"That's fine then. I can see that you are a man of action," he told him.
"That is true," Kuno replied, never noticing anything amiss, "though if you do not speak, you shall learn how much of a man of action I am when I cleave your head from your shoulders."
"Ahem... yes... Well, one hears things, you understand."
"Yes?"
"It seems that there is a new individual around these parts, and it's a woman."
"And?"
"Apparently she has gone into the dark underbelly of crime. I'm a simple merchant, you understand, but even I have heard of this woman. She came out of nowhere, and took over a great portion of the drugs and gambling in this area. No one I have met has seen her face, but stories of her beauty come far and wide."
"Then how is that no one has seen her, if her attractiveness is well known?"
"That is because she has many guards on watch protecting her at all times, and even they do not see her. Only those she most trusts, or rather, controls ever get to see her as she is. As for the others... well, there are some rumors about her that have lead people to call her the 'Black Widow', which is the only name that anyone knows her by."
"And what is your name, that I might call you by it?"
"Oh... Matsui."
"Well then, good Matsui, would you explain how it is that you think that she is one of those that I seek?"
"She appeared only a little while after the killings, and the way that she hides behind all those guards has to mean something. Plus there have been sightings of a beautiful girl with dark hair associated with her, and the young women that you are after all have dark hair, don't they?"
Kuno nodded. "Yes... it so happens that they do. Well, it seems that all that is left is for you to show me where she resides."
"But of course," Matsui told him with a grin, which was not at all faked. It seemed that his plan was working perfectly, and the boy was going to go after the 'Black Widow'. To be honest, he had no real idea if the woman was really one of the Foxes, but it didn't really change things for him. Either way, this boy would bring great trouble to her.
Which would teach her not to mess with him. Back before she had shown up, he and his group had been in control of the illegal businesses around there. They had known who to bully, which palms to grease, when to vanish, and how to make plenty of cash. But with her arrival, she had taken over a lot of the business, and they wanted them back. Especially since some of her competitors had habits of turning up past possible ressucitation.
Of course, he did not know that she really was Kodachi, or that she did not kill her opponents, but that did not matter to him. Here he had a weapon to use against her. If he got killed, then it would disrupt her workings, and bring unwanted questions. On the other hand, if he won, then all the better. Both ways were winners in his book, and he didn't have to risk any of his men in the deal.
"I believe it best if you show me where she were to be found," Kuno pronounced.
"But of course," Matsui replied, while:
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