People can be real immature sometimes, but that's part of the fun of solving their riddles sometimes. Even though people are the hardest riddles to solve.

Most of the day was spent, more or less, in the same fashion as the morning. Rudolf and Eva fought over small issues, Rudolf made a few moves on Natushi, and Eva sneered at both of them, especially her. Throughout all of it though, Natsuhi had learned a couple facts about the two that she probably wouldn't have bothered to learn otherwise. Rudolf, for example, had a specific brand of cigarettes he liked to smoke. ...Not much, but it was something. He did also mention liking Western films and wanting to have a final showdown like you see in them one day. ...Or something like that. Eva, on the other hand, apparently enjoyed reading detective novels in her free time. That's why she got annoyed on the boat ride, because she was trying to figure out who the culprit was before the book told her. She also mentioned how she had learned some tricks from them, such as sticking some paper in a door to catch someone in a lie. She joked about how maybe she should try it on one of them one day.

Pointless trivia, but trivia nonetheless. Wasn't the whole reason they wanted to take her out to get to know each other more? Well, she was certainly learning that she really couldn't stand them. Yet at the same time, maybe she was building a bit of a tolerance with them. She still had a headache though. She wondered if they had learned anything about her. Probably not. Maybe the fact that she was easily flustered, which she was not happy about them knowing. Other than that though, she hadn't really shared any information about herself. She did, however, want to go back to the hotel, but she knew they weren't going to let her anytime soon.

Instead, they surprised her with a trip to an expensive looking restaurant. And so, there they were sitting at a round table, evenly spaced from each other.

"What are you getting, Natsuhi-neesan?" Rudolf asked. She quickly scanned the menu, looking for the cheapest meals. When she decided on something, Eva and Rudolf were silent. The sudden silence made her uncomfortable, and she glanced at both of them,

"...What?"

"Natsuhi-nessan... Is that really what you want?" Eva voiced their thoughts. Natsuhi expressed confusion. Now eating couldn't even be simple?

"Ah, we're not trying to make you feel bad, or anything, Natsuhi-neesan." Rudolf spoke next, "It's just, that's like one of the cheapest things on the menu."

Yes, it may have been one of the cheapest meals, but that didn't mean it was cheap. And since she couldn't get her own room due to price, the least she could do was order a non expensive meal.

"Yeah, Natsuhi-neesan." Eva chimed in, "Don't worry about the price. We're the ones treating you. Get whatever you'd like." Well, if price apparently didn't matter...

"...My own room."

"Okay, now you get nothing." Eva shot back, Rudolf laughing off to the side. "Your new found sense of humor aside," Eva grabbed the menu out of Natsuhi's hands and glanced it over before reading off some of the choices, not mentioning any of the prices. "So, which dish sounds good to you?" How sly. Natsuhi almost considered saying her original choice. Almost. But she decided against it. Defeated, she sighed and chose one of the choices she'd been offered.

"Hoh, that's pretty expensive." Eva smirked, seeing the other woman's face twist in frustration.

"Give it a rest, Aneki." Rudolf cut in, though he had a smirk on his face as well. Natsuhi closed her eyes and touched her forehead. No amount of medicine would cure her headache.

0000000

"Alright! So, we have one more place to go tonight!~" Rudolf announced as they were walking.

"...So you two already have somewhere in mind?" Natsuhi mumbled.

"Yep! Oh, but this is the one place we're going tonight that we absolutely can't tell Aniki about, okay?" Rudolf held his finger to his lips in a similar manner Eva had before.

"Don't tell her that, Rudolf." Eva lectured, though it was clear how amused she was, "Now she'll just be suspicious and anxious the whole time."

Because it wasn't like she'd been suspicious and anxious all day already. Yet again, she sighed. Honestly, she didn't even care anymore, and she was sure that where ever they were to take her, it wouldn't even as bad as her nerves made her believe. So far, the day had been frustrating, to say the least, but they hadn't taken her anywhere unusual. Yep. Nowhere inappropriate for the Ushiromiya family. Nowhere-...

0000000

"A CLUB!?" Natsuhi yelled in disbelief.

"Oh, what gave it away? The sign or the atmosphere?" Eva mocked. Natsuhi glared.

"Don't worry, Natsuhi-neesan. I come here all the time." Rudolf said, lighting a cigarette, only for Eva to snatch it out of his hands and throw it in the trash. Well, she wasn't really surprised at all that Rudolf was a regular at such a place, but she would have thought that Eva, who cared so much about the honor of the Ushiromiya family, would never be caught dead at one.

"There is no way I'm going in there. And you two shouldn't either." Natsuhi pointed to the club and then them to emphasize her point.

"What are you now, our mom?" Eva asked with a slight grin, crossing her arms.

"Come on, Natsuhi-neesan. Don't be such a killjoy after all the fun we've been having today~" Rudolf laughed, only to stop dead at the sound of Natsuhi's snapping voice,

"You mean all the fun you two have been having! Now, I don't know if you've realized or not, but I haven't exactly been having a great time! I just want to go back to the hotel and relax. Kr- my hus- Krauss-san! Is probably going to be expecting a call soon, so I, at least, really should head back! Eva-san, please give me a key to the hotel room." Her statement was firm as she held out her hand expectantly. There was silence between all of them. While Rudolf seemed ready to apologize and let her go, Eva, of course, wasn't so willing to give in. Arms still crossed, she raised an eyebrow, sly grin on her face,

"...Hoh? And are you sure that's really what you want to do? Go back to the hotel room and sulk for the rest of the night? Well, that's just wonderful. Who knows when, or even if, you'll ever get another chance to let loose and party like normal people our age. And since Nii-san doesn't seem keen on letting us take you out again after tonight, I'm willing to bet it'll be never." Her tone was challenging. She awaited the other's response which came almost immediately.

"And for good reason! Honestly, I'm surprised he agreed to letting you two take me out this time!" Eva's grin dropped and her arms fell to her sides as she took a step forward,

"Oh, so you're just going to do whatever Nii-san tells you to? Where's your free will?"

"If you must know, I actually did make the final decision, which let me say so far, has been the WORST one I've ever made in my life!"

"Hah! Now, that was a comment quite uncharacteristic of you! Or is it that now you're finally comfortable enough with us to show your true colors?"

"You're one to talk about true colors! What's the eldest daughter of the 'great Ushiromiya family' doing at a nighttime club? Shouldn't you be studying, like you always say is important?"

"Just because I'm a member of the Ushiromiya family doesn't mean I can't get away from it and have fun every now and then! I build up stress that needs to be relieved too!"

People were starting to stare and Rudolf tried to step in between the two of them,

"Ladies, ladies! You're making a sce-" Eva shoved him out of the way, not breaking eye contact with the woman who was now right in front of her,

"Look! We're just trying to help you! Nii-san would never take you out to somewhere as full of activity as this!" Her hand flew, gesturing to the club that had caused the argument in the first place.

"You keep talking about Krauss-san and how controlling he is, but you're being a hypocrite! You yell at me for doing what he says, but then expect me to obey you?! Stop trying to manipulate me! Just give me a key so that all of us can enjoy the night however we want!"

Silence hung around all of them yet again. It was just an overall uncomfortable atmosphere, especially for Rudolf, who wasn't even part of the fight. After a few more moments, Eva sighed deeply, relaxing her body back to normal. Natsuhi did the same, but still had a defensive stance. Eva sighed again and spoke much more calmly,

"...Alright, Natsuhi-neesan. You want a key, right?" She pulled them out of her pocket and held them up for the other to see, "Take it."

Natsuhi gave her a disbelieving look. Did that unsightly performance really win her the key (quite literally) to her freedom? She slowly reached out to take one. Perhaps Eva really had planned on letting her take a key and go. No one could really know for sure, not even herself. But as soon as Natsuhi's hand grazed the item, Eva got a mischievous glint in her eye and quickly pulled them away. She let them dangle as she had earlier that day and challenged,

"Come take it, then. Come on, Rudolf!" She dashed straight into the club. After a moment of utter shock, Rudolf laughed and ran in after her,

"Come on, Natsuhi-neesan! Can you keep up with us?"

Furious and at a loss for words, Natsuhi couldn't think clearly as she chased after them. If thoughts could kill...

0000000

Natsuhi could not understand, for the life of her, how she had lost sight of both of them when she had gone in right after them. It was like they had disappeared the moment they entered place. And so, there she was, searching for them even after 20 minutes. There were people everywhere, and the dim lighting and loud music were not helping. The whole atmosphere made her want to leave and never look back. There hadn't even been anyone at the entrance to ask for ID, which definitely played a key factor in them being able to get away from her so quickly.

Speaking of 'key', that was the whole reason she was there. To get that damn key so she could go back to the hotel and just sleep through the rest of the nightmare. Though, even if she were to get the key, she probably wouldn't be able to go back anymore, since it was dark outside. She wasn't about to walk through an unknown city, alone in the dark. She clenched her hands into fists. Those two really knew how to keep her in situations she didn't want to be in. She figured they must've been hiding in the shadows, laughing at her failed attempts to find them.

She had been staying close to the walls, so as to not draw any attention to her. She sighed at the realization that her chances of finding them were dwindling. Suddenly, someone had come up and wrapped their arms around her waist from behind. Panic rose at such an alarming rate, she felt her heart would jump out of her chest. Great. She was going to die that night. As she started to struggle, the person spoke in her ear, loud enough so she could hear him over the music. She was relieved(?) to hear it was Rudolf's voice.

"Hey, pretty lady. Come here often?"

"R-Rudolf-san!?" she turned herself around in his arms. Even though she wasn't free of his grasp, she felt a bit better being able to see his face. She kept her hands on his shoulders to keep him from getting too close though, "What are you doing!? I've been looking everywhere for you and Eva-san! Where is she?"

"I've just been enjoying myself. Though, it's a shame. The place seems a bit dead tonight. Wish we could've brought you on a holiday or something."

THIS was 'DEAD '? Whatever. She repeated her question concerning his sister's whereabouts.

"You'd rather spend time with Aneki than with me? I'm hurt, Natushi-neesan. This night was supposed to be for all of us to get to know each other better, but so far I feel like you've been talking more with Aneki, than with me. ...Though it has been mostly fighting."

"Where is Eva-san!?" she yelled for what she was certain would not be the last time.

Rudolf was silent as he seemed to be registering what he'd been asked. Then he finally gave her an answer, though not a helpful one.

"Ohh, Aneki? I have no idea. But enough about her. Natsuhi-neesan, you look a little tense. Why not dance with me?" He leaned a bit closer and Natushi noticed his eyes were a bit glazed and his breath reeked of alcohol. Just wonderful. An intoxicated Rudolf was bound to be even worse than sober Rudolf. ...Then again, he didn't seem too awfully different, for the most part. Just even less respectful of personal space. Well, it was Rudolf. He probably could hold his liquor pretty well. But finding him had obviously done her no good, and she wasn't really counting on him to come through and help her find the other member of their little group. ...Nor did she want to do any type of 'dance' with him.

"No thanks, Rudolf-san. I really need to find Eva-san, and I'd appreciate it if you'd look around for her, as well." Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears, however, as Rudolf's expression didn't change in the slightest. Instead, he seemed to hear what he wanted to, or maybe he had just ignored her and pretended she'd said something different.

"Great~ Don't worry, I'll lead." He moved his hand, keeping one on her waist, to grab hers and lead her in an awkward dance.

"W-wait, Rudolf-san! I said n-" she was spun every direction before being pulled in close and dipped, Rudolf's eyes staring into hers. Her face was flushed and she stopped struggling. Despite how she acted, that was kind of fun. ...Now she knew she REALLY had to get out of there. Rudolf's eyes left hers as he glanced up, off into the distance,

"...Ah, there's Aneki."

Upon hearing those words, Natsuhi immediately pushed Rudolf to pull her up and finally escaped his hold.

"Where?" She looked in the direction he had and saw her target. Not waiting for the color of her face or heartbeat to return to normal, she stomped over to where the other woman was, Rudolf following behind. Was it good or bad that all three of them were about to be reunited?

Eva was sitting alone in a booth, one leg resting against the edge of the table. She raised her glass to her lips to take a sip when she noticed the two approaching her. She smiled dumbly, and waved happily to them,

"Natushi-neeesaan~~ Rudooolf~ Where've you been?"

Natsuhi stopped abruptly. She stared at her before her eyes rested on the glass filled with liquid.

"...Eva-san...Are...Are you drunk?" She knew that someone didn't necessarily have to be drunk to react in such a way, but that was such a 180 for Eva, that she didn't know what else to assume, "You've only been here for about half an hour!"

"Noo, I'm not drunk~ I've only had two drinks...or was it three?" Eva laughed, "Anyway, if I am drunk, it's probably because Rudolf put something in my drink. ...Stupid, little bastard."

"You're just a lightweight." Rudolf joked.

This could not be happening. This could NOT. BE. HAPPENING. Rudolf was buzzed and Eva was drunk. All she had wanted was to go back to the hotel and sleep. How did she end up here? Oh, right. Because of the key. She sighed. Maybe if she beat Eva's challenge and got a key she'd be able to talk them into leaving. It was a longshot, but either way she'd need a key before she could leave.

"...Well, Eva-san. Since you seem to be in such a good mood, would you possibly be willing to give me a key?" She held out her hand, hopeful that, in her intoxicated state, Eva wouldn't be difficult about it. That hope, just like all the hope she'd felt previously throughout the day, quickly died though.

"Keyy?" Eva questioned, her head falling limply to the side, "What key?"

"...The one to the hotel room..."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Natushi wasn't sure if Eva was just messing with her or if she really had forgotten. If it were the latter though, she might be able to work it to her advantage. Getting an idea in her head, she changed her tactic.

"...Eva-san. I wonder... Could you reach into your pocket and take out what's in it? I lent you something earlier, and I need it back."

"Haah? What could you possibly lend to me?" Eva muttered. Natsuhi thought she'd have to persuade her more but was surprised when she saw her reaching into her pocket. However, all she pulled out was her wallet.

"Ohh, I see what you're doing. You're trying to steal my money! Thought you could pull a fast one on me, didn't you?" Natsuhi took a deep breath and Rudolf snickered behind her, taking another sip of his drink then lighting a cigarette. If he could smoke without Eva attacking him, then she really was drunk. She really needed patience to deal with these people.

"Eva-san...Your. Other. Pocket."

"Oh, yeeah... There are two of those, huh?"

If the circumstances had been different, Natsuhi might've laughed. But they weren't, so she continued to be annoyed. When Eva pulled out the keys, Natsuhi got excited and yelled, "That's it!" She thought the first step of Operation: Get Back to the Hotel had been successful, but Eva made no move to hand them over. Instead, she stared at them for a moment,

"...Ohhhh...THIS key..." she muttered as she seemed to be regaining her memory. Rather than handing one to Natsuhi, she grinned, "How sly, Natsuhi-neesaan~ Trying to take advantage of me like that! I didn't think you were capable of such a thing!" she moved to return the keys to her pocket. Realizing her plan wasn't going to work, Natsuhi grew desperate and started trying to take them by force. She slid into the booth to try and grab them.

"Hey! Wai-! What do you think you're doing?!" Eva complained, holding the keys high above her head, out of reach.

"What do you think you're doing?! You should've just given me a key at the start!" Natsuhi climbed over her, stretching her arm out to try and claim her prize.

Rudolf, who had been calmly smoking the whole time, shook his head at the scene before him. He blew out one last cloud of smoke before tossing the cigarette in the ashtray on the table. Taking advantage of the two being distracted, he slid into the booth as well which caused Natsuhi to cease her attack and look at him. Eva took the chance to shove the keys back into her pocket causing Natsuhi to look back to her just to be met with a triumphant grin.

This was ridiculous. Defeated, she sighed heavily and sat properly in the seat. Now what? Now...what...? After cooling down enough to take in her surroundings, she really took in her surroundings. Eva to her left, Rudolf to her right, a table directly in front...There was no way it was going to go well. And they weren't just sitting next to her either; they were RIGHT next to her. Rudolf was no surprise really, but Eva...Well, in her current state, she was really no surprise either.

"Hey, Natsuhi-neesan." she heard Rudolf call and turned to him, stiffening when his arm came down to rest around her shoulders. This was where everything was about to go downhill from the bottom of the hills it had already gone down.

"...Yes?" Her tone was very cautious.

"You seem like you're in a pretty bad mood, so how about playing some games or something?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. 'Games'? Exactly what kind of 'games' did he have in mind? It certainly couldn't be anything fun.

"No tha-"

"Ohh, yeah yeah! Let's play some games!~" Eva took another huge gulp of her beverage. Natsuhi tried to yell at her,

"E-Eva-san-!" but her voice cracked and her body jolted as she felt another arm wrap around her waist from behind. It wasn't Rudolf's though. Face burning red, Natsuhi tried to process what was going on. Okay, she DEFINITELY was not expecting any of this and even if she had, she'd have thought their arms would at least be switched. No. No. Okay, so Rudolf was being 'considerate', just resting his arms on her shoulders which left little choice for Eva. That's all it was...Who was she kidding?! This was anything BUT expected! She was stuck between two drunks, and not just any drunks, but EVA and RUDOLF. ...Well, one of them was drunk, but the other was buzzed so it didn't make much difference. The point was, she didn't really know how to react.

"H-hey...You two...ah..." she fumbled her words weakly, but neither of them seemed to understand her message. Rudolf gulped the rest of his glass down before slamming it on the table,

"Alright!~ First game! First game!~ Do you know what 'playing with words' is, Natsuhi-neesan?" his arm tugged her closer to him.

"Eh...Ah...No..." she had her arms hunched up over her chest as she lightly bit her finger.

"Oh~? It's simple: You just take certain parts or letters out of a phrase to reveal it's true meaning. For example," He brushed her hair behind her ear to whisper, "What do you get if you take the e's and r's out of 'sucker merry barrels'?" She flinched at the feeling of his hot breath on her ear and her shoulders rose up to separate his mouth from her. Eva reached across her to smack him but did no real damage,

"You idiot!~ Haa, this one's way better! Natsuhi-neesan!" Just as Rudolf had, Eva grabbed her hair to tuck it behind her opposite ear and whispered with hot breath, "What do you get when you take the ka's out of 'karubkamycrotkatch'?" Again, all Natsuhi could register was the hotness on her ear. She whimpered a bit, trying to scoot away from her only to press more into Rudolf. Eva followed suit and leaned even closer.

"Hey, Aneki." Rudolf chuckled, "Look at how red Natsuhi-neesan's ears are."

"Hoh, you're right~ They're the same shade as her face~ Nee, Natsuhi-neesan, you're ears must be pretty sensitive, huh~?" She reached up to grab her ear and slowly rubbed her thumb around it. Natsuhi gasped sharply and slapped her hand away before covering her ear with her own. "...Very sensitive then..." Eva smirked as her eyelids dropped a bit.

"Enough!" The sudden exclamation caused both of them to release her. Panting heavily, all she could hear was the loud music, but she felt like her heartbeat was loud enough to be heard by them. Maybe even more. All she knew was that it took her a few moments to get her breathing back to semi-normal. That was getting way too out of hand, and Natsuhi couldn't let them continue however they pleased. Who knew where that would get her. Needless to say, she probably wasn't going to crack the two riddles the two had proposed, not that she wanted to. In fact, she had a feeling it would be better not to.

"...Please...Can we go back to the hotel now...?"

No one spoke for a few moments until Rudolf answered in a joking manner, "Yeah, it would be better if we went back to the hotel to finish this~ Hehe." Natsuhi shot him a look that told him she was serious. Being the much more sober of the two, he held up his hands in mock surrender, "Alright, alright. It is getting kind of late, and Aniki is still expecting a call, right? Aneki, don't be greedy. You've had your fun with drinking for the night." He slid out of the booth and rested a hand in his pocket. Natsuhi quickly took the chance to escape that terrifying seat as well. While Eva pouted at being told they were leaving, she also got up, though she stumbled for a couple of steps.

"Fiiine." she drew the word out, emphasizing how displeased she was, "We can go back, but I'm not done drinking. Rudolf. Buy some drinks to go."

Natsuhi stared at her in disbelief. Was she serious? When she was already this messed up? While she expected Rudolf to give in to her commands, she was surprised when he grabbed his sister's wrist and started dragging her toward the exit,

"If you really still wanna drink alcohol, the hotel is sure to have some."

"Nn...! ...Tch! Fine! But I can walk by myself! Let me go!" she fought for him to release her wrist but stumbled and fell when he did. While a few people around them laughed, Rudolf just shook his head,

"Really, Aneki. Am I'm going to have to carry you?"

"I can carry myself!"

That headache was still there.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
...If you don't want it, put your foot down and say "no".