Shichen scooped up hot water in both hands, splashed his face, then leaned back against the edge of the wide bath and closed his eyes.
From the changing room came the buzz of lively chatter.
"Iri-nee, did you really bathe with Shichen every day before?" That was Chisato Nishikigi, her voice thick with curiosity and a bit of excitement.
"Yeah. What's wrong with that? If I'm not mistaken, you all have a special relationship with Shichen too, right? You mean you've never bathed together?" Irisviel asked back, puzzled.
By now she had a decent read on Shichen's personality—he's a flirt. With so many pretty, adorable girls around, how would he ever pass that up? Well… except for a few who are newer and less comfortable with it.
"J-just you alone?" Tohru asked nervously.
"Illya and the others too."
"Oh, good. I thought you and Shichen-dono had already…," Tohru sighed in relief.
"Already what?"
"Obviously that you'd… mmph!" Before Tohru could finish, Chisato clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Don't corrupt Tohka."
"Mm… right." Only then did Tohru remember, and she nodded. Chisato let her go.
"What are you two even talking about?" Yatogami Tohka frowned, eyeing them suspiciously.
"N-nothing, nothing—just… massages and stuff. Right, Tohru?" Chisato blurted the first excuse she could think of.
"Mm-hmm."
"Oh, so if you bathe with Shichen he'll give you a massage." Tohka didn't doubt it.
Irisviel blinked, not quite following.
"Tohka's very straightforward," Kasumigaoka Utaha explained at her side.
"Straightforward? Because she's a spirit?" Irisviel looked at Utaha, puzzled.
She'd already seen Tohka's Spirit form that afternoon—especially that Astral Dress. It was stunning. And not just pretty; the pressure it radiated felt no weaker than Saber's.
"Not that. It's because Tohka only has about two years of memories since her rebirth," Utaha said with a smile. (Shichen had already told her the story of Yatogami Tohka and Yatogami Tenka.)
"I see—gave me a scare for a second." Irisviel's gaze toward Tohka turned fond.
"So… are we bathing with Shichen or not?" A calm voice drifted over—Golden Darkness.
"Yami! Why are you—"
Everyone turned to her and realized that, at some point, she'd already stripped down to just a simple white underwear set.
"Weren't you all saying you wanted to bathe with Shichen?" Yami asked, deadpan.
"Well, yes, but you're a little too decisive, aren't you?" Chisato couldn't help commenting.
"He's seen it already anyway."
"Uh…"
"And Iri, when you bathed with Shichen, you didn't wear anything either, right?" Yami asked Irisviel.
"Y-yes…" Irisviel nodded, a bit embarrassed.
"What? But wasn't Illya there too? Was Shichen also not wearing anything?" Tohka hurried to ask.
"In that case… I can do it too!" Tohka steeled herself and started unbuttoning her school uniform.
"What? I'm going first!" Tohru jumped in, whisking off her maid outfit in one go, down to the same plain white basics.
Her figure read as more mature; Yami's, meanwhile, was just plain cute. Different body types, different styles—some things suit you or they don't.
"I'm in too!" Chisato began shedding her red uniform.
Truth be told, everyone there wanted to bathe with Shichen. But because they all wanted to, somehow they ended up holding one another back. No one had considered doing it together.
Irisviel's example shattered that unspoken restraint.
If they didn't go in with him now, they'd fall behind.
Tohru and Tohka were out of their clothes in an instant—one jiggled like pudding, the other's skin practically gleamed, brightening the room.
"Shichen-dono, thanks for waiting!" Tohru ran straight in.
"Wait for me!" Tohka grabbed a bath towel and hurried after.
"Saber, let's go too," Irisviel said to Artoria.
"Mm…" Artoria pressed her lips together, a little torn.
Irisviel had dragged her here; even though she and Shichen had already made things official, bathing together felt different, and she was still shy about it.
A few others still weren't here yet—Takina Inoue and Frieren, for example.
Splash!
A heavy plunge sounded from the bath, and everyone started undressing faster. Among women, there wasn't much to be embarrassed about, and Utaha and the others had bathed together before. They were already used to one another.
Irisviel wasn't shy either. Only Artoria kept trying to cover up.
"Hee-hee, Saber, you're still shy?" Irisviel teased, watching Artoria wrap herself tightly in a towel.
"It's because… it's all muscle…" Artoria answered, blushing.
"Muscle? I don't see it. Looks plenty delicate to me." Irisviel said, giving her arm a playful pinch.
There was a bit of firmness, sure, but you couldn't tell by looking—slender, fair, soft skin all around.
"Really. Ask Utaha if you don't believe me."
Utaha, down to a black basic set, glanced over. "Hm?"
"Uh… Utaha, your underwear…" Irisviel couldn't help staring at the set she was wearing.
She'd never seen one like it, and it was surprisingly pretty—the lace trim really popped.
"What about it?"
"It's a little risqué… and kind of gorgeous," Irisviel admitted.
"Is it? Lingerie like this is pretty normal these days."
"Seriously…?" Irisviel's eyes lit up.
"What's wrong, want to wear it for Shichen too?"
"I—"
"I can tell—you and Shichen have already done it, right?" Utaha asked with a smile.
"Mmm…" Irisviel nodded, cheeks pink.
"Looks like we're in the same club."
"Um…" Irisviel suddenly realized Utaha was a bit… open. Is that just how things are decades later?
"Artoria as well?" Utaha looked her way.
"I… yes," Artoria hesitated, then admitted it.
"I figured… Still, King Arthur being a girl—iconic," Utaha sighed.
"Mm…" Artoria could tell Utaha wasn't mocking her.
"So when you and Shichen, you know… was he super fired up?" Utaha asked, curious.
Artoria was out of her depth with the topic. But yes—Shichen had been very enthusiastic. He'd even lifted her while standing and had her wrap around him.
"Oho. Sounds like that's a yes," Utaha said, reading the answer off Artoria's face.
"Right— you called me for a reason, Iri," Utaha added. "What did you want to ask?"
"Oh, right. What do you think of Saber's skin?"
"Her skin? It's so delicate I'm jealous."
"See?" Irisviel hugged Artoria's arm, delighted. "Stop being self-conscious. Shichen's going to love it."
"Not just love it," Utaha chimed in. "Given who Artoria is, he'll probably adore it."
"What do you mean?" Artoria didn't quite get it.
"Hard to put into words. Just know that Shichen likes you—really likes you—and wants to keep you by his side forever."
"R-really?"
"You should feel it yourself, shouldn't you?"
"Okay, let's head in—we're the last ones," Utaha said.
"Got it."
Irisviel looped an arm through each of theirs like they were the best of friends.
The bath was already a bit chaotic—several girls had clustered around Shichen, all trying to squeeze in next to him.
No wonder they'd heard all that splashing earlier.
Utaha shook her head with a laugh. A moment ago they'd been against bathing with him; now they were racing each other to get in. Talk about a quick turnaround.