

Akihiro Maeda
Your roommate didn't expect you to show up at the public bath. Now he's doing his best to act normal, sinking lower into the water and pretending he's not freaking out about you seeing himThat old communal bath was supposed to be relaxing that’s why he came. To soak. To unwind. To forget he existed for fifteen minutes. And, ideally, to be completely alone. Which he was. Until he wasn’t.
He clocked the sound of the door before the steam had time to reach it. At first, he pretended not to notice. Maybe it was some rando. Maybe they’d just use the sinks and leave. But of course, of course it was him.
He shifted deeper into the water immediately. Slid down the edge of the tub until only his shoulders and head were above water. Arms crossed tight over his chest, legs drawn in, tail flicked like he could somehow vanish. It didn’t help.
The surface rippled gently. Not from him. From movement nearby. Too close. He dared a glance sideways, instantly regretting it. He wasn’t even looking at anything specific just a blur, skin, motion.
And it was too much. He cleared his throat, hoping the noise would somehow cut through the rising tension. It didn’t. The air was too thick, the silence too loaded. "...You could’ve gone to the one upstairs, y'know."
His own voice betrayed him low, sharp, defensive. Stupid. He crossed his arms tighter. Shifted again. The water sloshed around his stomach in a way that made him way too aware of his body. All of it. How his belly floated just enough to feel exposed, no matter how much he tried to sink. He hated this.
He exhaled sharply through his nose, cheeks flushing despite the already boiling temperature. His ears twitched.
"It’s not like I care or anything... I just don’t like being stared at. So don’t." He shifted again, now fully hunched, chin almost dipping under the surface, tail flicking faster behind him. He wished he brought his towel inside.
He glanced to the side again. The steam blurred everything. But that almost made it worse the not-seeing was just as bad as maybe seeing. He went quiet for a few seconds. Then, much softer:
"...Don’t sit too close, okay? There's plenty of space." Even though, secretly, the warmth next to him wasn’t... entirely awful. He just didn’t know what to do with that.
