"Remember you? Bah! How can I forget you! As soon as I heard that the girl lost, all I could think about was the young man who told me she would lose in the first round! How the hell did you figure that out?"
Zavier instantly knew that the man hadn't been at the match. He had been so confident about the results that he hadn't seen the need to be physically present there. That actually explained why he wasn't particularly mad.
"Lucky guess," Zavier shrugged. "I'm sorry things didn't work out as planned. I'm sure you had a lot riding on Sabrina winning."
"Are you kidding? That was the best business I've had in a while!"
Zavier squinted, "I'm not sure I follow…"
"Think about it kid, this is a betting shop, with so many people placing bets on that girl winning, if they had all won, the shop would have lost a lot of money. But thanks to her loss, I made serious bank on that single match!!"
Zavier couldn't believe he hadn't thought of that before. Of course it made sense.
He wasn't the only one who had an epiphany in that minute. The owner was a bit boisterous, so, fragments of his conversation with Zavier spilled over to some other characters who had been on the losing side. Since they were all betting men, they had been physically present at the match. And because they were, they knew exactly who Zavier was.
Normally, they were sure to exhibit some thuggish attitudes and try to intimidate or scare Zavier into giving up his winnings. But thanks to Zavier's performance in the match, they aware of the full extent of the Adam family's influence. And as such, they didn't dare to approach him. They swallowed greedily was Zavier gingerly collected his bag of gold coins. As if the owner was intentionally trying to rub it in, he spoke in a very loud voice as he handed over the money to Zavier;
"Here boy! It's all in there- one hundred gold coins! You can count it if you'd like, enjoy your winnings and remember to come back next time for more business."
The owner was really a queer one. Zavier wondered if he wasn't aware of how insensitive he was to the others who had lost. Maybe he was simply being a douchebag.
He collected his money gently. "Of course, I'll be sure to come by for more business."
The owner nodded. "Good bye. Enjoy your winnings!"
Zavier felt like slapping the man silent. He could already feel the cold glares coming at him from all the envious eyes in the room. It didn't matter any way. They were like an ambush of toothless tigers, they couldn't do anything to him even if they wanted to. Zavier hoisted the heavy purse of gold into his breeches right before their very eyes. And walked out triumphantly into the cold night. It sure was good to win. Anyone of them would have given anything to be Zavier in that moment.
Zavier left the cold soul-less gambling den behind him, along with the envy, grieving hearts and the obnoxious owner.
With a hundred gold coins to his name, Zavier drifted off to sleep that night. It was the first decent night rest he had gotten in a pretty long while. A couple of factors might have possibly influenced his doze this time. There was something about taking money from people who had written him off as a nobody that appealed to Zavier. The fat purse filled with jingling gold coins filled Zavier with a deep sense of satisfaction.
But then again, it wasn't just about the money, it was also the deep seated primal rush of adrenaline that came with victory over an opponent. Zavier considered himself to be well and truly a modern man. He didn't think such primitive instincts would such a serious sway over him. Nevertheless, he didn't try to fight it. Nay, he welcomed it. He didn't even know when he slept off that night. But he did, and with a victorious smile on his face.
All the long night sleepless nights Zavier had accrued over the past weeks rolled over into one colossal night's rest. Eight hours later, after a stream of pleasant dreams, and with the fond memories of the previous day still lingering in his mind, Zavier woke up in a bubble of euphoric bliss. He had slept so long that he had missed the familiar cock crow that early risers usually listened for.
As he lay in bed listening to the soft chirping of the mid morning canaries in the trees, Zavier realised that his schedule was clear. He had absolutely nothing mapped out for the day. And then, like a cold hand clutching his heart, a wave of guilt washed over him as he remembered Shiranui. Honestly, it was like he was cursed to never be happy for more than a brief moment. Shiranui was the first thing that came to his mind as soon as his mind was fully awake.
Like the passing smoke of a forest fire over a valley, the joy of the previous day vanished under the strong gale that was Zavier's memory of Shiranui lying on the hospital bed in recovery. He quickly sprang out of bed. Not even bothering with his usual morning exercise, he skipped all that and went to clean himself up in preparation for his short journey to the University's infirmary. He had to see her.
As he went through all the motions, Zavier comforted himself with the fact that he had good news for her. After being ridiculed and jeered at by the public, (especially in her presence) he had turned the board around and had now single handedly made Merion High School the Champion of this tournament! He simply couldn't wait to tell her! His intention wasn't to gloat or anything, he knew that news like this would definitely warm her heart, especially as a patient in recovery.
He couldn't wait for he to look at him with those intense dark eyes of hers in admiration. That was all the reward he needed. Well, that and the hundred gold coins of course.
Of course, this victory wasn't totally his, it was a victory for the whole of Merion High School. Not just for his team alone as students, but for the entire institution as well. A morbid thought crossed his mind as he made his way towards the the love of his life; if for some reason he had lost to Sabrina, he would have never had the nerve to stand before Shiranui. It wasn't some patriarchal thing, it was simply a Zavier thing. He hated to lose. And he knew Shirnaui did too.
So, in more than one way, his victory was a victory for both of them.
The trail of his thoughts bought him just enough time. Before he could realise it, he had auto piloted his way through a six minute trek. The brilliant white building of the infirmary stood out amongst the other storey buildings in the landscape. Having come so close, Zavier hastened his steps, eager to meet up with his girlfriend.
He tore through the flights of stairs like they were nothing, and knocked briefly at the door to her room before rushing to open it. The knock was only a courtesy, it wasn't like he was patient enough to hold on for a verbal confirmation. An unexpected sight met his eyes- it was empty! The bed and the room were all empty! In place of the warm, reassuring musk of Shiranui's distinct perfume, his nose was assaulted by the strong disinfectant used by hospitals.
All evidence of her being there had been completely removed. Including the balloons, flowers, and the endless streams of get well cards. Zavier was a man who always thought of the worst and leaned towards it. And in that moment, Zavier was doing it again. It was all so tangential.
Fortunately, at that very moment, one of the medical staff was just exiting the adjacent room. Zavier never really made it all the way into the room. He was still holding on to the door knob, and was therefore very much in the nurse's line of sight. She seemed to be able to discern that Zavier was going through something, so she followed protocol and made the necessary inquiries;
"Excuse me…" she was young. Not as old as the other nurses, but definitely a lot younger than those Zavier had seen during his last visit. "Are you looking for someone?"
"Yes. Has Shiranui been moved somewhere else? Perhaps to a different ward?" He asked her, hoping she wouldn't say the operation theatre, or even worse, the morgue.
"I'm sorry who are you again?"
"I am Zavier Adam. I'm her team mate." Zavier tried his best to avoid slipping the fact that he was indeed a high school student here for the tryouts.
"Oh okay. Were you not informed? Shiranui Yamata had been discharged already."
"What?" Zavier stammered, "When?"
"I believe she was discharged last night."
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦