[Ch.47] Let's Take a Bath!

They finally arrived at Nabashi late in the afternoon. After days of being on the road, there were now able to sleep in a real bed. Nezu smiled at them, "Follow me. You both can stay in the inn connected to my teashop."

Ryu smiled at him, "Thank you, Nezu."

Nezu led them to one of his teashops and spoke with the manager. Not too long after, he came back, "You two want one room, right?"

Ryu blushed, "W-What?"

Ryu turned to Panzram, but Panzram only looked back at him without speaking.

Nezu smiled, "Listen, Ryu. I know you snuck into young master Pan's room that night at Tenma's inn."

Ryu was speechless and looked to the ground without being able to utter a word in defense. His head dropped in embarrassment as he followed Nezu to their room.

Nezu motioned to another door, "I will be right next door if you have any problems. You both can get situated and I will have the servers bring you food in a few hours. I already had the workers prepare you a bath, so you can take one while you wait."

Ryu nodded as he smiled, "Thank you Nezu."

They said their momentary goodbyes and went into their respective rooms. The room was larger than they had expected. There was a table in the center of the room and a futon rolled out by the far-right wall.

On the far wall in front of them, there was an opaque screen with a mountain painted on it. Behind the screen was a metal basin tub filled with steaming water. Ryu collapsed on the fluffy futon and sighed, "Ahhh. Finally. A soft bed."

Panzram smirked at him, "You seemed pretty satisfied sleeping on the ground outside."

Ryu propped himself up in a suggestive posture, "I merely had to do what I had to do. But now, I can finally have a bed. I much prefer this."

Ryu smiled at Panzram, "So do you want to use the bath first?"

Panzram froze.

This was a dangerous question.

If he went first, this meant that Ryu would have to use his dirty bathwater. Such a thing would be an insult to his flawless skin. However, if he went after Ryu that meant he would take a bath in Ryu's dirty water.

This was particularly concerning because the thought of it caused Panzram's heart to swirl in desire. Would he be able to control himself?

Panzram cleared his dry throat, "You go first."

Ryu nodded with a bright smile, "Alright."

Ryu rushed to the tub and with a snap of his fingers, his clothes disappeared from his body. He lowered his naked body into the tub and moaned from the feeling.

He sighed in yearning, "This feels so good…"

Panzram quickly turned his back to the screen once he realized he could see Ryu's naked form. The opaque screen only managed to make him look more enticing and alluring. Panzram clenched his fists as he listened to Ryu's shameless moans.

Panzram scowled as he squeezed his eyes shut, "Can't you be quiet?"

Ryu ignored him, "You know, this tub is big enough for two people. You do not have to wait if you do not want to."

Panzram felt the little self-control he had starting to falter. He forced himself to turn down the offer, "No."

"Why not? It may not be as warm for you."

Panzram spoke quickly, "I cannot. I am interested in men."

Ryu blinked not understanding the problem, "I know. But we are just friends. Friends can bathe together. I trust you."

Panzram wanted to smack his forehead. He was having wayward thoughts about Ryu, yet Ryu fully believed that Panzram would not attack him. Ryu really was too trusting.

He could not see the wolf in front of him.

Panzram spoke with conviction, "I will wait."

Ryu sighed at the disappointment. He couldn't understand it, but he really wanted Panzram to agree. Now he was stuck playing with the bubbles by himself.

He pouted, "Fine, fine. I will be quick then."

Meanwhile, Panzram forced himself to think about anything other than the naked man behind the screen. He could feel his body stiffen as he imagined Ryu's cold pale skin in the steaming hot water.

He had the urge to wash that skin thoroughly but repressed it.

"Alright, I'm finished."

Ryu stood up and walked back out from behind the screen. Panzram turned to him when he heard Ryu appear.

Panzram's eyes nearly fell out of his head.

Ryu was standing before him with only a small towel covering his lower region. He was still dripping with water as he stood on the tatami floor. Each drop slowly working its way down to dribble onto the floor.

Even though he had a smaller build, his muscles were still defined and flawless. There were no beauty marks atop his pale skin which glistened from the water droplets. His hair was still wet and clung to his skin, looking seductive as his messy locks trailed down.

Panzram's eyes were immediately drawn downward to Ryu's little friend.

He snapped himself out of his trance, "What are you doing?!"

Ryu answered in an innocent tone, "What do you mean? I just got out of the bath."

"Not that you idiot!!! Why are you naked?!"

Ryu was startled by his harsh words. He looked away and puffed out his cheeks indignantly, "I just wanted to let you get in. I have a towel on, plus we are both men. What's wrong with this?"

Panzram felt the agonizing stiffness as he refrained from pouncing on the naïve little rabbit. He stood up, "Nothing. Just go dry off."

Ryu shrugged as Panzram avoided him and undressed behind the curtain.

Panzram forced himself to think of other things beside the previous naked Ryu, however, his own little friend would not forget such a magnificent sight. Panzram lowered himself into the tub and took a deep breath to calm him.

However, this only made his mind more frenzied. The bathwater smelled just like Ryu. Panzram found it too unbearable.

He desperately wanted to relieve himself, but he could not do this with Ryu in the room. No matter how dense Ryu was, even he would catch on to what was happening. Panzram let out a deep sigh from frustration.

Ryu heard this and grew worried, "Are you alright? Do you need help? I can wash your hair."

"NO!" Panzram shouted quickly, "You've done enough."

Ryu deflated as he dried off and put his clothes back on. He collapsed on the bed pouting. He buried his head into the covers.

Why was Panzram still so hostile towards him?!

Ryu was trying everything he could think of to convince the other man to like him.

No one would ever dare turn down his advances, so Ryu ad no idea what else to try.

He slowly picked up his head and glanced behind the screen. But why was Panzram acting so shy?

Could he be hiding something?

A mischievous grin crossed his face.

Ryu slowly got up and crawled over to the tub, masking his presence. Suddenly, he popped up by the side of the tub, startling Panzram. His eyes shimmered, "I can scrub your back-"

He suddenly halted seeing Panzram's flustered state, "-oh my..."

Panzram growled and chucked a bar of soap at Ryu, "SCRAM!"