<Nocturnal Harmonia>

Each of the males had something to think about. Yugi could only think of his success for the moment, as Kaguya reacted just as he'd hoped. Miyuki, on the other hand... hadn't been expecting the 'that was something' reaction from Miko. What was he supposed to take from that? It was the sort of comment he expected to receive from Kaguya after one of their better nights in the bedroom. Surely that wasn't such a thing from Miko, though... right? But she hadn't stopped him from making contact with her leg, so there had to be something at play here. As for what it was, he didn't know.

A mention of musical chairs preceded Kaguya still reclaiming her original position. With that being the case, she'd be the bridge between Yugi and Miyuki... and subjected to the former's hidden hand right below her descending bottom. If one had to guess a game that ranked among Yugi's top 20, perhaps even top 10... grab-ass was probably a safe bet. Now then, it was once again Miko's turn. Yugi kept his gaze on the lass, watching where her eyes settled. She spoke to him, but that glance said her plan was to target Miyuki indirectly. Surely then, what she wanted was a dare to further test the blonde. Things may have been getting more sexual quickly. Regardless of her plan and the current mystery surrounding it, Yugi's answer would remain the same. "It's about time I started racking up a few. Bring it on♥~" he said, confident there were very few things that would lead to him drinking anyway.

While the males in the room had something to think about. Miko was one who used vague words intentionally most of the time to let people pick their meanings. When she had something specific to say, it was usually praise, and in modern times mostly sexual. But something as simple as what was said here, definitely wasn't star worthy from her and thus probably wouldn't have been said with real sexual context. Beyond that though she was thinking about the nature of this young man and as such she'd be secretly enlisting the help of her partner, and abusing an opening he'd created. At the same time, Kaguya was taking a seat where she'd been before, this time sitting atop Yugi's hidden hand and seemingly only managed to respond to the whole thing with a easily covered gasp.

"Oya♥~ I thought I'd be up next for sure~" she said rolling her eyes at Miko. "Maybe next time Kaya♪~" Miko chirped happily. Of course, when Miko asked Yugi if he'd take a dare the lad agreed. Whether he fully understood where she was going or not wasn't important. It was however important that he trusted her and was fully willing to commit to the oddity of her choice. "Hai hai♪~ So I dare you to spend the rest of this game without your shirt on♪~" Miko chirped happily. But still her eyes hadn't left Miyuki, not really. Was he looking for an excuse or was he trying to show off without seemingly like that was what he was doing? There was only one way to find out and Miko would be figuring out if she was taking two drinks or if this young man was going to choose to take another dare aimed at Yugi, just to prove her was still exciting. Perhaps he'd be curious, or maybe he'd decide that Miko wanted to know what he looked like without his shirt on. Maybe he'd end up taking it just because he didn't want Yugi to be the center of attention. It'd be interesting, regardless.

Kaguya was quite good at covering her tracks after all, their earliest moments dealing with Miyuki aside. A bit of alcohol may have done her well, assuming it had something to do with her level of comfort. Her immediate reaction to being groped was covered immediately, leading into an exchange with Miko. Miyuki would just have to remain ignorant about most things. While he was catching on to nothing at all, Yugi was ever so casually squeezing Kaguya's rear and... apparently awaiting a new dare from Miko that somehow connected back to Miyuki.

Ah, he could understand now. She dared him to discard his shirt, and leave it discarded. She hadn't caught up to the blonde's true nature yet. Well, Yugi wouldn't spoil it. He would offer the assist, though, discretely slipping that hand from under Kaguya's rear to grab his own shirt by its base. "Is that all?" he asked as if totally unconcerned. Miyuki's mind was racing at the time. He knew Miko was looking at him. Did she want him to take the dare? Was it simply acknowledgement that she had a chance of drinking twice if he rejected it? No. Everything she'd been doing since that shared drink was leaning more toward the former, albeit in the most confusing possible way. He was an A-rank Hunter of the Tanker class, though, so it wasn't like taking his shirt off would be a big deal. Miyuki was a rather fit individual. He wasn't the bulky sort of tank, but his sleeker frame was packed tight. He'd prove that fact while stripping his own shirt off... but then, he'd have other questions in mind immediately because the unawakened, younger male was giving him a strong run for his money in the torso visual department. "Ehh? Kiriya-kun, how long have you been working out? You'll show me up if you awaken as a Tanker," he said to the other male. After putting the attention on Yugi, however, Miyuki slipped. His eyes instinctively shifted in Miko's direction as he, subconsciously perhaps, sought some amount of approval.

Kaguya would have considered herself reasonable at being sneaky but... their earliest dealing with Miyuki had been a bit of a shock to her as a person. It took her a moment to become comfortable and it turned out that being so worked up about was better overall because the panic seemed normal. After meeting Miko it likely became obvious that the younger girl didn't operate on the same base rules as the rest of the world and as such she was likely just as problematic as she seemed to be. No worries were to be dished at all, no, just a gentle slip of a hand from underneath her rear and Miko claiming that she might be on the chopping block next. "Ooh♥~ Sounds like fun♥~" Kaguya claimed in that constantly flirty tone.

"Hai♪~ I need something to do with one of my other senses♪~" Miko claimed as if it was perfectly normal to use visual distractions just to keep her attention focused. Beyond that given she already knew exactly what Yugi had to work with and and studied it with her tongue intimately, she ahd no need to shift her vision. No, she was far too busy looking at Miyuki. She saw that shift, in his vision. Him taking the dare and first his question was one aimed at Yugi, even though his eyes went to Miko. Strangely enough, he'd see nothing but appreciation in her face, she did enjoy a well chiseled man. "Squee♪~ Do Tankers get extra muscles? I'm asking for, research purposes♪~" Miko chirped quickly seeming to want to cover her own tracks. Well that wasn't the case, he'd taken the dare and now she saw that he had a high level of fitness. She could look forward to some interesting things, if humans awakenings came with such bonuses, given she knew of at least a couple who had apparently. Just the same Kaguya was now watching Miko. She knew her bestie and as such she trusted her, beyond that her line of questioning and her actions thus far made it seem as if she was looking for something. Finally Miko would speak on the end, "I guess my turn is up now. Next♪~" she happily chirped as she watched Miyuki showing off.

"Ho─is that so?" Yugi asked of the other male. He didn't think it would be possible to establish a defense stronger than Miyuki's at his current level. In fact, he didn't feel it would be possible to mount a defense that would work against the blonde's offense. A-rank was absolutely too high for the moment, but... soon. "Yeah! If we're the same rank, that is. But you guys are good people! I hope you both awaken and rank highly!" Miyuki cheered. Then, he noticed something... odd. Kaguya wasn't paying any special attention to either man who lost a shirt. That was normal; she'd seen it all from Miyuki and would clearly have no interest in the other lad. Yugi seemed completely nonchalant. Also normal; he obviously wasn't gay. Miko... never stopped looking at Miyuki. He specifically noted her never looking in Yugi's direction, as if... as if her interests were elsewhere. He could play with the idea that having her in his lap, atop his erection, was enough to trigger something carnal. One didn't often see or feel a cock like his, after all.

She even asked if Tankers got extra muscles. The way Miyuki interpreted that question, she was complimenting his build ─ understandably so, as he was a fair bit ahead of even Yugi in terms of muscle structure. "Haha! No, I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Hunters only get the benefits of using mana. Everything else comes from hard work, training, time in the dungeon... stuff like that! Being a Tanker just means getting a lot of up-close-and-personal experience. Gotta be able to take a beating and dish one out!" he explained, as if to justify his own 'gains' as some would call them. The erect back of Miyuki at that time could have been used to hang a painting as he reacted subconsciously, yet also semi-consciously, to Miko's gaze with some light flexing. With Kaguya's attention on the other girl as well, and Yugi's attention seemingly nowhere, he had nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, Yugi determined his next target... sort of. He spoke, but he looked at no one in particular. "You know who you are, and I know your choice is dare. I dare you not to take future drinks with the use of your hands. If you fail to meet the dare, or acknowledge it beyond silent execution or a shot to bow out right now... quadruple penalty. Yes, that means you don't get to ask for details. Yes, that means no asking if you're the one I'm speaking to. Yes, this is exactly what you think it is," he spoke. In the end, Yugi gave three sentences of confirmation, as if each one was the automatic response to one other player. Perhaps that was the case. As if to confirm the answer to the final unasked question, Yugi took another shot of his own right then and there... almost as if exempting himself from the dare.

Kaguya would never give extra attention to people showing off in front of her. She was well past the time period of allowing people to think she could be swayed by visuals. Of course, it helped that people did things like flashed her on occasion and the like so she could technically await figuring out what everyone else was doing. "Here's hoping♥~" Kaguya mused as if she was pleased by the idea. If nothing else, she thought Miko and Yugi would be quite capable and the types one might want on their team for various reasons being lightly demonstrated in the moment. Beyond these points Miko's hyperfixation issue seemed to be working in her favor currently. She was trying to figure something out and by staring at Miyuki she felt as if she was encouraging him to show more and more of himself.

Was Miko complimenting his physique? Yes. She wasn't a liar and had always been interested in the muscles of men. Her favorite people had builds similar to or beyond Miyuki's current one. There was an itch created in her mind when she saw rippling abdominal muscles and it was one she could easily scratch given her own partner but in the moment it was being used at least partially for information. He claimed that classing didn't necessarily give muscles, that it just made bodies be affected by mana. He incidentally bragged that his experience had formed his muscles and quietly prided himself on being able to both take and dish out a beating. Miko's eyes were focused as her ears heard his words, the appeal in them the quiet undertones so as not to draw attention. 'He has to be doing that on purpose. Definitely a doors left open kind of guy... doesn't want to appear too perverted so he won't make the suggestions but he'll probably take a direction. But that just means my initial assessment was right,' Miko decided mentally. "Oooh♪~ That sounds pretty awesome, Shirogane-san♪~" Miko chirped. Just the same those eyes of hers hadn't moved she followed every subtle flex and that ramrod straight posture of his. He wanted to be appreciated, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Ah, but something else would be penetrating her thoughts, as Yugi spoke his dare, he didn't name the person directly. 'Sou ka, a mind game...' Miko decided in the moment. His words were so very specific. It was essentially an open challenge. But there were a lot of ways to not take shots with your hands. Miko would assume she was the one being spoken to, but it was also possible he was talking to Miyuki. Regardless, it worked for her to do this, as it would give quite a few openings for her to further prod Miyuki's psyche. Meanwhile, Kaguya heard those words and knew they were a mind game. But... she didn't know why. It was open to interpretation but she could assume they weren't for her. Even so, she didn't want to end up unexempt from the process because she didn't take a shot, so she took her next one without taking her eyes away from Miko. So casual did that happen and in that moment she understood Miko's concentration was similar to what happened when she walked into a room and the girl's face was buried in her tablet. Big eyes, curious brow and a hint of wonder like she was on the cusp of a discovery. 'Sou ka, I never realized people were a game to her too...'

"It's bittersweet. I'd take the effect without the cause any day, in this case," Miyuki confessed. "But it looks like both of you are already there. Do you share workouts?" he asked of the pair, noting Miko's exceptional build from the time spent in her bellybutton. It was Yugi who spoke just then, swearing at nothing. "Kuso! The dailies!" he exclaimed, scrambling to check his smartphone. Once he did so and managed to locate their daily quest, he found the strangest thing. That daily workout they were given in the testing realm was... no longer present. "... The fuck do you mean maintenance? That's dumb," he said. Still, a sigh of relief passed the lips of a lad who didn't want to find out what sort of punishment awaited them after missing a year of dailies... if it counted as such.

Moving on, Yugi's dare reached the whole table just as intended. Results were pending. He looked to Miko, and found her not taking a shot. That much was to be expected; he figured she could make use of the challenge for her own observations. When his eyes shifted to the right, he found Kaguya taking a shot right away. That... was actually unexpected, and fairly disappointing. 'Fuck. Gotta get it together,' Yugi thought about his ability, or lack thereof, to fully read Kaguya. Miyuki however, was an open book. He knew looking at that man would reveal someone who didn't even have a glass in hand presently. Miyuki didn't know who the target was, but... wasn't that just an opportunity for anyone to assume themselves as the target? If he did that, it would simply be him avoiding four penalties to seek assistance taking a shot. Ah, but the reality of the matter was that Miyuki had to resign himself to the dare anyway. Yugi's dares targeted him not primarily, not as an afterthought... but as one of two, even three. "Hm," Yugi muttered. He thought that one would land the whole group, but it wasn't the first time he missed a key factor in the causality of a situation. "Turn pass," he said flatly. Now that it was Miyuki's turn again, he was slightly taken aback. "Eto... this new seating arrangement is throwing me off a bit. My turn, right?" he asked drunkenly. "In that case, gomen... it's you again Iino-chan I'm picking my battles now too~"

Miyuki confessed to preferring the idea of the effect of his physical upkeep without the dangers of going into dungeons and the like. Miko interpreted that specifically as a softer emotive meaning. Well, she supposed many people wouldn't be so excited about the isekai life, even in reverse, especially when it was obvious that they weren't among the group of main characters. "Sou ka, I get that..." Miko communicated her understanding. It also probably didn't help that without that shiny S-rank it probably made it more difficult for the Nuovo riche to hang on to their sense of superiority. Family name could only carry you so far when being a plain human was now considered negative regardless of anything else. As for the idea of them sharing workouts, Miko could interpret those words two different ways, and decided that it likely meant in the more common way, "We share quite a few hobbies♪~" she decided to clarify. Of course, Yugi was making noise behind her, obviously upset about the nature of his current look. "Ooh♪ Apologems♪~" Miko chirped seemingly related only to what Yugi had to say about maintenance. She also thought it for the best, that they not be held accountable for a missing year's worth of workouts. That sigh of relief was audible to her and one she shared, their current gaming differences aside.

Even so, they were moving forward, with Kaguya being one to take a drink to exempt her from the dare along with Yugi, it seemed it was an unexpected outcome. Kaguya shifted her eyes away from her besties, game play to give a cheeky smirk to Yugi. She knew better than to fall into a trap like that. As a regular DM there was one thing she always understood. Having too many passive effects active at once could be quite dangerous and she didn't want to reach the point that she didn't remember if she'd done something. Back in her seat, Miko looked at her phone, still seeing that pending Route for Miyuki, one which seemed to leave her in a state of confusion becuase she wasn't sure how she wanted to play it. Whatever the case, Yugi's voice sounded apathetic, implying something hadn't gone his way... she could make assumptions about that, but from what she knew of him now, he'd likely missed some cue to let his ultimate plan move forward at the pace he would have liked. No matter, Miko's eyes shifted back to Miyuki and she... in turn found herself once again at the receiving end of the truth or dare conundrum. "I mean I suppose that is the most strategic choice..." she murmured. "I'm still being attacked though... I didn't even do anything♪~" she tweeted while pouting. She decided now was the time to switch things, up, with the strange playfulness she grinned. "Truth♪~" she chirped. She didn't know if he'd remember his question. If he'd be disappointed she'd not taken a dare, or even he even had a valid question to ask. Either way, the dialogue option would give her a bit more information to work with.

Whether Yugi's overall plan had been truly affected by Kaguya's latest shot, time would tell. He tended to be capable of turning things around either way, though he'd never been a fan of the redesign phase of plans. Well, there remained the idea that Kaguya wasn't a very good drinker ─ something that would probably start showing itself now that she'd taken her fourth shot, if it were true. Yugi figured now that her rejection of the dare had to involve the potential of taking four shots down the line. By that logic, with a bit of mental math... he deduced she could take one or two more before her natural stopping point. It would be imperative then, to ensure she had at least one other by the game's end.

While Miyuki held that emptying bottle over the table, pouring shots until only a quarter of the bottle remained, he extended another inquiry to Miko. She claimed another attack was upon her, and maybe she was right. Frankly, Miyuki couldn't be 100% sure the specific reason for this choice. "I'm sure you've done something... in this life, at least," Miyuki teased. To his surprise, Miko then chose... truth. Had anyone done that since the beginning of the game? Well, this was an obviously rare opportunity even if there was one earlier. Miyuki hesitated, and then... "Truth. Why were you missing for so long?" he wondered. The moment Miyuki finished speaking, Yugi scoffed, visibly upset. "Wasteful. We could have found out about the food!" he barked across the table. Miyuki was flabbergasted, and immediately became the most apologetic version of Shirogane Miyuki anyone could have seen this night. "Chikushou! I forgot! I forgot! Gomennasai, Kiriya-kun!" he pleaded, slamming his forehead to the coffee table. Yugi scoffed again, turning his head away and tilting his nose up. "Tch! Apologize in Hell. There's no second chance for this kind of thing, idiot."

Yugi's quiet calculations were correct, Kaguya had a very limited number of drinks she could take before her sense was overloaded. She'd taken a fourth and that had put her in a quiet and contemplative state. She was relaxed, her belly warm and her mind just slightly dulled from its usual state. A fifth would put her in a state of euphoria and horniness that needed to be quenched and a sixth or seventh would put her out cold for the rest of the night... she wasn't even sure which it would be. For now, she was content, to let Miko do her studying and to see how this game shifted around three people obviously playing a game much deeper than truth or dare. 'Hm, he's probably thinking about it... and Miyuki is thinking quite a lot about Mi-chan. And Mi-chan seems to have found something confounding about Miyuki, this is the weirdest game of truth or dare ever,' Kaguya decided.

At the same time, Miyuki was pontificating about what Miko may or may not have done in this life to deserve being targeted. The truth of the matter was, she'd done nothing, but... she supposed her idea of nothing and everyone else's might have been very different. Still, she said truth, she gave the opportunity to prod her psyche and what she got from Miyuki was a question of why she'd been missing for so long. "Huh, that's not the right question at all♪~" Miko joked lightly. She'd expected something more personally invasive, but in the end it was Yugi to point out the flaw of this question. She likely wouldn't answer another question because of this one, and he'd squandered the opportunity to find out what food she didn't like to ask about her whereabouts. In turn, Miyuki had submitted himself to deep apology and Yugi's everlasting ire. Still, as this question had been asked, it gave Miko an opening for dialogue she might not have had the right opening for at any other time... "As for your question, the simplest answer is because I was in danger. I fled and stayed away for my own safety and everyone elses, though I doubt that worked as well as I would have hoped. I likely still am in danger even now," Miko was honest but her word choice left out so many details that any normal person might have wanted to pick it apart. "I hope I can trust you to keep to yourself that you've seen me and only call me Aoyama Misaki aside from cozy moments like these, to keep yourself and everyone else safe, I'd really appreciate it♪~" Miko asked of him with sincerity and large pleading eyes. She gave a vague truth and a real request. Knowing her currently was likely still dangerous and she'd already discussed her new name and references with Kaguya and with that everything could move on. Still, Miko found it odd that this lad could bother himself with something like that when more interesting and less heavy facts could have been pried from her instead. 'Definitely walking a weird line...' Miko thought.