Chapter 29: The Bathroom Breach

I lock the bathroom door. I double-check it. I even rattle the handle. It is secure. I am going to take a bath, alone, in peace. I sink into the hot water, letting out a sigh of relief.

CLICK.

The lock turns from the outside.

I freeze. I know for a fact I locked that. Which means someone has a key, or picked it.

The door opens slowly. Steam billows out.

"Takeshi-kun?" Izuwa's voice calls out softly. "I... I brought you some new bath salts. They're supposed to be very relaxing."

"Izuwa! I'm in the bath! Get out!" I sink lower into the water until only my nose is visible.

"Oh my, it's so foggy in here," she says, sounding strangely unbothered. She walks right up to the tub. She is wearing nothing but a thin white towel. "Maybe I should just... join you? To save water. It's environmentally responsible."

"NO! IT IS NOT!"

"Move over, slowpoke!" Inoue pushes past Izuwa. She isn't even wearing a towel. She just marches in, completely unashamed.

"KYAAAA! INOUE! EYES! MY EYES!" I squeeze my eyes shut and cover my face with my hands.

"What? We used to bathe together all the time when we were three!" she laughs, splashing water at me.

"WE ARE SIXTEEN NOW! IT IS DIFFERENT!"

"What's all the yelling?" Hina saunters in. "Ugh, this lighting is terrible for a bath scene. We need some candles." She starts lighting scented candles around the tub, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I am naked and terrified in the water.

"Hina, get out! Everyone out!"

"Why are you being so selfish with the hot water, Onii-chan?" Ayumi appears, holding a rubber duck. "A family that bathes together, stays together!"

"THAT IS NOT A SAYING!"

Finally, Azuwa enters. She at least has the decency to look embarrassed, her face bright red as she adjusts her foggy glasses.

"This is... highly irregular," she stammers, trying not to look directly at the tub. "But if everyone else is conducting a hygiene meeting, I cannot be left out of the data collection."

"IT'S NOT A MEETING!"

They all start crowding around the tub. Ayumi is trying to climb in. Inoue is already sitting on the edge, dangling her legs in the water. Izuwa is 'accidentally' dropping the soap into the water near me and reaching for it.

"Oops, I dropped it," Izuwa murmurs, her hand brushing against my leg under the water.

"I FOUND IT!" I yell, grabbing her hand and throwing it back out of the water.

I am curled into a tiny ball at the far end of the tub, defending my modesty with a washcloth while five girls invade my sanctuary.

"Just one little scrub!" Ayumi pleads, holding a loofah. "I'll wash your back! And your front! Mostly your front!"

"OUT! EVERYONE OUT OR I'M CALLING THE POLICE! AND I LIVE HERE!"