"I'm oblivious, strict, and barely any fun. Guess who?"
"...Hey, are you by chance talking about me!?"
With the scoreless tie between the two in 'Guess Who' reaching almost twenty minutes, Liohime's eyes lit up, but his frown remained impact as he blurted out. Shihon then made the answer very clear.
"Pfft, yeah, you got it right."
"You're getting bolder, harshly criticizing me like that…"
"See what I mean?"
"Wha-I wasn't-"
"Moving on, she interjected, already growing tired of the game.
Turns out that Guess Who was an even harder guessing game than 'Two Truths and a Lie', thus leading to a longer time being taken to guess the correct answers based on a very sketchy description from the opponent.
Failing to take that into prior consideration, Liohine and Shihon agreed to end the game there, and the former won with a single point.
Next were the board games session, which occurred after the lunch break.
Other than Shihon's winning spirit causing her to try to bend the rules and constantly scream out in agony when things were looking bleak, everything was mostly peaceful.
Several hours had now passed since the start of the In-House Improv Game Roster, and despite the mayhem that lurked within the fun times that lasted, the duo couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
"Man, I'm getting really tired now," lamented Liohime.
The fatigue was now slowly catching up to him, and he couldn't help but feel bad about it. He yawned and stood up, still wanting to go through the pillow fight and tag games.
However, as the Magical Beast girl watched him through the corner of her eyes, she could clearly see that his vigor was dying down.
Still, as she faced the window and stared at the downpour that stubbornly persisted outside, she clenched her fists, grateful.
He still went out of the way to make sure I had fun despite the bad weather, even when he must be feeling really tired, she thought.
"Ugh, maybe we should skip the pillow fight or put it off for when it's nighttime," Liohime said, before yawning once more. "How about we do tag before finishing up for the day?"
"Alright. Let's do this!"
Therefore, it was time to head into 'Tag'.
The rules were simple. Ten minutes to play, and the one who remains the tagger when time is up loses.
Also, Shihon was exempted from using her Magical Beast powers and transformation to keep the game mostly fair, limiting her to play in only her human form and with no magical abilities.
Funnily enough, Shihon volunteered to go first, and she couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as Liohime distanced himself from her cautiously.
"I just wanna give you a headstart,"she teased, while doing basic stretches with her arms and legs, preparing to go all out.
"Is that so? I do want to reiterate that I'm pretty good when it comes to this stuff."
"Heh, don't worry. It's time to show the true difference between you and I, Master. Here I come; buckle up!"
She crouched and hardened her expression before launching off of the ground from the dining room and closing the distance between them in a second, reaching into the kitchen.
With a perfectly timed reaction, Liohime's head pulled back from the sudden swing of her arm that aimed for his face and dashed to the other side of the kitchen counter.
Wasting no time, his opponent leapt over with a predatory pounce, resulting in a forward roll dodge by Liohime and a sudden sprint into the living room.
Even though he had managed to barely get away, he had severely underestimated Shihon, who was using her physical beast abilities in her human form for an advantageous position.
As soon as he sped away from her, he was only able to view a blur as he turned around and instinctively sidestepped before he could get a proper glimpse of Shihon.
And sure enough, he had dodged another tag from her, who had blitzed after him with scary velocity.
The sudden backlash of wind caused him to lose his footing, but he quickly launched his body onto the couch and darted into the thin corridor.
On the outside, it seemed like he was calmly evading her with ease, while on the inside…
She's genuinely terrifying!!! How the hell have my reflexes managed to keep up!?
…He was shaken to the core.
Up until this point, his experience and quick actions kept him in the game, and one minute out of ten had passed. Still, beads of sweat started to form already, and Liohime gritted his teeth in frustration as he felt like he had been cornered.
Staring at the young woman who got up and slowly walked towards him, his yellow pupils wavered.
I can't get a good grasp on her speed! Even if I wait for her to move first, I can't be sure that I'll dodge the next attack! And if I get tagged, there's no way I can catch up to her with my speed!
He was now hit with a reality check. This game was never even close to being fair, even with the limitations placed on his opponent.
He was now forced to stand in awe of his own Magical Beast, but he could not give up yet.
No matter what, I have to evade her until the end! he ordered himself, while side eyeing the clock on the wall for a split second. But can I really do that for the next nine minutes!?
"You must be overthinking, Master," came the teasing reply, making him tense up.
With only a few feet separating them, Shihon prepared to make her next move.
"But…I'm not done having fun with you yet!!"
-hk, here it comes-!?
She sped into him with a leap and feinted a right swing of her palm, only to send a kick flying.
Her kick narrowly missed his chest and hit the wall, but in that moment, her left flashed forward, aiming to grab his face to tag him out-
-Only for Liohime to duck and escape through the small gap beneath her rising figure, with her series of quick attacks missing by mere centimetres.
"Tch, shit!"
Clicking her tongue in frustration, she stomped onto the ground and turned immediately, bursting ahead and outstretching her hand to catch the collar of his shirt.
Suddenly, Liohime caught her off guard as he also twisted his body around to meet the attack and sidestepped another swing as he lightly tapped her shoulder in a playful, mocking mood.
Their bodies passed by each other as she missed him completely, and he whispered in her ear, "Is that the best you can do? At this rate…"
He was now determined to annoy her, tire her out, and make sure that she lost focus. And to ensure that she lost her cool-
She tried to make a desperate swat behind her, but Liohime skidded back and increased the distance between them, entering the bedroom.
–He had to hit her where it hurt, and he knew exactly how to do it.
"At this rate, you're worse than Tisha ever was in Tag. Maybe you really are second rate to her, after all. In being a partner and in tag, that is."
Oh...oh.
He gave off an extremely nervous smirk, while Shihon, with her back still facing him, tilted her head at him to give off the most menacing glare that he had ever witnessed.
With almost three minutes out of ten gone, Liohime Kitagami's double edged sword was now in full effect.