166 In the Middle

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A week passed by. Because of the advertisement plans Kazuya presented for Kyouko and Mei's companies, Kazuya was immediately pulled by Takaya towards his family's headquarters before school even ended. They were both set to appear on as guests on a popular historical drama that was on the air but Kazuya insisted on attending school before it was time for the shoot.

"Phew…" Kazuya wiped his sweat after the director had yelled 'cut' to end the scene.

"Nice work Kazuno-san!" the director praised. "With your skills, it was like you were born from the era you're acting out. It saves us a lot of time since you don't need a stunt double and some of your improvisations are better than the choreography!"

"Thank you for your praise director." Kaguya gave a polite bow. "This should have been my last scene right?"

"Yes! Thank you for accepting the invitation for a guest appearance. I'm sure the fans will be satisfied now that our program has been graced by the 'samurai idol'." The director joked.

"This is the only thing I can help my elder sister with." Kaguya excused herself and joined Kanade who was waiting at the studio's exit.

Kazuya never got a manager nor ever thought that he needed one so Kanade took it upon herself to play the role. There were practically no other people that Kazuya could have trusted to do this so even though he had to deal with her mischief, the fact that they were beneficial to the two companies made him not have much of a choice.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Kanade couldn't help but ask. "Are you really intending to wait for the photographer that will arrive later tonight? I heard his flight got delayed."

"I will wait. Since the photographer agreed to hold a shoot late at night, I might as well finish the last appearance of Kazuno Kaguya for a while." He talked as they walked through the halls. "Kuronuma Ayame has been hunting me down persistently and if the shoot is delayed until tomorrow, I'm sure that she will cause a scene."

"Do you really have to do this today? Aren't there two events that should be more…" Kanade stopped after seeing Kaguya shake her head.

Today's shoot had lasted until early evening. Kanade was concerned because there were two important events that were being held tonight. One was the charity event that was hosted by both the Kouzuki Corporation and Kazuno Technologies while the other was the well known yet very secretive gathering that was hosted and attended by members of the Kurogane Family.

"It would be better for me to not attend both. Even if I didn't mean to, one side would definitely think that I am favoring the other so it would be better for me to do something that wouldn't get me in the middle of their troublesome paranoia." Kaguya stopped in front of the room that had been reserved for her. "I'm going to take a rest I've been working since this morning. Please have someone inform me when the photographer's is on his way." She entered the room and locked it before Kanade could say anything else.

"In the middle of two great families huh…" Kanade sighed and felt a little pity towards Kazuya's situation. She took out her phone and sent a message to Mei before turning back to the studio. She informed her friend about Kazuya's unshaken decision to steer clear of any involvement between the two families tonight.

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This night was the night for the famous Kurogane Banquet. It was the night that various members of the family who had been scattered all around the world to return to their roots to celebrate and discuss the accomplishments their clan had achieved. This was also the night where all previous heads of the clan would announce the next head if they had intended to step down from their position.

Tonight, no personnel that didn't belong to the Kurogane clan had been allowed to enter their land. All the security had been replaced with members of the branch families that usually acted in the shadows for the clan. This was the time where the most influential and powerful people of the clan would discuss their secrets so the security for this banquet had been the tightest.

Though the Kuroganes have been known and labeled to be cutthroat and devious, it was mostly directed towards those who weren't a part of their clan. Similar to the Kouzuki clan's unbreakable promise, the Kuroganes had upheld the principle to never hurt their own kin for the sake of one's benefits. Every single member of the Kurogane clan had been educated since childhood that the benefit of the clan is above everything else. Anyone who had broken this had the unified might of the clan destroy them without mercy.

This had been the primary reason why the rivalry between Sousuke and Shishio never crossed the line where they plotted each other's demise. Though each of them might have been confident to having their plans not being discovered if it ever came down to it, the teaching that they had received since they were children had been ingrained in their minds. Together with the existence of Kurogane Tenma who was like a god to both brothers, they could only bicker and fight like children in the presence of their father and his confidants.

Of course, this principle had its exceptions as well. The clan's benefit as a whole was always the priority of all the members. Any member acting in contrast of it could suffer the consequences of being eliminated. The head of the clan was not an exception to this rule but because of the clan's practices, there had never been an incident in which a person chosen to be the clan head had been forcefully taken off their seat.

In the case of Hashiyama Nagisa, though she was a member of the Kurogane clan after being wed to Shishio, various high ranking members including Tenma had approved of Shishio's plan to dispose of her after she had failed her final chance when she had been brought to meet with Kouzuki Kazuya.

Tenma and Shishio discussed Kouzuki Kyouko inside his office as they waited for every member of their clan to arrive. The mother of the monster that was Kouzuki Kazuya who had half of his genes was being considered as Shishio's official wife to replace the absence of Nagisa. While there were various other candidates, with the current situation of the clan, the top choices had been Kouzuki Kyouko and Kazuno Mei because of the fact that they had close ties with Kazuya.

"I believe that Kazuno Mei would be a more realistic target father." Shishio spoke to Tenma who like his son was dressed appropriately for tonight's event. "Kouzuki Kyouko's would never be moved after everything that has already happened between our families."

"Are you sure?" Tenma raised his eyebrow and looked at his youngest son. "In the past, you had reasoned that she would have been a better candidate compared to Hashiyama Nagisa." Tenma grinned.

"It is nothing but youthful indiscretion." Shishi gave a wry smile. "I had worked hard to make her into a perfect candidate that would suit my needs. Unlike the useless Nagisa, though the Kouzuki Corporation was not as big as the Hashiyama's at the time, I believed that Kyouko had the talent to support me."

"Indeed. I had underestimated that woman's capabilities. Who would have thought that not only would she give birth to someone as capable as Kazuya, she was even able to raise that corporation that was forced onto her this far." Tenma sighed. It had been his decision to let Shishio abandon Kyouko and have him marry Nagisa instead. "Nonetheless, the Hashiyama clan were nothing but incompetent fools who had been lucky to have gotten as far as they did. If not for the existence of Kazuya, I would have no regrets in choosing them over the Kouzuki clan."

The Kuroganes were able to easily control over everything the Hashiyamas had because of Nagisa. Her clan had been satisfied with having to receive money after all their work had been taken over. Everything had gone the way Tenma had planned where they had reaped most of the benefits even after their war against the Kouzuki clan and their allies.

The only variable that made Tenma rethink his past decisions was the discovery of Kouzuki Kazuya's capabilities. Though he had attributed the child's abilities to be caused by the Kurogane blood running through his veins, not even he could deny that the boy's talented mother had to be given some credit.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Who is it?" Tenma sat behind his desk and turned towards the door.

"It's Sousuke…"

"Enter." Tenma commanded as he glanced at his eldest son's hands to find that the wounds he had suffered had healed. "Have you reflected upon your actions?"

"I have…" Sousuke's hands still hadn't healed fully so he couldn't clench his fists without feeling pain.

"I know any resentment you feel towards Kazuya might be hard to forget but you had best forget about them." Tenma looked at his eldest son sternly. "You should feel gratitude towards him. He saved your corporation from completely falling with his ideas. I suggest you cast away all our enmity towards that child, for your own sake."

"I… received the report…" Sousuke bit his lip at the thought of being indebted to Kazuya

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He was put under house arrest after Tenma had discovered what happened between him and Kazuya. Tenma hadn't moved to talk to his eldest son because he and Shishio had been busy in implementing the changes that occurred within their businesses. Of course, with Kazuya's idea, they were able to do business that had help the Ringo Corporation that Sousuke personally owned have a mutually beneficial relationship with the Kurogane Conglomerate. It had been a shameless move but because of Kazuya's idea, neither Sousuke nor Tenma had cared about it.

Of course, he had no idea of Kazuya's proposal because the plan hadn't been implemented when they had their last encounter. Sousuke had been planning on getting benefits for himself because he didn't want his younger brother to claim that he couldn't amount to anything without the help of the clan's name. Seeing the illegitimate son of Shishio with the woman young woman he had once called his daughter triggered Sosuke's emotions. The shame that his former wife brought him had been the start of his downfall and Sousuke just couldn't get back on track after that.

"Remember the clan's teachings." Tenma's cold look made Sousuke shiver. "The boy will no doubt inherit the Kouzuki clan which could be attributed to being our clan's property the moment it happens. I already had the boy make a guarantee that he would never do anything that would harm the clan so unless he wants to lose everything, we can be sure that Kazuya will bring our clan to greater heights."

"I… understand…" Sousuke bowed to show that he had submitted to Tenma's judgement. With Tenma's reminder, he would have been doomed if he had resisted any further. Everything was for the greater benefit of the clan and though he would not be able to realize everything he had wanted, he would still be an untouchable member of the Kurogane clan and would enjoy further benefits.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Sousuke had finally accepted his younger brother's victory over him. Not only did Shishio have better achievements, with the addition of that monster of a child, although illegitimate, Tenma had already recognized and shown favor towards Kazuya despite all the other candidates the Kurogane clan had to offer.

"Good!" Tenma had risen from his seat and put a hand on Sousuke's shoulder. "Our clan will reach greater heights so of course I want my eldest son to be there to enjoy the view. I know that even with your failures, you always had the clan's benefits in mind. I only advise that you move as carefully as you did in the past so that the hasty actions which led to your recent misfortunes will not be repeated."

"Yes…" Sousuke wasn't sure before but after his father's reminder, he knew that the competition between him and Shishio was over. He had lost. "I will continue to work hard." He felt bitter but there was no way around it. This was Sousuke's final chance, he could either accept the decision or be like every single person who had been judged to go against the clan as a whole.

"Now then, I'll leave it to you to entertain the members that have arrived while Shishio and I attend the meeting of the heads." Tenma left the room followed by Shishio who had not spoken a word after Sousuke entered.

"Damnit…" the silence of his younger brother bothered Sousuke. He would rather Shishio had mocked him after his victory rather than act like this had been the expected result.

Sousuke could only grit his teeth in defeat as he headed towards the main hall. He had been excluded from the meeting of the highest ranked members of the Kurogane clan unlike in the previous banquet. If the earlier exchanges between him and Tenma weren't enough, the fact that he had been left to join the other members of the clan was proof that he had been disqualified as the candidate for the seat of the clan head.

It was like the emergence of Kouzuki Kazuya had been the prelude to Sousuke's inevitable demise. Both brothers had been competing against one another when it came to accomplishments. It was only because of the issue with Hashiyama Lee that Shishio had fought back with the revelation that Hamasaki Hikaru was not related to him by blood. This was how the shamed eldest son decided to take bigger risks in order to defeat his younger sibling who had gained such a monstrous child while he lost both his own family and reputation.

"Greetings Sousuke-sama!" various members of the Kurogane clan who gathered around the decorated hall greeted Tenma's eldest son with respect.

The hall had been decorated lavishly and there were many types of food and beverages to choose from. Even if everyone had eaten to their heart's content, there were much food and expensive wine to go around that anyone outside the clan would be envious of. The Kurogane clan held back no expense when it came to their own clan members and brought out the rarest of their specialties and delicacies.

"Greetings everyone!" Sousuke smiled. "Father has sent me here to look after the family members that have gathered from different places while he meets with the other elders. I hope that everyone will look forward to the results of tonight's banquet." Though defeated, he was still the son of the current head and a member of the main family so no one dared look down on him.

He looked at the clan members who grew excited after his greeting. This was his own way of showing them that something was going to happen tonight and he supported it. In his own way, he had taken measures in protecting himself and started to take steps into whatever announcements that would later be made.

There was but one person who completely ignored him. Sousuke looked at the familiar figure who was more interested in the wine and food than listening to him. He immediately moved closer to identify this person as he was followed by those who wanted to speak with him.

"!?" he immediately halted his steps as he came close to the boy who didn't fail to recognize the stares of the people approaching.

"Good evening uncle. I'm glad to see that your wounds have healed without complications."

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