Admit It

A woman sits across from Inei and the five girls. They sit down inside Azami's house, Inei and the five girls at one end of the table and the woman at the other end. The room is silent as the woman takes a glass of tea in her hand, lifting it towards Azami.

"I must thank you for this drink."

She takes a sip, setting it down in the silence within the house. The five girls aggressively study her as Inei sits behind them, looking away and down. The woman begins speaking again.

"It looks like he truly has made a fan club hasn't he?"

Her eyes shift from girl to girl, examining their shirts. All five girls look down at their shirts, noticing her gaze, then back at her, Chura being the first to speak.

"What of it?"

The woman notices the aggression and puts her hands up.

"I already warned you to cool off. Please don't give me a reason to hurt any of you. I can't stand that bastard behind you all is getting you guys' time of day."

None of them shift their eyes, their eyes becoming narrower with anger, Yasu speaking next.

"Don't talk about him that way. He's our friend."

The woman's eyes now express anger.

"And he's my ex."

All five girls' faces now express shock, turning and looking at Inei, who still looks away and to the side. They all look back at the woman, Aneko now speaking.

"Well, who broke who? Cause I think just by meeting both of you, I can tell."

The woman smirks, looking down.

"You don't understand; I did with a good reason."

Yui, seemingly the angriest of the five, now speaks.

"And what exact reason was that?! Look at him!"

The woman looks up with a now sad look.

"You think he was this way back then? Inei was one of the loudest people when I was with him. He was popular, and everyone wanted to hang out with him. He even had light blue hair full of spikes that would scream that he was loud and outgoing! He was so joyful, but he always put me last! He treated me like garbage and always started just looking inside those damn textbooks!"

The girls don't budge, still staring her down, and she continues to ramble.

"When he wasn't nose-deep in his textbooks, he was always doing something other than being with me! What do you guys see in this asshole?!"

The five girls stand up, fists clenched.

"He's our friend, and we will NOT tolerate you bashing him!"

Azami then speaks alone.

"Especially in MY house!"

The woman gets up, stretching her arms and cracking her fingers.

"You asked for it if you come at me."

Azami rushes, going to attack her when suddenly there is a flash. Inei stands between the two of them, the woman's hand near Inei's stomach as he gasps and falls to his knees, then looks back at them, shaking his head. The girls now look on in fear taking steps back. She looks down at him, then cracks her neck.

"What's wrong, Inei? Forgot how karate works along with everything of me?"

She kicks him in the side of the face, and him hitting the floor immediately. Suddenly, a clicking sound comes from the side, and Yasu shakes, holding a bottle of pepper spray.

"You leave. Right now."

The woman looks at her and giggles, winking, a very cold breeze brushes past Yasu, making her drop the spray. Rina quickly steps in front of Yasu, sweeping her feet from underneath her then proceeds to take out the rest of the group, everyone sitting on the floor with Inei flat on his stomach.

The woman's giggles with pleasure, slowly walking to the door with arrogance.

"For the record, my name is Rina Jomou. Just remember that. I expected more from you Inei."

She leaves without another word, all of the girls getting up and running to Inei.

"Inei, you alright?"

The girls turn him over to see blood dripping from his nose and a little from his mouth. Yui runs over with a bag of ice wrapped in a towel, placing it on his stomach. Chura brings a rag to wipe the blood, and Aneko returns with medicine for him to take when he awakes. As they tend to his wounds, they talk to one another.

"Wow, that woman did a number on him, did she not? Look at his stomach!"

Chura says this, having lifted his shirt, Rina had struck him right on the left side of his six-pack, Chura's face a bright red having touched that part of his body with the ice that Yui had given her. Aneko lifts his head, propping it on her lap, so the blood does not suffocate him, wiping the blood away.

"What an idiot. Why did he have to do that?!"

Yui looks at her.

"He did it to protect Azami. Why did you..."

Then they realize that Azami is nowhere around them, Yasu speaking.

"Where is she?"

As Rina walks down the sidewalk, she suddenly stops.

"I know you're there."

A few moments pass, then Azami steps out from the darkness, fists clenched. Rina chuckles down at her.

"What do you want, woman? You already saw what I did to Inei. You don't stand a chance."

Azami looks up at her emotionlessly, speaking very blandly.

"I think it is you who underestimates me."

Rina takes a closer look.

"You look very familiar to me. What is your name?"

Azami looks at her with no emotion still.

"My name does not matter to you. It's what you did to Inei that does. You will pay for what you did to him in high school."

Rina tilts her head confused. Azami steps forward, getting in a stance. Rina dodges a hook from Azami, back flipping back and standing, avoiding plenty of strikes from Azami. Then Rina begins striking at Azami, who also dodges Rina's strikes. As they fight, they make their way across and around the surrounding buildings and streets. Finally, they both land in the middle of the road, breathing heavily. They look at each other, Rina speaking.

"You're excellent."

Azami now speaks, trying to catch her breath.

"I don't want your worthless compliment. This is not even a drop of my talent. I want you to suffer."

Azami attacks and lands a hit on Rina's shoulder, Rina wincing and running.

"You'll pay for that witch!"

Rina runs off and disappears, leaving Azami in the street, taking deep breaths and looking next to her to see a drug store.

Azami arrives at her house to see Inei looking down in the chair, the other four girls looking at her, and Chura speaking.

"Where have you been?!"

Azami holds up a bag of stuff.

"I ran to the drug store to grab a few things for Inei, like a wrap and stuff."

She walks over and pulls a chair up, wrapping up Inei's wound on his stomach. Aneko stares at Inei.

"Why did you let her hit you? I know you can fight; I've watched you do it."

Inei doesn't budge, sitting in the same position before she questions him.

I could never hit her, I just could never even if I wanted to.

Aneko again speaks.

"Can you at least tell us why she showed up? I don't exactly trust what she told us. I don't like you, but I can't even see you treating someone you like that."

Inei then looks at her, then points at a pen and paper. She gets up, handing it to him, and he writes for a while as Azami finishes wrapping his wound. When he finishes, he gives it to Aneko, who reads out loud.

" "I cannot think of what I could have done to make her anymore happy. I did not want to have to explain this now, but it seems that I must. In high school, I was the complete opposite of what I was. I was vibrant, loud, and talked to everyone. People knew I was the next NBA prodigy, and then she happened. She told me that I wasn't good enough even though I had perfect grades, I was the biggest athlete in the school, and I learned karate. It made no sense, and it hurt a lot. Because I thought I had done everything I could. And because of her, I am who I am today." Man Inei, I feel sorry for you on that one."

Suddenly, Inei's eyes shoot open, not from pain but warmth; he looks down seeing Aneko with her arms wrapped around him.

"I'm sorry she did that to you."

Chura is the first one to speak.

"Hey! Aneko! His stomach! Don't touch him because his stomach hurts!"

Yasu speaks as well.

"Y-yeah!"

Yui looks at the two.

"What's it matter if a friend hugs another friend, Chura, and Yasu?"

They look at each other in the other direction, Yui blushing. Then a gasp erupted from Aneko, the girls looking now, with all of them blushing as Inei took Aneko back in his arms. For a moment, nothing happens, Aneko seemingly enjoying it, then suddenly jumps out of his arms falling back into the couch on the opposite side, her eyes big and her face super red. She looks at them all, then yells.

"W-what are you all looking at?!"

They all slightly begin the chuckle as Inei starts to smile.

That's much better. She has no idea how nice that hug really was.

Azami then hugs Inei.

"No fair! I want a hug too!"

Inei doesn't move, and then he hugs her back.

I suppose hugging doesn't hurt.

Then Chura and Yasu run over.

"Me too! I want a hug too!"

"Y-yeah!"

Yui laughs and then follows behind them.

"You two suck at hiding things, but a hug does seem nice."

Inei takes time to hug all of them. Chura got her to hug third, then got back up with a large blush. Yasu was fourth. After the hug, she stands with a big smile, and then Yui last, who has a casual smile. Inei then hands them a paper that says.

"Thank you for standing up for me, by the way."

They all smile at him, then Yui speaks with a sly tone.

"It's gonna come with a cost, though."

The four girls kind of look at her with confusion; Inei turns his head. Yui then speaks in her head, looking at everyone with a sly look.

Yui: "This should be fun to see, for me at least."

She presents an innocent smirk.

"It is still a sleepover! And I feel a little risky tonight, so why don't we play truth or dare?! And since we protected you, you will play with us!"

Inei lifts an eyebrow.

What are you up to, Yui?

Azami yells.

"Yeah! That would be very fun!"

The other three girls look at her with a blush, Aneko raising her hand.

"Uh, what if you refuse to answer the questions, Yui?"

Yui thinks, then goes to Azami's pantry, finding some liquid.

"You have to drink some of this!"

Inei's eyes shrink.

Clam juice?! Why is that even in her pantry?!

Yui sits in the middle of the floor.

"Come now, everyone! Sit in a circle! This game is also a way to get to know each other cause, in Inei's case, we may be hiding things from each other!"

Inei looks away with a saddened look.

I didn't mean it that way.

Yui smiles as everyone sits in the circle, her speaking first.

"Alright! I will start, and then we will go clockwise! Aneko, truth or dare?!"

Aneko sits between Azami and Chura across from Inei and slightly cackles.

"Truth! I'm not afraid of your questions, Yui!"

Yui claps her hands with a big smile.

"Okay, Aneko! What is something embarrassing that you have done?!"

Aneko speaks easily.

"Well, it just happened! I hugged Inei. Easy as that!"

Inei rolls his eyes, and Yui smiles.

"Okay! Azami's turn!"

Azami beams with joy.

"This is so much fun! Yui, truth or dare?"

Yui puts her finger to the bottom of her lip, then points to Azami with a sly look.

"Dare!"

Azami giggles.

"Okay! Make your hair glitter art with glitter that is in my crafts drawer!"

Yui smirks, then gets up, grabs the glitter, and puts it in her hair; all the girls laugh, and Inei smiles. Yui comes back, a little bit of glitter sprinkling out with every step.

"Done! Alright, Aneko's turn!"

Aneko lifts her nose.

"Okay. Inei, truth or dare."

Inei stares at her, and he writes something down, sliding it towards her, saying "truth." Aneko slightly blushes, leaning her face down and looking at him with a blush.

"Okay, Inei, out of the five of us, which one would you most likely get with?"

All five girls blush as well as Inei. They all look at Inei, who is still blushing, writing on the piece of paper.

"I can't pick one individually."

Aneko smirks.

"That doesn't answer the question! Yui, get the clam juice ready!"

Yui grabs the clam juice and hands it to Inei, who holds it in his hands. Then writes down something and puts it in the middle.

This is bad! I cannot pick one! She knew I would never!

Inei then writes down something on a paper and puts it in the middle.

"You are all my friends, and I couldn't possibly pick one of you over another."

Aneko chuckles, lifting her nose high still with a blush.

"Well, because you won't pick the one, you have to drink. Right everyone?"

Each girl kind of looks away with a blush, slowly nodding. Going down the line, they each say something, starting with Chura, who's next, then Yasu, then Yui, then Azami.

Chura: "I mean, I'm kinda curious myself..."

Yasu: "Who would you choose?..."

Yui: "Not that I care, but it's embarrassing nonetheless."

Azami: "That is a strange question."

Inei sighs, then takes a swig of the clam juice, all five girls watching in awe as he got it down, making a gagging face, then put the fluid to the side, all the girls having a pout to their look now, Aneko speaking.

"Well, that sucks! Alright, Chura, your turn."

Chura, still with a blush, now speaks.

"Alright. Ummm, Azami, truth or dare?"

Azami smiles.

"Dare! I wanna do something exciting!"

Chura smiles back at her.

"Make the funny face that made us all laugh last summer!"

Azami chuckles and does just that, all the girls laughing.

"Alright, Yasu, you're up now."

Yasu nods and then looks right at Aneko.

"Truth or dare, Aneko?"

Aneko chuckles, crossing her arms and closing her eyes.

"Truth. I can handle what you give me."

Yasu's eye shimmers, then she smirks.

"Who is your crush?"

With that, the other girls look at Aneko.

Chura: "Oh! That is a great question! We haven't heard about Aneko in a while!"

Aneko's face is dark red; she struggles to get words out.

"I, um, he, is, um..."

She looks at Inei, who looks at her, making her red, then at the clam juice.

"I may need to drink."

Yasu lifts an eyebrow as one of the girls hands Aneko the juice, Yasu noticing the blush on her face increasing after looking at Inei.

"What's wrong, Aneko? I thought you could handle the question."

Aneko puts the juice down.

"I can! You wouldn't accept my answer as a pass. Since when are you good at flustering people?!"

Azami now speaks.

"Well, what's your answer? Then we'll validate if it's passable or not."

Aneko's face begins to burn again.

"Um, uh, it's uh..."

The girls tilt their heads to her; Aneko then suddenly lifts her head shouting.

"It's Inei, okay?!"

The room goes silent, everyone looking at Aneko, whose face is dark red as she looks down at the floor, the other girls and Inei blushing. Yasu suddenly speaks nervously.

"Wow. Well, okay, Inei, it's your turn."

Inei looks at her and nods.

Yasu did Aneko dirty. But I'm not going to ask the person who just went the same question. That doesn't sound good. I'll ask Yui a question.

He writes it down on the paper and slides it to Yui.

"Truth or dare, Yui?"

She smiles and speaks.

"Truth. I can't do another dare; the glitter is getting annoying."

Inei writes down a question on the paper.

"What is something that you wish was different?"

Yui looks at Inei, reads the question out loud, and continues.

"Wow. That's a deep question, Inei. But I have to say I wish something different were that I was at the top of the volleyball team than being at the bottom and never playing. And it is my turn again. Chura, truth or dare?!"

Chura smiles.

"I'll choose truth."

Yui smirks.

"When we went to McDonald's, who was the guy texting you?!"

They all look at Chura, who is now blushing radiantly.

Man, the Kazuki sisters are savage with this game! They are the two I expected to be passive and shy!

Chura looks to the side, still blushing, and mumbles.

"It was Inei..."

They all look at her, Yui speaking.

"Who was it? I genuinely didn't hear you."

Chura speaks louder, clinching her eyes shut with embarrassment.

"It was Inei!"

They all look at Inei, who shrugs.

I didn't mean anything about it, but she did.

Azami now shouts.

"My turn! Yasu truth or dare?!"

Yasu smiles and speaks softly.

"Truth."

Azami smirks.

"You're usually super quiet, and you asked Aneko this question, so now I'm going to ask you out of fairness. Who is your crush?"

Yasu blushes, covering her face with her hands, speaking through a gap between her hands.

"I-I don't have one."

Aneko smirks now, still blushing from her turn.

"Oh no! No one blushes like that and doesn't have one, take my word for it. Who is it? Is it that new boy from the book club?"

Yasu covers her face, her blush radiating through it.

"No it is not him!"

Aneko pushes her further.

"Then who is it? Or you have to drink the clam juice!"

Aneko then pushes the juice to Yasu, who picks up the jar and gets it to her lips, the smell making her gag, then speak.

"It is Inei!"

What the hell is going on?!

Chura chuckles nervously.

"Well, over half of us have confessed tonight. That's interesting enough how this game does things like that. Your turn Aneko."

Aneko looks at Yui.

"Truth or dare, Yui."

Yui smiles.

"Truth again. Still, the glitter is hell."

Aneko points at Yui.

"Who is it you're crushing on? Since we're on the topic, we might as well put everyone through it."

Yui blushes a little bit enough.

"I knew I would eventually be asked. You'd never believe it if I told you."

Aneko, Yasu, and Chura all say at the same time.

"It's Inei, isn't it?"

Yui looks at them with a big smile and blush, softly speaking.

"Aw, how could you have possibly guessed? I've just tried my best to play coy about it."

Inei looks at them with disbelief.

I think they're all sleep-deprived.

Chura then shrugs.

"I don't know, just pretty evident, just like if we asked Azami, it would probably be Inei as well, so I'm not going to ask. Imma change the subject! Inei, truth or dare?!"

Inei writes down.

"Dare."

Chura smiles.

"Ooh, I would never have expected you to pick dare! This dare doesn't have to be right now, but I will remember; I dare you to teach us karate, so if anything happens, we can all work together to defend each other!"

All the girls smile and nod about the request, and Inei nods.

Well, it's a dare, so I must follow suit.

Inei nods, every girl giving a significant smile; Yasu then speaks.

"Inei, truth or dare?"

Well, if dares are going to be that easy, I might as well keep them going.

Inei writes down on the slip of paper.

"Dare."

She smiles and then blushes, looking away.

"I dare you to kiss all of us on the cheek."

All the girls blush, majorly yelling. Chura yells first.

"Yasu is the one to say it?! Out of all of us?!"

Inei blushes but then looks with a stern look.

It's still a dare. And it's not like it means anything to me.

Inei leans over and softly plants a kiss on Yasu's cheek, her face turning redder than the color, and she falls over.

"I didn't expect you actually to do it!"

Inei looks away a little, blushing.

Whoops.

The other girls clammer over.

Chura: "You said you wouldn't pick one over the other! Prove it!"

Chura sits with a smile, and Inei rolls his eyes and does the same, kissing her on the cheek. She smiles big and returns to her spot, and the same happens with Yui and Aneko, who can no longer fight against it. Azami sits stammering.

"U-uh, maybe we should try a different game; maybe we can start learning karate!"

The other girls look at her, and all smile, Yui speaking.

"Well, okay then! We could do that!"

Inei shrugs, thinking to himself.

I didn't even get a second turn. Not that it matters anyway.

Azami kind of giggles as well.

"Do you remember what Inei did on his first turn?"

The girls tilt their heads.

Ohhh, is that only why?

He looks at the clam juice, and the girls follow his gaze; all look at each other and run to the bathroom. Azami laughs loudly, then looks at Inei.

"Hey Inei, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm just your friend. However, I do have a confession."

She curtsies.

"I already know my martial arts, so I'm okay. Just teach the other four."

Inei squints at her.

You couldn't have told me that before I jumped in the way and risked my own body?

She giggles more standing up.

"Just be good to my friends, Inei; whichever you pick, I'm sure you will have a super happy life."

I don't want to pick anyone. And if I did have to choose, it would have to be-

Aneko begins yelling in the bathroom at Yasu, cutting Inei's thought in the middle.

"This is so disgusting! Damn it, Yasu, why did you have to go that far?!"

Yasu yells back.

"I didn't think about it, okay?! I'd figured we'd all be happy about it after all of us confessing and wanted to be the daring one for once!"

Chura yells as well.

"We appreciate it, but this is gross!"

Inei produces a snicker, and Azami catches it.

"Hey! That's progress! Guys! You made Inei snicker!"

Azami runs to the bathroom, trying to tell them what has happened. Inei sits back in the chair, waiting for them to finish.

No, I shouldn't pick; even if I think I should, I shouldn't. These girls are all my friends, regardless of whether they have a crush. Whatever I say means something different to them; it means no difference to me. I hope everything ends up okay.

The girls come back with smiles, water dripping down their faces and their shirts wet and see-through. Inei looks away immediately.

Don't embarrass them; that would embarrass them. You'll have to try to talk to them as if nothing is wrong.

He hears Yui's voice.

"Inei? Are you okay?"

Inei turns, only trying to make eye contact, nodding.

Just focus.

They all smile, Azami speaking.

"Time to learn karate!"

Did she not just tell me she already knew it? Do her friends not know that she knows?

They all get lined up, standing in their normal positions. Inei shows them how they should stand, and they try to reciprocate. Inei examines each girl. Azami is standing perfectly, Aneko is a little off balance, Chura stands straight up, hardly trying with her legs, Yui has her arms in a weird position, and Yasu is okay for a starter Inei walks up to Yui, who blushes as Inei takes her wrists in his hands and places her arms and hands in good positions. Then she walks over to Aneko, who yelps as Inei grips her hips, positioning her in a good position to balance, her face becoming super red. And then, finally, Chura. Inei grabs her leg and thigh, placing them in the proper position. When Inei stands up, he notices a very embarrassed look on her face, he tilts his head and sees the same on Aneko and Yui.

They get shy and embarrassed even when I touch them too?!

Inei walks over to Yasu, who is already shy, and he nods, her eyes glowing, and a giant smile sits on her face. Then Inei walks over to Azami and gives a thumbs up, and Azami gives the same smile.

Maybe they're just embarrassed because they didn't do it right.

Inei then goes back in front of them and writes on a paper.

"We're going to train all night, so get ready."

They look at each other with a concerned and nervous look.

Chura is speaking up.

"Heh, maybe we can train with your fraternity leader at some time other than tonight? I shouldn't have mentioned doing this tonight."