It's t-t-t-t-t-time for plot!
I know what everyone's thinking...'Author-san, wasn't Shizuo's birthday the climax? It was like 5 chapters long? And I mean, that was when they DID THE DO?'
To answer your question, no, surprisingly ^^; Even though that was one of the first chapters I wanted to write, I honestly wasn't sure /where/ exactly this fic would go. I just kind of started writing it one night like 5 years ago, haha. But as this story progressed, I thought that there was too much...fluff? Happiness? I mean aside from our main couple's usual banters, there really hasn't been a major PROBLEM. I'm not saying I'm all the sudden going to make this angsty, but it /does/ need a little drama.
So that's why I've decided to add some OC's? But don't worry, they are just there to push the story's plot along-and of course for humor!

So without further ado, here is chapter 31!

Izaya

"Flea!" he snapped, whipping around to face me.

I sat on the bench in the small room leaning back against the wall, wearing my usual cocky grin that always infuriated the brute.

His clothes were piled on the floor. His broad, sun-kissed shoulders were hunched in their habitual manner, and I trailed my eyes down his body to where he only managed to shield himself with the flowery trunks he had bought at the gift shop. I raised an eyebrow in question as to why he was covering up? It wasn't like I hadn't seen him naked before, I thought, and I could feel my smirk grow wider.

"What are you doing here?!" he hissed aggravatedly between clenched teeth.

I simply shrugged, getting up from my perch and walking casually over to him to stand right under his nose, our bare torsos touching. It was almost cute how easily the blonde could get flustered.

Our gazes were locked and he refused to back down, despite the excessive blood circulating in his cheeks. Without looking away, I brought my hand to my mouth, dragging my tongue against the print of my thumb to coat it with saliva. Reaching up to the base of the other man's jaw, I slowly wiped the area where I had applied foundation to his neck earlier this morning. I hummed in satisfaction when I pulled away, and the brute looked confused before realizing my attempt to brush the makeup off.

The blonde brought my hand up to the wet spot where the bruise was hidden, rage flashing in golden orbs. He grasped my wrist with such force, I had to bite my tongue to not let the noise in the back of my throat escape. He turned my hand over to examine my finger to find the makeup didn't actually smear off. I could see the hint relief in his eyes when he lowered his face to level his glare with mine.

"I was just checking~," I said rolling my eyes to mask the discomfort of his grip on my arm.

"Get. Out." He said in a low grumble.

"Fine, fine," I sighed, mostly in relief, when he let me go.

I sauntered back over to the bench and crawled over the pole that was holding up the curtain wall, but turned around to pop my head over to have the last word.

"Be careful, Shizu-chan," I sang darkly, "try not to get too wet~."

Before he could respond, I hopped down into the safety of my own changing room to finish undressing.

Moments later, the sound of the blonde padding angrily out of the stall next door had me smiling inwardly. I really did enjoy seeing the different kinds of reactions I could get out of my favourite little monster. My heart was still palpitating rapidly at the sight of the brute's exposure. Surely, I thought, that our little escapade last night would be satisfying enough, but I felt a certain eagerness to return back to the hotel room already…

Don't get too ahead of yourself now, I sighed momentarily.

Once I had finished changing, I found an empty locker and stuffed my neatly folded clothes inside. I didn't see any of my other acquaintances loitering around, so evidently, left the locker room alone.

The heavy waft of chlorine that flooded through the door as I opened it was enough to wake the dead. I couldn't remember the last time I had been to a pool. Probably a few years ago when my family had taken a brief vacation while on one of my parents' business trips; one the twins and I were too young to be left home alone for.

The pool, as expected, was impressive. Huge even, with a high glass ceiling and crystal-clear walls, just like the skating rink from the other night. However, since it was broad daylight, the atmosphere was more stimulating and energetic, rather than the quiet, romantic vibe I had sensed when we were skating.

I stretched my arms above my head, feeling much better having eaten. My migraine was but a dull throb I had nearly forgotten entirely about. Even the brightest rays of the sun didn't seem to irritate my vision. It was actually rather refreshing, and I smiled warmly at the extravagant setting. Today was starting to feel like a new day, even with the rockiness of this morning. There were so many new opportunities that laid before me now, I had to pick exactly where I wanted to start. The abundance of lively tourist in the massive room was a friendly reminder that even though the town itself was quaint, the growing population of vacationers was a perfect opportunity to observe. I would finally be able to indulge in my favourite hobby.

After a little exploring and walking around, I found an empty reclining chair and pulled the aviators I had purchased at the souvenir shop out of my shorts pocket. Making myself comfortable center stage of the pool, I laid back with my shades on, head resting against my folded arms. The tips of my fingers were twitching with anticipation from the excess of bodies and noise and people. The thrill was only just beginning, and I already felt intoxicated by the fervor of commotion around me. It had been so long...Too long.

There were so many beings in one place, I could feel my excitement growing as I searched through the sea of new as well as familiar faces in the vast crowd. It made up for the homesickness I had started to feel for back in Tokyo. I had longed for an opportunity alone like this without the distraction of my boisterous posse. Some peace, quiet, and humans to observe were all I needed right now.

I settled into my chair, staring into the heart of the people swimming around. There were lanes for racing at the far end, a diving board, and little islands of concrete for tired swimmers to rest on, while still keeping their feet dipped in and waving around in the water. In addition, there was a small water slide, a hot tub and a kiddie pool. Surrounding the body of water were tons of lawn chairs, recliners and benches for the lazier folk and tired parents who trusted the lifeguards enough to babysit their children for them. Along one of the far walls was a snack bar and some vending machines.

I could see that they tried keeping the place looking somewhat tropical, ironically enough, with plant life and floral arrangements to help provide shade from the sunlight. At first I thought they were fake, but realizing that this was a high class establishment, they would definitely pay someone enough to maintain the decorative wildlife in the makeshift greenhouse. I would imagine they were indeed especially hardy plants to be able to survive in an enclosed space reeking of chlorine. Then again, they probably have high dollar filtration system as well. Nonetheless, the glass globe around me was indeed, a world of its own compared to the winter wonderland beyond the transparent walls.

To my right, I admired a tropical tree rooted into a square of dirt that was cut out from the surrounding concrete. A toddler started chewing on a piece of mulch before the parent noticed and snatched it from the child's hands. Then came the waterworks. I felt a smile make its way across my lips and I turned my attention back towards the water and away from the scolding guardian.

People were swimming laps, which weren't all that exciting. A few had belly-flopped off the diving board, painfully smacking the water, and an elementary school boy was running and fell and scraped his knee. There was a lifeguard sitting at the more open area in the pool picking his nose, going unnoticed. A few teenagers were playing water volleyball, and everything else was relatively normal. My smile slowly turn to a slight frown. I honestly felt a little dissatisfied with how...average these humans were.

The sound of a group of chatty girls pulling out chairs at the table to the right of me and unpacking their bags, interrupted my train of thought. From a glance to the side from under my sunglasses, I noticed four girls sitting down chirping loudly among themselves.

There was a girl with a bob haircut and straight across bangs texting and crossing her legs as she sat down in a flashy, pink and white polka dot bikini. Her face was round, and she had big, round eyes as well as flawless skin — even under the makeup I could tell that she was wearing. Her toes were painted to look like a french manicure and she had some toe rings and a belly button piercing. I pinned her as the girl who wanted to stick out, but only enough to still fit in with the norm.

The next girl to take a seat had long black hair down to her mid back wearing a baby blue, one piece bathing suit that showed off her curves. It had a keyhole front that showed the cleavage of her large breasts protruding under the tight fabric. She also wore a sun hat and heart shaped sunglasses; the pink kind. I guessed she had a higher status among the quartet. She was most likely their leader.

Girl number three had almost the same exact hair cut as the first girl and was wearing a strapless, red bikini that ruffled across her bust. When I took a closer look, my eyes weren't just messing with me, and they were in fact, identical twins. The only difference was that her hair was a slightly darker shade of brown, as opposed to her sister's, whose hair was dyed light brown. She was the conservative sister who didn't get as much attention, but I'm sure her charming and generous personality made up for it.

Finally, the last girl to arrive, who was also on her phone, had her hair dyed auburn, tied up in a bun with a couple of loose curls around her face. She showed up in a seafoam green, one piece suit with the back cut out, exposing her pale, soft looking skin. Her flip flops scuffed the ground as her nose was buried into the importance of her cell phone. She halted in front of the table to finish her text, fingers moving rapidly among the keys. She was more flat chested compared to the girl in the blue, but the amount of skin she was showing, she thought, probably compensated for it. She was the drama queen.

The gears in my mind started to turn as I placed them on a scale of what their most and least attractive features were, already making assumptions of their personalities and what insecurities they had. They would serve as a perfect form of entertainment for the time being, as I thought of ways I could manipulate them.

The fact that they were all looking a little too doll-like with their makeup still on, carried name-brand handbags, had neatly done manicures and pedicures, gave me the inkling that their 'daddies' (or just one of them) were paying for their daughters' vacation. They seemed as though they had too many zeroes that followed the number of their weekly allowance, I was sure that they indefinitely took for granted. Even their towels had their kanji embroidered in them.

"Chiyuki, just don't even respond," the girl with the black hair said, rolling her almond shaped eyes as she removed her glasses. She turned to the girl who was texting wearing, the green swimsuit.

"Yeah, besides, you've got that cute gardener back home~," the first girl, with the light brown hair teased, popping the gum she was chewing. "You know he's totally got the hots for you."

The girl Chiyuki, glared at her for the crude comment.

"He really isn't worth your time," her sister, the more timid twin, said softly.

The redhead took her concern into consideration and slipped the phone into the pocket of her purse.

"The gardener is married, Fumiko, remember? And besides, he's like 30!" she exclaimed.

"He's still cute though…" the girl, Fumiko in the polka dots muttered, pulling out her own shades.

"I'm sure you'll meet someone here," the dark haired female said shortly, obviously annoyed. "Seeing as how you flirted with our chauffeur the entire ride over. Not to mention the bellboy, the concierge, and practically every other staff member we ran into."

I listened intently to them bicker back and forth about how the redhead flirted with every boy she came into contact with.

"At least I don't have my standards set so high that I won't give anyone any chances," Chiyuki scoffed.

The other girls giggled, so it must have been true.

"It's not that I don't give people chances, I just haven't found anyone worth my time," the female in blue said matter-of-factually.

I smiled, but had to hold back a chuckle at the double standard. The four girls had certainly piqued my interest.

"Does anyone have sunscreen?" the quiet twin spoke up trying to change the subject and stop the pointless argument.

"Doesn't the glass, like, protect you from the sun?" her twin chimed in, lowering her glasses, still smacking her gum.

Someone cleared their throat and there was a moment of noticeable silence among the girls and I heard sandals scuffing on the ground.

I craned my ear to casually eavesdrop, still facing forward towards the pool. Their voices were too hushed for me to hear, but I think they had finally realized that they had someone spying on them.

"Oh shut up, I wasn't staring." The scoff sounded like it had come from Chiyuki, in the brief window of time I had used memorized their voices.

"You totally were!" the girl with the light brown hair sang teasingly.

"See, what did I tell you?" the girl in blue said in a 'told you so' manner. "If you think he's so cute, why don't you just tell him?" she sneered.

I could feel the secondhand self consciousness emanating off the redhead.

Looks like it's time to introduce myself.

"You really aren't being that discrete, you know?" I smirked, my gaze remaining ahead.

In the corner of my eye I saw all four girls freeze.

"Chiyuki-chan, was it?" I said tipping my head to the side to look above my aviators. I met her gaze. "And how did someone like myself, gain the attention of such a pretty, young woman?"

A deep blush crossed her cheeks. She obviously lived up to exactly how the dark haired girl had described her.

"Have you been listening this whole time?" Fumiko said, popping a bubble with her brow arched.

"Who knows," I shrugged. "Maybe you caught my attention as well?" I mused them in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Well that didn't take long," the edgy girl prompted.

"I'm Ayumi," her twin, the peace settler said, briefly bowing her head politely to me.

"Orihara Izaya," I said rolling to my side to give them my full attention. "And you are?" I beckoned to the long haired girl.

"Haru. And you already know she's Fumiko."

Fumiko smiled sending me a peace sign.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Haru-chan. Fumiko-chan."

The girls didn't seem to mind me dropping formalities, and they didn't bother with them either when they addressed me:

"Orihara-kun—"

"You can call my by my given name, if you like," I beamed a flirtatious grin.

Haru-chan cleared her throat again. "Izaya-kun." It was certainly a lot less cute when she said it. "You're not some creepy guy who's actually older than he looks, right?"

"What's it matter? We're 18."

Fumiko had obviously grown up in a well-known family to be this relaxed when meeting strangers, having no regard to tossing around personal information. She was the open book type and made sure that if you didn't already know her, you certainly would after just one conversation. It made me wonder how often she managed to let her heart get broken.

"Well fancy that, me too," I smiled as I lied without batting an eye.

"Are you here by yourself?" Ayumi asked, tilting her head to the side innocently.

"Ah, sadly I'm here with a large party. This is the first time in two weeks that I've managed to be alone."

In their minds, being here for two weeks meant that I had money. Which for me, wasn't a total lie.

"Where are you from?" Fumiko asked.

"Ikebukuro. And yourselves?"

"We're from Azabu...You don't look like you're from Ikebukuro," Chiyuki said, confusion in her tone.

Of course they were from one of the wealthiest, biggest business industry locations in Tokyo.

I shrugged. "It's a pretty exciting place for people who bore easily."

The dark haired girl took that as a challenge. "So laying around by yourself at a pool isn't boring?" she said not looking impressed, crossing her arms.

"But of course! Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet such lovely ladies."

"Are you sure you're not some old, creepy dude, Izaya-kun?" Fumiko giggled, obviously pleased with my answer.

"I bet your friends ditched you," Haru smirked and raised a sharp brow.

"That's not very nice!" Ayumi scolded.

"It's quite alright," I assured her, chuckling. "My 'friends'," I said in quotation marks, "aren't exactly—"

"Who is that?" the girl in polka dots gasped, lowering her sunglasses down with her mouth agape, just like something you'd see in an drama.

I followed the direction her finger was pointing curiously, and when I spotted their target, sighed deeply in disappointment.

The brute's bright blonde hair was spotted easily in a sea of dark hair. He was wading in water up to his waist, leaning against the wall of the pool and talking with Kadota. The attention of all four of the girl's was zeroed in on the taller male. They were struck in awe, watching the protozoan idiot do nothing but breathe and move his mouth. I rolled my eyes in annoyance that went undetected, when I suddenly realized that these girls didn't go to Rajin. They didn't live in Ikebukuro. Therefore, they didn't know the Fortissimo himself.

"Hmph." I smirked in dissatisfaction. "Do you mean Shizu-chan?"

"The blonde guy?!" Fumiko turned to me in surprise before realizing I had referred to him with a pet name. "Shizu...what?"

I sighed again at their incompetence.

"Heiwajima Shizuo, is his name. Or well, in my case, he's Shizu-chan." I sneered in distaste.

"You know him?" Ayumi asked.

I barked a laugh when the girls wore the most perplexed expressions.

Of course, the time I get to be alone, has to be interrupted by something having to do with Shizuo.

"Don't I, though," I said distantly, watching him from across the water with them. "As a matter of fact, you could say the two of us are pretty close," I said, quirking a smile.

"I can't tell if you're serious or not," the girl in blue frowned.

"Oh, I'm serious." I folded up my sunglasses to look at them directly. "I wouldn't waste your time. He's as dumb as he is good looking."

Haru smirked back at me. "I'm impressed you can say that so casually, Izaya-kun."

I knew what she was trying to get at. She was the leader because she's sharp.

"Ah, it's nothing like that," I said, waving off her comment. "I'm just an honest guy…" I could feel the gears turning in my mind to see how I could manipulate the situation in my favor. I was already benefiting from them underestimating just how Shizu-chan worked, and as usual, I was going to keep him my trump card. "If you'd like, you know, I could introduce you?"

The girls smiled and nodded eagerly in unison.

"However…"

Suddenly they looked a little crestfallen.

"Shizu-chan...He's not really good at talking to women," I said in a low voice, as if he were sitting around to hear it.

"Awww," they mused.

I didn't let my smile falter as they romanticized the brute's awkward idiocy. Humans could be so utterly stupid.

"Which is why I think the best way to introduce you all, is to play a game," I said smoothly.

I rose from my chair and beckoned them to follow me. When I heard them padding right behind me, I turned around, looking down into their sparkling eyes. "Ah, you all aren't wearing makeup are you?" I said stepping onto the graduated ramp that led into the shallow water.

"Don't worry, it's waterproof," Chiyuki assured me.

I smirked, turning around to go further into the pool.

Let's just hope Shizu-chan's makeup is too.

The girls moved slower as they followed me, not yet used to the water temperature, but I waited patiently.

"Oh, you'll probably want to decide now, who's going to partner up with Shizu-chan. He would get incredibly flustered if you were to fight over him," I said with a wink, and the girls, even Haru, giggled. "And one other thing," I continued, gazing down at them. "He's pretty strong, so he's the last person you'd want to get CPR from, ne?"

They were all squealing now at the thought of it, and it made me want to hurl. I turned my attention forward, squaring my shoulders as I waded my way towards the group of guys, ignoring the whispering behind me.

Let the show begin, Shizu-chan.

Shizuo

"So...about last night…"

Kadota was an honest guy. One of my best friends, second to the perverted brunette in love with his headless roommate, and whatever the flea and I were now. Which is exactly what I knew he was getting at.

"Look, it's...not like—"

"Sorry about the uh, gambling. It was supposed to be a joke. I didn't actually think—"

"Yeah, I know."

Nobody had to tell me it was Erika who was the mastermind behind the betting pool that took place on when the flea would make a pass at me. Shinra had texted me an apology for it earlier this morning, only after he thanked me for his 2,000 yen winnings. I don't know what pissed me off more, the fact that I was being bet on by people who I thought were my friends, or that the perverted bastard was the one to get money out of it. My brow twitched in annoyance. I would strangle him for it later…

"You don't have to tell me anything, that's uh, between you guys. But I'll keep an eye out for you if Erika does anything sneaky again."

It was good to have at least one level-headed friend.

"Thanks...I guess."

"Be careful though, Shizuo. Izaya...he's not right. Who knows what he's up to."

I wanted to tell Kadota that I was being careful. That things were fine, and assure him that if anything got out of hand, I could handle it. But I knew deep down, that I wasn't being careful at all. Anyone who's crazy enough to establish any kind of truce with the louse was walking on a tightrope. I was aware that I had been the one to bring up the idea of being friends, and Izaya probably just agreed for his own personal amusement and gain. He was a slimy, mischievous, untrustworthy, little louse that could turn things against anyone in an instant. I was risking a lot by being civil with him and letting my guard down. Hell, after what we did, I've never felt so vulnerable in my life. But I remembered the same went for him.

He's wears so many different masks to hide his true feelings, I didn't think he had any to begin with. But now, over the past couple weeks, I've witnessed more of Izaya's true self than he probably has all his life. Seeing him with an honest expression and hearing the sincerity in his voice I knew wasn't fake, made me able to relax just a little bit. I was able to see that he was human too. Fucked up, but human nonetheless.

I wanted to tell someone that Izaya was bad, but he wasn't all bad. Just lonely, like me. However, if I did something like that, it could ruin how well things had been going between us. The raven would probably get over dramatic about it and deny it anyway. I realized now, that his biggest insecurity was people thinking he was weak or incapable, so the last thing he'd want me to do is say to someone, 'Izaya could sometimes be a good guy'.

I was sure Shinra had him figured out from the beginning and just kept quiet about it. Come to think of it, the nosy brunette knew more about me than I would have liked, too.

"Don't worry, I'll watch my back," was all I could safely respond with.

"If he does try anything, you have ways of blackmailing him now, though~."

Speak of the devil.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I asked our bespectacled friend flatly.

"Whatever you want it to mean, Shizuo," he chirped.

"The last thing I wanna do is stoop to the flea's level," I said narrowing my brows at the thought, even if I did sometimes wish he would get a taste of his own medicine. "'Sides, he didn't do anything...wrong." The words just kind of tumbled out, losing the sternness in the point I was trying to affirm.

Both Shinra and Kadota quirked an eyebrow.

"So you're standing up for him now?" the quack smirked.

"All I'm sayin' is that he didn't do anything for me to have a reason to blackmail him. If anything, I'll just—"

"Ne, Shizu-chan," the flea's nasally voice sounded behind me. "I'm hurt that you didn't wait for me," he said in a melancholic sing-song voice.

My lips pinched to a tight line and I felt my eye twitch, still slightly agitated from the stunt he pulled in the locker room. No, I hadn't forgotten about it.

"Flea—!" I growled turning around, but stopped suddenly when I met the gazes of four girls standing behind a smirking Izaya.

Kadota, Shinra and I looked at each other, puzzled.

"These are our new friends," he smiled his plastic smile as he addressed them individually. "This is Fumiko-chan and her sister Ayumi-chan, Haru-chan and Chiyuki-chan."

"Uh…" was all I could respond with for a moment before he continued, clearing his throat.

"And this is Shizu-chan, Dotachin, and over there, is Shinra."

"It's Kadota," the man next to me articulated, just about when I was going to correct my name too.

The four girls bowed politely in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you, Shizuo-kun," the girl in a green swimsuit smiled, blushing.

I blinked a couple times at a loss for words, as the women continued to eye me up and down before I looked away and half-mumbled, "nice to meet you too…"

There was a loud squeal that turned everyone's attention to the girl flaunting a polka dot bikini.

"I can't believe you weren't lying, Izaya-kun!" she shrieked clasping her hands around Izaya's together in prayer. Even he was slightly taken aback by her sudden elation, but grinned down nonetheless.

I rolled my eyes, that was the last thing the bastard with a god complex needed.

"I get the feeling Izaya told you that they're friends, right?" Shinra intervened, chuckling and shaking his head. "Well, actually—"

"What Shinra means is, we all went to school together," the raven interjected.

"Yes, but we are—"

"And we're definitely up for that challenge you suggested, Haru-chan," he winked.

"Suggestion…?" the girl in blue with the long hair's expression changed to a perplexed one, obviously being put on the spot.

"Remember? You ladies wanted to play a game, ne?"

All four faces lit up instantly at the memo.

"Oh yeah! We wanted to play, um…" her eyes wandered over to Izaya's for what looked like an answer, and he turned delightedly to us.

"Chicken."

There was a sudden silence, but it was momentarily broken by Shinra's empathetic laugh.

"Oh, this should be good," he said, nearly wiping the tears from his eyes from under his glasses.

I could feel the heat rising within me, whether it was anger or embarrassment, the flea was seriously gonna get it the second we leave this place.

Why does that sound so much more inappropriate now...

"What's wrong? I thought you would be more excited?" the raven cooed in false concern, looking up at me. His back was turned to the girls as he grinned his mischievous, cheshire grin. "They just wanted to have a little fun is all," he whispered sadistically. "You wouldn't want to let them down now, would you?"

"Ne, Dotachin, who are they?"

Another feminine voice rang through the silence. Erika, Yumasaki and Togusa had returned from the snack bar and we're looking at the clique of girls in confusion.

Izaya introduced them all again, the girls seemed to be less enthusiastic this time.

"Wow! You guys are super cute!" Our female member went over and stood a little too close for their liking. "Such soft skin and lips! It's nice to finally be around some girls! I've been around waaaay too much testosterone lately, it can really be a drag," she whispered in a low voice to the group of girls. "I'm Karisawa Erika, by the way, nice to meet'cha!" The brunette said rapidly, holding out her hand.

The other girls looked at each other, and finally the twin in red took it with a shy smile.

To the girl's surprise, Erika pulled her in closer until their faces were only a handful of inches away. The opposite girl's face flushed.

"I'm so jealous you have a twin! I always wanted a twin to cosplay with! Even if she were fraternal. But you guys are identical! I've only ever met Iza-Iza's twin sisters, but they're complete opposites of each other—!"

"I think they've heard enough!" Yumasaki said pulling his best friend away from the startled girl.

The flea chuckled, and he was obviously up to something. I could almost smell it, the shitty parasite, always plotting shit.

"Ehem," the devil himself regained the attention of his audience. "Everyone knows how the game is played, right?" he asked looking around, eyes stopping when they met mine. "It's when a girl sits on boy's shoulders and they try to push their opponent off into the water. Whomever are the last pair standing, are the winners," he said disgustingly playfully. "However, since there are an odd number of women to men, one of the guys will have to sit out, that is," he challenged, "if you aren't chicken enough."

His keen gaze swept through the crowd again, mahogany eyes sharp enough to detect any sign of discomfort among his listeners. I realized now, that the girls must not have known what he was planning either, judging by the nervous looks they exchanged.

I knew that the damn flea was putting on this show for his personal amusement, not giving a single fuck about anyone else, as usual. Seeing as the girls were probably wrapped around his finger with God only knows what he's said to them, for them to agree to his stupid games.

As much as I hated it, if I backed out he'd taunt me about it and find a way to blackmail me into playing it anyway. My only option was to try to save the innocent girls from whatever his malicious intentions were this time.

Surely enough, I had given him too much credit and benefit of the doubt in my previous thoughts.

"Fine. But since you suggested it, you have to play too," I said flatly.

His grin widened in response.

"Well obviously, Shizu-chan," he rolled his eyes. "I do love a good challenge, after all," he chuckled darkly, putting a hand on his hip.

Something about the way he said it didn't sit right with me.

"I'm fine with not playing," Shinra's cheerful voice rang as he hoisted himself up onto the side of the pool. "I'll watch. It wouldn't be fair to Celty anyway," he shrugged, and dammit if he weren't grinning smugly too.

"So ladies, who will it be?" the raven said coolly.

The girls whispered to themselves and finally came to a decision.