Story Title: Resonance and Repetition
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH.
Author's Notes: Here is my entry in the 2017 Yu Yu Hakusho Big Bang over on Tumblr. Big thanks to BlackSilkenRose for herding cats for a second year to host the 2017 Yu Yu Hakusho Big Bang (at yyhbb) over on Tumblr. Also all the thanks in the world goes to Elliot (at plantpun) and bottomofthewell (at bottomofthewell) for their amazing corresponding art. Thank you so much for your time and effort and I'm so glad both you picked my fic. I can't wait to see what you've done! I'll be updating this fic with links to their art as soon as I receive them. I'm gonna have to word them a little odd because FF doesn't allow for links or at symbols either to appear.
I have to admit there's a lot of author appeal going on in this fic. I haven't written much of lately and I've been unusually down for a couple months now so when this year's big bang was announced, I decided to just go ahead I write something I've always wanted to and make myself a little happier. But I really do hope that all of you enjoy this fic and are able to tolerate my self-indulgence.
Here's a random fun fact: Kuronue's reincarnated surname Chiro comes from the genus order for bats, Chiroptera.
Please check out the rest of the writings and art featured for this year's big bang (and last year's if you haven't already). There is a masterlist for last year's entries available on the yyhbb tumblr page (at yyhbb) and many but not all of the writings are gathered in a collection on A03. And as always, thanks for reading.
Links-
plantpun: plantpun (dot here) tumblr (dot here) com (slash here) post/164415500377/my-piece-for-this-years-yuyu-hakusho-big-bang
bottomofthewell: bottomofthewell (dot here) tumblr (dot here) com (slash here) post/164424728209/i-was-blessed-with-saiyuri-dahlias-resonance-and
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Story Title: Resonance and Repetition
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Prologue
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It's just a coincidence, happenstance really, Kurama told himself as he switched the projector off and rolled the squeaky-wheeled machine away to the side. It wasn't like it was difficult to find a pale-skinned, black-haired fellow in Japan. Hell, if Kurama turned on a tv and flipped through the channels right now, there was bound to be at least one J-pop/rock musician, actor, model, or idol that matched Kuronue's looks and body type. Really, it was practically an inevitability that he was going to run into someone that strongly resembled Kuronue at some point in his life.
Kurama never expected to meet the living ghost of Kuronue.
He wished he was exaggerating the similarities between the two but, as far as his eyes could tell, it seemed like his dead partner had walked straight out of his final memories and into his stepfather's company. To add to Kurama's disbelief, his partner of now debatable mortality looked exactly as if no time or history had passed from then to now. The only thing that had stopped Kurama from asking Kuronue's mirror twin how he had survived being skewered was him noticing the fellow's lack of bat wings folded flush against his back in the last instant.
Kurosaki Chiro... Even his name evoked Kuronue. The odds, however, were astronomically stacked against the possibility that they were somehow connected or one in the same.
It's better to laugh it off as a cosmic fluke and move on, Kurama told himself as he exited out of his PowerPoint presentation and closed his laptop. Because the possibility Kurama was entertaining—that Kurosaki Chiro was somehow Kuronue reincarnated—was entirely ridiculous. Kurama had no time or patience to chase flights of fancy, especially ones that he knew were going to be proven false in the end.
As Kurama finished up cleaning and clearing up the office, Kazuya Hatanaka, the head of Hatainsha, sat bent forward at his desk and held his bowed head in his hands. His stepfather's company was never a Fortune 500 even at its height of business, but its consistent mediocrity had enabled Kurama's family to live comfortably within their means. That was until the recent economic recession had forced his stepfather to downgrade both the size of their office and their overall workforce.
Rumors still floated around the office that Kurama was supposed to have been let go last year but, due to him being the boss's stepson, he had been kept and given more responsibilities while other employees were handed out pink slips. While neither Kurama nor his coworkers were happy with the all-too-obvious nepotism going on, at least Kurama was as competent or better at his position than his predecessors were.
"Do you think he's already decided that we're not worth the trouble?" his stepfather asked and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. Despite his company's losses and decline, Kurama's stepfather had always tried to keep a soft smile and his head up in front of his staff and family. While Kurama had known that his stepfather's company was losing value for a while, only in the last four months had his stepfather made Kurama privy to his frustration and fears.
"Kurosaki Chiro doesn't strike me as someone who has the time to string along a potential venture he has no interest in," Kurama said, loading up the crate of presentation aids onto the bottom of the projector cart. "Nor would he make follow-up appointments with us if he planned on canceling them in the future."
"Yeah… If he wasn't interested, he would say so," his stepfather said, nodding in agreement. "Thank you, Shuuichi. I'm afraid I've been so stressed of lately I'm not thinking clearly."
Kurama walked over to his stepfather's desk and laid a sympathetic hand on his stepfather's bowed back. "We should focus on what our next course of action will be."
His stepfather nodded again and rested his chin against his steepled fingers as he considered potential avenues. It was not long before inspiration struck. "I think I know what to do..."
That was both a relief and a joy to hear. While Kurama did not mind to provide counsel and guidance, he did not necessarily want to make the executive decisions. His stepfather owned Hatainsha and it was his vision and ideas, not Kurama's, that were supposed to lead the company's future. As his stepfather had lost confidence and business had declined further, Kurama had found himself providing less advice and more decisions.
"All my life, I have taken the safe path, choosing to be sensible rather than reckless, conservative over bold…" his stepfather said. "And yet doing what I knew was right has only earned me a failing company because I'm too afraid to change with the times. Or I was. If Hatainsha is to survive, we must do something brash."
That seemed like a call for a company meeting to Kurama. As soon as his stepfather dismissed him, he was going to send out a text to their department supervisors to forewarn them and look up nearby restaurants that delivered. He wondered whether or not to bring coffee and doughnuts or tea and rice crackers for tomorrow's snack.
"Shuuichi, I know I came too late into your life to be any sort of a proper father figure, but I beg of you to do one thing for me," Kurama's stepfather said, his hands pressed together in prayer. "Please get close to Kurosaki Chiro and convince him to accept a partnership with my company. Whatever means it takes, get the yes."
Kurama flinched in shock and stared wide-eyed into his stepfather's pleading eyes. He had managed to stifle his gasp before it sounded. "...Father, I think this task is more suited to someone experienced in our sales department."
Kurama had many jobs in his stepfather's company but the majority of those jobs required him to remain behind the scenes, which was how he preferred to work. While he found himself facing more clients and attending more business meetings as he worked alongside his stepfather, Kurama worked best with numbers and data. He was an accountant, an analyst, and an advisor, not a sales agent.
Kurama was not about to let himself think that it wasn't the task he was assigned to do but the person he was assigned to persuade that was his real problem.
"Don't sell yourself so short," his stepfather said as he rose from his leather chair. Wrapping an arm around Kurama's shoulders, his stepfather walked him to the front of his desk and around his office. "You're bright. Just be charming, well spoken…yourself really. Persuade him. That's all you have to do." He squeezed Kurama's shoulders in a light hug. "I'm not asking for anything more than flirtation."
Kurama nearly tumbled over as he abruptly stopped. "W-what?"
"He was attracted to you, wasn't he?" his stepfather said, his voice and overall expression were unusually exuberant, especially for such a quiet man. Kurama hadn't heard or seen his stepfather so hopeful in months. "I don't think I was imagining things. I mean, I don't really know for sure, but I saw how he couldn't keep his eyes off you. Seemed to me like he was looking at you in the same way I look at your mother."
Of course, Kurama had noticed that Chiro had been looking at him, but Kurama had been giving a presentation the entire time. If Kurosaki Chiro had looked away from him at any point, that would have meant Kurama had lost Chiro's interest. Holding Kurosaki Chiro's attention was important to their business, seeing how they wanted him to be their business partner.
"'Course you would know if a guy was 'into' you before I would. I would hope you would. You have been out on a date before, have you, son?" his stepfather asked and then a flash of realization hit him and his stepfather cheerily added, "If he is attracted to you, you can use that to your advantage."
Kurama couldn't believe they were having this conversation. "I-I'm not positive on the ethics of this but I'm certain it's highly unprofessional."
His stepfather tipped his head to the side in agreement. "Well, it's not unheard of in our business…" his stepfather said. "But all kidding aside, Shuuichi, I need you to head the negotiations on this deal. Please, Shuuichi. Kurosaki Chiro is it for Hatainsha. Dire situations call for dire actions. If he says no to a deal to either partner or buy, we're through."
Kurama frowned and looked away in discomfort. For his love of his human family, he wanted to say yes. He had come to respect his stepfather. He was a good man, husband, and father. Actions and decisions that were out of his control had more to do with his company's failure than any choice his stepfather had made. It was time for fortune to favor Kazuya Hatanaka.
Besides, it wasn't like Kurama had never done anything morally ambiguous in his life.
"I wouldn't ask you to do this if I wasn't a desperate man," his stepfather said. "I know you're never negotiated a deal by yourself before but you're more than capable of handling yourself out there. You'll succeed, I know it. Plus if Chiro really does find you attractive, perhaps you'll get lucky on your first try."
I'm hoping he means that I'll have an easy time convincing Chiro to accept a deal, Kurama smiled thinly and forced a single laugh that easily could have been mistaken for a groan. I still wish he hadn't phrased it like that…
"Forgive me for asking too much of you but please, son," his stepfather said. "You know our numbers, how much value we have to offer. If worse comes to worst and I have to sell, there's not much chance that I'll find a buyer."
With a resigned smile, Kurama said, "...Okay, I'll do it."