I’m My Own High School Rival: Nakamura’s Arc: Heritage

  The halls were empty, which meant the bell was about to ring. Ms. Igarashi’s going to lecture me again, and this time I can’t say I was walking my sister to css.

  The beige hallways with a checkered floor pattern of brown and light brown were bnd. The person who designed this school should be fired.

  The sound of chattering students and soft footsteps caught my attention. At least I wasn’t the only one te to their css.

  A group of boys walked in the opposite direction. As we closed the distance between us, I could tell they were higher-tiered students, probably cn-affiliated. Out of respect, I lowered my head as they passed, but the sound of footsteps stopped.

  “Hey, you…”

  I stopped moving and looked back, not knowing what to expect, but their looks and grooming set them apart from the rest of us. However, I didn’t understand what they had to do with me.

  “Are you Carter? The same Carter in Ms. Igarashi’s second-period css?”

  How unnecessarily specific.

  “I’m pretty sure I’m the only Carter in the whole school…”

  The mob quickly circled me, and their leader hung his arm over my shoulder.

  “Right you are, Carter. You see, we need to talk in the boys’ bathroom.”

  I’m no fool. You don’t just talk with five people backing you. Based on my prior knowledge, this school falls within the Crimson Veil’s territory, which means these are boys of the Veil.

  “Guys, I don’t know what I did to upset you, but I’m sorry. Can we talk this out?”

  The boys around me giggled.

  “Don’t worry; you’ll have your chance to talk,” the boy next to me said, gripping tighter.

  Well, shit!

  ***

  Shit. I arrived on time to have a go at him, and he isn’t even here. I leaned over my desk, supporting my face with my hand. Igarashi was lecturing about boring Kokiri, and Nakamura was nerding in her notebook with the rest of the css.

  But Antwon wasn’t here. My sources told me he arrived this morning. I thought about employing my favorite footrest since he wasn’t here to move my feet; maybe that will get him to show up.

  “Nakamura,” I said, shifting my feet. She slid her chair up, making room to press my feet against the back of her chair.

  Good girl, never forgetting her pce.

  I groaned because a boy shouldn’t mean anything to the queen of the Iron Fan. I could have a boy if I wanted one; they threw themselves before me all the time.

  “Okay, css. Now that you know your assignment for the day, the rest of the period is yours. If you need any help, you should have been paying attention, but raise your hand, and let’s see what happens.”

  “Let’s see what happens.” Damn hag. I liked you better when you were breaking bones.

  “Hey, Nakamura.”

  Saying her name produced the greatest response I’ve seen from her. She jumped out of her seat and started bowing.

  “Have you seen Antwon?”

  “N-no, Ms. Tetsusen. I have not seen Mr. Carter at all today.”

  There wasn’t anything cruel about my voice; my name alone bled power.

  “It’s so bad,” one of the boys whispered.

  I turned my head to see who was chirping—just more gossip like a pair of songbirds, but what’s the harm in staying informed?

  “I heard from my sister’s friend’s brother that they were going to beat him up for getting to…” The two boys noticed me, so I waved them over. And like good little boys, they hurried over. However, the hag noticed them rush over, too.

  I hated it when she stared at me.

  “Y-yes Ms. Tetsusen.”

  I pointed down because they had missed an important step required to speak to me, because I’m anything if not merciful.

  Heads quickly dropped, bowing as they should have in the first pce.

  “I-I’m sorry. Please—”

  “Okay! Don’t do it again. So, what were you talking about? I’m interested.”

  The two boys looked at each other as if they didn’t want to tell me.

  I groaned, and they started to sing.

  “I-I heard that Carter upset the boys from the Veil… and was going to be punished for it.”

  My ears burned. He pissed me off the other day, sure, but I’m not part of the Veil. So, what did he do to get the Veil’s attention?

  I jumped out of my seat, knowing I had to find him and stop this.

  “Which floor—where!” I said without thinking about who else was listening.

  “I don’t even know if it was true.”

  With the Veil, it’s always true.

  I looked at Ms. Igarashi, who silently nodded, giving me the pass I needed.

  “Which floor and why!”

  The blood in the room ran cold as everyone focused on me.

  “T-the third floor.”

  “Why, I need to know why.”

  “T-they said that he was getting too close to fire.”

  Fire… me? My stomach dropped. I knew they would set an example for those who reached for power, but he didn’t reach for me. I…

  I bolted for the door. The Veil had him, and I was going to get him back.

  ***

  “What’s his deal? He keeps getting up every time we knock him on his ass.”

  I was sore all over. My legs shook as I made my way back to my feet, prepping myself for another round of abuse.

  “I didn’t know gaijin were durable.” They giggled.

  They giggle at every me joke.

  “Look, guys. You got me. I-I can barely stand.” I wanted to lean against a wall or urinal door, but they had me circled here, too. The sink would be nice at this point.

  Their punches didn’t hurt—at first, but a feather duster would start to irritate after a while.

  “You just don’t know when to stay down.”

  One of them moved in to hit me again, knowing I couldn’t hit him back.

  “W-wait, please.”

  He stopped, probably out of curiosity. I haven’t said much during this beating.

  “W-why are you guys doing this, huh? What did I do that was so bad?”

  He closed the gap between us, grabbing my hair. I could feel the roots of each dreadlock tugging at my skull, like they wanted to escape.

  I bit down on my bottom lip, trying not to scream.

  “This is because a silly little nobody like yourself dared to flirt with fire.”

  I held on to his arm to alleviate some of the strain.

  “I—don’t understand—w-what fire?”

  A sp came from one of the other boys; it hit hard and marked the first blow to the face.

  The sting of his sp hugged my cheek, but it was cooled by the cold, dirty floor, which created the desire to stay down.

  “Stay away from the daughter of the Fan, outsider.”

  So that’s how it is.

  Thoughts raced as I tried to make sense of his words.

  I never tried to get close. I didn’t try then, I’m not trying now.

  Did Christina encourage them to do this? Was it because I told the princess no?

  I lifted myself off the floor weakly again. Anger was burning in my chest.

  “Stay down, you fool!” one of the boys from behind me yelled.

  “Did she encourage you to do this? What—was she too afraid to deal with me herself?”

  My voice was hoarse as I dug down deep. I knew this was a possibility, so I trained Antwon’s soft body to deal with house rats.

  No giggles, no jokes, just silence as they drank me in—as they choked on Knox.

  ***

  I charged into the boys' bathroom, rules be damned. I turned the corner and found six boys, sweaty and breathing heavily. I was impressed that one boy gave five cn boys a challenge.

  They were so focused that they didn’t notice me, but they will.

  “What the hell is going on in here!”

  Shock, fear, and disorientation; faces I’m more accustomed to.

  “M-Ms. Tetsusen?” he said, breathing heavily.

  I raised an eyebrow, and they bowed—all but the one I came for.

  “Answer my question!”

  “My apologies, Ms. Tetsusen,” he said, stepping forward. He was clearly the leader of this group. I heard of him from Jade because he caught her eye. He was well-groomed and quite handsome.

  “I believe I’ve heard of you… Hisashi… Aizawa, right?”

  He nodded, taking grace in having a blood sprout speak his name.

  “That’s correct—”

  Antwon’s attack happened so fast that I’d almost missed it: a punch that was a blur of speed. But I had to react fast because Antwon had crossed a dangerous line.

  I rushed towards him, preventing Aizawa from hitting the ground, holding him like I had caught him while swooning, and holding Antwon at bay by grabbing him by the colr.

  “You bastard!” the other Veil boys cried out. “Leave it to a gaijin to attack someone while they’re addressing royalty,” another boy said.

  “That’s enough. Why did you attack Carter?”

  The bathroom fell silent.

  “Don’t py it cool, Tetsusen. You told them to,” Antwon said, forcing a bitter taste in my mouth.

  I wanted to defend myself, but doing so would damage my image in the eyes of the Veil. Idiot. If I ordered the job, why would I ask the question?

  “M-Ms… Tetsusen.”

  I looked down. Aizawa was blushing something fierce.

  “We… were defending your majesty from this unmarked outsider, Ma’am.”

  But who asked you to!?

  I brought Aizawa to his feet.

  “Did Jade tell you to do this?”

  “No, Ma’am. Ms. Akagiri didn’t ask us to. We were just—”

  “Leave—now, and don’t act without orders because it leaves room to question your superiors.”

  They hesitated—they knew I was right and they had messed up.

  One by one, they filed out of the boys’ bathroom, leaving Antwon and me alone.

  “Well, that could have ended badly.”

  “Let me go!” he barked,

  He pushed my hand away and slouched against the wall. I walked over to him, knelt, and began inspecting his face.

  “Don’t—take your hand off me.”

  I released his face. “You should be thankful; they went easy on you.”

  “I’d be more thankful if you would leave me alone.”

  Most boys would have swooned as Aizawa did, but he’s still fighting me.

  He said with eyes I’d never seen a boy with; they were cold, with an insatiable emptiness.

  “Hey, I saved you!” I wanted to grab his shirt and shake sense into him.

  “You caused this. Now, get out of the boys’ bathroom.”

  So what if he’s right? I didn’t order it.

  I took a closer look at Antwon. He was clearly thrashed, but he looked like he had won, and he wasn’t crying, though he was in pain.

  I ran my fingers through my hair, flicking it back when I reached the end. “Look, you need to stick with me from now on.”

  It’s the only way I can protect him from the Veil now.

  “No.”

  Just like that?

  “You just got into a fight with members of the Veil. Do you think they are going to exchange blows without settling the score?”

  Antwon adjusted his position so he could work his way to his feet.

  “I didn’t exchange blows. I let them beat me up, so I wouldn’t have to deal with it ter.”

  I wish that were true.

  “You hit Hisashi Aizawa. I saw you.”

  Antwon scowled.

  “That jerk is the reason my world burns, so he had it coming," he said, grabbing his side.

  “W-what are you talking about?”

  Has Antwon crossed paths with the Veil in the past?

  He groaned, trying to stand up. I helped him by supporting his back and applying slight pressure on his… well-defined stomach, toned… I gave it a few pats to make sure it wasn’t the fabric of his uniform that bounced up.

  “A-are you done!” Antwon said.

  An awkward half smile is all I could manage.

  “I’m getting out of here.”

  Antwon hobbled off slowly.

  Was he really going to css in that condition? I can’t let that happen.

  “Antwon—”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  “It’s your name!” I shouted.

  He was limping terribly, and the day had just started.

  “I don’t know you…”

  Why… you should be worshiping me right now.

  He covered his face with his hand. I walked up next to him and touched his shoulder. He had endured a vicious assault, and he didn’t break.

  What kind of boy takes a beating and doesn’t cry?

  He didn’t turn, and I couldn’t let him walk away.

  “Antwon.”

  He sighed and said, “Why do you care so much…”

  I gritted my teeth.

  “What a stupid question, Antwon. Do I need a reason to care for someone?!”

  He paused and turned his head. For once, he was surprised by me.

  Antwon turned his limp body and performed a little bow before limping off to Ms. Igarashi’s css.

  But was the bow for me or my name?

  I took out my phone and messaged Jade, informing her about the unnecessary aggression from the Veil and Ms. Igarashi, and asking for her help with Antwon because he needed to see the nurse.

  “Boss him around,” the bitch sent back. I want him to fold, not break, damn it. Jade sent, “I’ll look into it, but I thought you wanted to avoid foreign boys to purify your bloodline.” I texted her to shut up because this one hit differently. But I didn’t know why, yet.

  I wonder if he’ll go to Softness Training?

  ***

  "Okay, css. Today, we are going to cover the fundamentals of clear, yet soft communication with young boys," Ms. Hoshikawa said with as much energy as she always has.

  The lesson made sense. Physical contact and tempering strength were meant for girls who passed this stage of dating. But most of those losers didn't know how to speak to the opposite sex.

  Abutin raised her hand, showing a concerned face.

  Hoshikawa nodded towards her.

  "Ms. Hoshikawa, where is Antwon?"

  He's home, I hope.

  "That's a great question, Abutin. Mr. Carter's presence would enhance today's lesson, but I don't know if he's here or went home early."

  Whispers filled the room.

  There are three instances where a room full of girls would whisper: one, there are hot boys around; two, they're passing information during css; and three, they're talking about me.

  I stood up, and the room fell silent; even Hoshikawa knew not to speak.

  I scanned the room, making eye contact with each of these cowards, daring them to challenge me.

  "Alright, it seems y’all got something to say, so say it…I won't bite your heads off—just don't cross any lines."

  They all looked at each other like a pack of lost cats.

  They weren't dumb enough to ask me anything, so putting it out there didn't do shit—

  "Is it true that the Veil attacked Carter?" Nakamura, of all people, asked. It wasn't courageous, she asked from within a group of girls, but her voice was easily picked out.

  I waited, peering through the following silence.

  Nakamura stood and bowed.

  Good. Let's not lose our heads.

  "Yes," I answered, holding eye contact.

  "Ms. Tetsusen—”

  "The Court is aligned with the Veil; it doesn't mean they answer to me."

  Nakamura looked down. I've pushed her around long enough for her to understand that much, at least.

  "Ms. Tetsusen, is he… alive?" one of the girls asked.

  The Veil's reputation was shitty, but they don't kill kids...

  "He's alive."

  A wave of relief washed over the room.

  "Is that why you left Ms. Igarashi's room in such a rush, Ms. Tetsusen?"

  I gnashed my teeth.

  I didn't want my direct involvement known, Nakamura!

  But before I could answer, someone knocked at the door.

  Hoshikawa made her way over.

  She opened the door, but nobody could see who it was because of this silly U-shaped desk formation.

  My heart dropped when Antwon walked into the room.

  You were hurt—I told you to go home.

  My body wanted to go to him, protect him, and it started to, but one by one, every other girl beat me to it. First, Nakamura, then Abutin, and more. My arms dropped. My lips didn't move.

  What was I supposed to say now—get off him, he's mine?

  They hugged him and cried, telling him they were sorry. He looked at them and smiled through the pain. He smiled at everyone but me.

  I sighed. Why do I care? He knows who saved him.

  I sat down, gripping my skirt. There was nothing else to say.

  I'll have my moment, Antwon. I swear it.