Author's Note: Hey all! Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. It helped me to write this chapter much faster than usual. I could have made it longer, but I decided it would be better to post it at this point, so you all can read it sooner, and the chapters will be in more manageable sizes. The "present" chapters will coming up a bit later still, and you can leave votes on those for some time yet.

X-X-X

Title: Shizuru's Game

Rating: M

Chapter 2: Spin the Bottle

Smut level: */*****

X-X-X

Haruka hiccuped. "I'm in. You're going down, Miss Bubu... bubu... Shizuru!"

"Ara, is Haruka-san saying she wishes to see me naked? How flattering..." Shizuru said, smiling at her friend.

"Just Haruka," Haruka replied. She seemed to have regained some of her focus, but she wasn't backing down. "And yes."

Yukino finally broke out of her stun at this. "Haruka! What are you saying?"

Haruka turned to look at Yukino and blinked a couple of times slowly. "What do you mean? You'll get to see her too, of course."

"That's not the point! I mean... we...!"

"It's alright, Yukino," Natsuki said. She was surprisingly calm for the subject matter at hand. Mai would have expected Natsuki to be the most reluctant of all of them. "I've seen how the game works, and there's no guarantee things will even get that far. Even if they do, then it's just like being at the baths."

Yukino leaned back in her seat, thinking over this for a moment. She certainly wasn't much into the idea. "I don't know... I mean, you know that's really not how we'd see it..."

"Yeah... true enough," Natsuki said. She placed her cup of eggnog down on the table and thought for a moment. "Alright. Let me be straight with you. I had the same worries. But in the end... I trust Shizuru, completely. I'll never be able to stop her from looking at other girls. If you'd seen the porn collection on her computer you'd understand the impossible task that would be." Miracle of miracles, Shizuru actually blushed at this comment. Natsuki caught it out of the corner of her eye and smiled. "But that doesn't take away from our love in any way. I don't particularly like the thought of sharing her... But I do like the idea of seeing Mai stripped down tonight."

Mai blushed too quickly for her to think of anything to say in response to this and recover some of her dignity. Like it or not, she was stuck. She'd already promised to see the game through to its end, and she wasn't going to back out on it just because it was a bit unexpected. Besides, she was available now. Things had never been good enough with Tate for them to actually enjoy themselves. It was time to have some fun, lest her libido drive her absolutely crazy.

"Don't get your hopes up, Natsuki," Mai said. "But I'll play. If only to get a chance to kiss you again." It didn't work. Natsuki didn't blush, simply smiling and raising an eyebrow at Mai. Mentally grunting in frustration, she turned to the girl sitting beside her. "How about you, Nao? Don't you think it's time you and Natsuki got to kiss and make up?"

"Hah!" Nao said. "Kuga and I are fine." She shifted in her seat so she could face Mai a bit better. "But I guess... Seeing as I've been outed tonight, might as well make the most of it and see if I can get some action. Not a body in this room I wouldn't mind seeing." Nao's face slowly split into a grin as she said this. She was definitely excited about the prospect.

"Um, Nao?" Yukino said. She was the only one who still hadn't agreed to play, and all eyes were on her now. She was looking at Nao with an expression that Mai couldn't read. "Any of us, you mean? Even... me?"

Nao gave Yukino a soft smile. "Even you. You really have no idea how cute you are, do you?"

Yukino immediately ducked her head down. The room was silent for a few long minutes, before she finally she spoke up. "Okay. I'll give it a shot. I just... don't want to be the only one to show anything. Can we make a rule or something to be sure no one gets singled out?"

Shizuru smiled at Yukino, "Thank you for agreeing to give it a try. I'm actually not sure that we need such a rule. It's more just a matter of people not picking on you too much, which I don't believe will be too much of a worry, judging by what I've just heard."

"...Alright, I guess," Yukino said. "Well, how do you play it then?"

The grin on Shizuru's face as she heard this was almost frightening. "I was beginning to worry that no one would ever ask. Let me go get the eggnog and a couple supplies, then I can go over it."

After Shizuru had left the room, Nao said, "Ugh, I really do need this. My mind went straight to the gutter when she said 'supplies.'"

"Oh, don't worry, Nao," Natsuki said. "If you knew Shizuru better, your mind would have gotten to the gutter even faster. But I think this is one time where her use of that word is innocent." Natsuki shifted in her seat, letting out a shudder. "No way is she sharing those with you guys..."

"Okay, now I have to see the 'supplies' you're talking about, Natsuki," Mai said. "What could possibly make the Ice Princess of Fuuka melt like that?"

Natsuki blinked, realizing she'd let the shudder slip through her facade. "Shizuru. And that's all you're getting out of me."

Okay, Natsuki is just adorable when she's in "girlfriend mode." Mai thought. It would certainly be different being with a girl... particularly one who doesn't drive me crazy. Oh, I'm going to have some fun with this game. I could certainly see about having some fun with Natsuki, but that leaves me a big risk of ending the night unsatisfied if she won't do anything more, and Shizuru is the jealous type... Mai looked around the room, her eyes finally coming to rest on Nao. Bingo. Let's see if that icy facade melts as cutely as Natsuki's.

"Here we are," Shizuru said as she came back into the room. She held a tray in her hands, which contained the two extra jugs of eggnog she'd promised, six shot glasses, an empty bottle, and three stacks of index cards. "Natsuki, would you mind helping me move away the table? I think this game would be more enjoyable if we're all on the floor."

Mai had to stifle a laugh. Natsuki was right. She couldn't help but start to read into Shizuru's words. In this case, it was "enjoyable" which set off a chain of perverse thoughts. Knowing Shizuru, it was hard to tell just how much innuendo she actually intended.

"Sure thing," Natsuki said. She and Shizuru moved the table away, then Shizuru placed the tray in the center of the clearing and removed the rubber bands from around her stacks of index cards.

"Alright, now let me explain how this game for you all," Shizuru said. She took one of the stacks of index cards in her hands and started shuffling it while she spoke. "When it's your turn, you'll draw a card from the stack. We'll start with the green cards, then yellow, and then red, as the game heats up. In true Spin the Bottle fashion, most of the cards will be a kiss. You'll spin the bottle and kiss whoever it points to, or the card might let you choose a person. That person will then take their turn next. There are no hard time limits, but green cards should be quick kisses, yellow cards medium, and red cards long.

"'Sip' on a card means you drink a shot of eggnog. 'Strip' means you take off an item of clothing. Some cards have special commands as well, but I'll leave those as a surprise. Now, the fun part of the game... You can get yourself, or anyone else, out of any task – aside from a stripping task – by removing one piece of clothing. For instance, if Natsuki doesn't want to see me kiss Haruka, she can take something off to stop it."

"Pfft. Don't expect to get me naked that easily," Natsuki said.

"Ara, of course not," Shizuru said, winking at her girlfriend. "Oh yes, one last thing. You're each allowed five items of clothing. Those will be your shirt, pants or skirt, bra, panties, and one other item, such as your socks or jewelry. Make sure that's all you have on right now. If someone ends up wearing even a stitch of clothing when they were supposed to be naked, then I'm going to have to take it into my own hands to punish them."

Okay, there's no doubt about the innuendo now. The only question is who here in this room wouldn't mind being "punished" by Shizuru. Probably just Haruka at this point. Though give her a few more glasses of eggnog, and who knows... Mai thought. Despite her musings, the rest of the room did all make an effort to get down to the right amount of clothing. She followed suit by kicking off her shoes and socks, planning to use her undershirt as her fifth piece.

"Everyone good with the rules?" Shizuru asked. She received a chorus of nods from around the room. She'd just finished shuffling the red stack of index cards, so she placed it in the center of room, then stacked the yellow and green cards on top of it. "Great. Let's begin! Everyone come sit in a circle, and make sure you have a good view of the people you most want to see."

And there's her innuendo again. How does Natsuki live with this? Mai peered over at Natsuki, noticing the slight smile on her face. Ever since she'd gotten together with Shizuru over the summer, her expression had softened, and she always had a touch of a smile. She lives with it quite well. Hope I can find that someday...

Mai was slow to move, so she ended up taking a seat close to where she'd been on the sofa, while Nao decided for some reason to go around to the opposite end from Mai, between Natsuki and Yukino. It was a bit surprising, as Mai would have expected Nao to want a better view of Natsuki and vice-versa, though neither of them made an effort to move. Or perhaps they were trading a good angle for close proximity to each other. The rest of the setup made sense though, with Shizuru to Mai's right and Haruka to her left, so the two of them could stare each other down; and both pairs of girlfriends – who had surely already seen each other naked – were sitting together. Mai might have been able to do with a better view of Shizuru, but a close-up was certainly nice, too.

Shizuru did her final preparations, passing out a shot glass to each girl and then moving the tray and eggnog off to the side. She took out the bottle and gave it a solid spin in the center of the circle. "And the person taking the first turn is..." The bottle came to a stop pointing between Yukino and Haruka. After a moment, it rolled off to its right before coming to a rest. "Yukino!"

"Um, really?" Yukino said. "But it was pointing right between us."

"Yes," Shizuru said. "But I think we can just go by whichever direction it rolls first in cases like that. As long as we're consistent, it's fair."

Yukino sighed, apparently a bit nervous about going first. "Alright then, let's see..." She took the top card from the pile. "'Sip and kiss,' it says. So, um, I guess a shot of eggnog and then I spin to see who I kiss, right?"

"Exactly," Shizuru said. She took a jug of eggnog in her hand and leaned over so she could pour out a shot for Yukino. "There you are."

"Thanks," Yukino said. "I'm certainly going to need this." She took a breath, then downed the shot in one gulp, letting out a deep sigh as she finished. "It really is good eggnog..." she said. She placed her card face-up beside the deck, starting a discard pile, and then she leaned forward and placed her hand on the bottle. "Alright, here we go..." With another breath, Yukino let the bottle spin. After a few seconds of spinning, it came to rest pointing at Shizuru.

"Lucky you," Nao said. "You get to kiss the Queen of the Lesbians herself, Yukino."

Shizuru smiled at Nao's nickname for her, and she crawled forward across the circle. Yukino was certainly nervous about this, so Shizuru was careful to make sure she didn't want to back out. When Yukino took a breath and leaned forward, Shizuru took that as her cue. She placed her hands on each side of Yukino's cheeks and brought her lips to meet Yukino's. Just from watching, Mai could tell that Shizuru was an amazing kisser. Even with a kiss just a few seconds long, her lips moved slowly, just right. When Yukino pulled back, there was a huge blush on her cheeks. Mai couldn't help but get a little turned on, just watching the kiss.

"I think I'm going to like this game," Yukino said, her face splitting into a grin, which was soon matched by the other girls in the room. Even Natsuki and Haruka seemed relieved that Yukino had enjoyed it.

Shizuru backed into her place. "Glad to hear it, Yukino. Now, my turn...." She took a card from the top of the deck and read it out: "'Sip and choose someone to kiss.' Fun fun!" Shizuru poured herself out a shot of eggnog and downed it, then she looked around the room... "Let's see... I do believe Haruka-san promised me I would go down. Would that perhaps mean she wants me to go down her throat with my tongue?"

Haruka blinked. "You wouldn't. You said yourself it's supposed to be quick for the green cards."

"Ara, then let's see how quickly I can get my tongue down there..." Shizuru said. She started moving across the circle, towards Haruka.

"Wh-whoa!" Natsuki cried out, putting her hand on Shizuru's shoulder. "I thought you promised me no tongue!"

Shizuru paused, turning back to Natsuki. "Natsuki needn't worry. Didn't she say herself that my love for her is beyond question? However much fun I might have – or you might have – that won't change. But if you are uncomfortable, the stripping option is always available to you."

Natsuki stared at Shizuru for a tense moment, but eventually she closed her eyes and sighed. "Alright love. You have my permission to have all the fun you want tonight."

Shizuru clapped her hands together and grinned. "Thank you, Natsuki!" She turned back to Haruka, who'd taken the chance to push herself an extra foot away from Shizuru. "Now, where was I?"

Shizuru inched closer to Haruka, who was frozen in place under Shizuru's hungry gaze. When Shizuru was just about to touch Haruka, Haruka brought her hands up to hold her back. "Wait!" Shizuru paused, and when Haruka knew she was temporarily safe, she said, "Can't we... can't we work up to that at least?"

Shizuru appeared to think this over for a minute. "Perhaps we could do that... but then Haruka-san would still be backing out from what I was going to do with her..."

Haruka stared at Shizuru for a moment, then she let out a growl. "Fine, you win this one, Miss Bubuzuke. But I'll get you back..." Haruka reached down to her feet and took off her shoes and socks. "My turn now, right? Hope I get you back so I can show what a first kiss is supposed to be like..."

After Shizuru went back to her seat, Haruka grabbed a card off of the top of the deck. "'Sip and Kiss'... Oi, does every one of these make us take a sip?"

"Pretty much, for the green ones at least," Shizuru said. "I felt if I kept it up past that point, people might get a bit too drunk."

"Gah, you just know you can't handle your liquor," Haruka said. "Whatever, hit me!" Shizuru filled up Haruka's cup, and Haruka chugged it down. "Ah, that hits the spot. Alright, here we go..." Haruka took the bottle in her hand and spun it. When it came to a stop, it pointed right back at her. "Er, that's a respin, right?"

"Ara, I'm sorry, Haruka, but that means you'll either have to make out with yourself or take off another piece of clothing," Shizuru said, tilting her head to the side apologetically.

"What!? I knew you'd try to do this. I never should have trusted you to... to..." Haruka trailed off as the room broke out into laughter around her. Her face filled with a blush as she realized she'd been had. "Grrr! You are not winning this, Miss Bubuzuke! I will see you naked by the end of the night if I have to strip you myself."

"Ara, that might be fun..." Shizuru said, winking at Haruka.

"Hmph, then it's a promise, if this game doesn't get the job done," Haruka said. Realizing who else was in the room, her eyes shot back and forth between Yukino and Natsuki. "Er, if that's alright with you two..."

Yukino just nodded at this. After her kiss with Shizuru, she was probably quite eager to see the girl naked. Natsuki took a bit longer, but eventually she said, "Well, why don't we get to the end of the game first, and just see what we all want to do? I'll be a fair bit drunker then, I'm sure."

"Hah, good," Haruka said. "Alright, back to the game..." She spun the bottle once more, which ended up landing on Natsuki this time. Haruka looked at the girl across the circle from her and raised an eyebrow. "Why don't we show Shizuru how it's done, eh Natsuki?"

"Sure thing." Natsuki cracked a smile, and she crawled out to meet Haruka in the center. Mai had the perfect view of the kiss as their lips met. Haruka tried to be dominant in the kiss, but Natsuki was practiced in handling that, and she easily held her own. When they separated, Haruka actually let out a soft moan. Natsuki certainly must have been quite the good kisser.

Natsuki took her turn next, getting the standard "Sip and Kiss," and it looked like Mai would be getting the chance to test out her friend's kissing ability firsthand, as she was the target of the bottle. Mai could feel her heart pounding in her chest as her eyes met Natsuki's. She'd kissed Natsuki earlier that night, but that was just a friendly peck and she'd barely been thinking about it. This would be real.

Natsuki seemed to sense that, too. She gave Mai a calming smile as she crawled over, but there was something else in her eyes. Mai had long felt some attraction to her friend, and Natsuki was easily the sexiest girl she knew, but that just wasn't something that ever would have been appropriate to say, particularly to Natsuki. And perhaps the feeling was in fact mutual.

Mai was rooted to her seat as Natsuki reached her and slowly wrapped her arms around Mai's back. Natsuki pulled the two of them together, and her lips made contact with Mai's. So soft... Natsuki's kiss was incredibly tender. There was no way that the attraction wasn't mutual. Natsuki knew just how to move her lips to make Mai feel loved. It was just a shame she couldn't count this as her first kiss. At best, it was her first serious kiss with a girl. Perhaps that was enough.

"Mmm..." Mai was left in a daze as Natsuki pulled back. She knew the kisses were supposed to be short for this round, but she still wished it could have been longer. Well, there was still plenty more time for that. At last, she was able to refocus on the world around her. The first thing she noticed was an adorable expression on Nao's face. It looked like she was jealous of the kiss, and she certainly had the right to be, with how good Natsuki was. As soon as she saw Mai looking at her, though, she wiped the expression off her face.

"Get to it, Tokiha... It's your turn," Nao said.

"Oh, right!" Mai said. She plucked the top card from the deck and read, "'Bonus card! Don't read the instructions out loud.' Oh, okay..."

Keep this card with you. You can redeem it anytime someone strips off a piece of clothing. If you do, you'll instead get to remove that item from them yourself. Be sure to choose the best possible time and to do it in the most erotic way possible. When you draw this card, spin to determine who goes next.

Mai's mind went wild with what she could do with that. It was a free pass to cop a feel sometime later on. That could certainly be fun – enough fun to make up for the fact that she didn't get to kiss anyone this turn. She looked back at the group and smiled. "Guess I keep this, then," she said. "And I spin to see who takes the next turn."

"What was that one about?" Yukino asked.

"Supposed to keep it a secret," Mai said. "It looks like Shizuru added in some more interesting cards to spice things up."

"Ara, you haven't seen anything yet," Shizuru said, an evil glint in her eye. Her words sent a wave of shivers down Mai's body. How much worse could it get?

"Anyways..." Mai said. She took the bottle in her hand and gave it a spin. Her face broke into a grin when she saw who the bottle pointed at. "Looks like you're up, Nao." Perfect, Mai thought. Last person to join in. And would this be her first kiss, I wonder? Seems likely... whoever she gets, I hope they'll make it memorable for her.

Nao picked up the top card and read, "'Sip and Truth'... what the hell is 'Truth'?"

"For that one," Shizuru explained, "you spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on gets to ask you any question they want. You have to answer truthfully or use your stripping option. I did leave in a few other surprise instructions, as well, but I'll explain those when they come up."

Aw, no kiss for Nao... Hope someone gets a card that will let them choose her soon. Wonder what proportion Shizuru put these cards in? The choice ones can't be too rare, judging by her response to Yukino about people not picking on her.

"Just great..." Nao muttered. "Well, whatever, let's get this over with..." She spun the bottle, which came to a rest pointing at Mai. Nao appeared visibly relieved at this outcome. Mai could imagine that she might have expected much worse from Natsuki or Shizuru. "Alright, hit me, Tokiha."

"Hey, not so fast!" Haruka said. "Don't forget your drink. It says 'Sip' first, you know."

"Ugh, fine," Nao said. She held her cup out for Shizuru to fill it, then she chugged it down. "Happy?" With a nod from Haruka, Nao continued, "Fine, give it to me, Mai."

"Alright, let me see..." Mai took a moment to think this over. She was starting to get quite curious over whether Nao might feel something for Natsuki. It could certainly explain some of the tension between them, if Nao was afraid to come out about it. But she didn't want to tip her hand about her suspicions, either. "How about this: Who in this group, if anyone, have you ever had a crush on?"

Nao's face was immediately filled with panic, though she covered it up quickly. Bingo, Mai thought. Not only did she have a crush, but she's still crushing... and probably hard.

"Wh... what? You don't want to know that..." Nao said. "Couldn't I answer something else for you?"

"Oh hell no," Natsuki said, looking at Nao with an evil glint in her eyes. "Now I have to hear the answer."

Nao looked over at Natsuki, a furious look in her eyes. Why she was more angry at Natsuki than Mai, Mai couldn't say, but she didn't want Nao to feel this bad about having to answer. Gah, stupid... really should have thought that through. Of course it would make her feel like that. "It's alright, Nao," Mai said. "You don't have to answer." I have my answer, anyways.

Nao's face brightened at this, and she let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Mai."

"Oi, hold up a second!" Haruka said. "Shizuru made me take off a piece of clothing, even though she agreed to be nice. If I have to do that, then Nao does too."

Both Mai and Nao glared at Haruka. "Come on, Haruka, this is supposed to be fun," Mai said. "I sensed that my question wasn't helping with the fun, so I withdrew it." Mai could sense that Haruka wasn't quite buying it. "Ugh, but if you insist, fine. I'll take something off. The rules let me do that, even if it is my question."

Mai was just about to start unbuttoning her blouse when she was stopped by a word from Nao, "Wait." When Mai looked up at her, she saw Nao quickly pull off both of her socks. "Thanks Mai, but I can handle myself. Though if you're that eager to strip, I'll be sure to help you out if the cards will let me."

Mai couldn't help but smile at this. "Sure thing, Nao." She held Nao's eyes for a moment, realizing that she was probably right when she predicted Nao had a cuter side to her. It was starting to show itself now, and she found that she quite liked it. "But anyways, it's my turn now, right?" Mai reached into the center of the circle and drew a card from the deck. "'Sip and choose someone to kiss.'"

Perfect! Mai's face split into a huge grin. She was barely able to drink her shot of eggnog without spilling, but she managed it. When that was done, she pointed to Nao. "How about it? Ready for your first kiss, Nao?"

Nao was still for a moment, but she finally gave a stiff nod. Her expression was just priceless, perhaps even cuter than Natsuki was when she was in her "girlfriend mode." Mai was barely able to resist, and it seemed that Nao faced the same problem. Despite the sudden shyness that showed itself on Nao's face, she was all too eager to meet Mai in the middle of the circle.

"Wait, one sec," Nao said, pausing just before she met Mai. She chewed on her lip for a second and pointed down. "Sit down here."

Mai raised an eyebrow, but she did as Nao requested, taking a seat just off to the side of the deck of cards. Once she was settled, Nao climbed up on top of her and wrapped her legs around Mai's torso, bringing their bodies flush together. Mai wrapped her arms around Nao's back, and Nao placed hers on Mai's shoulders. Mai could feel her breasts pressed up against Nao's, but the feeling was dwarfed by the inexplicable warmth that had grown in her chest.

Her eyes met Nao's, and the only sound she could hear was her own heartbeat as she brought her head forward to meet her friend's lips with her own. They touched at last, and it felt as if a spark leaped between them. Mai was driven by instinct as she moved her lips against Nao's. It felt completely different from kissing Natsuki, but just as good. There was something else in Nao's kiss. There was a need to it that had been completely absent with Natsuki. Natsuki might have felt attraction to Mai, but Nao wanted her.

It was then that it finally all clicked into place in Mai's mind. The fact that Nao had sat directly across from her in the circle, the fact that Nao looked jealous about her kiss with Natsuki, and the fact that Nao had a crush on someone here, but wasn't willing to admit who it was. It's me... Nao has a crush on me...

A flood of warmth hit Mai's body as she realized this. She redoubled her efforts to give Nao the best first kiss imaginable. It felt so good... so right... She lost track of time in the kiss, and she only separated from Nao when she was absolutely out of breath. Breathless as well, Nao rested her head on Mai's shoulder. "Thank you, Mai," she whispered.

"No... thank you, Nao," Mai replied. She kept her voice as soft as possible, making sure no one else could hear her. "And Nao... I think I'm developing a crush on you too."

"Oi Shizuru," Natsuki said. "Didn't you say the kisses were supposed to be short while we were on the green cards? That seems more like a red card kiss to me..."

"Ara, indeed..." Shizuru said. Mai turned her head to the side so she could look at her friends, who both currently had huge smiles on their faces. "But seeing as it's their first kiss, I believe we can let it slide."

Nao let out a grunt and pulled herself back from Mai. "You'd better," she said. Her eyes found Mai's, and she held her friend's gaze, a soft affection in her eyes. "Now come on, let's play. There's still a lot of fun I want to have tonight."

Mai smiled at Nao. "Indeed."