EE Chapter 4

# Chapter Four - "The Obligatory Onsen Scene"

### Eimi

    It's not a big deal. People do this all the time. It's not even weird. Megumi was right, we see each other changing backstage constantly. I saw most of them changing at that TV studio before I even knew their names. Huh, Junko really does have a mole on her…

    "Um… Eimi? Are you ok?"

    "What? I mean, yeah! I'm fine! Can't you tell when someone has soap in their eyes? I swear, you and your stupid moles… mole! Your stupid, single mole…"

    "Um, ok then. Do you need-"

    A completely unanticipated torrent of water crashed over my head, taking me by surprise and nearly knocking me off of my stool. Shaking it off my face, I turned and saw Megumi standing there with an upturned pail.

    *Whoa! Naked Megumi!*

    I guess that little bluff isn't going to work in our game anymore…

    "Are your eyes better now, Ms. Inagawa? You looked like you had something in them." That mischievous smile, only slightly alarming in a normal situation, was downright wrong in a place like this. Pouring another bucket over myself to finish washing away the soap, I decided that this was enough cleaning for the moment - obviously I hadn't even been at all dirty to begin with - and walked confidently straight through the showers, which happened to be filled with six completely bare young women no doubt all jealousy staring right at my good genetic fortune, and into the waiting bath.

    Now, the bath itself actually did live up to Megumi's hype. As someone who's no stranger to luxurious baths - we have at least two that are larger than this on our estate, one for guests and one in my dad's quarters. No, three, we have a guest bath each for both men and women visitors. Actually, the one in the guest… You know what, how many giant baths I have at home isn't important right this second. What is important is that this one is large enough that even though I have to be in a natural state among the entire group, there's enough room to avoid anyone needing to be right on top of each-

    "Ow! Hey!"

    Despite ample room, and despite the two of us being the only ones to come to the tub so far, I found myself sitting as snugly next to our fearless leader - our totally fearless leader - as two people could manage.

    Seriously, she's practically in my lap…

    "Wh-What are you doing, you idiot? Sit somewhere else!"

    "Eimi…"

    "What is it? Move already!"

    "There's something I've wanted to say for a while now and, well, this is the first time I've been able to…" She locked her eyes directly with mine, then slowly parted her lips, hesitating on her next words but leaving it obvious that she was going to say something. Before I could utter a sound of my own, she found the strength to say what she'd been wanting to tell me.

    *Here?!*

*In the nude?!*

    "Ribbit!"

    Rinko lifted something green up from under the water then squeezed her hands together, spraying me in the face with a stream of warm bathwater. Momentarily blinded, all I heard was her stupid cute little giggles and splashing as she ran away to the other side of the tub. Wiping the water away with my hands, I felt something brush against my cheek.

    *Who the heck is it now?!?!*

    "Here's a towel…"

    "Ugh, thanks. Gross." As I finished wiping my face - who knows what's in this water - I heard the unmistakable sound of someone sliding into the tub near me. Not nearly as near me as before, but *why won't these girls leave me alone? Do they need to be that obvious about being totally obsessed with me?!*

    Similar sounds could be heard from other areas of the bath, and by the time I opened my eyes and blinked to clear away the blurriness it looked like everyone had made it in.

    "So, how's Megumi's room? Any dark secrets we should know about?" Junko - moles and all - lounged just a couple feet away, talking to me but keeping tabs on everything going on across the water. Which, now that I think about it, may not be a bad idea. I focused my visual attention on the blurrier side of the bath instead of Junko's stupid, surprisingly perky-

    "Nope! It's just another boring room with some boring books and a boring futon. What else would you expect?"

    "Right. I should've known. This place is lovely. It's no wonder Megumi turned out so perfect… So, you finally met Mister Froggy. Not very polite, is he?"

    "No. Not at all." Mister Froggy was, at the moment, letting loose a stream of water toward Dam-Bi as she practically dunked herself under to escape. Kanon and Chiyo were splashing hard in her direction as well, trying to soak her with the weight of numbers. I don't really see the point. It's not like any of us could be any wetter than we already are between the shower and the bath, and that sort of thing just seems disruptive and juvenile.

    *And if they bring it over here they'll see just how disruptive and juvenile I can be!*

    "No splashing!" Pinky raised her voice like an obaa-san and yelled at the girls to cut it out. "It's not…" Turning bright red, Junko sank down to her chin in the water. "...polite…"

    "Overheating already? You look like a lobster! Is that your super-secret last name? Junko Robusutaa?"

    "Oh like you're one to talk. You look entirely sunburnt. Even your… well… are bright… pink…"

    "You're just jealous because everyone's staring at me and not you. Hmph. Typical." I gave a small sway in her direction, just to drive the point home about how outclassed she is in certain departments, but slipped on the tile and ended up thrusting toward Junko far more than I had intended.

    "Hey! Nobody's staring at you, Eimi. This doesn't count, you're literally shoving them right in my- St-Stop it!"

    "Chiyo is… a little bit…" The quietest among us spoke up to rat out her friend, grinning like a cat who'd just caught a mouse to play with. The girls near them on the other side of the bath giggled at the accusation.

    Chiyo turned bright red as well - a lot of that was going around - and refuted her friend's accusation, getting an even bigger round of laughter.

    "A-Am not! You just splash me whenever I look in your direction! Plus you're staring way more!"

    Unfortunately, she refuted the accusation in what may have been the worst way possible short of just admitting it. Actually… No, this was actually much, much worse. Feeling the sudden urge to fully bask in the warmness of the water, I found myself sunken down to Junko's level, my chin barely breaking above the water's surface. If there was a bright side to that record-setting awkward moment, it was that the splashing stopped after one last barrage between them and we could enjoy our soak in relative peace. Once that happened, it wasn't actually that awful anymore. It was actually peaceful enough that I swore I could hear…

    "Hey Megumi, is the men's bath connected to this one by any chance?"

    "It's right through the wall. Don't tell me you're in the wrong one?" I stuck my tongue out at her for that.

    "No, I just figured we could spy on 'em. That's what girls are supposed to do in this kind of place, right? Check out the guys bathing…"

    "Um, Eimi, I don't think that's what regular girls do in the bath." My black-haired friend lifted the end of one foot out of the water, wiggling her toes to… I have no idea why, she's just being restless. Even here, it seems she can't stop moving. How annoying.

    "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's usually the other way around. At least it is in anime… W-Wait! Do you think people are trying to look through the wall at us?!" Chiyo crossed her arms over her chest frantically.

    I turned to look at what I'd be dealing with. The wall was tiled all the way to the ceiling with white ceramic. Not the sort of material that's likely to leave peepholes and cracks. The guest baths at home have a similar setup, but the walls are bamboo, and the ceiling is actually full of skylights to let in natural light, and in good weather they can even be opened with a switch to let natural air in. The bamboo wall is covered in ivy and other plants to make it feel like a real onsen, but I've discovered that there's a crack in the bamboo in one spot, and if you push aside the ivy you can…

    Uh…

    Anyway…

    The tiles would probably just break before they got that bad. Chiyo probably doesn't have anything to worry about. At least not from being peaked at from *outside* the bath, if I've been reading one corner of the room right. Not that there's anything at all wrong with that - despite the questionable nature of peeping in general… Not that I'm one to talk… - but no one sleeps with their eyes open that erratically…

    Am I right?

    You get what I'm sayin'.

    *Not that there's anything wrong with that…*

    "Mother does an exemplary job catching that sort of thing. She checks the wall thoroughly three times a week as she bathes to make sure everything is in order, even when we have no guests. And you don't want to see what happens when she suspects someone of trying to pry the tiles off." A loud smack echoed off the walls of the bath as Megumi slapped the surface of the water with an open palm. "So, Ms. Watanabe, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Plus, you're correct. It is usually the men who try that sort of thing, not us ladies. We are far too cultured and well-behaved to even think about that sort of thing."

    "Well, except Eimi!" Rinko felt the need to get in an uncalled for zinger at my expense.

    *If we weren't in a bath, why I'd take revenge for that remark!*

*As soon as you're not looking… **KANCHO!***

    "Nobody else then? Hmph. I knew you were all boring. Do any of you even like hot guys?"

    "Why don't we go watch boys tomorrow by the shore then, Eimicchi?” Dam-Bi suggested with a groan. "Maybe with more clothes on. And not through a hole in a wall."

    "Plus most of those guys were like… **old**." Added Chiyo, unprompted.

    "I suppose, *Bibi*. If you feel the need to do it the easy way, we can go to the beach."

    "I do. Just like I need to get out before I fall asleep." Dam-Bi stretched her arms above her head and yawned loudly, revealing a little more than anticipated above the waterline. Huh. I knew she had an okay figure, but who knew she was so blessed? Plus the surprising pink ombre on the tips of her hair was an interesting surprise. Well… Good for her. I can't be expected to bring *all* the sex appeal to the group! "Plus Chiyo's right. Those guys are our dads' age. That's gross."

    "We should get out too. I keep having to splash Kanon to keep her awake."

    "And I'm getting pretty hungry. So's Mister Froggy." A spout of water shot high in the air, nearly to the ceiling, before arching back down a few inches in front of Kanon, splashing her face with the spray from it impacting on the bath's surface. There's no way that Rinko could possibly have done that on purpose…

    "If the other guests are done with dinner, as Ms. Inagawa so thoughtfully pointed out, it shouldn't be long until they're ready for us in the dining room. Now would be an excellent time to go get dressed. Do you all know how to wear a yukata properly?"

    "Yes." "Of course!" "I think so…" "...there's a proper way?"

    "Alright then, I'll come help you all get suitably attired. Please excuse us, Ms. Inagawa. I'll be back to collect you soon. Don't overdo it."

    The other girls all stood up and, in a mass exodus of shameless curves, left the bath to go towel off. Just as I thought it was safe to relax, a perky straggler returned to empty Mister Froggy back into the bath, before laughing and walking away.

    "Bye, Eimi! See you at dinner! I hope we can do this again tomorrow night!"

    Finally alone - for my opinion the only way to bathe, no matter what tradition may say - I let out a large breath and drew myself back up, leaning my head and arms back on the side of the bath and stretching out my legs lazily, letting myself float pleasantly. Once you're by yourself, the bath is actually pretty much perfect. I closed my eyes for a moment to enjoy the quiet - the first peace and quiet I'd had since early this morning - and I swear the very next second I found myself face to upside-down face with…

    "...Mehgoomee? Zat you?"

    "And here I thought Ms. Mitsuboshi had unusual sleeping habits."

    "Huh? Wha-"

    I learned the hard way that sitting up when there's no floor beneath you is a good way to dunk yourself underwater. I surfaced to Megumi in a white bathrobe laughing at me, holding a large white towel in one hand as she offered me the other. Waving it away, I stood up under my own power and stormed out of the bath, grabbing the towel from her and quickly covering myself.

    "You did that on purpose."

    "I did no such thing." She answered between laughs. "Your hair's going to take forever to dry now, and that's just going to make my job harder."

    "Are you going to tell me what you're planning yet?"

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