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Airi had remembered thinking the previous morning that she was finally starting to get used to the bathhouse and its unusual residents. She thought she was falling into a routine, of sorts. She thought that she was on top of any challenges that were coming to face her.

Now, at the moment, Airi was wondering if it would be possible to go back in time and strangle her past self for thinking that, as she lay in her bathtub, feeling completely (and here she couldn't help herself) dog tired, an ice bag pressed against her shoulder.

It had all seemed so easy this morning...

~*~

There was a knocking at Airi's door. Her ears perked as she looked around.

"Are you decent, Airi?" came Miss Emma's voice.

"Just a moment!" she called back, tying her apron on and adjusting her hairband. "Come in, please, Miss Emma!"

Miss Emma came into the room backwards, holding a laden tea tray. Airi let out a giggle.

"Do you bring all your employees tea as often as me?" said Airi, accepting a steaming cup.

"Only the ones I like," said Miss Emma, setting the tray down and taking a cup of her own. "Plus, it gives me an excuse to drink more tea."

Airi shrugged and sipped her tea. It was hibiscus today.

"What can I do for you today, Miss Emma?" asked Airi.

"What else?" she said. "I want you to see to one of the girls today. Her name is Juli. I don't think you've met her, though you may have seen her around?"

"The name doesn't ring a bell, Miss Emma," said Airi. "What does she need help with?"

"Well," said Miss Emma, looking shifty eyed. "Juli is a bit different from the other girls. They're mostly content to relax during their stay at the bathhouse. Their bodies are working very hard, so they don't feel the need to put extra strain on them. But Juli is... stubborn. She has a physical fitness routine that she sticks to no matter what. Most of the time, this hasn't been a problem, but she's gotten to a point where her condition makes it a little... problematic."

"Problematic?" said Airi, cocking her head. "How do you mean?"

"You'll understand once you meet her," said Miss Emma, standing up again. "Odds are good that she'll be in the gymnasium. I want you to go down there and just make yourself available in case she needs anything." She gave Airi a quick look up and down. "You may want to dress a bit more casually for the occasion."

"I can do that, no problem," said Airi, bowing. "I'll head down there right away. The gymnasium is in the east wing, right?"

"I told you that you'd get the hang of this place," said Miss Emma, making for the door. "There shouldn't be any trouble, but all the same, I would feel better knowing you're there." While she was halfway across the threshold, she paused in her step. "Oh... one more thing," she added. "If Juli invites you to work out with her... do yourself a favor and politely decline."

Before Airi could ask Miss Emma what she meant by this, she had gone. That had been quite strange. And needlessly cryptic, come to think of it. Airi quite enjoyed a light workout every now and then... though she hadn't done so in quite some time, what with her new job taking up all of her time.

Perhaps she would indulge a little bit once she was done with her duties for the day. After all, a little physical activity never hurt anybody.

~*~

The bathhouse's on-site gym wasn't all that big, but it was big enough to suit the purposes of its clients.

Per Miss Emma's suggestion, Airi had changed out of her typical uniform and into a tank top and cotton shorts, though she kept her hairband on. Partly because she wanted to keep some part of her uniform on, and partly because she thought it was super cute. She made her way into the gym, where, at this time of morning, there was only one person inside, who Airi presumed to be Juli. Not that it would have been hard to pick her out from a crowd.

She was quite tall, a little taller than Natsuki, with long, flowing green hair, and eyes to match, sparkling like emeralds. Green, indeed, was the color most common on display there, as most of her body was covered in smooth green scales, the only exceptions being most of her face and upper torso. Her fingers and toes were all clawed, and her most prominent features were a long, reptilian tail and a pair of thick, leathery wings, which were also tipped in claws. She was dressed to work out as well, wearing a sports bra and a garment similar to a loin cloth around her waist. And she was, of course, pregnant. While not carrying as hugely as Natsuki or even Yuki, she was still quite large, her belly jutting out in front of her some distance. But something else stood out on her body.

The other girls' bodies tended toward the softer side, as their pregnancies had given them a tendency to eat more and move less. Not Juli, it seemed. Her limbs were thick and muscular, and if Airi had to pick one word to describe her body, it would be "tight". Currently, she was lifting a small handheld weight in either hand, moving them up and down with a steady rhythm, and what's more, she seemed to be gripping a small kettlebell with her tail. Every motion made her musculature bulge out, and as she continued to move, she murmured to herself.

"Twenty-one... twenty-two... twenty-three... twenty-four..."

Not wanting to startle her, Airi stepped into the gym and cleared her throat. Juli was still utterly focused on the task at hand.

"Twenty-seven... twenty-eight..." she continued. Airi cleared her through a little. Juli let out a yelp, and as she did, a little puff of flame came out of her mouth, causing Airi to flinch.

"Aw, man," she said, looking around. "You made me lose count."

Airi blinked. "Twenty-eight, Miss... Juli?" she said. "Um... you're a dragon."

"So I guess you're a detective as well as a maid, then," said Juli, smirking. "Twenty-eight... twenty-nine... thirty!" With that, she dropped all three weights and wiped her brow. "Yup, I'm Juli, and yup, I am. Nice of you to notice."

Airi sighed. She really, really should have gotten used to the fact that the unusual was quite usual at this bathhouse. "Sorry," she said. "Yes, I'm Airi. Miss Emma sent me to see if you needed anything."

"Nice of the old broad," said Juli, as she shifted into a yoga pose, stretching out her toned limbs and sticking out her belly. Airi didn't know how she knew, but she had the feeling that, if not for her pregnancy, the dragon would have been sporting a six-pack. She looked like the type. "But you can go, I'm totally fine. Been doing this for years and I'm not about to pull any punches just 'cause I'm knocked up now!"

"That's... an interesting way of looking at things," said Airi. "The other girls just seem to want to take it easy."

"That's because they're a bunch of wusses," said Juli. She stretched into a different pose, and her belly shifted a bit, as the babies within picked this moment to stretch a bit themselves, distorting the tight surface. She let out a laugh. "They're fighters, the little buggers," she said. "Just like me!" She cracked her knuckles, then waddled over to a lifting bench. "As long as you're here, make yourself useful and spot me, will you?"

"Um, alright," said Airi, approaching the back of the bench. She wasn't sure how much good she would be if Juli actually needed her help, but she didn't know what else to do at this point.

"How much have I got on the rack?" said Juli, looking up.

Airi peered at the weights on the deadlift bar, and her eyes went wide. "Um, three hundred," she said. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Juli paused, and a thoughtful expression crossed her features. "Y'know what, you're right," she said. "I'm feeling good today. Add another ten pounds to either side."

Airi covered her mouth. She did not want to protest further, in case Juli told her to add even more weight. With a bit of struggle, since she herself weighed maybe a hundred pounds with a rock in her pocket, Airi managed to screw another weight onto either side of the bar. Juli grinned, then gripped the bar. With a groan of effort, she lifted it up, holding it up there for a moment, before falling into a steady rhythm. Up and down, up and down, her thick arm muscles pumping. Airi was feeling less worried and more impressed.

"You... do this a lot, huh?" said Airi.

"This body... is a temple," said Juli, who was beginning to sweat a little. "I love feelin' strong... and I'm always up for a challenge. So I thought to myself... what's the biggest challenge of them all?" Another rep. Before Airi could ask, Juli just pressed on. "Havin' babies! You know how much strain an ordinary pregnancy puts a body under? It's like wearing weighted training gear all the time. And this is, like, a magical super-pregnancy. I love it!" She paused mid-lift for a moment. "How many reps was that?"

Airi blinked. "What? Oh , um, fifteen I think?" she said.

"That's good for now," she said. "Water me."

Airi looked around. There was a table nearby with a number of water bottles on it. She picked one up and handed it to Juli, and the dragon tipped it back and drained it in about five seconds.

"Refreshing!" she said, wiping her brow with her forearm. "But time to wind down a little, I think. Maybe some cardio."

Airi had to admit, she was seriously impressed by this woman. She looked down at her own body, which was... nothing to be ashamed of, of course, but...

Miss Emma's warning rang in her head once again. She considered it for a moment, then shrugged. What harm could it do, really? She knew her limits.

"Miss Juli?" said Airi. "Would you mind if I... worked out with you?" just a little bit.

Juli froze in place for a moment. Then she turned to face Airi, grinning ear to ear and eyes aglow. "You mean it?" she said. "None of the others girls with work out with me! They say I go 'too hard' for them." This was accompanied by a set of air quotes. "And it's like... man, if you don't push your limits, then what's the point of working out?"

"Well, um," said Airi, "keep in mind, I've never really done a serious workout before. So, um... go easy on me please?"

"Don't worry!" said Juli, slapping Airi on the back with a little more enthusiasm than Airi would have preferred. "I'll take good care of you! We'll stick to cardio for now, cardio's easy!" She hopped up off the bench and made a gesture for Airi to follow along.

Airi was led over to a row of treadmills. Juli stepped up onto one, and Airi took up the one next to her. She quickly pushed the button for the lowest setting.

"Aw, come on," said Juli. Her tail lashed out and tapped the next setting up. "Give it a little juice! No pain, no gain."

She immediately cranked her own unit up a bit and started running. Airi stumbled a little, but started jogging after a moment. Her gait was a little unsteady at first, but once she found her feet, she started to have a good thing going.

"You know," said Airi, only puffing a little after perhaps five minutes, "this isn't so bad."

Juli, who was going at least twice as fast as Airi, gave a little smirk. "Isn't it?" she said. "Then you're not going hard enough! Come on, girl, show me what you got!"

Airi yelped, struggling to keep up as the machine accelerating. "I'm... not sure... I've 'got' all that much... to show you!" she panted. "My legs... are starting to hurt a bit!"

"Pain is just weakness leaving the body!" said Juli, who had just turned up her own treadmill. Airi tried her best to keep pace, but even at a reduced speed, she was huffing and puffing. And her chest was starting to feel funny.

"Come on!" shouted Juli. She looked positively ecstatic, and... did she just turn the treadmill up again? Every single one of Airi's muscles felt like it was made of fire.

"Miss... Juli?" she said. "Can we... take a break... please?"

"Already? I was just getting warmed up!" she said. Then she looked over to Airi, and noticed her wretched state. "Oh, fine. Brace yourself." Another flick of that tail, and the treadmills were switched off. Airi held on to prevent from being flung across the room, then staggered over to a nearby bench and collapsed. Juli let out a laugh and sat down next to her. Almost immediately, her belly began to quiver and squirm, as the babies within started kicking up a storm. She laid a calming hand onto her belly, and the motion slowed but didn't stop. Airi couldn't tear her gaze away.

"Easy there, kiddos," she said. "They always get excitable once my blood gets pumping."

"Wow," said Airi, watching the oddly hypnotic pattern of kicks and bulges. "None of the others' babies moved that much."

"Yeah, well, that's cuz none of the others' babies kick as much ass as mine," said Juli. "Dragons are born warriors!" She hopped back up again and stretched out her arms. "Well, come on, no time to waste. Cardio's all well and good but we still need a REAL workout."

She pulled Airi to her feet and dragged her - rather reluctantly - to a row of weight machines, settling herself onto a pull-down machine. "I'm working on my arms this today," said Juli, flexing a bicep. "Tomorrow's leg day. You, on the other hand, I'm thinking you could use a bit more of a core workout. Put some meat on those bones, y'know? Have a seat over here."

Her footing still a bit uncertain, Airi made her way over to the adjacent weight machine. It was similar to the one that Juli was seated in, except somehow even more intimidating.

"I'm... not sure if this is a good idea after all," said Airi.

"Only way to find out is to do it!" said Juli. "That's the way I roll!"

"Please?" said Airi. "I really think I need a rest..."

Juli heaved a sigh. 'Oh, alright," she said. "Put the weight at about the two-fifty mark, will you?"

Airi did so, and then sat down. Juli planted herself firmly, knees parted across the bench, and then gripped the bar, starting to pull. She looked over to Airi again, and that smirk returned to her features.

"You know," she said, "there's more than one way to get your heartrate up."

Before Airi could ask what Juli meant, she felt something warm and scaly brush up against her thigh. She looked down and saw Juli's tail snaking up the leg of her shorts. Airi was about to protest when she felt the tip of it brush up against the crotch of her panties, and gave a little shiver.

"If you don't want me to, just say the word," said Juli, "But somehow, I doubt it. I knew from the moment I spotted you that you're a girl who likes to have fun. I just had to figure out what sort of fun."

The tail rubbed up and down, and Airi felt a flash of warmth. She did not want Juli to stop. She looked over to Juli, who was still lifting, not breaking her rhythm at all. "That's what I thought," she said. "Mind giving me some easier access?"

Airi nodded eagerly, then reached down her shorts to pull her panties aside. Immediately, Juli's tail began to trace around the outer contours of Airi's nethers. It reminded her a bit of some of her toys, but none of her toys were as warm or as scaly, nor could they move quite like this. "That tail is... quite handy," said Airi, her breath quickening.

"Strong enough to... smash bricks," said Juli, panting a bit herself. She picked up her rhythm, pumping faster. "But still... gentle enough... to pet a kitten! Heh, or rather..." And with that, she plunged the tip into Airi, eliciting a gasp from the maid. She started to squirm as the tip of Juli's tail started to wriggle around, gripping the sides of her seat to stay still. Juli hadn't just been bragging; the amount of dexterity that the tail possessed was incredible, and it was touching Airi ways in which she had never been touched before.

"M-Miss Juli!" yelled Airi. "N... not so hard, you're, mm... going to make me..."

"That's the idea, ya dork," said Juli. She started lifting faster and faster, and as she did, the movements of her tail matched her rhythm. "Come on, now, let yourself enjoy it`!" She plunged deeper inside of Airi and started to make her tail rapidly wiggle, and Airi could take no more. She let out a yowl as she came, falling back onto the bench. Between the workout and the orgasm, her knees felt like they had turned to jelly.

"Atta girl," said Juli, withdrawing her tail from Airi's snatch and not missing a single beat of her workout. As she pulled again, her babies started moving once more, kicking up even more of a storm than last time.

"Are you okay there?" said Airi, pulling herself up to take a closer look.

"Yeah, should be fine," said Juli. "They're probably just trying to get my att-"

She was interrupted as her whole belly tightened up, and a wet patch quickly spread across the crotch of her gym shorts.

"Whoops," said Juli, looking down. "Guess it's time to squeeze one of the little runts out. Pull those off, would you?"

"...would it be silly of me to ask if you want to go someplace more comfortable?" said Airi, as she started to tug off the shorts, sodden with sweat and other fluids.

"And not finish my set?" said Juli. "What do you take me for? This is the best workout of them all!" She scooted forward a little so that her hips hung off the bench and spread her legs even further apart. "Mm... put another hundred or so on the rack... then just kneel down in front of my cooch and get ready to catch!"

Airi stood there in a daze for a moment, but she knew by now that the best help she could render during a birth was doing whatever the mother-to-be said. No matter how strange it might seem. So she adjusted the weights on the machine, then readied herself to catch the incoming baby. Juli's belly hadn't stopped moving since her labor had begun, but now one of the shapes within was starting to shift in a downward direction. She gripped the pull-down bar even harder, and with a deep grunt, started to bear down as she pulled.

"Rrrrrgh!" she groaned, through gritted teeth. "Now I'm really feelin' the burn... and it hurts so good!" She released the weight for a moment, took several deep puffs of breath, and went right into it again, going red-faced with the combined effort of pulling and pushing. Airi could do nothing but watch her, in awe of the immense strength and willpower on display.

"Mrrrrgh!" said Juli, as she growled through the latest contraction, and Airi could see her nether lips bulge out. "She's coming in hot, I can feel it! Do you see... anything coming out yet?"

Airi leaned in closer, and with the next push, she could, indeed, see something peeking out as Juli's tight snatch spread apart. "I see it!" she said. "I think I see a head?"

"A head? You sure?" said Juli, pausing for breath. "Dang... was hoping it would be another egg this time. The eggs feel the best coming out... welp, gotta do what you gotta do. Get ready to catch!" Before Airi could ask, the dragon started to push again, moving the head further out. This one was crimson-skinned, with dark hair and two little nubs on its forehead that would someday be horns. Juli was absolutely relentless, giving a big push with every motion she made, and moving the baby further and further out. The head was at a full crown in mere minutes, and Juli seemed like she was not going to let up here.

"Careful, now, Miss Juli!" said Airi. "No need to go so hard..."

"I don't know... any other way... to go!" yelled Juli. She took a big, deep breath, her chest contracting, and bellowed what could only be called a battle cry as she pushed. The baby's shoulders slipped out instantly, and a moment later, it was sliding out into Airi's waiting hands. No sooner did Juli relax, dropping the weight with a tremendous crash and relaxing, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she caught her breath. Weakly, she held up her wrist and looked at it.

"Twelve minutes, thirteen seconds," she said. "Not even close to my personal best... still, not too shabby." Then she looked down at Airi, who was still cradling the newborn. "Good work, kid," she said, giving a tired smile. "Someone'll be along to take care of the sprog in a moment... and then?"

"And then?" said Airi.

Juli stood up again, picked up a water bottle, pounded it back, and tossed it over her shoulder. She did not look like a woman who had just given birth. "Then... we finish our workout!"

~*~

And what a workout it had been. Airi sunk a little deeper into her bath as she went over it in her mind. So many crunches. So much cycling. Airi had aches on her aches.

There was a knock at the door.

"Are you decent, dear?" came Miss Emma's voice.

"Not at all," said Airi. "But I don't care. Come on in, please."

Miss Emma came into the bathroom. Instead of the expected tea, she was carrying a bottle of sake and two glasses. "I thought you might want something with a little more oomph than tea tonight," she said, seating herself next to the tub and pouring a measure out.

"You thought correctly, Miss Emma," said Airi, accepting a cup. Airi's mother had always told her that a lady sips, she doesn't chug. But Airi did not feel very ladylike at this moment, and she knocked the cup back in a second. Miss Emma graciously refilled the cup.

"I did warn you not to try and keep up with Juli," said Miss Emma, shaking her sadly.

"You did," said Airi, sinking a bit deeper into the tub.

"Most of the staff has tried to work out with Juli," said Miss Emma. "A lot of them quit afterwards."

Airi shook her head. "Not me," she said. "I love this job... I really do. But..."

"I know," said Miss Emma. "I've been there. How do you think I knew better?"

The two of them shared a laugh.

"Well, Juli certainly likes you," said Emma. "Just, in the future, if she asks you for anything more involved for a spot and some water... politely decline."

"I hear you," said Airi, her hand emerging from the bath and giving a thumbs-up. "But I have to ask... every time I meet someone new at the bathhouse, I've gotten some kind of surprise. How many more surprises can I expect?"

Miss Emma gave a knowing smile. "That's the nice thing about surprises," she said, finishing her sake. "You never know when they're going to pop up. And that's half the fun of working here, after all. I'll leave the bottle. Consider it a bonus for a job well done."

And with that, Miss Emma made her way out of the room, leaving Airi to her bath and her thoughts.

"I'm not sure how many more surprises my body can take," said Airi to herself, as she refilled her cup once again.

She came into this job expecting a typical maid job. But in this bathhouse, the meaning of "typical" had a very out-of-the-ordinary definition.

And part of her was eager to see what the bathhouse would throw at her next.