Your Sister's Dead, Ma'am (Makoto, Elyss, Katya)

The Isaenko home, one of the few static settlements of the Cossacks, was not a place that ever went undefended. In most cases, unexpected visitors would simply have been met by a guard, one of those proud men of the steppe who would give their life in the name of the Hetman. However, the visitors who arrived carried no small spiritual signature, and wore the attire of the Gotei United. They were not the sorts who could be left to anyone.

This was something best left to an inheritor of the storm.

"It is rather rare to see representatives of the Gotei in these lands. What brings you here?"

Nazariy's hand stayed away from the blades that rested at each hip, though he certainly could still draw them both in the blink of an eye if need be. He did not exactly anticipate a fight with these women, but it was a matter of principle, of pride, to be ready to do so. He was, in this moment, representing the whole of the Cossacks, and his niece in turn. Their safety was potentially in his hands.

While most would likely have taken some sort of offense to being called an old man, and so directly, Nazariy simply laughed at the direct display from the fiery redhead before him. He appreciated that. He even smiled, though it did not take long at all for his expression to fall, becoming quite severe as Makoto spoke.

"You are quite bold indeed, to come to this place and speak that name. It is one which carries ill omen in these highlands. I ask, as the Hetman's guardian, that you elaborate on why you seek this man. I will not have the memory of his crime brought before her simply for the good of some foreign entity's bookkeeping."

Nazariy was not yet ready to simply tell the two to leave, but any good will built by Elyss had quite quickly evaporated. He had not heard the name Roman Dufresne in many years, and the crime he had committed had been grave, indeed.

"Mm."

Frankly, Nazariy didn't care in the slightest about this official Gotei business. Their organization was none of his concern. But the redheaded one's frank statment of persecution, rather than mere legalism or duty, gave Nazariy some small degree of willingness to trust these outsiders. Gesturing into the Isaenko manor, Nazariy led the way inside, his mood no less severe.

"I would advice that the two of you trad carefully while speaking with the Hetman. There is none among our people more greatly wounded by that man's crime than she. I doubt that she will keep any information from you on the matter, but you will speak respectfully on the topic."

The firm word of warning seemed to linger in the air like static electricity, crackling across the skin of the two shinigami as if to make clear how overwhelming a threat it was. There was little for which Nazariy could still fight, but for Katya, he certainly would. Reaching the ornate doors to her office, the old warrior simply knocked once before opening it and letting the two guests enter.

Within, sitting at an ornate wooden desk, the Hetman sat diligently at work, stacks of paperwork somewhat haphazardly strewn about. In many ways, her clear focus was a mirror of her deceased elder sister, and yet the lack of absolute order displayed an apparent difference. Her gaze, as it moved to meet the two guests, was only faintly confused, as she wished to convey the serious air of the leader she was.

"What business have you with the Hetman of the Cossacks?"

Thankfully, her English was quite superb.