An uneasy alliance

"You didn't have to scare him that bad, you know," Xitlaly commented, trying to enjoy the ambiance of the hall. It was very smooth, with the wooden surfaces polished to a high degree, and several obvious patches.

"I know, it was just funny," Ketsueki smiled, glancing at several of her thugs who hurriedly scurried about, tending to the slightly injured men. "Besides, it worked on getting me a target."

"Do you all live in corpses?" Sans shuddered, her feet padding along the polished remnants of an ancient oak.

"I can get you some sandals if you like," Ketsueki sighed. "I get it, plants are your people..."

"That's a funny way to put it," Sans sighed, her fingers tracing along a thick grain in the wood. That had been a good year for the tree. "But I can't fault you any more than I can fault a wolf for eating a lamb. You're a predator, and you took what you needed to survive."

"So, you can at least get along with her for a while," Xitlaly offered happily, clapping her hands. She glanced around the hall again, and noted that there seemed to be a small samovar on a table which had begun to boil. "Tea? None for me thank you?"

"Not for you, it's for the boys, but if you want something..." Ketsueki commented, placing her kanbo against her small platform. It was a good place to keep it, and let the boys know she was in. Pity Wardell was back visiting the order again, but then, this wasn't something he'd want to deal with, especially if her suspicions were correct.

"No, no, that's fine..." Xitlaly commented, looking about the meeting hall. "Your place looks very... uhm... "

"Sparse?" Ketsueki smiled. "Yeah, it's traditional. Lets the guys get in and out fast without tripping over anything. We keep the Futons in the closet if you need a place to crash tonight, but otherwise, this is it."

Ketsueki stepped onto the small raised area, and spread her arms wide, spinning slowly.

"So, welcome to the local thieves guild, or whatever you want to call it. We've got our ways of doing things, but of course, telling you them would be giving away stuff for free." She smiled, and both of the other Monster girls noticed the horn peeking out from her blonde updo. The quick twist of her arms showed off the ink. "So, here's what I know, maybe you two can fill in some details."

"This stuff that the guy was selling, it's addictive as hell, but not in the way you think. Inhaling it causes Oni tattoos to grow on the victim. Really weird ones. The problem is the orange. In an Oni tattoo... " Ketsueki sat heavily onto the wood, her elbows on her knees. "Ok, this is were we get into the stuff I normally wouldn't tell you, so... you better keep quiet about this." She glared at the other two Monster Girls, who said nothing in return.

"Right, so... it's an energy symbol. Normally, not something you use a lot. It's a hard ink to make, and especially in that shade. But, this stuff, whatever it is, causes it to grow on whoever takes it. Starts small, but keeps getting bigger. More you take, bigger they get. Oni binding, combined with sexuality enhancement. Essentially, it's a binding that makes you want more and more. Totally crazy, and shouldn't be just growing on someone. Should take weeks to put that much detail and work into it. All the same binding, all looks like... well, it looks like work that I am familiar with. Which is bad. Really bad."

"The plants... it grew from them," Sans realized. "The binding, it takes the plant, and makes it twist into another form. A form that grows as the host feeds."

"Which, causes the orange stuff," Xitlaly concluded. "They satisfy a male, get the sexual power, but instead of feeding her, the binding they get siphons off the sexual energy into the tattoos."

"And the fucking things Grow, making her want more, and she doesn't care about the source," Ketsueki shook her head. "No wonder the Banshee tried to grab that guard. That wasn't cheap, I'd like to point out."

"You mentioned a Banshee, how is she?" Xitlaly asked, glancing about the hall and noting that in the corner several bruised and battered men in cloaks were gathered around the Samovar, quietly talking and occasionally gesturing. She also noticed that several flashed her a thumbs up as she looked their way.

"Heh, looks like the boys like you," Ketsueki smiled. "Don't worry, they're all happily married men. Heck, they won't like this blight any better than we do. And she's... well, she's not fine, but she's comfortable. Every few hours we have to go in and feed her, just to keep the fruits from getting any bigger."

"All of them?" Sans asked, incredulously, as she gazed over the black clad men who were smiling broadly, despite their injuries. She could sense the feel of Monster Girl on each, combined with the undeniable sense of a similar magic to the one that had infected the forest. "And what do you mean the Fruits."

"The orange splotches," Ketsueki explained. "Don't know if you girls checked but they get bigger if they're fed. But if they're not, well, the girl gets bad. So, we have to kind of... work around. I go in, mark her up a bit, and then one of the boys feeds her. Stops the binding from siphoning it off totally, but it's not going to work forever. We will need to figure out something, and if I'm right, that means going to Hia Muy, and talking to... well, talking to somebody I didn't really want to."

"Do you always make things dramatic?" Sans asked quietly.

"It's my mom," Ketsueki Sighed, "I don't know why, but the ink, well, it looks like her stuff. And the guy said his boss was in Hia Muy, and there's only one Oyabun there. And way to kill the tension."