Assignment 2,

Part 2 – Restart

Byakuya woke up feeling sore. He was no athlete, but he hoped that his training wouldn't have left such a pain in his bones. He only got a few hours of sleep, as most of his nocturnal hours were spent pondering and researching the potential partners his father wished to go into business with. Ikami Inc. was a business that had made its fortune in the clothing industry, producing incredibly 'fashionable' clothing (plain cotton with the company logo plastered onto it) and subsequently striking it rich from the youth who decided it was probably the best they were gonna get for a while. Tojo Catering Services were interesting – the reputation they had garnered was for providing maids that performed whatever was asked for them and that meant anything, meaning a great deal of their success and wealth was known to be for rather insidious reasons. Byakuya had browsed forums that mentioned twisted tales of hitmen, prostitution and other wetwork. And then there was Kamiki Tech. Byakuya already knew much about them. His father had attempted numerous meetings with them in the past but was unfortunately snubbed by the executives – all computing geniuses on many different levels. Programming, design, hardware, software – you name it, Kamiki Tech was the best at making it. Byakuya had dug deeper, trying to find what had suddenly sparked this interest in a deal with Togami Industries, eventually stumbling upon a site called ' ' which caused him to gnash his teeth together when he first read it – she had a fansite?! A sudden twinge of sorrow passed through his gut – only sudden, very fleeting – as he realized one of his classmates had an entire underground network of overenthusiastic stalkers.

His businessman instincts told him that he should check here (after all, a haven dedicated to a programmer surely would have some form of discussion on Kamiki somewhere – maybe she'd already been hired or had a few offers come her way…) after being forced to look at the top daily discussion so dramatically entitled "Our angel is being ravished by a grease monkey as we speak!" by one 'princesspigglesfan53.' Byakuya immediately felt that sense of sorrow return. Hifumi was seeming to attempt to mobilize an entire task force of rabid stalkers to combat some non-existent oppressor. Byakuya quickly went to the search bar on the site and typed in 'Kamiki' as the keyword. The first hit gave him exactly what he was looking for. It was titled 'Taichi Fujisaki is a new employee at Kamiki Tech!' by one 'chifuji734.' The post detailed how Taichi, assumedly Chihiro's father had joined the ranks of Kamiki Tech's executive board, and how he was hired to improve the company's 'empathetic approach to business.'

Byakuya knew what he had to do. He would have his body double go to Ikami Inc. and deal with them, as he clearly understood how clothing and textiles work (Byakuya saw the stitches in that suit, they were 100% accurate to his own, just… larger). His father would go to Tojo Catering Services, they would probably be the hardest to deal with and his father was a stoic, unyielding bastion who could understand murky and dark business to easily secure the merger. And as for himself… he could easily appeal to the father of a weak and pathetic daughter like Chihiro if he were to be at the meeting (which, chances were, he was). If he had raised his child to be like that, then he himself should be a pushover. Okay… roles assigned, Byakuya thought. Time for the first order of business, breakfast. Then to find his new business partner.

Byakuya arrived in the canteen to Makoto, Kyoko and a boy with wispy, white hair standing just behind them, the former eating cereal and the latter stuffing his face with a toasted bagel. Makoto and Kyoko greeted him with a "good morning," through mouthfuls and the white-haired boy (Byakuya decided he must be Nagito Komaeda) nodded his way. He nodded to all three in response (a far simpler way of both showing approval and the fact he was okay with their presence) and poured himself another bitter coffee, and grabbed a breakfast bar from a stack of them lined up near the end of the chilling marble. He leaned on the counter with one elbow, drinking his coffee and squinting through the rays of bitter sunlight pouring through the window, hardy alleviating the bitter chill of the winter's morn on his skin. While doing so his ears focused in on the hushed tones of Kyoko and what he heard was quite odd. Odd snippets of conversation were in earshot. "Something odd going on… 77 on edge… mechanic acting strangely… Yakuza planning something… keep Mondo safe… messing with us… check up on everyone… report back… mole… interloper… puppeteer… good luck…" was most all he could catch. Those last three single words carried implications Byakuya did not like, reminding him of the espionage and crooked-hand tactics so often used in business. He finished chewing the grain and raisins of his breakfast bar and left the canteen, deciding he would think of what had happened no further.

Byakuya spent the next good part of an hour scanning each room in the building for his doppelganger until he happened upon the textiles room. Byakuya opened the door to find his alternate self along with Junko, a girl with crimson red hair and a plaid skirt with a DSLR camera attached by a cord to her chest (Mahiru Koizumi, Ultimate Photographer, Byakuya thought) and a petite blonde-hair girl in a garishly orange kimono who rested her chin on the table, just slightly tall enough to do so.

"Ummm… Byakuya?" Mahiru locked eyes with his double. "...why is there a slimmer version of you at the door?"

"That's the actual Byakuya Togami. The man I based myself on. And I'm confused as to why he's here too."

"Well, he's got you beat on looks…" The small girl sniggered.

"You're coming with me… me."

"We're in the middle of something, so no, I won't."

"Did you hear a word of what I said? Come with me."

"When I'm done with this, I'll consider it. Meet me in my room." Byakuya felt his gut twist in a knot of anger. How dare he be ordered around by himself?! But the Togami Empire needed him, and so it had to be done.

"Wow Byakuya, that vein in your neck is reaaaallly bulging. You trying to show me something?" Junko had made it a habit of making snide remarks towards everyone at every possible moment. Byakuya – to say the very least – did not appreciate the ones thrown his way. As if this jumped up whore of a high-school student could come close to insulting his pride.

"Fine. I'll see you there." Byakuya turned on his heel and walked out the door, annoyed.

"My apologies. Let's continue." The Ultimate Imposter hadn't expected his partner to come calling. He thought he would lead another assignment (as not to get a 'fail') but this changed things. He planned to use his ability with creating intricate and accurate clothing to assist the Ultimate Fashionista and Ultimate Photographer with the photoshoot they were planning. But now he was actually wanted by his partner, which was oddly out of character. He decided he was rather interested in what he had to request of him and resolved to go. But for now, he had other business to attend to. The clothes Junko planned on wearing were, as expected, rather fashionable especially an interesting, contrasting black and white suit she planned on using as the centerpiece for the shoot. He didn't see the logic in inviting the rather nasty kimono gremlin that was Hiyoko, but supposed that Mahiru demanded it. After a few final tweaks to the design of the clothing, they all got to work.

Byakuya stood, slightly annoyed at how long it was taking his partner to join him. It had been four hours, and Byakuya had occupied his time reading and listening to classical music – Tchaikovsky tended to somewhat improve his mood. After around fifteen minutes of standing outside the corridors, wishing his other self was as dependable as he himself was when it came to profit, the rotund figure of his partner appeared at the end of the corridor, lumbering towards his room. "Hmph. Look who finally showed up." Byakuya chided himself.

"Don't give me that lip. I wouldn't be here if you didn't interest me with your sudden change of heart." He found himself saying.

"Open up. Something tells me you'll find this as a good way of proving yourself as… myself."

"Tongue-tied?"

"Open the damn door."

His double opened the wooden door to his room, and Byakuya walked in, walking to the partition that separated the bathroom from the bedroom and grabbed a chair from a small alcove at the back of the room, placing it at the desk where his doppelganger was sat, the frail wooden chair he was sat down on bending under his weight.
"What brought this undoubtedly altruistic meeting on, me?" His clone said.

"Take a look at this." Byakuya produced his phone from his pocket, the aluminum case surrounding it ice-cold from the winter chill. He saw his body double's eyes pore over the text displayed on its screen and a glint caught in them.

"Two days, hmm? A cinch. Where do we start?" Byakuya felt a genuine grin across his face. A kindred spirit, in business, finally! His body double had emulated his vigor for the continuation of family's empire in double strokes and Byakuya was all the happier for it.

"My idea is to sic you on Ikami. You clearly enjoy your work with clothing and textiles. Hopefully you've done your homework on how business is done; no Togami is complete without it, after all. If you can play to those two elements of your persona… we can create a very lucrative deal indeed. You seem to play my part quite well, but you must be abrasive for God's sakes. Do not let up on these people. They're perhaps some of the biggest sticklers in the market at the moment."

"Bigger sticklers than Kamiki?"
"Funny you should mention that. I'll get to them in a minute but it's safe to say this cynicism towards business stems from their market, who'll eat up anything they put out. They sold a brick with their logo on it for God's sake, they're complacent with what they're making and who's buying, so they'll be hard to crack. Don't let up in the boardroom."

"You mentioned Kamiki? What's happening with them?" "Ah yes. Well, it turns out an executive board of computer geniuses may not be the most emotional or empathetic people out there. Big surprise. Recently they hired a man to help improve their empathetic approach to business, rather than just… siccing foreign tech on their customers and then not responding when things went downhill. This man is very important to what I have planned. I take it you've heard of Chihiro Fujisaki?" "The programmer from your class? I've heard about her before, more accurately her genius and timid nature… why is this important?" "The man they hired is that girl's father. If he's anything like his daughter… let me deal with him. The deal will be over like," Byakuya snapped his fingers, "that. His daughter is so frail and spineless that if he takes after her the deal could well end as a merger if I can play to his emotional side. Normally I don't operate like that, but this time duty calls for it."

"I take it your father's dealing with Tojo."

"Naturally."

"Hmph. This should be interesting. Think about it. By the time they realize there are two Togamis doing two separate deals at the same time, it will all be over! Oh, yes, this is your masterstroke in business, Byakuya."

"Hmph. Let's not get complacent. We've got two days ahead of us and if we're to make sure this runs smoothly we've got to make sure there's no room for error. Believe me, with who we're dealing with the moment we show any weakness, they push harder for a greater grant or more money from us… no. This must be efficient. And if we're going to submit this as an assignment we'll need physical proof… some kind of recording… and it has to be discreet… perhaps even secret…"
"Isn't that illegal?"

"Do you think the school will report our activities? We've got a literal Yakuza here and you're worried a slight bit of moral bankruptcy will lead to our expulsion or arrest? I doubt that."

"Well, how about we come up with a plan and relay it to each other tomorrow. Ask your father for more information on who'll be at the meetings. Until, we meet again, me." His double stood up, extending a pudgy hand. Byakuya felt a sense of pride – perhaps even kinship – as he shook it. Odd that the only person he was truly proud of was quite literally masquerading as himself. Poetic, he thought.

"Goodbye," Byakuya said, nodding at his partner, their steely gazes charged with electricity.

Byakuya returned to his room. His alarm clock read 5 pm. He sat down at his desk, sipped his coffee he had left there before (now cold, but he didn't mind) and started to tap away at his phone screen.

"Father, do not worry about the second Togami, I have seen to it myself and he has decided to take on Ikami. As for myself, I have chosen to attempt to strike a deal with Kamiki, for reasons that will become apparent if you can find out who will be at our boardroom meetings, and relay that information to us. We shall not fail, our family's empire will grow yet again. I assure you.

– Your son." Byakuya tapped send and lay his phone down. For the next three hours, he sat there waiting for a response, indiscriminately reading or listening to the classics. At 8 pm there was a knocking at the door and still no response from his father. He walked up to the door and opened to find the figure of Yasuhiro standing at the doorway. "'Sup." was all he said before Byakuya questioned him:

"What do you want?" Byakuya asked, irritated.

"It's board game night at Makoto's room… you've not attended for the past three months so tonight it's Monopoly in a desperate attempt to appeal to you. Everyone except Chihiro is gonna be there, as well as a few members of 77… you in?" Normally Byakuya would've said no to Yasuhiro and his paltry attempts to have him join the rest of the class in their silly games. But he was in a good mood tonight, and found himself saying,

"Why the hell not?"
"Ah, shame but I guess I ex- wait, you're coming."

"I'm not repeating myself."

"Awesome, man! See you there!" Yasuhiro grinned and held up his hand for a fist-bump. Byakuya just gave him a cold stare, and he walked off. He checked his phone one last time, still no response, and walked off to join his classmates and their new partners in their silly games night. As he left his room, despite his coldness towards most things his classmates did, found himself thinking he wouldn't miss it for the world.