The water in the tub had turned a murky grey, swirled with grit and the faint, coppery tang of blood washing off his skin. It wasn't boiling anymore, thank god, but it was still warm. Too warm for a bath that started out full of ice.
Shizuka sat on the edge of the porcelain, her usual ditziness replaced by a rare intensity. She checked the thermometer again, squinting at the readout.
"Thirty-nine point five." She murmured. "Down from forty-one. That's... that's a good improvement."
Mai, sitting on a stool she'd dragged over, didn't look relieved. Her hand was still wrapped around Tysone's, her thumb rubbing over his knuckles like she was trying to smooth away the violence engraved there. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but dry now. She looked tired. Bone-deep tired.
"He's sleeping." Miku said from the doorway. She was leaning against the frame, arms crossed, trying to look casual and failing. Her leg was bouncing. "That's good, right?"
"He hasn't shown any outward sign of distress, so his respiratory and cardiovascular systems seem to be holding steady." Shizuka explained. She wet the washcloth, running it over Tysone's exposed skin. It cooled off quickly, and she could repeat the cycle, bathing his skin in constant cold until the internal heat finally abated. "The sooner we can lower his temperature, the less chance there is for organ damage or lasting cognitive issues. As for when he'll wake up, it's hard to predict at this point."
The world didn't stop because your brain got hot.
There was still much left to do.
"But he will... right?" Miku asked, her voice going small.
Shizuka smiled a reassuring smile. "Of course. It's not the first time something like this happened to him. It's a coma, or close to it." Shizuka said gently, dipping a fresh cloth into cool water and laying it across Tysone's forehead. Steam didn't rise from it this time. "His body is... rebooting. I think. It's like when your computer overheats and shuts down."
"He's not a computer though..." Mai mumbled with a pout."
"It's a metaphor, Mai-chan." Shizuka smiled. "Now we just need to monitor him closely and stay by his side for when he wakes up. Being taken care of by his loving women should do the trick to make him wake up, as usual." She gave Tysone a light tap on the cheeks, looking for any kind of response.
As predicted, there was no response.
"...Can I do anything?" Mai asked. "To help, I mean. I feel useless."
Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Actually, that's a good question. Take his pants off."
"Eh?!" Mai shrieked, blushing beet-red, but after a pointed stare from Shizuka, slowly got up and walked over. Shizuka pulled on Tysone's boot, tugging on it until his foot emerged from the heel hole, leaving a faint residue of blood and grit on her fingers. Mai struggled to free his other foot, grunting.
"He weighs, like, a ton." She groaned.
Shizuka, finally tossing the heavy boots aside, reached into the soapy bath water and stripped him bare, eliciting an outraged shriek from Mai.
"H-hold on, aren't his boxers—!?"
"Take them off too, he'll be happier sleeping nude."
"W-What? N-N-Naked?! I'm not—" She stammered, covering her beet-red face.
"Can I do it?" Miku, who had snuck around behind them to join in on the stripping, spoke up.
Mai glared at Miku as the cute blond started undoing Tysone's belt.
"It's not funny!" She whined, even as the thud thud of his belt buckle coming undone reached her ears. "Can't you just do it? Since you're so... calm about it!"
Shizuka merely raised both hands and shrugged. "I can, but I thought you wanted to help~"
Mai gritted her teeth, blushing, her legs wobbling. "Agh! Damn it! Fine... I-I'll d-do it..."
She took a shaky, tentative step toward the unconscious Tysone before clenching her fists and moving in with determination. Her cheeks burning and her lower lips puckered up, the actress was now seriously attempting to pull down his pants.
"....w-what...how do I do this!?" Mai mumbled under her breath, trying and failing to pull his pants all the way down with one swift movement and his boxers, too. "C'mon... I hate this! Why didn't anyone put anything for this in my actress handbook?!"
Shizuka's snort was mixed with stifled laughter that eventually brought up a giggling Miku, finding hilarity in the pure innocence of the young lady's shameful innocence.
"Stop laughing and help, damnit!" Mai cried.
Shizuka let out an exaggerated, exhausted sigh. "Jeez, Mai-chan. Fine."
In the end, they managed to pull the pants off Tysone. Mai sat next to the bathtub again, her head spinning with confusing feelings of excitement and nervousness, even guilt.
"That wasn't so bad now, was it~?"
"What isn't so bad now? Helping Ty strip? It certainly is weird helping someone take their underwear off when they're basically being comatose!" Mai snipped, her mood was as fussy as ever.
"But that wasn't his underwear~?" Shizuka muttered airily, then smiled mysteriously. "We have to remove all his clothes if we're to do this bath properly."
Mai blinked rapidly in disbelief, suddenly flabbergasted, gawking, her face crimson with indignation, frustration and all the embarrassment a seventeen year-old actress could muster.
"But I'll do this myself" Shizuka chirped happily, interrupting the stammering Mai before the young girl would unleash another flurry of complaints, feeling entirely content. "So that you won't feel uncomfortable later"
"Don't—!!" Mai whined, blushing furiously. Shizuka stared blankly. "I just... uhm....it's...."
"Yeah yeah, we're doing the 'we girls sticking together' stuff." Shizuka patted her head with the smile on her pretty face never faltering. "Oh yeah, Miku?"
"Yesh?" Came an answer from the bathroom door, where Miku was still standing with the jittery limbs of an adrenaline crash, as if the mere touch of the unconscious, naked male will unleash hell in the form of a furious actress.
"Do you mind holding Ty-kyun down?"
"NOT AT ALL!" Miku, like a switch had been flipped on her, seemingly having given a newfound boost in energy by just mentioning the nickname for her beloved senpai, was beside Tysone in less than a blink of an eye.
"Wait, why would we need to do that!? Hold him down!" Mai asked in a sudden burst of panic. "He's out cold!"
"Don't question Shizuka-sensei's methods!" Miku growled, her voice serious and her mind resolute with the seriousness of her task.
"Uh-huh, ready~?"
Miku's hands were already all over the handsome senpai's neck, shoulders, chest.
Mai could almost imagine the hearts in her eyes, about to grope a nice, muscular physique with a delighted, shameless expression.
"Ready...!" Miku hooted. "Mhm! We're gonna give him one fine, lovely bath~"
She made a soft humming noise, as if relishing a tasty dessert on her tongue.
Shizuka's fingers slipped inside Tysone's boxers. She felt the solid mass of muscle hidden beneath her fingertips, the tense abdominal ridges. Her breathing caught, heat suffusing her chest.
Miku had no such embarrassment, so she easily helped get the thing off him.
She raised her eyebrows as Tysone sprang free from its confines, still massively big even in its flaccid state.
"Ahhh..." Mai moaned quietly, but Shizuka and Miku didn't have a problem with the awkwardness as they were admiring a beauty that could be considered a rare, gorgeous find indeed.
"Mhhmm. I wouldn't mind getting under this water to get the filth away~"
Mai wasn't far off with her thoughts, she'd say, but she wasn't as shameless enough as the rest were so her inner screaming and jittering became much, much more visible and noticeable.
"Kyaa! Shizuka-sensei, you-! And Miku, too! The heck! H-He's....!"
"So cute! Gosh, he's completely out of it, completely defenseless! Maybe....maybe if I could rub it a bit..." Miku gulped, reaching a trembling hand out to cop a quick feel of her crush's virility but Shizuka intervened with the mischievousness of a Cheshire cat, stopping her on the way with a swat of her hand.
"Miku-chan, that's not proper. He's already comatose!" She spoke with a sharp reprimand, making the adorable teenager flinch and quickly pull back.
"Oops. You're right, sorry..." She apologized sheepishly.
Mai heaved a sigh of relief.
"Wait until he wakes up~" Shizuka said.
Miku nodded, resolutely.
Mai sighed even more deeply.
They did a good job of wiping Tysone down with a wet rag, giving him a good wash and making him comfortable. Mai had her hands perpetually over her eyes, though with some cracks to see peek through—it was all innocent curiosity!
The damn thing was so big Mai feared it'd wake up and attack everyone!
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.