A/N: Happy Friday! As a celebration of the day I joined this site, I feel it's a good time to publish the first of two chapters I had a freaking blast writing. The second should hopefully be up within the month, depending on weekend productivity. Last weekend was a good one at least. Let's just say everyone should play truth or dare with their characters once in a while. (Also, people who actually know palmistry, please don't drag me ^^ but feel free to enlighten)

Thanks to Zain for the review! Hope the banter's just as quality this time around. Tbh I think that's exactly the appeal for me since I've gotten back into this story. Silly jokes, young love, and kids being kids. Plenty more Naoi/Yuri flirting ahead! :D (Also, as to the SH nod, thank you xD Nezumi couldn't resist and neither could I)

Enjoy!

[Chapter 40]: Fun and Games

Ayato sat on a bench near the lift and ski rental kiosk, elbow on armrest and chin in hand, listening to the sound of soft laughter as Ami traced a finger over Shiruba's palm.

The plan had been to go up the hill for another run, but the topic of fortune-telling had come up, as well as Ami's skill in palmistry, and Shiruba had expressed such deep interest in getting his own palm read. A cheerful Ami had been only happy to indulge him. Meanwhile, Nezumi spotted someone in the distance and wandered off, leaving on a crude palm-related comment that had a puzzled Kurimu trying to ask follow-up questions. Hejjiguchi luckily intercepted her. They took the opportunity to slip away while Ami was distracted. Yuri was hovering close to Ami, by the latter's request, as she was apparently up next after Shiruba.

On the opposite side of the bench, Masuda was literally in the same position as Ayato.

"Hm, air hand… square palm, long fingers… you're a thinker, very smart, very practical, though we already knew that," Ami said warmly, and Ayato thought he heard Masuda do a soft snort, "but your broken head line means your thoughts can be inconsistent."

"How's my love line looking?" Shiruba asked, gazing at his hand while she cradled it in her own.

Ami smiled into his palm. "It's looking like you fall in love easily."

"You got me," Shiruba conceded bashfully. "Any special relationships in my future?"

Ayato particularly appreciated the look Yuri sent his way, the one that said can you believe this guy and help me. He decided to give her the same sassy finger wave that she did when he was dragged away from the lobby by his eager new roommate.

"Well…" Ami mused, and her eyebrows rose suddenly as if impressed. "This line of attachment looks pretty promising! See? The longer and deeper the groove, the longer and more serious the relationship. And judging by the location, something should blossom soon if it hasn't already." She beamed up at him. "Do you have a high school sweetheart I don't know about?"

"I'm working on it," Shiruba said coyly, and Ami giggled.

Masuda rolled his eyes and quietly hid a tongue-out gagging noise, earning him a discreet snicker from Ayato. He felt that deeply. "Do you think we should just go up there ourselves?"

"I'm tempted," Ayato replied.

A harrumph from Masuda. "I'm tempted to go hit my head against a pole. If it weren't so cold out it might freeze there."

"Shiruba would love that," said Ayato, punctuated by Masuda's scoff of agreement. Then he considered for a moment. "I'd love that."

Masuda elbowed him, but a smirk tugged at his lips.

"Hey, what about your palm?" Shiruba pressed, coaxing her hand with his own. "What does fate have in store for Ami Kawata?"

"Oh, mine's more or less the same," Ami replied, drawing away. "Maybe I'll tell you later. I've read mine dozens of times. I still need to read Yuri's like I promised!"

Yuri startled as Ami rounded on her and snatched up her hand. "Oh, well, there was no rush—"

"Shh!" Ami chided. "I'm studying."

Yuri closed her mouth, chastened, and let her do what she did best.

"Hm… I thought you would be fire-shaped but it's hard to say, I think you might actually be air like Shiruba," Ami said, lifting Yuri's fingers as if trying to measure them. "Straight, long head line, that seems right, you're a clear and realistic thinker… and that straight life line by the edge of your palm, you're very guarded when it comes to relationships…. Oh."

"Oh, what?" Yuri asked, almost defensively.

"It's nothing," Ami assured her. "It's just your fate line, it breaks off here, looks like outside forces might cause significant changes in your life."

A slight scoff was heard and she jerked her head in the direction of its source. Hirohashi, who had quietly approached with Saki without anyone noticing, turned red and tried to turn it into a sheepish laugh, before thinking better of it and buttoning his lips.

"Are you doing palm-reading?" Saki asked, visibly fascinated.

"I am," Ami confirmed, before shooting Hirohashi a look. "Unless somebody has something to say about it?"

"Oh! No, don't mind me," Hirohashi said, waving his arms in a haste. But a dubious expression slipped in with his bashfulness and he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just… outside forces are going to cause life changes? Isn't that kind of obvious?"

Ami bristled. "Significant changes!" she insisted. "It's more serious than that!"

Yuri looked unsettled. "It is?"

"No – Yuri, you're fine, it's just noteworthy is all." Flustered, Ami turned back to Yuri and adjusted the girl's palm in her own. "Let's move onto heart and attachment lines, looks like it's tied in with all that anyway."

Ayato leaned forward on the bench, feeling a bit more curious.

"Let me guess, I fall in love easily?" Yuri asked dryly.

Ami laughed but didn't look up from her hand. "No, you do not!" she said, and poked at a spot in the center. "There's a circle on your heart line."

"What's that mean?"

"It means you need some serious cheering up," Ami replied matter-of-factly. "The line's broken a few times too, and I think I see a couple of smaller lines crossing through it. You've been through a lot emotionally."

"Maybe you should look at the attachment lines instead," Yuri offered, with a slight edge to her tone.

"Ooh, someone's heart line isn't curved at the end," Ami said under her breath. A look of satisfaction crossed her face as she found what she was looking for. "You're a late bloomer. I think you may put love on the backburner for now, but there's definitely something coming. Something strong. It just… huh."

"It just what?" Yuri made a move to retract her hand, but Ami snagged it back.

"It kind of looks like it breaks here. And see right there, it's perpendicular to the fate line's break. I think that means the significant change affects your relationship. Or the change is in your relationship. I don't know. They affect each other." Ami squinted, lifting Yuri's hand for closer inspection. "It was going so strong too. Something starts up again after the break there, but I can't tell if it's the same line."

Shiruba frowned thoughtfully. "So, wait, does that all mean a divorce?"

"Not necessarily!" said Ami, quick to reassure as Yuri pulled away. "It could just be a conflict, some hard times or marriage troubles."

Chuckling, Hirohashi mumbled aside to Saki, "How conveniently ambiguous—"

"Poor Yuri!" Saki cried, wringing her hands.

"Don't worry, Saki, it's not set in stone," Yuri said, putting her glove back on. "Is it, Ami?"

Ami shook her head. "It's just my interpretation. Yuri's lines were pretty unique, to tell you the truth. One of the more complicated palms I've read. Like trying to count the rings of a much older tree."

"She is an old soul," Saki agreed, gloves now calmly clasped in front of her.

Suddenly Shiruba looked over at Hirohashi and blinked, as if realizing who was here and who wasn't. "Hey, where's Nezumi?"

Hirohashi pointed a thumb in the other direction. "He's over there with the guys."

"He and Chitose are arguing over whether the Grinch is sexy or not," Saki added blithely.

Ayato and Yuri shared a bizarre look, Yuri's only a smidge more amused.

"She thinks the Grinch is sexy?" Masuda asked, with a rather priceless look on his face.

Hirohashi smiled faintly. "No…"

Conveniently enough, the pair in question was moving their way, or at least closer to within earshot, so that Ayato began to make sense of the heated back-and-forth that was increasing in volume.

"—not to mention he's the type of guy who thinks that if he's lonely and miserable then everyone else should be too!" Chitose was saying to the backwards-walking Nezumi. "Which by itself is an extremely unattractive quality in a man—"

"Yeah, but he changed!" Nezumi was laughing a little but still adamant. "What about a man who learns from his mistakes and betters himself—"

"And he's not even a man, he's a gnarled little demon creature covered in fuzz! Really, you would really call that sexy—"

"He's got shaggy green fur and a devilish bad-boy grin and at some point, he wears red." Nezumi gestured grandly at himself. "Of course he's sexy – he's me!"

Fujimoto and Takada were in hysterics, muffling clipped shrieks of laughter into their fists. Rumi fired an exasperated look towards Hisakawa, as if to say, do you see what you've gotten us into? But from where Ayato was standing, Hisakawa genuinely seemed to be enjoying herself.

"You're the Grinch?" she said, cocking her head at him. "Does that mean your heart's two sizes too small?"

"It's one of the reasons I can never keep a girlfriend," Nezumi said mournfully, while Fujimoto and Takada nodded solemnly behind him.

From nearby, there came a choked wheeze. Ayato glanced toward Shiruba, who had tears in his eyes and a huge grin on his face, which was bright red from straining to keep something in. One faintly apologetic side-glance at Ami suggested he was failing.

"H-hey, Nez—" His voice practically broke on a sob, and he had to pause and cover his mouth to recover. "What – what else of yours is two sizes too small…?"

Nezumi's jaw dropped to the snow and he collapsed into Fujimoto's and Takada's arms as if in a dead faint. Ami looked scandalized but her mouth was giving a tell-tale twitch; Yuri had clapped a hand over her own (but not before a tiny shriek escaped). Doubled over, Ayato's chest hurt from cackling so hard.

When the boys had finally helped him to his feet, Nezumi was beaming, his teary eyes full of pride.

"Are you gonna let him burn you like that?" Fujimoto asked.

Nezumi shook his head, scooping up a handful of snow. "You even had Naoi laughing at me, man," he said. "You have to die."

"I think you'd better run," Yuri said aside to Shiruba.

Obediently, Shiruba shot off down the path through town, yelling, "IT WAS WORTH IT!" as Nezumi chased after him with a snowball.

Masuda watched them go, then stood up from the bench abruptly.

"Perfect!" he said. "Let's go skiing."

Ami giggled sympathetically. "Fine, but only if you let me read your palm later at lunch," she replied. Then she looked all around and heaved a sigh, putting a hand on her hip. "Alright, where are Souma and Kurimu?"

Yuri and Ayato shared an awkward glance.

"—earth shape, which tends to mean you're practical and dependable, albeit a bit stubborn," Ami was saying as she sat sideways at the table facing Masuda, grasping his hand with both of hers. He wasn't looking at his hand, but in his defense, neither was she. In fact, they were both gazing at each other pretty seriously.

Yuri and Ayato sat across from them, sneaking subtle sideways looks at each other and smirking into their glasses.

"Are we even here?" Yuri whispered to him.

"We might as well be off in the club room right now," Ayato replied out of the corner of his mouth.

Yuri gave him a cheeky smile. "You sure you don't want your palm read?"

He scoffed and picked at his food. "Please." Ami had offered, but the last thing he wanted was her psychoanalyzing him or making up things about his future just by playing with his hand.

He could see his future quite clearly, thank you, and he didn't want to think about it right now.

"—and you do have a fate line, it starts here branching off of the life line, which means…" Ami trailed off, and her careful line tracing paused as she stared at his palm. Then she lightly shook her head and went back to holding it with both hands. "I'm sorry, I just can't get over this…" She lifted his hand and pressed her much daintier palm against it. "Masuda, your hands are so big compared to mine."

Sitting at a nearby table, an eavesdropping Hisakawa almost choked on her soda.

Masuda looked abashed but didn't pull his hand away. "Does that mean anything?"

"Not in palmistry," Yuri said, taking an impassive sip of her drink. Ayato twisted his lips and suddenly became very interested in his vegetables.

Ami's cheeks promptly flushed a rosy pink, and she side-eyed Yuri balefully, but returned Masuda's hand to a palm-reading position.

"Anyway… your head line is deep and straight, no surprises there, but you see that little circle right below where your heart line starts? That means emotional crisis, warring thoughts and emotions," Ami said, softly poking the center of Masuda's palm. "Something on your mind lately? I can tell by your heart line that you don't express your feelings all that freely."

Masuda's mouth opened but nothing came out; his eyes shifted fleetingly to Ayato and Yuri before they flicked upward in recognition.

"Hey, guys!" Hejjiguchi's voice startled Ayato from behind. "I hoped I'd find you here. I'm starved."

"There you are!" Ami exclaimed, turning to face forward after dropping Masuda's hand. "Where have you been?"

Hejjiguchi draped his coat over a chair next to Yuri and sank into it with a shrug. "Checking out the resort. A little exploring, a little shopping."

This earned him a pout from Ami. "You could've told us instead of vanishing without a trace."

"You were busy holding Shiruba's hand," Hejjiguchi said slyly. "I didn't want to interrupt."

Ami sighed. "Well, have you at least seen Kurimu anywhere?"

Blinking, Hejjiguchi sat up in his seat as if just realizing no one had taken the seat across from him. "Uh – I mean, we got back to the lodge at the same time, so—" He turned to do a quick scan of the room, and then his eyes lit up.

"I'm here!" Kurimu called out, and Ayato turned as well to see her bounding across the café to join them. She sat down next to Ami, across from Hejjiguchi, and happily placed a canned drink on the table in front of her.

"That's what you want after being out in the snow for a few hours," Ayato scoffed. "Not tea or hot chocolate. A can of ice-cold soda."

Hejjiguchi glimpsed the label, then lifted his eyes to Kurimu with a boyish grin. "Careful – you drink too many of those and Hades will never let you leave the underworld."

Kurimu gave a happy giggle. "I couldn't resist! Pomegranate's my favorite," she said, popping the top. "And he must be lonely down there anyway."

"Uh oh, should I be jealous?" Hejjiguchi asked, and Ayato resisted the urge to bury his head in Yuri's shoulder from secondhand embarrassment. Though it was funny to watch his entire body ripple like he'd been hit by a lightning bolt of realization. He quickly looked to gauge Ami's reaction (her lips had pursed into a frown). "Should we be jealous, guys? She's leaving us for the god of the dead—"

"And where did you disappear off to?" Ami asked.

Kurimu swallowed nervously. "I got distracted by the stores here! There was a shop with candles and crystals and really pretty tumbled stones. And a bakery too! And an amazing bookshop. We lost track of time looking at mythology books."

"We?" Ami repeated.

Hejjiguchi was quick to cover for her. "Uh, yeah, we bumped into each other at the bookstore," he said. When Ami looked skeptical, he added, "They have music there. Plus I finally got the newest volume of Kamisama Suzuko."

Ayato perked up, though Ami's eyebrows were still furrowed. "But wait—"

"Man, I'd better get food before I keel over!" Hejjiguchi declared, standing up so fast his chair scraped loudly in protest.

"Wait for me!" Kurimu hopped up from the table and scampered after him.

Ami exhaled slowly, shaking her head at them. "Those two, I swear… they've been acting so weird lately." She stared around the table at the rest of the group. "Do you know what's up with them?"

Yuri pinched her lips together and gave a silent shrug, returning her attention to her food. Ayato just snorted. "As far as I'm concerned, he's always been weird," he countered.

Ami gave a faint smile. "Well, I guess that's not your job anyway…"

"And hey, what's life without a little mystery?" Yuri added, a bit too merrily.

"Yes," Ami agreed. "The case of the fishy friends." And Ayato thought she might've briefly shared a look with Masuda, but it could've been his imagination.

Yuri sucked in her cheeks, fidgeting anxiously with her napkin. Ayato put a hand on her wrist to stop her. "I guess you'll just have to keep a closer eye on them after lunch," he said casually, trying not to smirk. Hejjiguchi told him not to tell Ami about his relationship, but he didn't say Ayato couldn't ruin his fun. If he didn't talk to Kurimu about telling Ami (as per yesterday's agreement), that was on him.

"I guess so," Ami said thoughtfully. But then her eyes opened a fraction wider as they fixed on something in front of her.

Ayato looked, jolted, and took his hand off of Yuri's. Privately thinking that maybe Ami really did need to mind her business.

To her credit, Ami was able to keep Hejjiguchi and Kurimu around for a couple of hours afterwards. But with the triumphant return of Shiruba and Nezumi, the daring lovebirds were able to slip away again unnoticed, falling back while everyone else piled onto the ski lift for another run. They reappeared thirty or so minutes later, and Ayato was somewhat impressed that they thought to rejoin the group separately. Kurimu was discovered on the bench by the ski rental kiosk, resting her legs, and Hejjiguchi showed up ten minutes later with a half-eaten chili cheese dog. (Ayato enjoyed his indignant cry when Nezumi stole it with a swift "hey, thanks" and took a generous bite.)

"How were you still hungry?" Yuri asked Hejjiguchi with a laugh.

"We're growing boys," Nezumi answered for him, and belched.

"That may be true, but gross," Ami sniffed.

And it was still true an hour later when they went in for dinner. The mountain of food on Hejjiguchi's plate was comparable to Shiga Kogen itself. Ayato almost lost his appetite watching Hejjiguchi shovel it all into his mouth.

"Are you all planning on sticking around after dinner?" Ami asked, looking pointedly at Hejjiguchi and Kurimu. "'Cause I was thinking maybe tonight instead of splitting up, we could all play a game together."

"Ooh, like what?" Kurimu asked, her whole face lighting up as soon as she heard the word "game."

"Well, there's lots of stuff in the game room," Ami considered, "but I was thinking something like 'would you rather,' or 'truth or dare.'"

Hejjiguchi looked up from his plate, cheeks stuffed with food. "Truth or dare?" he asked with his mouth full, in utter disregard of the "say it don't spray it" rule.

While Kurimu gasped and chastised him, Yuri looked at Ayato and laughed. "Um, you got a little—"

"I'm aware," Ayato said, wiping at his cheek.

"Sorry," Hejjiguchi said after swallowing. "Sounds fun, I'm in."

Kurimu, Masuda, and Yuri chorused their agreement, then looked hopefully to Ayato. He considered their faces for a moment before releasing a small sigh. "I'm game if Yuri is."

"Of course you are," Masuda said loftily. Ami giggled and swatted his arm while Ayato glared.

Later, the bar and dining area had emptied out enough that they were all able to lay claim to the seats circling the central open fire. Ayato didn't really know what to expect, since he didn't play many group games – none at all, really – but he didn't feel much like being the only one to sit out. As Yuri dropped into the seat next to him, he felt a little more secure. How bad could it be, really?

"Alright, who wants to go first?" Ami asked, glancing expectantly from Hejjiguchi on her right to Kurimu on her left.

"I'll go!" said Hejjiguchi, cracking his knuckles. "I've already thought up ten good dares especially for Naoi."

"Goodnight, I'm out." Ayato stood up and started to walk towards the platform of stairs.

Yuri caught him by the sleeve of his sweater. "No, stay," she implored. "He's just kidding. Aren't you, Hejjiguchi?"

"Maaaaybe," the other boy drawled, whistling.

She squinted at him warningly, then turned back to Ayato with a smile. "And even so, you're smart and creative. Whatever he makes you do, I'm sure you'll come up with something five times worse for him to do. I'll help."

Her pleading eyes had already glued his heart back to his chair, but her offer sweetened the deal. He hummed thoughtfully and rubbed at his chin, then sent a dangerous smile Hejjiguchi's way.

"But what if he picks truth?" Ami pointed out.

Ayato's smile only broadened. "Yes, what if he picks truth?"

Hejjiguchi began to sweat, and not from his proximity to the fire. Ayato was surprised it took him this long to understand the risk of this game. "Maybe since you're new at this, I'll go easy on you."

"Oh, no, I'm sure this is going to be fun," Ayato said, falling back into his chair and shifting his grin to Yuri. Her eyes gleamed with friskiness, though that could've just been the reflection from the flames.

"Okay, I'll go first." Ami turned in her seat to face Hejjiguchi expectantly. "Souma-kun, truth or dare?"

He regarded her carefully for a moment, then leaned back in his seat. "Dare."

Without missing a beat, she said, "I dare you to let me paint your nails."

His eyebrows shot upward, while Yuri, Ayato, and Kurimu made sounds of delight (and Masuda of intrigue). "Aw, what—" But then he relaxed. "I mean, not right now, right? It's not like you've got any nail polish on you—"

Ami, having already opened her purse, revealed a handful of colorful bottles and waved them around. "Voila!"

"Fine, but I get to choose the color," Hejjiguchi conceded, holding out his hand.

"Yeah, this isn't a negotiation," Ami said sweetly, setting an unscrewed bottle of vermilion down on a table before bracing his fingers with her own. She began to apply a layer of nail polish with the same delicate determination as an experienced painter.

"Is this because I wouldn't let you do a palm reading on me?" he asked, as if he hadn't hummed appreciatively when he noticed the shade. While Ami was finishing one hand, he asked without looking up. "Naoi – truth or dare?"

"Truth," Ayato replied, knowing if he picked dare then he would be next in line at Ami's beauty parlor.

Hejjiguchi looked pleased at first, then unsure, like his mind was processing a thousand ideas and none of them were worthy. Finally, he said, "Ah, okay. Yuri and I are both hanging onto the edge of a cliff. If you save one of us, the other falls to their death…"

Ayato winced through a scoff, finding this in bad taste but certain he knew where it was going.

"Would you hesitate?"

"Oh," Ayato said, blinking. "Well, then yeah. Maybe for a minute."

The girls all aww'd, Ami and Yuri mostly in amusement while Kurimu's was more genuine.

"A whole minute?" Hejjiguchi asked. He wiped a fake tear from the corner of his eye. "Thanks, man, that means a lot."

Ami's laughing aww turned to a cry of protest and then despair. "No! It wasn't dry yet!"

Sure enough, there was a small smear of red just beneath Hejjiguchi's eye. Yuri, Masuda, and Ayato all cracked up (Kurimu having the decency to stifle her giggles) while Ami furiously went back to work on the finger he'd ruined.

"That was a pretty mild truth, Hejjiguchi," Yuri teased. "You're not losing your nerve, are you?"

"Eh, I'm just easing him in," he replied. "And I don't want Ami and me to miss anything good during our nail session here."

"How thoughtful of you," Ayato drawled. He turned away with a grin. "Yuri, truth or dare?"

Yuri puzzled over it for five seconds, then returned the grin. "You know what? Dare," she said. "I wanna see what you come up with."

Ayato had to think about this. The game held too much power. If he could really make her do anything… At last, the sound of a song drawing to a close on the background speakers gave him an idea.

He pointed towards the café. Enough of the crowd had thinned out by this point in the night that most of the tables were open, but there were still plenty of witnesses in the vicinity. "Go get on top of one of those tables," Ayato said, "and dance for at least half of a song."

Yuri's eyes went wide, her expression a mix of impressed and appalled. "You really don't pull any punches, do you?" she said, clearly regretting her life choices. "Are you sure you don't want to save a dare of that caliber for Hejjiguchi? You know, later when a danceable song comes on?"

As if on cue, the unmistakable first beats of "Dancing With Myself" by Billy Idol pulsed through the speakers, making everyone except Yuri perk up.

"Voila," said Hejjiguchi, blowing on his nails. Ami and Ayato broke into unapologetic giggles and snickers.

"Fine, I'm going." Yuri stood up. "Better watch your back, Ayato."

"For now, I think I'll be watching you," Ayato replied, feeling rather merciless as he followed her with his eyes up the platform of stairs.

Yuri sauntered into the café and climbed on top of a table, earning a chorus of approving sounds from Masuda, Hejjiguchi, and Ami. Meanwhile, Kurimu looked worriedly at the bartender, who merely cranked up the volume and pretended not to see anything suspicious.

"On the floors of Tokyo
Or down in London town to go, go
With a record selection and a mirror direction
I'm dancing with myself

When there's no one else in sight
In the crowded lonely night
Well I wait so long for my love vibration
And I'm dancing with myself, oh-oh…"

He had to say, Yuri was very nimble-footed. And once she accepted her fate, she lost herself to the music. She leaped around the table, her hair flying all about, a force to be reckoned with even as she danced. Everyone at the fireplace stood and moved closer to watch her, including Ayato. He had no idea she could twist like that.

"Dancing with myself, oh-oh
Dancing with myself
When there's nothing to lose and there's nothing to prove
Well I'm dancing with myself

Ah, oh, oh-oh…"

Hejjiguchi did another two-fingered whistle as Yuri threw her hands in the air and shook her hips wildly to the music. Ayato would've glared at him but for one thing it made Yuri dance even harder and for another it would involve looking away, which he couldn't seem to do. Eventually the song became just an afterthought and Yuri's movements the real music.

He was mystified as to how she could move her legs like that seemingly without a single misstep. Her motions were fluid, her shimmies compelling. Just watching her, his whole body felt hot as if he had never stepped away from the fire.

It took a round of applause for him to realize that the song was over. Yuri stopped to catch her breath and Ayato did too, unnerved at the erratic fluttering in his chest. Doing his best to quell or at least ignore the sensation, he covered it up with a smirk and went over to the table, offering a hand to help her step down.

"Impressive," he said coyly.

"I can't believe you made me do that," Yuri huffed, still panting from the exertion.

"Well, I think we all enjoyed the show – right, everyone?" Ayato asked, turning to the group. They all quickly chimed in with an affirmative and many enthusiastic nods.

"I almost jumped up there with you," Ami confessed, "but I didn't want to be a scene-stealer."

"Oh, that's very generous," Yuri said, and fanned herself. She was glistening with sweat. "I need to sit down."

They returned to the open fire and took their seats, Yuri collapsing into her own with relish.

"So…" she said, turning and draping her legs over the arm of her seat. "Kurimu, truth or dare?"

"Um…" Kurimu tapped her finger on her chin, considering. "Since they've all been really fun so far… I pick dare!"

Surprise briefly flashed across Yuri's face. Ayato felt it too, but come to think of it, Kurimu had never been so much fearful as she was gentle. "Alright," Yuri said, and despite the mischief creeping across her lips, Ayato could see her trying to think of something that wasn't cruel. "This is a team effort. I want us all to come up with the weirdest or most random sentence possible. And Kurimu, whatever we decide, I dare you to stand up and yell it to the entire room."

Wide-eyed, Kurimu clapped hands over her mouth and gave a tiny squeak. Masuda leaned forward with intrigue, Hejjiguchi gasped with inspired laughter, and Ami squealed and pulled out her phone.

"Oh, I have just the thing!" she exclaimed, fervently tapping and scrolling. "I have a note on here filled with out-of-context quotes I've heard over the years! Here, let me pick my favorites…"

Offerings were put forward by everyone while Kurimu covered her flushed face and occasionally peeked through her fingers. Finally they voted on a favorite and presented it to her. At first she was relieved to see they'd weeded out some of the more explicit ones, but then her lips twisted in disapproval. "Can I at least…?"

"Word for word, Kurimu," Yuri said, beaming.

Kurimu frowned down at the quote, then took a deep breath and leaped to her feet. "THIS IS WHY WE NEED TWO FLAMINGO CUPS, DAMN IT!" she shouted.

Masuda uttered a scandalized gasp and led the entire group in a fit of guffaws. Many people in the surrounding area turned to look.

"Kurimu swore!" Hejjiguchi breathed in shock, coughing with more laughter. Even Ayato's jaw had dropped despite the fact that he'd been expecting it. Ami fell out of her chair, shrieking and holding her sides. Tears were streaming down Yuri's face and there was a renewed, frenzied kick to her tired legs.

The girl in question had flopped back down in her seat, her cheeks beet red as she covered her face once more. "You guys are so mean…!"

"We're sorry, Kurimu," Masuda wheezed, swallowing down a final laugh and trying to get his voice back to normal. "It's your turn anyway. You can get back at us if you want."

"Okay…" Kurimu eyed the group as they started to compose themselves, then looked over at him. "Masuda, truth or dare?"

This made everyone straighten up in their seats. Masuda blinked, now somewhat wary. "Truth," he said after a moment.

"Um…" It was clear she'd expected him to choose 'dare.' "Tell me a secret."

Instantly the others started up with the jeering.

"Aw, c'mon Kurimu..." Yuri and Hejjiguchi sighed.

"You can do better than that," said Ami.

Kurimu blushed again. "I dunno," she added sheepishly. "Tell me a funny secret. An embarrassing one."

Ayato leaned forward, looking at Masuda expectantly. It was still a good prompt.

"Hmm…" Masuda tented his fingers, giving it some thought. Then he said, "My roommate Miyake has a crush on your mother."

Instantly Kurimu started laughing. "What?"

"You didn't say it had to be embarrassing for me," Masuda said smugly.

Now Ami, Hejjiguchi, Yuri, and even Ayato were cackling over this. "Wait, wait, wait… Miyake likes Banira?" Ami cried, face aflush with mirth. "Isn't he, like, twenty?"

"Twenty-one at the end of March," Masuda said, getting up and leaving them to their laughter.

After a minute or two, he returned with eggnog, merrily distributing it to the group while Kurimu pressed for more. Over sips of eggnog, he was only too happy to tell all, spilling the details of his roommate's crush on the pretty baker lady who was twice his age. Now it was all so clear to Kurimu why the spiky-green-haired guy draped in gold chains and headphones was a regular at her shop as of late.

Picturing the big tough guy he saw at the pool last summer fawning over an older version of Kurimu, Ayato found himself laughing so hard his cheeks were starting to hurt. He accidentally caught Ami's eye and she grinned at him through her own giggle fit. Despite himself, he grinned back.

Suddenly her expression changed to one of surprise, and Ayato was a little taken aback – was it really so strange that they have a moment's camaraderie? But then he recognized that she was looking over his shoulder, and he turned to see what had drawn her gaze.

"You all sound like you're having fun!" said Nezumi, strolling up with Shiruba and Hisakawa at his sides. Saki, Fujimoto, Takada, and Hirohashi bunched behind them, poking their heads around curiously. "Hope you don't mind us crashing the party."

A/N: I actually have a substantial amount of preview quotes this time! And yet the next chapter is not quite finished. Hoping to have it done by Christmas so I can share it with you all.

Until next time!

Preview:

"Mind if we join you?"

"I bet I know who taught it to her."

"Breathing - becoming an issue-"

"You should've ripped off that bandaid years ago."

"That's the one thing you can't believe..."

"I do not look at her lovingly!"

"'They're identical twins!'"

"Oh God, he's been possessed by his cousin."

"I would feel terrible to hurt my loved ones like that."

[Chapter 41]: Truth or Dare Squared.