Chapter 232 Just A Swim...

The telepad room flashed and Lee Seng appeared in the Academy telepad room. He made his way towards the locker room near the pool. He lifted his phone to one of the lockers and watched it turn green and register his information and attach it to the locker. He set all of his stuff into the locker, pulling the hoodie and flip flops off last and stuffing them in it.

The locker door shut as he turned around and made his way through another door that led straight into the pool. The noises of the pool met his ears as the door opened. The lights flickered on as Lee Seng entered the room.

'It's been awhile since I went swimming.' Lee Seng thought as he made his way around to the left side. His three tails fluttered behind him as he stood near the water. 'Oh shit. My tails.' Lee Seng looked behind him. It was honestly getting hard for him to switch to a single tail every time.

"No one's around, anyways…" Lee Seng looked around. "I should get used to swimming with my new form, right?"

'I can't believe you're actually thinking about doing something like that.' Keng's voice echoed in his head. Lee Seng shook his head and readied himself.

'I came here to clear my head.' He reminded himself as he dived into the pool. The water bubbled around him as he started his strokes. The scene unfolded in his head, again.

"Are you prepared for the path you're about to take? Everything you know, everything you're going to learn, is going to be different once you make your choice. This choice isn't about what side you're going to fight on, but it's about what you're going to do with your new profound powers. If you choose to embrace the Protocol, you and Keng will potentially split paths and move in different directions. If you choose the Fox Spirit, you'll lose what the Protocol gives you… So I ask you, again, Lee Seng Chang, are you prepared for the path you're about to take?" Chimera's question echoed in his head.

"What if you can't find another option that saves us both?" Keng asked. "What're you gonna do then? Throw me to the side and lose me to gain the power you've always wanted? You have Eshra's power in you, wouldn't that make you an enemy of the Foxes? You're gonna make more enemies just so you can live your dream? Is it that simple?"

'The anger in his voice…' Lee Seng spun and kicked the wall and started his lap back. 'He's never been mad at me before. And now I've ruined things, huh?'

"Lee Seng, what're you thinking of doing? Do you really believe there's a third choice?" Lady Vix'i asked.

'She sounded concerned… Whatever choice I make, there's repercussions. I really do want to save the both of us at all costs, but how do I do that?' Lee Seng wondered. He pushed past the halfway point.

'Why would he think about that possibility? What does he need to have both? He'd have enough power with one or the other… I wish I told him this… No, I think I'll tell him.' Keng's voice echoed in his head, causing Lee Seng to come to a stop. He glided across the water for a while before he spun himself around and gasped for air.

'He wanted to tell me something more than that.' Lee Seng let out a small sarcastic chuckle. He slowly swooshed his tails in the water. He could feel the waters whipping below him as he started to rock in his spot.

"UGH!" Lee Seng splashed the water and plunged himself into the water. He screamed, listening to his distorted voice ripple and form bubbles. He kept himself in the water for awhile, pulling himself lower with the use of his tails. Bubbles and the lights above grew farther and farther away.

'I should go up soon.' Lee Seng thought. His tails stopped pulling him downwards. He was about to move when the noise of someone breaking through the water alerted him. 'Shit, someone else is here?' The distorted view of lights above scattered into bubbles as the silhouette of someone started to come at him. 'One tail, one tail!' His tails pulled together and became a single tail. He watched as the silhouette grabbed him with their rough hands and lifted him upwards. They moved up to the surface as Lee Seng gasped for air.

He let out a cough and wiped his face, immediately kicking his feet for support.

"Dude, you didn't come up after you screamed in the water!" Ritsuka shouted. "I was worried you were trying to drown yourself or something!" Lee Seng glanced at Ritsuka. His new friend treaded the water as he gave Lee Seng a serious stare. It was like he was telling him he was doing something wrong.

"Ah, I, uh…" Lee Seng's voice trailed off.

"Are you okay? I happened to see someone going to the pool today and thought they looked like you." Ritsuka pointed towards his tails. "But I could've sworn you had–"

'Fuck.'

"Oh, I'm good. I'm fine. I do this exercise a lot. Scream and then try to see how long I can stay underwater." Lee Seng quickly made an excuse and started to move away from Ritsuka.

"Dude," Ritsuka's hand whipped out and grabbed Lee Seng. "I didn't wanna say this to you because I thought I was seeing things, but I don't know if I can ignore it anymore."

'Shit.' Lee Seng started to panic.

"After the invasion I swore I saw you doing something to that guy who tried to kill us." Ritsuka had told him about the small part he didn't remember because he was out cold.

'He saw Keng. Shit.' Lee Seng pulled away and swam over to the wall and climbed out. Ritsuka followed suit and climbed out. Lee Seng started to quickly make his way out of the gym.

"You're avoiding this so I am right, huh?" Ritsuka shouted. Lee Seng stopped in his place.

"I don't wanna deal with this now too." Lee Seng whispered. He spun around and took a look around before hesitantly moving towards Ritsuka. "Whatever you saw, it was just a trick of your mind." Lee Seng lied. "You probably mistook that moment. You did get hit with rocks."

"I'm sure I'm not crazy now!" Ritsuka wagged his finger. He glanced and noticed a single tail behind Lee Seng. "Your tail! There's only one tail? I swore there were three when I was following you!"

"Like I said, you're probably just seeing things. Are you sure you're okay?" Lee Seng's mind raced.

'Shit, what do I do? He found out so I need to–'

"Lee Seng!" Ritsuka grabbed his shoulders and shook him. It snapped Lee Seng's wandering mind and eyes and pulled his full attention towards Ritsuka. "Is there something you're hiding? Is the rumors really true? Well, when I say that I mean—"

"I don't know if they came for me or not!" Lee Seng pushed Ritsuka's arms away. He took a step back. "Man, it's like everything decided to happen all at once today…" He turned away as Ritsuka shouted for him again.

"Why are you hiding the fact you have three tails from me? Does it really matter that you have to hide that?" Ritsuka asked. "And maybe I was seeing things but I swore I saw you in the tunnel. You were standing above that guy, naked. And then you looked my way like you knew I was looking at you and quickly laid down. I went to see if you were okay but you were clothed. What does that mean?"

'Oh god, what do I do know?' Lee Seng ruffled his hair and tuirned around.

"Can I really trust you?" Lee Seng asked after awhile.

"You still don't trust me after the invasion? I thought we were at least friends." Ritsuka answered, taken aback.

"Can I really trust you, Ritsuka?" Lee Seng looked around. He took a step forward. Ritsuka noticed the change of energy around Lee Seng and steadied himself. "I have too many eyes on me and I don't need anymore. Can I trust you or not?"

'I can't hold this all in anymore. I need someone to talk to about this. This might be selfish of me but I need someone to know. I can't keep it bottled up anymore.' Lee Seng's eyes shook. Ritsuka studied Lee Seng for awhile. Water lapped in the background as he noticed the sapphire and ruby eyes swelling with tears. Lee Seng slightly turned away and wiped his eyes.

'Why would he cry about this…?' Ritsuka asked. 'Did I come on too strong?' Ritsuka took a step forward.

"Have you been keeping this a secret from everyone?" Ritsuka lowered his voice. He reached out for Lee Seng but stopped himself. He pulled his hand back. "How long were you suffering alone with a secret this big? Is it really so big that no one can know the truth? Will you get into trouble if…" He turned away.

'Fuck, maybe I shouldn't have–' Ritsuka regretted his decision. His hands balled into a fist.

"There were only two instances and you were suspicious of me already…" Lee Seng quietly spoke.