Shane couldn't help it—he let out a snort of laughter.
"So she's got that side to her too. Huh. If that's the case, maybe she's actually way more normal than she looks—she's just gotten used to putting on the 'brooding' act."
"Right? Right?!" Erza laughed too, her eyes curving happily.
But as she laughed, something suddenly felt… off.
Why had the conversation circled back to Ultear again?
Erza scrunched her nose in irritation. Watching Shane look so genuinely amused, she felt a strange, soggy heaviness settle in her chest—like someone had licked her candy. The candy was still hers, but it didn't feel good anymore.
Splash!
Water flew as she shot up out of the spring and stepped close to Shane, steam rising off her skin. She cut his thoughts cleanly in half.
"Enough laughing. Get up—I'm scrubbing your back!"
"Huh?" Shane blinked at the sudden turn. "You don't have to— I've barely been soaking—"
"No! You have to. I must scrub it!"
Erza didn't give him any room to refuse. She brought out her battle-mode aura, grabbed Shane by the arm, and flat-out dragged him to the stone platform at the edge of the pool.
"Sit. Back straight."
Shane: "…"
Resistance was useless. He slumped onto the little stool and surrendered to fate.
Erza rolled up her soaked sleeves, produced a towel from nowhere, and got to work with intense focus.
To Shane's surprise, her technique—while delivered with absolute authority—was actually gentle. The pressure was perfect: enough to loosen tight muscles, not enough to hurt. It was… just plain good.
"Does it feel nice?" she asked from behind him, a hint of anticipation in her voice.
"…Yeah." Shane answered stiffly. "You're good at it."
Getting his approval made Erza's lips lift slightly. As she scrubbed, she remembered the decision she'd made earlier.
"By the way…" Her hands slowed a little. Her voice softened in the warm mist. "It feels like we haven't done a request together in a long time."
"Have we?" Shane honestly hadn't been tracking it.
"We have." Erza drew small circles on his back with her fingertips, sounding faintly aggrieved. "Lately I've been at home alone, or going to the guild alone, and it's… kind of boring."
She leaned closer; her wet crimson hair hung down, the damp tips brushing his cheek.
"So… do you want to team up again? Like before?"
Her voice was low by his ear. Her warm breath tickled his ear.
Shane was about to turn and say, Sure——
But the moment he looked back, his words died in his throat.
Maybe she'd moved too much earlier, because Erza's bathrobe had slipped halfway down her shoulder. Moonlight filtered through the steam and landed on smooth, rounded skin, then slid along the delicate line of her collarbone.
And she had zero awareness—just stared at him with those clear black eyes, waiting for an answer.
"…Is she genuinely oblivious, or is she doing this on purpose?"
Shane's eye twitched. He sighed, reached out, and tugged her robe back up to somewhere safely decent.
"Can you please develop even a little self-awareness as a girl…?"
Erza didn't even react to the robe fix. At his yes, her eyes lit up instantly, glossy and bright in the mist, full of happiness.
Watching her look so delighted, Shane swallowed the snark that had risen to his lips—I've been at home; you're the one who kept running outside—and let it die.
Whatever. She looked happy.
After he was done, they slid back into the spring.
Leaning against the stone edge, Shane casually talked about what happened in the Vasse Tree Sea, and asked whether Erza had any new ideas for weapons—he could forge something for her when he had time.
Erza listened with real interest, chiming in now and then. The mood was relaxed and warm.
When the night got late and the air turned colder, they finally dried off and went to their rooms.
But Erza's excitement clearly hadn't worn off.
Just as Shane was about to turn out his lamp, someone knocked.
Erza stood in his doorway hugging a pillow, completely serious, and made a bold proposal:
"Shane. Want to sleep together again, like before? We can talk about tomorrow's request plan."
"…Huh?"
Shane stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
Her clinginess tonight had his brain throwing error messages. When he'd come back after being gone for two months, she'd been terrifying—all stern lectures and deathly mood. And now she was suddenly this attached?
He didn't dislike closeness, but the whiplash was real.
"…Don't mess around. Go sleep."
It took him an absurd amount of talking to convince a sulky Erza to go back to her room.
"Whew…"
Once she was gone, Shane let out a long breath.
He flopped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling—only for his mind to drift, completely on its own, to the person who always spoke to him like he'd stepped in mud:
Ultear.
Same age as Erza, and yet it felt like comparing two entirely different species.
Shane started comparing them in his head—
"…Nope."
Two seconds later he muttered, "Sorry," to Erza in his heart.
Comparing Erza to that sharp-tongued menace was just rude.
With that faint, inexplicable guilt, he finally fell asleep.
The next morning—
When Shane blinked awake, the first thing he saw was the "bad woman" herself, wearing that same icy expression.
Ultear looked like she'd already showered and changed into clean clothes: a simple white shirt and dark pants.
They looked weirdly familiar—like something Erza had worn before.
But on Ultear, they fit perfectly, outlining her tall, lean proportions. Every button at her collar was fastened neatly, giving her a cool, restrained kind of beauty.
She was sitting on a chair by the window, quietly watching him.
"…Why are you here?"
It popped out of Shane's mouth on pure reflex.
Ultear glanced at him, unimpressed. "What? Were you hoping Erza would be the one waking you up?"
"That's not it." Shane rubbed his eyes and sat up. Then, with full sincerity: "It's just… seeing your face first thing after waking up is kind of horrifying. I thought I was still asleep having a nightmare."
Ultear's temple twitched. A vein nearly made a guest appearance.
If she didn't have something to say, she absolutely would've picked this fight.
Shane didn't really do "lying in bed," either. He snapped his fingers; his sleepwear flashed into a set of regular clothes.
He stood and looked at her, puzzled. "You're here this early—did you need to tell me something?"
With Hades pressuring her yesterday, Shane had assumed she'd vanish at dawn without a word.
Instead, she'd come to him.
Ultear didn't answer immediately. She pressed her palm to her cool cheek, turned her face toward the window, and stared out as if her gaze could pass through the glass into some far-off place.
Shane's patience frayed. "You—"
"Shane."
Ultear cut him off softly.
She didn't turn around. She kept looking outside, but her voice went strangely weightless—almost distant.
"Next time we meet… do you want to hear about my wish?"
Shane froze.
He studied her—this quiet, lonely look that didn't match her usual armor.
The last time she'd looked this soft was that night on the rooftop, when she'd been talking about her past.
Was she trying to make some kind of… promise?
He didn't know what she was planning, but he also knew he owed her something from Vasse Tree Sea.
So he dropped the jokes, straightened his expression, and nodded seriously.
"Of course. If you're willing to say it."
"…Mm."
Ultear gave a small sound. For an instant—so quick it might've been a trick of the light—something like a smile flickered at the corner of her mouth.
Then she didn't say anything else. She turned on her heel, opened the door, and walked out.
Shane stayed there, listening to her footsteps fade away until they were completely gone.
He scratched his head.
"…What a stubborn, awkward person."
~~~
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