String lights hung from the ceiling in lazy loops.

  Someone, probably Emiko, had transformed the guild hall into something almost festive.

  Music played from a portable speaker. Bottles covered the conference table: whiskey, sake, wine, beer, and a suspicious unlabeled bottle Yumi had produced from her bag with zero explanation.

  The Dungeon Rescue Guild was official.

  Tonight, they celebrated.

  "To Suzume!" Kasumi raised her glass, already on her second drink. "Guild Master. Rescue Girl. Certified pain in the Association's ass."

  "To Suzume!" the others echoed.

  Suzume lifted her own glass, water, for now, and tried not to feel embarrassed by the attention.

  The full team had shown up initially. Honoka lasted about an hour before remarking that she had homework to do and the girls teased her as she left. Rina had stayed longer, nursing a single beer in the corner, but eventually mumbled something about needing to stretch her legs and left, without coming back.

  Now it was just Suzume, Kasumi, Yumi, Hikari, and Emiko.

  Perhaps because it was just them, the energy shifted over time. Looser. Louder.

  Kasumi was draped across an armchair, legs dangling over one side, dress riding up her thighs. She'd unbuttoned the top of her blouse at some point and Suzu had a hard time not staring.

  "You know what I love about being famous?" she announced to no one in particular. "The dates I get to turn down. Last week some guy offered me a yacht trip. A yacht. I said no just to see his face."

  "You're a menace," Yumi said from the couch. She'd kicked off her shoes and was sprawled with her feet up on the coffee table. "An absolute menace to society."

  "Thank you."

  "That wasn't a compliment."

  "Everything's a compliment when you're this hot."

  Yumi snorted.

  "You're lucky you've got your looks. You couldn't flirt your way out of a paper bag."

  Kasumi sat up, affronted.

  "Excuse me?"

  "You heard me. All that and what do you actually do with it? Make comments and pose. That's not flirting, that's performance."

  "What's the difference?"

  Suzume tuned their argument out. Yumi said something about "getting somewhere" and Kasumi countered with something about "getting plenty."

  Hikari, seated at the conference table with a glass of wine, laughed as she listened. She was on her third glass but showed no signs of being affected.

  "Don't worry about me," she said when Suzume glanced her way. "I'm a heavyweight."

  "She really is," Emiko added, refilling Hikari's glass. "I've seen her drink twice her bodyweight at Azure Tempest parties." She pressed a water bottle into Kasumi's hand. "Hydrate."

  "You're not my mom."

  "Someone has to be."

  Yumi turned her attention to Suzume, who had been quietly watching the chaos unfold.

  "And you. Why aren't you drinking?"

  "I am drinking."

  "Water doesn't count."

  "It's a liquid. I'm consuming it. That's drinking."

  "I didn't know Honoka was still with us."

  Yumi grabbed the unlabeled bottle from the table and poured something amber into an empty glass. She held it out to Suzume.

  "Come on, Guild Master. Live a little."

  Suzume eyed the glass.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "What even is that?"

  "Whiskey. Probably."

  "Probably?"

  "It was a gift. Stop being a coward."

  Something competitive flared in Suzume's chest. She grabbed the glass and downed it in one go.

  It burned. Her eyes watered. She coughed.

  Yumi cackled.

  "There she is! Welcome to the party!"

  ---

  An hour later, Suzume had lost count of how many drinks she'd had.

  The room was warm. Everything felt soft around the edges. Her head felt lighter. She'd ended up on the couch next to Yumi. She couldn't tell if their shoulders were nearly touching or if she was outright resting on Yumi's body.

  Kasumi was telling a story about a date who'd tried to impress her by renting out an entire restaurant.

  "He didn't even ask what food I liked. Just assumed I'd be grateful. I ordered the most expensive thing on the menu and left before dessert."

  "Cold," Yumi said approvingly.

  "What about you?" Kasumi pointed at Yumi with her glass. "Any good stories?"

  "Define good."

  "Entertaining. Scandalous. Something."

  Yumi grinned. The grin of someone whose verbal filter had completely dissolved.

  "Rei and I once fucked in a news van."

  Emiko choked on her drink.

  "While it was parked," Yumi clarified. "Mostly. There was a police chase happening two blocks away and we were supposed to be covering it."

  "Did you still get the story?" Hikari asked, sounding more curious than scandalized.

  "Nope. But I sure as fuck don't regret it."

  Kasumi leaned forward.

  "What about body counts?"

  "What about them?"

  "What's yours?"

  Yumi pretended to count on her fingers... and kept counting... and then switched hands.

  "I lost track after college."

  "Show-off."

  "You asked."

  Kasumi turned to Hikari.

  "What about you, Miss Perfect?"

  Hikari sipped her wine.

  "A lady doesn't discuss such things."

  Yumi grinned.

  "That means either zero or an amount that would make angels cry."

  "Interpret it however you'd like."

  Yumi's attention swung to Suzume. Her grin sharpened.

  "What about you, Rescue Girl?"

  Suzume's face was already warm from the alcohol. It got warmer.

  "What about me?"

  "Body count. Dating history. Anything."

  "I've... been busy."

  "That's not an answer."

  "It's the answer you're getting."

  Yumi leaned closer.

  "Zero, right? Total zero."

  Suzume didn't respond.

  "Oh my god." Yumi's grin was insufferable now. "Have you even kissed anyone?"

  "I—that's not—"

  "You haven't!"

  "ROMANCE", she yelled a little too loud and lowered her volume, "is a waste of time anyway. I have more important things to focus on."

  "Sure, sure." Yumi waved a hand dismissively. "But like, you could kiss someone if you wanted to, right. You have the physical capability?"

  "Of course I could."

  "I don't know. You seem pretty inexperienced."

  "I could kiss anyone I wanted to if I wanted to."

  Yumi laughed.

  "Yeah, okay. Kissless virgin. You couldn't kiss a girl if she puckered up and—"

  Suzume wasn't entirely sure how it happened.

  One second, Yumi was blabbering on and on about how Suzu couldn't kiss anyone. The next, Suzume grabbed Yumi's collar and pulled her in.

  Suzume kissed her.

  It was hard. Aggressive. All the frustration of years of being a nerdy, kissless virgin channeled into one point of contact. Suzume's other hand found Yumi's shoulder, steadying herself as she pressed forward.

  Yumi froze for half a second.

  Then she kissed back.

  Her hand slid into Suzume's hair, fingers tangling in the strands. The taste of whiskey burned between them. Suzume felt Yumi smile against her mouth and refused to let that break her focus.

  Then, Yumi's tongue touched Suzume's, and Suzume really got into it.

  Across the room, Hikari's eyebrows shot up. She took a very deliberate sip of wine.

  Kasumi's jaw dropped. Her glass hung forgotten in her hand.

  Emiko, thoroughly drunk, cheered.

  "Get it, Guild Master!"

  The kiss broke.

  Suzume pulled back, breathing hard. Her lips felt swollen. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

  "See?" Her voice came out rougher than intended. Victory surged through her veins. "Easy."

  Yumi stared at her.

  For once, the perpetual tease didn't have a comeback ready. She touched her own lips with one finger, like she was checking if they were still there.

  Then she laughed. It sounded different than her usual laugh. A little lower than normal.

  "Okay." She nodded slowly. "Okay. Okay."

  She kept repeating the word for a bit, finger still pressed to her lips. Finally, she added:

  "Point made."

  Suzume tapped Yumi's chest with her index finger and opened her mouth to say something. Probably some sort of celebratory declaration. But, she wasn't able to get it out.

  The alcohol hit her all at once.

  The room tilted. Her eyelids weighed a thousand pounds each.

  She was asleep before her head hit the couch cushion.

  ---

  Morning arrived like a hammer to the skull.

  Suzume groaned, pressing her face into something soft. Her head throbbed. Her mouth tasted like regret, which itself tasted a lot like whiskey.

  Slowly, painfully, she opened her eyes.

  She was on the office couch. A blanket had been draped over her. Sunlight streamed through the windows at an offensive angle.

  Memories trickled back.

  The party. The drinks. The conversation about body counts.

  Yumi's mocking grin.

  The kiss.

  "Oh. Fuck."

  "Good morning."

  Suzume jerked upright and immediately regretted it as her head screamed in protest. She found Hikari sitting at the conference table. Perfectly composed. Nursing a cup of coffee. Not a hair out of place.

  "There's ibuprofen on the table next to you," Hikari said. "And water. I figured you might need it."

  "Thank you."

  Suzume grabbed both. Swallowed the pills. Drained half the water bottle.

  Hikari watched her with faint amusement.

  "Interesting evening."

  The kiss. Yumi's hand in her hair. The way she'd kissed back. All of it flashed through Suzume's mind again.

  "We're not talking about it."

  "Oh. You hated it that much?"

  "No!" Suzume's voice came out too loud. She winced at her own volume. "No. It was... fine."

  "Fine?"

  "... Totally fine."

  Hikari's eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch.

  "It was just—I was proving a point. That's all."

  "Of course."

  "It didn't mean anything."

  "Naturally."

  "S-Stop looking at me like that."

  Hikari stood, retrieving another water bottle from the mini-fridge. She set it in front of Suzume.

  "Get some more rest, womanizer."

  "I'm not a—that's not—"

  Hikari was already walking away, coffee in hand, the ghost of a smile on her face.

  Suzume groaned and collapsed back onto the couch.

  [What the hell did I do?]