't see anything at all! Seriously! It was so foggy I could barely see in front of me. I didn't even realize there was someone next to me until you spoke!"
He regretted his words the second they left his mouth.
Yukinoshita's expression darkened further, her gaze sharpening into something downright lethal. For a brief moment, Kanade could've sworn he saw dark energy leaking from her body, like a vengeful spirit preparing to exorcise him from existence.
He wisely chose to shut up.
After what felt like an eternity of silence, she finally spoke again, her voice returning to its usual icy calm.
"Why are you here? Did the teacher send you?"
"Teacher?" Kanade echoed, before realizing—oh crap, that's right. He had been sent here for a reason. He had nearly forgotten. "Well, yeah, I guess that's not exactly wrong..."
"So it really was the teacher..." Yukinoshita murmured, looking slightly less aggravated than before.
"Well, no matter why you're here, it doesn't change the fact that you have no business in the women's bath. Get out."
"Uh, but I haven't even—"
Yukinoshita didn't even need to say anything this time. She simply stared at him, a silent demand in her gaze.
Kanade felt his soul leave his body.
"Okay, okay! I'm leaving!" He scrambled to his feet.
A wise man knows when to retreat. This wasn't running away—this was a tactical maneuver.
However, just as he was about to make his escape, more footsteps approached from outside the bathhouse door.
"!"
"..."
Yukinoshita's frown deepened. Just as she was about to whisper for him to hide, Kanade had already moved. Without hesitation, he darted behind a nearby rock formation, pressing himself flat against it.
"..."
She sighed. Well, that worked too.
There was no reason for her to be concerned about this idiot's survival, anyway. If he got caught, it was his own problem. And yet, she still found herself lingering.
"Ohh, you're already here, Yukinoshita," came a familiar voice from beyond the steam.
Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes.
"...You'd better have a good explanation for this, Hiratsuka-sensei."
"...Huh?"
*************
Attached is Yukinoshita Yukino and Shizuka Hiratsuka. See you next week, after uploading the other anime fanfic's chapters. Shoutout to Ethan for renewing his subscription. Have a nice weekend!!!