Shall I Belong? [Open][Finished]

"A bath?" The syllables sounded funny to her. Her ears perked up, and her face reddened again. She wasn't sure what a bath was, as she had never had one. Her only means of cleaning herself was in a creek beyond the 80th district, and it was more often than not inhabited by drunks, and people who often would throw rocks at her due to her strange tattoos.

Feeling Mirja's gaze nearly burning holes through her, Taichou straightened herself and turned her back to the woman; grabbing her dirty, bloodstained obi, she untied it, allowing her yukata to slide down her shoulders to meet her hips, revealing the large irezumi piece that was tattooed along her shoulders, back, arms, hands, buttocks, and thighs, covering massive scarring that she had along her body. The pattern was a large serpent that wound and coiled its way across her body, the surrounding tattoo being that of blue-purple clouds, with negative space left; her skin acting as the defining swirls to complete the outline of the clouds, and red peonies wherever the body of the snake curled. All hand-tapped, the tattoo was extensive.

Composing herself once-more as she felt Mirja had seen enough of her tattoo and scars, she pulled her yukata back over her shoulders, fastening her obi, before turning back to the Shinigami woman. Nodding in confirmation that she indeed would like a bath.

Mirja melted softly as Taichou echoed her about the Bath. Everything about her was just so cute. And then, as if understanding what Mirja wanted, she turned around and stripped out of her clothes. At that point, the silver-eyed Shinigami would have picked her up and carried her to the bathroom, but she was stunned, enthralled by the amazing artwork that, while marred by the dirt that clung to her, was amazing. In an eyeblink, she had turned from young girl to adult woman. Mirja shamelessly oggled, until Taichou put her clothes back on, which made Mirja's usually pale skin blush softly in embaressment.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to stare. But, wow. That was dam good work, whoever did that" she said, before shaking her head and pointing to an area of her house. "Anyway, clean, yes. Good, clean, body and clothes. You'll feel better after the bath, I am sure of it"

Chucking, Taichou's voice rang out, "I think the most painful part about having a needle stabbed into your ass over and over again with a bamboo rod, is when they gouge out pieces of skin to make the ink settle better." Her cheeks flushed as she realized that she had spoken impolitely, her ruffian upbringing shining through the murkiness that clouded her physically, and mentally.

Clapping her hands together, her lips turned upwards into a smile, as she then once again spoke to Mirja, "It's okay to stare. It happens quite a bit. I'm used to it. Where is this /bath/ you speak of?" A giggle escaped from the bowels of her vocal chords, because the word *bath* was so foreign to her.

Mirja grimiced at the mental picture that Taichou had just drawn for her, it was not one that she would have merited as anything even approching the concept a fun time for her. However, like always, Mirja was prepared with a groundbreaking quip.
"All in the progress of art, aye? I once tried to get a tattoo after the Fifty Year War, but they couldn't get a needle to do anything to my skin. So, I ended up without a tattoo. Which, looking at yours, is a giant shame, if I am honest" she finished, before seeing the flushed cheeks. Maybe the girl thought she had spoken out or turn or something? She'd soon learn that was impossible around Mirja.

And then, it turned out that Taicho had never heard of a bath, rather than just echoing her words for it. Which was both a shock, and amusing. "Well, young darling, the magical, mystical creation of the gods themselves, the bath lays yonder" she announced, pointing to a porcelian tub in a special, tiled room. "You pour in the water from the two taps, and then add in some bubbles, and you clean yourself with the clothes. And just like magic, you are, clean"

"I love bubbles!" She exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she looked at the strange porcelain tub, in the strange room with stones for a floor. Nearly skipping, Taichou moved swiftly towards the tub; where she proceeded to pull upwards on the strange knobs, to no avail. A pout grew upon her face, her eyes glazing over as her lower lip puffed out, and curled downwards in a child-like manner.

Looking back at Mirja helplessly, Taichou squeaked before mumbling, "Uh.. Mirja-sama... How do I work this thing exactly? And who decided rocks go inside houses?" She gestured to the strange contraption infront of her, sheepishly, with a blush rising upon her porcelain face. She let out a subtle "huff," her nostrils now flaring whilst she resumed her pout-like state.

The girl's enthisiasm had no bounds, it seemed. Her exclamation of loving bubbles made Mirja rather happy, as practically everything that this girl did, did. And then, her attempts to tug at the taps made her fullon laugh out loud. It was cruel, really, to laugh at someone who had never seen a bath before, but Mirja couldn't help it. It was just, so amusing.
"The rocks are so if you splash any water on the ground it doesn't cause the floorboards to rot away. And, you work them by spinning the taps, not pulling on them. You won't get anywhere pulling on them" she advised.

With Taichou sufficently trained in the operation of Baths, Mirja went to look for the bubble suds, so that Taichou could have some joy in her life.

"Oh!" She grinned sheepishly, turning the so-called taps so that water poured out into them. She stuck her hand under the stream, before her face lit up once more. "It's warm water?" She stared in awe at the strange tub again, watching it fill with the steamy liquid.

Taichou then stripped herself of her yukata, as it was soiled and dirty, and sat on the flat rocks in the room, her bottom now strangely beginning to feel the heat radiate off of the porcelain bath tub. Brazenly, she didn't mind the fact that she was fully nude. It was somewhat refreshing, and Taichou felt a strange sense of comfort with Mirja. A comfort that had been unbeknownst to her for her entire existence within district 67 of Rukongai.

Mirja nodded at the girl's exclamation that it was indeed actually hot water that was coming through the taps rather than any other sort of water. Her excitement and surprise over ordinary things was another reason Mirja was so enthralled with the girl already. The tattoos were shown again, and Mirja's eyes were drawn to Taichou's buttocks, to admire the shape, form, and general artsmanship of the ink done there.
"It can get very hot if you leave it on to long, so just watch for that. The other tap is cold water, you can use it to balance your bath so it isn't scalding, strip-your-skin hot"

Mirja then poured some suds into the water as it began to rise, and the bubbles would then appear. They would also help to break down the dirt and crap on her skin, butt the main use was bubbles! Mirja then put the bottle back, and picked up her dirty clothes, and turned to leave.
"If you need me, just call, I'll be in the other room" she told Taichou, before leaving to go burn the rags. There was no saving these, by the hands of the greatest laudrette.

Noting what Mirja had said, Taichou turned on the cold-water knob, placing her hand beneath the stream once again to regulate the temperature, and with a sigh, she exclaimed once more, out of relaxation, "Aaaaah... It's perfect!" She rose her hands to her face, rubbing her cheeks dreamily as she watched the bath tub fill, bubbles forming everywhere.

With a sudden movement, the girl hopped to her feet, timidly dipping her toes in the water, before she then lowered herself into the water. Another loud sigh eliciting from her, almost as if it were a moan-like sound. She had never felt hot water before, and oh, by Gods, it was heavenly. 'Woah.. This feels amazing.' she thought, before sliding her body fully into the water, until she was up to her chin. Remembering suddenly, she pulled on the knobs of the bath once more, making sure to stop the flow of water so that the tub wouldn't over flow.

She closed her eyes in complete bliss.

Mirja knew very well the relaxing properties of a good bath, and so was pretty sure that Taichou would be asleep by the time she got back. Which wasn't a big problem, the girl looked like she needed all the sleep she could get. Sleep for days. Still, that was for later, for now she had an empty barrel in the yard where she took Taichou's scraggly rags, and put them in before setting the entire thing on fire with Kido. And by Kido she meant a box of matches. She couldn't do Kido in the ever.

After they were burning, Mirja returned to her room to find something that Taichou could wear. She tried to keep her mindset pragmatic, but couldn't help but think of dressing up a doll in the cutest clothes she had avalible.