Kyou Kara Maou Fan Fiction ❯ This Devil's Workday ❯ Part III ( Chapter 3 )

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Me: To begin with, my heartfelt thanks goes out to angee! For making me realized that I had been reading my hiragana wrong all this time and that the word for “something” is “Tokidoki” not “dokidoki”

Tommy: *Slaps mistress upside the head*

Me: *recovers* Yes, so I'm sorry!

 

Our deepest gratitude to Serena1985!

 

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This Devil's Workday

Part III

 

As it turned out, the presentation went fantastic. Neither Yuri nor Wolfram (of course) missed a beat. They carried out friendly chatter with the two representatives they had met with, and Yuri even found common ground with one of them over their favorite sport, baseball. Every question that the Reps came up with, someone had an answer to. The deal looked great and was beneficial to both companies. This is why both Yuri and Wolfram thought they had gone daft when they heard a stern voice say, “No.”

 

It had happened near the very end. Yuri was wrapping up his portion of the conclusion and Wolfram was just getting ready to pick up his cue when a phone rang. It was only then that Yuri realized there was even a phone in the room…or a video camera.

 

One of the Reps made a motion that said, “Excuse me,” and picked up the phone. He said “yes” into the phone a few times and then pushed a button before hanging up the phone. Yuri and Wolfram held silent, unsure of whether to speak again or not, and then a voice said, “Mr. Shibuya, Mr. von Bielefelt, thank you, but no.”

 

Yuri blinked, and when he turned to Wolfram he found his own look of amazement mirrored on the blonde's face.

 

“May I assume I am speaking to Ryouma Takanaga, head of Izukane Co?” Wolfram asked.

 

“You may.”

 

“Then may I also ask why you have rejected our proposal?”

 

Inside, Yuri was thinking “hear, hear!” How could he? What reason could the CEO possibly have? Even to someone like Yuri it sounded good!

 

“DokiDoki! Inc. is for girls!” came the answer from the phone speaker.

 

Yuri blinked. **THAT'S IT!?**

 

“I beg your pardon?” Wolfram asked.

 

“DokiDoki! makes toys for girls, if I put my swords through your company no one would buy them! Who wants a sword from a girly company? And what's more, a girly company run by a man! Has Gwendal von Voltaire no shame?”

 

If possible, Wolfram looked even more affronted. “How dare you! I will not tolerate you to speak of my brother in such a degrading manner!”

 

Yuri looked sharply at Wolfram.

 

“Even if you do not accept our proposal, I would have you take back your words, sir!”

 

Yuri glanced at the Reps. They looked just as lost as he felt.

 

“So chivalrous,” Takanaga said. “And what will you do if I do not? Fight me in a swordfight?”

 

“If that is your decision,” Wolfram answered, “then I will take up that challenge.”

 

Yuri glanced at the Reps. They looked just as panicked as he felt.

 

“Do you not know who you are talking to?” Takanaga said. “I have long been in the business of swords and I have trained all my life. Even if you have some skill at the sword you have little hope of defeating me with my lifetime of experience!”

 

“That remains to be seen,” Wolfram answered.

 

Yuri glanced at the Reps. They looked just as impressed as he felt.

 

Then there was the sound of the phone clicking off, and one of the Reps stood up and bid them follow. As soon as they walked out the door, Yuri took advantage of the situation to whisper to Wolfram, “What are you doing? Conrad sent us over here to strike a business transaction, not to duel with the CEO!”

 

“Shut up!” Wolfram said valiantly. “This is a matter of honor now!”

 

“Honor?” Yuri repeated incredulously. “This isn't the shogunate period! We're not in the Shinsengumi!”

 

“Maybe *you* wouldn't understand it, but it matters to me.” Wolfram quickly turned and walked out the door. Yuri ran after him and when he caught up with him, Yuri grabbed Wolfram's arm and pulled into a side hallway. Pressing Wolfram back up against the wall, Yuri glared at him.

 

“The CEO of this company is probably psycho in his old age!”

 

“What?” Wolfram asked as he put up a token struggle to get away.

 

“Oh, c'mon! Challenging you to a duel? Or you challenging him, whatever! This kind of thing only happens in weirdo fangirl fanfiction!”

 

Wolfram smirked. “You read weirdo fangirl fanfiction?”

 

Yuri blushed. “No, I don't!”

 

“Then how do you know?”

 

“Shut up! That isn't the point! What if he really tries to hurt you?” Wolfram gave Yuri a look that spoke volumes. “And just before you ask that question aloud,” Yuri continued, “no, I'm *not* worried about you! I just don't want to have to explain this whole mess to our boss when I'm dragging you back in a body bag.”

 

Wolfram smiled. A true smile, no trace of smirk, and Yuri abruptly lost his steam. Wolfram moved forward until he was very close to Yuri for the second time that day. “You worry too much,” he said. And then he moved away and walked back out into the main hallway.

 

When Yuri rejoined him out there, the Reps were asking where they had been.

 

“Pep talk,” Wolfram smoothly replied, and with a small gestured urged the Reps to lead the way once amore. Now Yuri had no choice but to follow. He figured the least he could do would be to stay by Wolfram's side.

 

**Right,** Yuri thought. **As long as I still draw breath, Wolfram will not have to face anything alone…**

 

Yuri paused before grimacing. **Oh great. NOW who's the one who thinks he's a samurai?**

 

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The CEOs office, and the top floor, was as different from Yuri's own CEO's as could be imagined. Swords of all shapes, styles and sizes hung on every vacant space of the walls, and Yuri couldn't shake that sheep-being-led-to-slaughter feeling. As it were, Yuri wanted nothing more than to grab Wolfram by the collar and hightail it out of there. The face of his boss hovered in his mind however, and that alone kept him in that death-by-steel office. As he weighed whether facing his boss would be the absolute worst, or if letting Wolfram duel with this crazy old man would be, Wolfram had already marched strait up to the old man.

 

When Yuri noticed this, his eyes alighted on the CEO of Izukane Co., Ryouma Takanaga. If he didn't know it was otherwise impossible, Yuri would have sworn that Hijikata Toshizo had just stepped off the pages of the history books and was sitting before them. Even though it couldn't be the *real* Hijikata, Takanaga was seated upon a tatami mat that took the place of a regular desk wearing the standard uniform of the Shinsengumi, complete with the tasuki cord that crossed over the man's broad chest. He even had the mountain patterns on the shirt!

 

While Yuri mourned the detrimental path his life has deviated on as of late, he heard Wolfram saying something the background. Whatever the Reps said was lost upon Yuri, as he leaned forward to whisper in Wolfram's ear.

 

“We should leave!” Yuri told him. “This guy's obviously cracked! If he kills you, he might make me commit seppuku in order to save the face of our company!”

 

Wolfram smirked. “Would you?”

 

“No!” Yuri said. “As you said, I have no honor, so I'd do the sensible thing and run. Even if I *wanted* to do such a stupid thing, which as I said I *wouldn't*, I have no second. I'm not just gonna bleed to death from a crazy gash to my stomach with no second to cut off my head!”

 

“I'll be your second,” Wolfram said.

 

Ignoring the suggestiveness of the statement, Yuri pressed on. “You'll be dead!”

 

“Stop speaking amongst yourselves and face me!” Takanaga said, struggling to his feet. Yuri and Wolfram watched him, Yuri with a bizarre look on his face and Wolfram's bordering on disdain.

 

“Look, can you even really swordfight?” Yuri asked Wolfram while the CEO continued the long process of getting up off the floor.

 

Wolfram laughed softly, turning his head to talk directly into Yuri's ear. “Of course I can. I was *born* with a sword hilt [6] in my hands!”

 

With all his willpower, Yuri suppressed a shiver as he felt Wolfram's hot breath brush over his ear and neck. **I'd like to hold your sword hilt, too…** he thought vaguely. “Aw, geez, I'm so perverted,” he said loud enough for Wolfram to raise his eyebrow at him.

 

“So which one of you is my opponent?” Takanaga asked, a bit breathless from his previous efforts.

 

“I am,” Wolfram said, stepping forth. “I am Wolfram von Bielefelt, and I challenge you to take back your unsavory words!”

 

Yuri groaned inwardly.

 

Takanaga grinned in a not altogether pleasant way before gesturing towards Yuri. “And this is?”

 

“This is my partner, Yuri Shibuya.”

 

Yuri looked at Wolfram. Something about the way Wolfram said it made it seem much more important than it really was.

 

“Oh yeah,” the CEO said in a tone that made it obvious he had forgotten there were two of them. “Well, take your pick,” he continued, motioning to the swords on the walls.

 

**REAL SWORDS!?** Yuri shrieked in his mind. They were going to use real swords and blood would be all over the place and Wolfram would die before he ever got to touch him and his boss was going to kill him and if he survived at all what was Conrad going to say? And oh, the others…they would NEVER let this go! Oh gods, oh gods…

 

Yuri's internal tirade was cut mercifully short as he heard the distinct sound of a sword sliding out of its sheath. Yuri forced his eyes to look upon the scene of Wolfram inspecting his chosen sword and Takanaga rolling his shoulders to loosen up before the Big Battle. One of the Reps stepped forward, now wearing a headband with the symbol for “Kill” on it.

 

**What the hell is going on?** Yuri thought wildly as the two faced each other. **Why is this happening? Where did I go wrong? Should I have signed up with that computer company instead?** The Reps had begun some kind of traditional speech. **Damn you, Conrad! I blame you for suggesting DokiDoki! And where did that guy get that cool headband!?**

 

The last thought returning his attention to the duel in action, Yuri turned to see the two raising their swords and move towards each other. Any minute now…

 

“STOP!” Yuri shouted, foolishly jumping in between the two swordsmen.

 

Takanaga's hand froze, his sword miles away from coming anywhere near Yuri. In shock, Wolfram pointed his sword to the side, narrowly missing piercing Yuri by inches. Startled, Wolfram dropped the sword, but his momentum carried him far enough that he was within grasp of Yuri. Reaching out, Yuri grabbed onto his forearm, pulling him further until Wolfram's wide eyes were staring straight into Yuri's dark black ones. Their lips were so close one would have found it hard to pass a piece of paper between them. Giving Wolfram one last hard look, Yuri released his arm and stood up straight.

 

“Look, this is just fucking stupid!” he yelled at the two of them, to the Reps, and to everyone in the general vicinity of that city block. “You!” he said to Takanaga. “Just say your freakin' sorry already so we can leave! You don't want to contract with our company, fine! We'll go! Now say you're sorry! NOW!”

 

“S-sorry!” Takanaga stuttered, looking like he couldn't fathom why he was doing what the younger idiot was telling him to. HE was the CEO, damn it!

 

“Good,” Yuri said. “Wolfram!” Wolfram startled as he looked at him. “Accept it, NOW!”

 

“Uh…right,” he mumbled.

 

“Great, we're leaving!” Yuri said, grabbing onto Wolfram's wrist. “Goodbye!”

 

Dragging Wolfram out into the hallway, Yuri began marching towards the elevator.

 

“Why did you do that, you idiot!?” Wolfram asked. “You could've been hurt! Really hurt! You can't just jump in front of swords like—hey!” he yelped as he felt himself thrown bodily into the elevator. Once inside, Yuri pressed him back up against wall of the elevator. When the doors slid shut, Wolfram felt like he had been locked in a room with a demon.

 

Yuri was beyond pissed. He was feeling something he wasn't sure how to define. He was feeling Wolfram. His hands had a firm grip on Wolfram's slender hips; for reasons unknown, Yuri pressed a knee between Wolfram's, and by pressing his body forward against Wolfram's, he effectively kept Wolfram from moving anywhere.

 

“Shut up,” Yuri said, his face right up in Wolfram's. “I was not about to let you get hurt for such a little matter. He apologized, we didn't get the contract, whatever, we'll explain it later, but I'd much rather we didn't have to do that with you bloodied up or worse. And yes, before you ask that question, I *was* worried about you, okay?”

 

Wolfram let out a rush of air. “Okay.”

 

“Okay,” Yuri restated, moving backward and off of Wolfram. For a moment, neither moved or spoke and then the doors to the elevator slid back open. There stood one of the Reps.

 

“Ah,” he said, “you haven't pushed the floor to go down to, good! Please, come back. The president was very impressed with your show of confidence, Shibuya-san, and your show of honor, von Bielefelt-san, and he is willing to reconsider your offer. Please, please…”

 

Yuri and Wolfram looked at each other and laughed.

 

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Author's Note: All information about the Shinsengumi, again, comes from Wikipedia. Well, as I've really nothing further to add, I hope this chapter sat well with everyone and we hope to see you again in the next, and final, chapter!

 

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