Author note: I don't own Yakitate! Japan. Nor do I own Yuiichi Kirisaki, Meister Kirisaki, or Ryou Kuroyanagi, or any of the characters at all.
This kind of came up when I was looking at the end of the series. How would Meister react when he found out that his dad made him owner of St. Pierre and everything else? Where would Meister be living during the time post-Yakitate! 25/9 arc, anyway? I just thought I'd try my best to put my idea of how it might kind of work out.
Warning: Possible spoilers for all of Yakitate! Japan, takes place in mangaverse, takes place close to the end (after Azuma saved the world and stuff) (consider this to take place after Bite the Dust's fic, 'Pursuit of Happiness'), some MeisterxKuroyanagi.
Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope you readers read, review and enjoy! Thanks!
Changes
Sylvan Kirisaki sat at a table at the kitchenette, sipping from a cup of tea as he looked at a newspaper.
"Creator of Ja-pan saves the entire world, huh?" He spoke to the ticking of the clock hanging from the wall opposite to him. "It doesn't surprise me..."
Ever since the whole Yakitate! 25 thing ended, he hadn't been living at Pantasia, even when the sucessor, Tsukino, called him back to help with the troubles that followed. After all, he did resign from the Pantasia General Manager job prior to his match against Azuma. Instead, considering he'd saved up more than enough money (his salary as the General Manager was way more than enough for one to live a normal life of a normal working class person, anyway), he got himself a small apartment space; not as lavish as where he formerly stayed at, but spacious and decent enough, in his opinion. No one else really knew about this except for Matsushiro, who promised that he wouldn't tell anyone about it, especially Kuroyanagi.
Since Meister was no longer the General Manager, discarded were the mask, the cape, the fancy clothing to the side; all replaced by clothing that suited the Japanese businessmen (he did keep the mask, though, as a reminder and one outfit for special occasions). Though, since he was pretty tall compared to most Japanese men, it wasn't easy getting any attire such as that. He was tempted to get his long, blond hair cut, but he supposed that could wait and tie it back for now. He didn't want to change that, yet. He also let all of his birds go except for Coo; his pet peacock was a good companion. Currently, the peacock was asleep in its cage, on a small table against the wall.
Things had changed an awful lot since Maou was defeated, Sylvan thought to himself. Azuma saves the world and is nominated for a Nobel Prize for it, Kawachi is...somewhere, Matsushiro is heading that yakuza gang, Kai and Monica apparently have a child and are running a dojo together, Kanmuri is doing reasearch to cure light wounds and such...He even heard that Tsukino, with help from Pierrot, would be starting a Pantasia branch in Monaco.
Things were changing so much. It felt weird, frankly, and perhaps overwhelming at times.
His train of thought broke when the phone rang. Sylvan picked it up. "Hello?" He spoke quietly.
"Sylvan? It's me." Sylvan's light blue eyes widened in surprise.
"Father..." Sylvan paused before speaking. "H-How's the hospital treating you?" He blurted out, unsure of what else to ask.
"I'm fine, Sylvan." Yuiichi Kirisaki responded on the other end. "Before you ask about how I got your number, Matsushiro told me about the whole thing. I'm glad you're doing your best to support yourself."
"Um...Thank you." Sylvan had been trying to reconnect with his dad since the defeat of Maou, no, probably even before that. He'd been visiting often, even persuading Sophie to phone father often as well, but since Azuma saved the world, the visits were a little less frequent. It wasn't like he had any work (he was jobless at the moment, though he was working on a resume and the money from being General Manager supported him in the meantime), but he just needed time and space to think over the changes. "Why are you calling?"
"I just wanted to update you on news about St. Pierre."
"...What is it?"
Sylvan heard his father take a deep breath before speaking. "I'm thinking of starting a branch in Monaco, France, and putting your sister in charge as General Manager of that branch, first off. Your sister already knows about this, I called her earlier."
That came as a wave of shock hitting him in the face. "W-whoa...Sophie is going to be...General Manager in Monaco...That's incredible." Sylvan finally blurted out. He knew he must sound like an idiot, but he honestly didn't care right now as the news sunk in.
"And...I'm going to be retiring. My health isn't the greatest since...you know...And..." Yuiichi paused before speaking. "I would like for you to be owner of St. Pierre, Sylvan."
Sylvan dropped the phone, and it hit the table with a small clattering noise.
Owner? Of St. Pierre? He found that incredibly hard to believe. From General Manager of Pantasia to owner of St. Pierre...This would certainly be a huge change...
"Sylvan? Sylvan? Are you still there?" Yuiichi's voice came up on the phone. Sylvan immediately grabbed the phone and answered quickly.
"Y-yes, I'm still here. I'm sorry, I dropped the phone just now, I-I'm flattered. I'm flabbergasted. I know I sound like an idiot-" Sylvan blubbered.
"You are not an idiot. I understand if you're surprised." His father reassurred him. "Going from the position of General Manager to owner can be quite a change. I don't have to hear a yes or no right away, you should think about it. Alright?"
Sylva nodded quietly. "Yes, Father. I'll visit you tomorrow."
"Alright. Thank you, Sylvan."
"Thank you, Father."
Sylvan put down the phone and sighed quietly. Sophie, General Manager of the Monaco Branch for St. Pierre, and...himself, being owner of St. Pierre. It seemed like such a drastic change...
He closed his eyes and thought back to long ago, when he and Sophie barely had anything to eat, until their adoptive father Gordon took them in. He thought to when he moved to Japan and was later hired by Pantasia, and then much later became General Manager. And then, these past years; with Azuma showing up with his 'Ja-pan,' Team Japan winning the Monaco Cup, and onwards...
All of those had been seriously huge changes, and most of those were forced upon him. And now here was another change, practically right in front of him.
But...could he really take this on?
This was kind of the first change that he didn't feel that he particularly forced to do. The first kind of change that he had some control over.
Could he do this? Transitioning from General Manager to owner was a really drastic change, now that he thought about it.
But gosh, it was only one of so many changes; swimming about in a sea of his mind and possibly making him start to drown in the process. Now he was getting really worried.
But just as he could start bawling randomly (he did that sometimes, when no one was around and he felt everything closing in on him), someone knocked at the door.
Shaking his head and trying to regain his composure, he walked over to the door and opened it.
Standing right outside the door was Ryou Kuroyanagi, former executive of Pantasia and formerly judge of the Yakitate! 25 competition.
Both Ryou and Sylvan were silent for a moment. Neither one really knew what to say at first.
"Meister-" Ryou finally started, but Sylvan interrupted him.
"Come in." Sylvan spoke quietly. "And there is no need to call me 'Meister,' anymore, Kuroyanagi-kun. You know that." With that being said, Ryou merely nodded quietly and stepped inside. Meister, no, Sylvan closed the door behind him and turned to Kuroyanagi. "Would you like some tea?"
Kuroyanagi shook his head. "No thank you." He responded. "I'm not thirsty."
The two sat down at the table, and Sylvan hesitated before he spoke. "How did you find me?" Sylvan asked. "I thought...Matsushiro..."
"He told me after I persisted for a while." Kuroyanagi responded. "I had to know where you were. So I could talk to you in private. It's...important."
"I see." Sylvan looked down at his clothing before looking at Kuroyanagi. "I must seem really different from the Pantasia General Manager you knew for the past years, isn't that right, Kuroyanagi-kun?"
Kuroyanagi gave a single nod. He'd never seen Sylvan in anything as casual as this. The older man wore a simple white tank top, with dark jeans. He was barefoot, and his face wasn't concealed by a mask; something Kuroyanagi noticed immediately as soon as Sylvan opened the door just now and saw him standing there. Sylvan's face looked a bit pale, and underneath the dressy clothing and everything that concealed what he really looked like was a bit thinner than he imagined, making Kuroyanagi wonder if the older man hadn't eaten much in the past while...
Back then, Pantasia executive Kuroyanagi would have scolded General Manager Meister Kirisaki for not eating enough. "You need to eat," Kuroyanagi would tell Meister. "Otherwise you'll suffer from malnutrition and be sick all the time!"
But, now wasn't exactly the time or place for this...Kuroyanagi knew he had to tell Sylvan the important news.
"You know that I left Pantasia, right?" Ryou started. Sylvan nodded, a gesture for him to continue. "Well, I...I'm going to be travelling a lot. All over Japan. Searching for 'The Ultimate Deliciousness,' as the TV producers put it. I'm going to be on television all over Japan, on my own show."
Sylvan looked really shocked. When the older man was Meister Kirisaki, Kuroyanagi never really noticed Meister being shocked, unless he looked at the eyes carefully enough. But as Sylvan Kirisaki, it was showing all over his face.
Sylvan appeared to regain his composure, and tried to give a smile towards Kuroyanagi. "That's...That's great, Kuroyanagi-kun. You get to go out there and fill that black hole of a stomach trying to find really tasty food. It must be exciting, right?" He responded.
"Yeah. But..." Kuroyanagi immediately made eye contact with his former superior. "What's up with you? It's like you've been avoiding everyone except for your family lately. I understand if you're trying to reconnect with your father, and-"
"No. It's not that..." Sylvan looked away slightly. "It's not you, or anyone else. It's...It's me."
Kuroyanagi was really confused here. "What?" He asked, unsure if he heard that correctly.
"It's me! There's so much out there; changing so much, so quickly, and-and now I've been offered the position as owner of St. Pierre by father, too, and-and even before all of this, I-I don't know how to say it, so I'm going to bloody try and tell you my feelings towards you here and now-"
With that being said, Sylvan grabbed Kuroyanagi by the collar and pulled him in for a kiss. It was rough at first, but the two relaxed into it and tried to regain their composure through the silence that followed.
The older man gently pushed Kuroyanagi away, taking a deep breath before finishing. "I'm sorry. I understand if you don't...You know. Just...Leave if you need to." Sylvan looked away as a few tears started to stream down his face. He was trying so hard not to cry, not to cry, but he couldn't-he couldn't stop himself, and-
"I'm not leaving..."
Sylvan looked up at Kuroyanagi as the younger man got up and walked closer to him, so that they were now a few inches apart from each other. Sylvan stood, as the other continued.
"I'm not leaving you like this." Kuroyanagi took a deep breath. "I'm not leaving to journey until three days from now. And...How long did you...Feel this way towards me?"
Sylvan hesitated before responding. "...Since the Pantasia Newcomers Tournament, the one Azuma won. Remember those times? Heh..." He appeared to give a sliver of his confident smirk before he continued. "When you were executive...and I was General Manager...Good times, weren't they?"
"Yeah." The two were silent for a moment. "How do you think our...relations towards each other are like?"
"Certainly not brothers."
"Nor friends. Maybe boyfriends?" Kuroyanagi joked.
Sylvan's smirk just widened slightly. "I think that's something rather for teenagers, in my opnion. Lovers?"
"...No." The younger man paused before speaking. "How about..dearly beloved?"
"Seemingly cliche, but it might work."
The two were silent again before Kuroyanagi spoke. "The owner of St. Pierre is great opportunity, Sylvan. If I were you, I would leap for it. I know you can do something like this; you're organized and everything, and...I think your father made a good choice choosing you for the job."
"...Thank you." Sylvan smiled as he spoke. Kuroyanagi just smiled back.
The two were silent, for a third time, before Kuroyanagi spoke up again.
"I say we go celebrate. Maybe I could take you out-" Kuroyanagi started.
"You know I don't eat that much-" Meister spoke at the same time as Kuroyanagi's last statement.
"You certainly should. You look really pale, and I don't want you getting sick during your work, Meister." Kuroyanagi interrupted. The two broke into a small laugh, before Sylvan headed towards his bedroom. Kuroyanagi began to follow Sylvan, who turned and gave him a look.
"Are you seriously going to watch me change?" Sylvan spoke, smirking.
Kuroyanagi stuttered a quick apology and blushed as Sylvan merely nodded and went into the bedroom, shutting the door. When he came back out, he wore a black shirt over the tank top, with a white jacket overtop, with black shoes.
"I'm assuming we're ready to go?" Kuroyanagi spoke. "I'm buying."
"You know I can pay for myself."
"I don't care, dinner's on me, whether you like it or not." Kuroyanagi responded, still smiling a bit.
Coo was awake by now, and the peacock stared at the two. Sylvan petted it on the head through the thin bars of the cage. "I'll be out for a bit, Coo. Take care of yourself, and don't cause any trouble, okay?" Sylvan spoke quietly. The bird let out a single caw as a reply, and Sylvan smiled as he turned to Kuroyanagi. "You know, I should introduce you to father tomorrow when I go and visit him. Introduce you to him as...my dearly beloved. I think I like that better than fiancee or boyfriend, actually."
"Good to know that." Kuroyanagi responded. Sylvan then extended an arm and pulled something out from behind his ear, before putting it in the younger man's hands. "...A black rose?" He asked, confused.
"Black roses mean death and farewell." Sylvan explained. "But...they also symbolize rebirth. A new beginning. That's where we're both at, right now." He leaned forward and gave Kuroyanagi another quick kiss, before the two quietly held each other's hands and walked out of the apartment space.
Yes, there were changes, and they were huge changes for the both of them. Even if they were seperated by those changes, though, they could probably find some way to get back together.
Author note: Oh gosh. Longest Yakitate! Japan oneshot ever. I think. Phew...
I would have added the genre Romance to this (because of the MeisterxKuroyanagi stuff I put in), but I can only put in two, and I wanted to put in specifically Family/Hurt/Comfort because, well, Meister's finally reconnecting with his family, and then he's offered the position of owner of St. Pierre-kind of sudden and shocking, if you ask me.
I hope you guys enjoyed it; I hope the ending wasn't too rushed and stuff. Thanks so much for reading!