Chapter 10: Party Time
"And here I thought you were supposed to be getting snacks ready for the party… Not just a surprise treat for me when I got home…" Hina, Kayano, and I had worked out butts off prepping a whole lot of sweets for the party. Kanzaki was nice enough to watch the door as the other girls and I had tuckered ourselves out with how fast we were baking. "I mean I'm not complaining, San's probably gonna be in bed with Hina…"
"Rio…" I grumbled into a groan as I nuzzled against her arm.
"Hey don't wipe your drool on me!" She growled into a chuckle. "Actually on second thought…" She gave me a sly smirk.
"That wasn't what I was doing…" I whimpered as I sat up. "So how long was I out? What do I still need to do? Are San, Nagisa, and Sugino okay?"
"Woah! Woah! Woah! Calm down! They're fine, Ams!" She held me at arms' length and looked down at me, sympathetically. "We're all fine, bruised egos of certain red-headed menaces that helped aside.
"Bakabane…" I gritted my teeth. "He better not be eating all of those snacks!" I ran out of the room with Rio following behind.
"Something got you all riled up, Shortstuff?" He was laid across the couch, as he glanced over at me with knowing intent.
"Get your fe- Shoes?! Were you raised in a barn, Bakabane?" I stomped over and swept his shoes off the couch.
"Listen, I don't need a lecture from some absent host that can't even look me in the eye when I go to stand-up." He then proceeded to do just that, staring down at me threateningly. "I'm the one who won us the game while all your glorified boyf- oh I'm sorry 'brother!'" He cut himself off to put air quotes up. "Your brother was just a benchwarmer and gets all the credit."
"Karma, enough!" Nagisa shouted.
"Quiet Pipsqueak!" Karma glared.
"Akabane… I think it's time for you to leave…" Sugino shook his head.
"Yeah Ego-Trip! You've overstayed your welcome…" Rio rolled her eyes in frustration.
"What is going on out here?" San came out of his room with a drowsy Hina right behind. "Sis, Rio… Akabane is our guest despite your prejudices…"
"Don't you go leaning on the doorframe, all nonchalant-" Rio started.
"EXCUSE ME! Who do you think you're talking to?" San shouted back, he took a deep breath.
"EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!" Hina shouted over everyone. "Rio and Ame, San has allowed Akabane into our home for now, yes I understand he's a rather uncouth houseguest, but in the end he did help the team to win and San has made it clear to all of us that he deserves to be here as much as we all do."
"Well finally some mann-" Akabane began again.
"Don't push your luck!" Hina glared fiercely. "Now Ame, you can be upset if you want… but I really would like your help with setting everything else up."
"Damn Hina! Taking a page out of your boyf-" Rio chimed in, only to once again be called out by Hina.
"Why is it that these days all my best friend cares about is how different I've become because of the person I'm dating? I'm more than just that Rio! I thought you of all people would know that!" San gently put a hand on Hina's shoulder as she leaned back against him.
"Alright everyone! I think we should just move past this," Kanzaki clapped her hands together. "Nagisa can you help Kaede with some balloons, To-Tomohito can you help me with setting up some streamers."
"Right! Understood Kanzaki!" Nagisa nodded and headed off to find Kayano.
"S-Sure Yukiko…" Sugino's face was red as a beat.
"Ritsu-chan and I can get to work on the music in my room. Hina, Rio, we wouldn't mind your assistance." San instructed.
"Hey no fair, why am I being left out?" I pouted.
"Sis… I would like you to act as host and supervisor, I'll send Hina out to relieve you once she's chosen some songs… Rio will then be sent out to relieve her. We're working together…" He explained.
"Fine…" I puffed my cheeks out, bobbed my head back and forth before leading into a silly frown into an impish grin. I carried out my deeds as directed and anxiously awaited my first party's beginning! I was finally going to have a real high school experience!
"No way!" Yada exclaimed as Maehara suggested spin the bottle. "For every Isogai or Shur-," Her eyes locked with mine "-ly… surely good looking guy in E-Class there's an Okajima or Takebayashi."
"And just what are you implying with that?" Takebayashi offered protest.
"Hate to tell ya this my dude… but she ain't just implying…" Rio put her arm around his shoulders, "she's telling you, you're a creep!" He slouched in response. "By the way, Toka… Nice try on that slip of the tongue." Rio smirked at her friend who instantly flinched. "Besides, if you wanna say Ams' brother is hot, she won't disagree with you… Her face might grow as red as it is now, but that only proves the point I'm making… Right Ams?" I immediately ran into San's workshop-study, where he, Hina, Sugaya, Hazama, Kanzaki, and Sugino were all sitting at his workbench.
"Ame-Aneki!" Ritsu shouted from Hina's phone. "You gotta join us! This game is so cool!" They were all rolling dice and looking at San who was on his laptop and overlooking the table.
"I cast 'Infestation' on this octopus!" Hina pointed to one of the figures on the odd grid that San had spread at the center of the table.
"That'll be a 12 on the CON Save…" San responded.
"Fail!" Hina triumphantly declared, "And that's 3 damage! And it moves-" She rolled a small pyramid shaped die on the table. "5 feet to the ri-"
"Sorry Hina, it's dead…" San looked apologetically at her.
"What are you guys playing?"
"Dungeons and Dragons!" Ritsu said from Hina's phone.
"Yeah Shuri threw together a one-shot, and while I got pulled in by the figs," Sugaya waved his hand over the many intricate plastic figures sprawled over the board, "The game actually isn't that bad."
"Story could use a little work… Little too bright for my taste…" Hazama shrugged. "But what can you do? It was thrown together in a few minutes." She rolled a big die on the table. "That's a 16 to hit."
"16 hits!" San confirmed. "And due to your minimum damage, that one's dead too…" Hazama nodded in acknowledgement.
"Hey Ame-Aneki! Check the printer! I just made something for you I think you'll like," Ritsu instructed. I pulled out a piece of paper.
"Eldarin?" I looked at the character's race confused.
"An elf that changes with the season," Ritsu informed me, "And the rogue is because of your background."
"And with that the sea creature that for some reason unbeknownst to you all have all been dealt with effectively. As you've dealt with this tentacled menace, a young maiden pokes her head out from behind a nearby rock. Ame please try your best to describe your character to the table," San said as he directed the room's attention to me.
"I-I didn't say I woul-" San raised an eyebrow as Hina offered me the seat next to her and some dice from a pile in front of her. "W-Well I'm an Eldarin, and a rogue-"
"Not your character basis, a name, the color of your skin, how tall you, stuff like that," Ritsu yipped…
"Ohh… Umm…" I thought on it. "Sorry, I probably should have helped with that!" I said as I pitched my voice up slightly. "I'm Arisa… Arisa Kirigaya…"
"You hear in your head:'Greetings Kirigaya-san! Firstly apologies, but my race cannot naturally speak any language outside of our own tongue…'" Hina bowed to me. "Who you see before you is a rather tall creature with tanned skin. Instead of what we've come to know as humanoid features is instead contrasted with and outer mandible, large spheroid eyes, and two curled antennae, from the voice being projected into your head you get the sense that she is female. 'My name is Heracroix Argento, I am a dignitary of the Thri-kreen.' The mental speech continues. 'We, by that means, my associates and I-'"
San points each to Sugino, Kanzaki, Hazama, and Sugaya, as well as winking to Ritsu on Hina's phone. They give a description of each of their characters which included, a muscly Amazonian-like paladin, a cheerful burly fellow with with protruding lower jaw who is carrying a lute, a slender woman wearing deep blue robes with a temple symbol of some sort, a blue-skinned man with soft features and yet a hardened body, and a small robot-esque creature who was as Ritsu described basically a ball with arms.
"Ummm…" I tried my hand now at describing my character. "Who you see before is a thin girl with fairly pale green skin, she looks like she hasn't seen daylight all too often which is all the more reason why it may be surprising that she's out in the sun…"
"Go on, Sis!" San cheered me on. Hina and Ritsu looked like they had stars in their eyes.
"Umm… She's clothed in very simple dress… If not for a second glance you'd take a lot of her apparent clothing to be rags, mixed in with natural leaves and twigs scattered about her wavy orange hair…"
"Damn, Sasu…" Hazama raised an eyebrow, "I'm usually pretty good at describing my character… but even I gotta give you kudos for your first time."
San went on to have the rest of the party explain the plight of the townsfolk, apparently in the scenario he set up for us several cephalopodic creatures had gained sentience and had begun to step on land for some reason. The group had come together by word of a council. And thus the game began.
***
"SAN! AMS! HINA! RITSU! Where are you guys…?" The party and I had just finished combat with the big bad evil guy that caused this whole invasion of the cephalopods when Rio called out for us.
"We're in here, Rio!" San called out in response. "And that is where this story ends… You've successfully stopped the troublesome Illithid that was trying to indoctrinate the sea life into claiming a hold over land kind. Farewell Fukka-Hakase!"
"Thanks you guys for leaving me alone out there…" Rio stomped in with a nervous Nagisa and Kayano in tow. "Great Sugino and Kanzaki were back here too!" She glared at San. "Well… Party's over! Most everyone has left, and I didn't get to-"
"We're gonna get going! See ya Shuri, thanks for the game." Hazama and Sugaya ran out, Sugaya giving a nod to San as he left.
"You all OWE ME!" Rio slammed her hand down on the table, several plastic minis jumped and toppled over. "That's it! I'm choosing the next game!"
"I thought you said the party was-" San began asRio walked up to him and put a finger under his chin.
"I'm choosing the next game… Got me San?!" San stuck his hands and carefully nodded as Rio walked around and sat in San's work chair at the head of the table.
"Oooh is Rio gonna be the Game Master now?" Ritsu cheered from San's phone, completely missing the context of what was going on.
"I like the sound of that Ritsu… Game MASTER." She put her feet on the workbench as she leaned back in his chair. "I'm the Game Master now kiddies… and the game I'm choosing is the King's Game!" She said holding up a set of 9 sticks.
"King's Game?!" The rest of the room save Rio, myself, and Ritsu. All shouted in unison.
"R-Rio you can't be serious… What business do us Middle Schoolers have playing that?" San asked in disbelief.
"The business you have is the lot of you skipping out on me… and leaving me to be the host of the damn party," She glared at San.
"So what's the big deal about this 'King's Game?" I asked, confused.
"Have you been living under a rock, Shuri?" Kayano asked me in befuddlement… "Oh wait… Sorry that came out wrong…" She chuckled nervously. Looking around the room I could see San's eyes darting about between Rio, Ritsu, Hina, and me… as his cheeks grew more and more red. Nagisa looked like he might faint. Sugino and Kanzaki were also avoiding eye contact.
"Alright everyone… Grab a seat…" Rio waved at the open chairs in front of her. The whole room winced. "NOW!" She yelled.
"Rio, let's not do anything reckless… I'm sorry that we left you out front alone-"
"San… You can't keep avoiding things… Sit down!"
"R-Right…" He conceited defeat as he collapsed in a chair.
"That's the kind of game this is?!" I heard Ritsu yelp, she had stars in her eyes.
"Ritsu-chan, you shouldn't be looking that stuff up… especially not on my phone…" San whimpered.
"Ritsu…" I whispered to my phone.
"Yeah Ame-Aneki?" She whispered back.
"Send the info you found to my phone, please…"
"On it, Ame-Aneki!" She said as she brought up tabs on the game.
I quickly scanned over the game rules. "We're playing! Everyone get over here!"
"I'm never gonna live this down…" San whined as he headdesked. Hina, though entirely red-faced, sat down next to him and gave him a gentle behind the back hug.
"You four, let's go!" Rio demanded. "What's good for the team, eh Sugino? Just a game of chance, Arcade Queen…" Though completely unsteady, Sugino and Kanzaki made their way to the table.
"I-I helped out front, and made sna-"
"If you want Ame's help with future snacks and progress-" Kayano sat down. "Glad that's settled… Now as for you Nagisa… Ams… help me out with this one." She winked at me. I smirked back and with a flash of green in my eyes Nagisa ran right over to the table. "Thank you for joining us Mr. Shiota…" Rio smiled menacingly… "Now… I'mma saunter around the table with these sticks…" she held up a handful of sticks, "everyone will take one… Ritsu I'll give yours to Ame which she will keep in her left hand."
"Understood Rio!" Ritsu and I said in unison.
"Let's set some ground rules Rio…" San said, he plucked a stick from her hands.
"The ground rules are that there are no ground rules!" Rio replied with a playful sticking out of the tongue…
"Nothing more than a kiss…" San furrowed his brow.
"Note that he didn't state the location for the record, Ame."
"Rio!"
"Noted!"
"Sis…"
"I have also recorded that he never specified the location of said kiss, Rio."
"R-Ritsu-chan?!"
"Eh quit your bellyaching San, you can only blame yourself for your unspecified word choice," Rio snickered.
"Rio!" Hina glared, in fact Rio, Ritsu, and I were the minority to the point that it was almost frightening to be in a room full of kids training to be assassins… I was just happy that I had my professional background and that most of the targeted anger was on Rio. "Now you three… either you stop messing with San and we get this moving… or we let these nice people go and the four of us can have a 'nice chat…'" Yep… Hina was definitely on the offense…
Rio swallowed her pride as she had passed out the last stick and stood behind San's desk chair. "So when the former king hands out the sticks, we'll ask 'Who's the king?' and then the new king will sit in San's chair here," She slapped the headrest with both hand…
"Don't break the chair Rio!" Hina's look further intensified.
"Yes momm- Hina!" Rio stumbled, with another visual gulp. "The game will end when everyone has had the chance to be king… if someone opts to end it before then there will be a punishment game to be decided by the rest of the court." Oh yeah that isn't gonna backfire in any way…
"Ready? In unison!" Ritsu shouted.
"Who's the king?!" We all exclaimed together before revealing our sticks. Nagisa's face then dropped as he slowly made his way to San's chair and reluctantly sat down.
"Oh-ho! Your eminence! Lord Nagisa, how shall we lowly court members appease you?" Rio teased, putting her hand against her cheek and offering a haughty laugh.
"J-just I don't know dance or something?" Nagisa replied as if he was unwell.
"Ummm… Nagisa…" Ritsu called from her position, "That isn't how it works… According to the rules I saw, you have to declare two or more numbers to do something either together or in groups."
"Ritsu's right! Come on, it's just a game, Nagisa!" I agreed.
"Oh… okay then… um… Numbers 2, 5, 6, 7 should all dance…" Nagisa said weakly.
"Awwww man!" I whimpered, as my number wasn't called.
"Well this is gonna be awkward…" San stood up.
"You're telling me…" Sugino took to his feet as well.
"Rio, are you sure we have to do this?" Kayano whined…
"Hey, don't blame me, blame Nagisa… he's the one who told you to dance…" Rio looked around… "Who's the fourth?" We heard some tiny noises coming from Hina's phone…
"Welp… I'm sure she's having a run of it… but it looks like Nagisa hit the least 'controversial numbers…' You guys are gonna take the fun out of this…" Rio said half-heartedly…
After a minute or two of San, Sugino, and Kaede dancing awkwardly it was time to re-deal the sticks.
"Who's The King?" We all exclaimed again. This continued on and due to how shy everyone was it barely amounted to anything more than Hina and I giving a sensual dance to San per Rio's suggestion. I mean there was a kiss on Sugino's cheek from Ritsu but it was just Hina awkwardly holding her phone up to his face so all we really saw was what looked to be Sugino making an awkward phone call- Point is the game was a bust much to Rio's disappointment…
This only made it worse for her when San got his King's chance… And he being him… deduced which number Rio had… and made her quit her own game before I had even gotten a chance to be King…
"Well I didn't think I'd be having people in my closet for a number of minutes, Rio!" San barked as Sugino and Kanzaki emerged from the closet, completely red-faced. Somewhere along the way Rio got bored and switched our game from the King's Game to a game Ritsu found online called 'Seven Minutes in Heaven'.
"Well next time you know not to play King's Game so dirty San!"
"Oh that's rich coming from you since you forced my girlfriend and best friend to basically give me a lap dance against their will!"
"Yeah you looked like you weren't enjoying it… I was the King but you were treated like one… YOU'RE WELCOME!"
"Rio you can only blame yourself!" Hina huffed, though I don't know if she was red-faced due to embarrassment or anger. "San beats Ritsu at chess regularly… You didn't think he could figure out which number you had when he was made king?"
"That was some smart thinking though San," Sugino laughed, "getting Nakamura to quit her own game thus inciting her own penalty clause…"
"Ams! Closet now! Frustrated! Need to blow off steam." Rio stamped into the closet.
I began following behind her, before stopping to look at the rest of everyone, "I know you're not one for expressing that side of you with all of us… but San… Hina isn't the only one with feelings for you like she has…" We mutually hung our heads and before he could get another word in I walked into the closet and shut the door behind me.
Once I had closed the door I could not have expected what had happened next, as I was immediately pulled into a surprise kiss… my first… This was surprisingly followed up by a great deal of bawling coming from the other person in the closet with me as I pulled the light cord to a teary-eyed Rio. I blinked in utter confusion as I looked at the misty-eyed maiden standing in front of me. "I-I-I shouldn't have done that…" Rio clamored as she stumbled into the shelf behind her, I reached for her hand but she quickly pulled it away defensively. "Ame… I just stole your first kiss! I-I-I-"
My eyes glowed yellow and before I could give her a chance to react I met my lips with hers, initiating the kiss by my own accord this time. "I need to get something off my chest… and now isn't the time for innuendo… so please don't." I furrowed my brow as I saw her face shift. "I was avoiding this conversation… You brought it up to me right before Lovro stopped by for his 'visit', I didn't forget after everything that happened, but I also didn't bring it up…" She just stared at me, but every time I tried to match her eyes with mine she'd nervously avert her gaze. I grasped her hands desperately, "Rio, I love San…!" Her head dropped, "but I also love you!" I declared. "It's just like you told me back then… I'm returning your feelings, Rio Nakamura!" I leaned in and took another kiss. "I love you, I love San, I love Hina, I love Ritsu! I love you all… I couldn't say it before back then because I thought I was gonna lose you all, plus San started his relationship with Hina, and I just never found the time for it… and I should've made time for it… and I didn't… and now I'm starting to ramble, so I wish you'd st-"
I felt the gentle caress of her tongue against mine, followed by two hands firmly grasping my waist and
lifting me up with no resistance. Fade to black… for all of two minutes of the hottest… and only… make out session of our lives, to be interrupted by one San Shuri who decided that our time was up. He must have been drawn in by all the crashes and clatters of the items being knocked off the shelves.
"Do you mind San-Nii? I'm busy with my girlfriend right now. I'll get to you after… Don't worry, we talked about it, she's cool with our relationship…" Sitting on the middle shelf I looked over to him as he opened the door, items were scattered here and there much to his chagrin. Hina and the rest of the gang were all taking occasional glances in.
"Sis?!" I don't know if it was the disheveled look of our clothes, the fact that I was sitting on a shelf made for his tools, or that said tools were now all scattered about over the floor.
"Girlfriend?!" Hina poked her head in under San's good arm.
"Girlfriend?!" The peanut gallery behind them all tried to peek in.
"Girlfriend?" I could barely hear Ritsu from her spot on the table. "Hey! Nee-Sama! You left me on the table. This isn't fair!"
"Rio grab Ritsu, Hina you're with me, San see our guests out! The girls and I will be in my room… I have something to discuss with them." The rest of the room was wide-eyed as Rio and I sauntered past San and Hina back into the main room. I grabbed Hina's hand with a smile as Rio grabbed Hina's phone. "See ya tomorrow guys! We can discuss it then, but for now no questions please! Bye!"
"Rio! Sis! My storage room!"
"I'll clean it up tomorrow San! Don't c-block me man!" Rio playfully rolled her eyes into a smirk.
"C-Block?" I heard Kayano ask as I pulled Hina inside my room, and Rio shut the door behind us.
"Girlfriend?!" Hina finally broke the silence after she had been sitting dumbfounded for twenty minutes. She looked at Rio with a really confused look.
"Yeah I love you, I love San, I love Ame, sorry Ritsu I would count you, but that's more for Ams and San," Rio told our friend.
"Awwww…" Ritsu whimpered…
"Fine… I love you too Ritsu, you sold me on it!"
"Yay!"
"You're dating San, I've been dealing with some mixed emotions and Ame helped me sort them out… so since I love all of you, and San's being evasive with the whole 'Harem Route' idea…" Rio looked over to Hina, who had scrunched up her face.
"So what you're saying is… you like San, yet you've decided to date Ame?" Hina asked, still not fully getting what was being said.
"I've liked you too for a while now, even longer than I have San or Ame…" Rio shrugged.
"You mean you still don't understand what she's saying Hina?" I asked, now starting to get frustrated myself.
"Ams, let me handle this…" Rio put her finger to my lips.
"Then explain it, Rio!" Hina exclaimed.
"A person can like multiple people… Like 'like like'!" Rio started. "I… had a crush on you…" Rio confessed causing Hina to blush, "but you liked Mr. K and a few other people… Then San showed up… and I told you that he 'like liked' you, much to my unrequited feelings… Then you like liked him back… then Ame showed up… then I started to hang out more with San because of her… I grew to like both of the Shuri Siblings… but still had feelings for you… Then you took a walk with San… started a relationship…"
"Babe… You're spiraling…" I grabbed her arm.
"Rio…" Hina finally got a chance to speak up…
"Please hold on a minute Hina…" Rio began to tear up… "I started the 'Harem Route' idea not because San wanted it… but because I really did, I loved you all- I LOVE you all! I feel like these feelings are real…" The misty eyes once again returned to tears. "I'm okay if it's only Ame for now… but someday I hope in some way you can each return my feelings…"
"I love you Rio!" Ritsu chirped from my phone.
"Heh… Thanks Ritsu!"
"You're not the only one that feels this way Rio… I've made myself clear on that as well… I'm just not as good at expressing it the way you do…" I chuckled. We looked at Hina who seemed rather bewildered and lost in thought all at the same time. I felt like I could empathize due to the level of information she just had to intake.
After a bit more time she finally spoke up… "I'm sorry that you've been struggling all this time, Rio… I wish I had paid more attention to your feelings… to San's feelings, to Ame and Ritsu's as well… I'm not an assassin who can cook like Ame… I'm not a super genius like Rio… I'm not a supercomputer like Ritsu… I'm Hinano Kurahashi… just some silly girl who can't notice what's going on around her. I'm so sorry, all of you…"
"Hey don't be putting the girl we all love down…" Rio brushed the hair out of Hina's face…
"Ha… Hahahahaha…" I laughed aloud, all of a sudden, as a thought came to mind.
"What's so funny Ame?" Hina asked.
"Nothing, nothing… Except…" I paused again because I couldn't hold back my chuckle.
"I guess you have to be in my girlfriend's head… News to Ams… We ain't anymore mind readers than we expect San to be…" Rio frowned. "That boy is screwed for the rest of his life… Only half of which will be done in the best way possible by our good Hinano Kurahashi." Hina's face once again returned to a red similar to her hair. "Ams say what's on your mind girl… This tension is killing me!" She swooned into my lap.
"Hey Ritsu."
"Yeah Ame?"
"You remember that one anime we were watching together?"
"Which one? The one with the 'totally unrealistic ninjas?'"
"No…"
"The dense Mangaken that you said reminded you of Onii-sama… Especially with the cute redhead that was like a strong mix of your personality with Hina's eyes and hair?"
"No… but remind me to show that to both of them when San isn't so busy… Binge Night Sis!" I hugged Hina.
"Yay!" Ritsu exclaimed once again.
"Sis?" Hina blushed.
"The video game world where that sheepish protagonist is living, what you said would be, Onii-sama's dream, being stuck in a video game? Until he and his girlfriend fight there way out and he picks up three more girls including his sis-"
"Ritsu, no not that one, but I like that you brought it up…" I cut her off… "Furthers my ideas…" I smirked.
"The hero one that you said started-"
"Nope…"
"The one where people turn into weapons?"
"Ritsu, I told you not to bring that one up in public… Oh! Or did you mean the one where the Shinigami is the principal?"
"Nope the one where gir-"
"AME WILL YOU GET TO THE POINT!" I was so happy that Rio stopped Ritsu…
"The one with the cell phone…"
"OOOOOOOOH! That one!"
"I mean you picked it because you had just started living with us on San's cellphone…"
"Why do you bring it up?" She asked with a befuddled look on her face.
"Well in that anime…"
***
"WHAT?!" Hina exclaimed as I had just finished explaining all of the details of that anime…
"We bow to you all mighty harem queen…" Rio went into a full subservient bow towards Hina. "Looks like Hina and I have another anime to add to our watch list… Has San seen it?" Rio asked.
"He's been way too busy tinkering to have paid it any serious mind…" I sighed.
"I'll have to think about what you're saying… but even if I do come around to it, I'm not the only one you'll have to convince…" Hina said, obviously alluding to her boyfriend…
"And from here on out Rio, no more adding… You want to say you love us all, then prove it!"
"Can you explain your terms, milady?" Rio inquired.
"We're it! The four of us in this room and San are to be the only ones to stay within the boundaries… No one else! Do we have an understanding?"
"Yes!" Rio confidently nodded.
"You break it, or act on feelings for anyone else outside this building… I won't even give you another chance!" Hina stood up. "Now… You two are in a relationship… So I'm just gonna sleep on the couch tonight! C'mon Ritsu, these two deserve some alone time!"
"Right Nee-Sama!" Ritsu agreed as they both left the room.
"Welp I know what my role in the family unit is gonna be!" I declared confidently as I began to change into my sleepwear…
"Goodness, oh mighty Goddess, you grace me with such a marvelous sight! I am unworthy…" Rio said, eyeing me up as I disrobed.
"Just shut up and get ready for bed…" I rolled my eyes. "But speaking of marvelous sights… I kinda wouldn't mind learning how to sew… Tonight has me thinking up some really cool things and now I wanna make 'em!"
"Well to make dreams come true… First we have to make 'em…" Rio said with a yawn as she rolled out a futon from my closet.
"Huh?" I looked at her. "We've slept together bef- Slept in the same bed before." I waggled my finger, gesturing for her. I patted the beg offering for her to lay with me on it instead of the thin futon.
"My beautiful girlfriend is being so forward, I love it!" She smiled. I laid out on the bed and she took a spot next to me. We laid facing each other, I craned my neck and gave her a kiss on the chin as she followed up with a kiss on the forehead. "Night Ams… Love ya."
"Night Rio, love ya too." We closed our eyes and attempted to fall asleep, only to remember that we left the light on… "Light's on… You mind getting that…?" I grumbled.
"Fine Miss Bossy… But I'll remember this…" Rio said with a coy smirk, as she popped out of bed and hit the light. As she laid back down, I turned over and nestled my back against her as she wrapped her arms around me, and we both drifted off to sleep.
***
