"Ow ow ow..." Kitagawa Marin whimpered pitifully. "Amamiya-kun, hurry and come help me up. I can't get up."
Hearing this, Natsuki turned to look at Mrs. Kaguya.
"Dame." Mrs. Kaguya sat on the sofa, her eyes innocent. "My power is all used up."
If you'd played less on your phone during the day, you wouldn't be a mascot now!
Natsuki sighed helplessly and spoke quietly:
"Then I'm coming in?"
"Come in quick."
"..."
Natsuki pushed open the bathroom door and saw Kitagawa Marin kneeling on the floor with tears in her eyes. Her hair was pinned up. She was wrapped in a towel—her left hand supporting the floor, her right hand holding a towel covering her chest. She looked extremely pitiful.
Taking off his slippers, Natsuki walked barefoot into the bathroom: "Give me your hand."
"Where's that bar of soap?"
Kitagawa Marin nervously looked around.
Is this "once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of rope"?! Such a big person—you can't seriously be scared of a bar of soap!
Natsuki said: "It's by your foot..."
"Eh eh?" Kitagawa Marin jumped in fright and quickly said: "Pick up the soap first—throw it as far away as possible."
Natsuki relented helplessly. He could only pick up the soap first, then pull up the blonde girl sitting on the floor and help her sit on a plastic stool.
"I'm leaving."
Natsuki dusted off his hands, preparing to leave the bathroom.
"W-wait a moment..."
Kitagawa Marin suddenly called out.
"Mm?"
"Um..." The blonde gyaru's arms tightly covered her chest as she stammered: "I haven't finished my bath yet. If I don't wash clean, I can't get in the tub to soak."
This was the truth.
Japanese people, regardless of house size, almost all had bathtubs—soaking to relax was essential.
So how to conserve water?
Naturally, the whole family shared one tub's worth of water!
To ensure the bathwater didn't get dirty, the shower rinse stage was indispensable.
Natsuki raised a brow:
"Then just keep washing."
"But if I wash myself, I'm worried the soap will slip out of my hands again. That 'Plagued by Bad Luck' buff hasn't ended yet." Kitagawa Marin looked up pitifully, stammering: "Could Amamiya-kun help me wash?"
"..."
Natsuki squinted and pointed at himself: "You're sure you want me to help you bathe?"
"Just washing my back." Kitagawa Marin quickly corrected. "I already washed the other places."
Natsuki pondered briefly and quickly agreed.
"...Leave it to me."
If the girl herself doesn't mind, what should I, a guy, mind?
Besides, it's just washing her back—it's really not a big deal!
Natsuki's gaze drifted slightly downward, landing on the blonde gyaru's back.
Her front needn't be mentioned—the towel covered it tightly. Nothing could be seen. But her back was completely visible. Her skin was snow-white as though congealed cream, gleaming with a jade-like luster under the light.
And that subtle curve and arc—from her shoulders down was fine enough, but at the waist it narrowed at an incredible angle, looking especially slender—barely enough to wrap one's hands around. Natsuki even suspected whether two hands could directly clasp together around it.
This is what they call an A4 waist.
Unscientific!
She clearly eats more than I do—why is her waist so thin?
Where did all the food she ate go?!
"...Natsuki?"
Kitagawa Marin tilted her head to look over, her tone confused: "Why aren't you moving yet?"
"I'll move right now."
Natsuki drew in a quiet breath, suppressed the subtle impulse in his heart, reached out to grab the soap and towel, and helped wash her back.
"Ah..."
The instant their skin made contact, a trembling moan escaped from the girl's mouth—like a siren's song, making one's heart suddenly jump.
The corner of Natsuki's mouth twitched: "What are you doing?"
Before, I didn't know what a criminally tempting voice sounded like—now I know!
Honestly, Natsuki had almost lost control just now and walked the path of no return toward illegal crime!
"It's all Amamiya-kun's fault." Kitagawa Marin puffed out her cheeks. "That towel was too cold."
"..."
Natsuki wet the towel with hot water and continued helping wash her back.
The bathroom quickly fell silent.
Kitagawa Marin used one hand to cover her chest, the other to cover her lower abdomen. Her pretty face flushed red as fire as she obediently quieted down.
This blonde gyaru was usually carefree and unrestrained, quite bold like a heroine from the martial world—but having a boy help wash her back was a first in her life... As expected, it was super embarrassing.
Natsuki could clearly see the blonde girl's snow-white neck had turned pink.
"Done washing."
Natsuki put down the towel.
Kitagawa Marin breathed a sigh of relief: "Amamiya-kun can go out now..."
Before she finished speaking, Natsuki suddenly reached out and pulled Kitagawa into his arms.
"Eh eh eh?"
The blonde girl jumped in fright.
"Is Amamiya-kun turning into a beast?"
"You can't!"
"The first time can't possibly be in a place like the bathroom... and Kaguya-neesan is still outside!"
Clang!
The fallen showerhead hit the wall with a dull thud.
"Eh?" Kitagawa Marin froze, then quickly reacted. "The showerhead fell?"
If Natsuki hadn't just pulled her away, the falling showerhead would clearly have hit her directly.
"Really unlucky..."
Natsuki released his hands. His gaze landed on Kitagawa's body—his voice suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Kitagawa Marin only felt a slight coolness at her chest. She looked down and her pretty face immediately flushed red at a visibly rapid pace—white steam whooshing out from the top of her head.
The towel is gone!
Just now I think my hand slipped and I dropped the towel on the floor!
Natsuki silently averted his gaze.
He finally knew where all the food this blonde girl ate went.
He could only say one thing:
Tonight's moon is big and white.
The remaining content cannot be stated. Saying more would get directly banned by ineffable forces. Please imagine for yourself.
A moment later.
Natsuki cleaned up the things around the bathtub and spoke seriously:
"You stay in the tub and soak properly. Don't come out until the 'Plagued by Bad Luck' negative buff time passes."
"Glub glub glub~"
Kitagawa Marin's pretty face was flushed. Both hands hugged her knees as she buried her face in the bathtub, blowing bubbles.
Natsuki raised a brow: "Did you hear me?"
"I heard."
The blonde girl answered quietly, not daring to lift her head.
Natsuki said:
"I'm going out."
"Wait a moment." Kitagawa Marin hugged her knees. "Soaking alone is so boring. I want..."
"You want to soak together?"
"Of course not!" Kitagawa Marin couldn't help but glare at him. "How could I possibly soak with a boy? I'm talking about my phone!"
"Is your phone waterproof?"
"It seems... not waterproof."
"Then do you think your phone will fall into the tub?"
Kitagawa: "..."
Normally it wouldn't.
She always played on her phone while soaking—otherwise it was super boring. But today... better forget it.
"Go go go." Kitagawa Marin waved her hand to shoo him away. "Natsuki, hurry and get out."
Natsuki sighed faintly:
"When you need me, you tell me to hurry in. When you don't need me, you shoo me out. That's too much."
"That's right." Kitagawa raised her chin, revealing a snow-white, slender swan-like neck. "That's me!"
"..."