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This night was going off the rails fast.
Yu winced as he heard the crashes and groans of Teddie and Kanji’s tumble down the stairs. He stood to peek over the railing and was granted the sight of Teddie being bodily thrown out of the club and Kanji trudging after him. Satisfied that Teddie wasn’t loose on the streets of Iwatodai, Yu returned to the plush seats of the upper level and sipped what tasted like ginger ale.
“Come on, stop stalling! Pick one!” Yukiko gestured toward the cup of sticks with a wide grin. Not wanting to hold up the game, Yu reached out and, after a moment’s hesitation, plucked the furthest stick from him. Oh dear. Yu fiddled with the decidedly red-marked stick in his hands, twirling it between his fingers. He was hoping he wouldn’t have to do this.
“Who’s the nnnext King?” slurred a red-faced Rise. Yu meekly raised his hand, and Chie sighed with relief.
“Phew, someone decent… No crazy orders this time.” Yukiko raised a finger in the air.
“Actually Chie, the next order has to be more extreme than the last one. That’s just how the game goes!”
“Oh. Wonderful.” Chie slumped back down in her seat.
“I know, I know! The person who gets picked should have to rest their head in his lap!” Rise said.
“Nah, make ‘em sit on his lap,” Yukiko chimed in. The two girls quickly compiled a list and looked at him expectantly. Rise and Yukiko were practically vibrating with excitement. Yu settled into a moment of thought. Which option was the least volatile? He would hate to make the rest of the trip - or worse, the rest of their friendship awkward by essentially forcing someone to do something intimate with him. Having anyone on his lap was out of the question as it was decidedly romantic. Unbidden, the image of Rise making herself comfortable on his lap (and maybe refusing to leave) rose to the forefront of his mind. Maybe… no, it wasn’t worth the risk. He shook his head and continued deliberating. A piggyback ride? Not particularly intimate, but the girls were all wearing skirts. It seemed the risk of exposure was too high there, plus he really didn’t want to drop anybody by mistake. A hug it was then. That seemed safe, as it was only a second or two generally and was quite acceptable between friends, even guys.
Now, which number to choose? Yu raised his gaze from the stick in his hands and glanced around the group. Naoto had his arms folded and rolled his eyes, but Yu noted his shoulders were quite tense. He would have to apologize to the poor detective for getting roped into this.
“Come on, man! The suspense is killing me!” Yosuke urged.
“Okay, okay.” Yu stood and drew himself up to his fullest height, putting his nose in the air like a real king. He attempted to sound as regal as possible and said “As king, I decree.. Number 1 shall hug the king!”
Instantly, Rise sprang to her feet.
“That’s meee!” she squealed, and Yu breathed a small sigh of relief. At least he got a girl, and he would be lying if he said he really minded that girl being Rise. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately depending on how you looked at it, this brief chain of thought proved to be a mistake. He hadn’t fully been paying attention to what Rise was doing. Amped up on the atmosphere, Rise decided to jump and tackle hug him instead of walking over normally. Thankfully, hours in the TV world had granted him much faster reactions than he used to have. Yu deftly folded Rise into his arms, but the full-force Rise takedown attack still caused him to stumble back a step. His knee hit the edge of the seat and folded, sending him and Rise back onto the (thankfully plush) couch. Him and Rise. As in, Rise was now straddling his lap on her knees with her face buried into his chest. Oh, and both of them had their arms wrapped around each other. It was intended to be a hug after all. “Oh, Senpai! I didn’t think you would be so bold!” Rise’s muffled giggle emanated from under his chin. She didn’t seem very keen on letting go, judging by the way she was squeezing tighter and settling down where she was. Yu could almost feel the steam coming out of his ears based on how hot his face felt. He looked up and saw Yosuke giving him a double thumbs up.
“Duuude. I’m so jealous,” he said with a grin.
“Well, it looks like we’re losing two more players,” Yukiko said dejectedly. “The game isn’t really fun with so few people, but I didn’t get to do anything yet!” She pouted for a moment before her eyes lit up. “That’s it, I’m taking matters into my own hands. Get over here, Chie!”
“WHAAT!” Yukiko pounced on the poor girl and began… tickling her mercilessly? 'Well, to each their own', Yu thought to himself, ignoring Chie’s desperate pleas for help and returning to the matter at hand. He tapped on Rise’s back to get her attention.
“Rise, I think we’ve fulfilled our part of the game…” She drew herself back and looked him in the eye. Her face was still as flushed as he assumed his own was, but her dopey smile from before had become something much smaller and shyer.
“Oh. Alright,” she said, looking a little glum. She swung her leg over and flopped into the seat on his right. Not looking at him, she asked a truly diabolical question. “Hey Senpai, did you… not want it to be me?” Alarm bells immediately started ringing in Yu’s mind as he scrambled to put together an answer. He thought back to the last few days of their trip; all the times he subconsciously glanced in Rise’s direction and sometimes found her looking back. He thought about the all times Rise knew what to say to the group even when he didn’t. He thought of the way Rise’s little advances made him feel sort of giddy and wanted.
Oh. The answer was actually pretty simple.
“I’m glad I picked you, Rise.” Yu murmured to her. Rise grabbed his hand and didn’t let go until they went to their rooms for the night.