Chapter 26.

Niou took his tux jacket off of his shoulder, quickly slipping it on as he rushed down the stairs. He straightened his bowtie and double checked to make sure all of the buttons in his shirt were in the right holes. He shoved the thin white fabric down the front of his pants, jumping down the last few steps.

"I'm going to Atobe's! I'll be back around midnight!" Niou shouted, not that anyone would hear him unless they were in the rooms surrounding the foyer. Their voices simply didn't carry through the house. Niou did a three-sixty, and then another as he muttered under his breath: "Shoes... shoes... shoes..."

He spotted his shoes by a table and his gift on top of the table next to a large vase of lilacs. He grabbed his shoes, but didn't put them on. They were as tight as anything, and he was going to wait until he got to Atobe's to put them on. He grabbed the bag, and then was out the door.

After going down another set of stairs, he rushed past the limo (his mom and dad had a dinner date), past his sister's car, past his dad's work car, and past his dad's mid-life-crisis car. His family really needed to learn to use the garage. Then again, he didn't use the garage...

His car was next after his dad's shiny red sports car. He pulled his keys out of his pocket, and jumped into the driver's seat, tossing his gift into the passenger's seat. It wasn't breakable. He double checked his bowtie in the mirror, stuck the key into the ignition, and headed out.

.

Niou guessed that Marui would call Niou's "mansion" a hotel room after seeing Atobe's house. It was literally a mansion. There were at least five levels, and was about ten times longer than it was tall. It was enormous in every sense of the word. The dozens of cars parked out front looked like ants compared to it. The thing was the Godzilla of houses.

Niou parked his car on the driveway, not wanting to risk parking in the grass and pissing off the gardeners. He put on his shoes, grabbed Sato's gift, locked the car doors, and began to head towards the house. After what seemed like the longest walk of his life, he was at the front door being greeted by one of Atobe's butlers.

"Good evening, Niou-san," the butler said. "May I take your jacket?"

Niou had never met the guy. Atobe probably told him to memorize pictures of all the guests. That rich freak. Niou nodded, figuring it was the guy's job, and slid his coat off. He tossed it at the butler, smiled politely instead of like a demon for once, and headed inside.

Though Niou had been in the foyer of Atobe's house dozens of times, it looked different each time. They probably changed the rugs and paintings monthly. However, this is the first time the foyer wasn't full. Niou looked around, wandering where everyone was.

"Through the archway to the right of the stairs. Keigo-sama wished for the party to be held in the ballroom," the butler said.

Niou flinched – the butler had ninja feet.

Niou nodded, thanked him, and headed towards the archway. He walked through a hall of fine art, and heard the faint sound of the piano being played. He walked through another archway at the end of the hallway and into an enormous room full of people who Niou didn't know. He figured they were Hyotei students, or perhaps some of Sato's university friends.

All of the men were wearing identical tuxedos, every single one of them looking like a penguin. Atobe had his hair brushed back and looked like the king of the penguin douches. All of the girls were wearing long, flowing dresses or short, knee-length cocktail dresses. Niou didn't know much about dresses, but he would bet they were of the newest fashions.

Niou slid into the room unnoticed, quickly spotting the gift table. He was the only one who bagged a gift. He was also the only one who used color. Most of the boxes were silver, white or black. Niou's bag was pink with neon green tissue paper. He added it to the table anyways.

"Niou, I'm surprised you showed."

This was annoying already. He was beginning to wonder if ninja feet were a requirement to enter the Atobe estate. He hoped not. He had feet that would put an elephant to shame.

Niou turned. "Oshitari, it's not very nice to see you."

Oshitari took a sip of champagne out of the flute he was holding, completely ignoring Niou's comment. "Jirou and I had a bet on whether or not you would show. He owes me quite a sum. Champagne?"

"I don't drink anymore. I had a bad experience with a piano," Niou said. He scanned the room, and then looked back at Oshitari. "Akutagawa is here?"

Oshitari nodded slightly, as though his neck would crack if he moved it too much. "Yes. Gakuto and Kabaji-kun are here as well."

"So where's Sato-chan? Has she shown up yet?"

"I believe so, but who knows? It's not that important. This party is for show, even she would know that." Oshitari shrugged, taking another sip. "Are you sure you don't want anyone champagne? You look a little... tense."

Niou shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

"Are you –"

"I will shove that glass or flute or whatever the freak it's called up your ass," Niou hissed.

"Testy," Oshitari said. Without another word, he turned and headed towards a group of people who invited him to join their conversation without a second thought.

Niou looked around again. Atobe was coming this way, a girl on his arm. Niou slid to the side and down a hallway. It looked like he was playing hide-from-Atobe-and-hope-he-didn't-seek tonight. Maybe he should have taken the champagne and humped a piano instead.

.

Atobe had spotted him ducking into the hallway and yanked him back out by the collar, smiling as though this was completely normal. "Glad to see you could make it, Niou."

"My brother and sister send their regards," Niou lied. "You gonna let go of my collar? You wouldn't want my tuxedo to look wrinkled. It might make you look bad, Atobe."

Atobe let go of Niou's collar, gently shoving him towards Akutagawa and Mukahi. "Have fun," Atobe murmured, heading off to talk to Oshitari.

"Niou," Mukahi greeted. "I didn't think you'd come."

"Why is everyone so surprised?" Niou asked.

"Because you never show up," Akutagawa said. He was licking chocolate off of his fingers. "Have you tried the chocolate strawberries? They're amaaaaazing."

"I'm good."

"We're not trying to poison you," Mukahi said. Then he popped a strawberry in his mouth. "Jell, Mushi bite."

Akutagawa laughed softly. "He said Yuushi – Oshitari – might."

"And that's why I didn't take the champagne," Niou explained. "Is this seriously fun to you guys?"

Mukahi shrugged. "We do it for our parents. They last thing they need is a public relations catastrophe."

Akutagawa nodded. "Yeah. We don't like it that much either. I mean, some of the people here are nice, but most of them are Atobe's friends. The food's good. Girls are cute. Dancing is fun."

"Well," Niou said, looking over the Hyotei boys' shoulders, "Atobe is flirting with some girl, so I'm going to make a run for it. Have fun."

Niou slipped away, barely able to hear Akutagawa say something about going to get more strawberries.

.

Niou had yet to see a single person there, besides himself, that didn't attend Hyotei high, or one of its sister schools. The strange thing was that there wasn't a single university student there. It really was just a show to make Atobe look good.

Niou spotted Atobe, and slipped out of the ballroom through the archway he had entered it through earlier. He walked past a couple that was coming in, and was wondering if he would be able to get past the butler at the door. He doubted it – that meant he had to stay; if Atobe found out he ditched, it'd mean hell.

Niou spotted a door that was cracked open. He looked over his shoulder – no one was looking – and entered the small room, expecting to find it empty. It wasn't. A barefoot girl was lying on the loveseat, black cocktail dress sliding down her thighs to show what Niou was sure had to be red lace. Her heels were sitting on the floor.

Niou closed the door behind him, and the girl sat up, her hair falling down over her shoulders. She swung her legs over the loveseat, pulling her dress back down. "I didn't see anything," Niou told her.

"You're lying." Niou raised his eyebrow. He was lying, but how did she know? She smiled at his cluelessness. "My dad's a lawyer. Call it a sixth sense."

"You're Sato Ree."

She nodded slowly. "Yup. Let me guess, Atobe invited you because we've met once?"

"Basically." He leaned back against the door, crossing his arms. "And I'm Niou Masaharu, thanks for asking."

She pivoted in the loveseat, lying down again. Just like before, her dress slid down her thighs, showing just a hint of her underwear again. "I was escaping those idiots. So, if you don't mind, leave."

"I'm staying," Niou declared. He headed over to an armchair that was shoved into a corner of the small room, fiddling with his bowtie. He figured they were in one of Atobe's studies. There were several bookcases, as well as a trophy case, and a chess table. "Nice hiding place."

She probably rolled her eyes, but Niou couldn't quite see. "Why are you still here?"

"I don't know anyone in there," Niou said, as though it was the most obvious thing. He looked at the chess table. "You like chess?"

"Yes, but I'm not playing."

"Why not? Do you have something better to do?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Not playing with you."

"Truth-or-dare-strip chess? If you lose a piece, you do truth or dare. If it's on a white space, it's a true. If it's on a black space, it's a dare. When you lose the king, you strip one piece of clothing. You can choose not to answer a question, but you have to take off a piece of clothing."

She was silent for a moment. Then she sat up and turned at the same time. Within the blink of an eye, she was on her feet, pulling her dress down. There was no way to lie and say he didn't see anything that time.

"You won't be smirking when you're in your underwear, rich boy."

.

Sato was first to lose a piece. A pawn on a white space – truth: "Did you know this was a birthday party for you? Atobe said it was a surprise party."

"Of course I knew," she said, as though it was obvious. "I'm not an idiot."

Niou twirled her pawn in his fingers. "So says the person who agreed to strip out of a piece of clothing when all they're wearing is a dress and underwear."

.

She lost the second piece as well. A knight on a white space – truth: "Why did you come if you knew this was your birthday party?"

"Because I really don't give a damn about the day that I was born. No one cares, really. There's no point. We celebrate getting a year closer to death. I don't get it. I figured I might as well get jewelry for surviving another year."

.

Niou lost his first piece. A bishop on a black space – dare: "When I take your king, drop your pants."

"And if you don't take my king? Which you won't," he reassured her.

She shrugged. "The dare becomes invalid."

.

She lost another piece. Another pawn on a white space – truth: "Why are you smiling, even though I appear to be the better chess player?"

She just kept smiling. "Because you're not."

.

She lost her king-side rook on a white space – truth: "Ever been skinning dipping?"

She twirled his bishop in her fingers, a teasing smile on her lips. "Have you?"

"Yes, but that's not the question," he said. "If you don't answer, you start stripping now."

She moved her remaining knight, and then said, "No. Your turn."

.

She lost another pawn on a white space – truth: "What is the stupidest thing you've done of your own free will?"

"This game," she responded quickly. She moved a pawn right next to Niou's queen – a white space. When he didn't take it without hesitation, she smirked. "Do I need to say 'no balls,' or is it just implied?"

He took it. "Why is this the stupidest thing you've done?"

She shrugged, putting her finger on another pawn. She rocked it back and forth, thinking, planning. "Because even though I don't like people, I try not to judge them. The way someone handles himself under pressure says a lot about them. The way they play chess says even more. I just met you, and I'm already judging everything about you."

Niou felt her eyes on him. "How am I doing?"

She moved her pawn. "You'll have to take another piece if you want an answer."

.

He had been screwed from the start.

She had been right. She was the better player. Her poker face was out of this world. She had an offensive set up that appeared defensive, and purposefully avoided placing any of her pieces on black spaces. After losing several pieces, Niou had taken on an attack-formation with his pieces.

He lost his second bishop on a white space – truth: "Why did you come to this party?"

Niou looked down at the board. He hated being tricked. When he didn't answer, she gently nudged him under the table with her bare foot. He looked up. "I don't know why I came. I guess because I was hoping you'd throw wine at Atobe again."

"You don't like him, do you?"

"One question per piece."

"You'll move your queen to protect your king, which is in check, and I'll take it with my queen."

He looked at the board. Damn this girl. He moved her queen so it was two spaces away from his king (a white space), then handed her his queen. "I don't like Atobe."

"Why?"

"One question –"

"You'll move your rook to take my queen. I'll answer my question after you answer yours."

"Because," Niou hissed, taking her queen, giving her his rook, "he is everything the media expects a CEO's kid to be. He's stuck up, too good for everyone, slides by because he had the best when he was a kid, and has a picture perfect family. My question: why did you dare me to drop my pants if I lose?"

"I thought it'd be funny." She moved her pawn, taking one of Niou's. A black space. "I dare you to tell me what you got me for my birthday."

"I'll go get it for you, if you want," Niou said. "It's the only fruity looking present in the batch."

"Alright."

"One second," he mumbled. He picked up his knight, taking out the pawn she had just moved. "I dare you to come with me."

She sighed and stood up, heading over to the loveseat to get her heels. She slipped into them, test-tapping them to make sure her feet wouldn't slide out. Before the heels, she was fairly tall. With them, she was nearly as tall as Niou.

"We're doing this Bond and Spade style," Niou told her. He made his hands into a gun, looking left and right. "Your code name is Samantha Spade. I'm Bond, James Bond. Where's your gun, Spade?"

"I didn't know it was possible to swap brains with a monkey," she said. He pointed his hand gun at her. She sighed, putting her hands together, pointer fingers out. "Don't make me go double agent, Bond."

Niou headed for the door, opening it. He stuck his head out, looked up and down the hall, and nodded at Sato. Then Niou broke into song and Sato broke out laughing.

"There's a man who leads a life of danger.
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger.
With every move he makes, another chance he takes.
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow."

He turned, glaring at Sato as they headed into the hallway. Niou practically jumped the wall, pressing his back to it, hand gun by his face. "Keep it down, Spade! You're such a rookie!"

She tried to stifle her laughter, but when Niou started to wiggle against the wall as he walked, she couldn't. Then he began to sing again.

"Secret agent man!
Secret agent man!
They've given you a number,
and taken away your name."

They slipped into the ballroom undetected, according to Niou. He unclasped his hands, walking straight through a crowd of people, glancing at his watch from time to time. He slid to the gift table, winking at Sato as he said, "See, Spade, it's not that hard. Now locate the bomb. It's the gayest looking thing here, according to Control."

She picked up the pink bag, and Niou snatched it from her. He pointed at both his eyes, then at the archway, then shook his head, made a butterfly with his hands, and then went cross-eyed. She raised her eyebrows.

"Spade, remember the song!"

"Refresh my memory."

Niou took in a deep breath, and began to sing again, only softer. He kept looking around, as though they were being watched. She rolled her eyes.

"Beware of pretty faces that you find.
A pretty face can hide an evil mind.
Oh, be careful what you say. You'll give yourself away.
Odds are you won't live to see tomorrow."

She nodded, made a gun with her hands at her side, and began to move through the crowd. Niou followed her. When they reached the archway, Niou practically shoved her against the wall, his body close to hers. She could feel his breath. He could smell her perfume. He looked back into the ballroom. Atobe had his back to them.

"We've been compromised," Niou said.

Then he moved away from her, sprinting towards the study. Even while holding the bag, he managed to make a gun with his hands as he belted out:

"Secret agent man!
Secret agent man!
They've given you a number,
and taken away your name."

The door closed behind him. Sato rolled her eyes and walked the rest of the way.

When the door opened, Niou was sitting at the loveseat she had been on earlier, one arm behind the sofa. "Why, Spade, I never knew you had such... fire in you."

She walked over to the loveseat, slipping out of her heels. She sat down next to him, sitting on one of her legs. He smiled and handed her the gift.

"It's bomb free, I promise."

She took the bag, pulling the green paper off the top. She pulled out a teddy bear, setting the bag down by her heels. She pulled the envelope out of its hands, opening it up.

"Read it out loud," Niou said.

"What are you, five?" He grinned. She read it out loud: "'I don't know who the hell you are, but Atobe made me come. I figured maybe I could make the birthday girl smile. Sincerely, Niou Masaharu.'"

She put the card and envelope with the bag, and then looked at the bear. It was brown, standard size, and extra fluffy. She saw something glitter in the light, and moved aside the fur on its neck. Hanging around the bear's neck was a silver chain with an owl pendent – a diamond owl with a bow of pink sapphires on its head.

"I know jewelry is common, but I figured it's not that bad," Niou said, shrugging as much as his position allowed. "My friend told me girls like these owl things."

She smiled at the bear, and then at him. "Thanks, Bond."

"No problem, Spade."

.

They seemed to have forgotten about the game of chess. Niou really didn't mind because she would have won at the rate they were playing, which meant dropping his pants. He did not want her calculating eyes looking him over.

They were sitting on the loveseat, just talking about nothing, everything, anything. He told her about how he played tennis, how they always beat Atobe's team, how his best friend was his partner. She didn't share much about herself, and when she did talk she was very careful about choosing her words, like she didn't want to tell him anything.

Before they knew it, they heard someone shouting Sato's name. She got up and headed over to the door barefoot, peeking out into the hallway. Oshitari was walking down the hall, hands in his pockets like he was above the world, shouting her name.

"I think they want me to do the cake," she said, pulling her head back in before Oshitari saw her. She sighed. "I don't want to."

"Then don't." Niou got up and walked over to her. He held his hand out, smiling when she didn't take it. "This house is big enough. It'll be fun."

She hesitated, probably wondering whether or not this high school boy was insane, and then took his hand. He rushed for the door, dragging her behind him, sticking his tongue out at Oshitari as they ran past him.

"I don't have my shoes!" Sato told him when they got into the ballroom.

"It doesn't matter." Niou looked left and right, spotted another hallway, and ran. He felt her grip on his hand tighten, but he didn't care. He didn't know where he was going, but when she started laughing it didn't matter. He felt like he was in a movie. A terrible romantic comedy that girls like, but a movie nonetheless.

At the end of the hallway, they took a left, then a right, then another left. It was like a maze. Eventually, Niou opened a door and pulled them inside. It was the same size as the study, only it was full of old movie posters with a bar and a billiards table.

"Game – room?" Sato suggested. She was out of breath.

"I think it's a game room..."Niou flicked on the lights. "Sorry 'bout that. I run a lot."

She laughed weakly. "I think we lost them, though."

Niou walked over to the billiards table, running his hand along the wood. He had a similar table back at his house, but the felt was red, not green like Atobe's. "Do you play?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. The one time my dad tried to teach me, I hit a ball through a glass case. Never again."

Niou smiled, eyes wondering around the room. "Cards?" he asked, looking at the round table. "I play a mean game of go-fish."

"Regular cards? No stripping?"

"Regular cards," he promised. He moved over to the table and she followed him. It took him a moment to figure out where the cards were – in a small box above the fireplace. He sat down at the table next to her. "You're only good at chess, right?"

"I played chess with my dad every Friday night until I started university. Now I only play him during my breaks," she said. She took the cards from him, pulling them out of the box. "I haven't played cards since I was a kid."

"You're strange, you know that?" She shuffled the cards, not paying any attention to him. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes, but excuse me for not answering when someone calls me strange," she said. She began to deal the cards, and then set the deck between them. "It's not very polite to call a lady strange."

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," Niou said as he picked up his cards. "You're just... strange. One second your Samantha Spade and laughing, the next you're closed off. I don't get it."

She didn't say anything besides: "Got any aces?"

He handed her the ace of spades and sunk into his chair.

.

After three games of go-fish (Niou won the first two, Sato the third), Sato began to pack the cards back into the box. Niou got up and stretched his arms above his head. He began to walk around the room, examining movie posters that were in languages he didn't know. He tugged at his bowtie, letting it hang undone around his neck.

"There's a record player," Niou said, fingers running over the old machine. He began to go through the records which were stacked next to it. "Jazz."

"Put it on if you want," Sato said. She reached the top of the fireplace with ease, putting the cards away. When Niou wasn't looking, she slipped the ace of spades into her bra.

Niou put on an old jazz record, the sounds of a soprano saxophone and a trombone filling the room. Niou walked over to where Sato was and bowed. "May I have this dance, Spade?"

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a smile. "Of course, Bond."

Niou stood back up. When she took his hand (for what felt like the umpteenth time that night), he spun her around so her dress flew up. He snickered. She would have told him to grow up, but he spun her away from him before she could.

"You dance?" she asked as he twirled her back in.

"Nope. I just watch a lot of spy movies. You?"

"No."

They spun and kicked and laughed and shimmied. Niou began to do something that looked like a demented robot move, which made Sato smile into her hand. Then he pulled her back into his arms, rocking them slowly back and forth. He picked the fastest part of the song to start slow dancing, which only made the whole situation ten times funnier.

"You know," Niou began, "I thought you would be a bitch. The only thing I knew about you was that you tossed wine in Atobe's face."

"I had just broken up with my boyfriend." Sato put her face into his neck – she was too tall to even rest it comfortably on his shoulder, even without heels. Niou wasn't quite sure why she did it, but he went with it. "That's the only reason I came tonight. Because I felt bad."

"I see. Well, that's a perfectly good excuse. I can imagine breaking up would leave someone in a wine throwing mood."

"Haven't you ever broken up? A jock like you should have lots of girlfriends."

"I don't really date." Niou shrugged. The record was skipping, but neither seemed to care. "I go on dates and stuff, but I've never had a long term relationship. I've never liked a girl that much."

"There's nothing wrong with that," she said. She pulled her head out of his neck and looked up at him. She hesitated before saying, "Dating is hard for someone like me. I don't like people that much – more often than not they're terrible."

"I've noticed. I think that's the longest sentence you've said all night," Niou teased.

"But when it's easier to open up when someone makes you smile." Niou wiggled his eye brows. She sighed and shook her head. "You're impossible."

"So you'd go out with me?"

"No," she replied without hesitation.

"Why not? I make you smile."

"Opening up and smiling are two different things. I told you earlier, chess tells a lot about people. I know more about you than you think." She pulled away from him and headed for the door. "I think we've played hookie for long enough. Let's go get some cake."

Niou slipped his hands into his pockets and followed her out of the room. They left the record player on as their own little gift to Atobe.

.

The two bumped into Mukahi and Akutagawa on their way back to the ballroom. Mukahi complained about them messing up Atobe's schedule and how Atobe took it out on them. "Like it's our fault you had to play Romeo and Juliet," Mukahi muttered.

"They both die," Niou reminded him.

"I'm hoping you do sometime soon," Mukahi said bitterly.

"Still mad that Hiroshi and I beat you and Oshitari last year during Nationals?" Niou asked with a bit of a grin.

Mukahi probably would have punched him right then and there, but they were within view of the ballroom. Sato headed over to Atobe, while Niou and the others mixed in with the crowd.

The cake was gorgeous (well, for a cake). It was four layers tall with sugar flowers every other inch. Atobe made some speech, which bored everyone to tears, but the cake was worth it. Each layer was a different flavor – red velvet, plain yellow, chocolate, and some other kind that had raspberry filling. It was worth listening to Atobe.

Everyone gathered around the present table with their plates of cake (Niou was on his second piece), watching as she opened her gifts. Most were pretty standard, though one girl did get her a dress. It had been the only interesting gift, and it wasn't even that interesting at all.

Sato thanked everyone and went on with her own speech – thanking them, telling them how much it meant. Niou had to keep himself from laughing at how cheesy and fake it was. Once she finished, Atobe did a quick toast to her, then everyone went back to dancing and talking. Niou headed up to the present table to help her pick up her things, but she just sighed and said, "Atobe is sending them to my apartment tomorrow."

"Isn't he a gentleman?" Niou held out a forkful of cake. "Raspberry, try it."

She put his fork into her mouth and shrugged. "It's okay."

"You wanna hang out here or run off again?"

"I really just want to go home," she said. She ran a hand through her hair, and then began to walk her way through the crowd. She was the only one who was barefoot, but she didn't seem to care. Niou followed her, shoving his now-empty plate into someone's hands before leaving the ballroom.

Niou opened the door to the study. She walked in, pulling the ace of spades out of her bra before Niou could see her. She walked over to a desk, wrote something on the card, and then concealed it in her palm. Then she headed for the loveseat to get her shoes and Niou's bagged gift.

"Come on, Spade," Niou said, leaning against the door frame. "Were you just faking those smiles? You seemed to be having fun. Just stick around to the end of the party."

"Bond –" she smiled at him "– I have a paper I need to finish writing tomorrow, and I'd like to get some sleep so I don't fail."

"If you must, Miss Samantha Spade. It would be my honor to walk you outside."

He stood up, holding out his arm for her. She rolled her eyes but took it anyways. They walked slowly, talking in terrible spy-movie-lingo until they made it to the front door. Niou let go of her arm when the butler told them to wait for a moment as he disappeared into a large closet.

Shortly after Niou mumbled, "We must escape in five minutes, or the bomb will explode," the butler handed them their jackets. She wrapped hers around her shoulders, not even bothering to button it. She held Niou's for him, allowing him to easily slip his arms through. When he turned to face her, she tapped his breast pocket, sliding the card inside.

"Shall we go?" Niou asked. He offered her his elbow, which she hooked her arm through. They walked outside, the cool January air wrapping around them.

"It's nice out," Sato said, looking up at the moon. "I've never understood the sunset thing. A sunset is the universal symbol for death or the hero's loss. It's in literature that dates back hundreds and hundreds of years. I like the moon more – time, illumination, balance, renewal."

"I thought you did history, not literature."

She smiled at him, barely needing to look up to see his eyes. "Literature is part of history. If you want to know the ability of a civilization, look at what they wrote and how they conduct themselves under pressures, such as war and famine."

Niou nodded – history was boring to him, no matter the context. "What did you learn about me from that game of chess?"

"You want the truth?"

Niou nodded again. She slipped her arm away from his. She pulled her coat tighter around herself, her smile dropping. "You think you're better than everyone. You judge too quickly, and you assume no one thinks in the same manner as yourself. You created an offensive position under the belief that I couldn't break it and that you could break me. You never thought I could trick you.

"You have a dominant personality. You push your thoughts onto others, pressing until something goes your way. You insisted on chess, even though I said I didn't want to. You insisted that I stayed, even though I said that I wanted to leave.

"You think that you're different from them, Atobe and the others. You're not. In your mind, because you're not stuck up, because you don't look down on people, you're better than them, even though you look down on Atobe and anyone in a higher class who acts like they should. You answer questions that aren't asked, such as giving your name, because you assume anyone who could be friends with Atobe is above asking names. In reality, you're even more stuck up than they are. At least they realize they're being obnoxious.

"That's all."

Niou stared at her. Her voice didn't change like his did when he was lying. As far as he could tell, she was telling the truth. He called her out anyways: "You're lying."

She put her free hand on his shoulder then kissed him slowly. It was the last thing Niou had expected her to do, but he wasn't against it. Her lips were slick with a lipstick Niou hadn't even noticed she was wearing until that moment. She pulled her head back just as quickly as she had moved it in, and then began to walk away.

"Thanks for a good night, Bond," she called over her shoulder. "Check your breast pocket!"

"You're lying!"

Her heels clicked on the stone as she walked away.

Curious, Niou reached into his breast pocket. He pulled out the ace of spades. Along the side was scribbled a phone number and 'Samantha Spade'. He couldn't help a smirk from forming on his lips as he put the card back into his pocket.

A/N: I know this chapter was different. What did you guys think of Sato Ree (because I have yet to make up my mind about her)? Of the chapter?