The Business Meeting

[Kuzan Pov]

I woke up the next morning with sunlight peering through my windows. The beautiful sounds of various birds orchestrated my awakening—a symphony of sounds enough to make a Disney princess jealous.

'I thought the pool would be my favorite part of my new mansion, but the garden is pretty nice too. It attracts so many birds and creatures from outside. I know Uncle Ikaria started it to teach Melissa about botany when she was interested in it. Maybe I should increase Uncle Ikaria's salary for being the gardener too, not that he would care.'

I walked over to my sister's room to wake her up and, more importantly, to get some sweet revenge. It was a lot of work replicating the mannerisms and characteristics of the previous Kuzan.

I entered the room ever so slowly, doing my best to ensure no sounds escaped my entry. I quietly opened the door, preventing even a creak from escaping. I tiptoed over to my sister's bedside and looked fondly at her face. A scene of pure bliss and innocence, she was dreaming of wonders only possible through a child's imagination. I'm sure not even the Ogre would have the heart to wake up such a picturesque scene.

''WAKE UP MELISSA" I shouted at the top of my lungs. 

"WHAT!?" shouted my sister, waking up and looking nothing like Sleeping Beauty.

"HAHA," I laughed loudly as I ran my way out of her room, dodging a plethora of pillows and bedside objects being hurled in my direction. Despite her precision being that of a surgeon, I managed to use my body to perfectly avoid every single projectile launched at me.

'Maybe this should become a part of my daily training.'

"Good morning, Aunt Elizabeth," I said to the figure already seated at the dining table, ready to start her day.

"Good morning, Kuzi. You look like you had a good sleep," my aunt said, chuckling to herself and pointing at the cowlick I was unaware of until now.

"Yeah."

"Good, I'm ready to drive us to Albert's office as soon as you are ready."

"Sounds good, I'll get changed," I replied, running up the stairs to my room and entering my bathroom. I took a shower and quickly got dressed to not keep my aunt waiting.

Albert Rosen, my closest business partner and dearest uncle. He was a business mogul alongside my dad and continues to do well despite no longer having his support. Unlike the plot of a typical revenge story, my uncle loved his brother more than all the money in the world. When my parents died, I'm unsure who was more heartbroken, myself or Uncle Albert. Thankfully—or not, depending on how you choose to look at the situation—Melissa was too young at the time to remember our parents.

It was through Uncle Albert's guidance that the previous Kuzan became so interested in taking over his father's business ventures. He taught Kuzan everything he knew and ensured that Melissa always had a father figure beside her. With the combined effort of Uncle Ikaria and Uncle Albert, I'm sure she didn't feel too much of an impact.

'I know the meeting today is just to discuss the recent capital updates of the companies. However, I am sure Uncle Albert is in for a big surprise when I show him the portfolios of all the new companies I want to invest in.'

"I'm ready to go," I said to an empty dining room, expecting my aunt to still be there.

While I was turning my head, looking for her, I heard some action music blaring from outside, like something out of Fast and Furious.

I peeked my head around to find my aunt blasting the music from the speakers of our SIÁN FKP 37, which she had taken out of the garage.

"Hop in," my aunt said, lowering her sunglasses from her eyes.

We drove to the heart of downtown Los Angeles and stopped in front of a large glass skyscraper that must have been over 100 floors tall.

"Hello, Ms. Elizabeth. Mr. Albert has been expecting you. I can park your car if you please," said a familiar bodyguard of my uncle's, who I am sure was sent to ensure my aunt made her way to his office as soon as possible without any delay.

We tapped our company IDs and took the elevator to the 87th floor. The elevator doors opened to a majestic office reminiscent of an old government official's work abode.

'I guess the love for old Victorian architecture runs in our family.'

"Oh, it's so good to see you again, my sweetheart," said my uncle, bear-hugging my aunt as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"So good to see you too, my love. It's been too long," replied my aunt with tears in her eyes and a half-crying voice. I would find the scene cute if I didn't know that they had met just yesterday at the airport when Aunt Elizabeth arrived from her business trip. My uncle had some time-sensitive work at the office, so he couldn't make it home last night to the mansion, a fact which I am sure was gnawing at him until now.

"I can't wait to have some alone ti—"

"Ahem!" I faked a cough, cutting off my uncle's next line of speech.

As if doing a complete 180, my uncle's demeanor immediately changed to a serious one, as one would expect from a business mogul managing companies with assets worth over 100 billion dollars.

"It's good to see you again, Kuzan. You look well," said my uncle, desperately trying to project the image of a serious mentor while refusing to let my aunt out of the bear hug. Not that my aunt was complaining anyway.

'Really, Uncle Albert, Aunt Elizabeth is your kryptonite.'

"Good to see you too, Uncle Albert. We have a lot to discuss today. I have a lot of new business strategies that we need to implement as soon as possible, and a lot of shares we need to acquire if we can."

"You look especially spirited today, Kuzan?" my uncle replied, as if making money was a secondary concern.

"Come on, Kuzan, tell Albert about your new interest. I can't bear to keep secrets from my hubby, its killing me inside" interjected my aunt, finally ending the sumo contest between herself and Uncle Albert.

"Oh? What are you into now, I hope it's nothing destructive. I don't think the world needs another genius of war or something."

"No Uncle Albert, its nothing like that. I just want to learn how to fight. I have the brains so I wanted to try the brawns you know." I replied with a dry laugh.

"That sounds ok, as long as you don't hurt yourself too much, a man of the Rosen household should know how to protect himself."

"Oh you are so manly my love, so amazing."

"I know sweetheart, but I am only this manly for you ❤️."

"Getting back on topic, I have some important ideas that we need to work on. They stem from my desire to leave a lasting impact in the world of business and economics, so I'm sure you will find them interesting."

"Okay, Kuzan, you can't keep me in suspense any longer. Let's hear what your new ideas are. I will do my best to help you in your last foray in the field."

"So, lets get started..."

[14 hours later]

"...and that's how we are gonna become the richest family in America."

We had already had lunch and dinner brought up by my uncle's assistants to the office. My aunt had long gotten bored of the conversation and had left to do some shopping at the mall. In her words, "If you guys are going to put so much effort into making so much more money, it's my responsibility to spend it so you guys have enough space in the bank account to make more." A statement that my uncle would state as the epitome of ridiculousness if it wasn't said from the mouth of his beloved.

"WOW Kuzan just WOW, I don't know what to say. That's amazing, I am too excited to stop right now, I don't think I'll be able to sleep for the next few days." replied my Uncle with enthusiasm I had only previously seen on his old wedding videos. 

I only gave him some pointers about where to invest, what areas to look into, and some of the future losses the market will face. This, coupled with my track record of only investing in projects in which I knew I would get a great return, had my uncle thinking I was the second coming of Mercury or something.

"I will make sure to get the work started tomorrow. If your projections are as I trust, then we should be on our way to becoming the top 10 richest households in the next few years. If that's all for today, lets continue this talk while making our way back home, what do you say Kuzan?"

"Sure Uncle, I just wanted to ask you for your help with something before we leave."

"Anything Kuzan, name it." my uncle leaned forward in his chair, awaiting what I had to say.

"I wanted to buy a state-of-the-art training facility while we build a special one for future training. I also wanted to ask if you know of any trainers who can teach me different martial arts. I don't know which ones I am interested in yet, so the more styles I learn, the better."

"HAHAHA, Kuzan, I was thinking it was something much more serious. That's just like you, going all into something once it catches your interest. Consider it done; I will make sure that the facility is ready by the time you wake up tomorrow. As for personal trainers, I believe that your aunt knows of some friends who can help train you. I will ask her about the matter tonight."

'Yeah I am sure you will Uncle.' I thought while giving my Uncle a knowing look.

"Sounds like a plan, let's get going home."

While walking out of the building, I thought to check the system to make sure that my goldenfinger was still working properly.

'Status'

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[Status]

Name: Kuzan Rosan

Age: 13 years

Title: None

Strength: 10/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Stamina: 10/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Intelligence: 20/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Dexterity: 10/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Will-Power: 10/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Perception: 10/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Skills: [Willful Eye (5/100)] [Battle Aura (20/100)] [Face Mask (10/100)] [Concealment (15/100)] [Dodging (15/100)] 

Techniques: None

Genes Synced: [Locked]

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'What?'