RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Thirty-Three: Getting Even

PRESENT, 2020 (Tokyo)

It did not feel right at all. 

Yuko Amazawa just felt like something did not sit well in their current situation. She did not really get enough sleep last night after what she and Osamu had talked about during that dinner meeting. On top of that, she still could not get off that strange moment she shared with Kyouhei before that. No matter what she did, it stuck there inside her head in a constant replay of the entire scene. But this time, it looked like she was a mere viewer and she was now seeing it from a third-person point-of-view and it creeped her out.

That was totally unnecessary and she really did not need to see that anymore... ever.

Trying to push that thought to the back of her mind, Yuko forced herself instead to think about the much more significant things lying over her table. She needed to get back on track and start moving for their new plan. Osamu had already provided her a new idea and now what she just needed to do is to organize it. She was already halfway through her workload when her secretary rung for her through the intercom, distracting her instantly. Yuko answered it after a few seconds.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Kurosaki is here, ma'am," her secretary informed her. And upon hearing that name, Yuko grimaced and subconsciously put a palm on her forehead, expecting a headache coming. Left with no other choice, she eventually gave her assistant permission to let Kurosaki in. And right away after that, the door of her office opened up and from there appeared Kyouhei Kurosaki, looking quite crisp and striking in his usual suit and tie.

He formally gave her a bow and greeted her as he walked in and gently closed the door behind him.

"Yuko-san," he said, his face particularly voided of any expression as he gazed in her direction, "I came here because of what we talked last night. I hope I could still try to explain everything as much as I could."

Of course, she already saw this coming. Yuko had been spending most of the hours on her bed last night as soon as she had gotten home while thinking about what that all meant and what will she do about it. But up until this point, it was all still a big puzzle left unsolved for her and she realized that it was too much for her brain to handle. Yet, she wanted to put a lid on it once and for all. She had decided not to let herself get distracted by anything anymore.

"Go on then," Yuko replied briefly, staring head-on at him, trying to conceal the slight wavering of her emotions when his eyes pierced through hers. She hated that, she did not like the feeling she got when he stood there with that stare yet it was out of her control. "Tell me what you have to tell me."

"Do you trust me, Yuko-san?"

Yuko paused and for a second, she thought she heard him wrong. She did not honestly expect him to say those words. And what was with that sudden question?

Although it should have already been too easy for Yuko to conveniently answer that question and boldly hide the truth from him about whether she actually trusted him or not, she still found herself hesitating and even deeply bothered about it. Why did he ask that anyway? She suddenly felt a bit blindsided. Was that a trick question?

"Why are you asking that right now?" she tried to evade, responding with a seemingly unnecessary point as she tried to delay his demand.

"That doesn't really matter, Yuko-san," he retorted back, not backing down, "I trust you, so I want to know if we're on the same page. Do you trust me too?"

Why did it feel like he meant more than just trust? Yuko kept her mouth shut for a few seconds. She was reluctant, but she knew that she had to answer him. And so taking a deep breath, she let out a soft sigh and nodded back as a form of her response.

"Yes," she said, keeping her voice steady as she kept her eyes glued on him, "I trust you. So what does this have to do with what you're about to tell me, Kurosaki? Let's not waste too much of our time now, can we? Just explain."

She waited for him, for one, two, then three seconds passing, and as she watched him from behind her desk, she wondered what was his intention trying to get an answer out of her. 

"Alright," he said shortly, then stopped. And when she thought he was not going to say anything more after that, she tried to speak but halted when he suddenly started walking around her desk and abruptly stopped short right beside her chair. And before she could even try to question him about it, he suddenly turned her seat around so that she was facing him now and moved to lean down over her with both of his hands resting on the armrests beside her. She felt his warmth, his heat, and his alarming presence. He was caging her... And for the very first time, she genuinely felt intimidated by him.

"W-what are y-you doing?" She stammered, her voice losing its control as she forcefully tried to lean back and push her chair away from him, but it was stuck as he held onto the armrest tightly while still locking his gaze on her.

"I did something bad," he confessed, and when he said that, Yuko got chills. But it was not because he was admitting to something she did not want to hear, but because he said it in a kind of voice that made her see the very late General Rei from his face... And it instantly made her feel completely nervous and paranoid. How bad?

"W-what do you m-mean?" she said softly, almost whispering it, afraid that he would try and read her mind while he stared into her eyes so deeply like this. Then, she cleared her throat and added, "What d-did you do now?"

"I can't say it, Yuko-san," he said in a gentle tone, but it felt so raw when his eyes suddenly sparkled with such an emotion Yuko could not quite explain what actually meant at that point. What the hell was he trying to say with these entirely vague things he's blurting out to her? She can't wrap her head around it. It made no sense at all.

"You can't? Or won't?"

"I can't," he quickly confirmed, and when he did, his eyes strayed off and quickly looked vulnerable and sad. He was acting so strange that Yuko could not even dare to act defiantly against him. Just what the hell was actually going on with him? Yet no matter how much she wanted to know about it, she could not bring herself to ask him that. Instead, Yuko tried to flit her eyes down to the view of that certain spot of his skin that was sticking out in the middle of his unbuttoned collar. 

"I don't get it, Kurosaki," she later complained, feeling the need to make this as direct as it should be so she will stop overanalyzing every word that he had told her. "Just say what you got to say."

But instead of replying back right away, he pulled her closer towards him, if that was even any more possible since Yuko could not even breathe normally with such proximity, and he bent his knees so that his face was now leveled with hers. Then he slowly whispered, "I'm scared about tomorrow, Yuko-san."

"Why?"

"Because it's inevitable," he said softly, bringing her to look up and meet his stare, "I want to keep you safe. I'm scared of what could happen after this. So please be honest and tell me if you really trust me or not, Yuko-san... It's the only thing that matters now."

"What are you talking about?"

She frowned at him and felt even more confused. What was he really trying to say? Why was he acting this way? Just what in the hell did he even mean?? She opened her mouth to say another word but he quickly caught her off guard when he moved closer and rested his forehead against hers. His eyes were chocolate and sweet and warm on hers and she was a victim of such trick. She was too speechless, too mesmerized, and for a moment, she completely forgot who she was and what she was doing right now.

And when she thought she was no longer able to bear this anymore, he suddenly breathed and spoke in such an endearing manner, that it immediately took her breath away.

"I did something terrible," he whispered, his voice fanning over her cheeks as he went on, "To protect you, Yuko-san, I had to be someone I don't want to be. And now I'm changing because my weakness makes me feel at a total loss. So I hope you will still trust me and forgive me for whatever I'm about to do in the future so I can fulfill your wish, is that alright?"

She gaped at him, unable to get an answer to that, not much keeping a sane mind. And as she just stared and remained frozen in her seat, she watched as a small ghost of a bitter smile appeared on his face before he eventually moved away and stepped back.

"I'll make sure to become the Prime Minister of Japan, Yuko-san. So please, trust me on this." He spoke in a very formal tone and even went on his way to give a bow after his words.

At that point, Yuko could no longer recognize who she was actually seeing in front of her, but as she blinked back and looked at him carefully, she slowly saw someone who didn't share any resemblance with General Rei anymore nor even gave off the same aura as Kyouhei too. This person was already a different man. And Yuko could not decide whether to think of it as something good or bad... Because this was all just too sudden and she could still feel her heart pounding. And it all rattled her own thoughts.

What happened to this person? She can only ask herself. But even when she tried to understand his words, it seemed rather all pointless. This kind of feeling was all too distracting, yet she wasn't sure anymore if she can still get rid of it. But would she ever really want to? 

She was no longer sure anymore.

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

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