Chapter 153: My Question Is Personal

Serenity was shocked. She grabbed Crystal’s sleeve and said, “Hey, are you crazy? Do you want to get your ass handed to you?!?!”

Crystal laughed and said, “Lady, I am wearing protective clothing, okay?”

Johnny Angel, the school counselor, began to clap his hands to encourage her, and pretty soon, everyone else was cheering her on. “She looks just like Mulan!” Archie shouted, and someone else called out, “You go, girl!”

Crystal drew her sword indifferently and walked towards the fencing master. They crossed swords, and the match began. Warren struck first, and as his sword swung at her, he said, “Be warned, my sword does not distinguish between men and women or young and old.”

Crystal smiled as she blocked his attack. “Be warned,” she said, “My sword doesn’t distinguish between teachers and students.”

The students laughed at Crystal’s witty retort, and Warren laughed right along with them. Then he said, “It’s kind of interesting. The reason why I won the championship ten times in a row is that I am so serious. If you regret volunteering, you can surrender at any time.”

Crystal nodded, posed, and said, “If I win, can I ask you a question?”

Warren: “You can ask me a professional question at any time, regardless of if you win or lose.”

Crystal smiled and said, “My question is personal.”

When Warren heard that, he paused for a moment, and then he laughed out loud. “Fine,” he said. “If you win, you can ask me a personal question. You won’t win, though, so don’t get your hopes up.”

After a series of offensive attacks, transfer counterattacks, and cross counterattacks, it was clear that Warren had the upper hand. Crystal backed off, dodged her opponent’s sword, and moved to the opposite line. Then she returned to the defense line and counterattacked.

Warren remained on the offensive, and after three consecutive strikes, he did not retract his arm. Instead, he moved in for a fourth attack. He grinned as he pushed Crystal back to her last line of defense, which was behind her.

Crystal stumbled backward, and Warren’s sword struck her in the shoulder, and due to the force behind Warren’s attack, it went through her protective gear. This hardly ever happened, but it was always possible. After all, the gear was puncture-resistant. It was not puncture-proof.

People were horrified, and Crystal was stunned. Even Serenity was shocked. When she saw the blood begin to ooze out of her friend’s shoulder, though, she was able to jump into action, and she ran over to Crystal to see if she was alright.

Crystal touched the blood, and she was surprised to discover that she didn’t feel any pain. When she looked up, she found Nathan hovering over her with his hand stretched out to offer her a hand up.

Crystal: “Professor Davis?”

Johnny Angel pointed to one of the students and said, “Go and find one of the school’s doctors.”

Crystal touched her shoulder again. It still didn’t hurt. She turned to Nathan to ask why it didn’t hurt, but when she saw that his shoulder was bleeding, she knew right away what had happened. He had stepped in between her and Warren’s blade, and the blood on her shoulder was his. It had dripped onto her shoulder while he’d been standing over her.

Crystal gasped. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Even Warren was looking at him with a concerned look on his face.

Nathan glared at the instructor. He couldn’t believe that this man had almost stabbed his woman, and he felt like kicking his ass right there and then. “I’m fine,” he replied. “It just needs a simple treatment.”

Crystal wanted to hug Nathan, but she knew it was not convenient to show any signs of affection in public. So, she just nodded indifferently and said, “That’s good. And by the way, thanks for saving me.”

Warren wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand and said, “Well, that is a relief.”

“It is,” Crystal agreed. “Now, how about we finish our match?”

When Nathan heard that, his heart sank. He couldn’t stand the thought of Crystal getting hurt, so he said, “This is not a fair fight. I will stand in for her.”

Warren frowned and said, “But you are hurt...”

“I’m fine,” Nathan argued. “Just give me a few minutes to change into my gear.”

Without waiting for a reply, Nathan walked off in the direction of the boy’s change room, and when he returned, he was ready to fight.

Nathan waved his sword in the air, made a few practiced moves to warm up, and then he pointed it at the fencing master. He chuckled and said, “Come at me, bro.”

Warren scowled. He had won the world championship ten years in a row, and he did not appreciate Nathan’s disrespect. Nathan was an amateur, but he was acting like he was King of The Hill. Warren couldn’t wait to knock him off of his pedestal.

Warren stepped forward, made an advanced and complicated attack, but Nathan blocked them and executed his own graceful counterattacks.

Nathan did not stop. He attacked, and then he attacked again, forcing Warren into a position where all he could do was defend himself. After a few minutes of this, Nathan finally found his opening and thrust his sword into his opponent’s arm.

Warren swayed, and his sword fell out of his hand.

Johnny Angel shouted, “Bravo!” and everyone began to clap and cheer.

Johnny Angel lifted Nathan’s arm and shouted, “We have a winner: Professor Nathan Davis!”

Nathan smirked at Warren and said, “Some champion you turned out to be. Maybe instead of teaching a fencing class, you should be taking one!”

Warren was angry and offended by Nathan’s words, but he was speechless. All he could do was hang his head and walk away.

Crystal watched in dismay as Warren began to walk toward the exit. She still hadn’t asked him her question! Crystal knew what she had to do, though. She ran after him, shouting his name.

Warren turned around angrily. “What do you want?” he shouted.

“You promised to answer my question,” she replied.

Warren: “You are very interested in me, aren’t you?”

Crystal quickly shook her head and said, “No, I am not. I am interested in one of your possessions.”

Warren raised one eyebrow. He had no idea what she was talking about, and he said so.

Crystal: “I want to ask you about your cufflinks.”

Before Crystal could finish her question, he interrupted her. “If you had won, I would have answered your question,” he said. “But you lost, so fuck off and leave me alone.” Having said that, he turned around and walked away.

Crystal was shocked. She hadn’t expected to be treated so rudely.