Divine Milking System

I grabbed the five bottles of forty seven dollar water. Walked past her. Close enough my shoulder brushed hers.

She didn’t move.

I returned to the living room where everyone sat in uncomfortable silence. Handed out bottles. Sat on the couch between Naomi and Belle.

Blair followed. Stood in the kitchen doorway watching us with her arms crossed. The flames had vanished but the threat remained obvious.

Misato stood near the window. Her face carefully neutral.

"Blair’s joining the meeting."

"So I see," Belle said.

"She has. Concerns. About the rankings."

"Shocking."

Blair walked into the living room. Didn’t sit. Just stood there radiating contempt.

"I want to make something clear," Blair said. "Yesterday was a fluke. An alpha spawning in an E rank gate is a statistical anomaly that inflated your rating artificially."

"Still counts," I said.

"It shouldn’t."

"Take it up with the assessment board."

"I will. My father sits on the IHC advisory council. I’ll have yesterday’s results reviewed for irregularities."

Naomi’s hand found mine. Squeezed hard.

"Good luck with that," Belle said. "Reviews take six weeks minimum. We’ll have three more assessments by then."

"Then I’ll wait. And when they overturn your fraudulent A rank you’ll drop to exactly where you belong."

"Which is?"

"Last."

Jordan lifted his head off the armrest. Barely. His eyes stayed closed.

"Can the two of you have this fight literally any other time? I’m attempting to maintain my current unconscious state here."

"This isn’t your house," Blair snapped. Her voice got sharper. Higher. The kind of pitch that meant she was about three seconds from setting something on fire.

"Misato invited us. That makes us guests with legitimate presence rights."

"You’re trespassing."

"Actually we’re not. Academy policy says Elite Ten students can host up to ten guests simultaneously in their Summit residences without requiring approval."

Belle looked at Jordan with genuine surprise.

"How do you know that?"

"I read the student handbook. It was boring. I fell asleep three times. But I read it."

Blair’s face did something complicated. Like she wanted to argue but couldn’t because Jordan was technically correct.

Misato cleared her throat.

"Blair. Can we. Can we just do this? Please?"

"Fine. Say what you came to say."

Misato looked at us. At her squad. At the lottery kids and Belle who weren’t supposed to achieve anything.

"Yesterday we cleared an E rank gate in thirty seven minutes with an A rating. We ranked seventh overall. I ranked thirty-first individually. All of you improved your personal standings."

"And?" Blair demanded.

"And I’m proud of us. Of what we accomplished. Of proving that lottery admissions and guild kids can work together effectively."

"How touching."

"Blair."

"What? You want me to celebrate? You were supposed to be on my team. You were supposed to support me. Instead you’re here. Wasting your potential carrying dead weight."

"They’re not dead weight."

"The fat one can barely run a mile."

"The fat one killed an alpha," Misato said. "With a weapon he’d been training with for three days."

"Can I not be called the fat kid?"

"Luck."

"Instinct."

"Same thing."

"It’s not."

Blair walked to the window. Looked out at the view. The ocean. The campus below. Her kingdom.

"I don’t care about your feelings or your pride or your accomplishments. I care that you’re mine. You’ve always been mine. Your mother works for my family. You grew up in my house. Everything you have exists because I allow it."

Misato’s hands curled into fists.

"That’s not fair."

"Fair? You want to talk about fair? Your mother has health insurance. A retirement plan. Housing. Because my father employs her. Because I like you. And this is how you repay that generosity? By abandoning me?"

"I didn’t abandon you. Vale assigned me to Squad Eight. I’m following orders."

"You could have requested a transfer."

"I didn’t want to."

The room went silent.

Blair turned around slowly. Her face empty of expression. Which was somehow worse than anger.

"What did you say?"

"I said I didn’t want to transfer. I wanted. I wanted to try leading my own squad. Without you."

"Without me."

"Yes."

"Because I hold you back."

"No. Because I need to know if I can do this myself. If I’m actually good or if I’m just. Your shadow."

Blair laughed. Sharp and mean.

"You’re nothing without me. You understand that right? You’re a B rank with a mediocre ability that only works in numbers. Alone you’re worthless."

"Maybe. But I led my squad to seventh place. What did you do?"

The flames came back. Dancing up Blair’s arms now. The temperature in the room climbed fast.

"I cleared my gate in forty two minutes with twenty three cores. B rank evaluation."

"Congrats. You placed sixth. One spot above us."

"Because you got lucky with an alpha spawn!"

"Or maybe," Misato said quietly. "Maybe my squad is just. Better."

The entire living room ignited.

Blue white fire covered every surface. The couch. The walls. The floor beneath our feet. Heat slammed into me like opening an oven door too fast.

Belle grabbed my arm. Naomi stood. Jordan rolled off the couch and hit the floor.

The flames didn’t burn anything. Just. Existed. Covering everything while the temperature climbed past uncomfortable into painful.

Blair stood in the center of it all. Her eyes glowing. Her red hair floating slightly from the heat shimmer.

"Say that again," Blair whispered.

"No," Misato said. "I’m. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it."

"You meant it. You’ve been thinking it since Vale posted the assignments. That you’re better than me. That you don’t need me. That you can just. Leave."

"Blair please."

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get. Out. All of you. Now."

Misato stepped forward.

"We need to talk about winter evaluation. About strategy for next month’s assessment."

"I don’t care. Get out of my house before I make you leave."

The flames intensified. The couch started smoking for real now. The expensive fabric curling and blackening at the edges.

I stood. Grabbed Naomi’s hand.

"Let’s go."

"But Misato—"

"Can handle this herself. Come on."

Belle was already moving toward the door. Jordan scrambled up and followed. We filed out into the afternoon sun. The door slammed behind us.

Through the glass walls we could see Blair and Misato standing in the living room. Blair’s flames covered everything. Misato’s clones materialized around her. Four identical lime green fighters in defensive positions.

"Should we call someone?" Naomi asked.

"And say what? Two students are having a disagreement?"

"Blair’s going to hurt her."

"Misato can take care of herself."

"You don’t know that."

"I know Misato’s survived Blair this long. That counts for something."

We walked down the hill in silence. My phone buzzed twice. Messages from Aurora asking if I was ready for tonight. Another from Misato.

MISATO: Sorry about that. Blair’s. Processing. Meeting’s postponed. Will reschedule.

I showed the others.

"Processing," Belle read. "That’s one word for it."

"She’s losing her mind," Jordan said. "That’s the actual words for it."

"Can you blame her?" Naomi asked. "Misato’s been her only friend since childhood. Now Misato’s choosing us over Blair."

"Misato’s not choosing us. She’s choosing herself."

"Same thing to Blair probably."

We reached the main campus. Students everywhere. Groups celebrating their rankings. Others looking devastated.

A Sapphire kid walked past wearing a shirt that said TOP FIFTY in gold letters. His friends clapped him on the back.

"People are taking this seriously," Jordan observed.

"One hundred thousand dollar signing bonuses for top fifty graduates," Belle said. "Of course they’re taking it seriously."

"How do you know that?"

"I researched guild contracts. Before I got here. Know your market value before negotiating."

We stopped at the intersection near Building C.

"I need to prep for Aurora," I said.

"Where are you taking her?"

"East field. Seven o’clock."

"Romantic."

"She specified the location."

"And you’re bringing chocolate cake?"

"If I can find decent chocolate cake without spending five hundred points."

"The Vault has it. Two hundred points for a slice. Five hundred for a whole cake."

"Of course they do."

"Buy the slice. Tell her you wanted to get her something nicer but couldn’t afford the whole cake. Makes you look thoughtful and honest about finances."

"That’s. Actually smart."

"I contain multitudes."

Belle headed toward her room. Jordan shuffled toward the elevator. Naomi stayed with me.

We rode up to the fifth floor together. Our hands still connected.

At her door she stopped.

"Good luck tonight."

"Thanks."

"Don’t... don’t do anything. Anything that you’d do with me or Belle. Not on the first date."

"Wasn’t planning on it."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

She searched my face. Found whatever she was looking for. Kissed my cheek quickly.

"Okay. I believe you."

She disappeared into 5C. I walked to 5E. The apartment was empty. Hikaru’s door closed. No sound from inside.

I showered. Changed into clean clothes that weren’t the uniform. Black jeans. Dark grey shirt. Checked the mirror.

Still overweight. But less. The jawline was. There. Visible now. My face looked like it belonged to someone who might survive this place.

My phone buzzed.

AURORA: Bring good chocolate or I’m leaving.

ME: Working on it.

AURORA: Also bring yourself. You’re the main course after all.