[X] A blind date
You seriously regret not taking her up on her offer of tobacco.
Licking your lips, trying to regain your composure, you say, "Well... mission business first, I guess. Who exactly is after Nabiki's treasure?"
"Pen and paper?" Sukaha offers.
You shake your head. "I've got a good memory."
"Cherish it," she commands. "You won't know how important it is until after you've lost it."
Who the hell is this chick, anyway? She's obviously a martial artist of some kind, if she's a teacher here, but she doesn't give off an imposing air like Meiryoku (who at the moment is giving Mirioni some kind of pep talk off in the corner); in fact, she doesn't appear to give off any kind of an air at all. Beautiful though she is, you're starting to notice that your eyes slide off of her if you aren't focusing. This may be the school of dead air, but she's like a television test screen while you're waiting for the picture to come back on.
"So," Sukaha begins briskly, "you want to be on the lookout for a blond senior named Sorato. A massage girl next door promised that she'll marry him if he brings her a nice enough piece of jewellery. You can expect him a few hours before dawn tomorrow morning. He's a fuckup, but he's a lucky little fuckup, so don't underestimate him. You hear me?"
"Yes'm," you say meekly.
"Good. He'll be dressed in black, so he should be easy to spot. Also, don't let him touch your bare skin if you can help it."
"Why not?"
"Because things will go badly for you if he does." Somehow she manages to be blunt and vague at the same time.
"If you don't mind my asking," you say, "why don't you just order him not to try anything? He's your student, right?"
Sukaha smiles serenely. "There comes a time in every student's life where they must leave the classroom and encounter reality."
The addendum "Preferably at terminal velocity" is unspoken.
You shift uncomfortably under her gaze. "If you want us to handle him permanently, you'll have to take it up with Asuma-sensei." Tough talk to Nabiki or not, you'd really rather not kill someone on your first C-rank.
"Oh, bless your heart!" Laughing, she pats your hand, a grandmotherly gesture that seems somehow natural for her, oddly enough. "No, that won't be necessary; Sorato just needs a little field experience, that's all."
"Blond, dressed in black, don't let him get up close and personal, got it," you say, nodding in confirmation. "Is there anyone else?"
The redhead shrugs. "There are a few staff members with gambling debts to pay off, but the brat is the only one around here with the right combination of balls, talent and stupidity to think he has a shot at getting away with stealing Hisui's fiancée's property. He might have a couple other students as backup, but he's the one who'll give you trouble."
"... why are you telling me all this?" you ask.
Sukaha leans back in her chair, and smirks. "They're so precious when they don't know yet," she says to the air in general.
To you, she says, "I tell you this because it will be funnier if you defeat him than if someone else does." She winks at you. "And because you haven't had a proper challenge in years. Don't want you going soft."
All at once, before you can ask why the hell a strange woman who never met you before today should care about whether or not you 'go soft', Meiryoku comes over to drink her coffee, the student waiter arrives with your fruit juice, and Momiji and Mirioni materialize on either side of you, the latter eagerly asking what you thought of his fight.
"Miyamoto," Meiryoku says, "perhaps our guest would be interested in the Tournament Hall."
And that, apparently, is that. The last you see of Sukaha is a toast she raises as you and the boys round the corner into the main courtyard.
=
After about twenty minutes looking over the portraits of various winners of title matches, intercepting weird looks passing between Momiji and Menka, and politely listening to Mirioni tell anecdotes about the history of the school (which isn't all that hard, as it's actually kind of interesting), a lull in the conversation prompts you to ask a question that's been on your mind.
[X] "So how does Sukaha-san fit into all this? Where did she come from? Is she single?" How do you know you can trust her?
[X] "How do the mechanics of Turtle-style actually work?" Even if they lie about it, it should give you something to go on.
[X] "What's the story with Sorato? Is there anything else I should know about the guy?" No point in asking in front of Mirioni; get him to take your glass back to the kitchen for you and ask Momiji.
