The sun in the Earth Realm was merciless. The kind that stuck to your skin like syrup and made every breath feel like a sauna's exhale. Inside the cramped little house they now shared, the fan wheezed pathetically as it tried to cool down six very attractive, very sweaty people.
"I'm dying," Gojo groaned, sprawled on the tatami floor in only his shorts. "Someone pour ice on me. Or... lick the sweat off. Either works."
Hiyori snorted, sitting nearby in a crop top two sizes too small, drinking from a frosty soda can she pressed against her flushed neck. "You always this dramatic when you're wet?"
"Depends who's watching," he winked.
THWACK.
Mizuki smacked him with a cushion, her tank top sticking to her like plastic wrap. "It's too hot for your jokes."
"And yet," Gojo grinned, "your thigh is still resting on mine."
She yelped and quickly scooted away, cheeks pink. "Sh-shut up!"
Across the room, Suma fanned herself weakly with a manga volume. Her shorts were dangerously short. "Honestly, if one more bead of sweat goes between my—"
"Cold bath!" Arashi Kumon interrupted sharply, red-faced, marching toward the bathroom. She wore a loose summer yukata. The sweat had made the cloth translucent in places, sticking around her waist and chest in sinful ways.
"No peeking!" she snapped at Gojo, who raised his hands innocently. "I was just admiring the steam aesthetic!"
Moments later, a splash sounded — followed by a high-pitched scream.
"HOT! TOO HOT!!" Arashi burst out of the bath half-wrapped in a towel, skin flushed and dripping, steam rolling off her like a goddess emerging from a cloud.
And Gojo, of course, was right in front of the door.
His eyes met her bare shoulder, then the shape of her—
SMACK.
"I WASN'T EVEN TRYING TO SEE ANYTHING THIS TIME!" he wailed, nose bleeding as she stomped over him with a towel slap.
Moments later, Hikami strutted in wearing a tiny black bikini.
"Did someone say hot?" she purred, fanning herself seductively. "This heat brings out my wild side."
Hiyori threw popcorn at her. "Every side is your wild side."
Gojo, from the floor, raised a hand weakly. "Permission to die happy?"
Suma giggled. "Why don't we all take a bath? Together. Like old times in the Spirit Spring?"
The girls went quiet.
Mizuki blinked. "...Wait. You're serious?"
Hikami smirked. "It's not like we haven't seen each other naked before. Spirit Realm had communal springs, remember?"
"I'm in," Hiyori said casually, already peeling off her top.
"W-Wait, what about Gojo?" Arashi protested.
They all looked at him.
He gulped.
"I can sit out if it's too much—"
"Oh, you're coming." All five girls said in unison, grinning devilishly.
---
Bath Time Chaos
The outdoor bath steamed gently as everyone dipped in. Towels wrapped around torsos, but skin glistened under moonlight and summer sweat.
Gojo was surrounded on all sides: Mizuki leaned her back on his chest, Hiyori pressed against one arm, Suma was straddling the edge behind him, her feet in the water. Hikami casually massaged his shoulders, and Arashi sat across, watching with glowing, deadly eyes.
"It's... uh... hard to breathe," Gojo croaked, a droplet of sweat trailing between Hikami's fingers down his back.
"Poor thing," she whispered, "so many girls. So little air."
Suma leaned in and sniffed his neck.
"Smells like summer and regret."
"I think that's just fear," Mizuki whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. "But kind of... sexy."
Arashi finally snapped.
"Y-You're not licking his sweat, right!?"
"Not yet," Hiyori teased.
"ENOUGH!!" Arashi dunked herself under the water and splashed them all.
Moments later, everyone was soaked and laughing.
Gojo wiped water from his eyes — only to find Arashi right in front of him. Her yukata now clung like wet paper.
They locked eyes. Everyone went quiet.
Gojo whispered, "You okay?"
She nodded slowly. Then—softly—"I'm hot too."
He gulped. "Like... temperature?"
She leaned closer. "Sure. Let's say that."
A drop of sweat rolled down her collarbone. Gojo instinctively reached to brush it—
BONK.
A bucket hit him from behind.
Hiyori snorted. "You were about to lick it, weren't you?"
"Not before asking permission!" Gojo protested.
Hikami leaned in. "That's growth."
They all burst out laughing.
---
Final Scene
Later, after everyone had changed into lighter PJs and collapsed onto the living room floor under a ceiling fan, Arashi softly muttered:
"Today was stupid."
Gojo, lying beside her, smiled. "You say that every time we almost die from hormones."
She rolled over to face him. "You're warm. It's annoying."
"And yet you're scooting closer."
"I'm sleepwalking."
"Toward me?"
"Shut up."
Their fingers brushed.
She didn't pull away this time.
---
Final Line:
Gojo: "So… sweat-licking team bath bonding counts as spiritual enlightenment, right?"
Arashi: (blushing) "You're impossible…"
Hikami: (half-asleep) "Ten out of ten. Would steam again."