As I slid myself down into the bath, I could almost feel the tension melting away for a few moments. Being the second oldest, there would sometimes be a bit of warmth left in the water when I got a turn. Usually though, Akana never left a whole lot of suds, or warmth. This tub however, was piping hot. I'd never felt anything like it. With the steam and the bubbles, and that heavenly aroma, hell, I could probably fall asleep in it.

I then realized, I forgot to look for towels and soap before getting in. I sighed. Well, whatever… I'll just scrub using the bubbles, and I can scurry around for a few seconds to find a towel. Hopefully there wasn't one too far off. That made me think, though. That had always been one of Akana's favorite tricks; hiding my towel. Nothing sucked more than having to rummage around wet and cold looking for something to dry off with. I wouldn't have to deal with that anymore, though. That both joyed and pained me.

I sighed again and closed my eyes. I then wondered how long Kata would be away. I wasn't sure if I had time to let my mind wander, like it usually did when I was in the tub. Better not, I suppose. It would be awkward to let my mind wander, especially considering they only thing I could think of was Gackt-sama.

Actually, I often thought of Gackt-sama in the tub. Usually, I would daydream that I was bathing in the castle, almost exactly like this, as a matter of fact. He would come in, say something super romantic, start undressing himself… My eyes shot open when I realized where my right hand seemed to already be heading. I lunged my hand out of the water and up onto the side of the tub. I should NOT think those thoughts right now. Not with the risk of Kata coming in at any time.

I was damn lucky too. Kata poked her head in the door in that instant. I looked over at her slightly confused as she dropped a few towels on the floor. She bowed apologetically and slid the door shut again. Well, I thought, that solves one problem then. I could slowly feel my heart getting back to its normal rhythm again as my mind, again wandered to thoughts of Gackt-sama. I sighed, it had become so routine for me to imagine him and enjoy myself, I almost couldn't take a normal bath, now. It had become almost instinctive.

Instead of indulging myself, I stood up and started scrubbing myself with the vast amount of bubbles in the tub. I scrubbed vigorously, desperately trying to work out the tension in my head (and between my thighs). Suddenly, anger started to bubble up in me, the stress of the day finally rearing its ugly head and overtaking me. The massive critic in my head had started up, chastising every little aspect of the day. From how I overreacted at the table with my sisters, to how couldn't maintain my composure in the carriage ride. I was on a roll today, for sure bringing dishonor on my family in some way or another.

I scrubbed and scrubbed until the voice seemed to dissipate. Emotionally drained, but impeccably clean, I decided I'd had enough of this bath nonsense, and pulled the giant stopper out of the bottom of the tub. Kata must have been sitting outside the door, because as soon as I pulled it, she rushed in. I instinctively covered my body with my hands. She only scoffed and wrapped me in a towel. She whistled, and another young girl came in with what appeared to be clothing in her arms. The girl set the clothing on the floor by the door, grabbed the kimono I had been wearing, and quickly exited the room again.

As suddenly as she had rushed in, Kata then shoved my head down so I was in a bowing position. I went along with it, not exactly sure what she was doing. She wrapped a towel around the back of my head, with bits hanging down that she then proceeded to wrap my hair in it as well, and twisted it. She then shoved me back upright and flung the dangly bit of the towel behind my head. I blinked a few times, still taking in what exactly just happened, and then giggled a little. I had never done this to my hair before, but it seemed effective at keeping the huge wet mass that was my hair out of my face.

I stood there for another second as Kata started dressing me. I had slightly hoped that I could just put my old kimono on, but that was apparently out of the question. This kimono had a baby pink under coat of what felt to be the purest and lightest cotton I had ever felt. The kimono itself was even more gorgeous. It was a pale creamy silk with a huge black sakura tree growing up the back and branching around to the front. The black of the tree was amazing against the cream, and beautiful pink petals were adorning the branches in all the right places.

I couldn't seem to stop marveling at the kimono as Kata tied the bright red obi around me. It was as if the kimono itself seemed to have manifested itself from the deepest desires of my heart and found its way into being. I smiled down at it, so in awe of its beauty that I didn't notice Gackt-sama had entered the room. He walked in front of me, examining how I was oogling over the kimono and chuckled. My head then snapped up at him and scowled.

"I see you like my choice of kimonos." Gackt-sama crooned. I quickly turned away from him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing my facial expression.

I suppressed another sigh. He had chosen a breathtaking kimono. Maybe there was a side of romance hidden under that humongous ego. I just had to find a way to dig it out somehow.

"I told you she'd like it." Kata giggled. I just nodded a little.

The three of us stood there for a few moments admiring the kimono, before my own stomach broke the silence. My eyes shot open and my face instantly felt hot. My stomach had just made the most inhumane noise ever, giving away my massive hunger and causing me more embarrassment.

Kata giggled again, "See, Gackt-sama, I told you we should have fed her first. We're practically starving the poor girl! Don't worry deary, we'll take you to the kitchen straight away!"

Kata then threw the towel off of my head onto the floor. She quickly grabbed my hand and drug me out of the room and down the hall. Off to the kitchen it was, not that I had much of a choice.