Heading straight back home after long night, the first thing he did was heading back to his bedroom with Yumi in tow, wishing to take a shower and have her clean his blood soaked clothing. He has seen a lot of things throughout his life but taking a life by the hands of his maid when he had the power to do something with it.
Entering the room, Carter turned to his upbeat maid, "place my clothes in the washer; I'm going to take a bath," he instructed in removing his black tie, tossing it on her as she catches it with ease, along with the coat, "make sure to wash them thoroughly," Carter ordered firmly without breaking eye contact as he took off his white undershirt next and tossed it on top of coat and tie which she caught quickly without losing balance.
"And uh..." flustering of the thought of him being naked in in front of her as he turned bright red, averting his eyes elsewhere, "um, make sure not to peek, " He added bashfully much to the girl's confusion from his behavior, "because I'm going to remove my shoes, pants and then..." His cheeks became crimson with sweat rolling down his forehead upon thinking of such inappropriate acts involving him getting completely exposed.
A giggle escaped her lips, watching him fidgeting uncomfortably with flustered face, "do not worry about it, master," reassuring him sweetly, "I do not judge person's physique when it comes to such things," suggesting with innocent smile as she waited patiently for his command.
Feeling embarrassed enough already, Carter waved his hand dismissively, "whatever, just don't look at my junk," saying in exasperation before starting to removing his shoes and socks, leaving him completely barefoot as Yumi simply stared with no change of expression.
While having her sight fixated on him, he decides just to get this over with already, unbuckling his belt before sliding it out through the loops in his pants, sending them crashing down on the floor with the only remaining clothing being his boxer shorts that concealed his manhood from sight.
"What's wrong, master?" She questioned innocently as she saw his strange behavior when he suddenly stopped undressing himself, her eyes traveling downward toward his crotch, "Yumi doesn't judge," stating honestly with her head tilting at the side, "especially when it comes to your size or length," innocently said while looking back up to his face with smile.
Hell, how is she not ashamed or embarrassed like this? Maybe he is the weird one, feeling uneasy about being naked in front of her while she simply doesn't care one bit. Carter turned around swiftly, refusing to meet her eyes with his cheeks still flushed from being seen in such compromising state, "alright, I'm going to remove my boxes, just take it and I'll be heading straight into the bathroom," he warned, pushing them down his ankles, kicking them away into random direction before dashing straight into the bathroom, shutting the door closed behind him.
Exhaling in relief, he leans against the wooden door frame for support, calming down his racing heart and erratic breaths, trying to understand why his so flustered about this. He had sex before as Adam, but this feels different. Despite knowing this body well as in his mind and spirit, he still didn't feel comfortable showing himself off like that, especially in front of his childhood friend who happens to be girl.
Is it because...his nervous or something? That must be it, his simply afraid of showing his manhood in front of her in case she judges him or something. Yeah, that has to be the reason for his anxiety. Wait, does that make him insecure then?
Or has he been overthinking all of this to the point where his losing his cool in front of her? Is he that paranoid of what she thinks of him, considering how much she cares about him? Now, he's beginning to lose track of what his even thinking right now, but all he knows is that he shouldn't be behaving this way in front of her.
Taking one long, deep breath to relax, he pushes away from the door frame and walks over to the bathtub in this spacious bathroom of his, turning on both knobs to fill the tub up with warm water before submerging his whole body in. The heat and temperature eased away some of his worries, relieving his muscles from the strain as the scent of clean water wafted through his nostrils.
Relaxing in peace for while as he enjoys this peaceful serenity for minutes while closing his eyes shut, listening to the splashing noise of water in his ears, distracting him from any unnecessary thoughts as the foggy atmosphere shrouded his surroundings in cloud, obscuring any view beyond meters radius.
Time seems to slow down by a fraction, allowing him to fully enjoy the soothing sensation of this relaxing experience in taking a long soak in this heated pool while stretching his arms and legs to ease some of those aches out. He sighed contentedly as his body sank deeper into the steaming liquid, feeling weightless.
Every facet in this house comes with special chemical that cleans all dirt, diseases and impurities from the skin, preventing filth and germs from building up within pipes as it drains out instantly into sewers. In addition, it is also drinkable safe.
The soap was mixed in with the hot water making bubbles floating all around while filling the entire bathroom with the lovely aroma of mint mixed in citrus smell that tickles his senses, providing him an aromatherapy treatment.
He closed his eyes for moment, allowing this relaxing experience to wash away all those pent-up emotions. Everything he always feel at daily basis, tormenting him all the time. He felt guilt, sadness, anger, depression, shame and loneliness all at once.
But they are temporarily washed away in this moment of peace, being replaced with calmness and tranquility for time being. As the tension gradually begins to leave his body, Carter took a deep, satisfying breath and exhaled slowly. For couple minutes, he enjoyed the comfort of warmth, not minding anything other than right now.
Its like if he keeps focusing on those negative thoughts; it will consume him until nothing left but despair, hopelessness and self-loathing. Just a cycle of suffering that continues indefinitely. No, he refuses to be chained by those chains, binding his freedom of doing whatever he wants, living life freely.
Doctor Sol, his beloved father from previous life wouldn't want him to be like. In fact, he is perhaps proud of him in doing good for society as whole. Some criminals aren't beyond change as there are people that can save them from damnation they put themselves upon. That is why he is here to begin with, saving humanity from the dangers lurking in shadows.
And yet, it doesn't feel like he's making any difference or change. Just him trying to live up his previous parents expectations with his morals. Does he even have right to claim to be better man than the average person when he had done questionable and likely hypocritical things before?
"A price to pay for being human," resting his head against the edge, "its either our life or theirs, nothing is perfect after all." He whispered to himself, glancing down at his reflection within the rippling surface, "homeless is eradicated, overworking isn't thing anymore, low income jobs have their salary increased, causing crime itself to be severely reduced. The introduction of free therapy and government controlled brothels with strict rules has also helped in this case," thinking out loud as he listed what he accomplished in this short span of life.
"Though, it all seems too easy don't you think?" Carter chuckled bitterly at himself, "is it even enough? Do I need more to make a bigger impact?" Those questions plagued his mind constantly, making him wonder if there is more he can do for his people to be more happy.
He wished that every dead loved one and comrade has returned back to life, hurting him is one thing but the people he cared about are a different story entirely. Even if his tortured to the brim, one of the things that kept him moving forward is them.
Those people he cared deeply, there are like his family or perhaps even more to him. They are important part of him that he wouldn't trade for anything in world. Yes, he will do anything to protect them just as they would do same for him.
Suddenly, a feminine voice calling his name in front of him, "master, the bath is too warm, don't you think?" Yumi asked concerned as her naked form was covered with the submerged water, keeping her decent for the most part.
Snapping his eyes open, he turned his head forward, "Yumi?" He said in shock, "how or what—when did you get in here?" Carter didn't even hear her opening the bathroom door, let alone getting inside the bathtub without making a splash of sound. Did he zone out for that long in his own thoughts?
"Do you want me to leave?" Sad frown appeared on her face, drooping her shoulders down while staring dejectedly at the water, "I don't mind waiting outside until you finish bathing," she added quietly, not wishing to impose in his privacy.
Noticing the sadness on her face, he shook his head and leaned back against the wall, "no, its fine," waving his hand, "but there is one thing I need to ask you though," bringing up topic to remind her, "remember when that crazy chick said something about you being like her or something?" He repeated her the words earlier tonight, "mind telling me what does she mean by that?"
Wringing her submerged hands nervously, the girl looks hesitant to tell him what's going on in her life, "its complicated..." fear of the thought in being harshly rejected by her dearest and most important person to her, "its something personal that I don't really wish to talk about, master," she responded solemnly while her fingers tangled together, twiddling her thumbs around in uneasiness.
He nodded, "I won't bring you to jail," assuring her once again that he will not punish her in such manner, "and I definitively won't hate you for what you've done in the past," he says calmly before grinning at her, "just tell me what happened, okay?" Requesting in the kindest tone he can muster up as he watched her hesitate in responding to his request.
Then she finally opened up, speaking about what exactly what's bothering her, "when I was born..." She carefully explained while gazing downwards at her blurry reflection beneath the rippling waters, "I was nothing but a killing machine and a tool designed by evil men to become perfect being of its kind," continuing to elaborate on how exactly she became who she is today, "created from scratch to become most ruthless, vicious and lethal killer in the world to eliminate whoever in its path," adding more details to her story.
Carter remained silent the entire time, intently listening to her every word, "I never had parents, these people wanted to see if a super soldier is possible to create using various horrific experienced ," she uttered softly as her fingers traced circles in the water, "those scientists or whatever they called themselves, they did unspeakable things to me for their own satisfaction; forcing me to train in every form of weapon and martial arts available while being beaten and abused day in and day out," remembering those awful memories of being treated like piece of shit, "the more they torture me, the more I grow stronger and eventually, they feared my own capabilities," finishing off her tale in expressing everything.
"Is that why...I never got to see your home or parents?" He asked curiously as to why she would hide such secretive background like this from him, "Yumi if you wish to stop then—"
Forced melancholy smile graced her lips, shaking her head, "for most of my life, I lived in hell, master. They abused me, trained me, humiliated and treated me like nothing more than potential guinea in being an super soldier , and their final experiment involved in making me of working as ruthless assassin and mercenary," she stated sternly, letting out a sigh while avoiding making eye contact with him, "until that fateful day came when a miracle occurred when your father set me free from those bastards."
Surprise registered on Carter's face when he heard that last sentence coming from Yumi, "my...father freed you?" He murmured dumbfound, unable to believe what she just told him, "I never heard him saying this to me, not even once throughout my whole life," he couldn't help but question in bewilderment.
Nodding in response, she lifted her head slightly to gaze into his eyes, "he found me in the streets after escaping those guys and it was matter of time these men found me," her eyes closed shut, "your father paid them with money in exchange of allowing me as your personal maid," she added with faint smile tugging at corner of her lips.
Furrowing his brow in concentration, "I...see..." that is alot to take in, especially when his own father likely still has many secrets to himself, "sorry to hear that Yumi, about everything," he apologized sincerely, having no idea how to comfort someone who's been through such brutal experiences.
"No need to apologize, master," she said in slight amusement while laughing weakly, "they are dead anyways," she reassured him confidently, "those people who made my life miserable are gone for good; no longer a threat to anyone."
Glancing up at ceiling in contemplative silence, he considered on asking more questions but decided not to, instead opting for changing subject altogether, "so what will you do now Yumi?" Carter inquired genuinely, not sure what will be best course of action regarding her current situation.
Sighing deeply, she smiled at him with eyes closed; blushing cutely as she replied, "what else but continue serving you of course!" She spoke cheerfully, her bright smile not faltering once as her words echoed throughout the bathroom.
"Why?" Questioning her motives, "you're not obligated to continue doing this if you want to be free and live life the way you want it, Yumi," he stated genuinely, "why keep being my servant all the time? There is reason to all of this, right?" The young man asked in hopes of finding answers from her.
"Because I love you Carter-sama!"
