Chapter 44：Bonding Part 2

"Okay!" Trisha said happily as she began to strip. Yuki chuckled and stripped her clothes off as well. The two walked into the shower room, into one of the shower stalls, and that was when they both realized the shower stall was not really that big, to begin with.

The two were standing so close that they could feel each other's breath. "You still want to do this?" Yuki asked. The two were basically hugging each other with how little room they had.

"Yes, we must!" Trisha's eyes were filled with determination as she pumped her fist.

Yuki smiled and reached and tucked a lock of Trisha's hair behind her ear. "Then turn around, and I will wash your back and hair first."

Trisha's cheeks blushed from Yuki's actions. It felt very familiar to her. Even the gaze, those eyes that looked at her so gently, felt familiar as well. She nodded silently as she turned her body around. Once Yuki began running her hands through her hair, Trisha's eyes closed as she enjoyed this calming sensation.

Yuki was not stingy with her hair washing. She made sure that Trisha's hair was thoroughly clean. After the hair, she began washing Trisha's back. Everything was practiced motions. She had done this many times before, so she was used to it. "Trisha, your skin is very smooth and soft. You must take very good care of it."

"I have a few lotions I use every day before I go to bed." Trisha explained. She couldn't help but feel slightly ticklish from Yuki's touch. With every motion of the cloth, Trisha would fidget a little. Yuki found it amusing, so she would tickle her now and then on purpose. But doing something like this after so long brought Yuki back to her days at the orphanage. Sadly most of the girls back then… Yuki quickly shook her head to get rid of depressing thoughts.

"Then I will need to get the brand names off you later. Lift your arms." Yuki said while tapping Trisha's arms. She then washed Trisha's sides and down her arms. She then washed down Trisha's body over her butt and down her legs, Trisha blushed from ear to ear. She could feel herself getting slightly turned on as the cloth brushed past her private spot, which made her blush even more. She was starting to wonder what was wrong with her. But when she turned her head and saw how serious Yuki's face was, she realized it was just her who was having dirty thoughts!

"Okay, all done! Trisha? Your face is all red. Are you okay?" Yuki asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Huh? Yeah! Don't worry!" Trisha's voice cracked as she spoke. "I-I will now do you… I mean, wash your hair and back!"

"Mm..." Yuki thought Trisha was acting weird, but if she said she was okay, she would leave it at that.

Trisha watched as Yuki turned around. She looked at the pure white skin in front of her and gulped. Yes, she gulped. She had no idea why she was suddenly getting excited over this, but as she reached her hand out to get some soap, she saw her hand was shaking pretty badly. 'Calm down, Trisha! She is a girl, no need to get all nervous! This is bonding so we can be better friends!'

Mustering up her courage, Trisha finally soaped up her hands and began to massage Yuki's head gently, working the soap in. Yuki, just like Trisha, closed her eyes and enjoyed being pampered for once. Trisha was very thorough with Yuki's hair. She was basically washing each strand and massaging Yuki's scalp, almost causing Yuki to fall asleep. After she was done with the hair, Trisha moved to washing Yuki's back with the cloth. Everything was going smoothly up to this point until it was time for her to move to the lower half of the body. Trisha washed Yuki's butt cheeks and then moved to her thighs. But when she got to the upper thigh, she moved in between Yuki's legs and began washing her privates without realizing it.

"Umm... Trisha… I can wash that myself..." Yuki blushed. But Trisha seemed to be spaced out because she didn't answer and kept going, causing Yuki to begin to feel slightly turned on. "Trisha!"

"Huh!?" Trisha finally came back to her senses. She was kinda zoned out thinking about how she had felt when Yuki got to this area, and only when Yuki yelled did she see where her hand was and realize what she was doing. "I'm so sorry! Ahh!"

Trisha tried to back up quickly but slipped and was falling backward, but stopped just short of hitting her head off the wall. "Are you okay!?"

"Yeah..." Trisha blushed. Yuki's face was now very close to hers. It was definitely an awkward position. "Yuki, sorry, I do not know what I was doing..." Trisha had tears welling up in her eyes. She did not want Yuki to hate her.

"It's fine." Yuki let out a sigh. "If we do this again, just watch your hands."

"Mm… Sorry." Trisha lowered her head. She looked like a small animal who had just been yelled at.

Yuki, out of habit, rubbed the top of Trisha's head. Trisha reminded her of Chi in how she acted when she was depressed or sad about something. "So why did you want to shower with me so badly?"

"I… I read it is a way to deepen friendships. I wanted to get to know you better." Trisha explained.

"I see… Well, it is true that there is nothing to hide when both parties are naked… But! That does not mean you can get grabby. To think Trisha the great Evergreen Princess was a pervert." Yuki teased.

"I am not! I just…. Sorry." Trisha pouted. She really didn't mean to do that! She had no idea what came over her!

"It's fine. I am just teasing. But next time… Maybe we should go to a bathhouse? At least then we will not be so cramped..." Yuki suggested. The school's bath stall was small and very hard to move around in.

"But it's expensive..." Trisha had thought about going to the bathhouse many times, but it was 5 crowns per visit.

"Then we can go once a week. I will pay." Yuki wouldn't mind sitting in a large hot bath. She just didn't want to go by herself, so if Trisha went with her, she wouldn't mind splurging on that.

"Then… Okay..." Trisha nodded and smiled. The two chatted as they finished washing up. Their shower time was much longer than normal. But when they got out and got dressed, Trisha pulled on Yuki's sleeve and bowed her head. "Yuki, sorry for early. My head was in the clouds..."

"It's fine. Now you know, is all." Yuki blushed slightly. She herself couldn't help but wonder why she didn't put a stop to it instantly, instead of letting Trisha continue for almost a minute before finally stopping her. 'I guess I am a pervert too...'

For most of the morning, there was a bit of awkwardness between the two, but that soon went away as the day went on. By the end of the day, Trisha was her normal self, and Yuki put the whole incident behind her. At least people stopped causing her trouble after the Claudia incident. The normal group of girls who would be surrounding Trisha never walked up to her the entire day. The people in class did sneak glances at them, though, because they were seeing a whole new side of the unwanted princess. Trisha was smiling happily as she talked to Yuki, a true smile, not a fake one. This was something that no one had ever seen before.