Truth or Dare (chapter 8) [FIC]

[dd]

The windows rattled.

While everyone had been getting so caught up in the game, a storm had blown in. Streaks of lightning illuminated parts of the city, while the booming sound of thunder rumbled along the darkened streets.

“Not afraid of a little storm, are you Sousuke?” Maya grinned. She was a bit nervous herself, just as the other girls were. But, it was Sousuke who looked the most dyspeptic. All because of Pocky.

“Negative,” Sousuke said. “I have been out in much worse, in far less habitable locations.” The way he tossed that off had a few girls giggling nervously.

“Are you nervous about the Dare?” Ryo asked. “At least you don’t have to wonder if you’ll get chosen.” She eyed the bottle sitting on its side.

“No. I have endured worse things.” Sousuke replied. That time, his way of putting things did not sit well with the girls.

“That’s right,” Kyouko said. “He had to kiss Mizuki again.” She squeaked when Mizuki tugged on her pig tails.

What’s wrong, Sousuke?” Kaname wondered if the fact that Sousuke had borne the weight of so many Dares was bothering him.

“The thunder reminds me of the legend of Susanowo, the god of Storms.” Sousuke frowned, looking over at a pile of Pocky boxes. “He was made to go through a lot of hardships, due to the unfairness of women.”

“Really? How?” Ren asked, as calm as ever. She wasn’t concerned about the bottle.

“DON’T ASK HIM THAT!”

A number of girls had already suffered their fill of Sousuke’s historical references. Legends were even worse. At least history actually happened.

“Too late,” Kaname said, sighing.

“One day, Susanowo visited his sister Amaterasu, the Sun goddess. Because her brother had been jealous of the position she had been given, Amaterasu feared that he had come to steal her rightful place. He swore his innocence, but she would not believe him.” Sousuke looked over at Kaname, having been through a number of such instances himself.

“What?” Kaname made a face and folded her arms over her chest.

“I did not mention you by name, Kaname.” Sousuke said.

“I know that, you big stupid head.” Kaname’s eyes flashed. “You were…” She was interrupted.

“Let him finish up, so we can get back to the game.” The Umpire tapped the halisen against her palm. It had a nice weight. Maybe she should get one herself. It could be the new fad.

“To settle matters, they held a contest. If Susanowo won, his sister would believe him and allow him to visit. Each of them was to create as many male deities as they could. The one who created the greater number would be declared the winner.” Sousuke continued speaking, as the lights flickered for a moment and then stayed on. “Amaterasu performed her magic, and created three female deities from Susanowo’s sword. He in turn created five male deities from his sister’s fertility beads.”

“So, he won. Great. Let’s get that bottle spinning.” One girl said.

“It is true, he did win. However, his sister claimed that she deserved credit for the five male deities, because they sprang forth from her beads. Likewise, the female deities had come from Susanowo’s sword.” Sousuke looked around the room, meeting the gaze of the girls. “When they argued, she became furious and hid in her rock-dwelling. That plunged the world into darkness. Amaterasu had been so emotional as to neglect her duty, and in this respect, she was at fault. Nonetheless, all the other deities blamed it on Susanowo, who was innocent. They banished him from heaven.”

“Ohhh…” Ryo nodded her head. “I think I see a few similarities here. Kaname did something to Sousuke. He made the mistake of talking about it. Kaname ran to hide in her room.” She smiled. “After that, Sousuke ended up dancing. Then, he was put on the spot with Mizuki and her fruit fetish. Now, he will be center stage in the Pocky kiss.

“Poor Sousuke,” one girl said. “We have been a little hard on him.”

“Maybe you should choose another Dare,“ another girl said to her friend, the one who had selected the game for Sousuke to play.

“I know the Amaterasu story,” Maya said. “Susanowo was supposed to govern his lands, but got into trouble instead. He was reckless, and had a habit of destroying things. Most people were afraid of him.”

“Hmmm… who does that remind me of?” Ryo looked at Sousuke.

“That’s right,” one girl said. “Amaterasu worked very hard to create the wheat fields and rice paddies in heaven. But, Susanowo destroyed them all.” She looked at Sousuke and made a face. The story about Kaname’s unfortunate artwork bust was only a small part of the Sousuke Sagara saga. “Amaterasu forgave him.”

“Now I remember the tale,” another girl said, snapping her fingers. “She also worked heard to create a really great palace. He destroyed that, too.” Her fingers trembled. She had been one of the girls who had spent all night baking, making a cake for a contest that Kaname was judging. Sousuke had gone through each cake, to make certain they weren’t booby-trapped. “Amaterasu forgave him for that, too.” The look she gave Sousuke had him blinking rapidly.

“He also flung a half-flayed pony through the windows of the celestial weaving house, smashing the looms and breaking the sacred threads of connection between every living thing.” Maya smiled, seeing the way that everyone was looking at Sousuke now. “She didn’t forgive him that time.” She saw a number of girls pat Kaname on the back and say how sorry they were for the things she had been through ever since a certain cretin had arrived at the school.

“Hmmmpppfff,” Kaname said, lifting her chin up. “Even a goddess isn’t as forgiving as I am. Remember that, you big jerk.”

“There’s a different version of the tale,” one girl claimed. “In that one, the final straw came when Susanowo defiled Amaterasu's sacred virgins.”

The girls all looked at each other. They looked at Sousuke. Some of them pulled blankets over their bodies, while others built walls out of pillows.

“So, it looked like that guy got everything he deserved,” Mizuki said. “Right?” After she finished her last word, the power went out completely.

“It is not my fault,” Sousuke said, commenting on the darkness. All of the girls began throwing their pillows in his direction. Seeing how his story was turned against him, Sousuke once again chose to take the offensive. That kind of thing was slowly becoming easier for him. “Perhaps one of you can restore the light the way that Ama-no-Uzume did in the legend.”

“How was that?” Kyouko asked before the other girls had time to shush her.

“She shed the leaves and flowers she had clothed herself in and danced naked. All the male gods roared with laughter, and Amaterasu became curious.” Sousuke heard the squeaks of indignation. “When she took a look beyond her cave, she was pulled out by the god Ameno-Tajikarawo after she was dazzled by her own reflection in a mirror. That sounds familiar, where girls are concerned.”

“GET HIM!”

No one was entirely certain who called out. Before anyone knew it, a number of girls jumped on Sousuke, tickling him, smacking him with their fuzzy slippers, and striking him with pillows. That was followed by a massive pile-on. A few minutes later, the electrical power was restored.

When the girls all got up, Sousuke was at the bottom of the pile, with Kaname spread-eagled on top of him. Seeing that, Mizuki said. “I guess that lifted Kaname’s depression.” She pointed at her and Sousuke. “That’s why the light came back on.”

“Awwwwww-wwwww-wwww-www-ww-w…”

“That’s… well… no way…” Kaname froze. It wasn’t Mizuki’s words that bothered her, or the fact that the girls were all looking at her with knowing smirks. No. Laying on top of Sousuke, she was very much aware of something. More than anything, she hoped that he had put the grenade back in his pocket.

“Uhhh… errr…ummm…” Sousuke looked rather uncomfortable. It wasn’t because Kaname’s laying on him was painful. Quite the opposite. With her laying across him, and the weight of the other girls pressing him down against certain parts of him, he was slave to an anatomic prerogative that predated intelligent speech in the human animal.

Kaname’s first instinct was to jump up and move as far away from Sousuke as possible. But, if the other girls got wind of what just happened, she’d never hear the end of things. She was caught on the horn of a dilemma. Getting off of Sousuke would make his physiologic transformation rather obvious.

“You’re dead, mister…” Kaname’s threat could only be heard by Sousuke. She knew it wasn’t fair, but she had to blame someone for her predicament.

“I did not intend to… salute…” Sousuke blushed. That was a rarity, and caught the other girls’ attention.

“Sousuke looks rather distressed,” Maya observed. “Perhaps it’s because Kaname’s too chunky.”

“Well, whatever the reason, there’s only one way to help him.” Ryo motioned to the other young ladies.

“That’s right,” one girl said. “Pile on!” That prompted another human pyramid built on top of Kaname and Sousuke.

Naturally, that only made things worse. Sousuke was very much aware of Kaname softness. Kaname, on the other hand, was rather aware of Sousuke’s hardness. Staring into one another’s face, they were able to see a wide range of emotions come and go. Sousuke tried to look apologetic. Kaname looked like the Fifth Rider of the Apocalypse.

When the girls finally got off again, Sousuke found the best solution to the situation that he possibly could. A well tossed slipper knocked over the one lamp that was still lit. Grabbing a pillow, he held it in front of him, running towards the bathroom after claiming he needed to go ‘real bad’.

“You were in there a long time, Sousuke.” Ren looked concerned. “Are you alright? The girls didn’t hurt you, did they.”

“I am fine,” Sousuke said. “I prefer not to discuss bodily functions.” That was very true, just not in the way that the girls thought.

Kaname blushed. She didn’t know if Sousuke was making a play on words or not. It didn’t matter. That was one more thing to hold against him. Urk! Bad choice of worse. Now he had her doing it! Big jerk.

“Well, enough delay. It’s time.” The Umpire motioned to the girl who had come up with this Dare. She would have the honor of spinning the bottle.

“That’s right,” the girl said. “Everyone gather around. Who’s it going to be. Round and round and round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows.” With a deft flick of her wrist, she sent the bottle spinning. At first, it was nothing more than a blur. As it spun, the young women all jockeyed for position. Most wanted to slide behind other girls unnoticed. Some tried to guess where the bottle might stop.

Kaname had her fingers crossed. It couldn’t be her. It better not be her. Not after what just happened. She couldn’t imagine going through the Dare, with that on her mind. Worse, she couldn’t think of going through with things knowing that Sousuke probably had that on his mind too.

“Step right up,” the girl said, sounding like a food cart owner, the dealer at some kind of game of chance, or the owner of a Freak Show. “Don’t be shy girls, now’s your big chance.” She watched as the bottle slowed. “Who gets to do the Dare with the amazing otaku boy?”

“It better not be me again,” Mizuki said, feeling somewhat tense.

“Sousuke better hope it’s not Kyouko,” Ryo said. “She’d probably try to French Kiss him.”

“Miss Tokiwa?” Sousuke looked over at Kyouko. That had her shaking her head so hard that her glasses slipped off.

“He’s getting better,” Maya remarked. “I expected him to ask Ky if she was French.” That had the girls laughing nervously.

“Kaname?” Sousuke cocked his head.

“Nnnn-nnn-nn-n…” Kaname made it a point to ignore him.

The bottle spun slower… slower… slow-er… slowww-errr… and finally stopped. Everybody looked over at two girls, feeling relieved or envious. The bottle neck was pointed directly between Kaname and Kyouko.

Kaname closed her eyes. Of course. With her luck, what else could possibly happen? Kyouko froze, her heartbeat increasing by the second, and her ears ringing. Why her? Why did it have to be her?

“So, what do we do?” A girl asked the Umpire. “Should the two of them have to do the Pocky thing with Sousuke…” She grinned a wicked grin. “…Or should Kaname and Kyouko have to do it with each other?”

Kyouko and Kaname both wobbled where they sat.

“What do you think, Sousuke.” The Umpire knew that she was putting Sousuke on the spot. “Some guys might think that two girls doing that would be hot.” She ignored Kaname’s glare and Kyouko’s puppy dog eyes. “What’s it going to be?”

“Let me think.” Sousuke sat deathly still. “I have a number of possible solutions. The first would involve this.” He took the concussion grenade out of his weapons bag. “I could pull the pin, give it to Kaname and Miss Tokiwa, and they could pass it between themselves until it detonated.”

“Works for me,” Mizuki said.

“Me too,” Ryo and Maya said at the same time.

“I was only joking,” Sousuke said. “Weapons such as these do not grow on trees. I may need it later.”

“Wonderful,” Kaname said.

“Or, we could ask each of them a Truth, and the one who answers best will be awarded the opportunity to choose.” Sousuke offered. “If they both refuse to answer, then they would both be required to follow through on the Dare.”

“That’s what we’ll do then,” the Umpire said, blowing Sousuke a kiss. “I’ll ask the question. Any one have any objections?”

Sousuke raised his hand. “I would like to ask the question.”

“Japanese History?” The Umpire was very shrewd. “Well, in this situation, I think that might actually be appropriate. We interrupted your studying after all.” She thought a moment. “Why not. Go ahead!”

“Thanks,” Kaname said sarcastically. “Thanks a lot.”

“In 1853, Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry came to Japan in command of a squadron, seeking a Japanese trade treaty. He flew his flag from one of two black-hulled steam frigates, each of which towed one of two sloops.“ Sousuke looked over at Kaname, and then at Kyouko. “The one who gets the greatest number of ship name correct will be the winner.“ It was a fair question. The names of the ships had been present in fine print, underneath one of the chapter illustrations. “Miss Tokiwa?”

“I…” Kyouko looked stricken. Her hands started trembling slightly. “It’s…” She turned somewhat pale. “I don’t know… the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria…”

“None of those are correct,” Sousuke said. “You need name only one, Kaname.”

“Ky…” Kaname looked over at her friend, feeling sorry for her. “The answer is Susquehanna, Mississippi, Plymouth, and Saratoga.” She rarely missed a detail.

“Correct on all four,” Sousuke said. “That earns you the right to choose.” He did not feel as brave as he sounded.

“Well, that’s easy.” Kaname smiled. When she looked over at Kyouko again, her smile faded. “It’s OK, Ky. It’s just a game.”

“Yes… I know…” Kyouko tried to put on a brave face but failed miserably. “You won fair and square. I’ll do what I have to do.”

Kaname sat staring at Kyouko for a while. The other girls grew more and more antsy, waiting for the answer. The Umpire asked for the timer, and then pushed down on one of the buttons. The hand moved around the clock face, drawing everyone’s attention.

“I’ll do it,” Kaname said. She reached over and squeezed Kyouko’s shoulder. As she turned to look at Sousuke, she was definitely of two minds. While part of her wanted nothing to do with this, under these circumstances, another part was flush with anticipation. She could do this with a good excuse. It was all about being magnanimous, rescuing poor Kyouko. No one could prove otherwise.

“Talk about your true friend,” one girl said.

“I don’t know,” Mizuki mused, yawning. “Maybe Kaname really wanted to eat some Pocky with Sousuke.”

“Kaname, is this true?” Sousuke looked at Kaname, feeling somewhat strange inside. “Did you wish to do the Dare with me?” He felt somewhat edgy. The answer was somehow important. Why did he find himself wanting to hear Kaname say ‘Yes’?

Kaname felt as if she had been slammed straight between the eyes with a ten pound sledge hammer. Why did that big imbecile have to ask that question, in front of all her friends no less? Geeez. She couldn’t take him anywhere!

If she said ‘yes’, word would be all over school the moment the other girls set foot into school. No, they would be on the telephone as soon as they left the party. If she said ‘no’, she wouldn’t have to worry about that. But, how could she lie to Sousuke? Not only did he deserve better than that, but he might make some kind of decision based on her answer.

Wait. It was Sousuke. One man Demolition Squad. The albatross around her neck. A boy who had turned her peaceful life inside out and upside down. He should consider himself lucky if she even answered at all! Moron. Idiot. Jerk. Big stupid head. Besides, even though part of her wanted to do this with him, part of her did not. That way, she could answer either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ without lying.

“Maya is just trying to tease me,” Kaname said. “She’s just looking to stir up trouble.”

“Ahhh, I see.” Sousuke nodded his head. His face didn’t change in the least. But, his eyes looked a little different for a moment. That had Kaname feeling like a cad. “I suppose that we should proceed nevertheless. I apologize that you have to do something that is unpleasant for you.”

“I… it’s…” Kaname felt somewhat ashamed. But, how could she do anything different? “There’s a lot of Pocky left. What flavor do you want?” She pointed over at the group of packages.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sousuke said. His eyes were back to normal. “I am not even aware of what Pocky is, or why it should have such a name.”

“Well, I can help you there.” Kaname tried to sound cheerful. Being helpful in this manner made her feel a little better. “This is Pocky.” She pulled one of the slender flavor-coated snacks out of an open box. “A thin, cookie-like stick, with a consistency and taste somewhere between biscotti, pretzels, and graham crackers.” She snapped it in half. “Hear that noise. Sounded sort of like ‘pocking,’ right? That’s where the name came from.”

“We still have some Strawberry and some Green Tea,” Ryo said, holding up two packages.

“We still have some Strawberry and some Green Tea,” Ryo said.

“There’s Almond Crush and Yubari Melon,” Ren added.

“Lemon Cheesecake,” one girl said. She smiled, picking up the last box with any cookies left inside. “Orange Chocolate.” She swung one of the sticks in front of Sousuke’s eyes like a pendulum. “I bet Sousuke’s chooses this one.”

“That will do,” Sousuke said. “I like orange.” He twitched, thinking back to Mizuki’s use of fruit.

“O… OK…” Kaname had a similar thought.

“Madame Umpire, when should we begin?” Sousuke began to sweat again. Now that the event was at hand, he found himself feeling very anxious. Not realizing what he was doing, he held the Pocky stick upright, resting it on his lap. It waved about some, catching Kaname’s eye.

“Urrr…” Kaname felt the blood drain out of her face. Why was that big idiot holding the Pocky like that? No. Why was she looking at it? Gulp. She couldn’t help but think back to how she had been pressed against him.

“Is something wrong, Kaname?” Kyouko looked somewhat worried. She was feeling guilty, since Kaname had taken her place in the Dare.

“OK, Sousuke,” the Umpire said. “Put the Pocky in your mouth.” She gave him a ‘V’ sign when he did as he was told. “OK, Kaname. Move closer. Put it in your mouth.”

Kaname did as she was told, too. She felt her face grow warm, thanks to that ‘put it in your mouth’ and her previous thoughts. Her knees brushed up against Sousuke’s. She almost felt as if a spark of static electricity had jumped between them.

“Hold on!” One girl ran and grabbed her perfume sprayer. She walked over and gave Kaname a liberal dousing. It was the ‘Carnal Flowers’. “Alright, go ahead.” The girls all began chatting amongst one another in quiet excited voices.

“Perfect!” Maya said.

“That’s right,” Ryo agreed.

“Pucker up…” Mizuki could barely contain herself. This was great, when it happened to someone else.

“Start nibbling,” the Umpire said.

“Nibbling?” Sousuke let the Pocky fall off of his lip.

“On the Pocky,” the Umpire said, rolling her eyes. “Start taking small bites. Both of you. Keep going until the cookie is all gone.” She had Sousuke take the treat back up in his mouth.

The delay had Kaname feeling tense. It should be the simplest thing in the world: take a number of small bites, touch her lips against Sousuke’s and that’s it. No big deal. Over and done with. So why was she quivering?

Sousuke began taking small bites. The taste was not objectionable. He felt his legs go weak, and wondered if the candy coating might have been drugged. Looking over at Kaname’s eyes, he stopped nibbling. The scent of the perfume had him feeling more excited than the smell of the hazard class 1.3 Nitramine-based smokeless propellant that wafted across a battlefield after a fierce drawn out A.S. battle.

“Keep biting, Sousuke.” The Umpire smacked the halisen down hard against her leg.

“Biting?” Sousuke let the Pocky fall out of his mouth again. “Before, you said ‘nibbling‘. Should I take larger pieces with each movement?”

“Any one else want to be Umpire?” The girl hung her head and sighed. A number of the other girls smacked their foreheads.

“You…” Kaname closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Now she felt even more anxious. Holding the Pocky between her teeth, Kaname managed to say “She means you should keep going without stopping.”

Sousuke took up the Pocky again, very aware of how close his face was to Kaname’s. He began nibbling again, getting closer and closer with each bite. Kaname did the same, feeling a cold chill run up and down her back. She could feel Sousuke’s breath upon her face. Even after having been doused with soda and punch, and plastered with pizza, he smelled remarkably clean. Not only that, but there was a hint of natural musk about him. This time, she stopped eating without knowing it.

“Kaname,” The Umpire said, getting things back on track.

Closer… closer… closer…closer…closer… closer… closer…closer…closer… closer…

A few more nibbles and the Pocky would be gone. The girls all leaned closer and closer, the excitement growing. Kyouko had the camera ready.

The lights flickered again. The power went out. Because the flashlights were buried somewhere under the pile of blankets and pillows, the room was pitch black. That had all of the girls looking for any way to illuminate the room. Sousuke and Kaname continued with the game. Amongst all the frenzied commotion, their lips met.

Normally, the two players would end the game at that point, blushing or smiling, listening to the comments that their friends made. Sousuke didn’t know that. He kept his lips on Kaname’s, waiting for the signal to stop. Kaname had stopped trembling, and leaned some of her weight towards Sousuke, her instincts overriding her conscious intentions. Things came closer and closer to evolving into a real kiss. The beating of their hearts was loud in their ears.

A loud peel of thunder shock the windows again. Startled, Kaname leaned back, ending the moment. She put her hand to her mouth, wondering what had just happened, and trying to figure out what it meant to her. Sousuke sat with the same posture he started with, his mind buzzing. What was that? It was similar to the kiss with Mizuki, but very different in some way. Why did he feel a sense of disappointment?

“Found one!” Mizuki called out when she found one of the flashlights. Laying on her belly, crawling between haphazardly stacked sleeping bags, she turned the light on. She played it around the room until she found Kaname and Sousuke.

“They’re done,” Maya said. “And we missed it.”

“Bogus…” One girl’s sentiment was quickly echoed by the others.

“It’s no big thing,” the Umpire said. “We have more Pocky.” She smiled, blinking when the light shone on her face. “They could always do it again.”

“Kaname?” Sousuke turned in her direction, seeing her outline in the scantly lit room.

“No,” Kaname said, trying to sound firm. “No way.” Her lips were still tingling; but, this was about saving face. “We did what we were supposed to do. The Dare is over. Next.”

Everyone grumbled, but gave in. While Kaname went off to gather up a number of candles, the game continued. Standing alone in her darkened room, Kaname brought her hand to her mouth again. She had been very close to putting her arms around Sousuke. That was silly, wasn’t it? He was just Sousuke. Right. Who was she kidding?

What was that big stupid head thinking? Did he like it? Was it just the touching of lips for him? Ooooo-oooo-ooo-oo-o. She couldn’t ever come out and ask him that, and he would probably never bring up the subject. Damn him.

Hovering by the door, she listened as a number of Truths were asked. “Would you rather have an island, a flower, a disease, or an invention named after you.” “How old were you when you learned about the Birds and the Bees.” “What was the last promise that you broke.” “Who was your hero growing up.” “Have you ever stuck something weird up your nose.” “Besides watching movies, what else have you done in a theater.” “What was the biggest mistake you ever made.” “Have you ever played Doctor.” “Is the answer to this question ‘No’.”

“Hey, Kaname…” Maya called out. “What’s keeping you with those candles?”

“Coming,” Kaname said.