Chapter 343
Kuzo’s lips parted in surprise for only a beat. Then he slid back into a cunning smile smooth as oil. The wall display glitched and shifted to a different clip, one looking down on the city from a great tower. Snow fell in lazy sheets around it, and neon veins pulsed through the streets.
“Oh.” He spoke with false warmth like a mentor. “You really think you have leverage, don’t you?”
“Bricktown was really something.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out several chips. “Such a shame someone got in and copied all the documents just before it exploded.”
His expression didn't change, but his eyes sharpened like a predator who just noticed an actual threat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
”Of course you do.” I twirled the chip around my finger. “You stopped going out after the incident. It’d be such a shame if the Crusade were to learn—”
“You think you can scare me with mere rumours?” His cool slipped for a beat. He frowned, though it seemed to be more out of irritation for slipping then anything. He resettled his robe with a lazy flourish as if nothing happened. “How… adorable.”
Still as impulsive as ever. While I certainly changed a lot, he hadn’t for even a moment. Just polished the same rot till it shined. “Would you like to see the ledgers? The ones with your name tied to everything, including Project Methuze and the Savant lab under Cold Moon.”
”So what?” He brushed his shoulder lightly. “You think that little scandal is a weapon? It’ll pass over like a cloud. There’s always something else to attract the media’s attention.”
”The city does forget fast. Good thing I own enough media to keep it in their sight.” I had no doubt Saint could insight some scary things if he put in the effort. Hell, he already got a renewed kick of anti-Savant going through the city.
The display behind the bar shifted once more thanks to Luna’s efforts. The image sharpened onto a collage of headlines, street footage, and a riot somewhere in the city. Masked figures under floodlights fought against military forces encircling the heights.
Kuzo’s smile thinned as he stared at the screen. ”So? A little media manipulation won’t get you anywhere.”
”City’s in a frenzy over Savants now, though.” I tapped the chip slowly on the table. “They won’t care for nuance as much as they want to rip someone apart. Herd mentality is a heck of a thing. And that’s before anyone starts asking about the AI experiments. BosSpace just loves making examples out of that kind of stuff.”
Kuzo stared at the chip like it suddenly turned radioactive. Then he scoffed and looked out the window. “Mere forgery won’t get you anywhere. It’ll get discredited with my connections.”
”Whatever you say, uncle.” I set the chips down in front of me, with the contract between us.
We went silent for a moment, and then Luna’s voice buzzed into my mind. “H-he’s running a silent c-call to someone.”
”Deny it.” I spoke so subtly he couldn’t hear me.
”I’ll try, S-Shiro.”
Beside me, uncle Kuzo suddenly flinched and his eyes narrowed further. The tiny twitches gave him away, though he masked it quickly. “So you’ve brought a runner? How cute.”
”Insurance that you don’t try anything stupid.” I flared Fear the Reaper out at a level just enough to make him unsettled. “I think you really should sign the contract before things have to get ugly.”
“I’ll tell you what I think.” Kuzo traced a slow finger around the rim of his glass. His movements were tighter though. “I think little Shiro is angry. You’ve been out in the cold, eating garbage and sleeping near heat vents so long that you’ve mistaken your survival skills for power.”
”Oh? Continue.” I raised a brow and settled back into my stool. Where was he going with this?
“You have nothing.” He leaned to the side and placed two fingers on the contract, pushing it away as if it was something disgusting. “No legal claim, no money worth mentioning, and you aren’t even a real Tsukuyomi anymore. Succession is impossible.”
Kuzo’s chrome eyes glowed and the screen behind the bar shifted once more to a legal document. I’d seen it before, of course. When I was looking into taking over the company, it came up several times. A long list of dead Tsukuyomis was followed by the only living member, Kuzo. I was nowhere on it. I wasn’t even registered as dead. He’d completely removed me from the city’s registry.
”That was a cute try.” He lifted his glass up into the light, reflecting it through the alcohol onto my face. “The city does so love paperwork. You can’t threaten your way around an official ledger.”
“Something like that can easily be fixed.” I picked up another chip and sat it down on the table. “Here’s the original family charter. You really should’ve deleted it from the server bank if this was the play you wanted to make.”
He scoffed, though shifted backward slightly. The playing field was still in my favor. I had all the cards—at least as far as I knew. It was amusing to watch him try and wiggle his way out, though. He was like a repulsive little worm in a way.
“I figured you were dead.” His voice smoothed out once more. “My mistake.”
”Were you going to send someone after me if I wasn’t?” There had always been a sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind that he hadn’t been satisfied with just the inheritance. That he was the one that ordered my parents killed.
Kuzo actually flinched, though guilt didn’t radiate from him. It was… sorrow? And a faint trace of unease. He covered it up and poured himself a bigger cup. The bottle’s label flashed some elaborate seal in the light. “I wouldn’t dirty my hands like that.”
“Ah, but you did. Do you not remember?” I traced a finger down my cheek. “I certainly do.”
He shifted in his seat. Although it was almost entirely hidden, there was a certain hint of guilt there. I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. “It was a different time.”
”So you keep saying.” I pushed the contract back to him. “Sign. You really don’t have a choice.”
“You may have teeth now, but you won’t go through with it.” He casually sipped at his drink. “It’ll ruin Cold Moon too. You burn me, you scorch the brand too. You won’t get investors, partners, and the supply chains will ignore you.”
I smiled without any warmth, leaned against the bar, and rested my chin on my fist. “Ah, my stupid uncle, you’re misunderstanding something. I don’t need Cold Moon Solutions. It’d be nice, but I can always make Cold Moon Innovations or Cold Moon Holdings.”
”That won't make much of a difference. The name will still be dragged through the mud. You won’t be able to get off the ground.” He had full confidence in what he was saying. Market and business was his field. I had no doubt he was right about that stuff. It just so happened I could cheat all of that.
“It won’t matter. Connections can cover until word gets around. And reputation doesn’t matter as long as the product is good.” I tapped the contract. “There’s a reason Sentinel and Raijin are still in power.”
He sat down his glass and stared at me. There was real heat in his eyes this time, though. “You’re bluffing.”
I smiled a touch too widely and picked up the chips. “Is that something you want to test?”
”What happens to me if I sign?” His voice flattened out and lost the mocking edge he’d held almost this entire time.
”You step down for the good of the company rather than become the villain that’s sacrificed.” Really, the math here was simpler. He only had one actual option unless he managed to pull some strings with connections. “I won’t even reclaim assets. You can still keep this nice penthouse… for as long as you can afford it.”
My eyes drifted over the empty wall displays and blank frames where paintings had been pulled off. A man like Kuzo wouldn’t live with blank walls unless he was forced to. My bet was that he couldn’t afford this place for much longer, especially not with his cash flow strangled.
”And if I don’t?”
I leaned in closer, flaring Fear the Reaper at a stronger level. He visibly shuddered. “I turn your life into a Crusade PSA. Trust me, they know exactly where you live.”
He went silent and fully let go of the glass for the first time since I entered. For the briefest of moments, I saw his hand tremble. Then Kuzo slowly picked up the pen. “Got me against the wall here, Shiro.”
”Better than against the alley floor.” I smirked. “Though that could be arranged.”
He didn’t sign right away. He just traced the edge of the contract with a pen as if savoring the moment and the last scraps of control he had left. Even that sense of control was an illusion, though.
“Your father begged me to look after you.” His voice went softer and he shifted his approach. I expected nothing more of the bastard than to weaponize memory.
My chest tightened, though I didn’t let the expression show on my face. “Is that so?”
”You were always too soft for this city. Too good. He wanted me to protect you from all the ugly parts.” He lifted the pen and pointed it at me. “And he was right. You aren’t vicious enough for this.”
“Maybe not back then.” I stared at the pen. I suddenly felt the desire to just kill the man and go on my own way. “I was reshaped in the streets, though. If you want, I can show you just how vicious I can be.”
He dropped his hand back onto the contract and the pen tip hovered the line. “You’ll become what you hate. You’ll make the same choices and hurt the same people. That's what power does.”
“Maybe.” I glanced out the window toward the city beyond for a moment as my mind wandered. “But you, out of everyone, don’t get to be the one teaching lessons.”
”You think you’re safe with a little runner in your ear?” His hand clenched into a fist. “This city will eat you alive.”
“It’s already tried.” I nodded to the contract. “Anything else you want to try, or are you done with your little circus act?”
Kuzo’s jaw clenched and he looked like he might try something else. His eyes flared with what looked like hatred. Then my predictable uncle picked the option I expected of him. The only one that would keep him safe and alive for the time being.
He set the pen to paper, staining the pure white document with black ink. With far too much grace for someone like him, the pen danced over the document in smooth motions.
“There’s more than one line—“
”I know how contracts work,” he snapped and flipped to the next page to keep signing away. His hand moved faster and sharper with anger. “I’m not a fucking idiot.”
”Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered under my voice, though didn’t push further. Not when he was walking into my trap exactly how I wanted him to.
When he finally finished, Kuzo set the pen down with a careful precision. He didn’t speak and just stared at his own signature like he couldn’t believe he’d done it. In mere moments, he looked like he aged significantly.
He lifted his eyes to mine. “You’re really something, you know that?”
“It’s just business.” I shrugged. “Nothing personal.”
“This isn’t over—”
“It is for you.” I picked up the signed documents and secured them once more. While I was at it, I went ahead and photoscanned them to get more permanent, digital copies. “Goodbye, uncle.”
“Don’t come crying back to me when this all collapses around you,” Kuzo called out after me. “And watch your back… take it as the last bit of advice I’ll give you on account of our familial relations.”
Even now he was trying to worm his way back into power. Disgusting, really. I shook my head and left the penthouse behind.