Created: February 2, 2007
All for You
By SachiNyoko
xXx
As you get older, feelings change. I learned that as a little girl. I learned it all over again with my first boyfriend. Year after year, the simple, bitter truth of it haunts me. Sometimes it is a wild lust that slowly dies, and sometimes it's something only one of two people feels. Sometimes it is just never there at all, but you keep pretending because everyone else is expecting it.
When I wake up in the middle of the night, in cold sweat, I know this to be hard, bitter fact. But I also know it can change, and that's why I've done this one selfish thing.
xXx
Kyou Sohma entered into the revolving door that placed him on the first floor of his multibillionaire cousin's main office building, ignoring the expensive and tasteful décor that surrounded him on all sides. He joined the flock toward the elevators, every step precise and full of purpose. The twenty four year old was still relatively fresh meat in the business world, but nonetheless a force to be reckoned with.
The other occupants of the elevator pressed the various buttons to the floors they headed for while Kyou grumbled under his breath, finally pushing in the button intended for the top level. The action earned several curious stares from the workers pressed in close all around him. He ignored them, tugging his tie uncomfortably and going over the upcoming conversation in his mind.
The ride took longer than he anticipated, the on and off stops amid the forty stories nearly driving him to tear his orange hued hair out. Still, he reached the top floor, the only passenger remaining on the elevator, and stepped into the wide expanse of white marble flooring. A large, colorful mural hung along the wall that was not consisted solely of windows, probably purchased for its expense more than its artistic expression.
Kyou took the distance between the elevator and the secretary's desk in long strides. The petite woman seated behind the polished oak furniture finally took notice of his presence and her dark violet eyes flickered instantly with recognition. Shiny locks of ebony bangs fell just short of inhibiting her vision, the rest of the tresses pulled back into a functional ponytail.
"Sohma-san, good morning; Akito-sama has been waiting for you." At the slight grimace that flickered across his face, she smiled sweetly and added, "Don't worry, you're right on time."
She rose from her seat, the black skirt suit hugging her slight curves perfectly, and led him to the double doors on the left. Before entering, she rapped lightly with her knuckles, and then stuck her head in to say, "Sohma-san is here."
"Thank you, Hotaru. Send him in." The deep, even voice that drifted through the opening was barely familiar to Kyou. Even though they were cousins, he had only met his older relation on a few sparse occasions at a much younger age. He had gotten into the business world a few years younger than Kyou was now, and worked his way up from the very bottom to owning the successful companies he did today.
The secretary, Hotaru, cleared her throat softly. She had been holding the door open for him during the brief reverie, and he passed by her without the slightest tinge of embarrassment. His amber, almost red eyes met his cousin's dark pair across the room, just as the door clicked softly behind him.
"Kyou Sohma, it is nice to see you again," Akito Sohma stood from his high backed office chair and bowed his head shortly in greeting. When Kyou reached the other side of the desk, he bowed in the traditional manner before taking the seat across from the powerful business mogul. "Let's get straight to business, shall we?"
"Of course. This new product is what consumers have been waiting on for a long time," Kyou paused in his pitch, his eyes focused on Akito's reproachful glance that had stopped him dead, while the older man frowned at him.
"I know all about the product. I looked at the designs yesterday when they faxed them over. I am fully aware of its capabilities, usefulness, and potential. I didn't call you here for a sales pitch." His lithe, pale fingers pushed the design papers across the desk for emphasis, but Kyou only glanced at them.
"Then, with all due respect sir, what exactly am I here for?" The two found themselves interrupted before Akito could even think to respond. The rich mahogany doors banged open with zealousness, bringing both males' attention to the new party in the room.
Kyou, though hit on and sought after by plenty of women after being promoted to a CEO, was sure he had never seen any woman quite like the one that strode into the room now. She flicked a strand of golden hair from her eyes, shockingly deep blue, as she walked across the office unabashedly, her strapped white heels clicking against the marble.
Wondering what form of being would simply walk into the richest man in Japan's office with such intrusiveness, he held his tongue and observed her as she strode around the desk, right up to an amused Akito. As though just realizing his presence, her eyes flickered to his and she smiled almost wickedly. "Usagi, meet my cousin, Kyou Sohma."
"Oh, you mean the most eligible bachelor in all of Tokyo?" The newly identified Usagi quipped, turning her twinkling eyes back to the dark haired man in front of her. "I was aware."
"I see. What brings you here, then, Bunny?" Akito, known for somewhat of a short temper, had to have known this girl well, Kyou reasoned. She settled on the edge of his desk, the skirt of her modest-length dress riding up to show off legs that must have made up for nine tenths of her short person.
"Well there's only one reason I interrupt your very important meetings." Usagi ended the statement in a teasing, mildly condescending tone and fluttered her lengthy eyelashes. "I need a dress for your important event tonight. You know the one, with all those stuck up, nasal voiced businessmen and their carbon copy wives."
She threw Kyou a grin over her shoulder, "No offense."
"None taken," he replied automatically, more concentrated on trying to hold her gaze for a few seconds. It failed desperately as Akito withdrew his wallet and shuffled through it for a moment. Without waiting, she reached over and plucked the wad of cash out, offering a peck on the lips in return.
"Nice meeting you, Kyou." Usagi threw a casual wave over her shoulder and walked out, slamming the mahogany doors closed behind her. Kyou stared after her, thrown off kilter in the slightest, but also mildly disgusted as two words flashed through his mind. Gold digger.
"I apologize for the interruption. I brought you here to make sure you could pull this promotion off. I've done a bit of research on you since yesterday, cousin, and your resume is quite impressive." Akito smiled coyly, seated poised in his chair as though nothing out of the ordinary had just taken place.
"Thank you," The twenty four year old shifted in his seat, trying to level his words with calm and not show his growing agitation. "So you are agreeing to sponsor our product."
"Not so fast. I have confidence in you but it never hurts to have a helping hand, hmm?" With no change in expression, Akito retracted another file from his left and tossed it into Kyou's plain sight. Several papers slid out of the manila folder and on the top a picture that made Kyou's stomach clench. "Your other dear cousin has promised half commission to put his name on the product."
"With all due respect--"
"It is not a question." Akito appeared all degrees of serious as he leaned back in his leather office chair and kept his dark eyes fixed solely on Kyou. "It's a condition. You accept Yuki Sohma in as your partner and get our endorsements or you take neither and move your product to another company. That's the deal."
The amber-eyed youth tugged his tie again subconsciously, the garment seeming to choke him even more as he glared down at the image of the silvery haired cousin he always hated; his rival, easily as successful as himself by any standards. Instinct egged him into thinking he could pull the deal and push Akito into a corner, get what he really wanted and kick Yuki to the curb.
Still, Kyou couldn't take that risk. So he gritted his teeth, "Very well. We'll redraw the contracts and have them ready for signing tomorrow." He rose to his feet, Akito doing the same. They shook hands across the desk, Kyou's grip a bit stronger than he anticipated, but it only made the older male's feral smile widen.
"Pleasure doing business, Kyou."
xXx
Kyou Sohma was not a happy camper, and anyone in the surrounding vicinity could easily tell. He slammed the shot glass against the table and chased the Jagermeister down with an energy drink. Only his third Jager bomb, his high liquor tolerance prevented even a slight buzz as of yet, and his eyes caught the hands on his watch.
Late again, his mind chided. The bartender asked him whether he wanted another shot or not but he ignored him, tapping his fingers lightly on the bar as he thought. It won't look good if I don't show. Damn it all to hell.
Kyou pulled some money from his wallet and threw it on the bar before he stood, figuring at least he'd get the wear out of his new Armani suit that he was wasting on the drunkards in this random pub. As he walked out to his car, he haphazardly knotted his tie and checked his phone. Skimming through the voicemails, he only found one message of consequence to him.
"Sohma-san, this is Hotaru, Akito-sama's secretary. We've just received the new drafts of the paperwork and we'd like to have you back tomorrow morning to meet with Akito-sama and Yuki-san to sign it all. Please be here by 10 am."
Well, they certainly aren't concerned about my time, Kyou mentally complained as he shut the flip phone and tossed it in the console. Despite the mild frustration he was pleased that the deal worked out so easily, even if Yuki had to be involved. Even in a three way split we'll all be much richer, and hopefully this product will push me far enough to take Kyon Corps out on its own.
The orange haired male pulled in to the second branch of Sohma Inc., where the night's event was planned to take place. He bypassed the long line of stretch limos that was the norm for one of Akito's events by being a solid half hour late, and only had to wait behind a few stragglers before he was pulling up to the valet. As it were, the car right behind his was Akito himself, fashionably late for his own party no doubt.
Due to the swarm of cameras and paparazzi in his older cousin's general direction, Kyou found he was at liberty to take his time heading into the party for no one had noticed his arrival at all. From his peripheral vision he caught Akito absorbing the media attention, but he offered his hand back into the open car door, a slender hand slipped into his, and the blonde beauty rose to her dark haired companion's side with a dazzling smile for the adamantly flashing cameras.
They fit together in an interesting way, complete opposites of each other, Kyou noted. His thoughts strayed as her twinkling sapphire eyes found his over the heads of many a reporter. A mischievous smile brought the corners of her lips and she whispered into Akito's ear. The dark eyes of his cousin flickered over him and he also smiled with amusement, nodding his head to her. She released his arm and slipped off while he distracted the reporters with his next statement.
Kyou shrugged it off, about to cross the threshold to the night of gallantry and fake politeness that awaited him, when a hand circled his forearm and pulled him gently to the side. He turned; ready to give someone a piece of his mind when he saw the blonde pixie still beaming up at him in amusement. Her silver, glittered dress fitted her well and sparkled in synch with every camera flash that went off only a few feet away.
"Good evening, Tokyo's most eligible bachelor. Sorry to hold you up, but Akito and I agreed your tie looks ridiculous." Usagi grinned as he glanced down at his lopsided tie. She reached out and untied the thing all together, starting over from scratch, biting on her bottom lip to hold in her laughter. In less than a minute she had tugged the tie into place. "There, now you look presentable."
"Yeah, thanks," Kyou grumbled as he stepped back, giving ample space between the two of them. He walked off, back toward the party like he'd originally planned without so much as a parting gesture, leaving the blue eyed bunny to watch after him, smiling, until Akito appeared and took her arm.
Kyou, meanwhile, spotted his most hated rival, soon to be business partner, across the room chattering quite amicably with the head of Akito's rival company. The silver haired male turned, as though sensing the look of hatred that rested upon him, and offered a mirthless smile to his cousin. Kyou turned away, pretended to be amused with the champagne the waitress was offering him. It wasn't long before Akito singled him out.
"Kyou, I've been looking for you. What do you say we go meet with Yuki and discuss the new terms on the contract? It'll smooth things over for tomorrow." As he met the dark eyes of his cousin, crinkled in slight amusement, Kyou felt the sudden desire to break off the deal. But that was a rash decision, probably his earlier Jagermeister kicking in, and he only shook his head silently.
"No business tonight." As light laughter tickled his ears, his amber eyes found the source quickly. Usagi stood with the gathered group of women, probably the businessmen's wives she'd complained about earlier that morning, but the middle aged women were simply ravishing her, and she didn't appear to hate the attention.
"It seems my Bunny has taken a liking to you." Akito drew his attention once more, the glint in his eyes unnerving as he watched the same scene. Kyou tugged at his tie, but said nothing, not failing to notice the emphasis he interjected on that 'my,' and Akito quickly elaborated, "She usually doesn't joke around with anyone she's just met."
"Is that so?" Kyou, slightly nervous, tugged at his tie again and averted his eyes to the still bubbling champagne in his other hand. Akito laughed, finding something in the situation amusing, and nodded his head to the question. His mirth vanished promptly as he continued.
"I consider you a smart man, Kyou. Certainly not an idiot with all the accomplishments you've already made. But sometimes even smart men do stupid things." Kyou dropped the glass of champagne on a passing tray and wiped his hand on the leg of his Armani suit, avoiding all eye contact with Akito. The conversation was unnerving him. "My point, cousin, is that you should keep your hands off."
Akito was long gone before Kyou could even sputter a response to the ludicrous accusation, engaging none other than Yuki Sohma in charming conversation, knowing full well that he would never approach the two of them. Instead, the ruffled twenty four year old left the party, disgruntled and desiring to be anywhere where his new business partners weren't.