RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Forty-Five: Something Breakable

843 AD, 9th Century of Japan (Kyoto)

***Emperor Shin and General Rei were both twenty-four years while Empress Aoi was twenty-two years old during this time. This was the beginning of Emperor Shin's reign and a start of a new era***

Empress Aoi remained silent as she bit the inside of her cheek.

She was told to drink the tea, which was containing some kind of royal medicine that would help ease her tensed nerves so that she won't be uncomfortable tonight. But she was too self-conscious to move in front of the Emperor to take it. He had been staring at her since the moment she went in and the weight of his gaze bore a hole on her face and made her feel shy. Empress Aoi sat on the cushion with a small table placed in between her and Emperor Shin inside the private room. She smelled a faint scent of lavender filling the air around them and she tried to calmly breathed it in while doing her best to keep a straight face.

She was nervous.

The Emperor gazed at her with those deep penetrating dark eyes that were illuminating against the mellow glow of the lamps surrounding them. He had not shifted from where he sat. The atmosphere was warm and dry, and every door and window was closed. Empress Aoi mustered enough courage to gently reach for the cup of tea served on the table and eventually took a small sip from it. The lukewarm drink smoothly flowed down her throat and she sighed a little. And immediately, she felt relaxed from it. It was very effective. She then found herself looking up and meeting the Emperor's gaze when she put the cup back to the table and for a brief few seconds, they just looked at each other as if it was the very first time they met.

He looked serene, powerful, and intimidating from the distance. His red, golden laced, robe filled nicely from his chest and up to his very broad shoulders. He was huge and she felt small. And the longer Empress Aoi stared at him, the warmer she felt inside. She was slowly feeling a little dizzy and hot and her eyes got heavier. 

"Are you alright?" she then heard him ask her when she had suddenly swayed a little from her spot that she even had to hold on the edge of the table in front of her just to steady herself. For some reason, she was suddenly feeling out of herself.

"I-I'm not sure," she stammered back a reply and her body grew much warmer as she spoke. She went and tried to wipe the sweat that was trickling down the side of her forehead then she pulled on the tight knot wrapped around her waist and started dislodging it because she felt like she could not breathe for a moment. What was happening to her?

"What are you doing?" The Emperor worriedly asked as he slowly moved around the table to try and help her. He was just about to put a hand on her shoulders when she suddenly leaned towards him and grabbed both of his arms so suddenly he jolted as she stared into his eyes.

"I'm hot," she uttered breathlessly, her face flushed, cheeks blushing, and her lips swollen. She looked so ethereal and so beautiful and she was breathing heavily. Emperor Shin's mouth went dry and the warm air coming out of her lips fanning over his neck, consumed him at once as she moved closer.

"Hot?" Shin then said in a very hoarse voice, his heart skipping a beat while his body went completely frozen, feeling a little lightheaded as he tried to resist the strong urge to just take her into his arms and kiss her because she was so damn beautiful and her scent was filling all of his senses now. He was about to lose it at any second.

"Y-yes... So hot... And I..." Empress Aoi staggered and trailed off, her face drawn into a state of desperation and intoxicating thirst for human touch as she slowly slid her hands up to the Emperor's chest and down to his stomach because suddenly her hands had wanted to touch him. He was so near and so lovely and she can't resist not feeling his body. She felt the firm muscles and the rapid beating of his heart beneath his thick robe over his chest and she felt hotter. Way hotter.

"Lady Aoi?" Emperor Shin gasped, shutting his eyes closed as he spoke with his voice much lower, thicker, and dying with the need to touch her. He can't keep it anymore, her hands were all over him and it was electrifying. Then he opened his eyes and saw her face moving closer and felt her short warm breaths tickling his cheeks as he looked at her with wanton need, inching down until he could feel the slight brush of her lips against his nose.

"Touch me, your Highness," she boldly requested, her soft, seductive voice pulling him right into the bliss of her warmth and fragrance. And before he could even realize what he was about to do, he already had closed the distance between them and he was now touching her lips with his, a little shy at first when he slowly pulled away before he eventually lost control. Then he could no longer stop anymore...

And he went for more and more and more.

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PRESENT, 2020 (Tokyo)

The call she received that morning was not the call she had been expecting at first. But as soon as Yuko Amazawa saw the caller ID, she was prompt with the instant need to answer it. She quickly pressed the answer button and said in a clipped tone, "Amazawa-san speaking."

The first second the call went through, there was just silence static, and some rustling in the background. And then someone suddenly breathed through the receiver with a sound of a door gently shutting closed afterward. A woman's husky voice immediately spoke after a short silence and said in a hushed whisper, "He's still asleep."

Yuko held her breath, counting calmly inside her head as she realized what those words had meant. She was still there at his place. She stared up to check the time from the wall clock across her desk and saw that it was already past ten in the morning. Why was he still sleeping?

Why was she still there at his place?

"You can leave him now," Yuko ordered coldly as she tried to sound a bit too distant, thinking for a moment, and then added, "You don't have to do anything more. You already did your part, thanks for letting me know. Wait for my message soon so we could meet after this."

"Sure," the woman coolly answered from the other end, a smile sounding from her voice, "See you then."

Then the call ended.

Yuko stared blankly into space, her phone still held against her ear. For a moment, she did not really know what to feel or how to react. She felt a little strange and empty that she could not even explain if it was because she was disappointed or bothered by this. He took the bait, she realized. He really got desperate and went ahead against his own judgment. He saw the first distraction he got and he jumped right into it the instant he had the chance. He was too weak. Very weak, and Yuko scoffed. 

"What a jerk," she found herself saying out loud in an angry tone, not meaning to. But she was getting a little disturbed. Was he really that easy? She must have overestimated him too much. She did not really expect him to quickly give in to temptation like this. He just had s*x with a stranger with not much caution for the consequences. He must be really an i***t. 

If this had been Rei, Yuko would never be too surprised like this. But this was Kyouhei Kurosaki. What had she done? It felt like she no longer knew him anymore and she suddenly felt guilty. Was it her fault? Was it because she had pushed him away?

But wasn't that what you really wanted to happen? To ruin him? She heard a voice suddenly telling her this inside her head, a voice that was too familiar she was not even startled anymore to hear it. It was Shin inside her. And he added, we want him ruined, remember?

Yes, we do. But Yuko did not feel any least bit triumphant about it. She felt like there was something here that seemed so wrong, and so twisted, that she could not just stomach it. She felt confused and anxious. A sinking feeling started to appear in the pit of her stomach and she felt disconcerted.

Why are you worrying about him? He's our enemy, Shin said after a moment, appearing in her mind again. You did the right thing. He took the bait, and he will have to reap what he had sown. We are winning. 

He was right. This was what they have both wanted from the very beginning. This was how it should be. There was no reason for her to feel bad or guilty. It was all for revenge. But for some reason, despite knowing it all, she still could not erase that unwanted feeling gnawing inside her. They were winning... He was slowly breaking. But she still could not help but felt like she was losing.

She felt like she wasn't really winning anything from all of this.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------next chapter: Chapter Forty-Six