.

Though everyone came in an extravagant fashion, these old friends now sat comfortably together as they were served by the instructors and helpers of the Shiroyuki dojo. This gathering was to welcome a mutual friend everyone had that they rarely even heard of for the past couple of years.

These people were respectable individuals who had their influences so no one could really blame those that served them nervously. This wasn't the main occupation these instructors had but they still tried their best. They couldn't bring shame to their master as he was the host after all.

"Alright everyone settle down" Jirou stood in front of everyone and got their attention. "We're all here to greet an old friend of ours who has come back and will have something to say to all of you but first.. Kanpai!"

"""KANPAI!!""" everyone shouted joyfully as they raised their glasses.

*clink clink clink*

Everyone was joyful as they toasted their friends return. Kouzuki Kou although troublesome was a very dear friend to them. He was one of the legends of the previous generations as he was the one that brought the Kouzuki family back on the top from the brink of extinction.

Though the well known 'Kouzuki Promise' was long known to everyone, it was Kouzuki Kou that made everyone realize just how dedicated they were to upholding it. Various people here are from companies that collaborated with the Kouzukis and they were familiar with how much value this pledge was.

Other companies may have already left a sinking ship but most of them were not abandoned by this individual. Kouzuki Kou never once broke a promise he made to them even if he knew that it would bring him more hardships later on. This was why although he had a troublesome personality, everyone looked up to him and treated him like family. Most of them believed that their heirs or companies would have gone through so much hardship if it weren't for this person.

"Thank you, friends, for coming all this way. I assume you all must have your busy lives to live so it flatters me to see everyone again after I last came back" Kou raised a glass and drank to everyone.

All of them started to have fun and reminisced with their old stories. Kou truly missed these old friends of his and thought that it might not be so bad if he decided to stay. He wanted the people who had granddaughters and refused his request back then to regret their unwillingness because he had an awesome grandson that he could brag about.

Before he could start bragging about his grandson however, Jirou and Komori had already begun doing it for him. These two were gathering supporters for their own individual plans. Jirou was bragging because he was the one who was lucky enough that night and Komori was telling everyone how the Shiroyukis shouldn't be too burdened with such a promise and let the youngsters deal with it on their own.

One thing that these two old men had in common when talking to everyone was however was the story of how Kou embarrassed himself and got beaten up by his own grandson. They even included the bit about him being kicked out of his own home and was given a choice to be a selfish parent and grandfather or start behaving like a real person with responsibilities.

"""HAHAHAHAHA""" everyone was filled with laughter after hearing the story.

"You guys!!!" Kou could only sigh. He lost his chance to brag and everyone instead laughed at his embarrassment.

"You deserve it!"

"I like that kid's guts!"

"That's what you get for doing one of those surprise attacks of yours!"

"Damn Jirou! Did you take pictures?"

They couldn't stop making fun of Kou since most of them, their peers, or family have been victims of this troublesome person's mischief. They were not strangers to the name Kouzuki Kazuya but this was the first time they actually heard about him and they liked what they heard.

"I wonder if I should introduce him to my granddaughter too hehe" One head of a famous pharmaceutical company said.

Those who had rejected Kou's offer said similar things. How could they not know what Jirou and Komori were up too. These two old fogies definitely saw something in the kid and from the story they heard, they were already willing to consider Kazuya as a candidate.

"Haaa-choo" Kazuya who was at home was shocked at the sudden sneeze. He hasn't sneezed in a long while and wondered what could have caused it.

What he didn't know that despite Jirou's warning to Kou to not do anything that would cause Kazuya annoyance, they were practically setting their old friend up to be hated because of the current result of their efforts.

"Looks like everyone likes my grandon" Kou sighed and scratched his head. "Well this grandson of mine as all of you must already know almost died two times while I've been away" Kou's words instantly silenced the room. all of them turned towards their friend and realized the serious events that happened while he was away.

"I want to thank all of you for giving silent support towards my daughter and my grandson when the incident happened two years ago but all of you know me very well. If this happened while I was here, what do you think would I have done?" Kou's words caused the guests in the room to shudder.

Kouzuki Kou may have been a troublesome friend but he was someone that was easy to understand as a person. This is why he had gained their trust and they were at ease with him. He was not arrogant not a person that likes to pull his weight no matter how far he has gotten. The most troublesome part about him though was this old man kept grudges and no matter how reckless something seemed, he would go at it head on with little regard of the consequences.

"Now, now, all of you don't need to look so nervous" he laughed. "Unlike all those years ago, I already passed the company over to my daughter so I don't hold that much power right now" he grinned.

"(That's what we're afraid of! Without worrying about how it would affect your company, you have more freedom compared to when you were on the top of it!)" these thoughts came up into several of those who listened.

"You all don't look convinced. Fine.. let me explain" he found it annoying that they really didn't look like they trusted his words. "MY grandson asked me to pick between my travels and the family. I want to give him my answer not through words but by action so I'm helping out Jirou and Komori with a security company with the intention of keeping my family and what they are doing protected"

Jirou already talked to him about what information he couldn't divulge to anyone. He made sure that Kou understood it in detail so that this old friend of his wouldn't mistakenly blurt out information because although everyone was in their inner circle, they were still influential people in the business scene.

"That's why I would need everyone's help. Jirou and Komori have already entrusted this security company with a handful of talented individuals that can be trusted. They are to sign a very strict contract that would be hellish if broken. You all should know what happens to the people that try to betray me right?" This was one thing that him and Kazuya shared, both of them took betrayal seriously.

-

It was Sunday and Kyouko took Kazuya out. Though she would spend most of her free time training, she still didn't want to use up the day she and Kazuya usually went out. Mei chose to do some work because it was a good opportunity since her boss was going to be away so the mother and son duo left the house by themselves as usual.

Kazuya sat silently on the car as they drove to town. He's been having a stressful time lately. Kurumi was persistent in stalking him no matter how many times he made her retreat. On the contrary, the girl's stalking skills seem to have been improving as time went by. She would retreat silently once he says anything or she knew he was on to her so aside from his attention getting distracted, there was nothing much to her mischief.

That wasn't all. There have recently been increase in people trying to observe him again. The sudden amount of people paying attention to him had risen all of a sudden. What Kazuya was confused about is if they were observing him because of Kurumi's influence starting to bloom or if it was part of the plot of those two cocky upperclassmen of his.

"Are you worried about something Kazuya?" Kyouko asked after noticing his vacant look.

"Oh.. it's nothing" he smiled at her and didn't want her to worry.

"is it because.. you don't like sleeping together with mom and prefer your big sis?" Kyouko asked with hesitation.

"What makes you think that? I'm glad that I could help both of you improve" Though Kazuya really did mean that, it wasn't that he didn't have any difficulties because of it.

Since he had to help both of them through contact, he had no choice but to sleep in the middle of the two. Kazuya usually slept late and Mei did too because they had their fair share of secrets. When Kyouko learned about this, he was scolded and forced to sleep at the same time as his mother. She didn't want Kazuya to stay awake too late and was surprised that this was the routine he had already gotten used to.

Mei was already an adult so Kyouko didn't mind if she didn't join them when she went to bed. She would take as much uninterrupted time she could with her son so she left whatever Mei was doing alone. This made Kyouko feel the difference between having her son's help and not only a few days after they started this new routine.

"Then tell me. What are you worrying about?" Kyouko didn't seem convinced.

To be honest, it wasn't that Kazuya had troubles with Kyouko's declaration of the three of them sleeping on the same bed. He may appear to be a nine-year-old kid but he possessed the mentality that made it hard for him to accept this like his age would suggest. The only reason Kazuya went with the suggestion was because this would be the only time he could take advantage of his current body's age to help the two ladies' growth and affinity towards mana.

Not only was raising their affinity, raising the guarantee of their safety against threats, it was also a deterrent towards this world's natural threats. Aging, infections, sicknesses, recovery would be of little concern for those with people who can connect with mana properly. His time in Edea as well as Natsu's research proved this.

Though humans had one of the shortest lifespans even in Edea, the amount of time a human actually lived was longer in Edea compared to earth. Kazuya wanted the two girls to learn how to absorb mana as if they were breathing as well as improve their affinities as best as he could. This was even more of a priority for him than improving his own abilities because he wanted to have peace of mind before he left to fulfill what he needed to do in Edea. That way, he wouldn't need to worry about anything in case he wasn't able to come back in this life.

"I heard from big sis that she told you about the conversation we had about my dream.. and.. what she concluded it was" Kazuya was a bit nervous when he said this because he always tried to avoid talking about his lost memories with his mother. He felt guilty because he felt like he had stolen the identity of his former self since Kyouko would have had a few more years with her innocent son if he didn't wake up in his body like this.

"Oh that's all?" Kyouko smiled. Despite Kazuya's thoughts about the matter, she actually thought her son was cute to have been brooding over this. Though Mei was right in thinking that Kazuya's mental age was older than it was supposed to be, she didn't really think it exceeded that of a completely mature adult.

This thought scared her and made her feel relieved at the same time. With her experiences and as a parent, she made an estimation on what her son's mental age was by slowly testing him on her own. Kyouko had seen and talked with a lot of people so she was very confident in her analysis. The scary part about it was, if her son remained in a mental age that was even lower than hers, did he stop seeing the vision or did his life end after he got abandoned?

"Huh?" Kazuya was a bit surprised at her lack of reaction. "You don't have any opinions about it?" he snapped his mother out of her thoughts.

"Not really. Vision or not, it doesn't change the fact that you're still my Kazuya. I'm glad that both of you came clean with me and told me all of this and I'm also grateful that you did so much to prevent everything from happening in your dream" She wanted to hug him but she was still driving. She held back her tears because ever since she heard about it, she wanted to thank her son for everything that he did in the dark.

"You're my mom so how can I sit back and do nothing after I learned something like this?" Kyouko burst into tears after hearing her son's words. She felt that she truly was lucky for having a son like him. He may not be a normal kid like the others, but he was a son that she knew truly cared for her and she promised to herself that no matter what he did or how he grew up, she would support him.

They arrived at their destination downtown not too long after their conversation ended. Kyouko looked at herself using the rear-view mirror to make sure that her eyes weren't swollen from crying. Kazuya took the initiative and placed his hand over her eyes and cast a recovery spell which made her experience a cool and refreshing feeling before seeing everything was looking okay.

"Mom showed you something very embarrassing hehe" she stuck her tongue out at him like a little kid which stunned her unsuspecting son.

"Err.. where are we?" Kazuya looked around and changed the subject. They were parked directly in front of a car dealership so he was wondering what they were doing in such a place.

"Hehe, I wanted to show you one of the cars here today. I wanted to see what you thought about it before deciding because I think it's a nice car" Kyouko pulled her son and entered the dealership.

Kazuya couldn't help but sigh. He hoped that her choice in cars weren't the same as her process in choosing computers. He remembered both women's criterias in trying to choose a computer for him which ended up in him picking one for himself.

Seeing his mother acting like a young girl was kind of refreshing for him since she really was busy and serious about her work. This was why he didn't mind accompanying her when she chose to shop or go out. He hoped that his mom would always have this kind of carefree attitude so he was making plans to make sure that she would have the luxury to do so in the future.

"This is it!" Kyouko pulled him in front of her to show the car that she intended to buy.

"!!" Kazuya froze as soon as his sights fell on the car in question.

"Kazuya?" Kyouko felt the hand she was holding grow cold so she called out to him.

*pant pant pant* Kazuya started perspiring cold sweat as he struggled to breathe. He felt pain, soul wrenching pain that covered both his head and chest. He felt as if his head was going to explode and his skin getting pulled from his body.

"Kazuya!!" Kyouko panicked as soon as she saw her son struggling with an unknown amount of pain.

*THUD* Kazuya fell to his knees not knowing the cause of such pain. It was at that moment that multiple images that were unfamiliar to him flooded his mind. His past life's memories were already etched in his soul so he immediately knew that these images weren't something he recognized.

"(These memories.. just what are they!?)"

.