Downpour

Petunia peered out toward the school yard as a curtain of water blanketed the city with a tremendous roar. Students quickly vanished as they hurried down the path toward the trolley. "It's really coming down," she said, pulling her umbrella from her bag. Even with the short walk to her home in the market district, the umbrella seemed almost futile—and her mother and sister were busy with work. "Ugh, I forgot my umbrella," said Ren, looking through her bag. Petunia turned, "Perhaps Chiho can—" "I don't have mine either," Chiho interrupted, placing a hand on the back of her head.

Petunia sighed—this was a typical occurrence between the three of them. They could wait in the classroom, but these storms often lasted into the night. And Chiho and Ren lived on the other side of town—a long walk even with the trolley. While her umbrella might have been enough for her, it certainly would not cover the three of them.

"Ah," Chiho spoke up, "doesn't your cousin live in the lodge by the farm?" Petunia felt a ripple of dread—she generally liked her cousin, but he seemed to invite trouble whenever he was around. She had been rather peeved to hear that her grandfather had sent him to serve under the headmaster at her girls' school, though she could not argue with family matters. Her cousin had once assisted in her science class, only for the lecture to devolve into inappropriate questions after the teacher was pulled away by her senior. Not that she blamed him for that particular instance, but it felt like a common occurrence. Despite her concern, the lodge was likely their best option for waiting out the storm. "Shall we head there?" Petunia ceded, turning to hide the weariness on her face.

The sprint to the lodge had been worse than expected, and they arrived thoroughly soaked. The wind had quickly picked up and they initially missed the trail—only realizing as they ran past the barn. Through the building, they could still hear the rain spattering the roof and crashing to the ground in a torrent. "The umbrella didn't help at all!" Chiho exclaimed. "That was freezing," Ren added. Petunia wrung out her skirt under the overhang before stepping in. "At least we are out of it."

Hearing guests, Kaori hurried into the foyer. Kaori was the lodge's manager and caretaker, a 27-year-old alum of the school's domestic services program. "My, you are all soaked. Come in, quickly." She ushered them through to a walkway leading to the annex. "The baths are just down this hall. Warm yourselves up while I fetch a change of clothes."

Petunia walked down the narrow path—overhead windows revealing the downpour outside and the sliding walls shaking in the wind. At the end of the hallway, Petunia slid open a door to reveal a spacious changing room. The room was partitioned into two rows, each with a bench down the center and lined by shelves filled with baskets, towels, and other bathing supplies. She thought it looked like a public bath—probably excessive, given the size of the lodge.

Petunia unbuttoned her shirt and lifted the transparent cloth from her skin. Ren was changing behind her, and Chiho had thrown off her clothes and was now looking through the various shampoos and bath products lining the wall. Her eyes moved to Chiho's chest—unquestionably the largest of the three and looking like mountains next to Petunia's plains. Even Ren, still substantially larger than herself, was only half the size. For some reason, looking at them made her want to yank them off.

Chiho moved her attention to Ren, in the middle of removing her bra. "Your underwear is awfully mature," Chiho commented on the lace, purple garment. Ren placed her bra in the basket and continued disrobing. "I bought them as drawing references but ran out of money to buy normal ones." Petunia had trouble relating to this sort of talk, having no need to wear them—yet. Her mother and sisters also had substantial development, leaving her the sole outlier. Peeking over her shoulder, she noticed Ren's bottoms were also quite risqué. "Ah, I think I understand," Chiho responded, "I don't really wear them myself, though." That was not a point Petunia wanted to have in common.

The three continued into the bathroom, finding a warm, humid, stone-floored room sporting a mixture of faucets, showers, and a bath spanning an entire wall. Petunia sat at a faucet and poured warm water over herself, a stark difference from just a minute ago. After a quick and uneventful wash, the three headed for the bath.

Runoff from the roof cascaded into the outdoor bath. The walk back from the clubroom had left Jarad drenched, and he had decided to warm up before the others returned—surely they would want to do the same. Had he thought about it, he would have brought some entertainment, but the feel of the cold downpour mixing with the warm bath had its own satisfaction. Looking out into the garden, he wondered how the river snakes that frequented the baths were handling the rain. As he had not seen any that day, he suspected they were not terribly bothered by the excess of water. Jarad leaned back under the water and pulled himself up. As much as he enjoyed the experience, he had already stayed too long—and he did not want to draw the wrath of one Miyasaki Mayano. Jarad stood—a towel around his waist—and stepped onto the covered walkway toward the indoor bath. Sliding open the door, he found himself before three younger students.

The black-haired girl in the back had a towel draped over her front, a brown-haired girl was uncovered and making a pose—and Petunia was standing before him, her towel slung over her shoulder. Petunia closed her eyes and lowered her hands, clenching the towel. "Ah, sorry," he muttered, starting back through the door.

Jarad tucked his shoulder as Petunia lunged at him and struck his arm with a barrage of soft punches. "I got it, I got it. Sorry!" Petunia ceased her attack and stood quietly in front of him, staring at the floor. Then she reached for his towel. "Wait!" Jarad exclaimed, attempting to hold the towel in place. Petunia leaned back, putting her weight into it, and the towel launched into the air.

Jarad sat in the corner of the indoor bath, Petunia sitting across from him and a flushed Ren at arm's length to his side. Chiho floated on her back, stretched out in a star and slowly making circles on the far end of the bath. "Why are we in this situation, again?" he inquired. "You got to see our bodies, so this is only fair," rebuked Petunia. He kept his head turned to the back of the room, though he could feel Petunia's stare.

"Are you too warm? You're awfully red," Petunia asked Ren. "Just a little," Ren replied weakly. She had gotten a full view when the towel came off, and the experience had been more formidable than she expected. For all of the genitals and salacious scenes she had drawn—even spotting her younger brother through the door—seeing the body of someone outside her family had a different impact, and she needed a minute to process.

"Still, this seems to happen a lot when you are around," Petunia stated, her brow furrowed. Jarad had stayed with her family periodically over the years, and she recalled numerous times they had ended up in awkward situations. "Even Bell chewed you out for walking in on her," Petunia continued, referring to her eldest sister, "and that takes effort." Coming back to her senses just in time to catch that, Ren covered her mouth and fought off the laughter—she would have to ask for the details later.

Chiho cried out in a shaky voice, "Petunia!" They looked over and stared with blank faces as a large, green snake slid across her thigh and up her midsection. Chiho appeared on the edge of tears, frozen in place. "River snakes sometimes come in here looking for heat," Jarad explained, averting his eyes as he caught Petunia's glare. "But they are not particularly dangerous." Chiho calmed slightly. "They're not poisonous?" "Their venom is only strong enough to burn, apparently," he replied, "not that I have been bitten." She still tensed and closed her eyes as the snake meandered across her body and rested its head over her elevated breasts—the flick of the tongue tickling against her skin.

Kaori entered the changing room, her arms stuffed with a pile of bath robes. Hearing a commotion in the bath, she placed the robes on the bench and cracked the door. "I wonder how this happened," she mumbled wearily at the sight of Jarad surrounded by the girls. Kaori was pretty sure she knew, but she found the unusual outcome intriguing. She should keep an eye them, she thought—perhaps she would witness an interesting development. But while she wanted to watch longer, it was looking like dinner would be busier than usual.

Chiho had apparently gotten comfortable, as she now sat up at the end of the bath—the snake draped over her shoulders. "By the way, you really do look alike," Ren said to Petunia and Jarad. It was true that they bore similar features, even if Petunia's were softer and more vibrant. Even within their family, where colorless features were typical, their pure white hair was rare. They even sported similar cuts, though Petunia's was longer. Petunia's cheeks turned pink and she lowered her head. "Ah, our chests are about the same size," she snapped up with a crooked smile. Recognizing the difficult subject, Chiho changed the subject to the first thing that came to mind. "Anyhow, you two seem awfully close." Petunia scratched her cheek, preparing a rebuttal as Chiho continued. "Have you done anything dirty?" Petunia reddened and jumped up—dropping back into the water upon realizing she had once again exposed herself. "Of course not!" she blurted out before sinking below the surface. Ren tried to hide a smirk—both she and Chiho seemed eager to press the subject more. Jarad leaned his head over the side of the bath, trying to avoid getting involved.

After a minute of hiding, Petunia had regained her composure, stood up, and left the bathroom. And when Ren had closed in on Jarad, he followed. Their entertainment gone, Ren and Chiho decided to get dressed as well.

Chiho pulled the bath robe over her arms, the snake still wrapped around her body. "I wonder how long he will stay on me." Jarad thought the snake looked rather comfortable, even if the view felt almost pornographic. Apparently Ren was thinking something similar, as she wore a lewd smile as she snuck peeks. He was at least thankful that Petunia was still too embarrassed—or perhaps mad—to pay them any attention.

As the group reentered the foyer, Kaori walked in with another pile of robes. "Already done? Dinner will be ready in a while, so why don't you wait in the front room." She adjusted the clothes in her arms. "I expect we will be having more company soon."

The door suddenly burst open and several students streamed into the room. Despite holding umbrellas, the rain had clearly gotten to them. Maya groaned, wringing the water from her clothes. "Even my shorts are soaked. I'm going to get changed." she stated, hurrying to the bath. Ash, Yuuko, and Kiyomi said their greetings and quickly followed.

In the front room, Petunia sat up against Jarad on the long couch. She had forced him into the corner seat after Ren had started prodding him, and she wanted to avoid a continuation of earlier. Ren sat beside her, evidently enjoying the situation. Across the low table, Chiho kneeled on a pillow, flipping through programs on the television.