Certainly none of his business
Family matters
Private affairs
Best not broached.
"Biting the hand that feeds you."
"A dog does not bite unless provoked."
"It was because of business, that you and your son had a falling out."
"Success demands sacrifice."
"Touché."
"You are just like him. I think that your conduct is quite ruthless, that is why your friends cannot stand you."
He raised an eyebrow
Daring statement.
"I always see you walk alone. And Yumi-chan is perhaps the only one who is patient enough to keep you company."
"Patient indeed. Few understand the necessity of cold logic over hypocritic morals."
"Maybe you have succeeded in brainwashing my granddaughter."
"Oh no. She may have learned a thing or two from me, but puppeting her is nigh impossible."
"Always the free bird, isn't she?"
"Flying higher."
"Perhaps too close to the sun."
Indeed.
If the proverbial wings
Ambitions
Of wax and feather
Too high and too close
Eventually
Downfall.
"I am getting old. I have played this game of monopoly for far too long. My fortune hangs by a string while the jackals wait for the meat to drop dead."
"All things come to an end. If you had cherished family over money and fame, perhaps it will end differently."
"If. You were my heir."
"That is a big if."
He was swift to the cut.
"Of course. What fool hands over her masterpiece to some random man? I may as well scatter it."
Both of them
Sharing uneasy laughter
Over delicate matters.
"If I were you, I'd hide it away. At least nobody can take advantage."
"How rotten, Hikigaya-san."
"On second thought, probably give it to charity, a portion to family."
"But no doubt. Your logics and emphasis on efficiency makes a good businessman out of you."
"That is one of the last things I'd prefer to get myself into."
"Consider the alternative, better to be the master than the servant."
Such is life.
To be equal
Cannot be fair
And to be fair
Cannot be equal.
Not all can be blessed
Plenty must suffer
An expense
While the aristocrats
Top of the ladder
Bask in glory and wealth
Bought with blood
Sweat and tears
Kill or be killed
Natural selection.
Nature is a bitch.
Back step
On the trail
The motives behind
Every choice
Will profit one
And rob another.
The very existence of a person
Brings both joy
And pain
Regardless of your actions
You will always hurt someone
And make another happy.
Now
Which way
Is the most profitable of all?
One
Two souls tied
Mutual gain and loss
Joint suffering
The other
Possibly a chance
For better or worse
Both parties
Benefit or lose.
A gamble.
But it is not about profit.
Is it?
"Yumiko-chan fell in love with you."
His body seized up
Frozen stiff
Craning his head to the side
Beneath a scarlet hat
Deep green eyes
Mischievious smile.
A fatal statement.
Lethal truth.
"How did you know?"
"You just confirmed it."
Clever woman.
Cunning
On par
With a certain devil
Possibly sharper
Than a certain ice queen
Yet a predecessor
To a certain fire woman.
"Besides. By simple deduction, if Haruno-san is not your love interest, it was an easy guess. Seeing my dear Yumi-chan happy around you... quite the telltale signs, isn't it?"
"You had me checked there."
"You got way more than what you have bargained for."
He took a deep breath.
The wind was icy
Cold frost
Wafting from his lips.
"I do not want to destroy the relationship between us."
"I see. You have worked hard to build a fine friendship with her. You cannot simply forfeit it for something so ephemeral."
"I cannot say who is more selfish between us. She, who wants more. Or me, who wishes to keep things as it is."
A sudden epiphany
He became the very person
He had so despised.
A masked prince.
He who insists
On consistency
Like stagnant water
Brewing monotony
The fire
Indeed
It burns
But he refuses to stoke it.
His heart sank
Blood ran cold
Tongue felt dry
Saliva was like poison
And he wanted to vomit.
Had the vile creature
He so scorned
Like a serpent
Bitten him?
Slow-induced venom.
He wanted something genuine.
Now.
He wanted nothing to change.
He had become a hypocrite.
