Thanks to those who have read/reviewed/favorited/followed this fanfiction of mine~! Please enjoy this chapter~!

And once again…SORRY FOR THE EXTREMELY LONG WAIT! D'X

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Saiunkoku Monogatari.

Chapter 4: Hiding Her Secret in the Bath

Baka Shuuei!

No matter what, you're supposed to announce yourself before you enter anywhere! Especially when a girl is taking her bath! …Then again, the only reason why I'm even here is because everybody thinks I'm a boy…

Sigh

What a pain…speaking of pain, I wonder how high his tolerance for pain is?! I know that I have to restrain myself from killing him, but it would be fine if I beat him up as much as I like otherwise, right?

Of course I'm right.

"Hmmm…Kouyuu? Why didn't you tell me you were bathing?! Why?!" Shuuei asked.

Why? Because I'm not that stupid!

"You know you would've ended up wasting more wood had I not woken up?"

"Oh? How so?" I asked back.

"Because then I would've had to restart the fire in the morning and not only would that have ended up making us both late, but it really would be a waste of fire wood!"

…I see…NOT!

"And how would this affect me?"

"You would have to wait up for me since you don't know how to get to where you need to go," he replied with a smug look that I would love to mop the floors with.

"DARN IT ALL!" I shouted.

"HAHAHAHAAAA! How easily you forget, Kouyuu~!"

Blushing a bit more, I turned my head back around and focused on washing myself…though it is proving to be quite difficult when there's a guy right behind me!

"Um, Shuuei, would you mind leaving the bathroom so that I can have some privacy? I still don't trust you!"

He faked being hurt by my words but we both knew what I was talking about. He tried coming on to me- as a guy! It's a reaaaaally good thing that that happened, otherwise I wouldn't have a way out of this situation.

"Fine, fine…Ah."

"What now, Shuuei?"

"Sorry, but you'll have to ignore me for a bit- I think dinner is finally starting to hit home!"

And with that he ran to the toilet and I turned around and sunk even lower into the warm water, not wanting to see, hear, or smell whatever was going on with my roommate.

After a few seconds of muffled noises, I finally decided that I'd need to clean off before I bled into the water…though I wouldn't be surprised if I already did. Darn you Shuuei and your bad timing!

Reaching for the little bottle of hair wash that was left in here before, I applied a reasonable amount to my palm before I started cleaning my somewhat tangled locks. Once I was done with that, I rinsed it off the best I could. Reaching for the next bottle, I saw feet coming into view, which I expertly hid from. Of course, I was able to grab the bottle before Shuuei got too close, so I turned around again and starting lathering some sweet-smelling…stuff…into my hair. I was just about to rinse that out of my hair when Shuuei spoke up.

"Do you mind if I join you for an evening bath?"

Grumbling a bit at how annoying he was sounding and how this situation was constantly going against my favor, I scooted closer to the edge, leaving room for him to enter the bath. Keeping my eyes trained straight ahead of me and my breasts well-submerged, I started cleaning my body off.

Feeling a pair of blue eyes on me, I put on my best annoyed face and looked at the man who was supposedly of noble lineage.

"What do you want now, Shuuei? I'm trying to clean here and you're staring at me. I'd appreciate it if you'd stop!" I snapped at him. I'm tired and grumpy and he's interrupting my quiet time- he's getting what he deserves!

"It's nothing, Kouyuu. I was just wondering when you'd pass me the soap, oh dear grumpy one," he joked.

Holding back myself from smiling, I threw the soap right at him- his eyes, to be exact. I'm done with my bath and I'm more than ready to get dressed up and covered again.

But of course he'd be able to catch the dang slippery bar. Darn it all!

"Hm, what's this Kouyuu? You have a bit of a fat chest on you, don't you?"

Freezing completely, I slowly looked down and nearly choked on my own spit.

Why? WHY?!

A bit of my chest was poking out of the water, but before I could either hide myself again or punch the stupid guys' lights out, I felt hands grab me…seemingly everywhere.

"…Wow Kouyuu…your waist is pretty slim, even for a guy! And your skin is really smooth too…Hm?...Wait, WHAT?! Judging from the feel of the rest of your body, these cannot be a man's…So big…so soft and nice to the touch…"

"H-HOW DARE YOU! PERVERT!"

Splash!

I punched his lights out…FINALLY!

After he touched down me as he much as he felt like touching, my mind fazed out of the fog it had been put in.

Of all people…why did it have to be him and why did it have to happen to me?! This isn't fair!

Crap…why am I crying?!

Sure, I'm more focused on getting a job underneath Reishin-sama, but I might want to have a family of my own later on! He's taken my tender purity! WAAAAHHHHHH! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE HIM TILL I SEE HIM-

"YAAAAAGH!" I screamed.

"Ouch…man, you've sure got a punch there Kouyuu…or should I say, Kouyuu-chan~?"

T-this guy…

WHAM! Splash!

And he's down for the count!...again…

And why does he have to touch my boobs again?! …Ah. That's why he seemed somewhat familiar when I first met him.

That's right- he's the number one wanted man in the Red Light district…

WHY IS HE MY ROOMMATE?!

Cough cough

"Ok, I admit that I deserved both hits…but man! You don't act like a girl in the least, even though you have the body that most would die for…Woah woah! Calm down! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! Unless you want me to-,"

"NO THANKS!"

And with that, we both continued bathing, though I had to wait for him to leave the bathroom entirely before I was able to get out, dry off, and get my night clothes on.

And here I was hoping I'd be able to take the exam…I suppose I never will now.

"Baka Shuuei…" I whispered to nothing in particular.

Leaving the bathroom, I stopped in my tracks as soon as I felt two arms circle around me and…hug me…

"I'm extremely sorry for my actions that have given you grief. I promise to you now and forever that unless you wish it, I will not tell a single soul. Let's just continue on as fellow students, alright?"

Well THIS is unexpected. He's actually apologizing to me? And he's being sincere it seems…

"Hehe, made you so happy that you're crying, Kouyuu-chan?"

"B-baka…and you better drop that stupid nickname when we're around other people, ya got that?!"

"That goes without saying, Kouyuu-chan," he said as he gave me a kind smile.

Hmph. Just because he's a bit good-looking, he thinks he can win me over? As if I'll let him!

I'll make sure that he regrets his actions for the rest of his life!

Wow…I must say I'm satisfied with this chapter, and I hope you are too! I'm sorry for my long absence! Hopefully this chapter was interesting! :D Please review!