Chapter 8: If we're best friends, isn't it okay to go in together? Eh? No?

The spacious public bath held a single lonely figure. His name was Aijou Rentarou. A man of exceptionally rare sincerity, who currently had seven girlfriends! All officially recognized, with the girls being far more lustful than he ever was!

"Hakari and Hahari might... try to peek or suddenly barge in, so I'd better keep this towel around my waist..."

Indeed, he'd mostly figured out their schemes! Rentarou was the purest of pure boyfriends. "I'll become the King of Purity" - that was his creed. He never gave his girlfriends openings to exploit, and any slips were purely accidental. Never allowing them to take advantage - that was Aijou Rentarou.

If. If there existed a girlfriend who could see through Rentarou's habits and outmaneuver him, she'd need years of shared history and the ability to conceal her intentions until the last moment. Only someone who'd bathed with him countless times without impure thoughts could achieve this. Given Rentarou's sincere nature, his newer girlfriends stood no chance. The bath remained his impregnable fortress.

______Yet there existed one exception.

"Heyyy Rentarouuu!"

"That voice... Kawaru? What's wrong? Did something happen to the others...?!"

"Nah, nothing like that! Just came to tell ya! Everyone except Shizuka and me are coming to peek... that's all."

Seriously. Sure you're guarded, but a single waist towel, Rentarou? Against our sex-crazed girls? That's flimsier than tissue paper.

"Everyone...?! Not just Hakari and Hahari...?!"

"Yep! Damn surprising, right? Even Karane the restraint queen joined in! Scooch over, will ya?"

The automatic door slid open. Handy. Carefully navigating the slippery floor, I took the washing station seat right next to Rentarou.

"Everyone's... WAIT WHAAAAAT?!"

"Hm? What's up, Rentarou?"

"W-what are you doing in here, Kawaru?! You're a girl now, we can't bathe together and... FRONT FRONT FRONT! I CAN SEE YOUR FRONT!"

Indeed. Currently wearing just waistcloth like towel-clad Rentarou here. Yep. Naturally my front... meaning my chest's completely exposed. Honestly feels no different to me! Maybe slightly more sensitive, that's all.

"Whoa there, calm down—"

"How can I calm down?! G-get out! And I'll have to undergo public humiliation for seeing a girlfriend naked...!"

"Then I definitely can't leave now... Oof... oww...!"

Ignoring Rentarou's panic, I slowly pour bucket water over myself. Gah...! Stings my wounds! But gotta acclimate before the hot bath.

"Your wounds hurt?! But I can't look at a naked girlfriend...!"

Rentarou's squeezing his eyes shut, determined not to look. Convenient for my purposes.

"N-not that bad... ow... d-doesn't... hurt...!"

Lie. Hurts like hell. My hair's manageable since I cleaned it simply earlier, no wounds there. But my body? Tough. Barely managed washing my front, but reaching my back seems impossible from the pain.

"I want you to leave... but if I can help, I will...!"

You said it. Got your word now, Rentarou.

"...Hey, Rentarou?"

"GYAH?! What're you—?!"

I rise from my seat, circling behind the eyes-closed, hands-over-face Rentarou... and whisper in his ear. Quick quick. Get him to wash me, soak together, act stupid. Achieve my goal while... protecting Rentarou's nakedness from the girls. Shizuka can't stop them. So Rentarou's modesty... I'll—

I must be the guardian.

"Listen. Yes, I'm female now... but looks-wise? Nearly unchanged from before. Just missing our son. And you remember, right? Mine were always way smaller than yours. So small I didn't even notice after becoming female... tragic, really...!"

Little by little. Using hypnosis techniques I researched earlier. Whispering to guide his thoughts. Blurring boundaries by connecting past-me to present-me.

"O...oh...?"

Plus, we're fully utilizing that telepathy unique to best friends like us—the "somehow just knowing what the other's thinking" thing—to kinda... hammer my thoughts into him in just the right way. Never tried this before, so it's all improv. Hell, if I wanted to, even Koitaro could probably do this to me, right?

"...Well, whatever. Anyway, the only things that changed after I became a girl are: I smell slightly sweeter now, lost some muscle and got softer, and well... my 'son' disappeared. So appearance-wise, the only difference is the missing equipment. You follow so far?"

"Y-yeah... kinda..."

"Alright then."

"If I—who looks exactly the same as before—just hide the one part that changed (this time it's the 'son'), what happens? Doesn't that mean my appearance is completely unchanged from the old days?... In other words. The naked me you're about to see... is it the 'girlfriend' me or the 'best friend' me?... Just looking won't show any difference at all... right?"

"That's... true...?"

Nice. Koitaro's eyes are spinning. Hypnosis successful, YES! If I didn't do this, there's no way I could wash myself today. Plus, we need to get him in the bath ASAP. Didn't plan to go this far initially, but... no choice. My body's heavier and more sluggish from the pain than I expected.

"Attaboy Rentarou...! That's it! Phew... huge help. Now just need to soak in the tub!"

"...Yeah......"

Ahhh, so satisfying. Pulled it off! When he touches me, the pain vanishes like magic! Would've preferred sober Rentarou for this but... no way. In his right mind, he'd just talk me out of it. This hypnosis only worked because all the conditions lined up perfectly...

"Ugh... head... hurts..."

This feeling... is it wearing off already? I'd call it a success since we made it into the tub together, was hoping to mess around more but... too fast? Wait—could it be because even through the washcloth, touching my body gave him subconscious discomfort?

"Huh... Kawaru? What was I... WHAAA⁉︎"

"Finally awake, Mr. Rentarou...?"

Ohhh he's up. That hypnosis lasts half a day on normal people, though it only works on Rentarou... but less than 3 minutes? I expected 10. Seems he remembers washing me too—face completely red. Equal parts embarrassed and pissed.

"...! This is too far, Kawaru! You...!"

"Really sorry...! But hey, look outside."

"Outside... WHA—⁉︎⁉︎"

Yep. Finally, one of the "family" has arrived. Through the foggy window, all we see is an upside-down creepy face. Pitch-black eyes, hair, lips. From here, it looks straight supernatural. And we're on the second floor! I shield the panicking Rentarou, pushing his shoulders underwater.

"K-Kawaru...⁉︎ That was..."

"Definitely one of the girls. Pretty sure Habari's got ropes... maybe dangling from above?"

"Oh... thanks for protecting—WAIT NO! We're in the middle of something unacceptable right now!"

C'mon, it's fine. Really. I mean... I'm also... I'm...

"You okay Kawaru?! Hurting so bad you're crying⁉︎ We need to get out—!"

"Wrong... that's not it... Rentarou...!"

Despite his honesty and purity making him vow never to see her naked, in moments like this he worries more about me than propriety... I love that. Wait—no. That's not it. I'm scared. Finally realized why I went this far to bathe together.

"Hey... do I still... have a best friend?"

"...Kawaru."

"Think about it. Ever since I became a girl and confessed to you. After joining the family where everyone's equal... of course we'd spend less time together. That part doesn't bother me much. But I definitely feel the distance growing. Not just physically—emotionally too."

"..."

"Especially after you started treating me as a girlfriend. Sure, compared to the others, we're still closer as best friends. But honestly? We were closer before. Not saying we need to do everything exactly like old times. Though that'd be nice."

"Remember when we'd casually sleep over? Casually bathe together? Caselessly game for hours? I'm scared of how much I miss those days."

"Playing games together today... it felt like forever since we last did that, which scared me more. It hasn't even been that long."

"Guess what I'm saying is—I still want what we had before too. Doesn't mean I dislike being treasured as your girlfriend. But now... it feels distant. Like there's a line drawn that wasn't there when we were just two dumb guy friends."

"..."

"Rentarou. I'm... really lonely right now. Not the girlfriend me—the best friend me is lonely. So lonely it's terrifying. I don't even know if I'm still your best friend anymore."

"Pathetic, right? Always needing you to protect me. I kept thinking—what can I even do as your best friend now? Then it hit me. Maybe what you need is someone who can still be an idiot with you."

"...When you convinced me earlier, calling our past a 'best friend' relationship made me happy. But... also anxious. Am I even properly reciprocating what you're giving me?"

"About the kiss—my bad. Got way too carried away... but honestly? It was fun. Breathless, but happy. Felt like old times messing around as buddies."

"..."

"Running out of things to say..."

"..."

"...Hey Rentarou."

"..."

What's with that intense stare? That dead-serious face? Say something. Please.

...Ah. Got it. That kind of answer, huh? Yeah. Roger that. Even without our "telepathy," I understood.

"...I went way too far. Sorry Rentarou! I... ignored your principles and everything just to get my way... did something this awful...! Really... truly sorry...!"

"...Kawaru is—"

"You’ve been a damn good friend to me, Kawaru. Hell, I’m the one who should apologize. I took advantage of you as a friend… and ignored that loneliness of yours."

"Rentarou…"

"Yeah, brainwashing’s messed up. But… you were trying to protect me from peepers. That part’s real. You rushed me into the bath to make it harder for them to peek, right?"

"We both screwed up by ignoring each other’s feelings. You apologized—case closed! I love all my girls more than anything in the world… and I’d never play favorites. But with you—my girlfriend and best friend—we’ll figure out a new balance! So quit cryin’, alright…?"

"Tch… sorry for bawlin’. Guess my tear ducts got weaker since turnin’ into a girl…"

"You’ve always been like this."

"Nah, nah… I wasn’t—"

BANG‼

Just as the moment reached peak warmth, an unholy noise erupted from above. Thought this’d end on a sweet note? Too bad—this is a gag-love-comedy novel! And for you readers expecting more drama… SNAKE APPROVED! (●´艸｀)

THUDTHUDTHUD! CREAK‼ BANGBANGBANG‼ CLATTERCLATTER‼

BANG BANG! CREAK!! BAM BAM BAM! STOMP STOMP!!

""KYAAAAAAAAAH!!!""

"AAAAH!! PLEASE HAVE MERCY!! HAVE MEEERCY!!"

"ABABABABABA!! G-g-g-ghosts ain't sc-scary at all you bastards c'mon fight me I ain't freakin' out I can see your soul right now you don't scare me one bit you motherf—RRRRRRR!!!"

A rapid series of enormous knocking sounds came from the ceiling area. Ghosts, you say?! Don't be ridiculous. M-must be everyone trying to peek again like before and messing with something...

RUMBLE RUMBLE... SPLASH!!

"NYAAAAAAAH!!?"

"GYAAAAAAAH!?"

Something tumbled down with a deafening crash, sending Rentarou and Kawaru scrambling into each other’s arms. Then they saw it—something sinking into the bathwater. A gurgling, dripping thing rose slowly… long black hair plastered to its face, swaying as it stood. A scene straight out of a horror story.

"OOOAAAAAH!!"

"WAAAAAAH!"

...Wait? I recognize this. Isn't this... Shizuku?

"Shi... Shizuku-chan?!"

"How did you end up here of all—oh no"

Too late. Rentarou's son stands fully exposed before Shizuku as he rises from the bath. Damn it... I couldn't stop it in time! Seems the disguise came undone when Rentarou and I hugged earlier. Mine too, for that matter.

SPURT!

Oh no. Shizuku's nose is bleeding as she collapses. I quickly grab Rentarou's fallen towel to hand it to him but—

"Shizuku-chan! Hey, Kawaru! The towel's over—WHOA!!"

Disaster. Rentarou just saw me completely naked. No—I showed myself to him. Now our Schrödinger's Son tactic will never work again! Not that I ever wanted to do this crap to begin with. But still, goddammit.

Well, honestly, we'll just have to figure it out later. As Rentarou tries to leave the bath to get Shizuku an ice pillow... everyone else shows up. Shouldn't be saying this myself but they finally came in person, huh?!

"Everyone... why are you here...?"

Rentarou asks halfheartedly. He probably already knows, but figures he should at least hear their excuses before...

"W-we were playing hide-and-seek..."

"I-it's not like I was trying to peek at your bath or anything, idiot!!"

"......!!!!"

Welp. That tsundere act backfired spectacularly. The girls behind her are all facepalming with "We're so screwed..." expressions. Looks like a harsh scolding awaits later.

Me? Apparently Rentarou says I've got a punishment game coming next time? Eh, I'll manage!

...Or so I thought—my confident attitude would soon become the biggest joke of all.

Extra Scene(Feel like we got too serious earlier, so here’s the girls’ POV—unfiltered and unhinged!)

"Mmm~? The steam’s too thick… I can’t see a thing~!"

"Indeed… We must find another method…!"

"Fret not! For Kusuri hath prepared ‘Magic Mirror Glass Spray’ and ‘One-Sided Anti-Fog Solution’ for this very occasion!"

"That’s convenient to the point of parody! And if the inside’s still fogged, what’s the point?!"

"Eh…? Overcomplicating things is annoying, nyah…"

"Developing those drugs was way more complicated!"

"Proceeding swiftly is efficient. The readers agree."

"Then let’s go, nyah—!!"

"Hold on, Rentarou-chaaan~!"

"I-I wasn’t waiting to see you naked, idiot!!"

"Who exactly are you justifying yourself to, Karane-san?"

Thanks to these two absurdly convenient inventions, Rentarou’s bare form should’ve been laid bare before them—

…But exceptions exist. (Today’s second time.)

Through the now-clear glass, the lust-clouded eyes of these "pure-hearted" girls were met not with flesh tones… but green.

"W-What…?!"

"Impossible, nyah…!"

"No way…?!"

"This can’t be…!"

"Total system failure…!"

Blocking their view of Rentarou stood a figure with short, messy green hair—paired with the black strands visible behind her. The conclusion was obvious.

"KAWARU, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Sh-She’s bathing with Rentarou, nyah?!"

"Skipping peeking to join him is… hyper-efficient…! I’ve been outplayed…!"

"Nano-san?! This is way past ‘efficiency’?!"

"Sh-She just stood up and looked this way?!"

"Troubling… Rentarou-kun may have noticed us."

"As long as uncertainty remains, continuing is optimal."

"WAIT, EVERYONE! Kawaru-san’s… only covering her lower half?!"

"SINCE WHEN IS SHE TOPLESS WITH RENTAROU?! Oh right, former dude—DAMMIT?!"

"Ababa Kawaru-chan’s naked abababa‼ ❤❤"

"Now this side’s gone insane, nyah?!"

"Mother, STAY! STAY!"