Chapter 27 - Bath Time!

" Uncle Tora! " Ana waved at Masatora before undressing and wrapping herself in a piece of linen.

" Oh! Little missy! I just dipped in! Care to join me? "

" Mmm! "

Ana ran through the changing room into the pool. Almost giving Zio a heart attack when she was about to slip on the sleek floor.

" W-Wait Ana! Stop right there! "

" Yeah, little missy, stop right there. You should wash clean of yourself first before joining me "

Zio found it strange to see her sister being already glued to someone who had nearly killed him. ‘Since when Ana became all chummy-chummy with someone like him?!’, he thought to himself.

" Haah? Why should I? "

" Nobody wants their bath to be mixed with others' sweat. That's how we do it back in my country "

" Oh~ That's interesting! Tell me more! Tell me more! "

" Sure, but wash yourself first! "

Jealousy stormed Zio’s heart in an ache that he never experienced before. He cannot believe how can his little sister pouts at someone other than him. He overreacted to the threatening sense of competition, thinking as far as feeling like Masatora is going to take his precious little sister somewhere far away from him.

" Oi, old man! " Zio threw away his walking stick and slowly walked towards Masatora with his blood boiled.

" Alright now, you stop right there also and do like what your sister did! "

" Huh?! What the f- "

" Brother! Can we wash each other? I can't reach my back! "

As much as Zio wanted to ignore him, he did it eventually. Even though only because Ana asked him to. ‘I'll get him later after this one’ Zio said to himself. But first thing first, he needs to go back to the changing room and take off his clothes.

This is when he realized how severe his body was injured. Black veins surfaced all over his body as if he was a cursed monster or worse. Moreover, there's a really big scar that stretches from his right shoulder down to his left hips. What did he do to make him own this scar? That, he didn’t have any idea.

" Brother! Are you there? "

" Y-Yes, I'm coming! "

Yet, Zio needs to sort his priorities. The most important thing right now is to keep Ana away from the old eastern man, no matter the cost. Anything else can come after that.

" Olala yoo! What's wrong with you, boy? Are you seriously coming in with that? Just so you know, pudency is only for girls. Men should always stand tall! Big or small, long or short, that doesn't matter as long as it works! " Masatora pointed at the fabric which Zio wrapped under his stomach.

Thinking that it might be his another ' How we do it in my country' thing, Zio was led to believe that they must be a tribe full of uncultured savages or something. There's no way one can peacefully take a bath in public without anything to cover their private part after all. Or at least, that’s what Zio believes.

" So you're a sissy after all, huh? That's a shame... "

" You call me what?! "

" Sissy, pussy, wimpy, queeny. "

" Wha-! ...Very well, I'll have it your way! " Zio undressed himself completely, throwing away the lone fabric off his body.

" Shit. I guess you better put it on. " Masatora looks intimidated by what lies between Zio’s legs. He had asked for the wrong thing and now he regrets it for doing so.

" Heh? What's wrong? Where's all those courage goes? " Zio mocked him, knowing that Masatora certainly has personal insecurities on 'that' topic.

" S-Shut up, brat! Size isn't all there's to it! "

" Brother! What took you so long?! " Ana is starting to fed up. Zio needs to tend to her as soon as possible.

" A-Ah, sorry sorry. "

After the siblings are finished cleaning themselves, they finally splash in. The bath water is relaxingly warm. Both Ana and Zio let out a satisfied breath as the steam covered their whole face. It's been so long since the last time they felt such a luxury.

" Warm, and cozy, right? This is almost as nice as the hot springs in my homeland. Ah~ it sure feels nostalgic. "

Now that Zio thinks about it, Ana didn't ask him anything about his scar and the black veins on his body. And the same thing can be said to the bushy old man as he also doesn't speak a word, either.

" Hey hey, Uncle Tora, tell me about your homeland! "

" Eh? Why should I? I prefer spending my time here in silence. "

" Eh!? But you promised! " Ana begged him with her irresistible teary cat eyes, making whoever saw it can't help but feeling bad to reject her wishes.

" Huft. Alright-alright, fine I'll tell you. Stop looking at me like that. "

Ana smiled, quickly turn her gears 180 degrees. Zio chuckled a bit, after all, that is how his sister always gets what she wants from him. To see it as a third person is really amusing for him.

All in all, Masatora’s story could also prove to be useful to Zio. The young man might be able to learn something from his story. The secret to his strength, preferably.

And so begin, his bath time story.

" Have you ever heard of Sankokudo? "

" Hmm... no. " Ana shook her head in answer.

" Well, it's a country that lies beyond the Great Blue to the east. It was my homeland. " He looked up to the ceiling as if reminiscing on a far-away past.

" Is your homeland beautiful? "

" Sure, it is. Greeneries as far as the eye can see. Crops never fail to yield. Rivers that flow with pristine water and a lot of big fish. It's a blessed land. "

" Oh~ " Ana's eyes sparkle. Zio can tell that her mind is wandering off on its own, diving deep into her colorful imagination.

" There's also this tree that blooms for only one week in a year. And when they do, Oh~ If that's not a gift from the heaven itself, then I don't know what it is... For seven days, the whole country is colored in bright pink that shines even on a night when the moon doesn't come out. "

" Wah~ I've never seen a pink tree before. That must be gorgeous! " Ana gradually moves closer towards Masatora, seeking for more stories.

" Ahaha, what do you think? Wanna go and see it with me? I'm sure you'll love it. "

" Alright now, hold your horse. Stop telling lies to children. "

Zio immediately interrupted him. The way Masatora trying to hook in his little sister, there's no way he will just let that slide. The both of them stared at Zio, waiting for him to explain himself.

" If your homeland is that great, then what are you doing here? Why bother crossing the famously dangerous sea to come alone to a stranger's land? "

Masatora laid his back on the edge of the pool and laughed.

" Well then, if I said the urge for adventures, would you believe me? "

" Heh, that's impossible. You could've rest at the sea bed before you can get on to any adventure. The risk is simply too great for such an impulsive whim. "

The eastern warrior chuckles a little before stretching his arm and resting his head on his palm.

" Okay, you win. The truth is I was looking for a sword. "

" Don't tell me... " Zio guessed that it might be the great hero Artelia sword that Masatora is seeking. Just like Bella and himself.

" I thought so too at first. But nah, that wasn't the one I'm looking for. "

Zio washed Ana's hair and brushed her skin with his palm. Rubbing the backside of her ears, her nails, her neck, and every inch of skin on her body. literally cleaning all of her sister’s while listening to Masatora’s story.

" What kind of sword that you are looking for then? "

" A katana, like mine. "

Zio remembered that Katana thing. He always wanted to ask Masatora about that weird curved sword. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to ask it out.

" Oh yes, I remembered that weird sword of yours. Is that from your homeland also? "

" Hmm. A pretty rare sight for you westerners eh? " He nods in to confirm.

" You already have that one, why do you need another one? "

" One is never enough! "

" Then, why don't you just make another one? "

Suddenly Masatora stands up looking excited, showing off his well-shaped body in front of Zio and Ana. He then stretched his arm in front, demonstrating his sword fighting.

" It's not just sword. It was one of the most famous legendary swords that have ever been forged. The people of Sankokudo regards the sword as their extremely-precious heritage. "

" Oh! It sounds so amazing! " Ana's cheerful and interested remarks adds a great amount of oil to his fiery narrative.

" Of course, little missy! It used to be wielded by the greatest sword saint of our history, Tsukahara Keiji himself! " Masatora swings his arm up high like a child fantasizing about being a holy knight.

" Wait. If that sword was a heritage of your people. Then why do you bother coming here looking for that sword? "

The old-looking man’s passionate face suddenly shrinks and he went back to sit in the bathing pool.

" That's the problem. It was stolen. "

" What?! You and your people are kinda dull in the head or something?! "

" Oh, sod off. There's no use crying about it. It's been missing for around 50 years for now. Anyway, uhm! Long story short I learned that there's a possibility for the sword being stolen, and here I am tracking it down till I ended up right here on this bath with you and the little missy. "

Zio wanted to dig up some more but then he noticed that Ana's face is getting red and her fingers are already wrinkled. It would be bad if something serious like a heatstroke were to happen to her. Thus, he decided to end it here.

" Alright then, that's that. We've been too long in this bath. Let's go, Ana. "

" Eh? But I wanted to hear more of uncle Tora's story! "

" Wahaha! You are all red, little missy! Don't worry, there will always be a story for another time. "

After a little bit of persuasion, Ana finally agreed to get out of the bath. When they were heading for the changing room, Masatora who is still in the bath called out to Zio.

" Oi, big brother! "

" Huh? What now? "

" Sorry for slicing you up real bad. I'm glad you survived it. "

Zio was confused at first. Until he touched the big ugly scar that stretches from his right shoulder to his left hips. ‘Masatora you son of a bitch! I'll make you pay for this!’ Zio swears at the carefree warrior in his head, with a twitching temple. Had his sister is not with him at the moment, he would let out numerous insults already.

" I'll make sure to return this in double. "

" Ahaha! Oh, by the way, what do you think about her? She's a real beauty, right? "

" What? Of course, Ana is beautiful. She's the best! "

" Huh? I'm talking about the owner of this mansion. "

The owner of the mansion? He's right, I haven't met her yet.

" Eh? Don't tell me, you haven't seen her yet? "

" Nope. "

" I see... Well, you better say sorry when you meet her. " Just like that and Masatora lied his head back on the edge of the bath, shooing Zio away with the gesture of his hand.

Zio, who was left even more puzzled than before he came into the bath, can only take a wild guess about the owner of the mansion. He believes that she must be a nasty one since she is a noble. But he needs to properly thank her nevertheless.