Takes place in Vol 5.
"Anyway, so long as you mind your manners, I'll take as many baths with you as you want."
"As many as I want?!"
So it went. And I was feeling good about it on the way over; proud of myself. For being clear about the conditions, for finally giving Toriko something she wanted (For what reason) and which seemed to make her happy, for acting instead of being obstinate and dense. Even if it was just a bath and that is seriously it.
The no flirting rule isn't just about being in a public space…or should it be…? Even Toriko seemed shocked when I mentioned it.
But no, she definitely flirts with me. Or hits on me. Are those different? Is flirting maybe only possible with two participating parties, so if Toriko is the only one doing anything while I just make stupid faces, that doesn't count? If that's true, oh no, does she think I'm going to flirt with her from now on? Was that implied? Wait wait waiT—
"Sorawo, you're making kind of an alarmed face right now. Not like you've just seen something scary from the Otherside but kind of like…you wet yourself?"
The last part of that sentence was spoken very brightly and thoughtfully, with a finger to her chin, and I yelped in reply, "I didn't! Why do you keep assuming that?"
And Toriko laughed, her musical and mirthful laugh that smoldered my frustrations like rainfall on coals. Even while she was making fun of me, lately…her voice, her presence? was so soothing.
Cheerfully and calmly, Toriko replied, "It wasn't an assumption~ It was a question, this time." She winked and I groaned.
"Like it makes a difference…"
"It does, it does, Sorawo~"
Maybe it's too contradicting to say Toriko is soothing…
While I sighed to myself, Toriko skipped closer and wrapped both her arms around my left, pressing herself close. For a second, I lost my balance and almost told her off, but didn't, instead adjusting to the new weight.
Surely I didn't need to flirt back if she was like this by herself…
But no, I know that's not true. Rather, surely, Toriko won't be satisfied with just this forever. And that's even saying she's satisfied right now, which… don't I already know isn't true?
Sneaking a glance at her from the corner of my eye, Toriko was smiling happily, seemingly lost in her own world, and completely letting me guide her as we walked. Suddenly her gaze slid directly to me, catching me staring with now a slyness on her lips.
"So, what was it?"
"What was what?" I grumbled, averting my eyes.
She leaned closer, practically in my way. "The reason for the face you were making! You're not nervous about the bath after all, are you?"
How her voice changed to a pout, a not affected nervousness, wasn't lost on me. Forcing a smile while still looking ahead, marking our passage down the street as we drew nearer to our destination, I answered, "No… I trust you."
"Well, of course!"
"Heh. I… was just…"
"Hmm?"
She really was in the way so I shrugged my shoulder and Toriko resumed a more natural position at my side but didn't release my arm. What could I tell her?
We didn't have these conversations because, well, I couldn't have these conversations. And Toriko never pushed too hard so that I had to. So even now, I could probably get out of it. But I'm supposed to be trying harder… and since I'm thinking this, since I know this right now, even if I could fool Toriko like I'm dense, I can't fool myself and I could lie but that's no good, obviously, so… I should…
"Sorawo, gosh." Toriko's hand slid to grasp mine and tugged us to a stop and out of the way of passersby. Her face was serious now, and genuinely concerned, with delicate blonde eyebrows slanted and her bright lips pouted just so. A memory, unbidden, of her kissing me in the Otherside meadow appeared in my brain, but I banished it immediately.
"Are you really okay?"
I must have scowled at that. How often does she ask me that. How often do I make her ask me that? When she first asked, it was casual, and I made it worse without hardly saying a damn thing. Stop worrying her, me! Damn it!
Meeting her eyes would be a mistake because there's no way I could control my expressions so, without looking at her, I answered with all the honesty I could dredge up from the steel walls around myself, "I'm not nervous and I don't regret us going. I just— was thinking— about semantics. I don't know what the difference is between flirting and hitting on someone and I guess I made a weird face!"
She would get why I was thinking about that, right? I don't have to explain that, right? As for whether telling her this would aid in her worrying less—I don't know. But evading only makes it worse, for both of us; that much we both know well.
Toriko hummed, and as she did so, the fingers wrapped around mine stroked mine gently. It felt intimate and that felt uncomfortable on a sidewalk in the middle of the city but I maintained my rigid pose. She said, more levity returned to her voice, "Uh, I'm not sure about the difference either. There definitely is one?"
"Don't know…"
A chuckle, soft, and Toriko began walking again. Led by her hand, I followed suit. "But it's a little rich of you to be contemplating semantics that hard after you shot down what I said about assumptions~"
Instead of answering, I stayed silent for a few seconds, long enough that the turn towards the bath house was close enough that I could then change the subject with, "Turn here. It's that building."
"Uh-huh~"
She didn't seem upset, or worried anymore, so that's a relief. What she could possibly be thinking I can't even guess—I admitted to worrying over what I'd said to her earlier, my precious conditions—and that seems like supreme fodder for picking on me or something but Toriko just walked along with a genial smile.
No, a gentle smile. Ah, I know this one.
The smile when she was looking after me.
We stepped into the small foyer and I detached my hand from hers and moved swiftly to check in. Once done, I turned back to see Toriko, hands clasped, waiting a few feet back, the picture of politeness and patience. Not scared like she was at the hot springs and not frighteningly zealous like at the love hotel. It calmed my heart to see her like that but I don't give her credit for it since it's also her that I need calming from. I held the door open for her and we proceeded to the adjoining women's changing rooms without exchanging a word.
Inside, I handed her a key, along with the awe-inspiring one-liner, "Here's your key."
For some reason, Toriko smiled, the kind of gentle but toothy smile accompanied by drawn eyelids that cast shadows on her pale skin and seemed to imply all kinds of meaning as unintelligible to me as Otherside text. "Thanks." She said simply, and plucked it from my hand with her gloved fingers.
Dumbstruck, I very dumbly began to undress, and by that I mean I got stuck in my own sweatshirt for a hot second. Once freed, I chanced a look at Toriko to see if she was going to say anything. As expected, she was looking at me, and still totally clothed. I waited, thoughtlessly, until…
"Don't look." With a sniff, she turned away from me and began to unzip her jacket, under which she had probably three other layers.
I mean, what? Don't look? Putting my slackjaw to work, I whispered in a pitch to spare the other women in the room, "Huuh? You treated me like your doll in the Mayoiga! And at the hot springs— I still haven't forgotten that! Plus the love hotel and you've been asking me to bathe with you for like week—"
Cut off, Toriko whispered back in the same pitch, glaring at me over her shoulder, "So, what? You want to look?"
"What?! I… I… No!"
With an, 'I thought so,' hmph, Toriko faced away from me again and continued undressing.
…I had started out so confident but I was already exhausted…
Still, I'm not going to lose…
Stepping out of my underwear, I asked casually, "The different baths are in different rooms. Do you know what kind you want to try first?"
At this time, even though I wasn't looking, I could still hear Toriko shimmying out of her cargo pants. She answered, "Hum… A sit-down kind, I guess?" The fwump of her pants being added to the pile of her clothing.
Wrapping myself in a towel and setting my pile into my locker while keeping my eyes ahead and not to the side, I replied, "Easily done. Waiting on you, Toriko-san." The key wristband felt loose on my wrist; I'd better be careful it didn't slip off in the water.
A handful of moments later, Toriko's locker shut, clicked, and the woman herself appeared at my side, looking at her feet. "Ready~" She announced, softly.
Rinsing off, we laughed at the amount of dirt that fell off our bodies, even as it was embarrassing at the same time. We got a little lost looking for a bath we wanted but then we were in the steaming water. Toriko wrapped her long hair up in her towel, while I embraced my soaked rat image.
Sinking lower, Toriko sighed and I finally looked at her. At her face, only, of course. Her gaze met mine and we smiled at one another. It was normal for bath houses to be crowded in the evening and so was this one. In consideration of Miss Canada, I sat myself the acceptable two feet away from another woman, leaving the larger empty space on my other side for Toriko. Her cheeks were pink, but that might have been from the water.
"Is this good?" I asked quietly, looking intently at her face, her chin wiggling where it was submerged.
"Yeah! Super relaxing. Thanks, Sorawo."
I had nothing to worry about…
We never ended up switching baths, just relaxed and let the hot water ease our muscles with sparse and easy chat between us. It was Toriko's idea to pack it up when she realized she was hungry. I suggested eating out but she said she had leftovers at home that were going to go bad so we changed again without any shenanigans, dropped off our keys, and went into the night.
That was probably the shortest time I'd ever spent at a bath house. And maybe it was odd that Toriko made the responsible choice of eating at home instead of out together? But, sneaking glances, Toriko seemed content.
At the subway station, about to part ways, she asked, "Whenever I want, right?"
Urk. "Haha…yeah. I mean…within reason."
Toriko inhaled, and I thought for sure she was going to say something, but she didn't. The moment passed and she waved, stepping away, and said, "See you next time, Sorawo~"
I raised my hand to wave back, at the same time as Toriko's hand made a weird twist in the air, like she wasn't sure what to do with it…and then she brought it to her lips, kissed her fingertips, and blew it toward me. A wink, and she turned and dashed off to her train.
…I didn't evade in time.
