Author's Note: Yuuki~desu! So what did you guys think of the interaction between the two? I find it partly hilarious and partly cute. I didn't know that portraying Hao a bit more human-like was going to be so much fun! And then this chappie came into being... Lol. I'm sorry if I made him a bit too OOC but there practically no way in describing him in any ordinary situation without making him act a bit uncharacteristically... Many thanks to Yumi61 and Irisa19 for their kind reviews! And now... Enjoy!

YUUKI'S HANDY DICTIONARY!

Zhajiangmian – traditional Chinese noodle dish topped with a mixture of ground pork stir-fried with salty fermented soy-bean paste

Luohan Zhai – vegetarian chinese dish also known as 'Buddha's delight' (There are too many variations for me to name the ingredients -.-")

Jian – chinese sword

Rope dart – type of traditional chinese weapon consisting of a rope from 3 to 5 meters long and sharp metal dart on the end and red (or generally colorful) piece of cloth tied around 20 centimeters before the dart to confuse the enemy. (Can also have two darts, one on each end.) It is said to be extremely hard to wield it properly. (Just look it up on youtube and you'll know what I mean)

Golem – animated anhropomorfic being created from inanimate matter like rock, soil etc. It is said that it can be controlled by humans when certain conditions are fulfilled. The most famous tale of golem is told by a certain 16th century rabbi of Prague, hence the location mentioned later. I also used the idea of golems because Prague is the capital of a country neighboring mine and I've been to the city many times. It's really beautiful. (If you like the historic stuff, that is...)

FONT EXPLANATION:

"Characters Talking"

Main character thinking

Stressing something or time skips announcements

"Main character's spirit talking"

Chapter 10: Ordinary Life

"This, this and this." I said, pointing at three different kinds of biscuits, fully expecting Hao to get them and put them into the cart.

"What would you like, Opacho?" I asked the little girl walking by my side.

She looked thoughtful for a second and then pointed at a pack of chocolate chip cookies. "That!" she called out cutely and I giggled.

"Okay." I said as I reached for the yellow pack and took it off the metal shelf.

Turning, I walked back to the ridiculous-looking Hao, who was left with the task of pushing the cart. Which was really a sight I had to get used to.

"I think we've got all we need." I told him proudly and laughed as I noticed his shoulders sagging with relief.

In no time at all, we were out of the supermarket, both of us carrying two full grocery bags.

Now, what should I make for dinner? Truth to be told, I had two particular dishes in mind but couldn't decide which one to make. Zhajiangmian or Luohan Zhai?

"Definitely Zhajiangmian." said Hao suddenly.

"If you say so..." I agreed, for once thankful for his ability. There was no way you would catch me dead asking Hao what he would like for dinner. No. Way.

Yes, it was an unspoken rule in our house that I was the cook, but me asking for his preferences would make us look too... domestic. That was one of the reasons why we almost never went shopping together unless there was too much for me to carry by myself. It just didn't feel right.

We were quiet for a while, me enjoying being back home, Opacho skipping happily in front of us and Hao obviously thinking about something.

Giving up, I finally spoke of my own accord. "Out with it."

Hao and Opacho stopped, the latter looking at me interestedly while the first refused to look at me at all.

"Why had you decided to return?"

I looked at the quickly darkening sky thoughtfully, thinking of some sensible answer to his question.

"You've seen my memories, Hao. You should know."

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him scowl at me, his black orbs holding all of that severity and knowledge he rarely showed. "I do. But I want to hear it from you."

My gaze never leaving the colorful scene, I tried to voice what I felt. "Back at the Tao mansion... With my mother and grandfather... I saw what could have been. You know, me growing up to be a legendary Daoshi or Shaman, having all of my family stand behind me and push me to win the Shaman fight... It could have been nice."

I felt the truth of my words when I finally heard them with my own ears, longing I never knew I had clawing at my heart.

Taking a deep breath, I continued. "But at the same time, I realized that wouldn't be me. Even before my father almost destroyed me, I had a hard time following orders and all those old-fashioned rules would only drag me down. Living like that would have eventually killed me." The clawing faded, letting me breathe more easily. "But being here with you guys..." I looked at them then, allowing myself to smile fondly.

"It feels good. Having this freedom, this purpose. Everything I went through is meaningful. I know I make difference, this way. Not to mention all the fun I've had ever since we met, Hao. And don't you dare deny it." I finished with a mischievous smirk.

His face contorted into something between a deadly glare and amused smirk, which made me laugh so hard, I almost dropped the grocery bags. "Oh come on. Don't tell me haven't had fun even once. Surely, that time in Shanghai-"

"Definitely not then." he cut in resolutely, daring me to say any more of that particular event as he started walking again.

I threw him a fake hurt look and followed closely behind him. "There was also that incident in Prague..."

"That one was your fault."

I did not miss how the corners of his mouth twitched, threatening to turn into a full-fledged smile.

"What happened in Prague?" questioned our little entourage innocently.

I grinned, carefully studying Hao's face. He didn't seem to be opposed to me telling the story, so I did.

"Hao and I followed a certain rumor about a powerful family of golem-makers, which led us to Prague. I was 13 at the time, making Hao 11.

"After three days of searching, we found one of the family members and Hao approached him like he always did with possible recruits. The man... I think his name was Petr, outright refused and even mocked us. Before Hao could even threaten the man or reason with him, two police officers burst in, saying they got a report about two underage kids wandering around. Needless to say, we were ready to take care of them all, but as it turned out, the two uniforms had been asking around for a while and managed to gather quite a crowd of onlookers.

"We needed to keep a low profile so in the end, we went with the policemen and spent a whole week in the orphanage before we could escape. Unfortunately for Hao, the other kids had taken quite a liking to him and followed him all day and even at night. It was really funny, watching him try to get free of them." I chuckled.

"But why did Hao-sama say it was Yin-sama's fault?" Opacho asked after a while, making me turn red in embarrassment.

That's precisely when Hao decided to butt in. "Because, my dear Opacho," he said readily, "Yin was the one who inadvertently attracted the attention of the police by wandering around the city alone, at night, all the while talking to 'herself'."

"Yeah, well. Not my fault they couldn't see Yami. If they had, they would think twice about writing me off as a child that needs taking care of." I huffed indignantly.

"You and me both." Hao smiled evilly. "It was worth seeing your flustered face, though."

I turned to him sharply, glaring daggers at his back. "There was only so much I could do with my limited knowledge of English, since someone refused to speak up."

The annoying male then threw me his best mocking smile and sped up leaving me and Opacho to catch up with him.

"Here." I said, putting down two steaming bowls of food before my flatmates.

After retrieving my own, I went to sit with them behind the dinner table, silently enjoying the feeling of having dinner with my closest companions.

Guess I really missed them...

I dug in into my noodles, all kinds of thoughts running through my head.

What should I do now that I'm back? Maybe I could train. There is still one week left until the end of the deadline. If I count in two days of rest to gather my strength and one to recover from the training, I have total of 4 days. Enough time to freshen my sword skills and practice with the rope dart...

"Count in one for meeting up with the rest." Hao remarked.

Great. So only three. Scratch the rope dart, I'm going to practice with my jian.

Turning to the male before me, I considered asking him for help but thought better of it. He had more important tasks to fulfill than have mock fights with me.

Then whom could I ask?

"Ask your spirit." suggested Hao boredly, setting down his chopsticks.

I blinked once, then twice. "That makes sense..." I whispered dumb-founded. How had I not thought of that sooner?

Quickly finishing my meal, I gathered Hao's and Opacho's dishes and washed them. Once done, I went to my room, leaving the two to their own devices.

For the first time since I got home, I took real notice of my room. And to say I was not pleased was an understatement.

I was never a very tidy person per say, but I would bet my life on the fact this mess was not caused only by me. Opacho obviously got to my room once or twice, searching through my things and setting them on the floor.

While it made me happy she was starting to get interested into something else than Hao and his plans, I had a very peculiar approach to cleaning. It was necessary, extremely tiring and I always put it off for as long as I could. But once I started cleaning, there was no speck of dust that could escape me. The perfectionist in me simply couldn't allow that to happen.

And now, staring at my room, I got the urge to clean. Acting on it, I started picking up every discarded piece of clothing from the ground, throwing it into the hamper. The next in the line was the jewelery.

I had never been the jewelery type of girl. I did have a passion for collecting hairpins, though. Picking all of the thin and intricate needles from the ground and dusting them off, I gently set them inside their special drawer.

All that was left was to pick up all the books, let the duster do its job, vacuum and if I had any time left, change the sheets.

This is going to be a long evening, I realized.