Cleaning the river
#2 of Thirty days; Thirty stories
Hiroshi, a second generation japanese, fulfills his dream of going to Japan. Unfortunately for him, not everything is as it seems on anime.
-"Mom, Dad, I'm finally here."
Hiroshi enjoyed the view in front of him. The lush green plains that extended as far as the eye could see. The snowy peaks in the distance. The clear and fresh water of the rivers. The pure air of rural Japan.
It'd only be for a couple of months, and it had taken all of his savings, but he was now in the land of his forefathers. The land of being one with nature, samurai, and anime. Who knew when, if ever, he'd return? The tanuki would have to take in as much as he could. After taking a last deep breath, Hiroshi returned with his group.
He wasn't there on vacation. Well, he kind of was, but it was not just for pleasure. He was part of a humanitarian relief effort. Their mission? To help clean the rivers of all kinds of waste. Several villages depended on them, since it was their only water source.
On his way back, though, Hiroshi noticed a small figure near the river. It didn't surprise him, they had been given a few minutes to do as they wanted before their task started, so he decided to go after it. In any case, it was almost time for the meeting.
Hiroshi called the figure as he approached, but he froze in his tracks when he got closer. It's not like he had never seen someone like him before. He had, just not in person. The stranger turned his head to look at Hiroshi.
-"Oh, sorry, I didn't expect anyone to... see me like this." The stranger said with a sad face.
It couldn't be, an Eastern Dragon. Weren't they the stuff of legends?
-"Wh-Who are you?"
-"Me?" The dragon turned back to see the river, "I'm the protector of everything you see here."
With his initial shock gone, the tanuki paid more attention to the dragon. He was tall and lean, like the stories said; still he was muscled. His hair was brown like the ground in the river. And his scales were yellow like the sun. However, his body had several splats of grime all over it. Also, he was completely nude.
Hiroshi had heard about Eastern Dragons and about how they were personifications of the rivers. Could it be... a god? After all, how much of a coincidence could it be that he met a dirty Easter Dragon next to the river he was supposed to clean? It was like in that movie he saw as a kid.
But, what was he supposed to do? All his cleaning tools were with his group and this was an opportunity in a million. Hiroshi looked around for something to use when he spotted a wooden bath next to a trailer house not so far.
Hiroshi kneeled all the way down until his forehead touched the floor, "Please, sir, let me clean you up. There's a bath nearby and it would be the greatest of honors for me and my family."
The dragon curved his eyebrows at this weird request, but agreed in the end.
Bingo. Hiroshi led the dragon to the bath. Thankfully, it was filled already with water. Obviously the owner was also planning to soak in it, but the tanuki was sure he could convince him that this was for the best. They were talking about a god after all.
The dragon got in the bath and Hiroshi started to think on what to use for his task. Just scrubbing with his hands would not be enough to get rid of all the grime, and licking him clean made him sick just of thinking about it. Maybe there was something he could use like a twig or something else.
-"There's some stuff inside the trailer if you want."
Of course. The tanuki got inside and came out with a loofa, a bucket, a bottle of shampoo, and a bar of soap. It was not like the owner would be missing them for the moment.
The dragon looked like he was in a Jacuzzi. His feet and arms were outside the tub, while he rested his back on the wall. Even though the water was cold, it seemed as if he was enjoyed the situation.
Hiroshi started with the dragon's feet. He wet them a little, to help get the grime off easier, and then scrubbed the dragon's soles and between his toes with the loofa. He scrubbed as thoroughly as he could, and cleaned the loofa every once in a while, but there was still grime left.
The tanuki then pressed one sole with his hands and tried to get some of the grime off with his nails. It worked, and better than he expected. After hearing the dragon moan, Hiroshi decided to continue treating his paws. The tanuki rubbed each sole and each toe as he cleaned the feet hanging in front of him, rinsing them off when he was over.
Next, he went to the other side of the bath. He put some shampoo on his hands and then started to massage the dragons head. While silent this time, Hiroshi could tell that the dragon enjoyed this too.
The way his head moved without putting any kind of resistance and the look on his face told the tanuki all he had to know. He was doing a good job. Hiroshi rinsed the dragon's head before grabbing the bar of soap.
He went for the dragon's arms and shoulders next. They would be easy, since they were not as dirty and the dragon was so relaxed that the tanuki could move him anyway he wanted. Hiroshi grabbed an arm and soaked it in the water before soaping it off.
After he was done, he put the soap at the edge of the bath and proceeded to wash it off. He again massaged the dragon's muscle as he cleaned. Sometimes rubbing before rinsing of the soap, sometimes while the arm was under the water. Often at both times.
However, when he was done with one arm and wanted to go for the next, the soap slipped of his hands and landed far away. He wanted to go get it, but the dragon stopped him from doing so.
-"It's fine. Just use your hands now."
The dragon had grabbed the tanuki by the wrist. He put it on his chest and started to move it in a circular motion. Hiroshi, understanding what he meant, got behind the dragon and started to rub his pecs. Something which proved more difficult than he thought, since his crotch was serving now as the dragon's pillow.
The dragon moved Hiroshi's hands lower and the tanuki started to rub his abs. It made sense for him to be that muscled, since it wasn't an easy job to protect all nature by himself. Yet, by the way he acted at being pampered; it seemed that not that many people came anymore to pay respect to the god.
Lost in his thoughts, Hiroshi didn't notice when he had lowered his hands and was now holding something. It was as if it was piercing the dragon near his stomach and, by its feel, it couldn't be good. Worst of all, the water was so murky that he couldn't see what it was. The tanuki moved his hands over it to get a feel of what it could be. It was something long and hard. Just like in the movie!
Hiroshi grabbed the object as hard as he could, which made the dragon jump. If only moving it caused him so much pain, it must be stuck worse than he thought.
-"I'm sorry," the tanuki said, "would it be okay if I tried to get it out?"
-"If you want, but be more careful."
Now that he had permission, Hiroshi grabbed the object again with both hands. He tried pulling, softer this time, but a mix of soap, shampoo, and water made it difficult to do. His hands slipped from the thing and thus he had to start again from scratch. He grabbed and pulled one, two, three, and many more times with barely any success. Moreover, the dragon slightly rose up every time he pulled.
Hiroshi then had an idea. With one hand at the base, he used the other one to pull. That way he could work it better, and it seemed to be the case.
He still had problems holding the object, but it seemed that more of it was getting out with each pull. However, he had to end this fast. The dragon was panting more and more as Hiroshi pulled. Who knows how long he could last?
The tanuki tried speeding up his pace. Also, he moved his hand from the base to grab the object now that he had more space to do so. Fortunately, he started to get the hang of things and he no longer slipped every time he pulled. Instead, he managed to stop next to the tip, which sped him up.
Hiroshi continued his task until the object finally squirted and the dragon let out a final moan. The tanuki took out his hands from the water.
-"Mr. Saito!" A shiba dog shouted.
Hiroshi looked at the owner of the voice. It was the leader of the expedition. What was going on?
-"I came here because you were late. It seems you already met Hiroshi. He's one of the guys that will be helping us."
The tanuki looked back at the dragon.
-"Nice to meet you. My name's Saito and, Hiroshi," the dragon winked, "I'll be looking forward to working with you this summer."
The shiba urged the dragon to get ready and walked the tanuki back to the rest of the group. Hiroshi looked at his hands.
That was not a bike handlebar...