"Why do I get the feeling you're trying to send us into this meeting more or less blind?" you sigh.
Ayane smirks. "Maybe because I can be kind of tricky and mean like that? But there really are good reasons why I can't tell you too much, Alex."
"I'm sure. I can probably guess a few of them as we walk - which might be one of the reasons in and of itself. Testing my ability to piece together the clues you and Kasumi have left me, reason things out..."
"Maaaaybe." She smiles and begins to move down one of the corridors.
"Testing your ability?" Altria asks, stressing the second word without ire. "Not our ability?"
"I'm pretty sure Ayane's family didn't intend to talk to you directly just yet," you say, as the two of you trail after the violet-haired young kunoichi. "Not until after they'd had a chance to grill me about what I saw. That bit about offering an exchange of information with you is probably something Ayane added on her own, although it's also very likely the complete truth - what they were planning to offer when they were ready to approach you."
Altria nods. Ayane says nothing, but does look back at you, still smiling.
"As for why Ayane isn't talking... information control, for starters. Everything Ayane gives up is one thing less her family has to trade away, and since they'll want to hear all that I have to say on the subject, they have to assume they'll need all their cards. They also don't want to - how did that TV show put it? 'Leading the witness?' Basically, they want whatever I say to be my own take on the subject, in my own words, without anybody else's input influencing it - especially not their own, because I might try to tell them what I think they want to hear, and end up leaving things out. In addition to that, we're going to be talking about dragons; maybe it's different in Japan, but that's a pretty significant topic in the magical circles I know of." You pause and glance questioningly at Altria.
"It is no different in England," she replies. "Though there are few dragons left there, or in the entire world, these days."
"Which really just makes information about them more valuable," you point out. "Also potentially dangerous - both in the telling, and the knowing. And quite aside from all that, there's the possibility that what Ayane and Kasumi's family knows about dragons, they learned from some other party. They may have promises, loyalties, honest fear, or other reasons we don't know about that keep them from speaking too much on the subject." You break off and glance at Ayane. "How am I doing so far?"
"You sounded like some of the people who work under Master Genra, when they're talking business," she tells you frankly. She looks a bit surprised, but also pleased. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to get quite that much." Then Ayane smirks. "Care to take any guesses at what I know, but can't tell you?"
...is it your imagination, or did she emphasize the word "tell?"
"You were surprised when I said Altria had a dragon in her soul," you begin slowly, "but it sounded like that was only because she wasn't Japanese. Kasumi was surprised, too, just quicker to accept it. That tells me the two of you either know of, or know personally, somebody who has a similar trait."
Altria's eyes widen. Ayane says nothing - but she does nod very slightly.
"I say 'similar' because neither of you reacted to Altria's aura manipulation techniques as anything but an interesting skill," you continue quickly. "That means this other person doesn't have that ability, although whatever they do have must be fairly significant in its own right. Links between dragons and humans usually are, and I don't think Kasumi was just referring to geography when she made that remark about the world being bigger than Japan." You frown at Ayane, who is still silent - and again, nodding faintly. "There was also the way you both wanted to know what kind of dragon I saw. The appearance and elemental aspect didn't seem nearly as important to you as getting confirmation about whether or not the dragon was some kind of demon. I'm... not entirely sure what to make of that," you admit. "Even the references that get creatures like fairies confused for actual demons are pretty clear on the distinction between demons and dragons; there are some of the former that look like the latter, but it's no more than the appearance - they don't have the essence or power of the genuine article. Not to mention that dragons have a real hate-on for all things demonic."
You have good cause to know this; Ganondorf made use of dragons a number of times in his career, and in almost every case, he had to keep them separate from his truly demonic minions in order to prevent friendly fire incidents. Not that the dragons were ever friendly towards any of Ganondorf's other servants, or even to their erstwhile master, but...
"I've never heard of a 'demon dragon,'" you say, adding a certain inquisitive note to the remark.
"And if you're lucky, you never will," Ayane replies, coming to a stop. "We're here."
You look around. While you were speaking, Ayane led you out of the interior corridors of the arena, up a flight of stairs, and onto the balcony of the front atrium. Ahead of you is a wall made up as much of glass as it is more opaque materials, with the arena's surrounding patch of park-like greenery beyond, and the streets and buildings of the greater city beyond that. The balcony spreads out to your left and your right, with a variety of benches, chairs, and tables spread out at regular intervals, as well as plants, vending machines, trashcans, advertisements, and doors, other stairwells, and corridors that lead who knows where. There aren't many people around, so it's no trouble at all for you to spot Kasumi, the older boy you guess to be her brother, and the man and woman that have to be their parents. Kasumi and her mother are sitting together on one of the benches, watching on with silent appreciation as the men of the family-
Wow. They're actually juggling knives. Or rather, kunai - you think that's the correct term. You count four of the small trowel-like blades - or is it blade-like trowels? - spinning back and forth through the air between father and son. They're moving pretty fast, and the way the sun glints off their edges, they have to be sharp.