Kuroba Asashin's Arc

Chapter 36 of 44

Vincent stood at the threshold and did not answer. Kuroba felt the pressure at the edge of his thoughts, thin as a wire drawn along the inside of his skull. He had felt this once before, in a hall of black stone, from a man in a matte mask. He knew the shape of it now. He set the staff down across the mat and looked up. "You're trying to read my mind," Kuroba said again. "Stop." Vincent turned. His sunglasses caught the lamp. He did not deny it. He did not apologize. He walked back to the mat and lowered himself down across from Kuroba, slow, the cybernetic hand flat on his knee. "Most men don't notice," Vincent said. "None of them, actually. That's new." "It's rude," Kuroba said. "It's useful." Vincent's voice stayed level. "You should be flattered. I only bother with people who matter." "I'll speak plain," Kuroba said. "I'm building something here. A place for people who can't fight to learn how, or be protected by those who can. That's all. I don't want your city. I don't want your money. I don't need a friend in a suit. Leave the queen alone. Leave my students alone. Walk out and stay out, and there's no trouble between us." Vincent listened. He did not interrupt. When Kuroba finished, Vincent tilted his head, the way a man tilts a ledger to read the last line. "That was honest," Vincent said. "I appreciate honest. I don't return it." He stood. "You think this is a negotiation," he said. "It isn't. You built a border in ground I watch. You put a crown on a woman I hadn't approved." He paused at the door. "I gave you the courtesy of a visit. That was the offer. You just answered it." "Then we're done," Kuroba said. "We're started." Vincent's voice dropped, quieter, final. He stepped off the porch. The jasmine moved once and settled. Kuroba sat with the staff across his knees and did not follow. He had said his peace. It had bought him nothing. Vincent was powerful… but not powerful enough to penetrate the mind of Kuroba. Kuroba stood and walked to the front post. He took the notice with Kenji's name on it down from the nail, folded it once, and put it inside his cloak.