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In the end, the trip to Kyoto was supposed to be just that. Gather all the second-year classes; lead them, like the Savior with the herd, to Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, the Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle, the food stalls — because there’s only so much history high-schoolers can breathe before craving some takoyaki*. Three days and all that’s said is done.
A triumph of youth! The school trip! It should have been obvious that Hyakkaou’s students couldn’t care any less about the ex-capital. Some of them had already been on three different safaris: who in their right mind would exchange that for Tea-pot Lane?
Even the hotel turned some noses up. It was all sleek wood and shiny steel, heated floors, fancy yukata **. What do you know, the communal baths had marble bathtubs.
Not that Yumeko knew just yet. She had spent the evening playing Old Maid with Saotome and Suzui in the room she shared with Mary. While she was busy trying to convince Suzui to play another round, Saotome had warned her that Hyakkaou’s girls’ allotted time to bathe was almost over. If she didn’t stop messing around she’d have to go to bed without washing off the fatigue of the trip.
It was a miracle how the yukata held up while Yumeko hurried to the bath downstairs. Saotome’s warning had come just in time: now that the girls were gone, the silence was almost absolute. Both the changing room and the bathing area were deserted. It was… lonely , to say the least.
Pressing a towel to her chest, Yumeko pouted.
Geez, Miss Mary… You could have waited for me!
Upon reaching the washing stations, however, Yumeko found herself mistaken. Under the showerheads, a solitary figure sat naked on a stool. Igarashi Sayaka’s hair was tied up on her nape, showing the two, clear lines of her shoulder blades. With her head low, the sponge was forgotten in her hand.
As mature and serious as she always was, Yumeko couldn’t help but remark a child-like air about the Secretary. Like young children, Sayaka’s mood had a lot in common with the crankiness of fatigue.
No wonder Yumeko perceived it. Miss Igarashi had been wearing herself out ever since they arrived. Or rather: ever since they had gathered in front of Hyakkaou at 5 AM, Sayaka had been running about shouting instructions and reporting to the teachers. Her bright, red armband stated STUDENT COUNCIL SECRETARY and you could bet she was living up to it. The teachers were growing lax. That one-woman army was keeping the classes in check for them.
And — but Yumeko couldn’t know this — the end of the Debt Settlement Party had brought new anxieties to Sayaka’s mind. Most of them, incidentally, had a name and a face: Jabami Yumeko’s.
“Rough day?” asked Yumeko, approaching her.
Sayaka winced at the soft voice. Blinking at the sponge in her hands, she started soaping her already wet arms with mechanical efficiency.
“I’m alright, thank you for inquiring,” she replied politely.
“Let me soap your back for you? You look like you might use a massage. ”
Before Sayaka could answer, gentle fingers came to press on her shoulders, finding the knots that the trip was hardening under the skin. She had to hold back both a protest and a moan: the tension was melting under the other’s hands, almost making her slouch over.
“I-It’s okay, there’s no need—”
In saying so, Sayaka looked behind her for the first time. Given the nature of her recent considerations, it was unsurprising to see how she jumped to her feet. She pushed Yumeko away, her face growing crimson as her voice made the mirrors tremble.
“ Jabami Yumeko!” she shouted.
“I… understand that you might have an… interest in them,” said Yumeko, grimacing, “However… may I ask you to be more gentle?”
Sayaka lowered her gaze. Her face gained seventy-three shades of red: her left hand was firmly planted around one of Yumeko’s—
“S-Sorry!” she cried. She pressed her hand to her own chest, as if Yumeko’s skin had been burning. “It’s your fault though! How— Why— Your presence is largely— I-I mean humongously— I mean—!”
Smiling, Yumeko apologized. “You seemed under the weather just now. Have you not been having fun?”
“W-Why do you care? And why are you here?” stammered Sayaka. “Only the Student Council members can bathe at this hour!”
“If that’s the case, what happened to Miss Yumemite?”
Sayaka twisted her mouth. “It does not concern you.”
Yumeko hummed. She did recall seeing Yumemi with her manager, sneaking out of the hotel on their own — or perhaps she was mistaken. She made no mention of it either way.
Choosing the washing station at Sayaka’s left — and ignoring the other’s fidgeting at the closeness — Yumeko started the shower. As the warm water whispered steam on her skin, she smiled under the jet. Her hair clung to her naked back, even darker and shinier than usual. The more Sayaka tried to compare it to the coiffure of some horror character, the less her malice came to fruition.
The Venus de Milo, Manet’s Olympia was showering on that plastic stool. Sayaka could do nothing but blush and look away. The steam was warming her head up too much.
“Being Secretary must be hard work,” said Yumeko, dripping wet and smiling.
“You have no idea,” muttered the other.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“There is no need to share such concerns with you.”
“Oh, Miss Igarashi!” Yumeko giggled. “No need to be reserved! You did participate in that wonderful game with Mr. Kiwatari and Miss Tsubomi the other week. We’re practically friends now!”
The connection between being a friend and being a paid, taser-armed dealer escaped Sayaka’s comprehension at the time. Not that she could understand much of the way Jabami’s brain worked. She was pretty sure nobody could, in fact.
The warmth in Yumeko’s tone only heightened her puzzlement.
“It’s my work,” replied Sayaka, not without a hint of reluctance. “It’s what I chose for myself. I would be a sorry fool for complaining about my own desires.”
“Not in the least.” Rosy, sweet-smelling foam covered Yumeko’s shoulders. “Desires often come with fears — with aching, even. It is only reasonable then, that gripes might also get mixed in. I find it very natural. Very human.”
There she goes again, saying such odd, profound things, thought Sayaka, grimacing.
“Deep reflections might be out of place in a bath,” she said and started her shower.
Yumeko chuckled. “Ah, did I say something weird? Forgive me. In my defense though, there was someone else who made some good discoveries in his bathtub, right?”
Sayaka gave no sign of a reply. She still had to rinse herself and get in the bath. The naked woman at her side was doing everything in her power to distract her: Yumeko spoke facing her, without any concern for her nudity nor for Sayaka’s bashfulness. Sayaka would have almost pointed it as the cause of her sudden light-headedness. Stubbornly though, she insisted that it must have been the steam of the bath.
The water drummed on her shoulders. At her side, her fingers tingled with the memory of Yumeko’s skin. She tried to ignore it, to reprimand herself, even.
As the sensation only became more pressing, Sayaka glared at her left hand.
“If you want to touch them,” said Yumeko, “I don’t mind letting you do it. You do need to be more gentle though.”
“...Huh?”
“It’s like a stress ball, you see. You need to cup the—”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Sayaka’s hands flew to her eyes. “What is wrong with you?!”
Yumeko tilted her head. “Miss Igarashi, forgive my bluntness but you look like you’ve seen better days. If this is what it takes to relieve some tension, don’t be afraid to ask!”
“Th-that's dirty!”
“Dirty? But we’re in the bath! As you saw, I just showered, and— Ah!”
At the risk of slipping on the wet tiles, Sayaka shot to her feet.
“Did you get light-headed? Do you need to get out?” asked Yumeko, concerned.
“That happens only to children!” Turning her back, Sayaka did her best to hide the rising redness in her chest, neck and ears. “I-I’m going to soak in the water. Take your time— and don’t cause any troubles!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Yumeko hummed to herself as she went on soaping herself. Her soft singing resounded among the tiled walls, accompanying Sayaka to the large bathtub at the center of the room. Before her, a mosaic of female beauty covered the whole wall. At least it distracted her from the more recent, authentic images that Yumeko had offered free of charge.
Sayaka rested her head on the edge of the tub. Even the warm bath was struggling to make her relax.
Always causing mischiefs, always making things harder for us. Sayaka held back a groan. We should keep a shorter leash on her. The President—
She stared at the mosaic. For the first time since taking her leave three days ago, Kirari’s thought had slipped out of Sayaka’s mind. She had spent the weekend and the bus drive wondering about receiving a call from her. The afternoon was gone between waiting for it and attending to the students.
Its heaviness had been absent since—
“Upsidaisy!”
With a quiet splash, Yumeko made herself comfortable at Sayaka's side in the shallow water.
“Now, that’s heaven,” she sighed, leaning back.
“Were you aware,” said Sayaka, as the heat rose in her cheeks, “t-that this pool is about eleven meters large?”
“Is that so? How interesting!”
“Indeed. So, now that you know, why are you sitting so close to me? ”
“Oh, Miss Igarashi, don’t be like that!” Yumeko rested her hand on Sayaka’s thigh, eliciting a gasp and a swat. “Let us partake in some skinship! Let’s enjoy ourselves. After all, you don’t always get to bathe with your friends.”
Sayaka was about to reply when she glanced at Yumeko. Jabami had tied her hair in a bun, to avoid soaking them in the tub. The nape of her neck, sleek and as white as silk, was in full view.
The words died in a crackling mess at the bottom of Sayaka’s tongue.
“Hmm?” Yumeko observed her. “Miss Igarashi, are you sure you don’t need to get out? Your face is all red!”
“I’m fine I told you! J-Jabami Yumeko, you need to be more discreet…”
“I guess you’re right.” Yumeko smiled as she pooled the water in her palms. “It’s just that I worry about you. After all, I do like you quite a bit..”
“W-Wh-What are you saying?!” cried Sayaka, her face growing scalding.
Yumeko’s own cheeks were just a bit pinkier as she watched the water drip through her fingers. “It’s because you’re always so caring! It shows in the way you took care of the classes today. Even at school, you’re always running about. It made me wonder, you know: she’s always looking after others, but is she looking after herself?”
Yumeko smiled. “The President is very lucky for having someone like you at her side.”
Lowering her eyes, Sayaka pressed her lips. She tried to ignore the knot tightening around her throat.
When Yumeko’s fingers slipped between hers, Sayaka didn’t understand at first. And sure, there isn’t much to understand when two hands fit each other but… she just stared. At their intertwined fingers, at the glimmer of Yumeko’s ring under the veil of the water. Yumeko’s thumb caressed her knuckles with the delicacy of an artist.
Nobody had ever held Sayaka’s hand like this. Nobody had spent so many moments tracing her hand, as if learning it by heart.
It was warm.
Noticing Yumeko’s smile, Sayaka’s fingers trembled.
“What do you think you’re doing…?” she protested feebly.
Yumeko beamed. “As you won’t let me massage your back, this much is allowed, yes?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Yumeko went on smiling. As she watched their intertwined hands, her eyes showed nothing of that dangerous, sanguine gleam that Sayaka remembered — and that Sayaka feared.
You really are just a girl when you can’t gamble, she thought.
“No man is an island, Miss Igarashi,” said Yumeko, softly. “It’s okay to rely on others when you need to rest.”
“I-If you say so…” muttered Sayaka.
With a sigh, Yumeko closed her eyes. When she let her head rest on Sayaka’s shoulder, the latter only stiffened a little. The soft shape of Yumeko’s bosom weighted against her arm. Sayaka was far too sheepish to remark it.
In silence, she let herself blush at its slow rising, giving its rhythm to Yumeko’s caress on her knuckles.
Sayaka’s heart beat fast in her ears. When she spoke, she almost didn’t hear herself.
“J-Jabami Yumeko,” she called.
Yumeko hummed against her shoulder. “Yes?”
“...Thank you.”