Chapter 38: Bath

The two talked for a few more hours as they drank. The topics were simple, such as how Shizune became so attached to Kushina, and the two were inseparable. How Kushina seemed to be doing better. The three spent a lot of time with Mito, so she always came up in the conversation.

Yujin didn’t talk about Mito’s plan; he respected her decision not to give Tsunade hope without being sure that everything would work out.

Hours later, the two were a bit tipsy. Yujin remembered a topic he wanted to discuss with Tsunade. However, he couldn’t be too direct.

“You know, I find the clothes people wear in this world strange. I still haven’t gotten used to the clothes I bought, and I plan to ask a tailor to make custom clothes for me. What do you think?”

Tsunade looked at Yujin, specifically at the outfit he was wearing. He had on a dark blue jacket over a white shirt and long black pants, a relatively simple outfit that suited him well.

“You look good in that outfit, what’s the problem?”

Yujin was pleased with the compliment but still decided to order some custom clothes later.

“I don’t know, it’s different. I’ll show you what the clothes I used to wear looked like. Do you have paper and pen?”

Tsunade got up to get some sheets and a pen. While Yujin focused on drawing, Tsunade asked.

“But why the sudden interest in clothes? You didn’t seem to care about your outfit when you bought it.”

Yujin continued drawing the clothes he used to wear and replied.

“It’s uncomfortable. I can’t explain. The way it fits on my body, the way I wear it. For example, I had shirts like this.”

He then showed a drawing of a T-shirt with something resembling buttons.

“I wore shirts like this. They’re open, and I put them on, and then I button them up. They’re a bit loose, which I found more comfortable when I’m moving. The pants were also looser. Anyway, it’s uncomfortable.”

Tsunade had never seen Yujin in such clothes, so she imagined him in them, but she wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know ... I think you look good the way you are. If it’s about mobility, I don’t think it hinders you.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t hinder, but it’s a bit uncomfortable.”

Yujin continued drawing more clothing models during the conversation, and he remembered something else.

“Another thing I noticed is that people in this world usually have shorter hair. What do you think?”

He grabbed his waist-length braid and showed it to her. Tsunade looked at him with narrowed eyes, finding the conversation strange but responded.

“I think it depends on the person; it’s not like there aren’t men with long hair. Jiraiya is one of them. But your hair...”

She then took Yujin’s hair and was surprised. His hair was quite oily, and she could see various parts where the strands were broken.

“Don’t you wash your hair?”

“Sometimes, I usually keep it tied up.”

Yujin quickly took his hair away from Tsunade’s hand when he saw that she didn’t seem to like what she saw. She then realized something important: there was no bathroom in Yujin’s house.

“Where do you take a bath?”

“At home, I use a wet cloth to wipe off the sweat, and sometimes I wash my hair with tap water.”

Tsunade narrowed her eyes again and finally realized that Yujin hadn’t taken a proper bath since she met him. He didn’t have shampoo or soap to wash himself either. She approached him and started to smell him but didn’t detect a bad smell. When she realized what she had done, she quickly backed away and coughed slightly, embarrassed.

“You need to take better care of yourself, take a proper bath, wash your hair, and so on. By the way, why do you let your hair grow if you don’t bother taking care of it?”

Yujin grabbed his hair and briefly measured the length. He then explained.

“It’s a custom where I come from. Most men cut their hair once it passes their shoulders. But in the Martial Arts society, when you start training, you let your hair grow without limits. It’s a way to show how much you’ve trained. The longer your hair, the longer your training. My master’s hair reached the floor. Not that it matters anymore, I guess.”

He then lost himself in thought. Long hair is a cultural custom where he comes from, but that culture no longer exists in the world he’s in. In a way, it seemed important to cut it, a symbol of a new beginning.

“Maybe I should cut it.”

“You don’t have to cut it if you don’t want to. There are people with long hair here; it’s not strange. What’s strange is you not taking a bath with shampoo for your hair and soap for your body.”