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Kounosuke and I parted at the candy store after his third round of shaved ice. While he was heading back home with a juice-stained grin of satisfaction, I was standing at the entrance looking at my wallet in resignation. If it weren't for the fact that it was almost sunset, he would've gotten a fourth, and my money for today would've been gone. Thank the gods though that he agreed to have me accompany him in looking for scenery, instead of treating him for the rest of the week. I doubt my wallet could suffer another blow like that. Ah, whatever! That was done, and I needed to relax.

And what better way to relax during the summer holiday than to soak up in a hot spring? It was weird yes, with summer related to heat and all that, but hey it worked. The nearest hot spring bath was at the Ooshima Inn and despite it being an indoor bath, it was good enough for a small village like this, especially for a certain someone running on a small budget. Besides, I haven't seen that tiger's face for a while now.

I arrived at the inn at twilight. Nothing much had changed from what I could remember save for the sign's colors fading with age. Opening the sliding doors, I got in and saw Torahiko on the counter, who seemed like he was doodling something on a piece of paper.

"Evening, Tora." I rubbed the soles of my sandals on the mat.

"Yo, Hiroyuki! You're in luck! The bath's empty now. Then again, we're already closed so that's natural," Tora said with a playful wink.

"Sweet! I got the whole thing to myself!"

Well it would be a bit lonely being in the baths all by myself, but it was better than having my eyes assaulted by the sight of wrinkly asscheeks of old men accompanied by the shrieks of kids, an occurrence that happened every time I went to the bathhouse back in the city. It wasn't all bad though since there was this regular: a middle-aged man, construction worker from what I recalled in his conversations with the old men, built like a tank with a buzz cut and a stubble. Every time, I would get flustered and turn away, contenting myself with the occasional glances at his direction my eyes caught sight of him, on. Recently though he hasn't appeared so the visits there had less of a thrill.

Flashback aside I went to the lockers and shoved my clothes and stuff inside one, grabbed a towel and headed straight to the baths. Save for the tiled floor and cemented ceiling, the interior of it was mostly made of wood. Not bad as it gave a more rural feel to it in my opinion. The steam inside was so comforting to the skin that I washed myself as quick as I could then immersed myself in the hot spring bath right after. I had to watch myself or I could end up falling asleep because I was so relaxed. Everything was silent there, but the silence was welcoming rather than disturbing. But that relaxing atmosphere didn't last long when Torahiko entered the bath with only nothing but a towel on his waist.

He grinned. "Well, someone's enjoying his alone time!"

"T-Tora!? What the hell?! I thought you were watching the counter?"

Tora headed to the wash area. "We're closed, remember?"

"O-Oh..."

"I figured we could have some time to bond, you know, like back when we were kids."

Not like I hated the idea. I mean, it's been a long while so we could at least do some stuff together to catch up. But this? Yeah we did it back when we were kids, scrubbing each other's backs and all that bath-related horseplay. Even so, the Torahiko in front of me was different from the one back then. This one was taller, and had large muscles that made him look like a living sculpture. Even at a first glance, I could tell there was no way he could've gotten all that from just swimming. He did mention that he also did weight training days ago. Maybe I should join him sometime to get rid of some of this city fat.

"Hey, Hiroyuki. Wanna scrub my back?" Torahiko asked, shampooing his head.

I turned to him. "Huh?"

"It's been a while since someone else did, so I'd be thankful for it." He winked.

"O-Okay."

Grabbing the washcloth, I lathered it up with the body wash and started scrubbing his back. To say that I was embarrassed was an understatement. It felt like the room got hotter than usual, but I knew it was just me. If Tora saw me right now, he would probably laugh at how red I looked. Then again, he might just misunderstand and say something like "The heat's getting to you."

How could I not be embarrassed though? Never in my days so far had the thought of me scrubbing a muscular guy's back crossed my mind. Yet here I was doing it, and it was my childhood friend's back to boot. Even with the washcloth and all that fur, I could still feel the ridges of his back muscles. He really did grow a lot in the time I was gone. That little crybaby I knew was but a memory of the past now. There was a bit of jealousy on my side, but there was also a bit of melancholy. I was out of touch with him for so long, I didn't know that he'd grown up to have a back so strong, so wide...

"Hiroyuki, you okay back there?" he said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You stopped scrubbing all of a sudden."

"Ah! Sorry. Just got distracted with stuff," I said, scrubbing his back again vigorously.

The tiger coughed. "Hey, Hiroyuki."

"Y-Yes?"

"How's everything for you? Being back here in Minasato and all that."

I sighed. "Well, for one thing I couldn't do some of the things I used to be good at anymore. And even when nothing much changed, everything still feels so alien to me. But other than that I'm enjoying myself."

"Eh, you just need some getting used to. I'm sure you'll get your groove back in no time. That, or I'll have to force it out of you."

"Oh? And how are you gonna do that?"

He turned to me, sporting a cat-like grin. "I have my ways."

"Okay, that was creepy. Can you turn back now so I can finish?"

Snickering, Torahiko turned back. Then as I continued scrubbing, he became silent for a few seconds. "Can I ask you another question? This one's been on my mind since after the party."

"Go ahead. Shoot."

"Why did it take you so long to come back?"

I wasn't expecting that question to come out at all, much less so from him. But then again, I should've. How would I even answer it? Lie and tell him my parents didn't want me to come back until I was older, or tell the truth and say I forgot all about it?

Torahiko continued. "Every summer I waited at that station, hoping that one of the people getting off the bus would be you. You weren't the type to break promises, weren't you?"

"Of course I'm not!"

He sighed. "I kept waiting, suppressing the building doubt that you'd ever come back. If I doubted you, then how can I say I was your best friend?"

"Tora..."

"But I got desperate. What I said about the letter days ago was a lie. I sent that to see if you still remembered anything. This village. Us. Me."

My hands remained on his back, clutching tight the washcloth. The steam around us should be hot, but at that moment everything felt cold.

"Answer me. Was life in the city that great?"

From the sound of his voice, he sounded like he was about to cry. Even I wanted to. All these five years, he was waiting for me to come back. And what did I do? Let myself get carried away by city life that bit by bit, my memories of Minasato got buried to the point that I forgot to even pay them a single visit. Lying to him right now would be equal to me stabbing him in the heart. I had to be honest, if I still wanted to consider myself his friend.

"No."

Still in his seat, Tora turned around and grabbed my shoulders. "Then why?"

I lowered my head. "For us who grew up here, living in the city ain't easy. It's not like your regular trips to Kazenari. Even if it's the closest city here, Kazenari didn't feel too much like a city right?

"I guess so," he said.

"But where I live, everything was so fast-paced, if you didn't know how to catch up you'd be left to fend for yourself. I saw that happen again and again to many kids in school there. In his first job when we moved, Dad even came close to having a breakdown."

"I... I'm sorry..." Tora's grip loosened.

"It's alright. His job now is better. All his colleagues used to live in the country too, from what he told Mom and me."

At that point, Tora's hands were just touching my shoulders.

"I wasn't as lucky." My voice started to break. "Do you know how it feels like? To shut yourself in just to survive? To be alone and numb for so lo-"

Then all of a sudden Tora hugged me, his hands on my back and his head resting on my shoulder. His wet fur smelled too strongly of the lemon-scented body wash he was using. But I didn't care. It had been a long time since I received a comforting hug from a friend, and I was more than grateful to him. So grateful, I held tight onto him and let my tears fall on his shoulder, sobbing. And he returned the favor, holding tighter, petting my back, and even letting himself cry. Once we calmed down, we let go and thanked each other.

"This is odd, having something like this during a bath and all," Tora said, wiping his eyes.

"Guess some things never change, huh?" I stuck my tongue out. "Little crybaby Tora."

"Speak for yourself!"

After washing the soap off ourselves, we went into the bath and let ourselves relax in the hot water. At one point, we had a contest to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest. Obviously, Torahiko won. When we were done with our bath we headed straight to the lockers. While I was drying myself, I often glanced at Torahiko's side and the most I saw of him was his bare ass, and a nice one at that. His thick, built legs certainly complimented it, but I had to stop myself from objectifying my friend even further.

All freshened up, we headed straight to the kitchen as Torahiko offered to cook dinner. On the way there I saw his parents and bade them a good evening. They were quite surprised when they saw me. Well, that should be natural given what had happened. In the kitchen Tora got out some vegetables and, for reasons unknown to me, hotdogs while I stayed behind the counter. I didn't know what he was planning to make, but I had to put my trust in him.

With the ingredients cut, he put a bit of oil on a small wok and fired up the stove. At that point I got the idea of what he was planning to make. When the oil started to smoke he put the onions first, then the garlic, followed by the bell peppers and carrots, and lastly the hotdogs, with an added dash of soy sauce and salt. As he was stir-frying, the aroma of it spread to the whole kitchen and it got my mouth watering. When he was done, he put the stir-fry on a large plate and presented it on the counter. I was amazed at how colorful it looked.

"I present, my hotdog and veggie stir-fry," Tora said with a confident smile. "My quick fix after a long and grueling day at the pool."

I grabbed a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. "Looks good. Itadakimasu!"

The first taste did not disappoint. The vegetables had that balance of softness and crispness, and the hotdog bits were still juicy. Soy sauce was a bit overpowering and maybe a bit of sweetness could help it taste even better.

"Have you tried adding some sugar to it?" I asked. "It could help balance the flavor of the soy sauce."

"You mean like a teriyaki sauce? Alright. I'll do it next time. And finally, a genuine critique from someone that's not Dad!"

"Who else tastes what you cook?"

"Tatsu-nii." Tora scratched his head. "And he ain't exactly the best judge of things, washing everything down with alcohol."

We continued eating the stir-fry as we had our conversation. Now I wasn't much of a master of things relating to food, but even so Tora's cooking was good from what I tasted so far. Hopefully he would let me taste more of his cooking during my stay. Imagine all the money I could save from the free meals. Then again, that would be countered by the money I pay for the baths.

But as we were enjoying our meal, there was this lingering feeling that I still had something to do. Looking at the blue-tinted scenery out the window, it all came back to me. "Tora, what's the time now?"

"Hmm? It's around 7:30 PM. Why?"

"Ah, crap!"