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“Are we seriously doing this right now?” Ranmaru grumbled, sinking deeper into the sofa. “Instead of going to bed, we’re doing this?!”
Camus nodded his head, for once agreeing with the rocker. “We have a long day tomorrow. Whatever this ridiculousness is, I highly doubt it is necessary.” Taking a sip from a cup full of tea-laced sugar, his eyes turned to the kitchen, glaring at the person inside.
“Oh, come on, guys!” Reiji pleaded, running out from said kitchen. “It’s the last night before our tour starts, and we’re not gonna be back in this apartment for a month!” Clearly keeping something behind his back, he tried to butter up his group a little more. “Can’t we have fun on the last night of sleeping in our own beds?”
“Yes,” Ai said, straightening his posture. “We can have fun by getting a good night’s rest now, so we are not tired in the morning.”
Reiji started to pout even more. “Noooo, like some actual fun! Come on, it’s just one game…”
After groaning into a throw pillow, Ranmaru finally gave in. “FINE! If it means we get to sleep after this, then just hurry up and get it done!!”
With silent nods of agreement (and surrender) from Ai and Camus, the brunette smiled in excitement. “YES! Get ready, everyone…” With those words, he slammed a cup on the coffee table, holding 4 thin sticks inside. “We’re gonna play the King’s Game!”
A collective groan of three young men was heard throughout their floor.
~*~*~
“I suppose…” Ai asked, holding out a stick with its end painted red. “…this means that I am the ‘king’?”
“Yep, yep, yep!” Reiji responded. “Now, give your demand. Whatever you say, your order is absolute!”
Ai tried to think about his choice. With what Reiji had explained, whoever chose the “king” stick, the one without a number, in other words, he got to choose something for someone to do. He knew it had to be something slightly vague, since he could only order numbers, not people, around… It wasn’t long before he thought of an option that could work. Standing up, the android began to speak. “I order number 3…to remove all clothes except underwear for the rest of the game.”
A panicked whine echoed through the living room. All eyes turned to Reiji, since he was the only one who could sound remotely close to that noise. Hanging his head, he held up a stick with a small 3 written on it. “Me…”
“I suppose this is what you get for forcing us into this mess,” Camus remarked, a few soft chuckles escaping his lips.
Ranmaru was trying not to burst into laughter on the spot. “Serves you right!”
“Guys, stop it!” Reiji whined, crossing his arms. “This isn’t funny!!” He tried to give an even more desperate look, but…
“’The king’s orders are absolute’. That is what you had told us before starting the game.” Ai’s gaze hadn’t left the oldest member since he had made his demand. “Now, go and change.” The hard expression Reiji was seeing was clear proof that he was not getting out of this without showing off his undies.
Giving the biggest pout he had shown all night, he slumped off to his bedroom, preparing to “show off” in front of everyone…
Within five minutes, Reiji returned to the game…with only a green pair of briefs keeping him from going commando for the group.
And it took less than five seconds for laughter to fill the room. While Ai and Camus stuck to soft chuckles and giggles, Ranmaru had finally bent over in hysterics. “Nice look, Reiji!!”
Even if he was laughing, Camus was averting his eyes slightly. “Now I hope this game really does go faster…”
While one was trying not to look, Ai was fully focused on him, specifically his body condition. “I see your ‘diet plan’ hasn’t been yielding much result,” he criticized, looking at the slight chub of his figure.
The poor idol was more embarrassed than he had ever been before. “Stop it!” Reiji said, pulling his knees up to his chest to hide the undies. “Ai-Ai, you’re so cruel! Why did you pick me?!”
The cyan-haired boy’s blank look returned when he was asked that. “I never specifically picked you. I simply ordered a number to do the task, and you had the specific number. If anyone should be blamed, it should be yourself for picking it.”
This just made Reiji even more sad. Whining again, he said, “Okay, can we get a new king nowwwww?”
~*~*~
“Who is the king??” the four chanted again, each taking another stick. Within moments, a cheer bounced off the walls.
“I got it!!!” Reiji yelled, jumping up and down happily with the King stick in hand. If not for him being one step away from complete nudity, the image would have been pretty adorable. For everyone else, however, another collective groan filled the space. This was Reiji they were dealing with, someone who was unpredictable, especially when he wanted revenge. While they weren’t scared of what he would do by any means, it was unnerving to see the wheels in his head turning.
After a few moments of silence, he finally got his demand. Crossing his arms, he started to speak: “Alright then, this is gonna be fun! So, we’re all going to bed after this, right?” With a unanimous “YES” from each of them, he continued: “So, we’re gonna get a head start! I order #3 to lay their head in #2’s lap. And #2? You get to brush their teeth for them!” Grinning like a child, he sat down on the couch, waiting for the action to happen.
Ai looked down at his stick in curiosity. His had a 1 written on it, so he wasn’t participating. And if he wasn’t in it, then that meant…
Both Ranmaru and Camus had pale faces at this point; their sticks had a 2 and 3 on them, respectively.
Reiji currently didn’t have any clothes at that moment, so Ranmaru had to improvise. He pulled the older idol closer to him in anger. By the hair. “Reiji, you damn IDIOT! What gave you that idea?!” Holding it even tighter, he hissed in his ear. “I am NOT doing that!”
“Owowowow! Ran-Ran, you know I didn’t know the numbe-owowowow!!!” He had to be careful when he finally got away from Ranmaru; any tighter and half of his hair would’ve been gone on the spot. “Besides, the orders are absolute, remember? That’s why I’m like THIS!”
Ai nodded his head. “That is true. If we’re playing this game until the end, we’re all following the rules.” Just as he had with Reiji, he glared at both the blonde and grey-haired members with the exact same intensity.
The rocker growled in frustration, storming off to the bathroom. Like the brunette, he knew that he wasn’t getting out of this scot-free, either. However, as he was shuffling through the cabinets, he did find one upside to the whole situation: Camus was the one having to lay in his lap and have his teeth brushed like a baby. He was just the one doing it!
Snatching the blue toothbrush from the bathroom, he came back down the hall…only to make a quick right into the kitchen. The rest of Quartet Night raised an eyebrow seeing him rummage through the refrigerator. “Uh, Ran-Ran?” Reiji questioned. “What are you doing?”
“Zip it, Your Highness!” Ranmaru snapped, pulling a tube out of the fridge. As he opened the cap and started squeezing it all over the bristles of the brush, Ai saw the label on said tube and started to wonder how much he truly needed sleep…
“Ranmaru,” he started, narrowing his eyes in both exasperation and concern. “You do know you’re putting…condensed milk on that toothbrush, ri- “
His response was a refrigerator door slamming shut. “HEY, I’m the one doing this stupid demand, there’s no way I have to do this to do it right!” Finally coming back into the living room, he sat on one end of the couch, turning his head to the count right next to him. “Come on Princess,” he spoke while patting his lap, sarcasm practically dripping from his lips. “I even got your favorite flavor tonight!”
Camus desperately wanted to grab his scepter from his room and shoot Ranmaru with a blast of Silk Palace ice magic just for uttering that string of words, but seeing as both Ai and Reiji would keep him in the room, all he could do was refuse. “Not a chance. Even if that is my own, the fact of you putting that brush in my mouth absolutely disgusts me! I will sit here all night if I have to, but I will NOT- “
That sentence was never finished. The next thing that Camus knew, a hand was on his chest, yanking him to the side and pushing him down onto the lap of a certain dandelion head. Getting up close to him, Ranmaru bore holes through him with his gaze. “Listen, you royal jerk,” he spat through gritted teeth. “I wanna do this just as much as you do. The quicker we get this over with, the quicker we’re both outta here! So just SHUT UP and open your damn mouth already!!” Grabbing his chin, he gives a smirk, holding the milk-covered toothbrush above Camus’s lips. “Or do I have to make you say ‘Ah~’ first?”
Camus was already embarrassed enough, but the last line pushed him over the edge, finally bringing a blush to his cheeks. “Just…do it. NOW,” was the last thing he said before closing his eyes and opening his mouth, crossing his arms as he did so.
Ai and Reiji had different reactions to the sight in front of them. The former thought it was one of the most awkward moments he had ever witnessed, watching two grown men act like a mother with their stubborn toddler. The latter, though, thought it was absolutely adorable! When he thought of the demand, he knew that it was going to be cute, no matter the combination. Whether it was this, the roles reversed, or Ai in the equation, the rest of the members were like his family, and in this scenario, even if condensed milk was used, they really did act like a family!
~*~*~
Reiji, Ranmaru, and Ai had sat in the living room for about ten minutes without doing a solitary thing. “Uh…Myu-chaaaaan?” Reiji called down the hall, trying to be heard. “You…you done in there yet?”
A muffled “SILENCE, FOOL!” seemed to answer his question. Even if he did like the flavor, having a substance that was practically liquid sugar brushed onto his teeth was both terribly unhealthy and truly disgusting. If he was forced into that situation, they were going to wait on him to clean it up. Also, they pretty much had to, since-
“Myu-chan, come onnnnnn! You’re the King now, you’ve got to make an order!” Hearing a spit in the sink, the upgraded royal came back into the room, wiping his mouth with a towel.
“Yes, yes, I’ve already decided on my order for you all…” Camus stated, putting the towel to the side. “Since we’re on a theme of embarrassment, apparently, I’ve got the perfect one for whoever happens to- “
“WE GET IT!” Ranmaru complained. “Get on with it, Count Cavity!”
Glaring at the man who just shoved a stick covered in sugar down his throat minutes ago, he continued. “#1 and #2 will be performing a ‘Kiss in the Dark’.”
“Hmm?” Reiji tilted his head. “What’s that?” Waving a stick with a 1 on it, he gave a huge grin. “Cause I’m in this one!”
“I am as well,” Ai added, looking at the 2 on his stick.
Giving a smirk, Camus walked behind the two of them. “I’m glad you asked. Both of you, stand up.” When the two of them obeyed, he grabbed another towel from his pocket. “Kotobuki. Since you’re the first…” Without warning, he wrapped it around Reiji’s eyes, making him essentially blind.
“Wha- My-Myu-chan, what are you-“
“Mikaze,” Camus continued, not listening to the brunette. “You stay in this spot.” With a nod from Ai, he stepped away from the two of them. “Now, Kotobuki has to put a kiss on Mikaze before he can remove the towel.” Sitting on the couch next to Ranmaru, he yelled, “BEGIN!”
Ai was cringing at the sight before him. Reiji was right in front of him, yet he was walking around the entire living room like a fool. “Reiji, do you remember what you’re supposed to be doing??”
Hearing his friend’s voice, he stumbled back to where he was supposed to be. Surprisingly, he stopped within a foot of Ai. “I’m here, Ai-Ai!”
“Good. Now, move about six inches forward.”
“…This far?”
“TOO CLOSE!”
“S-Sorry…”
“There. Stay that far. Now turn your head approximately 40.5 degrees.”
“This much?”
“More.”
“Here?”
“MORE, Reiji.”
“I think I got it! Here I go!”
“Reiji, STO-“
Ranmaru and Camus both saw it right in front of them; Reiji did put his lips on Ai. However, when Camus removed the blindfold…
“Ai-Aiiiiiiii, why am I kissing your hand?”
“You were about to kiss my ear, Reiji. I was trying to guide you to my cheek, but since you were so careless, I had to step in. I would rather have your saliva on my hand rather than inside my ear. It’s easier to disinfect.”
Blushing in embarrassment yet again, Reiji went back to the couch, defeated. Seeing him next to him, Ranmaru smarted off, “You’re into wet willies?”
“RAN-RAN!!!”
~*~*~
“Wait, you’re just giving me the King role?” Ranmaru questioned, being handed the red-tipped stick.
“Yeah!” Reiji replied, now recovered from his embarrassment. “Everyone else had a chance, so now you do!” As he said this, he handed a stick to the others, not looking at the numbers. “So, give your order, King!”
Ranmaru, for the first time that night, had a genuine smile on his face. “Gladly.”
The brunette’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yeah, I’ve already had my order since you stripped.” Gaining another slight blush from the oldest member, he stood up from the couch. “Everyone, get up!”
Confusion in the air, the others did what he asked. “What are you planning, you mutt?” Camus questioned.
“Trust me, Princess, you’re gonna love it.” Pointing at everyone, he raised his voice a little higher. “All numbers, into your rooms.”
With three pairs of eyes glancing at each other, they each stepped in their respective bedrooms. “Now, close the doors.” Giving the same looks, they all shut theirs at almost the same time.
“Now, I have one last part to my order, and I want you to hear it loud and clear.” Stepping into his own bedroom, there was one last statement from the king…
“GO. TO. SLEEP!!!”