"It's clear to me that you're not going to tell me what you know, and I guess I'm not going to tell you what I know either," Maria said, her tone filled with a resigned sort of acceptance. "But I will tell you this: I'm not here for no reason."
Ryu, realizing that he wasn't going to get any more information from Maria unless he played along, took a deep breath and gave her a nod. "Alright, Maria. Why are you here? Why do you need our help?"
Maria's eyes narrowed, her gaze fixed on Ryu and Kaida. "What's coming is bigger than anything you've faced up until now," she said, her voice low and grave. "The yomigaeri, the markings, they're all connected. And whatever is behind it all, it's about to make its move."
Ryu and Kaida exchanged a look, their expressions serious. They'd faced their share of adversity, but the way Maria was talking, it sounded like this was a whole new level of danger.
"What do you mean, this is bigger than anything we've faced?" Kaida asked, the furrow in her brow deepening. "What kind of information do you have that could help us?"
But Maria just shrugged, a smirk tugging at her lips. "I'm happy to trade information for information," she said, her gaze shifting between Ryu and Kaida. "But I'm not going to just give everything away."
Ryu let out a low growl of frustration, his patience finally reaching its limit.
"How can we trust you when you're keeping us in the dark like this?" Ryu said, his voice rising with a barely contained rage. "You've told us nothing of substance, and yet you expect us to give you everything we know? You're asking for blind faith, Maria, and I don't think we're willing to give it."
Maria sighed, raising a hand in a placating gesture. "Oh, Ryu, you're so dramatic," she said, her tone dripping with amused sarcasm. "I'm not asking for blind faith.
"I'm asking for a simple exchange of information," Maria continued, her eyes flashing with intensity. "You tell me what you know about the yomigaeri, and I'll tell you what I know about these markings. It's that simple. Unless, of course, you're not interested in what I have to say?"
Ryu's face contorted into a mixture of anger and disbelief. He was about to respond when Kaida placed a hand on his arm, silencing him.
"Let's hear her out," Kaida said, her voice calm and measured.
"Kaida, don't you see what she's doing?" Ryu said, his voice low and intense. "This is classic Maria, always trying to play games, always trying to gain the upper hand. Why should we trust her?"
But before he could finish, Maria's voice cut through the air like a knife.
"Because if you don't, you won't survive what's coming," she said, her words ringing with a deadly seriousness. "I've been tracking these yomigaeri, studying their movements, their behavior. And I know what they're planning.
Ryu, his frustration still simmering beneath the surface, took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"What do you know, Maria?" he asked, his voice now calm and level. "What are the yomigaeri planning?"
Maria, sensing the change in Ryu's demeanor, met his gaze with a smirk playing on her lips " now now that's a good boy."
"The yomigaeri have a way of upgrading themselves," Maria said, her voice growing more urgent with every word. "They—"
"That's not new information," Ryu interrupted, his voice laced with annoyance. "We've already encountered level one and level two yomigaeri. Are you just messing with us, Maria?"
Maria's expression turned to one of pure disgust. "Are you serious, Ryu?" she snapped. "Level one and level two? What in hell's name is that?"
"Let me tell you something," Maria said, her voice low and intense. "There are five ranks among the yomigaeri. Rank one, the basic yomigaeri, are the ones you've been dealing with so far. Rank two are the enhanced yomigaeri, faster, stronger, smarter than their lower-ranking brethren. But they're just the start."
Ryu's eyes widened in shock as Maria continued.
"Then there are the rank three yomigaeri, the advanced yomigaeri, who've only recently begun to emerge.
"The rank four yomigaeri, the elite yomigaeri, are rare, but they exist," Maria said, her voice a hushed whisper. "And at the top of the hierarchy, the pinnacle of the yomigaeri ranks, are the supreme yomigaeri, rank five. No one has seen them, but they exist, I'm sure of it."
Ryu's mind reeled, struggling to process the enormity of this revelation. "The elite yomigaeri, the supreme yomigaeri..." he muttered, his eyes glazed with shock.
Others in the room were all in shock, unable to comprehend what they had just heard. There is something even more terrible than what they have faced thus far.
Kaida's voice cut through the air, shaky with disbelief. "What does this mean for us, Maria?" she asked, her eyes darting between Ryu and Maria. "If these higher-ranking yomigaeri exist, what are they capable of? Are we doomed?"
Ryu took a step forward, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "And how can we trust you, Maria? How do we know this isn't just a ploy to manipulate us?" he demanded.
Maria met his gaze with a level stare. "Because this isn't something I just came up with overnight," she replied. "Oh, I'm good enough to fool you if I really wanted to. But I don't have the time or energy to mess around with you two right now.
"You either trust me, or I'll find help elsewhere," she said, her voice hard.
Maria's gaze hardened, her expression uncompromising. "I've given you new information. And now, you give me new information," she said, her voice commanding. "Something I don't already know. That's the deal."
Ryu and Kaida exchanged a glance, both clearly uncomfortable with the demand but equally aware of the gravity of the situation.
"Fine," Ryu finally said, his tone begrudging. "There's something we haven't told you.