Chapter 9:

  Competitive Spirit

  I couldn't help but kick my feet while waiting for Elizabeth to return. Maya's watchful eyes were a sentinel I couldn't escape. It wasn't like I minded this. I was just restless.

  I was so used to working and moving around by bike that being stuck inside, as much as I loved just being able to do nothing, was beginning to wear on me. That was until I noticed Maya watching me closely when I was pying on my game console. It was the test model. I had saved up for months in order to get it. I was just happy that companies were still producing games, considering the state of the world.

  When I first noticed Maya watching was when she tried to pretend like she wasn't looking. From quick gnces to prolonged stares. Soon, she was actively watching over my shoulder from behind the couch. Every so often, she'd make little noises of excmation.

  These ranged from little gasps of surprise to oh's of wonder whenever I did something particurly fshy or just narrowly escaped death in the game. There was even a moment when she cpped excitedly, only for her to turn away in embarrassment with her face completely red. I could only chuckle at her adorable reactions. It was so genuine and pure.

  I began to wonder if she ever pyed a game before. That's when I got an idea. An idea that alleviated my boredom and cured me of my restlessness. It was also an idea that I came to regret.

  "Hey, Maya...do you want to try?" I inquired, holding out the controller to her.

  She was reluctant at first. Acting coy and professional. Stating that she had to watch me and couldn't partake in something that could distract her. With some coercing, I was able to convince her that I wouldn't go anywhere. After all, I had to teach her the basics.

  "Yeah, that one right there!" I excimed, pointing to the enemy running at her on screen, "You can block and retaliate immediately if you...yeah, just like that!"

  I watched in amazement as she learned all the controls with ease. Effortlessly riposting the enemy and striking at several more. Before I knew it, she had completed the first level with the second highest score. I was completely fbbergasted.

  "Is that your score?" she inquired, pointing to the number one spot.

  "Y-Yeah," I nodded, suddenly getting an ominous feeling.

  "I see..." Maya pondered for a moment.

  It was like a fire was lit under her. With renewed vigor, she tried the level again, and again, and again. It was the first time I saw such an expression on her face. With her tongue in her cheek, she was completely concentrated.

  "H-Hey...it's fine," I tried to reassure her, feeling both admiration and dread from the intensity she had, "It took me years to-"

  "I did it!" Maya suddenly excimed, her expression rexing, "Do you see that!"

  She aimed the controller at the screen, her face completely overcome with joy. My eyes followed to find that, sure enough, her name was now above mine. "What the...hell?" I could hardly believe it. All those years to reach my highest score and in only a couple hours, she had surpassed it.

  She was a monster. Yet, as I looked towards her smiling, beaming face, the blow to my pride was slightly lessened. Still, I couldn't take this lying down. I wasn't exactly competitive, but...

  "Want to py me?" I asked, grabbing a second controller, "There's a versus mode."

  "Can't we py together?" She inquired, tilting her head with slight confusion, "Wouldn't that be more fun?"

  "Oh? So, you're having fun?" I teased, her eyes widening in surprise.

  It was then that she realized that she was, in fact, having fun.

  "...Yeah," Maya answered, looking away with a small, shy smile, "I guess I am."

  She seemed to marvel at this revetion. She was always so prim and proper. A professional through and through. The fact that she let her guard down must have surprised her.

  "Alright," she finally said, looking up with fire in her eyes, "If you'll have me, I'll give it my best shot, Sir."

  While I was happy to see that fire in her eyes, I was honestly quite off-put by it. Why did I suddenly feel regret creeping into me?

  "You...don't have to call me sir, you know that, right?" I told her, trying to ignore this gnawing sensation at the back of my mind.

  "Nonsense, Sir," Maya adamantly refused, furrowing her brow as she did, "That would be improper. Even if I am to rex, I should always maintain a sense of professionalism."

  "Is that right?" I chuckled nervously, setting up the versus mode, "Well...let's begin, shall we?"

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  I was right. I was right and I ignored everything in my body telling me to not do it. I wasn't competitive, so why did I feel the need to fight her? Why did I continue rematch after rematch until she was showing pity to me.

  "I-It's alright..." Maya comforted me with a pat on my back, "You're just feeling a little off, Sir. Being stuck inside like this is probably affecting your reactions."

  "Heh...thanks for trying to cheer me up, but no," I shook my head, taking a deep breath and sighing heavily as I accepted my defeat, "You're just that good, Maya."

  I had never, in my entire life, gone a single match without getting at least one kill. "She really fwlessed me..." I mented my downfall silently. In a way, I was oddly feeling proud. I had taught her, but she was a quick study. Almost intuitive.

  "Would you like something to eat, Sir?" Maya inquired, standing and stretching from sitting for too long, "We made sure to stock up. Miss Falcrest informed me that you need a banced, nutritional diet. Some real food as she called it."

  I shrunk under those words in embarrassment. She wasn't wrong. I didn't exactly eat healthy, but I tried. It was just that certain food just tasted good compared to everything else. Not to mention, it was usually easier to make. Especially when most of it could just be grabbed and eaten as is.

  When you lived paycheck to paycheck, you took what you could get. Especially when you were on the go and didn't have time to prepare a whole meal. Maybe I was also just bad at it. I chuckled to myself at the thought.

  "Yeah, if you don't mind," I told her, looking up a little sheepishly at her.

  "I do not," Maya responded and made her way into the kitchen.

  She didn't go far, as everything was pretty much one room. I couldn't help but find my gaze following her. I felt a strange softness in my heart. It ached pleasantly. Pondering this feeling, I realized that it was relief.

  Maya had, since I've known her, been very stoic. Her professionalism was almost daunting. To see her rex for the first time in the st week made me rex as well. I didn't know I had so much tension built up ever since I was locked down in my apartment.

  "...I wonder what Elizabeth's doing right now?" I found myself smiling at the thought. I missed her. This whole regressor stuff was something else. I still couldn't believe someone like her had a thing for me.

  Every time I thought about her, I felt like I was about to wake up from a dream, but I never did. Maya was there every day as a reminder that Elizabeth was very real. The smell of food filling the air brought my mind back to the present. Maya was cooking over the tiny stove what looked like a type of stir-fry.

  "...Damn, that smells good," muttering to myself, my mouth was already watering.

  "It'll be done shortly," Maya assured, "It's a very simply meal."

  "Is it?" Standing, I walked over to the divide between the living room and what was both the kitchen and entry way of the apartment, "Doesn't look simple."

  Leaning against the wall, I crossed my arms and watched her. There were red and green peppers, noodles, mushrooms, finely chopped and browned chicken chunks, and other spices I didn't know the name of inside the pan I didn't even know I had. Not only did the food catch my attention, but once more, Maya's face cracked. A small smile curled her lips.

  "It is," Maya assured me.

  "Do you enjoy cooking?" I inquired, noticing her focus as she cooked.

  She was silent, her smile falling for a moment. "Did I say something wrong?" I grew slightly worried. Before my thought could fully form, she nodded firmly.

  "I do enjoy it," she answered in that professional voice of hers, "Making something for others to enjoy is..."

  She left unsaid the rest, barely speaking above a whisper the st sentence. If not for me being close by, I would not have heard her say it. Just like I suspected, she liked being of use. Just what did she go through to feel that way?

  I decided against asking, not wanting to ruin whatever rexing vibe there was between us. Instead, I found myself watching her closely. Not in a strange way. Her face was just oddly calm.

  Those violet eyes of hers seemed to radiate a genuine softness as she cooked. "She really does enjoy it, huh?" I smiled lightly, my own expression softening.

  "Hey, Maya," I called, suddenly getting the urge to say something, "Thank you. For doing this. If I could cook worth shit, I'd help you."

  For a brief moment, there was a slight pink that entered Maya's face before it disappeared. That small smile I thought I saw earlier returned, however. There was amusement in her eyes.

  "You don't need to thank me. Miss Falcrest would have my skin if I let you burn down this pce," Maya stated, surprising me with her teasing, though she seemed to be quite happy with my thanks, "She strictly told me not to let you cook if the opportunity arose. Even without that in mind, it would be improper to have you help me. You are Miss Falcrest's fiancé and future Master of the Falcrest Family. I perish the thought of you having to cook for yourself."

  Not only was I embarrassed by the jab at my cooking, which wasn't that bad...was it? Maybe it was, I mented, but I was more taken aback by what she said after that. "Future Master of the Falcrest Family, huh?" It was true that Elizabeth had proposed to me. I still had yet to register the weight of it. Every time, I was surprised.

  "I'll grab the ptes, at least," I finally said, reaching for the cabinet.

  "That won't be necessary," Maya replied with that dignified tone of hers, "I only made food enough for you, so-"

  "Nonsense," I interrupted, furrowing my brow, "There's no way I'm going to eat alone when I have a guest. That's just weird. Besides, you definitely made more than I'll eat."

  Maya gnced down at the pan she was cooking in with slight surprise. It seemed she hadn't quite realized just how much she had made. If I didn't know any better, it felt like she had done so subconsciously.

  "I..." Maya began to say, only to go silent.

  It was then that a sad expression entered her face. Almost as if she was...disappointed. No, that wasn't quite right. She looked like she had just gotten into trouble. As if she had just been scolded. She looked cowed.

  A sinking feeling entered my stomach as I saw this. I once more thought of what her past could have been to make her act like this. I knew what trauma looked like when I saw it. I just didn't know how to properly handle it and so I handled it in the only way I knew how.

  "Hey, it's alright," I nudged her pyfully in the arm, "No need to look so down. I'm sure you're hungry too, right?"

  She looked up at me with a slight smile, though her eyes still held an apologetic look. That wouldn't do.

  "Come on," I motioned with one of the ptes, "Pile it up. Smelling it has made me ravenous."

  Her eyes brightened a bit at the mention of me wanting to eat. It would have been adorable if not for how sad it was. As she scooped the onto the pte until she was satisfied, I offered the other.

  "Now for mine," I said with a smile, "Give me the rest."

  "W-Wait, but I thought..." She looked towards the other pte that was much fuller than my own.

  "Guests get served first," I stated simply, looking at her expectantly with the empty pte.

  Her eyes flitted about as if in thought. I could see her trying to rationalize and find a response to what I said. Seeing her struggling for the first time since I met her, I took a deep breath. I had to say something.

  "Look, Maya..." I spoke gently, not wanting to be or sound confrontational, "You don't have to hold back. I can tell something is bothering you, but I won't press you for information. I just want you to know that it's alright and...I'd like to eat with you. It's only right, since you made it yourself."

  Maya was silent for a moment, eyes slightly wide. It was as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, but then...she smiled. It was gentle and filled with a gratefulness that tore at my heart. Her gaze turned downwards towards the food in the pan.

  "I've...never really ate my own food before," She finally spoke, her voice held a cadence of remembrance.

  "Well, there's a first time for everything," I once more smiled, attempting to put some warmth into it.

  Gncing up at me, she seemed to assess something before nodding.

  "Yeah, I guess so, Sir," Maya chuckled softly as I groaned from her calling me, Sir.

  With the mood slightly picked up, I felt a little relieved. Carrying the ptes over to the coffee table by the couch, I refused to let her carry them. She pouted in her own way, but relented.

  I was ready to dig into the food, my fork at the ready, but waited until she took her first bite. I wanted to make sure that she ate. She stared at the pte before her, holding her own fork with uncertainty. Slowly, she lifted the pte and began to eat.

  The first bite took a while as I looked on with anticipation. It was an interesting experience to watch her eat. As if it was the first time she had ever eaten. She kept a dignified appearance with perfect posture and delicately took that first bite.

  The moment the food hit her tongue, her eyes went wide. I didn't know what she had been through in her past or why she had never eaten her own cooking before, but the delight in her eyes was well worth it. She began eating quickly, practically devouring the food as if she had never eaten before in her entire life.

  Smiling, I chuckled softly and began eating my own food. After a moment, she paused, hand over her mouth for modesties sake. A light blush entered her cheeks as she looked towards me in embarrassment.

  "I-I apologize, that was unsightly," Maya said, looking away in shame, "How undylike of me..."

  "Pfft, it's fine," I dismissed with a shake of my head, "I'm the only one here. I won't judge you. It was obvious that you were hungry. You want to make a bet?"

  Something told me that this was a bad idea, but I was riding the high. This atmosphere had become much more rexed than earlier, and I had an idea. Something I hoped that would help ease her own tension that she felt and make her feel more rexed.

  "A bet?" She inquired, tilting her head with a slight smirk of amusement, "What would the wager be, Sir?"

  "Well..." I gnced down at her pte, seeing that it now had the same amount as mine, "An eating contest. Whoever finishes their food first gets to choose the next game we py."

  The moment I said the wager, dread filled my heart once more. The way her eyes lit up at the prospect of being able to choose the game to py must have broken down any barriers or preconceived notions of her professionalism. No...that wasn't quite right. It was more apt to say that it ignited her professionalism. That spark of competitive spirit.

  For someone like her, who I was beginning to understand wanted to always do their best and could never afford to do worse than that, it was like I had just spawned a raging inferno. "Well...shit." It was already too te to regret my choices and so I dug in, ready for the fight of my life. Needless to say...I did not win.

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