Chapter 28: Chapter 28 - The Mixed Bath Incident

Kuro Kurogane desired peace.

He longed for an ordinary bath.Warm water.Peaceful seclusion.That was it.

However Kyoto had plans for him!

The outdoor baths at the traditional inn are renowned among tourists.

Natural hot springs with no artificial day or night lights to hinder the clear night sky.

The steam from the bath rising into the frigid air.

And the one thing aside from the obvious Kuro will always remember, his school mentioned no less than seven times : "DO NOT USE THE WRONG DOOR!"

Kuro was adamant about this fact!He remembers it as if it was yesterday!

Therefore, what happened next couldn’t happen!.Boys’ bath was unmanageable after dinner.

Too Loud and full of obnoxious boys jumping into the hot water!

Kuro needed to make his escape.

"I’ll use the outdoor section later."

That was the plan!.

The plan was to become peaceful.A good plan untill.

The cool night air surrounded Kuro as he walked the silent wooden hallway with a towel hanging over his right arm.

The clouds of steam were not disturbed and very calmly floated near the exit to the outdoor bath.

No one talking.Perfect!

Kuro was able to begin to relax as he walked into the outdoor bath.

As soon as he stepped into the outdoor bath, his vision was completely covered in a veil of warm steam.

Finally.Serenity.Quiet.Kuro slowly sank into the water, his body so weary it sighed.

"I’m tired from this trip."

Then,The quiet was shattered.

An all too familiar voice sounded nearby.

"Kuro-kun?"

Kuro froze.His spirit left his body instantly.

Akari’s voice.Very carefully.Very slowly.Kuro turned his head through the steam.

And then he saw Akari, bright red, fully submerged in the water. Mina, grinning like a crazed demon, covering herself up

Rika, spiritually dead in the corner. Aoi, calmly staring him down .

Silence.Complete silence.Kuro’s brain seized up.

"Uh?"

Akari broke the silence first.

"EEEEEEEHHHHHHHH!?"

Water erupted everywhere.

"K-KURO-KUN!?!"

Kuro immediately stood up, panic-stricken.

"I DIDN’T MEAN TOO!!"

"Kuro-Kun, you came to the girls’ bath!"

"The signs were confusing..."

"They were color coded ."

"It was too steamy!"

"That makes this worse somehow!"

Mina was laughing so hard, she almost drowned.

"This is the best school trip story."

"Why are you enjoying this?"

Rika was hiding her face completely.

"I’m going to switch schools."

That seems reasonable.Very reasonable.

Kuro turned around at a hurried look.

"LEAVING!"

Then he lost his balance.

Fate despised him, he fell due to being off balance at a wet edge of stone.

"Kuro-kun!"

Akari quickly took hold of him.

That was a bad idea.That was a poor idea.

Both of them dove partially into the water together and made a huge splash.

Akari’s towel floated away immediately.Total silence followed.

Kuro’s eyes were giant.Akari’s face was extremely red.

At that point...

SWWWWWAAAAAACK!

"OWWWWWW! PERVERT!"

"I DIDN’T SEE YOU ANYTHING!"

"LIAR!"

"I WAS FALLING!"

"DOESN’T HELP!"

Meanwhile, Mina was now laughing hysterically.

"THIS IS CINEMA."

Rika looked one second away from passing out.

" There’s no way I’m going to survive this atmosphere"

Then somehow things got worse.

Because Aoi was standing up out of the water without moving at all.

Once again, Kuro instantly looked away.

" Aoi don’t move."

" Why not."

"BECAUSE IT’S TOO MUCH ALREADY."

Aoi tilted her head slightly and walked over.

Steam was letting off slowly by her, while Kuro was staring straight up at the stars in hopes of not dying.

"Interesting reaction!"

"I’M TRYING TO BE RESPECTFUL!"

"Your ears are bright red."

"I’M GOING TO DIE!"

Akari reached out and firmly grabbed hold of Kuro’s face.

"DON’T YOU DARE REACT TO AOI!"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CONTROL PHYSICS?"

Mina was lying against the edge of the bathtub with a satisfied grin.

"Kuro is really innocent."

"Why don’t you shut up?"

Then suddenly,Aoi leaned further than normal into Kuro’s space.

Too far into Kuro’s space.

Then Aoi whispered into Kuro’s ear very quietly;

"...Did you actually look?"

Kuro’s brain just exploded at that moment.

"AOI!"

"...Just wondering."

Akari was staring at her sister in complete disbelief.

"You’re cheating."

" It’s competitive."

"THIS IS NOT A GAME!"

Mina pointed her finger very dramatically.

"Oh boy. Ain’t that just great! Aoi is in danger mode."

Very right.

Moments later, there were footsteps outside the bath area.

Teacher danger.Everyone froze.

"Students?" The teacher spoke through the door. "Everything okay?"

Immediate panic.

Akari instinctively pushed Kuro under water.Bad plan.

Kuro came back up to the surface gasping for air.

"I’M GONNA DIE!"

"SHH!"

Mina’s hand was covering her mouth trying not to laugh again.Rika whispered in desperation.

"Please leave before we all get expelled..."

Right.Absolutely right.

The teacher eventually left after hearing nothing suspicious.There was again a moment of silence.

All four girls now looked at Kuro very seriously.

Danger.Kuro stood up immediately.

"I’m leaving."

"Correct decision," Rika quickly agreed.

Akari pointed accusatory.

"You are banned from baths forever."

"I didn’t do anything."

"You existed ."

Completely and totally unfair.

Later in the evening, Kuro crumpled onto his futon and immediately fell asleep on it, now lying face-first, throughout the night in the boys’ room.

He was emotionally broken.He felt spiritually empty.

"I was able to see someone die tonight!"

One of his classmates was confused.

"What did you mean by that?"

Kuro kept staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Today, I learned that steam is my enemy."

Meanwhile, in the girls’ room—Akari was hiding under the covers and yelling because she was so embarrassed.

Mina was laughing without stopping. Rika was hiding underneath a pillow.

Aoi was sitting quietly near the window and was running her fingers through her hair because it was wet.

She was silent.She was deep in thought.Then, a small smile crossed her face.

"Today, Kuro had the most adorable-looking face."

Akari immediately screamed louder.

"AOI STOP WITH THE SCARY THINGS!"