"Watch your step." Sei reminded Aku, lighting the dark stairs for her with a small flashlight that could barely light the way. She wanted to avoid getting caught, so she did not bring a larger one.

"Are we going to the roo... Ahh!!" Aku wanted to ask if they were going to the roof, but she missed a step and tripped.

This girl!!

"Careful!" Sei catches her body before she tumbles. Good thing she was paying attention.

"Didn't I tell you to watch your step? Sei scolds Aku while helping her up.

"Sorry, it's too dark to see the small steps." Aku reasoned out.

"Watch your step!" Sei reminded once more.

Aku nodded her head. "But are we going to the rooftop?" She asks while she watches her step this time.

"I haven't been there at night, but I'm sure the stars and the view are great there," Sei answered.

"Uhmmm Sei... You might not have known this since you transferred two years ago, but the rooftop was locked for almost five years. I even forgot what it looks like up there." Aku informed her.

It has been closed since news of students from other schools jumping out of their school building increased. It used to be a great place for students to play around and relax.

"Don't worry; I know a way to enter. I've been there, it was full of dust, but once I cleaned it all up, it became a great place to hide and relax." Sei answered.

"You?? Cleaned the rooftop?! How?" Aku doesn't believe her. She hasn't even seen her go to the rooftop. She only sees her sleep most of the time in class. There's no way Sei can clean the whole rooftop, not to mention her extreme laziness.

"Yup, I go there to clean every lunch break, and it took me almost a month." Although it took her great effort to clean the rooftop, everything was worth it. No one disturbs her sleep since the rooftop is exclusive to her.

"Every time you cut classes, do you always stay there?" Sei loves cutting classes, but Sei never brings her along, saying it is bad for her grades. As for Sei's grades, she always miraculously stays one point ahead of the passing grade.

"Most of the time, since it's troublesome to go in and out of the school," If only teachers didn't do surprise quizzes, she could have slept without disturbance.

"No wonder I can't find you whenever I look for you, but you never get late every time I call you for important classes. Then... are you hiding some of your secrets on the roof?" Aku remembered to ask.

Sei was taken aback by Aku's question. It's already been over a year, yet Aku hasn't given up on finding her secrets.

"Hmm..." Sei contemplated whether this was one of her secrets. "Well, it is just one little secret, not one of those big secrets you want to know."

"What?! Just a little secret! It's already been over a year since I made that bet. Yet the only thing I discovered is one of your little secrets." Aku felt disheartened.

"When will I even discover your identity."

"I told you, even professional investigators will find it impossible to find my identity." Sei wasn't lying about what she said when they first made a bet.

"Anyway, we're here," Sei uttered, faced by the locked door.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"How do we get in?" Aku looked over the door, and sure enough, it had chains and a lock.

"Hold this." Sei passed the flashlight to her, then grabbed her wallet in her pocket.

"What's that?" Aku asks curiously, seeing Sei pull two small things out of her wallet. "Are those the keys for the roof?" She focused the light on Sei's hand to have a closer look.

"Sort of." Sei showed her two paper clips.

"Help me light the doorknob," Sei uttered while she twisted the two paper clips. She bent one clip into an "L" shape, leaving a fold across the clip's shorter side.

"Closer." Sei pulled Aku's hand closer to the doorknob when she couldn't find the hole.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Aku asked.

"An annoying guy taught me tons of useless stuff. Though there are few useful stuff like picking a lock." Sei explained. "Besides, it is not that hard to pick a lock. All you got to do, is slide it in." Sei failed to slide it in a few times, but she succeeded after a few tries.

"Find the pins, move them around." Aku watched her closely.

"Apply pressure on it. Then turn it." With a single turn, Aku heard a snap. "And tada!!" Sei opened the door. "Easy."

"Wow!!" Aku watched the door open with her eyes wide open. It did not even take Sei a minute to open the door. "Hey, teach me!! You need to teach me that!!" Aku held Sei's hand excitedly.

Sei looked into her eyes and deliberated... It's not like Aku will go and rob houses if she teaches her how to pick a lock, right?

"In one condition." Sei raised her finger.

"What?"

"You can't use it on anything illegal," Sei muttered.

"Do I... Do I really look like someone who will do that?!" She couldn't believe Sei looked at her that way.

She does...

"It's not like that! It's a precaution; I don't want to see you behind bars in the future because of me." Sei defended.

"Aren't you the one doing something illegal?" Aku pointed at the two paper clips dangling on the doorknob.

"Well... There's a huge difference between you doing it and me doing it. Because I will never get caught, and even if I do get caught, someone will always bail me out with ease." She doesn't even have a file or identity to prove that she exists, so she will not leave a bad record on the police if she commits a crime.

"Honestly, who are you?" Statements like these always make Aku wonder what Sei's true identity is.

"Who knows." Sei shrugged off her question because that was also her question to the world.

Who is she?

She has tons of guesses, such as her being an heir to a super-rich family. A spy? or maybe a princess of a royal family. Aku has yet to know, but she'll never give up on discovering her true identity. "Fine, fine, I promise." Aku raised her right hand and crossed her fingers. "I'll only use it when mom locks me out of the house whenever I come home late to avoid her beating," Aku promised.

Sei nodded. "Let's go; I'll teach you later." She dragged Aku onto the rooftop.

Sei excitedly left the door, but she stopped in her tracks when a strong wind hit her shoulders. "Fu.. Cold!!!" Sei almost cursed out loud, thanks to the cold winds.

She forgot that she had given her coat to Aku.

Aku saw Sei rub her shoulders from the cold. Even she can feel the cold wind under the coat. But it is not something she can't handle, thanks to Sei's coat.

"Do you want it back?" Aku's hand was about to remove the coat on her shoulder, but Sei rejected her instantly.

"It's fine; I'm trained for this. I am not prepared earlier, but all I need is a few deep breaths." Sei closed her eyes, and then she slowly took deep breaths; then the cold gradually disappeared, and her body relaxed.

Trained?

Then eventually, the cold disappeared, and even when another strong wind hit Sei, she did not feel even the slightest cold.

She hates doing this breathing exercise since it feels like it numbs her sense. After she stopped practicing the routine, Sei started to like the feeling of a cold breeze passing her body. The cold helps her remember that she exists in this world. And the coat she used helped always reduce the cold. "Let's go. I'm fine now."

"Are you really not feeling cold??" Aku asked curiously.

Sei nodded. "Not one bit."

"Can you... also, teach me that?" She shyly asked.

"I can't," Sei shooked her head and answered instantly.

Before Aku misunderstood her, Sei quickly added. "It's not a normal breathing exercise you will learn in a day or two." Though, Sei did learn it in a day. "Besides, I don't know how to teach it to anyone." Sei can do it... but doesn't know how she does it. It is something she was forced to learn.

"Ok." Aku followed Sei curiously. It's helpful to learn a skill or two, after all. But lockpicking is enough for her; she isn't even confident that she can learn it, even with Sei's teaching. Besides, Sei looked like she remembered something awful when she asked her to teach the skill to her.