Once the bartender had made Kuro's drink he simply picked up the small cup of water that he had ordered with it and walked off, leaving the Liqueur on the counter. In his experience, bars never liked it when you came in and only ordered water.

Then an honest-to-ark Kusagi walked in and the bartender bellowed as to whether she wanted her 'usual water' or not. Kuro scoffed slightly at that under his breath.  Perhaps it was just this particular bar. Or bartender.

Or the girl. Was she wearing an actual kimono? Kuro didn't pretend to be an expert in Kusagi clothing, but he was fairly sure that fell firmly into the oddities category. Or was that a haori? He wasn't sure. Kuro hadn't had many opportunities to browse Kusagi feminine clothing. 

Kuro eyed her from his corner of the room, two sweeping glances from her heels to the top of her head. The white and scarlet clothes were loose and made it hard to discern anything about her build or any potential weapons she might have been hiding on her person. There was no hiding the katana she carried though, and Kuro pegged her as a visitor to the guild. Perhaps she was here on business? He couldn't think of any reason the other bands might be working in Kusagi territory, but he supposed it was possible. What drew his interested was the emblem embroidered on the back of her kimono (haori?), the Kusagi kanji for Seishin.

[quote=Tribal]"A lot of Kusagi swordsmen practice the art of Seishin, or Seishinkai. It means 'Pure Heart.' I guess you'd already know that though? I keep forgetting you're part Kusagi yourself. It's useful enough - in my experience, a Seishin journeyman is prepared to deal with most Western weapons, particularly long and broadswords. The style is dynamic, rooted in discipline and awareness, so they can go into a swordfight without wearing any armor and come out without a scratch, even when fighting multiple opponents. I also find though, that they are tragically unprepared for fencers. I've lost count of the warriors wielding katanas that I've killed using this saber here. Their style just can't compensate for an enemy that uses your own weapon against you. 

Personally, I prefer Iaido. Extremely useful in confined spaces."[/quote]
Kuro dredged his memory for any other useful tidbits, but nothing occurred to him. He looked on briefly as she approached some youth at another table and started chatting him up - his red coat reminded Kuro rather eerily of the boy who had been wearing red leathers that morning. Even his face looked similar.

Kuro shook the sensation away and surreptitiously and briefly listened to her introduce herself - she was apparently an actual member of the guild, which was surprising. He was stunned that she was a member of the Red Hawks though. Perhaps the boy with the red leathers hadn't been the only young swordsman to be turned down by the Serpentines today? "Such a waste." He muttered to himself before turning his attention elsewhere. Ordinarily listening in on others' conversations would have been the order of the day, but these two were idiot children. There would be nothing useful found in eavesdropping on them; just embarrassment.

That was when the doors to the pub opened and Eli limped in. Kuro's eyes narrowed at the sight of Eli mumbling to himself as he crossed the room. Egregorecant - a sign of a crowded mind.

Eli may have not known Kuro, but Kuro knew Eli. Almost every member of the Riders knew Eli by name. A year after Kuro had been strongarmed into joining the riders, over the span of a single night it was made extremely clear that Eli had been blacklisted.

[quote=Auleas Enlil]"He's bad news, and trouble besides. Don't ask why, because it's none of your business. All you need to know is he's untrustworthy, even by our standards. Don't talk to him, don't join any mission if you know he's on it, don't invite him on any jobs, and definitely don't disclose internal guild business to him."[/quote]

[quote=Levia]"Him...? That's an odd story. I think he joined the guild around the same time as you, but he's bandless. I suppose that alone is good enough reason not to treat with him, but even the bandless have a place. Most of our Doctors and quartermasters are bandless, and for good reason. Makes sure things never get too complicated concerning band politics. What happened was, Chalarensis was taking a walk -

No, I'm completely serious, he was just out for a stroll.

It doesn't matter. He was out taking a walk for perfectly normal reasons, and abruptly his head just snaps to the side and he's staring at Rondell across the guild plaza. Picked him out of the crowd like he was a cuckoo egg. Then he turns to me and Auleas and asks who he is, and both of us are drawing blanks because we'd never even seen the man before then. He tells Auleas to do some digging.

Two weeks later, he comes into HQ with some documents from our friends in Varisie, and a few hours later the word goes out that Rondell been added to the Band's blacklist. When I asked about it, I got stonewalled. Ask anybody outside of the Riders, and Rondell has something of a reputation as an end-all troubleshooter.

I have no idea what was in those documents, and I don't care. The Bandmaster says he's blacklisted, and that's all I need to know. You don't need to worry about it. Just keep your distance, and don't worry about him coming to us. The secretary has instructions on how to handle him, just like everyone else on the blacklist.[/quote]
That was warning enough. Kuro had already been predisposed to dislike the man, as he bore something approaching professional disdain of bandless guild members - even the doctors and quartermasters. They had no business knowing about the fix of the day, in his opinion.

Still, Eli looked beat up and harangued at the moment. Kuro doubted there was any risk of his involvement should Tribal's alleged coin come rolling in while he was there. Only men with death-wishes went into a job as haggard as Eli looked. Kuro settled into his seat and coolly started scanning the bar again.

He wasn't given much time to relax - no sooner had Eli taken a seat at the bar than a Humanoid Spirit manifested in the seat beside him. Kuro's right hand reflexively shot into the folds of his coat to grasp the handle of one of his revolvers - even when the spirit made no move to leave its seat, his hand remained where it was. One could never let their guard down around spirits, or summoners. He shouldn't have felt surprised - word of mouth said that Eli was a proficient summoner and he had been Egregorecanting when he walked in the door. The spirit itself though was intimidating - wearing full-plate armor, with a massive katana longer and wider than most longswords laterally suspended across its back. It was staring intently across the room, looking at...the Kusagi girl?

Kuro turned his head just in time to witness the Oni mask materialize out of thin air. Gaining interest, he started listening in on the conversation again. As Ryza explained why she had joined the Guild, the Oni Mask spun rapidly in the air, and for the briefest of moments its eyes met with Kuro's as he stared at it. In the next instant the contact was broken, and the Oni settled its gaze on Eli's manifested spirit.

Kuro, for the first time in years, felt a hint of conflict. This girl, with whom he shared at least a partial heritage with, was likely lost amongst the Western City-States thanks to the death of her master. The fact that she had joined the Red Hawks of all bands was telling that she didn't clearly know what she was doing. She really should have tried the Serpentines, or perhaps the Errant Knights - both bands had a small number of Kusagi members who could have offered her good advice or assistance. If not that, either band would have been a better fit for her than the Red Hawks, a band not replete in Eastern swordsmen or talented summoners.

...But, it was none of his business. Even if she didn't know what she was doing, she would inevitably learn. If she was fortunate, the lesson might not even be a harsh one. If she had received Seishin training, she could undoubtedly take care of herself if nothing else. She wouldn't need his help even had he been inclined to give it.

At least, that was what Kuro thought until his gaze drifted once more to Eli and the armored spirit sitting next to him, still staring intently at Ryza. Kuro hesitated, and in that moment, he remembered his days as a boy on the road. Back when he had been called Freerider Kuro, when he went to sleep every night not knowing how he would make it through the next day, and fought skirmishes on an empty stomach. The mistakes he had made, legion in number, and never had there been anybody to tell him what might be the best thing he could have done in his situation. Nobody to guide him and make sure he didn't fall in with the wrong people, like Andromache, Tiamat, and Poe. Like Chalarensis and the Derecho Riders.

That made up his mind. Kuro stood from his seat and began to sweep across the room towards Alan and Rysa, his footfalls eerily silent. Perhaps this, too, was a mistake...but even he still had lessons left to learn. He was going to tell the girl about how she didn't belong in the Red Hawks, and he was going to tell her to steer clear of that damnable, bandless bastard. Interrupting her current conversation would be rude, but the youth she was speaking to was nobody Kuro cared about offending.