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I let out a heavy, ragged breath.
Roukanken lowers.
The drive to improve myself has never waned. I suppose I have my grandfather’s training to thank for that, but as a Konpaku it’s what I should strive for.
With that being said, that doesn’t change the fact that I’m drenched in sweat right now.
It’s late evening in the Netherworld. The sliver of setting sunlight is stretching shadows longer, cloaking the landscape in darkness. The moon has risen, the gardens enrobed in the purple-orange glow of the nearly-faded day.
With my duties concluded, I had decided to spend some time training.
But now, with my limbs tingling lightly and my clothing absolutely soaked through by sweat, I think it’s time to stop.
I may not really like to admit my shortcomings, but the fact remains that I can still get tired out. And I really don’t like this hot, sweaty feeling either.
It’s time for a bath to close the night out.
Sheathing Roukanken and Hakurouken on my back and hip, I return to Hakugyokurou, along a stone path through the gardens. Even in the low light, I take a moment to pride myself in my handiwork. Maintaining the growth of the garden is easy when you’re as fast as I am!
I let a smug smirk cross my face. The perfectly-trimmed trees? An effortless feat for a skilled Konpaku such as myself.
Not to say that I can’t still improve! But there’s no reason not to acknowledge my capabilities, now, is there?
Pride in myself is pride in the Konpaku, after all. My skills are skills honed by my family for generations. Regardless of if they’re used for the sake of tending the luxurious gardens of Hakugyokurou, or cutting down threats to the Princess of the Netherworld.
I’m nearing it, now, the stone path leading up to the wooden deck of the sprawling mansion, home to that Princess. The one I serve.
Saigyouji Yuyuko-sama. My whole existence is dedicated to her, even if she can sometimes be somewhat hard to deal with.
To be honest, I don’t understand what she’s thinking, much of the time.
But it is my duty, and my honor, as a Konpaku.
I enter the mansion, heading down the hall. The baths aren’t too far from here, I’d planned ahead.
Soon enough, I’ve opened the sliding door.
Hakugyokurou’s bath is partially enclosed but exposed to the outside, surrounded by stone, with a neat, smooth floor around it. Closer to the door are the stools and buckets with which to rinse off. I can see the steam rising from the water, already filling me with a sense of ease and relaxation.
It’s one of the best ways to unwind after an intensive training session.
I shed my sheathed blades, leaving them by the door, then remove the rest of my clothing, finally unwrapping my chest and placing the sarashi with the rest of my outfit.
I pause for a moment to look myself over.
It’s not simply danmaku rules that allow me to escape any kind of permanent scarring. My nature as a half-phantom means my human body heals fast. There’s not a single sign of any injury on my body, anywhere.
I’m well aware I’m not the strongest-looking person, but that hardly matters. The purpose of my training is always to hone skill rather than power.
There’s little purpose in raw physical strength without the skill to back it up, as well.
“Mmmnnn…”
I can’t really help but make a little noise as I stretch, lacing my fingers together over my head before approaching one of the stools. I’ll rinse myself off, then spend a nice, relaxing time in the bath…
I sit down.
The door to the bath almost immediately slides open.
What?!
Why?!
Who’s there?! I didn’t hear anyone approaching, right now it’s-
“Yuyuko-sama?!”
Her wavy, shiny pink hair. Her bright eyes of a patching shade. Her pale skin, even more so then my own due to her nature as a full ghost. The bright smile on her lips, the enthusiasm on her smooth, elegant features. The fact that she is entirely naked already, exposing all of her body to me. While it’s not that I haven’t seen her nude before, given I’ve served under her for quite some time now, I…
I’m not prepared for it at all right now! I can feel my entire body stiffening, my eyes darting from side to side as I try to figure out where to look, the heat rushing into my cheeks faster then I can go from one side of the gardens to the other.
“Youmu-chan! I thought you were in here~!”
Her voice is so bright and cheerful-wait, she thought I was in here?!
It’s not as if I’ve never bathed together with anyone, including Yuyuko-sama, but I didn’t think she’d just barge in here so suddenly! I was going to have a quiet bath alone to relax after training! Now she’s just suddenly here, and indeed everywhere I try to look!
“Y-Y-Yuyuko-sama,” I manage to stammer, “Wh-why? I… I don’t really, er, I…”
I can’t help but stumble over myself. It’s all so sudden, Yuyuko-sama’s presence is really… really overwhelming!
“Because, I thought you could use some help washing up,” responds Yuyuko-sama, “It’s reaaally hard to reach your back on your own, right?”
“E-eh…?”
I don’t know how to respond to that. I’ve never actually had a hard time reaching my back. My phantom half can just do the scrubbing for me. I’ve never really needed any assistance in washing myself at all.
And yet, somehow, I have a feeling that isn’t going to matter to Yuyuko-sama. She’s already approaching me, making it even harder to figure out where to look as she grabs a stool of her own. In moments, she’s pulled it behind me, seating herself, poised to begin her attack as my eyes drift back over my shoulder.
“Just sit still, Youmu-chan, I’ll take care of everything,” she declares in a cheery, reassuring fashion. It’s not like I needed her reassurance that she could wash me, there’s plenty of other reasons to be concerned. For some reason, even the way she said it in the first place is making my cheeks grow hotter.
“E-er, Yuyuko-sama, y-you really don’t have to, I-I’m-“
She cuts me off almost immediately.
“Youmu-chan works hard, so I can do things like this sometimes too,” she declares, waggling her finger in the air as she speaks, “So just sit still!”
I find myself staring down at my own lap, my thighs pressing together as my cheeks burn hotter. I’m not a child, and surely even if I were it wouldn’t be appropriate for Yuyuko-sama to be the one serving me like this.
And yet she’s insisting.
I can’t help but tense slightly when I suddenly feel her hand on my back, her cool touch sending a tremor through my body. I’m still warm from training, so her chill finger feels even cooler.
“Youmu-chan trains so hard, but she’s so small~!”
…
“P-please… you don’t have to say things like th-that, Yuyuko-sama…”
I trail off, squirming on my stool as I hear Yuyuko-sama picking up a bucket behind me. I’m not self-conscious! I’m really not!
It’s just that I really don’t need to be reminded of it right now.
Or ever. I’d rather not be reminded of it ever, if at all possible.
I can’t help but flinch a little bit when Yuyuko-sama happily soaps up my hair. While her hands are cool, the water is warm.
…
Is this really okay?
Certainly, it’s not the first time we’ve been in the bath together. But the mere fact that she’s the helping me clean up simply feels so inappropriate. I’m the one in her service. I’m the one who’s meant to be working for her. So why does she have to insist on being the one to do things like this instead?
It always makes me feel this tightness in my chest when she does these things. My heartbeat is a little faster.
Yuyuko-sama giggles.
“Youmu-chan is so cute~”
That really doesn’t help at all! It’s only making my heart beat faster, that can’t be an appropriate thing to say, can it? Any time she says anything like that, it’s just-
Ah?! Something just touched my back and it wasn’t Yuyuko-sama’s hands, it was far too soft and-
Water pours over me, washing the soap from my hair.
“Okay, now let’s move on!”
I should probably say something.
But all I can do is stare down at my own lap immediately again, feeling the omnipresent heat burning in my cheeks and only increasing in intensity.
It’s impossible to relax. I just can’t. I can feel Yuyuko-sama’s hands on my again, this time taking a sponge and scrubbing at my back, running water and soap all over me. She’s really doing this. I can feel it running down my center back, to my waist and hips, her hands washing me…
And… and now she’s moving around to my front I don’t know if I can take this-!
“Youmu-chan’s skin is so smooth and soft!”
…
When the water eventually pours over me again to rinse off all the soap, I think my heart skipped a beat a few times.
“Y-Y-Yuyuko-sama, I r-really can’t take this…!”
The words stumble out of me clumsily as I tremble on the stool. It’s just too much, being treated this way by the one I’m supposed to be serving is just too much!
But all she does is give me that bright, cheery, radiant smile.
“Now it’s my turn!”
I turn and look back over my shoulder.
Yuyuko-sama has her back to me again, the bucket beside her.
It’s not as if this is that much better, but I find myself relaxing a little bit. It’s more familiar territory.
I pick up the sponge.
~
By the time I slip into the water to soak, I can take solace in the fact that I’m feeling a bit less flustered.
“Haaah…” I let out a sigh. The water is surrounding me, seeping into my body and easing all of my concerns. It’s like being wrapped up in a blanket that manages to reach into your very core. My phantom half circles above me slowly as I sink up to my neck into the bath.
Yuyuko-sama slips into the water across from me, with an equally delighted sigh.
“Mmm, it’s always nice to relax in the bath after a long day, right?” she asks.
Feeling a bit more calm now, I slowly nod.
“That’s right, Yuyuko-sama…”
It feels like any aches leftover from my training are just vanishing, and my body is being cleansed so I can sleep and awaken fresh for the next day.
“Youmu-chan looks so relaxed in the bath,” Yuyuko-sama comments from across the water, “It’s cute when you take it easy~”
I can feel my cheeks coloring again.
“E-er, thank you, Y-Yuyuko-sama…”
For a few moments, the both of us our silent. All that can be heard is the slight motion of the water, the occasional noises from outside. Even the netherworld is inhabited by more than human spirits, and though the animals are no longer alive they will still occasionally call out to one another.
Yuyuko-sama is the one who breaks this silence.
“Hey, Youmu-chan… what do you think of working for me?”
It’s not a question I was prepared for. But even so, the answer is obvious, isn’t it?
“It’s my duty. My honor as a member of the Konpaku family,” I reply, without hesitation, “If I didn’t carry out my duty with pride, I wouldn’t be worthy of my bloodline.”
Yuyuko-sama doesn’t respond immediately.
Is she unsatisfied with that answer?
“I don’t mean like that,” she says, “I mean what you think of it. What you think of serving me.”
This time I’m not quite sure what to say.
She’s never really asked me this kind of thing so directly before. My own personal feelings? How I feel about my service?
Of course I’m proud. Of course I want to do my best. I want to do everything I can for Yuyuko-sama and ensure that I complete my duties in her name.
I…
I want to be alongside her. To serve her. To devote my body to her.
My hands clench slightly, as I try to articulate my thoughts into words.
“I… i-it’s not as if I can say I have experience with anything else,” I stumble a little over my own words. I’m sure I sound like I don’t really know what I’m trying to say, like I’m falling over myself in an effort to speak.
“But… but I don’t think there’s anything else that I would rather do.”
I’m not sure why my heart is beating so much more quickly.
But I know this is the answer I wanted to give her.
Suddenly Yuyuko-sama is moving across the bath.
“H-heh?! Y-Yuyuko-sama, wh-“
I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to react. She’s behind me just as quickly, wrapping her arms around me as does.
“Youmu-chan is so cuuuuute~!”
With that exclamation, she’s pulled me onto her back. I can’t stop myself from letting out a yelp, my cheeks immediately burning hot as she practically uses her body to envelope me.
It’s so soft. Yuyuko-sama is so soft. She’s so soft, and so close, I almost can’t even register anything else that’s happening.
“H-h-heeeeeh?!”
She’s pulled me tightly against her, now, resting her chin on my shoulder as her arms drape over me.
Of course, she doesn’t have a heartbeat. So I’m all the more aware of how fast my own is hammering in my chest.
The coolness of her skin is a contrast to the warmth of the water, but I can’t say it’s an unpleasant one… No, if anything…
I like it.
“Hearing that makes me really happy, Youmu-chan.”
I can hear Yuyuko-sama’s soft voice at my ear.
“Because I don’t think there’s anyone else that I’d want to be here more than you.”
…
I don’t think I can find the words in me to respond.
It’s impossible. No matter how skilled and capable I may be, I don’t think there’s any chance of me knowing what to say.
But…
I can feel it.
I can’t help myself.
No matter how embarrassed I might feel right now. No matter how overwhelming the sensation of Yuyuko-sama’s embrace may be.
I’m smiling.