As soon as Tony reached the event, reporters flocked to him. He even saw Obadiah and exchanged a greeting. Tony then went to the bar to order drinks.
A few company members and Obadiah talked with Ritsuka and Morgan, surprised to see they were a young couple.
Ritsuka took a cup of wine, and while drinking, he noticed a few interesting people at the party.
He saw J. Jonah Jameson and Norman Osborn, who looked the same as in the Tobey Maguire movies. Ritsuka knew this world still didn't have Spider-Man, and he wondered who would become Spider-Man as Andrew or Tom.
The next person he saw surprised him. It was Wilson Fisk with his wife. Feeling Ritsuka's gaze, Wilson turned his head and met Ritsuka's eyes. They stared at each other for two seconds but understood each other in a short time. Wilson thought Ritsuka Fujimaru was a brave, risking fool for buying all the stocks himself, as Wilson had planned to buy them, believing Tony would rise again. Ritsuka thought Wilson was a tough opponent in business and political power. However, if given enough time, Ritsuka believed he could overthrow Wilson with his skills in talking and business connections. Ritsuka is very skilled in the stock market and business.
Ritsuka decided to save Spider-Man if Spidey introduced himself in the future.
As Tony, Ritsuka, and Morgan were sipping their drinks, Coulson appeared from behind and said,
"Hello, lady and gentlemens."
"Oh, I know you. You are from... umm..."
"SHIELD, Mr. Stark. And hello, Mr. Fujimaru and Mrs. Morgan," Coulson said.
"Hello, Mr. Coulson. We meet again," Ritsuka greeted him.
Morgan just looked at him uninterestedly.
"Mr. Stark, we want to know more about what happened during your kidnapping. We want to help you. It will take some time, as we have many questions to get answers. Can I come to your office on the 24th of this month?"
"Sure, you can," Tony said, not interested in what Coulson was talking about.
"Sure, I will come to meet you again, Mr. Stark," Coulson said but gave one last look at Ritsuka and Morgan, having found their identities to be fake. He didn't say anything and left.
As they watched the dance at the party, Ritsuka saw a popular face appear at the party.
It was Professor X and Storm, who were also invited as representatives of the X-Men school.
They just stood there, everyone avoiding them and giving them hateful looks. Ritsuka understood the meaning of those looks—they were being seen as less than human.
It was really sad. Even though Charles was an idiot, he was an elder and deserved respect. His ideals were questionable, but this level of disrespect was wrong.
Ritsuka saw the sad look on their faces, but they had seen worse and were used to this behavior. So, Ritsuka decided to change things and went to meet them.
"Hello, Professor X and Lady Storm. Nice to meet you."
They turned to see a young man with a good appearance.
"Huh, hello, and you are?" Professor X said.
"He is Ritsuka Fujimaru, a stockholder of Stark Industries," said a voice.
Then they saw another familiar face come to them. It was Emma Frost.
"...It's been a while, Emma," Professor X said with a serious face.
"Emma Frost. I'm the CEO of the International Hellfire Trading Company, not a school teacher now, Professor X and Storm," Emma greeted them with a fake smile.
"I see, and what can we do for you?" Storm said, not wanting to believe someone like Ritsuka had come without any motives. She totally ignored Emma as she had left the X-Men.
"No, I don't want anything. It's just that you guys are popular, so I wanted to talk with you," Ritsuka said.
Emma didn't like it, misunderstanding that he saw mutants as circus animals. The other two felt the same way but didn't think much of it.
"X-Men are cool and amazing people," Ritsuka said with an honest smile.
Hearing this, the three of them felt a shock. X-Men are cool? Amazing? What is this young man saying? Is he making fun of them?
"I am a fan of Wolverine. I like Jean and Magneto's powers; they are cool."
Professor X almost fell from his chair. This young man was a fan of a drunk angry beast, a troublemaker, and a human hater. This was so wrong on many levels.
"Ha ha ha, I see. Thanks on behalf of the X-Men," Professor X said with an awkward smile.
"I heard the X-Men went to stop a green monster recently. Did they succeed?" Ritsuka asked.
"That green monster is not a mutant and doesn't have any X-gene," Storm said, knowing the government spread rumors and blamed mutants for the green monster. But they had found out it was not a mutant. This monster was created by the government. They wanted to reveal this but didn't have any proof of the government's illegal experiments.
"Yes, I believe the government is behind this. Instead of asking for help to save Tony when he was kidnapped, the government asked the X-Men to help catch this green monster and dragged their names through the mud. Meaning this monster is more important than Tony Stark, who changed the entire weapon industry. They used this chance to blame everything on the X-Men," Ritsuka said and took a sip.
Hearing this, all three of them were shocked. This young man actually pointed out the government's motives.
"Cough, cough. And why did you buy this company's stocks when the company is in loss?" Storm asked, changing the topic. This place was not the best for discussing that topic.
"Well, it's a fact that Tony will reach the top again in less than a year, and his company will reach the top again. Just look at his past achievements; you'll understand," Ritsuka said, thinking the question was stupid.
"I see. And son, what is your job?" Professor X asked.
"I don't have any job now, but I want to open a bakery with someone I love," Ritsuka said.
"Oh, what a lovely wish. I hope you meet your loved partner," Charles said with a smile.
"Thank you, but I'm married, and she is my wife, Morgan. When we open the bakery, I will invite you and the X-Men," Ritsuka said and showed them his wife, who sat far from them.
Hearing this, they were shocked. This young man was already married to a beautiful girl and had a good future in sight. He was a good family man.
Ritsuka saw his wife turning her head in anger.
"It seems your wife is angry for leaving her alone," Professor X said.
"You are right, Professor. I think I need to go."
"Wait a minute, take my company card. If you want to invest or do business with my company, you can call my assistant," Emma said and gave him her company's visiting card.
"And you can take mine. I'm looking forward to your bakery opening," Professor X said, giving his school card to Ritsuka.
"Thanks, everyone. Let's meet with more X-Men next time, Professor X," Ritsuka said and left.
"Definitely," Charles smiled. Storm and Emma smiled too. Talking with Ritsuka had soothed their hearts.
"I never knew humans like him existed, who see X-Men as cool and amazing heroes and invite them to a bakery opening. Is he telling the truth?" Storm said, unable to believe Ritsuka Fujimaru.
"He is telling the truth. Even I was shocked," Emma said.
"I didn't read his mind, but everything he said is 100% true," Professor X said with a smile.
"He is a good guy and honest to the point that it's scary how honest he is," Emma said, her hate for humans decreasing a little because of Ritsuka.
"That's why I want to create peace between humans and mutants. People like him exist in this world. So you should stop supporting Eric and join us again," Charles said.
"Hehehe, stop talking your bullshit with me, Professor. I agree, Ritsuka is a good guy and doesn't hate mutants and will become friends with mutants. But you should remember not everyone is like him with an honest, good heart. I support Eric with my company because he saved more mutants than you. So stop trying to change me," Emma said.
Professor X and Storm said nothing because it was useless as the three watched the young couple and forgot about the mutants' matter for a few minutes to see the love drama.
Ritsuka started to move towards Morgan, who was visibly angry with him. He thought to himself, 'Morgan deserves happiness.'
With a determined yet gentle demeanor, Ritsuka bent down on one knee and took Morgan's hand in his. He kissed her hand with elegance and, smiling up at her, said, "Morgan, will you share your first dance with me?" His voice carried across the room, drawing everyone's attention.
Tony, watching from the sidelines, felt like a proud father and smiled at both Ritsuka and Morgan.
Morgan's angry expression melted into a blushing, happy smile. Everyone saw her cold demeanor transform into a radiant one. She placed a hand on her face and whispered, "Yes."
Ritsuka led her to the dance floor. "So you didn't know how to dance, Morgan?," he said as they swayed together, with Morgan trying to keep up with her husband.
"I...I mean, I never had time to learn. My past was filled with saving Britain...no, sorry," Morgan said, stepping on Ritsuka's foot.
As a queen and a wife, she felt she needed to be perfect, yet here she was, struggling with a simple dance. She was angry with past self for never thinking she would dance with her partner, feeling shy and inadequate.
"It's okay, Morgan. I didn't know how to dance either before I trained myself to dance with Jeanne Alter and Artoria Alter—AH!" Ritsuka mentioned his other lovers' names, prompting Morgan to step on his foot intentionally.
"Sorry," Morgan said, even though she had done it on purpose.
"It's okay," Ritsuka reassured her with a smile.
A few seconds later, while dancing, Ritsuka could feel Morgan's soft chest pressing against his. 'This is hot,' he thought, trying to focus elsewhere.
"Sorry, my husband," Morgan said, stepping on his foot again. He managed to control his pain, while Tony and the X-mens silently chuckled.
Seeing Morgan's nervous face, Ritsuka knew what to do. 'I should lead the dance,' he thought. He moved closer to her ear and whispered, "Put your left foot on mine. We'll dance like that."
Feeling his breath, she blushed but managed to say, "But... then... your... foot..."
"It might make my foot dirty and the dance a little awkward, but who cares?" Ritsuka said gently. "For now, just look at me, your partner. Enjoy the dance." His words made Morgan forget the world around her, focusing only on her husband.
"Now, put your foot on mine and follow my movements. Look at my eyes, the direction of my feet, and feel the push and pull. You have good fairy eyes, Morgan," Ritsuka instructed. Morgan did as he said.
With one foot on Ritsuka's, they danced. Morgan's shaking eyes met his, and they both laughed without knowing who started first. They shared a dream-like moment.
"They danced with her feet on top of his... how romantic," Storm said
"Ritsuka's care was so cool. It was clumsy at first but became an impressive dance," Emma said.
"And above all, they were smiling happily at each other, enjoying their moment together," Professor X remarked, smiling at the love story unfolding before him. Storm and Emma stared at him, to which he responded,
"Come on, girls, is it wrong for me to love slice-of-life stories?"
Later, Tony saw Pepper in a gorgeous dress and immediately asked her for a dance. They went to the roof, where they almost kissed but backed out. When Tony returned to the bar to get another drink for them, J. Jonah Jameson approached him with photos of Gulmira, Yinsen's hometown.
"I didn't file any shipment," Tony refuted.
"Well, your company did, Mr. Stark," Jameson said.
"I am not my company," Tony retorted, leaving in anger. Jameson gave his iconic laugh, realizing Stark Industries was acting without Tony's permission.
"Hahaha, tomorrow's headline: 'The Great Tony Stark Loses Control Over His Company,'" Jameson mused.
Tony then confronted Obadiah, who claimed he did everything to protect Tony and the company, including locking him out. Tony trembled with rage and immediately left with Ritsuka and Morgan.