This Story No Title
A School Rumble Fanfic

Chapter 18:  A Harima Kenji Christmas  

By John Biles

****************

	Eri shivered a bit in the cold night air, wondering why 
she'd woken up.  Everything was silent; starlight streamed 
in through the window.   The window whose shades were 
SUPPOSED to be drawn.  

	She frowned and tried to listen more intensely.  
Movement...the floor.  She reached over and grabbed her 
day planner off the nightstand; it was the best weapon in 
arm's reach.

	And then...stirring, behind her.  "Eri-chan, what's 
going on?" a man's voice mumbled.

	Who was that, she asked herself.  It sounded 
like...no...

	His hand flopped onto her side and he pulled himself 
up.  Imadori said, "You're not going to hit me in the head 
with that, are you?"

	Eri couldn't understand...how had he gotten naked into 
her bed?  Unless...nooo....

	"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 
she screamed until reality shattered around her.

****************  

	Eri woke up breathing hard, sunlight streaming in her 
window.  The shades...open...but...

	She spun and punched behind her, only to strike an 
empty bed.  

	Sighing, she flopped back down.  I must have just 
dreamed that, she thought.  But why are my shades open?

	A hand crept up, and slowly a fringe of dark hair and 
sunglasses.  Kenji?

	It was Kenji.  He whispered, "I snuck into your house 
to check the microphone, see if it works so we can talk."

	That was Kenji alright, sneaking into her house to fix 
the microphone and not realizing he could JUST TALK TO 
HER.

	She patted the bed nervously on the side of it she 
wasn't using.  He looked at her hand curiously.  "You 
moved it inside the mattress?"

	"No, sit down, talk.  If you got this far, I think it's safe 
for us to talk."

	"Oh," he said, then kicked off his shoes and clambered 
onto the bed.  He sat down beside her, putting an arm 
around her, then whispered, "How have you been doing?"

	"Much more Imadori and I will go INSANE," she 
said.  "He's always being so disgustingly nice and helpful 
and polite and intellectual.  I can't STAND IT," she said.

	"Yeah, what a loser," Harima said.  "You need a real 
man, not a Stepford fiancee."

	"Exactly," Eri said.  "He won't even try to fondle me!  
It's so utterly annoying."

	Harima slid a hand down to touch her butt.  "Like 
this?" he asked.

	"Yeah.  Or my breasts.  You like my breasts, don't 
you, Kenji-kun?" she asked.

	He brought his other hand around to cup her right 
breast.  "Just about perfect," he said.  "Man, you in that 
bikini...HOT."

	She could feel herself getting excited as he touched 
her; she could hardly believe how much she liked it.  Not 
long ago, she would have beaten him to death for this, but 
now...it felt so good.  "You look pretty good like that too," 
she whispered.  "Take your shirt off."

	He took his shirt off, but said, "You sure this is a good 
idea?  If your dad finds us..."

	"It'll be worth it," she said, running her hands up and 
down his chest, which was just like she remembered.  She 
twisted around to face him, kneeling over one of his legs 
and bending down to stroke him.  "How can you even see 
me with those sunglasses on?"

	"Your beauty might blind me if I take them off," he 
said.

	She laughed softly.  "So what's my best feature?" she 
asked, smiling.

	"This smile," he said, touching her lips.  "The real one, 
not the polite one.  I wish I got to see it more often."

	"Try being a good boy, and I'll show it more," she 
said, then leaned down and kissed him, even as he began 
taking off her pajama top.

	They were both topless and he was reaching for her 
bosom again, when she felt a shaking she could not deny.

	And then she woke up.

***********

	The sunlight was streaming in the window, and 
Imadori was shaking her shoulder gently.  "Wake up, Eri-
san," he said.  "You missed breakfast, and it's time to get 
dressed and head to the lodge."

	She smacked the hand touching her.  "Don't touch 
me."

	He smiled that lazy smile and removed it.  "I told 
Nakamura I could get you up."

	She rose out of bed, wishing it didn't bare her legs in 
front of him; she was wearing only a long shirt at the 
moment.

	"Imadori-kun," she asked.  "You didn't touch my 
breasts while I slept, did you?"

	"Of course not; it would be unbefitting my position as 
your fiancee.  It's not yet my right," he said.  

	"How can you just stop being perverted?  How can 
you resist my breasts?" she asked angrily.

	"They're not your best feature," he said softly.

	"Then what is?" she demanded.

	"Your smile," he said.  "The real one, not the polite 
one.  I wish I got to see it more often."

	"I never smile at you!" she shouted, feeling a sudden 
clenching in her gut.  Kenji had said...was this another 
dream?

	"I hope, one day, you will.  Until then, I treasure it in 
my heart."  He headed for the door.  "See you soon, cute 
fiancee."

	"Dammit, I am not your fiancee!"  She threw a pillow 
at him, but the door closing blocked it.

	She waited for the dream to end, but it was all too real.

***********

	Hanai had to admit his grappling was improving; it 
just wasn't improving enough as his morning head-dip in 
the pond had proven to him.  

	But that was behind him now.  Some days of blessedly 
no-morning-attacks were ahead of him and he liked it.  
Instead, he was walking to the train station to meet up with 
everyone.  They would then train over to meet with Miki 
and Masahiro, then train on out to the countryside and head 
up to the lodge.  He hoped that Miki had rented a huge 
enough van for everyone; they had a lot of people.  Or 
would, when everyone showed up.

	He noted with some satisfaction that he and Mikoto 
had arrived first.  

	Unless you counted Mai and Tougo, anyway, who 
were also there.  Hanai said, "Hi, Mai-san, Tougo-san.  
Taking a vacation together?"

	"We're off to the airport to go to Hawaii," Mai said.  
"Father's off to some business conference there with Mom, 
and now that exams are over, I'm joining them and Tougo-
kun's coming with me."

	"Wow, that will be fun.  We're going skiing and going 
to one of Eri's family's parties," Mikoto said.

	"Staying with some college students, right?  Important 
to make those contacts, since they'll be out in the world 
already when you get out of college," Tougo said. 

	Hanai nodded, a little relieved.  "I don't suppose you 
know..."

	"Where Lala is going?  I don't know; she's doing 
something with her father, probably in preparation to kill 
you.  Or Mikoto," Tougo said.

	"Or both," Mai pointed out.

	Mikoto frowned.  "She's a sore loser.  She'll never 
have Hanai's love."

	"But as they say, forbidden love is sweetest," Tougo 
said.  Mai stomped on his foot.  "Not that I will ever know 
of course."

	"Someone wants to be frozen in carbonite tonight," 
Mai muttered.

	Tougo paled.  "It takes forever to get that stuff out of 
my hair."

	Sagano ran up the steps.  "Is there a short female 
monster with ugly short hair destroying the station?"  
Yuuki and Fuyuki were running after her.

	"No," Tougo said.  "Monster?"

	"Cousin.  Mom decided I couldn't sleep, noooo, I had 
to go meet them at the station," Sagano grumbled.

	Fuyuki and Yuuki now caught up to her.  "I thought 
you said no rush," Fuyuki said to Sagano.

	"Well, at least you had your tryst with your lovers 
before you had to meet the dreaded cousin," Tougo said.

	"WHAT?" Fuyuki said.

	Mai laughed softly.

	"Well, I mean, if Yuuki wants to, I'm game," Sagano 
said.  "But Fuyuki's strangely pure for someone who 
scanned half my porn collection last night."

	Fuyuki said, "Don't go around telling people!"

	"And Yuuki was busy with the other half," Sagano 
said.

	"Ahh, 'busy'?" Tougo asked.

	Yuuki turned red.  "No!  I was just...being polite."

	"C'mon, we all like porn here," Sagano said.  "Let's be 
honest.  Which reminds me..."  She handed a wrapped 
bundle to Mai.  "Merry Christmas."

	"I...thank you.  But how did you know I'd be here?" 
Mai asked in surprise.

	Sagano pointed to her ears.  "I hear stuff.  Anyway, 
you should find this cosplay stuff inspirational."

	Mai froze up and stared at the platform.  Fuyuki 
snapped a picture.

	Sagano looked at a clock.  "Hmm, they're late."

	"Who is late?"

	"I'm not late, am I?" Tenma asked.  She was bundled 
in roughly 3000 layers of coats.  

	Karasuma, more lightly dressed, stood by her side.  

	"I don't think it's THAT cold," Mikoto said to Tenma.  

	"Well, I couldn't decide which one to wear.  It is a 
little hot," Tenma said.

	"Where's Kenji-san?" Mikoto asked.

	"He and Yakumo should be here soon.  They were 
making food," Tenma said.

	A pile of lunchboxes and Yakumo now arrived on the 
platform.  "Yo," the lunchboxes said.

	Yakumo began distributing them.  Soon, everyone had 
one, and now you could see Harima carrying the 
remainders.

	"I think you made too many," Tenma said.

	"These are for Hanai-sempai and Suou-sempai's 
friends," Yakumo said.

	Harima passed the stack to Hanai.  "Here, you get to 
carry them."  He stretched his arms.

	"Gladly.  Very thoughtful of you, Yakumo," he said.

	She could see a flicker of his thoughts, but only a 
flicker.  He was trying to fight it, and if she pushed, she 
could see he thought much more of Mikoto now.  And 
Lala.  But that was none of her business.

	Yuuki fidgeted, glancing at Hanai.  "Shouldn't your 
cousin be here yet?"

	"Our train is here," Mai said.  "Bye!"

	She and Tougo headed out to the sound of goodbyes.

	Fuyuki snapped more pictures.  "I'm in no rush."

	"It's coooold," Yuuki mumbled.  "Don't like it."

	Akira and Nara now arrived, more dressed up than 
usual; Nara wore a trenchcoat over a formal suit and tie.  
His hair had been slicked back.  Akira also wore a 
trenchcoat over a long blue dress and had her hair permed, 
curled, and dyed blonde again, along with very expert 
makeup.  Nara had a suitcase in each hand, while Akira had 
a stack of suitcases on a trundle cart with several dresses 
hung on the bar.  There was also a wrapped bundle that 
looked like more lunch boxes.  

	"Woooooo!" Tenma said.  "You two look ready to buy 
out a company!"

	"We do?" Akira asked, sounding pleased.

	"I...does the hair actually work?" Nara asked.  "Mine, 
that is."

	"You look just like a financial predator!" Tenma said.  
"It's so cute!"

	Nara tried to figure out if that was a compliment.

	"You both look great," Hanai said.  "I feel under-
dressed by comparison."

	Akira started to reply to him, then put a hand over her 
mouth and looked a little strained.

	Nara said, "Thank you."  

	"You look beautiful, Akira-chan.  And you look very 
handsome, Nara-san," Mikoto said, smiling.

	Akira stared at the trains.  "You think so?"

	"Thanks!" Nara said.

	Mikoto nodded.  "Why so dressed up now?"

	"We can't take our fashion advisor with us," Akira 
said.

	"Well, we can catch the next train up to the university 
now that everyone is here," Hanai said.  "Good luck, 
Sagano."

	"Thanks," she said.  "With my luck, they went to the 
wrong station."

	"In the wrong city," Fuyuki said.

	"In the wrong country," Yuuki concluded.

	"Oh, they couldn't possibly end up in the wrong 
country on the train," Mikoto said.

	"Well, you never know," Karasuma said, almost 
smiling, as he lead Tenma away.

	Goodbyes were said, and soon Sagano, Yuuki, and 
Fuyuki were alone on the platform.  "If it wasn't my cousin, 
I'd be worrying," Sagano said.

	"I'm sure they are fine," Fuyuki said.  "Probably just 
they got delayed getting out of the house."

****************

	"No, you can't lock me in a room with Sagano for two 
weeks!" Tomo howled, clinging to the door frame of the 
family's apartment.

	"It would seem we have no choice," Tomo's mother 
said.

	Her father nodded.  "No choice at all."

	"No amount of torture will pry me loose!" Tomo said.

	"We must rap," her father said.

	"Until Tomo lets go."

	Tomo began to sweat.  "You're bluffing."

	"Yo VIP let's kick it," her father intoned solemnly.

	Tomo was soon faced with a solid wall of rap from her 
parents while her sisters laid down a beat by pounding on 
the walls.  

O/~ Ice ice baby O/~
O/~ Ice ice baby O/~
O/~ All right stop collaborate and listen O/~
O/~ Ice is back with my brand new invention O/~

	"No...no...make it stop..." Tomo moaned.

O/~ Something grabs a hold of me tightly O/~
O/~ Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly O/~
O/~ Will it ever stop yo I don't know O/~
O/~ Turn off the lights and I'll glow O/~

	That was enough for Tomo, who collapsed, letting go 
and plugging her ears.  "Please, no more, no more parents 
trying to rap."

	They stuffed her in the pre-prepared sack and headed 
out.

****************	

	"Are we getting up?" Yuri asked as she laid tangled 
with Tani and Tae.

	"No," Tani said.  "My grades are in and we don't leave 
for a few days, so right now, we can just be zombies."  He 
moved one arm to place his hand along her ribs and pull her 
a little closer.  

	"So how do you think your parents will take it, 
Tanisa?" Yuri asked him.

	"Well, they always liked you, but I don't know," Tani 
said.  "Mom will probably decide we're possessed and call 
Old Man Hino to try to exorcise us.  Dad will probably hide 
he's jealous and use it as an excuse to complain about me 
moving out of town."

	Yuri shivered a little.  "I think my folks will explode 
atomically."

	"My parents will probably be so happy I'm not moping 
any more that they'll bow down and worship you both," 
Tae said.  "We'll have a happy New Years if we don't die in 
your hometown."

	"There's an 'if' for you," Yuri said.  She sighed.  
"Maybe I should just get a lawyer to sell the business for 
me while I stay here."

	Tani shook his head.  "You owe it to them to argue 
with your parents face to face.  It's part of being someone's 
kid."

	"I guess so," Yuri said ruefully.

	"Don't worry," Tae said.  "We'll have your back."

	She was more worried about her parents attacking 
from in front than behind.


***********

	"Here," Akira said, thrusting a lunchbox into Hanai's 
hands, even though he already had one.

	"I...for me?" he asked in shock.  

	"You forgot to pack yourself one last time," she said 
gruffly, her body rigid.  

	Hanai looked at the box.  His instincts told him that 
she probably had deliberately made bad food to starve him.  
But he wanted to hope maybe she really was trying to be 
nice.  But why now?

	But he had to be polite.  "Thank you, Takano-san."

	Mikoto stared at the box in shock.

	She stood, as if waiting for something to happen.  
Finally, she managed to creak out, "You're welcome."

	Then she quickly sat down and cuddled up to Nara.

	What's up with her, Hanai wondered.  

***************

	Satsuki felt very nervous, riding in a real limousine.  It 
didn't help that their hostess, Eri, was about ready to vibrate 
out of her own skin and very jumpy, though she clearly 
tried to be gracious to everyone but Imadori.

	Given he clearly had been possessed, this wasn't 
surprising.  Though it was a strangely gentle, polite, and 
intellectual sort of possession.

	Imadori turned to Satsuki, "How are you and Suga 
getting along?  Is he treating you well?"

	"He's a very good boyfriend," Satsuki said.

	"Well, all things work out according to destiny.  You 
learned to accept the hand you were dealt and enjoy it now, 
right?" he asked Satsuki.

	"Stop trying to insinuate we have 'destiny'," Eri said.

	"I'm just saying you could learn from Satsuki-san, 
here.  She and Suga are very happy together, even though 
she originally wanted Asou-san," Imadori said.  "Life is a 
lot easier if you adapt to it instead of rigidly trying to bend 
it to your will."

	"You have to flow with the current," Suga said.

	"Destiny can kiss my...posterior," Eri said, trying to 
restrain herself before innocent first-years.  

	"I'm with Eri on this," Asou said.  "We're meant to 
shape the world, not be shaped by it."

	"All things ultimately work to God's will," Sara said.  
"But I don't think Sawachika-san's parents are divine."

	"Exactly," Eri said.

	"Well, as they say, everything has its price," Imadori 
said.

	"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Eri asked 
suspiciously.

	"When you can answer that, you'll understand."  
Imadori leaned back.  "Naptime."

	Satsuki was curious as well, but decided to talk to 
Suga later to figure it out, just in case she got an answer 
that would anger her hostess too much.

***************

	"Haruki-kun, Mikoto-chan!" Miki said, hugging them 
both.  

	"Good to see you," Masahiro said.  

	"Hi!," Jenny said.  "Is my brother really going to be 
coming with us?"  Her boyfriend lurked by her, nodding his 
head to everyone.

	"The crazy man is going to meet us there; he wants to 
bike there," Mikoto said.

	"In the middle of winter???" Jenny asked.  "Damn, 
he's crazier than he was when he was little."

	"Passing up a limo ride for that, that's crazy," Tenma 
said.

	"He probably wants some time alone with his 
girlfriend," Nara said.

	"That makes sense," Masahiro said.  "Well, if we're all 
assembled, then let's go!  Skiing, here we come."

	"Hold on," Yakumo said.  "Hanai-sempai, hand out 
the lunches, won't you?"

	He passed them around.  "Yakumo-san made us all 
lunches."

	Shinichi smiled and bowed.  "Thank you, young lady."

	She bowed back.  "You're welcome."

	"Okay," Masahiro said.  "Let's get going, so we don't 
miss our train!"

***************

	Karen sat behind Harry on his bike, wearing many 
layers of warm clothing, which she needed due to the wind.  
She was half-asleep, having grown used to clinging to him 
as they rode.

	"Hmm, you know if we're gonna be chaperoned 
there?" Harry asked.

	"Aren't Eri's parents going to be there?  I told my folks 
that, anyway."

	"Wanna...hmm...not yet," he said.

	She wondered what he meant.  

	"You gonna be okay with seeing Imadori?" he asked.  
"We'll be in the same house with him."

	"I'll be fine," she said.  "I have to show him that he 
can't take me for granted."  She tried to set her jaw the way 
her father had tried for an hour to teach her the previous 
night.  She wasn't so good at it.

	"Hold a little tighter," he said.

	"Are things about to get rough?" she asked, worried.  
There had been one big scary ice patch, but Harry's slick 
driving had gotten them past it.

	"No," he said.  "I just want to feel your strength."

	She blushed a little.  Her strength scared Imadori, but 
Harry liked it.  He was always urging her to show it; she 
thought he liked it a lot.

	As the wind hammered at her ski-cap, she tightened 
her grip on him, just a little.  "Like this?"

	"Yeah.  I never expected to find such strong warriors 
in Japan," he said, grinning.  "So I was pleased to see 
myself mistaken."

	"I'm not that strong," she said.

	"You're very strong, and I love that about you," he 
said.  

	She blushed.  "Thank you, Harry.  I like your strength 
too."

	This was going to be fun, he thought.  Either he'd 
finally take things to the next level with Karen, or he'd get 
in some good fights.  Or maybe BOTH.  

	Yeah, gonna be good.

***********

	It was lunchtime, and everyone pulled out their boxes 
of Yakumo goodness.  Hanai, however, carefully took out 
the one Akira had given him.  He would try to reciprocate 
the gesture, though he feared he was setting himself up for 
a trap.

	"Afraid Yakumo would try to poison you?" Jenny 
joked.

	"Yakumo-san would never do that," Hanai said.  "I am 
just curious to see what Akira made me."

	It turned out to be rice, mushrooms, broccoli, slices of 
fish and shrimp, all in a brown sauce of indeterminate 
origin.  It was tasty, though it had been overly salted, he 
thought.

	He made a face.  "Tea."

	Mikoto passed him more tea.  "What's wrong?"

	"Too salty," he said.

	Akira slumped in her seat a bit as she ate the lunch 
she'd made for herself.  

	"It shows she loves you, clearly," Shinichi said.  "It's 
too much salt which shows that, right, Kasumi?"

	"Why are you asking me?" Kasumi asked.  
"Superstitions are silly."

	"I don't think there's too much danger of that," Hanai 
said ruefully.

	"It shows people should..." Akira began, then stopped.  
"I did not mean to add too much salt."

	"No problem," Hanai said.  "It's pretty good, thank 
you."

	"You're welcome," Akira said, looking stiff in her 
chair.  

	Mikoto frowned.  Something was wrong; I should talk 
to her later.

***********

	"This room is for Suga and Asou, this one for Satsuki 
and Sara," Eri said, going down the guest wing with her 
friends.  "Karen will have this room to herself until Yuuki 
and Sagano get here.  Imadori and Harry will be in this 
room; Fuyuki will join them when he is here."

	"Shouldn't we pair off by couple?" Satsuki asked.

	"If we wish us all to be slain by my parents on their 
arrival," Eri said.  "Nothing preventing informal trading 
while they're not here, mind you."

	"Don't I get to stay with my cute fiancee?" Imadori 
asked.

	"Only if you agree to be killed, stuffed, and mounted 
on the wall," Eri said irritably.

	"Aww," Imadori said perkily.

	Asou wasn't sure if he was ready to sleep alone with 
Sara anyway, though he felt a little disappointed.  And they 
could always swap informally.  If they wanted to.  Yeah.

***********

	It was only when they arrived at the substantial lodge 
(larger than Mikoto's entire house + family workshop and 
Hanai's house and dojo combined) that Mikoto suddenly 
realized that her friends were, inevitably, going to wonder 
why she and Hanai were going to be in the same bedroom 
with Miki and Masahiro.  People would talk and questions 
be asked.

	She wanted this, but at the same time, people would 
talk...thank goodness Sagano wasn't here.  On the other 
hand, with all the whispers going around from Lala's 
complaining...

	"Worried we'll discover your foursomes with Miki-san 
and Masahiro-san?" Akira whispered into her ear as 
everyone else was oohing and ahhing at the quick guided 
tour.

	Mikoto froze up, then mumbled incoherently.

	"I can't...won't...Follow your heart," Akira said softly.  
"Nara and I will support you, whatever you do."

	Mikoto smiled at Akira, feeling grateful, though she 
was still nervous.

	Masahiro then began assigning rooms to the various 
couples.  He looked a bit nervous himself.  

	"Wait, where are Hanai-san and Mikoto-chan 
staying?" Tenma asked, once the listing finished.

	"With Masahiro-kun and I," Miki said boldly.  "We're 
sharing the master bedroom."

	Tenma's jaw dropped, then she fainted.  Yakumo's 
eyes widened.  Harima grinned.  "Daaamn."

	"Well," Shinichi said.  "You don't do anything by half-
measures, Miki."

	Miki laughed nervously.  "Anyway, I suggest we all 
get everything stowed away and then we can make dinner 
and maybe play some cards and start skiing tomorrow."

	Karasuma picked Tenma up and carried her off 
quietly.

	Couples scattered, and nervously, Hanai and Mikoto 
hauled their stuff into the master bedroom and began to 
stow it, while Miki flitted about unpacking and Masahiro 
followed suit.  

	"I don't know why I didn't think of..." Masahiro finally 
began.

	"Well, I assumed this was our way of moving out of 
the shadows," Miki said.  "Or I'd have been more subtle."  
She came and embraced her boyfriend from behind.  
"Maybe I'm just looking forward to tonight too much."

	Hanai felt his body get excited at the thought.  "I 
certainly am," he admitted, then was embarrassed for 
admitting it.

	"I...well...hell," Mikoto said.  "It's freaky, but we like 
it like this.  I can hardly believe it."  She sat down on the 
bed.

	"Gonna show us some secret techniques, sensei?" 
Miki asked, kneeling on the bed and looming over Mikoto 
from behind.

	"Yes," Hanai said.  He'd done some covert reading, 
and hoped he could do it all right with no practice.

	"Ooooh," Miki said.

	Masahiro smiled nervously.  "I fear that..."

	Tenma burst into the room in a shrine maiden outfit.  
She began to exorcise Mikoto and Miki.  "Out, out, evil 
spirits!  Go home now!"

	Masahiro laughed.

	Mikoto said, "Tenma-chan, I don't tell you to not sleep 
with Karasuma-san."

	"But...but...we haven't slept together yet," Tenma said.

	"But you will once he's ready, won't you?," Mikoto 
asked pointedly.

	Tenma shuffled back and forth on her feet.  "Well, 
um...we...yes."

	"Then let us do things our way," Mikoto said.

	"But it's...THE MONKEY WAY."

	"That's our choice," Mikoto said.  "But if you need to 
work off some energy, you can help me cook."

	"I...Are you sure?," Tenma asked nervously.

	"I'm sure," Mikoto said, rising. "Let's go."

*****************
	
	Tomo looked Fuyuki up and down.  "Hmm, cute 
boyfriend you have, Megumi-kun."

	"You can't have him," Sagano said quickly.

	"And a cute girlfriend," Tomo said.

	"I am NOT HER LOVER!" Yuuki protested.

	"You can have the woman, but I'm going to have to 
borrow your boyfriend," Tomo said breezily.

	They were in Sagano's room at her apartments.  

	"No," Fuyuki said.  "Don't waste your time.  Megumi-
san is all the woman I will ever need."  

	Sagano suddenly looked pretty embarrassed.  
"I...thank you, Fuyuki-kun."

	"It's too late!"  She pounced towards Fuyuki.

	Yuuki tossed one of Sagano's porn doujins across the 
line of movement and Tomo spun in the air to follow it 
when Yuuki shouted, "PORN MIGRATION."

	Tomo began playing with it in a manner like a cat 
playing with yarn.

	No more coffee for this woman, Fuyuki thought.

	"Oh, do you guys know a guy named Imadori?" Tomo 
asked.

	"Yeah," Sagano said. "He's in our class."

	"I have to kill him deader than disco and Yomi's 
romance chances," Tomo said.

	"We should introduce her to Lala, who shares that 
goal," Sagano said.

	"But L..." Fuyuki began.

	Quickly, Yuuki said, "An EXCELLENT idea."

	"Oh yes, brilliant," Fuyuki said uncertainly.

	"Will Lala kill my enemies and drive them before 
me?" Tomo asked.

	"Yes," Sagano said.  Yes, very good, this will send her 
to her death or at least maiming.  Eeeexcellent.

*****************

	Yakumo told herself that she'd...she'd do it with Kenji-
kun during this vacation or die trying.  There would likely 
never come a better chance.  She'd even borrowed some of 
her mother's naughty underwear, though some of it, she 
wasn't sure how to put on.

	Harima sat down on the bed, bouncing a little.  "Hmm, 
good, this will be good."

	"Yes, it will," Yakumo said nervously.  "We'll...sleep 
very well."

	She wants you, Onna-Harima told Harima.

	Wants me to what?, Harima asked.

	Seeeeeex, Onna-Harima told him.  

	I don't think she's ready for that, Harima thought.

	Yakumo came and sat down by Harima, putting an 
arm around him and leaning on him.
	
	Oh really?, Onna-Harima asked.

	OH SHIT, I DIDN'T BUY ANY CHRISTMAS 
PRESENTS, Harima thought.  Dammit, dammit, dammit!

	You are soooo dead, Onna-Harima told him.

	"What's wrong?" Yakumo asked.

	"Nothing," Harima said, rising.  "Don't mind me if I 
vanish a few hours.  I'll be fine."

	"I...what?" Yakumo asked.

	And then he was gone.

*************
	
	"Is that Harima trying to ski down the road?" Karen 
asked.

	"Damn, it is," Harry said.  He pulled up to Harima.  
"What the hell are you doing?"

	"I have to go into town.  I wish I'd brought my bike," 
Harima said, sighing.

	"Well, hell, lemme drop off Karen and I'll take you," 
Harry said.  

	Harima blinked in surprise.  "You will?"

	"That's so sweet of you, Harry," Karen said, leaning 
up and kissing Harry's ear.  

	"No problem," Harry said.  "You just cover my gas."

	"Okay," Harima said.  

	"Alright," Harry said.  "Be back soon."

************

	Tenma shook Karasuma.  "The monkey has jumped 
from Kenji's back to Mikoto-chan!  What can I do?"

	"Nothing," Karasuma said.  

	"But...I mean...four people..." Tenma babbled.

	"Are you righteously angry or jealous they didn't ask 
us?" Karasuma asked.

	"..."

	He kissed her softly.  "Or we could invite Akira and 
Nara to try and make them jealous."

	Tenma turned red.  "I'm not jealous just because 
they're sleeping with college students who are cuter than 
me!"  She punched her head.  "My brain isn't working!  Fix 
it!"

	Instead, he kissed her again, more firmly.  "I like your 
brain."

	She blushed.  "But I'm so stupid."

	"Loving, kind, gentle," he said.

	She smiled shyly, then pulled him a little closer.  "Do 
you want to...tonight?"

	"We should," he said.  "To drown them out."

	Four at once...Tenma grimaced.  "You're right.  
Okay."  She gulped.  "Tonight."

	He smiled at her, and she prayed she could avoid a 
total Tenma meltdown.

****************
	
	Harry looked at the huge pile of stuff Harima had 
bought.  "Damnation, what are you going to do with so 
much shit?"

	"I need it," Harima said.

	"You think you can carry all this while riding on the 
cycle?" Harry asked.

	"I can do anything if I put my mind to it," Harima 
said.

	Harry grinned.  "Well, I shouldn't argue with a can-do 
spirit.  Hop on."

	Harima struggled to hold onto everything.  Good thing 
I don't have to pay for food here, he thought.  As I'm broke 
now.  They'd better appreciate these.

	Holding onto everything required him to rock back 
and forth, kick items back into play with his feet, and 
generally wobble around as Harry raced along.  

	He was glad that he'd already secured Yakumo and Eri 
their presents, as several of the presents almost managed to 
make an escape.  He paused.  He did have them, right?  He 
was going to have to check when he got back.

****************

	Karen frowned slightly as they began dinner at Eri's 
place.  I hope Harry is okay, she thought.  

	The cook came out with her helpers and laid down the 
first course, which was a cream of mushroom soup.  
Everyone got a bowl and began eating; Karen noticed that 
Asou, Suga, and Satsuki all passed their bowl to Sara for a 
blessing.  Seeing this, Eri did likewise; soon, everyone did 
it.  Sara smiled a little at this.

	"Any ghosts I'll need to drive out?" Sara asked.

	"I hope not, except for Imadori's room," Eri said.

	"I like ghosts," Imadori said.  "At least Yoshi-kun 
won't be here, running away from killer kitties."

	Satsuki laughed.  "Fear of cats?"

	"Something like that."

**************

	There was a distant echoing of feet and doors, and 
finally Kenji staggered into the dining room, right as food 
was about to be served.  "Whew," he said.  "Am I late?"

	"No," Tenma said.  "Where were you?"

	"Just taking care of some business," he said.  "Nothing 
unusual at all."

	Jenni looked at him curiously.  "Did you sneak off for 
a tryst or something?"

	"A what?" Harima asked.

	"Nookie," Shinichi said.

	"NO," Harima said.  "Just...stuff."

	Tenma frowned, wondering if the monkey had cloned 
itself instead of jumping backs.

	Dinner turned out to be sukiyaki, which was pleasing 
to Harima, even if a lot of the meat was already gone.  He 
began eating frentically, despite the college students staring 
at him.

	Yakumo nudged him gently, but he didn't notice.  

	"So, we going to gamble after dinner?" Shinichi asked.  
"I could do with more money." He grinned confidently.

	"No one beats me at cards," Harima said.  

	"We shall see," Akira said.

	"I like card games," Yakumo said.

	"Poker it is, then," Mikoto said.  "But not too high of 
stakes, as I don't have a lot of money to burn."

	"One-yen Poker it is," Miki said.  

	Hmm, if I'm lucky, I'll earn back the cost of those 
presents, Harima thought.  That would be good.  He was 
feeling pretty confident.

***************

	Superman was turning back time in the entertainment 
room at Eri's lodge when Harry strode in.  He sat down by 
Karen and whispered, "Mission accomplished."

	She leaned up and over and kissed him, then said 
softly, "That was very sweet of you."

	"Anything for my lady and her friends," he said, trying 
to sound noble.

	She laughed softly, but kissed him again.

	Imadori looked over at them, and tried to lean over to 
kiss Eri, only to find she had somehow vanished from the 
seat next to him, and that a slightly confused looking Asou 
was in her place.  

	He ended up planting a kiss on Asou's cheek.  

	There would have been silence, but the movie played 
on.

	Asou's eyes crossed and Imadori said, "Ack, I'm sorry, 
Asou!"  He jumped back nervously.

	Then he noticed an odd glow on his face.  Looking for 
the source, he saw Sara rise, suffused in holy fire.  
"IMADORI-SEMPAI!!!!!"

	Imadori fled with Sara running after him.  

	"Well, at least it wasn't your first kiss," Suga said to 
Asou.

	"Thank God," he muttered.  

	"Sorry," Eri said.  "I needed a handy shield and didn't 
have time to ask."

	"Next time, just hit him," Asou said, rubbing his 
cheek.

	Eri passed him a handkerchief.  "He didn't drool on 
you, did he?"

	"Thankfully not."

**************

	No cheating, Yakumo reminded herself.  Well, she 
couldn't help reading Tenma and Harima's minds, but so 
long as she didn't push, she could keep out of the others.  

	Harima gleefully bet 200 yen on a pair of threes, and 
she wondered why.  She had a pair of fives, and was hoping 
she'd draw better cards after her draw.  

	Tenma shouted, "Woo hoo!", looking at her hand.  
Yakumo couldn't quite tell what it was, but Tenma was 
daydreaming of a big jackpot in Vegas.

	Keiichi frowned.  "Fold."

	"Fold?" Jenny asked.  "You can't fold when we haven't 
even discarded and gotten new cards yet!"

	"If her hand is that good," he began.

	"She could be bluffing," Jenny said.

	"No," Karasuma said.

	"Tenma-chan's not much of a bluffer," Akira said.

	"It doesn't matter what she has, I HAVE BETTER," 
Harima said.

	"Kenji-kun, I think we need to have a talk about not 
giving away your hand," Akira said.

	Yakumo said, "I'll see it and raise by ten."

	More bets followed.  Yakumo scored another five and 
a pair of tens.  Full House.  She felt a little more confident.

	"Fold," Keiichi declared again.

	Jenny sighed.  "You give up too easy."  She studied 
her cards.  "Raise by 20."

	"Yeah, she's got you there," Shinichi said.  "I'm gonna 
bunt.  See but not raise."

	Kasumi studied her cards, turned them upside down, 
frowned, then said, "Umm...raise by five."  She looked very 
uncertain.

	Miki studied her cards carefully.  "See and raise by 
ten."

	Masahiro studied his pile of coins.  "See and raise by 
twenty."

	"See and raise by 100, BABY," Tenma crowed.

	"Oh yeah?  See.." Harima began.

	"My turn," Karasuma said.

	Harima sulked.

	"Match," Karasuma said.

	"Fold," Mikoto said.  

	"Fold," Hanai said.

	"You shouldn't be so cautious," Harima said.  "Hey, 
wait, I got skipped!"

	"NOW, I see and raise by 200," Harima said, shoving 
almost all his coins out onto the table.  But all he had was 
three threes.

	Nervously, Yakumo said, "I see you and raise by 1."

	The problem, Akira thought, was that Harima was 
possibly fantasizing a good hand.  You really couldn't tell if 
he had a good hand, was bluffing or was accidentally 
bluffing.  "Fold," she said, as she'd decided her pair of sixes 
was probably already outgunned.

	"Fold," Nara said, nervously.  If Akira was out, he 
wouldn't go where she feared to tread.

	Jenny frowned at her hand.  "See and raise by five."

	Shinichi said, "Fold."

	Kasumi sighed.  "Fold."

	Miki licked her lips nervously, then sighed.  "Fold."

	Masahiro studied his cards.  "See, raise by 4."

	"See and raise by 200!" Tenma crowed.  Masahiro 
winced.  

	"Fold," Karasuma said curtly.  

	Tenma blinked.  "You okay?"
	
	"Fine," he said.

	Harima said, "Dammit, I want to raise, but I have 
nothing to raise with."

	"Throw an IOU in the pot; you can pay it back later," 
Masahiro said.

	Harima quickly did so.  "Raise by 300!"

	Yakumo scratched her head.  "Match."  She shoved 
out 300 more yen.

	Jenny frowned at her cards, then studied Yakumo and 
Harima through slit eyelids.  "Double dammit.  Raise by 
10."

	"Matched and...raised by 300!" Tenma said, tossing n 
more coins and cackling.  

	"Dammit, folding," Jenny said.  

	"Matched, and raised by 500!"  Harima threw another 
IOU in the pot.  

	"Either he has a really great hand or he's crazy," 
Keiichi said.

	"Yes," Karasuma said.

	"Match," Yakumo said, matching.

	Tenma studied her cards.  "Match."

	"And I can't raise again, since neither of you did, 
right?" Harima asked.

	"Yes," Tenma said.

	"I guess we show our cards."  Harima laid down three 
threes.

	Tenma laid down a 6, a 7, an 8, a 9, and a King.  
"Short Straight," she said, reaching for the coins.

	"Nee-chan, that's only in Yahtzee.  It's not a poker 
hand."

	Tenma froze up.  "It...no?"

	Yakumo laid down her full house and raked in the 
winnings.  

	"DAMMIT!" Jenny said.  "I could have beaten that, 
but...dammit."

	"Now I'm busted," Harima said.

	"I'll loan you some cash, boyfriend," Yakumo said, 
having him write her another IOU.

	"Okay," Harima said.  "Let's RUMBLE."  


*************
		
	Tomo strolled into Sagano's room.  "Well, victory and 
a problem," she said.

	Sagano was busy necking with her boyfriend, though 
in theory, she and Fuyuki and Yuuki were playing spades.  
"She didn't kill you?"

	"Well, after she killed me enough, she listened to 
reason," Tomo said.  "Unfortunately, Imadori's run off to 
the countryside to the ski lodge of some woman named 
'Sawachika Eri', who is apparently his rich-bitch fiancee.  
So we don't know where to find her," Tomo said.  "Not 
knowing where the lodge is.  Do you know?"

	"I hear it's at the bottom of a live volcano in Hawaii," 
Yuuki said.

	"I'm not THAT much of a flunkout," Tomo said to 
Yuuki.  "When you lie to me, make it plausible, okay?"

	Tomo turned to Sagano, "Shouldn't you be making out 
with your girlfriend too?"

	"She's not my girlfriend," Sagano said.  "Unless 
Fuyuki's changed his mind in the last few hours."

	I am going to kill myself by the end of this vacation, 
Fuyuki thought.  "Well, good luck finding out..." he began.

	Sagano's mother stuck her head in.  "Your band is 
doing the music for Sawachika Eri's big Christmas Eve 
party, right?  Will you be back on Christmas day?"

	"Party?  There's a party?" Sagano lied, making frantic 
'no more in front of Tomo' gestures at her mother.

	"Also, you should take Tomo with you; she'll get 
lonely, otherwise."

	"You know Sawachika?" Tomo asked.  "Good, Lala 
and I can come with you to wreak bloody vengeance."

	No, my precious trip AWAY FROM TOMO, Sagano 
thought.  "I think Eri's sworn an oath to kill everyone from 
Tomo's school, Mom."

	"Honey, if you're going to lie to me, don't insult my 
intelligence with obvious lies," Sagano's mother said.  
"Tomo will be going with you, now."

	Dammit, I lose again, Sagano said.  I have to crush 
this woman, dammit!

*************

	"The old maid again?" Karen said, frowning.  "I keep 
losing this game."

	"It's probably not...," Asou began.

	Imadori ran through the room with flaming Sara 
chasing him.

	"...prophetic," Asou finished.

	"How about poker?" Eri asked.

	"How about...strip poker?" Suga joked.

	"It really wouldn't be fair to Asou since his girlfriend 
is busy killing Imadori-sempai," Satsuki said.

	"True," Suga said.  "They ever going to stop?"

	"Well, they both have to eat EVENTUALLY," Suga 
said.  "Right?"

	"I think pure perversion can power Imadori forever," 
Eri said.  "How about a boardgame?  We have some good 
ones here that the previous owners abandoned."

	"How about Life?" Harry asked.  "I have a knack for 
getting a race-car driver job."  He grinned idly.

	"That sounds fun," Karen said.  

	They busted out the board, which looked somewhat 
different than they remembered.  The usual scramble for 
cars ensued, followed by sticking little pins in it to 
represent themselves.  

	Eri spun the wheel.  "Six."  She moved her car.  "Teen 
pregnancy.  Reduce your future income by 30,000 dollars 
and add a baby of either gender to your car."  She 
grimaced.  "I'll take a cute baby girl."

	Harry spun the wheel.  "Four."  He frowned.  "Car 
needs a new accelerator."  He landed his car and read the 
square.  "You ran the streets in your youth.  Add six to your 
career spin at graduation.  You may only go to college on 
an 11 or 12."

	"Harima's in trouble, then," Harry mumbled.  

	Eri grimaced.

	Satsuki spun the wheel.  "Two."  She moved two.  
"Teen sports prodigy!  Take 30,000 in cash, and move 
straight to college., adding 3 to your final career spin."  She 
grinned.  "Sweet!"

	Once she finished, Suga was up.  "Gimme an eight!"  
He spun.  "Eight!  Yeah!"  He moved his car and read.  
"Pimping Teen.  Add two members of the opposite sex to 
your vehicle.  They both count as your 'spouse'."  He 
pumped a fist in the air.

	I sure don't remember my last game of Life being like 
this one, Eri thought.

	"DEEEEAAATH!" Sara shouted as she chased 
Imadori through the room.

	Or that.

*******************

	Akira did the math in her head.  "Kenji, perhaps you 
should stop while you only have 600,000 yen worth of 
debt."

	"MY LUCK WILL TURN," he insisted.

	"Hah!  I only have 350,000!" Tenma crowed.  

	"How about if we switch to smaller groups and play 
spades before they go bankrupt?" Kasumi suggested.

	"But...I'll never win my money back!" Harima wailed.

	"I suggest that it's now late enough at night for strip 
poker," Shinichi said.  "And I'm drunk enough."

	Not everyone had been drinking, and Yakumo had 
carefully watered down Harima and Tenma's sake to the 
point where it was more water than wine, but a fair number 
of them were mildly intoxicated, not that Akira showed it.

	"I could draw sketches, throw those in, right?  Or I 
have some stuff in my room as collateral," Harima said.  He 
hated to gamble away the Christmas presents, but SURELY 
his luck would turn soon.  Right?  Then he could win them 
back.

	"Strip poker?" Mikoto asked, embarrassed.

	Yakumo's eyes widened.

	Harima blinked.  "Is that where everyone bets with 
comic strips?"

	He and Shinichi stared blankly at each other.

	"Oh my," Kasumi said.  "I don't think I'm drunk 
enough for that yet."

	Masahiro said, "We probably shouldn't play strip 
poker in the middle of winter."

	"So...this is about flaunting our bodies?" Akira asked.

	Tenma stared at her.  "Say no to the monkey, Akira-
chan!"

	"Actually, it's about forcing everyone else to flaunt 
their bodies while you stay clothed," Shinichi said.

	"I dunno..." Keiichi said.

	"It'll be fun, honey," Jenny said.  "Or we could just let 
those who go broke start betting clothing."

	"Yeah, that works," Shinichi said.  "Or who want to."

	Tenma turned red.

	"I'm game," Harima said.  "I am NOT ASHAMED OF 
MY HOT BODY!"  

	"Yeah!  No shame!" Miki said, getting into the spirit 
of things.

	"Honey..." Masahiro said warningly.

	"I'll put more logs on the fire," Miki said. 

	Akira looked over at Tenma.  "Tenma-chan, I'll loan 
you some money, no interest, if you don't want to bet with 
clothing."

	Tenma looked around at everyone.  "I..."

	"Really, her figure isn't worth seeing naked, anyway," 
Keiichi mumbled into his glass as he took another swig.

	Tenma's eyes flared with the light of ten thousand 
suns.  "Oh really.  I will show you.  Oh yes, I will!"

	Miki carefully threw more logs on the fire, basking in 
the warmth.

	Idly, Akira wondered if this would all end in fire.  Or a 
naked Hanai.  Not that she wanted to think about such 
things, not when her boyfriend had been far more 
understanding than she could be.  So she certainly wouldn't 
think about such things at all and the strip poker was NOT 
her idea, as anyone could tell.

	So, no guilt.  She wouldn't end up in a position to have 
to strip, anyway.  

	Akira was the sort who usually knew when to quit 
while ahead, after all.

***************

	"Your children become crack dealers," Harry read off 
the square.  "Add 20,000 to your income each time it's 
payday."

	Eri checked the box.  'Grand Theft Life'.  Rated M for 
Mindless.  "Well."

	"Hah!  My kids are brainwashed professional 
assassins, so I get an extra 60,000 for each at payday!" 
Suga bragged.

	"My martial artist kids can beat up both of you's kids," 
Satsuki said.  "And I get to spin the wheel and multiply by 
10,000 for their yearly tournament prizes!"

	"I think we should try Pictionary next," Eri said.

	Karen took her turn.  "Oh dear, I have to have a 
gangland hit on another player."

	"You'd better take out Suga's kids before he takes out 
you," Harry advised.

	Karen nodded and spun.  "On even, one random 
person in the target player's car dies.  On odd, one of your 
people dies."  She spun.  "Eight."

	Suga drew randomly, "Dammit, I just lost Bugsy!"  A 
little boy spike went into the box of spikes that stood in for 
people.  
	
	He spun the wheel.  "Carjack a player of your choice; 
they must go back to the last payday and spend 50,000 on a 
new car."  He grinned at Karen.  "What goes around, comes 
around."

	"My corvette!" Karen said.

	Imadori ran through the room again, but Asou finally 
rose and grabbed Sara.  "Enough," he said.

	"He kissed you!" Sara said.  "He must..."

	"Let it go," Asou said softly.  "We're almost done 
here, and I'll like to play a game with you."

	"It's called 'Good Priestess, Bad Boy'," Suga said, 
mimicking his voice.

	Throttling naturally ensued.

	Sara, however, laughed, though she looked 
embarrassed.  "I guess I'll let him live, then.  I like to play 
with you."

	Suga laughed through his throttling, as did Satsuki.  
Karen tittered, while Harry grinned.  

	"You like to make him 'do penance', Sister?" he asked.

	Sara blushed.

	Imadori crept back in cautiously.  "How about 
Pictionary?" he said.  "I'm good at that."

	"We should play...dammit, let's play Pictionary," Eri 
said.  

	"Hey, we need to finish carjacking each other and 
rubbing out each other's kids," Harry said.

	"Okay, let's finish the bloodbath, and THEN we play 
Pictionary," Eri said.  She moved to position herself 
between Karen and Satsuki, to hopefully avoid giving 
Imadori any chance to sit by her.

	Instead, he just pulled up a chair and perched in it, 
half-asleep, watching the game.  Which she somehow 
found even worse.  

*****************
	
	"Dammit!"  Harima was down to his underwear and 
socks.  Yakumo had most of Harima's clothing piled with 
her coins; Akira and Masahiro had the rest (not that he 
wanted it.)

	"HAH!" Tenma shouted as she won her first hand, 
scoring Harima's pants and her own skirt back.  She was 
wearing a towel like a cape; Miki had gotten it for her to 
help her keep warm after she insisted on continuing to play.

	Masahiro said, "This is probably enough poker.  It's 
getting late."  Before any train wrecks.

	"It's not that..." Shinichi began, until Masahiro 
elbowed him.  "Oh yes, of course."

	"I can't stop!  I have to win my clothing back!" 
Harima said.  

	"I can give you my winnings of your clothing," a 
blushing Yakumo said to Harima.  

	"We need more sexy half or more naked men!" 
Kasumi said, waving her glass, of which she'd had too 
many.  "We must play on until all the men are bare!"

	"I can't lose like this!" Tenma protested.  Even if 
Karasuma had somehow won every hand she'd lost clothing 
in, so that he had all her clothes.  

	Except for one lone sock, which Keiichi had carefully 
put a bowl over for some reason.

	"It's bedtime," Mikoto said.  She nodded to Hanai, and 
he began to hustle Tenma off towards her bedroom with 
Karasuma's assistance.  He casually snagged Harima's 
pants and tossed them onto Harima's head.

	Harima said, "Dammit, I still haven't won my money 
and clothing back and..."  He blinked.  "What...roof pants.  
Unexpected."  He stared at the ceiling.  "They're just like 
mine."

	Mikoto began to gently herd him towards his bedroom 
with Yakumo, snagging his clothing back on the way.  
"You need sleep, clearly."  

	"Sleep will not make me less naked or less in debt!" 
Harima protested.  

	"Don't worry, Kenji.  I'll help you find ways to pay off 
your 800,000 yen debt," Akira said.  "Friends get low 
interest rates!"

	Nara looked assessingly at Akira.  "I think you're 
ready for bed too."

	"I am not think in my drunk enough," Akira said 
solemnly.

	Nara's eyes widened.  "Definitely."  He began to drag 
her off, which was slowed down by her raking up her 
winnings.  

	"Are you going to turn into a girl and seduce me with 
your wanton ways?" Akira asked Nara as he began to drag 
her off.

	Keiichi laughed very loudly, took another drink, and 
fell out of his chair.

	"Only if you ask nicely, dear," Nara said, deadpan.

	Shinichi began to cackle as well.  Hanai laughed a 
little.

	Soon, they were gone.  

	Shinichi turned to Miki and Masahiro, who were 
starting to clean up.  "You guys really going to go to bed 
this early?"

	"It's been a long day," Masahiro said.

	Keiichi yawned.  "Not a bad idea, really.  It's too cold 
to do much now, and we're gonna ski, right?"

	"Right."

	Keiichi, Shinichi, and Kasumi all staggered off to bed.  
Jenny stayed and helped Masahiro and Miki clean up.

	"I..." she said to Masahiro.  "Dammit, can't think of 
how to ask without maybe pissing you off for no reason."

	"You can ask us tomorrow," Masahiro said.  "Thanks 
for helping us."

	"No problem.  I'd have made Keiichi stay, but I think 
he had too much to be much help," Jenny said.  "Just...be 
careful, okay?"

	"Okay," Masahiro said softly.  

	Jenny headed off.

	Too late for caution now, Masahiro said.  Really 
shouldn't have invited everyone if we're going to...do this.  
But after all we've been through, we deserve it.

*************

	Mikoto pulled Yakumo aside.  "Yakumo-san, have 
you..."  She tried to figure out how to ask.  "It would be 
wisest if Kenji took a nice long hot bath to warm up before 
bed.  I don't know if you guys...anyway, make sure he takes 
one."

	"I'd better get a chance to win my money back!" 
Harima protested; it was unclear WHO he was protesting 
to.

	Yakumo blushed.  "I...I'll make sure it happens."

	"Good," Mikoto said.  "If you think you'll need help 
manhandling him to the bathroom, I can help."

	"No, we'll be fine," Yakumo said softly.

	"Okay," Mikoto said.  "I'll see you probably in the 
morning."

	"Okay, sempai."

	Mikoto headed out.  Harima was still grumbling to 
himself.

	Yakumo touched Harima's arm; he felt cold and she 
frowned.  "Kenji-kun, you need to take a bath."

	"But I owe all this money and I'm going to have to be 
everyone's slave and..." Harima was growing frantic.

	She took his chin, pulled it down, and kissed him 
softly.

	He suddenly refocused on that in a way she found very 
pleasing.  His swirling thoughts now focused on her.  

	"I...did you want me to do something?" he asked when 
she broke the kiss.

	"I have to make sure you take a nice hot bath."

	"Oh, okay," he said.  "Wait...a bath?"

	"Yes," she said.

	Hesitating, she continued, "I can bathe you if you 
want."

	"I can bathe myself," he said.  "I'm not THAT tired, 
though I am kind of cold."

	She ran a hand up and down his slightly cold arm.  "I'd 
like to help," she said softly.

	"You don't have to," he said.  She could feel his 
emotions; he was as nervous as her, which made her less 
nervous.

	"I want to," she said softly.

	He stared at her intently, then said, "Well, I am feeling 
kind of cold.  I just..."

	Look, Eri's seen you naked.  You really do need to 
balance the scales, Onna-Harima said.

	He hadn't thought about it that way.  "Have you ever 
seen me naked?" he asked.

	"I don't hardly peep at all!" Yakumo squeaked out.

	"..."

	"I mean, no, not really," Yakumo said nervously.

	"Well, I'll just keep on what I already have on and it'll 
be the same as going to the beach," he mumbled, then rose.  
"Can you get the water started while I find some fresh 
clothing for after?"

	She nodded.  "Okay," kissed his cheek, and skipped 
out excitedly.

*************

	Asou drew a stylized 't' and several wavy lines.

	"Crosscurrent!" Sara said.

	"Hmm, not bad," Imadori said.  

	Asou drew another picture; he started with a stick 
figure.

	"Human!" Satsuki shouted.

	He kept drawing, starting to add a wing.  

	"Butterfly!" Eri guessed.

	"Draconian!" Imadori shouted.

	"Angel!" Sara shouted.

	Asou and Sara both smiled.  This was Sara's eighth 
correct guess in a row; Eri was wondering if they were 
communicating somehow.

	Asou drew another card, then sketched a circle. As he 
started to add poles to it, Harry shouted, "Motorcycle!"

	"Wow, how did you get that?" Asou asked.

	"I always guess motorcycle if I see a circle," Harry 
said.

	Unseen by the gamers, a cat stuck its head into the 
parlor.  Also unseen, Nakamura grabbed it and hauled it off 
before it could disturb them any further.

	Harry stepped up and drew a card.  He drew several 
half-circles, connected together, frowning at it.

	"Crescent moon!"

	"Crescent buns!"

	"PIMPLE," Imadori said.

	Harry paused, studied his art, and redid it with less 
huge curves.

	"Breasts?" Eri guessed.

	Harry shook his head, then began drawing a sort of 
odd stick figure with tail coming out of the curves.  
Everyone stared.

	"Ice cream burrowing catgirl?" Imadori guessed.

	"..."

	Harry scratched his head, then drew tiny versions of 
the curves on the figure where its legs met the torso.

	"BUTT!" Imadori said.  "Butt...BUTTMONKEY!"

	Karen said, "..."

	Harry sighed.  "Okay, your turn, Imadori."

	Eri sighed.  I wonder what Harima is doing, she 
thought.  The game was fun...but it would be funner if he 
was here.  Or at least the art would improve.

**************
	
	Harima and Yakumo sat in wet underwear in the nice 
hot water, both of them fast asleep with an arm around each 
other.  

**************

	"Yuuki, I need you to headlock Tomo so I can kiss 
Fuyuki goodnight uninterrupted," Sagano whispered to her.

	"I'm not feeling like pain," Yuuki said.

	"PLEASE," Sagano whispered.

	"Bored...bored...bored..." Tomo was mumbling.

	"You should go take a bath before bed," Yuuki said to 
Tomo.

	"You three looking for time to have a quick snog 
before Auntie Emiko throws you out?" Tomo said.  "I'm 
cool with that.  BATHROOM, HO!"  She raced off.

	"We don't all snog together!" Yuuki shouted after her.  

	"Sorry," Sagano said.  "Though you're welcome to 
snog with us if you want, Yuuki."

	"Megumi-kun..." Fuyuki said warningly.

	"Or not.  Not until I get Fuyuki properly adjusted to 
the idea, anyway," Sagano said.

	"I'll walk you home if you want, Yuuki," Fuyuki said, 
after getting a quick kiss with Sagano.  "And Megumi-kun, 
if you don't control your whims, you'll end up like Tomo."

	"I'd die first!" Sagano protested.  

	He kissed her again.  "Try not to kiss Tomo before I 
see you again."

	"NO DANGER OF THAT."

**************

	"Mmm, nice and warm," Mikoto said as she stepped 
into the master bedroom.  It had a huge king-sized bed with 
many layers of sheets on it, two dresser-drawers, a 
wardrobe, a small table with several chairs, and its own 
roaring fireplace with an attached bathroom.

	Masahiro nodded.  He was busy digging around in a 
suitcase while Miki lay on the bed doing leg stretching 
exercises.  "Where's my ski cap?"

	"You don't need it right now, do you?" Miki asked.  
"It's so nice and toasty in here."

	"If I don't find it now, I'll regret it in the morning," he 
said.

	Nervously, Mikoto came over and sat down on the 
bed.  She wanted to speak, but wasn't sure what to say.  
"Let's pray Haruki's dad won't burst through the wall."

	"We'll kick his butt," Miki said.  "I don't know if I'm 
gonna pass anything this semester, but I can kick more butt 
now."

	Mikoto winced.  "That bad?"

	"Miki exaggerates," Masahiro said as he dug around in 
his suitcase.  "Ahah!"  He tossed his cap atop the dresser 
drawers.  "I'm never going anywhere with Haruki's dad if I 
can help it, though."

	Masahiro now came over and sat down by Miki and 
began doing some stretching exercises also.

	Mikoto decided to imitate them.  "Good idea," she 
said.

	"Warm up before exercise," Miki said, imitating Mr. 
Hanai's voice.  Badly.

	Mikoto laughed softly.  

	Hanai staggered in with a boot on his head.  "What are 
you all doing?"

	"Warming up," Mikoto said.

	"Hmm, logical."  He began doing some warming up 
exercises as well as he shed his jacket and boots and extra 
head-boot.  "That was like pulling teeth, but hopefully, we 
will not be invaded by Tsukamoto tonight."

	"Do she and her boyfriend..." Miki began.

	"I don't think they have before, but I think they're 
going to try tonight," Hanai said.  "Assuming Tenma 
doesn't frazzle to death, which is quite possible."

	Miki stood and began doing some upper body 
exercises now.  "She's the younger one, right?"

	"Elder," Mikoto said.

	"But she looks...younger than Yakumo," Miki said.

	Masahiro said, "Happens in some families."  He rose 
and began stretching his arms.

	There was a distant sound of music, a lone guitar.  
Hanai said, "Hmm, must be Karasuma."

	Finally, everyone finished stretching, and the two 
couples lurked on the edge of the bed nervously, feeling 
self-conscious.  "I have to wonder what exactly they think 
we're doing," Masahiro said.

	"We just have to make it sound as perverted as 
possible," Miki said.

	"..."  Masahiro and Haruki both stared at her.

	Mikoto laughed.  "Tenma will imagine something 
3,000 times worse than what we're actually doing.  Which 
really isn't all that odd."

	Miki nodded.  "And we've now all seen each other 
naked, anyway, so it's okay."

	Masahiro gripped the bottom of Miki's shirt and began 
to pull it off.  "Then we should start before anyone decides 
to interrupt us."

	"Very important," Hanai said as he pulled off Mikoto's 
shirt, slowly running his hands up her torso and kissing her 
as he did so.  

	Soon, they were all too busy to worry about being 
interrupted.

**************
	
	Tenma felt incredibly nervous as she sat on the edge 
of the bed on Karasuma's lap, kissing him.  His arms were 
around her, but she felt hideously insecure.  Her body was 
so child-like...how could it make someone as handsome as 
Karasuma...get interested?  Or whatever the right term was.  

	Karasuma said softly, "What's wrong?"

	"I feel...I wish I was prettier," Tenma said.  "You're so 
handsome and..."  She stared at the ground.

	He ran a hand up and down her back.  "Well, if you 
like, we can change that for tonight."

	Tenma shivered a little.  "What?" she asked.  "You 
mean..."

	"Let us dream together," he said softly.  "You can be 
anything in your dreams."

	"I don't want to just dream," she said.  "I want to 
really, but I..."

	"Dreams are real, but separate," Karasuma said.  "Not 
unreal.  Differently real.  Close your eyes."

	She did so nervously.  "I want to...I mean, we're not 
going to sleep, are we?"

	"When you sleep here, you wake elsewhere," 
Karasuma said.  "Further up and further in."

	And then there was a strange sensation of yanking.

	She opened her eyes and now they sat in the master 
bedroom, which was rather devoid of Miki, Masahiro, 
Mikoto, and Haruki.  It had just them, though distantly, 
they could hear noises from the other rooms.  

	Karasuma rose, taking Tenma over to the long mirror 
on the wall.  She looked more like her mother, tall and 
slender, her breasts somewhat bigger, but not what you 
could call lush.  But there was a maturity in her face and 
her figure, and while not voluptous, she could not be 
mistaken for a boy or a child, either.  Her eyes lit up.  "I 
look so beautiful," she said softly.

	"You are beautiful to me in every form and identity," 
Karasuma said warmly.  

	Tenma gulped.  "I don't understand.  Is this real?"

	"All is but a dream, and we the dreamers who dwell 
within," Karasuma said.  "This is a dream of you, among 
many.  What you think of as waking is yet another dream, 
one shared by many dreamers."

	Tenma tried to think through that.  "Like other 
universes?"

	"They too are dreams."  He kissed her throat gently, 
and then her cheek, then turned her head to kiss her lips.  "I 
love you," he said softly.

	"I love you too," Tenma replied, then looked at 
herself.  "Any way we could..."

	"You will grow into this in time, as your mother did.  
Already, it has begun, though like all growth, it's slow," 
Karasuma said.

	"But I thought I had my last growth spurt years ago.  
And it...wasn't too impressive," Tenma said.

	"You are not a normal person," Karasuma said.  He 
began to play with the top button of her blouse.  "Is this a 
good dream, or shall I find you another?"

	"Do I...am I still a virgin if we do it this way?"

	"From the perspective of our normal dream, yes," 
Karasuma said.

	Tenma thought about it.  "Alright," she said softly, 
sliding her hands down his side.  "I hardly know what to 
do," she whispered.

	"Me either," he confessed.  "This me is as much a 
virgin as you are," Karasuma said.

	She began to slowly, fumblingly take his shirt off.  At 
first, it didn't want to come off, and then suddenly, it 
yanked off and she ended up falling back onto the bed with 
her face and arms tangled in it.

	Some things never change, she thought.  Especially 
when he started taking her blouse off without bothering to 
unentangle her, with the result that they ended up with their 
arms and shirts all jumbled together.  

	No, I can't let this happen to my precious first time, 
she thought.  Desperately, she wrenched her arms free and 
then pulled his loose and rolled them over to kneel over 
him, kissing him and fumbling for his pants.  Rent clothing 
flew everywhere.

	They began to tumble about as they undressed each 
other; Tenma was briefly afraid they'd go rolling into the 
fireplace, but it didn't happen.  

	Indeed, things were soon going as well as she could 
have ever dreamed of.  

*************

	"I say we play strip poker next," Imadori said.

	Eri yawned.  "I'm going to bed."

	"Oh, well..." Imadori begain.

	"Without you," Eri said firmly.

	"We should go to bed too," Karen said.

	"Given we'll ski tomorrow, we should get lots of 
sleep," Sara said.

	"That's true," Asou said.  "Let's go, then."

************

	"So...swap or not?" Suga asked the other three once 
they reached their two rooms.

	"Swap," Satsuki said.  

	Sara licked her lips nervously, but said, "Okay."

	Asou nodded; he was willing to give them some 
privacy.  "See you two in the morning, then," he said, and 
went with Sara off to the 'men's room', while Suga and 
Satsuki went to the 'ladies' room'.

	Satsuki was feeling very nervous.  But FINALLY, 
they were away from her father and she could try properly 
making out with her boyfriend, maybe even go all the way.  
She wasn't sure, though she was sure she would by the time 
they left.  

	She took off her shirt as Suga got his boots off; she'd 
already kicked off her shoes.  She licked her lips nervously 
as Suga sat down on the bed, then knealt behind him and 
began to massage his shoulders.  He made happy little 
noises.  "We gonna...?" he asked.

	"Yeah," she said softly.  "We can't ever corrupt them 
if we don't corrupt ourselves first."

	"Well, there's little danger of your father bursting 
through the wall here," Suga said.

	"Yeah," Satsuki said, though now her nerves began to 
jangle.  

	Then there was a noise in the hallway, almost as if 
someone had crept up to the door.

	Suga froze, paralyzed with terror, knowing a beating 
was coming.

	Satsuki paused, hands on his shoulders, staring at the 
hallway door.

	The footsteps had stopped just outside the door, but no 
one was knocking.  

	Distantly, they heard someone female moan.  There 
were faint noises of movement in the hallway, and then a 
gentle thud.

	And silence. 

	The silence of a father, waiting, lurking, watching...

	The silence, the ever present silence, waiting for an 
excuse, waiting...

	They stayed frozen on the edge of the bed, waiting for 
something, something to happen, something to break the 
silence, some clue that whatever it was had moved on, that 
they would not be rudely interrupted.  

	But there was no noise, not even a door, not even a 
tiny scraping of a boot on wood.

	And so they waited...

***************

	"Okay, don't watch," Sara said.  She began undressing, 
looking at herself in the full-length mirror on the wall as 
she began changing into her pajamas.  

	She was about half-changed when she realized she 
could see Asou undressing in the mirror if she moved 
slightly.  She couldn't stop herself from watching, while he 
blithely stripped down to his underwear and changed into 
pajamas.

	"Do you think...those two..." Sara said, trying to tell 
herself to stop, but not able to.

	"I'm thinking we should wait up maybe twenty 
minutes or so, just in case they manage to set the lodge on 
fire, or angry monkeys invade their room.  Or Satsuki's 
father invades," Asou said.

	Sara made herself finish dressing in her blue pajamas; 
Asou's were white with little black geometric shapes 
sprinkled across them.  Asou's mostly naked body hung in 
her mind's eye, though, making her shiver a little.  "I think 
you're right."

	Asou turned off all the lights but a lamp next to the 
bed and climbed under the covers.

	Sara nervously climbed in alongside him, then cuddled 
up to him.

	They were starting to kiss when they heard movement 
in the hallway.  Oddly, it stopped right outside their door, 
but no one knocked or came in.  They didn't hear Satsuki 
and Suga's door open either.

	Asou frowned.  "They must be trying some prank.  
Probably planning to burst in and embarrass us."

	He got up and carefully locked the door, then came 
back to bed.  Asou then cuddled up to Sara again.

	After a few minutes of this, Sara kept feeling the urge 
to take Asou's top off; she wondered if he felt as tempted as 
she did.

	The answer came when he started to nuzzle her neck, 
undoing her top two buttons on her top.  She knew they 
should stop, but she didn't want to.  Instead, she undid 
several more buttons.  

	She was breathing hard as Asou began to kiss down 
her chest.  He'd reached the middle of her cleavage when, 
at the window, there was a bizarre noise, almost as if a dog 
had somehow walked across the window in defiance of 
gravity.

	They both froze up, staring at the window, but it was 
too late.

	Asou ran to the window as Sara hastilly buttoned her 
pajamas.  Much as he regretted it, he had to open the 
window and stick his head out.

	There was something, a monkey-like creature in red 
clothing, nice warm clothing, scampering along the wall 
towards the window to Eri's room.  

	"Dammit," Asou said, then grabbed the coat rack and 
scrambled out the window.  "I'll be right back."

	"You'll freeze!" Sara said.

	As the red coated thing reached Eri's window, Asou 
jumped ledge to ledge, then brought down the coat rack on 
it.  It yelped and fell off the window ledge of Eri's room 
and plummeted into the snow below.

	Then Eri opened the window and shouted, 
"PERVERTS!" and proceeded to slice through the ledge 
area with a wooden sword right as Asou stepped over to 
look down at the creature.

	Asou plummeted off the ledge and landed on top of 
the creature, which turned out to be Imadori in a red coat.  
He felt like he was freezing to death.

	Sara shouted to Eri, "YOU JUST WHACKED MY 
BOYFRIEND!"

	"He shouldn't have been peeping!" Eri shouted.

	"He tried to STOP the peeper!" Sara shouted.

	"Dammit," Eri said.  

	Asou began whipping Imadori's ass to stay warm.  

	Sara threw on a coat and opened the door of her room; 
there was a big fat cat curled up by the door; she almost 
tripped over it, but for now, she just got past it.

	Then she ran downstairs and out into the snow, 
opening a door and helping Asou get inside, while Imadori 
ran for another door.

	When they got upstairs, she said to Asou, "Maybe we 
should go bathe you in hot water."

	"I could use it," he mumbled.  

	"Let's get you into the water, then," she said gently.  
Stupid Imadori, she thought.  He'll get his later.

*************
		
	Far away, Harima and Yakumo continued to snooze 
together in the slowly cooling tub of hot water.

**************

	Fuyuki and Yuuki had reached Yuuki's apartment 
building.  "Hmm, I could invite you two over and pointedly 
not invite Tomo," Fuyuki said.

	"No, that wouldn't stop her, and Sagano's mother 
would insist she bring Tomo anyway," Yuuki said, sighing.

	"At least it will probably distract her from 
threesomes," Fuyuki said.

	"I can't tell if she's joking or serious," Yuuki said 
nervously, kicking the snow about which lightly dusted 
everything.

	"Such things blend together into one when it comes to 
Megumi-san," Fuyuki said.  "I'd think you'd be used to it."

	"You NEVER get used to it," Yuuki said, shaking her 
head.  "I'm surprised you turned her down.  I mean, I know 
I'm not very pretty, but..."

	"Well, it's not the sort of thing which usually works 
out in the long term, or I'd say yes," Fuyuki said.  "I think 
you're pretty.  But I'm trying to be sensible, since I know 
she won't be."

	Yuuki smiled, feeling flattered.  "Take good care of 
her, Fuyuki-san."  She yawned.  "And I'm going to bed.'

	"Goodnight, Yuuki-san.  See you tomorrow."

	And he headed off into the snow.

**************

	Eri hauled Imadori inside by his feet.  "What the hell 
did you think you were doing?  Not that I'd mind if you 
killed yourself, but it would ruin our vacation if we had a 
death!"

	Imadori stubbornly remained silent, looking 
disgruntled.

	"Fine," she said.  "Peep on me again and DIE."

	He looked up at her, his face strangely blank, then 
rose.  "Thank you for bringing me in," he said.  "I'd better 
go take a warm bath and heat up."

	"Just don't try spying on me again," Eri said, heading 
for bed.

	On her way there, she found a cat lurking outside 
Satsuki and Suga's room.  She picked it up, scratching her 
head, and went and found Nakamura.  "Where did this cat 
come from?"

	"Came with the house," Nakamura said.  "The deed 
indicates it has to be taken care of and never allowed to go 
outside."

	"How very strange," Eri said.  This is what happens 
when you buy houses at the last minute, she thought.  She 
studied the calico; something weird about this cat, she 
thought.

	Then she shook her head and put it down.  "I'm going 
to..."

	"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!"  There were riot 
noises in the bathhouse.

	Eri slapped her forehead.  "I'm surrounded by 
maniacs.  Come on."

	They found Asou (mostly naked in the hot tub) and 
Sara (wearing now wet pajamas and a coat) hurling 
buckets, soap, and other such items at Imadori, who had 
fallen down and was trying, unsuccessfully, to gain 
purchase on the slick floor.

	"People are trying to sleep!  Imadori, get out until they 
finish!"  Eri took a moment to check out Asou's very nice 
body.  Not bad at all, she thought.  "And..."

	The cat chose this moment to rush in and leap onto 
Asou's upper body, so he toppled down into the water, 
splashing Sara more.  

	Eri grabbed Imadori by the feet again.  "Go change, 
stay in your room until eternity ends."

	Sara tried to help stop the cat and fell into the tub.  
"My coat!"

	Nakamura strode forward and plucked out the cat.  
"Come, Susanoo, time for you to be locked in your cat 
carrier."

	Eri sighed.  "Sorry, Asou-san, Sara-san.  I'm GOING 
TO BED NOW.  Or so I hope.  Unless you need any help?"

	"We're fine," Sara said, bobbing up.

	Eri headed out to dump Imadori and try, desperately, 
to get some sleep.

****************

	Satsuki and Suga hovered, paralyzed, on the edge of 
the bed, listening to mounting chaos.

	But clearly, it was just a trick, a trick to lure them into 
a false sense of security that Satsuki's father wasn't 
lurking...waiting for them to try anything.

	They did not DARE to let their guard down.  Oh no, 
not even when everything settled down.

***************

	Harry returned to Karen's room and explained 
everything.

	Karen sighed.  "What a huge mess."  She felt a little 
disappointed that Imadori hadn't tried to peep on her, 
though since they were across from Eri, he might have 
gotten confused and gone up the wrong side of the 
building...

	But that was wishful thinking.  

	Harry kicked his boots back off, then paused.  "May I 
stay?"

	She nervously began to unbutton her shirt.  "Yes.  And 
I want to be able to forget everything with Imadori-kun."

	He removed his own shirt as he approached her.  
"Your wish is my command," he said.  Inside, he said, 
SCOOOOORRRREEEE!!!!!!

***************

	Harima was possibly the happiest man alive.  There 
was probably something better than hot sex in a hot tub 
with two sexy women at once, but he didn't know what it 
was and he didn't need it, really.  

	Though the tricky part was keeping them both in play 
at once.  But that was why one had two hands, if only one 
Kenji, jr.  The water also made keeping all heads above 
water very important.

	There was only one thing which could spoil this.

	Karasuma walked in and said, "Harima-san, you need 
to wake up before the water you're sleeping in gets too cold 
and you and Yakumo get sick."

	"Dammit, this isn't real?" Harima demanded.

	"Not even vaguely," Karasuma said, turning to go.

	"It could happen!" Harima shouted after him.

	"Only in a world where I had Akira-san and Tenma-
chan at the same time," Karasuma said.

	"Hey, are you saying..." Harima began.  

	"Wake up," Karasuma said.

	Harima groaned and woke up, dragging himself and 
Yakumo out of the water.  What a mess, he thought.

***************
		
	Asou and Sara sat on the floor of the laundry room 
while their clothing went through the dryer and they sat 
wrapped in towels.  "Hiroshi-kun," she said softly.

	He turned his face to her.  "Yes, Sara-kun?"

	"Do we...are we going to...I mean..."  She was too 
embarrassed to ask.

	He kissed her softly.  "Not tonight.  But we should talk 
about it later, when we're not cold and tired."

	She nodded and cuddled up to him.  She had lost the 
mood herself.  But they'd almost...they had to talk about it.

	Later.

**************	

	"You asleep, Sagano?" Tomo asked, just as Sagano 
was drifting off to sleep.

	Sagano did her best to remain utterly still.  If she 
feigned death, Tomo would talk herself to sleep quickly.

	"So what's the deal with your girlfriend?" Tomo 
asked.

	Silence.  No movement.  UTTER SILENCE.  

	"You can't fool me.  If you were asleep, you'd be 
thrashing wildly."

	Sagano began thrashing wildly.  

	"And banging your head against the wall," Tomo said.

	Sagano began banging her head against the wall.

	"And shouting incoherently about how the Daleks 
have broken through the defenses."

	"DALEKS IN SECTOR 16!!!!"

	The door flew open and Sagano's mother entered.  
"Megumi-chan, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

	"Nothing," Sagano said feebly.

	"Go sleep in the living room with your little neice," 
Sagano's mother said.  "You've been assigned to drool-
tending duties."

	"Dammit!"

	"Don't swear at me, young lady," her mother said.  
"Go wash your mouth out, then go take care of little 
Hanako."

	Sagano sighed and trundled off, grumbling.

	Tomo clambered into the nice warm bed.  VICTORY.

**************

	Mikoto woke up in the middle of the night and went to 
the bathroom.  On her return, she wandered to the window 
a moment, pulled the shades, and stared off at the snow; it 
looked like it would likely be good for skiing in the 
morning.

	The palpable cold near the window led her to toss 
another log on the fire, and crawl back into bed, cuddling 
up to Hanai.  She felt wonderful, all the stress of school 
gone, able to forget all their troubles with Hanai's father.  

	She glanced over at Miki and Masahiro; Miki slept 
half on top of him, one leg splayed over, trying to claim 
more of the bed, but Hanai's leg was in the way.  She felt a 
very soft flush of arousal, as if her body wanted to be more 
aroused, but the batteries were going dead.  

	She asked herself idly why she liked doing it like this 
so much, and she wasn't sure.  The sheer...sense of taboo-
breaking was part of it, she suspected.  But it felt strangely 
natural having them here.  

	She wondered, idly, if it would feel this good with her 
other friends, if Akira and Nara or Tenma and Karasuma or 
Eri and Harima (or Harima and Yakumo) would turn her on 
the same way.  Or maybe it was due to her old crush on 
Masahiro.  Or the strange feeling of having a college 
student look up to her.  THAT was certainly flattering.

	Slowly, warmth snuck back into her, followed by 
lassitude, followed by sliding off into sleep again.

***************

	"Kentarou-kun," Akira whispered in the dead of night 
to Nara.

	"Mmrr, what?"

	"Did I get drunk?" Akira asked softly.

	"Yes," he mumbled, turning to face her.

	"I should try to apologize tomorrow," Akira said 
nervously.

	"Can we discuss this when I'm not trying to sleep?" 
Nara asked.

	"I...yes," Akira said, though she wanted to plan now.

	"G'nite."  

	He fell asleep quickly; she ran over ideas in her head 
until dawn.

************

	Asou knocked on Satsuki and Suga's door very softly; 
he wanted to go exercise, but he was afraid he'd wake up 
Satsuki.  Though she might want to exercise too; he'd tried 
to ask Sara, but she kept mumbling for five more minutes.

	The door swung open and he saw Suga sitting on the 
edge of the bed, looking like he was in rigor mortis with 
Satsuki leaning on him likewise.  Their eyes were open, but 
they looked almost dead.

	"You guys okay?" Asou asked.

	Silence.

	He went over and gently poked them; they toppled 
over onto the bed, their eyes closed, and began snoring.

	I exercise alone, I guess, he thought.

************

	Nakamura began making breakfast.  At least none of 
the ghosts manifested last night, he thought.  Assuming the 
cat isn't one.

	Which was possible, as he thought about it.

	Well, we have an exorcist if we need one, he thought.  
Sara-san is very reliable.

	He continued working on breakfast, ultimately 
blaming the failure of the coffee to taste good on bad beans, 
though the coffee maker ghost knew better.

***********

	Karen woke up feeling very good.  I made the right 
decision, she told herself.  No more thinking about 
Imadori-kun.  I have a boyfriend and he can make me feel 
very happy.  We're going to have a good time skiing and 
that's it.  

	He stirred slightly and she said softly, "Honey, you 
ready to get up?"

	"Need more time to recharge," he mumbled.  "You 
took all I had."

	She blushed at that, then said, "I meant for breakfast 
and skiing."

	"Oh," he mumbled.  "Can we eat in?"

	"I don't think so," she said.  

	He sighed.  "Let's go bathe, then."  He rose up out of 
the sheets.  "COLD."  He sank back into them.

	"It's not that...eeeeee...." Karen said.

	The window was now cracked open, and cold air was 
blowing in.

	Harry ran over and shut it and pulled the blinds.  
"How did that happen?"

	"I don't know," Karen said. She hoped it wasn't some 
jealous prank of Imadori's.  Or the result of...surely he 
wouldn't peep on...was he jealous?  Maybe.  She kind of 
liked that.

************	

	Yakumo stirred, feeling Kenji's nice warm body next 
to her.  She ran a hand across his chest, feeling his muscles, 
and smiled.  Even if she hadn't been able to...with him 
yet...he was here and hers and liked sleeping with her.  

	That had to be good.

	She kissed him softly and got up and changed into 
some clothing and went to start making a really big 
breakfast.

************	

	Hanai awoke and kissed Mikoto softly; she was still 
deep enough asleep she didn't notice at all.  He decided to 
go take a shower, but he could hear noises in the bathroom, 
so he crawled back under the covers.

	Miki soon came out in a towel and waved to him, lost 
the towel, then kicked it into her hands, standing pretty 
much naked in front of him.  He could feel his engine rev 
gently from looking at her, though he was still too spent for 
his body to respond too much.

	He couldn't tell if she noticed or not as she came over 
and kneeled on the bed with one leg to whisper into his ear, 
"It just hit me that LOTS of people are going to want 
showers and baths, so you might want to make Mikoto get 
up and go with you to save water."

	He nodded.  "Good idea," he whispered, and then idly 
imagined her just kind of climbing onto him, pushing him 
back...  The thought of it was quite pleasurable, but not 
something he ought to be thinking of about another woman.  
But then, didn't something like this lean that way naturally?  
Why just look?

	On the other hand, if everyone was agreeable...

	But this wasn't the time to think about it.

	She leaned forward, stopped, then pulled back, giving 
him a thumbs up and wandered off to the dresser drawer 
she and Masahiro had claimed.

	He woke Mikoto up and dragged her into the shower.  
Trying to bathe each other soon turned into making out, 
though neither was up to going all the way.  They probably 
would have tried anyway, but Masahiro said, "Don't use too 
much hot water!  Others need it too!"

	This prompted them to quickly finish bathing each 
other and get out.  They got dressed very quickly, as it was 
too cold to do otherwise.  Mikoto sat down on Hanai's lap, 
kissing him softly.  "I feel so randy," she mumbled.

	"Me too," Hanai said.  "But we really should get some 
breakfast."

	"Yeah," Mikoto said.

	They started kissing again, until Tenma opened the 
door, grabbed them, and began dragging them off, saying, 
"You can kiss later.  Yakumo's yummy breakfast will get 
COLD AS ICE if you don't come NOW."

	"I hope we didn't make too much noise last night," 
Hanai said as he was dragged.

	"I was too busy with Ooji-kun," Tenma said, then 
blushed.  "I didn't mean to mention it," she mumbled.

	"Hah!" Mikoto said.  "Was he good?"

	"He was wonderful," Tenma said dreamily.  "Tasted 
like chocolate."

	"..."  

	Hanai laughed.  "Melts in your mouth, not your 
hand?"

	Mikoto stared at Hanai.  "I can't believe you made that 
joke."

	"I'm really Imadori in disguise," he said, deadpan.

	Tenma frowned.  "I hope he's not causing Karen-chan 
or Eri-chan any trouble."

	"I'm just glad he's doing it far away from me," Hanai 
said.

	Mikoto sighed.  "Poor Eri.  Do you think her parents 
will keep this up much longer?"

	"Given she's so stubborn...yes," Hanai said.

	Well, at least it keeps her away from Kenji-kun, 
Tenma thought.  Tenma loved Eri deeply, but Kenji had 
pretty clearly committed to Yakumo, so she should backoff 
and not cause them trouble.  Right?

**************

	Once they finished breakfast, Eri asked her gang, "So, 
everyone ready for skiing?  Do we have any novices?"

	"I have skiied, but only a little," Sara said.

	"I'm an expert skiier," Imadori said.

	"I think Satsuki is a novice too, but she and Suga are 
crashed out," Asou said.

	"I've never skiied, but I want to learn," Karen said.

	"I'm pretty damn good," Harry said.  "But I'll teach 
you, Karen."

	She smiled at him, and Imadori tightened his grip on 
his glass, then hastily downed more coffee.  "Looks like 
you and I will be hitting the expert slopes while everyone 
else gets taught," he said.

	Karen told herself to NOT think of those two skiing 
together.

	Eri frowned, but she didn't want to try an unfamiliar 
hard slope by herself.  "If you fall off a cliff, you're on your 
own," she said to Imadori.

	"I've never had a skiing accident," Imadori said.  
"You'll be safe with me, fiancee."

	Karen made herself not wince at the word.  "Let's go, 
boyfriend," she said, putting extra weight on the latter 
word.

	"Let's go," Sara said, smiling.

	They headed out.

************
	
	Tenma cornered Akira, taking both of her hands, then 
loudly whispered, "We did it!"

	Akira blinked.  "Did what?"

	"IT," Tenma said.

	"You got up before the alarm went off?" Akira 
guessed.

	"No!  NOOKIE.  Sweet love with my Karasuma."

	Akira blinked.  "Really?"

	"Yes!"

	"Congratulations.  You have to be careful he doesn't 
get any crazy ideas into his head now, but if you tend to 
him carefully, it'll be a lot of fun," Akira said.

	Tenma laughed nervously.  "I hardly know what I'm 
doing."

	"Me either," Akira confessed.  "I never had a 
boyfriend before."

	"That surprises me," Tenma said.  "You're so kind and 
smart."

	"Most men don't go for a woman like me," Akira said.  
"I had thought...but I am lucky.  Let's hope our luck lasts."

	"Yeah."
	
************

	Tenma looked down the slopes nervously; she'd never 
been skiing before. Karasuma was with her, but he was, as 
usual, not very communicative.  Akira, on the other hand, 
was more helpful, adjusting her stance and going over the 
instructions again.  

	Tenma breathed in and out.  Focus.  I am the skiier, 
she thought.  I can do this.  Just imagine I'm skiing in 
Olympic competition like I've seen on TV...

	She breathed in and out and then pushed off, starting 
down the slope.  She could see thin forest, and beyond it, 
another ridge, with a very large lodge at the top.  Tiny 
figures skiied down the far slope.

	She waved, just in case it was her friends, and soon 
Akira, Nara, and Karasuma were by her side, Akira and 
Karasuma flanking her.  

	And then she heard something.  "Wait!" she heard 
Shinichi shout behind her.  "Slow down, Harima-san, 
Tsukamoto-san!"

	Tenma began to slow down, until Akira said, "I think 
he means your sister."

	Tenma looked back and saw Harima blazing down the 
slope like a madman with Yakumo racing behind him, 
while Shinichi tried to catch up to them.  

	"Tenma!"  She felt a tug and Akira pulled her out of 
the way of colliding with a tree.  

	"Thank you!" Tenma said, then continued, "SLOW 
DOWN, KENJI-KUN!"

	Kenji BLAZED on past them, Yakumo in his wake, 
Shinichi in pursuit.  "Harima-san, you're going to collide 
with the other skiiers!"

	Harima looked back to Shinichi and said, "Hah!  I'm 
so fast, they'll never touch me!"	

	He couldn't see he was headed right for a tree.  

	Fortunately for him, Akira shouted, "Tree, Kenji!"	

	"What?" he craned his head around, twisting his body 
and skis and accidentally dodged the tree, now racing 
towards the far slope, which was steeper than this one.

	"Harima, that's not safe!" Shinichi shouted.

	"Don't make Yakumo a widow!" Tenma shouted.

	"Careful!" Yakumo said.

	Instead, Harima deliberately jumped over a miniature 
cliff just to show off, while Yakumo scooted to one side.

	It was only as he drew close to the onrushing skiiers 
from the other slope (he recognized Imadori and Eri with 
ease) that he realized he didn't know how to stop.

	"Hey, how do I stop?" he shouted up to Shinichi.  

	Shinichi yelled something which caught on the wind.

	"Kenji!" Eri shouted.

	"Eri!"  he skiied towards her; Imadori waved to him 
idly, pulling ahead a little.

	Then the security men in white ski trooper uniforms 
suddenly emerged from nowhere and swarmed towards 
him.  His only choice was to speed up and break the line.  

	They broke out of the way, but he went off another 
small drop, hit the ground wrong, and began to roll, a giant 
snowball forming around him which engulfed Eri and 
Imadori.  The three of them rolled off down the v-shaped 
valley between the slopes out of sight.

	"I told him to stop!" Shinichi said, sighing.

	"It's time for...A MANHUNT!"  Tenma shouted.  She 
yanked off her ski-outfit, revealing a Royal Canadian 
Mounted Police Ski Patrol uniform.  

	Officer Tenma said, "Okay, everyone, rally around, 
we have a MANHUNT!"

	Then she took off after Kenji.

************

	Harima dug Eri out of the snowball.  "You okay?"

	"Fine," she said.  "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU 
DOING?"

	"Skiing," he said defiantly.

	"Can I have a little help here?" Imadori asked.  He was 
trying to dig out of the snowball.

	"No," Eri said.  She turned to Harima.  "Have you ever 
been skiing before?"

	"Lots of times," he lied.

	"Well, you need to learn to ski at a safe speed," she 
said.

	"I know what I'm doing!" he protested.  

	"You could have killed us!"

	Imadori shivered.  "So cold...help..."

	"Shut up," Harima said to Imadori.  "But I didn't!" he 
now said to Eri.

	She looked around, but couldn't see the lodges; there 
were two upwards slopes from here and she wasn't sure 
which was right.  "You got us lost in the wilderness!"

	"It's that way," Harima said confidently, pointing up 
one slope.

	"You sure?" Eri asked.

	"Yes," Harima said.

	"Alright, but if you're wrong, you'll pay," Eri said, 
starting up it.

	Imadori still couldn't get free.  "Help!  I'm stuck!"

	"We'll send someone to get you out," Eri said, taking 
off.

	"Have fun making snow angels," Harima said.

	"Don't leave me here!" Imadori yelled.

	But they did.

************

	"Akira and I will go forwards," Shinichi said to the 
others on the novice slope.  "The rest of you should go back 
up to the lodge and over to the harder slope and let the 
others know what happened.  We'll call if we need backup 
or get into trouble."

	Yakumo frowned.  "I want to go with you."

	"You're not experienced enough," Shinichi said.  "That 
way down doesn't look too bad from here, but I'm taking no 
chances."

	"But..."

	"No buts.  We'll keep you all updated," he said firmly.  

	"We'll find him," Akira said firmly to Yakumo.  

	She stared at the snow as they took off.

	As they headed down the slope, Akira said, "I'm sure 
they're fine; Kenji-kun is tough enough to live through 
anything and he won't let Eri-chan get hurt."

	"But what about the other boy?" Shinichi asked.

	"Too perverted to die," Akira said.  "He is, in theory, 
Eri's fiancee.  Arranged marriage.  But her heart is 
elsewhere."

	"Well, I hope he's alright too."  He gazed off down the 
slope.  "This Harima kid doesn't listen very well."

	"He is very stubborn," Akira said.  "And determined to 
show no weakness and always look cool."

	"Typical high school guy, in other words," Shinichi 
said.  

	Akira nodded.  "Exactly."

	They continued to make their way down the slope, 
keeping an eye out for the giant snowball; it had left a 
visible wake, luckily.

	They moved along in silence for a while, then Shinichi 
said, "Have you...never mind."

	Akira cocked her head at him.  "Go on?"

	"I'm just..."  He frowned.  "Wondering if those four 
are really...or if it's just a prank."

	"I can't pretend to know," Akira said cooly, dodging a 
tree.  "Best we not talk of that."

	"Sorry, sorry.  I'm just stunned.  I...never mind.  Your 
boyfriend doesn't...what a stupid question.  I'll just shut up," 
Shinichi said.  

	"I have the best boyfriend in all the world; he is all 
any woman could ever dream of," Akira said loftily.

	"Really?  He seems kind of...well, not so much as 
Tsukamoto Tenma, but..."

	Akira said sharply, "He is very handsome and very 
manly.  He just doesn't flaunt it in public because it is all 
for ME."

	Shinichi sighed.  "I'll just shut up now."

	They skiied down further, then heard Imadori yelling, 
"HELP ME!"

	They spurred forwards and found him tangled up in 
the remains of the snowball; breaking off some branches, 
they hacked him out of it.

	Imadori leaned on Akira; she was surprised when he 
groped her butt; he'd never made a pass at her before; she 
found it strangely satisfying.  This didn't stop her slapping 
his hand, mind you.

	"So cold..." he mumbled.

	She continued to hold him up.  "Where are the 
others?"

	"Gone to have sex, probably," Imadori mumbled.  
"They left me here to freeze."

	"You are my classmate, so I won't let you die," Akira 
said.

	"Thank you!"

	"Unless you touch my butt again," Akira said.

	Fondle.

	"Or my breasts," she said sternly.  "Three strikes."

	"Hmm, nice and firm," Imadori said.

	Akira froze up, her brain having never bothered with 
the 1 in a billion chance of Imadori giving her a breast 
compliment.  "How can you tell through layers of cloth?" 
she mumbled.

	"Nothing can stop my magic touch," he said, but he 
now moved to simply support himself with her shoulders.  
"I can see why Nara appreciates them," Imadori said.

	Is he flirting with me?  Akira wasn't sure.  She wasn't 
used to this.  It was weirdly flattering and gave her strange 
thoughts she definitely wasn't supposed to have.

	Shinichi rose from studying the ground.  "That way.  
They've wandered deeper into the mountains."

	"I would suggest we call the others," Akira said.  
"You're going to need backup, but I have to get Imadori 
back up to his lodge so as to make sure he doesn't end up 
frostbitten."

	"Your logic is impeccable," Shinichi said.  "Let's do 
it."

*************
	
	Yuri stared out the window of the train, watching the 
countryside roll by.  Snow lightly frosted the land; it would 
have been beautiful, if she had been less nervous.

	This was going to be a disaster; she could feel it in her 
bones.  But she wasn't going to back down now.  For the 
future, she thought.

	She glanced over at her lovers; Tae was passed out 
asleep, and Tani-sensei was reading an English novel.  He 
turned and smiled at her for a moment, and she felt 
stronger.

	I may not be much alone, she thought.  But together 
we're invincible.

	We have to be.

*************

	"I think we went the wrong way," Eri said.

	"We're FINE," Harima said.  "It's just a little further 
up."

	"You said that twenty minutes ago!" Eri protested, but 
kept following.

	"Hmm, I can see some rich snob's lodge from here," 
Harima said.

	"That's MY LODGE," Eri snapped.  She stared.  
"Dammit, we went the wrong way!"

	"Well, at least the weather is nice and clear."

	A stiff wind began to blow; they could see clouds 
coming from the north.

	"Dammit," Eri said.  "TRIPLE DAMMIT."

	"Well, shit," Harima said.  "We'd better find some 
shelter."

	"You got us into this!" Eri shouted angrily.

	"You're the one who knew this area, but you followed 
me anyway!"

	"This is my first visit here!" she snapped back.  "Why 
are you so stubborn?"

	"Why are YOU so stubborn?" he shouted back. 

	They glared at each other, and then Harima turned, 
saying, "Let me find a bird or something; they'll know 
where to find a cave."

	Eri watched tiny specks of people move about far 
away, then quietly followed Harima once he got directions.  
Baka, she thought.

***************

	"Snow's coming in," Masahiro said.  "We can't go 
after them until it stops.  But the radio says it won't last 
TOO long.  So hopefully, we can find them before the sun 
sets."

	Yakumo frowned.  "We can't just abandon Kenji-kun."

	"And we can't go out into all that snow," Masahiro 
said.  "But it won't last too long."  

	Take care of yourselves, Tenma thought.  I want you 
to be okay!

****************	

	Eri and Harima sat by the fire they'd built in their 
cave, watching the snow fall.  "We wouldn't be stuck here 
if you hadn't screwed up," Eri said.

	"You're the expert skiier!  You shouldn't have been 
caught!" Harima said.

	She sighed and stared out the mouth of the cave.  
"Well, we finally have some privacy," Eri said.

	He laughed nervously.  "Yeah."

	They both sat there, not sure what to say first.  

	Finally, Harima said, "How do you think you did on 
your finals?"

	"Pretty well, I think," she said. "And you?"

	"I feel pretty confident," Harima said.  "I have to 
improve my grades if I'm gonna get into a good art school.  
And I studied as hard as I could, given how much we 
missed."

	"That's new," she said.  "You never cared."

	"I was trying to flunk so I could have remedial lessons 
with Tenma.  But now, any kind of future I have..."  He 
sighed.  "It's gotta involve me doing well."

	The future.  Could they have one?  Eri didn't know.  
Surely her parents would never let her marry Kenji...not 
that she wanted marriage right now, but...but they engaged 
her to Imadori and he wasn't very rich either.

	"Me too," Eri said.  "Don't you hate to lose?" 

	"Yes," Harima said.

	"Think of bad grades as losing to other students.  
THAT will motivate you," she said.

	So true, he thought.  

	They sat quietly for a bit, then he said, "I don't know 
how I'll do it and stay sane, but I've given up on Tenma.  
She and Karasuma...they..."  It suddenly hit him that they'd 
probably had sex the previous night.

	"I know, you told me before, last time," Eri said softly.

	He slumped, staring down at his feet.  He wouldn't 
cry.  Not in front of Eri.  Or anyone.  Even if some things 
did call for it.  But not now.

	Eri felt her heart leap with hope.  Finally.  Tenma was 
never going to love him, he was only hurting himself, now 
he was...  She looked at him.  In pain.  He'd been so 
cheerful...but probably he hadn't even THOUGHT about it 
until now.  About Tenma and Karasuma having sex; the 
thought of it made some of her brain cells fry.  

	She came over to sit by him, putting a hand on one 
knee.  "Well, we don't have to rush things," she said.  If you 
put too much pressure on men, they flee.  "As I can't date 
anyone until I'm rid of Imadori."

	"I'm going to KILL him," Harima hissed.

	She smiled a little, then nervously climbed into his 
lap.  "Wanna kiss?" she asked softly, trying to sound 
confident.

	"He hasn't tried to kiss you, has he?" Harima asked 
angrily.

	"No," she said.  "Thank God.  Do you want..."

	SMOOOOOOCH ensued.

	They were too busy to talk for a while.

*************	

	Karen told herself she couldn't just keep rushing to 
Imadori every time he brought disaster on himself.  
Nonetheless, she found herself checking in on him.  As she 
approached, she could hear him talking to Sara, who was 
ministering to him.  "That good?" Sara asked.

	"Wonderful," Imadori said.  "You're so kind, like an 
angel."

	She could hear the blush in Sara's voice.  She knew it 
from her own.  "You flatter me, sempai.  I'm just doing my 
duty."

	"I feel so much better," he said.  "I wish my fiancee 
could be as kind as you."

	Karen told herself to stop spying and go in, but her 
legs wouldn't move.  	

	"Given how much she hates you, I can't understand 
why you're going along with it," Sara said.

	Karen's breath caught in anticipation.

	"Roses have thorns, you know," Imadori said.  "But 
teasing her is such fun."  She could hear him smile.  "I 
doubt this will last all the way to actual marriage, but it's 
kind of cool for now.  And her parents have been very kind 
to me."

	So he's not even serious about this, Karen thought.  
Just a way to pass the time.  She could feel herself tremble 
with anger.  How can he treat us all so casually?  Does he 
have no love in him at all? Are all those words of praise 
just empty?

	She couldn't...she wanted to...

	She turned and strode away, finding Harry with Asou 
and Suga, playing a card game and watching the snow fall.  
She grabbed Harry.  "I need you now, boyfriend," she said.

	"I...uh...what?" he said in confusion.  "I didn't do 
something, did I?"

	"It's what I WANT you to do," she said as she tugged 
him along.

	"Damn, I wish my girlfriend would do that," Suga said 
as Karen dragged Harry off.

	"That reminds me," Asou said.  "Why exactly were 
you too...did you sit on the edge of the bed all night?"

	"It was an endurance exercise," Suga said stubbornly.

	Noises started in the distance.

	"Uh huh."

	"So, did you and Sara..."

	"We just snuggled," Asou said.

	"Man, someone's got to break your repression," Suga 
said.

	"Hello, Mr. Pot," Asou said.

	"At least I'm worried about getting a beating," Suga 
grumbled.

	"Where is Satsuki, anyway?"

	Suga said, "Let's go check on her; since we lost Harry, 
we need at least one of our girlfriends for this."

	They suited up and went outside and found her 
standing in the falling snow, sweeping the area with 
binoculars.  She pointed to a glowing spark in the distance.  
"I bet that's their fire."

	"Good thinking, girlfriend," Suga said, putting an arm 
around her waist.  Satsuki smiled and lay her head on his 
shoulder.  

	Asou snapped some photos with his camera.  "That 
should help us find it.  You want to play some cards with 
us?"

	"Sure," Satsuki said.  "Let's play Rummy so I can 
crush you all."

	"Sure," Suga replied, and they went inside to play.

***************

	"Was it really necessary to knock Tsukamoto out?" 
Keiichi asked Akira.

	"Sadly, yes," Akira said.  "Otherwise, she'd rush out 
into the snow."

	Tenma and Yakumo were both on the couch with a 
blanket over them as they cuddled in their sleep.  

	"So what do we do now?" Keiichi asked.

	"We wait, maybe gamble some more.  I can use the 
money," Akira said.

	Keiichi laughed nervously.

	"I hope Kenji-kun and Eri-chan are all right," Mikoto 
said.

	"I'm sure they're just fine," Akira said.

************

	Eri was having to fight her own instincts, which were 
telling her it was time to get naked with Kenji  and her 
common sense, which kept pointing out that getting naked 
in a cave during a snowstorm was basically insane.  Even if 
they DID have a fire.

	But then she heard the sound of claws scraping stone.  
She quickly flipped over Harima, pulling him with her 
away from the noise.  

	"What the hell was...BEAR!" Kenji said.

	A large, dangerous looking bear was staring at them.

	Kenji said, "Hello, Mr. Bear.  Is this your cave?"

	"Yes," the bear replied.  "Go mate somewhere else."

	"But it's snowing!" Harima protested.

	Eri watched tensely, wishing she understood.

	"You'll keep me awake," the bear said.  

	"We have to go," Harima said to Eri.

	"But it's pouring down snow!"

	"He's going to hibernate," Harima said.

	"But...shouldn't he be hibernating already?"

	"Do you want to argue with a bear?" Harima asked.

	No, not really.

	Eri sighed and put her ski cap back on and they 
quickly left, searching for more shelter.

****************	

	Akira, Mikoto, Hanai, and Shinichi trudged up the 
mountain, once the snow had cleared.  Tenma and Yakumo 
were still asleep, which made Akira glad, as it avoided 
having to tell her she couldn't come.  They wanted only 
experienced skiiers.  

	While the snow obscured any tracks, the pictures 
taken by Asou guided them up towards a cave.  They heard 
odd noises as they approached, and Akira crept up, then 
back.  

	"It's a bear."

	"They got eaten by a bear?" Shinichi said in horror.

	"No sign of violence," Akira said.  "But..."  She 
frowned.  

	"And their tracks are hidden by the snow," Hanai 
frowned.  "We're going to have to call in more people and 
fan out to search."

	"Delightful," Akira said.  "Well, let's get on it."

************

	Now that the snow had cleared, Sakaki, Kagura, 
Osaka, and Chiyo-chan were about to take another run 
down the slopes.  Before they headed out, however, the 
radio came on, announcing that two skiiers had been lost 
somewhere on Mount Bitake, and that everyone should 
keep an eye out for them.

	"Hey, we're on Mount Bitake," Kagura said.  "Right?"

	"Maybe Tadakichi can track them down," Osaka said.

	"Well, it won't hurt to try," Chiyo-chan said.  "Being 
lost in snow is pretty terrible."

	Sakaki nodded.  

	Chiyo-chan got Tadakichi and mounted up.  "Let's 
go!"

***********

	"I hope this isn't really a shrine," Eri said again, 
staring at the large wooden Buddha against the back wall of 
the cave.

	"Buddha alone doesn't make a shrine," Harima said.  
But he wasn't comfortable making out with Buddha 
watching him.

	"The snow has stopped.  We should head back," Eri 
said.

	"No rush," Harima said.  "We may not see each other 
again before Christmas."

	"True," she said, leaning over on him.  He put an arm 
around her and she smiled.

	"So what are you going to do when you finish high 
school?" he asked.

	"Go to college, be rich, run the family businesses once 
I inherit.  Probably run just one of them until I do," Eri 
said.

	"Man, I guess you just kind of inherited your future," 
Harima said a little sadly.

	"Not much room for deviance unless I just throw it all 
away and get myself disinherited," Eri said with a sigh.  
"You may not have much, but you can dream, at least."

	He frowned at that.  "What would you do if you could 
be free?"

	She wasn't sure, really.  "Science, maybe.  I'm good at 
science and math."

	He imagined Eri in a labcoat and glasses.  It was 
incredibly cute, he thought.  "You look nice like that."

	"What?"

	"Just imagining it," he said.  "You'd look nice as a 
scientist."

	She blinked.  "Really?"

	"Yeah," he said.  "I think you'd make a great scientist.  
Or an athlete.  Given you like to compete."

	"Yeah, I love to," Eri said, grinning.

	"So who gets it all if you did leave your family?" 
Harima asked.

	"I...I don't know for sure," Eri said.  "Probably at this 
point, my parents won't manage to have more kids, so I 
suppose my cousin Jessica.  Even if she's lazy."  Eri 
grimaced at that.

	I really should learn more about her family, Harima 
thought.  Probably her relatives are the most likely ones to 
be able to end that damn engagement.  "So, tell me more 
about your family.  I hardly know anything about it."

	She looked surprised.  "You really want to know?"

	"Yeah," he said.  "I told you about mine.  Not that 
there's much to know."

	"Well, it goes back to Grandfather, who took a British 
wife during the Occupation..." Eri began.  

	Harima sat back and listened and tried to brew a plan.  
Even if family intrigue wasn't his strong suit.

************

	"Are you sure you're fit enough for this?" Akira asked 
Imadori skeptically.

	"Yes," he said hotly.  "I've been laid up for hours with 
Sara's tender care.  I am ready and able.  Even if I'd rather 
let Harima go freeze to death at this point.  But I can't save 
Eri without saving him."

	"I will take you with me, then," Akira said.  She 
turned to Karen.  "Your job is to make sure none of the 
fretful do anything insane and try to follow us."

	She folded her arms across her chest.  "Right."

	"Okay, everyone, let's move out," Akira said.	

***********

	"Is Takano-san always such a take-charge person?" 
Miki asked Hanai.

	They slowly picked their way up the mountainside.  
Hanai wondered again why Akira had chosen the pairs that 
she did.  Not that he minded, but he'd been surprised she let 
Imadori of all people be her partner.

	"If she cares enough to take charge," Hanai said.  
"Takano-san sometimes likes to sit back and let people 
flounder to amuse herself."

	"I don't think she likes me too much," Miki said 
hesitantly.

	"Well, she really hates me," Hanai said.  "I don't think 
anyone in the world loathes me as much as she does."  He 
sighed.  "I don't know what I did to anger her, but it's been 
wall-to-wall hate this whole school year."

	"Well, I like you," Miki said.  "But some people are 
just bitchy, I guess."

	Hanai looked around, hoping to find some sort of clue, 
but there was just trees, rocks, and snow.  "She has an 
admirable skill of command when she chooses to exercise 
it."

	"Which isn't often, I take it," Miki said.

	"Not too often, but she does, in a crisis."  Hanai 
sighed.  "Which ought to be my job as class rep."

	She reached over and patted his hand.  "You're not in 
school now, Haruki-kun."

	"Father didn't pound as much into me as he wanted, 
but the sense of duty stuck," Hanai said.  He looked around, 
then began shouting "HARIMA-SAN!  SAWACHIKA-
SAN!"

	Miki started yelling as well, and they continued their 
search.

*************

	Imadori skiied along at a good pace, though Akira 
found it easy to keep up.  He seemed driven to find Eri, 
which surprised Akira, but also pleased her.  It was 
probably just driven by the desire to impress her and to try 
to get into her bed, but still, it was his duty as her fiancee.  
If he was going to help her parents punish her, at least he 
could act as a good fiancee.  

	"You see anything?" Akira asked.

	"Nothing," he replied.

	She shouted, "KENJI-KUN!  ERI-CHAN!"

	"SHITHEAD!  ERI-CHAN!" Imadori shouted.

	"He's not that bad," Akira said, giving Imadori a look.

	"This is all his fault!" Imadori said, gesticulating with 
one pole. 

	He is innocent for once, Akira thought.  "Don't worry, 
we'll find Eri-chan."

	"I hope so," he said, looking around.  "I couldn't stand 
telling her parents she was hurt."

	She skiied in silence a little, then said, "Imadori-san, 
are you serious about Eri-chan?"

	"I'm doing everything I can to find her!" he said.  "But 
you can hardly see anything for all the trees."

	"I mean, the engagement."

	"Of course I'm serious," he said.  It wasn't his serious 
voice, however.

	"Don't lie to me," Akira said, pushing forwards.

	"My heart is none of your business," Imadori said 
sharply.  "I'm not going to abandon my fiancee to die in the 
wilderness, if that's what you're worried about.  Beyond 
that, it's none of your business."

	"She's my friend," Akira said sharply.  "That makes it 
my business."

	"I'm not interested in sharing confidences with you so 
you can use them against me or sell me down the river," 
Imadori said, then turned to scan up the mountain.  "Maybe 
up there?  There's a cave."

	"No sign of a fire," Akira said, frowning.  "Though I 
suppose we should check it anyway."

	They moved silently up the mountain and peeked, 
only to find a bear snoozing away.  They crept off, and 
continued their search in somewhat hostile silence.

*************

	Eri was in Harima's lap, making out with him, when a 
loud bark startled her so much she fell over.

	Some sort of snow-swathed tiny person rode in on a 
huge white dog, followed by a mountain of a woman, a 
relatively normal looking woman, and a sort of vapid 
zombie-girl.

	"We found them!" the tiny person said proudly.

	"Who the hell are you?" Harima said, confused.

	The dog said to him, "I am Tadakichi, Destroyer of 
Worlds.  This is my master Chiyo the Great!  She's very 
kind, and these are her friends Sakaki the Brave, Kagura 
the Strong, and Osaka the Confused."

	Harima petted Tadakichi behind the ears.  "Good 
boy," he said.  "And I agree, she does look confused."

	Osaka stared blankly at Harima.

	Sakaki looked curiously at Harima.  Was he talking to 
the dog?

	Chiyo-chan cocked her head.  "Are you talking to my 
dog, Mr..."

	"She's very kind, but not fluent in Dog," Tadakichi 
explained.

	"The zombie girl isn't some kind of witch, is she?" 
Harima asked the dog.

	Eri studied the four; the little kid looked kind of 
familiar.

	"She took too much drugs in the sixties, I think," 
Tadakichi said.

	"I'm Harima Kenji, and this is Sawachika Eri," Harima 
said.
		
	"Sawachika-san!  Your family is very famous," Chiyo-
chan said.  "I'm Mihama Chiyo."  She then introduced her 
friends.  

	"Tadakichi-san says you are very kind," Harima said.  

	Chiyo looked very embarrassed.  Osaka drifted over 
and looked into Tadakichi's mouth as he panted at her.  

	"Mihama-san!  I knew I had seen you somewhere 
before," Eri said.  "I think one of my cousins married one 
of yours and you were at the wedding, last year."

	"Yes!" Chiyo said.  "You were one of her bridesmaids, 
right?"

	Eri nodded, smiling. "Yes, I was.  Thank you for 
finding us, Mihama-san.  We just bought a place near here, 
the old Tadayama house."

	"Oh, I know where that is.  Would you like help 
finding your way back?"

	Sakaki drifted closer to Harima, then asked, hesitantly, 
"You can talk to dogs?"

	"Hmm?  Oh, any animal."

	"Oh come on, no one can talk to animals," Kagura 
said, hands on her hips.

	"We'd be very grateful, Mihama-san," Eri said.

	Chiyo smiled.  "We'd be glad to."

	"Tadakichi, can you tell me one of Kagura-san's 
secrets so she'll know we understand each other?" Harima 
asked Tadakichi.

	"She's the one who ate the last apple this morning," 
Tadakichi said.

	"He says you ate the last apple, Kagura-san."

	Osaka rose slowly, like the dead coming out of a 
grave, then lumbered over to Kagura.  "You said you 
didn't."

	Sakaki looked at Harima, then at Tadakichi, 
thoughtfully.  "Can you talk to cats?" she asked softly.

	Kagura said, "Hey, who are you going to believe?  Me 
or someone who claims to talk to dogs?"

	"The man who talks to dogs, of course," Osaka said.

	"..."

	"I can talk to any animal," Harima said to Sakaki.

	Her eyes lit up.  "You can?"

	"Yes."  She's kind of slow, he thought.

	"Really?" she asked hopefully.

	"Yes," Harima said a little nervously.  REAL slow.  

	"You...I want to learn," she said urgently.

	Harima licked his lips nervously.  "I...I don't know if I 
can teach it."

	"Please try," she said, taking a hand of his.  "Please."  
Her voice was urgent.

	"Well, err..."  He laughed nervously.  This woman was 
suddenly so intense, and really, she was kind of cute, 
almost like if Tenma-chan had suddenly grown a foot taller 
and much more...

	Eri said, "We have a cat that came with our house if 
you like cats, Sakaki-san."  She took Harima's other hand 
and pulled him out of her grasp.  

	Sakaki's eyes lit up.  "I'd like...to see it," she said 
hesitantly.

	"Let's get out of here before it gets dark, then," Eri 
said.

	So they took off.

*************

	Mikoto wondered if being paired with Masahiro was 
Akira's comment on...the thing she and Haruki had with 
Miki and Masahiro.  Whatever it was exactly.

	It was incredible, whatever it was.  Just having... 
seeing them...  Sex was very good, but it was better with 
those two watching.  She shivered a little and told herself 
not think about it.

	She glanced over at Masahiro, who was looking 
intently for tracks, and felt childish for even thinking about 
it.  He's always been so hard-working, Mikoto thought.  

	She tried to think.  There ought to be some clue as to 
where those two were.

	She looked for any stray doodles or bullet holes, but 
couldn't find any.

	Then an inspiration hit her.  "HEY, HARIMA!  
IMADORI IS HERE AND HE SAYS HE CAN WHIP 
YOUR ASS!" she shouted into the wind.

	Masahiro jumped.  "What the hell?"

	She started talking trash loudly into the wind.

	Then she heard a distant crashing noise.  Harima came 
crashing out of the trees with Eri.  "Where's the punk-ass?  
I WILL KILL HIM!" Harima shouted.

	Mikoto laughed softly.  "We found you, good.  I made 
it up to see if it caught your attention.  He's not here."

	"He's not?  DAMMIT!  I'll get him for this!"

	Sakaki, Chiyo-chan, Osaka, and Kagura now loomed 
out of the woods behind Eri and Harima.

	"Harima-san, according to the witnesses, the giant 
snowball was your fault," Masahiro said.  

	"I'll cut him!  I will!" Harima ranted.

	"Kenji-kun, that's enough," Eri said firmly.

	He fell mostly silent, but mumbled under his breath.

	Mikoto sighed.  "I'll call the others; let's head back."  
She paused.  "Oh, hello there."  She waved to the four other 
arrivals.

	"They found us in the cave, and I invited them to see 
my lodge," Eri said to Mikoto, then introduced them.

	CAT, Sakaki thought.  Going to see a CAT.  CAT.  

	"Is Harima going to be able to come over to your 
place?"  Mikoto asked.

	Eri sighed.  "No.  Stupid engagement."

	"What?" Chiyo-chan asked.

	Eri explained it quickly.

	"I say we just punch out the security," Kagura said.  
"They don't sound so tough."

	"We can take Harima home," Mikoto said.  

	Eri sighed.  "Best to avoid more trouble for today.  
Come on, everyone, let's go."

	"We can come visit your house tomorrow, Harima-
san," Chiyo said.

	"Yes," Sakaki said firmly.

	"Okay," Harima said.  "Let's go."
	
******************

	Harima stared at Karen, who was sitting on a writhing 
Tenma.  Karasuma sat nearby, playing a card game with 
Yakumo.  "What the hell?"

	"Kenji!  Where's Eri-chan!" Tenma yelped.

	"Eri-san had to go back to her house and I came here.  
Why is Karen sitting on you?"

	"I had to keep her from rushing out into the snow," 
Karen said.  "But if everyone's back, I'll head over to Eri's 
house."  She stood.  

	"So Eri's place is that close," Harima said 
thoughtfully.

	"Yeah," Tenma said, now free to get up.

	"Are you okay, Kenji-kun?" Yakumo asked.

	"I'm fine," he said to her, coming over and taking her 
hand.  "Don't worry about me."

	Tenma smiled.  "What a good boyfriend."

	Harima felt rather embarrassed at that; he'd been 
making out with Eri not all that long ago.  Fighting and 
kissing, they were good at both.  Eri always got mad over 
nothing.  Yakumo hardly ever got mad, but he didn't get the 
same...kick...from her as from Eri.  But she was so much 
easier to deal with.

	Yakumo worried about the emotions she was reading 
on him.  "You sure you're okay?"

	"I'm fine.  Can I join your game?  I want to kick 
Karasuma's ass."

	Karasuma shuffled the deck.  "Sure.  Tenma-chan can 
join us too.  Bye, Karen-san!"

	Tenma sat down next to Karasuma; they looked very 
intimate to Harima, which didn't help his mood, though 
they had to move apart once the game started, as they 
switched to spades, and partners had to sit opposite each 
other.

	Despite Kenji's inexperience and poor bidding skills, 
he and Yakumo proceded to crush Tenma and Karasuma 
like bugs, thanks to a combination of Tenma being busy 
fantasizing about Karasuma and Yakumo being able to read 
what cards Kenji had.  Though she tried to not do it, he was 
focusing on her so much, it was hard to avoid it.

	"Tenma-chan, you don't HAVE to kiss Karasuma after 
every hand," Harima said, idly.

	"Oh, am I?" she laughed nervously.

	Yakumo looked over at Tenma and got an eyeful of 
Tenma-Karasuma nookie from Tenma's thoughts.  Her eyes 
crossed and she fell over.

	"Yakumo-chan!" Tenma said, suddenly worried.

	Harima frowned.  "You okay, Yakumo-san?"

	Yakumo began to snore.

	Tenma sighed.  "Better put her to bed."

	Harima nodded, picking her up and carrying her off to 
bed.

***************

	"Eri-chan!" Imadori said.

	"Don't call me that!" Eri snapped.

	"You shouldn't be so harsh on him after you left him 
frozen in a giant snowball," Sara said.  "He could have 
gotten frostbite."  Her voice was gently chiding.

	"Hey, there's the pervert who invaded our classroom 
and groped Sakaki!" Kagura said, pointing at Imadori.

	There was a great and terrible silence.  

	Imadori could hear angels blowing the trumpets which 
herald the end of all things.  It's been a good life, he 
thought.  

	Sakaki shivered and stepped back, not wanting to be 
groped again.

	Then Osaka shouted, "DEATH!" and rushed at 
Imadori.

	Panicked, he ran; Tadakichi instinctively began to 
chase him.  Chiyo was taken along for the ride.  Kagura 
shouted, "PUNISH THE PERVERT!" and sprinted after 
them.

	"What did he do?" Eri asked.

	"He landed in our classroom and groped me," Sakaki 
said, shivering a bit more.

	Sara said, "Oh, when Gonzales-san flung him across 
town?"

	"I don't know what caused it, but it was not nice," 
Sakaki said, though she didn't seem all that vengeful to Eri.

	Eri frowned.  "Come on, Sakaki, let's kick his ass."  
Fondling giant women with huge breasts when he's 
engaged to me, she thought.  He'll pay for that.

	"Wait, violence is not the answer!" Sara said, running 
after them.

	Imadori was brought to bay in the laundry room.  He 
hurled a large basket at Osaka, who got trapped under it 
and couldn't figure out how to lift it off her.  The house's 
cat leaped off a dryer onto Tadakichi, confusing him; he 
slid and crashed into the wall; Chiyo ended up buried in 
laundry with her dog on her.

	Kagura leaped at Imadori, who flicked a box of soap 
at her; she ended up blinded, getting it in her eyes and ran 
to wash her eyes out.

	Unfortunately, this left Eri and Sakaki closing in on 
him.  He looked for an escape route; there was a window; 
he was halfway out it when Eri pulled him in and pinned 
him against the washer.

	"Okay, you can beat the crap out of this fool now," Eri 
said.

	Sakaki stared at him.  "It's not a very cute solution."

	"..."  Eri stared at Sakaki.  "Aren't you angry with 
him?"

	"I don't like violence," Sakaki said.

	"Help!  I've fallen and I can't get up!" Osaka said, 
stuck under the basket.

	Tadakichi tried to pull Chiyo out, but the cat was on 
his head, making it hard for him to navigate.  He ended up 
knocking more laundry hampers over on her.  

	Then Sakaki saw the cat.  "Cute kitty!"  She started to 
wander over.

	"Stop!" Eri said, tugging her arm.  "You have to 
punish Imadori for groping you!"

	Sara now stepped in.  "I have just the solution if you 
like cute solutions."

	Sakaki looked at her curiously.  Imadori felt a sudden 
stab of terror, as he realized what was coming.

****************

	Tani felt his nerves jangle.  They'd decided to go 
ahead and say hello to Yuri's parents while still relatively 
fresh, as they would likely explode the most.  He watched 
Yuri knock on the door of her parents' house.

	"Come in," a woman shouted.

	Yuri opened the door and stepped into the living room, 
followed by Tani, then Tae.  "Mother, Father, I'm back 
from Tokyo and..."

	Tani assessed the situation.  There was a middle-aged 
woman here, armed with a bow, quiver on her back, 
dressed in shooting-clothes.  Next to her stood a slightly 
older man with black hair pulled back and tied into a short 
tail in the samurai style, wearing archaic clothing and 
carrying a katana.  He recognized Yuri's parents, but this 
wasn't their normal style of dressing.  

	He had a bad feeling about this.

	"Step away from them, Yuri-chan," her father said.  
"We must destroy these hideous beasts who have led you 
astray."

	Tae put on her best smile.  "It's so nice to meet you," 
she said.  "Your cosplay is very good."

	"COSPLAY?", her father said.  "It is time for you 
monsters to die!"  He raised his sword high.

	Tani said, "You both have known me since I was little.  
I would never..."

	"We know all about the evil butterfly woman!  SHE 
DIES!"  Then both parents charged at Tae.  

	Yuri said, "What are you two DOING?"

	Tae turned and ran, as did Tani, with the parents in 
pursuit, followed by Yuri shouting at them to stop being 
stupid.

****************

	Yakumo was woken with a kiss.  Kenji was kneeling 
over her as she lay on the bed; he kissed her again and she 
reached up, pulling him down onto the bed with her.  They 
rolled around for a while, kissing fervently, while her hands 
clumsily roamed up and down his back.  Kenji had one 
hand on her butt, the other on her right breast, cupping it as 
he leaned down to kiss her.  She pushed it up into his hand, 
enjoying the feeling of it rubbing against her shirt.  

	She could feel his mind, and she opened hers to him, 
shared with him what she was feeling and tried to feel what 
he felt.  

	The sensation was surreal, like being a man and a 
woman at once, touching herself and being touched all at 
the same time.  She reached down and began to undo his 
pants, and he blushed.  Kenji was such a sweetie, really.

	"I want you," she said softly, somehow speaking 
around his tongue; perhaps it was mind to mind speech; she 
was starting to lose track of what he heard and what she 
did.

	"But I haven't...I mean, I'm not ready," he mumbled.  
"It wouldn't be fair."

	He was definitely ready; she could feel what his body 
wanted and he could feel hers.  	

	"I don't want fairness," she said.  "I want you."

	He blushed more at that.  "I still haven't decided," he 
began.

	"But I have," she said.  "Even if we never, again, I 
want you now."  Her boldness excited her; she was drawing 
his boldness into herself; maybe that was why he suddenly 
seemed so strangely tentative, almost feminine.

	The world seemed to ripple, and for a moment, she 
was a boy with girl-Harima kneeling over boy-Yakumo.  
And then it rippled again and they were back to normal 
with Yakumo feeling very strange and Harima looking 
utterly confused.  

	She reached out again, trying to feel the world, to 
understand what she'd just done.  Even as it happened 
again, scaring and exciting her at once...

	Karasuma walked in.  "Wake up, Yakumo, or dinner 
will get cold."  He cocked his head slightly.  "I don't think 
he's ready for that."

	Yakumo turned beet red as the world snapped back to 
normal and she wanted to just have a heart attack and die.

	And then the world audibly clicked and fell away, 
segment by segment into darkness, and she woke up feeling 
aroused and utterly embarrassed.

	She rubbed her forehead, wondering if the real thing 
was anything like that.  

***************

	Nothing like being thrown in jail on your first night 
back in town, Tani thought.  The police had found them all, 
assumed they were engaged in drunken holiday insanity, 
and tossed them in the drunk tank.

	At least he had company; he snuggled up to the ladies 
and decided to try and fall asleep, though it was hard to do 
so with Yuri's parents staring daggers into his head.

	At least visiting my parents tomorrow won't be THIS 
bad, he thought.

***********

	Sakaki sat on the couch, crushingly hugging Imadori, 
who was now dressed up as a cat-boy, while petting the 
house's patron cat with one hand.  She was lost in heaven.

	"Can't...breathe..." Imadori mumbled.  

	Eri, Chiyo-chan, Osaka, and Kagura sat nearby, 
playing cards and listening to music.

	Karen now entered and stared at Imadori.  
"You...you..."  She couldn't believe it.  Even Imadori 
couldn't be THIS shameless, snuggled up to another woman 
while his fiancee played cards with little kids.  (Well, 
Kagura wasn't little, but she was obviously the chaperone.  
Obviously.)

	"Karen, save me!" Imadori pleaded.

	Karen wavered, torn between anger at him and the 
feelings she still had in her heart.

	"I never thought I'd want AWAY from D," Imadori 
moaned as Sakaki tightened her grip and the tabby cat 
purred.

	D...he would have let me do that if I had large breasts, 
Karen thought.  He's probably just trying to tease me, she 
thought, feeling her anger get stronger.  "Save yourself," 
she said, fighting the urge to cry.  "I'm going to go make 
out with my boyfriend."

	She stormed off, leaving Imadori to his doom.

	"Isn't that cat so cute?" Eri said.

	"Very," Sakaki said, tightening her grip, unable to see 
the tears of an Imadori.

	Eri smiled; it's always good to make new friends.  

	And torment useless fiancees.

***************

	"Do we really need to smuggle you in inside a coffin?" 
Lala asked Tomo.  "Can't you just come in with us?  Karen 
did invite me to be in the band, so..."

	Tomo said, "See, I have this idea for a stage set with a 
mini-Stonehenge with dwarves dancing around it and..."

	"Been done," Lala said.

	"DAMMIT."

***************

	"We can't do that again," Suga said.

	"Yeah," Satsuki said.

	"Maybe we should get Sara to exorcise our room," 
Suga said.

	"It was just that stupid cat," Satsuki said.

	"So if we lock the cat outside..."

	"We'll be fine," Satsuki said.  "Right?"

	"Right."

	"Time to dispose of the cat."

****************			

	"You look like a mummy," Asou said to Suga.  "Was 
this deliberate?"

	"Cat hired a mercenary," Suga mumbled.  "I'm fine."

	Asou shook his head.  "If you say so."

	"See you later," Suga mumbled and stumbled off.

**************

	Hanai sat on the couch, watching TV with most of the 
group.  They were too tired for games, but not sleepy 
enough to go to bed yet.  

	Then he realized something was lurking over his 
shoulder as he sat with his arm around Mikoto.  He turned 
and saw Akira.  

	Akira said, "You did well."

	"What?" he asked in confusion.

	"You worked very hard today to find Imadori."

	"Yeah, but I didn't," he said gloomily.

	"The effort means more than the success.  It's better to 
try and fail than to not try," Akira said.

	"That's true," he said.

	Akira stood and stared at him, then ambled away to go 
sit by Nara again.

	What the hell was that about, Hanai wondered.

**************

	Asou had told himself to talk to Sara about everything 
before bed time, but instead, they were in bed, kissing 
again.  Which he definitely enjoyed, but it was getting in 
the way of a serious talk.

	But maybe he could spare a few more minutes before 
he cut things off...

***************

	Hanai was too tired to do anything sexy tonight.  As 
he lay in the dark with Mikoto, Miki, and Masahiro, he 
said, "Is it just me, or is Takano-san acting a little weird?"

	"I think she's very weird," Miki said.

	"I don't know her well enough to judge," Masahiro 
said.

	"Well, she does seem more...she's a lot happier lately," 
Mikoto said, idly stroking Hanai's side.  "And I think all the 
times I've told her to lay off you are finally paying off."

	"I guess so," Hanai said, gently playing with Mikoto's 
hair as they talked.  

	"I don't like her at all," Miki said, frowning.

	"She may seem cold, but she's been a very good friend 
to me," Mikoto said.  "It does take a while to realize she's 
just hiding her real feelings."

	"I guess," Miki said, sounding unconvinced.

	"Not everyone wears their heart on their sleeve like 
you, dear," Masahiro said, kissing Miki's cheek gently.  
"Discretion has its place too."

	"I guess," Miki said.  She yawned.  "Well, hopefully, 
no disasters tomorrow."

	"Amen to that," Hanai said.  And then they all drifted 
off to sleep.

**************
	
	Yakumo told herself that nothing could have happened 
between Eri and Harima in all that time.  Surely, he 
couldn't come back here and act like this if he and she had, 
if they...

	She shook her head.  Press on with the plan.  

	Harima was busy changing into the slightly raggedy 
shirt and sweat pants he tended to sleep in at night.  
Yakumo watched him, feeling her body get excited, trying 
to steel herself to the task.

	As he finished, she said, "Kenji-kun, would you like 
to..."

	"So dead," he mumbled, falling over.  He was out 
before his head hit the pillow.

	She frowned, then took his pulse.  He felt fine.  
Probably just tired from the day, she thought.

	She sighed.  Tomorrow, maybe.  Hopefully.

******************

	"We ready?" Suga asked Satsuki, who now stepped 
out from hiding in the corner as she changed; she was 
wearing a nice teddy which was very high quality, but also 
clearly intended for someone actually much larger than her.  
Nevertheless, Suga found it very attractive, and he regretted 
he hadn't thought to bring anything fancy to change into.  
"You look great!"

	"I just hope Mom doesn't notice I took this," Satsuki 
mumbled.

	"You look fine," he said; he'd stripped down to his 
underwear himself.  He could see Satsuki checking him 
out.  He quickly checked the door; it was locked and he had 
a chair under it.  

	Then there was a rattling in the closet.