The luxury of being born in a noble house was nice, Yuuka couldn't deny that. She generally stayed outside, though. She could have all the ritz if she wanted--the maids were willing to do things like arranged clothes to be worn for the next day, and were even willing to bathe any of the family when necessary, but Yuuka preferred to pick out her own clothes, and she liked to sit and soak for a bit before she started to clean herself up--which neither maid was a big fan of.

"Well, you're onii-san's girlfriend, right?" Yuuka asked rhetorically--as if she were going so far as to declare a documented fact, "I'm sure if we all pull our weight on him, onii-san will decide to move back in! Then, the two of you could live here together, and you'd have baths like this whenever you wanted."

Now . . . Taniko wasn't Daisuke's girlfriend at all--but Yuuka hadn't made that distinction. She'd even mentioned it once before, and didn't receive a positive or negative response, so she just made a couple of quick connections. In her mind, it worked.

Though, that wasn't to say that Taniko couldn't stay. She was small, unlike the most recent house guest, Abari. He couldn't live there; he'd up the cost of living tremendously, but Taniko? Barely a cost to sneeze at! Probably.

“G-gi-gi-gir-g-g-gir-gi-gi-g” Taniko’s face flushed deeper than it had upon first contact with the water. She couldn’t even bring herself to utter out that most sacred, strange, beautiful word. Girlfriend. Someone who was in a deep and involved relationship with another. A caring, loving, binding relationship. Taniko had never been called ‘girlfriend’ before. The whole notion made her feel uneasy, uncomfortable, but also a little flattered. She had only known Daisuke for a little while, but she knew that he was special. He scared her sometimes, and he was much older and stronger, but that just made her feel safer around him. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, deep down, she knew. Would they really be considered boyfriend and girlfriend? Yuuka seemed to think so.

“I-I-I-I” she began, holding her fists to her face in an attempt to pull the redness out of them. She shut her eyes tightly and tried to think of other things, but only Daisuke’s face was in her brain. If they were in a relationship, would she be treated like royalty? Like Yuuka and her mother? Would she be queen and Daisuke her valiant king? The images and fantasies only fueled her blushing until she finally dunked her head underwater, leaving just enough air below her nostrils to breathe and see from her eyes.

“I-I-I’m flatte- f-flattered you’d think so highly of me Yuuka-san. B-B-But Dai-d-Daisuke-san a-and I are j-j-just fr-friends! He He He…He saved my life!”

Taniko's reaction was fairly unexpected! Just what was she tried to do down there? Cool off? Silly-- she couldn't do that! The water was way too warm for Taniko to cool off in it! There was only the option of being comfortably hot, and that was it.

"Wha~t? Wait-- you mean . . . you're not an item?" Yuuka was, indeed, surprised.

It made no sense to her. Certainly, Daisuke had saved Taniko's life--but why did he bring her home if he wasn't interested in her? Taniko was practically the first single girl he ever brought home! Before her, Ishi had come around with Masa a few times, and while that was always a treat, Ishi and Daisuke didn't get along well enough to ever be an item, especially since Masa was Ishi's boyfriend already!

--Yuuka hadn't heard the terrible news yet.

Nonetheless, in her eyes, Daisuke probably saved damsels in distress left and right, but he never brought them home. And here, he did, but he wasn't dating her? It just didn't add up. What could be wrong? Was it Taniko? No-- that wasn't it. It had to be something Daisuke was doing!

"Why not? Whaaat, is it onii-san? Is he just being a jerk or something?" Yuuka didn't leave enough time for Taniko to answer, though, before she chimed in her thoughts on the subject! "I mean you're onii-san's type I think! I don't see why he wouldn't well you know at least bring it up or spend some special time with you or something you know?"

“N-“ she began, but her mouth was still underwater, so it only bubbled up as burbles in the air. She sat up straight, letting the water dribble rather unladylike out of her mouth. She quickly covered her lips to hide the barbaric display. She was much too embarrassed to gather her thoughts, at the moment. But after some squirming and headshaking she found her words again.

“No no Yuuka-san! Daisuke-san…He..he’s very kind and…and…well he’s very kind. And brave! He pulled me out of the city so valiantly!”

Taniko drifted off into daydreamish memories about that faithful day in the city, and her wonderful warrior who came to rescue her. She closed her eyes and smiled, still thinking of him. Her protector. Daisuke.

“B-But!” she yelped, snapping back into reality. “But he would never…I mean I have no….abilities…or skills…or even looks…I’m no material for…for…for marriage.”

She slunk off into a shy depression. Quietly bringing her knees to her chest and drifting off into more thoughts.

Yuuka could hear Taniko much better when her head was out of the water, but that didn't mean she was going to believe what she was saying any more than she was! Slanderous, truly, as far as Yuuka was concerned!

"No way~!" Yuuka exclaimed.

Yuuka scooted closer to Taniko, practically sitting right in front of her, with absolutely no space between them. She was there for comfort--sort of. Comfort, and a little bit of a push in the right direction, because it'd be a cold day in hell when Daisuke actually learned how to pursue a girl in any sort of successful way!

"If you really need to learn something like cooking or cleaning or something Mizou and Faisung can always teach you! Onii-san works a lot so he can't keep up with his house and he can't cook at all which is why he always spends his money at noodle shops! That's all he'd need help with and that's not hard at all. And then-- and then . . ."

Yuuka was running a list through her head about things Taniko had mentioned was "wrong" with her. Cooking and cleaning were easy solutions. As far as Yuuka was concerned, most men just sucked at cooking, while all the food she had eaten that were cooked by women were fantastic. Now, Yuuka was far from an example of a girl adhering to gender roles in Cizokian society, but she knew the basics, and could, herself, cook and clean fairly well. It'd probably be a necessity, when it came time for suitors to show up at the door! That was a few years off for Yuuka, but Taniko, on the other hand . . .

"And then-- just look at you!" Yuuka exclaimed enthusiastically as she flashed her arms out, as if she was putting Taniko on display, "What man wouldn't be crazy for you?"

The girl edged back as Yuuka scooted forward. She wasn’t used to having her personal space infiltrated so much. It was a little nerve-racking, and made her even more uncomfortable than she was. She closed her eyes and scrunched her face, and listened to Yuuka’s words. Taniko knew how to cook a little, but not much. And she wasn’t familiar with sewing or healing wounds, all things Daisuke would need in a girl. She just wasn’t cut out for it. But she was willing to learn. Taniko nodded gently, acknowledging that she could indeed learn to do all those things, especially since it seemed that she had all the time in the world to do so.

When Yuuka started to talk about her appearance, Taniko opened her eyes and looked down at herself. She had a small, fragile body. Not much of a bust to speak of. Plenty of time to grow, but at the moment she was just too ill-equipped for a man

“O-Oh Yuuka-san. I’m glad you think so but…but I’m far too..too plain.” She turned her head away and shyly covered her face with her hand. “I am just a country girl. N-Not fit for a warrior such as Daisuke.”

Yuuka nearly let out a pshaw! at Taniko's insistence, but refrained, only because she would have felt much too like her mother if she did. Nonetheless, it applied here! Yuuka was far too concerned with Taniko's self image problems to actually notice that the girl was uncomfortable with Yuuka this close to her--and besides! With the way the day had gone prior, Yuuka would've thought Taniko wouldn't mind the proximity. After all, when they were in the largest rice shed, and the noise of something falling broke through the silence, Taniko was practically hanging onto Yuuka for dear life!

As she thought to herself, Yuuka folded her arms over Taniko's knees--which were still up close to the girl's chest, and rested her chin on her forearms. What was she supposed to say or do to make Taniko feel better about herself? When Yuuka was in school, she didn't have to worry about those sorts of things--but that was before hormones generally started to rage.

"Jeez, Taniko-san~, you can't see anything like that! Here-- here, look . . ."

If Taniko thought Yuuka being this close was invading her personal space, she'd find the breech of personal space stronger as soon as Yuuka leaned back. Taniko would feel Yuuka's hands upon the outside of her thighs, all while Yuuka narrated:

"You can start anywhere but here, look, see? You've got really nice legs. Really smooth and nice--" Yuuka moved a little to squeeze Taniko's hips, "And you have really nice hips, too! That's practically two fifths of what guys look at already! And then-- you have a really nice tummy it's flat and--" Yuuka trailed her hands up the sides of Taniko's stomach, "And curvy, too! See?"

“Yu-Yuuka-san!”

Taniko peeped; jumping back almost the instant Yuuka touched her. But her back was to the edge of the tub, there was no escape. She simply shivered and scrunched up her face and closed her eyes. Not wanting to be rude and walk away, but not really enjoying being touched while she was so indecent. Instead she just whined a little and squirmed, listening to Yuuka compliment her in the most obscene of ways.

“I-I thank you Yuuka-san. But but but I’m not used to people touching me…”

"Eh~? Really?" Yuuka sounded almost . . . dumbfounded.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with it. They were both girls, so it wasn't like there was any real violation or anything. Taniko really had to be a backwards person! Still, though, Yuuka didn't want to put Taniko off or anything . . .

Yuuka let go of Taniko's hips, and crossed her arms over the other girl's knees and rest her chin upon her forearms again. She wasn't quite leaving Taniko's personal space, nor was she putting an end to the physical contact issue, but she wasn't so personal anymore at least. Sometimes, that was the best a person could ask for!

"I'm sorry, Taniko-san . . ." Yuuka apologized solemnly with a pout.

Really, Yuuka liked Taniko. She didn't want to offend her or anything, and it seemed like she had. No offense was meant, at least! All Yuuka was trying to do was make Taniko feel better--and she hadn't even finished with that yet, either! Oh well. All she could do now was hope that Taniko wasn't offended . . .

The instant Yuuka apologized was the instant Taniko wanted to curl up and die. She hadn’t meant to offend her hostess. She should have known that different families in different parts of the land with different economic standards than herself should have had different customs! Who was she to enforce her prudish manner on her wonderful hostess just because she was shy? It all seemed very confusing and conflicting, but she’d rather be uncomfortable than have Yuuka feel that way.

“O-oh no. No I am sorry Yuuka-san. It was wrong of me to…to not appreciate the full weight of your advice and compliment. Please, put your hands back where they were. I am willing to listen!”

Taniko grabbed Yuuka’s hands and set them back into her hips with as much force as she could muster in her tiny fingers. With was not much, she really was relying on Yuuka to go with this and continue her speech.

“Please continue.”

Truly backwards, indeed! What was it about her? First, she didn't want someone touching her--and now she didn't mind it? Yuuka didn't know what to think about that. Maybe she had suddenly gotten used to it. Before Yuuka knew it, Taniko had placed her hands upon Taniko's hips once again. So Yuuka shrugged her shoulders. If Taniko was used to it now--quite suddenly--then so be it! She'd just continue on!

"And, uh, and . . . uh . . ." Yuuka started, but hesitated numerous times and stopped speaking entirely as soon as she realized something: "Where was I?"

She let her hands linger upon the sides of Taniko's belly as she thought to herself, looking up at the sky as if it had the answers. She'd briefly forgotten what she was d--

Oh!

"And-- and-- right up here's important too!" Yuuka suddenly lifted her hands up to the sides of Taniko's chest, at which point she instantly declared : "A-actually you're way better off there than I am. Come on, see?" Yuuka would briefly edge her hands a little closer, towards the front of Taniko's chest, rather than the sides--but only for demonstration purposes-- pushing together, rather than, say, grabbing. But that was brief--very brief, at which point Yuuka let go and placed instead one finger upon Taniko's nose, as she declared as if proud of her conclusions: "And-- and you have a really pretty face, to boot! That's the most important part! A boy would be crazy not to like you--especially onii-san! You're his type, for sure!"

Taniko’s face was bright red as Yuuka’s hands moved up her body. She lifted her arms out to provide Yuuka plenty of room to remove her hands, but no such relief came. She pursed her lips and looked down to her chest as Yuuka grabbed her chest, whining a little in her throat. She was very uncomfortable, but didn’t want to voice it and offend her hostess. Taniko clenched her legs together and squirmed, not familiar with the feeling of other hands all over her. She looked to Yuuka with a confused, almost pleading look before the girl removed her hands from her chest and poked her nose.

The shy girl calmed down as her body was freed from the touches, however the blush lingered. The confused look remained on her face, but it softened to include a little bit of flattery as she thought about Daisuke again. Did he really like her? Was he really attracted towards her? Maybe she was the kind of girl for him. Yuuka seemed to have excellent knowledge on the subject of her brother. It was very flattering and made her head spin.

“Oh Yuuka-san. Thank you. Maybe I should learn to be a better woman or Daisuke-san. I would very much like to live in a place like this.”

Yuuka smiled cheerily at Taniko. She had succeeded! Now, Taniko might feel good about herself enough to maybe ask one of the maids some questions, and maybe try and get closer to Daisuke! Lord knows onii-san won't make the first move!

"Yeah!" Yuuka cheered, "I'd love it if you and onii-san lived here!"

Truth be told, she missed her old brother. He moved out and into the city--and then they rarely saw him. Sometimes, it was really depressing. When Daisuke was around the house, she always had something to do, even when she was out of school for the day or weekend--and despite the amount of trouble she gave him when he was home, it was simply because she missed him. The two siblings were, in actuality, fairly close, enough that Yuuka wasn't necessarily guessing when she talked about things like, say, Daisuke's likes and dislikes.

Yuuka leaned back for a second, then scooted back to the other side of the tub--which wasn't much more than a few feet from where she was with Taniko. It really was a small tub, not meant for anymore than two people.

Taniko eased back once Yuuka had given back her personal space. The girl was strange, and very excitable, but Takino felt privileged to be with her. In fact, she was very glad Daisuke had brought her to his home. She had never spoken to another girl her age before. Not in such a relaxed manner. Never anyone she could call a friend. Was Yuuka her friend? Was Daisuke? She’d like to think so; they were the kindest people she’d ever met outside of her home. So much so that she never wanted to go back.

The girl let out a relaxed sigh as she leaned her head back to look to the stars. The bath was still so warm and inviting, the water hugging her flushing skin like a soft blanket. Taniko slowly closed her eyes and smiled. She would love this to be her life forever; having friends and family to talk to and share this great wealth…being next to Daisuke’s side.

"Hey, Taniko-san? I'll wash your back if you wash mine!" Yuuka declared as if she were making a deal with Taniko--that may as well have already been made, with or without Taniko's consent. Yuuka was just a smooth operator like that . . .

Yuuka had figured that they had soaked and enjoyed the water for long enough--that it was about time that they washed up and got ready to get out of the bath. They had been in it for a good while already, and most likely someone else would want in at some point. There were no locks on the door or anything, and it wasn't like Yuuka had outwardly volunteered the information to everyone in the house that they were going to take a bath. She'd simply walked in with Taniko, and then went to the bath.

Of course, if any incentive was needed, Yuuka would gladly volunteer it: "I don't think dinner will be ready yet, but onii-san likes to take baths under the stars, too. You wouldn't want him walking in on you this early in your relationship, would you?"

Practically a guaranteed success . . .