My target is to finish this fan fiction before the June ends.

Hope you like this chapter!

Pls. review!


Chapter 9:

Spin-the-Bottle

"Wonder how many foods are there inside? Just thinking of the possible menu already makes my mouth water," said Momo as he licked his lips in anticipation. "I'm really hungry!" He grumbled loudly.

"You are always hungry," retorted Ryoma as they reached the front gates of the Ryuuzaki residence. He glanced on his watch: 8:45 p.m. The invitation said that the party would start by eight and last until midnight. "Ring the bell," he said as he leaned against the walls looking upwards the sky. Perfect weather, clear starry night, he thought. He would use this chance to talk to Sakuno and clear some matters.

Momo rang the doorbell and waited. Nobody answered the door. Inside they could hear distant sounds of chattering and music playing against the background. "Seems like the party had already started," said Momo worriedly. "What if there's no more food?" He rang again the doorbell. Nobody answered. "Hey, Ochibi, you think we should just climb over the walls like the other day?"

"What and looked like gatecrashers? We're invited," replied Ryoma as he rang the doorbell, this time intently.

Fortunately, few seconds after the last doorbell, someone opened the gates.

"Konbawa!" Sakuno greeted them warmly holding a pumpkin lantern in one hand. She was wearing a simple dark-orange sleeveless dress that fell to her knees with black trimmings on the hemlines accentuated with a black ribbon on the right chest. She had her hair in a high ponytail which made her look neat despite (to Ryoma's surprise) the dark make-up on her eyes which (sadly) hid the color of her eyes. Sakuno was never the cosmetic fan, he thought confusingly.

"You look cute, Sakuno-chan!" Momo greeted.

"Arigatou," said Sakuno looking embarrassed. "Tomo-chan was the one who dressed me up."

"Momo-sempai! Ryoma-kun!" Osakada followed suit in greeting them. She was wearing an Amazon striped skirt that fell short to her knees with matching slippers.

"Sexy Amazon outfit," said Momo grinning.

Oh, Amazon, thought Ryoma. I thought she was a tiger.

Osakada looked flattered and flipped her hair. "Thanks!"

"Hey, are we late?" Momo asked worriedly. He craned his neck past the two girls.

"No, Kikumaru-smepai and the others had just arrived some ten minutes ago," reassured Sakuno. She looked at Ryoma and their eyes met for a split second when she looked away, a tinge of blush visible on her cheeks. "Come inside." She turned around and guided them inside.

Momoshiro and Ryoma followed the two girls and as they walked, they cannot help but feel fascinated by the decorations outside the house. It was dark but there were pumpkin lanterns and black candles situated on every corner. They had really made effort to make it look like Halloween.

"I helped in putting all of those decorations," quipped Osakada proudly.

"Looks nice," commented Ryoma.

"You two are wearing identical costumes?" Osakada asked eyeing them from head to toe. They had reached the front door of the house and entered.

Ryoma was about to reply when he chose not to after they entered. He was nearly blasted by the eardrum-breaking music. The music was being amplified on what seemed like every corner of the room. It's no wonder it took Sakuno long enough to hear their doorbell the music was drowning everything off.

What used to be the receiving room was transformed into a mini dance floor filled with unrecognizable people in costumes. It was generally dark with only the multi-colored lights being illuminated by the disco ball above the ceiling.

"Where are they?" Ryoma asked loudly.

"I don't know," replied Momo loudly scanning his eyes throughout the crowd.

Yeah right. How was he supposed to find them against this dark background and costumes?

It's been years since he had worn a Halloween costume and that was when he was still living in America with his family and he used to join that annual trick or treat when he was still a child. He remembered that his mother usually bought him different costume every year. When he reached Fourth Grade, he stopped attending trick or treats because he found it annoying and exhausting to go around the neighbourhood, knocking on every house asking for sweets when he could just buy a bag of the same sweets at the supermarket and chomp on them on his own while watching horror movies at home.

His mother had already thrown out all of his childhood Halloween costumes so it was only last night when he discovered that he doesn't have any costume to wear. Luckily, Momo had the same dilemma and together, they went looking for a Halloween costume this morning. He told Momo that he already has his costume and that he was only accompanying him although he was just really looking for an idea to wear something.

Momo, being a cheapskate bought an old-fashioned Count Dracula costume on the thrift shop. And he lacking any sense of creativity, decided to copy Momo's choice and bought the same one secretly on a specialty costume shop although his attire has a different style and a little bit pricier.

"Over there!" Sakuno pointed excitedly to a small corner housing a small bar counter. Few people were seated in it chatting animatedly. They followed Sakuno and Osakada trying their best to squeeze themselves against the dancing crowd.

"Momo, Ochibi!" Kikumaru cried happily, as he jumped to give Ryoma his signature bear hug.

"You're choking me to death, sempai!" Ryoma gasped as he tried to pry himself from the redhead's grip.

"Still cocky as ever, ne?" Kikumaru said. "You're wearing identical costumes?" He surveyed the two from head to toe.

"Momo-sempai copied me," said Ryoma immediately.

"How could that be? I was the first one who bought this costume," gestured Momoshiro.

"I told you that I had this costume even before I came to Japan," lied Ryoma innocently. "And besides, mine is better. Why would I copy yours?"

Momo just snorted and ignored Ryoma. "What is that, Kikumaru-sempai?" He pointed to the redhead's black fitting furry outfit that covered him from hair to toe.

"Oh this? I'm a black cat!" He turned around and wiggled his long; back furry tail then made an acrobatic leap to a nearby chair, rubbing himself playfully against a guy covered in…tissue paper?

"Would you please stop that, Eiji? You're ruining my costume," said Oishi who had to adjust his wrappings on the arm. He stood and shook hands with Momo and Ryoma.

"Is that tissue paper, Oishi-sempai?" Ryoma asked tentatively.

"Yeah, cool isn't it? I had difficulty wrapping it around my body," grinned Oishi whose entire face was covered in tissue. He was dressed as a mummy and Ryoma would have not recognized him if not for his voice. The only exposed parts were his eyes, nose and mouth.

"What's up, Echizen?" Ryoma turned to Oishi's side and noticed it was Inui who was dressed as a mad scientist.

Makes no difference, thought Ryoma. Inui was like a twisted scientist from the day he had met him. He was always muttering data, data, data, and he always have that stupid notebook of his wherever he goes.

"Hello there, Momo and Echizen! Wanna have some drink?" The werewolf-man beside Inui asked them loudly. "I swear this drink makes me BURNIINNGG HOT!"

"Kawamura-sempai?" Ryoma had never seen his good old sempai drunk before. He had always been the shy and the goody-goody boy type.

"Yeah," said Inui who answered their questioning looks. "He's kinda tipsy; he emptied a bottle just a while ago. By the way," he showed them a bottle filled with blue liquid. "I have this new concoction, Inui Juice XY to strengthen you guys. I'm still in the trial phase-"

"No, thanks," answered Momo and Ryoma in unison.

Ryoma had enough experience with that horrible creation of his.

"Are you sure?"

Momo and Ryoma nodded vigorously.

"Tsk, tsk."

"Where's Tezuka-buchou and Fuji-sempai?" Momo asked squinting his eyes amidst the dark surroundings. "And I haven't seen Mamushi around."

"Tezuka and Fuji's with Coach Ryuuzaki," answered Inui. Then he pointed to the person seated three spaces behind him. "Kaidoh."

The person Inui pointed at was wearing a white, elongated mask. He was also wearing an all-black outfit, black shirt and black pants.

"Scream," thought Ryoma as he remembered the suspense-thriller movie where the killer was hiding behind a mask.

"Mamushi?" Momo called out loudly as he spotted Kaidoh.

"What?" Kaidoh hissed.

"That's the lamest mask I've ever seen in my whole life," said Momo guffawing loudly. "I mean you don't have any sense of creativity at all!"

Kaidoh rose from his chair and grabbed Momo's white-collar shirt. "What do you want?"

Momo was already bursting from laughter. "You're really the best, Mamushi!"

Smelling the brewing tension between the two archrivals, Ryoma pushed himself between the two. "Momo-sempai, I'm hungry. Let's go over there," said Ryoma as he pulled Momo in the opposite direction away from a fuming Kaidoh. Thankfully, Momo allowed himself to be steered away by Ryoma towards the buffet table.

"Are you looking for a fight?" Ryoma asked with a smirk as he scanned the foods laid on the long table.

"Did you see that mask? That Scream movie was years ago, way out-of-date. Hahaha," guffawed Momo.

Ryoma wanted to retort that Count Dracula was way more out-of-date than the Scream movie thing but since he was also wearing the same Dracula costume, decided it was best not to bring up the matter.

"Is that grapefruit?" Ryoma asked the butler as he pointed at the fountain pouring out red liquid from the top. The butler nodded and gave him a glass. "Thanks."

"Look at these! Burgers, pizzas, fries-"Momo's eyes started to widen in anticipation as he looked at the foods.

"Nachos, tempuras, sushis. Mixture of typical American and Japanese foods," said Ryoma disinterestedly as he picked one of each and placed it on his plate.

"Juicy!" Momo exclaimed as he took two plated and began putting one food after another until it rose out of his plate.

"Come on, let's get back and find a place." Ryoma called out loudly to stop his sempai from taking all the foods on the table. Well, it's better that he keeps eating to shut that mouth of his; he might get into a brawl with Kaidoh.

"Momo! Echizen!" Kikumaru called out to them waving himself promiscuously. Then, Kikumaru's eyes widened as he registered the pile of foods that Momo was trying to balance with both hands. "You aren't that hungry, are you?"

"Leave some food for others, Momoshiro," chucked Sumire watching as Momo and Ryoma settled in a nearby corner.

"Good evening, Coach," greeted Ryoma and Momo respectfully.

"The foods are mouth-watering," grinned Momo sheepishly then started eating unashamedly.

"Those are catered, I don't have time to cook," said Sumire. Then she turned to Ryoma, "Enjoying the party, I hope?"

"Too early to say," admitted Ryoma truthfully, as he took a bite on his stuffed nachos.

"Tezuka and Fuji!" Sumire called out loud, as she strained her eyes to see against the dark backdrop and fleeting colourful lights.

The dancing suddenly stopped and the people began to move sideways, pushing themselves against the sides as if making way for something big.

There were appreciative murmurs and lots of ooohs and aaahhs as the Tezuka and Fuji came into view.

"Look, Sakuno-chan! It's Fuji-sempai!" Osakada shrieked piercingly behind Ryoma. She dragged Sakuno and pushed themselves to move forward. "Excuse me!"

Ryoma was about to put the sushi into his mouth when Osakada shoved against him and pulled Sakuno after her. "Hey!" He shouted as the sushi fell on the floor but was ignored.

Syuusuke Fuji was wearing a simple white-collared shirt underneath a crisp, long, black coat that fell past his waist. He was wearing this funny tall, black hat that magicians used to wear.

"Isn't Fuji-sempai sooooo cute!" Osakada shrieked much to Ryoma's displeasure. She was jumping up and down like an excited baboon shouting her lungs off. Then, her shriek abruptly stopped as it had started. "Oh my, is that-" Her breath seemed to get caught on her lungs. "Tezuka-buchou?"

"Look! Tezuka just arrived!" Kikumaru said as he pointed.

Tezuka strode into the room oblivious to the stares and awed looks both he and Fuji were receiving.

"Tezuka-buchou is absolutely handsome!" Osakada said as she faked a faint.

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno said as she pulled her friend up. The, she felt someone in front of her and was surprised to see Fuji and Tezuka. "Oh!" Tomo-chan is right. They are absolutely so handsome tonight, she thought. Tezuka was wearing an eerie white half mask and was dressed in an all-black formal suit, it seemed like he had grown taller this year. She seemed mesmerized by their looks that she continued to stare at them for a few seconds.

"Sakuno-chan?" Fuji asked tentatively.

"Gomen!" She said turning a little red. "Good evening, Fuji-sempai, Tezuka-buchou" she said as she made a respectful bow.

"The two of you looked really cute today," said Fuji with his trademark smile adorning his features. "And I told you, Sakuno-chan to drop the formalities and call me by my first name."

"Arigatou, Syuu-kun!" Sakuno said blushing pink.

"Where is Coach Ryuuzaki?" Tezuka asked in is deep voice.

"Fuji, Tezuka," said Sumire as she came forward to greet the two.

"Good evening, Coach Ryuuzaki," greeted Tezuka in his deep, baritone voice and made a respectful bow.

"Good evening, Coach," said Fuji with a casual wave of hand.

"Good evening too," replied Sumire. "I thought you two weren't going to attend the party especially you, Tezuka." She handed the two guys glasses of deep, red wine.

"Hey, why were they given wine and us plain grapefruit drinks?" Ryoma whispered to Momoshiro.

"Yeah, that's unfair," said Momo in affirmation.

"I heard you, two," said Sumire raising her perfectly arched brow at Momo and Ryoma. "Because Tezuka and Fuji are mature enough and won't get drunk unlike you two idiots." Then she turned to Tezuka and Fuji again. "So what can you say about my Halloween party?"

"It looks like fun," said Fuji with a wink at Sakuno much to Ryoma's irritation.

"How about you, Tezuka? I mean, you're not the party-type and you're here looking really good," said Sumire with a chuckle.

"It would be nice to meet again," answered Tezuka.

"Seems you two have grown taller this year," Sumire complimented. "Time really flies past. It's as if yesterday you were just Junior High freshmen students and now you're in Senior High School."

"You've taught us a great deal," said Tezuka.

"Hey,Tezuka,Fuji!" Oishi greeted.

Kikumaru, Inui and Kawamura followed, "Hey, there!"

"I knew it! I knew it!" Kikumaru yelled happily, as he pointed to Fuji, "You are dressed as Houdini, the master of magic!" Then he pointed to Tezuka, "And you are the Phantom of the Opera!"

Fuji smiled while Tezuka just nodded.

"Eiji's right," said Oishi. "Very nice choice. Cool."

"Cool," said Kawamura in an awed voice.

Inui pulled out his "magic notebook" and began scribbling furiously.

"Where's Momoshiro, Kaidoh and Echizen?" Tezuka asked.

"We're here, Tezuka-buchou!" Momoshiro pulled Ryoma with him. Kaidoh followed them behind slouching lazily.

"How's the team going?" He asked eyeing the three.

"It's not the same without you sempais," replied Momoshiro enthusiastically. "But with me as captain, Mamushi as vice-captain and Ochibi as our ace player, we're sure to enter the Nationals this year!"

This statement was met by a grunt from Kaidoh and a derisive snort from Ryoma.

"Good," said Tezuka and all of a sudden, they felt like it was practice training again, where Tezuka would issue orders and make them run laps around the field mercilessly. Instead, he raised is glass of wine, "Good luck to Seigaku."

"Cheers," said Fuji as he raised his glass.

"Cheers!" They followed in unison.


"Ochibi, come on and have fun!" Kikumaru yelled as he danced on the centerfloor.

"No, thanks," replied Ryoma. He watched as Kikumaru danced, well not actually danced but a combination of dance and acrobatic steps, occupying almost half of the dance floor that other dancers seemed to back away in fear of injury.

"Why don't you have some fun?" Momo asked as he gobbled one pizza to another.

For the past two hours, Ryoma could have said that he was enjoying the party at the very least. He's not really the party-type of person, he'd rather sleep or play tennis than spend all night partying with people he only half knew. Good thing his sempais were here, he had someone to talk to. Now, he felt something he had never felt before. It was like a mixture of anger and uneasiness like something inside of him was preparing to attack in any second.

"This party really rocks!" Momo grinned as he took a big chunk of chicken.

"You like the foods, not the party," said Ryoma as he continued to watch the small group of people in a nearby table. He had been watching them closely for the past thirty minutes. He gritted his teeth again as another burst of girly giggles erupted.

"Ooohhh!"

"How did you do that?"

Osakada and Ryuuzaki squealed in delight and amazement as Fuji slowly released himself from the tightrope binding him from shoulders down to the feet.

"That was awesome!" Oishi exclaimed. "I made sure those ropes were pulled tight around you."

Fuji just smiled in answer to their questions. He removed the ropes and placed it gently upon the table.

"Can you do the escape act on the water tank like what Houdini did too?" Sakuno asked in earnest her eyes bright wit curiosity.

"Nah," answered Fuji shaking his head. "That was fairly difficult and besides, I'm just doing all of these for fun."

-

-

-

"Che," muttered Ryoma bitterly. Just what was amazing on that act? He could be hiding a Swiss Army knife behind him to cut those ropes.

"Cool," said Momo as he began to look interested in Fuji's "magic tricks."

-

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-

After the rope escape act, Fuji took out a deck of playing cards from inside his coat. He shuffled it once then spread it facedown upon the table. "Pick one," he spoke directly to Sakuno.

Consequently, Sakuno picked a card from the middle. "This one," she said as pointed at the facedown card.

"You can look at it," said Fuji gently. "Then after you've taken a look, you must place it back where you've taken it."

"Okay," said Sakuno as she flipped the card open. Next, as Fuji instructed she placed it back where she had taken the card.

Subsequently, Fuji shuffled the cards twice. He placed the deck in front of Sakuno, "Cut the deck into two."

Sakuno did as she was told to. After it, Fuji reshuffled the two sets of cards separately then put them back again as one deck. He picked the card on top of the deck and with an innocent smile he asked, "Is this the same card you've picked just a while ago?" He twisted the card and showed it to her.

Sakuno gasped in surprise. "Yeah, it's the Queen of Hearts!"

-

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-

"Cheap trick," muttered Ryoma heavily under his breath. He did something to that card. Maybe he didn't shuffle it really well. On the other hand, he could have put a dent on the card so he could feel it. Or he might have hidden it under his sleeve during the shuffling. His mind was already barraging him with dozens of rationales that he was starting to get more irritated. He could have talked to Sakuno but she and Osakada were always with that sadist. He just wanted to talk to her without attracting attention from his sempais. Deep inside, he felt that he still have a chance to win her against Fuji.

"But you can't deny that those are cool tricks," said Momo in an awed voice. "Maybe I could ask Fuji-sempai to teach me some magic tricks later."

Ryoma thought that Fuji's "magic tricks" were over but he was wrong…

-

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-

"Cool," said Osakada in almost worshipful voice.

"Yeah, it's really cool," said Sakuno.

Fuji just smiled and put back the deck of cards inside his coat. "I've still got one more trick under my sleeve," he said with an inviting smile. "Wanna see it?"

Osakada and Ryuuzaki nodded in anticipation. "Yeah," they answered in unison.

Pulling out a red handkerchief from the sleeve of his coat, Fuji held it out in front of Osakada and Ryuuzaki. He turned it upside down to show there's nothing in it. Next, he crumpled the silk and held it in front of Sakuno.

"Blow on it," he said.

Although bewildered by this request, Sakuno did was she was told to and puffed out an unnecessary amount of air. Next, Fuji stretched out is hand behind her neck with the crumpled red cloth while gently whispering in her ear, "How about-"

Sakuno gave out a funny squeak as she felt startled by Fuji's cool breath against her hear.

"-a rose?" Fuji held out a little fresh rose in front of her.

"Oh!" Sakuno gasped in amazement as she took the rose. "How did you do that?"

Fuji just smiled in response and gave another rose to Osakada.

"Arigatou, Fuji-sempai!" Osakada said happily.

"Arigatou," said Sakuno blushing.

-

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-

Ryoma felt a nasty urge to grab a tennis racquet and challenge Fuji into a tennis match right then and there and beat him into a pulp.

"Ochibi, you saw that?" Momo poked him against the ribs.

"Che," answered Ryoma bitterly. "He was teasing, no, he's flirting with her."

"Oh…I'm talking about the magic trick," said Momo. "Well, yeah, Fuji-sempai's quite charming around girls. And to date, you and Ryuuzaki have already called it quits, right?"

Ryoma was about to retort when they were drowned by a voice from the centerfloor.

"Ehem, ehem." A loud cough from Inui caught the crowd's attention."May I have your attention?"

"What is it, sempai?" Momo asked.

"Since it's near midnight, I'm proposing a simple game for us," started Inui.

"A tennis match?" Kikumaru asked as he gracefully leapt into a nearby table.

"No, this would just be a simple game that's based on luck. You don't need to use anything," replied Inui.

"Luck? You mean like a card game?" Oishi asked.

"No, we're going to play Spin-A-Bottle," said Inui as he raised an empty champagne bottle. "You already know the mechanics, right? When the bottle point at you, you're usually given the choice of Truth or Dare."

"Truth or Dare? I like that," said Kikumaru happily as jumped from the table. "Let's start now!"

"Brilliant!" Momo jabbed his fist triumphantly.

"All regular members of the Tennis Team during our batch meaning Tezuka, Fuji, Oishi, Kikumaru and me, are going to join. Meaning Kaidoh, Momo and you, Ryoma would be joining. I've got a special permission from Coach Ryuzaki about it," said Inui upon the protesting look on Ryoma.

"Rubbish," muttered Ryoma audibly throwing Inui an angry look.

"I've also decided to include Coach Ryuzaki, Ryuzaki Sakuno and Osakada," added Inui.

"Eh?!" Sakuno gasped at being included."Gomen, Inui-sempai but.."

"It's going to be fun!" Osakada said excitedly nudging Sakuno.

"Anou..Alright, I'll join," answered Sakuno defeatedly.

"Don't worry," said Fuji. "Just enjoy it."

"Good. To make the game exciting, I've decided that the choices would no longer be Truth or Dare but Kiss or Dare."

"Kiss or Dare?" Ryoma nearly spluttered his drink upon hearing Inui's words.

"I know what you're thinking and you're right. The chosen player would roll a dice to determine if his consequence is Kiss or a Dare. Even number 2,4 and 6 constitute a Dare and odd numbers 1,3 and 5 would be Kiss. In case of Dare, I've got here a bowl of consequences. And in case of Kiss, you've got to spin the bottle again and whomever it point to would be the one you're going to kiss."

"Gross! But I wouldn't mind kissing you Ochibi! You're like a very cute cat." Kikumaru squealed and jumped above Momo and Ryoma's table, pouting his lips in an exaggerated manner to plant a kiss on Ryoma.

"You're disgusting, Kikumaru-sempai!" Ryoma immediately ducked under the table and Kikumaru nearly fell on the floor if he had not learned acrobatics.

"We're going to start now. Guys, form a circle. Hurry! Hurry!" Inui motioned them.

"Are you alright?" Ryoma heard Fuji asked Sakuno as he (to Ryoma's chagrin) sat beside Sakuno. They were seated just right across from him and Momo.

"So, ready?" Inui asked them as he gently placed the bottle on the center of the floor. "Let the game begin!"

The bottle was spun in a dizzying rotation and it spun round and round…