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Warning: Make-out session ahead (tame)
True Confessions 9:
They were both breathing
heavily, their hair tangled and dishelved with skins slightly pink from the
combination of steam and the slow but dawning comprehension of their rather
promiscuous situation. Yankumi could feel the blush begin from the tips of her
toes, crawling all the way up her legs and spine, causing her stomach to churn
uncomfortably and her fisted hand to unclench slowly. Her shock at being seen
in such a position by her student was incomprehensible. What made it even worse
was that it was Shin! Of all the people who could have been stuck in the
same onsen with her, it just had to be him! Just what was he doing in here
anyway? Why wasn’t he asleep like everyone else! Emotions ranging from anger to
confusion to humiliation had her opening and shutting her mouth for a few
seconds and finally deciding to settle on anger, she took a deep breath to give
him a piece of her mind. However, she was beaten to the punch as running
footsteps were soon heard approaching.
“Oy! Is anyone out there?!”
A man’s voice called out in concern. “We heard screams from here and we wanted
to make sure everything was okay.”
Yankumi opened her mouth
to reply, but was silenced by Shin who promptly slapped a hand over her mouth.
She was pushed backwards and her eyes widened in shock at his audacity. What
the hell did he think he was doing?!
“Everything’s fine,” Shin
replied loudly. “I think you might want to check the women’s section. I’m the
only one in here.”
Wo…women’s section?! Yankumi thought frantically,
feeling her cheeks growing even hotter as she realized that she must have
walked into the wrong place to begin with. Shin’s hand was still over her mouth
and though she didn’t want to think about it, she couldn’t help noticing that
his hands felt incredibly smooth and a bit soft and yet hard and strong and…
“Okay,” the man said.
“Just let us know if you have any problems, sir.”
Shin thanked them and
then waited for their footsteps to recede in the distance before removing his
hand. Thankfully, the intrusion had been a welcome excuse for him to gather his
scattered wits as he spun around to eye his companion.
“Want to explain what you
are doing in the men’s section?” he asked dryly and without waiting for her
response, he finished flatly. “You weren’t wearing your glasses, were you?”
“And just what are you
trying to imply?” she retorted, summoning her anger again. How dare he speak to
her like she was the one at fault? Although a tiny voice inside did know that she
was to blame for walking in here without checking the signs properly. “If you
knew I was the one in here you should have told or warned me, Sawada!”
Okay, so she had a point
there, but he’d be damned before he told her the truth. “No one asked you to
come in here and besides, as you could see, I didn’t even know it was you until
you tried to kill me.”
“You heard my voice,” she
replied smugly, knowing he was doing a rather poor job of lying. “You heard me
ask if anyone else was here and you tried to sneak away but then you…you…”
She didn’t need to say
what had happened as both remembered the accidental ‘contact’.
“Damn it, Shin!” she
suddenly blurted out in frustration. That overwhelming feeling of helplessness
and confusion was present again. Feelings she didn’t want to acknowledge rose
to the surface and she continued almost accusingly. “You aren’t making this any
easy for me.”
“And you think this is
easy for me too?” he asked. Both wondered when they had moved closer to the
other and yet neither made an effort to pull away. She stared into the inky
blackness of his eyes, feeling that fluttering sensation in her stomach again
as they seemed to sear right through her very soul. She groaned and covered her
face with her hands, refusing to admit what was now so painfully obvious. How
could she have let this happen? This wasn’t right. It just wasn’t. Things
weren’t supposed to have happened this way. She was supposed to be with
Shinohara sensei – with someone older and wiser and just…just anyone but Shin.
“Kumiko,” he called out
quietly, his hands reaching for hers to pull them away from her face gently.
She didn’t bother resisting but yet couldn’t lift her gaze to meet his for fear
he’d see the uncertainty in her eyes. He moved even closer and their breaths –
warm and steamy from their surroundings – mingled to become one. He pressed his
forehead lightly against hers, threading their fingers together as he continued
to whisper her name tenderly.
When he kissed her with
her name on his lips, she closed her eyes and savored his taste shyly. The
steam was a welcome cocoon which shielded them from prying eyes as they
deepened their quiet communion. Shin coaxed her lips to seek permission into
her mouth and she complied willingly, whimpering softly as their tongues met
and teased each other with gentle strokes. She moaned as their wet bodies
rubbed against each other slowly, stroking the dull flame that was gradually
becoming an unstoppable fire between them. Her head was beginning to spin and
at the back of her mind, she had the feeling that it just wasn’t from Shin’s
kisses.
He finally released her
swollen lips with a slow lick, gasping out her name as his sensitive organ
teased her stomach and the secret hidden between her legs. He trembled, fully
aware of the enormity of the situation. He couldn’t mess things up now. He
finally had her to himself and he was going to make sure he showed her just how
much he cared.
“Damn brat,” she muttered
thickly, sucking in a harsh breath as he released a hand to trail it down her
neck and to a firm breast. He cupped it gently and teased the hardened nipple
with a thumb, relishing in the soft cry it elicited from her lips as she arched
into him. He began to trail tender kisses along her jaw, his hands now free to
do as they pleased while she sank her trembling ones into his thick but wet
locks. She closed her eyes and gave herself up to him, parting her thighs to
allow his stronger one between them. His tongue was beginning to do things to
her she had never imagined and as she felt the warm, wet lick against her
swollen nipple, she had to bite back a strangled scream of pleasure.
She was becoming hot –
extremely hot and wet down there. Her fingers tightened in his hair in response
to his ministrations, her moans becoming a bit louder and more earnest. And
just when she thought it couldn’t get any better, she felt his fingers tease
the entrance to her opening.
“Shin…” she muttered
helplessly. He was going to drive her insane and she knew she wouldn’t last
much longer at this rate. “Oh God…Shin…Shin!”
Shin couldn’t have
predicted a better outcome if he tried and to his immense delight and joy, she
really was allowing him to get this far! Every soft cry or whimper of his name
sent his confidence soaring to new heights. He could never get enough of her
taste – idly comparing it to honey or something even sweeter. Her body was his
temple and he swore to worship it to the fullest if she would let him. And oh God!
But she felt so good against him – so…perfect.
“Kumiko,” he groaned in
need, feeling himself grow painfully aroused with each move they made. He knew
he had to control himself or he might end up coming too…
“Mwahahaha! And then I
says ‘Damn bitch! Give me back my money!’”
His entire being froze at
the undeniable sound of the newcomers walking towards the onsen. Shin could
already tell who they were - drunken men who were here for a last minute soak
before passing out on the deck. He could feel Yankumi trembling against him and
knew that it would only take another second for her to realize that they were
no longer alone.
He withdrew gently and
very reluctantly, leaning up to whisper softly against her lips in warning.
“Not a sound, Kumiko,” he ordered. She nodded in understanding, her eyes still
slightly glazed, lips swollen and cheeks flushed. Shin stared at her for a
moment longer, cursing the bastards who had come in to ruin everything. He
stole another hard kiss from her lips and began to lead her out of the pool,
making sure he steered away from the voices of their unwanted visitors.
However, when he assumed
he had reached the deck, a heavy hand fell on his shoulder causing him to blink
in surprise at the grinning but rather ugly visage of a burly man. “Oh ho!
Looksh who we harrve’ere. Ish ah pretteh boysh!”
Shit! Shin held on tightly to Yankumi’s
hand as the men began to gather around him. This wasn’t good. If they
discovered that he was with a ‘she’ things could get pretty ugly. And besides,
the thought of fighting naked didn’t appeal to him either.
“Hey, pretteh boy,” one
of the men said leaning close with every intention of kissing Shin. His breath
reeked of alcohol and Shin shrank back in revulsion. “Why don’t ya come suck
mah cock…ARGH!”
The blow to the man’s jaw
was swift and even Shin hadn’t seen it coming.
“Keep your mouth and your
goddamn cock to yourself, you pervert!” Yankumi bellowed in fury, no longer
caring if they saw her naked or not. Nobody touched her student especially her
Shin.
“Hey, wat tha hell’s
going on’ere?” Another man asked while swimming towards them. Shin couldn’t
make out how many men they were but from the sound of things, it looked like
they were now surrounded.
“Kumiko,” he began,
clenching his hands into fists.
“Ah, Shin,” she replied
with a smirk as she cracked her knuckles. There was really no need for any more
words between them. They already knew that they had to do.
She
shrugged into her yukata with a grin of satisfaction on her features. “Ah, it’s
been a long time since I had a good fight. They weren’t that much of a
challenge anyway.”
She wrung out the excess
water from her hair, trying her best not to stare at the naked young man who
was still climbing out of the pool. To think that moments earlier she had been
that close to him.
“Ah!” she gasped in
surprise as she found herself suddenly pulled into his arms. Her cheeks colored
at the smirk on his handsome visage. “Shi…Shin…we shouldn’t…”
“Modesty now?” he teased,
brushing away the wet strands from her forehead. He leaned close to whisper
into her ear. “I know your body now, Kumiko. You don’t have to…ouch!”
He doubled over in pain,
holding the sensitive area between his legs as he fell heavily to the ground.
“Don’t get too cocky just
because I allowed you to touch me!” she cried out in defense as if trying to
justify the reason for her body still trembling at his touch. “And if you think
I’m going to let you get that close to me again, you’re sadly mistaken,
Sawada!”
“Damn bitch,” he grunted
in agony. He couldn’t believe she had actually kicked him there with her knee.
“Oh God…my balls are on fire.”
She looked worried for a
second and then fell to her knees beside him to peer into his pale visage. “I
didn’t kick you that hard, did I?”
He eyed her with a look
that seemed to ask if she was being funny or serious. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry,”
she apologized quickly. “But you really shouldn’t get too confident about me,
Shin.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” he
gasped, wondering if he ought to check into a hospital just to be sure that
things were still in working condition. “In the pool…”
“It was different,” she
stammered, trying to force a frown on her features. “You had me at a
disadvantage.”
“You could have walked
away,” he stated flatly and she sat back on her haunches at that. He was right.
Why hadn’t she walked away then? Why hadn’t she stopped him from going too far?
Why had she encouraged him?
Because I liked it too
much…
“Idiot,” she whispered
softly, reaching out to brush away his damp locks from his forehead. Their eyes
met and held for a long moment as something deep and unspoken passed between
them.
“Will you wait for me?”
he suddenly asked quietly, a dark and rather serious look now in his eyes.
She bit her lower lip and
caressed his cheeks gently, sucking in a harsh breath as he caught her hand
within his to hold it tightly. “Kumiko?” he asked again, a desperate look now
in his gaze. “Promise me. You’ll wait for me, won’t you?”
“Shin…I…”
“You should know how I
feel about you by now,” he continued, needing her to know now.
She shook her head, not
wanting to hear those words. It would undo her. She knew it would.
“I love you,” he said
quietly, falling back to the ground with a soft sigh of defeat. He knew she
wouldn’t say those words back to him even though he longed to hear them. “I
love you, Kumiko.”
“Shin…” Her voice felt
thick and strangled. She could feel the hot sting of unshed tears in her eyes
and she covered her face with hands that wouldn’t stop shaking. “Shin…I’m so
sorry…”
He turned his face away,
swallowing tightly as he listened to her soft sobs. He closed his eyes and took
a deep breath, forcing himself to find the courage to continue. Finally feeling
he had gotten a hold of himself, he opened his eyes and nudged her gently.
“Why are you crying,
idiot?” he teased as he sat up slowly. He could hear some of the men they had
beaten up slowly coming around and he knew that they had to leave or they’d
garner more attention to themselves. “We had better get going,” he said nodding
towards the heap of bodies beside the pool. “Some of them are about to wake
up.”
She wiped her eyes with
the back of her sleeve. “Shin…”
“It’s okay,” he said with
a light shrug. “You had better go.”
She rose to her feet
slowly, staring at the tousled mass of dark hair below her. How she longed to
sink her fingers into them again or to ruffle them like she had in the past. He
had been so honest with his feelings for her and yet she was one who was
running away again.
She opened up her mouth
to say something…anything to make amends for her indecision, but he beat her to
it by saying quietly but firmly.
“I haven’t given up on
you yet, Kumiko. Just thought I’d let you know that.”
He smirked, not looking
at her and she could feel a small tug on her lips.
Damn, cocky, lovable
bastard.
“You moron,” she laughed
weakly, leaning close to ruffle his hair, ignoring his half-hearted protest.
“You big, big moron. I lo…” She bit her lower lip and turned away quickly. What
had she been about to say? Not that it mattered now.
“Monday afternoon? My
place for your sparring lesson,” she said over her shoulder as she began to
walk away. “Don’t be late!”
“Yeah, yeah,” he agreed
with a light wave. “I’ll be there.” He waited until her footsteps became
non-existent before rising carefully to his feet. His balls still felt like
they were being roasted on hot coals but he didn’t dare sit around the pool to
get some rest.
So he had finally
confessed his feelings to her and he had to admit it felt good to let it out of
his chest. All he had to do now was prove himself to her and to let her know
that he really was serious about becoming her partner for life.
He walked into the boys’
room and was careful not to wake the others. He could see Noda sleeping with a
picture of
She had felt real in
his arms and that was one memory he was never going to forget for as long as he
lived.
Morning
came all too quickly and by noon, most of the students were still dragging
themselves out of the inn, all protesting and wishing they could stay a day
longer. Yankumi and the other teachers thanked the okami and her helpers
for putting up with them during their stay. They helped the girls get into a
large bus Ayumi had arranged for and while most of the boys had wanted to join,
Yankumi denied them the pleasure. She had watched as Ayumi said her goodbyes to
Shin, quite surprised to find that she did not feel an iota of jealousy or
bitterness towards the younger woman. Perhaps she was still reeling over Shin’s
touch and confession to her last night, but absolutely nothing could dampen her
good mood this morning.
“Either you’ve won the
lottery or something really good happened to you,” Kawashima observed with a
chuckle as they began to make their way to the bus stop.
“It’s the magic of the
onsen,” Yankumi replied, trying not to blush too hard at the memory of just
what sort of magic had almost occurred. “I went there last night after you all
had gone to sleep.”
“Eh?”
“So you wouldn’t happen
to know anything about the men that were beaten up at the onsen last night,
would you?” Kawashima asked.
Yankumi feigned
ignorance. “Oh? Really? You’re kidding! Who would do something like that?”
Kawashima shrugged. “The
men kept saying that there were two pretty boys they hadn’t noticed who came
out and beat them up for no reason.”
Damn it, I’m not a
boy!
“They began to say that
they would report the inn for promoting homosexual activities, blah, blah and
blah. That they were sure those two boys were doing something in the pool
and…what’s wrong with you, Yamaguchi sensei?”
“Eh? Oh me…no…nothing!”
She stifled her giggles and smiled brightly at the two women before placing her
arms around their shoulders. “We sure did have fun, didn’t we?”
The older women exchanged
a look over Yankumi’s head before nodding in agreement. Yes, they had
definitely had a wonderful time at the onsen and they ought to do it again some
day. Only this time, there would make sure there were no students around to
bother them.
Her good
spirits lasted throughout the day and the men of the Oedo household had a
feeling that sending the Ojou to the onsen was a good idea and should be
encouraged more often. Only Kuroda seemed to have a knowing look in his eyes as
he watched his granddaughter, but he kept his thoughts to himself and enjoyed
her cheerful company with no questions asked.
Later on that night, she
sat before the picture of her parents and talked about her day – a ritual she
had always practiced since they passed away.
“Mom…Dad…I think I’m
happy. I don’t know why yet or maybe I do and I keep denying it to myself. But
when I think of him…I feel so proud and want to protect him for as long as I
live. Tell me, Mom…Dad? Does this mean that I love him too?”
She bowed her head and
reached over to place a soft kiss on their smiling images but before she turned
in for the night, she picked up yet another picture on her dressing table. She
eyed the grinning boys of class 3-D in the photograph with a sense of pride but
her gaze rested on one in particular who stood in the foreground and right
beside her.
Always by my side, ne,
Shin?
She caressed his smiling
face with a finger and kissed his image softly. She blushed darkly at what she
had done and all but ran to bed and covered her entire body with her blanket.
She knew she was beginning to act like a lovesick fool and for the first time
in a long while…she didn’t think it was such a bad thing after all.
Not surprisingly, she
dreamed of tender kisses and whispered secrets and the young man behind them
who made her feel like a queen.