RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Three: A Pair Of Opposite Sides

"I'm very sorry for all of this, Yuko-san! Forgive me!"

An upsized cup filled with black hot coffee handed out towards her with his head lowered to a ninety-degree bow, as soon as he walked into her office, Kyouhei Kurosaki had completely prepared for his entrance. This was the proper and perfect apology gesture in Kyouhei's "How to Handle Miss Yuko" textbook. It did not matter where the coffee had been bought, or where he had come from, what he did, or how long he had made her wait, as long as he did this and stayed in that firm position until she finally tells him to stop, he knew he will soon be forgiven. 

That was the trick. And there was no other person in this world who could have successfully done it like that other than Kurosaki himself.

"There's no sense of doing that anymore," Yuko, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes at this unnecessary display of stupidity and brushed the entire apology off, "Just give me the damn coffee so we can finally get back to work."

Upon hearing that, Kyouhei quickly stood up straight, looking triumphant as he beamed. He immediately handed Yuko the coffee that was now barely hot since it had been more than ten minutes from when he had bought it. But Yuko no longer cared. She just casually sipped from the cup and reveled in the bitter taste before going back again on reading over some files that were piled on top of her desk. She only paused for a moment to give Kyouhei a stern look.

"Do you mind?" She tilted her head at him and motioned her hand towards a couch across her desk. Kyouhei silently obliged and went to sit there while he obediently waited for what Yuko was going to tell him. Even after seven years in their partnership, he still acted too awkwardly and extremely tense in front of her. And even when he was intolerably annoying for most of the times, she had always seen him like some kind of a flighty bird who will only once land closer to you as a form of teasing but will soon be skipping back several times away, as if it feared for what you might do to it or that it would get hurt.

Such a weakling, Yuko mused to herself. And the thought immediately made her smirk.

"Did you check the trending topics this morning?" She tried to start up the conversation, heading straight to the main issue. And as she waited for him to answer, she eventually abandoned the files that she was holding in her hands and leaned her back on her chair while she stared at the sight of this handsome young man across her. 

Who knew that a scary, vicious-looking man, with such an ugly scar on his face, General Rei, would even be given this picture-perfect reincarnated body now? Well, at first, Yuko had been so pissed and extremely jealous that a traitor like him would become a supreme benefactor of those good genes now, but she eventually realized that she can also use it as a huge advantage.

If not for his good looks, Kyouhei Kurosaki would have been no more than just a pathetic average good-natured young man who might never even get a good enough chance in making it to the Lower House, much even less become a government staff. And if they had not met in college, Yuko would have already just moved on and tried living her life as it is. With not that too many things that she would have wanted to pursue, she would have preferred leaving the city. 

Perhaps, if not for Kyouhei, Yuko would have already stayed for good in the countryside where she would live her whole life with some of her present life's relatives. Which, fortunately, did not happen. And now, she was glad that she had reached this spot.

"… I know it's too brazen of me, Yuko-san. But you know how ridiculous that project was. Our country has so many things and problems to face right now and it's a stupid move to just suddenly change the entire cycle of commerce right when we're in the middle of a huge crisis. Everyone knows that's not how the industry works."

She might have only gotten a little of the last few words that Kyouhei was saying, but Yuko still nodded her head as soon as she heard him stopped talking. She was not listening anymore, but she immediately understood what he was trying to say. And Kyouhei was still very eager to take a stand about the recent economic reforms that some of the Diet representatives were trying to promote. 

However, as exemplary as it was for the better future of this country, it was still too far-fetch of a plan given the minimal resources available. Forcing the entire project will definitely put a much bigger conflict to the present standing of the stocks and local trade. It will certainly put a huge toll on the country's GDP in the coming next years, affecting mostly those in the middle and lower classes, at worst. And even if they try to reason out that the government would still do its best to sustain the shortage, it would never be really that easy.

It was not going to be just all rainbows and happy endings. But those visionaries and ambitious leaders seemed to be only focusing on the bigger promise of the future. Yet, though it was for the better, one cannot simply just neglect the existing problems and crises of the present time. And if this was in the past, things would have been more strictly centralized with only the Emperor's word serving as the golden rule. However, this is the new generation, where many aspects and external factors would indefinitely affect and interfere with the country's social and economic issues.

"I understand your point. And I agree with the whole idea of being stupid. In fact, I support that emotionally-driven sentimentality and passionate pursuit of yours to help all of your fellowmen, okay?" Yuko said with a firm business-like tone that she mostly uses only with clients and important people. But this time, she was drawing a line for Kyouhei, so she can get through that thick skull of his since he never seemed to fully comprehend the importance of his image at these crucial times, especially when the appointment for the Prime Minister was also nearing its date. 

"But can we just try to keep a low profile for now, please? You can finally do all that s**t and stuff once we secure our spot. But in the meantime, please do us a favor, Kurosaki. Don't mess this up."

The intent was clear, and Kurosaki slowly took it all in as he let out a long sigh.

"Fine," he eventually agreed and Yuko felt relieved upon hearing him say that. Kyouhei soon rested his head over the cushion of the couch behind his back and turned to look in Yuko's direction. "But I won't promise, not to say anything that I strongly believe against if I got interviewed about it."

Well, she already took care of that. Yuko had already expected he would definitely say something, knowing how he was. That was why she already did her work for damage control. If there was something that Yuko is very confident of doing as his publicist, she can say that it was this part of the work. The "buying-off".

And that was where all types of payment come in. Who knew? There were really a lot of wonders that a certain amount of price can simply do for one special request. All humans have their equivalent amounts when it comes to making deals and negotiations. Yet despite having the upper hand and knowing how to make good use of it, Yuko still saw it as the most impractical way to overcome any ordeal. She hated how everything has been revolving around money. But she knew how powerful it can be, that even in the most critical situations, money can be the only means to survive against all of it.

"Suit yourself," she shortly replied, turning her revolving chair around as if finally telling him that this meeting was already over. But instead of reading the atmosphere, Kyouhei chose to idle some more as he watched Yuko from his spot.

"Remember that time when you asked me if I was willing to be this country's Prime Minister?"

"Why are you still here?" Yuko complained, ignoring to answer his question. She hated talking about the past. And she was not really in the mood to reminisce any memory with him right now, but no matter how much she did not want to, she was already remembering it all inside her head.

"C'mon, Yuko-chan, the-"

"Don't," Yuko cut him off, sneering with an edge on her voice, "… don't ever call me that way."

She really despised it whenever he does that. Every time she hears him call her that way, she instantly feels her blood boiling. 

"You know I hate it," she added after a pause and turned around on her chair to glare back at Kurosaki. But Kurosaki just gave her a soft smile before continuing again.

"It was just around the summer of our sophomore year in college, remember?" he told her, angling his head on one side and not even minding how Yuko's face had scrunched up as soon as he started talking about it, "I never even know you at all. Not even your name, but you suddenly talked to me like that. And I got to admit, you really left a very striking impression on me. And I think, that was also why I started to consider dreaming to become one."

"I'm sorry but what's the point to all of this now?" Yuko snidely interjected, talking back with an impatient tone. She looked rather displeased to even let him continue. And reading her mood, Kyouhei finally let it drop.

"Nothing," He told her with a shrug, chuckling to himself. Then, he grinned at her. He didn't really understand why he was suddenly bringing it up now, but while looking at Yuko like this, it just gave him this feeling of nostalgia. Or maybe it was just a weird moment again, but he felt a little sentimental. "I guess, I'm just starting to realize how difficult it really is. I always thought I would be happy if I finally got there and serve this country with pride… but lately…"

Kurosaki paused to let out another long sigh. His smile had also faded as he dropped his gaze and settled his eyes on the carpeted floor just below his feet.

"Lately what?" Yuko immediately asked out of curiosity. She was not expecting to hear Kyouhei talking about his deep thoughts with her right now. It was unusual and it made her feel like she was somehow seeing a hidden side of him that he never wanted to show anyone. Was he, perhaps, having second thoughts about the plan now?

"I kept thinking about the meaning of being in this competition," Kyouhei then confessed, and as the words left his lips, he quickly realized how much it felt so true for him. "To be honest, I never really like the unhealthy feeling that competitions give to people."

Was he serious? Yuko thought to herself as she listened to him. He does not like competitions? Him? The former General Rei? Was that a joke?

Yuko almost felt like snorting but Kyouhei's next words made her stop to stare at him in bewilderment.

"I don't want to compete with the best men in this country," She heard him say, and the words slowly had her seeing a strange reflection of Rei in the body of Kyouhei Kurosaki but with contrasting words coming out of his mouth, "I just want this country to be better. Better and safer."

But... that was not how he used to think before. Yuko felt her mind slipping away again... She started recalling those old days when Rei had used to talk a lot about his own selfish ambitions, his prideful bragging, and all that bullshit dreams. 

He wanted to be a king, and he wanted to steal everything away from Shin. He wanted to have it all, but Shin still won in the end. And that was why they became rivals...

Because they both liked the competition. And both hated losing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------next chapter: Chapter Four