“Nothing beats a good fur scrub and a bucket of cold water afterwards,” Grandpa Yojee said dreamily, walking through the corridor together with Narias.

Grandpa Yojee and Narias have just left the bath room where the two of them washed themselves and were currently on their way to the hot springs bath pool. Narias had his worries at first, but they had more than one bath room, so the two of them have washed separately from Grandma Fuuji and Miss Alifur.

“Yes, it was really nice,” Narias added.

“You know, for a sixteen-year-old you sure look mature, grandson,” Grandpa Yojee commented, walking as he did while holding his hands behind his back.

“Ah, thanks,” Narias knew why Grandpa Yojee would say that. “You look to be in a great shape yourself too, Grandpa Yojee.” Despite him being older, Estella’s grandfather looked to be well built, and when he poured the water on himself to wash away the soap, Narias could see Grandpa Yojee was quite muscular too.

“Why thank you, grandson. You have to keep yourself in shape to keep going at my age,” Grandpa Yojee was happy to receive a compliment from Narias. “Ahhh... I can smell the freshness coming from outside. We have arrived.” Grandpa Yojee opened a sliding door, revealing the built in porch and the view outside.

“Wow,” Narias gasped when he saw the steam coming up from the water.

The wooden porch extended about twenty feet forward from the house. It was hugged by a wooden wall approximately three feet tall, had two tables and several chairs to sit on next to them. The end of the porch had stairs leading down directly into the pool which was much bigger than Narias anticipated it would be. It was hard to tell, but the hot springs bath pool must’ve been bigger than a proper swimming pool you’d see back in Anthony’s world.

The edges of the pool were a mix of rocks and wooden support planks. As to be expected, the pool was unevenly shaped and had several other built-in stairs to go down or leave it when needed. Despite the mild steam coming from the top of the water, it was clear enough to see the areas under the water where you could sit or lay down more comfortably. There was a small island, that could’ve been about twenty to twenty four feet in diameter, almost in the middle of the pool too. It had built-in wooden stairs on one side too for an easier access to it. Interestingly enough, the small island was the only place to have plants growing on it. They weren’t just some weeds, however. There were beautiful, orderly planted flowers and bushes that grew close to the edges and were blocking the view of whatever was inside behind them.

“What took you so long?” Grandma Fuuji complained when her husband and Narias stepped up closer to the pool.

“You just look at that, the ladies had beat us to it, grandson,” Grandpa Yojee commented merrily, his eyes eating his wife up.

“Ah, sorry about that,” Narias apologized in Grandpa Yojee’s stead.

The ladies were already sitting inside the pool with only their shoulders being above the water. That mattered very little, however, because the pool’s water was so clear, you could see the bottom of the pool easily. Grandma Fuuji and Miss Alifur had white towels wrapped around their bodies. Still, with the water being completely transparent, you could see people’s bodies very clearly even if they were sitting in the water. Willingly or not, Narias eyes couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of Miss Alifur’s naked, long legs with her towel just barely covering her thighs. She must’ve pulled the towel higher up to cover her chest better, but that just helped reveal her nice legs instead. Or maybe Estella did that on purpose to make it more comfortable for her tail which was peeking out from below and above the water.

“Stop glaring and get into the pool, you old coot. Humph,” Grandma Fuuji turned her face away, pretending she didn’t enjoy her husband drooling over her.

“Yes, yes, my darling. Ahhh... that hits the fur...” Grandpa Yojee looked like he was melting when he sank his body into the water. “Come on, grandson, don’t just stand there. Why don’t you sit here, next to me?”

“Ah, ok. If you excuse me,” Narias stepped into the water and was instantly taken aback by the relaxing feeling that the warm spring’s water provided. “Wow...”

“Ahaha. I told you, grandson, our hot springs bath is the best,” Grandpa Yojee was happy to see Narias’s blissful reaction.

“Thank you so much for allowing me to be here,” Narias said after a few moments of quiet.

“But of course we’d let you come here. You’re our grandson,” Grandpa Yojee said it in a way it sounded he actually believed it.

“Did you apologize to your grandson for what you’ve done yet?” Grandma Fuuji cut off her husband’s merry mood by reminding him about it.

“Ah, of course, of course. Please forgive me for using my special technique during our match, grandson. You gave me a real scare and I panicked, so I- Ouch! Hey, what was that for?” Grandpa Yojee got slapped by his wife’s tail on his right ear for whatever reason. When he turned to face her, she was looking away from him as if she didn’t do anything. “I meant, I didn’t expect you to be so strong, grandson, which made me become really excited. I knew you’d snatch the bells from me at the last second and my competitiveness got the best of me.”

“No, no. You don’t have to apologize, Grandpa Yojee. You were simply amazing and I really enjoyed our match,” Narias said before adding. “You were evading my attempts to steal the bells with such an ease, I felt like a snail trying to catch a rabbit,”.

“Ahhh... you give me too much credit, grandson. If you had been in your top health, I bet you would’ve caught me easily even if I used my Shadow Paw technique,” Grandpa Yojee commented back.

“What do you mean in his top health? Are you hurt anywhere, Narias?” Estella, who was keeping quiet all this time, finally spoke, a worry jumping on her face.

“No, I’m fine. I just... had an extended training at my student club last night and... overexerted myself a little,” Narias explained to her what happened to him, remembering how his girlfriends wanted to keep going even when they could barely move in the end.

“You know, grandson,” Grandpa Yojee leaned closer to Narias, placing his paw next to his mouth in an attempt to pretend he was about to tell Narias something he didn’t want the others to hear. “My granddaughter could help you fix the soreness of your back. She can do an excellent deep-kneading paw massage. You’d feel younger in no time.”

“Grandpa!! – ‘Splash!’ – Estella exclaimed, splashing some water on her grandfather which he totally didn’t mind.

“You should watch what you’re saying, you, old goon. Our grandson is still very young,” Grandma Fuuji scoffed at her husband. “If anything, our granddaughter’s massage could help him get back on his feet, before and after the-“

“Grandma!” – ‘Splash!’ – Estella splashed some more water on her grandmother next, but differently from Grandpa Yojee, Grandma Fuuji used her tail to protect herself by swiping majority of the water away with it.

“Ah, yes. It’s good to be young, isn’t it?” Grandpa Yojee wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, but then turned to Narias with a very curious facial expression the next moment. “I am still curious about one thing, grandson. When I used my Shadow Paw move to get away, you still managed to grab one of the bells from me. How did you know which way I will try to evade?”

“Oh, that. It was because of how you moved away when Miss Alifur tried to get you at the very beginning after I entered your house. I thought I’ll block your escape with my spell to limit your options, hoping you’ll try to evade the same way that you did against Miss Alifur. I took a gamble for the most part there, really, because if it was a real fight, you would’ve escaped or prevented me from using my spells easily, Grandpa Yojee.” Narias explained.

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“Hmm...” Grandpa Yojee had a satisfied yet sly smile on his face.

“You’ve learned how my grandfather moved only from that one time?” Estella gasped in surprise.

“Not exactly,” Narias said. “In all honestly, it was all thanks to you, Miss Alifur.”

“Thanks to me?” Estella looked perplexed by his comment.

“Yes. It reminded me of the training during your class. I could tell there was similarity to your and your grandfather’s movements when our match started, only that Grandpa Yojee could predict my movements very easily and he knew just how much he needed to move away to avoid me snatching the bells from him. So, just like when we had the game of tag training with you, Miss Alifur, I knew I’d have to surprise Grandpa Yojee if I wanted to have at least a tiny chance to win,” Narias elaborated on what he meant.

“A game of tag training? Huh? Oh, that...” Estella became flustered all of a sudden, averting her gaze away the next second.

“A game of tag training? You never told us about that one, dear,” Grandma Fuuji became very curious about it.

“It was... nothing. Just another training during the class,” Estella blurted, sinking herself deeper into the water.

“Really?” Grandpa Yojee narrowed his eyes, becoming suspicious before turning to Narias again. “Mind telling me more about it, grandson?”

“Not at all. It happened quite a while back, but I remember the goal of the exercise was who would tag who first. Long story short, I thought I’ll catch Miss Alifur by the shoulder from behind, but she used her special move, very similar to yours, Grandpa Yojee, and vanished from my sight in an instant. She was so fast that instead of tagging Miss Alifur on the shoulder, I just slightly on the end of her leg.” Narias told Grandpa Yojee what has happened back then.

“On the end of her leg? But... that doesn’t make sense.” Grandpa Yojee had a strange facial expression, thinking about it. When he turned to check with his granddaughter, Estella turned to look away, her cheeks burning red. “Is that really what happened, my sweet granddaughter?” Grandpa Yojee had the shrewdest smile on his face.

“Yes...” Estella told him, still looking away.

“Oh, stop pestering them already, you, over-inquisitive geezer,” Grandma Fuuji has finally intervened. “Besides, haven’t you promised me the deep-kneading paw massage in addition to brushing my fur after that? You better keep your promise or else.”

“Ah, of course, of course, my sweetest darling,” Grandpa Yojee became the sweetest kitty in an instant. “How about we get to it right now? Oh, I’m so sorry, but I hope you don’t mind us leaving you like that, grandson? Feel free to soak in the pool as much as you like. Estella will keep you company, won’t you, dear?”

“Huh? Ahm... I... yes,” Estella said with an embarrassed look on her face.

“Wonderful,” Grandpa Yojee said, standing up. He stretched a little after stepping out of the pool, letting the water run down his fur-covered body before helping his wife step out of the pool next. “No need to rush, you two. Enjoy your time together.”

“Come on, stop gawking and follow me,” Grandma Fuuji ushered her husband.

“But I simply can’t stop looking at you, my love,” Grandpa Yojee said, placing his hands behind his back.

“Oh really?” Grandma Fuuji sounded like she didn’t believe him.

“After you, my dearest,” Grandpa Yojee motioned with his hand after opening the doors leading into the house.

“Thank you,” Grandma Fuuji appreciated his gesture.

“I’m so sorry, Narias...” Estella said after her grandparents were gone with the biggest sigh yet.

“Huh? Why? Did something happen, Miss Alifur?” Narias found it puzzling why she’d say something like that.

“I’m sorry for my grandparents making you feel so uncomfortable. They are... very noisy and... they try to imply a lot of things that are not true,” Estella felt really uncomfortable talking about it.

“It’s ok. I don’t mind. I think they are a lot of fun,” Narias told her.

“What? You... really think that?” Estella had a hard time believing it.

“Actually, I feel really happy for you, Miss Alifur,” Narias said, looking at the slightly steamy water in front of him.

“Huh? What... do you mean?” His comment made Estella narrow her eyes in surprise.

“Well... I can tell they care about you very much. They are very playful, but also serious and open about what they think. I believe only kind hearted people would be honest enough to express their true feelings. It might sound very strange, and I understand very well they aren’t my real grandparents, but them calling me their grandson felt kind of nice. It honestly made me feel being accepted,” Narias told her how he felt about it.

“That’s... very kind of you to say that,” Estella said, not expecting to hear something like that from Narias. “I’m sure your grandparents treat you the same way.”

“They probably would,” Narias said.

“Would? Wait, don’t tell me your grandparents are... I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Estella apologized, covering her mouth with one hand and looking distressed.

“No, no, my grandparents are still alive,” Narias informed her, waving his hands in front of him after realizing why she would say what she said. “It’s just that... I had never seen my grandparents.”

“What?” Estella gasped, tilting her head up, eyes open wide. “You had never seen your grandparents?”

“Well, I had met my grandparents from my father’s side a few times, but we never became close. They’d come to visit my dad a few times a year, and we’d have a polite conversation now and then during their short stay, but that was about it. As for my grandparents from my mom’s side, I had never met them even once. I don’t even know how they look. Seeing how loving and caring your grandparents were, I felt really happy for you, Miss Alifur, and... and maybe a little sad for myself too. I guess... I guess I was drawn into playing along with your grandparents and allowed myself to be called their grandson because I wanted to know what it felt like to have such wonderful grandparents. In all honesty, I should apologize to them for acting so selfish, now that I think about it.” Narias told her, trying to smile with his mouth while his eyes were trying to keep the tears inside of them.

“Narias...” Estella was looking at him with a heartbreaking amazement.

{somewhere outside of the pool}

“Huh? Where are you going?” Grandma Fuuji turned to her husband when he stepped away from the wall, about to go somewhere.

“It’s not polite to eavesdropping on other people,” Grandpa Yojee said without turning around.

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to know what might happen between them?” Grandma Fuuji reminded him.

“Do you still want me to do the deep-kneading paw massage for you? I don’t mind sleeping on the floor tonight if you don’t,” Grandpa Yojee turned his head to say it before continuing to walk away again.

“Hah, you still have some decency in you, after all,” Grandma Fuuji commented, silently standing up and following after him.

{back at the pool}

“To tell you the truth, I was feeling very anxious about you coming today, Narias,” Estella spoke, lowering her head to look at the water.

“You were? But why?” Narias asked, turning to face her.

“Well... for one, I knew how my grandparents would act, trying to imply or set up some uncomfortable situations for both of us. Of course, I didn’t expect my grandfather to suggest and have a match with you, leading to all of us coming here and then my grandparents leaving the two of us alone as if we... Hmph... what were they thinking?” Estella said, turning away all of a sudden with a sigh.

“It’s not for me to say this, but... I believe your grandparents simply want the best for you, Miss Alifur,” Narias told her, looking up and probably remembering something.

“I... Sigh... Yeah, I suppose they do,” Estella smiled, easing up.

“Of course, I must apologize to you as well, Miss Alifur. I... I must admit I feel a little uncomfortable... being here... with just the two of us... in the pool and... I’m sorry... for staring,” Narias said, looking away and scratching his cheek with one finger.

“Ah?” Estella became self-conscious all of a sudden, her cheeks becoming red and her ears jumping up. “Well... that goes both ways, actually. I’m sorry too.” She added, brushing her long, night-black wet hair away from her face.

“Huh? What?” Narias turned to face Estella, thinking he had misheard her.

“You know you... look handsome, don’t you?” Estella said, looking away while her tail was making whirlpools under the water.

“Eh, oh... thank you...” Narias cheeks became red too. “You look... very fit and attractive too, Miss Alifur.”

“I don’t mind you... calling me Estella... when we’re not at school,” Estella told him before adding. “And thank you... for the compliment.”

“You’re welcome, Estella,” Narias said, smiling at her.

“Hmm... Huh?” Estella smiled back, but then noticed Narias was looking somewhere above her head. “You really like my ears, don’t you?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I... I’m really sorry, I just...” Narias didn’t know where to look, rubbing the back of his head with one hand.

“You really are a strange one,” Estella chuckled.

“Well...” Narias felt embarrassed about him staring at Estella’s ears, but couldn’t help it, nor he could think of anything to explain himself.

“Thank you, Narias,” Estella smiled at him.

“Huh? What for?” He turned to face her.

“For being who you are,” she said before getting up and stepping to the wooden stairs leading out of the pool. The wet towel was tightly pressed against her body, helping to accentuate her slim, athletic figure. Narias couldn’t help but stare at her again, but this time, Estella didn’t mind. In fact, she had a satisfied, sly smile on her face. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Go? Go where?” Narias was surprised by her words.

“To fix your sore muscles,” Estella said, turning to look in front of her, to hide her sparkling, excited eyes.