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It's been about a week since their encounter on the boat when Baiken senses the visitor’s presence again. The ‘diplomat’, or whatever he called himself, has improved at hiding his ki, but not enough to escape her notice. At least he isn’t in the sanctuary this time, she notes, instead seated outside on the front step of a nearby building. He appears to be fully engrossed in whatever documents he’s reading, not even looking up as she walks over. “Hey, you,” she calls out, in her usual rough manner.
He looks startled, quickly and haphazardly stuffing the pages into his suit jacket. “O-oh!” he exclaims, faking nonchalance in the least believable way Baiken has ever seen.”I… wasn’t aware you were still around here, haha…” Baiken fixes him with a steely look. “I live here.” The man seems to have recovered from the shock, and retorts, “I was under the impression you were on the run from here, actually…” He seems to remember she’s currently the arbiter of whether he can remain here, and shifts to a politer tone. Fucking bureaucrat. “Forgive me if I made a hasty assumption. I was simply under the impression you preferred not to remain in one place for long.” Baiken snorts. “So you thought you’d wait until you’d guessed I would leave, and sneak right back in? You can drop the doormat act, by the way. I think I like you better when we’re on equal ground. Customer service niceness always grinds my gears.” He seems to relax a little at this, expression shifting to the more calculating neutral he wore in their last interaction. “Alright.”
“So why are you back here?” Baiken asks, not wanting to sit in silence with this man any more than is absolutely necessary. “Ah. That’s to do with what I mentioned during our last meeting.” Baiken stiffens. “I don’t recall you mentioning much of anything useful during our last meeting, diplomat. ” He has the nerve to roll his eyes. “I have a name, you know.” He pauses. “It’s Answer.” “One of those other useful things you didn’t think was necessary to mention, I’m guessing?” she mutters, and Answer seems a little contrite. “I… apologise if I made things more difficult than they needed to be. I wasn’t expecting to have to speak to anyone in the course of my visit. The fact that you’ve managed to catch me at this twice says a lot about my relative inexperience with this. I don’t enjoy the reminder much.” Baiken smirks a little at that. “I thought you were supposed to be a diplomat?” she asks, almost teasing. “If you can’t handle being nice to one person with a justified reason for being suspicious of you, maybe you aren’t cut out for this?” He winces. “Well, I suppose I wasn't being entirely accurate with that. My official title is ‘Chief of Staff’. Or secretary, if you’re feeling mean.” Baiken laughs, genuinely for once. "Hah. You say 'Chief of Staff' the way other people say 'wife'." He looks almost… affronted at that? “So what if I do?” he challenges, meeting her gaze directly for the first time since she told him to drop the polite act. It’s almost uncomfortable, like his own clear dislike of eye contact is rubbing off onto her.
She decides to change the subject. “Nothing. So who are you ‘Chief of Staff’ for?” she asks, and is unprepared for the way his expression lights up - actually lights up, as if he was waiting excitedly to talk about this. “I mentioned I was from the Eastern Chipp Kingdom, when I was last here, didn’t I? I work for President Zanuff. He’s-” “ Hold on, ” Baiken interrupts, absolutely fucking blindsided by this information. “ Chipp Zanuff? ” “That… would be him, yes?” Answer replies, seeming confused by her reaction. “ Chipp fucking Zanuff?” she repeats, the information sinking in. “I… feel like I’m missing some context here,” Answer remarks, which Baiken ignores. Chipp Zanuff. Apparently has a job, and employees, and a country. What the hell kind of a rock has she been living under, to avoid hearing about that? “Oh hell, I should have figured this one out, huh. No wonder you dress like that!” she exclaims. Answer looks affronted. “What do you mean, I ‘dress like that’?” he says, scowling. Baiken doesn’t answer that. "So that little halfway-ninja finally got his presidency, huh? Honestly, never expected it would actually happen… Suppose I’m the fool for not realising how determined he was." Answer nods, with the long-suffering look of someone who knows that firsthand. “He was certainly determined… You know, he actually never told me you two knew each other.” Baiken laughs again, without any humour in it. “Considering our last couple of meetings, I can see why.” Answer is clearly trying to hide his curiosity as he asks her, “Why? I mean… what happened between you?” Baiken considers the benefits of telling him for all of a second before she realises that the likelihood of Answer picking another fight will probably go way up if she tells him she stabbed his… boss … multiple times. Besides, she was hoping to handle this quickly, and they’re so far off track now that they may well be in an entirely different conversation. She puts on a more serious expression. “That’s not my business to tell you. Besides, we got off track. Why are you here?”
Answer sighs. “I suppose I couldn’t put it off forever… Do you remember what I told you, about the Colony becoming a battleground?” Of course she remembers. How could she possibly forget? “Yes.” “If that does happen… I wanted to be prepared. As such, I’m trying to learn the layout of this place by heart. It’s important to have the terrain advantage, in my position.” Baiken leans back, and regards him with some interest. “Right. And I should trust you, why? ” Answer looks annoyed at this. “I told you-” “You lied to me, ” she growls. “For all I know, you could just be trying to lull me into a false sense of security so you can quietly hurt the other residents. I have no proof you have a good reason to be here.” Answer meets her glare, impassive. "I told no lies. I was on an explicitly diplomatic mission. Why would I attack the residents here?" He sighs. "I understand you have concerns about me. That's fine. But I am here to help." Be that as it may, there’s something untrustworthy about him still. Maybe it’s the way he looks at her, cold and analytical. Maybe it’s that unexplained document he was so eager to hide. Come to think of it… “How are you going to memorise a whole city that quickly?” “It’s not that big,” Answer says with the smug confidence of a man with slightly more of the facts than her. He smirks, and taps his temple. “Besides, I have something of an advantage: a truly photographic memory. I can remember anything after seeing it once. All I need to do is find my way around this place once, and I’ll have all the information I need.” “Explains why you’re such a little know-it-all,” Baiken mutters, and Answer scowls at her. She shrugs. "Alright.” There’s his planned-out excuse done with. She drops the smile, any pretense of friendliness forgotten. “Now tell me what you're really here for."
He looks at her askance, almost daring her to ask the question again. “I’m sorry?” “What are you really here for? ” she repeats, harsher and more threatening. “I know that paper wasn’t a map. They don’t print maps of this place, and you wouldn’t need one anyway, if you weren’t lying to me about your memory. What are you really here for. ” If he tries to weasel his way out of this one… But to her surprise, he simply sighs again, accepting it. He reaches back into his jacket to remove the (now rather crumpled) document, and flicks it a few times until it’s flat enough to be legible. Baiken… recognises this. She has a file just like it, right here in this colony. Or, well… had, at least. Anji got rid of it for her when he was clearing out his own, one of those helpful things he does without being asked, once in a blue moon. This one is older though, clearly meant for someone who’d… probably be in late middle age by now. The man in the pictures looks relatively average, aside from his long hair and… interesting… choices of clothing.The paper is scrunched up (clearly as a result of Answer’s hasty attempt to hide it), and it’s been stamped with a huge mark denoting an escapee. The stamp fell in such a way that the man’s name is no longer fully legible. Answer seems to think what she can read should be enough, though, looking increasingly impatient as she fails to recognise this guy. Something about him feels familiar, but she can’t quite put her finger on what. “Alright, I’ll bite,” she says, if only to stop Answer from thinking she’s some kind of idiot (which he is clearly beginning to consider, the bastard). “Who’s Tsuyoshi?” He looks a little taken aback. “I thought you said you knew the boss?” Baiken growls, frustrated. “Only in passing! If he mentioned this guy to me, it must not have been too memorable.” Answer looks at her like she’s just sprouted a second head. “I was under the impression you were all about revenge...” he says, accusatorily, and, oh, that’s why this guy feels familiar. “Oh- fuck- this is his dead master, isn’t it?” she offers, and Answer seems willing to let her momentary lapse in memory slide. She supposes someone with his memory has to do that a lot.
Baiken looks at the pictures more closely, ignoring the standard text about physical attributes, skills, motivations, and whatever else the bigshots running this place think is useful information. With the exception of the mugshot, the attached pictures are pretty nice, actually. A few around the colony, some that seem to be from after he left. One depicts him next to an absolutely huge, dark-skinned man, wearing a sword at his hip and a leather jacket that she’s privately a little jealous of. Both of them are laughing, smiles wide and unrestrained. As she looks at the pictures, she feels oddly like she’s intruding on something private. Answer seems to know exactly what she’s thinking, as he asks softly, “Do you think the government of this place deserves these photographs? More than perhaps the only person left in the world who cares about their subject?” She can’t answer that. She flicks through the photos again, and notices more. In this one he’s wearing a shirt she could have sworn she’s seen Chipp in. Here, something in the determined set of the dead man’s face reminds her of Chipp again. She can see little things that he must have passed on in every facet of these photos. Things that were, however unconsciously, remembered and carried forward. How many other lives have been reduced down to a dusty, moth-eaten file in the Colony’s archives, she wonders? These pictures weren’t meant for her eyes, so they definitely weren’t meant for the eyes of some bored, uncaring civil servant. A government who’s never going to know the residents here as more than a list of blackmail material doesn’t have a right to any of this.
Answer is still looking at her expectantly. She hands the file back to him. “What’s the harm in you taking it,” she states as flatly as she can. “He’s dead. Not like the government needs to know his medical conditions or anything. Knock yourself out.” For the first time since she’s met him, Answer smiles, truly smiles. “Thank you… I’m not really sure what I would have done if you’d demanded it back.” He leans back and looks at the sky. “He doesn’t really have anything left of Tsuyoshi, you know. Nothing that carries uncomplicatedly good memories. I wanted to at least know… if there was something else left here.” “You’re right,” she spits out, tone justifiably venomous. Answer looks a little taken aback. “Huh?” Baiken closes her eye and sighs, tension leaving her. “These should be in the hands of someone who actually cares.” They are both silent, the rustling of the surrounding trees the only disturbance. “These aren’t my business,” she continues. “I didn’t know him. All I know is the impact he left on his surviving student. Honestly, I don’t think you should have shown them to me either.” “You were the one who pushed me to,” Answer replies, voice slightly teasing. She cracks her eye half-open and grins. “I hope you’re ready for him to cry over these.” He smiles a little. There's more love in it than Baiken could have guessed. “Of course he will,” he says, quietly, almost wonderingly. “He cares so much, about so many things.”
Answer stands up, dusting off his suit. He stows the file back into his jacket - with more care this time, Baiken notes - and seems to be getting ready to leave. Before he does, though, she calls out to him. “Did you mean what you said?” “Hm?” He turns back to her, composure restored. “You said you were here to help. To protect the residents here.” Answer’s expression shifts back to annoyance. “Again, I wasn’t lying-” he says, but Baiken interrupts him before he can get any further into the obvious incoming tirade. “I’ll be as clear as I can, then. You help protect my people… and I’ll owe you more than I can ever repay.” He looks at her strangely. “Perhaps I should have been forthright with you sooner,” he replies. “I can certainly relate to that sentiment. I highly doubt I’ll be of so much use, though.” She huffs. “Doesn’t matter how useful you are. The effort is what’s appreciated. Though… try not to be total dead weight. I’m not going to an early grave because I had to carry you.” He laughs. “I will do my best.”
He takes a few steps before launching himself away in the direction of a nearby rooftop. Baiken watches him go, then gets to her feet herself. She knows the path she’s following hazily, a distant, dimmed memory of childhood. She left home so young. She never had to come here as an adult. She was long gone by then. Yet she knows the way, Anji’s descriptions serving well enough to lead her there. The building is dilapidated and unoccupied, any workers there having left in the wake of the Conclave’s fall from grace. The doors aren’t even locked. She pulls herself over the desk and enters the archives in the back, leaving footprints in the dust as she moves through the stacks. She's surprised to see that despite his relative inexperience, Answer covered his tracks well. Not well enough to escape her notice, but perhaps that was what he had intended. It’s nice to have the confirmation that he was telling the truth, but that isn’t what she’s here for. She runs a hand along the shelves, stopping as she reaches an empty space. Something has been scrawled above it, in bright blue permanent marker. You’re welcome, Sis! Anji wrote, leaving a little doodle of a butterfly next to it so she’d know damn sure who it was from. She chuckles quietly as she removes the files she’s here for. Opening the first one, she’s surprised to find herself tearing up a little. It’s strange. She hasn’t cried in a very long time. Then again, she hasn’t seen her parents in a very long time either. She knows no one will stop her at what she’s about to do. No one is here to. Besides, they have no right to these. She’s the only one left to carry their memory. Alone in the archive, there’s no one to see as Baiken cracks a small, private smile, tucks her family’s files under her arm, and exits as silently as she came.