Traverse Town
The pillow was completely soaked with Ikari's tears as she screamed into it as loud as humanly possible. The angry, lost, confused, miserable sound tore at her throat, but she wasn't planning to stop any time soon. Screaming was the only thing that eased her pain, the only way that she could express every emotion that built up inside her heart at the same time.
She had been searching for Yori. She had had been to every world she could think of, trying to find her only brother. For almost a whole year. Lately, it was becoming too much for her to handle. It was hard to accept that Yori was hiding from her. That she would never find him because he simply didn't want her to.
"Shut up! People are trying to sleep here!" Ikari could hear the muffled yelling of one of the angry neighbours in another room in the hotel.
She finally stopped screaming and let her body fall further into the bed, hardly bothering to control the gasping fit she was having between her loud sobs. Her long curly black hair was a mess and her fringe was falling all over her bright blue eyes. She rolled over onto her back, arms out at her sides as she stared up at the red ceiling.
Ikari would spend whole days in her room in the hotel in Traverse Town, lying on her bed trying to sleep the bad feelings away. She had tried to use her powers to inflict pain on herself so many times, only to find that it was impossible for her to do so. She used the Heartless as a source of munny, finding weak ones to take out in the worlds she travelled to and taking the treasure they dropped. She only ever used the munny to pay for the hotel room, though.
Ikari's life had become such a meaningless chore that she could hardly even find any point in living it anymore. But death scared her more than anything in the whole world. She had seen the look on Tsuki's face as she drained the life from her body. She had been in pain. So much pain. Ikari had become afraid of the one thing that had got her through life up until now: taking a life.
How did it come to this, she asked herself for the hundredth time, curling up into a ball on the top sheet.
Lying there on the small bed, she could feel lost, unwanted memories trying to float back into her mind. She'd spent years pushing them away, but now as the present was becoming too difficult to bear, the only thing she could do now was reflect on the past.
"I'm Arleen and this is my buddy, Tai!"
"Arleen...I think I love him."
"If this is the way things are, then I'm leaving."
"Please don't go, Tai! Taishi!"
...
...
...
...
Twilight Town
Tsuki gave her hair one last shake as she stepped into the basement, headed towards the computer where Riku, Tristis, Laeta and DiZ had been waiting for her. She had given her ginger bangs a good trim and they were now roughly the same length they were a year ago. As for the rest of her hair, she had decided to leave it the length it had grown, flowing all the way down to her hips. Feeling refreshed and in a particularly good mood, she was more than ready to travel to the next world.
"Wow, Tsuki, you look great!" Laeta greeted her with a smile.
"Thanks," Tsuki grinned back. "So where are we headed, DiZ?"
"I've located a 'lost heart' reading in this world," DiZ pointed to a picture on the screen.
Tsuki leaned in close and read the name of it out loud. "Mousedom? As in...a town full of mice?"
DiZ nodded once. "Yes. So, in order to somewhat blend in with the other residents, you will be shrunk down to their size when you arrive in this world."
"I don't know if I like that idea..." Tristis said worriedly.
"Come on, Tris! This'll be a great adventure!" Laeta encouraged her as she took hold of the protesting girl's arm.
"Alright, let's get going. Laeta, can you open a Corridor of Light?" Riku turned away from the screen to face her.
The girl in white nodded, holding out a hand and creating a shining portal of white. "After you," she gestured for the others to go through.
...
Mousedom
The Corridor took the party to a world bathed in midnight, where the black sky was covered in grey clouds and only a few stars were visible. The air was chilly, most likely because they were standing on a wooden bridge that stretched across an icy cold lake. Tsuki breathed out, watching a white steam cloud swirl from her mouth as she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering a little. She noticed that Laeta was doing the same. The only people who didn't seem to mind the cold were Tristis and Riku.
Two silhouettes could be seen briskly coming towards them, and soon enough, Tsuki was able to make out the figures of two mice; one tall and slim, the other short and pudgy.
"Basil, I feel utterly ridiculous!" the short one was saying.
"Don't be absurd. You look perfect," the tall one replied.
Tsuki gave Riku a look, confirming that it was okay to approach the two mice. Riku nodded in response.
"Hey, excuse me?" Tsuki stepped forward as the two figures were now close enough to be completely visible.
The tall light brown-coloured mouse, wearing a long dark blue coat and hat, stopped in front of the group and stared at them. "My, you certainly aren't like any mice I've ever seen!" he declared in his posh British accent.
"We're not mice," Riku was quick to establish that fact.
"Look, don't worry about that. My name's Tsuki, and this is Riku, Tristis and Laeta," she pointed to each person as she labelled them. "Do you two think you could help us out with something?"
The tall mouse smiled, a wise look in his eyes. "Basil of Baker Street, at your service. And allow me to introduce my partner, Dr. David Q. Dawson," he gave a slight bow.
"Please, just call me Dawson," the short mouse insisted. He was wearing a tight red striped shirt, a blue sailors hat and a black eye patch over his right eye.
"While I am in midst of solving a case, I shall try to be of assistance to the best of my ability," Basil said.
"Ooh, so you're a detective?" Laeta gushed.
"You are quite correct, my dear. Now, what sort of trouble are you in?"
"We're looking for someone. A person who doesn't really fit into this world, kinda like us," Tsuki explained.
"I don't believe we've come across anyone like that," Dawson put his tiny hand on his large chin as he thought.
"Perhaps you would like to come along with us so you can look for this person? We're just on our way to that inn up ahead," Basil suggested.
Riku looked over his shoulder, seeing a small pub with yellow light bursting from the windows not too far away from the bridge they were standing on. "It looks a little risky."
"I think we'll be safe if we're with these two," Tsuki decided.
...
As they entered the bar, they were greeted with music from an old piano and the smell of cigarette smoke. Mice were seated at round wooden tables, each one with a glass in their hands as they played cards or sat in silence, drowning whatever miseries they had in the alcohol they were drinking. Tristis and Laeta both coughed quietly in unison as the uncomfortable atmosphere assaulted their senses.
Basil led the group to an empty table that was big enough for everyone to sit around, and a tall waitress came over to serve them.
"Two pints. For me and my shipmate," Basil ordered in an gruff accent that resembled that of a pirate.
The fat waitress nodded, then turned to Tsuki and the others. "What'll it be?"
"Oh, we're not old enough to-"
"A raspberry cider, please!" Tsuki interrupted Riku's sensible statement.
Riku gave her a shocked look. Laeta and Tristis became very worried when the waitress placed their eyes on them. They both shook their heads, signalling that they didn't want anything. The waitress nodded and left.
Tsuki grinned, rather pleased with herself.
"So, what exactly are you investigating here," Tristis asked the detective, curiously.
Basil narrowed his eyes, leaning in close so that none of the other mice might overhear what he was about to say. "Somewhere under this very bar just happens to be the lair of the most dastardly villain in all of Mousedom. Professor Ratigan," he whispered the name quietly in his normal accent. "I've been on his trail for years, and now I'm so close I can almost smell him. I know that the entrance will be around here somewhere, so for now, I'll just have to keep my eyes open."
Tsuki nodded absent-mindedly, looking around at the other mice in the bar. It was then that she noticed another waitress who was serving someone on the other side of the room. She was wearing a blue dress with a white apron and her long blonde hair was tied up with a black ribbon. The most important thing about her, however, was that she was most definitely not a mouse.
"Hey Riku...?" she pushed herself closer as she murmured to him. "Who's that over there?"
Riku leaned back in his chair a little as he tilted his head, following Tsuki's gaze. Seeing the very out-of-place waitress, he breathed in a short gasp.
"That's Alice. She's the 'lost heart'," he confirmed.
"You've met her?" Tsuki wondered.
"I guess you could say that," Riku replied quietly, turned back to the table. "I'd rather not go into any more detail, if you don't mind. I do wonder why she's working as a waitress here, though..."
"More importantly, we need to find a way to get her out of here without causing too much trouble."
"Is that the person you're looking for?" Dawson asked, not being able to help overhearing their conversation.
Riku and Tsuki both nodded.
"We should call her over here," Laeta suggested.
Riku turned around in his chair again, cupping his hand around his mouth as he called to the waitress. "Alice!" he tried to be subtle about it, but a few mice in in tables in front of him looked up from their drinks to give Riku odd stares.
Luckily, Alice heard him the first time and spun around to see who was talking to her. Riku used a quick hand gesture to tell her to come over to them and soon enough, the short blonde girl was standing right next to their table.
Getting a good look Riku, she gasped and took a step back. "You!" she covered her mouth in shock.
Riku quickly raised a hand to calm her. "Don't worry, we're here to help you," he said in a low voice.
Alice glared at him. "The last time I saw you, you kidnapped me! How do you expect me to believe-?"
"You can trust us. We're going to get you out of here," Tsuki said, seriously.
Alice looked at Tsuki, then at Riku, then back at Tsuki again, struggling to decide whether or not she should trust them. "Even so, I don't think that's going to be possible. These filthy rats simply don't want me to leave!"
"What do you mean by that?" Laeta asked, confused.
Alice sighed as she started to explain. "I somehow found myself in this strange world a couple of days ago. I ended up wandering into this bar looking for help, and as soon as the mice saw me, they wouldn't let me walk back out that door no matter how hard I tried to get out! The waitress here decided to give me a job since the mice liked me so much, and I've been working here ever since. I'm so fed up with this, I just want to go home!"
Tsuki looked at Riku, worriedly. "If we're going to get her out, then we're going to have to be really sneaky about it."
Riku put a hand on his chin, deep in thought. And we can't just send her back to her world in a Corridor. That would just confuse everyone, and they're all intoxicated, so that might cause more trouble than we need if they decide to start a fight once they find out that we took Alice away. Dammit...
Alice gasped when she heard the waitress calling her and quickly jogged over to see what she wanted.
"Hey, you! You there!"
Tsuki looked up, seeing a white female mouse wearing a pink dress running up to them.
"Can you sing?" she panted, trying to catch her breath.
"Um..." Tsuki was a little cautious and wasn't sure if she should tell the truth.
"Yeah, she can sing," Tristis replied for her.
"Wait, why are you asking?" Tsuki was quick to try and get the full story before she was asked to do anything crazy.
"Oh, it's awful! Me and two other girls are supposed to perform on stage tonight, but our leader fell down the stairs and broke her ankle! We can't perform without her! Please, please, please can you three do our routine for us? I'll teach you the song and the dance and everything, it's not that hard!" the mouse put her paws together, giving Tsuki, Tristis and Laeta a desperate, wide-eyed stare.
The three girls exchanged questioning looks.
"Er, sure, we can do that! We'll just need a minute, if that's alright," Tsuki replied finally.
The mouse nodded, "Okay, meet me in the dressing room when you're ready! It's right through the door next to the stage!" she called out as she ran off.
"You're not serious, right?" Tristis had turned pale with anxiety.
Tsuki placed her hands on the table as she leaned forward. "Yes, I'm very serious! This is the perfect way to get Alice out of here without the other mice noticing!"
"You're saying you have a plan?" Riku sounded a little sceptical about it.
"Yeah. Alright, this is what we need to do..."
...
It seemed relatively simple in theory: Tsuki, Laeta and Tristis would perform on stage. This would act as a distraction, turning the attention of the mice towards them and making them forget about Alice. As soon as every mouse in the bar was well and truly engrossed in the performance, Tsuki would give Riku a signal that meant that it was safe for him to take Alice and leave with her. With himself, Basil and Dawson acting as a shield, they could easily sneak her past the waitress and the bartender and out the front door. Laeta and Riku agreed that it was worth a shot and Basil and Dawson were willing to help. But Tristis was incredibly against the idea.
As soon as Tsuki had finished explaining the plan, Alice came over again with drinks for her and the two mice. She set the three fizzing beverages down on the table in front of whoever they belonged to.
"Your raspberry cider," she said to Tsuki in a sad tone.
"Thanks," Tsuki grinned as she slid the glass closer to her and took a sip from it. Feeling a sharp buzz in her head, she shut her eyes tightly as she cringed. "And don't worry, Alice. We're going to get you out of here. You can count on it!" she croaked.
Alice smiled a little as she left to go and wait on another table.
"I'm not dancing on that stage," Tristis said firmly.
Tsuki took another gulp of the cider, and then pushed the glass towards Tristis, smirking a little. "Yes you are."
Tristis looked down at the cider in front of her, then back up at Tsuki again.
"Oh go on, have some! I'm sure if you even have just a little bit, you'll forget about being nervous and have some fun up there!" Tsuki insisted.
Scowling a little at the glass, Tristis picked it up and held it to her face. She hesitated a little before pulling it closer to her lips. "Oh, what the hell." She closed her mouth over the rim, tilted her head back and swallowed three or four mouthfuls of the raspberry cider.
She coughed loudly, setting the glass on the table with a bit too much force, making it splash a little. Laeta patted the red-head on the back, nervously trying to stop her coughing fit.
"Okay, let's do this!" Tristis stood up suddenly, knocking over the short stool she was sitting on.
...
"What's taking them so long," Riku sighed, folding his arms on the table and lying his head in them. He had been waiting at the table in silence while Tsuki went off with Laeta and Tristis for about fifteen minutes now.
"In their defence, they do have to learn a whole song and dance routine in only a short amount of time," Basil smiled knowingly.
Riku gave a short 'hmph' in response.
"Just out of curiosity, what kind of relationship do you have with that Tsuki girl?" Dawson asked.
Riku glanced up slightly from the table. "What are you asking, exactly?"
"Is she a special friend?" Basil leaned in closer and smirked a little.
Pushing himself back up into a sitting position, Riku stared with a shocked expression. "What? No! No, it's nothing like that!"
Basil tilted his head. "Oh, really? I suppose I've been given the wrong impression, then. I could have sworn I sensed a spark between you two."
"And he's hardly ever wrong," Dawson smiled.
Riku shook his head, frowning. "No. I'd hardly even call her a friend. We don't even have anything in common." There I go again...why do I even care so much about finding something that the two of us have in common?
With a twinkling of a scale played on the piano, the curtains on the stage parted and Tsuki was revealed, wearing a long blue skirt, a pink shawl and a blue bow in her hair. She was wearing make up, too; blue eye shadow, red lipstick and a light coat of blusher.
The mice all looked up from whatever they were doing to stare at the pretty girl on stage as she nervously placed her hands behind her back. Taking a deep breath, she started to sing.
"Dearest friends, dear gentlemen. Listen to my song.
Life down here's been hard for you, life has made you strong.
Let me lift the mood...with my attituuuude!"
A mouse sitting at a drum kit started to play a steady beat along with the piano, making the other mice rock their heads back in forth in time.
"Hey fellas, the time is right. Get ready, tonight's the night!
Boy's, what you're hoping for will come true.
Let me be good to you."
Tsuki decided to kick things up a notch and started to slowly strut across the stage in her blue high heels as she sang, showing off her powerful vocals and perfect rhythm.
"You tough guys. You're feeling all alone.
You rough guys. The best of you sailors and bums. All of my chums!
So dream on, and drink your beer. Get cosy, your baby's here!
You won't be misunderstood..."
She started to slink back behind the half-closed curtains, taking both of them in her hands as she started to pull them shut.
"Let me be good...to yooooou!"
The band started to play faster and louder, giving the crowd an exciting build-up to the next part of the song. After a couple of seconds, the curtains opened again. Tsuki wasn't wearing the shawl anymore and the top half of a light blue strapless leotard with a low neckline was showing. She was wearing black elbow-length gloves as well. Tristis and Laeta were standing beside her now, holding up the skirts of the big pink dresses they were wearing as they danced along with her.
"Hey fellas! I'll take off aaaaall myyyy bluuuuues."
A chorus of cheers from the audience started up as Tsuki took hold of her blue skirt and pulled it off, tossing it to the side of the stage with an elegant sweep. The rest of the leotard was visible now, as well as the big blue feathers which she wore on her hips. Some mice even tried to climb up onto the stage just to get a better look at the risqué vision they saw before them.
"Hey fellas! There's nothing I won't do...just for you!"
Tsuki pointed at Riku and winked, trying to work the gesture into the dance as well as trying to make Riku understand what she was trying to say.
That was the signal. Riku was supposed to get up from his seat now and take Alice outside. He knew the plan and understood it well. And any second now, he was going to follow through with it. Any second now...
His legs wouldn't move. Neither would his eyes which stayed super-glued to the performance that Tsuki was giving on stage. He just sat there with his mouth half open, staring. He had never really thought of Tsuki as being pretty before. He had never really had any opinion on her looks before, actually. But now he couldn't help but notice it. He couldn't help but notice how long and soft her ginger hair was. How sparkly her bright green eyes were. The shape of her body and how well that revealing leotard fit it...
Tsuki was more than a little confused as to why Riku wasn't doing what he was supposed to. She tried to keep swaying side to side in time with the music during the instrumental part of the song, but she could feel her movements becoming awkward and clumsy as she became more and more uneasy with the way Riku was looking at her.
W-why is he staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face? Oh god, I do, don't I! Seriously, why isn't he doing anything?!
Tristis and Laeta were so into the dance routine that they didn't even bother to worry about the plan at this stage. Laeta was genuinely enjoying herself and Tristis was too tipsy to care about anything else.
"Riku! Riku!"
Riku finally snapped out of it when Basil shook him roughly by the shoulder. He spun around quickly, his long silver hair flipping up behind him.
"Come on, we have to get Miss Alice now!" Basil pulled him to his feet with a tug of his muscly arm.
"Oh, uh, right," Riku felt an unfamiliar burning sensation in his cheeks as he felt a sudden wave of embarrassment.
Tsuki almost forgot to sing the last verse, but quickly focused her attention back to the performance.
"So dream on, and drink your beer.
Get cosy, your baby's here
Hey boys, I'm talkin' to you!"
"Alice!" Riku stepped lightly across the wooden floor with Basil and Dawson following behind him as they headed for the girl in the blue dress.
Alice looked back over her shoulder at them with an inquisitive expression on her face. She gave a short gasp as Riku seized her hand and started to lead her across the bar with Basil and Dawson acting as shields to conceal her from the other mice.
"Your baby's gonna come through!
Let me...be good...to...yooooooou!"
With a spin and a flourish, Tsuki finally came to the end of the song, finishing it off with an enthusiastic "Yeah!"
Riku was so close to the door now. He almost thought he was going to make it in time.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
Unfortunately, there was one thing that Tsuki forgot to consider when she came up with their plan: the mice weren't all male. There just happened to be one girl mouse, a woman in a green dress, who of course hadn't been very interested in the performance. And she just happened to notice Riku, Basil and Dawson as they were sneakily leading Alice to the door.
The woman's sudden outburst attracted the attention of the mice sitting beside her, and then eventually everyone had their heads turned towards the entrance of the bar where Riku stood frozen with an anxious expression on his face, still gripping Alice's hand tightly.
"Where are you going with our waitress?!" one of the mice cried out, which was then followed by an outbreak of enraged and drunken shouts as they all charged forwards.
Riku summoned his Keyblade without thinking to block a fist which one of the mice was swinging towards him. Alice whimpered and clung to his arm. More mice charged and attacked and Riku had to push them all back with his blade while also trying not to hurt them too much.
"Dammit, this isn't good," he muttered to himself, using his arm to block another attack.
Tsuki stood there on the stage, hardly knowing how to handle the situation.
"Well, so much for my brilliant plan," she sighed as she turned to face Tristis and Laeta. "Alright, girls, let's go sort this out!"
Basil and Dawson took Alice and tried to dodge flying chairs and empty glasses as they jumped along the room, taking advantage of the rowdy event and looking for a secret way out of the bar.
Tsuki forced her way through the crowd, Keyblade in hand. Riku looked up to see that she was now dressed in her normal attire. He tried to erase the image of Tsuki from a few minutes ago from his mind, but he didn't have much luck. He looked away awkwardly.
Tsuki jumped to stand behind him, back to back with Riku. "Are you gonna tell me what happened back there?"
"What are you talking about," he muttered, pushing another mouse away with his Keyblade.
"You messed everything up! Happy now?"
"Well, I'm sorry, okay. Just forget about it, we can still Alice outta here safely."
Tristis and Laeta came running out from the room by the stage, now a flurry of black and white as they charged towards the mice with their own weapons in hand; Tristis with her spheres of darkness and Laeta with a blade of light.
Tsuki inched her way across the floor to stand next to Riku. He took a step to the side when her arm lightly brushed against his, not liking the way she was invading his personal space.
They both ducked at the same time as one of the biggest mice threw his fist in the direction of their heads. Consequently, the mouse punched another mouse who was standing close to them. The mouse who had been hit staggered back, before jumping forwards to punch the bigger mouse back. Before Tsuki and Riku knew what was happening, a huge bar fight had broken out, leaving the two of them in the centre of it. As the drunken mice lost interest in Tsuki and Riku, they finally had the opportunity to escape and find Basil again.
The mouse detective waved a paw around to call them over to a spot in the pub that was out of the way of everyone else and they crouched down beside him. Tristis and Laeta quickly followed after them.
"I found the entrance," Basil said, pulling up a secret door that was built into the wood on the floor. "Quickly, get inside!"
...
After crawling through the seemingly endless maze of underground pipes, and having to stop several times to help the tipsy Tristis who kept running into the metal and falling on her face, the party finally found themselves in an open space that looked a look like a giant wine cellar with a floor covered in dirty grey stone.
Tsuki brushed herself off. "Well! That was fun!"
"Sure was!" Tristis giggled, covering her mouth as she let out a loud hiccup.
"I'm certainly glad to be out of there. Thank you all so much," Alice placed her hands together as she smiled at everyone.
"And thank you for helping me to find Ratigan's lair! That scene you caused worked rather effectively," Basil bowed as he thanked Tsuki and the others.
"Just doing our job!" Tsuki winked.
"We better take our leave now. We have a rat to catch!" Basil looked at Dawson, grinning at him.
"Goodbye! Thank you all so much!" Dawson waved as Basil took him by the paw and ran off.
"Bye~!" Tsuki, Tristis and Laeta called out in unison.
Riku smiled a little before folding his arms and putting on his usual serious expression. "Right. It's time to get you home now, Alice."
Alice looked up at him with her big blue eyes. "T-thank you for helping me out. I'll...I'll forgive you now," she blushed as she placed her hands behind her back.
Riku nodded, another smile finding its way onto his lips.
Laeta held out a hand, flexed her fingers and created a Corridor of Light. "This will take you home," she beamed at the young princess.
Alice looked uncertainly at the portal, then back at Riku again. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. Riku stood there with his arms up, not quite sure how to react in this situation. Alice then quickly let go of him, tilting her head to look up at him with a warm smile. She turned and headed for the Corridor.
"Bye, everyone!" she sang as she jumped into the light.
...
Twilight Town
"Hey, welcome back, guys-! Um. What's wrong with Tristis?" Roka looked back over his shoulder from his seat at the piano stool and stared at the girl in black with a concerned look on his face.
"I'm fine! What are you- ow-" Tristis stopped mid-sentence as she bumped into the table. "What are you talking about?"
"Is she...is she drunk?" Kira sounded like she was finding this quite amusing.
"Just a little bit," Tsuki gigged.
Laeta quickly jumped forward to hold Tristis steady as she nearly walked straight into one of the white walls.
Riku placed a hand to his forehead, not impressed in the slightest. "I have a hi-potion. That should sober her up."
"No! Not yet, at least! We should let her have her fun for a while. Besides, it'll be better if she's like this for the game I have in mind," Tsuki rubbed her hands together, smiling evilly.
"Ooh, what game, what game?" Kira sat up on the sofa excitedly.
Tsuki pulled out a chair from the white table at sat on it, crossing one leg over the other. "Truth... or Dare."
Laeta gasped, "Yes! That's a perfect idea!"
Tristis flopped onto the sofa next to Kira with a dazed sounding "Yaaaaay."
"No. We've got an important job to do. This is no time for playing stupid games," Riku said.
"We've got enough time to play a round of Truth or Dare before DiZ finds the next 'lost heart', it'll be fine! Besides, what better way is there for us to all get to know each other than playing a fun, intimate game like this?" Tsuki's mind was already whirling with evil truths and dares to give everyone.
"Yeah, come on, Riku! You scared, or something?" Tristis stuck her tongue out at him playfully.
Laeta sat down on the arm of the sofa and tucked her legs up to her chest. "You can't say no, Riku! It's been decided. We're going to play whether you like it or not!"
Riku stared at everyone's eager faces before sighing loudly and pulling out a chair of his own. "Fine. Whatever," he groaned as he sat down. It's not like it'll do any harm, I guess.
Tsuki clapped her hands together. "Right! Okay, Tristis! Truth or dare?"
Tristis tapped her lower lip with a finger as she thought. "Truth!"
Tsuki leaned forward in her chair as she grinned at her from the other side of the table. "Who would you rather date: Riku, or Roka?"
Roka's eyes widened at that question as he anxiously waited to hear the answer. Riku's expression remained unchanged.
Tristis looked at both of the boys, blushing a little. "Well...um...I guess...Roka's cute and all, but...I think I'd have to go with Riku. 'Cause, y'know...we're the same age and stuff."
Riku made a strange, shocked sound with a closed mouth and looked away slowly to hide whatever expression was forming on his face.
Tristis cleared her throat awkwardly. "Laeta, truth or dare?"
"Hm, let's see. I guess I'll have to go with 'dare'. That 'truth' was pretty mean!" Laeta decided.
"Okay, well I hope you're ready for an even meaner 'dare'! Out of all the people in this room, you have to either...kiss one of the girls...or lick one of the guys!"
Laeta stifled a gasp and whimpered. "I-I wouldn't have to kiss or lick them on the mouth, would I?"
"Nah, just choose anywhere you want," Tristis decided.
Laeta smiled with closed eyes and tilted her head. "Okay!"
Before Tristis knew what was happening, Laeta leaned down and gave her a big kiss on the cheek with a cute "Mwah!"
"H-hey!" Tristis quickly brushed a hand over her face and glared at the girl in white.
"Tee-hee! Well, that's what you get. Now...Roka! Truth or dare?" Laeta looked over at the blue-haired boy.
"Um...I'm probably going to regret this, but let's go with 'dare'. Don't be too hard on me, though!" Roka looked incredibly worried.
Laeta shifted her legs on the sofa so that she was in a kneeling position. "Alright, then! You have to...tell Kira that you love her with a straight face!"
Kira's mouth dropped open and Roka frantically waved his hands in front of him as his blue eyes grew wide in shock. "N-no! I can't-!"
"You have to, Roka! It's the rules!" Tsuki grinned devilishly at him.
Roka gulped as he slowly turned his head towards Kira. Her amber eyes were now just as wide as his.
"O-okay, here goes. Kira...I...uh...I..."
Kira pursed her lips in anticipation, wondering if Roka was really able to say it.
Roka breathed in deeply and closed his eyes tightly. "Kira, I love you!"
Kira's cheeks turned bright red. Everyone let out a loud gasp which was then followed by a chorus of giggling.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call that a straight face, but it'll do!" Laeta was laughing so hard that she almost fell of the sofa.
Roka's eyes flicked towards Kira, then to Riku. "Okay, please can we move on and forget that ever happened? Riku, truth or dare!" he said quickly, pushing back his long fringe to wipe away the nervous sweat on his forehead.
Riku folded his arms as he casually leaned back in his chair. "Hm. Let's go with 'truth'," he decided.
"Alright...ah, I've got it! Okay, so you have four outfits: A cat outfit, a bunny outfit, a cheerleader outfit and a maid outfit. Out of all the girls in this room, which one has to wear which outfit?" Roka looked rather pleased with the 'truth' he had come up with.
Riku stifled another noise of shock and pursed his lips. An image of Tsuki in her blue leotard flashed through his mind. Dammit, I really wish I had the power to erase memories. Why did the 'truth' have to involve outfits like that?!
"Um...well...okay. I guess...I'd have to give Tristis and Laeta that bunny and cat outfit, 'cause they're kinda similar. Tristis can be the cat and Laeta can be the bunny," Riku mumbled.
Laeta shared a cute grin with Tristis. "We'd look so adorable!" she exclaimed.
"And...since she's always so happy and jumpy, Kira can be the cheerleader. And I guess that leaves Tsuki...with...the maid outfit," Riku closed his eyes and slowly placed a hand to his forehead.
Tsuki drew in an excited gasp. "That sounds perfect!" She jumped off her chair and bowed low, lifting up the skirts of an imaginary dress. "How may I be of service, Master Riku?"
Riku looked up, glaring intensely at her. "Shut up. Don't call me that."
Tsuki laughed, more than pleased with the reaction he had given her. She sat back down on the chair, holding her sides as she giggled uncontrollably.
Riku pursed his lips into a frown. "Kira, truth or dare?" she obviously wanted to get the game over with as fast as possible.
Kira giggled. "I think I'll have a 'dare', please."
Placing a hand to his chin, he took a moment to plan out something to make her do. "Hm...I don't know. Give Roka a hug, or something?"
"Oh, um, alright then?" Kira stood up from the sofa, nervously, and slowly inched towards the chair that Roka was sitting on.
Riku stopped her just as she was leaning down to hug the blushing boy. "No, you have to hug him from behind," he instructed.
Kira stood up straight and moved to stand behind the chair. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Roka's shoulders. "Like this?"
"And you've got to put your face really close to his," Riku ordered, his expression remaining completely emotionless.
Kira did as she was told and pressed her cheek up against Roka's. The blue-haired boy looked extremely uncomfortable.
"And you've got to whisper something creepy into his ear."
She almost looked like she was about to do it, but then Kira quickly let go of Roka and stood up straight. "Hey, you've already given me, like, three 'dares' already! Gimme a break!" she put her hands on her hips and clenched her teeth into a snarl.
Roka sat there, completely still as he tried to process what had just happened.
Riku waved his hand around a little. "Fine, fine."
"You're weird, you know that," Kira flopped back down onto the sofa. "Alright, Tsuki! Truth or dare?"
Tsuki threw a hand out and pointed at Kira dramatically. "Let's end this game with a really evil truth!" she grinned.
"Okay! Now, let's see...ooh, I know! If Riku was your slave for a day, what's the first thing you would make him do?"
Tsuki opened her mouth to answer, but as the question began to set properly in her mind, she realised that she would have to think about it a little more carefully. "Um...well I guess..." She glanced over at Riku quickly who was trying really hard to avoid eye-contact with her.
"Hm...I'd make him go shopping for me and buy me a really nice present!" Tsuki decided, smiling brightly as she tried to picture that scenario in her mind.
Riku just shook his head. "I already bought you a whole outfit, geez." He stood up from his chair and headed for the door.
"Well, I'm just saying it'd be nice! And...I guess that ends the game!" Tsuki beamed.
"That was really fun!" Laeta tilted her head to the side and smiled brightly.
Riku still had an unimpressed look on his face as he stood up and headed for the door. "Well, I guess since we have so much time on our hands, I'm gonna go check on Sora. I'll be back soon. Oh yeah, and here's that hi-potion for Tristis," he tossed it to Tsuki on his way out the door.
Tsuki was about to give him a cheeky reply, but he had already left by the time she opened her mouth. She laughed quietly to herself. Riku sounded like he was actually enjoying himself by the end of it. He needs to smile more. I think I'll try and help him with that.
She turned her attention to Tristis who was holding onto Laeta's arm and rubbed her face against it. "Laeta, you're so pretty~" she said in a slurred voice.
Tsuki pushed herself up from the chair and waved the hi-potion bottle around as she walked towards the sofa. "Alright, it's time to take your special not-be-drunk-anymore medicine, now!"
Tristis gasped and jumped to her feet, standing on the sofa. The silver chains on her wrists made a loud rattling sound. "No! I don't need it! I'm not drunk!" she leaped off the couch and ran stumbled towards the door.
"Hey, get back here!" Tsuki grinned as she ran after her.