The screen blared. "Looks like I'm up first," Yuma said excitedly. "Kattobingu da, ore!"He said, minus the jump. He swiped his hand across the "Dare" option.
"Hug someone in the room of the same gender as you for 10 seconds." The screen said.
Yuma raised an eyebrow, getting up. "That's not so hard."
"They get progressively… more challenging," Cat said apprehensively.
I wasn't really listening, though, because I was already holding my sides in laughter, realizing the implication of the dare. Kotori and Cat suddenly realized it too, and covered their mouths as Yuma made his way over to an unsuspecting Ryouga.
Yuma jumped forward suddenly. "Kattobingu da, ore!"
Ryouga was fast, but not fast enough. Yuma latched his hands around his chest just as he was jumping to the side.
"Wha-? No! Get off! I always knew you were hiding something, Yuma! I don't roll that way!" Ryouga thrashed like a bull in a rodeo, but Yuma held on. Meanwhile, Akari-san and the rest of us were trying not to cry with laughter.
When 10 seconds passed, Yuma let go suddenly, but Ryouga was still thrashing wildly. "Geesh, Shark, you don't have to be so – Oomph!" Caught by Ryouga's iron fist, Yuma went sailing across the room, landing back with us.
Ryouga looked a dangerous mix of angry and embarrassed, and he turned heel and stomped up the stairs while Akari-san followed, trying to quell his anger even though she was cracking up herself. I put my duel gazer/camera away, pleased with the blackmail material I had collected.
Yuma rubbed his head and grinned impishly. "Well, that seemed to rub him the wrong way." Cat and I looked at each other and burst into laughter again while Kotori smiled, her face red.
"Alright, looks like it's my turn," I managed after I caught my breath. I touched the "Truth" option.
"How many romantic relationships have you had so far?" The screen said.
"0," I answered levelly. I looked sidelong at Yuma; he either didn't understand the question or was unfazed by my answer. Kotori and Cat, on the other hand, looked dumbfounded.
"Are you serious?" Kotori asked.
"Yeah, given how the guys were all over you when you first came to school, I find that hard to believe," said Cat.
"That's nice of you guys, but yeah, it's true. It's not something I thought about when I was younger. Then I spent a lot of time in the hospital when people my age were getting relationships started. And recently, I've been busy getting back into the swing of things and Ryouga's reputation has scared a lot of guys away." I didn't add that I probably would've rejected all of those guys even if they'd had the guts to ask.
"Well, that's definitely going to change soon," said Kotori. "I may be younger than you, Rio-san, but I won't let you go without a boyfriend for long. I'll help you out!"
"Yeah, me, too! We'll find a great guy for you," added Cat.
"Thanks, Kotori, Cat-chan." I tried to sound grateful, but I just felt immense irony. If only they knew, they probably wouldn't be so eager…
"Ok, I'm up," said Cat. She licked her lips and selected the "Dare" option.
"For the duration of the game, cosplay as an animal of your choice."
We all sweatdropped. Cat humphed and turned the computer towards Kotori. "I'm already doing that, so it's your turn."
Kotori's hand lingered over the screen before choosing "Truth."
"What color eyes does your dream boy have?" it asked.
"Red," Kotori answered without hesitation. She then blushed profusely, glanced at Yuma, and then blushed further. Cat was narrowing her eyes at Kotori. I grinned, trying to meet Kotori's eyes to tease her, but she was looking down. Some extremely mischievous part of my mind that I definitely wasn't responsible for quipped that my eyes were red, too, and I shut it down immediately. Talk about wild hormones.
"Well, that was fast," said Yuma. Kotori stiffened, but Yuma didn't say anything further. The three of us sweatdropped, and I wondered whether Yuma was too dense to understand the implications of what Kotori had said, or if he didn't even realize his eyes were red.
Kotori sighed in what came across as relief, but I suspected she harbored some disappointment. From what I'd seen, Kotori had been after Yuma for quite a while now, and his obliviousness was probably frustrating.
"Here goes! Kattobingu da, ore!" Yuma swiped the "Dare" option once again.
"Kiss the other players, in order, for 5 seconds each."
In order? Yuma was player 1, and I was player 2, so that meant…
Yuma was getting up already. I frantically met Kotori and Cat's eyes. They were looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something. The circumstances clicked. I had never been in a relationship before; I had definitely never kissed – this would be my first; Kotori and Cat were my friends, and they both were obvious enough about their crushes on Yuma that they knew I should know; as a friend, and considering theoretically that I had no interest in Yuma, I should get out of this somehow. But…
Yuma was now standing above me, looking down expectantly. He held his hand out, and was grinning eagerly. "Ready, Rio?" he asked. I should've felt honored he was so excited, but I was aware it was because of the game and not any feelings he had for me. I also knew that this could very well be Yuma's first kiss too, and it was wrong to take it so carelessly. Even so…
I took his hand and got up, smoothing my skirt out. "Y- Yuma…"
But he was already within a foot of me. Suddenly our chests were almost touching and his face was inches from mine. I took in a whiff of him anxiously, and he smelled of... poppyseed – lively, stimulating, intoxicating, and suddenly my senses felt overloaded and the logical part of my mind shut down. My eyes met his eyes, hoping for a shred of reluctance, a way out – but instead I found a consuming whirlpool of fiery passion, drowning me. My knees buckled, and his hands gripped my sides – firmly but not uncomfortably. His palms were gloved, but it only exacerbated the feel of his naked fingertips on my body, sending pulses of electricity up my spine and into the storm of feelings that was now my mind. he was leaning forward now. When the cold metal of his key touched my chest, I gave in completely. I closed my eyes, and tilted my head up and sideways (just like all the girls in the movies I used to scoff at with Ryouga), waiting for the touch of his lips to rescue me from the raging hurricane that was pounding inside me. My arms were reaching up and around his head to get into his hair when I heard a throat clear:
"What's going on here?" My eyes fluttered open to see Ryouga at the bottom of the stairs, eyes narrowed; Akari-san had been coming up behind him to try and silence him, but was too late – she looked angry for it. On the other side, Kotori and Cat were standing up, frozen stiff with their mouths wide open. The only person who acted normally was Yuma, who pulled away from me casually, as if we'd just been talking.
"Hey, Shark. We're still playing Truth and Dare. Decided to join in?" Yuma asked.
I quickly put my arms down from their semi-elevated state and pathetically attempted to compose myself, to no avail. My breathing was ragged, my knees were shaking, my palms were sweaty, and most of all, the storm inside me was still raging, unsatisfied. I had to restrain myself from placating it by jumping forward and claiming Yuma right there. If Ryouga hadn't been watching, I might've done it. Instead, I tried to pull back the blood in my face and clear my mind of the hormones and desire clouding it.
Ryouga scoffed, "No, I have not decided to join in. It's time for Rio and me to head home." He suddenly became much more mannerly, turning towards Akari-san. "Thanks for having us, Akari-san."
Akari-san nodded stiffly; to my pleasure, it seemed that she was still miffed that Yuma and I had been interrupted. "Of course, Ryouga-kun. You and Rio-chan are welcome here any time."
Ryouga nodded. Then the doorbell rang, and Akari-san went to open it. Cat looked over her shoulder and waved. "Hey, Mom!" She ran to the door.
An elegant middle-aged woman smiled and waved to Cat. She then turned to Akari-san, holding out her hand. "You must be Tsukumo Akari, Yuma-kun's sister. It's nice to finally meet you."
With Ryouga, Akari-san, and Cat and her mother caught up in introductions, and Yuma looking on, that left Kotori and me standing off to the side. Things got awkward really fast, especially because I felt like I'd betrayed her. I looked down.
"Kotori, I – That is, – " She cut me off, holding a hand up.
"No need to say anything, Rio-san. I understand everything." She smiled wryly. "Your body language back there made it pretty clear."
I knew Kotori well enough to know she wasn't being snide, but I was still embarrassed. I shook it off.
"Kotori… I didn't mean…"
Kotori suddenly placed her hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "There's nothing to feel sorry for, Rio-san. Yuma, he – he has that effect on people. And I can imagine what feelings you must have pent up, waiting to be fulfilled, with you in the hospital, away from society, for so long… And Yuma's bond with Shark couldn't have hurt either."
I looked at her straight on. I had heard Kotori was booksmart in school, but to think she was so astute… She had pegged my feelings perfectly, albeit vaguely.
"You hit the nail on the head, Kotori," I admitted. "But… where does this leave us?"
Kotori nodded. "Yeah, that's the thing. We're both after the same guy…" I was pleasantly surprised at Kotori's directness. She had always come across as cute and reserved, but her blatant statement made me reevaluate that judgment. Kotori closed her eyes. "Now – our relationship has to change."
I raised an eyebrow, trying to look confident. Inwardly though, I felt bad. Kotori and I had such a good friendship…
"From now on," Kotori said, her eyes a rich, inflamed green, "we're love rivals!"
I was taken aback. "L-love rivals?"
"Yes. I hope that even though I can't duel like you yet, you'll take me seriously as a rival." Kotori extended her hand to me seriously, and I realized in that moment how alike she and Yuma were. Kotori didn't have the dueling medium to show it, but she was just as passionate and driven regarding the things she cared about. I grasped her hand tightly. This was indeed the end of our simple friendship, but also the start of something greater.
"I would be a fool to underestimate you," I said, smiling.
Kotori grinned back. "Thanks. As a show of goodwill to start us off, I want to remind you that it's not just us."
"Huh?" Kotori pointed at the door, towards Cat. She had been staring at us intently, but when I met eyes with her she relaxed, and flashed me a grin and a thumbs up. I smiled back, suddenly feeling emotional. To be treated so fairly and welcomed so warmly, even though I was an intruder on their love triangle…
"Thank you," I whispered.
Kotori was still smiling. "Wouldn't have it any other way, Rio-san."
I looked up. "When it's just us, call me Rio, Kotori."
She looked taken aback, but nodded. "Sure, Rio-sa – I mean, Rio." She giggled.
"Rio, let's go!" Ryouga was calling roughly from the door.
"You'd better be off," said Kotori.
"Yeah," I turned towards the door, and then back. "But before I go, I just wanted to let you know. You may not have been under your own power, but you looked pretty hot when you dueled at the Sports Duel Tournament. You should duel more often – minus the Barian influence, of course."
I could read that she was too decent to be approached and told she was hot by people. But it was true – I could see it even if I was a girl, and she deserved to know. Sure enough, Kotori blushed heavily.
I smirked, turning away and making my way to my brother at the door. I exchanged goodbyes with Akari-san and started out. As we reached the gate, though, Yuma called:
"See you later, Shark! And Rio, you were sure giving off some strong vibes during that game! Let's face off again with a duel sometime!"
Ryouga threw a hand up over his shoulder. I turned around, grinning. "I look forward to it, Yuma! Make sure to bring your Kattobingu!"
"Of course! I can't wait!" Yuma waved, and I waved and turned back. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face, or quell the excitement in my body. I was so distracted I forgot Ryouga was beside me until he grunted. I turned toward him.
His hands were in his pockets, his eyes were closed, and his lips were twitching. "That guy… He never fails to get the fires going, huh?"
I knew suddenly that he knew it all. I wasn't embarrassed, though. Ryouga was Ryouga, after all.
"Do you approve?" I asked curiously.
His lips twitched even more. "If I said no, what would you say?
I snorted. "I think you know."
He raised an eyebrow playfully, but he couldn't hold back a full-fledged smile. "Enlighten me." I laughed, and then pumped my fist.
"Kattobingu, da, ore!"