Chapter One-hundred and One: Day Four: A Reward Deserves a Reward
Christina's Arc: Bend or Break
The bell rang, and I stood up in front of the cafeteria's double doors, unsure if I wanted to go back inside to get my bag and face Jenie and Christina as I was. If Jenie wasn't controlling me, and what she said was true, then being overemotional was dangerous…
The double doors flung open, and Christina stood there with her hands on her hips, holding back the tide of students trying to get to their next class by just being there, like they were afraid of passing her or exiting the cafeteria.
"Seriously, Christina?"
"Don't fucking 'seriously' me! The orange-haired one said you were having an emotional crisis, so I wanted you to have some space."
There is no way she and Christine are related.
"Just tell me when you're ready," she said, holding up my backpack.
I shambled toward her with Jenie's warning, dragging me lower than the floor.
"We can wait, hani—"
I grabbed her hand and pulled her from the doorway, but my success was due to her willingness to let me. My initial pull barely budged her, and to make matters worse, she took it as an invitation to strangle my hand with hers.
Students went out of their way to walk around us on our way to class. I hated the attention before, but this is unbelievable. At least it's math, so I already had a reason to be miserable.
I wiggled my fingers to let Christina know that I wanted some finger room, but she tightened her grip.
I don't get it, Jenie. How the hell am I supposed to regulate this tyrant if I'm emotionally unstable?
"So, did you figure out why the orange-haired girl was glowing?"
"I've got math next."
"Are you still ignoring me?"
"I'm not ignoring you, I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."
I would ignore you, but even Jenie thinks you're going to kill someone, and if Jenie thinks it, then it may be true.
I pressed my free hand against my forehead and groaned.
What the hell am I supposed to do with her always being around me? I thought coming to school would buy me some freedom for a few hours. But between Christina, Trish, and Ayame, I can't even take a freaking walk around the estate without someone watching me.
"I know, Antwon. It's hard to imagine that orange-haired weirdo getting laid and sealing her contract before us."
…
"What did you say?"
Christina examined my face, but I honestly had no clue.
"You know, the glow?"
I blinked slowly and cringed at the idea of hearing about glowing people again.
"For fuck's sake. When a daddy bird loves a mommy bird—"
"Eww—no, please stop!" I shouted, covering my ears.
"Well, what do you think we're going to—"
"I'm sorry for whatever I did. Just stop, Christina."
"That's so damn cute."
***
The final bell rang, ending the nightmare known as sharing class with Tetsusen. Thankfully, my last two classes were a wash: Business and Accounting, and Health and Nutrition. The Fan Queen dozed off during both, and I won brownie points with all the girls by giving her head pats and positive comments about her behaving. I even gave her a kiss on the cheek when she woke up.
On second thought, I'd better not tell her that.
We exited the school building, and she was still strangling the blood out of my hand. Christina was in good spirits after all my praise, but with every one of my bullshit comments, I felt less like myself.
As we approached the staff parking lot, Yua got out and opened the back door for us. It felt like I was the boss of some big-shot mafia family, but in reality, I was just a side piece.
"Good afternoon, your grace, Mr. Carter. Did everything go well?" Yua asked.
"I guess—"
"It went well, better than I had expected, Kurogane. I'd even say that we had a good day, right, Antwon?"
I held back my frown, even though every part of me wanted to shit on her "good day."
"Right, Antwon?"
"Yup, we had a blast."
Yua gave me a thumbs up.
"Hey, Yua. Can I speak with you for a moment while Christina waits in the car?"
Yua turned to Christina, who gave her a curious look, and then Yua turned back to me.
"I can't make my lady wait—"
"It's fine, Yua. I can wait," Christina said with a wink.
I'm definitely going to pull back before this gets out of hand.
Yua pulled me to the side, just out of earshot but still within view of the car. Christina watched us through the window. Funny enough, the car was in the exact same place we had parked when we got here. So, she must have been here the entire time.
"So, what's up, kiddo?"
Kiddo? That's a new one?
"Would Christina ever kill another student?"
…
"W-what—no, Ms. Tetsusen? Psh. Maybe some other queen."
So convincing, Yua.
"Be real with me, Yua, because she freaked out in two classes, and she disappeared after homeroom."
"W-whatcha talking about? My queen would never lose her temper."
Yua's smile was bullshit, and I've never heard her stutter so damn much. She must know something. But how do I get her to give up the information? I didn't have an angle on her like I have with Ayame, or did I?
"Okay, Kurogane. I don't trust you. But I've got no dirt on you."
"I told you that my queen would never—"
"But I've got dirt on your mom."
She rested her hand on her hip and leaned to her left.
"Damn. I guess we aren't on a first-name basis anymore? Listen, Mr. Carter, my mom served two queens, went to war, and should have retired years ago. Don't drag her name into your games. Whatever Christina Tetsusen did does not reflect on her."
I looked at the car and wondered how long Christina would wait.
"Well, Kurogane, it's not what Christina did, it's what Trish had done on my first day at the Estate, and your mom watched her as she did it."
Yua's expression took on a sad grimace. She looked back at Christina and waved.
"Fucking shit, Trish," she mumbled. "Alright, kid, Christina would for sure kill someone, but not without good—with whatever the fuck she can justify. It's part of the reason she ain't going to school on our turf."
"H-has she?"
Yua didn’t answer. She just looked toward the car, sighed, and played with the hilt of her sword. It was hard not to believe her body language, but just how many kids did—no. They were kids. I slept next to a monster. I sleep next to a monster.
"Yua, these are kids," I said, my voice cracking higher than I wanted. "Are there no laws protecting kids from brats with power?"
"Look, I gave you the information you wanted, and I feel shitty doing it. So, bury that shit with Trish or else you won't have to worry about the fucking contract, kid."
"What do you mean?"
Yua ran her fingers through her hair and started nervously turning in place.
"Like—the mother and daughter are going to go at each other. And if they do, the whole damn Court feels it." Yua rubbed both hands over her face. "Shit. The Court’s future depends on you shutting up. That was rude. I know. I’m not in my right mind."
"The Court's future, Yua? That's a lot."
Yua draped her arm around my neck and turned us away from Christina.
"I don't know why, but my queen is obsessed with you. When you ran away, she lost sleep and hardly ate before she assigned squads to hunt for you."
Obsessed isn't the word I'd use.
"Trish Tetsusen was ready to burn down a city if you were killed, kid. Tell me that ain't sweet."
I guess that's kind of romantic in a ludicrous way… What am I saying?
"So if mother and daughter are willing to spill blood for you, what do you think they'd be willing to do to each other?"
…
"But, Trish—"
Yua poked my cheek with her free hand.
"I don't even want to know because knowing means I withheld information from my queen." She sighed and moved her finger from my cheek. "Kid, you don't know how much power you have."
"Power my ass. She's like 5'4 and stronger than I am, Yua."
"I'm not talking about height or strength—I'm saying she'd do anything for you."
Yua took me by the shoulders and turned me toward her, then she brought herself to my eye level, reminding me of how much taller she was than I was.
"You guys play with guns in the States, right?"
"I mean, I guess."
"Well, think of her as the trigger and the Court as the gun."
Like magic, the image popped into my head. A gun gilded with the name Iron Fan Court on its slide and a fan symbol on the grip. Christina, like Yua said, was the trigger.
"Do you have the image?"
"I think so."
"Good because your words are the bullets, kid. If someone pissed you off," she said, leaning in and whispering in my ear. "If something didn't go your way… BANG!"
I pushed Yua away. I couldn't breathe, and I hunched over holding my knees.
"Ha, ha, ha. You should see yourself—"
A horn rang out.
"Knock it the fuck off, Yua!"
"I—Yes, your grace!" she shouted. Yua patted me on the back. "Okay, kid. Are we good? You got me, right?"
I gave her a weak thumbs up.
"Great! Oh, sorry about the bang thing. My daughter did that shit to me today, and I've been aching to do it to someone else. Well, let's ride!"
***
After I got in the car, Christina started drilling Yua for information because she wanted to know what we spoke about. Yua, being the sly jerk that she was, told Christina that she spent most of the conversation setting up her damn joke.
The gentle rocking of the car didn't make me feel any better, and Christina kept doing this weird thing with her hands, almost touching my face before she stopped. But then she would look at her hand and become frustrated.
"Shit," Christina whispered loudly.
I rolled my eyes, and they landed on the rearview mirror. Yua was frowning, but it was whatever.
Why should I care about any of them? Christina was a kid killer, and Yua's family was compliant as long as they were taken care of. I mean, damn. I know Christina is Christine's mother, but how much did I really know about Christine? What if she was just like Christina?
Christina's hand hovered uncomfortably close to my face again. I'm glad she's following the restrictions of the final clause of our contract, but this is annoying, so I took her hand and pressed it against my face.
She gasped, like I had done something amazing.
"Can I touch, hani?"
"Knock yourself out."
If it will stop you from knocking someone else out permanently.
Then Christina moved in and hugged me; it felt like a kitten hugging its owner after they came home from work, but in this case, the kitten was the owner of the human.
"You feel so nice," she said.
I looked out the window and considered everything that led up to this moment. I'd still choose this over the fire that brought me here, but how did I get her attention, too? Because of the original Antwon, Christine was looking out for me, but Christina? I barely talked to her. If anything, I ignored her. So, why the hell did she pick me?
I started to notice familiar buildings like we were going home… we're going to my home!
"Christina, are we—"
She looked up, still embracing me, and smiled.
"That's right. Since we had such a good day, I've decided to reward you."
Monster or not, at least she's agreeable.
"But I thought your mom didn't like it when you stayed on this side of the neighborhood."
"Who cares about what that old crone thinks. If it will make you happy, then why not?"
Wow, that defiance actually makes her kind of attractive, not to mention the warm hug position. A reward deserves a reward.
I lowered my head, gently kissing Christina's forehead. I started to recover when I noticed that she had puckered her lips.
Shit, why not?