Maxine had enjoyed the meal with grandma Victoria and was now soaking in the hot spring inside of the mansion to clean off the sweat that she worked up during the tournament off her skin. Neesa had decided to join her to wash Maxine's back.

Maxine really didn't care. Even though Neesa was naked, Maxine felt no physical attraction to her. It was as if her previous life as a man was a lie, and for some reason, she began to compare their physical assets. Her breasts are smaller than mine, but our hip and waist have roughly the same ratio. Now that I think about it, my breasts are bigger than almost everyone else's in the clan. Perhaps my larger bust comes from Guan's side of the family? 

Maxine shook her head to banish those thoughts and finished cleaning herself. She got out of the pool and began dressing herself with Neesa beside her doing the same thing. Right after they got their undergarments on, grandma Victoria walked in and raised her eyebrow at Maxine and Neesa. 

Maxine felt no shame at all to being seen in her underwear and she continued to get dressed at her normal pace. But Neesa's face quickly reddened as she hastened her efforts to put on her clothes. Why is she embaressed? It's not like we are naked infront of some boys. Swimsuits on Earth are just as revealing as this if not more. 

"I see you and Neesa have become quite 'attached' to one another," grandma Victoria teased. Oh, I get it now. Neesa didn't want to give grandma the wrong idea. Too bad her blushing did just that.

"It's not what you think, grandma," Maxine said defensively.

"Of course, it isn't," grandma Victoria said with a small smile. 

Maxine quickly decided to change the subject, "By the way, Grandma, why didn't you like that guy from the Divine Marks Clan?"

"It's not just him, Maxine. I hate everyone from that clan. You see the man your mother was originally going to marry was from that clan. His shallow minded elders were the ones that hired the assasins that attacked your mother, which lead to her death," grandma Victoria explained, "But there isn't enough proof for the elders to do anything about it. Even your father didn't have enough certainty to eliminate them. He instead annihilated the assasin guild that took the job. I can only show my distaste for that clan on a personal level. But when I think about it. You didn't know that. So, why didn't you like that boy?"

"Something about him felt fake," Maxine explained.  

"I thought it was because you already liked that boy from Earth. I believe his name was Maxwell," grandma Victoria said in a knowing tone. Maxine looked at grandma Victoria with a confused and bewildered look until she remembered whose appearance she used earlier for her demonstration of what she wanted in man.

"Who told you that?" Maxine demanded.

"Zephyr pointed it out. He said that you spent some time with a young man that looked a great deal like the one in your little display at the amphitheater, minus the scars," grandma Victoria explained. I don't remember seeing him in the amphitheater.

"God damn it," Maxine complained and put her hands over her mouth as she remembered that cursing wasn't acceptable, "Sorry."

"It's fine," grandma Victoria said, "Just don't do it again."

"Alright, grandma," Maxine said.

"Oh, while I'm here, I would like to hear that tale about the man that revived his love with a pheonix feather now." Damn it. I was hoping she would give me more time to come up with a story. I can't bullshit my way through it now. Maybe if I only tell her part of the truth. That should work.

"I'm sorry grandma, but I lied to you before. I only know about the pheonix feather, because someone insisted that I learn about various items and herbs that are important to cultivators," Maxine admitted. She wasn't dumb enough to mention Guan's name even in a room that prevents the use of spying with spiritual sense. 

"I already knew you lied to me earlier," grandma Victoria said calmly, "I just wanted to see if you were going to tell the truth."

"You knew?! Why didn't you say anything about it at the time?" Maxine asked curiously.

"I had a feeling that it was something that was dangerous to talk about even with spiritual sense," grandma Victoria answered, "But you worried over nothing. Just having that knowledge isn't something to be concerned with. That's actually rather basic knowledge and it makes perfect sense for your father to insist you memorize it." 

"I didn't know that," Maxine said honestly.

"Of course, you wouldn't. You lived on Earth for almost your whole life," grandma Victoria said as she placed her hand on Maxine's shoulder.

"That's true," Maxine agreed.

"There is one more thing I would like to talk to you about before I let you go to bed," grandma Victoria said calmly, but a sadness was in her eyes, "I have asked for an expert in matters of the mind to talk to you. The level of skill that you showed at the tournament could only be attained through a series of vicious battles. I have seen what happens to young warriors in similar situations when left alone. I just want to ensure that your mind is stable." That's reasonable.  

"That's not a problem, but I have already seen a psychiatrist on Earth already," Maxine answered.

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"A psychiatrist? Is that what they call an expert that heals mental ailments?" grandma Victoria asked, "Regardless, I still want you to see Madam Neshan. That 'psychiatrist' may have missed something."

"Okay, grandma. I will see her," Maxine acquiesced. She didn't see a real problem with seeing someone if it allayed her grandma's fears. She just didn't think she had any mental problems. Then again, most people that have problems don't realize that they do. 

"Good," grandma Victoria said, "Now I will let you finish getting ready for bed." 

As Grandma Victoria started to walk out of the room, Maxine had a sudden craving for chocolate and took out a piece of chocolate from her dimensional pouch. She snapped a piece of it off before throwing it into her mouth and began to chew. She reflexively released a soft sound of delight at the taste and that sound attracted her grandma's attention. 

"Maxine, what are you eating?" grandma Victoria asked with a curious look on her face and Maxine remembered her desire to give Earth some help. An opportunity!

"It's called chocolate," Maxine answered honestly, "Would you like some?"

"Just a small piece," grandma Victoria said and Maxine gave broke her off a small piece. As soon as Grandma Victoria had it in her hand, she put it in her mouth and began to chew. Her eyes widened in surprise before closing her eyes swiftly as if to savor the taste.

After grandma Victoria finished eating the chocolate, Maxine asked, "So, do you like it?"

"It's exquisite," grandma Victoria replied with a pleased smile, "This 'chocolate' came from Earth, yes?"

"That's right, grandma," Maxine said.

"Thank you for sharing some of it with me. Good night," grandma Victoria said.

"Good night, grandma," Maxine said and watched as grandma Victoria left. As soon as she was out of sight, a smile spread across her cheeks. Grandma is a perfect candidate to spread out the word about chocolate. Even if she only asks for a small amount of it be delivered from Earth, many people in the clan will notice it and will wonder what's so good about it before they order some for themselves out of curiosity. Although I didn't expect her to take the bait so quickly. It still works in Earth's favor.

Maxine quickly made her way to the second floor of the mansion with Neesa close behind her and entered her room. She heard more than saw Neesa take up position just outside of the door. She knew that her sisters were nearby, but wasn't exactly sure where they were. She really didn't care too much in any case as she laid down on her bed and checked on Emily through the shadow clone that she left in her shadow.

Emily was brushing her damp hair infront of a mirror. It appeared that she had just gotten dressed and was finishing up her routine before going to school. Maxine waited until Emily finished brushing her hair before contacting her via spiritual sense, "Hey, Emily. I'm sorry I havn't been able to talk with you for the past few days. I have been rather busy over here."

Emily looked startled and looked around for a moment before she smiled. "It's alright. I figured you would be busy meeting your relatives. Besides that, what have you been up to over there?" Emily asked.

"Mostly spending time with my grandma while being showed around the clan's grounds and I participated in a youth tournament within the clan," Maxine explained.

"Oh? A tournament? How did you do?" Emily asked, "Did you get a high ranking?"

"I won it as a matter of fact," Maxine gloated.

"That's amazing!" Emily praised Maxine, "Who were your toughest opponents?"

"Hmm the two hardest were one guy that thought he was an asura and the other used a whipsword. Although I lost my cool when I was up against the guy with the whipsword. I found out he severely scarred several girls' faces right before I fought him."

"Please, tell me you are joking," Emily said, "There is no way anyone would let someone like that roam free."

"Sorry, but his fighting capabilities outwieghed his crimes," Maxine answered, "So I decided to punish him."

"What did you do to him exactly," Emily asked cautiously. 

"I broke both of his arms, twice, at the elbow and his left leg at the knee before someone decided that the match was over," Maxine answered.

"That sounds painful," Emily commented, "But he deserved it."

"I think he had more coming, but I wasn't allowed to do more," Maxine lamented.

"What else did you do over there?" Emily asked clearly to change the subject.

"Not too much beyond telling some guy to go away when he asked if he could join me for dinner," Maxine answered, "I knew there would be a bunch of young men trying to woo me, but I gave them all a really harsh requirement to meet just to have a chance. But this one guy completely ignored it. It's extremely frustrating when some people won't listen."

"It sounds like it. What requirements did you ask for anyways?" Emily asked.

"I didn't say. I showed them," Maxine said and followed up by describing the display she put on at the amphitheater.

"Why did you use Maxwell's appearance?" Emily asked suspiciously, "I know you had visions of the future through his eyes. So, I guess it wouldn't be that surprising for you to have a little crush on him."

"No, I don't," Maxine denied it, "I just find him comfortable to be around that's all."

"Well regardless, I think you may have inadvertently declared that he is your boyfriend," Emily rationalized, "Just think about it from someone else's perspective if they found out about him." Hmm, if someone saw Maxwell and saw my display at the amphitheater of my ideal man, they will at the very minimum suspect that I like him and at the most think that we are a couple. FUCK! Now there will be jealous assholes that want to get rid of him.

"I see what you are talking about," Maxine agreed, "Any ideas to fix this? Because I've got nothing and I do not want Maxwell to get hurt by some stupid asshole."

Emily was silent for a few moments before she answered, "There is no way to undo this, 'if' they discover Maxwell, but you have already mentioned that Earth is a relatively unknown world. So it's very unlikely that they will."

"My grandma already knows about him," Maxine admitted, "How long do you think before someone else discovers this?"  

"I see," Emily said while thinking deeply, "I'm sorry. I can't think of anything." 

"This is so frustrating," Maxine complained.

It was at that moment that Hellen join in their conversation, "Why don't you just say he is the only young man that Guan approves of? It's technically not a lie, so that should be acceptable. Right?" That's true. He fused Maxwell's soul to his daughter's afterall. That has to count as approval on some level and saying that would also give me a damn good excuse for why I used his appearance.

"What?" Emily said in surprise. 

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Maxine agreed, "I will go with that."

"Did he really approve of Maxwell?" Emily demanded.

"Yes, he did, but I don't care who Guan approves of or not," Maxine replied, "I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of my stupidity."

"You never liked anyone getting hurt because of things you did," Emily said happily and jumped when she looked at her bedside clock, "Crap, I need to head out. It's not quite Christmas break yet. Talk to you later."

"Bye and enjoy school," Maxine said and retracted her focus from her shadow clone. However she was still smiling. It always made her happy to talk to Emily. She smiled happily as she closed her eyes and switched her focus back to her main body before trying to get some sleep.