[FMMISM] Chapter 52: Bath Together

"Let's go, Ragna."

Aoi grabbed Ragna's hand, ready to head back to the receptionist and request a room with a normal bathroom.

However, as she pulled his hand, she found that she couldn't move him at all.

"What's wrong?" Aoi turned and asked confusedly.

"Auntie... I'm a bit tired..." Ragna suddenly showed a slightly spoiled look, looking up at her.

"Is that so...? Alright, let's just rest here... Fufu, you're right, you must be very tired today, aren't you?"

After saying that with a gentle smile, Aoi then pondered.

'Now that I thought about it, Ragna is still just a child, yet he bravely fought off those bad guys for me...'

Aoi looked at Ragna gratefully, then sighed.

"I was being a bit fussy just now... I'm sorry, Ragna."

"Umu." Ragna nodded and then pulled her towards the bath. "Let's take a bath together. I'll wash your back, Auntie!"

"...Eh?"

Upon hearing his words, Aoi was stunned, dizziness from deep within her brain making her stand rooted to the spot.

'Does this kid want to take a bath with me? But he should already be too old to bathe with an adult, right?'

At first, Aoi felt confused, but after some time, a small joy welled up in her chest. Whatever the reason, this was undoubtedly a sign of closeness in her eyes.

"Um, Ragna..."

Aoi smoothed her skirt, squatted down in front of Ragna, and gently patted his head, gazing at his face with a kind expression.

"You'll be in middle school next year, right? You need to learn to be independent; you can't ask an adult to help you bathe anymore, you know."

Aoi's daughter, Rin, had been bathing on her own since she was six years old. After all, not overly pampering children and teaching them to be independent was the rule of the Tohsaka family.

For this reason, Aoi refused Ragna's invitation to bathe together.

"Ohh..." Ragna lowered his head, looking very dejected.

'Did I say something too harsh?' Aoi scolded herself internally, then gently asked, "Why do you want to bathe with Auntie? Is there a reason?"

"..."

Ragna remained silent, his head still down.

"...Ragna."

Seeing his silence, the mistress of the Tohsaka family puffed up her cheeks, pretending to be angry.

Only then did Ragna reluctantly nod and stretch his neck to whisper into Aoi's ear. With his mouth just two centimeters from her delicate earlobe, he murmured softly.

"Actually... Auntie... Um..."

"H-Hmm... I'm listening..."

Aoi nervously swallowed as Ragna's warm breath on her ear made her chest feel slightly itchy.

"Um... Actually... I've never taken a bath alone before..." Ragna said, blushing and feeling very embarrassed.

"Uhh..."

Aoi blinked her eyes in surprise.

'Do parents bathe with children this old? Isn't that too indulgent?' Aoi thought speechlessly, then asked, "Ragna, what do you do when you're not with your mother?"

"Usually, I bathe with the maids." Ragna answered honestly.

In fact, since the beginning, every word he said was true.

"Is that so..." Aoi pursed her moist lips tightly before swallowing saliva.

For her, bathing together with Ragna wasn't necessarily out of the question.

However, whenever she thought about how she had never even bathed with her husband before, and now she was going to enter the same bathtub naked with a boy she had just met and who was shorter than her, her heart inexplicably started racing.

Unconsciously, her breathtakingly beautiful cheeks turned rosy and charming.

'No, no, what am I even thinking! How embarrassing, Aoi! Ragna is still just a kid; having such thoughts about him is too disrespectful!'

'So... it should be fine, right?'

Stroking her gently rising and falling ample chest, Aoi looked at Ragna with a face full of tenderness.

"Okay... Auntie will take a bath with you today."

"Yatta!" Ragna tackled Aoi, who was squatting in front of him, to the ground. "I'm so happy, Auntie!"

"Jeez... You don't have to be that happy..." Aoi's cheeks flushed even more as the boy's cute face rubbed against her chest. "Ragna, you really are a child who never grows up."

===

"Phew..."

Ragna let out a sigh as he immersed his body in the warm water of the bathtub. Both the perfectly warm temperature and the scent of shampoo allowed his tired body to relax to the fullest after a long day.

After a while, Ragna couldn't help but shiver slightly and let out another sigh resembling that of a middle-aged man before glancing towards a corner of the bathroom.

About a meter away from the bathtub, Aoi, now stripped of her dress and coat, stood in front of a mirror with her back to Ragna. Despite having given birth to two children, she managed her figure perfectly amidst her life as a wealthy housewife.

Not only did her well-rounded body show no hint of excess fat, but the mist in the bathroom also added a touch of mystery and nobility to her enticing figure from behind.

"Hmm..."

Aoi let out a light hum through her nose, elegantly undoing the bra button behind her.

With that, the aristocratic mistress of the prestigious Tohsaka family, who had been tightly bound all day by her clothes, found freedom for both body and mind.

Reflected in the mirror was a scene completely contrary to her classical and dignified appearance—plump yet alluring.

Gently stroking the long hair cascading down to her hips, Aoi first stole a glance at the boy enjoying the bath behind her, then looked into the mirror.

As Aoi saw her own naked reflection in the mirror, she couldn't help but feel her heart begin to race.

It was not without reason—not even her husband had seen her naked in the bathroom like this.

"Auntie?"

"Ahh... I-I'm coming!"

Aoi lightly bit her lip with her pearly teeth, swallowed nervously, and turned shyly towards the bathtub. Intentionally lowering her head, she tried to cover her flushed cheeks with her flowing dark-green locks.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ragna."

A delicate, fair foot was the first to dip into the bathwater as Aoi locked eyes with the leisurely boy lying in the tub.

"Ragna, I'm coming in..."

However, as soon as Aoi entered the bathtub, Ragna suddenly lifted his upper body from the water and reached out to wrap his arms around her slender waist. His posture resembled that of a crocodile lurking in water, ready to prey on herbivorous animals.

"Kya! You..."

Letting out a coquettish scold, Aoi lost her balance, her supple body falling heavily onto Ragna.

Splash!

Together, they sank into the bathtub, creating a grand splash of foam.

===

Late at night, when all was quiet.

When Ragna opened his eyes, he found himself tightly embraced by Aoi, his head buried deep in the softest of embraces.

As the delicate fragrance filled the air, Ragna suddenly heard the quiet sobbing of the woman who embraced him.

'Hmm? Why is she crying?' Ragna was a bit confused.

Besides patting and rubbing, wiping and hugging, what else had he done that almost made her cry in the bathtub?

Ragna lifted his head, only to find that Aoi had fallen asleep with her eyes closed.

It seemed her consciousness was stuck in a dream.

Aoi embraced Ragna close, burying her face in his hair.

"...Sakura, I'm sorry... Forgive me..."

"..."

Upon hearing Aoi's mutter, Ragna sighed, turned carefully, and silently wrapped his arms around her waist, gently soothing her slightly trembling back with his right hand.