Σ('◉⌓◉')

The following Thursday evening found me sprawled on my bed, staring down at the highly suspicious purple marble thing of vague origins.

The fact that this thing sat right in front of me was undeniable proof that my little mishap was less a mishap and more a big oopsie into another world. I mean, what kind of hallucination left a byproduct?! Of course, I couldn't rule out the possibility that I had actually gone and burgled an actual real-life jewelry store during my substance-induced haze.

If that were the case, however, I'd like to think that I would have long been apprehended for theft and public indecency by now.

Needless to say, my record was still spotless so I couldn't have left my apartment during my 'episode'.

As such I can only think of one other reason that could have led to such an oddly specific mirage.

Stress.

It made perfect sense really; I was a struggling university student with an unjust amount of papers due, not to mention the biweekly tests I still had to study for. As a result, my poor brain decided to create a fantasy to satisfy my much-needed eye candy.

Yeah! That's definitely it!

Satisfied at my own conclusion, I decided not to dwell any further on the gift I received and the fact that one of my softest towels was forever ruined. The less I thought about the incident the better. As it stood, I had more pressing matters to attend to rather than ruminate on what was likely to be a one-time incident.

Ugh. Just thinking about it made me groan.

With a soft whine, I helplessly looked at the pile of readings littered with colorful post-it notes. I was only halfway done and the exam was in five days' time. And though I had the night off from my part-time job, I wasn't feeling very confident that I'd retain so much information.

"Alright, you can do this Hazuki!" I lightly slapped my hands against my cheeks to wake myself up. "No more getting distracted!"

.

I gave up after a few hours.

In an attempt to fight off the sleep that was threatening to claim me, I cracked open yet another can of coffee—my third one this morning. It had been quite a number of hours since I started going over my notes and the fatigue was starting to settle in. While I was proud to note that I made good progress in my studies, it was at the unfortunate cost of my sanity and sleep.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the sky tinging into shades of pink and purple. Very soon, it would be dawn.

I died a little inside at the reminder that my first class was in two hours.

Morning classes were the worst.

I looked at my bed, debating the pros and cons of taking a quick nap before I headed off. There was always that risk of not waking up to my alarm and Nishikino-sensei was the devil incarnate.

Hm. Decisions, decisions.

...Nope! I was likely to sleep through all of my alarms if I nap now. With a defeated groan, I headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower, grabbing a pair of fresh clothes as I went.

.

In record time that my mother would've been so proud of that it would send her to tears, I finished my lamentably brief shower. After wrapping my body and head in a towel, I leaned against the porcelain sink to begin my morning skincare regimen. My hand fumbled around for a bottle of moisturizer, only for it to come up empty. I threw it into the bin, trying to recall if I had still any spares.

But as soon as I opened the door to step back into my bedroom, I was greeted by the sight of the interior of an old building.

"What—" I shut the door close then took a deep breath.

This is just fatigue taking its toll, just fa-

I opened the door but surprise, surprise the scenery still didn't change. "—The hell." I stared flatly at the cracks of the cemented pillars, silently wondering if the Powers That Be hated me.

Was I having another episode? I rubbed my eyes, pinched my cheeks and even slapped myself. But no matter what I did, I was still there.

Maybe I should just wait this one out again like last time? Who knows what kind of trouble I'd get into if I started snooping around again? The sudden reminder of the ungrateful pervert made me click my tongue in distaste. I was still sore about how he easily dismissed me, even if he did have a pretty face.

In an instant, a sharp glint in my periphery tore me away from my musings. Before I could formulate a proper response of surprise—I was knocked back on my butt with the distinct feeling of metal against my throat.

"…Intruder." A soft raspy voice murmured from behind me, pressing the piece of metal a little deeper to the point of discomfort. My eyes flickered to the offending hand that was wrapped around my neck and I stilled. The hand that restrained me was small—never mind the makeshift knife that was dangerously close to my jugular—and thin that it could've only belonged to a child.

Which begged the question—why was a child trying to murder me?!

"I'm not anyone suspicious!" It sounded like a typical line from someone who actually was suspicious so I quickly withdrew my claim. "I mean, I just happened to pass by!" I shot my hands up into the air for further emphasis. "You can even check me? See? No weapons!"

A few seconds passed where all I could feel was the palpable tension in the air and the beads of sweat rolling down my temple. I silently prayed to whatever god was up there to at least grant me a small bit of divine intervention that would work in my favor. Beyond all these strokes of misfortune, I deserved even a little bit of luck right? Right?!

After what seemed like hours, the knife was withdrawn and I unintentionally let out a big sigh of relief as I sank to my knees. "You shouldn't threaten people like that!" With a renewed sense of courage, I whipped my head to scold the child who nearly severed my arteries.

(Later on, once I realized the full gravity of this situation, I would be very thankful that my lack of self-preservation skills hadn't sent my head rolling.

But that's a story for a later date.)

"…Tch." In front of me stood a boy no taller than my shoulders. He gazed at me with something akin to caution and disgust. In his hand was a sharp hiltless knife, it's handle wrapped haphazardly between scraps of cloth dyed in a rusty color. My eyes fixated on it for so long that I nearly missed what he said next. "Leave. You doesn't belong here."

Yeah. I'm not arguing with that.

Shakily getting up to my feet, I gave him a polite tight-lipped smile. I made a pathetic scramble for my bathroom, sparing a minute glance towards the boy. Good. He didn't look like he intended to pursue me. Then once I was in the safety of my own space I leaned against the door, releasing a breath I hadn't noticed I was holding.

That was scary.

But at least it was already over! Like last time, I'm sure that once I reopened this door I would be back in my own apartment again and simply laugh about this episode before seeking professional help.

Yeah, professional help sounds good right about now.

...But I was a fool. I had not realized it at the time but I was already trapped within the confines of an isekai story.

Life never quite went the way I wanted it to. Because at the next moment, no matter how many times I tirelessly opened and closed my bathroom door—I was still faced with the same decrepit interior with the intimidating child looking at me blankly.

"Um," I licked my lips in nervousness, my eyes darting nervously to the ground. "Sorry. But where exactly is here—Whoa!" I jumped in surprise as I noticed that his face was suddenly very close to mine. Dangerously close if I may add. How exactly did he get so close that fast?! I barely even heard his steps!

Silence reigned between the two of us as he glared at me with dark slanted eyes. In another life, this moment would've been a bit romantic. But alas, the other party was just a child so I didn't feel anything in particular but the stirrings of a mild sneeze.

"Weird."

I flinched. Ouch. I wasn't that strange!

"You shows up…then suddenly disappears…" He circled around me, like a baby shark scenting out its prey. "These clothes," A hand reached out to tug at my robe and I squeaked in response, swatting his hand away. "Too new."

"You…" He stopped mid-stride and leveled me with a scowl. "Who is you?"

"Actually, it should be 'Who are you?'." I opened my dumb mouth to respond.

The boy's cheeks flushed at my correction, his face resembling a tomato. Had he not tried to maul me earlier, I actually would've found it, dare I say—adorable, the same way one would find a hissing cat cute. As if sensing my thoughts, he shot me a dirty look before hissing out "Answers!"

I nearly corrected his grammatical error once more but upon a short reflection, I realized that it was indeed in my best interest to answer his question. I quickly closed my mouth and mulled over on a proper response. In all honesty, I didn't think that introducing myself would clear up any misconceptions about my identity.

After all, nobody would ever believe me if I said 'Hi! I'm Hazuki Taniyama and I honestly don't know if this is reality or a hallucination~! Teehee~!'

See? Even I recoiled in disgust just thinking about it.

Thus I wracked my brain for ideas. The truth was certainly not an option but a fib that strayed too far would be difficult to maintain. I had to strike a delicate balance between the two to even my chances of escaping unscathed.

But it must be stressed that just like my otome game protagonists, I am not very clever.

The clock was ticking and the boy looked like he was ten seconds away from shivving me. And so could you blame me for blurting out the first thing that came to mind? "I'm a bath goddess!"

Oh gods. I wanted to crawl into the nearest hole and just shrivel up like a dried sardine. Seriously?! A bath goddess?! What kind of desperate idiot was I to announce such idiocy?! As if anyone would be fooled by my claims!

This was it.

Goodbye sweet and cruel world. It was a good life while it lasted.

"…A bath goddess?" To my surprise, however, he lowered his knife a little and stared at me with a glint of curiosity in his gaze.

He's buying it?! Really?!

That was…disappointingly easy.

"A bath goddess." I repeated solemnly, keeping up my act because desperate times called for desperate measures. Even I knew when to clutch to a lifeline when I saw it. "In-training." I clarified further, trying to keep up my credibility. Though in the back of my mind, I was already weeping at how much of a terrible liar I was.

The boy squinted his eyes at me in disbelief and I was so sure that he saw right through my lies. But to my amazement, he sheathed his knife and began looking at me in wonder—thought it was honestly hard to tell with his perpetually constipated face. Did this child even have the required facial muscles to smile? "Goddesses…Grants wishes? You comes here to listens to my wishes?" He took a few tentative steps towards me, a little hesitant.

"Er. Sure?" I scratched my cheek and avoided his eyes, frantically hoping that he didn't ask for anything impossible. Suspiciously dangerous child or not, I didn't want to break his heart by disappointing him. As someone who used to believe in Santa Claus, I knew firsthand how upsetting it was to find out that your childhood fantasies were nothing but a big fat lie. "As long as it's within my power, of course. Which is, ah, bathing."

"Then…" He stared up at me with such hopeful and earnest eyes that I felt my heart clutching at the sight. "Wants t' be stronger!"

"…I'm sorry." Crap. I sure as hell couldn't grant such a wish. His mouth curled into a small frown and I suddenly felt like such an ass for denying him." That's not under my—er, abilities. But! I'm sure we can find a way!"

"Finds a way?" He blinked, his face smoothing into an impassive expression. He spent a few seconds in contemplation before finally looking at me. As if satisfied with my answer, he nodded in response. "That will do."

I breathed a sigh of relief, silently thanking the Powers That Be for gullible children."Anyways, what's your name kid? I'm Hazuki Taniyama."

"Bath goddesses has name?" He frowned again as if the concept were completely foreign to him.

"Yeah. It was umm…given to me, by my bath parents." My response made me want to crawl in another hole somewhere and die.

He bobbed his head once, then replied. "Feitan."

I paused at his succinct introduction. Feitan? What a peculiar but familiar name. Where had I heard that name before? Perhaps in a book I read once? A game? A-

Oh well! It didn't really matter at the moment. I was sure that I would figure it out later on. And even if I didn't, I don't suppose that it was a pressing concern anyways.

.

"Do a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats and a ten-kilometer run every day and you'll be stronger!"

After our brief introduction to each other, Feitan sat me down on a cot (more like glared at me until I timidly plopped my bum on it) located at a dark corner of what I assumed was abandoned property. A quick survey of the area led me to believe that he had no companion to speak of. The clothes strewn all over the yellowing moth-eaten blankets looked too small to belong to anyone older than him. And he hadn't made any mention of guardians or other parental figures in the short while we've been together.

...Was he an orphan?

Shit.

Pity swelled in my heart and I began to feel a little more tolerant of his cagey behavior. Without even realizing it, I had already raised an affectionate hand to give him a pat on the head. But his face immediately crumpled into a scowl before plucking my hand away as if it were yesterday's piece of trash.

"Can't you just makes me strongest right now?" He huffed, deftly dodging my other hand that attempted to pat him.

"I can't. It doesn't work that way. You need to train if you want to get stronger. There's no shortcut to it. Strength is only born through hardships. So, a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run!" I beamed down at him, momentarily giving up on the head pats.

If my advice sounded eerily similar to a certain someone's training regimen, well, let's ignore that detail for now!

This piece of advice seemed to make Feitan think, as his eyes widened at my words. He chewed on his bottom lip in contemplative silence.

It was actually kind of endearing how he took my words to heart. And okay yeah, I was lying through my teeth about the whole goddess thing. I felt awful about it but it was an important matter of survival. But my advice came from a genuine place of concern!

"Ah," I paused to tap my fingers against my chin. "That might be too hard for a kid. How old are you anyway-seven? Hm. maybe we can cut it down to ten push-ups, ten sit-ups, ten squats, and a five hundred meter run a day?"

"I'm twelve." Feitan hissed. The way his hands twitched against his knife holster did not escape my notice.

I gulped nervously before laughing. Loudly. Nervously.

"Oh. Um. Right. Haha. Then we can start with twenty instead? I think that's reasonable?" I tilted my head to the side, sending a lock of damp hair brushing across my nose. I looked up and belatedly noticed that my head was still wrapped in a towel. I tugged it free from its restraints, my long locks messily tumbling down to rest on my shoulders. I debated going back to my bathroom (that for some odd reason remained connected to this place as a glowing floating door—although Feitan was unable to see it) to retrieve a hairbrush but I had a feeling that the boy would not appreciate my brief disappearance.

Feitan growled.

"Thirty then?" That seemed to appease him.

"Today start." Feitan took a few steps towards the exit but paused to look at me. "You not going with?"

With a start, I jumped to my feet."Wait, let me change first." I couldn't exactly go out looking like an exhibitionist, especially not with a child in tow! But if I had to be honest, it was more like a child with an adult in tow. I was just following Feitan around like a lost duckling. Whenever I tried to lead; his scowl would deepen as he increased his pace to walk in front of me once more.

I eventually took Feitan's silence as an agreement. He wasn't saying anything againstit so I assumed that it would probably be okay with it.

...But the fact that I had to ask permission from a child several years younger made my pride as an adult hurt.

"Wait." He yanked my wrist right as I was about to leave. "You no leave?"

"Of course not!" Lies. I would've left at the first chance I got. But he didn't have to know that, did he? Much to my chagrin, however, it wasn't like I could actually leave even if I wanted to. I was regrettably stuck here until further notice.

Feitan continued to gaze at me as if searching for something. He narrowed his eyes, inching his face closer to mine.

Wow. The people of this world have no sense of personal space.

"Um," I said, for a lack of thing to say.

Seemingly satisfied with my response, he let go of me and said. "…Hn."

Huffing to myself, I went back to my bathroom, praising my own foresight at having some clean clothes stashed. Otherwise, I would've been stuck with Feitan, parading around in nothing but a skimpy bath towel. I shuddered at the thought as I quickly changed into a fresh pair of clothes. That was not something I even wanted to think about.

A clink resounded in my otherwise empty bathroom and I whirled my head to find the source of the sound. To my surprise, it was the purple gem I received from last time! I curiously picked it up, rolling it experimentally on my palm before dropping it in my pocket for safekeeping.

"'A'zuki!"

That was perhaps my cue to hurry up.

"I'm coming!"

Feitan's part ended up being a lot longer than expected so I'm cutting it here.

Next chapter will reveal what's actually happening! I'll try to update at least once in 2 weeks. Haha Thank you to those two who left me a review on chapter 1. To everyone, reading this ; please leave reviews, they motivate me to write more! I'd love to know what you guys think so far!

Random trivia: In case you haven't noticed , I'll be parodying a lot of popular series. This fic was heavily inspired by the light novel called Bath Goddess , so if it seems familiar it's because of that!

'Til next time guys!

EDIT: 06/01/20