Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Mixed-Gender Shower
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"Hold still...!"
"That's what I should be saying! Hold still, ma'am!"
We're locked in a standoff inside this cramped storage room.
Just looking at Kate's face, you'd think we were in some dire crisis.
I have no idea why she's making such a desperate expression over a little smell, but regardless, Kate keeps trying to pin me down and yank off my underwear.
"At this rate, we're really gonna be late! I'm seriously screwed!"
"That's why you need to hold still...! Why are you making something this quick so damn complicated?!"
I can't even fathom why Kate's on the verge of tears in the first place.
I get that she's a cat beastkin and sensitive to smells, but suddenly charging at me like this has my head spinning.
"We can hit the showers in a few hours anyway...! Let's just go eat first. If we keep this up, we're both in deep shit. For real...!"
I lay out the obvious for the worked-up Kate. No need to rub my scent on her right now—we're both heading to the showers anyway.
So she needs to calm down first. Getting Kate back to her usual composed self is priority one.
"B-but... if I don't get your scent on me now, I'll worry..."
"What the hell is there to worry about?!"
"It's beastkin tradition! Y-you can't have another woman's smell on the person you love!"
And here comes another headache-inducing line.
She looks like the type who'd scoff at superstitions or traditions and just do whatever the hell she wants, but surprisingly, she's so pure and fragile.
Whenever it involves me, she completely loses her grip. And lately, it feels like she's going off the deep end even more.
"Love... N-no, whatever! We gotta go anyway. Get up."
"You promised... Eat quick and come straight back to shower... Okay?"
"Like there's time for that in training camp. I'll head right there when shower time hits, so just wait."
We're acting in ways that totally clash with our instructor-trainee roles.
"Wait! Fine. I'll do whatever you say for now..."
Kate whimpers from between my knees.
"Tell me you love me too, at least."
This is absurd.
Is this really that big a deal?
"You gotta go now...!"
"T-tell me you love me first!"
Kate clings to my leg and starts whining again. She's thrown all pride out the window, begging for love like a three-year-old kid.
"See...? You won't say it. You've got someone else on your mind, don't you? Think I wouldn't notice...!?"
"What would I even have on my mind...!"
No choice now.
Honestly, I still don't know how to handle Kate...
"Fine. I love you! Happy now?"
"...Yeah."
Just those short words from my mouth have her cheeks flushing red—it's kinda cute, in a subtle way. Sure, she's crossed the line so hard I wanna flick her forehead, but with that pretty face, I can hold off for now.
"Now go, seriously."
"Okay."
Finally, Kate listens. The pants leg she'd been glued to gets its freedom back, and the stuffy storage room door swings open.
"Ahem. Hm."
The second Kate steps into the hallway, she snaps back into professional mode. From my vantage point watching her, it's ridiculous.
Just moments ago, she was bawling, whining, and ranting about love, and now she's a model soldier.
At this rate, it's borderline split personality...
"Trainee No. 158, let's go."
She glances back,
flashing me a quick smile from an angle only I can see,
and the irritation bubbling up inside me eases a bit.
Looks aren't everything,
but when someone's both gorgeous and handsome, it solves a hell of a lot...
"Wha—!?"
But shit hits the fan.
After chow assembly, we were supposed to have some alone time in the showers.
"What the hell do you mean?! No way in hell!"
"Why are you so pissed?"
The moment personal hygiene time kicks in, Kate explodes in front of our 2-2 Squad barracks, yelling her lungs out.
"2-2 Squad is under my jurisdiction! Changing it like this out of nowhere...!"
"Kate, calm down. Just calm down first."
She doesn't give a damn about the other trainees' stares or her senior instructor's position.
The cat instructor, blind with rage, is rejecting the [New Directive] like she's ready to flip everything over.
Here's what went down.
The company commander, who'd caught on to my inappropriate relationship with Kate, sees our alone time as super sketchy. So she's handing our squad off to the senior instructor and resetting everything to normal.
I get it. If our thing gets any deeper, it wouldn't just screw me and Kate over—the commander herself couldn't dodge the blame.
"I'll report back to the commander myself...!"
"What are you doing?! Kate, enough already!"
The two instructors are bickering right in front of the trainees, totally distracted. The instructors putting on this clown show alone is a massive headache.
"Uh, come here a sec. Not here—outside..."
"You lot! No showers—stand by! Got it!?"
The senior instructor's trying to rein Kate in,
while Kate's dead set on keeping me out of the showers.
She's terrified the other squadmates or trainees might mess with me.
With the Hayes precedent, it's understandable. But I never asked for this kind of shielding...
"Why's that bitch acting up?"
"No clue."
The squadmates are freaking out over Drill Sergeant Kate's baffling behavior, whispering among themselves.
My face heats up for no reason. Anyone can see she's stepping up to protect me, but now all eyes are on me even more—making it worse.
"You guys shower first. Kate, what the hell? You gonna make them skip washing just to get your way? Get a grip."
The senior instructor chews Kate out. Honestly, she's a saint for putting up with this.
If my junior pulled this shit—ditching to report to the commander over some girl—I'd be pissed in a heartbeat.
"Squad Leader Trainee, get the squad together and head to showers."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Even now, Kate glares back and forth between me and the senior instructor, venting her frustration. Is she for real?
I get that she likes me,
and I'm sorta set on sorting out my feelings too...
But this is way too fucking much.
No matter how I slice it, I've hooked up with a scary, clingy pain-in-the-ass girl.
"Kate, come with me."
"...Yes, ma'am."
Seeing her tail and ears droop like that tugs at my heart, but in the army, you gotta respect the chain of command.
Like it or not, this is a rank-based hierarchy. Deny that system, and nothing functions.
"..."
The barracks fall silent once the instructors leave.
The instructor drama we just witnessed is juicy gossip, but the women's minds are crammed with something way bigger.
Showering with me.
For the past two weeks, Kate's consideration kept them from even glimpsing me naked, but now it's different.
Now I'm grabbing my toiletries with them. Change of clothes, towel, underwear—all hugged to my chest as I wait for the squadmates.
Feels weird as hell.
I thoroughly schooled Hayes this morning, so no bitch would dare touch me, but the thought of getting naked with a bunch of women still has me shrinking back.
"...Everyone ready? Let's go?"
I play it cool. Can't show embarrassment. Gotta act confident.
I shouldn't give a damn about anything. The women can't touch me anyway. Without Hayes, the odds of the rest jumping me are zero.
But even walking down the hall,
even stepping into the showers...
Glance—
The women keep stealing looks my way.
The stares don't stop. So blatant my skin prickles.
Worried my dick might twitch, sweat drips down. My thing with Kate started from an unavoidable physiological reaction—I can't repeat that mistake twice.
"Hey, over there."
"What?"
Girls from the next squad already showering gawk openly, and my own squadmates catalog every inch of exposed skin.
Each layer I peel off heats up the shower room atmosphere. They're so fixated on me they forget to wash—it's funny, scary, all at once.
Shhh—
Warm water pours from the showerheads.
Usually a rowdy chaos in here...
"Ahh—feels good!"
One guy mixed in with the pack, and it's dead quiet. Only the shower hoses respond, blasting water at me.
Shhh—
"Hey, got shampoo? Forgot mine."
"Uh, y-yeah... Here..."
"Thanks."
I lather shampoo into my hair, eyes shut,
but I don't need to look to hear the status window alerts.
Ding!
Ding!
Various achievements unlocked.
In this brief moment,
my Arousal Points skyrocket.
That's why I act even more boldly.
Can't hide my flushed face, but I focus on keeping blood from rushing downstairs, squeezing my eyes shut as I scrub every inch.
Gotta refill those Arousal Points I burned sending Hayes to the infirmary five times.
From now on,
maybe I should actually enjoy these showers.
Gulp—
The girls next to me swallow hard. The sound's so loud, I hear it too.
Damn, it's stimulating down there. I mentally chant the national anthem dozens, hundreds of times to coax and soothe my dick.
Don't grow.
Please don't grow.
Save your pathetic master just this once.