Chapter 272: Acquisition
Leaving the station, the cold wind with a light snowfall swept the area. Takumi frowned slightly and pulled up his collar.
"The temperature in Tokyo is almost the same as in Hokkaido...".
He thought that, and then he saw a mature woman with her hair pulled back in a bun running towards her from a distance: "Kaori!"
The woman ran to the side and hugged Kaori Takashima, complaining: "Why did you come suddenly? Dad has a meeting today and doesn't have time to pick you up."
"Mom, don't hug me so tight, I'm not a child... Why did you come? Didn't you send someone to pick me up before?"
Kaori Takashima's face was a little red.
"Where can I get the money to hire a driver now? Well, follow Mom quickly, I have to go back and help your Dad. Oh, by the way... who is he?"
The woman saw Takumi next to Kaori Takashima and looked at her in surprise. He looked familiar, but it took her a while to confirm his identity.
"Mrs. Akiko, long time no see."
Takumi smiled. He recognized the middle-aged woman. She turned out to be a former travel companion.
"You are..."
Kaori Takashima's eyes widened, and she stared at Takumi for a long time. Suddenly, she stammered: "Could it be... He... Mirai-sensei?"
She said this, but there was doubt in Kaori Takashima's eyes. She and her husband had met Mirai-sensei. The mangaka was a handsome young man, and the man in front of him seemed...
but his face was more mature and defined, his Adam's apple was larger, he looked like an adult, and his demeanor and temperament were different.
"Mom, he's not Mirai-sensei..."
Kaori Takashima smiled and wanted to explain. But Takumi interrupted her: "It's me. I still remember that the osmanthus cake Mrs. Akiko made was delicious."
Kaori Takashima was stunned. The osmanthus cake was, without a doubt, her mother's best dessert.
"...It really is you, Mirai-sensei!" Akiko covered her mouth. She looked at Takumi with sparkling eyes: "You've changed a lot, why are you so tired? Are you traveling again?"
When she and Mirai-sensei traveled together, she prepared food with Aika. At that time, the two young people (Takumi and Shiori) loved her fragrant osmanthus cake, so when Takumi mentioned the fragrant osmanthus cake, Akiko believed him immediately.
"Yes, I happened to help with work in your hometown...".
Takumi smiled and looked at Kaori Takashima. The girl was still stunned, not understanding what had happened.
"Working? So that's it...".
But Akiko understood. The Mirai-sensei she met last time had a princess-like aura. Her skin was the same as the girl's. Now, this Mirai-sensei is obviously darker. If it's a business trip, it's normal.
Traveling is hard work, and business trips are even more training. Some friends Akiko knows have also gone out like this to train. When they return, they all look very different, but most are simply thinner.
"It's okay. Mirai-sensei rarely comes. Why don't you have dinner at my house before you leave?"
Akiko was excited. She pulled Takumi into the car and said: "Today I'll prepare fragrant osmanthus cake. Kaori... don't just stand there, get in the car!"
She pushed Kaori Takashima into the back seat. Then she started the car and said: "Mirai-sensei, you and Kaori wait at home for a while. I have time to go back to the company to sort some things out."
"Don't worry." Takumi nodded and rolled his eyes: "I heard you started an anime company and got into trouble?"
"Well..."
Akiko drove the car with a little embarrassment: "I met a liar and signed a fake contract. My husband and I were too impulsive."
"Mom, what's wrong! Didn't the newspaper say it was Mirai-sensei... he..."
At that moment, Kaori Takashima finally recovered. She didn't know about Mirai-sensei's affairs, so she wasn't too surprised, but she kept looking at Takumi with hatred. Thinking about the newspaper and what others were saying, she felt more and more confused.
"Oh? You mean that newspaper..." Akiko knew about it, and her face turned a little cold: "This matter has nothing to do with Mirai-sensei. Your father and I found that mangaka, and he sold the anime rights."
Both had seen the formal contract. The mangaka wanted to help them, but he couldn't do anything.
"What are you going to do now?"
Takumi asked.
"No way, we've found several mangaka, but they've practically been bought out...". Akiko sighed: "We're not the only ones with vision, and other manga don't get investment."
In reality, there are very few famous manga with Gundam themes, and the anime rights were acquired cheaply a long time ago.
"Now we're negotiating with Manga Paradise. They want to buy us. Although the price is low..." Akiko shook her head: "But we can't support him. No way, and they're making a Mobile Suit anime... Oh, I'm sorry, Mirai-sensei...".
Suddenly, she realized that she shouldn't mention the Mobile Suit in front of Mirai-sensei, because he himself proposed this theme, and those rumors that consider Mobile Suit orthodox can only deceive ordinary people and have little impact on the elite.
"It's fine...",
Takumi smiled. Manga Paradise was going to acquire Tsuki Animation Company, and it seemed that the chances of success were very high. Should he bring it up?
After thinking about it, Takumi decided to try.
"By the way, Mrs. Akiko, have you ever thought of selling the anime company to someone else?"
As soon as he said this, Akiko parked the car by the side of the road without hesitation, turned around, and looked at Takumi expectantly: "Mirai-sensei, are you interested?"
"If it's you, of course we'll sell it!"
She seemed a little excited. Mirai-sensei is a legendary mangaka. His financial resources are enough to buy Tsuki Animation Company.
And if Mirai-sensei is in charge, whether by his personal strength or his contacts at Hinotori Publishing, Tsuki Animation Company will not have to worry about the origin of the content in the future.
If Mirai-sensei acquires them, they will still be able to maintain some autonomy in Japan. If they join Manga Paradise, Tsuki Animation Company will disappear and all employees will be randomly assigned to Manga Paradise's anime production department, which makes Akiko very reluctant.
Takumi hadn't expected Akiko to be so direct. He was very surprised, but after the surprise, he was also direct.
"Okay, I'll buy it."
Kaori Takashima, sitting in the back seat, almost fainted. What happened? Has Takumi suddenly become Mirai-sensei, and has he also gone from being a poor man to being tall, rich, and handsome?
Does he have that much money?
Tokyo, Shinjuku District, Tsuki Animation Company Headquarters.
Eiji Takashima sent staff to calculate the company's assets, so it would be easier to obtain greater benefits in subsequent negotiations. However, he was the biggest loser in this incident.
In Japan, there are very few families like Eiji's, where the couple works together. He and his wife are dreamers. They have worked hard most of their lives and finally saved a sum of money, but they didn't expect it to vanish in the blink of an eye.
Encountering a con artist, funding failed, and to pay the fine and debts, the company he had painstakingly built was forced to sell. Without savings, Eiji Takashima has been suffering from insomnia for several days.
"Why hasn't Akiko come back?" he asked.
He was collecting documents and suddenly got a little irritated. It was so late and the company was so busy, why was Akiko taking so long to pick someone up?
"That girl is very stubborn. She knew we were very busy, so why did she come here...?"
He took out his phone and wanted to call her to urge her, but as soon as he picked up, the doorbell suddenly rang. It was his wife's phone.
"Akiko, what are you still doing?"
After connecting the call, Eiji Takashima asked, but Akiko, on the other end of the line, was not scared and replied in a soft voice: "Honey, I met Mirai-sensei. He wants to buy the company and won't make a big staff transfer."
Eiji Takashima was stunned, wondering if he had misheard: "What did you say? Mirai-sensei?"
"Yes, Mirai-sensei, I brought him home. Come back soon and, by the way, buy vegetables. There's nothing in the fridge, we have to thank him,"
Akiko said on the phone, and the sound of the refrigerator closing was heard through the microphone. Suddenly, Eiji Takashima felt a chill.
"Akiko, Mirai-sensei has been missing for half a year, you must have run into a liar." He said anxiously: "Don't rush, find a way to get him out!"
The couple ran into a liar a while ago. Once bitten by a snake, they fear ropes for ten years. Eiji Takashima now thinks the worst of everything he hears, for fear that another liar with a similar appearance will appear.
"Okay, don't worry, this Mirai-sensei is real."
However, Akiko's tone was very confident: "Didn't we go to Hinotori Publishing once? I just verified the phone number. Mirai-sensei called, and Hinotori Publishing promised to send someone to talk about the contract. It must be correct."
"Honey, it turns out that Mirai-sensei is Hinotori Publishing's main shareholder... He bought us, and we are Hinotori Publishing's headquarters in Japan...".
Akiko seemed very excited.
"Mirai-sensei plans to expand the market in Japan. He will prepare a Gundam anime for us. We can... Hey, honey, can you hear me? Hey..."
Eiji Takashima stopped listening. He was completely stunned.
Mirai-sensei? Really, it's Mirai-sensei: he bought Tsuki Animation Company, and then he's going to prepare a new anime work? Gundam anime?
"Gurgle..."
He swallowed. Mirai-sensei has only released the "Pokémon" anime so far. It has become the most popular anime in Japan since its broadcast, and ratings have been increasing.
Is he going to launch a second anime? Eiji Takashima couldn't sit still any longer. He felt he had to go home and take a look. If Mirai-sensei really appeared in Tokyo, it would be a hurricane in Japan's anime world.
"No need to work today, everyone leave work, I'm going first!"
Eiji Takashima picked up his briefcase, said something to the employees outside the office, and quickly ran to the elevator.
"President, president, don't we need to resolve this?"
"No, leave work, everyone leave work! We'll talk tomorrow if there's anything else!"
- - - - - - - -
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