Ask Bansai

As in all things, it's all about the beat and the timing. Without both, nothing will go well. I am currently engaged assisting Takasugi in destroying everything. However, until we actually manage that, I am available to answer questions.

[oocbansai]

An afternoon well spent.

[askbansai]

Self-defense.

First image borrowed from the indomitable asktakasugi.

[askbansai]

[asktakasugi]

Oh, how convenient. For me

[askbansai]

[asktakasugi]

…………

…Your face..

it makes me feel like cutting off a few fingers.

You’ll indulge me, won’t you..? Bansai?

[askbansai]

[asktakasugi]

…..

Do you exist to irritate me, Bansai?

[askbansai]

No, Shinsuke. I do not.

[asktakasugi]

*bansai used logic! it’s super effective!*

..that is fine, but if your reputation could so easily be in pieces, what use do I have for you?

[askbansai]

In my experience, it is easy to destroy anyone's reputation if you are in possession of the right information. You are one of the only people so equipped to destroy mine, and thus my ability to perform to my full capacity is entirely in your hands. That is not to say I am useless without my reputation intact, but it is certainly easier to move in such lawless circles as we regularly inhabit if people take you seriously.

[asktakasugi]

How ungrateful.. I thought you appreciated my passion for destroying things.

[askbansai]

I have nothing but respect for your will and ability to destroy things. It is an inspiration to us all. I merely strive to maintain my efficacy and hope that I am more useful to you whole than in pieces.

[asktakasugi]

[askbansai]

Alright! Alright! They get the point!

[askbansai]

More than I care to admit.

[askbansai]

On Disguises:

On the contrary, the Kiheitai does not store very many disguises at all.

The best disguises are first and foremost unobtrusive, as well as simple, and easily disposed of. You should always look like you belong wherever it is you shouldn't be.

For example:

Appropriate clothing is purchased when required, and discarded when its purpose is served as it is often dangerous to use the same disguise more than once. A long-term undercover identity takes a great deal of time to plan and execute, and thus is not a convenient solution. I, of course, have a full-time alter ego so it would be downright foolish to attempt parallel masquerades. It is extremely awkward when two people meet whom you have dealt with separately in different guises, and then you have to take the time to kill both of them, dispose of the bodies, and make an inconspicuous exit. You just don't need the added complications. Keep it simple.

Besides, we live on a space ship. All the space is on the outside. Nerves get frayed enough without hauling around tons of bulky cargo that limits the habitable area even further.

And, for the record, Katsura is a pack rat.

[askbansai]

The color of mystery.

[askbansai]

Directly? Certainly not.

Consider, if you will, all of the organizations that are directly or indirectly involved in this coup: the Kiheitai, the Naraku, the Oniwabanshuu, the Mimawarigumi, the Tendoushuu, Kamui's Yato, plus a number of other splinter groups and individuals. The Oniwaban openly admit their mercenary roots, and there is no denying that Zenzou has his own agenda. Nearly everybody is holding their cards close so we can only speculate what their motives are, and that makes this revolution particularly volatile. Needless to say, this is an alliance of convenience. These people do not collaborate, they engage in complicit reciprocal manipulation and abetment. We are all using each other to mutual benefit at the moment, but only for as long as our individual goals are served. Do not think for a moment we have misplaced our true purpose. When this coalition inevitably implodes in a no doubt spectacular and suitably cataclysmic manner, the reckoning will begin in earnest.

Never forget who is conducting this glorious symphony of deceit and destruction. Most of these amateur performers won't realize they've been played until their own dirges begin and they are forced to face the music. The sheer artistry of this feat is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

[askbansai]

How could I possibly beat that?

[askbansai]

Fairly horrid. It takes a long time for eyebrows to grow back.

[askbansai]

[askbansai]

Shinsuke occasionally communicates via Yakult.