Ermac apparently underestimated how traditional the shrine was. He knew by the traditional Eastern style that it was quite so, but he didn't expect to eat dinner on his knees or to sleep on a mat, but here he was.

After he accepted Misaki Ana's offer of shelter, she was visibly pleased. Well, "pleased" wasn't the best word.

"Really? That's great!" Thrilled was probably more accurate. "I'll show you where you can sleep. I have a robe you could wear to sleep. And if you want a bath, I can show you to the bathhouse. Unless you take showers. Then I can show you to the bathroom. Do you-"

"If we may," he interrupted her tirade, "We would like to take a bath." He left behind his dumpster-scented body, but the smell ghosted in his nostrils, and whatever this man was doing before Ermac took control left him quite odorous and musky. He was quite certain that Misaki noticed as well.

"Yes," she said, smiling and blushing slightly, "Of course. Right this way." Surprisingly, she walked toward the door and exited the building. Ermac wordlessly followed.

On the way, he felt that he should speak, break the silence.

"You are quite generous," he said sincerely. "It surprises us sometimes."

"Well," Misaki kept her eyes forward, "I do owe you. You saved me."

"The dinner would have payed that debt," he replied, looking at the side of her head curiously.

"Well..." she didn't continue. They arrived at the bathhouse a few moments afterwards. "This is it," Misaki announced, relieved. She opened the door to a room full of lockers and towels with benches lining the walls.

"I don't know if they have bathhouses in Outworld," Ana said setting a towel on one bench. She pointed to a door on the opposite wall. "Over there is the actual bath, soap and robes are in the locker on the right." She stood up straight and looked at his slightly confused face. "All right?"

"We will figure it out, thank you." Ermac said, not wanting to bother her with repeating it.

"Great," Misaki smiled at him, "I'll go set up your mat." He had no idea what that meant but let her go.

He let himself float to the ground and walked to one of the lockers. Inside was a shelf with a tube of a pink, fruity-smelling substance that reminded him of Ana. He guessed it was the soap. Under the shelf of soap was a rack of black bathrobes. He took on of those and placed it on the bench, next to the towel.

He was surprised when he saw an unfamiliar face in the mirror on one wall. His body switch was foreign, but not unwelcome. His old body was quickly falling into decay and didn't have a lot left in it; he would have to have changed eventually.

Ermac had to admit to himself, however, that of all the bodies that he could have taken, he got a decently handsome one. The olive skin and black hair reminded him of his old body in its younger years, but the chiseled face structure and strong jaw were new to him. As he undressed, he noticed that the body was quite muscular as well, though that could just be inherent power; he could possess the most unfit man in the world and his soul energy would reform the body into one of adequate musculature.

After undressing, he went into the actual bathhouse. The bath itself was quite large, as large as some ponds in the palace. The water was heavenly warm as well. Ermac was not used to having such a humanoid body, so it has been a while since he had felt, well, anything really.

He never took up the concept of bathing in his previous body; that's probably one cause of the vessel's disrepair. The old body grew moldy and quite frankly, disgusting, so he decided to take better care of this one. For everyone's sake.

He wasn't in the bath long, ten minutes at most. He just quickly washed and dried himself, wrapped the bathrobe around him, and walked back to the building where Misaki waited; he thought he should let her get more used to him before he started teleporting around her.

Wait, how long are we planning to stay with the girl?

Throwing that question aside, he entered the building. Ana was sitting at the table, reading a book when he arrived.

"Oh, you're back," she smiled and closed her book. "How was it, the bath."

"Relaxing," Ermac answered simply. "I hope I wasn't long."

"No, not at all," Misaki assured him, "Let me show you to your room," with that, she turned around and walked down a hallway, stopping at the second sliding door.

Inside, in the middle of the room, there was a soft sleeping mat with a thick blanket. Next to it, there was a lit candle, and a book.

"I didn't know what books you like," Misaki said behind him, "but I really like Headache." She walked over to a closet and pulled out a robe better suited for sleeping. "You can wear this to bed."

Ermac walked over to her and took the robe. "Thank you," he said and shrugged the bathrobe off.

"W-w-w-wait!" Ana shrieked, turning a shade of red that made Ermac miss his old cloak. She quickly stepped out of the room and slammed the door. Ermac was a little bit amused and kind of confused.

"Curious," he said smiling slightly. He put on his sleeping robe and laid on the mat.

After today, it was no surprise that he fell asleep in seconds.

Away from the shrine, but not too far, a figure dressed in Neptunian purple regained consciousness with a start.

Bah! Who needs sleep? (Me, I'm very tired)

Ermac's chapter was, as always, super fun to write. Can anyone guess who the Man in Purple™ is?

As always, later my gators.