.

Kurogane Shishio just returned to the country after a successful business deal overseas. It was only days after he came back but he already started spreading their influence in the company once more. His wife on the other hand, was displeased with the response she got when she tried to dissuade her husband from taking in his and Kyouko's son. There was already very little dispute about whether or not Kouzuki Kazuya was indeed related to him because the resemblance between them was very obvious.

Not only did he refuse to listen to Nagisa, Shishio also pushed back his plans to have a child with her. If she gave birth to a son then she would have been less threatened even if they were able to take Kazuya from Kyouko. He was but a child so what can he do to her?

It never crossed their minds that they couldn't handle a child so neither of them thought of the possibility of their plans backfiring on them. They may have been married but both had different things in mind. While Shishio hatched a plan to face Kyouko, Nagisa sent messages to Suzaku who had already informed her that they had plans to deal with Kouzuki Kazuya to make him pay for what happened to their family.

"[Do what you need to do but do it quickly]" was the message she sent to Suzaku who showed the message to Ringo before they deleted it.

"Looks like your aunt is getting impatient as well" Ringo smirked after reading the message. There was probably no one that didn't know about their enmity against each other.

"Now that uncle Shishio's back, she wouldn't be able to do as she pleased anymore so she's rushing" Suzaku commented. He really didn't like this aunt of her but it was only a matter of time before his own parents returned for their family's gathering.

"Then we best make that guy hurry up" Ringo picked one of the phones from the desk and dialed a number.

"Yes?" Kuuga answered the call.

"This is Murin, there has been a change in the situation. You need to speed up the process since one of the main supporters is under pressure" Ringo explained the situation.

"I see…" Kuuga frowned on the other end. "There has also been a change in the situation on my end. That kid was suddenly assigned bodyguards from the security company that has been on the rise lately"

"Kazuno Securities?" Ringo was familiar with this name because they were a security company that was born from Kazuno tech and were the ones preventing their attempts from finding out what they needed.

"That's right" Kuuga was a bit surprised. It looked like the rumors that Ringo really was being trained on their company's matters at a young age. She was even privy to such information. "(Looks like even the Muimina family follows the same educational path the Kurogane family does)" Kuuga thought.

Muimina Ringo and Kurogane Suzaku were officially both 6th graders but due to the amount of 'education' they went through before officially joining schools, they were a lot older compared to peers in the same grade. This was a method that the Kurogane was known for. Every single child in their clan would have been brainwashed with their family ideals and ways.

Hashiyama Lee was saved from this because he was adopted and had been going to school when he was taken in. Kuuga stared at the files he had on Suzaku and Ringo because he would have much rather dealt with Lee rather than this brainwashed duo.

Though he didn't like dealing with individuals like them. Business was still business, knowing crooked individuals like these would greatly profit him in the future. He had his own circumstances so he was left with no choice but to lower his head and accept their demands because he stood to gain a lot out of all of it.

Kuuga couldn't help but smirk at their impatience. He kind of missed his old customer because even though he broke down in the end, he still saw Lee as better than these so-called relatives of his who were at his friend's age when he was a frequent customer. Comparing them to Lee was like comparing a careful politician to spoiled nobles.

"Then prepare to strike soon" Ringo confidently stated.

"Oh?" Kuuga was suddenly intrigued. "There seems to be something you're not telling me"

"Let's just say that Kazuno Tech will soon need all the reinforcements they can get" a mischievous grin grew on her face.

"I see… I shall make preparations then" he ended the call and crossed his arms before sinking into deep thought.

He was well aware that numerous people in the underground were slowly getting hired for jobs. These people were mostly muscle and those talented in information gathering. He himself was asked for any information about the mysterious company that the large corporations have been keeping their eyes on.

"I wonder if that beautiful sister is still there" he smirked.

Kuuga didn't tell anyone about what he knew the day he had to settle for the office that he was currently staying at. Kazuno Tech's headquarters were purchased by non-other than the lady that brought along the boy he was targeting again. He of course found out her identity and had already surmised the seemingly childish way they tried to mask the company's name.

He felt that this information would be a lot more valuable if he waited for the right time. Kuuga believed that he could also use this as leverage for when he finally got back at the young master who not only let him take losses but also dared to threaten him the day they bought the land that was now known as Kazuno Tech's headquarters.

From what Ringo had hinted, he could easily tell that the beefing up of security had forced them to take a more direct approach. This indeed would give him a time to strike but it was still only a chance. It would all depend on what actually will happen when they strike.

"Looks like things are going to get lively"

-

Kazuya had just finished his magic training routine and felt a little drained. He glanced behind him and saw Mei still typing away in front of the laptop she brought with her. She usually trained or watched whenever he was there so seeing her working made him curious and a bit concerned.

"Is something the matter big sis?" he walked to her side and glanced at the screen.

"Just some small issues. Since we are accelerating our product releases, some plans need to be worked on while others need to be changed" she explained.

"This is…" Kazuya began reading the contents he was shown. It was indeed not a pressing matter but it was an important one all the same.

"It's about the advertising leading to the product releases, we were already booked for several technological expos but other than that, once we announce the release of what will be our flagship products, we have yet to decide on a strategy to successfully attract consumers"

Kazuya crossed his arms to think. He consulted his memory for a bit and tried to think of something he could use to help solve the problem. What was the use of having memories from his first life if he didn't take advantage of this. Thus he chose something that even someone like him who barely paid attention to advertisements found clever and amusing.

"It's something like…" he told her about the advertisements he found amusing and tried to explain them from memory. He tried to explain it as best as he could. Mei found it quite amusing to see Kazuya like this. She never gets tired of hearing amazing things from him.

"This is great! People will love these ideas! You probably just saved us years of advertising fees!" Mei was elated. Not only did were his suggestions clever, some of them could also be used for the Kouzuki Corporation.

"Is this everything you were worried about big sis?"

"Most of it" Mei confirmed. "I'll have to work at the office for a while so that this can be discussed with the staff immediately. That would just leave the actual implementation for commercials and promotions"

"I think I can help with that as well" Kazuya explained his current predicament with Takaya. He could use his connection with the Aoki group and let them take care of the project. What he didn't tell her however, was the embarrassing part he had to play.

*gyuu* Mei hugged him tight.

Kazuya really didn't want to accept Takaya's proposal but he did owe this friend of his and he was already planning to give in to his parents request of making him appear on stage. This was the least he could do for their effort for teaching him everything he knew and a lot more.

He really didn't want to admit it but Takaya and his parents gave him a role that would fit his time constraints perfectly. His main reason for refusing their offers initially was because we did not want to be part of any production that would require him to travel or appear in several times. Even though he issues about the role he was going to play, he just needed to sit tight and show expressions that everyone agreed he was very good at.

Of course, he still had his own conditions that his friend had already anticipated. Kazuya's name and identity would be hidden like those other nameless extras. He even went as far as asking if he wouldn't appear in the credits at all.

"Thank you, I don't know what I'm going to do without you" she happily started typing at lightning speed as she tried to put into words what Kazuya explained. "Did these ideas come from your visions?"

"Yes" he didn't hide it from her. "Those advertisements are what I can remember. They may not be a lot but those are what I came across with"

"They are plenty enough" Mei turned back to her computer.

He left her alone to do her work in peace and exited his research center. Kazuya looked for the heavy wooden sword he used to practice with. He usually left it under the big tree but it wasn't where he last left it.

"Looking for this?" Kou walked up behind him wearing a mischievous grin. He thought that it would be funny if he sneaked up on his grandson and surprise him.

"Yeah" Kazuya turned and took the wooden sword from Kou and turned to walk away from him.

Contrary to Kou's expectations, Kazuya didn't even seem the least bit startled at his sudden appearance. His grandson already marked his presence in the house so Kazuya only needed to check on the formation to see where everyone was. This left the old man feel a bit frustrated since every single one of his plans have been rendered useless by his grandson.

He was allowed to return to the Kouzuki household since he already declared that he would choose to stay. Kyouko accepted this but reminded him that if he caused Kazuya any trouble, then he would regret it. He felt depressed because he had once been the head of the household, yet he was treated like an unwanted person in the house.

"(What a complicated kid)" Kou grumbled and moved towards the door leading to what once was a storage building. He looked at the formation lock that was already changed by his grandson and examined it. He would spend his time sitting in front of this door whenever he didn't have anything to do and try to find a way to open it.

"(Stubborn old man)" Kazuya thought as he glanced towards his grandfather. Kou refused to look at them whenever they entered the research center saying that he wouldn't be able to call himself a former explorer if he let other people solve these kinds of puzzles for him.

Kazuya observed his grandfather as he practiced his sword. Both of them became wary of each other but didn't do anything to start a conversation with one another despite both of their desires to ask numerous ones. Akane and Yui who were observing them through the window, smiled at how alike these two were.

"Hmm?" Kou noticed something on the door. He felt like he had gotten a clue and used his hands to trace the invisible patterns on the wall. He gathered mana on his palms as this was the only clue he got when the others tried opening the doors.

This of course caught the attention of Kazuya who sensed the moment Kou tried to gather mana. The only reason why he didn't stop him from trying was because he wanted to confirm it without asking. Kou had opened the simple lock before and this time, Kazuya witnessed him really using mana.

*SPLASH* water sprayed from above the building and drenched Kou. This was a clear sign that he had failed in opening the lock.

"Pfft!" Akane and Yui tried to stop their laughter after witnessing the old man looking like he was pranked.

"HAHAHAHA" Kazuya on the other hand, didn't hold back and laughed to his heart's content. He even pointed at his grandfather who was trembling in embarrassment. He would have taken it in strike if a trap were activated instead but he looked like a fool after getting drenched by the trap set by his own grandson.

"You naughty brat! Let your grandfather teach you some manners!" Kou wanted to save face so he rushed to attack his grandson. He wanted this kid to suffer a little bit for everything that he was put through.

Kazuya's lips slowly curved upwards. This was exactly what he was waiting for since the real way to test this person without having to talk would be to engage him in something like this.

"Not bad" Kazuya could feel the mana from Kou's palms and blocked it effortlessly. He felt the old man was holding back because he didn't really want to hurt the kid. "You have to do better than that to make me take you seriously"

"Take this!" Kou increased the amount of mana circulating in his body and further enhanced his physique. Anyone who saw him would have thought that he was at his peak because this was not the kind of movements, a person of his age was usually capable of.

"A little better" Kazuya dodged the strikes. He could see the steps his grandfather took, slowly leave marks on the ground as the amount of enhancement continued to increase.

"(This kid…)" Kou couldn't believe it. He already knew that Kazuya had sparred with Jirou. His old friend informed him that the kid could be considered a master of internal energy already but from what he could see, his grandson was barely even using enhancement but rather making the most out of the denser mana that surrounded them.

"I give up" Kou suddenly halted and surprised Kazuya who looked at him suspiciously.

"Give up?"

"We won't get anywhere like this" Kou shook his head. "I'll be straightforward with you then… How can you use mana? Who taught you?"

.