Chapter Fifteen - Bath

Water cascaded into a bath nearly the size of a neighborhood pool from a manmade waterfall flowing down the side of a miniature mount Fuji, through a sculpted forest like a river before falling into the bath itself. It was, like many of Emi’s parents’ big-ticket items, ostentatious to the very edge of being tacky, wholly over the top and insanely awesome rolled into one package.

“Oh! My! God!” Emi exclaimed loudly, rushing forward as well as she was able through the water toward me.

“What?” I gasped shrinking back up the stairs slightly, afraid my lie had been exposed.

“You have abs!” Emi ran her hands over my belly admiringly. “I’ve never seen anyone with abs! I don’t even have an ab, let alone multiples! How do you do that?”

“I...” I trailed off in embarrassment, trying to move Emi away from my stomach without much success. Aria was still getting ready, but Mizuki was already in the bath and shaking her head disapprovingly. Saki stared at me with her eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

“You shouldn’t do that to people, Emi,” Mizuki chastised from where she sat on the far edge of the bath. “People will think you’re weird.”

“I am weird. Oh, wait! You poor thing! You must be so cold!” Emi fretted, petting my waxed pubic mound like one would a dog. “Don’t worry! You’ll have pubic hair before you know it! By the power of the moon I compel you to grow!”

“Uh, E-Emi,” I once more tried to push her away, but she’d wrapped one arm around my waist and was waving the other around before pushing forward and touching me with the tip of one finger before repeating the motion again. I glanced over and caught Saki’s eyes staring at us, her mouth dropping even further open as she stared in rapt attention. Mizuki shook her head disapprovingly. “Whatever you’re doing, could you please stop?”

“I’m casting a spell!” Emi declared, gripping my waist tighter with one thin arm. “I taught myself how to be a legit witch! I did this spell every night for months and check me, now! I have the beginnings of a lush grassy knoll a second assassin could easily hide behind.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I sighed as her finger pressed against me again before pulling back where her hand waved in the air once more.

“By the power of the moon I compel you to grow!”

“What are you doing, Emi?” Aria asked, appearing from the changing room.

“I’m casting a spell to make Kasumin’s pubic hair grow. I- “Emi glanced over at Aria and immediately let go and rushed to her. “This will not do!” I looked over and felt a shiver course through me. There she was. The girl I’d fantasized about so many times. Naked under the soft light filtering through the room.

She was everything I imagined her to be while I touched myself. Her breasts were large and perky, her nipples a brush of light pink paint on pale skin. The lines of her body were like artwork; a firm belly and waist swelling to the gentle curves of her hips and down toned thighs. She was glorious in her nudity and, if I wasn’t so enraptured, I would probably feel disgusted with myself for perving on her in the bath. She was my girlfriend, though, so I suppose that excused me somewhat.

“Give unto those who need from those who do not!” Emi chanted over and over, placing her hand on Aria’s breast before pulling back dramatically and cupping her own.

“Now what are you doing?” Aria asked, cocking an eyebrow at her quizzically.

“I think she’s trying to cast a spell to take your boobs and give them to herself,” I speculated.

“Not all! Not all!” Emi shook her head vehemently. “Just some! You don’t need all of it!”

“Come on, oh great Majo,” I sighed, dragging Emi back to the bath. She whined and grasped at the air desperately, but I finally managed to bodily move her into the bath.

“You have to come over every day, Aria!” Emi enthused as I forced her onto one of the benches built into the side of the bath. “The spells work better in person!”

“You don’t need to be any different than you are, Emi,” I sighed, sitting down on my own seat a short distance away. “You were recently confessed, after all. So someone else likes you just the way you are.”

“Oh, yeah! I forgot! That was so sweet of you, though!” Emi cried, clapping her hands together happily. “Once I have enough breast, I’ll transfer some to you if you want. Though, honestly, I don’t think you need it. You have some banging tits if I do say. Don’t you agree, Saki-chan?” Emi glanced over at Saki who had sunk into the water so just her nose and top of her head was showing. Saki nodded quietly in embarrassment. I couldn’t help but note the look of displeasure flicking across Aria’s face from where she’d taken her seat across from me. “Can I have some of your abs?”

“No,” I shook my head. “No you cannot. Let’s just not do weird magic unnecessarily and keep what we have, ok?”

“So, Saki-chan,” Aria interrupted, turning her gaze on the girl. “How do you like the bath?”

“Ah! I-It’s very comforting and fancy,” Saki replied, moving her mouth over the water level to reply.

“And being naked isn’t too bad, is it?” Aria leaned back, her arms spread on the wooden edge of the bath, her generous breasts emerging from the water.

“Ehhh,” Saki glanced my way before shaking her head nearly imperceptibly.

“We’re all girls here, right, Mizuki?” Aria turned to Mizuki with a grin.

“That’s right! This is a girls’ party, and we are goin’ hard!” Mizuki giggled, plainly still drunk, though no longer looking as if she were going to pass out or throw up at any given moment. Aria paused, seeming to be deep in thought, before laying her head back and closing her eyes.

“I think girls’ parties needs to be soft and yielding rather than hard, right K-chan?” What was she getting at? I asked myself, though the insinuation was plain and caused me to blush slightly.

“I…suppose,” I shrugged.

“This is nice, your parents have great taste, Emi,” Aria murmured. I glanced back at the glimmering snow-capped Mount Fuji rendered in miniature and was suddenly rather concerned about Aria’s sense of style. While the bath itself was amazing with intricate, muted tilework surrounded by solid wood decking, the bamboo and reliefs on the walls and the fountain design seemed to evoke images of the tomb of the first Qin Emperor in China to me with its rivers of mercury. Yes, it was very cool in concept, but rather unnecessary in form and function. They could have skipped Fuji Sama and the fake trees, and it would have been just as cool. I doubted, however, that Emi’s parents buried the workers and some concubines inside the walls of the bath. I glanced back at the wall I was sitting on suspiciously. At least I hoped they hadn’t.

“Well,” Emi was grabbing air and trying to shove it into her breasts, “everything my parents do is designed around impressing people and leaving no doubt how very Japanese they are.”

“Yeah,” Aria replied, not opening her eyes, “I get that. My parents have a big house in Topanga Canyon so they can claim they ‘just want to get away from it all’, while also leaving no doubt they have more money than they could ever need.”

“It kind of sucks being an ornament to show how perfect your parents are at everything,” Emi nodded, her breast augmentation spell faltering. “Best at business, best at decorating, a noble family name that traces its roots to the Heian Period and a perfect daughter to act as a Japanese Doll when they need to show how wonderful they are at parenting.” Emi sighed, the smile faltering on her face.

“It’s ok, Emi-senpai!” Saki exclaimed, rushing from her seat to fold Emi in her arms gently.

“Better an ornament than an embarrassment,” Aria raised her head, brushing her wet hair from her face. “What a cute little butt you have, puppy. Thanks for the view.” Some place deep in my mind raged at the compliment. A spot in my heart wanted to lash out and tell Aria not to look at Saki. Muscles in my body wanted to move and take her in my arms protectively and scowl at the American across the bath and make my displeasure clear. My fingers twitched slightly, and my face reddened as warring emotions coursed through me.

“I’m sorry, senpai, the view isn’t for you,” Saki never turned around, her voice never grew over a subdued whisper, but her quiet rebuttal seemed to reverberate around the room. Aria’s face grew cold and angry while I shifted slightly, ready to step in. Only Mizuki and Emi seemed oblivious as Emi folded her arms around Saki’s thin shoulders and accepted her hug gratefully.

“Thank you, Saki-chan,” Emi spoke quietly, a complete departure from her usually boisterous exclamations. “Can I have some of your boobs?”

“If I could give you some I would, Emi-senpai,” Saki whispered with a chuckle.

“You just have to come over every day, I know the spell works,” Emi sniffled.

“I’m sure it does,” Saki nodded. “Are you better, now?”

“I got a super sweet hug from a naked junior; how could I not be better?” Emi smiled.

“I don’t get a hug?” Aria taunted Saki with a huffy look on her face. Saki shook her head slightly before retreating back to her seat. She quickly resumed her alligator position, nose, and head only above the water. Her eyes flicked to me, and she blushed again, an apologetic expression on her face. “I see how it is. The puppy is fickle.” I scowled at Aria again. I had agreed to not hug Saki at her behest, but I had never agreed to let Aria run roughshod over her.

As if sensing my anger boiling over Saki placed a hand gently on my arm. I glanced over and she shrugged as if to say it didn’t matter. I sat back with a sigh reluctantly as Saki retreated back to her spot. Aria rolled her eyes and a silence descended on the bath for a few long moments.

“Why’s it so quiet?” Mizuki asked, rousing herself from where she looked to be on the edge of dozing.

“Yeah,” Aria’s smile returned to her face. “Why is it so quiet? This is a party, isn’t it? We still have games to play and stuff to do and an awesome bath to enjoy.”

“Should I get my book?” Emi asked eagerly, recovered from her previous moment of melancholy.

“What even is this book you keep talking about?” Mizuki demanded, slapping the water petulantly. “Why does everyone know about this except me?”

“It’s an instruction book on how to do things with other girls!” Emi enthused, bouncing once more. Alcohol was a depressant, after all, I reasoned, though I seriously doubted Emi could stand to stay depressed for long. It was a classic case of the unstoppable force vs the immovable object and, at least in Emi’s case, the immovable object seemed to have come out the victor.

“You mean, like…sex things?” Mizuki cocked her head curiously. I gaped at her. Never in my years of knowing Mizuki had I ever heard her even mention sex, let alone in a context which belied a knowledge of said acts. It was as if a Buddhist priest had just told you to go fuck yourself. The word coming out of her mouth seemed utterly out of place, completely unexpected and wholly inappropriate.

“Mizuki!” I gasped.

“It’s always the quiet ones,” Aria shook her head appreciatively. “Isn’t that right, puppy?” Saki said something but with her mouth under the water I couldn’t tell what it was. Once more I shot Aria a look of disapproval, but she ignored me.

“Let me get my book!” Emi clapped her hands again excitedly.

“Let’s skip the book,” Aria answered, fixing us with a half grin. “We don’t want to traumatize dear Mizuki-chan, after all. Let’s play truth or dare instead.”

“Oh! That sounds fun!” Mizuki exclaimed.

“Totally!” Emi agreed. It seemed, once more, I was outvoted.

“Let’s begin!” Aria leaned forward with a grin.