"The Chosen"
Chapter Nine
"He went home? His fever was that bad?" Sparx asked during lunch, looking faintly worried. He and Chiro were eating separately from the rest of their friends, mostly so they could escape Jinmay's constant questions about their long-haired friend.
"Yeah, and he was complaining that his brother was going to either smother him until he was better, or get mad when he was recovered," Chiro replied.
"Get mad?" Sparz asked, startled.
"That was my reaction too," Chiro responded. "It's not normal. I'm really wondering about Mandarin. I mean, the way he runs the training sessions, the standards he holds Antauri to, the way he screams at everyone whenever Formless attack, and now this." Chiro shook his head. "Even though she doesn't know the whole story, I think Jinmay night be onto something as far as how Mandarin treats his brother. We already knew from the get-go that he was a jerk. Remember the way he greeted us? 'The short kid, the dim-looking one, the one with geeky glasses.' And he won't show any sort of respect to anybody the girlfriend of his, maybe a little to Antauri, and Kitalia."
"You too," Sparx pointed out.
"Really?" Chiro said.
"Yeah. It's like the only thing he respects is power or something. Kitalia is the only one in the Order who's stronger than him, and you're really powerful too. We all can see that. Antauri's no wuss either."
"Yeah, but there's a hole to that. If he only respects power, why would he respect Lyndis so much?" Chiro asked.
"That's true," Sparx admitted, taking a bite of his apple.
"Anyway, since when do you care? I thought you didn't like Antauri?" Chiro asked.
Sparx turned a pale pink. "I don't," he snapped, turning his head away and taking another large bite of his apple, which he nearly choked on.
Chiro raised an eyebrow at him, but let it drop. Sparx had as of late been getting weird whenever the subject of Antauri had come up. He would seem a little worried for about thirty seconds, then turn right back to his usual "who-gives-a-crap" attitude. Chiro recognized the pattern, though. He mentally smirked. Against his own wishes, Sparx was starting to consider Antauri a friend. The only problem was that he still saw the guy as a rival for popularity. Well, maybe at some point in the near future, he would get over it when he realized the Antauri really did notwant all the attention he got from the student body. Chiro had a feeling that Antauri was going to need all the friends he could get soon.
Chiro shook his head. Where had that thought come from?
IWANTTOLICKAFISH
Chiro wasn't sure why, but he really wanted to stop by Antauri's after school. It kind of felt like something was pulling him to his friend. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of voicing his plans in front of Jinmay.
"Oh, that's a good idea," she said instantly. "I don't have anything resembling a lesson today, so I can tag along. I want to see for myself what kind of home life Antauri has. Any objections?"
None of them were that stupid.
After school, the whole gang headed for Herbal Spirit together, with Jinmay at the head of the group. They were surprised to find the cafe closed. Gibson spotted Lyndis locking up the place and called to her.
"Miss Lyndis, why are you closing so early?" he asked.
Lyndis sighed. "Mandarin told us to. He wants to make sure everything is as quiet as possible so that Antauri can get some rest. Poor boy. Ani looked so pale when Mannie brought him home."
Chiro thought he detected a faint tinge of satisfaction in her voice, but decided he'd imagined it.
"Any chance we can get upstairs to see him?" Otto asked.
"Sure, I guess. The side door goes directly upstairs. It should still be unlocked," Lyn answered.
"Thanks," Otto said, smiling brightly. They headed around the side of the building.
"Say, did anyone else notice..." Chiro began.
"Notice what?" Sparx asked.
"...Nevermind," Chiro said after a moment. They found the door was, indeed unlocked, so they headed up without another word.
"...why I take solo missions in the first place!"
"What was that?" Jinmay asked as they reached the top of the stairs and another door.
"That sounds like Mandarin," Nova said nervously. She'd been a little edgy around him ever since he got upset about the fact that she didn't like the cold.
"This is also why Kitalia won't let you take solo missions!" Mandarin's voice continued to scream.
"Brother, that's not true and you know it. I just choose not to. You're the one who's so obsessed with missions and becoming stronger, not I," came Antauri's calm, if a little faint, voice.
Mandarin seemed to pause. He then said, much more calmly, "Look, just get back in bed, alright? You don't have to worry about training today, and I'm sorry if I made you think you do no matter what. You're not like the others, you've been trained your whole life. It's only recently that..."
"Hey, are we interrupting anything?" Chiro called, cutting Mandarin off before he could say anything about the Varon Order for Jinmay's ears to hear.
A few moments later the door opened to a surprised Mandarin. "How long have you guys been there?" he asked, letting everyone in. They saw Antauri was sitting on the couch in his pajamas, a blanket wrapped around his body. Lyndis had been right. He really did look pale.
"Hey, you okay buddy?" he asked, moving to sit next to him.
"As well as can be expected," Antauri answered.
"Well that's not saying a lot, considering I don't expect much," Jinmay said, turning to Mandarin. "What the hell were you screaming at him about? He's got a fever, for crying out loud! Don't tell me you were mad at him because he got sick!! It's probably your fault anyway!!!!"
Mandarin stared at her. "And you are?" he asked.
"Jinmay Apparatus, Antauri's official guardian angel," Jinmay sneered. "I'm going to make sure he doesn't suffer through whatever the hell it is you've been putting him through!"
"What I've been putting him through?" Mandarin asked.
"Well, I don't pretend to have all of the evidence, and I can't say that I know Antauri well enough to know if he's lying about anything, but so far, I have seen a lot of evidence that suggests that his home life isn't exactly a happy one," Jinmay said.
"Buh?" Mandarin said stupidly.
"She's under the impression that you've been abusing him," Otto whispered to him.
"Say what?" Mandarin snapped, turning his head to Otto.
"Like I said, I don't have solid proof, but this wouldn't be the first time I've had a friend with a less than stable home, and he can tell you that I do not stand crap like that," Jinmay growled.
Mandarin turned back to Jinmay, looking a little ticked. "Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions? I mean, this is the first time I've ever met you."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Jinmay demanded. "I never once met my friend's parents, but with abuse cases, the evidence is not that hard to find, especially when you already know what to look for."
"Now you listen here, girl!" Mandarin snapped. "I don't know who you think you are, but if you think I mistreat my brother, you are sorely mistaken! Yes, we live an unusual life. I won't deny that. However, I don't put my hands on him unless we are training!"
"What sort of training?" Jinmay said.
Chiro became nervous. Jinmay wasn't supposed to know about the Varon Order, but it looked like Mandarin, in his temper, was about to spill the beans.
"Our martial arts training," Antauri interjected. Chiro looked at him and realized that he looked vaguely nervous as well, meaning he had also seen what his brother was about to do.
Jinmay turned to Antauri. "Martial arts?" she asked skeptically.
"Yes. I've been trained in martial arts for a long time. So has he. We train all the time together, including sparring. Of course he's going to try to hit me when we spar, and of course I'm going to defend myself," Antauri said. Unfortunately, it came out a bit rushed, so Jinmay wasn't completely convinced.
As always.
Jinmay sighed. "Fine, whatever. I'm just looking out for a friend." She turned a dark glare to Mandarin, then went to sit on Antauri's other side. "That's no excuse for acting this way because you're sick, and what was that babbling about missions?"
Antauri cleared his throat. "It's nothing, Jinmay. Again, thank you for looking out for me, but I'm fine."
"Fine except for a damn fever," Sparx muttered. Antauri glared at him as this set Jinmay off on a different branch.
"That's right! Your fever! You've got to get to bed. Come on, up and to bed!" she said, pulling him to his feet.
"Jinmay, really, I'm..." Antauri began.
"Where's his room?" she asked Mandarin.
"Down the hall, fourth on the left," he answered numbly.
"Come on! March!" she said, pushing him gently.
"Jinmay, calm down. I'm not as dizzy as before. I can get to my room on my own," Antauri protested. Jinmay continued to usher him as though he had not spoken.
Once they were out of the room, Mandarin turned to glare at the rest of the team. He looked like he wanted to punch something. "What the hell were you all thinking, bringing her here? She's not of the Order, and I don't feel the Power Primate in her!"
"It wasn't our call," Gibson said. "Once Jinmay becomes convinced that one of her friends needs help, there's no stopping her. She would crawl naked, belly down over hot coals if that was what it took to protect someone she cares out."
"Hey, watch what you say about my girlfriend," Chiro snapped. Mandarin turned to him.
"Your girlfriend? Then why don't you try to control her a little?" he demanded.
Chiro stood up from the couch, growing mad himself. "Control? Jinmay's my girlfriend, not a pet! There's no 'control' anywhere in our relationship. We're on equal ground, thank you very much! Why? Do you 'control' Lyndis?"
Mandarin snarled. "Of course. When she needs to be brought into line, I do so, and she does the same to me! Now that is equal ground!"
Chiro's face was turning red, he was getting so mad. "You're ridiculous!!"
Mandarin's hand balled into a fist. "Don't you call me ridiculous, boy!" He raised his fist as though he meant to hit Chiro.
"Don't you dare!!!"
They turned to see Jinmay standing in the doorway that lead to the hall. Her friends had seen her mad before, but never like this. She was apparently ready to rip Mandarin's throat out with her teeth. She advanced on Mandarin, snarling like she had never snarled before.
For just a bare second, Chiro could have sworn that her eyes glowed a bright red.
"If you lay so much as a finger on any of my friends, and that includes Antauri, and if you so much as breatheon Chiro, I will have you arrested for assault and tried for child abuse. That is a promise," she said in a dangerously quiet voice. "And my mother's a judge. I can make it happen." She turned to the rest of the gang. "Come on, guys, let's go." Everyone except Chiro followed her. "Chiro?"
"Just a sec, Jinny. I'll be right behind you," Chiro group headed downstairs and Chiro turned to Mandarin. "What are you doing?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Mandarin demanded.
"When you first got here, yeah, you were a jerk, but you were tolerable. Slowly but surely, though, you've been getting worse. I don't just mean the way you treat us newbies. I also mean the way you treat Antauri. He's your brother, and your only living family, right? So why would you be so horrible?"
"Chiro!" Jinmay called.
Chiro turned to leave, but not before saying, "Just remember this. Jinmay isn't the only one who looks after her friends, and you and I are not now, nor have we ever been friends." He left, closing the door behind him.
Not even an instant later, a crash was heard as the vase that Mandarin had told Otto not to touch collided with the door right where Chiro's head had been.
HAPPYHOLIDAYSTOALL
Eliyora: Happy holidays, one and all!! For Christmas, I present to you a new chapter. I hope it's alright. I kinda typed it up at four in the morning.
Kitalia: Normally this is where I would make a wisecrack, but it isChristmas. I'll forego in this once.
Eliyora: Thank you, my sarcastic OC. Anyways, enjoy everyone!