The Kings Game

The five of us were all sitting around in a circle. We'd decided to meet up in the girls room as it was the larger of the two and easier for us all to squeeze into.

Shinohara seemed to be enjoying his chance to take charge of the group, and had hushed us all so that he could speak.

“So then, listen up,” he said, putting on his best attempt at a commanding tone, “for those of you who are unaware of how the king's game works, allow me to explain!”

I heard Ayane on my left sighing loudly, though she didn't make any attempt to try to stop him.

“There are five scraps of paper, one for each of us, in this bowl here. Each one has a number on it, except for one special one marked as ‘the king’. Whoever draws the king can give out one command that must be followed by whoever holds the number that is called out, with no exceptions. Got it, everyone?”

And with that, the game was underway. The bowl was passed around the circle, with each of us reaching in and pulling out one of the scraps of paper. Once it had made the full round and had returned back to its starting place, we each unfolded our tickets and read the numbers that Shinohara had hastily scribbled onto them.

“Hells yeah, first try!”

Shinohara waved about his paper with ‘king’ written on it, with a gleeful grin. I scowled at him. It may have just been a coincidence, but it was strangely convenient that the one who suggested we play this game had won first. I may have been on his side, but if he really did rig it in his favour, he'd better be damn careful he wasn't caught out. Shinohara noticed none of my suspicions however, and wasted no time in issuing his first command, leaning back and crossing his arms confidently as he did.

“Number two,” he grinned, “I command you to take off a layer of clothing.”

The resulting uproar came immediately. The girls weren't holding back any of their objections.

“H-huh?” Blushed Iwasaki.

“The hell kind of suggestion is that?!” Ayane yelled.

“You're unbelievable, Shinohara-kun,” Inaba shook her head in disappointment.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That one was just a joke to lighten the mood. I didn't actually expect anyone to…”

“…Ah, that's me,” I rose my hand, holding up the number two ticket.

Everyone stared at me incredulously as I shrugged off my jacket. After that, the girls seemed to relax a little, though they still kept a wary eye on Shinohara.

“We’ll let it slide this time, but those kinds of requests are off limits, understood?”

“Y-yes ma'am.”

You're such an idiot sometimes, Shinohara. Even if that was just meant as a joke, how did you expect the girls would take it? You're certainly not going to be winning yourself any points with that one.

Once we had all settled down, we returned the paper to the bowl and began the next round. This time Ayane had drawn the king.

“Hmm, I guess then… number one, tell us a secret hobby of yours.”

Inaba suddenly perked up.

“Well, let's see. I guess it's not a secret really, but I don't think I've ever spoken about this one with any of you.”

“That still counts,” said Ayane.

“Then, I've always been interested in the occult. Ghost stories, fortune telling, that sort of thing.”

“Really? You're always so sensible and level headed, I never would have guessed you'd be into that stuff.”

“My big sis always used to tell me scary stories when I was a little kid. I think she was just trying to get a rise out of me, but I just found them so exciting and mysterious instead,” she chuckled.

It was rare for Inaba to talk about herself like this. With the revelation that her family ran an inn, and now with her interest in the supernatural, I realised there was a lot about her that I didn't know. Though, I suppose that was the whole point of this game - to see sides of people you don't normally see.

The bowl was passed around once again, and we each took a peek at our drawn numbers. I had pulled out the ‘2’ again. I looked around at the others to see what they had all gotten, and noticed that Iwasaki was sporting an evil grin. I don't think I had ever seen her looking like that before. I felt an odd chill run down the back of my neck.

“I-Iwasaki-san?”

“Three has to give two a kiss,” she whispered.

A silence swept over the room.

“W-what?” Iwasaki's eyes darted back and forth between us, “it wasn't that bad of a dare, was it? Isn't that kinda thing normal for the king's game?”

Shinohara gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up, and I could have sworn I heard him mutter, “good one.”

“I'm number two,” I admitted hesitantly.

I glanced towards Ayane. I know it was just a game, but I still felt guilty knowing I was about to be kissed by someone else in front of her.

“Oh, then that one's easy,” Ayane smiled as she leaned over towards me, planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Cuuuute~” Iwasaki squealed in delight.

I was surprised to see that I had drawn the next king. I wondered what kind of order I should give. If this game really was a preface to get Shinohara and Inaba closer, then maybe I should try to ask something that leads down that direction. Maybe something like…

“Number four, describe what your ideal partner would be like!”

“Erm, right…” Shinohara rubbed his neck sheepishly.

Jackpot!

I must have lucked out to have picked him out at random like that. I looked at Shinohara, who shifted in his seat slightly, and I could have sworn his gaze drifted towards Inaba for a second.

“Well, I guess my ideal girl would have to be the serious sort. It's no secret that I'm a bit of an idiot at times, so she'd be someone that could keep my ass in line. She'd have to be someone I trust, someone I'd known for a while and someone who seriously cares about her friends.”

Iwasaki, Ayane and I awkwardly looked back and forth between Shinohara and Inaba. His confession just now couldn't have been more blatant. Inaba must have noticed that too.

Her face, however, was unreadable.

“Oh, and not essential or anything,” Shinohara continued on, “but I can't cook to save my life, so that'd be cool if she was someone who's great with food too.”

“Enough!”

Inaba had suddenly yelled out. She was glaring right at Shinohara, her shoulders trembling. I couldn't tell whether she was angry or upset, but the atmosphere in here had grown much heavier.

“C'mon,” Ayane stood up, “let's give the two of them some space.”

Iwasaki and I nodded, and we all moved towards the door.

Once everyone else had left, Inaba threw a question Shinohara's way.

“How long?”

Shinohara sighed, but he had already decided that he wasn't going to hold anything back. Not anymore.

“For a long time now, probably since I joined the club.”

“T-that long? You've really liked me since back then?”

Shinohara nodded slowly. Inaba was completely at a loss for words. Shinohara tilted his head back, gazing up at the ceiling.

“Do you remember back then? We always used to butt heads, didn't we? Haha.”

“I remember that you used to be a delinquent before you joined, always ditching class.”

“And you'd always confront me about it. I used to wish that I could get as far away as possible from you.”

Inaba frowned at that, but let it slide.

“What changed?”

“I walked by the clubroom one day. It was completely by chance, but I happened to see you through the glass. You were sitting there, all alone.”

“...”

“I could've just left it at that and walked away. But… I just couldn't get the image of you outta my head. I asked around a bit after that, and found out you were the only member left and that you hadn’t found anyone new. So, I thought to myself, what could someone like me do to help?”

He paused briefly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So I joined, used my loud mouth to spread awareness of the club. Then, eventually, we found Iwasaki-chan. And Ren and Naka-chan not long after that. The others never saw how you were before, how lonely you looked, but I did. It made me happy to see that smile of yours whenever the clubroom was full.”

At some point or another, tears had started to run down Inaba's face. Even with her eyes all red and puffy, Shinohara couldn't help but think she was beautiful. He shuffled over on his knees until he was sitting beside her, and placed his hand on her arm to comfort her.

She didn't resist.

After a few minutes, Inaba seemed to have calmed down. She wiped her face on her sleeve, then took a deep breath.

“Why haven't you said anything before now?”

“You know, I've made so many excuses to myself. But the truth is, I was scared. Scared you wouldn't feel the same way about someone as annoying as me,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“I don't think you're annoying.”

She leaned over, resting her forehead against his shoulder. Shinohara's heart began to race.

"Thank you. For staying by my side."

“Any time,” he answered back softly.

There was a long moment of silence. Once Inaba spoke again, her voice was quiet, hesitant.

“You know, it's not long until I graduate. After that, I'll be away for college, we don't have much time left to be together.”

"I'll still come visit."

"But..."

"Even if we're far apart, I'll be with you."

"You promise?"

Shinohara wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, you're stuck with me now. You'll never be rid of me," he winked.

Inaba couldn't help but laugh, she'd always loved his sense of humour.