Wherein Kagami wakes up just in time for dinner, Konata wins at Wii sports, and Patricia introduces the gang to a traditional slumber-party game.

Expect big tsundere energy from this chapter. Don't worry if you don't get what that means. Just sit back and enjoy if you can.

Party Games Chapter 2: The First Night, Round 1

Kagami opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, the smell of freshly-cooked curry wafting through the air. She could, just barely, hear muffled conversation through the walls. She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms.

She'd been asleep for embarrassingly long. It'd been long enough that the sun had already set, a dim moonlight illuminating the room through her window. Long enough that the light lunch that she had eaten had long been digested, her growling stomach demanding that she investigate the pervasive smell of curry as soon as possible. And, most embarrassingly, even long enough that Tsukasa woke up first, the younger twin's bed laying empty.

"There's a first time for everything, I guess," she muttered to herself.

With a frown, Kagami tried to get out of bed, swearing under her breath when she realized how sore her legs felt. Any attempt at moving them sent a dull, throbbing pain through her muscles—she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to climb out of bed. She tried anyway, grimacing tightly as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, her feet touching the ground.

"Come on, girl," Kagami grunted. "Just power through it."

She pushed herself up and took an unsteady step, her knees threatening to buckle under her weight. A moment later she took a second step, feeling a little bit more sure of herself. She took another step, then another, then yet another, awkwardly shuffling until she eventually reached the door.

She smiled wryly. Her legs were already starting to feel better, which was good. Well… it was either that, or she was simply getting used to the pain. Regardless, the act of walking was getting easier. In the end, that was what mattered to her.

With a deep breath, she let out a determined huff and turned the doorknob, limping into the hall.

The room directly in front of her's and Tsukasa's was completely open. Patricia stood at the threshold, leaning against the door frame, her back to Kagami as she talked to her roommate. Who was she rooming with again? Hiyori?

"I'm telling you, dinner's ready," Patricia said, the tone of her voice suggesting a smile on her lips. "You can finish that once we eat."

Kagami could just barely hear Hiyori voice a reply, but couldn't make out the words. Whatever she said, it did cause Patricia to giggle, though.

"Do you want me to drag you there? Or maybe a bridal carry? You seem like you'd be into that."

Kagami felt her face heat up and quickly decided that she didn't want to bother them. She closed the door behind her and started down the hall, only to be stopped by the very people she didn't want to bother. She probably shouldn't have closed the door so suddenly.

"Eyo, Hiiragi-senpai. Just woke up?"

Kagami suppressed a wince and looked back. She did her best to put up a chipper front. "Yeah. The whole trek up here really took a lot out of me." This earned a chuckle.

"Heh. I can imagine. It certainly put me and Hiyori through the wringer." Patricia gave Kagami a quick once-over, smirking. "The disheveled look kinda suits you, by the way. The bed hair looks particularly cute."

Kagami's chipper front immediately caved as she winced. "R-right." She ran a hand through her hair, only just now realizing that one of her twin-tails had come undone, and that the remaining one was close to doing the same. "Where's the bathroom…?"

"There's one on either end of the hall. Toilet's the next room over."

"Th-thank you, Miss Mar-" Kagami shut her mouth when the blonde American frowned, eyebrows raised. She felt her face heat up even more. Patricia liked being called by her first name. Right. She'd forgotten about that. "Thank you, Patricia," she corrected. "I'll just be freshening up a little."

As quickly as the frown appeared on Patricia's face, so too did her smirk replace it. "Good luck, senpai. Food is ready downstairs."

With that, Patricia proceeded to enter the room and, presumably, drag Hiyori to the kitchen. That's what all the kicking and screaming was about, right? Right…?

"Nope," Kagami said to herself. "Not thinking about that." Putting whatever was happening in the Martin-Tamura room completely out of mind, she turned on her heel and made for the bathroom, walking with the intention of fixing her hair.

Minutes later, she limped precariously down the stairs and stumbled into the hall. The smell of curry had become progressively stronger as she'd neared, reaching its peak when Kagami crossed the threshold of the kitchen.

On the dinner table was an unusually large pot—really, it was more of a metal drum—containing the curry. Behind it was Konata, looking over the drum with a ladle in hand. She was obviously standing on one of the seats, else the drum would have completely hidden her from view. Everyone else was seated, whispering among themselves. Tsukasa and Yutaka sat on either side of Konata, with one empty seat next to Tsukasa—probably Kagami's own seat. The Takaras and Iwasakis took four seats on Yutaka's side of the table, with the Kusakabe and Minegishi siblings taking the other side. Directly across from Konata were two empty seats—probably for Patricia and Hiyori.

Kagami took a seat next to her twin, said twin smiling at her excitedly. Kagami smiled back with equal excitement. Konata promptly passed her a plate of rice and curry.

Truthfully speaking, had she any less self-control, she'd have attacked her plate as soon as it was in front of her. A cursory glance at around table told her that she wasn't the only one ready to dig in. Misao in particular was shaking with so much anticipation that she could have blasted off into space as soon as the greenlight was given and it wouldn't have been surprising.

Konata stepped off the chair she was standing on and took a seat, shooting Kagami one of her signature cat smiles. She was no doubt ready to tease Kagami about her obvious look of hunger—a look that she wasn't even trying to hide. With Tsukasa sitting between them, Kagami could only shoot back with a scowl.

"What's with that look?"

Konata leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm. "Nice ponytail."

Kagami resisted the urge to hide her face, though she couldn't stop her scowl from deepening. Okay, that wasn't a comment on her face, like she expected, but it was still a comment on her appearance—and a callback to a previous conversation. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, I know. Manly, like a samurai." She turned away.

"You know, that wasn't an insult," Konata said. "Samurai are cool."

A wry smile tugged at Kagami's lips. It certainly seemed like a very Konata-ish sentiment, so she wasn't entirely surprised to hear it. Still, though, "Cool or not, how is calling me manly not an insult?"

"You gotta open your mind, Kagamin. Let go of those gender stereotypes keeping you down."

Wait, gender stereotypes? Okay, that did not seem Konata-ish at all. "What are you talking about?" Kagami asked with a groan. "This isn't another anime thing, is it?"

Before the conversation could continue, they heard footsteps and voices from the hall outside the kitchen.

"I'm serious, Patty, I can walk. You don't have to carry me. No. Put me down. Please. Don't go in there carrying me. No. Please no. Don't go in there. Dontgointheredontgo-"

All eyes were on the door as Patricia entered the room, teeth bared in a smug-looking grin. In her arms, Hiyori whimpered, face flushed a deep red and buried in her hands. Interesting how Patricia really did end up bridal-carrying Hiyori—just like she said she would…

"Sorry we're late. Little-miss-art-addict here didn't want to part with her sketchbook."

Kagami watched idly by as Patricia let Hiyori down and they both took their seats. Once they were situated, it became apparent that the table had gone silent.

Konata cleared her throat and clapped her hands together. "Thank you for the food?"

Everyone immediately parroted the words and mirrored the motion, though with significantly more gusto and enthusiasm. Without missing a beat, they proceeded to tuck into their meal.

That drum had been filled with… what, a cubic meter of curry? Or something similarly crazy? Well, they'd managed to empty it within a few short minutes. It was reasonable, of course—there were fourteen of them, after all, and they'd each taken at least two servings, including Kagami. Konata and Yutaka had unexpectedly taken three—for such small people, they could eat a surprising amount of food—though they were clearly unable to stand by the time they licked their plates clean. Misao had taken a whopping five helpings, and still looked a little bit peckish. Was that how much she normally ate? If so, then that'd be unbelievably unfair. How the hell did she not get fat? Was it because she was on the track team or something?

Kagami's train of thought was derailed when the Iwasakis stood, Honoka announcing that she and Minami would be doing the dishes. She requested that everyone pass along their plates. Next to Kagami, Misao also stood, volunteering to do the dishes as well.

"The more the merrier," Honoka said, with a kind smile. "Be a dear and bring the curry pot near the sink."

"Aight." Misao gave a quick, lazy salute and walked past Kagami and Tsukasa. "Scoot over, Chibi."

"When you clean the pot, make sure you're not licking it clean."

Misao snorted, flipping the drum and holding its opening over Konata's head.

"Nonono," Konata quickly said, grabbing hold of Misao's arms before the taller girl could lower the drum. "It was a joke, Misakichi. No need to get all dramatic."

Misao snickered, relenting. "Pick yer battles better." She carried the drum to the sink without further incident.

Kagami leaned forward and rested a chin on her palms. "You really like stirring the hornet's nest, don't you?"

Konata slumped back into her chair and sighed in what seemed like contentment. "Totally worth it, though."

Kagami rolled her eyes. "One of these days, you'll end up picking on someone who has no qualms with hurting someone smaller than them. Whenever that happens, I hope you realize how much it isn't worth it."

"We'll see, Kagamin. We'll see…"

Later…

Misao felt a little bit miffed. She wasn't on the school baseball team (track team for life) but even she could tell that the baseball video game that Konata made them play was bullshit. If you were pitching, the stupid remote treated every pitch like a fastball, unless you were doing some weird hand movement that Misao couldn't wrap her head around. If you were batting, actually hitting the damn ball was a crapshoot. You barely had control of the angle of the bat. God, it was the most frustrating thing she'd experienced since she'd first encountered highschool math.

And most frustrating of all, Konata seemed to have mastered whatever weird quirks the game had.

The TV speakers blared, the sound of a loud wooden impact making Misao flinch. The cheering of a crowd of virtual bobble heads followed immediately after. The midget managed her fifth home-run in the game, giving the blue team a demoralizing 7-1 advantage.

"As much as I like winning," Kagami began, smiling wryly as she sat next to Misao on the corner couch. "Konata's showboating is getting a little annoying."

As she said this, Konata bowed dramatically at the others, almost all of whom were clapping enthusiastically. The only people who seemed even remotely unimpressed, other than Misao and Kagami, were Yutaka, Minami, and Misao's brother—and even those first two were still clapping.

Misao tilted her head toward Kagami as they both watched the Konata pass her Wii remote to Tsukasa, who was next up to bat.

"How much ya willing ta bet that she's mastered every sport bundled into this stupid game?"

Kagami side-eyed her and smirked. "Given how much time Konata spends playing video games? A year's worth of allowance."

Misao chuckled, matching Kagami's wager.

Konata ended up winning by a landslide with every sport they played. Bowling? She had a score in the mid-to-high 200s, while everyone else had 150 at most. Tennis? It was more even, but her team still swept through the doubles matches with a five point lead. Boxing? The most even of all of them, with Kagami and Misao nearly defeating her, but she still won every match. The only game that Konata technically didn't win was golf, but that was only because everyone declared it was boring some five minutes into it.

Most of the party had excused themselves over the course of Konata's win streak. Minami had escorted an exhausted Yutaka to her room shortly after the tennis match—the poor girl had been swinging the Wii remote like an actual tennis racket instead of just shaking it. Miyuki and the two adults followed shortly after the boxing match. Misao's brother—Masaru—was the first to declare the golf game boring when he left for his room. Ayano and Akane shared his sentiments, but stuck around a little longer before leaving. When Konata noticed that their party had been reduced to six, she gave in, finally exiting the game.

"Ready to call it a night?" Konata asked, carefully removing the disc from her Wii and inserting it into one of those zip-up disc sleeve notebooks. "I don't know about you, but I'm still wide awake."

Kagami seemed just as awake as the midget but said she wanted to sleep. In complete contrast, Tsukasa was already nodding off but wanted to stay up anyway. One of the first years, the American, looked like she wasn't even tired. What was her name again? Oh yeah, Martin. Patricia Martin. The other first year, the one always drawing, was unsurprisingly busy with her sketchbook. She was called Hiyori Tamura, right?

Misao shrugged. "I can probably stay up a few more hours. Have somethin' in mind?"

Konata raised another disc—a way smaller one. "You familiar with a game called Super Smash Brothers?" She smiled her irritating cat smile. "I play a mean Captain Falcon."

Patricia leaned forward from where she sat, humming in thought. "Hmm. I have something else in mind, actually. A traditional slumber-party game we have back in the States."

Konata raised a brow. "Oh?"

They shared sly looks. They both turned to Misao, and immediately it became clear what those looks were saying.

"I'm game," Misao said, stretching her arms. "What are we playing?"

Patricia grinned. "It's called truth or dare. It's kind of like the king's game you sometimes play here, but with slightly different rules."

Kagami, Tsukasa, and Hiyori looked at Patricia nervously. Misao couldn't blame them. The blonde had a wild look in her eyes that gave even Misao and Konata pause—and they were the jokers of their respective classes.

"So, you start by randomly picking a person to be it. We normally stand in a circle and spin a bottle. Whoever the end of the bottle points to is it. Anyway when you're it, you can ask any participant 'truth or dare.' Picking 'truth' means they need to answer any question truthfully. Picking 'dare' means you do one action that whoever's it tells you to do. Those watching can join in to cheer or make it more interesting."

Misao faintly heard Kagami mutter, "Oh great. It's Peer Pressure, the game…"

Despite her comment, she and everyone else gathered in a circle on the carpet. Konata sat next to Patricia and Hiyori. Misao sat next to Kagami, who sat next to Tsukasa. Konata took one of her Wii remotes and spun it around. It stopped at Tsukasa, who immediately blushed.

"Um… uh… what do I do?"

"Don't worry, Tsukasa," Konata began encouragingly. "You're it. That means you can pick one of us here and ask us 'truth or dare.'"

Tsukasa put a finger on her chin. "Oh… hmm…?" She shakily pointed at Konata. "Uh… truth or dare, Konata?"

"I pick truth." There was a pause as the two merely stared at each other. "That means you can ask me anything and I have to answer it," Konata continued helpfully.

Misao's eyebrows had been steadily rising as Konata interacted with Tsukasa. The midget was surprisingly accommodating for the younger Hiiragi twin. It was strangely endearing. No wonder Kagami put up with her.

"Oh… uh… okay, so… what's your favorite sweet?"

Konata cupped her chin and scrunched her face, dramatically humming in thought. "Hmmm. Excellent question, young one. It is a most uncertain thing you have asked of me."

Misao made an involuntary snort. She didn't expect Konata to be able to make such a convincing grandma-voice. Everyone else seemed just as amused.

Konata raised a finger. "If I were to pick, perhaps I'd choose popsicles?"

"Last time, you said your favorite candy was bubble gum," Kagami heckled.

Konata pouted. "I am a fickle woman, Kagamin. Surely an indecisive tsundere such as yourself would understand." Ignoring Kagami's glare, Konata directed her attention to Tsukasa. "In any case, was that a satisfactory answer?"

Tsukasa giggled and nodded.

"My turn, I guess." With a hand hiding her mirthful smirk, Konata scanned the room, eventually settling on the person next to her. "Patty. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Patricia answered, almost immediately.

"What's your cup size?"

She didn't even miss a beat. "Last I checked, I'm an American B or C-cup. In Japanese sizes, I'm a C or D."

"Nice."

The room had gone still. In the wake of Patricia's casual answer, it had quickly dawned on everyone what kind of game truth or dare actually meant to people like Konata and Patricia. It was a way to embarrass others as much as humanly possible.

"My turn now," Patricia announced, knocking everyone out of their epiphany-induced stupor. "Hiyori! Truth or dare?"

Said girl jumped in her seat, her glasses nearly falling off her face. "D-dare?" she answered in a panic.

Patricia's smile looked sharp, almost predatory. And the way Hiyori looked back, with that red face and pleading eyes, made it clear that they both knew where this was going.

"I dare you to show everyone what you've been drawing these past few minutes."

"Eep," Hiyori squeaked.

Despite the obvious reluctance, the artist showed everyone her sketchbook with little urging. On the page was an inked and partially colored illustration of Miyuki playing tennis. She was wearing her Ryōō PE uniform, and based on the white highlights on her skin, was covered in sweat. The speed-lines on the arm and tennis racket suggested that she was mid swing. Similarly, the speed-lines on her chest suggested her boobs were bouncing all over the place.

"Wow," Misao muttered.

Konata and Patricia looked pleased with themselves, muttering to each other about moé. They still never explained what moé was, for the record.

"Wow, that's amazing, Miss Tamura. You draw really well." Tsukasa, bless her, found nothing sexual about the art whatsoever.

Kagami, on the other hand…

She rubbed her temples. "I'm surrounded by perverts," she grumbled.

Misao nudged her shoulder. "Lighten up, Hiiragi. It's just a drawing. Not like it's a sexy photo or whatever."

"Somehow, I'd be more okay with a sexy photo. At least then, it'd be consensual."

"Unless it was taken in secret," Konata interjected with a raised index finger. "Then again, that could still be consensual as well. Voyeurs and exhibitionists have their niche."

"Does Hiyori count as a voyeur?" Patricia asked.

"Excellent question, Patty." Konata turned to Hiyori, who shrunk under her scrutiny. "Do you count as a voyeur, Hiyori Tamura?"

"What's a voyeur?" Tsukasa asked innocently.

Kagami pressed her palms against her face and slowly slid them down, dragging them across her cheeks with a tired sigh. "Can't we just drop the subject and resume the game? She already did your stupid dare."

"Ya know, she's got a point, guys," Misao said pointedly "It's Tamura's turn ta pick someone."

They shrugged. "Fair enough," Patricia relented. "Hiyori?" They turned to the girl in question.

Hiyori fidgeted, avoiding eye contact from any of them. Her voice was small when she spoke. "Can I pass?"

Patricia leaned back and crossed her arms, pouting. "Well, you can. We're not gonna stop you." She clicked her tongue. "But, if you wanna keep watching the madness unfold, you need to participate."

"I really don't like your use of the word 'madness' in this context," Kagami said with a sigh.

The blonde was unperturbed. "Well, if the shoe fits, senpai."

Kagami raised her hands in tired surrender. "Whatever. Just get on with it already."

"We're just waiting on Hiyori."

Hiyori continued to avoid meeting their gazes. "I don't know who to pick, though."

"Then pick someone random."

"Here." For the second time that night, Konata placed a Wii remote at the center of their circle and spun it. Eventually, it stopped at Kagami. "There we go. Kagami, truth or dare?"

Kagami rubbed her face once more. "I can't believe I'm actually participating," she said under her breath, Misao only barely catching the whispered words. "Dare."

Silence.

Kagami removed her hands from her face, raising a brow. "Tamura, I said, dare."

Hiyori still refused to make eye contact. "I heard you," she mumbled, seeming to shrink even more, as if to make herself a smaller target. "I'm just not sure if you'd like my dare. I don't wanna make you mad."

More silence.

Misao burst out laughing. "This is amazin', Hiiragi! Rumors about yer temper's trickled all the way down ta the freshmen! Look at how scared she looks!"

This earned a punch to her shoulder. It probably wouldn't bruise, right?

"Shut up!" Kagami snapped with an irritated glare. "I do not have a temper, okay!?" She let out a huff as tension released from her features. "In any case." She returned her attention to Hiyori. "Relax, Miss Tamura. I'm not going to hurt you. I may find your hobbies a little… questionable-"

Konata snickered. "That's certainly a polite way of saying it."

Kagami's smile twiched as she visibly restrained herself from retorting. "But I don't think you can get me anywhere near as mad as these two jokers can." She sneered pointedly at Misao and Konata.

Misao shrugged. "Guilty," she admitted.

Konata smiled, putting a hand on her chest with mock incredulity. "Why, Kagami, I didn't know you thought so highly of me."

"It wasn't a compliment," Kagami shot back with a dry growl, rolling her eyes. "In any case, just hit me with your best shot, Tamura. I promise I won't get mad."

With obvious reluctance, Hiyori nodded slowly, swallowing a nervous breath. "O-okay… so… uh… Hiiragi-senpai… I dare you to… I dare you to let Konata-senpai sit on your lap."

There was a beat…

Two beats…

Three…

A full measure passed.

Kagami let out another tired sigh and massaged the bridge of her nose. "It is way too late to be dealing with this crap." She adjusted her sitting position and patted her legs. "Alright, fine, sit on my lap or whatever. I don't care anymore."

For a moment, Konata tilted her head and stared curiously, before shrugging and crawling over to where Kagami sat on the carpet. "How refreshingly compliant of you, Kagamin. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you actually wanted this." She plopped onto the taller girl's lap, making herself comfortable.

As soon as the midget found a good position, Kagami snaked her arms around Konata's waist. Misao heard a sharp exhale from the shorter girl.

"Uh, Kagami? This is a little tight," she muttered with a wince.

"Mhmm."

Kagami's unamused expression didn't change, nor did Konata's pained one.

Misao found herself grinning. "Enjoying yourself, chibi?"

Konata smiled back in kind. "Why you asking? Jealous?" She winced again, tapping Kagami's arms around her waist and whining in discomfort. "This is starting to hurt, Kagami."

"Good."

Kagami turned to Hiyori, noticing her frantic scribbling on her sketchbook. "Tamura, you're not allowed to draw me and Konata."

Hiyori froze, pencil still pressed against the page. "Is… is that a dare…?"

"No, it's a threat. No lewds. Or else."

Misao couldn't see Kagami's expression as she threatened Hiyori, but the way the artist's face paled was enough of a tell for how venomous Kagami's stare must have been. She wordlessly turned her pencil over and began erasing whatever it was she had been drawing.

An awkward silence followed, lasting only as long as it took Patricia to clear her throat.

"Ahem. Hiiragi-senpai. I believe it's your turn now?"

Kagami turned up her nose. "I pass my turn to Tsukasa."

Patricia raised her brows, before shrugging. "Alrighty then. Tsukasa-senpai, it's your-"

"Wait, that's not fair," Hiyori cut in. "Why'd you let her pass but not me?"

"You're easier to bully into participating."

Hiyori opened her mouth to reply but did not say anything. She eventually shut her it and looked to Konata helplessly.

The midget shrugged. "I mean, you're really easy to peer pressure. And besides. Would you be willing to say 'no' to Ryōō's biggest tsunder-aaak!"

Everyone flinched when Konata cut herself off. A dangerous aura seemed to radiate from Kagami, but she otherwise looked as calm as a tranquil lake.

"FairenoughIseeyourpoint," Hiyori squeaked, hiding behind her sketchbook. "Carry on, Tsukasa-senpai."

On the other side of Kagami, Misao noticed Tsukasa nudging the older twin with an elbow. "Lighten up, sis. You're ruining the fun for everyone else."

Kagami's aura seemed to dissipate. She turned away from the younger twin, scowling, but in a way that suggested regret rather than annoyance.

"Right… Sorry." She sighed, relaxing her features—and her hold on Konata, who looked incredibly relieved by that fact. She turned back towards Tsukasa. "Can I still give you my turn?"

Tsukasa smiled brightly. "Absolutely."

Misao stared in wonder. Kagami backing down with no resistance had been a sight to behold. That wasn't even taking into account the inherent topsy-turviness of Tsukasa being the one to scold her. The younger twin had managed to placate the older with nothing more than two sentences and a kind sentiment.

Then again, if Misao had been the one told off, she'd have backed down as well. The thought of upsetting Tsukasa by being stubborn and difficult just didn't sit right with her. There was just something so inexplicably wrong about it.

Misao blinked, realizing that she'd been staring into space. It couldn't have been longer than a minute, but it had been more than enough time for the younger twin to make use of her turn—based on the fact that Patricia was telling a story from her middle school days, it had probably been a "Truth" question.

She leaned over to Kagami, tapping her and the midget on the shoulder. In their brief moment of eye contact, Misao mouthed "water" to them, jerking a thumb to the kitchen.

They both gave her a nod, though Kagami's was more of a pointed headbob, telling her to just go, while Konata's was a slow tilt, as if asking her why she thought she needed to ask for permission.

She flicked the midget's forehead. "I was bein' polite, ya little twerp," she hissed.

With that, she got up and retreated to the kitchen. Hopefully, she'd get back to the action before things escalated even more.

Meanwhile…

In the lamp-lit room she shared with her mother, Miyuki sat comfortably under the covers of her bed, reading the second of six books she had brought for their trip—she had finished the first one during the train ride that morning. Yukari slept soundly on the bed next to her own, spread-eagle in a loosely fit purple nightgown that matched Miyuki's pink, chest rising and falling in slow, steady intervals.

There were three evenly spaced knocks on the door.

"Come in, Minami," Miyuki said, closing her book and setting it down on the nightstand.

Minami entered the room, bowing slightly as she crossed the threshold. "Good evening, Nee-san."

"Good evening. How is Yutaka?"

The sides of Minami's lips and eyes curved almost imperceptibly, implying a smile as best she was capable of. "She's well. She still had a surprising amount of energy despite everything. Sleep didn't come easily for her, so we talked for a few minutes."

Miyuki nodded. "Understandable. She did eat three servings earlier. She must have had energy to burn still. I take it your conversation was enjoyable?"

Minami nodded in reply, to which Miyuki tilted her head slightly. Understanding the unspoken request, Minami elaborated.

"She mostly gave commentary on today's events, complimenting Hiiragi-senpai and Kusakabe-senpai for their wit and ability to keep up with Izumi-senpai's jokes. I had no comments of my own, so I simply let her talk."

Miyuki had no comments either. "Thank you for telling me, Minami. As for me, I've only been reading. If you wish, I can give you a summary of what happened so far in the story and my thoughts."

Minami shook her head.

"I see. Well, if you're ever interested, all you need to do is ask. I'll happily lend you my copy."

There was silence for a time, the only sound in the room being Yukari's soft breathing and the occasional muffled noises from outside.

"I no longer hear the television running downstairs, but I do still hear conversation through the floor. Do you know what they're doing now?"

Minami shook her head again.

Miyuki stood. "I'm not particularly sleepy yet. Would you like to go down and check on them?"

Minami tilted her head for a moment, before nodding.

Miyuki smiled and walked to the door. "Come along, Minami," she said, with a small, beckoning wave.

The two left the room, letting Yukari slumber in peace.

Halfway down the stairs, they heard Patricia in the living room, regaling the others with a story with an air of solemnity. Miyuki wasn't sure if the American was overselling an amusing anecdote, or if it was actually as life-changing as the narration suggested it was. When they reached the bottom, they could more easily parse the words. They caught snippets about anime and hiring a tutor to learn Japanese.

Miyuki turned to Minami with a raised brow. Despite being more familiar with Patricia than her, all Minami could reply with was a blink and a blank stare. It did not matter, in the end, so Miyuki dropped the issue.

Just as they entered the living room from the hall, Misao walked past them from the kitchen, one hand carrying a pitcher of water; the other, a stack of multi-colored plastic cups. She shot them a glance before smirking, urging them to where the others had gathered with a pointed tilt of her head. They followed her to the crowd.

"Good evening again, everyone."

"I see our hosts have deemed us worthy of their presence," Konata commented as they approached. Surprisingly, she was sitting on Kagami's lap. More surprisingly, Kagami seemed perfectly comfortable with it. "We're playing a game called truth or dare," Konata continued. "It was Patty's idea."

Misao placed the pitcher and cups on the coffee table that had been pushed to the edge of the room, before sitting beside Kagami. Miyuki and Minami took seats between Misao and Patricia.

"I'm familiar with truth or dare," Miyuki remarked, pushing up her glasses. "I do request that we try not to make the dares too crazy."

Patricia gave a lopsided smile. "No promises."

Everyone fidgeted in discomfort at the American's words. Konata and Misao seemed the least bothered, while Kagami and Hiyori, the most. Miyuki herself stood somewhere in the middle. What little she knew about the game did not paint a pretty picture about the rest of the night. At the same time, she was curious about how far they'd be willing to take things.

"Well, as long as you make an attempt." Miyuki coughed into her hand. "Ahem. In any case, don't let our arrival stop you." She turned to Patricia. "I believe you were telling an anecdote about your language tutor back when you lived in the US?"

Patricia snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah. To catch you up, my parents decided to get me Japanese lessons since I was super into anime. My tutor got me even more into it. Years later, once I achieved conversational competency, she suggested I try applying for an exchange program." She grinned. "A chance to go to Japan? There's no way I'd pass that up."

"I see." Miyuki put a finger on her chin. "Hmm. Aren't exchange programs temporary, though?"

Patricia nodded. "Yep. My student visa is only for two years. I'm looking into the possibilities of an extension, but there's no guarantee I'll get one. Worst case scenario, I'll have to move away after second year." She shrugged, looking away. "C'est la vie."

Miyuki looked among their group, gauging everyone's reactions. Konata and Hiyori both looked unsurprised to hear this, the former fidgeting with the Wii remote in her hands, the other scribbling lazy circles in the corner of her sketchbook. Misao and Minami looked pensive, their gazes aimed towards the floor. Tsukasa seemed the most distraught by this information, looking ready to cry as Kagami rubbed her shoulder and murmured reassurances.

"It's over a year and a half away. There's plenty of time for her to get an extension."

Tsukasa nodded slowly. "I know… But it still makes me sad…"

Konata gave a half-hearted chuckle. "You only met her three months ago and already you're crying at the prospect of her leaving? You really do have a big heart, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa sniffed. "Really?"

"Really."

She looked to Kagami and Misao, who both hummed in agreement. She nodded slowly once more, rubbing tears out of her eyes.

"I'll be good in a bit. You guys can go on."

Patricia looked uncertain but nodded. "Well, if you're sure." Her eyes darted back and forth between Miyuki and Minami, eventually settling on the latter. "Minami, truth or dare?"

Miyuki felt the girl next to her stiffen, ever so slightly. Based on the sudden sharp glint in Patricia's eyes, she hadn't been the only one to notice the stoic's reaction. Everyone else, however, seemed none the wiser.

Minami blinked, turning to Miyuki with a quizzical look and a barely-raised brow.

Miyuki's brows were also raised. Based on what little she had read about truth or dare, she had assumed players weren't allowed to simply pick someone from the group. Patricia seemed to have bent the rules somewhat. No one else seemed bothered by this, however, so Miyuki met Minami's gaze and nodded cautiously.

Minami blinked again, before turning to Patricia. "Truth."

"What do you think of Yutaka."

The mention of Yutaka immediately snatched Konata's attention from Tsukasa. She eyed Minami critically.

Once again, Minami turned to Miyuki, to which Miyuki gave another cautious nod. Minami nodded back and closed her eyes in thought.

"Yutaka is… a wonderful friend," she said, opening her eyes.

Patricia gestured for Minami to continue. "Dig deeper, girl. I know you can do better than that—I've seen your literature essays. Make us feel something."

Minami's face tightened, likely the closest thing to a frown that she could muster. This was a rare mood for the stoic. Miyuki wasn't sure what emotion she was trying to express. It was anyone's guess as to what Minami's next words would be.

Minami took a deep breath, as if to steel herself. When next she spoke, her voice was steady and unwavering.

"Yutaka is compassionate, optimistic, and has incredible willpower. Meeting her is what led to me meeting Patricia, Hiyori, and all the other friends I've made since. Her friendliness and general demeanor make it easy to be friends with her. Her ability to smile in the face of adversity, even the sickliness that has plagued her for her entire life, is nothing short of inspirational. She brightens up everyone's day because of it. She changed my life for the better, and I cannot thank her enough for becoming my friend."

Minami had sounded like someone desperately trying to suppress emotions that could not be contained. It was ironic, considering she was likely attempting the opposite—to portray emotions that refused to surface. It ended up with the same result, though: everyone sat in silence as they absorbed Minami's speech, all of them sporting flushed cheeks and stunned expressions.

"Well," Patricia said shakily. "When I said to make us feel something, you certainly delivered."

Tsukasa released a deep sigh. "My heart's still racing. That was so beautiful."

Miyuki leaned over and whispered, "Was that all on the spot?"

Minami nodded.

"Do you think you presented it well?"

There was a pause, but Minami still nodded again.

Miyuki smiled and left it at that.

The next few rounds came and went quickly. The lack of randomization was concerning, though it thankfully did not cause any strife. In fact, the proceeding rounds ended up harmless and forgettable.

There were some stand-out rounds, however.

During one round, Minami had asked Misao if she had eaten the ice cream in the freezer, and Misao tattled on Konata on top of pleading guilty. This led to a small argument between the two, which Kagami broke up by pinching hard on Konata's arm and delivering a sharp chop to the side of Misao's head.

In another round, Kagami dared Hiyori to show Miyuki one of the drawings on her sketchbook. "You know the one," she had said. When Miyuki saw the sketch, she tactfully decided not to comment, if only to prevent more embarrassment—Konata and Patricia's laughter had been damning enough.

There was even a string of back and forth rounds where Konata and Misao dared each other to do some sort of exercise, such as jumping-jacks or squats. Misao successfully completed all of her sets with little trouble. Konata matched her, point for point at first, but started to fall off when Misao dared her to do exercises involving arm and upper body muscles. It eventually ended with Konata collapsing onto the carpet in a sweaty heap, hugging her shoulders with a pained, wry smile.

"I'll get you for this, Misakichi," she threatened weakly.

"Keep telling yourself that, Chibi. I can do this all night."

"Please don't make us sit through this all night," Kagami said with a sigh. She knelt in front of Konata as well, poking the smaller girl in the forehead. "That goes for you too, little-miss-competitive. Pick someone other than Misao this round."

Konata didn't bother making a witty remark. "R-right…"

Tsukasa crawled over with a cup of water. She and Kagami helped Konata upright. "Here." When Konata drank, she smiled. "Feel better?"

"Much, yes," Konata said. She took another long draught, gasping when she swallowed. "Whoo… whoo boy… okay… Okay, I think I'm good… Patty, truth or dare…?"

"Truth," Patricia replied.

"Who is the most attractive person in this room?"

"So, are we talking, like, personality? Looks? Gimme something to work with, here."

She received no reply. Understandably, Konata seemed keen on relaxing on the carpet between Kagami and Tsukasa.

Patricia pouted. "You're not falling asleep, are you?"

"Still awake. Just… just resting…"

Patricia shrugged. "Okay then." She looked around at the people in the circle. Miyuki felt a strange chill when the American's eyes passed over her.

"Personality-wise, it's easily Hiyori." Patricia punctuated her sentence with a clap on Hiyori's shoulder, causing the girl to squeak and jump in her seat. "See? Her buttons are way too easy to push." Hiyori shrunk, hiding her face behind her sketchbook. Patricia ignored this reaction. "As for looks, it's a toss up between Takara-senpai and Kagami Hiiragi-senpai. They're both beautiful in their own right. Takara has a curvy, mature look about her. She also has glasses, which I'm kinda into. Hiiragi is more youthful, but the sharp eyes give her this refined quality—like a princess. I'm also more into straight hair than wavy."

Miyuki nodded, quietly accepting the compliments. After two years of Konata bombarding her with comments about her looks, she was no longer fazed by it—although the unsubtle glances to her chest and hips still made her somewhat uncomfortable.

Kagami was another story. She seemed completely taken aback by Patricia's words, face buried in her hands as she shrunk away from the group.

Konata quipped from the floor, "Hey, Kagamin. Why you so flustered?"

"She just said I was attractive," she hissed in reply, shooting Konata a glare through the gaps between her fingers. "Why wouldn't I be flustered?"

Konata sat up, smirking. "No need to be modest. You're my pick for most attractive, too. I'm sure Misakichi agrees."

"Yeah, Hiiragi," Misao chimed. "You're easily the prettiest girl I ever met."

"Shut up," Kagami snapped.

"I didn't think we'd need to tell you this, but you're beautiful, Kagamin. Everyone here can see it—everyone but you."

"Shut up!"

"Think about it, Hiiragi. You got smooth skin, soft hair, a bright smile."

"As bright as polished gold, and just as rare and valuable."

Miyuki smiled with sympathy as Kagami shrunk further into her fetal position, Konata and Misao continuing to pile compliments on top of her. Anticipating an adverse reaction to Kagami's rapidly building embarrassment, Miyuki cleared her throat loudly.

"Ahem. Miss Izumi, Miss Kusakabe, please contain yourselves. Your points are valid but you're clearly not helping."

The two froze, turning to Miyuki.

"It's all true, though?"

"That may be so, but I imagine this is more a case of Kagami simply not being used to compliments about her physical appearance. With regular exposure, she'll eventually adapt, but right now, all you're likely to achieve by continuing is make her angry."

Konata raised a brow, smirking. "What makes you think that's not what we're trying to do?"

"Yeah. She's such a cutie when she acts all flustered and stuff."

As quickly as those words left their mouths, Kagami crawled behind them and delivered sharp chops to the back of their heads. Everyone winced as they yelped in pain.

"Dolts, both of you!" Kagami spat, teary eyed. "I should've known you two had ulterior motives!"

The two stared back, clutching their heads. "I mean, would you prefer if we insulted you?" Konata asked, immediately showing a face of regret when she realized what she just said. "It was a joke," she added weakly.

Misao winced and elbowed her.

Kagami's teary glare grew darker as she stood and brandished a fist. "Do you seriously think it's funny to tease me? You think my suffering is cute?"

The two crawled backwards. "And you say I'm dramatic. Suffering is such a strong—" Misao elbowed Konata again. "What I meant to say was, we don't mean any harm when we tease you. Flustered Kagamin is cute. Smiling Kagamin is cute. Laughing Kagamin is cute. Hurt Kagamin isn't."

"You're only digging your grave deeper, Konata." Kagami took a step forward.

"Well, what do you want me to say, then?" Konata crawled back a little more, stopping when her back touched Patricia's feet.

Kagami crossed her arms. "How 'bout the truth?"

"I got her," Patricia said helpfully, grabbing Konata's shoulders and hoisting her onto her lap. Her arms were locked firmly around the shorter girl's waist. "You're free to take my turn, by the way, Hiiragi-senpai.

With a slight tilt of her head to the side, Kagami smiled sharply. "Well, there we go. What'll it be, Konata?"

Konata smiled wryly. "What do I have to do if I pick dare?"

"Do you really wanna know?"

Konata sighed. "Look, Kagami. I don't know what has you so upset—"

"You said you were deliberately trying to get me angry!"

"—But I'm just doing what I've always been doing. I tease you to get a reaction. Your face is cute. I love the way it looks, especially when you smile or blush. I love it even more when you fight back. Your smug expression is easily the most satisfying thing to see when I tease you. It motivates me to tease you even more."

The blush on Kagami's face hadn't subsided. If anything, she looked even more flushed. She shook her head. "I don't buy it."

Konata turned towards the ceiling and groaned. "Oh, come on! How is it so hard to believe!?"

"Because it's too simple!" Kagami snapped. "You always make things complicated. Something so simple can't be the reason."

Konata blinked, staring for only a moment, before bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"That is one of the most tsundere things I've ever heard you say."

"Why, I oughta—!"

Tsukasa and Misao had to pull Kagami to the other side of the room, and Patricia held Konata protectively against her chest, refusing to let her go. Minami went over to talk to Hiyori, who looked spooked. Miyuki stayed next to Patricia, listening to her conversation with Konata.

"Has anyone ever told you to stop stirring up hornet nests?" Patricia asked sternly.

Konata gave her a look.

She sighed. "Yes, I know I'm not one to talk, but Hiiragi-senpai really did look pissed off, back there."

"Yeah, she did." Konata nodded thoughtfully. "Not gonna lie, though, she looked kinda hot."

Patricia winced, sighing again. "You know what? You're not wrong…"

Miyuki maintained her strained smile, still not sure how to react to what had just happened, or what she just heard. "Please don't take offence to this, but don't you think it's strange that you find Kagami's unbridled rage attractive?"

Patricia and Konata exchanged glances before shrugging simultaneously. "A bit, yeah."

Konata cupped her chin. "To be honest, I haven't really thought about it much. Part of me wants to say it's some unacknowledged masochism or something—it'd certainly explain my weird fixation on tsundere—but another part of me says that's not it."

Miyuki frowned. "There's that word again. You use it all the time but never explain it—not really. What is it about Kagami that makes her a tsundere?"

Konata looked meaningfully at Miyuki before looking past her to Kagami. Miyuki turned to follow Konata's gaze.

Kagami looked calmer now, the creases in her brow no longer as deep, though her blush was still in full bloom. She held a cup of water in one hand, and was grasping Tsukasa's hands in the other. She seemed to be aggressively scolding Misao, who stood a pace away from her, hands raised in surrender.

"The basics of a tsundere are that they're prickly on the outside, soft on the inside, and can't be honest with their feelings. Kagami sorta has that sense about her, doesn't she? Sarcastic and easily annoyed, probably acts like she doesn't like you—or, at least, that's how it felt for me when we first met…"

Misao prostrated herself in front of Kagami, causing the older Hiiragi twin to comically wave her hands in panicked dismissal. Miyuki did not need to know how to read lips to understand Kagami's pleas for Misao to stop bowing.

"But if you look beyond the cold shoulders and scalding remarks, it's not hard to tell that she cares. You could even say she cares a little too much."

Kagami knelt down and pulled Misao upright. Once she was sat up, Kagami smiled kindly and put a hand atop Misao's head. Shortly after, Misao threw her arms around Kagami into what looked like a bone-crushing hug. Kagami immediately started rapidly tapping Misao's shoulder in the hopes of being released from the hug.

"Of course, she'll never admit that to me… or you… or anyone, really. Hell, she probably won't even admit it to herself. But that's just how tsundere are. And to be honest, it's part of what I like about them."

Miyuki nodded slowly. "That was… that was very articulate, Konata. You seem to have thought about this a lot—seemingly more than you did when you last tried to explain it."

Konata shrugged. "Tsundere is a widespread anime character trope. That's sorta my bread and butter."

Kagami approached, Tsukasa and Misao following behind her. "Hey, uh, Konata?" she said, not making eye contact. "Sorry for nearly clobbering you. I was angry, but that was no excuse to try and hurt you like that."

Konata waved off the apology. "Ah, don't worry about it. I provoked you, didn't I?"

Kagami raised a brow. "You're not at all sorry for what you did, are you?"

Konata shook her head. "Not one bit."

Kagami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Somehow, I'm not surprised." She smiled wryly. "Was it worth it, then?"

Konta grinned. "Oh, absolutely. That face of burning fury you had? Top notch!"

A wince. "Please tell me you're joking."

"No, I'm serious. Misakichi, back me up on this."

They turned to Misao, who nervously shifted her weight. "I mean… It was a little hot…? I guess…?"

"See!?"

Kagami rubbed her face, groaning. "Uuuhhg. I can't believe you're still on about this."

"Look, Kagamin, everything I told you was true. Despite any of your assumptions, it's really not that complicated."

"Whatever, I don't care anymore." Kagami raised her hands in surrender. "So, now what? Are we gonna continue the game or go to bed? It's pretty late now."

Miyuki looked at the clock on the wall. "It's a little past midnight," she announced to the room.

Konata raised an index finger. "How about one more round? Then we can call it a night."

Everyone looked at each other, and shrugged. "Sure. One round."

Konata tapped Patricia's arm, prompting the American to release her. She stood and stretched, before turning on her heel and pointing at Patricia's face. "Since you gave your turn to Kagami earlier, I'll give my turn to you."

Patricia grinned. "You wanna end the night on a bang, huh? Where's the Wii-mote? I wanna make this last one random." Minami stepped forward with the device, handing it to Patricia.

With a flick of her wrist, the Wii remote spun on the floor, eventually stopping on Miyuki. "Truth or dare?"

"Hmm. For the purposes of making it quick… I suppose I pick dare?"

Patricia's smile turned sharp, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "I dare you to give someone in this room a kiss on the lips."

Miyuki sucked in a breath through grit teeth. She had expected a game of truth or dare to eventually lead to dares such as 'kiss someone.' They may have taken a meandering path to get to that point, but she knew it was still on the table. Despite knowing that, she still felt surprised when it finally came to it.

Everyone else was silent, eyes darting back and forth between Patricia and Miyuki. They were all waiting on someone to make a move.

Miyuki coughed into her hand. "Ahem. Would anyone like to volun-"

"Nonono," Patricia cut in. "You have to be the one to choose."

Miyuki pursed her lips. No volunteers made it more difficult, but she could adjust accordingly. She scanned the room, weighing her options.

Kagami was still recovering from her outburst from earlier. Miyuki did not intend to make the night harder for her than it already had been.

The same could be said for Hiyori, who had seemed twitchy and tense all day, and Konata, who looked genuinely tired after enduring those physical exercise sets as well as Kagami's outburst.

Minami probably wouldn't have minded being kissed, though the thought of kissing her evoked strange, not-entirely-pleasant feelings within Miyuki that she wasn't in any state to process.

That left Patricia, Misao, and Tsukasa.

Patricia would likely be fine with it, since she did say she found Miyuki attractive. She was also the one to make the dare.

But she did not know Patricia very well. She did not know Misao very well either.

As for Tsukasa…? Well, there were no other options…

"Tsukasa, would it be alright to kiss you?"

End of Chapter

A/N:

Beta read by Trilicon, PastelRaccoon, and picardyThird.

Yes, I'm aware that it's a cliffhanger. No, I'm not sorry.

Patty's version of truth or dare completely takes out a lot of the randomization, which I suppose also takes out a lot of the fun. I'll fully address it in the next chapter, but if you want the short explanation, she was trying to make it as easy as possible for her to rig the game into going in interesting directions (it's totally not because I forgot how truth or dare is played.)

I tried to keep everything lighthearted, though I slipped dangerously close Coinciding Moments territory at certain points—particularly the parts with characters passionately describing their feelings like they're in a melodrama anime. It's not nearly as dramatic, of course, but it's still something I'm keen on controlling. I plan on sea-sawing the tone back and forth between comedic and dramatic, but I don't want it to ever get dark.

I know I've mostly been following the same eight characters, ignoring everyone else, but that's only to keep the chaos from ramping up too quickly. Rest assured, characters like Yutaka and Ayano will have their moments to shine in future chapters.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed!

Next chapter: The Second Day, Intermission