CHRISTINA ODINSON : MY AWAITING FATE.

CHAPTER 4

"For the love of The Kami, just stop already." His faced is still horrified from looking at this cute little bunny in front of him.

She is just too cute to hurt let alone say 'no' to her, and now he is about to fall victim to her cuteness again, he closed his eyes and thought of a horror movie they once watched just to get rid of the adorable memory in his mind. How can someone so cute be so evil to torment him so bad.

"And I just want to be healthy and maybe lose a bit of weight" Toshiro just gave her a blank look.

"Your weight is fine the way it is, you were never insecure about yourself what changed?" he said as his expression went from blank to confused.

She is Feeling ashamed for lying to her uncle, but she must "nothing changed I just don't feel good with my body anymore, everyone's body here is banging and here I am with a weight that would put a panda to shame". She said what her monster-in-law says to her, when she ridicule her weight.

He looks at her for a long time; assessing her then he gave a look as if mocking her and telling her to lie better next time.

"Christina, what is really going on here because this is someone else speaking not you; you have not been yourself for the past year and a half, even the media can see that you have lost your spark and your eyes no longer look hallow". His question almost choked her.

She laughed to ease the suffocating tension in the air, but deep down she knows it's the truth.

"I-I-I am..." she feels a cold sweat forming on her forehead and the back of her neck, from his piercing gaze of an eagle.

"Do not tell me nothing is wrong, because I can see there is something". He raised his eyebrow daring me to say another lie that left her blank.

She breathed out a heavy sigh, she keeps forgetting that her uncle is human a lie detector.

"It's just the pressure is a little too much for me, but I will find a way to mauver through it. I will also cheer up, I promise you". Although he looked a bit hesitant, he chooses to let it go...for now; because he knows that she can handle pressure perfectly, he picked up the office phone.

"Miss Kanbe, bring us the usual?" with a reply at the other end, he turned to her; with a questioning gaze. "So are you coming to the birthday celebration of your grandfather Fugaku".

As if she will be going and he knows that his father hates her to the core; not to mention he hates her hair colour and eyes, he once told her that she looks like a white-haired witch from a horror movie, he said that she would bring misfortune to the Uchiha Clan. He is just a vile man to say such things to a child back then; so, she just tries to minimize her presence as much as possible, also she does not want to ruin his birthday and she does not want her uncle to fight with his father.

"Okay tell me if you change your mind, okay?" he said, even though he knew that she would never change her mind.

she replied with a smile "I will". As if she would, that old man is a walking nightmare, I tell you.

"Enough about the grumpy old man, anything interesting going on in your life?" he changed the topic after he saw the change in her mood with the mere mention his father's name.

She just shrugged her shoulders "Nothing to pique your interest" judging from his expression, he did not like her reply.

"I mean to say nothing interesting, just the usual stuff". I gave him a toothy grin with my dimples showing, I just know that they are there.

"Are you interested in going on an adventure since your life is boring?". He was fishing for something only he knows.

With a newfound sparkle in her heart only for it to be distinguished by a flash of my monster-in-law's glumly expression, so I try to come up with an excuse.

"I am busy with schoolwork; the engagements I must attend on low profile, oh I must attend one of those engagements in four hours, not to mention fashion week is fast approaching while keeping it away from the Kuchiki's, they can never find out that I own 'Willow Saint Hart'; do you know what kind of a..."

With a serious look of a determination on his face, he said, "They will never find out because I would never allow it, now tell me what you would love to do?".

She has no choice but to answer him.

"I don't know, they're so many things I would love to do " she was getting frustrated, when she did not know where to start , when he saw that he gave her an encouraging smile.

"Jellybean, just let it flow". He raised his eyebrows in anticipation, as if he was waiting for a bomb that was about to be released.

With his contagious smile, she let out her own.

"I would love to do horseback riding again, go rocky mountain climbing and eat different cuisine while travelling the world , oh do skydiving for my 21st..." she grasped her hair in hysterically. "They are many things that I would love to do, you know I am an explorer and..."

He burst out laughing, while she whined in protest "You see, that is why I never wanted to tell you any of those things, now you are making fun of me."

She said while pouting but he just laughed even more.

"Jellybean I am not laughing at you, I am just... I don't know how to describe it, but I am happy that you haven't lost yourself completely; you still have an idea of who you are. Its is not too late to do what you love." He stood up, held both of her shoulders and stared in her eyes; and oh-boy, his serious mode was on he means business.

"Do what you love while there is still time and you are still young you wouldn't want to waste it, because if you do you; cannot recover that wasted time, you will be left with nothing but regrets. I don't want to make that mistake with any of you kids" he looked at me with a pained expression and face was full of regrets.

"Uncle you..." Christina asked herself many questions, 'does he have regrets that we do not know about? Why does he look super worried about us making the same mistakes? What could be making my uncle so worried for our future?

Even if he is sad he still smiled to comfort her.

"Shh- do not fret, even if I have to go to war with the whole world for my family I will, just so you the next generation do not have to go through the struggles we went through," he looked at her dead in the eyes and she did not like the look he was giving her, "That is why you have till the end of the year to fix whatever is going on in your marriage or..."

She started to shake her head. "No-no-no you can't do this to me" he kissed her forehead.

"My family's well-being is more important than anything, like Byakuya is putting his pride above everything else, Odin and I will put yours first".

Still shaking her head, no, she responded "You understand this more than anyone else, that the Kuchiki's are powerful so is the Uchiha's, if these two clans go to war it will cause not only the collapse of the economy of Japan but also the lives of the innocent will be caught in the cross-fire." She paused for a moment, then continued "This marriage alliance was to create peace in Japan."

Toshiro Sighed to lessen his frustrations and he told himself that she does not know the whole truth behind this marriage, he said

"We kept our end of the bargain, did they?". He retorted and she couldn't answer because deep down she knew he was right.

"I would need more time than that." He shook his head, no.

"Till end of the year and that is final, I don't play when it come to you my little one, you are my daughter and I love you, I cannot lose you too." He meant business, he is never this harsh when speaking to her but today its different.

With a heavy heart, she pulled her last card, her only hope "I know that, and I love him."

He was shocked that he stumbled back before he regained his senses.

"Christie you might not see this now, but this is for your own good". He said holding both her shoulders.

She pried his hands off her. "How is it my own good. My own good by keeping me from my own husband, the man I love",

She shook her head with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"You might not see this now, but you will thank me in future." He said while trying to pull her in his embrace, but she took a step back.

Tears falling from my eyes,

"Uncle please?". She begged him for the last time, hoping he would hear her pleas.

With his stubborn look on and finality in his voice he said, "Till the end of the year".

He wiped her tears and kissed the top of her head, while hugging her allowing her to cry her eyes out.

"The Lannister might have put you as a bargaining chip for there own selfish reasons and benefits in disguise of an alliance and peace." He held her chin between his forefinger and thumb he lifted her head, in order to look at him "They might have started it, but when it come to you; we will finish it." He kept on rubbing my back to soothe my cries. "I spoke with Odin, and this is our final decision, we have let this drag on for too long. We cannot let your life get ruined like this, okay?".

Now I know there is no changing his mind with Odin in on it.

I didn't reply because I knew deep down, he was right but my love for Byakuya too strong and it was clouding my judgement. After my cries have subsided; I pulled away from him and went to wash my face with cold water in the restroom.

"Bye I have to go; I have an engagement in two hours and thirty minutes".

She hugged him and kissed his cheek even after the intense conversation they just had. She knows he doesn't have any ill intensions like other people in her life, he is one of the people she trusts blindly, he has her best interests in mind, even though they don't share the same views right now.

"Bye jellybean, be safe", he said while kissing the top of her head.

"Thank you and you too". she said and tried to smile but it was a sullen one.

It was late in the afternoon when she walked out of the office of her uncle's, she did not notice a dark figure in the shadows. As dark and big the silhouette was, it could blend in any environment and be invisible to an unsuspecting prey; that will be its next victim, it was looking at her back as she enters the elevator, exiting the building to her awaiting car then back to the hell-hole to freshen up and go to the engagement.