Despite her normally calm demeanor, Naoto wasn't shy about her status this game. Fortunately, she remembered to conceal her number from the starlet's prying eyes. It wasn't hard to figure out who was Queen this time, even before Rise jumped out of her seat and flashed a red dot. The girls knew they were in trouble now. Yukiko and Rise knew the mechanics of this game best, but the former was more likely to play a tamer game, unless she got drunk (placebo or otherwise). And the glint in Rise's eyes only confirmed their fears: Rise wouldn't be as merciful as Naoto.
"I got this!" she said. "Just give me a minute."
She gave the room a quick glance, looking for the box she needed for the order. Nanako and Yukiko had it earlier, and they couldn't have been done with it - the Amagis bought one of those big boxes that could feed a family of six, no way those two could have finished it off already. The trick now was figuring out what they did with it. The five of them cleared some space for the game, so it was just a matter of...
"Ah-ha!" Rise called. Now she could call her order. Explain it, she reminded herself. Explain the whole thing first, then call two numbers.
Presenting the box, she continued, "All righty! I'm ordering two of you to play The Pocky Game!"
Three faces quickly fell, while Nanako cocked her head. She loved the chocolate-covered bread sticks known as Pocky, especially when her dad made her a cup of coffee, but she'd never heard of a game using them. How would it even work? Is it like an eating contest?
Stuttering and stammering, Yukiko managed to give Nanako a brief explanation, one that flustered the young girl a bit, but also got her excited. Two players take one Pocky and bite an end. The pair continue eating small bites of the stick until either one of them flinches. Naturally, should no one flinch, the duo wind up kissing. The person who flinches loses, while a kiss means it's a draw, or they could continue the game until someone does flinch. It's simple, occasionally short, and a standard for The King's Game, especially in one of those boxed versions with suggestion cards or as a penalty game.
Now it was an adult game, Nanako thought, even if I did bring up that puppy movie from America.
"There's just two little things to add," Rise continued. "We wouldn't want anyone to cheat the Queen.
"First, I'll do the draw rule, but the kiss has to be held for three seconds to be a draw. I think Naoto-kun has a good watch for the job. And second, whoever flinches first has to...tell us how much she's done with a guy. We get to ask questions, if we can tell you lied you do another penalty game, and there's no easy way out of either penalty."
The other three high school girls quickly turned several shades of red, though they weren't entirely sure of the main cause. The Pocky Game would have been embarrassing enough if it had been called during the class trip with the boys around. Knowing up front that they were going to be playing another girl only intensified those feelings, even though this was a more private setting with a smaller audience. However, in the event they did flinch, was an empty act somewhat forced upon them really as bad as revealing something they did freely? Would attempting to lie be worth the risk of a worse penalty? And choosing to skip the task meant losing a precious article of clothing very early in the game, revealing a small weakness and risking major exposure later in the game, when the orders got more distressing. The only ones not even slightly bothered by this situation were the immunized Rise and the eager Nanako.
"Now then," Rise called, piercing through the silence of her peers, "numbers. How about...1 and 3!"
"Give me a break," Naoto breathed. First Rise ruins her order, and now she's ordered the super sleuth into this situation.
Kiss or strip, Naoto mused, before realizing her other option. Maybe all she had to do was fake confidence. If her partner had a shaken demeanor, then an air of acceptance, perhaps even a little faux anticipation, would be all she'd need to bluff her opponent right out of the game. In fact, starting now might just cause her opponent to strip instead of even try playing.
Naoto happily stood, trying to be quick even though she paused after Rise finished. She flashed 1 on her lot straight to the group, feigning a partial smile and acquiring a look of restrained joy. At the moment her friends will probably find it rather suggestive, but a simple explanation later should be more than enough to eliminate this problem. Of course, that assumes they don't already know her strategy. If that happened, this would really be a game of chicken. Well, in one case that's possible. Chie hasn't once suggested that she'd be able to see through this feint, it would have to work on her. The primary concern would be Yukiko, Naoto thinks.
Naoto's smile attempted to flee when she locked eyes with her opponent, but firmly locked into a more frightened grin. Starting at the 3, her gaze followed the upstretched arm lower and lower until she reached the euphoric face of Nanako. I needed a better plan, Naoto scolds herself.
Chie Satonaka -
Clothing: Slippers, socks, green jacket, sailor tie, skirt, blouse, sports bra, panties
Yukiko Amagi -
Clothing: Slippers, sailor tie, red cardigan, skirt, tanktop, black nylons, lace bra, lace panties
Rise Kujikawa -
Clothing: Slippers, stockings, sailor tie, school jacket, skirt, blouse, bra, thong
Naoto Shirogane -
Clothing: Hat, slippers, socks, school coat, pants, button up shirt, bra, panties
Nanako Dojima -
Clothing: Slippers, socks, dress, sweater, panties
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