After a good rest, Ina got up and prepared herself to tag along her dad. Bidding goodbye to her mom, Ina got into her dad's car and started asking him.
" So ... who are we going to meet? You never told me and now I have to meet some strangers. "
Ina pouted, causing her dad to laugh sheepishly. He had simply not remembered to tell who they were going to meet.
" Ina ... ehm ... we are going to meet the a famous person. I cannot say the name as he wished it to remain a surprise for both you and his family. "
Hearing such vague response, Ina wanted to pry more out of that idiotic smile but held back.
" A surprise it is then. If dad is willing to let me meet this man then they must be on good term with one another. Mostly politics and businesses. "
Ina thought, returning to silence with a glint of understanding. The space inside the car came to a comfortable stillness with the company of the constant drumming of the engine and the occasional bumping on the road.
With nothing else to do beside nauseously looking at the monotonous green foliage from the rear window, Ina thought hard about how she should act in front of this supposedly friend of her dad. The benefits of this connection could outweigh the information leaked about her.
Time passed like a bolt of lightning and before she knew it, Ina had already arrived, standing in front of a metallic gate towering over 7 meters with sophisticated engraving on it.
" How long must we wait Dad? "
Asked Ina annoyedly, growing impatient 3 hours of productivity. She felt the air heating up as the sun rose and the cool morning turned more and more uncomfortable.
As if wanting to refute Ina's complaint, the gate swung open, leading to a vast lawn stretching to the horizon. A tall, well-built man with pronounced muscles, conflicting with the grey hair on his head. He then introduced himself Akare Yaoyozuru and started guiding us into his house. In the middle of the field stood a Victorian mansion, large like a palace for a king. When they opened the front door, what greeted them were rows of maid and butlers bowing before the master of the place. Akare then brought dad to his office, leaving me to the hands of the senior maid. She then guided me to a separate room with a chubby girl inside.
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In the office
Kenji initiated the battle.
"Hello Akare-san, I am thankful for this meeting. "
" Cut it short, you still have the gut to turn up here after the police caught a whiff of our transactions ?!"
" Stop being so dramatic! You suffered
no major loses and even gained a few companies in other sectors. I knew beforehand a raid was going to happen, so I sent you the blackmail and paused any large-scale operations. You still got an entire iceberge beneath the waves. Even more, with a raid closing, they will become more lax, allowing you to rebounce, no, even climb higher."
Hearing the response, Akare sat down and massaged his temples, very annoyed at the fact that the man sitting across him was right and that his anger was actually directed at the small nitpicks he could find. For him, Kenji was one of his most useful partner, undeniably so; however, he had such a rotten personality that only benefits could maintain their relationship.
But nevertheless, they were still friends.
" So your daughter, why did you bring her here? You do know that our business isn't preferrable for young children. "
Questioned Mr. Yaoyorozu with a large stress on the term 'business'. Seeing such response, dad just laughed and remarked with a matter-of-fact tone.
" I bring her just to make friends. "
The lightbulb on Akare's head turned on, and he continued.
" Why? I see no particular reason for you to let your daughter become friend with my daughter. "
" My daughter has always been a genius. "
Akare rolled his eyes at that sentence. Kenji had already said that countless times already, bored him to death with praises for his Ina's brilliance.
" But sometimes, I have the feeling that she needs a friend, someone who is on par with her. I have already told you about her, and I believe that you will hold the same perspective as me. "
After thinking for a moment, Akare could not help but agree with the statement. What he heard from Kenji, if they were not fabrications, about Ina were unordinary, to say the least.
She learned fast, too fast. She started speaking after one and half a year after being born. She absorbed any knowledge like a dry sponge and enjoyed exercising, something even adults loathed. As she grew older, her habits turned more and more academic. She seek books at the level for undergrad students and read them eagerly, leaving her parents in the dark as they were not as knowledgeable as her. She grew more mature, yet also more distant from those at her age.
" I understand your worry and am willing to let my Momo becomes friend with your Ina. However, I must ask, where are you sending her to study? I believe she can find those she consider friends there."
After a long stretch of time, Kenji steeled himself and said.
" I am thinking of letting her attend the secondary school at I-Island. But I would still try to send her to one of the prestigeous primary schools here in Japan, the risk will be much more controllable and I could spend more time with her. Any other schools will only bored her. I wish only the best for her, even if it prevents me from seeing her as often as now. However, she needs a friend now and the only option I find appropriate is your Momo."
A bit displeasured with how lightly Kenji took his daughter for, but Akare ignored the rudeness. Looking at his wristwatch, Akare commented on how long they had spent talking with one another. Both men realized they had left their treasures alone and they started to walked to the playroom in the middle of the mansion.
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Momo's room
Ina's first thought after seeing the girl was that she was pretty. With silky black hair and a chubby face, the girl was adorable to look at and enjoyable to hug.
"Who are you? "
The look on her face seemed to ask the question. Before Ina's could speak, the maid said.
" This is Miss Minaru. Master wish that the two of you can familiarize with each other. "
Hearing the response, the girl introduced herself curtly with a molded answer.
" My name is Momo Yaoyoruzu. It's nice to meet you, Miss Minaru. "
Ina's brain froze for a moment, then it ran at maximum capacity.
"Another member of the cast? So soon? This time it is Momo the rich girl but how? Am I being forced into the spotlight along side these characters? But then how is it that the encounter chances are so high? "
Ina wondered, thinking about the clues supporting for a connection between her dad and Momo's father. The CEO of Yaoyoruzu. Corp, Akare Yaoyoruzu, and her dad both worked as upper management for companies they have a share in. She looked back at her dad continuous success as a businessman and concluded that he must have access to insider information not from small companies but from an conglomerate like Yaoyoruzu. Corp. She then remembered the snacks that she so enjoyed. She had never looked at the price but on rare occasions, she peeked at the labels and found out that they were of extreme quality and could set her family back thousands of dollar. Looking back from a new perspective, Ina believed that they had been gifts from Akare-san to dad. The aforementioned details concrete a conclusion in her mind. Her dad and Momo's dad must have cooperated in some businesses not too keen of public eyes, secret R&D projects or businesses proposals, a possibility, but the most likely scenario is that they cooperate in the grey zone of the law, maybe even the illegal side. She could never care less, and now she must focused on the ongoing conversation.
" The same to you, Miss Yaoyoruzu. Are you close to my dad? It looks like our dads know one another. "
Momo answered, excited at the idea of her uncle's daughter visiting.
" Kenji-san? Dad said he was my uncle. He often comes around once or twice a week and brought me some candied apples."
" I see, so what do you want to do now, Yaoyoruzu-san? "
" I can call you Ina, and you can call me Momo. We are friends already. Just drop the formality. But can you tell me how is your home? I am curious about other people's lives. Everyone I asked just say that I should get back to my study or something like that. "
Hearing that info, Ina believed that she would be Momo's first friend. Momo was so not on guard. Without an invitation to become acquaintances, she had already closed the distance and declared them friends.
Ina started to retold the daily antics of her family with great details, from the daily antics with her brother and the occasional. During the whole period, Momo listened whole-heartedly, savoring every moment.
Time passed without anyone noticing and by the
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On the car returning home
After bidding farewell with Momo, Ina returned home with a troubled expression.
"So two member of the cast, huh. Thinking back, there have already been a major difference. The absence of Bakugo the explosive pomegranate. In the past that she remember, Deku and Bakugo are glued together , with the latter bullying the former down the line. But now, their relationship remains ambiguous as I cannot find Bakugo. For another cast member ... "
Ina's thought was interrupted by her dad question.
" Daughter, you have been making that face for sometime already. I just want to ask, how was was your time with Momo? "
Pondering the correct feeling associated with the meeting, Ina spoke genuinely.
" I guess I had a great time with her. I would like to spend more time around Momo. "
Hearing the positive response, Kenji sighed with relief at the sight of his lovely daughter finally having someone who she considered friend. Even though Ina mostly considered Momo as a gullible prey, desperate for a relationship not between family members or between masters and servants, she could not deny the warm feeling of closeness, of connecting with someone on par with her.
Generously, Kenji offered to take the whole family out for dinner. The day ended just like that, with the family enjoying themselves.