Hello!  First-time poster VoidStar here.  Not much
else to say beyond that, other than "enjoy!"

*****

It was a balmy early autumn night, and Tanizaki Yukari
was (strangely) not drunk, or even in the process of
becoming drunk.  This fact had unsettled her coworker
and one-woman social circle, Kurosawa Minamo, and the
fact that it unsettled her weirded her out even more,
as she would have expected it to come as a relief. 
But when Yukari explained that she wanted to fool
around with a plaything she had recently acquired,
Minamo allowed herself to relax.  This was familiar
territory.

"All right!" Yukari chirped.

"All right."

"The game is Dead or Alive 3."

"Great."

"The rules:  one-on-one, single count matches, no
timer."

"Fine by me."

"The ante is--"

"Hey, wait a second!"

"The Hell is your problem?" Yukari growled.

"What 'ante'?!" Minamo shot back.  "You said this was
going to be a friendly game!"

"What kind of chickenshit wimp are you?!  It's more
fun if we bet!"

"More fun for _you._  As I recall, our last wager is
what let you buy that hideous hunk of plastic in the
first place."

Yukari made a face that put Minamo in mind of little
Chiyo after a gym class in which Tomo had deliberately
"messed up" several volleyball serves in a row,
sending them slamming into the back of the younger
girl's head.  "You...you say what you want about
me..." she stammered.  Minamo was alarmed by how
prepared she was to believe that Yukari was being
sincere.  "But leave the X-Box out of this!  It gives
so much service and asks so little in return!"

"Oh, _fine_..." Minamo relented with a sigh.  "We can
bet.  But not with money."

"No money?!  That sucks!  You suck!"

"Take it or leave it."

"Bah."  Yukari muttered to herself for a moment or
two.  "Okay, in that case we bet to see who picks up
the tab at restaurants."

Minamo rolled her eyes.  "Oh, right, that's really
different from betting money. Sorry, try again."

"Hey, what was that?  Hmm, I think I heard the sound
of a hair being split.  Quit ruining my fun!"

"See, this is why I want to play _friendly_ games..."

Yukari shook her head, putting on her best
condescending smile.  "Now now, my dear little Nyamo,
you know I can't have fun without some sort of risk,
some wager."

"All too well," Minamo replied, wearily.

"Therefore, I invoke the Perverted Third Option!"
Yukari declared.  "What do you think of _that?!_"

"I think you're making up terms and expecting me to
understand anyway.  What on Earth is the Perverted
Third Option?"

"It's simple enough that even a gym teacher can grasp
it!" Yukari promised.  "Since you obviously value your
money over your dignity, the ante we'll be playing for
is..._clothing._"

Minamo gave Yukari a deadpan, you-must-be-joking look.
 She got a lot of mileage out of that look when Yukari
was around.  "Clothing."

"You know it, babe.  Loser of each round gives up a
piece of clothing."

"...Couldn't think of anything more original, huh?"

"Shut up and tell me if you're game or not."

After a moment's pause to consider, Minamo nodded. 
"All right, let's do it."

"Ah-ha!"  With a finger leveled in stern accusation
and a completely contradictory grin splitting her
face, Yukari said, "You were picturing me naked,
weren't you!"

"Who's the pervert here?!" Minamo snapped.  The
semi-denial did nothing to stop her cheeks from
burning.

Yukari's grin became a crooked smirk.  "Both of us,
Nyamo, and you know it."

"...Just start the damned game."

"Yeah, yeah.  Say, who do you think is the prettiest
Dead or Alive girl?"

Minamo arched an eyebrow.  "No comment. People who
find animated characters attractive should have their
heads examined."

"Okay, pretend you're not a pervert pretending to be a
prude, then answer the question."

Minamo took a stab in the dark.  "The ninja girl." 
Because, after all, wasn't there always a ninja girl?

"There are _two_ ninja girls.  And you can't say
Ayane, she's mine!" Yukari warned.

"Well, it's the first time I've ever played this!  Lay
off."

"Fine, fine, let's get some actual matches done."

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret this."

"I'll make sure you don't."

A few matches later, Minamo--divested of shirt, shoes,
socks, and earrings (a copout, admittedly)--was
blushing worse than ever and wondering how Yukari
planned to carry through with her promise, while
occasionally kicking herself for not asking Yukari to
explain how the controls worked before they had
started.  She scowled intensely at the screen, as
though she was trying to peer through the screen and
into the game's inner workings.  "How do you _do_
that?" she asked, as Yukari's lavender-haired ninja
grabbed the outstretched food of Minamo's screaming
bouncer and slammed him to the ground.

"With style and panache.  Also, deadly precision
helps."

"On the _controller._"

"...I pressed a combination of buttons with style,
panache, and deadly precision.  Also, _timing._"

"Oh, how I--HEY!" Minamo blurted as her suffering
warrior was hurled through a window, which led to him
hitting a neon sign several times on his way to the
asphalt, his energy depleted before he even reached
the bottom.  "The _Hell?_"

"He who controls the earth can conquer Heaven!"

"Whatever you say, Magatsu. Next match."

"O-ho-ho, nice try."  Minamo gulped, glancing in the
direction of her tormentor.  Yukari had a grin so wide
plastered on her face that Minamo was not the least
bit surprised when she actually started rubbing her
hands together.  "You think I'm going to go easy on
you now, when I have you at my mercy?  Bra or pants,
Nyamo--you're lucky I don't get to choose what goes
off."

"Pants it is.  I should've worn an undershirt..."
Minamo sighed.

"Awww, no bra?  Tell you what, I'll ditch my shirt if
you lose the bra."

"..."

"You're _really_ picturing me naked this time, I bet."

Minamo's jaw began to clench.  This was taking more
effort than she had expected.  But, on the other hand,
why had she agreed to this in the first place?  What
other reason could there be than to get Yukari out of
her clothes?  Even if it had been Yukari's idea in the
first place--"Shut _up_, brain!" she screeched,
whacking the controller against her forehead.

"Geez, Nyamo, don't go nuts."  Yukari shrugged.  "If
you don't wanna take the offer, just say so."  A
pause.  "I'm still gonna make you take something off,
but if you really want to choose..."

One moment, Minamo's face was a mask of struggle, the
very picture of a fight against temptation--and in the
next moment, it crumbled into a full-on pout.  "You
fight dirty," she complained in what could only be
described as a whine.

"Feh, there's no such thing as cheating in a fighting
game."

"That," Minamo grouched, slipping the straps of her
bra off her shoulders, "is not what I meant."

Yukari made a face that couldn't decide whether it was
overjoyed or stunned.  "You're gonna do it?!"

"It's done."  The bra hit the floor, and Minamo
pointed a stern finger at Yukari.  "And you had damned
well better carry through with your end of the deal."

At this point, Yukari's expression took a sharp turn
towards overjoyed.  Her shirt was shed in a giggling,
button-tearing frenzy, and she had Minamo on her back
before the tossed-aside garment reached the floor. 
"Let it never be said I don't follow through on
bargains, hmmm?"  She nestled her head against
Minamo's shoulder, lips brushing lightly against the
side of Minamo's throat.

Minamo made a slight, half-hearted twitching movement
that was meant to be struggle.  "I feel like I'm in
high school again for saying this--your _mother_ is
two rooms over, Yukari!"

"Always excuses, excuses..." Yukari tsked.  The light
touch of her lips progressed to definite, lingering
kisses against Minamo's neck.  "'Your mom is nearby! 
I'm not _that_ into girls!  We're at a shopping mall!'
 Blah, blah, blah...there's no need to worry.  Mom may
get up quicker than I do, but she sleeps just as much
like a stone."  Yukari worked one arm around Minamo's
shoulders, while her other hand traced aimless
patterns on the smooth skin of Minamo's stomach.

"Mmmm..." Minamo's eyes drifted shut.  Yukari's caress
worked on her like a massage, draining tension from
her body and mind.  "It has...been a while..."

"And whose fault is _that?_" Yukari whispered, taking
a few nips at Minamo's earlobe.

"At the risk of being unpopular, I blame you."

Yukari laughed quietly.  "No, I'm pretty sure it's all
on your hands."

"Let's decide later."  Minamo's arms encircled
Yukari's waist, drawing the other woman closer.

"'Shut up and kiss me' and all that?"

"Mmmhmm.  And as always, you're having trouble with
the 'shut up' part."

"But not the 'kiss me' part," Yukari countered,
proving herself right in an ample fashion.  She pulled
away for a moment to rid herself of her own bra,
returning with a yet deeper kiss and roaming hands
that moved across Minamo's skin with tender
familiarity.  Minamo responded in kind, tracing the
curves Yukari was so justifiably proud of with her
fingertips, as the kisses continued.

"Well then," Minamo panted during a pause for breath,
"to the bed?"

"To the bed," Yukari agreed.

"Say," Minamo said as she slid out of her pants, "what
do we do if your mom tries to come in and wake you up
tomorrow morning?"

"Always thinking about stupid practicalities, aren't
you?  We'll just do what we did in high school,"
Yukari replied unconcernedly, her skirt joining the
growing pile of discarded clothing.

"I never slept over while we were in high school."

"Meh."  Yukari all but tackled Minamo to the bed. 
"We'll think of something."

"Yeah...we always do, don't we?"

"Damned right...we always do."

FIN

=====
--VoidStar (aka Hyatt of Across)
Namako Team Evil King
http://voidstar.pitas.com/
October's Stand of the Month is Guido Mista's "Sex Pistols"

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