Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-2212

Observing the sun's gradual disappearance over the horizon, Kenshin pulled out a device used to keep time, saying, "It appears Musashi will not be returning…"

Hearing Kenshin's remark, Amaterasu's shimmering golden eyes briefly passed over her before returning to the hearth she and Tamamo had gathered around for warmth. She wasn't very good at making casual conversation, so, while she was originally going to tell Kenshin to stop worrying over nothing, she ultimately decided against it.

Noticing her counterpart's behavior, a bell-like giggle emanated from Tamamo's throat before she promptly pounced to her feet and approached Kenshin's side.

Shifting her attention to the approaching fox girl, Kenshin was taken aback when Tamamo suddenly hugged her from behind. Fortunately, she was a long-time member of Nobu's Alcohol Appreciation Society, so, while she was marginally surprised by Tamamo's sudden closeness, she was intimately familiar with having her personal space violated by others.

"Tamamo…san…?"

Ignoring Kenshin's confused query, Tamamo pressed her face into the former's surprisingly soft and silky hair. She had actually expected Kenshin's peculiar black and white hair to be somewhat coarse. Instead, it was nearly as smooth as her own…

Venturing as to the reason, Tamamo gently caressed Kenshin's remarkably toned abdomen as she asked, "Does our beloved husband help to comb your hair…?"

Instead of responding to Tamamo's question, Kenshin stared down at where the vulpine woman's long and slender fingers were tracing around her navel. Until now, she had rarely ever interacted with Tamamo. Thus, while she was used to receiving this kind of treatment from Nobu, she didn't know what to make of it when someone she barely even knew was taking liberties with her body…

Though she could sense Kenshin's confusion, Tamamo didn't cease her actions. The dichromatic beauty had worn a black bikini with the intention of garnering attention during the Gift Game, so, while Tamamo knew very little about the legendary swordswoman, she felt compelled to 'assist' her on Vahn's behalf.

"Your body is tense with stress and anxiety…I can feel it in your muscles. What say you join me for a drink? Though it would be more appropriate to have you serve me, I don't mind compensating you for your dutiful service…"

Exhaling a sigh, Kenshin resisted the almost instinctual urge to refuse Tamamo's proposition. They would be working together until the end of the Gift Game, so, while she didn't think it was a good idea to get drunk, she didn't want to be the reason for needless tensions within their group.

Besides, if Nobu had been present, she would have been drunk and played to death hours ago…

"Very well…"

Having anticipated that Kenshin would put up more of a fight, Tamamo was somewhat surprised by her prompt acquiescence. Instead of letting it show on her face, however, she simply giggled before grabbing Kenshin's surprisingly firm bicep and guiding her over to their encampment. Then, for the remainder of the evening, she poured Kenshin quite a number of drinks before ultimately lending a thigh pillow to the surprisingly affectionate drunk…

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With her counterpart failing to appear during the day, Musashi, half-drunk eventually retreated to the comfort of her cottage.

Unsurprisingly, the interior of the cottage was much, much bigger than the exterior. There was also an attached bathhouse, so, after a moment of consideration, Musashi decided she would warm her body and calm her mind in its fragrant waters.

While others may have been cowed by the possibility of billions of people watching them bathe, Musashi had never been particularly shy. She also had absolute trust in Vahn, or, more specifically, his overprotective nature. Even if she enjoyed a long bath and decided to sleep completely naked, she doubted the audience would be privy to anything they shouldn't.

With this in mind, Musashi stripped out of her gloves before removing her vest, belt, and, once everything else was removed, her bikini. This left her with red and blue stars covering her nipples, and, though it was imperceptible to the people boring holes into her from outside the Game Board, there was a striped, red, white, and blue talisman protecting her nether region.

Peeling said stickers away, Musashi was preparing to enter the bath when a secondary presence entered her perception. For a moment so short that it was impossible to quantify, every muscle in Musashi's body tensed. Instead of manifesting her Zanpakuto or activating her [REquip] system, however, she shifted her attention to the entrance of the changing room and asked, "Is the me of the Divine Realm an assassin and a voyeur? If so, it's no wonder the Divine Realm's Kenshin is the strongest swordswoman…"

Halfway through Musashi's statement, a distinctly eastern-looking woman with fair brown skin, long black hair, and obsidian-black eyes appeared out of thin air.

Instead of responding to her counterpart's taunt, Musashi Black's eyes focused exclusively on Pink's breasts. She didn't consider herself small, but, compared to her comparably bubbly counterpart, the difference was like the distance between Heaven and Earth.

"Was your mother a cow…?"

Raising her brows, an amused glimmer flashed across Musashi Pink's Empyrean Eyes as she asked, "Are you serious? I never expected any version of myself to rely on such base insults to try and rile an opponent up. A word of warning. If you ever square off against Vahn, you would do well to avoid saying things like that. He doesn't take kindly to people who insult his, or anyone's mother."

"…"

As her words weren't actually meant as an insult, Musashi Black was momentarily taken aback by Pink's statement. She just couldn't quite believe that Musashi Pink's breasts were real. She also had serious doubts regarding the woman's nationality, so, after an inordinately long moment of silence, she asked, "Were you truly born in the East? Your complexion, hair color, and physique don't exactly inspire notions of a traditional Japanese beauty…"

Shrugging her shoulders, Musashi Pink made no effort to conceal her body as she puffed out her chest and stated, "I guess I'm just special like that. Now, mind telling me why you waited until now to come out? I waited on that cliff all day for you to appear. Don't tell me you were waiting for me to 'lower my guard'. If so, you seriously don't deserve that name and title."

Snorting through her nose, Musashi Black removed the horned Kasa from her head before pulling at the cord keeping her feathery poncho in place. The uncommon garment dropped to the ground without producing so much as a single sound. At the same time, Musashi Black explained, "I spent the past few hours observing you. The spectators outside might accuse me of cheating if I attacked a drunkard so I decided to wait until you had sobered up before defeating you."

While providing her explanation, Musashi Black continued to undress as if it was completely natural. This earned her an incredulous and slightly amused look from Pink, who, after a moment of silence, ended up crossing her arms beneath her borderline E-Cup breasts and asking, "You've got a couple of screws loose, don'tcha?"

Returning a questioning look of her own, Musashi Black loosened her ashen-grey kimono before answering, "That's pretty rich coming from a woman who spent half the day drinking and lounging about in enemy territory. You're clearly not taking this seriously so why…should I…?"

Noticing Musashi Pink staring at her breasts with a cheeky smile on her face, the expression on Black's quickly darkened as her words slowly trailed off. For a brief moment, she was tempted to cut Pink into twelve distinct chunks. Unfortunately, the people of the Little Garden would never forgive her for such a thing, so, after clenching her teeth a few times to calm down, Black asked, "What are you looking at…?"

Adopting an even cheekier smile, Musashi Pink could barely contain her amusement as she pointed towards the bindings around Black's chest and explained, "No need to get your panties in a bunch. I just never expected you to be such a…traditionalist? I swear, if you remove your hakama and reveal a pair of fundoshi, I may just laugh myself to death."

As modern and even futuristic alternatives were readily available, Musashi Pink hadn't expected her Divine Realm counterpart to be wearing a sarashi. It was such a dated piece of clothing, and, more importantly, it was 'extremely' uncomfortable. After all, a sarashi was, more often than not, a simple cotton cloth. It was excellent for holding the breasts in place, but, at the same time, it restricted the wearer's breathing and chaffed like no tomorrow.

Though it was nearly indistinguishable, a faint blush crept into Musashi Black's cheeks as a sudden and intense desire to remain clothed surfaced within her mind. The truth of the matter was that she was actually quite poor as Amaterasu forced her to provide compensation whenever she ended up cutting people down or damaging public property. Thus, while her outerwear and equipment were of exceptional quality, she had never paid much attention to her innerwear…

Inhaling through her nose, Musashi Black loosened the belt of her hakama. Before the ashen-grey cloth could even reach the ground, a massive grin spread across Musashi Pink's face as she began to laugh without inhibition. After all, Musashi Black was, in fact, wearing a fundoshi.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Musashi Black did her best to ignore Pink's laughter as she folded her clothes into a neat pile. Were it not for the fact her reputation and power would be adversely affected if she took immediate action against the bothersome pinkette, she would have already cut her down. This was one of the more annoying aspects of the Divine Realm, as, due to Musashi Pink's inordinate beauty, she was automatically the crowd favorite. Musashi Black could defeat her, but, instead of securing her position as the True Musashi, people would resent her for taking away their eye candy…

Though it frustrated her to no end, Musashi Black knew she had to do 'something' to sway public opinion in her favor. Fortunately, while she was somewhat embarrassed by Musashi Pink's laughter, she was similarly without shame. She didn't care if everyone in the Divine Realm saw her naked, as, even if they pined after and adored her, they would never be able to approach her. Those that tried would invariably be cut down, so, after unwrapping her sarashi and removing her fundoshi, Musashi Black turned to Pink, brows raised as she asked, "What were you saying about being a voyeur…?"

Demonstrating considerably less shame than her raven-haired counterpart, Musashi Pink simply shrugged her shoulders before stating, "I'm stripping down and planning to take a bath in front of tens, if not hundreds of billions of viewers. I couldn't care less if they or anyone else thought I was a voyeur. Besides, this is my cabin. You invited yourself inside and decided to put on a show without asking for my permission or consent. Don't blame me for appreciating the view when you're readily flaunting that perky little ass of yours."

Not expecting such a 'crude' response, Musashi Black was completely taken aback by Pink's words. Her body became completely statuesque, and, though she still didn't care if people saw her naked, she felt a strange sense of anxiety washing over her when Pink implied she was flaunting her figure in an effort to appeal to others. While this wasn't far off, the truth of the matter was that she hadn't actually thought about it. She just knew she had to do something to try and even the playing field against the pink-haired vixen that shared her name…

While the cameras may not have noticed it, Musashi Pink was able to see the muscles in Black's body tense. The smile on her face became even more amused, but, rather than continuing to apply pressure on the raven-haired woman, Musashi Pink turned her back and gracefully meandered over to the bath. Pushing Black's buttons was incredibly amusing, but, as much as she enjoyed observing the surprisingly conservative samurai's reactions, she would rather warm her body in the bath than continue standing around in the buff…

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Tamamo has excellent maternal instincts (U w U)…','I can imagine people in the comments section being like, "I want to be those stickers…"','Pink regularly drinks with Nobu. Black never stood a chance xD…')