Sierra: Hip Hip. . . Hoorah~ Explanations at the bottom.
Enjoy~
Night
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Prologue
The sides of the hall swelled with businessmen as lines of them parted, splitting perfectly to make way for the infamous Igarashi Tora. Each step, each click of his glittering, sleek black shoes echoed through the cavernous space. Suit: crisp, magnificently black. Tie: unwrinkled, straight as a pencil. Hair: elegant, slicked to one side. Eyes: deadly as a tiger's.
Though his walk was formal, power flipped between each of his steps. Intimidation rode the tidal wave of men flitting to let him pass, each adult bowing at their seams to reveal an open letter of respect. Two men escorted him, walking stiffly behind his gazelle-like strides. The previous mummer that had been swimming through the businessmen hushed in an abrupt finale, leaving an earful of silence in its wake. This, more than anything, most likely, was the most rewarding part of being the head of the Igarashi foundation. Watching as the most influential men in the world bowed to your presence.
Tora made his trip to the massive conference room briskly, as the miniscule voices began to arise behind him. The polished, glittering glass door that opened to the conference room was held away from its frame by one of the men aside him. He entered, taking quick inventory of the bleak, modern room he bathed in. Blinding white walls on two ends, disconnecting them from other rooms. The far wall was crafted entirely of glass, exhibiting the picture-perfect view of the clear, sparkling Tokyo night, as car horns and billboards sent music floating up from far down below. A perpetually long conference table, pitch black, sprawled in the middle of the whiteness, occupied twenty-nine men on both sides, all who stood as soon as he entered.
They bowed their greeting as he moved to take head of the table, wondering for only a second why the action felt natural to him. As the men in their expensive suites straightened back, Tora noticed some expressions filled with anxiety and delight, some filled with a calm patience, and some overflowing carelessly with undulated hatred and jealousy. And of course, they had every reason to be jealous. Those at the withering age of forty, fifty, bowing down to the youngest Chairman of any institution they'd ever known. Such a young man to uphold such a power. Power none of them would ever be able to obtain.
Tora's smile was darkly delighted. "Good evening, gentleman. Thank you all for coming out on this night. I apologize for any interruptions this may have caused in your plans-" Not really, but he'd say it to fill their poor little hearts with fake reassurance, "-and I am grateful for your appearances." His voice rang loudly in the high-ceilinged room. "Have a seat," he allowed, gesturing for them to assume their previous positions.
Once assumed, one man spoke from the middle. "Mr. Igarashi, it is believed you flew out here on such short notice," he observed. Tora gave a glance in his direction; didn't recognize him.
His reply was calculated, though easy. "Yes," he said calmly, "I was recently attending a meeting in Okinawa, with the Presidents of the nearest major corporations to discuss some pressing matters." He eyed the man, the lines that dipped in his forehead, the age clear in his features.
The man's eyes widened. "I'm sure I speak for us all when I ask what could be so important that you came back here to arrange this current meeting."
Idly, Tora wondered what business he was from. He stared at the man a little longer, watching the discomfort and inferiority twist his features until he looked away awkwardly.
Then, he smiled. "Quick to the point, are we?" He laced his long, skilled fingers into a canopy, placing his chin upon them and his elbows on the black wooden table. The mans face reddened.
"I meant no disrespect, sir-"
"No matter," Tora interrupted. "I do loathe pointless banter, so it seems you've done me a favor." The man looked back up, his black and gray hair sliding from the massive amount of gel put in place to keep it polished and prim. His eyes were wide and green.
He looks like a child. Despite his obvious age, his attitude sang of something far more adolescent.
"Gentlemen," he addressed, gripping everyone's attention. "I've called you here to discuss the case of a woman," he deadpanned.
Silence ensued a collected exhaling of twenty-nine breaths.
"A - a woman, sir?" asked Mr. Himura, the executive director of a neighboring corporation that ran for Asian trade. His father had done major business with him in his previous years, before he kicked the inevitable bucket, and was still going headstrong into the game of business. His tone was bewildered.
"A woman," repeated Tora, with infinite patience.
No one seemed to be able to comprehend the importance of his words. Instead of annoying him, it merely amused him. Something about seeing a room full of confused businessmen lost for words was entertaining. Somewhere, in the far recesses of his mind, the thought was probably wrong and immature. Though despite his own age, immature wasn't necessarily something Tora would ever have associated with himself.
"I - I'm sorry for inquiring, Mr. Igarashi, but what does a singular woman have to do with all of us?" stammered a man from the back, lost in the sea of black ties, blank stares, and empty speech bubbles. His relatively untouched features were instantly familiar.
Tora stood gracefully from his seat, placing his hands on the edge of the conference table. The action reminded him of being six years old again, too vertically impaired to see over conference tables as massive as this one. Of gripping with his small hands to the edges of something similar, while his father smiled and assured he'd be able to see over one day. Quickly, he dismissed the thought. "An excellent question, Mr. Maki." His saunter to the far wall, made entirely of crystalline glass, was slow and purposeful. "What would such a singular girl have to do with anything?" He asked the question of no one in particular, though he could feel everyone's eyes follow him like slithering snakes.
Without unwanted response, he proceeded, staring out at the city below and beyond him, with hands clasped behind his back. His father had always drilled that posture was everything, and intimidation began with a straight spine. "I'm sure you're all familiar with T.E.C.H., our very own world's Top Digital Watchdog."
A small symphony of murmurs and breaths erupted behind him. "Of course," spoke a gravelly voice. "They supervise every district's technology usage, and control the signals that weave in and out of Japan."
"Right," agreed another voice, younger. "They know everything that's passed through anything technology related. Like dictators, they just observe. They're the ultimate powerhouse."
The reflection of Tora's eyes slit, slightly. "Correct. They have unlimited power, unlimited knowledge. Nothing that happens passes over them." He turned around. "Recently, they launched a fourm explaining some new procedures they'd be undergoing. In part of it, they said that the illegal usage of negotiation between companies here to other parts of the world were to be investigated thoroughly, through a long, rigorous process. They think some of today's major corporations are getting a little too friendly with foreign marketers." His smile in the glass when he turned back around was wicked, slight. "Apparently someone's been a little too naughty, and a little less careful about it."
He saw the shock materialize on the faces of many, immediate signs of suspicious activity. He doubted anyone attending could have escaped T.E.C.H.'s nosy aura, therefore he had nothing much to worry about betrayal. None of them seemed smart enough to pull off something as complex as this. Most of them were statutory auditors anyway; they might report to the big boss, but inevitably they made no decisions.
"Did they say what companies were under suspicion?" asked a wavering voice, uncertain in its nature.
Tora turned around, facing the wide eyed stare of Mr. Hanazono. "Do you think they'd be so stupid as to openly exploit the companies they were to investigate, risking the possible hiding of said corporations? No, of course not. The names have been concealed, as I'm sure they'll remain."
The men gave each other identical looks of worry and surprise, the expressions tossed around carelessly. Only one black haired man, face young and untouched by the years of age, gave him a defiant slit-eyed stare. He looked about Tora's age, much to his surprise and amusement, completely unbothered by his recent declaration. Tora gave a smile his direction, to which was not returned.
Murmurs were still flying around the room when a voice arose above them.
"I still don't understand how a woman ties into all of this."
Tora threw a glance in Mr. Maki's direction again. "It is believed that one of the executives of T.E.C.H. let loose information regarding their intentions to investigate, and further information on what they would be doing to the targeted businesses once revealed. You could see what valuable liability such leaking could be, right?"
"So, you mean - The information is out there? Running wild where anyone could get their hands on it?"
Tora's smile was ruthless. "I wouldn't necessarily say that. You see, this particular executive was. . . interested, in someone, so to say. He met her frequently outside of work, and it is said that he trusted her with the documents containing the information."
"You say, it is believed, it is said. Does that imply it's not yet fact?"
"My sources implore me to believe it is true, and I trust them with my life."
"So, what you're saying - you mean he had a girlfriend? And he gave this all to her? Why don't we just approach the executive and ask him about it personally?" called a voice from the far end of the table.
Tora regarded the crowd with mild interest. They were too far behind to be educating properly, it seemed, though their talents were required. He sighed. "Because to do that, well, we'd have to have clearance as to where he was, now, wouldn't we?"
"You mean he's gone?"
Tora strode to the head of the table again, not bothering to take seat in the plush chair set specifically for him. "Last month, records establish that he retired from his position rather abruptly, and flew out of the country without word of where he was going. We tried tracking his credit card, and it's expenses, but it seems the card was cancelled after buying an unknown ticket. Therefore, he is a walking ghost. It seems he blocked his entire background."
Mumbles flip-flopped back and fourth.
"That's utterly suspicious," agreed many of the men.
"Indeed," Tora regarded.
The man with black hair was still staring at him, not bothering to conceal his obvious bitterness. Without much warning, his mouth opened, and it took Tora a moment to realize he was speaking to him. His voice was deep and rich. "So I suppose you want to find this woman, then, and extract the documents from her?" His voice was full of superiority, which Tora regarded agitatedly.
It filled him with a rewarding feeling to say, "Wrong." Everyone's heads snapped up. The haughty one looked annoyingly undeterred. "The woman conspicuously disappeared soon after his leave. Presumably, she went with him, and since his location is unknown, hers is as well."
"What about apartments? Did either of them have a place? Perhaps it's there still."
"After a while, the woman sold her apartment and moved in with him, where they shared a house. After his leave, one was expertly searched. The house, after going on the market, was clear of any remaining pretense he might have ever lived there. And the apartment - the lease was transferred, to someone else who now lives there. Without a legal statement and criminal reason to investigate, we don't have the access or permission to legally search the place."
"So what then would be the plan? If he's disappeared mysteriously, and she's followed suit, how do you expect the information to be retrieved?"
Tora breathed in. Finally, the time had arrived. The real importance of it all. "The woman, incidentally, had a daughter. Recently, she had been living in the dorms of her current college. But now, the apartment is under her name. It seems her mother transferred the lease to her daughter before she left. Currently, she resides there."
"So that's what it is. The daughter. You believe she'll have the information. How can you be so sure it's even worth the time?" the defiant one challenged.
Tora gave a chuckle. "You never know, do you?"
"What's all this got to do with any of us? I still don't get it." Many gave approved murmurs and nods at this comment.
"Well, seeing the look on everyone's face when I stated the fourm would undergo investigation, it seems you all have liable reason to partake in this." Heat crawled, embarrassed, up the necks of many members, while some, seemingly, got defensive.
"Are you accusing us of illegal partnership?" boomed a deep voice, Mr. Koganei of the Koganei corporation.
"It's only an accusation if you take it as such," Tora replied calmly, a sly smile tugging his lips. "The documents hold other information as well, not just about the investigation. It would do anyone a hefty amount to obtain such letters, don't you agree? Business is about power, and power is how you win. Otherwise, we'd all be nowhere, right?" No one answered, though no one disagreed, either. "That's what I thought."
"So you want us all to help. You think you can bribe us with this, like children with candy, and we'll help you."
"I think after you hear what the documents entail, you'll want to."
There was a pause. A break in time where words were scattering and melting into each other in everyone's head. Where contemplation was a real, physical thing and it gripped everyone by the throats and threatened them if their answer was not one. Tora watched the men, some suspicious, some listening intently, some hesitant, as they conversed with each other over the matter. He never understood this part of businessmen; why they always had to have reassurance from others to do something, as if without it they were unsure of their feelings. He'd always understood it to be if you wanted something, you chased it, doubtless of what anyone had to say. That's how you won, after all.
After an infinite number of moments, finally, a clear, certain tone rung above all. "Who is it, then? Who is this daughter?"
Another slow, predatory smile, tugging his lips. Tora met the eyes of twenty-nine men. "Misaki Ayuzawa."
Sierra: Phew! Prologue, finished! I'm super excited to be writing for Maid Sama c: I've been binge watching it lately, thought when I first found it years ago, I never would have imagined writing my own story for our favorite maid.
Anyway, a little insight on the prologue. When it says "President" of companies, in Japan the President of a company or corporation is what a CEO is to us - the highest ranking member. The "Big Boss" so to say. Also, the company I mention, T.E.C.H. It's not a real company; I made it up, for all intents and purposes.
And yeah! This is just a prologue, hopefully I can post chapter 1 shortly, depending if anyone wants me to continue or not c: please tell me what you think! And for everyone wondering, yes, Usui will be part of this story. You'll meet him next chapter, if you want ;)