I’m My Own High School Rival A Gangster Reborn as a Boy in a Matriarchal Clan World

Shimeko's room was twice as big as Christina's room. There was a kitchen with a granite island, a laundry room, a living room with a fluffy white carpet, and a study section, lined with bookshelves.

The walls were decorated with images of daggers and fans, and pictures of Shimeko and a man. He looked happy enough to have lived his life between four walls. She looked miserable in the pictures where she was alone.

"Well, this was where my grandmother and her consort lived out their lives. She was the greatest of us to rule," she said with an air of joy. She walked over to the white sofa with red stitching and gently brushed it.

This room was also without windows.

"So, another windowless room. Why? Are you all vampires or scared of someone peeking through them?"

I walked up to Christina. She reached up and caressed my face. My eyes cut low, and she smiled.

"Why do you always look disappointed when I show you affection?"

I cocked my head to the left, moving away from her hand. But she followed me.

"In twenty-two days, Antwon, I'll make you understand."

"Was that supposed to be romantic, Christina?"

"Antwon, this room is where my grandmother found something greater than honor through combat. Subaki Kurogane, the captain of Trish's royal guard, said she changed when she met and married Kisaragi."

"What kind of person was she before she got laid?"

Her eyes widened. Her hand froze.

"W-why would you assume that level of intimacy was the cause of her change?"

I took her hand and placed it on my chest. The tint in Christina's face rose.

"First, tell me how she was before your grandfather, and I'll tell you why she changed, and how you might change if you get to keep me."

This is as close to Christine as I'll ever get.

She looked at her hand and sighed.

"According to Subaki, she was a cold woman before her husband, but I don't remember her. I was too young." She brushed her hair back. Subaki said that she didn't smile or attempt to hold conversations; she just killed her mother's enemies, who were the Moonbind at that moment.

"Do you mean the large woman?"

She ripped her hand away and gave me a nasty look.

"Yoshime Shiranui was more than a large woman; she was the Fan's beauty and a warrior unequal in strength!"

"Calm down, Christina. I'm just saying that she was healthier than the other queens."

She bunched up her lips while giving me a wicked side-eye. "I guess some boys can only eat with their eyes," she muttered and then circled the sofa and sat down.

Snarky brat.

"So, enemies…"

She lifted her head and tapped her cheek.

You've got to be kidding me.

Christina closed her eyes and held her finger to her cheek.

Is it intimate if she's forcing me?

I leaned in to kiss her cheek, but hesitated.

If it's just a peck on the cheek, she'll make me do it again.

I grabbed her chin, turned her head.

Christina held me in her gaze with soft blue eyes.

Then I kissed her on the lips.

She licked hers as if she tasted something sweet, and then she flung herself on top of me, showering me with kisses.

She kissed my neck.

Then my forehead.

And then my cheek.

"Christina!"

She paused.

I gasped for air.

"I—thought that this is what you wanted."

No, you nut job. I expected you to finish your story.

"Yeah, but it was a little fast for me." I slid from under her and sat up. "But I would love for you to continue your story about your grandmother."

She sat back on my lap.

"What do you want to know?"

I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly.

"What was your grandmother like after she got lai—"

Christina covered my mouth and shook her head. Then she removed it.

"After she claimed her guy."

"Subaki told me that she started to smile more, and that the tune of her hymn became something else. Don't ask me what, Antwon, because Subaki couldn't describe it, but she said the feeling changed."

My eyes watered, but not because I was sad; I wanted to roll them. I endured her advance for a half-cracked secondhand story.

"Aw, hani, I didn't know that my grandmother's legacy would move you to tears."

"Christina, why did you bring me here?"

She reached up with both hands and held my face.

I grabbed her wrist. The heat from her breath touched my lips.

"I wanted to show you that you will be happy with me, no matter what."

"You've shown me a pretty cage, not happiness."

"What about the pictures, Antwon?"

I moved her hands from my face.

"Maybe he was coerced by Shimeko. Plus, this is second-hand information, Christina."

"So, how the fuck am I supposed to prove what's been proven? A written memoir signed by Shimeko's husband?"

I smiled.

"Well, he's dead, and nothing of the sort was found—"

"Then find me something, Christina."

She gritted her teeth, then held me against the arm of the couch and hopped off of me.

"Stay right here. I'm going to ask Trish before she sobers up."

"How did you know she was drunk?"

She glared at me, then left the room.

***

I walked to the kitchen and inspected the fridge for food. Having the air sucked out of me was exhausting. Also, I wasn't sure when Christina would return, potentially with evidence.

Surprisingly, there was food, and it was fresh. On the bottom shelf, there were onigiri.

I reached for an onigiri. As I prepared to bite it, I thought about the potential danger of it being poisoned and shrugged.

If I get sick and die, it'll be on Christina for leaving me here.

But as with all good things, it went too fast, so I grabbed another.

Before I knew it, I had eaten several onigiri. Some had a flaky salmon core, others had crispy vegetables at their core; the crunch was preserved in another layer of seaweed.

The crab onigiri left something to be desired, but food is food.

I squatted down to finish myself off with a rice-induced food coma, but the last oni was stuck to the tray, which was stuck to the bottom of the fridge.

I tugged at it, but the damn thing was welded. I broke the onigiri in half, with some of its shrimpy guts exposed, and ate it.

Still satisfying. But now, I need to remove the tray so I can clean it.

After struggling to lift it, I pulled, and it came out with a section of the bottom of the freaking fridge, causing me to tumble backward.

"Shit!"

If Christina finds out, she's going to really own me.

I scrambled to my feet to see the damage. There was a book where the bottom of the fridge had been.

A cold breeze chilled the air.

I tried to fit the bottom back over the book before I was discovered. If someone didn't want the damn thing found, I wouldn't be the reason. But the thing wouldn't fit. Why won't it?!

I stood and surveyed the room.

Hiding the book is easy, but this plastic piece will stick out unless…

I took the plastic and placed it on top of the refrigerator, then I reached down and grabbed the book with one hand.

I'm going to hide this thing before that brat comes back.

I turned around and…

"C-Christina!" I shouted, holding the book behind my back.

She craned her neck to the left.

"Whatcha got there, Antwon?"

I rolled my shoulders back. The book was too much to hide underneath my shirt.

Christina reached for me, and I stepped back.

"Please don’t touch me." She paused mid-reach, "I’m… not feeling well after eating so much. I need the bathroom; it’s kind of important."

"Sure. It's right behind you."

I looked at the open bathroom door on the other side of the room; the open refrigerator was the only thing behind me.

"Christina, are you blind?"

"Antwon, are you lying to me?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"But I do need the restroom…"

She sighed. Christina reached around me, and I turned. She grabbed the side of my shirt and forcefully rotated me, so I raised the book high above my head.

Frowning, she ran her hand through her hair.

"It's my journal," I blurted out.

"Is it really?" she said, raising a brow. "If it isn't your journal, then I'm adding on two more weeks to our inevitable session."

I shivered at the thought of being trapped inside a room with her while she had her way with me.

"Well," I said, scratching my head, "that won't happen because my sister—"

"Will what?!" she shouted. "Let's be holistic for a moment." She removed her left hand from her hip and held it out like she was offering me something. "I am royal born, trained to kill, and already beat your sister. You've…cuddled us both, which is still uncomfortable to say aloud. Surely, you've noticed the difference in physique."

I dislike it when she's right.

I lowered the book into Christina's extended hand.

She smiled.

I followed her to the sofa, unsure if I had made the right decision. We sat down. Christina opened the book, and her blue eyes flickered from right to left

"Who…wrote this?" She muttered.

I don't care if she finds something that proves her argument. I'll deny it.

"This is..."

I gripped my pant legs.

"This is...!"

"What!" I said, pulling at her sleeve.

"I can't read this shit! It's as if a small child wrote it." She squinted. "It's possible, but why would they hide a child's writing?" Christina looked at me, but I didn't have any answers. I only found it. "Well, Trish didn't give me any new insight. She doesn't remember seeing her record anything either."

"Maybe it's her husband's."

She smiled. "Well, I hope you can write better than this," Christina said before passing me the book.

I took it with both hands and examined the writing, but the kanji was…drawn wrong. Maybe a kid did write this stuff.

When I looked up to agree with Christina, she was gone, without sound or motion.

I stood up and surveyed the room. The bottom piece from within the refrigerator wasn't on top of the fridge like I had placed it.

A faint humming emanated from behind me. At the desk sat a girl with white hair.

Christina gave me the book, and I was stupid enough to grab it with both hands.