Rating: T+
Pairings: Nezumi x Shion, Kai x Rin, Inukashi x Takao, Christian x Aster, Nami x Shun, Kaori x Hikaru, onesided!Aster x Black, Pia x Hayden, Elizabeth x Edward, Dylan x Nath, onesided!Shion x Safu, implied!Riku x Hilary, Natasha x Haru, onesided!Aster x Drew, onesided!Elle x Nezumi, Ace x Shun, Ritsu x Serenity, Haruko x Riku, Arwyn x Rowan, onesided!Shion x Thomas, Kureno x Megumi, onesided!Aria x Valen
Warnings: OOCness, OCs, rantings from a mad author, inconsistent updates, implying sexual content, grammatical errors and no beta.
Disclaimer: Whims of Anime does not own No. 6 or Beyblade, only the plot and the OCs. They belong to their rightful owners. Please support the official release.
Dedication: To nezushijustwantstobefree, who is celebrating her birthday! To ObsessedwithEyeballs, Shadow Bunny Warrior and kateriarellano2, who shared their thoughts by reviewing. And to the one year anniversary of DRAMA Is Now In Session (I can't believe the name stuck...)
Anime: *sees the last time she updated* Yikes. I can't believe I made the fandom that waits for reunion wait for a new chapter. Sorry, dears. I got stuck writing the Never Have I Ever because I haven't played the game. Luckily, I got inspiration. Now, enough about me, to the chapter!
~~~DINIS~~~
Quote of the Day:
"To hate something that you used to love is such a painful feeling."
-Ciel Phantomhive (Black Butler)
~~~DINIS~~~
7: Never Have I Ever
"I've never played Never Have I Ever." Riku muttered, playing with the hem of his shirt. He looked around, seeing all the poker faces, and blinked, "What? Do you think a woman that hallucinates about cats walking around the ceiling would play with a dangerous and insane teenager? She was crazy, not suicidal." Shion didn't know if he admired his bluntness or wished that he had more tact.
Aria stifled her chuckle – obviously appreciating his bluntness – before grinning at him, reminding the handicapped male of that cat from Alice in Wonderland that could smile, something no ordinary cat could do, "Let's play it using my rules, okay? Rules are as follow: One person will ask the others if they've ever done something that the askee-."
"-That's not a real word-." Megumi muttered, looking at her with a raised eyebrow, but was ignored by Aria, who continued on her rant as if there had been no interruption.
"-has done. If you have not done it, you take a shot. If no one has done it, then the askee takes a shot. If you've done ten of the things that have been asked, you're out. Now, this game is more like a drinking game with alcohol but we don't have that so we'll use soda." Aria stood up and tapped Nezumi on the shoulder, "Go get some, Nezumi!"
"Why should I?" He replied, yawning. This, in turn, caused Aria to yawn, along with Shion and Riku. The others had averted their eyes before Nezumi had yawned. He already wanted to go back to his dorm and ignore the need to tell Shion about Ryoko and his cousin.
"Because I asked?" She said, raising her eyebrow as if that was obvious, "Come on, you can even take Rin here." She smiled at the raven-haired male who looked at her as if she was insane. She stood up and sat down on Rin's lap, making him flinch at the contact, "Please?"
"Get off me and I'll do it." He stated, looking uncomfortable. Aria giggled and did so, blowing a kiss to Kai. Nezumi snorted, knowing how much Aria loved to mess with everyone and it seemed that she had set her eyes on annoying Kai. After all, the slate-haired boy looked ready to kill his friend.
"Let's go, Hosoya," Rin said, yanking Nezumi from his seat, mildly surprising Nezumi because of his strength. Then again, he had shown how strong he was when he fought against Black. Man, it was good that Rin was not one of his enemies.
Once the two left, Aya turned to Aria, "So, can we prohibit really personal questions? Or do we have to say those, too?"
"All questions are allowed to asked. If someone says 'never have I ever contemplated suicide', then that is an acceptable question," Aria jabbed her finger at Shion, "It'll help the Professor help us nutcases be sane again and see what our problems are."
"Not to mention that it'll strengthen our bonds." Megumi inputted, staring at a wall absentmindedly. He had such a short attention span, Shion thought as he observed the younger male. He wondered if there was a reason for that. He knew Riku's was attributed to his time in a mental institute but had no reason for Megumi.
He sighed. This was going to be a bit more difficult than he had first thought.
~~~DRAMA~~~
"Soda cans are odd." Rin noted as Nezumi made him carry thirteen of them in his arms. He shivered, the cold of the beverages affecting him, "To be honest, I've never even seen a soda can before."
"How rich are you?" Nezumi asked, paying for the last soda. After he grabbed it, he made sure to grab six from Rin's arms carefully, "How have you never seen a soda can?"
"I was sheltered for most of my life until my parents died, you know," Rin answered as they walked back to the classroom, "and my guardian after that said I had no need to drink this filth."
"You sound as if you had a boring childhood."
Rin shrugged, "I wouldn't say it was boring. I did enjoy things that I was taught, like playing the violin and piano. I used to enjoy making tea ceremonies when I was younger but that was embarrassing once I was ten. Other than that, I would say it was boring."
"Did you even go to school?" Nezumi asked. He had noticed a while back that Rin seemed to be awkward around so many people. He could have brushed it of as being traumatized of people like Aya but the blonde girl seemed okay with being around so many people, as if she was used to the busy school environment.
"One year of high school when I was fourteen," He answered, "I had nothing to do as I had already gotten my degree and I wanted a small taste of school life. As you can probably tell, I was home-schooled, instructed by the best tutors Voltaire could find and pay."
"Voltaire? The name rings a bell." Nezumi thought aloud, trying to remember where he had heard of that name.
"Voltaire Hiwatari, CEO of Hiwatari Enterprises, my legal guardian and Kai's grandfather," Rin answered without blinking, as if these titles had been drilled into his mind the way you would drill formulas, "He groomed me to be a successful heir to my family and to be Kai's spouse."
"That sucks. Were you even given a choice over who you were going to marry?" Nezumi asked, about to open a soda can before stopping when he saw Rin's face, "Don't tell me you didn't get the choice."
"In families like ours, arranged marriages are more common than you think," He answered, "Besides, it was in the will of our parents for us to get married. I had to comply. Not to mention that, if it wasn't Kai, it would've probably been some man or woman I wouldn't even know."
"Rich people are so strange." Nezumi said, his voice showing some disgust.
"You have no idea," Rin replied in a deadpan voice, "What was your childhood like, then, Hosoya?"
Nezumi shrugged, "Normal, I guess. Well, I didn't have any fiancés and I wasn't pushed into learning something I had no interest in. I did regular things, like going to the beach with my sister and parents or going camping or eating takoyaki. Nothing elaborate, you know."
Rin smiled, looking at the soda cans he held, "Then you had a good childhood."
For a moment, Nezumi felt some pity for Rin. This was a person that was forced to learn things adults would enjoy while his childhood was practically robbed from him. Not to mention he was raised to be the perfect spouse for his best friend. He needed to give that Voltaire Hiwatari a good punch.
"Hey, want to learn a trick?" Nezumi asked. When he saw the curiosity in Rin's eyes, he continued, "The soda you got for Kai, shake it as hard as you can." Rin blinked before doing so, frowning at him before Nezumi smirked, "It's a fun activity kids love to do and, occasionally, teenagers do it too."
"Really?" Rin asked.
"Yeah. You'll love it." Nezumi replied before spotting the classroom the others were in, "So, what did you do?"
He sighed, "Most of the time, I just stayed at one of the two manors."
"Who needs two manors?" Nezumi asked, sounding surprised.
"My family, who either lived here or in Russia," Rin answered, "I lived here a couple of weeks back when my parents were around." He chuckled, "I remember that they were remodeling the house so I was stuck alone in the garden, playing with an imaginary boy."
"Oh?" Nezumi asked, "You had an imaginary friend?" After all the things he had heard, Rin having an imaginary friend sounded relatable and rather mundane.
Rin nodded, "A boy with slate-colored hair, rat ears and tail and silver eyes," Nezumi paused, staring at Rin in a new light, "He was dressed in all grey and was barefoot, as if he wanted to feel the fresh soil my gardens had. He asked me to play a game and we did."
"And what happened with that imaginary boy?" Nezumi asked.
Rin frowned, "He never showed up again, not after we played one of his games."
"What kind of game?" Nezumi asked, knowing exactly what game Rin and his imaginary friend had played. After all, this all felt too familiar to him.
"A shooting game. And he shot me."
Nezumi's blood froze, pieces of his memory that had been blocked coming back. He now realized why he had thought Rin looked familiar when he had first seen him. Why hadn't he connected the dots that Angel – the young boy from his childhood that haunted him – looked a lot like Rin?
He and Rin had met once, eleven years ago, and Nezumi had shot him.
~~~DRAMA~~~
"We're back." Nezumi announced, throwing a soda can at Aria. The British girl immediately caught it before smiling at Rin that was carrying all the soda cans. The Russian flinched, not knowing why but that smile reminded him of Kai's and that was not a good thing.
"Are we starting?" Hikaru asked, Kaori leaning on him as she watched something on her phone. Shun immediately took it out of her hands – to her horror – and passed it to Nami. Kaori pouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Here." Rin handed Kai a soda can and his husband opened it, only for a mountain of fizz to shoot out of it, soaking Kai's face. Nezumi laughed while Rin frowned, "Is this the reason why you wanted me to shake the soda can, Nezumi?"
Kai huffed before turning to Rin, "Since when do you call him Nezumi?"
"Don't be jealous, honey," Aria replied, making a small braid in Shion's hair. The white-haired didn't mind, finding the girl's fingers to be so relaxing. Aria smirked at Nezumi, who glared at her. Man, Kai and Nezumi were so easy to rile up, "You need a haircut, Professor."
"Since he started calling me Rin," Rin replied before he and Nezumi sat down together, the raven haired male grinning at his husband, "Relax, Kai. Can't I have a friend, now?"
"Not when he's a seme." Aya muttered, causing Nami, Aria and Kaori to giggle. She was promptly ignored.
"So, shall we start?" Shion asked. When everyone nodded, he continued, "We'll go in clockwise order and start with Aria. Then it's Riku, Takao, Nami, Kaori, Shun, Hikaru, Kai, Aya, Megumi, me, Inukashi, Nezumi and, lastly, Rin, alright?" He clapped his hands together, "Let's start, shall we?" He nodded at the British girl, who looked more than happy to start.
"Never have I ever slow danced," She said, making Nezumi wonder why she started with such a tame question. Knowing her, she probably would have started with a sexual one. Even so, he frowned while he, Shion, Nami, Shun, Hikaru, Kai, Aya and Rin took a sip from their sodas.
"Clever move," Rin praised the female, making Kai mumble underneath his breath while Aya patted him in the back. Honestly, Shion thought, Kai had serious jealousy issues. He'd have to remedy that.
"Never have I ever," Riku began, fiddling with his long sleeve, "hijacked a car." While Shion wanted to know why an innocent boy like Riku had hijacked a car, he was too busy seeing Aria, Kaori, Aya, Megumi, Inukashi and Nezumi take a sip.
"Never have I ever," Takao paused to look around, "taken a test." They all groaned and took a sip, Takao beaming when he saw that he had made everyone take a drink. Clever boy, they all thought.
"Never have I ever kissed someone," Nami announced, grinning. Kaori, Shun, Hikaru, Kai, Aya, Megumi and Rin all took a sip, making Inukashi turn to Nezumi, glaring at him.
"I should've known you had lied! You told me that Rebecca had kissed you back in middle school!" She accused Nezumi. The slate-haired teen looked away from her, smirking while Inukashi growled, sounding a lot like a dog, an animal she was often compared to, "I idolized you for a month because of that!"
"Well, I lied." Nezumi replied, Inukashi punching Nezumi's arm. He winced, holding his injured arm, "Cut me a break, Inukashi."
"Can't believe me, Riku, Takao, Shion, Inukashi and Nezumi are the only ones that are still innocent," Aria whispered before wrapping her arms around Riku, "Okay, I kiss Riku, Takao kisses Inukashi and Shion and Nezumi kiss. That way, we won't be the odd ones out.
"No," They all deadpanned, even though it seemed Takao didn't mind the idea while Riku was too busy thinking of another question to ask. Shion and Nezumi turned to each other and looked away with disgust, although a smirk formed on Rin's face when he noticed Shion's small blush.
"Fine, buzzkills."
"Moving on," Kaori said, waving her hand before saying, "Never have I ever gotten a haircut." Shion snickered as he drank, seeing Nezumi do so as he glared at the white-haired male. The others that drank were Riku, Takao and Megumi.
"Never have I ever been on stage." Shun said, turning to his brother and grinning. Hikaru took it in stride before sipping from his drink, Nami, Aya, Nezumi and Rin doing the same.
Hikaru thought for a moment before snapping his fingers and grinned at his twin, "Never have I ever gotten a below average grade." Shun pouted before drinking, Aria, Nami, Kaori, Aya and Inukashi doing the same.
"Never have I ever gotten into a physical fight." Kai said smoothly and ignored the groans from Aria, Kaori, Megumi, Inukashi and Rin, who all took a drink. Rin looked ready to kick Kai, something Shion knew would not end up as a pretty sight.
Aya giggled before speaking, "Never have I ever been in an age-difference relationship." Aria and Rin took a sip, much to Kai's surprise. He stared at his spouse, who glared at him, daring him to ask his question.
"With who?" Kai asked.
"A seventeen year old I dated about three years ago," Rin answered smoothly. Doing the math, though, made Kai frown. If that was the case, then Rin had been fourteen when he had been dating the seventeen year old.
"He could date anyone before you, Kai," Shion said, trying to placate the Russians. If those two got into an argument (or into a physical fight), they'd probably have to be separated by at least ten security guards. After seeing that neither of them was going to fight, Shion nodded at Megumi to continue.
"Never have I ever slept in my significant other's room." Megumi said in a monotone but they all saw the blush in his cheeks, making Aya want to coo at him. After that, she took a drink, along with Aria, Nami, Kaori, Shun, Hikaru, Kai and Rin.
"Never have I ever played an instrument." Shion said, trying to steer the questions away from the romantic tone. Riku, Nami, Kaori, Shun, Hikaru, Aya, Nezumi and Rin all took a drink, Rin mumbling that learning to play multiple instruments had been a bad idea.
Inukashi nodded her head when she finally came up with a good question, "Never have I ever robbed someone." Aria, Kaori, Hikaru, Aya, Megumi and Nezumi all took a drink, Shion being a bit afraid of how many kleptomaniacs there were in the classroom.
Nezumi thought for a moment before speaking, "Never have I ever visited a country that isn't my home country." Everyone but Takao, Megumi and Inukashi took a drink. Aya laughed as she drank, finding this to be fun. Still, the questions were tame.
"Never have I ever shaken a soda can and given it to someone." To Rin's surprise, everyone but Riku and Takao took a drink.
"Okay," Shion turned to Natasha and Haru who had been keeping score, "Aria has nine strikes, Riku has four, Takao has one, Nami has eight, Kaori has eleven, Shun has eight, Hikaru has ten, Kai has six, Aya has twelve, Megumi has eight, I have five, Inukashi has five as well, Nezumi has ten and Rin has nine."
"Kaori, Hikaru, Aya and Nezumi are eliminated!" Aria announced, sticking her tongue out at Nezumi who mouthed 'Fuck you' at her. She waved at them, "That leaves me, Riku, Takao, Nami, Shun, Kai, Megumi, Professor, Inukashi and Rin. However, the clear winner is Takao, as he only got one strike."
"What do I win?" He asked, playing with one of his long stray hairs. Aria frowned and thought about that before Takao brightened, smiling softly before clapping his hands together, "How about a game of unlucky fours?"
"Unlucky fours?" They all questioned.
Takao nodded, "There should be at least thirteen players as this is my unlucky game. We all put our names in a bowl and the unlucky man picks out four names that will have to do a punishment for a whole week. I'll be the unlucky man because I won the Never Have I Ever game, okay?"
"This should be interesting." Aria muttered.
"Anyone have paper?" Shion asked before Megumi passed him a notebook that was lying around in the classroom. Shion pitied poor Drew Dunbroch for leaving his notebook around here before ripping out a paper and cutting it into thirteen pieces, writing with the pen Riku always carried. He folded the papers neatly and cupped his hands together to shake them.
"What's the punishment, though?" Inukashi asked.
"How about they have to cross-dress for a whole week?" Kaori contributed, raising her hand as she spoke, "It's pretty unlucky, as they'll have to do that Saturday and Sunday, our only free days, and the whole school week."
"Okay," Takao agreed, "The unlucky four will cross-dress for a week." He nodded at Shion before picking four pieces of paper. He unfolded the first, "The first unlucky is Aya."
"Damn," Aya pouted, "the male uniform won't suit me very well." She sighed, playing with her long hair and sighed, "Oh well." She had been looking forward to going out around the town with Hiro this week but he'd probably think it'd be out of character for her to be wearing guy clothing.
As she thought about this, Takao has unfolded the next paper, "The second unlucky is Megumi."
Megumi shrugged, not caring. He wasn't going to make a big deal out of it as he had cross-dressed once when he and Ryoko had snuck into an all-girl's school some time ago. He still winced when he remembered his leg hairs being waxed out.
"The third unlucky," Takao paused as he unfolded the paper, "is Nezumi." Inukashi and Aria started laughing while Shion snorted. Nezumi glared at the three, blushing furiously. This sucked. He was laughed at for looking like a girl as it was. This didn't make him feel better.
"And the fourth unlucky is Rin." Takao beamed at Rin while the male slammed his face on a desk and screamed, Kai smirking down at him.
"Now you are going to be my wife."
"I hate you." Rin mumbled.
"I'll do your makeup and hairs and wardrobe, boys!" Aya cooed, Nezumi, Megumi and Rin groaning at that thought while everyone laughed. Shion smiled at the band of misfits he was counseling and he was glad that he had gotten this lot.
"Well, with that concluding thought, this session is over."
~~~DRAMA~~~
Outside of Weston Academy, a young woman ran, holding her wounded side with one hand while holding a small bundle on the other as she entered an alley, accidentally kicking a garbage can. Sirens wailed loudly as she ran deeper into the alley, her dark blue jacket catching on a nail. She grunted and freed herself, panting as she ran.
"Where'd she go?" The police asked, stopping their cars while the girl carefully got inside a dumpster, covering her nose and trying not to make a sound while rocking the bundle carefully. The same officer spoke, "Noto-san, are you sure that she came through here?"
"I'm positive," The man replied, his gruff voice making the girl growl, "The thief entered my home and threatened me with a gun, making outrageous claims about me. Luckily, one of my dogs bit her side so she ran. She was also carrying a child so that and the wound mean she couldn't have gotten very far."
"Let's search the other alleys." An officer suggested and the girl was extremely quiet as the officers split, Noto-san running after one while trying to describe his attacker. After the alley was quiet, she sighed in relief.
The baby cooed and she looked down at the child, "There, there, Artemis. You're going to be fine, okay?" The baby babbled at her and she held him close to her chest, "I promised to take care of you, remember? I won't let anyone hurt you." She winced, looking at the blood on her side, "That bastard's going to pay. For killing your mother, for hurting Megumi and Raidyn and making them cry. He'll pay for everything."
~~~DINIS~~~
Notes for Chapter 7:
*The friendship between Nezumi/Rin seemed cute in my head so I had to put it in. Shion and Kai better not get jealous.
*If I had played here, I'd have six strikes. I'm not saying which ones I've done, though. I'm keeping you on your toes.
*I made up the game of Unlucky Fours and I'd play it if I had thirteen friends.
*Beware of Noto-san!
*Artemis means moon or hunter and is a gender-friendly name.
