Truth or Dare - A Rurouni Kenshin Drabble

By Rikkitsune

Hello Everyone!

First of all, a big thank you to the people who have read and reviewed Lacero so far. I'm getting around to responding to everybody personally - every review is valued and important!

This is another drabble posted on my writer's community, Smoke and Mirrors. It was a response to a choice of 3 lead ins:

Option One) "He looked down at the tofu bucket with a sense of gathering doom."
Option Two) "What.. what do you mean, "Naked!"
Option Three) "It was a dark and stormy night..."

I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimers: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters. The drabble is mine.

WARNINGS: Some language and some adult themes. I've changed Lacero's rating to M, just to be on the safe side.

It was a dark and stormy night. Rain lashed against the roof in heavy sheets, while forked lightning split the inky black sky. Intermittent thunder rattled the windowpanes, working as a counterpoint to the howling wind.

In other words, it was a real shitter of an evening. Hardly appropriate weather for clubbing. Which meant that Sano, Megumi, Kaoru, Kenshin, Misao and Aoshi were all cooped up inside. Together. In the same room.

"You know what? I really think all of us getting together was a great idea!" Sano drawled, the bottle of sake dangling from his limp fingers.

"You got that right, Rooster-head!" Megumi giggled, setting down her saucer on the coffee table with a loud clink. Her face was a little bit pinker than it should have been; her eyes just a little brighter than normal.

"You guys are drunk," Kaoru told them loudly, placing that special emphasis on the last word that only the heavily intoxicated can ever really manage. She swayed on the edge of her seat, swinging her arm heavily in Sano and Megumi's direction to punctuate her statement.

The six of them were currently sharing a serviced apartment in the middle of town. It had been Misao's idea; a way for them all to get together and party for a couple of days during their mid-semester breaks from university. Since they were all studying different degrees, they were often on opposite sides of the campus and had precious little spare time to catch up.

This was the third night of their little vacation. The weather was ghastly, so going out was out of the question. Nobody wanted to drive in the torrential rain and it went without saying that no one wanted to fork out an exorbitant amount of money for a taxi. So, Misao and Aoshi had somehow procured a copious amount of sake and the six friends were currently draped over the furniture in the lounge room, all at various stages of getting hammered.

"Kaoru," Kenshin admonished from beside her, sounding worried beneath the slight slurring, "Sit back here. You'll fall off the couch and break your arm if you keep waving it around like that."

With a giggle, Kaoru let herself fall backwards and was soon nestled contentedly in the crook of her boyfriend's arm. "You worry too much," she told him, pushing her face close to Kenshin's and surveying him with wide eyes. "I have superhuman reflexes."

Something sounding suspiciously like "Yeah, like The Incredible Hulk," came from Sano's direction.

"Let's play a game!" Misao suggested brightly, jumping in before Kaoru had time to register the comment.

"What kind of game?" Aoshi asked slowly, the tone of his voice suggesting that not only was he off his face, he was also scared.

"Truth or dare!" Misao exclaimed triumphantly.

"YEAH!" was the deafening, overly enthusiastic response from Kaoru and Megumi. "That's a wicked idea!"

"Um, maybe we should do this when we're sober…?" Kenshin began, only to quail under the three murderous female looks shot in his direction. A quick glance at Sano and Aoshi told him that they both had misgivings of their own. However, they were completely silent, studiously avoiding Kenshin's eyes. Those yellow-bellied…

Kenshin made a mental note to get even with them both for their lack of spine, preferably once he was sober.

"You're not a coward are you, Ken-san?" Megumi asked, tittering behind her hand. "You're not really afraid of a little game of truth or dare? Honestly, men are such wimps…"

Ego stung, Kenshin let the alcohol take over, boosting his bravado.

…and everything went screaming downhill from there.

"What… what do you mean naked?" Kaoru was sober in the blink of an eye. Kissing someone blindfolded and writing your name in the air with your ass was one thing. Being completely naked and trying to get into the pool complex without being seen was another thing altogether.

"You heard me," Megumi said with a wicked grin. "You didn't want to take Truth? This is what you get!"

"What was the Truth question again?" Kaoru asked, desperately trying to stall for time.

"When, where and for how long did you and Kenshin last have sex?" Megumi asked gleefully. Now Kaoru knew for certain that her friend was smashed. She would never ask a question like that unless alcohol was involved. A lot of alcohol.

A quick exchanged glance with Kenshin had Kaoru's face beginning to heat. She couldn't answer that question, no matter what. The last time she and Kenshin had had sex was a week ago, on Megumi's dining room table while she and Sano had been in the kitchen, getting dinner ready. Looking back, it had been pretty thrilling, knowing that they could get caught at any moment. The whole thing had taken about three minutes or so, with the two of them desperately trying to be quiet.

If Megumi found out, Kaoru would be dead. Then she'd be banned from Megumi's apartment forever. She didn't have a choice.

"Uh… I suppose I'll have to take the dare then," Kaoru said reluctantly. Maybe if she could sneak a bit more sake before she left…

She stood up and started to take off her jacket, only to have Kenshin grasp her by the arm and yank her back down onto the lounge.

"I will take the dare in Kaoru's place," he told Megumi, teeth clenched. He rose jerkily, beginning to unbutton his shirt. "I don't want her having to do this. Do you accept?"

The statement was met with a nanosecond pause before giggles erupted on all sides.

"I accept, Ken-san!" Megumi tittered between gasps as the laughter eventually died down.

"Yeah! Misao agreed. "We've always wanted to see you in the buff!"

This seemed to set everyone off again. Even Aoshi was snickering into his knuckles. Kaoru and Kenshin exchanged one exasperated look before heading over to the front door of the apartment.

"I'll follow you with a blanket," Kaoru whispered. "Just in case—" she broke off as a projectile shot past them, bouncing off the door and onto the carpet.

"There you go Kenshin!" Sano yelled, still shaking with laughter. "Just in case you bump into any old ladies or children!"

Kenshin shot Sano a death glare. He was so getting even later. As Kenshin began to form a diabolical plan of revenge, he looked down at the tofu bucket with a sense of gathering doom.

He was almost positive that the pool complex had surveillance cameras…

Author's Notes

Please read and let me know what you think!