Heart of the Infiltrators
(Senran Kagura x Male Reader)
Chapter 62: Confined and Cracked
May 4 – "Be open with those that you love so that you can see all of yourself."
As that day's heavy rain poured down onto them, Yumi turned to Miyabi in their alleyway hiding place near Wakariyasui and said with a determined stare and an eager smile, "Really and truly, this weather is a blessing today."
The older woman, on the other hand, was shaking with a red face that had nothing to do with the cold air, "I-, I certainly can't deny that-," before her eyes sharpened and she pleadingly raised her folded hands into the air, "Yumi, I'm begging you. I don't know if I can do this."
Without blinking, the other shinobi retorted, "We've already coordinated with Homura and the plan is set." In act to keep their momentum, she clasped her hands onto Miyabi's shoulders and said with the greatest of all emphasis, "Listen, I understand. I do." As she raised a hand and gently patted the side of the woman's head, Yumi continued, "But you do understand what the end result will be."
Shrinking away at the touches, Miyabi shuddered and murmured, "A night of… lovemaking-, I know…"
"Not just a night or any future nights of lovemaking," lulled Yumi as she offered a more affirmative pat, "We're talking about the ultimate comfort and solace… The ultimate way to unveil one's self to the one they love."
Miyabi sucked in the corners of her mouth and rumbled, "If you want to be poetic about it, I suppose that's a way to put it."
"I'm being literal," came Yumi's stern rebuttal. She then turned her friend's head to face her as she said with as much quiet power as possible, "This is not me being figurative, this is not me exaggerating any detail." Her face steadily drifted closer to Miyabi's as all of the determination of her grand goal seeped into her voice, "I'm not quoting literature when I say that our reward would be the ultimate connection. After all, there is no other time when you're more vulnerable with one another. By being naked in a bed, you leave yourself open with no armor or weapons to be unveiled. You have no means to attack and no means to protect."
By that point, Miyabi was beginning to tilt her head with some red-faced interest, "I… Yeah, you're making some sense…"
Regardless, Yumi was already in the middle of her rant, "It is just you and him. Then, when you both show that there's nothing left to hide, you couple together and are able to manifest your emotional pleasure in being together into a physical form. Every caress and every point where your skin comes together, that warmth you feel will be the measure of how much you love one another."
A question came to Miyabi's mind and she couldn't help but ask, "Wait-, hold up. How do you know all of this? If you're not quoting a book or poem, like you said, then how would you-," before her face twisted in surprise, "Wait, you're not experienced already… are you?"
Releasing her hold on the woman, Yumi shook her head dismissively and said, "Of course not," before pounding her chest, "I am merely stating how I envision intercourse to be with someone you love."
"Ah," came a sound from Miyabi's throat before she whispered to herself on the side, "That explains the romanticism you've been putting into it…" before she shrugged and stated in a flustered manner, "Well, regardless, I'll… you know, I'll go along with the plan."
Suddenly, Wakariyasui's final bell rang and Yumi excitedly cried, "Alright! We're on!" before facing her partner-in-borderline-crime, "Quickly, repeat the phases of the plan to me. Show me that you're prepared!"
Hyped up by the energy in the other girl's voice and the bell's call to action, Miyabi straightened herself and answered back, "One, we accidentally spill a bottle of soy-," before she was cut off.
"The new plan!" yelled Yumi as she gestured to the rain around them, "Remember, the weather is working to our advantage right now!" She then also propped up a finger, "Also, remember to use the codenames for each phase. We don't want to spend too much time delving into detail and miss our window."
"Right!" shot back Miyabi before she pumped her fists, "One, umbrella… shatter-ella? Was that-, huh-ba-ba-ba! Doesn't matter!" After mentally slapping herself, she continued, "Two, drench the cutie!"
"I actually called him a hottie in the plan but that works too," inserted Yumi.
"Three," continued Miyabi, "rein the defensive bear! Four, bring in all allied forces! Five, Homura's secret surprise! Six," After beating her fists into her chest like a wild animal, Miyabi then roared, "OVERLOAD ON ALL AFFECTION!"
Smiling devilishly, Yumi could only say, "We're ready," and waved her hand to commence the operation, "Let's go!"
At the same time, the young man was coming down the front stairs of the school with an expression of tired annoyance while all of the students around him were keeping a distance of no less than two meters between them and him. The day went about how he expected it would go, starting off with an assembly that addressed both Sato's shooting, the Yōma battle that followed, and the fact that two students were outed as terrorists. Classes were slower, several teachers gave some speeches of sympathy before restarting their lessons from weeks before, and plenty of breathing room was offered for any student that may have been left disturbed by all that was going on.
Despite all of those measures, there was one thing that had everyone unable to find ease. That was the fact that the young man was the only known friend of Miki, one of the terrorists, and it was more than obvious in their interactions that it was more than a simple type of friendship where one person waved high and went off on their business. The two were constantly seen together in school and were even spotted walking away together a few times. With those details out in the air, everyone put as much distance between themselves and the young man as humanly possible, fearing the moment when he would snap and go on a bloody rampage.
Funnily enough, despite how disheartening it was to be avoided like the plague, the young man did find some joy in the matter. He had a lunch table to himself and could laugh at the fact that people were instead seating themselves on the floor rather than taking such a chance near him. Plus, the instances where people had no choice but to interact with him were filled with extremely needless quiet and squeaky pitches, making it quick and much less o a pain to deal with. If the young man had to equate it to something, it had to be similar to being the son of a powerful yakuza boss who owned the city. Still, in spite of whatever joy that he found in the matter, isolation was no feeling to enjoy through the long-term. As he popped up his umbrella and was prepared to make his way home, he hoped that whatever rumors that were flying about him would soon come to an end when people saw that he was practically harmless.
Suddenly, the young man heard a low voice filled with some mustered courage and squelched fear calling out from behind, "Hey, stop a second." When he turned to face the ever so brave soul, he found Takatsukasa standing at the top of the stairs with a scrunched-up face. Knowing that the larger student was the only one throughout the school who had some faint idea about the reality involving the shinobi, the boy remained silent as the other approached. When Takatsukasa was an intimidating arm's length away, he asked quietly, "I'll be frank, I'm concerned and curious about what happened to Sato and Miki…"
As other students passed by and opted to ignore the conversation to get out of the rain, the young man quickly responded, "I'm afraid I know nothing of it."
More dissatisfied with the answer than he was able to detect the obvious lie, Takatsukasa quickly asked, "Does it involve those government people?" and began to press more aggressively, "Look, I don't know what I stumbled on but I just want to make sure my hide is clear."
Again, the young man was quick to say, "You're probably clear."
Takatsukasa's face ever so slightly unveiled some despair beyond his usually stoic demeanor, "Probably…?"
Suddenly and without any possible warning at all, Yumi and Miyabi came strutting through the rain while at each other's side. Being the first to spot and recognized the two, Takatsukasa jumped and straightened himself in hopes that he wasn't about to be dragged into a government van to be beaten for asking to many questions. Instead, just as the young man was turning around to face what had frightened the larger student so much, the two women dressed in their respective school uniforms extended their hands forward and gripped the pole of their lover's umbrella. Then, just as he made confused eye contact with them and adopted a face of pleasant surprise, they yanked the little parasol into the air and proceeded to snap it in half by pulling in opposite directions of one another. As the rain began to assault the young man and his expression became tinged with extreme confusion and some annoyance, he slowly raised his palms into the air as if to silently asked, "Why?" and awaited an answer.
Instead, the two women dropped the umbrella's remains, took a step from one another, and proceeded to swing around their fists before connecting them into one another as a victorious roar of thunder echoed around them. As if they'd just won a decisive battle in a war, they both looked to one another as their camaraderie and ambition could be felt by anyone who cared to stop and watch through the rain.
O-B-J-E-C-T-I-V-E C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E: UMBRELLA SHATTER-ELLA!
Once the two girls broke their fists away from the connection, they turned to the young man and began to innocently tug at their drenched outfits. Yumi started to smoothly say, "Oh my, we're all getting horribly wet now!"
Miyabi popped her head in and said in a much more forced manner, "Oh, what a shame that you forgot your-, that you broke you-, that we accidentally borrowed and broke-, that we borrowed and accidentally broke your umbrella…"
Picking up the pieces of her co-conspirator's verbal flop, Yumi then hugged the woman from behind and whispered seductively with a snap of her fingers, "Fortunately, we can all head over to my place and get dried off together…"
"Indeed," said Miyabi with an uncomfortable nod, "it would be so nice for you to… come and be… dried… and appeased. Yes."
Yumi's expression quickly turned to a glare as she whispered to the woman, "You could have just said it would be a good time, like in the original script."
"Shut up, I hate memorizing lines for this kind of thing," stated Miyabi with a harsh glare, "If you would have just let me speak like I normally do, we'd be fine…!"
As the two quietly bickered back and forth, the young man was taking note of Takatsukasa's flabbergasted expression and considered his options. The most reasonable thing to do would be to question the girls and ask after whatever plan they were plotting. Another appropriate response would be to just bring them along and discuss it in a place faraway from Takatsukasa to preserve some modesty. In fact, just about any other response would have been more appropriate than what the young man was actually considering.
Instead, as he was fixed on Takatsukasa's wide-eyed gaze and the more lustrous looks that some of the students waiting at the entrance were throwing at his girlfriends, the young man remembered his experiences throughout the day and proceeded to smile showily and cheekily. It wouldn't serve him well in the long run to be a showoff but, between a desire of petty revenge and the pride that he held in dating such beauties, the young man quickly approached and hugged himself into the two, "Oh, what an unfortunate circumstance we've found ourselves into! I suppose I have no choice but to join you two!"
While Takatsukasa and several other students could have started to defecate bricks at Mach speed, Yumi and Miyabi quickly exchanged surprised glances with one another as they had anticipated significantly more resistance. But seeing as they could drop what would be a borderline act of kidnapping from their plan, they pleasantly looked down to the young man and simultaneously said with a cheery pitch, "Let's be off!"
As the three of them began to almost skip down the sidewalk in a feint of merriment, letting out several rounds of, "Oh, ho-ho-ho~!" and other such laughs, Takatsukasa and the remaining witnesses could only wonder what they'd just witnessed and question whether they were in some strange form of reality where any of that made sense.
Meanwhile, as the fake laughs of the three teenagers began to become much more genuine after the nonsensical show they put on, they entered a train station and were casually mocking themselves as they scanned their passes to get on the platform. At one point, the young man said in between a few hoots, "I swear, I was initially pissy about the umbrella-," and paused to take a breath before continuing, "-but I just can't do it, you two were just being too theatric…!"
As they avoided some passersby, who were all throwing dirty looks at the trio for how loud and drenched they were, Miyabi was actively trying to suppress a chuckle as she said, "Well, you gave us a run for our money with the way you jumped in back there."
Yumi tried to add something but couldn't muster up enough strength and proceeded to only laugh as they guided the young man to a particular platform. After a few seconds of getting the rest of the chuckles out of him, the young man asked quietly and cheerily as some logic and reason came back to him, "Anyways-, hoo~, I needed that laugh today-, anyways, where're we going…? And why did you break my umbrella?" Feeling themselves get wrapped back into their plot, Miyabi and Yumi were quickly drained of any laughs that they had left. A few seconds passed and, feeling a bit disturbed by the silence, the young man turned his gaze up to the two and found the shadowy expressions on their faces. Wondering about the scheme that he quickly realized he'd walked himself into, the young man asked in a much more low and frightened voice, "No, seriously, what's going on?"
Miyabi clasped his shoulder gently but firmly as she guided him toward a particular train, "We're taking you back to Yumi's place."
The younger girl quickly followed suit and gripped his other shoulder, "You're all drenched after all. I have a suitable bath that you can use to clean yourself and warm up."
As he was forced upon a train and felt his wellbeing come into a risky state, the young man squeaked, "I have a bath at my place though…"
Yumi lowered her face to stare right into the young man's soul as she said with a terrifying glow, "And I have a much more suitable one at my place… Please, don't resist."
Sucking in his cheeks and feeling as though he'd officially been cornered into a den full of vicious and hungry wildcats, the young man shrunk and stared blankly ahead as the train carried him off to whatever fate the two were plotting. Whatever joy he found in being a showoff was quickly replaced by an uncertain fear.
In the meantime, Homura was shakily holding her phone and running through the rain with Asuka right beside her, completely oblivious to the plot that she was caught in. As if she was about to push a big red button that would detonate a nuclear warhead, the tanned shinobi sent off a text and continued to steer her sparring partner toward Gessen Academy. The plan was going flawlessly from what she knew, between the fact that the everyone else managed to get off early and the fact that the other elites of Gessen Academy were confirmed to all be going out by Yumi. All that was really left was retrieving the young man, which would surely be successful, and drawing in Murasaki, which was significantly riskier since her reaction to the situation couldn't be anticipated.
Even still, she would enjoy the run through the rain that she had with Asuka and kept her mind focused on the end goal. One way or another, the day would be a massive turn for the group's relationship.
Later on, after a quiet train journey and walk with some minor resistance, the young man was being dragged forward by both his arms into the depths of Gessen Academy. The hallways were as dark as last time and the water dripping onto the floor from everyone's clothing echoed with the thunder to bring a similar sense of that same foreboding the boy once felt. Whenever they were questioned, Yumi and Miyabi would say nothing and would merely fix their determined gazes forward. Thus, the young man was trapped and, unless he found the strength to overpower the two women in some way, there would be no escape. Of course, seeing the fact that he couldn't even take on one of them in a test of strength, he quickly realized that whatever fate they had in mind for him had been sealed the moment they set their sights on him.
After a final turn, they came upon a door at the end of the hallway that Yumi reached toward to slide open. Once the room was unveiled and revealed to be a large and pristine bathroom, the young man was carefully placed inside and the two women quickly retreated without any visible expression on their faces. Before any questions could be asked, the door was slammed shut and held firmly closed by both shinobi.
It was at that moment the young man had begun to pick up on what was going on. The last time he visited the academy, he was put through a series of exercises designed to get him naked under a robe to be prepped for sexual activity. It wasn't hard to say that the motivations were being mirrored into that day. Yet, even with his assumption in mind, the young man still firmly trusted that Yumi and Miyabi wouldn't force themselves onto him. But even with that in mind, he knew he'd be walking into some kind of trap of great consequence if he went with whatever scheme that had been concocted. So, with a pleasant knock to the door, the young man pressed his face to the surface and asked the shinobi on the other side, "Could I please be let out and be given a towel?"
"Please, use the bath," came Yumi's equally pleasant voice, "It is warm and you'll be able clean yourself of anything you could have caught in the rain."
Again, the young man knocked his hand into the door and pressed his body further into it, "I don't believe that's how viruses work. If I've already caught it, then I'll have already caught it and get sick anyway. Please, pretty please, wonderful lady-loves whom I cherish dearly… let me out."
Miyabi's scratchy voice wheezed loudly, "Please, get in the tub…!"
Yumi's voice followed quickly after, "Pretty please."
Pulling away from the door and considering his options, the young man shivered from the cold of his soaked uniform and was about to choose the route of defiance. But curiosity turned his focus to the tub and it was then that he realized just how large it was. While the bathroom was of standard measure at the entrance of the room and contained all of the other necessary utilities, it opened up into a large space that was longer and wider than the average bathroom by a meter at least. Bubbling warmly and welcomingly in that space was a steaming tub full of luscious hot water that was already prepped and waiting for an occupant.
Temptation began to rip into the young man before he vocally told himself, "No, you're not getting naked in that tub," before he held his arms and resigned himself to hypothermia. But the cold quickly began to bring down his usually stubborn mind and the shivers began a relentless assault. Seeking to put his focus elsewhere, the young man charged at the sliding door and ripped it open loudly in hopes that he could surprise the two shinobi and somehow make an escape from there.
Awaiting the young man on the other side were two familiar wolves who, while initially hostile in the face of his sudden entrance, let their ears rise in excitement and recognition of him. Tilting his head in wonder and confusion, the boy forgot about Miyabi and Yumi for a second and knelt down to offer his hand forward. As both wolves took the offered petting, the young man snapped his other finger and said, "I recognize you two now… You're… Hold on." He pointed first to the white wolf, "Kotarō…" and then to the black wolf, "Kagerō…" As the two dogs continued to nuzzle their snouts into his hand, the young man continued cheerfully, "I haven't seen you two since the time Oda and I were having a standoff-, hold on, has it been that long-, regardless, it's good to see you both."
Unfortunately, just as the young man stood up and took a step forward to pass them, both dogs suddenly began to growl aggressively. The boy quickly jumped back and raised his arms in fear but was surprised when the two wolves readopted their merry expressions and panted in hopes of receiving more pets. Confused and wondering if he heard correctly, the young man approached again and extended a foot to pass them by. The wolves growled again, he retreated, and then they were peaceful. Just to confirm his suspicions one last time, the young man extended his foot again, the wolves growled, he retreated before trying once again, the wolves were pleasant before they started growling again, and the boy just gave up from there and retreated back into the bathroom in frustration. It became apparent that Murakumo's faithful companions were playing the roles of gatekeepers for the day and there was no chance he would be getting passed them without risking a severe injury.
Again, the bathtub was tempting him as the steam was practically dancing through the air. As if to muster some strength in himself, the young man pointed a finger and hissed, "I'm am not going to climb into you…!" before seating himself onto the floor and crossing his arms to shiver by his lonesome. Yet, very quickly, his resistance began to falter. While he did believe that he was capable in more extreme temperatures, the young man was not one who opted to throw himself into extremely hot or cold environments and his uniform felt as though it were trying to build up the latter. He eyed the tub as the steam waggled around like a seductive finger gesturing him forward.
The young man quickly rationalized that it was to fight impending hypothermia, locked the door, stripped himself down, hung his clothes to dry in a suitable place, and threw his paling body into the hot and welcoming water. A part of him felt extremely vulnerable and defeated by going along with whatever Miyabi and Yumi had in mind but, for that moment at least, he would bring himself to enjoy the wonderful feeling of his body loosening up in such a pleasant way that he hadn't enjoyed in a long time.
O-B-J-E-C-T-I-V-E C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E: DRENCH THE CUTIE (Hottie?)!
As that was happening, the two women were coming down the hallway in a new wardrobe. With an unsteady hand, Yumi waved the wolves away and extended her hand toward the bathroom door before faltering. She remained frozen as a statue for a moment with Miyabi watching with some concern before turning around and muttering, "I won't lie, I'm not sure I can go so far…"
The older woman froze before chittering some gibberish in confusion for a second. Then, as some sense came back to her, she asked the younger girl with some strain, "We've already come this far in your-, this is your plan…! Never mind the fact that you almost got naked with him once, how can you possibly say that you can't do this…!?"
Yumi raised her hands up to her face in shivery embarrassment at her sudden lack of confidence and stated simply, "Well, we would have been in the dark before… and the focus wouldn't have been entirely on my nakedness and I could work with that… but it is all about how naked we are this time around…"
Unable to believe that the one who had been even more forward than Homura throughout the entire relationship was beginning to falter, Miyabi gripped the girl's shoulders with both hands and said, "Think about what you told me earlier. Yes, you're going to be vulnerable when we go in there and commence our plan… but he will be equally so and, in due time, you'll be able to confide those weaknesses in one another. Beyond that, you'll have me in there right beside you." In a sudden twist, Miyabi's voice had become the most firm in the face of their next grand act and her voice reflected her newfound nerve, "If I, who has been nothing but a mess since we discussed this plan, am prepared to do this…" before she released one hand and struck a fist into the air, "…then I know you can…!"
Having received the encouragement that she needed, Yumi bobbed her head, "You're right!" and clenched her hand onto the door handle with enough intensity to crack it at its wooden base. She then roared as the door was slammed open with enough force to rip the lock from the frame and leave a dent in the opposite wall, "READY OR NOT, WE'RE JOINING YOU!"
The young man had milliseconds to rationalize his next course of action in response to the abrupt new arrivals. He had figured that some sort of sexual advance would be in play but he did not at all think that Yumi and Miyabi, as a pair, would be so bold. But, in spite of how confused he was, he did manage to deduct the end goal of the two, that being to tempt him into surrendering himself to intercourse rather than forcing his hand with a vote or any other way. Once he got passed the aspect of them forcing their way into a bathroom, it was certainly a cleaner way of getting what they wanted in comparison to other alternatives.
But he would not allow himself to be tempted nor would he give them the satisfaction of seeing him squirm in discomfort. So, when the two shinobi boldly stepped into the room, the young man merely crossed one of his legs over the other and sat himself back into the side of the tub that was opposite to them with narrowed eyes and a straight lip. A few seconds of silence followed and it became clear that Miyabi and Yumi were expecting a much larger reaction as their expressions softened and their heads tilted. Playing on such visible confusion, the young man raised his arms up from the water and rested them on the tub's edge, looking like a confident emperor sitting over captured enemy warlords. Upon seeing his feint of confidence, the two girls' jaws fell ever so slightly.
It was then that the young man realized that their bodies were wrapped around with loosely-fitting towels. It was enough to cover the more private details of their body but he had a wonderful view of their bare shoulders and most of their thighs from where he was sitting, which would be a more severe problem for an involuntary member of his body. Still, in a grand bid for self-control, he simply focused his eyes onto their faces, waved a hand into the air, and said in a low voice, "You two are joining me? I'm not sure that's quite appropriate."
Thrown off by the fact that there wasn't even a crack in how he spoje, Miyabi began to think she and Yumi were embarrassing themselves for no reason at all and began to falter. Fortunately, she caught her comrade's gaze and received a nod of assurance to urge her on, as though there was some element that the woman wasn't aware of. From there, Yumi took the lead by approaching the bath and saying, "In what world is it inappropriate for us to bathe with the man we love?"
"In the world where the man is refusing sexual advances until he can bring himself to accept the group aspect of such a thing," replied the young man frankly.
"Who said this needs to be a sexual advance?" retorted Yumi as she gripped the edge of her towel with a conceited smirk. She then said, "This doesn't have to be anything more," as she ripped the fabric from her body, "than an innocent act of intimacy…!"
There was nothing left hidden and the young man's eyes broke from the girl's face for a quick scan, which he instantly regretted when he felt his member resist against his crossed legs. It was only by some miracle alone that he managed to hold his expression to appear unaffected, though he could feel his eyes bulging out ever so slightly and his lips began to press into one another with a greater intensity. Then, as if the situation wasn't about to get out of hand, Miyabi quickly followed the younger shinobi's lead and let her own towel drop with a small murmur of gibberish. At that point, the young man actively considered the prospect of deliberately falling into their trap and making the night one to remember.
Still, held back by the dignified machinations of his mind, he only waved a hand and said in as straight a tone as he could muster, "Certainly, you can't expect me to believe this act of intimacy is innocent in nature."
Yumi let out a puff of air from her nose as she could feel victory coming into her grasp, "You're the one who's making it so… sinful." She then began to raise her leg to step into the tub, "There's nothing wrong with this if we don't do anything-," before she was cut off by the sudden but expected sound of rapidly stomping feet roaring through the hallway.
Just as the door was flung open again and the three turned to the new arrival, a drenched Murasaki came into the bathroom and was heavily panting as she tried to regain her breath. Having been warned of Miyabi and Yumi's advances by Homura, she had darted from her room after receiving some encouragement from Bebeby, sprinted through the rainy streets and train stations, and made her way through the maze-like hallways of Gessen to save the young man from a potential assault. Once she could speak again, she pointed to the two women and screeched, "IS THIS HOW DESPERATE YOU'VE BECOME!? STOP THIS! RIGHT NOW!"
It was especially surprising to both Murasaki and the young man when Yumi and Miyabi proceeded to give one another a thumbs up.
O-B-J-E-C-T-I-V-E C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E: REIN THE DEFENSIVE BEAR!
Sensing that Murasaki's presence was key to some kind of plot that they were in the middle of, the young man looked past the naked bodies of the two women before him and pleaded with the girl in a low and desperate voice, "They planned for this. Murasaki, run. Find a towel, dry off, and save yourself."
Thinking that he was trying to simply remove her so he could indulge in the fantasy at first, the shinobi cried out, "How can you-," before she caught the look on his face. Between the eyes that were as narrowed as a pencil dot on paper and the frightened curl to his lips, Murasaki knew that he was being completely serious. Still, she wouldn't leave him to whatever fate that Miyabi and Yumi had plotted, "I won't be going anywhere."
"No, Murasaki," urged the young man with even more serious eyes, "they want this. They want you in here as further temptation. If you stay, they are going to try and get you undressed and into this tub too. For the love of preserving our chastity… run."
Unable to hide her gleaming teeth as her plan continued to unfold, Yumi gave a showy shrug as she finally stepped into the tub, "Well, you're free to do whatever you'd like, Murasaki. We'll simply be in here, naked and… interacting with one another in this warm tub to combat the chill the rain gave us." She then turned a sharp eye toward the girl and asked, "Though… aren't you also cold after all of that time in the rain…?"
Having been mustering her courage while the conversation was taking place, Miyabi also stepped into the tub and sat herself down as she added without the same smoothness, "It is very nice and relaxing in here… and, by accident, we hid all of the other towels in the academy and the two on the floor have already been used by Yumi and I." Trying think of her current activity to be like an innocent visit to the hot springs that she and everyone else visited on occasion, the woman then plainly added as she rested herself back and closed her eyes, "You'd be much more comfortable in here…"
At first, the young man questioned her logic, "How do you accidentally…" before he took a long look at Murasaki. Just as he did before he made the final decision to warm himself in the tub, the poor girl was beginning to shiver and sniffle as she pulled at her wet clothes. Truly, it was a horribly saddening sight but he knew exactly what was going to come next. Sensing the turn of events to come, he immediately pulled an arm from the side of the tub and raised his palm into the air in an attempt to cease the girl's actions, "Murasaki…"
She made eye contact with him and put all of her different thoughts on display. It was clear that she hated the cold and wanted to be somewhere warm, even if she knew it would mean playing into the hands of her enemies. Beyond that, there was also one key detail that both Murasaki and the young man were aware of: in order to get in the warmth of the bathtub, she would have to discard her clothes like everyone else. Though, while the young man had already crossed that horizon and was paying for the consequences, the girl wasn't so sure she could go through with it.
Sensing the hesitation and acting according to what their plan called for, Miyabi and Yumi began to steadily edge their way toward the young man. For Murasaki, the sight of it was the equivalent to seeing someone she loved stranded in the water with some sharks. So, even if it meant having to commit to one very embarrassing act, she would do whatever was required in order to be a reliable defense.
Seeing the two older shinobi edging toward him, the young man shrunk himself back and loudly questioned, "Hey… What're you doing!?" before his sights found Murasaki again. Much to his surprise, the girl was beginning to pull the tie of her uniform while reaching for the lower hem of her shirt. Immediately, the boy uttered, "Wait, Murasaki-, Murasaki, what're you doing."
In a quiet peep of justification for what she was going to do, the girl quietly uttered, "I won't let them do anything you don't want…"
Seeing the situation turn more serious before his very eyes, the young man's voice began to rise in volume and pitch, "Murasaki! MURASAKI, STOP! MUR-A-SA-KI~~~!"
"HUL-LO, EV-ER-Y-ONE~!" cried a suddenly appearing Homura from the bathroom's entrance with Asuka at her side.
Not at all expecting the other two to show up when they did, Murasaki let out a cry as she was pulling up her shirt and proceeded to trip into the bath, which immediately brought Yumi and Miyabi to her aid. As the two women brought the girl to the water's surface and proceeded to remove her clothes so that they could dry and she could be comfortable, Asuka quickly peered in and cried, "Murasaki, are you okay!?"
"I hit my head on the floor of the tub…" murmured the girl in a despairing voice while looking toward the young man for some kind of consolation.
By that point, the boy had dropped his confident posture and abandoned his feint by leaning toward the girl to make sure she was okay. He reached over and patted her head, "As-, well, as long as you're still conscious, we'll consider you lucky. That kind of thing has led to worse injuries…"
The girl's eyes closed cheerily in response to the pats as she found an upside to her situation. Then, as Miyabi pulled the last sock from her leg and flung it to the floor outside of the tub, the younger girl suddenly realized that she was fully naked and that, based on the uncovered view she received, the young man was too. Also realizing that his lack of posture left him as uncovered as everyone else in the tub, the young man immediately sat back and crossed his legs again while squeaking out, "Anyway, I'm glad you're-," before focusing on Homura, "Wait! You're in on this plan too, aren't you!?"
Homura stuck her thumb into the air before nodding at Yumi and Miyabi, who were orienting Murasaki toward the side of the tub. Then, as though she were about to accomplish a great act that would benefit all of humanity, the tanned shinobi grinned widely as she began to pull up her own shirt and listened with some cheer as Asuka cried from beside her, "Wait-, wait! I know you said Yumi wouldn't mind if we used her tub to warm up and escape the rain but you never told me that everyone else would be in there too!"
As she undid her bra, Homura casually replied, "Well, I never said that they weren't either…"
Putting the pieces together for herself, Asuka maintained her focus away from the naked bodies of everyone else and let out a defeated whine, "Homura, I know what you're trying to do here! This is horribly mean!"
Continuing to undress herself, Homura spoke in a manner that had very clearly been rehearsed, "It might seem mean to you but we're not trying anything, are we?" She pointed to the tub, "We've bathed and showered together after workouts in the past, right? There was nothing inappropriate back then and there's nothing inappropriate right now."
Asuka raised a shaking finger and then pointed to the young man, "But… he's in here this time… and we're all in a relationship…"
Homura shrugged, "It won't go anywhere uncomfortable," before throwing her clothes aside and nudging the girl with her elbow, "Although, I won't lie, I'm not going to resist if he decides to get frisky."
"That won't be happening," uttered the young man before raising a flattened hand and shaking his head, "Nope. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not crossing that line today."
Staring at him doubtfully with an arrogant grin, Homura turned to Asuka and gave a questioning tilt of her head. After a moment of contemplation, the smaller brunette sucked in a long breath and said, "Well, as long as we keep it innocent…"
O-B-J-E-C-T-I-V-E C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E: BRING IN ALL ALLIED FORCES!
"I give up," grumbled the young man as he leaned his head back and tried to ignore the sight of five naked and beautiful women.
As she proceeded to undress from her own uniform, Asuka received a few more nudges from Homura. The girl was rightfully suspicious but still craned her head forward in question anyway, to which the taller brunette immediately whispered something barely audible into her ear so that the young man couldn't hear. At first, Asuka flinched away and resistantly cried, "What-, no, I wouldn't-, I mean, if he did… I wouldn't…" before she turned her eyes toward the young man. Then, trying to not focus on the audience she had, the girl murmured something incoherent.
"A little louder," coaxed Homura, "Remember, it's dishonest to hide your feelings and speak so quietly…"
"I…" started Asuka as she defeatedly shrunk, "…wouldn't stop him if he got grabby either…"
"Why do you people say these things…?" asked the young man as he tried to keep a continued resistance against the show his lower-half was trying to put on. But, remembering his words on how unpredictable shinobi could be, he took a long breath and braced himself to deal with the situation for as long as he needed to. He then heard Asuka and Homura splash their way into the tub in such a way that it caused everyone else to rearrange themselves.
Taking the young man off guard was all of the sudden skin-to-skin contact as Yumi proceeded to take a place beside him and forced her shoulder just behind his, which also meant that the side of her breasts were resting against his arm. The boy sucked in a breath and minded himself as he tried to focus on everything else in the world, from old Russian music to delicious Mongolian cuisine. Then, just as Miyabi was about to take a place on his opposite side, Murasaki defensively sat next to him and proceeded to latch onto his other arm while muttering under her breath, "I won't let them tempt you anymore than they can…"
"You're only doing it in their place…" hissed the young man inaudibly through his teeth as the girl's breasts, which were larger than every other shinobi he knew, trapped his arm between them and rubbed into his torso. At the same time, Miyabi threw an extremely dissatisfied look at Murasaki before her eyes locked onto the young man, who was still trying to avoid all eye contact with them and their bodies. The woman then started to do something, paused for a second, retreated back, started again, and finally moved toward the opposite side of the tub. But, rather than taking a seat next to Yumi, she simply knelt down to the tub's floor proceeded to rest herself back against the young man's legs, bringing a loud and cracked peep from the boy's throat. Though Miyabi's body was almost completely submerged in order to accomplish her current posture, the angles and details of her body were being involuntarily studied by every possible sense in the young man's leg, which continued to bring down his resistance more and more. In a desperate bid to try and usher everyone in contact with him away, he croaked out, "What exactly happened to keeping this innocent…?"
"We're only cuddling like couples do," came a sultry whisper from Yumi before she blew some air into his ear, bringing a round of involuntary shivers of pleasure from him.
In the meantime, Homura was grinning at the sight of Yumi's plan coming to such a beautiful fruition as she silently timed down her grand surprise down to the very last second. She let out a playful hum and turned to give Asuka a merry pat on the shoulder as the smaller girl was trying to ignore the suggestive cuddle session on the other side of the tub. But after figuring that having six people sitting around naked in a tub was too awkward to maintain in silence, Asuka started to speak skittishly, "Well… since we're all here, how have-," before the bathroom door proceeded to explode inward and out of its frame. In response, Yumi and Miyabi jumped while Asuka, Murasaki, and the young man let out a synchronized yell of surprise. The only one who wasn't immediately surprised was Homura, who was still smirking from ear to ear. Unfortunately for her, she would also jump in surprise when she not only saw a naked Katsuragi boldly strutting into the room but also a naked Ayame.
O-B-J-E-C-T-I-V-E C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E: HOMURA (and Katsuragi)'S SECRET SURPRISE
Confused at the sight of the second addition, Homura was about to start unloading questions before she was cut off from even speaking by Katsuragi letting out a loud cheer, "HELLO, MY LITTLE CUDDLE-BUDS!"
Ayame, in an excited but much more restrained voice, quickly added, "I hope your day has been fun and well," before quickly covering her mouth and smiling dirtily, "though, I'd say the current sight of you all tells me that it was about to take a naughty turn."
Though everyone who was clinging to the young man did scrunch up their faces in response to the insinuation, Miyabi and Yumi did eventually shrug it off since it wasn't far from their final goal. Quickly afterward, the latter did eventually pick her surprised expression back up and asked defensively, "What are you two-," before she let out a yell as Katsuragi proceeded to jump and splash her way into the tub with Ayame following closely behind. As the water swished around her and she made sure her eyes were clear, Yumi started again, "What are you two doing-," before she remembered the fact that her plan called for a sudden surprise from a very certain someone. She then whipped her head around to that particular person and accusingly shouted, "Homura!?"
The shinobi quickly raised up her hands defensively, "I don't know what they're doing-, I don't know what Ayame is doing here for!"
"Oh, nobody else is in the know?" asked Katsuragi as she proceeded to take a seat between Homura and Asuka. As she slinked her arms around their shoulders to pull them close, the blonde smiled brightly and nodded to Ayame so that she would sit down before explaining merrily, "Well, the short version is that Homura told me about a conundrum you guys were having and ever so totally realized that she had feelings for me before inviting me to join your little arrangement between one another."
After a few seconds, Asuka peered around her senior and asked Homura with all of her naivety on display, "Homura, you love Katsuragi? I didn't have any idea."
Slightly pulling away from the blonde, Homura muttered underneath her breath, "Well-, I won't-, no, I don't exactly-," before she was cut off by Katsuragi tightening her arm's pull around the girl's neck.
"We're so in love that she invited me here," stated the blonde before she raised up a finger, "though, if I'm being honest, I'm mostly just here for everyone's bodies." She then released Asuka and Homura to cross her arms and give her head a playful shake, "I'll always have a love for you all but good ol' Kat won't settle for just one pair of honkers and badonkadonks."
Ayame added with a smile as she sat near Asuka and began to edge her way closer, "I have the same stance," before gesturing grandly to the center of her admiration, "though I would always like to see Lady Kat be a part of any relationship I am in."
"And that's why I invited you, my student of sexual harassment…" purred Katsuragi as she began to lean back and enjoy the tub's heat, "There's a smorgasbord of titty that I need help digging into…" After a few seconds, she raised a finger, "Though, I won't lie, I almost didn't take Homura up on the offer," before pointing it to the young man, "mostly because I was unsure about our lone male."
"Please, don't distract me," muttered the young man in a voice devoid of any readability, "I am currently trying to meditate my soul to heaven so that I may escape this situation."
"Yeah, have fun with that," laughed Katsuragi before she rubbed her chin, "Where was I-, Ah, I didn't think I'd want to join because the only real thing he had going for him was a grabbable butt. Even then, that has some boy junk dangling fairly close to it."
Suddenly catching onto the motivations of the one who orchestrated Katsuragi's arrival, the young man attempted to stand up and point an accusing finger before he got caught up in Yumi and Murasaki's grip again while his legs were pinned against Miyabi. So, instead, he simply shouted, "HOMURA!"
Knowing that she was about to be scolded, the girl raised up her hands and babbled, "I-, it was only to-, oh…" as she surrendered herself to the anger. She had rehearsed a load of excuses that morning but, after being thrown off by Ayame's addition to the group, she couldn't bring herself to remember any of it off the top of her head. Instead, she quietly murmured, "It's just-, I got the idea from Jasmine and it seemed like a good starting point to get you more eager for… you know, sex."
An audible groan rumbled from the young man's throat before he eyed Asuka, "Remind to punch your grandmother one day. Regardless of how old she is and the fact that she'd probably slaughter me afterwards, she's got it coming after this level of meddling…"
In the meantime, ignoring his comment completely, Asuka was asking Katsuragi, "What made you so comfortable to join after you were so unsure?"
The blonde let out a laugh in response and then pointed to the young man, "Simple. He's pretty cool to hang out with." She gave a bright grin as she further elaborated, "Sure, he got me crying like a wuss at one point but it was a good and needed cry. I'll talk with you all about it a different time." With a shake of her shoulders, she stood up from her seat and approached the web of people on the opposite side of the tub, "But, after thinking on it and in spite of the fact that you only have a good ass to offer," before lowering her head down to level with the young man, "I decided that I'd be more than okay to have something casual with you." Then, as Yumi and Murasaki let out defensive growls of protest, she proceeded lean over and smooch the young man on the forehead before pulling herself back and retreating back to her seat.
Ayame, figuring that it was some kind of initiation into the group, also quickly stood up and said, "Though we're not at all very acquainted, I'll trust you in the same way that Lady Kat does. I hope you'll take care of me," before she kissed her hand and blew it toward the young man, who was staring blankly and shaking. Though he managed to maintain his composure for as long as he had, he was not mentally braced for two new arrivals and was quickly beginning to buckle on all front. His only remaining defense was the fact that his legs were still crossed and hiding the evident pleasure he took in seeing seven naked women in the same tub as him.
"Well then," Katsuragi said as she clapped her hands, "when are we doing it?"
Homura, hoping to pick herself up and get her plan back on track, quickly said, "Well, not everyone was eager to go along with it, and that's fine, but I know that a certain one of us was holding back because we lacked a majority vote." She then forced on an unsure smirk as she tried to remember the line she rehearsed that morning, "And perhaps all of this bare beauty before you has swayed you on everything else…?"
"I am not going along with this," grumbled the young man shakily, "Katsuragi and Ayame are only here on a casual basis and-, and like I already told you, that wasn't my only reason for holding back."
"There's another reason?" asked Katsuragi with some confusion before she shrugged, "Well, I suppose that'd make sense. Holding back on joining an orgy made entirely of women because of a majority vote doesn't seem like a very boyish think to do… I know I'd take part in a heartbeat."
"As would I," inserted Ayame.
"And I'm proud of you for it," said Katsuragi before she clapped her hands toward the young man, "Alright, chop-chop. Tell me what's got you tied up."
Tightening his face and trying to muster his thoughts, the young man turned to the side and muttered, "Well… most importantly, not everyone wants to take part…"
Katsuragi waited for further elaboration before she shrugged, "So…?"
Getting both defensive and annoyed, the young man statedly heatedly, "I don't want anyone feeling like they're being left out to hang on the sidelines while everyone else is partying it up in the bedsheets."
"That sounds to me like a bullshit excuse."
The young man flinched before sputtering, "Excuse me!?"
From where she sat, Katsuragi shook her head with a few tuts and waved her hand dismissively, "I can see where you're coming from but I don't think you're the sort of person who'd be so held up on that." She raised two fingers and lined them together, "From all our gushing yesterday, I know that you'd totally have a romp with everyone in here if the opportunity opened itself up to you," before splitting her hands away, "Now, if someone weren't comfortable with joining, I'd figure you'd stop and talk with them first to explain that you still loved them but you also loved your other potential partners. Once that talk would be done and whoever isn't taking part has some peace at mind, you'd go get funky in bed." After that, Katsuragi waved her hands, "That excuse isn't it. Is there anything else."
Though the young man wanted to argue against her, the prying eyes of everyone else in the tub shied him down. After shrinking back and averting his gaze, he quickly added, "Well… on a more logical basis, I'm the only guy here."
"And that's a lot of responsibility, right?" asked Katsuragi.
"Uh-huh."
"That's much more reasonable," murmured the blonde with a nod of her head before she pointed a finger, "though I call bullshit again."
"What…?"
After sucking in a breath and adjusting herself in the bath, Katsuragi raised a hand to ease the young man, "Now, I won't dismiss the fact that your worried about tiring out too early or whatever… or you're afraid of being the center of attention-, whatever it is, I won't dismiss your concern." She then narrowed her eyes on him, "But after our little talk session last night, I don't take you as the sort of person who would simply back down from such an opportunity because you're afraid of a po-ten-tial shortcoming. Rather, you'd see that there are women eagerly waiting for you to join and you'd do all you can to please them." Katsuragi continued without breaking her gaze away, "Maybe, after the first time, you'd know that you can't do it and that would prevent future attempts as a group… but you've gone up against more impossible odds before, like when you fought against us or when you stood up against that Yōma." With another shake of her head, she said lowly, "Why would you be so afraid of the group aspect in sex?"
"Hold on, hold on," ordered Murasaki from her position beside the young man before she asked in a low voice, "Are you trying to suggest that he's lying? Because then you'd be wrong. Not only can I smell him but he's also a terrible liar."
Miyabi said from her portion of the tub, "I was about to say…" before sternly adding, "We'd have noticed if he was telling lies."
At the same time, Katsuragi commented under her breath, "Murasaki, if I didn't know what you were talking about, that smelling comment would be so much weirder…" She then raised a hand and said, "Now, I'm not saying he's lying about any of his hang-ups. I'm only saying that none of them are the actual reason that he's holding back. They're half-truths." Katsuragi then turned to the boy, "Am I right?" A few seconds passed and the young man kept his eyes completely averted, not daring to make contact with all of the prying gazes that were eating away at him. Once she was sure that he wouldn't speak, Katsuragi asked frankly, "Is there something else that's holding you back?"
The young man straightened himself, took a quiet breath, and proceeded to mutter, "I don't know…"
"That's a lie if I've ever heard one," pressed Katsuragi as she leaned forward onto her knees, "C'mon, get talking."
"Like I said-," started the young man before Katsuragi suddenly stood up.
"What you said is a lie," declared the girl as she approached and kneeled down to face the boy at eyelevel. Once she was there, Katsuragi continued, "I don't know what's hanging you up on this… but I-, we'd all like to know it." She extended a hand forward and proceeded to gently run it across the top and the side of the boy's head, which brought a small round of shudders from him. In as soft a voice as she could muster from her usual boisterousness, Katsuragi then offered, "In the same way you didn't judge me and, presumably, everyone else… we aren't going to judge you for it. We'll hear it, we'll talk it over, we'll help if we can, and we'll take it from there…"
From beside him, Yumi also began to murmur, "If there's something wrong, you can trust and confide in us."
By that point, Miyabi had already turned around and was leaning onto his knee, "If you tell us what you need, we'll do it. Just say the word."
Very soon after, almost everyone was beginning to crowd around the young man and he was finding it harder and harder to focus on what he wanted to say. Wherever he looked, he found a gaze pitying him and the resulting guilt began to weigh in. Surrounding him were several beautiful and earnest women offering their concern and he had nothing that he could rightly answer with. His only saving grace was the fact that Ayame seemed more hesitant to approach and didn't fill the one gap that would be his exit.
Acting on instinct to escape the situation, the young man pulled away from those who were still clinging to him and began to sputter loudly, Let me up…! Let me up, let me up, let me up!" before he began to push his way to perceived freedom. But, as the girls released him to give him space and clambered toward the edge of the tub while trying to cover himself, he couldn't bring himself to deny the explanation that he felt they were partly owed. So, just after he stepped out and splashed onto the bathroom floor, he stood frozen and stared into space to try and find the words to express the indescribable feeling inside him. When he found no such words, he could only shrink his head down in shame.
Then he heard Asuka's voice, "Whatever you have to say and whenever you want to say it, we'll be there for you."
Making a small sound with his throat, the young man didn't think at all as he spoke blankly, "If… you're interested… you can come to my apartment after school on Saturday… I'll… certainly know what to say and will be ready for-, I'll be… I'll be ready by then…" He then slightly turned his head toward them and added, "I should also be ready for… you know… sex by then… If you guys would still want that…" From there, the young man turned away as he gathered his wet clothes from where they were hung and stepped out to get dressed in the hallway before he'd leave for the day.
O-B-J-E-C-T-I-V-E C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E: OVERLOAD ON ALL AFFECTION
Left confused and wondering if any progress had been made, the women in the tub watched the boy disappear into the hallway before turning their gazes toward one another. No one had an answer or a guess as to what was going through his mind nor was there much insight that could be offered. Though some discussion followed, they all determined that they just wouldn't know until the young man could speak to them about it. Whether his issue, one that was potentially not even made aware to him until minutes before, was one that was emotionally draining or was much more serious couldn't be determined. Still, the fact that he seemed to be willing to talk about it when he could with them was taken as a good sign, even if there was little to go on.
So, to kill the rest of their time in the bath, the girls then started to address the fact that Katsuragi and Ayame were proclaiming themselves a part of the relationship at Homura's invitation. This would lead to bickering on a smaller scale and would result in several jabs being exchanged. In the end, despite what was a heavy atmosphere, things fell back into normalcy and that was an uplifting sign for what was to come within the next week.
