Disclaimer: I own nothing that came from the original manga, except the little poems scattered here and there and the unfamiliar characters.
Read & REVIEW please.
Echoes Of The Past
Prologue
The antique grandfather clock in the corner of the room pointed both hands at the delicately curved number twelve. It was midnight, and if one would only care to gaze up, one would notice that on the forty-fifth floor of the Maple Hotel, like a lighted candle swimming in an ocean of darkness, a single room has its lights still turned on. The loud and eerie tick-tocking was unnerving, even disturbing, as its rhythmic pulse seem to reverberate on the walls. Yet, a woman still sat behind a smooth large black desk, brows furrowed in concentration, unmoved. It was always she who leaves the skyscraper last, going home in the wee hours of the morning, dropping off to bed and yet coming in right on time, prim and proper as always, the next day.
Finally, the woman closed the thick leather-bound journal, replacing the silver plated pen on the holder as she sat back allowing herself to sink into the comforts of the custom-made chair. It was the first and only break she took after working for eight whole hours straight. She sighed, and with long slender fingers and perfectly manicured nails, massaged her strained neck to get rid of the cricks.
Her stomach complained loudly. Its nagging seem to echo in her ears amidst the deafening silence of the confined room. The acids in her stomach were starting to juice up, but she simply popped a chalky white tablet into her mouth and ignored the incessantly growing hunger pangs. She is used to pulling an all-nighter with tons of paperwork and only strong brewed coffee for company. It's just the way she works...more like an unfeeling machine rather than a human being.
Handling a vast corporation is not an easy job, but somebody's got to do it, has almost become her motto.
And that somebody is she. Doumyouji Kaede.
Even just the name itself strikes fear in the hearts of many. She is known worldwide for her vast wealth and successful business transactions. She's sly. She's cold-blooded. And, she's brutally frank. She has been likened to a vicious pirate in the business world, much more similar to the ruthless, plundering Vikings in ancient times. Let her see a weakness, a loophole or an unfound potential in your company, be it big or small, and no sooner will you be absorbed into her continuously growing assets and properties.
She lives for power and her hunger is insatiable.
Make a mistake and starve with all the unemployed.
Disobey a single command and be ready to pack your bags.
Mess with her and die.
The message is clear: DON'T GET IN HER WAY. It's that simple.
Or so many thought.