RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Little Bit Revenge

842 AD, 9th Century of Japan (Kyoto)

***Emperor Shin had recently started his reign as the new ruler and already married the promised Empress-to-be Lady Aoi of the Takugawa household. Emperor Shin was twenty-four years old while Empress Aoi was twenty-two years old during this time***

When you get married, a lot of things change in your life as well. Your positions, certain titles, daily schedules, people around you, and everyday habits. You will be forced to live according to how things should be for your present household and future while no longer prioritizing your own needs anymore... Because what you do from then on will greatly affect someone else's life too. And what you must do from then on will be something that you can no longer decide for your own self anymore.

It was a selfless life, driven by a lot of rules.

When Lady Aoi first entered the royal palace as an official member of the Emperor's family, she was told to never lookup nor raise her head that much. She must keep it at a certain level whenever she needed to face the Emperor, and always have to soften her voice when addressing him. It was a customary tradition cultured by the Fujibutso's (the Emperor's clan), and Lady Aoi had to adjust herself to those several practices supervised by the royal staff in order to fully play the prominent role of an Empress of the new era. Yet as soon as the marriage ceremony had ended, she was immediately brought to a separate quarter, apart from the emperor, and she was unable to meet him at all. Even when they were already husband and wife, she was still prohibited to see him just because she wanted to. 

For Lady Aoi, who initially thought she could learn to love the man she married to after they tied the know, this was unexpectedly disappointing. She thought she would have been given a chance to at least get to talk to him. They did meet before the wedding, but this was different now. And such wishful thinking seemed to be very unlikely to happen. And until when a week had gone on, Yuko eventually grew restless and impatient. Emperor Shin was still nowhere in sight.

It was then on the tenth day when she finally got tired of doing nothing but to wait for an improbable scenario that she herself selfishly took the initiative to meet the Emperor in person. Although she had already been told that it was something that actually needed to be arranged first, Empress Aoi was no longer taking no for an answer. She was driven by her own emotions. And not even her ladies-in-waiting could successfully stop her from showing up uninvited into the royal chambers of the Emperor. Before she realized what she had done, Aoi found herself there already, stomping her feet as she took no second of hesitating demanding to open the door for her so she could see Shin.

Emperor Shin, at the time, had been so occupied with a lot of things he had to check. His late father had actually left him so much to work for, including the overflowing finances of the empire and a few trades done at the borders. And when Empress Aoi suddenly entered his private room, he was too startled to acknowledge her presence right away that his mouth just fell open as he gaped at her with wide sparkling eyes. 

"I apologize for my intrusion," Empress Aoi immediately said, but showed no sincere implication that she genuinely meant her words as she gazed at Shin, "But isn't it about time that we get to see each other, Your Highness?"

What a brave young woman.

Emperor Shin almost wanted to laugh, but when she stared at him that hard and domineering, he could not let himself do it. He was actually amazed, and more than amused to see this bold and daring side of her. She was unpredictable. And he never knew that she could be like this, at all... Yet even though it was quite too brazen of her...

He actually liked it. He loved her more like this.

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PRESENT, 2020 (Tokyo)

Yuko Amazawa took a deep shaky breath the next day inside her office as she twisted around her revolving chair. She was so close to almost hyperventilating. This was caused by that another alarming news that had struck her unguarded this morning speaking about the tension arising in the National Diet due to the upcoming deliberation of the official candidates for the Prime Minister election. It was a warning, for sure. And she knew they were down to making every minute last as they get nearer towards the day.

So when she was left with the choice to hasten every move of her plan, Yuko felt a bit too pressured. She took her phone and dialed the number that had been written down on a gold card with a shining silver lettering of Ami Komatsu's name in a cursive style and she took another deep breath before pressing the call button.

She really did not know if she could work this out.

She let out another long sigh and listened to the ongoing ringing that started right away. Yuko tapped her fingers over her desk while patiently waiting for the other end to pick it up. She was not really expecting her call to go through at the first attempt. Yet she was still so nervous and partly excited about it. Well, of course, this was her chance to finally talk to her. To Ami Komatsu. She was going to talk to her... And this was going to be the very first time she would ever really get to have a conversation with Ami Komatsu. Just the two of them. 

She and Ami... Shin from the past and Lady Aoi from centuries ago... Again. Together.

This must really be something. But Yuko knew she should never get her hopes up too much. She still had to focus more on what they needed to address, the situation, the problem, her plan. And so, when Ami's line finally went through, Yuko was already sitting up from her chair and went on with a haste greeting, "Hello, this is Yuko Amazawa. I'm Kyouhei Kurosaki's publicist."

"Amazawa-san?" the first response of Ami came in like a breathless whisper as she went on, "Hello. How can I help you?"

"I was wondering," Yuko rushed on, without missing a beat, "If I can meet you anytime soon? I just wanted to discuss a few things with you."

"A few things?" Ami's voice suddenly shifted into a tone of curiosity as she spoke with a much clearer voice now, "What sort of things, Amazawa-san? This is interesting."

Yuko knew that Ami already knew what she really wanted to discuss with her. But then again, as what Osamu had told, or rather warned her about Komatsu, Yuko expected her to be this clever and slightly unpredictable anyway. And when Ami tried to circle around that question, Yuko just gave her the answer she would certainly expect her to give back.

"About the election," Yuko intoned flatly, "I want to talk about what we can do to seal the position for Kurosaki... as it should."

It was a daring statement. And even if Yuko could not see Komatsu's face at the moment, she could imagine her smirking at the words she just said, slightly impressed by the remark. 

"Well then," Ami answered, clicking her tongue as she smiled through the receiver, "How about this coming Friday dinner? Are you free?"

"Anytime as you please, Komatsu-san," Yuko proactively agreed, knowing that she had no right to demand time from this person. And she knew that if there was someone who should be setting the rules between them, it would not be her at all. "Just let me know what time."

"Okay," Ami said in a short haughty tone, "I'll let my secretary contact your office about it soon, once I made the arrangement. Thank you for the call, Amazawa-san."

"My pleasure, Komatsu-san."

"And by the way," Ami suddenly inserted just before they could even end the call.

"Yes?"

"Just call me Ami."

"What?" Yuko slightly blanched upon the remark.

"No need for honorifics now, don't you think, Yuko-san?" Ami explained, sounding more like she was teasing rather than insinuating, "Since we're doing things as partners, I think it's better to address each other comfortably. So next time, just call me Ami... I would love to meet you this coming Friday. See you, Yuko-san."

And just like that... the call eventually dropped. She did not even wait for Yuko to reply. Yuko just stared blankly across her office, her phone still held against her ear even when the line had been cut off. She felt a little disconcerted and confused. That was also unexpected. 

'She's quite eccentric and vain', as what Osamu had indicated when he had given her a rundown of his first impression of Ami Komatsu. And when she thought it was quite a little exaggerating when he told her that Ami was not she would ever think she will be, it turned out to be quite the truth actually. And as Yuko pondered over their short conversation over the phone for a few minutes more, she tried to wrap her head around it more.

Now, what would she expect after this?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------next chapter: Chapter Thirty-Eight