Chapter 444: GET BACK

"Should we get out yet?" asked Kamiko with a sigh in her voice. It was clear that she didn't want to and was only looking for an excuse to stay longer.

Kat was pretty sure they'd already been in the bath for an hour at this point, so obviously she said. "Nope. I'm just as tired as you are, I don't see a problem with staying longer." With as much of a smile as she could muster. Which was… honestly not very much.

Kamiko wanted to smile at the answer as well… that was too much effort though, and she settled for whistling slightly as she breathed. That counted for something right? Thus, the two exhausted demons continued to float around atop the water, that was heating up somewhat at this point.

Even though the bathroom was insulated and the water was chilled greatly, Kat herself, unlike Kamiko, still had proper body heat and was slowly warming the water up. It wasn't an issue yet, but the water was much less calming then it had been when they started. This would eventually force them to leave but for now… Kamiko put it out of her mind as she noticed it. It wasn't something to worry about now.

Kat, for her part, was now struggling with a dual feeling of energy and exhaustion. In her hour of nothing but cool water her body and energy had practically blazed back to life. If it was purely a matter of how ready her legs were, she knew she could run for a few hours without getting tired at all.

Her mind was another matter. It still wanted rest and she was finding it hard to let her thoughts do anything other than drift. The only reason Kat knew the time they'd been floating so well was that she could use her memories as a sort of measuring stick. Looking at her much she could see of herself just sitting in the bath that afternoon she could estimate the time.

It was surprisingly easy for her and intuitive, baked into her instincts somehow. Which was good, because otherwise she'd be too tired to guess anything close to the correct answer. However, despite the fog over her mind, she didn't feel like sleep at all, her body was telling her she'd rested already and should be ready to do more things.

Eventually though, neither Kat's confused mix of signals on if she should sleep or not and Kamiko's desire to float forever would matter because of a sharp knock Kat could hear on the other side of the door. "Kamiko, if you can get out soon that'd be great. I need to get clean after my Contract." Said what had to be Kamiko's dad as it was a recognisably male voice.

Kat's tail flicked in annoyance as best it could from its place around her leg. Looking over towards Kamiko, Kat asked the question with her eyes 'well?'.

Kamiko sighed. "I'd love to say don't worry about it. I also know that Dad, even if it was just me in here, won't ask twice unless he thinks I've fallen asleep in the bath or something. He'll just… accept however long it takes for me to be bothered getting out and I doubt he'll complain…

"On the other hand, though, the fact that he even asked at all must mean it's pretty bad. We can't really smell anything in here because the enchantments prevent smells getting in and out but… yeah if he's asking he must either smell horrible or be covered in muck. Sadly he did not get the smooth skin adaptation that most Succubi has. Dad only has it in his hair. It produced a few funny moments when we tried to prank him by throwing water over his head only for it all to bounce off because we forgot that particular point." Said Kamiko

Another five minutes past but neither demon spoke in that time. Finally, Kat said "You didn't exactly make a decision though. You just said your Dad probably really needs a bath"

Kamiko groaned and said. "Yeah I guess I did. Why is this my responsibility though?"

"Well" said Kat "I assume that you have more than one bath or at least a shower… I have to wonder why he isn't using them instead? It just seems a bit strange. Plus he's your Dad so I thought I'd let you make the final call"

"Huh… that's a very good point Kat. I… I actually don't know what's going on. Mum and Dad have a small shower in their room but it hardly ever gets used…" said Kamiko really not sure what to make of things now that she'd had this additionally information pointed out to her.

Still, for all Kamiko's complaints about her father she did love him, and she did know him extremely well. He would never ask something from her like this if it wasn't important. He'd certainly have found some other way to get around things if it was at all possible. Even if the task was extremely difficult he'd have found a way. Instead though, he'd asked for her to end her bath… well not early exactly she knew that she probably should have gotten out before the hour mark, so… before she chose to leave herself was the more correct term.

Kamiko flipped herself over and into the water to let out a long stream of bubbles. Keeping her head dunked for a bit Kamiko eventually righted herself and said with a sigh "Yeah we should leave" before swimming to the edge and hauling herself out… or at least she tried. Kamiko, unlike Kat, didn't have regeneration and had used her arms much more extensively. She could feel them shaking under her as she tried to put her weight on them to get herself out of the pool.

Seeing this, Kat reacted. Kamiko was already pretty close to slipping and slamming her head into the bathtub if she wasn't careful so Kat unravelled her tail and used it to help right herself before abusing her much larger wings to push her over towards Kamiko by digging them into the water and bringing them back away from her. Still, Kat wasn't exactly at full speed, but she made good enough time. Reaching Kamiko's side she quickly pulled herself out of the water first and grabbed onto Kamiko's hands.

Kamiko looked up and gave Kat a tired smile. "Thanks" is what she said as Kat hauled her up and out of the water, which was easy enough with Kat's mostly available strength. Kamiko managed to get her feet under her and stood up. Her legs were fine, but she was certainly still tired.

A glance at each other told them that the best idea would be to walk together, so Kat hunched down slightly and they both put their arms over each other's shoulders. Of course, Kat didn't quite hunch as much as was needed, and was actually supporting most of the weight from both of them. Still, it got them moving. Both magicked on their clothes and made for the door simply allowing the water to easily slide off them both, not worrying about the need for a towel.

When they made it to the door, they both paused for a second to take a deep breath before opening it carefully. Even with this precaution both girls were hit with a horrid stench that seemed to worm its way into their nose and mouths. Eyes going wide Kat swung the door open and simply pulled Kamiko along, eager to get away from the smell coming from the edge of the room.

In the corner, as she glanced backwards, Kat saw what had to be Kamiko's father, but he was not having a good time. Kamiko's dad seemed to have some kind of wind or water manipulation because he was in a giant bubble and you could SEE the stench around him, a noxious brown and grey cloud with spots of black appearing as he stood there. Kat could see, the horrifying truth which was that the man was keeping most of the stench locked in with him. Kat didn't want to imagine what that was like.

Seeing two girls exit the door, he was a bit surprised, however he could also see the disgust on their faces and knew, though it wasn't a surprising fact, that he had failed to contain the smell, so rather than talking, he used all his concentration to move himself and the bubble around him into the bathroom and slam the door. The smell lightened slightly after that but it wasn't enough. Kat and Kamiko continued forward.

They stumbled up the jump platform up to the next level but found the smell still linger. Though if that was because it remained in their noses or because it was actually nearby was impossible for them to tell. Kamiko started to tug Kat in the direction of her room, but Kat tugged back and shook her head before gesturing upstairs. Confused, but willing to trust Kat, Kamiko complied, up the stairs and into the kitchen, the smell was still there.

However Kat's plan wasn't over. She pulled Kamiko quickly outside the back door before breathing deeply. "AH SWEET FRESH AIR"