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

As Elyss offered her friendly challenge to Nazariy, he smiled faintly and nodded before shutting the door behind the two ladies. Katya set her paperwork to the side as the shinigami before her spoke, and her cool demeanor seemed to only thinly veil the emotion beneath it.

"Then speak it. It must be quite important, for you to come before me and speak those names."

Gesturing to the chairs on the opposite side of her desk, Katya steepled her fingers and watched the two, an intensity to her gaze that, while certainly reminiscent of her sister, was also profoundly less all-consuming. It was, for lack of any better word, more human.

"I will not dance around the topic that you seem unwilling to broach, whether as a matter of security or simple courtesy. I am aware that your Captain Commander, the White Gold Queen of Vastime, is my late sister. It was my request that this matter not be brought to her attention unless she requested a search into her past life."

Though thet one of her voice was even, and she certainly seemed similar to the sister she so idolized at a glance, it was obvious that she simply did not have the same degree of control over herself as Abalia. Her body was tensed, her steepled fingers pressed tightly against one another, her eyes misty enough to give away the tears she was refusing to shed.

"I take it, from your choice of words, that she has not done so."

"I see."

Katya tapped her finger against her desk once or twice, thinking about the full scope of the situation. Naturally, there was only one decision she could make here, but she had to admit that she had at no point considered that this might even happen.

"If you are working for her well-being, then I will give you whatever help I may. It is only right as her sister that I do so, after all."

She wished to say so much more on the matter, and really, it was fairly obvious just from her expression. But this was not the time for her own emotional outpourings. This was a matter that required her absolute greatest attention and focus. Clearing her throat to avoid any choking up, she spoke again.

"We have done our best to maintain awareness of Dufresne's location over the years for obvious reasons. He is remarkably difficult to follow, but he always seems to travel through these lands eventually. When we do find him, we have few who could reasonably bring him to justice. My uncle perhaps could, but I would not risk any more of my flesh and blood falling to that man's hand. I believe you, if my understanding of the Gotei and the shinigami are correct, will be more than capable."

Realistically, that assumption was in fact probably an incorrect one, at least if one was speaking generally. But she didn't know that. Opening one of the lower drawers on her desk, one locked and clearly rarely used, Katya began leafing through the files within.

"Give me a moment. I have copies of these records for your perusal."

Elyss' question caused Katya to pause in her search, and after a moment, she continued, her eyes remaining lowered. These were not memories she particularly relished reliving, but at the same time, she supposed she may as well answer. If nothing else, for her own sake.

"No, I do not mind answering. It is not an especially long story. I thank you for caring enough about the matter to ask, and I thank you for assuring me that I need not answer on your behalf. I see why my sister chose the two of you for this."

Katya still thought quite fondly of her late sister, even if it had been many years since the two saw one another. She had been strong, in a way that Katya aspired to even now.

"My father and I had left for diplomatic matters. When we returned, we found my mother and sister both dead. A single bullet to each of their heads. It was quite clearly the work of a professional, and Dufresne was nowhere to be found. We have naturally hoped only for vengeance since that day."

Though she spoke calmly on the topic, both her faintly wavering voice and her inability to meet either woman's gaze made it clear that this was something difficult for her to talk about. Even so, that did not mean she would avoid the matter.