> Decision
> >1 - Confess what happened during the hot spring trip.
> >2 - Say you know, but can’t bring yourself to tell.
> >3 - Summon some bravado and say you’ll trade secrets
> >4 - Think up a different reason for Kaiba to act this way (Will be a roll)
>
> Winner
> >2 - Say you know, but can’t bring yourself to tell.
There’s no way you can tell Kitabayashi your night of drinking ended in Watase’s bed.
“I think I know, yeah,” you say.
Kitabayashi sits upright, “Well…?”
You look away, “I can’t say…”
“So, something happened that has Aoi convinced you’re hot for girls to a point she was, for some reason, trying drop you into my lap, cat girl costume and all, and you won’t say?” says Kitabayashi, arms folded.
Sheepishly you nod, “I’m sorry…” you say, “I feel like it’s best that I keep it a secret…”
There’s a sharp click as Kitabayashi opens her sixth can, “This only makes me m-more curious,” she says, then smirks as she pulls at the collar of her shirt, revealing part of her cleavage, “It was something lewd. Wasn’t it? She caught you with somebody? Kissing a girl?”
“Nothing lewd!” you say, flustered at the implication.
“I dunno. Aoi even got mad. She seemed pretty convinced,” says Kitabayashi, she reaches for some now-dry sushi, knocking over empty cans in the process.
“You’re drunk,” you say.
“Seems like your plan worked then~” she says.
Why’d you brought the beer again?
Ah. Kaiba suggested it.
“Hmmmm…” says Kitabayashi, rolling her neck, “Maybe I’ve just gone about it all wrong.”
“You’ve been going on lunch dates with Watase-san, right? Is that more your type?” she adds.
“It wasn’t a date! Yui, I don’t have a ty--” you say, but you cut off your retort as Kitabayashi scoots closer.
Really close.
“Maybe I should’ve been more direct,” she says, putting her face inches from yours, “I didn’t wanna risk losing you as a friend, but it seems like all this teasing you’ve been doing was because you wanted me to make a move…well, it's just us now…”
“Teasing!?” you say, blushing like a maiden, “Yui, you know what happened today was Kaiba’s…”
“But you went along with all of it, no? Besides, you’ve been a tease even before that…” says Kitabayashi, “You know how I feel about you… I’m not a saint, y’know, even I have limits…”
Your heart is racing a mile a minute.
“If all it takes is for me to be a bit more assertive, well, that’s easy,” says Kitabayashi.
Her hands slide over your lower back, she then pulls you onto her lap, facing her.
“I’m not about to lose you to some secret girl,” she adds.
This is bad, isn’t it?
She’s looking at you with her large, green eyes filled with desire.
Rather than liquor, all you can smell is her perfume which seems to fill the air around you.
Her lips parted slightly, a light gleam on them from some lip-gloss.
You’ve never kissed a girl before.
Or anyone seriously for that matter…
This…
This is probably bad.
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/77af244a-9173-4d81-b5e9-fc6240689ecd.png]
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> Time drinking: 2 hrs. Beer downed: 4 cans. Weight: 120lbs
> Blood Alcohol Percentage: 0.13% (0.08% is limit for driving)
>
> Bad Decision Points = ((0.13 * 100) * 5) = 65
>
> >000 - 125 - Loudly cry for her to stop.
>
> Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
>
> >125 - 150 - Let it happen.
> >150 - 165 - Reciprocate.
>
>
>
> Rolled 44 (1d100) + 65 = 109
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You have mere seconds to make a decision here.
Tucking a free strand of hair behind an ear and leaning in, that’s all she’ll need to act.
Then Kitabayashi will kiss you and things will never be the same.
What she said earlier rings true: you might lose her as a friend if you let this happen.
Yui-chan will want to move to the next stage, probably.
Dating, at first, and, if things go her way, girlfriends eventually.
But if it doesn’t work out – you’ll drift apart.
It’s almost impossible to go back to mere friends afterwards.
There was a small chance you might’ve let the alcohol in your system take the reins, because of curiosity if nothing else.
The fortune teller did mention that past opportunities for love would re-emerge.
Potential relationships you turned down or missed out on.
Maybe this is one of them.
But you can’t take that chance.
A kiss you could risk, but you’re not confident a full-blown relationship would work out.
And that’s what Kitabayashi wants.
“Yui… stop,” you say, quietly at first, but then louder, “Please, stop!”
The added volume drives the message home.
Shocked, Kitabayashi looks up towards you.
“I promise you, it’s not what you think,” you say, “I’m not seeing some girl…”
Kitabayashi sighs, “Nothing’s changed then?”
You nod meekly, “Nothing’s changed,” you say, “I think Kaiba just misunderstood…”
“That’s a bummer…” asks Kitabayashi, “Still can’t tell me what happened?“
You shake your head, “No, I’m sorry…” you reply.
“Well, not like I don’t have secrets of my own,” says Kitabayashi, her face then softens, “Didn’t scare you. Did I?”
“It’s okay,” you say, taking the cat ears off your head, “I might’ve gone too far with things…”
“I just figured that if there was a chance, that I’d… that’s no excuse, though,” says Kitabayashi, then lightly taps you on the thighs, “You should probably get off my lap then…”
“Ah, yes,” you say, swaying slightly as you get up.
There’s an uncomfortable silence.
It stretches and makes itself at home.
The time for words has come and gone and the silence is loving it.
“I should probably go…” you say, launching the silence back towards homelessness.
Kitabayashi takes a breath to pull herself together despite the torrent of emotions and alcohol.
“Yeah, probably, and I should clean this all up,” she says.
“I can help…?” you say.
“No, that’s okay,” says Kitabayashi, waving a dismissive hand, “I just …want to be alone…”
Her voice is tight – on the edge of tears and she’s losing balance every other step she takes.
> Decision
> >1 - She said she wants to be alone. You leave and call a taxi to take you home.
> >2 - She’s clearly not alright. Stay despite what she said.
> >3 - Write-in
>
> Winner
> >1 - She said she wants to be alone. You leave and call a taxi to take you home.
The best thing you can do is give each other some space.
“Okay,” you say, shouldering your purse, “…I guess I’ll see you at work then.”
“Yeah,” replies Kitabayashi in a strained voice.
Not knowing what to say, you simply nod, then depart.
Once back in the car, you let out a long, exasperated sigh.
Suppose there’s better ways to end a birthday party.
The whole idea had been to do something nice for Kitabayashi.
However, she’s probably worse off after everything that happened just now.
What would’ve happened if you had just a few more drinks?
If in that moment in time, you decided to take a chance on something unfamiliar?
Would it have worked out? Probably not, right?
You shake your head to fight against the clouded thoughts in your mind.
Clearly, you’re too drunk to drive.
You call a taxi from within the warmth of your car and wait for it to arrive.
Eventually, a taxi stops by and you’re driven home.
After you open the door of your apartment, you let your purse drop in an empty corner.
Your kick off your shoes, not bothering to put them away properly.
Enjoy a tall glass of water to cushion the inevitable hangover, then pull out your phone.
You frown at your phone for a while, then decide to send Kitabayashi a message.
She didn’t seem okay at the time, but you decided to respect her wishes and left.
A response arrives within a minute of your text.
@NagataMiho: Hope you’re okay…. still friends, right?
@YuiYuiYui: Of course :D
A thin smile slips onto your face.
She may have missed out on a kiss, but deep down she must’ve known it wouldn’t have worked out.
If anything, she probably just wanted to sneak that kiss in. The perv.
You sigh in relief, finish your glass of water, and head to bed.
----------------------------------------
Sitting at the kitchen table, Kitabayashi has her eyes fixed to her phone after sending the message.
She reaches for the remaining half of the final can of your remaining portion of the beer.
Instead, her unmonitored hand knocks it over – spilling beer over the kitchen table.
Jolting to her feet, her chair topples backwards, clattering to the kitchen floor.
Sense of balance distorted, she flails for a moment, then topples over.
With a groan, she recovers to her knees and clings to a table leg for support, chest caved, and shoulders slumped.
Spilled beer slowly drips from the edges of the table, onto the kitchen tiles.
Kitabayashi watches it happen, then cries.
A strangled sobbing.
A short while passes, when then there’s a voice near the kitchen doorway.
“Yui-chan…?” says Kaiba carefully, standing there in her pyjamas, “…Everything okay?”
Kitabayashi hastily wipes at her eyes with the heel of her hand, “Fine,” she says, forcing a smile, “I thought you were asleep, sorry.”
Kaiba lingers in the doorway, eyeing the toppled chair, “…You’ve been crying…”
Kitabayashi laughs, “I’ve been rejected again, haha~”
“Oh…” says Kaiba, shuffling uncomfortably in place, “…I know you said not to get involved, but…I think if you keep trying, then eventu--”
“No,” says Kitabayashi resolutely, then sighs, “…No…. I’m done… ”
Whatever meagre defence she built-up crumbles away, like the final strands of a frayed rope snapping away in rapid succession.
”…For a moment, I really thought…” she tries, then bawls, “…It hurts …Uuuu… hic….”
Another year.
Another birthday.
Alone.
A past overflowing with friends and family, but a present nearly void of both.