Chapter 69 - Washing Away Any Doubt
8.27.1206 - Sunday
After returning from the Nord Highlands, Rean and Towa got back to work onboard the Courageous II. It didn't take long for the others to notice a change in the pair's body language. Gaius informed the rest of Class VII about why Rean had taken Towa to the highlands, which caused the group to start up a group video call to discuss matters.
Without either Rean or Towa, of course.
"They seriously need to get some rest." Alisa cautioned.
"Just how are we supposed to convince them to go lay down for a while? Last I saw him, Rean was looking over the requests on the computer." Machias questioned.
"Ugh. Why can't either of them practice what they preach?" Juna complained.
"I swear those two will never learn." Sara joked.
"Hmm… What if we submitted a request asking the two of them to go somewhere where the only thing they could do was rest?" Jusis suggested.
"Excellent idea! But where could those two go where they'd have no choice but to relax?" Musse asked.
"I know!" Emma responded. "My village has a hot spring that might help them relax."
"Oh yeah, that spring really hit the spot after you guys picked me up." Ash noted.
"There's no way Instructor Rean would ever pass up a hot spring." Kurt teased.
"And there's no way he'd go without Towa." Crow added on.
"It might look suspicious if one of us submits a request though." Laura pointed out.
"Since they're going to Emma's village, it might be better if someone from there is the one who submits the request." Fie suggested.
"Alright then, I'll get in contact with Rose and explain the situation to her. Since she's in charge of Eryn, it shouldn't make either of them suspicious of the request." Celine informed the others.
Before either of them knew it, Rean and Towa soon found themselves sitting side by side in Eryn's magical hot spring.
Roselia had insisted that she saw something strange in the hot spring earlier and that the two of them should take a dip together to see it for themselves. Leaving the pair with little option but to do as she ordered and rest in the hot spring and wait to see the strange thing for themselves.
"This is certainly not what I anticipated when Prince Olivert told me about a last minute request." Rean commented while they sat in only towels.
"Yeah…" Towa said in agreement. "You know, this reminds of that time we bathed together in Ymir during Class VII's trip there."
"You're right. Man, time really flies." Rean noted as he recalled their first time bathing together.
It was clear that they've grown a lot together since that trip to Ymir, and not just physically. They had been nervous wrecks back then, too scared to confess to the other. Much less bathe together. Strange to think how much changed in just a few years. Neither could've imagined back then what they'd find themselves involved with now.
"Even though we're supposed to keep watch, I can't help but feel relaxed." Towa admitted as she rested her head on Rean's shoulder. "This, this is nice."
"But do I really deserve a rest like this…?" Rean accidentally said aloud. "I was the one who unleashed the Great Twilight… should I even be allowed to rest here with you? Do I deserve to be as lucky as I am to have you and the others in my life…?"
"Rean…" Towa responded, shocked by his inner thoughts.
It seemed as if the hot spring had relaxed him enough to admit something he'd been holding in himself.
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to bring down the mood for you. You should be relaxing." Rean said as he stood up. "I'll go keep watch out by the door in case whatever it is that Roselia saw, it can't use it to escape if we catch it."
"Oh no you don't, mister!" Towa quickly responded as she stood up and grabbed onto Rean's arm. "I thought you were just as stressed out as me, but it's obvious that a lot more is weighing on you. Please, sit down."
"But-" Rean tried to argue before Towa tugged at his arm.
"Don't be a hypocrite, Rean. Let me help you. Helping each other shouldn't be a one-sided thing." Towa insisted as she looked up at him.
"Towa…" Rean responded as he tried to look away from her.
He knew full well that his resolve would disperse the second he looked into her eyes. It was difficult for him saying no to Towa. As she continued tugging his arm to get his attention felt himself growing weaker to her demands.
"Towa, please…" Rean responded as he turned around and tried to shake her off.
He quickly paid for his mistake when their eyes met.
"Please Rean, sit down and enjoy the bath." Towa begged as she made sure that he got lost in her eyes.
"You win…" Rean replied as he sat down in front of Towa.
He had assumed that she'd sit back down with him, but instead she walked behind him and began playing around with his hair.
"T-Towa!?" Rean responded, unsure of what she was planning.
After splashing some water on top of him, Towa began to seriously scrub Rean's white hair. She felt conflicted about his current hair color. While it did make him look more dashing along with his crimson eyes, it wasn't his true hair. It represented everything wrong that was going on. The Great Twilight, the Rivalries, the curse, and him being the Sacrifice. A constant reminder of their struggles.
"Rean, you deserve to rest just like anyone else. You shouldn't feel guilty for things you had no real control over." Towa said quietly to sooth him while she washed his hair. "Personally, I consider myself the lucky one for having you enter the Student Council room and offering me your services all those years ago."
As silly as might sound, a part of her wanted to see if perhaps if she scrubbed his hair hard enough that she'd be able to see a sliver of his normal hair again.
"T-Towa? Ow!" Rean questioned as she used way more force than was necessary to scrub his hair.
"Oh no, s-sorry!" Towa apologized as she let go of Rean's hair.
"It's alright. I just wasn't expecting you to get so worked up over cleaning my hair." Rean joked.
"It's just, your hair…" Towa tried to explain as she sat back down next to him.
"It's okay, Towa. I know. I don't plan on keeping this white hair for long." Rean assured her.
"Ugh. I was supposed to make you feel better, but now you're the one trying to comfort me." Towa complained as Rean began to pat her head.
"You did say earlier that helping each other shouldn't be a one-sided thing." Rean pointed out.
"Geez. Don't use my words against me!" Towa responded.
"Hmm… Did you hear something?" Rean asked as he looked around the spring.
"Is something the matter, Rean?" Towa asked as he stopped patting her head.
"Yeah… I sensed something…" Rean answered as he took a few steps away from her.
"Wait, it must be that strange thing that Roselia noticed!" Towa responded.
"Towa, look out!" Rean cautioned.
Towa closed her eyes as she braced herself for whatever strange thing was lurking in the spring.
Only to get splashed by water.
"Haha, got you!" Rean cheered as he continued splashing Towa with water.
"H-Hey! W-What's the big idea!?" Towa questioned.
"I had sensed a flying feline fly by a few minutes ago. Pretty sure that must've been the strange thing Roselia told us she saw here." Rean mistakenly concluded.
With the request technically completed, he saw fit to have some fun with Towa and extend their time in the spring before they returned to the Courageous II.
"H-Hey, you're gonna get me all wet!" Towa responded as she tried to shield herself.
"I mean, that is the point of bathing." Rean teased.
"Hmph. Two can play that game, mister!" Towa declared as she began to return fire.
With that, the pair stayed in the hot spring for a little longer than they'd like to admit. Reporting the completion of the request to Roselia before returning to Courageous II, recharged in a variety of ways.
Author's Note
I hope this turned out well!
When I decided to try and adapt the hot spring event about Rean bathing with Towa and the Old Class VII girls, I didn't realize the challenge that would come from extending a two minute scene and cutting out 90% of the original event.
Pretty obvious why the Old Class VII girls weren't part of the Rean hair scrubbing here, lol.
Haha, very fitting that the 69th chapter would involve Rean and Towa spending most of their time in this chapter naked. It wasn't planned to be like this, I swear. Just a happy coincidence.
Special thanks to CrowgoesCaw and ZetianWu for beta-reading this chapter for me!
