#### **Chapter 30: Operation Fur-Ball**
The operation began the next day. Kuro, channeling the personality of a bubbly, over-enthusiastic cat rescuer named 'Brenda,' initiated contact.
**Brenda_CAT_Unit:** *OMG Dr. Finch! I'm like, your biggest fan! Chairman Meow is a legend! We're a small, discreet rescue for very special kitties and we've found a magnificent Lykoi we've named 'Stardust' who needs a furever home! ✨💖🐾*
The reply from Alistair Finch was almost instantaneous.
**AlistairFinch_Official:** *Stardust? A Lykoi? No way! Are you serious? Send pics!*
Kuro, with Hikari looking over his shoulder and providing emotional guidance, sent the doctored image of Yuzu.
**AlistairFinch_Official:** *Be still my heart. Look at that noble brow! That majestic snoot! I must have him! What's the adoption process? I'll pay anything.*
**Brenda_CAT_Unit:** *Well, it's super complicated! Stardust is very sensitive, and poachers are everywhere! We have to use our special, encrypted communication app to arrange the adoption. It's for the kitty's safety! Here's the download link!*
Renji, listening to the exchange over comms from the other room, felt a part of his soul wither and die.
Over the next two days, Kuro—as Brenda—engaged in the most psychologically taxing mission of his life. He had to learn to use an excessive amount of emojis. He had to feign excitement over pictures of Fuzz Aldrin in a tiny bee costume. He had to discuss the relative merits of salmon pâté versus tuna flakes. At one point, to gain Alistair's trust, he had to spend twenty minutes photoshopping a tiny birthday hat onto the picture of Stardust.
While Alistair was distracted, Kuro's real code was a silent viper, slithering through the 'secure app' and into the StarLink network. He mapped the system, located the master uplink controls, and prepared a digital ghost key that would give him control for exactly ninety seconds.
The moment of truth came during a video call. Alistair, his face beaming with excitement, wanted to see Stardust 'live.'
"He's a bit shy!" Kuro typed frantically, his voice disguised by a modulator to sound like Brenda's. He held up Yuzu, who had been bribed with an entire can of tuna, to the camera.
"Oh, he's beautiful!" Alistair cooed. "He looks a little… oranger than in the photo."
"It's the lighting!" Kuro/Brenda squeaked. "And his winter coat is coming in!"
Yuzu, having finished the tuna and deeply unimpressed with the proceedings, let out a loud, distinctly un-werewolf-like meow and tried to bat the camera out of Kuro's hand.
"Did he just…?" Alistair began, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"I'm in!" Kuro whispered to his siblings over their private channel, the backdoor finally opened. He dropped the cat, who landed with an indignant hiss, and his hands became a blur.
On the video call, Alistair watched in confusion as Brenda's feed cut out, replaced by a looping gif of a cat playing a keyboard.
"Brenda?" Alistair asked. "Is everything okay?"
In the Swiss villa, Kuro slammed his fist on the table. "The ghost key is uploaded. We have our window. When we're ready, I can initiate the broadcast sequence from anywhere. He has no idea what just happened."
Hikari picked up the disgruntled Yuzu and stroked his fur. "You did very well, Agent Stardust," she said solemnly. "You've earned a promotion."
Renji just shook his head, a rare, reluctant smile hidden beneath his mask. Their plan was absurd, unprofessional, and deeply embarrassing. But it had worked.