RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Six: Things That We Don't Forget

"Happy birthday."

She was genuinely surprised. How did he know? That was her initial thought. But it was not today... It was actually not until tomorrow. However, that was really not the point here. The mere fact that he greeted her all of a sudden had her feeling confused and slightly touched. As soon as she heard him say those words to her, she tensed up. And she felt something deep inside her chest that had suddenly bloomed out of her control, and it made her feel so strange.

But she did still not want to show him any slightest kind of affection that might satisfy him just because he caught her off guard. She wanted to look like she did not care and she never really cared. So she looked away, forcing herself to feel distant, and shrugged.

"Thanks, but it's not today, just so you know," she corrected him, sounding more stern than grateful. She kept her eyes focused on the view in front of her, slightly conscious of the way he was still staring at her from the driver's seat. He actually drove by himself to her office, and this somehow felt a little too personal. She never really liked this proximity and this sudden closeness with him. It had her feeling all sorts of restlessness and discomfort.

But she got swept by a sudden realization that he actually remembered. In fact, that was also the very reason why she was saving this day-off to herself. She did not want the unending greetings to come at her at once tomorrow, so she chose to spend it alone. But Kyouhei somehow beat her to it.

"Are you going to celebrate it again by yourself?"

She never really liked celebrating it. Years from her childhood to teenage years had already tired her out of the idea that she always had to remind herself that she was getting older every year. The memories of those unnecessary wishes and candle-blowing with the kids in the neighborhood and relatives singing her that silly classic song, made her feel queasy and annoyed. She never wanted to do those things again. She never really liked it at all.

Doing all of that reminded her of her past life too. And she would always end up comparing it to the times she was still Prince Shin, and the drastic difference between being treated like royalty to an average life of a commoner hit her every time she would realize that she can no longer have that kind of life in this present time. She was always stuck in the past but she still kept going because she had no other choice.

She needed to live this life now. Yet it sucked.

 "Yuko-san?"

The worried and curious voice of Kyouhei startled her as Yuko came back to her senses, realizing that he was still waiting for her answer. Damn, she went into a trance again. She tried to ignore the glances Kyouhei kept giving her as they drove past an intersection and was now nearing the streets where his apartment building is located.

"I always spend it alone, Kurosaki," Yuko simply responded, sighing out loud. She wanted to tell him to stop asking but she got no energy to do it anymore. She just wanted to end this all with him so she could finally go home.

"So, I reckon this will be a first for you after a really long time?"

What was he insinuating with that irrelevant question? Yuko frowned but chose to keep her silence for a second. This conversation was really weird since the first second and she did not like where he was trying to move forward with his vague inquiries. Yet she tried her best to still feel unbothered as she turned to her right to look out of the window beside her.

"Just drive so we can have that dinner, Kurosaki," she said instead, to avoid his attempt.

"Wait, you didn't answer me."

"Just drive, and shut up," she strongly warned with that heavy demand in her tone, knowing fully well that he was not going to stop if she did not try to intimidate him. And he gladly obliged... which was a relief to her as well.

  What a wuss, she thought at the moment. And as she watched the transparent reflection of him through the window beside her, she smirked to herself.

This naive young man... he really is so far from what and how General Rei used to be like. They had nothing alike aside from being stupidly impulsive. And if she were to ask if who would she liked better between them, she would have said that she preferred this present version of him now. She liked Kyouhei better because he never felt like a threat to her.

If anything else, he was actually more of an ally. Someone she knew she could definitely control, which would have never been possible if Kyouhei had been how General Rei really was in his past life. 

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835 AD, 9th Century of Japan (Kyoto)

**Both Prince Shin and Rei were seventeen years old during this time**

Anyone in plain sight would definitely sense the intense atmosphere surrounding those two young men on the center of the platform. It was just another usual sparring for the new warriors of the Empire, and the two men had only learned their skills in combat and sword-fighting, not that too long ago. Yet for Prince Shin of Fujibutso and the young Rei of Takugawa, they were both serious about it. They actually cared for the possible outcome of this fight.

Who might win and who might surrender...

And no matter who it would be, there will definitely be one on each side. And neither would ever want to become the latter. The animosity between them was clearly shown even with just the way they stared down at each other. Neither wanted to back down and this somehow felt like a duel that could go far worse than expected.

The eunuch who was standing in the middle even felt the density of the hatred and challenge from the two. He was nervous as he repeatedly flitted his eyes back and forth from Prince Shin to Rei. The eunuch gulped audibly and waited for a cue to call for the start of the sparring. However, his shaky hands did not go unnoticed to the very keen Prince Shin, who quickly turned to speak to the poor servant.

"What's keeping you to start the fight?" he steadily demanded, his brow slightly raised as he asked the question to the reluctant eunuch. The eunuch, on the other hand, quickly bowed his head down as a form of apology and nodded his head at the Prince.

"Your Highness, Prince Shin, I apologize, I had been distracted," the eunuch admitted, and as he heard it, Prince Shin merely smirked. He held his sword closer to his side and stared back at Rei who was standing just across him, a few meters away.

"Make it quick," he simply ordered, his eyes not losing their spark as he met Rei's penetrating ones, "I'm looking forward to this fight. I've been wanting to do this for so long."

"As you wish, Your Highness," the eunuch obediently replied, failing to recognize a much deeper meaning of Prince Shin's words that were dripping with resentment and a strong desire to vanquish. However, Rei could clearly read between those lines and shared the same sentiment as he mirrored back the glare that Prince Shin was giving him.

The hostile air filled their atmosphere as the eunuch prepared to announce the start. The two men bowed to each other and prepared their positions as they focus on one another's stance. The onlookers never really noticed it, but there was also a lurking desire to kill despite the fact that the two were using bokken (wooden swords).

This was not that too different from a real fight but it was less brutal. However, that was not what both had in mind as they stared at each other. They were no longer seeing the rest of their surroundings, they were just both too engrossed in the idea to defeat the other. Dead or not, the humiliation will surely antagonize the loser.

And that was something, both wanted to inflict on the other.

"FIGHT!"

And the battle finally started.

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PRESENT, 2020 (Tokyo)

"Yuko-san?"

She had been always caught staring blankly into space. Most of the time, she had to be called out by her name so she would come out of it. And as she woke up to present, Yuko realized that Kyouhei had already parked the car in his own space at the parking lot of the apartment building where he stayed at. She turned to give Kyouhei a nod and tightly smiled as she removed her seatbelt to get out of the car.

Kyouhei watched as Yuko left with not much of a word and turned the engine off. Something had been bothering her lately. He had noticed it since last week. He would always find her lost in her own thoughts and would always wear this kind of serious yet troubled face whenever she was too deep in her trance.

For some reason, that made him worry. He wanted to distract her from it. He wanted to help her in some way, even if he was not yet sure if she was actually stressing over something or not.

And as he silently led the way for her into the building, he briefly watched Yuko through his peripheral vision. He tried to feel and sense what she was doing and he could tell that she was still feeling wary and conscious with his sudden invitation. Well, it was true that this was unusual and he never really asked her out like this. Not when it was not anything strictly related to business.

This was the very first that he actually initiated such an offer. He never really wanted to do it this way, but his impulsiveness took action and before he could even stop himself, he was already asking her out. That was something he can't ever really control sometimes, but he can't say that he didn't like how it ended now. 

In fact, being with her right now felt normal. They had always been very familiar with each other in the seven years they have known one another but he also can't tell if they were already in the stage where he could confidently say that they were friends... or anything in that category yet. Which, on the other hand, was also weird to admit.

He was never really sure of what to call this relationship with her, but out of all the people he had met and had been friends with, Yuko was the first and only woman that made him feel extremely comfortable to the point that he no longer mind if he looked like an i***t, or if he starts telling her stupid things or even his secrets. He just kind of knew that whatever he does or says, she will always listen and accept it... With no judgment or perhaps, not really much regard towards it. 

Regardless if she cared or not, Kyouhei just felt that he can be wholeheartedly himself in front of her and receive no kind of unnecessary hate. She criticizes him at times, yes, but she would only do that by saying that he needed to lessen those habits of his. But she never tried to change him or anything. She never asked him of that, she just wanted him to act in front of this society to meet their standards but to her, she never bothered to alter nor even subdue who he was behind his facade.

She accepted him. And to Kyouhei, it meant so much.

"Come in," he said to her once they had finally reached his apartment and opened the front door for her. She was reluctant at first and silently followed when he walked inside. She could quickly see how minimalistic the interior looked. It was just so like him... And surprisingly, she can also see a touch of General Rei too.

For the very first time, Kyouhei had finally let someone into his own personal space. He had never really invited anyone there in that apartment. He had another property just near his office but he chose to organize this dinner in this much more private place for Yuko. Well, of course, he did not want any unwanted paparazzi to see them too, and also, he did not mind having her come over. He actually trusted her the most in all kinds of things... Because he knew he can always be himself around her. 

However, maybe he had been misreading her intentions all this time. Truth be told, for Yuko, Kurosaki was actually not more than just a pet to her. She had always wanted to control who he was, she wanted him to become her puppet. But Kyouhei seemed to not catch on to that yet. And maybe because he was too pure and just too naive to even notice that he had been blindsided. He was actually being manipulated by Yuko, that was the truth. Unfortunately, he had failed to recognize that himself.

And such deceit had continued on without him ever knowing. Yet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------next chapter: Chapter Seven