RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Fifteen: Strange Tension In Between

"Are your feet hurting?" 

His question was sincere and pure, noticing how uncomfortable she had been in his arms throughout their dance. Kyouhei looked down at the startled face of Yuko when she stared up to meet his eyes. It had only been seconds since they had started dancing but he could feel how stiff she was with him. He slightly paused, looking intently at her, and held her closer. He took one step forward, partially closing the distance between them but she leaned back, looking skeptical.

"What are you doing?" she warily asked him, frowning.

"Why are you so tensed, Yuko-san?" Kyouhei raised a brow. And as she scowled at his words, Kyouhei found himself smirking at her, realizing that she was annoyed again. Or perhaps, he did something to piss her off and now she was sulking, 

"It's just me," Kyouhei went on, "We've already danced at parties several times before, remember?"

Yeah, they did dance a few times before, but this situation was so different now. Yuko was just so insanely self-conscious and too uncomfortable feeling the weight of his arms around her. She honestly did not really like the peculiar feeling she was getting from it.

"Are you going to let me go now?" she was about to pull her hands away when he had suddenly held them tighter within his grasp. And instead of letting her go, he just pulled her closer again. Yuko's eyes widened as a response, her foot stumbling forward making her slightly bumped into his chest.

What the hell was he doing?

"Are you drunk?" she said to him with a sneer, but Kyouhei just lightly chuckled with a smirk on his lips.

"Me? Hell no. I am perfectly sober, Yuko-san," he simply told her in a teasing tone, chuckling, "I'm not the one who kept tripping over their feet here, am I? Are you drunk?"

"Touche," Yuko deadpanned, snorting, "You seemed to be very confident about yourself tonight. And what were you doing dancing around with Ami Komatsu, anyways? Didn't I already warn you about that?" 

Yuko chose to stop beating around the bush and brought the subject up, since she could no longer keep it to herself. She was still so pissed that he had gone against her instructions and still kept Ami company despite her strong warning. He even danced with her... The audacity.

 "Why are you overly concerned about that?" Kyouhei retorted, choosing to circle around the question as he led her to turn around, "To be honest, I've thought about that, Yuko-san. And I don't really think there will be anything bad that could come out of being on friendly terms with her. She's a nice woman."

Oh, so he must be interested in her too. How freaking problematic, Yuko angrily thought to herself Irritation and jealousy immediately consumed her thoughts at once as she began to imagine striking a heavy blow on Kyouhei's face just to get rid of that annoyance inside her.

"I see," she replied after a second, gritting her teeth, "So, do you like her? Romantically?"

Kyouhei did not say anything back for a few seconds, even when he had clearly heard her question. He just stared at her with this unreadable expression and continued dancing. But Yuko could feel the intensity of his gaze, the slight pressing of his fingers against her back, and the tighter grip of his hands on hers that were connected as they danced. She had never seen him like this before... this was really strange.

"What?" she egged him on, ignoring his peculiar change of mood, "Don't tell me you really do."

She was expecting him to be honest because she knew he can't ever really lie to her. She would immediately catch on if he did. But when he matched her eyes, she felt a slight chill in her body. Why was he looking at her like that? What the hell was going on inside his head? 

"Why were you dancing with that man then?" he suddenly switched the topic and the lowered tone of his voice slightly confused Yuko as she frowned back. Was he talking about Osamu right now?

"What of him?" Yuko answered, "He's a friend and he's not like that. We're discussing business."

"Just business? Really?" Kyouhei probed on, leaning closer again, but this time he still kept that serious unreadable face directed at her, "Do you like him? Romantically?"

His sudden counter against her words gave her a slight alarm. What was he trying to imply with that now? Yuko did not really understand his point, though perhaps, she did not want to think about it too much. She wanted to deny that likely possibility of what he was trying to insinuate as he stared at her with those deep eyes. This was not what she would have wanted him to say to her... Ever. It made her feel paranoid and disgusted. He was the enemy here, and there was no reason for this kind of confrontation, or whatever the sense of this was for him.

"If you like Miss Komatsu, just tell me right here and now, Kurosaki," Yuko quickly argued back, glaring at Kyouhei, "Don't make this more complicated. I want to know the real deal and sort things out for you. So, be honest, do you like her or not?"

"I don't," He straightaway gave in, but took it as a chance to catch her off guard by pulling her close, leaving no more distance left between them. This made her instantly nervous as she could now feel the hot breath touching her cheeks that was coming off of his lips as she tilted her head. This was now dangerous.

"I'm not romantically interested in her neither am I attracted to her, Yuko-san. If I am to date someone, wouldn't you be the first one to know about that?" he added in a husky voice, almost too tempting as she bit back the inside of her cheek. He did not dare to even look away and only kept Yuko imprisoned in his arms as he continued, "And what about you? Do you like that guy? Or is it really just business?"

"Why do you care?" Yuko demanded in an angry whisper, feeling trapped as she leaned her head back as far as she could but failed not to evade the scent of his perfume invading her senses because of the way he steadily kept her close.

"Why wouldn't I?" he retaliated, "In case I have to be aware of things about you, I want to know the real deal too."

"You have nothing to be aware of," Yuko explained to him, leveling her gaze as she slightly moved her hands over his chest to push him back, "Step back now, I don't want to dance anymore."

And with that, he hesitantly let her go, but he still kept his eyes on her. Kyouhei watched as Yuko slowly walked away and left him. As her words echoed inside his head, he reveled in the lingering feeling of her warmth against his touch. That was the closest distance that they had gone together so far, in the seven years they had known each other, it was almost surreal to be that close to her. And as he thought it over again, the feeling of her when he had held her made him subconsciously smile for no reason.

It was strangely satisfying. And he really liked it... enough that he almost did not want to let her go anymore.

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A week after that party and all the strange things that had occurred, Yuko walked into her office that morning, with that hopeful mind, greatly expecting things would eventually start to become much better now. She just finally closed a deal with that previous schmuck who had dared her with a challenge before in winning Osamu Sato over. And since she easily got Osamu Sato in the palm of her hand, she knew there won't be that many struggles left for her in winning more sponsors. Must be luck, for she did not have to convince the man since the odds were in her favor.

Thank gods, for their great generosity. And with that, Yuko felt like she was nearing the top of the ladder. She can make this all work. She just has to make Kyouhei stand out more and earn higher votes in the Diet for the Prime Minister position.

The deliberation of the qualified candidates was already coming. Councilors and political representatives were now beginning the screening of each possible prospect for the highest position. Kyouhei would definitely get a chance. And knowing this, it will surely require more of Kyouhei's supporters and Yuko to come up with a better strategy and new promotional tactic to gain more allies from both the Upper and Lower Houses. If this eventually turns out great, there won't be any more trouble nor any problem for Kyouhei not to be chosen. They just really have to avoid any unlikely scandal or trouble. And that would entirely depend on Kyouhei Kurosaki's publicity now.

As the thought of him and the media crossed her mind, Yuko quickly moved over her chair to check on her computer and searched for Kurosaki's name online just in case there will be another new article posted about him again. Fortunately, this time, there was nothing negative showing aside from some good posts about his charity works and his recent public statements for the new industrial projects of the government. Yuko sighed in relief after seeing all that. It was almost too dreamy to have these peaceful responses in the past few days.

What a sudden change. She was now finally getting some rest from all the stress she had suffered from last month. And as she leaned back on her seat, settling comfortably with a smile, her phone rang again. This time, she saw Osamu's name flashing on the screen. She answered it after a few rings and his voice immediately came in as soon as she put the phone against her ear.

"We need to meet," Osamu told her with that tone of urgency in his words that had Yuko sitting up straight, bringing herself alarmed.

"What's it about?" she curiously asked.

"I heard some rumors, Amazawa-san," Osamu briefly explained, "But it's better to talk about it in person right now. When are you free?"

"Right now," Yuko quickly replied, not missing a beat, "I'll get there at your office right now."

This felt like another trouble. And it seemed like... things weren't always really going to stay too good and peaceful for that very long. Terrible things would most certainly come in unexpected ways possible, and you won't ever really imagine how it was going to be.

And with that thought in mind, Yuko started preparing herself for the worst.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------next chapter: Chapter Sixteen