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The next day was full of surprises for those the duo of Mei and Kazuya met. First was when they collected their winnings for the lottery. The people were stunned to discover that it was the little boy instead of her guardian who won over 400 million. He might as well be considered one of the luckiest boy for winning the lottery on his first try.
Second was the bank where Mei helped him create a new account so that the one he created with Kyouko doesn't reveal what he was up to. They were assisted with a trainee employee who treated him as just another child. She almost fainted when Kazuya had handed the check of their winnings over.
"Big sis please take the card and the bank book" Kazuya handed it over to Mei as soon as they entered the car.
"No. You should hold onto it for now. You should just give me half of it after I've finished registering the company" Mei rejected. She didn't want to have access to all of the funds because she wanted Kazuya to leave some for himself.
"I already said that this will only be the initial investment. Feel free to spend as much as you like for establishing our headquarters. I want this company to reflect the way big sis wants it to since this is your own company to manage" he of course sensed Mei's hesitation so he insisted.
"Kazu…" She was already considering ways to cut costs but Kazuya wouldn't have any of it. She already had a vision of what kind of atmosphere the company would have but the final say wasn't hers. "Are you really sure about this?" she couldn't help but ask again. She thought of ways to think about how he could get another investment but the thought of winning the biggest lottery at the end of the year didn't cross her mind.
"I am. I already said that big sis can handle everything the way you want to and I meant it. I only ask that you don't keep problems from me since I may be able to help"
"Okay. I promise"
The two arrived at the Warehouse that was owned by Mahiru's mother. Kazuya got off the car with Mei and immediately sensed a few stares not too far from their position. He fixed his vision just enough to get a peripheral view of it and there he found a van that was heavily tinted.
"That kid…" the young man sitting inside the van immediately recognized Kazuya.
"What is it boss? Do you recognize that pretty lady?" the rough looking man behind the wheel asked.
"Hmm?" he took a glance at Mei and was immediately mesmerized. "A fine woman indeed" he licked his lips. If Lee were here, he would immediately shout at this acquaintance of his for looking at Mei like that. "Looks like that guy Lee does have good taste" Kuuga couldn't help but develop a smile on his face.
"That's one fine woman" the rough man whistled as he kept his eye on Mei. He totally ignored Kazuya who had already sensed them.
Mei's senses were already enhanced so she couldn't help but frown after catching that disgusting feeling whenever someone looked at her with lust. Unlike Kazuya who was masking his point of view, she glared directly towards the van for a few moments before moving towards the entrance of the warehouse.
"Did she just… notice us?" the rough looking man wondered as Mei stared directly in is direction.
"That woman is interesting indeed. No wonder Lee was so infatuated by her" Kuuga also felt a little pressure after Mei looked in their direction but shrugged it off. He didn't think that a woman was any threat to them.
"They went inside the warehouse boss. What do you think they're here for?"
"I don't know that woman but I do know that Kid. He goes to my school and his club captain is the daughter of this place's owner" he explained.
"So he was the one that Hashiyama kid wanted to be taken care of? He looks fine to me"
"Yeah… that's what bugs me. Anyway they're probably here to talk about the incident and find out if the daughter's betrayal had anything to do with Lee. Too bad for them that they don't know a thing" he laughed.
"But didn't we send Ousame there to pressure the owner to pay her debts so we can buy this place for cheap?" The rough guy was confused. They ordered him to pressure Mahiru's mother to pay her debts immediately because Kuuga wanted to use their land to set up his own base of operations.
"That guy doesn't even know I'm involved. All he knows is that he only needs to settle his own debts and this is the only way he can find enough cash to pay up"
Ousame was indeed in the vicinity. As the Mei and Kazuya approached the entrance of the Warehouse, they heard a pair of voices arguing. One belonged to Ousame who Kazuya of course recognized and one was Mahiru's mother.
"Please leave. The debt will be repaid as soon as I conclude my business. The deadline is still not here so why are you pestering me this much?"
"Listen lady, I've already lowered the price I'm collecting from you. Why are you being stubborn. If I didn't need the money then why do you think I would come here to settle your debt?" The man sounded annoyed after being turned away.
"You may have bought the debt from those despicable people but that doesn't mean that you can just barge in here like you own the place. I'm expecting guests so please leave immediately" She didn't notice that Mei had already arrived together with Kazuya and stood by the side quietly getting a grip of the situation.
"Is there something wrong Sawada-senpai?" Mei decided she had heard enough and walked up to interrupt.
"Kazuno? Is that really you Kazuno?" She was shocked to see her former underclassman looking like a real professional businesswoman. She remembered a serious girl who worked hard but just the level of presence of this beautiful young woman in front of her made her speechless.
"It's me senpai. Kazuno Mei. I called you earlier to set up an appointment. I hope you don't mind me dropping by in such short notice" Mei completely ignored Ousame who was now wearing a frown.
"Hey lady, it's rude of you to—" he froze as soon as he noticed the boy who walked up to stand beside Mei. His legs started trembling after remembering the hellish experience he was put through by this little demon.
Kazuya couldn't help but sigh. The women's' attention was already on him because of Ousame's reaction towards him. He really didn't expect to see this guy here so he knew that there was no way he could give an excuse Mei would believe.
"What are you doing here?" Kazuya couldn't help but pour his frustration over this unexpected person.
"S-s-sir… p-p-please f-forgive me I really n-need to collect the m-money she owes me s-so I…"
"Shut up and stand to the side until we're done with our business here" since it was already too late, Kazuya thought of using this person's presence to their advantage. "Sorry for that big sis. We can continue with what we came here for now"
"Who is this child Kazuno?"
"My name is Kouzuki Kazuya. You are Sawada Mahiru-senpai's mother correct?" Kazuya's eyes narrowed and she immediately understood. This was the person they had conspired against.
"I-I see… please come this way then" She led the two inside an office inside the warehouse. She was nervous and felt guilty towards this boy who probably already knew what she and her daughter had done judging by the reaction of the Ousame.
"What's going on Kazu? Why did that man tremble when he saw you?" Mei wasted no time to ask him about the startling event outside the warehouse.
"It's a long story big sis. A story that says why I'm against purchasing this place" he then began to retell a different version of the incident that happened at the kendo tournament.
He changed the story to the man outside being a loan shark who made Mahiru's mother compel her daughter to throw the matches of the tournament to lessen the amount of debt she owed. He also mentioned that the guy outside tried to attack him so that he would pull out from the tournament but he beat him up instead,
Kazuya looked straight into Sawada Matsuri's eyes. She wanted her to comply with his story so that Mei wouldn't be worried. The woman understood this and felt that she owed it to this clever boy to make her underclassman not worry too much.
"I'll rip that bastard to pieces!" Mei's rarely got angry but her bloodlust oozed out and even surprised Kazuya. He felt touched that she would be this angry for his sake but didn't want her to uncover the truth.
"It's already fine big sis. I beat him up enough to send him to the hospital. He has already suffered enough since I made him promise to only collect the minimum amount he could from the captain's family" Kazuya tried to pacify her by gently rubbing the back of her palm as he held it.
"So that's why…" Matsuri couldn't help but exclaim. This was news to her. She was always puzzled as to why the amount Ousame demanded of her went down by a lot. It turns out it was the doing of this seemingly innocent little boy that came with her underclassman.
"Now then, It's time we continue our objective for coming here" Kazuya looked at Mei wanting her to begin the talks.
"No need, Mei's expression grew cold" she wasn't about to deal with someone who had plotted against her Kazu. She knew that not all of he said was the truth and they were mostly so that she wouldn't worry about him.
"Kazuno wait!" Matsuri tried to stop them. Mei already tried to leave while holding Kazuya's hand.
Matsuri already got a lot of offers for the land but most of them investigated her circumstances and tried to take advantage of her plight by giving her low offers for a place that was worth a lot more. She knew that an accomplished person like her underclassman wouldn't offer such a low price so she had placed a lot of hope on this visit.
"I have to say I'm really disappointed in you Sawada-senpai. I looked up to you and even convinced Kazu saying you're one of the person I looked up to. Who would have thought that you have changed this much" her tone grew harsh. "I've heard about your circumstances but I never would have thought you would go as low as involving your own daughter in a plan to make her suffer the guilt of betraying her friends"
"You may leave if you want to Kazuno but let me talk to this boy for a moment" Matsuri ignored the cold look Mei gave her and kneeled in font of Kazuya and lowered her head on the floor.
"Senpai you…" This caught both Mei and Kazuya off guard.
"I want to apologize for what I tried to do to you. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but I had been too preoccupied with my own problems to care for other people. I lost my husband and couldn't even grieve because of the numerous problems that came knocking at our doors.
I also want to thank you for telling that horrid man to lower the amount of our debt. I know that my daughter betrayed your trust but it was all my fault. Mahiru wouldn't even look at me and would cry in her room before and after this happened so please do not blame her.
If you're interested in this place then as a show of my sincerity, you can have it at the price of our debt and an amount enough for us mother and daughter to move to another place. I only ask for my daughter to be forgiven. As her mother, I can't stand her being like she is now and it was all my fault"
In her anger, Mei had forgotten this person's circumstances. She felt pity that this series of troubles fell upon her since she had been so happy after getting married to her husband before he passed. She turned to Kazuya who was wearing a neutral expression even after listening to the woman kneeling in front of him for forgiveness.
"I decline your offer. I am interested in this place but I want to purchase it at a fair price. As for compensation for what you did, I will have you work at the company that will be built by using your land. You will be big sis' assistant. She convinced me of considering you as her assistant because of your talent"
"Kazu!" Mei wanted to stop him but she was ignored. She already gave up trying to get Matsuri as her assistant after hearing about what happened.
"You can of course decline this offer and try your luck out with mediocre jobs you can find. If you do accept this offer, your efforts will reflect how you will be treated. Be reminded that I will NEVER forgive anyone who betrays me" Kazuya paused and waited for his words to sink in.
"But Mahiru…"
"I hold no grudges towards your daughter and that should already be me being lenient. If you accept this offer and happen to betray big sis then I promise you that it won't only you who will be regretting it. Believe me when I say that If I can make that man outside tremble in fear at the sight of me, I have the ability to make sure that people who betray me would wish that they died so choose wisely"
Both Matsuri and Mei trembled after hearing his words. Even Mei felt the seriousness of his words.
"It will not only be limited to you. All those who are going to be hired and have access to the company secrets will have to abide by this rule. Anyway, we already know how much this land is worth so we want to hear how much you want to sell it for. You can think about accepting the position or not but the offer will only last until big sis finds another suitable candidate" Kazuya turned around to sit down. He already said more than he was willing to.
"I… will sell this place to you…"
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