Catch-22: Break in Play: The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
By: M14Mouse
Summary: Kunikazu Okumura looked between the politician and then to the boy who was now in charge of Kijiro Group. He realizes that he wasn't staring at some sheep sent to the slaughter. He was staring at a wolf.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
Many thanks to AKatsinTcups for betaing this chapter.
Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
Thomas Carlyle
Kunikazu Okumura was bored.
He hated these parties, they were always filled with peacocks, fools, and rumors. There were some positives to these parties though. There was always the possibility of information and new allies to align with, as well as meeting the new president of Tokyo branch of the Kijiro group.
He had no idea what the company was thinking putting such a young man in charge. He was still in college for crying out loud.
He gave the boy six months…tops.
Speaking of the boy…he was talking to his daughter.
In fact, the boy was surrounded by people. How on earth did he know Schwartzer and Albarea? They were talking like they knew each other.
How did the boy make connections that fast?
He supposed he underestimated the boy. It might be good to have Haru make an alliance with him, as long as it doesn't make the papers.
Kunikazu cared very little for what she did outside of her pending marriage.
"You stupid bitch! I told you the gray one, not the navy," Koki Yamamoto shouted as he almost stumbled to the ground. His secretary reached out and tried to grab him to prevent him from falling.
Kunikazu sighed.
God, the man was already drunk. The party had barely started and the fool was already at it. The only reason he was here was because of money. His family had a lot of it. At one time, Kunikazu had thoughts of making an alliance with him..
He was glad that he changed his mind.
The man was a mess.
"I…am…am sorry, sir. My apologies. I will fix it right away, sir," His secretary said with a bow.
Poor woman. He hoped that she is paid enough to deal with such a mess.
"Fix it? You are always "fixing" something that you made a mess of! I don't know why I put up with you! You stupid…stupid…" Yamamoto shouted and spat at the woman. The woman stepped back in fear.
He sighed. They were going to have to call security again.
"Mr. Yamamoto, I have been wanting to talk to you," The boy's voice said.
How on earth did the boy move that fast?
Kori paused when the boy called his name. The boy's hand was firm on Kori's shoulder. He can imagine if Kori took a swing at the boy he would miss and get in more trouble than it was worth.
"Let go of me, boy! Do you know who I am?! I am Kori Yamamoto, the son of…" Kori shouted as he turned his attention to the boy.
"I am very aware who you are since your father stopped by my office. Right now, you are acting like a raging drunk," The boy said calmly to Kori.
He noticed that the boy didn't remove his hand from Kori's shoulder.
Kori's eyes widen in shock.
"How dare you! You need to respect a conversation between…"
"Not really conversation, is it? But, please, do finish it. I like discuss your father's proposal."
Kori blinked and struggled to find his words. The boy had completely disarmed him.
Kori turned back to the woman.
"The navy…suit for the California trip."
"Yes…yes, sir," She said with a bow then left the room.
"Aww…California. You will enjoy the weather. As for your father's proposal, I am afraid that I will have to decline," The boy said to Kori.
"Wh…why? How…"
"You must understand. Your father is a very honorable and knowledgeable man. I told him that I would look it over and it is a sound proposal. There was just one clause and the reason that I am here today talking to you. You were to act to liaison during the contract. As I witnessed, I found your behavior…to be undesirable. I will not tolerate this behavior toward me or my company."
"HOW DARE YOU?! You are nothing but some boy! Some upstart! I can tell my father that…!" Kori shouted at the boy.
He could see Schwartzer and Albarea moving closer. This boy….
He tilted his head and stared at Kori.
The entire room was watching as if it was frozen in time. He looked between Kori and the boy.
"I am rather new at this whole running a business. I can image that the board will probably have some words with me about being nicer towards future clients. I refuse to see anyone treated in the manner that you treated your assistant. I am sure that the reason why no one confronted you is out of respect for your father's power and influence. If your father has a problem with me he can call my office and we will sort it out. Now if you excuse me, I have other guests to attend too," The boy said as he turned away and walked back toward his friends.
"…Wait…I? BOY! COME BACK HERE!" Kori shouted angrily.
Kori took a drunken swing at the boy. The boy turned around and caught his arm.
Kori tried to jerk back his arm in a panic, but the boy's grip remained firm.
The security had enough sense to step in at that point.
"BOY! BOY! I am talking to you! Come back! LET ME GO!" Kori shouted as the security took him away.
The boy didn't even turn back around.
"You are starting to sound like Rean," Albarea said as the boy rejoined his little group.
"I don't sound that bad," Schwartzer grumbled.
"You don't. You are very motivative, Rean. I was very impressed with your group project speech."
Albarea coughed into his hand…which gave Kunikazu the impression that he was trying to hold back laughing.
Schwartzer's face flushed and he scratched the back of his head.
"I have never seen Mr. Yamamoto act like that before, then again, I tend to avoid these types of things. If you and Jarius didn't drag me here, I wouldn't be here. I heard rumors but to witness it. I hope the woman is alright. I am glad that you stepped in."
"From what I heard, it usually happens later in the night. I tend to leave before it happens." Albarea added.
The boy nodded.
"You know that could cost you."
"It is a cost that I am willing to take."
"See…you are becoming Rean."
The boy laughed then started waving to someone behind him.
"Mr. Toranosuke!" the boy shouted.
He snorted. What on the earth does the boy want with No Good Tora?
Yoshida seemed just as surprised by the acknowledgement.
"Excuse me for a moment."
The boy broke away from his friends before approaching Yoshida.
"Mr. Toranosuke. My name is Yu Narukami. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I heard some of your speeches, they are quite impressive. You have some very sound and interesting thoughts on current economic and social policies. I am surprised that they aren't getting more attention," the boy said with a smile and a small bow.
Yoshida's face broke out into a huge smile then he offered his hand. The boy shook it firmly.
"Why thank, Mr. Narukami. I'm rather impressed really. Not many stop to listen to my speeches. I am surprised that I haven't seen you there. You are quite a notable figure."
The boy's smile grew, and he had this glint in his eyes.
"I am merely the entertainment for the moment. In fact, it has already passed with the whole Madjad and Phantom Thieves conflict, along with the elections. Besides, your audience has grown quite a bit. So, I am not surprised that you couldn't see me."
Yoshida scratched the back of his head and flushed.
"I seemed to have embarrassed you. I will let you go. Perhaps we will meet again."
"I would like that. I would also like to hear your thoughts of the future of this country as well. You seem to be an insightful young man. Your work to expand internet access to more rural parts of our country has been working wonders."
"Why thank you. I lived in a rural area of Japan during my high school years. The internet was spotty at best. Technology is our future after all, we can't leave the rest of our country behind. I will have Theodore, my assistant, get your number and he will set up something between us."
He blinked when the man in a blue suit seemed to pop up with the sound of his name.
This Theodore seemed very eager as he got a notebook of his pocket to get Yoshida's information.
Kunikazu snorted.
The boy will be useless especially if he got involved with No Good Tora, but Kunikazu did want to make some impression.
He worked his way toward the boy while Yu was still alone..
"Mr. Narukami!" He shouted to get Yu attention.
The boy stopped and turned to him.
"Good evening, Mr. Okumura," the boy said with a small bow.
"Good evening," He said with a bow then offered his hand.
"What do I own the pleasure of your company?" the boy asked with the tilt of his head.
"I saw you talking to my daughter, Haru."
"Ah, she is very insightful. She was telling me her future plans. I know that marriage is in her cards, but she has very sound business ideas."
He blinked in surprise. His daughter never said anything to him about this.
"Oh?"
The boy nodded.
"She spoke of starting her own business. A café focusing on locally grown products . She spoke of trying her hand at making coffee as well. I gave her the number of a local café owner who is an expert on coffee. I'm sure that she will enjoy learning from him. We are also conducting research about plant life and growing them on less ideal soil. I told her that I will pass on our research once it concluded."
He snorted.
"It wouldn't work in this market."
"I am not sure. There are some successful restaurants and cafes here in the city who marketed themselves as organic and locally grown. It is also popular in other parts of the world such as the States and Europe. I can imagine with the right marketing and backing that it could be very successful here as well."
"And you are interested in backing her?"
"Maybe. She will have to finish school first and I would like her to take business classes."
He snorted.
"I wouldn't bother. I can go the board and…."
"I told her that it might be a bad idea."
"Excuse me?" He said in surprise.
"There have been rumors about you and your future in laws. I warned her that it might not be wise to seek funding from you."
He felt his face become red. Damn boy. He spit out angrily.
"If you don't get your hands dirty, you clearly don't understand business."
"I have no problem getting my hands dirty, Mr. Okumura. I have an image to rebuild as well, the Kijiro Group has been going through some rough times. Leadership is about responsibility and vision, not power. Do you take responsible for your high turnover rate? How many people suffered from mental and physical breakdowns under your leadership? How many people had on site injuries? Your output has been incredible, but those profits are suffering due to high a turnover rate and lawsuits."
"I know that and I don't care!"
His mouth snapped shut and he stared at the boy. The boy looked almost… sad. Why on earth is this boy pitying him?! He was getting more wealth and power than the boy could ever dreamed!
"I noticed." the boy stopped then shook his head.
"Good evening, Mr. Okumura. It was a pleasure to meet you."
The boy turned away.
"Wait…I…"
Why in the hell is he stopping the boy?! He should let him walk away. The Kijiro Group are fools.
But….
He adjusted his jacket and stood tall.
"You're wrong."
The boy stopped in his track and tilted his head toward him.
"About?"
"Vision! Responsibility! I have a vision of my company going international. I have the responsibility to my company to make it so!"
"That is a lie."
He recoiled as if he was slapped and his eyes widened in shock. The boy continued without missing a beat.
"Your vision is power. Your responsibility is to that power. What will happen when you get that power, Mr. Okumura? What is the purpose? Until you have that answer for me, I believe that we are done. Good evening again," the boy said with a slight bow before moving away.
He heard a soft chuckle over his shoulder. He turned around to see Shido-san behind him.
"He doesn't mince words, does he? I rather like that. I might need to talk to him before I go," Shido-san said.
"I…."
"He's right, you know. Your quest for power will lead you nowhere. Mr. Narukami! A word if you will," Shido said as he walked past him.
The boy stopped again and turned to look at Shido-san.
The boy wore the same expression as before…not awe or fear...
But open curiosity.
No, it wasn't that at all. It was someone sizing up a threat.
This boy wasn't a sheep. He was a wolf.
And they left him with open arms.
End of The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Next Chapter: The Thin Red Line
A/N: I have plans and plots and things! :D One thing that I planned when I started this fic was the introduction of Haru. I always got the impression that they went oh, crap…we need someone else and just dropped her in without much of an introduction. So, I decided to change that a little. As for Yu's mystery friend, yes, you will be seeing more of him soon. Anyway, thank you guys for the wonderful reviews, kudos, favorites, etc.