Under the Showerhead

"So, the Headquarters had no choice but to send me to the West Blue to make one final effort."

Momousagi idly lifted a lock of her hair with her fingers, twirling it back and forth.

"As for the reason, it's likely because Rear Admiral Shizi is a close friend of my sister's and watched me grow up. Perhaps the success rate of persuading her will be higher if I'm the one to do it."

Hearing this, Noah finally understood what Momousagi meant earlier when she said this mission wouldn't depend on strength, but solely on "her face."

"But I've never even met Rear Admiral Shizi. Won't I be exposed?" Noah looked conflicted. "Besides, I'm not at all good at persuading people with just my tongue."

"Don't worry, I haven't seen Rear Admiral Shizi in many years either. And naturally, I will explain everything you need to know before you leave."

Momousagi said dismissively, "Besides, the success rate of this mission was never high to begin with. If you complete it, it'll be a great achievement; if you don't, there's no punishment. What are you afraid of?"

"...Alright then, since you've put it that way."

After a moment of contemplation, Noah nodded in agreement.

In fact, he felt that the current situation left him no room to refuse. "When do I set off?"

"In about three days."

Aokiji chimed in from the side, "If the voyage goes smoothly, the warship will dock at Gulu Island for supplies on the morning of the third day. The 329th Branch base of the West Blue is located there. Once you go ashore, you can use the branch's information channels to find Rear Admiral Shizi's exact address."

"After that, regardless of whether the mission is completed or not, you just need to stay at the branch base for about three or four days. Our warship will return, pick you up, and we will all head back to Headquarters together."

"Understood."

The process was simple; anyone could understand it.

Once Noah had it clear, seeing that Aokiji and Momousagi had nothing else to add, he gave them a military salute and prepared to take his leave.

"Come back here!"

Before he could even push the door open to leave, he was stopped by a fierce voice. When he instinctively turned back, he saw Momousagi glaring at him irritably:

"Where are you running off to? Are you planning to go back to your own room?"

"O-otherwise?"

Noah looked at her blankly and pointed to the sky outside the window. "It's already late at night, Commodore Gion. If I don't get some rest, I won't be able to get up early tomorrow."

"Get up your head!"

A rare look of embarrassed annoyance appeared on Momousagi's face. "Don't forget that you are currently in my body! Going to stay with a group of male soldiers—what would that look like!"

"..." Noah woke up as if from a dream, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Then what should I do?"

"You're sleeping here!"

Momousagi said with a tone of ironclad certainty that brooked no refusal:

"Not just tonight, but for the next three days, until you go to execute the mission, you must stay in my room!"

"Alright..." Noah was startled by her sudden assertiveness. After a while, he remembered a key point. "Then, Commodore Gion, how do I explain this to my friends? Plenty of people saw us collapse on the deck earlier. Do they know we swapped bodies?"

"Not yet."

Momousagi shook her head. After hesitating for a moment, she sighed. "But I will tell them later. There's no need to hide this, and since you won't be able to participate in the practical assessment this time, they need to know the reason."

This was the reasonable way to handle it, and Noah immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been worried that Momousagi would be too embarrassed to make this public, which would have forced him to carefully play the role of Momousagi in front of a group of acquaintances for the next three days.

--Just thinking about that was exhausting.

"Alright, since you've got it all planned out, Gion, I should probably be going."

Aokiji stood up at this moment, still holding the little raccoon. He lifted its tiny paw and waved it at the two of them with a smile. "Come on, little guy, say goodbye and goodnight to these two unlucky souls you dragged into this mess."

"Drop dead!"

The next moment, he was pelted by several books thrown by an angry Momousagi, causing him to scramble away in a panic and bolt out the door.

Once Aokiji's back disappeared outside, the room returned to silence.

"..."

Watching Momousagi slowly sit back down at her desk, Noah finally caught on—she had no intention of leaving this room at all. After struggling with it for a long time, he tentatively asked, "Commodore Gion, are you sleeping here tonight too?"

"Yeah."

Momousagi glanced at him sideways and let out a soft huff. "Don't worry, you can keep sleeping in your bed. I'll just make a pallet on the floor and make do."

"How could I let you do that!" Noah quickly stood up. "This is your room; I should be the one sleeping on the floor..."

"That's an order, little guy. I'm not discussing this with you."

Momousagi seemed a bit sleepy; she raised her right hand to cover a yawn and muttered, "Asking you to stay here is already an act of selfishness on my part. And you want to sleep on the floor? I'm not that unreasonable..."

"What?" Noah didn't hear her clearly.

"Nothing." Momousagi couldn't be bothered to repeat herself. She rose from the desk, paced back and forth for a moment, and after much hesitation, said, "Follow me."

"Oh."

Noah didn't ask any more questions this time and obediently followed Momousagi through a door on the right wall.

Once he stepped inside, he realized that Momousagi's room was actually a suite, and right next to the bedroom was a bathroom with a separate wet and dry area.

Momousagi led him to a stop in front of the showerhead.

Watching Momousagi remove the showerhead and silently lower her head to adjust the water temperature, Noah suddenly realized something.

He was momentarily at a loss for what to do, and just as he was wondering how to face the situation, Momousagi, having finished adjusting the water, suddenly turned around, pulled a strip of cloth from out of nowhere, and blindfolded Noah.

"I have a bit of a germaphobe streak; unless it's an emergency state of war, I must shower every day."

With his vision plunged into darkness, Noah could only hear her voice echoing faintly in his ears, "Even if we have swapped bodies, I cannot stand the thought of going to bed without showering. Do you understand?"

"I... I understand..."

No response came, and after a long silence, he heard Momousagi say again, "I will help you wash for these three days. Once we reach Gulu Island, if possible, I hope you can endure it for a few days and, until we return to the warship, temporarily... do not shower."

Although his vision was obscured by the cloth and he couldn't see a thing.

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but Noah could faintly sense that Momousagi's mood was somewhat low and uneasy, her tone carrying a hint of an imperceptible plea.

It was as if she were a completely different person from the smiling, nonchalant woman who had been there when Aokiji was present just moments ago.

Noah remained silent.

"Hahaha, I thought it was something serious; is that all it is?"

The next second, he suddenly grinned and laughed out loud, "I'd actually prefer it that way, Rear Admiral Gion. You don't know, but the thing I hate most is showering. When training gets busy, it's common for me to go a week or two without a wash. What's three or four days?"

"Instructor Zephyr even taught us—wait, how did that saying go? Oh, right! As long as you've entered the Recruit Camp at Headquarters, any marine soldier who still has the energy to worry about showering before bed isn't a good soldier!"

"A real man should make his blankets and pillows smell like sweat!"

"Disgusting."

Momousagi flicked his forehead hard with her finger and said irritably, "I've never heard Zephyr-sensei say such a thing. You're so young and already learning to make things up; you're not honest at all."

"The instructor really said that, I swear to the heavens."

"Then when we return to Marineford, shall I go ask Zephyr-sensei?"

"...I was wrong, Rear Admiral."

"Hmph, I knew it... Alright, enough nonsense! Raise your arms, I'm going to take off your clothes."

"Oh, right."

Seeing that his words had worked, the person in question instantly returned to a normal state.

After removing his clothes, Momousagi turned on the shower and began to rinse his body.

The sensation of the trickling water sliding over his skin felt completely different from usual, and when Momousagi helped him apply shampoo and body wash, beginning to scrub him with her hands, Noah realized more profoundly than ever what it truly meant to have pain and pleasure coexist.

No matter how grueling the hellish training of the past had been, the inner torment he endured was not even a fraction of what he felt at this moment.

It turned out his cultivation was still too shallow after all, Noah thought as he stood silently under the shower; in the end, he hadn't been able to carry that bag of rice all the way to the top floor.