Beating Keith was fun. He was strong to fight but still did get beat because he was an idiot.


    I woke up safe and sound finally after taking a good rest. Theck of sleep was getting to my head. Damned ghosts. It wasn''t like I was scared or anything.


    The sound of the rain was still fresh in the air.


    I stifled a yawn and picked out some clean clothes before heading downstairs.


    Breakfast was beingid out on the dining table in the center of the hallway, right across from the couch. I saw Lily and Maria bringing out the dishes while Keith waited with his arms crossed. He seemed to be in deep thought.


    "You considering stic surgery?" I asked as I walked into the room. Lily saw me and greeted me a good morning while Maria nodded.


    "stic surgery?" Keith repeated. "No, I just misced something yesterday. I wonder where it went."


    Keith wasn''t paying me any attention, he didn''t notice Maria stiffening up at his words.


    I held in augh and walked over to the kitchen to help the girls. Of course, seeing mee in urged Maria to walk over and smack Keith on the head, forcing him to help in too.


    Even while trespassing, it seemed that we still lived just as normally.


    I was looking forward to seeing this normalcy end soon. I had no qualms against it, but I was a person who liked change. Change signified growth. And my growth was hitting a limit. You can only do so much in one ce before running out of options.


    I had only three years left before the plot of the ''game'' began. I didn''t know much about it and that was a disadvantage. Considering the scale of games, the event that woulde up could be something only epassing the academy I had nothing to do with, or it could be a problem engulfing this entire world.


    At least strong enough to smack the game characters.


    We allid out the dishes and took a seat at the table.


    We ate in silence with only the cks of our silverware apanying the rain.


    "It doesn''t look like it will stop, huh?" Keith remarked.


    "I think the vines on the outside of the house are for aesthetics," Lily said.


    "What are you talking about?"


    "Just saying."


    Silence filled the ce again.


    All of us finished eating one after the other. The soundspletely stopped, yet no one moved.


    I took in a sharp breath.


    """"ROCK PAPERS SCISSORS SHOOT!""""


    Our voices merged as all of us yed our hands over the table.


    Three papers, and one scissors.


    "YESSS!" Lily suddenly jumped off her chair and grabbed her winning hand. "I am going in first! Ahaha!"


    "Tsk, first is the worst position anyway!" Keith clicked his tongue and the three of us geared in again.


    We all pulled our hands back and chanted out.


    "Huhu, I take the win this time," It was Maria who said that. Thepetition for the bath was intense, and now the loser would be the one to gost.


    "Just watch, young master... I am not going to lose, like always."


    "You always do lose though?"


    "HAH! Those are ties, don''t lie now."


    I clicked my tongue and pulled my hand back.


    I was observing his hands while he was staring at mine.


    ""SHOOT!""


    As if in slow motion, both of our hands moved in front of us.


    Half of a second. I could see, his thumb loosened, all his fingers were opening.


    Fifth of a second, his fingers suddenly coiled back in. I changed my y too.


    Tenth of a second. His first two fingers shot open at once.


    It was a scissors!


    I, not changing my y, continued lowering my hand.


    Keith''s eyes curved into a slo-mo smirk.


    But my hand didn''t stop! I lowered itpletely and took it behind me.


    "Wha—?"


    "You fell for it you fool! Yellow Cross RPS Attack!"


    I was ying with my other hand!! Rocks to kill his scissors.


    "GAH!" Keith sped his hands together and lowered his head.


    "Hah!" I smirked. "I win. Like always."


    The one second long intense match ended with Keith biting the dust. I was up third.


    By the time we were deciding the order, Lily had already dived in. She marched to her own beat for sure, I wondered where she got that from.


    ***


    Keith and I meditated while the other two finished up. Lily hade out and was chilling in her room while Maria had gone inside.


    We focused on refining our Ki for a while with a breathing technique. It was a simple pattern of taking in seven short breaths, holding it for nine counts, and exhaling thrice over eleven counts.


    The simple breathing technique made one more aware of the internal state of the body, while an exact opposite of inhaling over three breaths for eleven counts and exhaling for seven made the external awareness higher.


    "Tsk."


    I heard a tongue clicking.


    "These guys take too long! I''ll be in there for the rest of the damn day, just watch."


    "Sure sure, all yours, loser."


    It wasn''t the bathing order as much as losing that got to Keith.


    "Haah," Keith sighed. "If the rain doesn''t let up, some of us should go and get another carriage from Apollon."


    "Right," I nodded. Sitting here wasn''t of much help. Maybe if the weather was better we could have moved together, but since it sucked, we''d have to split up.


    "The way to and back would take five days, huh?"


    It was just when Maria was about to hit the one-hour mark when the door to the bath opened up and she stepped out.


    Both of us turned our gaze to see her with a towel wrapped over her hair while she donned a loose grey tunic. I was sure that tunic was mine.


    Before Keith could say anything, I picked up my towel and moved over to the bath when Maria suddenly held my cors and leaned closer. "Don''t I smell good?" She asked.


    I stiffened up slightly.


    She took a moment to nce at Keith who wasn''t looking and pecked me on my cheeks.


    What in the world was with that?


    I dispelled the magic and stepped inside the bath after kicking off my clothes. I dived in the bath and decided to take a quick soak.


    It was then.


    I noticed another white apparition standing outside the window.


    I closed my eyes and chuckled.


    "AAAAH! We''re leaving this ce!!"