RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Twenty-One: Two-Faced

841 AD, 9th Century of Japan (Kyoto)

*** Just a few more months before the enthronement day of Crowned Prince Shin and the designation of Rei as one of the youngest general of his generation. Both were twenty-three years old while Lady Aoi Takugawa was twenty-one years old during this time***

It was that morning, when she woke to the news that her inevitable marriage with the soon-to-be Emperor of Japan, crowned Prince Shin, had been officially approved by the Royal Palace, that Lady Aoi knew her freedom was already sold off for good.

She can no longer have it anymore. She was already imprisoned by soul and it gave her extreme despair that she quickly found herself shedding tears alone inside her room with her silent sobs. She can no longer run away. Was she ever really ready to get married at all? Could she like him?

To be honest, she did not really want to like him, not even a little bit. No matter how much he had been pursuing her for more than a year then.

But in the months of seeing him, courting her, sending her poems, paintings, and all sorts of flowers with beautiful profound meanings, it slowly broke her defenses. The things he did have incessantly made Lady Aoi grew a certain fondness over Prince Shin's persistence. She never thought of him to be that very consistent. And it really flattered her to the extent that she even started to look forward to more of his wooing. 

Even though she did not want to admit it, she knew she already liked him. And the way he treasured her gave her some sense of liberty to feel wanted.

For Lady Aoi, the enjoyment and thrill she felt while she was being earnestly sought by Prince Shin made her feel appreciated and significant. She was the only daughter in a family of five, with three older brothers who all had been vying for the attention of their parents. If it had not been for the possibility of her being wedded with one of the members of the royal family, Lady Aoi would have always been neglected by her family. She did not possess any remarkable trait nor she had been skillful in any way that could have made her father look at her with pride or have her mother feel the need to give her special attention. And because of such upbringing, Lady Aoi grew up believing that she was just there to primarily exist as a woman in their family... Someone that her parents would take advantage of for political reasons. And in this case, she was appropriate enough for a marriage arrangement with the Crowned Prince.

She knew all this time that she will never have that much value for her family. And that was also the main reason why she was so opposed to the idea of being wedded to the prince... or with anyone else, in that respect. She always wanted to live her own life. Not like how her parents had wanted her to be. She wanted to get away.. Decide for herself, live for herself. And for her, freedom had always been such an impossible goal.

It was something she could never have. But it was the only thing she had ever really wanted the most.

Knowing how far-fetching it was, Lady Aoi tried her best to endure the agony of her life. And at times when she would become deeply depressed over these things she cannot run away from, she would always found solace and peace from a certain person who would always appear at the right moment for her with a comforting smile. The only person whom she knew she could ever really trust to open herself up about what she had been keeping inside her heart: her agony, her wishes, and her pain.

There was that only one person in the world that existed for her. Someone she can never live without... And it was her cousin, Rei.

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PRESENT, 2020 (Tokyo)

"Where will you be once you're done with your goals for me, Yuko-san? Are you still going to stay by my side?"

The question echoed inside her head. Like a chant, with that deep mellow voice of his playing all over again. Yuko momentarily froze on her seat, feeling the wave of chills ran down her spine and all over her body. There was something strange happening in between them that she has yet to unfold, something inexplicable but was almost tangible. And Yuko Amazawa tried her very best to completely ignore it all. This was not what she had wanted to happen. She shook her head, out of habit. What was he inferring to her? Why was he asking her these things all of a sudden?

Kyouhei silently watched as different emotions ran across Yuko's face in a span of several seconds. She was overthinking again, and he was actually aiming for that reaction. Though, knowing how she was, she would definitely just brush him off again with extremely cold regard. She had always been like that, every time he would dare to touch a subject that crosses the boundaries of their business, she would immediately put up the huge thick walls around her defensively and then harshly shut him off. She was that icy and ruthless... But he still could not back down, unfortunately.

"By your side? Of course, I'd still be your publicist," she wittingly stated the obvious, opting for a safer response. However, Kyouhei did not seem to be satisfied with that answer as a bitter smirk slowly appeared from his lips when he dropped his gaze and looked away. He also expected that but he was still disappointed. And feeling like he had lost once again, he sighed heavily, sounding so tired. Whereas, Yuko just frowned.

"We're not yet even sure about the deliberations in the Diet for you to think about what happens in the future, Kurosaki. So why are you stressing too much about it?" Yuko firmly implied, raising a brow. Reserving himself to silence, Kyouhei just snorted moving his hand over the stick on the console and shifted the gear while he stepped on the gas again. The car slowly moved and he started droving straight over the road, leading to where Yuko lives.

"Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now," Yuko added after a while, clicking her tongue and wistfully sighing. Kyouhei could already feel the wheels turning inside her head as she settled into silence. She was really concerned about that, and he knew how much she was so obsessed over winning. She was a really competitive person, and she would refuse not to fight back in any way. In fact, that was also one of the things he had liked about her... She was unpredictable and very strong-willed. A woman like her would always want to be independent and someone like her never needed a prince charming... 

She was a queen of her own. And that what had actually made Kyouhei feel the need to be much more dependable as a person. He never really liked relying on her too much, but he knew that it was what she wanted. Even when he was not comfortable being a center of attraction, he did it all for her. She probably still had never realized it all this time, but ever since he met her, Kyouhei has always been watching her from a distance. And the biggest reason why he was desperately aiming for that Prime Minister position now was all because of her... Because she wanted it.

"I don't have second thoughts," he soon answered back, realizing how long he had paused, mulling over his unspoken feelings as he went on, "Don't worry, I'm not ditching you at all. I trust you, Yuko-san."

Trust. Such a powerful word. Yuko immediately felt the heaviness of it as soon as Kyouhei said it. A thing that was too difficult to build yet so very easy to tear down in a snap of a finger. Coming from his own mouth, from that body owning the same soul of the previous traitor she hated the most, it sure meant so much more for Yuko when she heard that. Only if he ever knew. Trust had always been an issue between Shin and Rei in their past lives. It was the very root of everything that had kept them apart and turned them against each other. If it was not for that vulnerable trust, Shin would never even have to suffer like this now... Living life in this kind of state, this body, with all the memories from his old life haunting him in his dreams.

It was all because of that word: trust.

If it was not for that, he would never have to keep reminding himself every day that this person who was sitting just a small distance from him was also the person who stole everything from his venerable life. He was an enemy. Shin wanted him to suffer just like he did. And even if he knew this was not rational of him to do anymore, Shin still wanted to do it.

"Do you really mean that?" As if to prove a point, Yuko prodded one more time, expecting a response. With those dark hidden intentions masked carefully beneath that flawless smile, she brazenly added, "Do you really trust me?"

Oblivious, deceived, unaware, and completely naive of what her real ambitions were all for, Kyouhei, on the other hand, just replied with his earnest truth. Failing to recognize the underhanded purpose of her plans, he gave Yuko a soft smile as he glanced her way.

"I always trust you," he said to her, grinning again when he returned his eyes on the road, "You're the person I trust the most in this world, Yuko-san. I trust you with my whole life."

Too bad, Yuko selfishly thought, masking her mockery with a nod as she looked away and silently mused over Kyouhei's words. He will never get to know a single thing about it anymore. But that trust he had thought so much and ignorantly gave to her so willingly... was what will also completely destroy him the most. 

In the very end.

Shin will definitely get his rightful revenge.

------------------------------------------------------------------------next chapter: Chapter Twenty-Two