Kenji quietly listened to everything Yuudai had to say but she certainly did not help the Yang's conscience, in fact the opposite. Then, Yuudai mentioned she forgot something in the forest where they fought the Ki Witch's daughter. The half-Oni stood from her seat and peered at the darkening sky.

"I will make sure to be back before night. Without anyone else it is a simple run."

Before Yuudai could leave, Kenji placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "And leave me hanging? How cold of you, Miss... er... Yuudai." He said. "Let me come with you. Leisurely strolls... er, jogs... in the night is best spent with a companion yes?"

However, if Yuudai refuses, Kenji would let out a sad sigh. "Well, if you insist. I'll wait for you here then."

Gin didn’t know if he was going to be able to help much but at least he was taller than Metou if only by a little. He didn’t know if their stature would give them an advantage or have them running around in circles in complete confusion trying to find who they were looking for. Gin wasn’t very good with keeping focused for one but at least he was going to try and be useful, even if it was just keeping close to Metou and letting her find the musician they sought. ”I’m ready to look! This place isn’t that big…”

Hoping he wasn’t going to screw this up he kept close to Metou, making sure he wasn’t going to get distracted by the food close by or the shiny goods that people brought to this place. He had never had to do something like this before so it was pretty exciting, even if it was the most simplest of tasks compared to what everyone else had to do. Walking with her he looked around quickly, leaning towards her a little as if trying to take in what she was saying with more concentration than he might if he was just casually talking. ”Foreign instrument…like what? I can’t say I know what foreign instruments look like…or many instruments, in fact”.

On second thought, maybe he was going to be pretty useless and literally just a tagalong. He barely knew anything about the world away from the blacksmiths and trying to find someone with such difficulties made him wonder if he would ever find people if he lost them in a crowd. He didn’t even know what a Ki Witch was and now he would have to learn about foreign instruments as if they were as important as looking for a Ki Witch when it was important for their journey. Feeling a little nervous now he decided to slow down with his seeking ‘skills’ and try to take in the surrounding area, frowning when he couldn’t recognise the difference between an inn and a pub. ”What do we do if she’s not here at all…? It is possible, after all”.

Takumi didn't know much about Lady Ru personally but as he headed to find some people to question he answered with what he knew. "Like I said she mostly known for being a warrior and not really having interest in proper bajin custom. Can't tell you too much about her personality beyond that, but her beauty is well known. You often hear about people coming to try to marry her, mostly warriors who feel they deserve their own clan and want it through her." More than a few men from his island had attempted to do that, all to return in failure like those before them. Jiang's next question made him chuckle a little, before he went ahead and gave him the bad news. "Most clan leaders are men, so if you want some beautiful men there are a few of them. But even then most of them are old men at that. Very few female leaders are around, and those that do exist are mostly just temporary until a a son or bother returns home or in some cases until a grandson becomes of age." He doubted they would encounter any female clan leaders outside of Ru for a very long time, if at all.

The town square wasn't very lively when Gin and Metou reached it, it was getting late and most people were at home wrapping up training or preparing to bed. Many of the traveling trader were still around though, trying to sell their merchandise to the Naji soldiers as well as people of Ru who were still out and about. While there was no immediate sign of the musician they were looking for, many merchants and traders saw the two were clearly outsiders and began trying to get their attention. Not many traditional Ru food and good were being offered to them, but plenty of foreign objects and snacks were being waved around in Gin's face with various types of makeup and clothing pushed to Metou. They had nothing to do until they set out for the morning, so they just offered stuff to anyway who may not have seen or might possibly have a decent amount of money. None of them had the instrument in question but if any of them were asked about the woman, they would be able to point the duo in the direction of the right inn.

Yuudai turned to leave until Kenji's hand was placed on her shoulder to stop her from leaving, her body relaxing slightly at the offer that he wouldn't mind going along with her. Suddenly she turned around to Kenji, one hand trying to grab and hold his hand as the other came up to gently rest on his chin if she was allowed to do so. Her face had a much softer look to it than it had ever since he had seen her back in Shima "Thanks for the offer but it is kind of personal..." Lowering her hand a smile came across her face, bearing her fangs a little as she did so. "Besides it will only take me a little while. Wait for me in the Inn and we will continue to talk since you seem so eager"

With that she started to walk away slow at first but soon her steps became a powerful stride before building into a sprint, heading not for the gate but for the wall that surrounded Ru! "Halt right th- Eh?!" The guard was shocked as the half oni did not answer his order by stopping but instead speeding up! She would have readied her weapon if Yuudai did not leap into the air, over both the guard and the fence in one bond, leaving the poor girl confused and slumped down on the floor from slight shock.

--- Leaving Ru ---

She didn't expect it to be as short a trip as it was, pretty surprised by the fact the fight took place so close to Ru or maybe she had just improved a leg muscles? Either way she finally made it to the place where the 'battle' took place. She had a hard time seeing with the dying light around her but it was then that her eye caught a glint of silver on the ground, many pieces in fact.

"What the..."

Kneeling down to the shards she could hardly believe that they were pieces of her rusted blade as the insides were a spotless sheen of some kind of silver like metal wrapped within the outer layer of rusted steel. Confused by the sight she almost didn't hear the two men and a women coming up from the forest. Two of them flanking as they were unsure what to make of the seemingly defenseless person suddenly out in the middle of the road. At least they were right to think this was no normal person as one of them tried intimidation before a fight.

"Hey, you. This is our scavenging spot, so unless you... Want..."

Yuudai stood up from the ground, towering over the little man that had decided to walk up and act all tough and with a powerful backhand she knocked his hatchet to the side, sending it spinning and stabbing into the ground beside one of the others, that were also shocked. "You are far too young to be doing this. Go back to Ru." She glared down to the 'bandit' before her but as he tried to speak back to her she made sure to get her point across by grabbing his face and tossing him like a rag doll into the girl, his mask coming loose to shock a younger than expected face. Kids trying to act tough and 'play bandit' so to speak. but there were much worse here and they were in danger.

"LEAVE!"

Frightened they started rushing back towards Ru, the girl even carrying the boy just to get away. "Tch, kids. Don't know the dangers out here. Damn I need a real fight or some fun soon." Picking up the pieces and the hatchet she made her way back towards Ru herself, entering the forest for a faster way "Excuse me" Making sure to step over the real bandits she dealt with while she was on the way here...

--- Return to Ru ---

After jumping back over the fence she made her way back to the Inn, wondering if Kenji did wait as she said. After all she did not take long just as she promised. She just ignored the few stares she got, she was use to it.

While they were on their way to search for their lead, Metou answered Gin's questions in a plain and to-the-point fashion. "Any instrument you don't recognize is a possibility we can investigate," Metou said, assuming that there wouldn't be so many musician women that they had to be picky on who they talked to. "And if she's not here, then there's nothing we can do, is there? We'll have to find some other way of tracking the thieves."

It was later than Metou realized when she and Gin arrived at the town square, and there was no longer any music to be heard at all. Nobody was left but some people passing through and traders noisily peddling things that Metou couldn't care less for. Gin was being swamped with traders as well, almost to the point of separating them, but at least he was being pelted with snacks. One merchant rushed up to Metou waving a bottle of unidentifiable fluid in her face, and began saying, "Buy my miracle tonic, and look better than you have in decades! This oil will make you look twenty years younger, I guarantee it!"

"Thanks for the offer, but I already have something like that," Metou responded. With the woman they were looking for seemingly absent, Metou felt a need to ask someone who was here the whole day where she might have went. However, these merchants seemed pretty preoccupied with making a bit more money before setting out, and Metou got a vibe that they wouldn't be inclined to help someone who turned them down. She spied a cheap-looking trinket the man also had in his hands, a small wooden emblem on a string to use as a necklace. Metou pulled a single coin out from under her cloak and said, "However, I'll buy that wooden necklace you have there, and maybe you can help me find what I'm really looking for."

After getting the information she needed, Metou pulled Gin out of the crowd and started taking them both in the direction the man had pointed her in. "One of the merchants told me where we can find our woman," Metou said, letting go of Gin when they were out of the town square, not that Metou had anything close to the strength she would need to pull Gin against his will. Once they were free from the pack of merchants there was no longer cause to hurry, so Metou slowed to a more comfortable pace and told Gin what inn they were headed to.

"Our target might be relaxing at the inn if she was playing in the middle of town, and might not have her instrument out. Look for anyone carrying an unusually shaped case that could be containing an instrument as well, maybe something this big or this big," Metou said to Gin on their way to the inn, and with her hands she made an imaginary shape to demonstrate the rough size and shape of a case that could carry a lute or guitar, and then a case that could carry a smaller instrument like a flute. After thinking for a few seconds she added, "If you don't see anyone with an unusual musical instrument or case, look for someone with an unfamiliar style of clothing." It wasn't long before they were at their destination and headed inside, and Metou scanned the inside of the inn, paying particular attention to the patrons near the walls, looking for someone playing a foreign instrument, sitting near their instrument in a box, or someone who looked like they may be a traveling player.

Gin was really not sure he could handle this, he hadn’t been in a crowd like this before and his guardian was always the one to go and get all they needed from the market. He got bullied too often to go by himself most of the time and while this place may be more accepting than his home town he still felt overwhelmed by it. Trying to keep up with Metou while watching where everything was he was happy enough when the town square wasn’t showing itself to be too busy, he could handle this, but he still couldn’t see who they were supposed to find. Something about a strange instrument and he would probably be quick to try and catch them for questioning.

Only giving Metou a quick glance he was soon caught off-guard when the merchants had caught sight of them and was immediately on their way to try and appeal to their tastes to get their goods sold. Pulling back with a gasp as they made their advancement on him he found it hard to focus on just what one was saying nevermind all of them at once, his eyes going to the strange objects before the snacks caught his eye. He was getting rather hungry, but he didn’t know how much more money he would be making along their journey if he was to spend it all on snacks here. Feeling inclined to turn them down he was just about to turn away when one of the merchants showed him a trio of dango in a series of bright colours.

Gin’s eyes lit up, the sweet dumplings being his favourite snack and here they were in a series of colours that appealed to his nature. ”Ah! Ah! Look at them…!” he spoke up suddenly, his hands going to his face in excitement for a brief moment; however, just as he lowered them as if to get some money out his hand was suddenly grabbed by Metou and he was pulled away, never to get the dango he saw so appealing.

Stumbling along with Metou he felt rather sad for a moment at his lost opportunity, looking to Metou sadly before he let out a sigh when she let him go. ”Oh, good…great. The woman…” While he did feel a little down he might get some another time, if he lived that long. Looking back at the town square he started to pace himself better, pulling his cloak around a little more as Metou gave him the lowdown on what might need to look for he felt a little disappointed. ”A woman with a big case…? That’s it then?” he frowned, staring at Metou as she gave further hints. It sounded like an awfully complicated method to try and find someone and if they accidentally bothered the wrong woman then they would be in trouble. Upon finally arriving at the inn he entered cautiously, his eyes instead going to the people who lined the inn, already feeling incredibly nervous when a few took interest in their entering. ”Uhh…most definitely a woman, right…”

Finding the baths had taken a little while, but with some luck Katsu had finally found what he was looking for. Out in the back of the inn were some springs that would more than suit his needs, and as chance would have it they were mostly empty. Good, it was always kind of awkward when you had to bathe with a lot of people. Another issue he noticed he had too upon arriving was, aside from the towel and trunks provided by the inn, he had no change of clothes. In retrospect he probably should have brought some, but he'd perhaps foolishly thought he'd only need to travel to Ru to get the information they needed. Not a total loss, it just meant he had to wash what he had here, and... Wander around in swimming trunks in the mean time.

Tetsuya didn't spend too much time bathing, just enough to rinse himself off and get rid of the stink of sweat from his person. Once he was satisfied and feeling less grimy he climbed out of the spring, drying himself off quickly and gathering up his dirty clothes. Now that he was clean he could definitely tell they were soiled, hopefully they had some washers here or at least a spare robe or two, just anything for him to use for the time being. To ask he was going to have to go out to the main desk unfortunately, and while he did have the towel and trunks on he felt decidedly naked. Before Ru he'd have to try and get another change of clothes, if he remembered that is.

Was there any chance the lobby might be empty? It wasn't overly late but then Tetsuya couldn't see any reason for people to be gathered there right now. As soon as he poked his head around the corner however he saw a sizable crowd gathered, groaning quietly before standing against the wall. Wonderful, he was already embarrassed enough wandering around like this, now there was a group of people to see him. Really it wasn't that he was indecent or anything, it was just weird and he felt a fair bit exposed in more ways than one. Sighing to himself he knew he couldn't well just stand here and wait, who knows how long that might take. Nodding to himself Tetsuya went ahead and walked right on out, trying to ignore everyone else as his cheeks heated up, making a straight line for the counter. "Um... Excuse me? Do you have any robes I can borrow?" he asked, not meeting the innkeeper's gaze as he was too embarrassed, "And er... A place I can wash my clothes?"

"Er... Yes we do, the robes are back at the springs," the innkeeper responded, giving Tetsuya a funny look, "And the laundry room is across the hall from that, didn't you see it on your way out?"

Ah, so that was probably what that big cabinet in the springs had been for, he hadn't wanted to go picking through something that wasn't his. And the door opposite the entrance to the springs... That made sense. Well now he felt like a proper moron for having completely missed that, and standing here buck naked almost didn't help either. "Oh... Right, I guess I sort of walked by it huh?" Tetsuya said sheepishly, smiling as his face reddened further. Not sure what to do now he went to bow to the innkeeper, gasping and having to scramble to hold his towel up, dropping his clothes on the floor in the process. Damn it all, he should just slink back to his room and wait until morning.

With that out of the way Takumi went straight to a guard in order to try to find this Neko, though mostly so Jiang would leave him alone and he could go do his own thing. He didn't want to hand out with the overly enthusiastic man for much longer so planned to speed things up as much as he could. Finding the nearest soldier he explained the situation and asked about a neko who fit the description and would have been with the princess. They couldn't tell his exact location but did point to where they last saw him, a lead that Takumi quickly took hoping it would lead him to some more accurate guards. Finding a guard in the area they pointed to the inn that the neko was last seen at, the guards hoping the Shima clan would solve their own infighting instead of dragging Ru into whatever problems were going on. Takumi led Jiang to the inn while doing his best to avoid talking to the guy, stopping as soon as they arrived outside of it. "There, this is the place. I'm not part of Shima so I'll let you handle the issue yourself. I'm going to go gather some information that could prove useful later, maybe find out a good place for you guys to go after this." Takumi hoped that this would be the last he saw of Jiang that night, leaving him a sense of peace for a while.

---

The Inn Metou and Gin entered had a nice amount of travelers within it, most dressed a little differently than Ru but still within bajin conventions. Some of them wore emblems of their clans for all to see, but since it was neutral ground most didn't expect to get into fights over it. One person stood out much more than all the others however, a woman with weird devices adorning her body who was sitting over near one of the corners. She had a guitar of sorts, an instrument not normally seen within baji, and was sitting on top of a mechanical device that was clearly beyond the normal tech of their island. She wasn't playing any music but had her instrument out and ready as if she had just finished or was getting ready to start again. While a few others had things that could be classified as foreign, this woman was the one who most accurately fit the info that they had been given. She wasn't expected anyone so wouldn't notice them if they approached her, her eyes focused on her own instrument and occasionally on people who wanted to ask her about it or if she was going to do another show for them.

With the offer of company rejected, Yuudai walked away which turned into a bolt out of Ru village, jumping over the walls in a single bound. "Whoa." Kenji was still a bit flustered with what Yuudai earlier but now he was simply impressed. Deciding to heed her words, Kenji headed for the inn though he was not sure what inn they were supposed to stay in while in Ru.

"Ahem!"

Kenji turned to the food vendor, an unamused expression plastered on his face. "I don't give food for free, you know?" The Yang could only make a half-hearted laugh.

"Err..."

-----

Budget cut in half, Kenji wandered through Ru hoping to either get a lead on an objective or at least meet up with a party member. Soon the Yang found Jiang and Takumi standing in front of an inn. With some words given, the guide left Jiang on his own almost as if he wanted to get away. Kenji approached Takumi as kindred spirits in being separated from their partners, albeit with opposing circumstances. "Mister Takumi. If I didn't know better, you wanted to get away from Jiang." He greeted, not loud enough for Jiang to hear.

"What's up with the inn by the way?"

"Ah good, seems like we are all here"

Yuudai commented to herself as she saw the others within the Inn, it was just a mess of everyone not being very subtle about what they were looking for, though she could not say much after her little stunt. It seemed like Kenji had yet to arrive, a shame since she needed a drink but she found something just as entertaining to take up her time. A neko boy that caught her eye, though it seemed like he had also captured Jiang's attention...

She didn't even know he swung that way, not that it bothered her.

Moving up she made sure to try and get behind the neko as fast as she could, her hands reaching out to try and grab a hold of Tetsuya more out of reflex. She would try and pet the rather damp and cute neko as if it was natural if she was allowed to do so. "Hey, what are you doing keeping this cutie all to-... Hmm?" She noticed his face at first, not really one of someone that was trying to pick up a partner, though what struck her most was the feeling of who she was petting. If allowed she would not even miss a beat as she went to brush a hand over his chest "Eh, Tetsu?! What are you doing here?" She was shocked to see/feel one of Shima's guard here of all places.

Having successfully made an utter fool of himself Tetsuya wasted no time in returning to the bath, grabbing a robe and quickly wrapping himself in it. Unfortunately for him it wasn't quite his size, and the bottom of it seemed to drag along a little, the sleeves just hanging over the edges of his hands too. To fix the latter he simply rolled the sleeves up some, but there was nothing that could be done for the robe itself. Did they not have anything more reasonably sized, or for a Neko? Then again come to think of it he'd seen no one like him since arriving in Ru, something that struck him as unusual. Was his kind really so rare out here?

Tetsuya was just stopping by in the lobby on his way back, having dropped his clothes off at the wash, to thank the innkeeper when he was approached. Not expecting anyone to come and talk to him he was awfully confused by it, especially since he didn't recognize the man whatsoever. Looking at the blue haired traveler uncertainly he frowned when words were slurred, worried he might be dealing with one of the drunks from earlier. So he knew who he was, kind of, at least enough to claim he was the 'Neko knight'. Seriously, was that what everyone knew him as now? Much as he'd love to tell the stranger to sod off he was careful not to make Lord Shima look bad, even if it meant dealing with some unpleasant situations. "If you know who I am then you'd know my loyalties lie with Shima," he replied simply, "I'm very busy right now, so if you wouldn't mind..."

For a second Tetsuya thought he had been set up, gasping when he was suddenly grabbed from behind by a strong set of arms. Taken aback by the grip he tried to wriggle free, only to pause in utter confusion when a hand began petting his head. What in the hell was this? He wasn't some little furry animal to be doted on, and he certainly wasn't some stranger's plaything. Face heating up indignantly he glanced back to see who it was, eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the woman. "Yuudai? What... When..." he began, becoming even more puzzled than he was before. Looking down as one of her hands danced across his chest he hastily stepped back, accidentally bumping into the man before stepping away from him too, pulling his robe together tightly. "W-What are you doing here's more like it! I'm here because Lord Shima asked me to be!" Tetsuya responded, frowning as he pointed childishly at Yuudai, "And I told you to stop that last time, didn't I? I'm not a kitten to be pet!"

Yuudai looked a little disappointed by the neko backing away from her, her hands returning to rest on her hip with the bag of metal on it while the other stroked the back of his head. "Ah I think I see what happened. You were sent here as a sort of advanced guard? Because we are here for the very same reason." She wondered aloud before he commented on the way she had grabbed him "Well I was planning on doing a lot more but you backed away before I could even try." Smiling away she was clearly in a better mood than she had been before.

Reaching out instinctively she tried to pet Tetsuya again as Jiang was talking, though she noticed something a little off with the guy, maybe a bad day? "Hmm? Well I was planning too. Going to his room. I feel like we have different reasons." Despite the embarrassing things she was saying Yuudai's expression hardly changed at all, but she decided not to continue as she was worried it may tick off the dog. "Well he is right I guess, lets head to your room so that we can swap information. If you want I can carry you Tetsu~" She clearly had other intentions!

Takumi was about to leave to do his own thing, only to be stopped by another member of the group. While Kenji wasn't annoying like Jiang he didn't want to end up in some others person's problems so soon after ending one. But since he couldn't exactly blow the people off he simply smiled as he turned to respond to the man. "Yeah, well he's a bit too excitable. I operate by slipping by and not drawing attention to myself so his personality isn't really one I work well with." he tried to phrase it in an honest but hopefully not offensive way. When Kenji asked about the inn, Takumi figured it was his chance to avoid having to hang around anyone and decided to explain. "A new lead is there, someone from Shima that apparently already talked to Ru about things. Jiang wanted to make sure he wasn't an imposter and if not than they had important things to talk about. So I guess that is the current gameplan for the Shima group, deal with that guy." He didn't know if Kenji would want to go handle that too, but had hoped so he could have his full time to focus on things he needed. He was going to be traveling with this group for a long time, so he had plenty of time to try and be more friendly with them at some later point.

Gin didn’t know how to handle this many people in such a small place, feeling pretty uncomfortable upon seeing the numbers. He wasn’t too sure how he was supposed to approach these people if one of them did have an instrument just so he could see if this was the person they were supposed to be looking for. With all these people he couldn’t really remember clearly what their objective to finding this person was, his nerves getting the better of him fairly quickly. People didn’t like his kind which definitely limited his ability to socialise properly. As much as he liked friendly company he couldn’t handle this many people.

How pathetic of him; he was a half-Oni, he should act like one and show he was in control. There was no reason for him to show cowardice just because of some people sitting around and enjoying themselves. Trying to calm himself down he patted down his cloak, taking in a deep breath as he continued to survey the inn for anybody with a strange instrument. Looking around for just a moment it wasn’t long before he spotted something in the corner of the inn, tilting his head as he analysed the odd person. They were definitely holding an instrument and he really didn’t recognise it not to mention they had strange glowing things on their head which meant they were probably a foreigner.

Gasping lightly he bounced on his toes at first, his eyes going straight to Metou as he pointed silently at the woman. He was sure it was her but he didn’t know fully, his only reasonable action being to point her out before immediately trotting towards her for closer inspection. She was rather strange looking indeed, but now that he got there he didn’t know what he was supposed to say to her. Stuttering a few noises as he tried to speak to her he just ended up stopping his silliness and looking at her up and down, finding her more unusual than anything, his finger pointing at her strange box. ”What is that…? Are you a foreigner?”

Tetsuya wasn't too thrilled about this, having been found by a pair of strange people. Yuudai he knew perfectly well, unfortunately, and Jiang he'd seen maybe all of twice before leaving, but both were making this reunion plenty awkward. Maybe it was a stroke of mercy that the man decided to give up his drunk act, making dealing with him plenty easier. "My room...? Oh, it's down in the eastern wing of the inn. I was kind of hoping to wait for my clothing to be finished though..." the Neko mumbled, glancing down at his robe-clad self. While certainly more dignifying than just a towel he still felt awfully exposed, this wasn't any way to be greeting someone.

"Yeah, Lord Shima said there would be others along the way, I just didn't think it would be you," Tetsuya said, a hint of disappointment in his tone. He would have taken literally anyone else, someone that didn't treat him like a pet. It didn't help him either that he was dressed in such a demeaning way right now either, goodness only knows what the Oni might be thinking. If she really wanted to she could just grab hold of him and not let go, she was probably leagues stronger than he was. By some grace she hadn't decided to do such a thing yet and he only could hope his luck held out. "W-What? Yuudai please, try to act decent!" the Neko whined, frowning as his face reddened yet again.

Hearing out what Jiang had to say further, Tetsuya had stopped paying Yuudai any mind for a moment, which evidently was a mistake. Feeling a hand rubbing at his head again he scrunched up his shoulders, reaching up fitfully and grabbing the offending limb to make her stop. "I'm a guard of Lord Shima, not some play thing! Please stop doing that!" Tetsuya said fitfully, looking back at the Oni. There was no one else like her, thank the gods, otherwise he'd probably go insane. Eyes widening when Yuudai offered to carry him the young Neko gasped and tried to avoid her, instead yelping as he was lifted up and placed over her shoulder. Pushing against her haplessly he let out a low growl, his ears folding flat as his tail tried to smack her in the face. "P-Put me down! This is no way to treat a guard!" How humiliating! And right in front of a lobby full of people no less!

The woman was still minding her own business when Gin and Metou found her, paying them no mind until the half-Oni approached her. "Hmm?" She looked up from her guitar and towards the short boy with a raised brow. He looked a little different from the boys she was used to seeing and when he talked she got a glimpse of his teeth that explained a little more. She smiled when he asked his question, the kind of question that a kid would be blunt enough to ask. "Well I wouldn't say that, but it's not completely wrong. I life in the Isles and have for many years, but I'm sure the people in this area wouldn't consider me one of them. As for what I'm sitting on it is simply a tool for my music, a rather unremarkable device I brought with me. It allows me to play at full capability as well as powers my other trinkets, mere compensating for the region I am currently in." She explained in a gentle voice before turning the conversation to him. "You can call me Kiko, perhaps improper to ask you to call me that but I have my reasons. What about you, you are different from most of Ru want to tell me about that? And were you merely curious about my device, or did you want to hear a little show?" Young people were always curious about the music she played so she felt it was a good thing to ask since he had already broken the ice.

Gin found the woman they were looking for and pointed out her location to Metou, who followed the boy as he moved through the crowd and approached her. His greeting was a fair bit less subtle than she would have personally gone for but she didn't object right away, unsure if the woman would be offended or not. The woman, Kiko, seemed charmed, and asked Gin about his interest in her music.

Metou stepped out from behind Gin to address Kiko. "While we'd love to hear some music later, unfortunately that's not what we need to ask you about," Metou said. She wasn't sure if she should mention who revealed this woman as a lead on the relics, if she already knew of the Ki Witch's involvement or not, but just to be safe Metou decided not to mention it. "We've been sent to recover some stolen relics, and we've heard that you may know something that can lead us to them. Do you know anything about relics being stolen in several regions, or a thief with a purple corruption?"