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Having finalized his move into his uncles' home had been taxing, if only because Shinzo had come to realize he actually owned much more stuff than he'd ever realized he did. Most of it of... questionable value, given the fact he'd unpacked small trinkets that were probably better suited to small children but were kept for their sentimental value. Alas, most of the work had been done (save a box or two which he'd left inside a closet in his room for later down the week) and he'd mostly accommodated himself to the new house. New people, new room, new bed, new everything; it'd been exhausting for the young man, whom was barely used to going outside of what he considered familiar.

He was still technically not done exploring the whole house, which he'd found was much bigger than he remembered from earlier excursions to it during his childhood. Then again he hadn't really been able to explore the house back then and had thus, a wrong impression of how big it really was. He'd been putting off the exploring due to settling down into his academic life; given his stubbornness and his habit of seeking challenges, he'd taken to books, scrolls and the like with fierce determination. He was, in fact, doing just that when his ears picked up the unmistakable sound of his name, dragging him effectively out of lala land.

His head lifted from the scroll he'd been reading as he padded his way towards the kitchen (having decided only now after a couple of hours of tummy rumbling, that he was horribly hungry). Slowing down his pace to a complete halt, Shinzo turned, finally having determined the sound came from somewhere to his right, "You called?" the voice was drawled softly at the two players as he approached them, his robes long and almost dragging across the floor as he placed himself behind Jianyu. He was well aware they hadn't really called him, but it was a sort of easy way to greet him and a way to explain his approach. He figured his cousins knew him well enough to know that.

The scroll he was carrying was lowered considerably as he took in the table and the cards that were being played, his attention having been effectively refocused. He spoke only after several minutes of silent watching, "I would not play that card right now if I were you," his tone was soft spoken but considerably bored as he addressed his older cousin, almost as if he were addressing a rather daft child, "I believe our dear Chuntao will draw a queen of swords in a couple of turns, and given the fact she already has a king of swords... you playing that card is going to yield disastrous results for you."

Shinzo watched calmly as Jianyu lifted his gaze to meet his, offering the other make merely an arched brow for all response. Then, just as calmly, he slipped his hands into his sleeves and watched both his cousins play the game, "No," he said, "No I did not. But it was a puzzle, so I became intrigued. Turns out it is not as difficult as people make it out to be; it's all purely mathematical," he motioned towards the cards on the table, then slipped one hand out of his sleeves, picking out one of the cards in Jianyu's hands, "Play this one," he motioned to a spot on the table, "Over there, under that ten."

That said, he once more slipped his hands into his sleeves and was content to watch. There was silence for a while, and then a slow smirk that grew across the black haired youth's features, "She is, by the way, not cheating. you are just quite bad at this game. You play with your instincts, when you should be playing with your brain. This is not a fight, and not a hunt. It is all pure maths, which I don't recall you ever being really good at," a pause, "Has that changed or improved any at all?" then, almost as if just to be obnoxious, he motioned towards the card Jianyu was about to draw, "That card will be a queen of swords," there was technically, only about seventy per cent chance he'd be right, but then again, probability was on his side and he wanted to tease his cousin, so he figured he'd go with it.

It was, after all, quite amusing to see Jianyu squirm, and this was one of few ways he'd seen anyone manage it. He understood why Chuntao often played with him now; it was just quite interesting to see the other male looking so frustrated over something that wasn't meant to be taken so seriously, "I don't understand the appeal of this anyhow. Once I figured it out, it stopped being quite the challenge I figured it would be," but then again, while Chuntao did not cheat while she played... Shinzo did, albeit unknowingly. He did not know that what he did was essentially cheating. How would he? Besides, he had quite a good poker face to boot.