Ban's P.O.V.-

Once she spotted me, we just stared at each other for a second or so; neither of us reacting instantly. Eventually, after a moment or so, I cracked a grin and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Whatcha' doin'? Goin' for a swim?" A smile blossomed across her lips. "I was going to have a bath." "A bath, huh? That's sounds really nice actually," my forefinger scratched my cheek as I gazed at the water. "I could use a bath myself." "Would you like to join me?" "Huh?!" This made me blink at Sinensis in shock. I didn't think she was that kind of girl; not that there's anything wrong with "that" kind of girl. It just surprised me, that's all.

But I think my stunned reaction was premature. With one wave of her hand over herself, Sinensis's gown of flowers transformed into a floral version of a bathing suit. "We used to do this all the time back in Athens," she told me while gracefully stepping into the pool. Once the water reached her waist, the fairy princess took in a deep breath and dove in. She re-emerged with wet pink hair, still smiling at me. "Come on in; the water's lovely!"

After watching her for another second, a grin rolled naturally over my mouth. "I'm not one to turn down a good swim!" Tossing my shirt and pants off, leaving my undergarments to keep my decency, I ran towards the pool. "Canon ball!" With a loud holler, I jumped in canon-ball style. The water felt amazing! I don't know if it was magic forest water or the fact that I can't remember the last time I swam, but it was fantastic! Coming up to the surface, I drew in a much-needed breath and ran my hand through my hair. "This is great!" A wide smile crossed my face; I didn't even realize I was smiling. Genuinely smiling.

Sinensis mirrored my expression before splashing me in the face. "You got water all over me!" "What are you talking about? We're in a pool! Water's already all over you." She laughed. "That's not the point," her hand splashed me again. I shot her an evil, playful smirk. "Oh, you don't want to start a splashing war with me, Missy. Don't go starting fights you can't finish." After looking at me for a minute, she teasingly splashed me again. I wiped the water off my face to reveal a devilish expression. "Oh! You asked for it!"

Using both arms, I sent a huge splash her way. It was so strong that she actually felt back into the water. When she got up, her hair was all out in front of her, covering her face. Of course this made me laugh hysterically. "You look like the monster from the lagoon!" I pointed at her while continuing to laugh. She moved the strains out of the way to reveal an unimpressed face. My laughing gave her an opportunity to splash me back; not as forcefully as I splashed her but enough to get my mouth full of water. I broke out into a coughing fit before sending her a glare. She had the audacity to smile in that "cutesy" fashion, like "I'm so innocent". Yeah, I don't think so; that's not going to work on me. I didn't hesitate to send a massive wave her way. Again, she fell back into the pool behind her, only to re-surface and retaliate. Rinse and repeat for about twenty minutes.

By the end, we were both laughing and exhausted. I was the clear victor and I didn't just know that because of my ego. I let her get a few good splashes in here and there, but it was no contest. Afterwards, she fell onto her back and floated on the surface, casually looking up at the sky. I couldn't help but notice that she was still smiling; but then, so was I. I followed suit and we lounged there like that for some time, just sky-gazing aimlessly. From time to time, my hand touched one of the pink flowers still floating in the water; those that weren't destroyed in the splash war. Huh, my eyes gently shut as I drew in a deep breath. It smelt like orange blossoms and fresh spring water. My grin widened unconsciously. This is nice….

We eventually got around to cleaning ourselves; the actual purpose of a bath. Sinensis gave me some essential oils to rub all over myself. "Won't these make me smell flowery?" "Its sandalwood. It will help any muscle tension and keep your skin healthy." "That so?" I took a whiff of the stuff; sure smelt strong. Huh, what the hell? I rubbed it over my arms, legs, and chest. Sinensis did the same with what smelt like lavender oil; she put some rosemary oil in her hair. Then she dove under the water for one last rinse. I did the same.

Sinensis's P.O.V.-

Ban smelt all musky and natural; not that he smelt bad before. After rinsing ourselves off, Ban sat down on a nearby rock and gave his head a shake. His hair must dry fast, being so short; not like mine which took hours to fully dry. "Man, I can't remember the last time I actually washed myself," he tapped the side of his head, trying to get the water out of his ear. "I bathe almost every day," I replied. "That's because you live in a spring-filled forest," he shot me a knowing smirk. "You're right. I bathed much less in Athens." "Don't you ever worry about drowning on your own?" "I never go into the deep springs. I don't know what's at the bottom," I grinned. He chuckled. "Better to play it safe, I guess." "Yes," I was about to walk over to him until a familiar sensation caught hold of me. Ban's expression morphed to one of concern as I erupted into yet another coughing fit.

"Easy, easy," hopping back into the water, Ban took a few steps towards me. But before he reached me, I flashed him a pained smile. "I'm…. ok." "Here, give me your hand." I did as he instructed, and the bandit led me out of the water. He waited until I was out before hopping up onto the grass himself. He then brushed a few stray hairs off my cheek, gently placing them behind my ear. "You ok?" "Y-yeah, I'm fine. It happens all the time." "That's not a good thing," he frowned. "It doesn't hurt so much anymore," my eyes drifted off. "Anything I can do? Can I bring you anything?" "No, thank you," I grinned up at him. Sighing a little, he straightened up to go fetch his clothes.

"You really don't have anything out here?" "Nothing man, or fairy, made," my head shook. "That's why I only wear flowers; leaves are too itchy." I didn't see him come towards me, but my eyes grew in surprise as I felt something drape over my back. Checking, I saw Ban's shirt on me. I obviously gave him a confused look. "You don't have anything to dry yourself off with, right? Last I checked, towels are man-made," he flashed me a kind smirk. "T-thank you! It usually takes me a long time to dry." "No big deal," he said, drying himself off with his pants. When I realized that this left him with no dry clothes, I gently waved my hand in his direction. "We'll find something to eat once we're…."

Ban couldn't finish his sentence; he was cut off by the series of large tropical leaves sprouting out of nowhere. They effectively covered him like a shirt and pair of shorts. "Huh?" He blinked to me in surprise. "I can change them to flowers if they're uncomfortable." "Huh… n-no, they're fine!" His eyes were huge; his face wore an almost dumbfounded expression. "Just until your clothes dry," I stood up, holding his shirt in my arm. I made a flower dress for myself and took Ban's pants from him. "I'll hang these to dry in the sun," I explained, turning towards the path back to the main tree. "O-ok, then I'll get a head start on finding us some grub," Ban offered. "Thanks, Ban." "No problem, Sencha."

This made me come to a screeching halt. I slowly turned around to face him with wide eyes myself. "What did you just call me?" "Uh, Sencha?" The confidence immediately vanished from his face. "Sencha…" I repeated quietly. "I-is that ok?" "Y-yeah! I mean yeah. No one but my brother has ever called me that before." Not even Socrates, though he never used nicknames with anyone. "Alright then, Sencha it is." "Alright then," a smile spread over my lips. "I can't think of a nickname for you; at least one that's better than "Bandit Ban"," my cheeks blushed a tad. "Eh, Ban is fine," he shrugged. "It's a nice name," I offered. "I never thought about it before. But it doesn't sound so boring when you say it." "Really?!" My whole body perked up startled. This was met with a smile; a sincere smile. "Yeah."