Ugh…being sick really sucks, you know? But hey…when I'm home, it's afternoon, and there's no one to talk to, that means…yes…WORK ON STORIES! *evil cackle* For it is the one fanfic…TO RULE THEM ALL!! ^^;; Just kidding. There's ton of YYH fanfics that are better than mine. Like Kokitsune. And the Miss Independent series. And…*coughs* Sorry.

Anyway, last chaper, Suzaku did some nostalgic reminiscing about his past with Kaeru. Things happened, more things happened, and now it's time for comedy once again! HUGE thanks to aori tsuki, who helped with the truths and dares. This chapter is for you, Mizu-chan! *hugs*

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"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Kuronue glanced down at Kaeru, who looked back at him over her sleeping bag. "I mean…did we all forget what happened last time??"

"We're not letting Kaeru and Yukina out of our sights," Kurama reassured him, as Chitsuko nodded. "And you survived Truth-or-Dare before, remember?"

"Barely," the chimera muttered. Kaeru shifted her things and knocked on the door to Suzuki's house. Rei answered it.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!" She reached out, ensnared the startled Koorime, and enveloped her in a hug. "Come in, come in, we're just getting started!!"

Chitsuko and Kurama smiled at each other before they walked inside. Suzaku and Kuronue followed, although the latter could be heard muttering darkly under his breath.

Everyone else was already there: the usual inhabitants of the Suzuki house, plus Mizu, Yusuke and Keiko, Yukina, Botan, and Kazuma and Shizuru Kuwabara. The newcomers were greeted with big smiles and grins, and several waves (with the exception of Hiei).

Kuronue reluctantly settled down on the couch, warily eyeing the door. He was ready to bolt if necessary. Unfortunately, two certain Mirror Holders were ready to stop him.

"Kia, he's trying to get away!" Kelsey leapt onto the couch and smacked the chimera in the face with a gaudy red velvet pillow. "Thou shalt not go free!"

"You shall not pass," Kia added, blocking the door with a dramatic flourish of outstretched arms and legs. The effect was spoiled, however, when Jin simply picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. "Jiiiin, you destroyed my…my…moment!"

Suzuki raised an eyebrow. "You had a moment? Pity, I think I missed it." He turned back to his conversation with Chuu with a grin on his face, as Kia shook a clenched fist in his direction.

"Ah, good, the gang's all here." Yusuke rubbed his hands together briskly. "Now, time for the good stuff!"

"Good stuff?" Kaeru echoed blankly.

"RUM!!" Rei cheered boisterously. When they all looked at her, she smiled and shrugged. "Well, it's good stuff, isn't it?"

Chuu raised his bottle of alcohol in a sort of sloppy toast. "That it is, love, that it is…" He then proceeded to chug the liquid without pausing for breath. The two Ice Maidens watched him, wide-eyed.

The black-haired Tantei rolled his eyes. "I meant Truth-or-Dare."

Kuronue visibly flinched. "No. I am NOT doing that again!"

Rei stuck out her lips in a pout and grabbed his hands, pulling him down to sit beside her. "Don't be a spoilsport, Batty! It's all in good fun."

Shishiwakamaru shuddered, remembering their last incident of "good fun". The one where he'd worn a trashcan lid on his head and sang the Sesame Street theme song. The one where Rei had hospitalized an old man. And the one where Kuronue had kissed an old lady in a store--and had almost gotten his head bashed in by her purse.

"Please play, Kuronue-san." Kaeru, sitting directly across from him in the circle they were forming, looked at him with big ruby eyes. "It's fun!"

"'Fun', she says," he grumbled, reluctantly relaxing and looking at the others.

Kelsey was practically bouncing. "I'll go first, I'll go first!!" She looked around for a victim, and then her keen gaze settled on Touya. "Alright, Mister Ice Master, Truth or Dare?"

Touya weighed his options carefully, thought of who was asking him, and decided to go with the safer one. "Truth."

"What was your most embarrassing moment?"

The others leaned forward interestedly as the diminutive Shinobi slowly turned pink. "Well…" He hesitated.

"Weeeeeeell?" Botan prompted.

"I…err…after the Ankoku Bujutsukkai, a lot of us fighters got together for a fighter…I became pretty intoxicated and…I'm afraid I…kissed Shishiwakamaru."

Kia cringed. "You poor thing. You WOULD have to be wasted to want to kiss Shishi."

"Hey!" The samurai glared at her. She shrugged. "Kelsey isn't drunk when she kisses me!"

"How are you so sure?"

Kelsey laughed. "I'm not. But still…Touya kissing Shishi. I smell blackmail. Your turn, Icy Boy."

Touya, face still flushed, called on Rei. She chose Dare. In fact, she even suggested doing one of her own dares. Which was why Suzaku and Yusuke were soon wheeling a massive three-tiered white-frosting birthday cake into a nearby nursing home. And when Rei popped out in a gaudy hot-pink bikini and pranced around the room, singing "Happy Birthday", six elderly people suffered sudden heart attacks. The three raced from the room before the orderlies could figure out what had happened.

Things continued. Once they had returned to Suzuki's house, Rei had dared Suzaku to dress up AND act like a cowboy for the rest of the night. Kia had produced a cowboy hat and a sheriff's badge from somewhere in her closet, and Chuu had given the Saint Beast a pair of giant leather boots. The red-faced youkai was soon talking in an atrocious Western accent, causing Kaeru to ask if he was unwell.

Kuronue, after being asked if he had ever cross-dressed, admitted that he had once dressed up as Little Bo Peep in one of his thefts--complete with shepherdess' cane and frilly skirt and bonnet. Once the laughter had died down, he dared Shishiwakamaru to dress up as a girl and go out into the streets to see if he could fool anyone about his gender. Botan, Chitsuko, and Shizuru volunteered to "prettify" him, and soon the samurai was standing outside, his blue hair in loose ringlets, held back with a pink headband. He wore a Sarayashiki outfit that Botan had somehow gotten to fit him perfectly. He also had on blush, blue eyeshadow, and bright red lipstick.

Five minutes later, he stomped inside, went into the bathroom, and slammed the door hard.

"So how many?" Rinku asked the three makeup artists.

Shizuru smirked. "Six. Four of them asked him out. One proposed to him."

Mizu laughed. "I knew it! He looks feminine WITHOUT the makeup, but with it…"

Once Shishiwakamaru had rejoined them, back in his usual garb and without the lipstick, he asked Kia if she had had any past boyfriends. After much grumbling and avoiding Jin's eyes, she had replied that she'd gone out with a boy when she was twelve, but that was it. The Wind Master relaxed, and Kia (after glaring at the snickering Shishi) dared Hiei to sing the Grinch Song. The Jaganshi did, scowling darkly the entire time, but he was actually very good, and received a standing ovation once he had finished. He was still frowning, even after Yusuke dared Kurama to go door-to-door, selling…unmentionables.

"Excuse me, ma'am," the Youko said politely, flashing a smile at the wary-eyed woman who answered the door. "But you look like a woman who knows what her man wants, and I'm sure he wants his wife to have the latest in undergarments!"

The woman gave him a surly glare. "My husband ran off with the lady at the grocery store a week ago."

Kia, Chitsuko, and Yusuke all winced, hidden behind a bush. Yusuke had told Kurama that he couldn't come back until he had sold at least one thing. The rose-wielder was getting desperate.

Unruffled, Kurama quickly countered, "Well, then, show him what he's given up! He'll regret leaving you, absolutely guaranteed. Or you could always just find another man. You're a very attractive woman." Again, the disarming smile.

The woman bought five things.

"Shame on you, Kurama," Kia told him, as they headed back. "She'll try to put the moves on you now."

He sighed. "I know…"

Yusuke grinned. "Chitsuko will scare her off." The golden-haired hanyou flexed her arm and they all laughed.

And still, the chaos continued. Jin had to dress up as Legolas and go out in public, with only Kia to defend him from the horde of fangirls. The compassionate Mirror Holder proved she was up to the job when she took down three of them, with one swing of her schoolbag. Even so, there were too many of them, and Jin and Kia were soon outnumbered. But the Wind Master came up with a plan of escape and the girls exclaimed in disappointment when they saw "Legolas" and "That Legolas-hogger" fly away.

Jin went easy on Rinku and repeated Kelsey's earlier question. The little fighter confessed that he'd once walked into the girls' bathroom and had almost lost his hearing when every single girl in the room had screamed very loudly and piercingly. Chuu had teased him mercilessly, and now, remembering, he started to taunt him again.

Things got tense when Rinku asked Yukina if she loved Kuwabara. The Ice Maiden had looked at the nervous Kuwabara, and then at the glowering Hiei.

"Of course I do." Before Hiei could kill the orange-haired boy, she added, "I love all of my friends." No one had the heart (or the nerve) to fully explain what Rinku had actually meant when he had posed the question, but then it wasn't really that big a deal--except to Hiei and Kuwabara. And then, when Yukina picked Kuwabara and asked her question, it was all they could do to keep straight faces.

"Kazuma-san, could you please explain the 'power of love' that you seem to be fond of mentioning?"

Botan looked faintly uneasy. Hiei looked very murderous. Rei started cheering. "Go, Kuwabara! You da man! No, YOU da man!"

"Not now, Rei," Mizu muttered.

Kuwabara took a deep breath and puffed up like a blowfish. "Well, Yukina-san, I was connected to you by the red pinky-string of love, and that is how I saved you! If my love hadn't crossed distances to find you, we would never be together, and destiny would be thwarted! THAT is the power of love! Now, my love, I shall take you into my--"

Keiko and Shizuru both coughed simultaneously, and when Kuwabara didn't shut up, Shizuru gave her younger brother a solid thump on the skull. That worked.

The next dare made both Kuronue and Suzaku stiffen, as Kuwabara dared Suzuki to kiss Kaeru. The inventor was uncomfortably aware of their glares as he leaned forward to plant a cautious kiss on the Koorime's lips. Kaeru didn't seem to be as upset as her "guardians" were, but, all the same, Suzuki edged away from her as he asked Keiko if she was still a virgin.

The brunette looked as if she'd love nothing better than to slap him--hard. "Yes," she said, between gritted teeth. "I AM."

Suzuki smirked at Yusuke, who colored slightly. But Keiko got her revenge when she dared Botan to beat Suzuki over the head with her oar. The ferrygirl did--gladly, while every single girl (except for Kaeru and Yukina, who were puzzled by all of the fuss) cheered her on.

Glares soon stopped as Botan dared Chitsuko to sing "Jingle Bells" while tangoing around the room with Hiei. Well, most glares. Hiei had his on full-force as Chitsuko deftly maneuvered him around the room, making him do a twirl on "Oh, what fun it is to ride on a one-horse open sleigh!"

Then came the worst dare of all. Chitsuko picked Chuu. "Are you sure you can handle this? Once you do it, there's no turning back."

He waved her on impatiently.

"Fine. I dare you…to go a whole week without drinking."

The drunkard actually burst into tears. Everyone else slowly formed a sweatdrop as Kaeru sympathetically patted his arm.

"I'll hide the alcohol!" Rinku volunteered.

"Better yet, burn it." Rei grinned. "Or give it to me."

"Noooooo!" Chuu sobbed. Kaeru continued to make soothing noises and pat his arm. It took her a full five minutes to finally calm him down, and he was still red-eyed when he dared Mizu to go out in public with her fox ears and tail showing. The kitsune readily agreed, and even posed for pictures as a group of tourists gaped at her. One brave child even tugged on her tail to see if it was real.

Mizu dared Kelsey to kiss Shishiwakamaru for a whole minute. The Mirror Holder made a huge show of complaining and fussing and grumbling, but when she finally kissed Shishi, she ended it reluctantly. Yusuke punched the samurai's shoulder, complimenting him on his "way with the women", and got a pillow in the face for that.

Finally, Kelsey turned to Kaeru. "Do you love anybody?"

The Ice Maiden slowly blinked. "In the way of Yukina-chan loving her friends, or in the way Kurama-san and Chitsuko-san love each other?"

"She's observant," Kurama remarked, surprised.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "She lives with you two. She'd have to be blind and deaf not to know."

"The second one," Kelsey clarified, since Kaeru still looked confused. "Do you?"

"Ano…" Kaeru frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure. I think I'd have to learn a bit more about love before I said if I loved anyone or not."

"Do you LIKE anyone?" The blonde persisted.

This time, the Koorime actually blushed. Kia, seeing this, elbowed her friend. "ONE question, remember?"

"But she's blushing!" Kelsey protested. "That means she does!"

"Well, then, there's your answer."

Kaeru gave Kia a grateful smile as the news started on the television. Kuronue was too busy pondering about what the Ice Maiden had said to listen to the announcements.

"Yet another series of random occurrences have taken place today. There have been several reports of a fox-girl, whose ears and tail appeared authentic. Also, a man dressed up as a popular character FLEW away, according to quite a few eyewitnesses. Six senior citizens have been taken to the hospital, one claiming that a girl in 'nothing but her underwear' popped out of a cake and did a dance. More of this at six…"

"It never gets old," Rei said happily. "Let's tape it this time!"

Every single person in the room sighed in unison. Even Kaeru and Yukina.

*OOC*

Whee, that was fun! 6 pages…Writer's Block sucks, but I've learned that if you just force yourself to keep writing, it gets easier after a page or so. Once again, thanks to Mizu, and please review! NEXT CHAPTER!

* As it turns out, Kurama volunteers to hide Chuu's supply of alcohol…innocent, right? Hmmm…

* Poor Kaeru learns why it is not wise to swallow a dried hot pepper.

* Kuronue learns why it is not wise to leave Chuu's alcohol out when said Koorime is looking for something to swallow after dried pepper. And he also learns what happens to a Koorime when they get drunk…o.O