"Nice to meet you, I am Kunitomo Yoshikata."
"Nice to meet you, I am Hikigaya Hachiman."
"I am Yukinoshita Haruno, president of Soleil Corporation."
"We met at a party before, it's been a while, I am Yuuki Asuna."
Yoshikata briefly showed a look of surprise that Hachiman introduced himself first instead of Haruno, but quickly shook Hachiman's hand with a superficial smile. However, his eyes were not smiling.
"Please, have a seat."
With that, the three sat in a row opposite Kunitomo Yoshikata. Yoshikata then began the conversation.
"When I received a call from Shouzo-san, I wondered why me, but after hearing that you went straight to Tomomori-san after meeting Kiyomori-san, something came to mind. Do you know a person named Kikuoka-san?"
Hachiman was surprised that the name suddenly came up here, but since he hadn't actually heard anything about this visit, he honestly told Yoshikata.
"Yes, I know him, and he's accompanying us on this trip, but he hasn't told us anything about visiting here. Or rather, we came here because we heard about it from Tomomori-san."
Yoshikata's eyes sharpened at Hachiman's words, and he asked:
"Then, Asuna-san being with you has no particular meaning either?"
Hachiman pondered why Asuna's name came up here. The information Yoshikata knew about Asuna was probably just that she was an SAO survivor. Hachiman thought that he shouldn't mismanage this response and carefully chose his words.
"Hm, is something wrong with Asuna? Asuna is here because the original purpose of coming to Kyoto was to ask Yuuki Kiyomori-san for a certain favor. So, there's that connection, but her coming here with me is actually unrelated to that. It's a little embarrassing to say this here, but it's because she's my girlfriend."
Yoshikata looked surprised, then asked Hachiman directly:
"…Then, are you possibly going to be the successor of Rect someday?"
Haruno answered that question from the side.
"He is our successor, Kunitomo-san."
"Of Soleil?"
"Yes, it's already decided."
"I see…"
If he was the successor of Soleil rather than Rect, there should be no entanglements with the Yuuki hospital system. Yoshikata, realizing he had misunderstood but still wanting to confirm, asked Hachiman:
"…You didn't come here to ask me to vote for Tomomori-san in the board chairman election, did you?"
"No, that's correct. But I don't have any persuasive material, so I'm wondering what to do."
"No… material?"
"Yes, I only heard about your situation yesterday, and Kikuoka-san hasn't told me anything. So, today, I just wanted to get a sense of what kind of person you are, if I may be so bold, and that's why I've intruded."
"I see…"
Seeing Yoshikata lost in thought, Hachiman felt that since he was concerned about Asuna's presence, he was likely being wary due to something SAO-related. He suspected that there might have been an SAO survivor among his relatives, but decided that bringing up the topic himself would only create a bad impression. Thinking that today might be all they'd achieve, he said to Yoshikata:
"Thank you for making time despite your busy schedule. I will look for some persuasive material and visit you again."
"Is that so? No, please wait a moment. Won't you at least have some tea? I'll have it prepared immediately."
Hachiman, though puzzled by the sudden offer, decided to graciously accept. Yoshikata then used the internal phone to ask for tea to be brought, but added one last instruction:
"Also, please have Yugen bring the tea."
(Yugen?)
The moment Yoshikata said "Yugen," he glanced at Asuna, as if checking something. He looked at Asuna, not Hachiman. From that, Hachiman surmised that Yugen was probably an SAO survivor, and at the same time, realized that Yoshikata didn't know he himself was also an SAO survivor. Asuna, of course, had no such thoughts and maintained a cheerful, smiling expression without changing her face at all.
"Excuse me, I've brought the tea."
Then the entrance door opened, and a young boy nervously entered, carrying the tea. He must have thought they were some important people since he was specifically called, as the boy was visibly stiff with tension and kept his head down. Hachiman glanced at Yoshikata, who was intently watching only Asuna, observing her closely. The boy successfully placed the tea in front of each person, and, relieved, he suddenly looked up. Seeing Asuna's eyes widen abruptly at his face, Yoshikata looked as if he knew it. But then another person darted past him and hugged the boy. Yoshikata didn't understand what had happened for a moment and quickly looked over. What Yoshikata saw there was his own son, Yugen, and Hachiman tightly embracing each other, both crying, which utterly astonished Yoshikata.
"Nezha, isn't it Nezha! I wanted to see you, I really wanted to see you!"
"Hachiman-san, it's Hachiman-san! You really are safe, aren't you? I believed it, but you really… really are alive."
"Of course, I wouldn't go down that easily, would I? Look, Asuna is here too."
"Asuna-san too!?"
"Nezha-kun, of course, I'm safe too."
Asuna called out, and Yugen began to shed tears again, profusely.
"When Asuna-san first shattered, my world truly went dark. I had heard from Kikuoka-san that you were both safe, but I couldn't feel at ease without seeing it with my own eyes. And speaking of that time's situation just fills my heart with anxiety, so I couldn't bring myself to talk about the details."
Yoshikata looked at Yugen with a baffled expression and said:
"Honestly, all you ever said was that you participated in the final battle, and that someone named Asuna was a frontline idol, though you weren't sure if she was the Yuuki family's daughter. I had no idea you were this close. That's why you were so adamant about wanting to go to medical school in Tokyo, wasn't it?"
"Because my family and Asuna-san's family aren't exactly on good terms, and I didn't have a picture of Asuna-san, so I wanted to see for myself. I also thought I might meet Hachiman-san and Kirito-san if I did… Oh, that reminds me, Kirito-san, what happened to Kirito-san?"
"He's still with us, Yugen. Agil, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, Argo, everyone is still together."
"Is that so… You're all still together."
"Now you're one of us too. You absolutely have to come to this school."
"Yes!"
Seeing that, Yoshikata shrugged and said to Haruno:
"Good grief, it seems I can't very well refuse Yugen's advancement to Tokyo now, can I?"
"It's alright, that will be the best path for him. After all, he has comrades around him with whom he risked his life to fight. Especially his connection with Hachiman-kun, even setting aside those emotions, I believe it will certainly benefit him and you."
"What do you mean by that…?"
"Well, we'll talk about that in due course."
Yoshikata, comparing Haruno's words with the current situation, fell into thought.
"At first, I thought you intended to use Asuna-san's presence as leverage to manipulate Yugen, and through him, get me to comply."
"So that's why you were watching Asuna so closely."
"Haha, you caught on, didn't you? Well, I've clearly understood now that I was mistaken."
And with that conversation, a conclusion seemed to have been reached, as Yoshikata said to Hachiman:
"First, Hikigaya-kun, thank you so much for not only saving my son but also the other patients who were hospitalized in our hospital."
"No, I didn't do much…"
"In return, though it may not be much, regarding this matter, I will side with Tomomori-san…"
"Please wait a moment."
Hachiman stopped Yoshikata, who was about to speak further.
"I appreciate your goodwill very much, but if you do that, wouldn't it be a weak reason to persuade the other hospital directors?"
"I can manage that with my own strength…"
"But then there's a high possibility that the Kunitomo family will be thought ill of by the Yuuki main family and other hospitals, isn't there?"
"Well, that might be true, but…"
"There's something I'd like to inform you about: the MediCuboid."
The moment he heard that, Yoshikata's expression changed.
"You know about the MediCuboid?"
"Yes, not just know, I have one. And yesterday, we experimentally began its operation at a facility called the Sleeping Forest."
"What did you say!?"
Yoshikata was astonished by those words. The fact that something he had desperately been searching for was already being operated nearby was completely unexpected for him. Yoshikata remembered Haruno's earlier words and looked at her in shock. Haruno nodded with a smile in response.
"Actually, bringing the MediCuboid this time is an exceptional exception. Because when I brought up this offer as compensation for a favor from that stubborn old man… oops, from Kiyomori-san, Kiyomori-san rejected the offer purely out of emotion, saying he didn't want to bow his head to Shouzo-san."
"What!? That man, what has he done…"
Yoshikata was dumbfounded by this fact he was hearing for the first time.
"But then, I met Kaede-chan, Keiko-san's daughter, who needed it. I thought Kaede-chan absolutely needed the MediCuboid, so I decided to bring in the equipment and operate it without permission. Of course, I haven't told the Yuuki main family anything. So, if this gets out, that facility will be in a very bad situation. Therefore, our company has decided to take over the Sleeping Forest and all its patients. As such, under the current circumstances, the MediCuboid will absolutely not be introduced into any Yuuki-affiliated hospitals."
"Th-that's…"
Yoshikata listened to Hachiman's words and made a difficult face. Being on the ground, he probably understood the necessity of the MediCuboid in palliative care all too well.
"If you had told me that from the beginning, I and the other hospital directors would have had no choice but to accept what you said."
"And that would be outward compliance but inward defiance, wouldn't it?"
"Well, that might be true, but…"
"That's precisely why it's a problem. If we don't cut off the bad parts of the Yuuki family here, Rect and the Yuuki-affiliated hospitals will be completely severed. And then, no one will be happy. Shouzo-san and Kyoko-san might feel refreshed, but that's not a fundamental solution. For everyone involved to be happy, that stubborn old man, I will literally force him into retirement."
(Well, "everyone involved" except for Sugou, that is.)
Hachiman thought that but said nothing aloud.
"Forcefully, huh…"
Yoshikata pictured Kiyomori wielding a katana and said to Hachiman with concern:
"But Kiyomori-san's swordsmanship is quite formidable, I think… Honestly, even with a gun, I don't feel like I could beat that old man…"
"It's fine. Actually, he suddenly attacked us with a katana the other day, but Asuna and I successfully restrained him."
"What!?"
Yugen also seemed surprised by that statement and said to Hachiman with an astonished look:
"Hachiman-san, you're strong in real life too…"
"No, not at all. Well, I can manage to land a counter and incapacitate the opponent in that opening, something like that."
"Normal people can't do something like that."
Yugen said that, laughing happily.
Seeing this, Yoshikata was utterly convinced and said to Hachiman:
"Hachiman-kun, I will not side with Tomomori-san, but with you, who is behind him. Furthermore, I promise to persuade the others. And of course, I promise to ensure it's not merely outward compliance but inward defiance."
"I think Tomomori-san is also a person who understands many things if you talk to him properly. Please try to talk to Tomomori-san directly, without any preconceptions."
"Understood. If you say so, I will certainly create an opportunity soon."
"Thank you."
Thus, Hachiman succeeded in swaying the tide of the board chairman election to their side.
Note:
Yugen's name comes from the childhood name of Kiso Yoshinaka, Komaōmaru, but there is no particular deep meaning. The surname has a bit of meaning.
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