In a dreadful canary, OPEN post. Evening following "Bonfire!"

[Ayako Fujiwara]

OOC: I think the girls ought to be able to have bathing fun too! Also, kudos if you can guess what I was quoting in the title. (Hint: It's Shakespeare)

IC:
Her mind was still chasing itself with guilt, Ayako realized as she stepped into the bath-house after her classes were over. Her conduct at Care of Magical Creatures class had been less than ideal, despite the fact that most of her classmates had pretty much cheered her on. As abrasive as the Sasaki boy was, his phobia had been quite real – and she had no right to add insult to injury by bringing in family names, especially when she was hardly a pureblood. But he was just so damn irritating, with his sneers and his brown-nosing – measuring everybody and ignoring those he didn’t find worthy…Ayako shook her head as she undressed and slipped into the bath. She shouldn’t let bad attitudes phase her; look at her own mother!

True, his jab about being a Yankee had irked her, since she hated being judged, but she could forgive him for that. She smiled to herself. In the American sense of the word, she was of course a Yankee. But she had never associated herself with the Japanese girl gangs – indeed, she had done her best to disassociate herself from her gang-member parents – and she resented being called something she was not.

Nonetheless. She was going to have to watch herself around Sasaki-kun. She didn’t want to turn into him; or worse, her mother. She should be able to maintain her amused aplomb in any situation. That decided, Ayako relaxed into the water and started absently making a water-spout with her hands. The next few days should be quite interesting – she was rather looking forward to some clubbing!

[Oshiro Yuki]

(OOC: I’m ashamed that I don’t remember which play that comes from)

Yuki, too, was feeling guilty. She’d wanted a nice hot bath, but Yoko had wanted to come with her. Dogs, of course, weren’t allowed in the baths, and Yuki understood why. But seeing her faithful companion staring up at her with those large brown eyes had nearly killed her resolve. “I’ll be back soon,” she whispered as she pushed open the door to the girls' bath. She didn’t doubt that Yoko had heard her.

When she pushed open the door, Yuki was a bit startled to see the red-haired senpai she’d met in the dormitory—the one Yoko had been so rude to. What was the girl’s name? Fujiyako? Since Yuki couldn’t remember, she thought it was best not to actually use it.

“Ko-konnichiwa, senpai,” she said shyly as she stepped in the door, pink basket of toiletries in hand. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

[Nouko Murui]

Nouko both enjoyed and dreaded bathtime. There was always the chance another girl would catch her peeking through her hair at their body. Sure, she could always just take a shower, but sometimes, when one needed to get really warm or really relaxed, the baths were needed.

Nouko needed both at the moment. Being so shy in a bustling place like Seirei could really wear her out. Placing her uniform in a cubby, Nouko shooed Chiyuu away from her toiletry basket and patted the cat's back. "Stay there," she ordered, and Chiyuu seated herself in front of the cubbies, promptly starting a grooming session. "Good girl," Nouko praised, and quietly slipped into the bathroom, taking a seat on a stool as unobtrusively as possible.

Oh, the girl was the lake was there. Maybe if Nouko worked up the nerve, she could thank her for the entertainment. For now, though, Nouko began the process of wetting and lathering her considerable mane of hair.

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

A warm bath would certainly be the best way to end the evening. After the magical creatures class and the time spent out on the lake, Noriko needed something to warm and relax her bones. She'd detoured to the room she shared with Fujiwara-san and gathered her girlish products, the creams and washes that made up a female. Wrapping tight in a robe she rushed to the baths.

It suprised her slightly to find some of the other girls there, including the afore-mentioned roommate. Giving a slight bow of her head to the room in general, she easily stripped off the robe revealing her full nudity. Body shy she was not, after so many years in dancing you just got used to seeing things.

Slipping into the water, she let the heat creep up her skin, penetrating through to warm her insides. Sighing with a touch of relief, she simply sat, a dreamy look across her face and wonders chasing through her mind.

[Ayako Fujiwara]

Whoops. Ayako had been rather Noriko-like in her reverie there. Suddenly there were three more girls in the bath with her and she was pretty sure one of them had addressed her. Judging by the expectant look on shy young - ah, Yuki's - face, it was probably her. Ayako sat up, shifted her mind from her previous thoughts and smiled at the younger student. "Konbanwa, Yuki-chan. How is your furry friend?" she hoped she was right about the name. She had been pretty good with names so far, she thought. The quiet, dark girl who had begun washing her hair, though - Ayako thought she had only heard her family name - Murui or something like that. Ayako decided not to address her as she looked occupied. Nodding and winking at boldly-naked Noriko, who probably wouldn't even notice, she sat back again. Japanese bathing habits still felt like a novelty to her, but like her roommate, she was hardly body-shy.

[Nouko Murui]

Nouko knew she was breaching basic social politeness every time she took a bath. But it was one thing, along with her shyness, she couldn't control about herself. She had been able to appreciate feminine beauty since the age of twelve, before she discovered she was a lesbian. And Nouko wasn't one to surf the web for porn or erotica, or watch hentai, although she hadn't been at all surprised when she found out her father had two DVDs of some particularly racy stuff.

Being a shy virgin in the grip of puberty didn't help any either, and it wasn't often Nouko could find a girl to make out with in dark corners of dance clubs. So she settled for being something of a voyeur, stealing glances in class and the baths and hoping she wouldn't get caught.

The quiet girl rinsed out her hair, gave her body a quick wash, and gingerly stepped into the other side of the tub, head bowed to make a curtain of her hair.

[Oshiro Yuki]

“Yoko is fine, though she didn’t want to be left alone. Arigato, Fujiyako-senpai.” Yuki blushed, surprised that the upperclassman had remembered her pet. But then, Yoko had been so rude, rushing down the hallway and barking, that it must have been hard to forget.

Yuki glanced at the two older girls who had entered the room. She thought that the other red-haired one was Fujiyako-senpai’s roommate, but she couldn’t remember for sure. There were so many older girls, and Yuki spoke to them so rarely, that she had a hard time remembering who was who. This one was a little more distinctive, though, with her dreamy manner.

The other girl, the one with all the hair, Yuki was certain she’d never met before. Considering that Yuki was in her first year of junior high, and the dark-haired girl was much older, that wasn’t too strange. Yuki noticed that she kept her head down the whole time, and wondered if she too was shy. Yuki’s parents had always told her that shyness was something people grew out of, but perhaps they were wrong.

Deciding to forego the actual washing part of the bath—she’d taken a shower that morning—Yuki went directly to the large tub of hot water. Maybe if there’d been less people, she would have been less inhibited, but Yuki was still uncomfortable bathing in front of strangers. She removed her pink bathrobe and quickly ducked under the warm water, then smiled as her eyes drifted closed in contentment. This was definitely worth leaving Yoko alone for a few minutes.

[Nouko Murui]

Nouko perked up slightly at the mention of a furry friend. Maybe Yuki had a cat too? And animals were an easy subject matter to use in conversation; anyone with a pet adored talking about the four-legged members of the family.

"Wh-What is Y-Yoko?" she asked timidly, genuinely curious despite her shyness.

[Oshiro Yuki]

"Eh?!" Yuki jolted, surprised to be addressed first by a senpai. "Oh. Yoko is my puppy. She's a Shiba Inu. My mother breeds them." She blushed, forcing herself to not chatter. Her mother's business was one subject she wasn't very shy about, but she doubted the senpai really cared. She was probably only asking out of politeness.

Realizing she hadn't properly introduced herself, she gave a polite bow to the older girl. "Konnichiwa. My name is Oshiro Yuki."

[Nouko Murui]

Nouko managed a smile. "Th-Those dogs are very cute," she whispered. "I-I alm-most bought one when I w-was looking for a pet, bu-but I found Chiyuu-chan. Sh-She's my cat."

Biting her lip, wondering what else to say, Yuki saved her by introducing herself. The other girl bowed her head briefly. "Murui Nouko. It's nice to meet you." She was proud of herself for not stammering.

[Oshiro Yuki]

"A cat?" Yuki said nervously. She had no problem with cats, but Yoko hadn't actually seen one before. The puppy had been so very rude to Fujiyako-senpai, and that was without being provoked. From everything Yuki had heard, dogs and cats were fated to be mortal enemies. She hoped Yoko wouldn't stir up trouble with the older girl.

Suddenly it dawned on her. She had seen Murui-senpai and the cat together, from across campus (the junior high wasn't very close to the high school) but had assumed that the cat was a small dog because of its attentiveness.

"I think--I think I've seen her follow you into the school building," Yuki said at last. "You don't get in trouble? I'm always afraid to let Yoko out of the dorm when I'm gone. I think she would get me into trouble."

[Nouko Murui]

Nouko shook her head. "M-Maine Coons -that's wh-what Chiyuu-chan is- are ve-very dogli-like," she explained. "A-And they're very affec-ctionate and sm-smart. They le-learn a lot on th-their own. If y-you're patient with Yoko, and if th-the teachers underst-stand she's just a puppy and y-you're worried about le-leaving her, y-you sh-should have n-no trouble teaching her to stay near you." She blushed hotly. "I-I think. I d-don't know." She bowed her head. "Sorry."