A proposition. (Pink Trigger)

"Mmm... So, you and this stranger have very unwisely relocated from the relative safety of a crowded party to a secluded area outside of the building. Now... the very aggressive stranger... will begin to try some moves on you. You must resist him, Jessica!"

"Is he just gonna scold his daughter, or is he gonna get to it?" Jessica asked with a mischievous grin.

"Jessica...! Mmm....! All right, S-Stud! I know we just met, but I can't resist your... blonde hair, and your, um... air of dignity, and your high station and upbringing! I want you to k-kiss me, right now...!"

I refused.

"Ah... Perfect. So you see, Jessica-"

But that probably wouldn't stop that loose stranger from forcing a kiss on me, I added.

"Mr. Player...! All right, I understand, certainly! That loose stranger's lips... draw closer to your face..." Comically, Natsuhi puckered her lips and drew closer to my face, talking through them. Her eyebrow twitched above her screwed-shut eyes. "There's still time, Jessica! There's still time... to make the right choice, for the sake of your family and your father, if not your moth-"

Ah. She'd had her eyes closed and she got too close. I could hardly be blamed for the wet one she was planting on my lips.

And the newcomer standing in the door could hardly be blamed for the furious vein popping out of his forehead. There was Ushiromiya Krauss, who had apparently come at exactly the wrong time.

"Darling!!" Natsuhi shouted, recoiling from me and back onto the bed, clutching her brooch. "Darling! The foolishness this stud- no, that's not it, Darling! This fool had me-"

"Mr. Player!" Krauss called, approaching me with a swaggering walk and grabbing me by the scruff of my collar. "This is how you repay the trust of a man who invites you into his home, is it?! During such a crucial day?!"

"No, Dad, seriously!" Jessica tried to defend me, rising from her seat. "They were just fooling around-"

"Fooling around, Player?!" Krauss shouted. Uh oh. This guy has been dealing with his bickering relatives while we were goofing off here. Am I seriously about to get my ass kicked by Ushiromiya Krauss?!

The guy headbutted me! I blacked out. I bet you did too, Krauss, you jackass! Learn to read the room!

Anyway, something killed me. Lost in a dream about that loose young woman who thought I was a real stud, I had no idea who or what it was that did the deed.