There is a momentary silence after you speak, followed by a single, solitary giggle - and then Ayane is standing in front of you, smiling. To your side, you can feel Altria tensing at the other girl's abrupt appearance from seemingly-empty air.
"You need to work on your awareness of your surroundings more, Alex."
"You were my second choice," you admit.
"But not your first? I'm hurt." She laughs again, then turns serious. "What gave me away?"
"Two things. First, neither you nor Kasumi told me where we were supposed to meet for our little discussion. The idea that you forgot to bring it up was just too silly to consider, so something else had to be going on. I figured at least one of you would have stayed behind."
"We were hoping to mention it right after the awards ceremony," Ayane explains, "but then you asked for time, were busy talking at lunch, and then you stayed behind to talk with Tatsuki and the Kurosakis..." She pauses. "How did that go, anyway?"
"You weren't listening in?"
"I should be offended that you think me so rude as to eavesdrop on a private conversation." There is a pause, and then she sighs, "Also, Master Genra told me to stay clear of that weird old man."
"It was good advice. Wizards in general are trouble, and Ambrose seems to be worse than most."
"How I wish that were not true," Altria mutters.
"But to answer your question," you continue, "Tatsuki has some things she's going to have to work out with her parents, and some other members of her family. It's hard to say where that's going to end up. More than that, I'd rather not say."
Ayane nods. "And the other thing that gave me away?"
"The circumstances of our first meeting," you remind her. "Kasumi seems like far too nice a girl to sneak up on somebody she's supposed to play guide for - unless she had a sneaky, mischievous friend to coax her into it - and you mentioned that Taki's family were rivals to yours as often as they were allies."
"Not bad, Alex," Ayane compliments you. Then she turns to Altria, and bows formally. "I apologize if I startled you, Miss Drake. I hope my personal sense of humor will not put you off when I ask if you would be willing to meet with some of the elders of my clan."
"...truthfully, your sense of mischief is tame compared to what I am used to," Altria says. "I am curious, though. Why would your family take such an interest in me, based on the testimony of a boy who is as much a stranger to you as I?"
"I'm kind of curious about that myself, Ayane," you agree. "You've only known me for a day; that's nowhere near long enough to make me a trustworthy source in even the most trusting person's books."
"This is true," the kunoichi admits. "All I can tell you at the moment is that what you described seeing in Miss Drake's aura is not unique in our experience. We would like the opportunity to expand our knowledge on the subject a bit further - and we can, perhaps, offer her a chance to do the same."
None of which really answers the question Altria put to her. From her frown, the blonde has noticed the same thing. This sort of wordplay is a first from Ayane, who's been rather more openly playful about how she keeps secrets up until now. The changeover is... unsettling.