Chapter 19: 10 Years Old

[Third Person's PoV] 

After the expo, Tony and Melissa stopped building armors for a while. They mainly focused on studying and building their knowledge.

Since Tony knew he was going to be popular, he decided to spread his name, as it would help him when he took over the Stark branch in Japan in the upcoming months.

In the following months, Tony spent his time studying, solving difficult mathematical equations, and learning multiple languages, mainly Japanese, as he knew that would be the language he would mostly be speaking.

At just 9 years old, Tony Stark managed to gain an Abel Prize, which is the Nobel Prize for mathematics, and a Nobel Prize for energy research. This took most of the world by surprise due to his young age, but they soon understood since he was a Stark.

Tony and Melissa quickly turned 10 years old.

Tony and Melissa were standing in front of a private jet with Howard, David, and Maria in front of them.

"You can change your mind if you want to, princess," David said, looking at Melissa sadly.

Melissa went and hugged her father, "I'll miss you, Daddy."

Tears flowed down his face as he hugged Melissa tightly.

Maria wasn't any different, almost choking Tony with how tightly she was hugging him.

"Mother, we have a private jet, which means you can visit whenever you want," Tony said in a strained voice.

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to miss you," Maria cried out.

Howard just gave Tony a pat on the shoulder, "The board of directors will be waiting for you to take over as you arrive. They will greatly underestimate you due to your age. Show them hell, son."

"Aren't they like our employees or something? Shouldn't you be saying something like go easy on them or listen to what they have to say since they have experience?"

Howard scoffed, "Oh please, experience means nothing in front of our Stark genius."

Tony just smiled, "I guess I'll have no choice but to give them hell, as you say."

Howard smiled as they said their goodbyes, "When you arrive, a chauffeur should be waiting to take you to the Yaoyorozu residence. Be sure to behave and not shame the Stark name."

With that piece of advice, Tony and Melissa entered the private jet, although Melissa had tears in her eyes.

"You can video call your dad anytime you want, so if you ever miss him too much, it should be pretty easy. As I said earlier, we have a private jet."

Melissa wiped her tears, "I'm sorry. It's just that I haven't been away from my dad like this before."

Tony didn't say anything and just patted her head to make her feel a little better.

They saw the indication to buckle up, and soon Tony and Melissa took to the skies. During their flight, to get Melissa's mind off missing her dad, they started to plan what they were going to do with Stark Industries.

Tony pulled out his tablet and presented her with the plans, "Here's what I was able to come up with in the meantime. As you are my secretary, you will be the only one allowed to preview any of this."

"I see…" Melissa said as she swiped through the tablet, quickly reading and analyzing everything.

"Wait, are there really so many people embezzling money?" Melissa asked in surprise.

Tony nodded, "There are mainly two reasons why they're doing this. One, they believe that since we have so much money, we won't notice the money disappearing since we will gain it right back in seconds. Two, they believe we won't really care since they're just a branch company and nothing else."

Melissa nodded in understanding as she continued to study everything. After a few hours, they arrived at their destination.

When they arrived at the airport with their bags, they found a Japanese man wearing a typical chauffeur outfit holding a sign that read: Anthony Stark and Melissa Shield.

(A/N: They will be speaking Japanese from here on out)

The chauffeur, upon seeing them, nodded and took their bags, "Follow me." They arrived in front of a limo.

The chauffeur opened the door for them, and once Tony and Melissa were inside, he put their bags in the trunk before driving off to their destination.

After close to an hour, they arrived in front of a big, beautiful mansion. In front was a large black gate, and by the side of it was a sign that read: The Yaoyorozu Residence.

The chauffeur rolled down the window and pressed on the intercom, "I have brought over the guests."

The black gate then parted, and the limo went inside. Once in, the chauffeur opened the door for Tony and Melissa.

They grabbed their bags and walked towards the front door. As they were about to knock, a maid opened it.

Inside, they were greeted by a Japanese man with short black hair and black eyes, wearing a business suit, and a woman with long black hair in a spiky ponytail.

Tony and Melissa bowed in a Japanese greeting, and the couple did the same with a smile.

"You must be Anthony Stark. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Hiroshi Yaoyorozu."

Tony and Hiroshi shook hands. "As you mentioned, my name is Anthony Stark. My father mentioned a bit about you."

"All good things, I hope," he said with a smile.

The woman then introduced herself, "My name is Ayako Yaoyorozu. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. And you must be Melissa Shield."

Melissa nodded as she introduced herself.

Ayako then reached behind her, revealing a little girl about their age looking at them with curiosity. Her hair was down straight, with a bit sticking out forward. "This is my daughter, Momo Yaoyorozu. She should be about your age. Come and say hi, Momo."

Momo shyly gave them a little wave. "Hello," she said in a small voice.

After Tony and Melissa greeted her, Hiroshi guided them to the room they would be staying in.

After a bow of thanks, they were left alone to organize their rooms, which were connected to each other by a door.

Melissa held her chest as she let out a sigh of relief. "Woah, that was nerve-wracking."

"It wasn't so bad. It was just a bit awkward since, for one, we're just children no older than their daughter, and two, we literally just met. Once we get past this initial awkward stage, it should be simple. Who knows, you might even become good friends with their daughter."

"But we're not here to make friends. We're here on business–ouch," Melissa said, holding her forehead in pain after Tony flicked it.

"What was that for?" She glared.

"For saying something stupid. Melissa, it's okay to relax and make friends. We're going to be here for a long time. I'm sure being friends with just me must be driving you crazy. Plus, you also need to socialize with other kids your age."

"Why are you acting all mature all of a sudden?"

"Because while we're here, it's my job to make sure you're alright. If anything happened to you, I wouldn't be able to look David in the face."

Melissa gave a little pout as she blushed slightly. "Well, stop treating me like a little girl."

"Uh-huh," Tony said uncaringly. "After setting your things up, we have a meeting, so hurry up."

Melissa let out a sigh. "We just got off a plane. Can't we rest?"

"After the meeting, we can sleep all we want," Tony said.

"But the meeting is with Mr. Yaoyorozu himself. He isn't going anywhere," Melissa sighed.

"You know how I am about getting things done quickly and efficiently," Tony said.

Melissa only sighed and nodded, knowing that as his secretary, she wasn't allowed to complain much and had to follow what Tony wanted.

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