A/N: Hello people. This update might come as a bit of a surprise to some of you who have thought me dead, but well, here it is. A short one, of course, since I felt that it's fitting to end it here instead of continuing on. I'm already at work on the next chapter, so it shouldn't take too long before that one's out! It'll have a lot more interaction between Haru and Yume, so look forward to it! ;) anyway, I'm back from my hiatus and I'll be uploading more regularly now.

On a side note... THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE IN THE REVIEWS! I'm really happy to see that so many of you are enjoying the story so far. I promise I'll finish this one way or another. wengrimgarseason2tho? :(

Steamy

Haruhiro woke up to a persistent, dull hammering in his skull, his mouth as dry as sand and feeling like he could drain an entire stream of its contents and still be left unsatisfied. His eyes immediately fluttered close again in protest of the sliver of blinding light filtering through the thin, worn out curtains - the sole line of defence between the merciless sunlight and his hungover self. A groan that sounded more animal than human escaped his lips as he slapped a hand over his eyes, praying that the din inside his head would subside over time.

Never again, he vowed to himself. Never again will he indulge, or in this case, over-indulge in alcohol.

When enough strength seeped back into his limbs and the stifling heat in the room became too much to bear, the brunet finally pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing at his bleary and undoubtedly bloodshot eyes.

The room was empty save for him, and a quick - and somewhat painful - glance outside the window confirmed his hunch that it's close to midday, with the sun perched high up amongst the fluffy clouds. If the sweltering weather was anything to go by, he might already have missed lunch.

His stomach revolted at the slightest thought of food, so maybe that was for the best. Teetering on unsteady legs, Haruhiro made a beeline for the bathroom to freshen up and try his best to not look and smell like death.

The bath itself was rudimentary and basic, serving its purpose as a place to rinse their bodies clean and nothing else. The four walls were just erected logs of varying thickness – the rounded nature of the cheap and easily accessible material making it close to impossible for there to be no gaps in between each other, regardless of the competency of the person who constructed it. The brunet couldn't really comment either about the workmanship as the small hut was already there when his party arrived and made the then deserted place their abode.

It had been clearly set up without much consideration towards the modesty of its occupants, and Yume was more than just a little displeased by that discovery. She had been remarkably vocal about it, much to Shihoru's chagrin. The demure sorceress hadn't wanted to make such a huge fuss in fear of adding to the already daunting list of tasks that had to be done to fix the sorry state the estate was in and restore it to its former glory. Nevertheless, when prompted by the fiery-haired archer, Shihoru managed to find the courage to squeak out an agreement that it was necessary for there to be adequate privacy for Yume and her.

The renovation work was estimated to take them a large part of the day, but with the materials – moss, dried grass and starch, the mandatory natural adhesive – found in abundance around them, it was done in half.

The scalding hot water heated by the sun did him lots of good, though he kind of wished the rationality slowly returning to him didn't come at the price of being boiled alive. It was a real bother sometimes; the temperature of the water they bathed in daily was entirely out of their control. They were at the mercy of the constantly changing weather. Haruhiro couldn't remember the last time he had hot water to shower in, what with them always waking up at the crack of dawn and returning only after the sun had long disappeared beyond the horizon.

Maybe Yume was right. Maybe it's time to build a bigger bathhouse, one with the proper amenities and temperature control.

They'll have to build two though, one for the guys and the other for the girls.

Or... His eyes closing, Haruhiro let himself entertain the idea of a communal one, and unsurprisingly, after yesterday's events, an image of Yume clad in nothing but her favourite faded pink towel wrapped around her torso lounging at the side of the bath with both her long, toned legs dipped into the water popped up in his mind. Her hair - the vibrant shade of red quickly working its way up his list of favourite colors - was twisted up in a high bun and now a dark ruby, sleek and glossy from moisture. She smiled at him, a lazy tilt of her full lips that had him inhaling sharply. The details were so sharp and clear that he could even see the rivulets of water trickling down from her hair, past her dainty cheekbones, along the smooth skin of her neck towards the generous glimpse of cleavage offered by the towel.

Have mercy on his soul. Haruhiro was sure at that moment if he flipped through a dictionary to look up the word "temptation", Yume will be there, with that cheeky glint in her eyes and every delicious inch of creamy skin on display.

Damn it. When did he start looking at the redhead in such a scandalous light? Everything had been innocent enough before last night. Sure, there were times before when he would notice and appreciate the feminine curves on her body – he was male, after all, and he'll have to be blind not to – but never to such an outrageous extent.

He was actually fantasizing about her now.

What had changed? Was it her admittance to liking him that spurred his hormones to go into overdrive? Because if that's the case, he'll have to do some serious reflection. She wasn't about to hop into the sack with him just because she fancied him.

… Or would she?

The brunet forced himself to deviate from that line of thought. Curling his hand into a fist around the handle of a small wooden scoop, Haruhiro lowered his head and lifted it above his head. The warm liquid came pouring down a second later and he welcomed the feel of it travelling down his body, washing away the remnants of his steamy fantasy, though the evidence of it remained hard and persistent.

He heaved out a sigh, tousling his wet hair in irritation.

So much for taking a short bath.