I sighed contentedly as I reclined in the spacious, gently swirling water, holding my precious, sleeping Yumi comfortably upon my lap. The clear, sultry bath water smelled slightly of sulfur, and it was very hot indeed, as it was fed directly by one of the palace's many hot springs. I knew that I had to be careful not to keep Yumi in the water for too long, as with her delicate human physique, water this hot could quickly cause her to overheat. However, the recuperative properties of the spring - coupled with the herbal additives my people had developed over the centuries - would do wonders for her sore muscles, not to mention the area marking her recently shed virginity. Although such recuperative steps would become wholly unnecessary within the next hour, the tenderness she evoked in me compelled me to pursue any lengths in an effort to make her more comfortable.
It was several minutes before my love awakened from her exhausted slumber, and as she stirred sleepily in my arms I mentally prepared myself for the inevitable outburst. My hands were clasped tenderly just above her waist, encircling her completely, and I involuntarily tightened my grip on her as I felt her come to her senses. In most places, the bath was easily two feet deeper than she was tall, and if she were to try to flee from her resting place in my arms, she would be in for a rude shock.
"Wuh...?" she mumbled, shaking her head and lifting an arm to try to rub her face. When she found it hindered by my arm, she lifted both to see just how securely she was restrained, making a soft splashing sound with the sudden movement. After a moment or two, recollection must have hit, because she froze, and as I braced myself for hysterics and a round of frenzied splashing, she managed to completely surprise me.
"Don't let go of me!" she gasped frantically, wrenching her arms out from under mine and clutching fiercely at one of my forearms. "Please, Sensei!"
In my surprise I nearly did let her go. "Why... gladly, my darling! Whatever is the matter?"
"Just... just don't drop me in the water," she demanded after a few moments of hesitation, shivering despite the heated liquid. "Promise me!"
"You have my word," I assured her, gently tightening my grip on her and edging backward until I had slid up a step on the edge of the bath. "Why are you afraid, my beloved? Is it the water?"
"I can't swim," she said softly, the forced tone of her voice telling me that although it shamed her to admit it, she was more afraid than she was embarrassed. "I don't want to fall in and... and..." she shuddered and shook her head. "Please, can we just get out? I don't want to be here, Akayama-sensei."
Understanding her behavior at last, I swiftly exited the comfort and warmth of the water, carrying my frightened companion protectively in my arms as I stepped out into the changing area of the room. Yumi began to shiver immediately upon her immersion in the cooler air, so I promptly set her on her feet and retrieved for her a large, thick towel from the well-stocked linen closet beside the bath. She snatched it away from me as though she was afraid I might reconsider my offer, and she immediately covered herself, averting her eyes to my nakedness and staring furtively at the bath from whence she had escaped only moments before.
"My kagaijin name is Tsuyoken," I offered with a smile. "Although, if you'd prefer, you may continue to call me Akayama, Tsu, or anything else, for that matter. You may call me anything you like, as long as it is your voice that blesses my ears with the words."
She turned away from me and did not answer, and although I waited to see if she would at least make a waspish comment in return, I had a feeling I had gotten all the response I was going to receive. I wasn't exactly surprised, though. I had expected far worse behavior from her than this.
She stood there silently like that as I shrugged and scrubbed myself dry with another towel. I did not wrap it about my body as she had with hers. She had seen me in the buff already, and I had no intention of hiding my body from her in the way that she chose to hide hers from me. Besides, in a short while, we would both want to be as unfettered as possible anyway.
I considered her fear of water as I watched her and dried off, and it occurred to me all at once that her phobia must have been dreadfully compounded by the way in which her parents had died. Although I felt the urge to ask her if they had been good swimmers, I ignored it, since even an imbecile would have been able to tell that such a question would not only be insensitive, but also irrelevant, given the likely violent state of the water during their disappearance in the storm.
I noticed that her head had begun to droop, and her body was swaying slightly. She was moving as one who was about to faint. "Would you like to lie down, Yumi?" I asked her, the concern plain in my voice. "You don't look very steady from this angle."
"I feel ill," she replied, clutching tightly at the top of her snugly wrapped towel as she gave me a wary, hateful backward glance. "Where can I sleep? Alone?" she added, emphasizing the last word and watching my every move as I came toward her to offer her a steady hand.
"I will not leave you now," I said firmly, noting the way she flinched when I grasped her shoulder to help guide her back to the bedroom. "It won't be much longer before the full effects of my seed begin to work upon you, and you will be a danger to yourself if I leave you alone in such a state."