Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Plastic Love ❯ Old Friends, New Acquaintances ( Chapter 2 )

PLASTIC LOVE

 

2. OLD FRIENDS, NEW ACQUAINTANCES

 

Tsuchiko stood outside of the school gate, admiring the new building he was about to finish his schooling in. It was taller than his old high school back in Okinawa; it was only two stories, compared to this five-story mansion with its giant clock at the top of the middle portion of the building, its long hallways and corridors stretching both ways, and he heard from his aunt that it boasted one of the largest libraries in Osaka Prefecture’s high schools, which was perfect for him, since he was a big fan of books and reading. Even the front lot of the high school was elaborate, with four long, oval-shaped cherry blossom islands with three blossom trees each, set up to form three vertical walk ways and one horizontal with a large porcelain water fountain in the middle, leading up to a short flight of stairs to the main entrance of the school which, to him, seemed to be the only normal part of this elaborate school.

The corridors on either side of the front lot led to additional buildings and other areas of the school that he could not see at the moment, but will surely be introduced to later. In all, the school was a sight to behold for a country bumpkin like himself, and he felt as if he just stepped onto a rich person’s property. The only thing that he didn’t like was the fact that he had to wear a uniform. All of the guys had to wear a blue blazer with the school’s emblem stitched over the left pocket, dark grey slacks, and a blue and grey striped necktie to match, complete with white shirt, and black shoes. The girls had to wear the blazer, necktie, and white shirt as well, but they had a choice to wear either a dark grey short or long skirt, as well as the black shoes. Some of the girls wearing the short skirts opted for either knee-high socks or black stockings as opposed to the ankle high socks most of them wore. At his old school, they could go in what they chose to wear. Here, he felt as if he were being prepped for butler work at someone’s house. All he had to do was go bald and turn his nose up at the proper angle. He chuckled at his thoughts and straightened his tie.

‘Oh well,’ he thought, picking up his book bag. ‘Might as well get used to this.’ He walked through the gate with the other students filing in.

 

Since it was his first day at the school, he had no foot locker assigned to him-- the school uniform having been given him by his aunt when she enrolled him in the school-- so he had to go to the principal’s office to turn in his transfer papers and get his assigned classroom and schedule. Taking the hallway on his immediate left and following the signs to the office, he began to think about some of the things his aunt told him about the school, in particular joining a club. It seemed to be a big thing in this school, as his old school didn’t have much in the way of club activities. They were mostly regulated to school-wide events, like sports and field trips, with soccer being the main sport of the school, and celebrated by the small town. He wasn’t a sports person, so he never played, but he always enjoyed watching when he wasn’t reading a book. Perhaps they had a book club here he could join. Seems logical, if the boasting of the library held any truth to it.

He found the door to the principal’s office and knocked lightly. A lady’s voice from inside told him to come in.

“Excuse me,” he greeted as he opened the door. The lady behind the counter smiled up at him.

“What can I help you with?” she asked pleasantly.

“I’m here to see the principal to turn in my transfer papers.”

“Oh, you must be Tsuchiko. Here, he’s this way,” she said, getting up from her seat and leading him to the door on her right. The male voice inside responded to her knock, and she opened the door.

“Excuse me, sir. Mr. Hagura is here to see you.” She moved inside so Tsuchiko could walk in. The principal, an older man that appeared to be in his late thirties, greeted Tsuchiko with a smile.

“Thank you, Mrs. Chisaka,” he said to the secretary as she left, closing the door. He turned towards Tsuchiko. “Welcome to Edwards High School. Please, have a seat.” He pointed to one of the shiny leather chairs sitting in front of his desk.

“Edwards?” Tsuchiko asked, confused. Why does a Japanese high school have a western sounding name?

“The school was founded towards the end of the Showa Period by a missionary from Europe named Michael Edwards while he was doing work across Japan, as a way for children like yourself to have a school closer to them. Before then, we all had to go almost to Kyoto proper to get to school. Not many of us could afford the travel daily, let alone afford to move to a closer location to the high school, so he had this one built for us. We owed him much gratitude, even though he said gratitude was not his intent, so we changed the name of the school to honor him.”

“What was the name before?”

The principal rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “It was going to be called Gokiburi Academy, but it didn’t sit too well with the populace, so we changed it.”

“…Seriously?” Tsuchiko asked, laughing as uneasily as the principal.

They talked a little more before being handed his class schedule and foot locker number. As it turns out, the principal was an old friend of his father’s and they attended this very high school, which would account for the principal’s knowledge of the area, and his stark kindness towards Tsuchiko. The principal owed his father a favor, so he saw this as an opportunity to pay back his old friend. This probably also explains why he was sent to this school instead of where the girls were attending, closer to the boarding house. The principal remarked on how much Tsuchiko looked like his father as he handed Tsuchiko his schedule and sent him off with condolences for his family loss.

“What was my father like growing up?” Tsuchiko asked. Having lost him at four years old, Tsuchiko hardly knew much about his father. The principal smiled warmly.

“If time could permit, we’d be here all day talking about how great he was,” he said. “Have a good day, son.”

 

“Is it summer vacation yet?” Reiko Yagami, a black haired, brown eyed boy, asked in exasperation, stretching his legs under his seat and laying his head on the desk behind him.

“We just entered spring, dummy. Of course not,” said a tall, wiry boy with neck length red hair and thin framed glasses covering his blue-green eyes, slapping at Reiko’s head as he sat down to move it from his desk. Reiko shot up, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to glare at him.

“That was a rhetorical question, Jin!” Reiko snapped.

“Still something you deserve,” Jin said, grinning as he adjusted his glasses. “Besides, can’t you be just a little patient for once in your life?”

“No, I can’t!” Reiko wailed. “I’m ready to hit the beach, play volleyball, and gaze at my favorite female body parts as they run along the sand and play in the water!” He began imagining a beach full of young women in various colored bikinis, each one shorter than the next, their breasts bouncing around as they ran and laughed along the shore, how they seemed to defy gravity as they jumped for the volleyball to spike it, and their bikinis tightening as the cold water got them wet to show the hardness of their nipples as they splashed around in it.

Jin looked at Reiko without emotion as he drooled over his imagination, a look of ecstasy on his face as he laughed dreamily.

“And you wonder why you don’t have a girlfriend,” he muttered, breaking Reiko out of his musings.

 

The bell rang, and everyone sat down in his or her chair as the teacher walked into the classroom and stood in front of them. A lovely looking woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, she was rather easy on the eyes to some of the other staff, with her brown hair that curled on the front and spilled to her upper back, soft, light brown eyes, a sweet smile on her red lips, and dressed in a beige blouse covered by a pink button down sweater which she left unbuttoned, and a brown dress that flowed to her ankles, stopping over her black shoes.

“Good morning, class!” she said cheerfully.

“Good morning, Ms. Kamigawa!” they responded. Reiko looked at her with a nonchalant expression on his face as he leaned his head on his palm. His idea of a woman teacher was rather different from the woman in front of the class. He’d always pictured a teacher her age to have a sultry body, nice curves, and sexy lips, wrapped in tight clothes that showed everything, her hair in a bun, and complete with sexy glasses. This lady was rather boorish in comparison.

“Before we begin class, I have a special announcement to make,” she was saying, as Reiko turned his attention out the window next to him. “We have a new student joining us today. Please be sure to give him a warm welcome.”

Reiko paid attention enough to see the new student enter the classroom, and nearly went into shock as he watched the silver haired, green-eyed boy with slightly tanned skin walk in and stand next to Ms. Kamigawa as he introduced himself.

“Good morning, my name is Tsuchiko Hagura. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He gave a curt bow. The class responded in kind, minus Reiko, who was still in shock at seeing him.

“Let’s see,” said Ms. Kamigawa, looking around for an open desk. “You can sit in the second row there.” She pointed to a desk towards the back of the second row from the windows, between Reiko and a girl with short blue hair and hazel eyes, who seemed to shrink into herself as he approached the desk. Reiko kept staring at him as he sat down and got ready for the lesson. Jin saw Reiko’s expression and quirked an eyebrow quizzically.

“Tsu-Tsuchi…ko?” Reiko stammered. Tsuchiko looked towards him and blinked, his green eyes alighting with recognition.

“Reiko!” he said, slightly surprised.

 

“Tsuchiko, buddy! Long time, no see!” Reiko cried, pouncing on Tsuchiko during lunch hour. Most of the students brought their own lunches to eat inside the classroom, while others went to the cafeteria, or bought ramen from the vending machines around the school. Tsuchiko, Jin, and Reiko had their own lunches and ate in the classroom.

“Yeah, it’s good to see you again too,” Tsuchiko groaned, trying to push Reiko off of him. “Let me go so I can breathe!”

“Sorry,” Reiko said, jumping off of him. “It’s just been so long since I seen ya! How ya been?”

“I’ve been fine, just moved in yesterday with my aunt,” Tsuchiko said, chuckling at Reiko’s accent slip. Whenever he gets excited or nervous his Okinawan accent would come out in force.

“I’m afraid to ask how you two know each other,” said Jin, looking at Reiko. “And what’s with that accent?”

“Tsuchiko is an old friend of mine from elementary school back in Okinawa before I moved here,” Reiko explained. “And what’s wrong with my accent?!”

“It sounds terrible, coming from you,” Jin said in his deadpan manner, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“And this sarcastic individual is Jin Matsuri,” Reiko introduced, begrudgingly. Jin offered his hand to Tsuchiko, who shook it in welcome.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Jin said, smiling lightly.

“Likewise,” Tsuchiko responded.

“So is your aunt’s place big enough for the both of you?” Reiko asked, imagining that Tsuchiko’s aunt lived in a small apartment somewhere. “You can come stay at my house with me and my parents; they remember you. And it’s close to school, so we can walk.”

“Thanks, but I’m staying at the Kagami Boarding House she inherited from my grandmother after her death.”

Reiko’s eyes bulged to the point they threatened to come out of their sockets. “Wait, the Kagami Boarding House? The one full of pretty girls everywhere? That boarding house?!” Reiko asked, incredulous. Even Jin’s interest seemed to be piqued, as his eyebrows rose at the mention of the building.

“Uh, yeah,” Tsuchiko answered, amazed that his maternal grandmother’s boarding house was heard of here. Secretly, he hoped that it wasn’t used for a brothel at some point.

“And you’re living there, with these girls?” Jin asked, showing genuine interest in his otherwise monotone face. Granted, he wasn’t as enthused as Reiko, whom Tsuchiko had always known to be that way, but the fact that he showed any interest at all made Tsuchiko wonder what has been said about the place before his arrival.

“Why is that a big deal all of a sudden?” he asked, slightly disconcerted. Reiko was suddenly close to his face, his eyes watery blobs of tears as he held Tsuchiko’s hand firmly.

“Please, my best friend in the whole world! Please let me stay with you! At least one night! Please, please, pllllleeeeeeaaaaasssse?! ” he pleaded.

“Peeping is not ideal of becoming a man,” Jin said, adjusting his glasses again.

“WHO ASKED YOU?!” Reiko snapped at the redhead.

“It’s really not up to me,” Tsuchiko said, prying his hand away from Reiko. “It’s up to my aunt, since she owns the place, and she probably would have a problem with it, since I just moved here.”

‘Not to mention Linda would kill you if she catches you peeping at her or any of the other girls,’ he thought. ‘And then me for bringing you around!’

“That blows,” Reiko said, dejectedly. “Well, at least take some pictures of their bras and panties and send them to me.”

“WHAT!” Tsuchiko snapped.

 

The three boys went their separate ways after school, with Jin and Reiko staying for their club activities. Jin, with his tall, wiry frame, naturally became part of the basketball club, and was actually quite good at it. Reiko, oddly enough, joined a knitting club.

“They actually have a club dedicated to that?” Tsuchiko asked, puzzled.

“Of course,” Reiko said without the least bit of embarrassment. “It’s one of the best clubs around.”

“Dare I ask how?” Jin asked, skeptically. As long as he’d known Reiko, he didn’t bother to ask why he joined a knitting club. Any other club he could understand, like tennis or even the swim club, since one of those two would satisfy his perversion, but knitting?

“Is it really that strange?” Reiko asked, in a serious tone. “Just think; every stitch of clothing we wear, from our school uniforms to everyday streetwear, takes hours to make, and every style of clothing requires a proper technique to execute to make each side even, not too big, not too small, but just right for the individual who will wear them. Plus, you have to have the correct mixture for the different dyes that make the colors, patterns, and shapes of how you want your clothes to be. Believe it or not, knitting, sewing, and darning requires an artistic skill and precision that extends beyond the imagination!”

Somehow, his speech made Tsuchiko’s heart skip a beat. He never knew anyone could take so much pride in such a seemingly mundane task. He’d always thought it was done by some old ladies in a cozy little rocking chair with a quilt covering their legs, listening to some music that no longer exists in this day and age. To hear his childhood friend talk about it as if it’s some ancient technique handed down by the ancestors was rather strange.

“So, what, are you going to become some kind of professional seamer when you graduate?” Jin asked, jokingly.

“That’s right! My goal is to create the most comfortable pair of panties and bra that no woman can ever resist to wear!”

“…remind me again how you two became friends,” Jin said in an aside to Tsuchiko.

“Would you hold it against me if I told you I forgot?” Tsuchiko asked.

“By the way, Tsuchiko,” Reiko said. “Have you thought about joining a club yet?”

“I don’t know yet,” Tsuchiko said. “I don’t even know what other clubs are in this school.”

“The school festival is coming soon,” Jin said. “All of the current and new clubs will have booths set up for anyone to sign on with them. You might see one you like.”

“Maybe.” Tsuchiko looked down at his watch. “I’d better get going. My aunt wants me to be home before dinner. I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” He waved back to them as he ran out the front gate.

 

Tsuchiko’s school was ten miles from the boarding house, so he had to take the metro to and from them. The metro itself was three blocks from his school, so it was no problem for him to run to get to either. It was the timing of it all that caused him trouble. If he was late by one minute to the metro station, a pain he found out that morning when heading to school, he’d either miss the train, or end up not getting a seat on the train. Now was the time for him to hurry to get a seat. Aunt Mimi, as he had begun calling his aunt, was cooking pasta tonight, and he didn’t want to miss it. He raced along the sidewalk, narrowly dodging a bike rider who shouted curses at him. He yelled his apologies as he ran, shooting past the green crosswalk sign and turning the corner past Mr. Minazuki’s Corner Store. He was out of breath by the time he made the three blocks, but he got to the station in good time. He hurriedly slid his pass through the kiosk and made his way to the trains, jumping in as the doors began to close.

‘Whew, made it!’ he thought, pausing to catch his breath. He looked around for a seat, but the only ones available were the handicap seats, and non-handicap people were not allowed to sit there. He sighed, wishing there could be an exception in his case. His lungs felt as if they were going to burst out of his chest as he took in as much air as he could. Turning to face the door, he held on to one of the triangular hand holds above him while setting his book bag next to his leg. Glancing around casually, he noticed someone familiar on his right side, partially blocked by his arm. He switched hands on the hold and got a good look at the person, and was a little surprised to see it was the blue haired girl from his class. He had only a fleeting glance of her as he sat down before Reiko pulled his attention, and again as she was leaving the classroom for the cafeteria. Now that he was able to get a good look at her, he saw that she was actually quite pretty, with her short, light blue hair, shining hazel eyes, and soft looking skin that seemed to glow with the evening sun shining on it. She was a little shorter than himself by a few inches, and she was lacking somewhat in the chest department, but that could have been due to the bulky looking blazer they had to wear, and she had on the short uniform dress. She must have noticed him too, because her face held the light red of blushing, and she would surreptitiously glance his way.

Not wanting to cause her anymore embarrassment, he turned his head away from her and looked out the door window at the scenery rushing by. It all seemed so fast to him, his moving in with his aunt, meeting the girls and their odd personalities, and seeing his friend from years ago in his new school. It was definitely a small world, he decided. This was going to be an interesting two years. He’ll have to see in the upcoming school festival if there is a book club for him to join, or at least a literature club. He’s bound to have fun with that.

A soft whimper caught his attention, and he instinctively looked down at the girl. Her face was even redder, and she looked disturbed about something, her expression deepening as she whimpered again. Her hand grasped at the pole next to her so tight her knuckles were turning white, and she clutched her book bag closer to her chest. He was about to ask her if she was okay, when he noticed a movement behind him out of the corner of his eye. Subtly glancing back, he saw the unmistakable movement of an arm, slowly moving up and down, really close to where the girl was standing, as if rubbing something. His blood ran hot when he saw her skirt moving along with the arm’s movements, indicating where the rubbing was, and why she was whimpering. He followed the arm up to the owner, an older man with a rough bald spot in the back of his head, who was staring straight ahead as if he wasn’t paying any attention to what he was doing.

One thing Tsuchiko hated above all else was to see anyone, especially women, suffer abuse of any sort, whether bullying or sexual assault, and he can’t stand to see anyone helpless in the situation. He positioned himself closer to the girl so that his right heel was in line with the man’s calf, and very quickly stomped hard on his leg while at the same time slamming his right elbow into his shoulder blade. The man stumbled forward with a yelp, drawing a few people’s attention to him. By the time he recovered, Tsuchiko had already took his spot, his heavy book bag at the ready to swing in case the perverted sicko wanted to try anything with him. The man glared at him, clearly trying to decide what to do. Tsuchiko held his ground, ready for him. Surely, he wouldn’t hit a kid with everyone watching, would he? After a few seconds of angry glaring, the man limped away to another portion of the train, doing his best to nurse his leg and shoulder blade. Everything went back to normal after he left, everyone that witnessed the man’s strange behavior returning to either reading the newspaper or a book, or listening to music. Tsuchiko stayed in his position behind the girl as an older lady took his former spot next to her. He turned his head slightly towards the girl; he could easily tell she was relieved to have someone help her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Y-yes, thank you,” said the girl softly, blushing again.

 

They got off at the same station and walked the rest of the way together, talking the whole time. Well, mostly him talking while she listened. She was a rather shy individual, hardly putting two sentences together. Tsuchiko listened to her when she did talk, sometimes taking over the conversation whenever she felt too embarrassed to say more.

“By the way, what’s your name?” Tsuchiko asked. The girl looked surprised, as if this was the first time someone asked what her name was. She looked shyly at the ground, a soft smile on her lips.

“A-Ai Matsunaga,” she stammered.

“Ai Matsunaga,” Tsuchiko repeated. “That’s a pretty name. My name’s Tsuchiko Hagura. Want to be friends?” He held his hand out to her in greeting. She looked at it, startled.

“Really?” she asked, surprised and looking in his eyes. She averted them with a blush. “I’ve never actually had a friend before…”

“That so?” Tsuchiko asked, mildly surprised. How could a nice girl such as her not have any friends?

“Yes,” she said, nodding. “Most people think I’m weird because I don’t talk very much, so they just avoid me.”

“I don’t see why they would do such a thing,” Tsuchiko said, smiling. “Perhaps they themselves are too shy to approach you. I’ll bet if they do, they’ll see just how nice you really are.”

That made Ai smile. It was a really pretty smile, and Tsuchiko couldn’t help but take notice of it, and he felt the heat of blushing rising in his cheeks. He held his hand out to her again.

“Allow me to be your first friend,” he stated. “May our relationship grow to be prosperous!”

Ai smiled again and took his hand. “Yes!”

 

It was almost dark by the time they reached the corner where they went their separate ways. Tsuchiko mentioned that he had to fly to get home before dinner; the staircase to the boarding house was just half a block down the road, and Ai’s house was two houses down from where they were standing.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Tsuchiko asked.

“I should be,” she said, looking down. She tried to hide her smile, but Tsuchiko still saw it. “My house isn’t that far.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow, then.” He turned and began walking towards the stairwell.

“Hagura-san!” she blurted out, before she could stop herself. She covered her mouth, embarrassment written on her face. Tsuchiko half turned, a puzzled expression on his face.

‘Hagura-san?’ he thought. “Just Tsuchiko is fine,” he said out loud to her.

“S-sorry,” she said, bowing quickly. “I just wanted to thank you again for saving me today,” she bowed again. “A-and…for b-being my first friend!” Her last statement seemed to be forced out as she bowed a final time, then took off down the street towards her house. Tsuchiko watched her go, and amused expression on his face.

“What a charming girl,” he said to himself.

 

“I’m home!” Tsuchiko announced, coming in the door. He was immediately attacked by a head of pink hair and a small body jumping from the staircase onto his face.

“Big brother!” Mina cried as she hugged his face, her breasts suffocating him. “Welcome home, big brother!”

“MMFFMFM!” he cried, trying to get her off of him so he could breathe.

“I missed you so much, big brother! I thought about you all day!”

“C-CN’T…BRTH!”

She looked down and saw that he was beginning to turn blue. She jumped down from him and he fell to the ground, gasping for air.

“I’m sorry, big brother! I just wanted to surprise you,” she said contritely. Tsuchiko looked up, noticing what she was wearing.

“Mina,” he said, slowly. “Where are the rest of your clothes?”

“Do you like it?” she asked, twirling around in the maid’s apron and headpiece costume, with nothing else underneath. Tsuchiko turned red with a yelp and closed his eyes while turning his head away from Mina as her naked rear turned in his direction.

“It’s for us when we get married,” she said, turning back to him. Her face and voice took on a seductive tone as she asked him, “So, Master. Do you want dinner, or a bath, or…maybe…me?”

“Dinner smells good, Aunt Mimi,” Tsuchiko said from the kitchen, as Mina wept in the foyer on her hands and knees.

“Big brother, you’re so cold!” she cried.

 

“Thank you for the meal!” everyone chorused at the dinner table. The pasta dinner consisted of a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, another large bowl of salad with bacon bits, croutons, and ranch dressing, and a plate full of breadsticks. Mina complained loudly that she was supposed to sit next to Tsuchiko, a position Nae occupied. She teased Mina more by trying to feed him a meatball, which he politely refused. They took turns talking about the day they had, Tsuchiko mentioning about his chance encounter with his old friend in the same classroom, and making new ones. He neglected to mention about Ai, fearing what the girls might say, especially Mina. Miyako talked about how she may be up for a promotion at her job, though she’d only been working there for a year; Mina talked about a boy in her school asking her out on a date, and typically enough she turned him down because she’s going to marry Tsuchiko; Rin, of course, began writing in her notepad for her erotica novel, much to Mina and Tsuchiko’s dismay. Everyone laughed and talked throughout the meal, except Linda, who refused to acknowledge Tsuchiko’s presence at the dinner table, and Ayeka, who was normally quiet unless spoken to.

 

‘That was a great meal,’ Tsuchiko thought, stretching as he walked to his room to gather his bathing material. ‘I hadn’t had Aunt Mimi’s cooking since I was four.’ He began to reflect on how she used to cook small meals for him on the hibachi-styled heater his grandmother had whenever he spent the weekends there, and her subsequently getting in trouble for using it, fearing that she could have burned down the house. He didn’t see anything wrong with what she was doing; she was just cooking some noodles and ham on it, since she couldn’t use the stove yet.

He gathered his bathing supplies and walked down the hallway towards the bathroom, walking in and closing the changing room door as he did so. As he began to undress Mina crossed his mind. What was she thinking, jumping on him like that? What’s more, what’s her obsession with wanting to marry him? And doing all of that with nothing but an apron on! He was rather surprised no one called her out on it. Surely, someone had to have seen her walking around like that! Or, at least heard them in the foyer.

‘Sheesh,’ he thought, wrapping a towel around his waist. ‘Why am I even going through this mess?’ He walked towards the bathroom door and stopped.

‘Wait, I’ve seen this scenario before. I open the door, and one of the girls would be behind it nude, then I’ll get my lights punched out for being a pervert! “Experience is the teacher of fools”, as the saying goes. I’m not going to be that fool!’ He tapped on the door lightly to see if anyone would answer. When nothing happened, he breathed a sigh of relief and went inside. He filled up the furo with steamy warm water while he used the shower head to wash himself, then slipped in when it was filled to his desire, some of the water splashing out onto the floor and flowing towards the floor drain.

‘Aaahhh…’ he thought, feeling extremely relaxed. ‘Bathing always feels good after a meal.’ As he sat in the furo his thoughts turned towards Ai. He admitted to himself that she was cute, if not outright extremely shy. He wondered what her life outside of school was like, and what led her to becoming so introverted like that. Perhaps it was just her personality; she certainly didn’t seem like a strange person, despite what she said others think about her. They probably just didn’t take the time to talk to her, to find out about her. He’d heard before that lack of communication hinders personal growth, or something like that. He figured if he talked to her more she would open up about herself.

He soaked in the furo for about twenty minutes before he decided to get out. He was starting to feel slightly lightheaded from the steam and he didn’t want to pass out in the bathroom. He grabbed his dry towel and headed towards the door, not bothering to wrap himself in it. He reached for the door to slide it open…and nearly came face-to-face with a naked Nae, opening the door at the same time as him. They stood there for half a second in a state of shock, not really comprehending that the other person in front of them was naked. Finally snapping back to their senses, they jumped away from each other with a yelp.

“What do you think you’re doing, pervert?!” Nae exclaimed, covering her chest with her arms and turning away from him, an angry and hurt expression on her face.

“What do you mean, what I’m doing?!” Tsuchiko shot back, covering his eyes. “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?!”

“Well, I’m a lady, and you should have known I was coming, so it’s clearly your fault!”

“That doesn’t even make sense!”

“Yes it does, now get out, pervert!” She grabbed him by the shoulder and began pulling on him.

“Hey, wait! Stop, before we--!”

The slippery floor caused them both to slip and fall onto the changing room floor with a yelp.

“Ow,” Tsuchiko said, pushing himself up on his hands. “I told you not to--”

He stopped short, noticing the position they were in: Nae was on her back, knees bent up, arms above her head, breasts looming, and an embarrassed look on her face. Tsuchiko was between her legs on his hands and knees looking down at her, his face still wet from the bath. He was beginning to mouth an apology when the changing room door slid open…and in walked none other than Linda. To make matters worse, she was already naked and ready for a bath.

“Nae, is the bath finished?” she was saying. “I’m ready for a good-”

She stopped suddenly, seeing the scenery before her. No one moved for a second as everything processed through brains.

“Seriously, it’s not what you think…” Tsuchiko tried to explain sheepishly, though he knew it was futile, judging from the way her hair began to writhe around her like snakes and her eyes shining red, and a flaming aura sprouting up from around her body.

“TSU-CHI-KOOOO!!!!!” she growled, suddenly producing her rapier out of nowhere.

“HOW THE HELL?!” he exclaimed before she started attacking. He somehow managed to dodge her strikes and get out into the hallway, Linda in hot pursuit.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE TRYING TO DO?!” she screamed, trying to stab him with the rapier.

“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! SHE PULLED ON MY SHOULDER AND WE TRIPPED!”

“LIAR! YOU WERE TRYING TO HAVE YOUR WAY WITH HER!”

“NO I WASN”T! STOP CHASING ME, YOU’RE NAKED!”

“NOW YOU WANT TO LOOK AT ME! DIE!”

“HELP MEEEE!!!!”

 

Ai sat in the furo, thinking about her encounter with Tsuchiko. He was a nice person, and the first one since she entered high school to talk to her on a straight level. And he defended her. She didn’t think anyone cared enough about her to do something like that. When she told her parents about the incident earlier at the dinner table, they were understandably shocked and dismayed that someone would do that to her, but were relieved when she mentioned how Tsuchiko helped her. She hugged her knees to her chest, resting her cheek on them as she thought about his becoming friends with her.

“Ai Matsunaga. That’s a pretty name.”

He said her name was pretty. No one, outside her mother and father, had ever said anything like that to her before. Indeed, everything he said was the first time she’d ever heard it spoken to her genuinely by anyone else. She smiled, the light of the bath water shining in her hazel eyes. She wanted to know more about him; what he liked, disliked, his parents, and what kind of woman he wanted in his life. Just from that one encounter alone she wanted to find out more about him. She sighed happily, her face blushing as she thought about him.

              “Tsuchiko,” she whispered to herself, as the steam of the bath covered her face.