[The teasing has been a bit back-and-forth now, the both of them feeling each other out. Matoba can say now confidently that this girl was far more clever than he might have expected upon their first meeting, but that was hardly a bad thing. On the contrary.]
After you, then. [He understands how business goes, after all. Following after Aerith and stepping up the the taxi, holding the door open as she climbs inside and disinterestedly not taking any note of if her dress happened to hike up or not. Instead he bends gracefully to fold himself inside after her, sweeping his feet in after with the practiced motion of one who has entered many shiny black limos and cars while in full kimono.]
[She, too, seems to have done this before... Or at least, is familiar enough with how these sorts of meetings are supposed to go, to be able to make the moves as if practiced. This, too, he respects.]
I shall keep the name of my associate anonymous, if you don't mind, [He begins, and lays it all on the table:] A member of my clan struck up conversation with me not long after our Boss's "revival", concerned of our uncertain status in the midst of the ongoing feud between Shuten and Tamamo. You will recall a large member-clan of the Alliance, the kappa, are still without jobs and in general, morale was low.
[After the Night Parade and that upheaval. After the Daitengu's miraculous "revival" and accusations towards the Enma, with the kappa still displaced from the Underground and the Tamamo and Shuten still at each other's throats over the scraps. In all of this, the Sutoku Lost Souls, all the shrewd sort, saw a brewing danger greater than the destabilization of the Underground feud. Perhaps Ryouma had solved that portion for the time being, but it was clear not all were happy with the outcome, even tonight.]
The Daitengu was brazenly shot in front of an audience of the entire city, and that is an individual with an entire guard. What would become of the rest of us? As we discussed methods of defending ourselves from possible hostile actions, my associate suggested to me that we make use of their knowledge in apothecary to form antitoxins and tranquilizing drugs, in the event that attempts to destabilize the clans turns less brazen and more cloak-and-dagger.
Unfortunately, supplies for that sort of thing mostly go through your clan and are quite expensive and difficult to obtain for those on the outside, so I have been seeking ways to subsidize this.
[He leans an arm crooked against the taxi door, his chin tilted onto it.] My associate is handling all of the actual development of these agents, but I am funding it with my position and taking care of the organization, more or less. We have started into some research, but progress is slow with what is available to us, among other difficulties.
...Of course, if one is developing antitoxin, it is because it is a byproduct of the toxins themselves. I acknowledge this. I also acknowledge that it would be foolish to develop a toxin and not make use of it, if it became necessary.
Do you think that poison is my weapon of choice, Aerith-san? [He turns to glance at her across the cab, face dimly lit by the passing lights. With the way his hair and the ward over his eye already covered most of it, little could be clearly seen but a glinting eye.]
no subject
After you, then. [He understands how business goes, after all. Following after Aerith and stepping up the the taxi, holding the door open as she climbs inside and disinterestedly not taking any note of if her dress happened to hike up or not. Instead he bends gracefully to fold himself inside after her, sweeping his feet in after with the practiced motion of one who has entered many shiny black limos and cars while in full kimono.]
[She, too, seems to have done this before... Or at least, is familiar enough with how these sorts of meetings are supposed to go, to be able to make the moves as if practiced. This, too, he respects.]
I shall keep the name of my associate anonymous, if you don't mind, [He begins, and lays it all on the table:] A member of my clan struck up conversation with me not long after our Boss's "revival", concerned of our uncertain status in the midst of the ongoing feud between Shuten and Tamamo. You will recall a large member-clan of the Alliance, the kappa, are still without jobs and in general, morale was low.
[After the Night Parade and that upheaval. After the Daitengu's miraculous "revival" and accusations towards the Enma, with the kappa still displaced from the Underground and the Tamamo and Shuten still at each other's throats over the scraps. In all of this, the Sutoku Lost Souls, all the shrewd sort, saw a brewing danger greater than the destabilization of the Underground feud. Perhaps Ryouma had solved that portion for the time being, but it was clear not all were happy with the outcome, even tonight.]
The Daitengu was brazenly shot in front of an audience of the entire city, and that is an individual with an entire guard. What would become of the rest of us? As we discussed methods of defending ourselves from possible hostile actions, my associate suggested to me that we make use of their knowledge in apothecary to form antitoxins and tranquilizing drugs, in the event that attempts to destabilize the clans turns less brazen and more cloak-and-dagger.
Unfortunately, supplies for that sort of thing mostly go through your clan and are quite expensive and difficult to obtain for those on the outside, so I have been seeking ways to subsidize this.
[He leans an arm crooked against the taxi door, his chin tilted onto it.] My associate is handling all of the actual development of these agents, but I am funding it with my position and taking care of the organization, more or less. We have started into some research, but progress is slow with what is available to us, among other difficulties.
...Of course, if one is developing antitoxin, it is because it is a byproduct of the toxins themselves. I acknowledge this. I also acknowledge that it would be foolish to develop a toxin and not make use of it, if it became necessary.
Do you think that poison is my weapon of choice, Aerith-san? [He turns to glance at her across the cab, face dimly lit by the passing lights. With the way his hair and the ward over his eye already covered most of it, little could be clearly seen but a glinting eye.]