Chapter 20: [Ch. 20] A Snow Rabbit

Panzram sighed in irritation and stood up, "Just show me to the bath."

Ryu smiled, feeling relieved for not being choked or yelled at, and jumped up with a nod. As Panzram followed him, Ryu had a skip in his step while he walked in a carefree manner.

Panzram knew this man was shameless through and through. And yet, he couldn't pull his eyes away from Ryu's swaying hips.

When Panzram walked into the bathroom containing the prepared tub, he noticed Ryu standing in the doorway staring at him with twinkling eyes. Panzram glared at him, "What? Do you want to watch?"

Ryu blushed instantly, realizing that he looked like some kind of pervert. He shook his head quickly, "No no! I will leave you to it!"

Ryu rushed out of the room and shut the door quickly. Panzram was shocked at how much he enjoyed the sight of Ryu's pale ivory skin turning so pink.

While Ryu walked down the hall he paused. "Wait. Why would it be weird to watch someone bathe when we are both men? Public baths are quite common..."

He tapped his lips thinking for a moment before shrugging off the reason why. He skipped down the hallway to wait "patiently" for Panzram to finish.

When Panzram finished and came back into the room, his wet hair hung in his face. He was now dressed in workman's garb that was lent to him by the brothel house. The creamed colored haori had a flower insignia on the back, showing off the brothels sign. His pants were dark green and he wore traditional shoes.

Ryu found him very handsome now that he was cleaned up.

Panzram sat back down at the table and crossed his arms. His hair dripped small droplets of water onto the tatami mats. Ryu frowned and quickly grabbed a towel. He stood over Panzram with a charming smile, "You need to dry off your hair or else you will get sick."

Panzram flinched when he saw Ryu holding the towel coming at him and quickly dodged him. Instead of feeling insulted or hurt, Ryu chuckled lightly and gave him a soft smile, "It's only a towel. It won't hurt you."

Panzram cautiously nodded to Ryu and allowed him to dry him off. As Ryu gently dried off his hair, he hummed a song. Once he finished, he smiled, "All finished! Now was that so bad?"

"Yes." Panzram responded coldly.

Ryu chuckled lightly, "So dramatic." He then looked at Panzram with a smile, "I have an idea. Do you trust me?"

"No."

Ryu sighed, "Alright... Then, will you let me brush your hair?"

Panzram only grunted in approval.

Ryu grabbed a brush and lightly combed his hair as if every strand was precious and needed to be treated carefully. When he finished, he took a step back and looked at Panzram carefully. Panzram lifted up an eyebrow.

Ryu pulled up his sleeve revealing a light blue headband that had been wrapped and tied around his arm. He undid it and leaned forward, tying the headband onto Panzram.

Panzram's eyes never left Ryu.

Ryu was completely carefree as he tied the ribbon without any awareness of Panzram's murderous aura. Ryu's eyes glanced down and froze when he noticed Panzram was staring at him with unwavering eyes.

Ryu's heart fluttered as he saw Panzram's face, no longer obstructed by his hair.

Ryu sat back blushing slightly as he averted his gaze shyly. Panzram turned to the mirror and looked at the ribbon. The light blue ribbon was made with high quality silk and in the middle was a white rabbit embroidered into the fabric. Thanks to the ribbon, his jet-black hair hung loosely down, no longer in his face.

If not for his large size and permanent scowl, he would look very elegant. He fiddled with the headband, "What's this?"

"I thought you would be more handsome without the hair covering your face. So, I thought the headband would help keep the hair out of your face."

Panzram just stared into his eyes causing Ryu to fidget in embarrassment. Panzram said coldly, "Really. You are a shameless man."

Ryu's mouth dropped open in surprise, "What?! I'm not shameless!"

Panzram ignored this and looked back at the headband in the mirror, "Why a rabbit?"

Ryu's face blushed more at this, "Well... This headband was a gift from my mother and she always called me her little snow rabbit."

Panzram blinked and looked at Ryu carefully. As Panzram stared at him carefully, he realized that Ryu really did resemble a snow rabbit. His ivory skin was so pale that it was almost white. Furthermore, Ryu was so small and fluffy just like a rabbit.

This nickname was extremely accurate.

Panzram crossed his arms, "So you are the Fourth Young Master of the Taira clan?"

Ryu flinched in surprise at the directness of his voice. He nodded, "That's right."

Panzram shook his head, "I heard the Fourth Young Master was a disgrace to the family. The Fourth Young Master only knows how to play around and can't take anything seriously."

Ryu's face twitched at this. While it wasn't necessarily wrong, hearing it put so bluntly caused Ryu to feel a bit wronged.

Panzram continued, "Not only that, but he loves playing around with women so much that he actually came to live at a brothel. All he does all day is lay around drinking and enjoying women."

Ryu felt wronged even more. He spoke defensively, "T-That's wrong! I am the Fourth Young Master, but I do not lay around drinking and playing with women!! Those are just exaggerated rumors!"

"Oh? But you live in a brothel. How can I trust that you don't play around with women?"

"I have zero interest in them! I am a well-maintained gentleman who wouldn't be tempted by such things." Ryu sat back with a proud smile on his face.

Panzram smirked, "Hmm?"

Ryu continued, too caught up in defending himself that he even missed the rare smirk on Panzram's face. "Also, I work here in exchange for room and board. It's not like I am here for the women. I have no ulterior motives."

Panzram looked Ryu up and down. Ryu wore a bright red feminine looking robe that was clearly expensive and extravagant. His robe also hung off his shoulder loosely revealing his golden undershirt and pale shoulder. His hair was wild, yet charming. He didn't look like any kind of bodyguard that would work at a brothel. Unless….

Panzram spoke, "Do you sell yourself?"