Three's a Crowd

"Hey..."

The dark skin, the teen's smile, her dark-brown eyes, all seemed slightly familiar - though Subaru couldn't place where he'd seen them before, while doing his best to not look at the rest of her completely nude body.

"I'm a genuine regular here. My parents come up all the time... but this is my first time seeing you here."

She shifted on the tiny stool to face him better, which highlighted her super fine waist, and perfectly curved hips and butt, and while Subaru's hair rested unkempt all over his thin body, the darker featured girls own dark hair bounced lightly beside her quite pointy chest.

"Just visiting for the day?"

"Yeah... something like that..."

Subaru was real thankful he'd procured the towel earlier, as he held it tightly.

"So... you going in now?"

"What...?"

"The baths just in there..."

She motioned helpfully to the nearer door and swung back to face the handheld shower station.

"You can go in ahead, and I'll join you soon."

Crap...! Kei's in there...

Subaru got up and out of sight, and did his best to hurry back to the change-room for something vital, while the mysterious but friendly teenager started to clean herself.

Keen to be unnoticed, he shuffled by and went in through the next door, being particularly quiet about it, before making sure it was firmly closed after he was in.

Subaru carefully stepped further on the wet floor inside, to see Kei was calmly relaxing in the water, silently against the onsen's side, just peacefully sitting with her eyes closed on the far steps - and only partly submerged.

Knowing he had little time, he stepped over, and she noticed his footsteps before he got close to the large bath's edge, opening her eyes, firstly with some surprise, which quickly turned to both embarrassment and outrage.

"Ah! Subaru - what are you doing?!"

She slapped her hands over her body to cover up and barked at him.

"Get the hell out!"

"Kei listen to me please..."

"No - get out of here...!"

"No!"

His firmness caught her off guard, giving her pause, but in that brief time they both noticed the little noises of the other - back in the previous room, so the pair dialled down the volume significantly.

"What are you doing...? If anyone sees... well..."

Kei plopped further into the shimmering water and then returned her hand to point low in his direction.

"You'll be in serious danger..."

He kept looking directly into her eyes with a serious gaze, till she calmed down a fraction and waited for his response.

"I'm more worried about you... I think someone we both know is coming in..."

"Here? Now...? Are you serious?!"

Subaru got close to the baths edge.

"I think they're one of our classmates too..."

Kei's colour started to drain from her face then.

"What...?"

She looked about in a growing panic.

"If anyone from school notices that I'm... me..."

I think you mean; anyone else...

"Shit...! I have to hide..."

She started to flap about as she glanced about the bare room with only one entrance and exit.

"Hey, hey... stop a second. I brought this remember..."

Subaru displayed the wig in his free hand to her

"Oh... right..."

Kei rose from the water and walked over, bearing all again as she came to the shallow end, completely forgetting her current state.

"Uh... here then..."

Subaru averted his sights and handed it over, but she didn't take the fake hair, instead she stared toward the loud splashing sounds that the other girl made, who apparently neared the end of her wash, and then instead took his wrist.

"Just get in here; otherwise we'll both look suspicious!"

His grabbed wrist was strongly tugged and Subaru had no choice as she pulled him in with her.

There they lingered for a few moments, standing before one another in the thigh high hot water, while Subaru at least still had his towel wrapped around his hips, held by his left hand, it was slightly submerged, and had a unmistakable bludge at the front, but Kei was still too distracted to notice, or indeed care about her complete lack of any cover, what-so-ever.

Stay focused, you're here to help her disguise herself... not to peer...

Kei let go of his hand and trembled slightly as she looked into his eyes with her now easing frightened light-blue ones.

"You're a life saver if this works... So quickly put it on!"

"Uh, but I've..."

With one hand already occupied, he wavered the wig with his other, while Kei grew a little frustrated with his stalling.

"Just... do it already!"

Kei swirled about, putting her back to him and got a touch closer, as Subaru attempted to put the fake longer hair on her, with just one hand, and make it seem realistic.

"Okay... just stay still then."

"Are you done yet?"

She asked anxiously, after a bit of light fiddling to set it on her head failed.

"Here just let me..."

"Hurry up or -!"

The door opened and in strolled another towel concealed teen.

Subaru had pulled it down with a second to spare, and withdrew a little distance, while shrinking into the deeper water and praying the darker-pink wig would hold.

"Good day... Hi Sekiya-san."

Subaru continued to ease away from Kei a little more and gave a small wave back, while Kei stayed quiet after dropping into the water too.

The newly arrived teenager still seemed familiar, but Subaru couldn't quite give the deep-tanned girl a name yet, and before he could remember - she slipped off her white cloth and stepped up to the water pool.

"Excuse me... I'll just slip in there too."

She said quietly with a smile and with a little splosh, she gently entered into the warm water before the others.

"Hello."

She turned her attention to Kei, who timidly replied.

"Oh... nice to meet you then."

"Yes... nice to meet you... I'm a classmate of Sekiya's here."

"Who...? Oh... right."

"I thought you two knew each other... because you were talking fairly... never mind then."

She stepped closer to Subaru, since Kei was acting particularly awkward, while her darker, perkier and bigger 'assets' remained above the waterline.

"Hey-ya Sekiya... uh, did you forget something?"

"Huh?"

Subaru froze, wondering what she could possibly mean.

"Want me to tie your hair up?"

Subaru looked about at his submerged shoulders and the spread dark-red that floated all around.

"Oh... It's okay... it's not a bother..."

She drew closer anyway.

"It's no trouble at all, here just let me..."

She sunk in beside him and quickly slipped up behind, before gently scooping up all the spread hair and finely gathered it all up, as she sourced a hair-tie from her own purple hair.

"I do this all the time for my sisters..."

Two soft things briefly touched his back.

"Here we go, now... you're... all set."

She floated away a little with a big grin, having successfully wrangled up Subaru's longer hair, to match her almost as dark own.

"Thanks... Minami."

Subaru's memories finally clicked.

That's right... Minami Testsuko... she sits right in front of Akane...

Tetsuko was another friendly and high achieving girl from their class, with apparently the highest scores for their level, she had not been all that talkative toward Subaru, but she had been helpful when she had.

Minami then returned to Subaru's side and asked him quietly.

"Hey, uh, who's that?"

Kei stared at the others in the bath, with quite a hostile glare now.

"She's... a visitor from Osaka... I think..."

"You were talking with her before, but she looks upset now... any clue as to why?"

Your guess is as good as mine...

Kei noticed she was the centre of attention again and quickly turned away in a huff.

"Hmm... maybe she might be just as nervous as you are Sekiya..."

Minami drifted over to Kei then, who turned her attention back with some alarm at her approach.

"Hi there, I'm Testsuko, Minami, a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello I'm Akashi, Ke... Keiko."

Kei returned the polite greeting, and almost her true name.

After a brief time, Minami's smile grew.

"Akashi.... You wouldn't happen to have a cute, younger cousin... who lives nearby?"

Tetsuko's stepped closer to Kei, so her dark and shapely waist and hips emerged from the water directly before Subaru, but he quickly turned away, pretending to relax.

"Well... actually yeah... I'm going to visit their place later..."

Minami loomed slightly over Kei, as the smaller girl shrunk under more water as she lied, seemingly a bit intimidated by the other.

"Oh that's such a nice stroke of luck then..."

She turned about and sat right beside Kei on the underwater step, leaning in from a different direction.

"I don't want to seem too forward but... do you know if he's going out with anyone?"

"Uh...!? What - ur..."

Kei looked to Subaru for some reason, while he still feigned disinterest.

"...N... No... I don't think so..."

She finally stuttered out.

"Hmm..."

She peered closer, but Kei had reached her limit, and suddenly splashed up and away, bringing some surprise to Tetsuko.

"I..."

Kei held back her words, as she dashed for the door and made a prompt exit.

"Maybe I over stepped?"

Minami paddled back over, with her pointed parts directed at the other bather.

"But now I get to spend some quality time with you... Subaru."