Part of business as a ronin was simply circulating and keeping one's eyes and ears open. With his knowledge of the underworld and the city Dai knew some prime spots to do so without getting roughed up or called out and meandered his way from place to place within the slums taking in the data... since the ambience left quite a bit to be desired.

(D2, MA: Session 1 Espionage - Courtier/Awareness, VP for +1k1+2 (WW), 2 Raises called - one to cover, one for info TN30 | 7k4+2 ⇒ 43 (TN: 30)
2 Information gained)

At one of the corners Dai was about to pass, a young-looking woman leaned against a less-questionable looking wall, seemingly fighting with something on her densai. But it would only seem that way to those who weren't paying that much attention. She was clearly watching the famous ronin, if one watched her enough to see it.

'Famous' might be stretching things a fair bit. That said a wary explorer who has survived the Desolation on multiple occasions very easily picks up on eyes that are only somewhat hiding their intentions. These ones, at least, didn't feel like they wanted to consume his soul... probably... so that was a plus.

His path alters only subtly through the crowd but enough to bring him past the watcher, "Afternoon."

"Afternoon, Delvin' Dai-san," the woman says, polite but clearly amused by Dai's handle. "It's not everyday I get to meet a famous ronin adventurer. Oh, and if you don't know me," she says, straightening and speaking as though he really should know her, "I'm Hitoko. A special projects coordinator," she adds, clearly amused about this situation.

There's a slight chuckle, "Famous might be twistin' the meanin' of some words - but I'm glad you like the show if you caught a copy somewhere. Nice to meet ya Hitoko."

"Likewise," she says with grin, seeming at least satisfied with his response. "It's interesting," she says, face turning very thoughtful, "that you're doing well while calling attention to yourself. That seems... Not the thing to do as a ronin around here?" She crosses her arms across her chest, but her face has shifted away from the judginess of her earlier expressions and this seems like a genuine curiosity for her.

He shrugs a little, "Well it's drawin' attention doin' somethin' dangerous, and likely to get me killed anyway, that they don't want to bother riskin' any of their own to do." He ponders for a moment, "If anythin' the first few episodes, the ones where I was explorin' stuff outside of the Desolation, the ones most everyone call the borin' ones, those were likely more dangerous, at least in terms of attention, if they had drawn it."

The woman looks at him skeptically, but she nods along as he explains. When he's done, there's a long pause where she seems likely to speak but doesn't. After a time she says, "How... How'd you decide to start hunting in the Desolation? Just for the, uh, ratings?"

He wavers a hand a little, "I was desperate and someone hired me to grab an artifact from in there. Found out my skills were suited to it and the recordin's sold too." He shakes his head and smiles a little, "I'll be honest, I'm a softy. I don't have it in me to shake down a business or jump someone in an alley and you can't always rely on gentler opportunities to drop in your lap on a regular enough basis. I figure a quick death's better than starvin' if worse comes to worse."

Though he says that with some conviction there's still a slight shudder as he instinctively recalls how close he came to the latter less than a day ago.

"A quick death," she echoes quietly, looking thoughtful. Then another thought strikes her and she almost jumps.

"Er. Well, you won't be seeing me in there. That's um." She pauses, obviously distressed, then literally shakes herself out of it.

"Hey. Anyway. So that's your whole game, huh? Daring explorer boy? I guess it pays well enough," she says, back to smiling but obviously distracted by whatever got in her head earlier.

He shrugs a little, "Well I'm guessin' you know as well as I do that relyin' on any one game is a good way to lose. Keep an array of talents so you always have somethin' on the go. I break my leg tomorrow I can still get by in other ways."

"Ahh, yes. I definitely agree. Lots of skills means lots of opportunities." She smiles, looking relieved, clearly happier on this topic than others.

"I don't think I've heard of successful specialists, outside the... ahem. Organized ronin operations." Hitoko's face suggests a mix of disdain and angst at mentioning them, clearly walking a line in how she characterizes them.

Dai nods, "Yeah havin' others who can fill in the gaps makes that easier and safer. Guess it's kinda like havin' a clan... kinda."