"Excuse me."
Hachikuma entered the bath, her breathing heavy with anticipation. Though she had seemed impatient at first, she took her time rinsing off before finally lowering herself into the water.
"Fuuuuu..."
She submerged herself deeply, closed her eyes, and let out a long, slow breath, as if trying to calm her excitement.
Even though she wasn't sitting on the edge, her sheer height made it clear that her chest was still relatively high above the water. The buoyancy of the water caused her well-proportioned curves to float slightly, and even the tips, which were beginning to harden, subtly asserted themselves through the lightly clouded water.
But more importantly...
"Aren't you sitting a little far away?"
I raised my voice slightly to make sure she could hear me.
Hachikuma had taken a spot near the entrance, quite far from me, with her eyes closed as she focused on her deep breathing.
Hmm... What's going on here?
Is she embarrassed?
Does she actually dislike this?
Is she not interested?
Which one is it?
"This is already... quite close for me."
She exhaled deeply as she responded. Apparently, she considered this distance to be "close." How innocent.
I couldn't help but smile wryly at her awkwardness.
She was clearly trying to suppress her excitement by keeping her distance and taking deep breaths. Instead of calling her over, it seemed more fun to close the gap myself.
She had seemed willing enough earlier—after all, we had plans tonight. Since she wasn't actively rejecting me, I decided to disregard the possibility that she didn't want this.
So, I made my move, quietly closing the distance.
Splash...
Despite my efforts to be subtle, the water rippled. Sensing the movement, Hachikuma's expression changed—uncertainty, anticipation, fear?
Her face reflected a mixture of emotions.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"
I asked once I was close enough.
"N-no, that's not it..."
Her response was hesitant.
"In that case, if you really don't want this, you can push me away."
With that, I gently leaned against her shoulder.
"Hyau!?"
The sound she made was unexpectedly cute, completely at odds with her imposing appearance.
She flinched at first, but after a brief moment of surprise, she didn't pull away.
Even through the water, I could feel her heartbeat racing.
"Feeling a little more at ease now?"
As I spoke, I reached for her hand beneath the water, intertwining my fingers with hers.
I lifted our joined hands out of the water, comparing their sizes. As expected, Hachikuma's hands were larger.
Oh well. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"S-sorry, this is my first time, so I'm not used to this..."
She sounded genuinely apologetic. Her perspective on things was so... different.
"If anything, I'd be more uncomfortable if you were used to this."
"Huh?"
She blinked in surprise and finally turned to face me.
Now's my chance.
Chu...
I gave her a quick kiss.
"If I smell like alcohol, sorry about that."
I added after the fact, feeling a little guilty.
"N-no! Not at all! Thank you!"
Her response was so enthusiastic it almost sounded like a spell.
Well, at least she didn't mind.
"So? Feeling better now?"
The bath was getting a bit too hot, so I shifted to a cooler spot while checking on her.
"Y-yes, much better..."
Hachikuma was flushed red, probably from both the heat and embarrassment.
And yet, she still wouldn't let go of my hand.
"Alright, shall we get out?"
"Yes."
With a great splash, Hachikuma stood up, her skin glowing a warm pink.
Her body was beautifully toned—lean muscle subtly visible beneath flawless skin. Some of it was natural, but her discipline and effort were apparent. Maintaining a physique like hers must take considerable work.
I trained a bit myself, but not nearly to her level. I had already overdone it once before and ended up with muscle pain after sparring with Misago, so maybe I should get Hachikuma to help me train later.
"So... what now? Cuddle up and sleep? Or...?"
Even without any further stimulation, just the sight of her was enough to stir me.
"U-um... I still don't want to push you too hard, so... let's just cuddle."
Her restraint was impressive.
Maybe I'd left her too much of an escape route?
Well, whatever.
After getting out of the bath, we rehydrated with some sports drinks to replenish electrolytes before crawling into bed together.
Wait a minute... Was that an oral rehydration solution she drank earlier?
That's oddly specific...
She must have picked it up from an emergency stash in the vending machine. Weirdly impressive.
In the end, though, we both spent so much time flustered in the bath that we ended up overheating and passing out almost immediately.