RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Two: What She Hates About Him

833 AD, 9th Century in Japan (Kyoto)

The eldest son of the Emperor of Japan just turned fifteen that year. The celebration was held inside the walls of the royal palace with a big feast for all the guests, women dancing in groups with music and performances that all greatly entertained the whole royal family. Prince Shin, who was still a crowned prince at the time and the main celebrant of the event, watched with pure awe and pride as he was given the commemoration and honor for his big day. 

However, in the midst of all that extravagance and supremity, Prince Shin had already been swarming in happiness just by seeing his own father sitting there from a near distance with him, recognizing and giving him the attention for once. As a child, he only had little, if not that few enough, memories and moments with the Emperor that Prince Shin had in his whole life that he could gather to recall. Prince Shin felt that this was finally a start for them, for him to build that bond with him. And he can even tell that he had a good chance by the way the Emperor had been occasionally giving him a few looks with that fatherly smile on his face that Prince Shin had never seen him do before.

This was definitely the best day of his life. And he felt genuinely filled with joy and satisfaction as he smiled wider and enjoyed the sound of jubilant music playing in the background. The cheers of the crowd eventually went down to a lulling silence when it was time for the introductions of the special guests. As Prince Shin looked over from where he sat on a very high platform together with the Emperor and the Empress by his side, he quickly took note of one particular young boy, the same age as his, waiting by the middle of the line of guests who were all supposed to give their message and gifts for him as honor and respect. However, seeing the boy's presence and knowing of his role on this special day of his, Prince Shin felt his blood boil with rage.

What was that ingrate doing there?

And as if he had read his mind, the boy met his stare, and it stayed there with nothing much of a blink. It made Prince Shin even more annoyed as he tried to keep a straight face, knowing fully well that the entire capital was there watching and looking at him. He hated his guts... But this just made him feel even more superior than that peasant.

Take a look at that, Prince Shin smugly thought to himself. He will never be on the same level as him. Look who was there sitting on a throne right above him? Rei stared back with a masked hostility that Prince Shin could easily read through. The crowned prince just only smirked back with a satisfied expression as he looked down on the boy from afar. If anyone else was going to take over this country and become its ruler, there was only one person in this lifetime who can rightfully do it after his father... It was only him, Shin of the Fujibutso household. 

Rei Takugawa will never get a chance. He will forever, and will always be, under Shin's command. And that was how it would always going to be. He was fated to be there right below him. From now and forever... he will always be his servant.

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PRESENT, 2020 (Tokyo)

"Miss Amazawa? Ma'am?"

She had been so lost in her own train of thoughts with that short trip back to her past life. And before she knew it, she caught herself staring blankly into space with her assistant calling out to her with a worried face, who was now standing by the front of her desk, watching her, inside her huge office. 

Now that she had remembered, she was actually going through some stuff about this entire social media trouble that Kyouhei had just started this early in the morning. She quickly noticed the look on her assistant's face who kept staring at her with a nervous expression, looking quite hesitant when she had distracted her but Yuko had no time left to even be annoyed now as she quickly blinked her eyes and went back down to business.

"Where was I?" was her only quick response as she roamed her eyes around and landed her gaze on a familiar article that was now being displayed on her computer screen. The headline was stupid, but it seemed to be effectively working on its own as it had already gotten twice more than the views that Yuko had expected to see with just a few hours from its publication.

"Mr. Shillings is waiting for a confirmation for the meeting to be held on the twentieth of this month, Miss Amazawa," her assistant provided her while Yuko busied herself clicking on the comments of the article. She can hear the woman shuffling as she prepared for her pen and notepad and waited to immediately write down whatever Yuko was going to tell her.

Yuko took her time though, this whole month had been already swamped and filled with a lot of appointments and stuff, but then Shillings was an important client too and she can't really afford to lose that deal with him while she was still working on so many things behind Kyouhei's next move in the plan. She needed the sponsors and that was also why she got assistants who can organize that for her. And with that in mind, Yuko nodded her head to the young woman standing across her desk.

"Fit it in," Yuko shortly ordered and was already moving on to the next agenda written on a list that she had attached on her desk calendar beside her computer. "Provide him a free spot on that day, and let me know the rundown later."

She could feel her assistant reluctantly fidgeting on her feet but she still answered her with a firm, "Yes, I will."

Then she felt her moving back and giving her a proper bow before eventually exiting the office. Yuko went back to reading the comments again with her whole attention. Setting aside the entire business plan prepared for today's appointment, Yuko focused more on the current issue. She carefully read every comment and took notice of some that had still shared and provided their support and good feedbacks for Kyouhei, but some still got their way ahead of it and criticized the dumbness of this whole thing.

Well, they certainly got a point. And even Yuko would totally agree. But this was not something she would want to happen right now... Cause this was completely going against their favor in the game. So where the hell was that i***t, anyway?

Yuko had already called Kyouhei during her drive to the office a while ago and even strictly told him to meet her right up. He already knew what it was all about, and obviously, there was no other reason for Yuko to call him if it was not about something related to his political platforms or his frequent controversies that he kept causing unintentionally and sometimes, dumbly, which was what mostly was the case why they always meet up to fix it together. However, fifteen minutes went past already since the start of her working hours, and he still was not showing up in her office.

She had to make some real damage control, but her lack of caffeine was putting her into a tight spot of pressuring herself to come up with a new plan. She had to divert everyone's attention from this stupid article. But then, what could have helped her right now? She tried to check her contacts, there must be something in there. 

Eleven hundred and eighty years apart, either from the past or this present, and still, that son of a b***h kept making troubles for her. She always had to fix everything for the sake of avoiding the humiliation. How can he just inadvertently cause too many of these unnecessary and ridiculously trivial issues? He really retained that irritating impulsive nature of his... Which was giving Yuko just as much headache as she had when she was still Emperor Shin and had been brought to face so many problems in regards to managing Rei's inconvenient temper and tendency to ruin negotiations without much of a thought about the consequences.

But why was she thinking and comparing those times now?

This was insane. One simple controversy and she started to think about all of those memories again. It was annoying and she got to stop revisiting the past. She got way much more work to do right now, the minutes weren't enough for her to finish one thing and another this whole damn day. It was never going to be enough. And she knew she was really going to work overtime as expected again.

And now that she thought about it, why was Kyouhei still not there? Again, she kept counting the minutes wasted. Bothered that he was going to be very late as usual, which was also one of the many other infuriating habits of his that Yuko had kept enduring for all the years that they had been working together, Yuko took the initiative to give him another call.

This time, he should already know that she was getting furious. And right on the first ring, he answered. 

"Where the f**k are you?"

Her failure to censor her words had Kyouhei felt taken aback but he still chuckled in response. 

"Do you have any idea how much time we're already wasting just because you're being a lazy ass again? For once in your life, Kurosaki, be a proper gentleman and get here as fast as you can."

"I can't wait to see you too, Yuko-chan," Kyouhei teased back, ignoring the grunting response from Yuko's end as he enjoyed the way she gets so riled up whenever he calls her that way, "I even ordered coffee for the two of us. Black for you and latte for me."

"And you think just because you're going to give me a morning treat, that would eventually save you from getting an earful?" Yuko bit back, her voice dripping with sarcasm and annoyance. But that only made Kyouhei grin much wider as he watched the display of passing streets from the window beside his seat on the backseat of his car. He was already on his way, just five minutes more.

"I still expect that," he replied with a click of his tongue, and began entertaining himself by imagining how extremely angry Yuko must have looked right now. He already can tell that she had been counting the seconds that have been passing by just as they spoke, "But I know you'd like me more because of this."

"I hate you," Yuko immediately shot back, already seeing red just hearing him say that disgusting word associating the two of them in one sentence. "Get here. Now."

"You love me."

"I loathe you," and without another word, while hearing the chuckles from his end, Yuko abruptly cut the call with a scowl on her face. And even though Kyouhei was not really taking her words that seriously, Yuko had actually meant it. It was the deepest truth that she never really had tried to hide ever since he saw him once again in this lifetime. Emperor Shin had only hated one person this damn much from the very night that he was killed off by the same bastard and up to this day, since the moment he had been reborn and met him again.

And regardless if he was no longer the General Rei that he used to be in their past lives, he would still hate him... Cause that was the only thing that had kept him going now. Shin will hate him forever.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------next chapter: Chapter Three