The older Seele left, slinging her massive scythe over her shoulder. Takatsuki began cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks; they weren't disposable, so they still needed a good washing.
"Takatsuki, let Seele help you," Seele said, walking over.
"Thanks, Seele, but there's no need. Oh, by the way, would you like to take a bath?"
Takatsuki patted Seele's head. Now that the Seele of this world had left, he no longer needed to refer to them as "Big Seele" and "Little Seele" to tell them apart.
"A bath?" Seele blinked, her face flushing slightly. "Um... there isn't really a place to take a bath here, is there?"
Takatsuki set down the tableware, took Seele's hand, and led her deeper into the mine shaft. "Don't worry about that. Just leave it to me."
The cave stretched deep and dark into the earth, but there was no need to go too far. Takatsuki stopped at a relatively flat, open clearing.
"Right here should do. Seele, wait for me a moment."
Seele nodded and took a few steps back.
Reaching into the Gate of Babylon, Takatsuki pulled out some ink and a calligraphy brush he had prepared beforehand. Dipping the brush into the ink, he began splashing and sweeping bold strokes across the walls, floor, and ceiling—commencing a grand painting in a place completely unsuited for art.
Standing behind him, Seele watched as Takatsuki slung ink like a madman. His movements were incredibly swift, yet she could see distinct, vivid black-and-white strokes materializing in the dark cavern, gradually shaping the outline of a monochrome bathroom.
"Come forth!"
With the piece complete, Takatsuki stowed away his painting tools, stepped back, and activated his Devil Fruit ability on the artwork.
Seele clasped her hands tightly together, watching in sheer disbelief as the painting on the wall, ceiling, and floor slowly materialized into reality.
Ceramic tiles, real flooring, a sliding glass door for the bath, and... hot water steaming inside a bathtub. A table right next to it was fully stocked with toiletries.
"This is..."
Creating something out of thin air was breathtakingly profound, no matter how one looked at it.
"All set, Seele." Satisfied with his masterpiece, Takatsuki nodded and turned to her. "You've been in the Sea of Quanta for so long, you probably haven't had a proper soak in ages. I'll go back outside to finish up the dishes. Take your time."
With that, Takatsuki hurriedly left the cave.
"..."
Seele watched him go, wanting to say something, but the words stayed in her throat. Just like the delicious food from earlier, a warm, comfortable bath was something she simply couldn't refuse right now. Upon first arriving in this world and seeing the harsh food and living conditions, she had assumed such luxuries were entirely out of reach.
"This guy really has a lot of tricks up his sleeve."
"Veliona... you were looking forward to this too, weren't you?" Having spent so much time together, Seele naturally knew what her other self was thinking.
"I... Hmph, it's not like it's my body anyway," Veliona replied in a classic tsundere tone before retreating back into the depths of Seele's consciousness.
"But Takatsuki really is amazing."
Walking over to the tub, Seele dipped her hand in to test the hot water. Turning around to close the cave door, she slowly shed her clothes.
Sinking her body into the warm water, Seele let out a sigh of pure bliss.
"Ahhh~"
While drifting in the Sea of Quanta, Seele had existed in a quantum state, requiring absolutely nothing from the material world—neither food nor physical comforts like a hot bath. Of course, she couldn't have enjoyed them even if she wanted to. But that didn't mean she had lost her human senses. If anything, having gone without them for so long made experiencing them again feel incredibly precious.
"It feels like as long as I'm by Takatsuki's side, there's nothing he can't do," Seele mused aloud, thoroughly enjoying her long-overdue soak.
"Then how does your 'Takatsuki' compare to Bronya?" Veliona suddenly interjected.
"Bronya..."
Seele instinctively shrank down into the tub, letting the warm bathwater submerge the lower half of her face. Seele would never admit that she had briefly forgotten about her beloved Bronya.
Every single day of holding on at the bottom of the Sea of Quanta, every ounce of hope she kept alive, was because of the promise she had made with Bronya. She had always firmly believed that Bronya would be the one to rescue her from that prison made of quantum fragments.
Yet when she finally opened her eyes, the person she saw wasn't the sister she had long yearned for, but an unfamiliar older brother.
What comforted Seele was knowing that Takatsuki had come to save her precisely because of Bronya. Afterward, the time they spent together navigating the Sea of Quanta made her temporarily forget her past loneliness and fear. And now, Takatsuki had fulfilled his word, bringing her out of the place that had trapped her for so long.
Time didn't exist in the Sea of Quanta; Seele had no idea how long she had actually been trapped there. A month? A year? Or many years? Even though this wasn't her original world, just being able to stand firmly on the ground of the physical world was enough to make her content. Moreover, in this strange world where she knew no one else, the only person she could rely on was him.
"Takatsuki... is different from Bronya," Seele finally whispered after a long silence. It wasn't just an answer to her other self, but an answer to her own heart.
"Our little Seele has grown up," Veliona sighed. "Sooner or later, you won't be needing me anymore, will you?"
"That's not true!" Hearing her other self say that, Seele suddenly burst out of the water. "Seele is Seele! We will be together forever."
"Then what about your Takatsuki and Bronya?"
Seele shook her head. "I am me, so why would we be apart? Takatsuki is the brother who found Seele and saved us, and Bronya is the sister who has always, always protected us."
"..."
The girls' private chat didn't last much longer. As Seele stepped out of the bathtub, Veliona spoke up again.
"Well, it seems your Takatsuki isn't entirely flawless after all."
"Don't say that, Veliona. Takatsuki just... didn't notice, that's all. Besides, clothes and stuff..."
Exactly. The "flaw" Seele referred to was the clothing. Though Takatsuki had meticulously prepared everything needed for the bath, he hadn't prepared what came after the bath—namely, a fresh change of clothes. Even if her old clothes weren't particularly dirty, putting them back on right after washing up always made it feel like she hadn't bathed at all.
Still, Seele didn't dwell on such a minor detail and quietly slipped back into her original clothes.