Chapter 48: Reckless

*Purpura*

"Hey!"

I jumped and turned to see Sou. Had he heard?

"Was Ava scolding ya again?" Souta said as he continued to approach me. He held a life vest in one of his his hands.

"N-no," I mumbled, averting my gaze.

"Okay, if you say so." He held the jacket out to me. "Uh, here, put this on. If you get hurt, you can still float in the water."

"That won't be necessary," I said, pushing it away.

Sou frowned. "Please. For me."

I glanced back at his big citrine eyes. "Are you a dog or something? I won't fall for that trick."

"Please. If you get hurt, I won't forgive myself."

I grumbled and took it. "Fine, if it makes you feel better."

He snickered. "Great."

"You're acting more and more like a mom each day."

"I've been told that before. It's a family trait, apparently."

I chuckled. "I guess that's not a bad thing." I put a finger on his chin. "It's kind of cute."

His cheeks flushed. "S-stop that! I have a boyfriend already."

I smirked and let go of him. "I'll snatch you if I want to, though."

He averted his gaze. "I-I knew you were lying when you said you weren't interested."

"Well, we are soulmates, aren't we? You're the reincarnation of Sage of Citrine, and I'm the reincarnation of his princess."

He splashed me. "Don't say stuff like that with such a serious face! It's not like you!"

I sighed. Seemed I allowed my emotions to get the best of me, again.

Sou lowered his head. "But, I do believe we're connected. I've felt that since the day we first met."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "So have I."

Souta grabbed my arm and pulled me away. He smiled. "Well, time for you to face the music! Good luck, and I hope you'll be okay!"

I stared at his hand, and then, at him. It was hard not to kiss him, but I wanted to respect him too.

"Thanks," I mumbled, smiling slightly.

"No problem, buddy!" He let go and swam off, face red.

Out of all the possible competitions, the one I most wanted to defeat Sehun in was in getting Sou's heart.

I sighed and put on the jacket. If I wanted to, I could explode their relationship, but I didn't want to put Ava on the spot. She helped me out before. Letting her tell him and Sayuri was the least I could do for her, at least, for now.

My eyes shifted back to the top of the slide. I could feel Sehun peering down from above, a sadistic smile on his face. He wanted me to back down. He wanted to crush me and make me submit. But, he was going to have a hard time doing that. And one day, I would make Souta realize Sehun wasn't worth his time.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Sehun said, leaning over the railing.

I grumbled. "You really are related to Prince Suoh and his daughter, aren't you?"

Sehun frowned. "Come again?"

"You have the same sadistic smirk as those two."

He lowered his eyes. "I'm not like my uncle or cousin."

"Sure, you aren't," I mumbled, crossing my arms.

"You ready?" Sekin asked as he climbed up the ladder.

"Wait, were you going to wait below with Sou?"

"I was, but he told me to go make sure you two don't get into a fight."

Sehun frowned. "Why does everyone keep assuming I would do that? Do I look like some kind of bully?"

"Well, you have been egging Purpura on," Sekin said, shrugging.

Sehun averted his eyes. Being compared to his uncle really hurt his ego.

I stared at the top of the slide and gulped.

"You can go down the kiddie slide instead," Sehun said, smirking as he leaned in from behind.

"You think I would lose my nerve this easily?" I said, glaring at him.

He leaned back and laughed. "Then, let's get this show started."

Sekin sighed. "You sound like my sister..."

Sehun lowered his head and sighed. "Go, Purpura. You got in front of me, so you go first."

I glared at him. He was really going to make me go first, wasn't he?

"Fine," I grumbled, jumping into the tube.

Water sloshed all around me. I had never experienced being in a place like this. It felt disorienting, my senses being thrown off by the constant flow of water and spinning.

The tunnel seemed to stretch on and on. When was it going to end?

I screamed as I exited the slide and landed in the pool, splashing Sou..

"You okay, buddy?" Sou asked, rushing over to me.

"Y-yeah," I mumbled, shivering.

"Good," he said, gently holding me in his arms.

My heart warmed. His touch was comforting.

Sehun screamed as he fell out of the tunnel and splashed into the water.

Sekin followed shortly after, although, he didn't scream at all.

I smirked at the sadistic prince. "Seems you didn't fare much better than me."

Sehun glared at me as he shivered from fright.

Sou let go of me and hugged his boyfriend. "You okay, Sehun? You look scared."

The prince averted his eyes. "It's just the adrenaline..."

"You screamed, though."

He frowned. "I'm fine."

Sou sighed and patted his head. "It's okay to be afraid, Sehun. You're human."

Sehun sighed and closed his eyes.

Sekin looked down and swam off.

I chuckled. "Guess I win this round."

Sehun opened his eyes and glared. "No, you didn't. That was a tie."

I smirked. "What, afraid of losing?"

"Both of you screamed like little girls, so it's a tie," Sou said, grinning as he let go of his boyfriend.

The two of us grumbled.

"We'll like to see you try!" I said.

Sehun nodded.

Sou glanced at the slide and smiled. "Okay!" He swam over to the ladder.

"Wait, Sou," Sehun said, rushing after him.

Sou grinned. "What? Afraid I'll show you up?"

Yikes, he sounded as sadistic as Sehun.

"I-it's dangerous."

"So, you're worried about me?" Sou asked, blushing.

"W-well, of course. We're boyfriends, after all."

Sou grinned. "I'm flattered. Don't worry, though, I'll be fine! Sliding is my specialty! I was the fastest one on the hill, after all."

Sehun frowned. "I still don't like this..."

"I'll be fine. Don't worry." Sou patted his shoulder and climbed the ladder.

I sighed. "Let's go wait for him at the end."

Sehun nodded and swam after me.

We waited at the end of the death spiral. Sou was laughing as he came down. The sound was enough to warm even the coldest of hearts. He plunged into the pool.

"Sou!" Sehun and I yelled.

"That was fun!" Sou yelled as he emerged from the water.

"Sou, please don't scare us like that," Sehun said, sighing.

Sou grinned. "I didn't mean to, sorry."

"You have quite a high pain tolerance, don't you, Sou?" I asked.

He hummed. "I don't think so. I just love sliding!"

Ava chuckled. "Still the little daredevil, huh, Sou?"

He snickered. "You know it, Ava!"

I sighed. Guess it was no use trying to tell him to stop after all.

"Let's go back up, I wanna go down again," Sou said, grinning.

"I think I'll sit this one out," I said, swimming away.

"I'll join you," Sehun said, following me.

Sou stared at us, and then, shrugged. "Okay. Be right back!" He ran back to the ladder and climbed it.

I sighed. This guy was going to give me a heart attack one day. Worse, he made me feel like a coward.

"Hey! We saw your splashes!" Sayuri said, waving at us.

"I-it was nothing," I said, averting my gaze.

She snickered at the prince. "Looks like you've learned your lesson, Sehun."

He lowered his head. "Purpura didn't fare any better, though."

I grinned. "So you finally admit it! You and I are tied."

Sehun sighed. "For now, maybe."

I glanced back up at the slide. Sou was riding it again, and he was having a blast.

Sehun frowned. "Sou really is like that cat in the folklore. He has no sense of danger."

I sighed. "You're not wrong." He didn't even pay much attention to his own wellbeing when I threated him on the night we first met. Instead, he only cared about patching me, a guy who snuck into his barn and threated him with a blunt spoon, up.

"He's like a puppy who likes getting into trouble," Sekin said, chuckling.

Ava nodded. "He's very playful like one, too."

"If only he'll listen to reason," Sehun said.

"Sou's an independent spirit," Sayuri said, watching as Sou swam toward us.

"While his independence is somewhat admirable, it's also a flaw. He gets too caught up in his own little world that he forgets about the dangers around him," Ava said.

I looked down. Ava was right, but that spunk was what I liked about him. He marched to the beat of his own drum.

"I'm back!" Sou said, splashing me on the back.

I glared at him. "You really have a death wish, don't you?"

He laughed. "Sorry, I was having fun, so I went again and again. What's next? Are we going to ride boats now?"

"Can you even drive one?" Rena asked.

Sou huffed. "Of course I can! I've driven a tractor before! It's not too different."

Ava groaned. "Please don't compare driving a boat to a tractor."

"Why not?"

"While they're similar in terms of both having a steering wheel, one's a land-based vehicle, and the other is a water-based one."

Sou pouted. "But, it's close enough, isn't it? It's not like they're totally different. I'm sure I'll do a great job! And if not, at least I'll have fun!"

Sekin chuckled. "This is gonna be a disaster."

Ava sighed. "Well, I hope you have fun with that."

"Let's go find a boat to rent," Sayuri said, smiling.

Her rosy eyes widened. "Eh? You're going to ride with Sou?"

She nodded. "Why not? We'll be fine."

Sou grinned. "Right! Come on, guys! I'm excited to show you how awesome of a driver I am!"

Ava chuckled nervously. "If you say so."

I sighed as I followed him. If we ended up capsizing, I could at least use my powers to keep us afloat. Someone had to keep that kid alive.