Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Walking the Edge ❯ Halloween Party ( Chapter 9 )

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera and that naughty Angela. But I wish I owned Love Hina… *sigh*

Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work… Or if they're like this: `thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.

(OOO)(OOO) - scene change, I have no idea what the longer ones mean.

Chapter 9 - Halloween Party

A finger circumnavigated the rim of the cup as the pair of women sat in silence. Wisps of steam floated off the tea and disappeared rather quickly in the cool temperature of the room. Both figures sat on opposite sides of the low table; the one in the white tee, her eyes boring into the one sitting across from her; whereas the black clothed one focused on anywhere but the other girl's eyes.

"Well?" Motoko stared expectantly at the opposing figure who was concentrating on the cup like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

Kiera's head raised itself and she straightened her posture just enough so she could look the other in the eye. "It's hardwired into me; I'm a born masochist." She said that with absolutely no emotion at all, the look in her eyes a carefully contrived blankness.

The expression on Motoko's face was disbelieving and annoyed. "I want the truth." Her dark eyes burned their way into her own, bidding her to tell the real story.

The air from her lungs escaped in a sigh. "Right, the truth." Her hands began fiddling with the almost full cup of hot tea, nearly spilling it once or twice. Their gazes broke apart as she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling instead. "When I was younger, I was a little bit of a, how do you put it?" Her eyes narrowed as they fixated themselves on one particular irregularity on the otherwise smooth ceiling. "Ah, right, an overachiever. It wasn't so bad until I hit high school. There, I tried to take as many challenging classes as possible, thought I could handle it." She gave a noncommittal shrug of the shoulders. "I was doing pretty well until, oh, middle of sophomore year. I cut myself badly on the arm while working on a project. I guess the whole bleeding thing was tied to a kind of emotional release, but not in that suicidal way.

"I didn't have much of an interest in killing myself; it just took the pressure off me in little ways. Hell, I didn't really do it all that often until. . ." Her voice trailed off into vague mumbling. `Don't forget your newfound interest in girls started then, too.' A little voice in her head added cheerfully. `Shut up. She doesn't need to know that.'

"Until what?"

She drew air in a slow intake of breath. "Angela found out about it. Our friendship went to hell shortly after. The month following it was too much to take and it got worse. Progressively worse. Someone ending up signing me up for a trip to a private psychiatrist, pre-paid for and everything. He diagnosed me with "chronic depression", which I thought was wrong and stopped attending after a session or two. We made up soon after; she turned out to be angry but since she couldn't get me to stop, she only made me promise not to cut anything major." Her eyes remained glued to the roof. "Happy now?"

"I'm not happy about it, but it is your life." Her voice sounded just a touch accusatory and reprimanding.

"Eh, talking about stuff like this is prone to making people depressed to begin with." Another expansive shrug of her shoulders. She unfolded her legs and rose to her feet while dusting off her butt in the process. "I'm not one for dwelling on the past; I just accept it and move on."

"Why do you keep doing it then?"

The question made her pause and blink for a few moments. "I never really thought about it. I guess it's just become a bad habit now." She gave Motoko a sheepish grin. "It just gives me something to do with my hands." The American stuck her hands into her back pockets and walked backwards, careful not to trip over anything.

"Isn't that what hobbies are for?" Motoko held the cup of still-steaming tea up to her lips and took a few small sips.

"Hobbies shmobbies. I do what I like when I like to." The younger one leaned back against the doorjamb and slid it open behind her. "Now, I've got plenty of work to do since I didn't get much done last night with Angela over and all." `Idiot.' Mental slap. `Why don't you just tell her that you were busy having wild sex because that's what she's probably thinking.' She could practically feel the tips of her ears burning as she nodded at the other and stepped out.

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, a few days later. . .

Prowling around the old inn certainly proved enjoyable, at least for the bored that sorely need entertainment. Kiera snooped around in hidden hallways for the past hour and a half after she tumbled through the wall tapestry in the living room after she leaned on it. However, the fact that the passageways were so low, it forced her to either crawl or stoop her shoulders to move around. Which was not fun at all since stooping had made her back hurt and crawling for the past 45 minutes was hellish on her hands and knees. Not to mention being lost hidden passageways in a huge inn is bad. Very, very bad.

"Gods… Have I already been here?" Kiera peered down at the ground. In the dim light that was being emitted from some vague source, the relatively thick layer of dust on the ground looked undisturbed. "Okay, maybe not this way." She made to turn around when she noticed that the hallway was slightly warmer than the others and she could hear water splashing. Concentrating more with ears all a-twitching, she could make out faint voices through the wall to the left of her. "Hmmm…. Maybe I'll keep going then."

As she proceeded on, the voices got louder and the words became more audible. After living in the Hinata House for a month now, she could roughly make out whose voice belonged to whom. She continued on and found a thin beam of yellow light that lit up a small patch of dusty ground in front of her. The light seemed oddly bright and almost obscene after wandering around in darkness for some time. Squinting a bit, she let her pupils adjust to the new light source before pressing her eye to the small quarter-sized hole.

"What do you mean there's not enough money?"

Kiera realized where she was; she was peeking in on the hot springs bath and everyone was in there. The hazy steam obscured her vision half the time but she repositioned herself better for eavesdropping and catching whatever glimpses she could. It was apparent that the protesting, half-demanding voice belonged to Kitsune.

"That's just it, there's not enough. With only half of you guys paying the rent and all the repairs this old building needs, there's just not enough for a Halloween party right now. Not to mention all the money you spent on the last few parties and tapping my wallet for your drinking money!" Keitaro sighed from somewhere within the steam.

"What if we all chip in some more for a party, sempai? After all, Kiera is the first person to stay longer than a month for a while now. I think we should have a celebration because of that." The soothing tones of Shinobu trying to smooth things over didn't quite work the magic they normally did.

"I still have my money-making machine if you want to use that." Su chirped up.

"Let's not promote making counterfeit money Su." The steam cleared away to reveal Motoko facing in the direction of the wall Kiera was hiding behind. Everyone was just lounging around in bathing suits, drinking tea and it looked like they were holding some kind of house meeting. "I think we can hold a small party with the funds we have. It doesn't have to be large and elaborate."

"No, no, it has to be a big party; that American is the only real tenant that's stayed any period of time without just up and running off in the middle of the night." Per usual, in Kitsune's hand was a glass of something and it wasn't tea. "How much do we need?"

"We need about-"

"T-TURTLE! STAY BACK DEMON!" Motoko screamed when a little green blur flew past her. Instantly, her sword was in her hands and she swung wildly at the little green thing. "GET AWAY, GET IT AWAY!"

Kitsune whistled. "Damn, that's a lot of money." She and Keitaro were still talking about the party while everyone else was running around the hot spring after Tama-chan the flying hot spring turtle, otherwise known as the little green blur.

Naru managed to restrain Motoko in a bear hug and, in the ensuing struggle, they somehow accomplished untying and pulling off each other's bikini tops along with getting the sword pinned between their legs in what looked very much like an opening scene for a kinky porno.

SPLASH!

The sound of something heavy hitting the water made them pause for a moment and look over. Poor Keitaro was lying face up in the water, blood spraying out of his nose like a fountain. His eyes were swirly and he had a glazed over expression on his face and was mumbling something that sounded like "thespians".

A vein began to throb on Naru's forehead as her face turned a bright, vivid red. Motoko had that look of being possessed by an evil being going on and they both turned their full attention on the semi-conscious manager.

Kiera couldn't peel herself away and watched as the two violent girls pummeled the crap out of Keitaro. She found herself tilting her head as she tried to get a better view of their bodies as they moved. Not surprisingly, the American-in-hiding fell over with a loud thump after tilting and leaning too far over.

Motoko looked up from beating Keitaro. "Did you hear something?"

Naru followed suit, leaving the bruised and bloodied manager to doggy-paddle to salvation. Kitsune was busy helping him out of the water before the other girls could notice while laughing her head off.

Forgetting where she was for a split second, she attempted to rise quickly and slammed her shoulders and the back of her head into the low, low ceiling. "Motherfuc-" Her hands clapped over her mouth, catching the last bit of the curse word.

The still-topless pair turned to face the wall Kiera was hiding behind. The redheaded girl stalked forward cautiously. "I think it's coming from behind that wall."

The now-seemingly-narrow passage felt like it was getting smaller as she tried to escape. The thick layer of dust on the floor hampered her movement and her wild thrashing sent clouds of it into the air, making her sneeze wildly. The floor beneath her suddenly gave way and she plunged headlong into a tunnel.

Convoluted smooth metal sides shot by her as she sped through them. After slamming into one side rather violently, she slowed long enough to catch a glimpse of a tiny three-eyed symbol marring the otherwise sleek surface. Quickly, the tube opened up and the unlucky American was soon soaring headfirst through the air only to hit one inconveniently placed tree in her landing area and black out.

Kiera wasn't out for very long and was soon welcomed back to the wonderful world of consciousness. "Son of a-" Rubbing her shoulder, she growled under her breath and checked her surroundings.

The room gave the appearance of a jungle of sorts; low hanging tree branches, spongy moss covering the floor, complete with a damp, humid feel to the air. The faint sounds of giggling and soft laughter drifted over to where she was sitting on the ground. Rising to her feet unsteadily, she tried to quietly pad around to find the makers of the noise and stumbled straight into a tree with her good shoulder. "Owww. . ."

A few leaves somewhere in front of her rustled. "Did you hear that?" The voice sounded familiar. It had that warm, pleased but tired feel to it, like the owner had just woken up.

Another round of soft giggles. "Mmm. Hear what?"

Kiera froze in place.

"Nothing, must be my imagination." The sound of someone yawning could be heard as the American crept forward ever so slowly. Sounds of people breathing just beyond the next plant became louder and sped up to the point of panting. Taking her chances, she brushed some branches and leaves aside and scooted up for a closer view.

"Holy shit. . ."

Shinobu was lying on top of someone, butt naked, kissing down someone else's equally naked body. The violet-haired girl was lingering around the other's chest, blocking the view of whoever was on the ground from Kiera's point of view. Her head slowly continued on its southern move, revealing blonde hair and a gleeful, pleased expression on Su's face.

`Must. . . leave. . .' The scene proved to be quite captivating and was certainly more entertaining than some other things. Kiera made a careless move backwards, her attention still focused on the scene in front of her. A twig snapped under her knee; its crack audible to her sensitive ears, not to mention evident to the pair lying on the moss too.

Shinobu rose onto her knees, loosely gripping Su's thighs with them. "There!" She glanced around wildly, a cautious look on her face. "What was that?" Su's jungle room was not a place to be trifled with.

The blonde girl looked mildly irritated with the interruption. "It's nothing. I ought to know, I made it."

Still, the violet-haired girl's eyes flicked around more slowly, searching the foliage for any signs of what produced the sound. Her gaze fell on the bush off to the left of her; the one Kiera happened to be taking refuge behind. What she saw were two glowing eyes, something much similar to a pair of animal eyes. "Auuuuu! Su, what are those?!" She gestured fervently in the direction of the American's hiding spot.

Su followed the gesture and found herself staring at the same pair of reflective eyes. She was instantly on the alert and on her feet, rocket launcher pointed directly at them. "Alright! Come out or I shoot!" See, she'd grown up some; had it been another time when she was younger, she would've shot first and questioned or experimented on it later.

The American found herself staring down a launcher tube with an ultimatum in hand. `Shit!' "Gah! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Hands above her head, she stood up slowly from behind her plant.

"Kiera?! Were you spying on us?!" Shinobu jerked the launcher out of Su's hands and pointed it at the girl, finger hovering over the trigger.

"No, no!" She shook her head for emphasis. "I swear I wasn't! I'm not really sure how I got down here! Honest!"

Su pried the weapon free of Shinobu's deathgrip and tossed it aside. "Just how much did ya see?"

"Um. . . Nothing at all." Kiera smiled weakly, the dim light covering up her slight blush. "Now if you would be so kind as to point me out of here?"

"Thataway." Su pointed somewhere off to her right. "You can't miss the door; it's just pass that pool. Oh, and try to avoid the water eh? One of my experiments got loose."

"Um, one more question?" The dark-haired girl had moved to stand behind a tree that covered about half her body. "Are you two. . . uh. . . together?" She got ready to duck behind the tree in case another weapon should be pulled on her.

Shinobu flushed; Kiera's gaze wandered lower to follow it. `Wow, she blushes almost down to her. . . Eyes up idiot!' She pulled her eyes back up to meet the blonde's. In response, Su wrapped her arms protectively around the smaller girl and pulled her close, planting a quick kiss on her lips. "We would really appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone." Shinobu looked meaningfully at the American, a tinge of pleading entering her request.

"Gotcha." She winked and disappeared behind the tree. The smaller girl had just begun to relax into Su's arms when Kiera popped back out, surprising her all over again. "Oh, an' to answer your question; yes, I do find it a touch chilly in here."

The pair fixed her with two very confused looks. "What?" Shinobu blinked in unison with Su; they didn't get it.

Kiera just gave them both a wicked grin, pointed to her chest, and pulled another vanishing act, snickering madly. They looked at each other and enlightenment dawned on them.

"Auuuu!"

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, Keitaro's room. . .

The sole male on the entire property was busy tallying up the funds for the month the old building needed and tried to figure out whether or not to chip in for a party from his own personal funds. He grabbed his wallet from off the desk and opened it; the comical moth flying out of it to die on the table. Nothing; even his credit card was missing! Anime-esque tears were streaming down his face as he upended the wallet, a single coin falling out to land on the wooden desk with a thunk.

Keitaro rose to his feet and went off in search of Kitsune, determined to claim his credit card back before she could do more damage with it. Problem was, sitting on top of the bookshelf, marking a page in his archeology text, was the missing card.

"Hey, landlord, you in there?" Someone rapped once on the doorframe. "Keitaro?" A hand slid the door open and Kiera poked her head inside. "Hello? Anybody?" A quick glance revealed that the room was totally empty, even of turtle. In her hands, she had a plain white envelope. Her eyes skimmed over the book that lay open on the table. "Perfect, you'll really need this." She dropped the envelope on the open book on the table. She slipped back out, making sure to shut the door after.

Keitaro reappeared a moment after she left, sporting a new large bump on his head. He tilted his head back and asked the ceiling, "Am I just supposed to let her take my money?" Too bad for him, ceilings don't talk back.

The pitiable boy flopped back down in front of his books and picked up the envelope. "Huh? What's this?" Turning over in his hands, he examined it carefully. "Hmm. . . Not one of Su's mail bombs. . ." He cautiously tore it open with his pen and inspected the contents. Within it was a considerable amount of American money; to be accurate, six hundred American in fifties. `Keitaro, be careful. It may be dirty money!' The envelope slipped from his fingers and he leapt to his feet, arms flailing as he ran around in circles. `Oh, my god! Oh, my god! It's dirty money! I'm gonna die!!'

"What's going on down there?" Naru stuck her head in the room from the connecting hole between their rooms. Her head withdrew and two feet replaced them. "I'm coming down!" She swung herself into his room only to have her shirt snag on something on the edge of the hole. "Whaa!" Keitaro moved too slowly to catch her and instead caught a foot to the face and had her land on his head.

"Keitaro?" Naru was straddling his head, her skirt pushed halfway up her thighs. She looked down. "PERVERT!" She leapt off of him and hammered him in the head with one of her Naru-punches.

He sat up; the two substantial bumps on his head looked like budding horns. "Oww. . What was that for?" Keitaro had his eyes closed and was rubbing his head. His eyes opened and he looked up at her, aggrieved. Then he noticed her shirt was torn almost all the way down the front and she had no bra on. A veritable fountain of blood spouted up and he fell over backwards.

Naru looked down at him for a moment and looked at herself. Clutching her shirt closed with one hand, her face bright red, she hammered him again only this time with a huge mallet that she pulled from thin air. "Perv, perv, perv!"

"Owww…" His face and hands were covered with bandages and he handed her one of his shirts, twitching ever so slightly.

She moved to pull his shirt over her head and then realized she would have to let go of her torn top in order to get it on. "Turn around."

"You are so unreasonable sometimes." He muttered quietly to himself as he turned around.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Her shirt flapping around, she looked very frightening with the whole bulgy vein thing on her forehead.

His hands flew up to shield his head. "Nothing, nothing at all!"

She nodded, smiling to herself as she pulled off the remains of her shirt and pulled on the one he gave her. "What was it you were panicking about when I looked down here to begin with anyway?"

Still looking miserable and nursing some of his bruises, he said nothing but pointed to the envelope instead. "Hmm? What's this?" Naru's eyes bugged out of her head for a moment before she calmed herself. "It's just money. Hey, there's a note."

"What's does it say? Does it say who left it here?"

"`For your party.' Duh, I know who gave this to you." Naru was grinning like she had solved one of the world's greatest mysteries. "That damn American; she's the only one that would even have American money to begin with."

"But why would she give so much? And the party was supposed to be surprise for her anyway."

Kitsune poked her head into the room without so much as a knock, sliding the door open with a bang. "Do mine ears deceive me? Or did you say American money?" She zipped across the room and plucked the little white packet from Naru's hands all in one swift move. Who knew the semi-drunk could move so fast?

"OOH! Now we definitely have enough for the party and then some!" The fox girl squealed in what could have been sheer mooching delight.

"Wait a second; we can't just blow it all on liquor!" Naru moved to snatch it back but Kitsune stepped out of reach, cradling it to her chest like some would a baby.

"Alright then, what do you think we should do?"

(OOO)(OOO)

Tokyo University, October 31st

Kiera glanced at the sign hanging in front of the school gateway. Some pranksters had managed to decorate the whole campus in what looked like fish guts and several M-180s had been thrown into various bathrooms on campus. The scent of human waste and the pervasive fishy smells blended together to create one truly vomit-worthy odor. And the worst thing was, the smell hit all at once as soon as anyone got close to the gate. Then the wind started to pick up and blow the smell around.

Holding a hand to her face in a futile attempt to lessen the smell or at least avoid losing what little breakfast that she had consumed, the American was helped away by her redheaded fiend - er, friend, following the push of the nauseated crowd.

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, October 31st

"Are you done yet?"

Naru tapped her foot against the floor; a sign she was getting impatient.

"A-almost." Keitaro was panting like a dog, his tongue lolling out as he dragged the last of the liquor and other drink cases into the cave-like lower room that had been converted by Su into a party room. No one knew just how Su knew about the room and its passageway leading from under the living room floor to it, nor did they bother asking.

An enormous stereo system had been hooked up and took up most of the far wall; its immense speakers dominating most of the wall, the actual system set up between them. A little three-eyed symbol was stamped on it, glowing yellow in the muted light. One long table was lined against the left wall; on top of it was booze from all around the world. Strobe lights were set into the ceiling and the rough-hewn stone walls were decorated with painted scenes of typical Halloween-y things, of dark, scary forests, a full moon, and a haunted house.

"Hey Kei, just so you know there's a few cases of chips and dip that need to be moved if you get my drift." Kitsune called from the top of the stairs, her silhouette stretching to the bottom of the short staircase.

"J-just give me one second."

Naru sighed, feeling somewhat guilty for working him so hard. "I'll get it Kit." She hurried up the stairs just in time to see the fox girl rush out the door to meet someone.

"Heyyy….. Kiera, you're home rather early, aren't you? It's only 12 `o' clock." Kitsune's nose wrinkled as she inhaled, waving a hand in front of her face. "Whoa! You two smell like you've been sewer diving. What happened?" She motioned behind her for Naru to shut the trap door leading to the party room.

Sniffing at her shirt, her brow furrowed and she exhaled in sharply. "Pranksters hit the school and the smell sticks to you." Angela looked rather disgusted altogether. "Would you mind if I used your shower? I would love nothing more that to wash this stench off."

Naru kicked the door shut with a slam after tossing a note down to Keitaro.

Kiera jerked. "What the hell is that?" She moved to go through the door to go see only for the fox girl to step in her way.

Lightly resting a hand against the other's chest, she kept the American from going forward. "Nothing to worry about, just Kei making repairs on this ol' building." After seeing Naru give her a thumbs-up and disappear into the kitchen from the corner of her eye, she stepped aside and let them enter. "Just so you know, the hot spring's probably free right now."

Kicking off her shoes, she nodded. "That sounds like a great idea, care to join me Angela?" Her left eye twitched when she realized what she just offered.

Giving Kiera a sly smile as she slid off her own shoes, the young Brit nodded her assent. "Of course, love."

Kitsune clapped once and rubbed her hands together. "Well, since that's settled. Don't worry about your clothes either; Shinobu's been on a cleaning spree since six this morning; she decided to skip classes for some reason. I'll send her in your direction, with a small fee of course." She coughed and held a hand out.

Rolling her eyes, she dug a $5 dollar bill from her pocket and pressed it into the older woman's hands.

"Heh, I'll warn Shinobu not to clean the hot springs while you're in there."

"Gee, thanks." The sarcasm went unnoticed by the other as Kiera grabbed the Angela by the hand and dragged her off. That meant that Kiera couldn't have seen the nod and smile Kitsune directed in Angela's direction too. The fox girl sauntered off in the opposite direction with a half-smirk on her face and shoved the money into the pocket.

"Feeling frisky today, are we?" Angela grinned toothily up at the American girl as she was dragged bodily into the dressing room.

"You bet, wanna screw?"

The redhead's jaw dropped and she had such a shocked expression on her face. "Seriously?"

"No.." Kiera had a giant sweatdrop behind her head; didn't she even realize that was false cheer in her voice? "I was just kidding around." Turning her back on her, the darker-haired one began looking for where the clean towels were.

She pouted. "Aww... You're mean; you shouldn't lead a girl on like that." Her eyes continued to bore holes in Kiera's back until she realized that the other girl really did pay her no mind at all. Just as she came to this revelation, a fluffy blue towel soared through the air to smack her in the face. "Hey!"

"Come on, don't you wanna wash the smell off? Showers first, then hot spring."

"You didn't have to go and assault me with a towel!"

She shrugged, "You should've seen it coming. Besides, it's not like I was aiming, I just tossed it over my shoulder."

(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)

"Ahhhh… This is nice." A small lithe red-headed form was lounging in the water with her head tilted back; lazily watching the tiny clouds drift by.

"I just feel better now that I don't smell like a rancid fish market." The pair had spent the better part of the last 45 minutes scrubbing off the foul scent that seemed to cling to their skin.

"I concur." A yawn escaped her mouth as she leaned back against a nice warm rock that surrounded the hot spring.

"Stop that," The dark haired one sitting opposite of her, leaning on her own rock, yawned as well. "You're making me yawn."

(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)

Kitsune heard footsteps coming down the stairs, which was odd since everyone was already downstairs. Keitaro and Naru were in the party room; Su was out buying more supplies for who-knows-what; Shinobu was cleaning and cooking at the same time; Kiera and Angela were still in the hot springs for all she knew, and she was standing right by the stairs. She blinked in surprise when she realized who it was. "Motoko? What're you still doing here? I thought you had class."

The ebon-haired warrior looked at Kitsune and shook her head. "No, I've been training on the roof. I got a call early this morning from members of the Kendo club; they warned me about what happened at school." Her cheeks were still ruddy and she was covered with sweat after training for almost 3 straight hours. One hand was tugging at her gi, trying to get air to circulate under her clothing to dry her off. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the hot spring." She sidestepped past Kitsune after nodding at her once and continued on her way.

Kitsune paused for a moment before she remembered that Kiera and her friend were still in the hot spring. Her eyes widening, she did a 180 degree turn. "Wait Moto-" The other girl had already disappeared. "Well, this isn't going to turn out well." An evil little smile graced her features for a moment and she rushed off to the kitchen to grab some popcorn.

(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)

Motoko could hear some splashing and talking going on in the spring as she slowly undressed.

"Hey, stop that!" The voice was wholly unfamiliar to her ears, although the niggling feeling at the base of her skull said she had heard it at least once before.

"Heh, why don't you make me?" The more familiar tones of Kiera's voice, tinged with amusement, got her attention more fully than the other had. Her brow wrinkled. `Hold on, just who is in there with her?' Shrugging the rest of her clothes off, she grabbed a towel and headed out to the spring, only to granted one strange and oddly angering sight.

Kiera had someone pinned bodily against one of the larger rocks in the spring, one hand restraining the other person's two, and her other hand resting against the person's ribs. Both their towels were piled on another rock, meaning that they were pressed together quite closely and were quite naked. Then Kiera moved, exposing the view of said person's fiery red hair. Stunned speechless, she watched the scene unfold for another moment.

"Say mercy?" The devious look in her eyes said she would begin her assault again if the answer wasn't the right one.

"Never." The redhead's equally mischievous grin grew wider and she leaned forward to lick Kiera's nose.

Motoko finally found her voice. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

The two figures froze and both heads swiveled to face the speaker.

Kiera opened and closed her jaw, making an excellent mockery of a fish before she could speak. "M-Motoko?" Her eyes flicked down to Angela, whom she was still pinning against the rock then back to Motoko. Hurriedly, she loosed her captive and took a step back, allowing Angela to just splash into the water, too surprised by the suddenness of the motion to catch herself. "This isn't what it looks like."

The Brit surfaced in less than a second after the dunking, wiping the water from her eyes and tossing her hair over a shoulder. The water wasn't really all that deep, which meant she exposed everything from the sternum up. Grinning evilly, she had an unexpected thought for revenge. "What she means is, this is exactly what it looks like." Taking a step forward, she slipped her arms around Kiera's waist and nestled herself against the American's side.

"No, no, it's not." Kiera shook her head as she tried to remove the pair of arms that were squeezed around her, trying to break the seemingly unyielding hold. "R-really."

Motoko appeared not to hear her, and instantly she pulled the trusty Hina blade out of thin air.

"Oh crap!" Snagging her redheaded compatriot by the arm, Kiera tore out of there like a bat out of hell, only making a little detour to grab their towels and run straight for the dressing room.

The older girl followed closely behind, sword blade glinting menacingly.

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, the kitchen. . .

"AAAARRRGGGG!!"

Kiera narrowly dodged around Kitsune, who was making a bag of popcorn in the microwave, one hand holding the towel around her body, the other warding off anything that would be in her way. "Coming through!" She skidded to a stop in the middle of the kitchen. "Oh, fuck." There were no other exits besides the windows and the one she came through.

Angela barely missed slamming into Kiera's back. She was slightly luckier than the American girl; she had managed to pull her shirt on all the way although most of it was rolled-up around her chest and held a towel wrapped around her waist. "What in the bloody hell are you standing around for?! She's right behind us!"

"Uh, guys, I think it's a little too late for that now." Kitsune called back after ducking out the door when Motoko barreled in.

"Er….hurh… Motoko, don't you think you're overreacting?" Now that they were cornered, the American tried the tactic of using logic and reason. She held out her hands, showing her they were empty but in the meantime, the towel wrapped around her was barely clinging to her skin; a few quick moves would have it on the floor whether she wanted it there or not. "Come on, down girl? Nice girl?" Her tone changed to a weak attempt at humor to defuse the situation.

The swordswoman's left eye twitched and she advanced closer, as slow as death itself while growling under her breath.

"Uh… Bad Motoko?" Kiera swallowed nervously as she continued backing up until she hit the counter.

That last comment was not a good idea.

A rather large vein began throbbing in the middle of the swordswoman's forehead. "STEEL CUTTING FLASH!" She roared. The sword came down an instant after it went up, sending a swirling wind attack charged with Ki in the young American's direction.

"Shit." She had mere seconds to decide whether to dodge or block. As it seems, she took too long and the decision was made for her. Angela had darted forward, but stopped in the attack's peripheral damage range as it blew past her; she had also moved too slowly. Kiera had thrown up her arms in front of her body and braced herself for the blast.

She felt the wind rip past her and through her, tearing away what little kept her from committing indecent exposure. The counter she was pressed back against gave way and the wall literally exploded outwards, taking her with it. How the hell was Keitaro able to put up with this every day?

She tumbled around rather roughly over the sharp debris, taking numerous cuts in the process, all of which healed just as fast. When the wind finally died down, it left the poor girl lying on her back, staring dazedly up at the sky. She pulled herself in to a sitting position and stared back from where she was thrown from.

Motoko had put up an arm on reflex to protect her eyes from flying wall fragments. The most Kiera could make out was a reddish colored blur streaking toward her followed by the feeling of her arm being yanked out of her socket.

"Come on, move your lazy arse! She'll be up in a minute."

For some reason, this all struck Kiera as oddly funny. "You, mighty Angela, are afraid of a little sword?" She snickered as she was dragged upright. "Suddenly develop a fear of phallic objects or something?"

"It's not the sword I'm afraid of; it's the madwoman wielding it."

Another sharp tug on her arm threw her off-balance and sent the naked American stumbling into the redhead, bringing them both to the ground.

An irritated snarl brought them both back to their senses as they both scrabbled to their feet. The swordswoman looked quite frightening as she stalked closer as slowly as a predator would their prey.

"Now would be a good time to run." Kiera hissed as she backed away unhurriedly, making sure to face the angered woman.

"I must concur."

"On the count of three?" Angela nodded, a quick tilt of her head.

"One."

"Two."

"Hey, wait a sec, where the hell's my towel?!"

"You're worried about a stupid towel?!"

"Well, I'm sure as hell not running around buck naked!"

"It's not like you haven't before! Oh sodding hell, can't we discuss this later? Just RUN!" The pair bolted for the woods behind the old inn, leaving their pursuer hot on their heels behind them.

"You didn't say three!"

"Piss off!"

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, 7 `o' clock. . .

It was already twilight with thickish clouds rolling in from the north, covering up the view of the waxing moon. What looked like a massive dog sitting near the base of the tree, in reality a massive dire wolf, blurred to a much smaller form of something bipedal and human. Another wolf slipped out from between the trees carrying a bundle of cloth in its toothy jaws, dropped the bundle carelessly on the ground; its great four-legged frame distorting and twisting into a human form.

Angela eyed the tree with distaste. "Explain why we're climbing trees to the roof instead of going through the front door again."

She gave her a look that was normally reserved for small children and idiots. "I'm naked."

"So you want pieces of bark being stabbed into some exceedingly sensitive areas?"

"Did I mention I have my pride?"

"Sorry," Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "All I can hear is `I want sharp pieces of wood stabbed into me sensitive bits.'"

"Oh, come on! What are you, a chicken?" Kiera flung up her arms in exasperation.

She snorted. "That's lovely, resorted to name calling, have we?" Eyeing the tree they were to climb, she ran a hand over the bark. Quite rough, just as suspected. This wasn't going to be fun, but she had clothes, what stopped her from going through the front door?

"Hey! Where're you going?"

"Me?" She pulled on her t-shirt, still slightly damp from wolf drool. "I'm going through the front door like a civilized person." And with that, wrapped the towel around her waist again.

"Oh come on, you're not gonna leave me out here all by myself, are you?" That was it; she turned on the charm, giving the redheaded girl those big puppy dog eyes, easily looking fairly pathetic and miserable in her nakedness.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you purpose then?"

"Think wolves can climb trees?" The other girl smirked after thinking a moment.

"What? That's what you wanted me to stick around for?" Angela huffed. "To play stupid questions?"

She shook her head. "No, not quite. I wanted to try something. I just want someone around to see." Having recently changed back, she could still feel the wolf rolling underneath her consciousness. Gradually, she let the changes overtake her again, only at a much slower pace than normal, letting her instincts control just how far they went. Sweat beaded on her skin before the light hairs on her body darkened and sprouted into true midnight fur. It was like watching grass grow on fast forward. Angela took a step back as heat seemed to radiate off her companion like a hot oven.

Bones lengthened and flesh stretched just as rapidly to accommodate the changes, popping audibly and pushing her frame to well above 6 feet in height. Ropy muscles thickened and lengthened appropriately all over her form, filling her out and making the dark fur ripple and fluff. Ears slid upwards to sit nearer to the top of her head, but lower than where they would be if she was in wolf form. Pale amber ate their way inwards from the outer edge of the iris, leaving them bright and predatory. A muzzle forced itself out of her face, making her jaws itch as teeth realigned and grew in while her head became more lupine in shape. The hair that was normally held back in a braid didn't merge with the fur as it would've done; it hung loose, although it seemed to grow longer in proportion to her body.

A tail pushed its way out of the base of her spine, sprouting incredibly fluffy-looking fuzz before the darker guard hairs grew in. The nails on her hands and feet elongated to razor-sharp claws while muscles fleshed out her hands enough to take on a more paw-like shape yet still keep things like opposable thumbs without warping the underlying shape of the hand much. Her feet took on a more wolf-like shape, forcing her onto her toes, bringing her to tower at about seven-and-a-half feet.

"Mmm.. Nice." A smile pulled at the corners of the redhead's lips. "Very nice." One hand stretched out to stroke her fur. Kiera crouched lower, dropping to all fours, and Angela's hand moved to pet the fur at the nape of her neck. Her tail began to swing back and forth, whacking into low branches. The young Brit stopped petting her.

Kiera whined and butted her head into the redhead's side, nearly toppling the slim girl over. "Hey, down girl! Do you want me to keep petting you or something?" She smirked knowingly.

The werewolf nodded and replied with a short yip, unable to speak even in this hybrid form.

"If I do, you'll owe me a favor." She said in a sing-song voice, smiling evilly.

Shoulders moved in a way that the redhead could only interpret as a shrug. Rolling her eyes, she stretched out a hand to scratch behind her ears, sending that tail swinging to and fro again. "I assume you didn't want to change into this form just to have me pet you, right?" She winked when Kiera turned to look her in the eye, shaking her head slightly at the cheesy double entendre.

Kiera rose from her crouch, coming to stand at her full height before sinking her claws into the tree whose branches dangled closest to the roof. She dug her claws in deeper, reached for one of the thicker boughs that could support her weight, and hauled herself up, her legs scrabbling for purchase until her deadly, sharp claws sank into the bark as if it were soft butter. She repeated this process slowly, taking more care after nearly slipping off several times before she got the hang of it. When she finally came up level with the roof, the few limbs she could hold on to had thinned and barely held her weight, leaving her to sway precariously with every tiny cross-breeze.

Leaning her weight toward the roof, she stretched out and grasped the edge of the roof, her claws gouging into the wood and leaving deep furrows as she gradually pulled herself over. She was hanging on by upper body strength only, her lower half was dangling over the edge, unable to reach the wall for leverage since the roof stuck out farther than she had estimated. She couldn't quite pull herself up because her claws were stuck well and deep into the wood which kept her from sliding off.

Angela, still on the ground, had watched the progress of her friend in much amusement. After she was done laughing at Kiera's predicament, she shucked the shirt and succumbed to the change herself, controlling it as much as the other had. She easily scrambled up the tree, taking the trail that Kiera had so slowly blazed for her. She reached the upper branches with hardly any trouble, taking care to avoid the same mistakes her counterpart had made. Being lighter than her unlucky companion, she decided to jump instead of risking getting stuck like the other did and effortlessly cleared the jump with more that enough room to spare, landing as lightly as a feline.

Two crimson-furred forearms grasped Kiera's and easily hauled her up, dragging her away from the edge of the roof. Their forms melted and shifted again to reveal two bodies lying side by side, laughing their heads off and holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it.

"I nearly fell off!" Kiera giggled, the adrenaline high adding to a hormonal imbalance of the change put her just a little off-kilter. Just a little.

Angela mock-pouted. "I left my clothes down there."

"My clothes, you mean."

"Whatever, I'm cold." A stronger breeze began to pick up and the redhead shivered automatically, feeling colder than it really was with the sweat drying on her skin. "Go get them for me." She ordered, scooting away and giving the other girl her back.

The American appeared to think for a moment. "How about… no?" She grinned and her eyes began to take on a slightly more mischievous shine. "I can think of other ways to… warm you up." And she pounced.

Kiera effortlessly pinned the other and straddled her hips, trapping both arms beside her head. "Ha ha! And to the conqueror goes the spoils!" She crowed and bent her head to claim her prize.

They met with a fire that threatened to burn them from the inside out, a driving fury stoked by their own heated blood. Angela took advantage when the other's grip loosened and rolled them over, putting herself on top. Slowly, she withdrew as her fangs tore at the other's lower lip, leaving a trail of blood to run down along her jaw. "Who's conquered whom now?" The knowing smirk gracing her face normally would've been enough to drive the other girl over the edge but Kiera's fangs had also done their work, a drop of blood rolled down the corner of the left side of the redhead's mouth so she settled back with her own grin.

"What's so funny?" Her head dropped lower until they were nigh-touching nose-to-nose.

Kiera lifted her head off the boards, "You're bleeding." Her tongue flickered out to catch the cooled drop of red, barely brushing the corner of her mouth.

"I could say the same for you." In one go she licked a trail along Kiera's jaw, following the trace up to her bloodied but now-uninjured lip. All the blood was meticulously cleaned off before she indulged in another kiss. Her partner, for her part, resisted in an attempt to regain control of the situation. Angela smiled and she let on hand drift to lower to squeeze her breast as she ground their hips together in one slow motion.

Kiera grinning internally as her own hand snaked up between them to pinch the redhead's nipple hard. When Angela gasped in surprise, she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and relish her momentary triumph over the other while paying back that little hip movement with a sharp nip.

And then, the approaching sound with the meaning every hormonal young adult despises the most: coitus interruptus.

Pairs of feet stomped noisily up the stairs, stopping safely prior to the "seeing is believing" point. The sounds of a small scuffle rose up the flight of steps.

"Let me go this instant." It was Motoko, the other revealed to be the trickster fox herself. "No Kitsune, I absolutely refuse to wear THAT costume!"

"Oh, come on! Why not?"

Her libido put on ice with the sound of other people, Kiera shoved the redhead off her lightly. Undeterred, Angela scooted back and curled up, half-draped over her, appearing for all purposes to be listening intently.

"Everyone in town is going to be here tonight."

"You're kidding me, right? I know you've worn stuff that's shown more skin before. Like our `Keitaro Lingerie Welcome Back' party or your Xena costume from last year."

Someone, most likely Motoko, sighed in exasperation. "What I meant were the sects of high school fanboys that will be here tonight for the party as well."

"So?"

"I don't desire a repeat of the Xena episode." Kitsune smiled to herself; she had turned quite the profit selling tickets that Xena was at Hinata House.

"Do it as a favor to me then!"

"Then you'll have to go running with me every morning for the next 2 weeks." Motoko said the first thing that came to mind she figured Kitsune would never go along with.

"Fine!" Immediately Kitsune regretted agreeing so quickly. Running 12 kilometers at 6 `o' clock in the morning for two weeks? Someone was gonna have to reimburse her big time. Not to mention drawing Motoko's suspicion.

"Why do you want me in that outfit so badly? You couldn't have forgotten last year." She referred to Kitsune's two-month alcohol ban, dubiously enforced by everyone in the household under the swordswoman's watchful eye.

"It's just that," she paused for a moment. "People have started arriving and we're on door greeter duty right now and neither of us are dressed!" Well, it was a half-truth; they didn't have to greeting duty for another half-hour but she didn't want to miss the handful of hot guys that were supposed to come as the Chippendale dancers.

Motoko sighed in defeat and mumbled her assent; she could at least do this duty after blowing the kitchen wall out this afternoon. Kitsune dragged her back downstairs, taking the steps two at a time in her rush.

The duo lying naked on the boards waited until all sounds of footsteps totally faded away before moving.

"Party? What party? I didn't hear anything about any party." Kiera wriggled out from underneath the semi-pin as the redhead's countenance took on a surprised look; the conversation she had eavesdropped days ago on completely slipped her mind. Angela leapt to her feet and pulled the other up with her. "We have to get dressed."

"But I don't want-"

"Favor.

Damn. Kiera hung her head as she shuffled after the other girl.

(OOO)(OOO)

Kiera's Dominion, 7:14 PM. . .

"Oh no," She backed away from Angela, eyeing the bundle of leaves and leather in her arms. "No, no, no. That isn't a costume; that's two steps from being a wet dream."

"Recall my scratching your ears? You owe me a favor."

"Arg. Can't you ask me to do something else?" Her head dropped into her hands.

"Well, you can always stay up here and we can have our own little party." Kiera paused and actually considered the idea before shooting it down. On principle, one should avoid sex with friends; one shouldn't really be lusting after friends to begin with. She held out a hand for the costume.

"Good girl." Although Angela would've certainly abandoned plan she and Kitsune came up with had Kiera agreed to her latter request, she took to dressing her in the leaf-and-leather costume instead.

One hand swatted playfully at the roving other that was handling her breast a little too much to simply be adjusting the top of her costume. "Groping me doesn't help with the ties." Kiera coughed. One long strip of leather thong was wound around her upper body, pinning two large leaves to her chest that carefully covered her breasts and didn't reveal much more than what she was comfortable with.

Kiera held still as more leather straps twined around her hips to hold up a, you guessed it, leather loincloth. With the bottom half finally tied up, she moved to grab the panties resting on her bed only to have them snatched away by Angela.

"Ah ah ah," She tsked, "I'm afraid you're going to have to go bare under that tonight, love, otherwise it'll ruin the effect." The delightfully mischievous leer on her face warned the American it'd be best to keep on her toes, especially tonight.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" She grumbled as she felt a slight pull on her hair as Angela tugged off the tie for her braid. Fingers combed through her hair, undoing the loose plait before she got an answer. "Nope, and you'll be getting some drinks in you tonight as well. Let your guard down; I'll be there to protect you from those big bad people who would take advantage of you." Her hands stopped slithering through the dark mass of hair for a moment. Kiera could practically feel the enormous, Cheshire-cat grin she knew would be plastered all over the other's face before the warm breath drifted by her ear.

"You can trust me." Angela moved aside the ebon mane and planted a light kiss on the spot behind Kiera's ear where her jaw connected.

"Oh spare me. I can trust you to be the first in line if I drink anything containing alcohol in it tonight." She smirked as she poked the other casually on the arm. "Am I done?"

"Not quite, I still have to put on your effects."

"Effects?" She reached up to touch her hair only to have her hand slapped away. "Just what am I supposed to be anyway?"

"Just some things to braid into your lovely mane and some fake tattoos. I'll be done in a half-hour or so."

"But what am I?"

Angela smirked. "We've been trying to find the answer to that question for some time now. Hey, no touching until I'm finished!"

"Ha ha, my sides are splitting." She retracted her smarting hand again.

Kiera got a pinch on the shoulder for her troubles. "You, are supposed to be an Amazon."

"Oh really? Since when did Amazons go prancing around in outfits like these?"

"Since I decided to take a few `creative liberties'."

"Does one of these liberties require me to be bare-assed under this loincloth?" She arched an amused eyebrow even though the other girl couldn't see it.

"Yes."

(OOO)(OOO)

A half-hour or so later…

"Ah, finished! I declare you to be my greatest work yet!" She dusted her ink-splattered hands in front of her, beaming in delight.

"Finally! I thought I was going to fall asleep before you were done." Kiera rose from her chair, careful not to smear the ink still drying on her legs and hobbled over to the mirror; she couldn't even feel the soft leather sandals on her feet. This was the first real glimpse she'd gotten of herself since they started. The black tattoos coiled round her body, covering most of her exposed skin and manifesting themselves as different patterns depending on the way the light hit them. Plaited into her hair were small white shapes and a few random leaves thrown in for the hell of it. Her hair now looked even closer to an animal's mane as it framed her face, making her appear wild and unkempt. The few markings on her face gave her a more bestial look and she smiled at herself, pleased with how well she looked. Her brow furrowed for an instant as she jabbed at the white things braided into her hair. "Are these little pieces of bone?!"

"Fake." Her hands adjusted the few that were prodded although they were still safely nestled in their places. "So what do you think?"

"I look good, thank you very much." She turned and gave the girl a very wicked grin.

"Still irritated that you have to go bare?" Angela rested her chin against the other's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around Kiera's hips, her hands dangerously close to sliding underneath the loincloth. "Wait, there's just one more thing left." To Kiera's immense surprise, Angela stepped away without doing anything, retreating over to look in the bag sitting on the bed.

"What?" After picking her jaw up off of the floor, she padded over and peered into the bag.

"This." In a blink, she shoved Kiera into the wall hard and moved in for a scorching kiss before the other knew what was going on. Taking full advantage her daze, she easily gained entrance to the other's mouth as she nudged her knee in between her legs while pressing up against Kiera as close as possible. Her nails gradually lengthened into claws as she grasped and dug them into the other's hips. She kept her eyes open, narrowed and intense, and watched as the amber lightened the edge of the irises and advanced progressively toward the pupil after Kiera began to respond with cautious enthusiasm.

Angela pulled back just as suddenly, leaving the poor girl to blink in confusion and catch her breath. "What the hell?" She licked her lips, flashing a bit of fang before warily stepping away from wall. "What gives?"

The redhead gave her a smirk. "Get out of here before you make me ruin all my hard work."

"Well, with the way you grabbed me I'll be surprised is it's not ruined already." She checked herself over, not a single mark was smudged amazingly enough. "Huh?"

"Trade secret, now get out! I have to get changed myself, you know!" Grabbing the other girl by the shoulders, she forcibly marched her to the door and pushed her out, shoving something into her hands. "I'll find you later." She said before she closed the door in her face. "And try not to hurt yourself!"

`What just happened here?' Kiera stared at the door for another moment. `Well, she just kissed you then threw you out of your own room.' The voice in her head replied. "I see." Distractedly, she examined what had been thrust into hands so suddenly; it was a spear, a real one that came up to her eye level. Shaking her head, she took off down the hall, eager to see just what the party was like and making a mental note to be careful with her pointy new toy.

(OOO)(OOO)

At the front door…

"PERVERTS!" Motoko punched one of the teens in front of her after his lewd comment involving where he'd like to put his "sword". The pitiable boy flew backwards, slamming into his group of friends before knocking them all out the open door.

Kitsune looked up from her conversation with someone who looked like he was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera just in time to see the punk go through the open door via the swordswoman. That was the fifth one. "Motoko!"

"What?" Her frown looked very in-character with her costume as she glared at the fox.

"Will you stop doing that? He was just being stupid. They're just kids; they're entitled to be stupid."

Kiera came down the stairs, nearly tripping on the last step and impaling herself on her spear. "Hey guys." She called out to Kitsune, the one she immediately noticed. She could only see the back of what she assumed to be Motoko's head since she was surrounded by a large group of costumed people.

"Nice to see you made it back in time after the way you took off earlier." Kitsune was dressed as a pirate. A bandanna was tied around her head, keeping her hair out of the way, and a fake parrot sat on her left shoulder. Her red and white striped top was raggedly cut to expose her stomach and a broad leather belt held up her loose black pants, which in turn were tucked into her mid-calf boots. Stuck into her belt were a huge cutlass and a replica of an antique pistol. "Oh good, someone told you it's a costume party too." The fox stepped away from the crowd, leaving the swordswoman to flounder in the group of people. "Surprise! Nice costume, by the way." Kitsune winked, nudging the American in the ribs. "Hoping to get lucky in that little number?"

"Yeah, right." Kiera laughed, rolling her eyes. CRUNCH! Another set of perverts went out the open door, this time one of them managed to work up the nerve to slap the swordswoman's costumed butt.

"Damn it!" Kitsune shoved the remaining teens away before they become the next target for Motoko's wrath and seized the samurai by the wrist. "Just go downstairs Motoko; I can handle this by myself."

Kiera's jaw hit the floor again when she got a good look at Motoko; she was dressed like Lulu from FFX (Final Fantasy X). One lock of hair hung over her left eye, concealing half of her face. The rest of her hair was twisted up into an elaborate design with long braids in the back with various decorative chopsticks holding it in place. Crimson contacts and dark purple lipstick made her look distinctly sinister but it was offset by the fact that she was clutching a doll, an Onion Knight, Lulu's final weapon in the game. The fur-trimmed bodice was rather low-cut, giving Kiera quite the view, although despite how it looked like her breasts would just pop out she was willing to bet that it was tight enough to stay on. The costume itself was tight enough to emphasize her curves and yet keep all the good details out of sight. Her skirt of leather belts was impressive; it granted tempting glimpses of her legs while letting her keep her modesty.

The moment Kitsune saw Kiera's jaw drop, she knew her plan would work. Now all that was left was the heavy inebriation part. `Oh kendo girl, if only you knew this was for your own good.' She chuckled internally while sipping her beer. `And entertainment, of course.'

Motoko shifted uneasily, getting nervous under the absorbing stare of Kiera. "What? Do you," she paused, her gaze dropping to examine at the Onion Knight cradled in her arms. "Do you not like my costume?" Despite her words, the tone she conveyed nothing but absolute indifference.

Kiera finally snapped out of it, shaking her head in an emphatic disagreement. "NO! No, your costume is great! I love the way it looks on you!" `Maybe just a bit too much.' She hesitated before quickly adding, "Er, that is, you look great in it is, uh, what I meant!" `Bet it would look even better on the lamp.' An amoral little voice added. Her eyes widened slightly at her own innate perversity before rubbing the bridge of her nose. `Damn Angela.'

They stared at each other for another moment. "Perhaps we should go get something to drink and stop blocking the front door like this." Motoko suggested. Kiera nodded and trotted after Motoko, her gaze briefly sliding lower before she tripped on the butt of her spear again.

Kitsune watched the whole scene from the corner of here eye and snickered to herself while chatting up a few fellow bar patrons that had shown up for the free booze. `That's so cute; they're acting like a couple of teens on their first date. I wonder if they'll want a picture to commemorate the occasion.' Meanwhile, Kiera was thinking the same thing.

`Get a grip! You are not some kid on her first date!' Going down the dimly-lit and wide stairwell proved to be especially challenging, Kiera had to be especially careful not to trip again because, as she discovered much to her dismay, her eyes tended to wander over the swordswoman instead of watching where she was going. Thirty steps later and she was home free, the odd thing was while they could see into the party room, and see that while everyone was partying pretty hardily, they couldn't hear a sound. "Hey, what's this?" Kiera was about to prod at one of the oddly shaped boxes that sat on either side of the doorway when her spear had been stopped by Motoko.

"Don't touch it. It's one of Su's more useful inventions; it's some sort of sound dampener."

She mock-pouted at being deprived of a new opportunity to put her new toy to a better use, besides accidentally tripping over it. "Right, so how do we get past it?"

"I think we just step over the boundary since there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it off." The three-eyed symbol stared up at them, glinting in the dim light.

"You think?"

Motoko shrugged. "Normally, I've always been inside the boundaries when she's put these things to use." She thought for a moment. `Unless it's supposed to be turned off from inside.' She smiled sweetly at Kiera, put a hand on her shoulder, and shoved her through.

Kiera lurched and stumbled forward. The rush of sounds overwhelmed her ears, all jumbled together since she had just come out of the silence. Quickly, though, her brain sorted out the noise. A great deal of it was the pulsing beat of the dance music blasting from the speakers. People and conversation bustled around her and the flickering strobe lights didn't help when she felt a sudden attack of vertigo come over her.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and she reflexively jerked away, spinning to face her opponent.

Motoko smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that; it just I've learned to be wary of that girl and her mechanical toys over time." She shivered involuntarily as she remembered Mecha Tama Ultimate, a gigantic cybernetic turtle Su debuted as a welcome home present when she got back before the summer ended. "Eh? Are you well?" The swordswoman caught the odd expression on Kiera's face and pulled her over to one side, inspecting her carefully.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed by the lights." Kiera tried to wave the other girl off. "Maybe something to drink might calm your nerves." Motoko suggested.

"Not a bad idea." The drink table's lighting looked a little more constant unlike the dizzying array of blinking lights on the main dance floor. She seized Motoko by the wrist and weaved her way through the crowd. She was relieved to see sodas and water stacked on the tables as well as the ungodly amount of liquor and junk food. Motoko poured herself a rum and Coke while Kiera snagged a can of Coke.

"You don't drink?" Motoko looked somewhat surprised; she figured the other girl to be a party animal.

Kiera chuckled and popped open the can, taking a sip before replying. "I try not to."

"Why? Do you hate to drink?" Motoko suddenly felt guilty; here she was, a master of the Gods' Cry School indulging in an unhealthy habit like drinking while others were abstaining. She frowned at the cup in her hands and set it back down on the table.

"Don't stop on my part." She grinned and put the drink back into her hands. "It's not that I hate to drink; it's that I avoid to. I've got absolutely no tolerance when it comes to alcohol and I'm told I'm quite the.... er, exhibitionist when drunk."

Motoko decided to shelve her guilt about indulging in spirits and save it for another time; now she just wanted to get to know the other girl better and have a little fun. "Oh? Like what?" She asked, playfully nudging the other girl in the side.

"Well, there was this one time with this giant wooden cross…"

(OOO)(OOO)

Back at the front door…

Angela padded quietly down the stairs, tapping a long thin piece of wood against her thigh absently. "Hey Kitsune."

Everyone turned to face her, jaws dropping in sheer amazement. One poor nerd, dragged to this party by his wanna-be cool friends flat out fainted. Even Kitsune's eyes widened.

"What?" It wasn't fact that no one's ever seen a schoolgirl outfit like that before; it was that the girl could make the outfit work. The redhead had the whole impression of naïve innocence going on while still managing to look drop dead sexy. The black pleated skirt barely came down to mid-thigh; bending over was going to be quite a trick. Her top was a tight, white button-up shirt; the top three or four buttons were undone. A red and gold tie was under her shirt collar, pulled loose enough so that it wasn't in the way if you wanted to look down her shirt. A black robe was pulled around her, hanging open; the wine-dark burgundy lining oddly contrasting with her hair. The Hogwarts crest was sewn into the left shoulder of her robe. The last touches were the mid-calf grey socks and shiny black leather shoes. "What's the verdict, fox?"

"Not bad, not bad." Kitsune nodded approvingly. "It works."

"What do you think?" Angela approached one of the guys standing there, her hands held behind her and leaned forward slightly, giving the boy a clear view down her shirt. She neatly stepped aside as blood shot out of his nose like a geyser. He pitched backward and hit the floor, blissful smile on his beet-red face. "That good, eh?"

She turned back to Kitsune. "What did you think of Kiera's costume; I told you I could get her into it." Smirking, she buffed her nails on the robe.

"Well I'm sure it wasn't just for Motoko's benefit." The fox chuckled lightly; she taped up a sign by the door to direct any more newcomers downstairs. "Come on, dealing with these boneheads have made me really thirsty. Plus the party's already in full swing and I don't wanna miss any more."

"You had me at thirsty."

(OOO)(OOO)

Downstairs….

"-then we ended up wrestling in lime Jell-o." Kiera chuckled, her face flushing slightly. "It was awful. I-Hey, stop laughing!"

Motoko was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, the I'm-gonna-pass-out-from-laughing-so-hard kind of laughter. "I can picture you doing that!" She gasped out, clutching her sides. Her balance was thrown when someone bumped into her roughly from behind and she pitched forward into Kiera, dropping her cup on the floor.

Kiera's arms went around her body on reflex, pressing the other girl's face into her chest.

"Well, you two are certainly getting affectionate." A pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind. "Can I get a hug like that too?"

"We weren't- She tripped! Really!" Hastily, Kiera pulled Motoko upright again, the both of them sporting cherry-red faces.

"Mmhmm…" Kitsune nodded and winked at Motoko over Kiera's shoulder.

"Wow, you're lucky you didn't impale her with your new toy either." The look Kiera gave Angela was somewhere between disgust and amusement. Motoko's grin faltered when she noticed that Angela's arm lingered around the other girl's waist and she resisted the urge to knock her smirking face in.

The American was personally glad she didn't make a fool out of herself again when she got a good look at the redhead's costume. Although it didn't stop her from having a few naughty thoughts come to mind as she halfheartedly tried to free herself.

"Come on, just the tiniest sip, please?" Angela had somehow managed to pour herself some kind of alcoholic mixer one-handed and was pressing the cup to Kiera's lips.

"Aww, isn't that cute?" Kitsune was making gagging noises and funny faces while Kiera tried to escape the inevitable bonds of peer pressure and not open her mouth to laugh. She relented reluctantly and nearly choked when the contents were poured down her throat. "OH, MY GOD! Is that Drano?!" She rasped, clutching her throat. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Kitsune giggled and pulled on swordswoman's arm. "Even Motoko here can mix better drinks than your poison, Red! After all, she learned it from the drink master!" She thumped her chest in pride and knocked back a few more shots of tequila. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I can see someone waving to me. Ciao!"

"You're kidding…. We've only been here five minutes and she's already halfway to drunk?" The two foreigners watched as she disappeared into the dancing body of the crowd.

"I think she considers it a talent." Motoko was busy mixing up various things in a big red Dixie cup and didn't even look up.

Angela frowned and took a sip of her "poison". "I don't know what you're going on about; this tastes fine." She grabbed a bottle of vodka and tipped a few more splashes in. "Ah, much better. Want another taste?"

Kiera twitched, a giant sweatdrop on the back of her head. "Nah, I don't feel like having to go to the hospital for alcohol poisoning right now." The redhead snorted and took another swig of the stuff.

"Here." The brimming red Dixie cup was put in her hands to replace her now-missing can of soda.

"Not you, too."

Idly, Angela ran her fingers up and down the shaft of Kiera's pointy new toy. "Just relax, have a little to drink. Cut loose. I mean, what's the worse that could happen?" She gave the American her biggest, most charming, `you-can-trust-me' smiles. It was oddly disturbing to see with smiling like that in her costume.

`This is gonna be a long night.' Kiera thought as she shook her head and raised the cup to her lips.

(OOO)(OOO)

3 A.M. or several alcoholic drinks later…

"Are they all gone?" Kiera pretended to glower at Keitaro but failed miserably. Thank God for the wolf's constitution or she would've been drunk off her ass by now. Even thought, the staggering amounts of alcohol in her system worked her up to a warm, heady buzz. That should've set off alarms in her head.

"Yeah, all gone now." He slid the door shut and in some way managed to trip himself up, landing on his back. "Stop the ride, I'm gettin' dizzy." Keitaro groaned from his place the floor and pulled himself up rather shakily.

"'Bout time.' Kitsune winked conspiratorially at Angela while smiling her drunken smile. "It's time for some bonding!"

Keitaro flushed and blood began to drip out of his nose as he thought about what kind of "bonding" the fox girl might be hinting about.

Naru caught the funny expression on thee landlord's face at the word `bonding'. "Perv!" She swung here fist in hopes of delivering an effective Naru-punch but instead she lost in balance and stumbled into him, taking them both to the floor with her on top.

It was no use; everyone was several drinks away from sober and moving steadily away because they were still drinking.

"How's about a little Truth or Dare?" Kitsune suggested. She didn't even wait for an answer from anyone. "Everybody, sit down in a circle!"

Everyone obeyed since no one could think up any other ideas. Kiera glanced to both sides of her; Angela was to the left, Motoko to the right. This wasn't going to turn out well. "How are we going to decide on who goes first?" Shinobu was to the right of Su and was probably the one who had the least to drink.

"We spin the bottle, of course!"

Shinobu looked around, all the empty bottles were still downstairs. "What bottle?"

"Give me a sec; I can only drink so fast." Hastily, Kitsune chugged the rest of her beer and set the bottle down on its side. "And here we go!" She gave it a quick spin only to have it land on her. "Well, whaddaya know?" She eyed everyone in the circle before settling on Naru. "Truth or dare, Naru?"

"Uh…." Given the fact it was Kitsune, both choices were going to suck, so she went with what seemed to be the easier, less-damaging choice. "Truth."

Kitsune paused to think for a moment before delivering the blow. "When was the last time you masturbated?"

"KITSUNE!" Everybody ooh-ed and Naru turned bright red.

The fox shrugged. "You can always chicken out; I'll give ya somethin' to do instead."

That wasn't a better choice. Naru mumbled under her breath.

"Louder Naru, we gotta be able to hear ya."

She mumbled again.

"What?"

"TWO FREAKING DAYS AGO!"

"And it's obviously not doing you any good; you're still as high-strung as ever!" She winked and ducked as the empty bottle flew in her direction.

Naru shook her head and picked the next victim for their games. "Su, truth or dare?"

The game went on, back and forth and getting more and more explicit or bizarre for each choice before landing on the fox again. Everyone tried to make themselves look small in hopes of not being picked. "Motoko, truth or dare?"

Deciding she wasn't ready to reveal embarrassing personal information, she picked the obvious choice in her inebriated state. "Dare."

Wrong.

"Motoko," Kitsune had this horrible sly twinkle in her eyes. "I dare you," she paused for effect. "To kiss Kiera." After Keitaro's unbelievably quick peck on Su's butt earlier, kissing rules had been agreed on if anymore kissing was to be done as a dare. Thirty second hold, groping and moaning optional. The swordswoman turned bright red whereas Kiera paled and saw the broad smile on Angela's face from the corner of her eye.

Motoko didn't want to back down and face whatever other scheme Kitsune had in mind for back up. `It's just a thirty second peck, calm down!' She took a breath to steel herself and leaned in to kiss the American.

Unaccustomed to such hesitation, Kiera reacted immediately with her baser urges to spice things up. She drew even closer to Motoko and traced her tongue over her lower lip, seeking entrance. The samurai nearly jerked away in surprise but she parted her lips on instinct. Gingerly, a tongue began probing the inside of her mouth before she responded warily.

"Time!" Kitsune called when the little hourglass' sand was gone. Neither heard, or if they did, they gave no sign of it.

Keitaro was staring; he didn't even react or move when Naru punched his head. "What is it with guys and seeing girls make out?!" Out of sheer annoyance, Naru finally grabbed his head and kissed him to get his attention.

The game degenerated rapidly when Kiera and Motoko finally broke apart. Su and Shinobu pulled another disappearing act and Naru was busy being latched onto the landlord's face.

"I guess it's time to call it a night." Kitsune winked at Angela, who nodded and began to put in play the last part of their plan. She pretended to trip and was caught neatly in Kiera's arms. The redhead leaned closer and whispered something that forced the American to turn bright crimson after being so pale and dazed. Angela drew herself up and leaned heavily onto Kiera, noting the angry rage that was beginning to suffuse the swordswoman's face while tracing her hands up and down the other's body. "Come on, let's go upstairs."

"Er, you're drunk." Internally, the American was secretly relieved that the Briton was so tipsy. While her wolf side may ward off getting intoxicated, the heightened senses were both a blessing and a hideously malicious curse. And she could acutely smell certain things that she didn't want to know about. Like Motoko, for instance. `And doesn't she smell good? Why, good enough to eat, eh?' Even her subconscious was baiting her at this point. Gradually, she released the wolf from the forefront of her mind, her senses dulling to that of an observant human. The alcoholic buzz that was humming within her skull grew louder until she was practically drowning in it.

Angela grinned as she watched Kiera's eyes turn to a solid dark brown color again; the amount of alcohol she had unconsciously consumed taking its toll as she came to be supported by the redhead in turn when her balance was suddenly shot. Kitsune was keeping the angry swordswoman at bay the only way she knew how; she placated her with mass amounts of liquor, specifically, a bottle of vodka forcibly poured down her throat was keeping her occupied. Kiera managed to right herself woozily and grinned broadly, planting light kisses along Angela's clavicle before nipping her sharply. When the Brit jerked and looked at the girl in her arms, all she got was a deceitfully innocent smile in return. "Did I ever mention how much I like your costume?" She leaned forward and kissed the other softly on the lips before crushing her lips with her own, her hands sliding under her blouse and pressing them closer together.

Motoko swallowed a considerable amount of vodka before she knocked the bottle away in a rage. She was momentarily restrained by Kitsune before breaking free and pulling Angela and Kiera apart in her fury. Angela stepped away gracefully, earning a dirty look from the swordswoman,

"Oh, hi Motoko." Kiera grinned slyly at Motoko, stepping up close until their bodies were almost touching, not even an inch between them. The irate swordswoman initiated the first contact; she seized Kiera by her shoulders and pulling her in for a furious kiss.

"I think our job here is done." Angela smirked, only mildly perturbed about being handled so roughly and wiped away an imaginary tear.

"I think you're right." Kitsune took a swig from the salvaged sake bottle that was lying about. "Now, all that's left is to put the kiddies to bed." The fox dropped a blanket over the now-sleeping forms of Naru and Keitaro.

"Aye." The pair broke apart, panting and leaning against each other. Angela and Kitsune promptly grabbed Kiera and Motoko's respective arms before hauling them upstairs.

(OOO)(OOO)

Kiera's room. . .

Both dark-haired women were out cold for the moment and naked in Kiera's queen-sized bed, lying comfortably on top of the sheets and entwined with one another.

"Okay, I think I've got enough pictures now." Kitsune beamed at Angela. "I wonder how much'll Kiera pay to get them back?"

Angela chuckled to herself. "Quite a bit, I suspect."

The fox snapped a few more pictures for good measure. "Hey, so where are ya gonna sleep tonight?" She yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "My room's open if ya need a place to crash."

"Actually, I was thinking of staying here." The redhead propped up the spear against the far wall while she yawned. "It'll give Kiera such a scare when she comes to in the morning."

"Eh, suit yourself." She paused for a moment before holding up her digital camera again. "Ooh, I know, strip and hop in bed with them. I'll take a couple more shots."

"Good idea." Angela shed her clothes quickly and crawled into bed, wriggling her way between the two juxtaposed women. "Is here good?" She sidled up to Kiera and closed her eyes.

Kitsune took a moment to admire her. `Wow, she looks good. Too bad she's not a guy.' A little voice she hadn't noticed before spoke up. `When's that ever stopped you before?' She smiled, another idea occurring to her. `Maybe later, for now, let's just finish the task at hand.' "Move closer, put your leg over hers." Angela obeyed and she took a few more shots while directing her into other positions. Her camera beeped at her; no memory was left. "Well, now I've really finished." She pressed the off button and turned to leave. "G'night and sweet dreams, Red."

Angela snickered as she managed to pull the comforter over all three of them. "I hope so. Good night to you too, fox." The lights abruptly switched off, leaving only dim moonlight to help her vision. She spared one thought before settling down to sleep. `I wonder if Kiera still acts out her dreams?' She smirked deviously to herself. `I really hope so.'

(OOO)(OOO)

In the hallway. . .

"Good luck, Red." Kitsune pocketed her camera and speedily set up Su's sound dampeners just within the door, programming the room size and poking the on button, a low-frequency hum filling the air for a moment before disappearing. She slid the door shut. "You're gonna need it when Motoko wakes up." The fox chuckled before yawning again; it was about time she got herself to bed as well.

(OOO)(OOO)

A/N: 14,186 words without the notes at the top and bottom, according to the word count of Microsoft word; 34 pages long. Damn. Ok, I've really got to stop trying to outdo myself on length. From now on, chapters won't top more than 15 pages unedited; it'll make it faster I should think. I'm so sorry about such a long wait. Was it worth it? I sure hope so, otherwise I'll be in tears….

Angela: (knocks MindKore out with a shovel) You took so BLOODY long…. Something better be happening while we're in that bed together…. (rifles through MindKore's notes) …Oh, you're a little monster, aren't you? (grabs a pen and begins making her own rewrites)

Kiera: (walks in) What're you doing? (looks over Angela's shoulder) She's making me do what?! (eyes widen) Wait, you're making me do WHAT?! GIVE ME THOSE! (snatches the notes away)

Angela: Give it back! (starts fighting with Kiera)

MindKore: Urg…. My head… (sits up and sees her notes being fought over) NOOO!! MY NOTES!! (jumps in and snatches the notes) OH, MY GOD! WHOSE IDEA IS THIS?! (reads more of Angela's rewrites)

Kiera: (grabs MindKore by the collar and shakes her) Fix it; I don't want to be -

Angela: (claps a hand over Kiera's mouth) Hush, or you'll give away the upcoming plot! And besides, you didn't like my rewrite much better…

Kiera: (steals the notes away again) Well, excuse me, but I don't believe the NC-17 or XXX rating is allowed here. (points to something on the notes) And that, I'm sure, qualifies as NC-17.

Angela: (scoffs) Oh, please. Have you seen the other sections; they're rife with it.

Kiera: (gives Angela a disbelieving look) But you're explicit! I mean, listen to this -

MindKore: (covers Kiera's mouth with her hand) No need to repeat it; all of us here know. I'm really trying not to get banned.

Angela: Come on, don't you want to have one halfway decent scene where we don't get interrupted multiple times? (takes notes and starts rewriting again)

Kiera: (pries MindKore's hand off) No. You are a little nymphomaniacal, friend-complexing, controlling sex kitten. With a touch of sadomasochism.

Angela: Since when was that a bad thing? (leans closer to Kiera and begins running her free hand up and down her body) Hmm?

MindKore: (covers her face with a hand and hits the button to drop the screen) How about I make you a deal, eh Red?

Angela: (growls) Address me as Angela or it's you next. Now, hand me those handcuffs.

MindKore: Eep. Gotcha. (hands her the cuffs)

Kiera: …How do I manage to get myself into these things?

Angela: Come on, you're making it sound like I torture you when we both know you enjoy it. Anyways, you were saying?

MindKore: Er… I'll discuss it with you when you're not so… busy. (tries to leave)

Angela: You may as well tell me now because you're hardly going anywhere anytime soon. (ties MindKore up with rope) You honestly didn't think I was going to let that `Red' comment slide, did you?

MindKore: ...God have mercy on my soul.

Angela: How can it? You're an atheist.

MindKore: …Good point.

-MindKore, property of Angela and Kiera