He nodded in firm understanding. At least he knew what he was walking into with the second one, and the way his eyes lingered on the door that lead to the master bedroom showed that he seemed to contemplate how to go about it. Although his Linoone helped to devour quite a bit of the body that he'd started to break up, the creature seemed to have its fill. Topher sighed and continued to cut the body down, this time into smaller pieces.

"Thank you for the heads up. It'll be a little longer for me to clean up, but may I ask a favor? I'm sure the linens are filthy. If you can find a replacement, I'll burn the bloodied ones. I imagine the hotel staff will simply think they forgot to supply extra sheets. I know typically it's out of place for the help to ask for assistance, but the sooner we get this done, the better."

With the first body broken down rather meticulously, he began to carry what he could to the master bedroom with the help of his Linoone. He stopped to admire the carnage that Yumi's aforementioned dog had carved through and hummed to himself. It seemed the swordsman had more fun with this than viewing it as part of his job. Topher could appreciate it. Though he took no joy out of killing, he could see the appeal he supposed. He propped open the door to the master bath and began to dump the severed parts into the whirlpool tub that sat towards the back corner.

"Yumi, was it? Your dog did a thorough job of this work. Please let him know I commend him with his swordsmanship."

An attempt at idle chatter as he knelt on the bed. There were some gashes in the mattress that he could fix. He was pretty confident in that. All it would take was a bit of needle and thread. Besides, he felt he'd probably make more as he began to thoroughly cut down the body. Blood splatters decorated the walls, ceiling, and even the carpet. Despite the work that would be put into this, it still wasn't the goriest scene he'd cleaned up after. He remained a bit more thorough with this corpse as he didn't have the luxury to share any of it with his Linoone. But the creature was happy to help him load what it could carry into the bathroom.

It took a few trips, but each piece he'd acquired found itself piled into the room's bathtub. He cut them so intricately so that they could dissolve a little faster. From his bag, he retrieved a large chemical bottle that had no labels. It was something he was accustomed to in settings like this. As he poured the colorless liquid onto the severed parts, he allowed the mixture to bubble and sizzle as it ate through the limbs. He returned to the main room of the suite with the bloodied sheets balled up and the empty chemical bottle hanging from his index finger as he swung it around carefree, then held it up for Yumi to get a better look at.

"Lye. It may take a bit longer, but it won't eat through the bathtub like acid would. And it's the same stuff drain cleaner is made from, so it'll be easy for forensics to ignore it."

Since he'd destroy the sheets later, he used them to clean the handsaw that he used to saw through the bone. The sheets, emptied bottle, and handsaw were shoved back into his bag. From a side compartment, he pulled out the needle and thread he'd used to sew up the bed.

"I typically don't ask questions, but I'll be forward: what made you stick around? Did you just want to see how thorough my work would be?" he partially teased.

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Yumi Hasegawa

With the end of the thread in his mouth, Topher licked it a bit to make it easier to manipulate through the needle's eye. After he managed to fasten the string enough, he took to the lacerations deep in the mattress. Any loose stuffing found its way into the mattress once more as he plopped down onto the floor and began to sew up the polyester. Once he had a rhythm going, Topher finally glanced up at Yumi and gave a laugh. It wasn't directed at her in particular, but rather in the way that acknowledged that not many people knew of his work given the need to keep a low profile.

"I do have ties to a syndicate in Kalos. I suppose we aren't acknowledged as separate people, but as a unit. I'm afraid that's all I can share on that topic."

A firm loop and tug, and the first laceration was sewn shut. He repeated this gesture a few more times until the mattress itself was back in one piece. Topher surprisingly kept his tone cool and easy, as though it was just a normal conversation. (That's what it was, was it not?) But a broad smile found its way to his features as he gave the needle and thread one final tug to break it free from the finished project.

"So I was a referral? I'll have to thank Mei the next time I see her, then," he insisted. "I try to work efficiently because time is of the essence in these matters. The quicker evidence can be destroyed, the more likely nothing will be left behind. I take it you're staying behind to see what my work is all about? It's not interesting or pretty, I just pick up after the gore left behind is all. What about you?"

It wasn't long until one of her henchmen returned with fresh linens and Topher quickly got to work to make the bed once more. As he stretched the fitted sheet over the mattress, he gave a glance over his shoulder. His expression spoke that of curiosity and amusement, as though he realized he'd caught the attention of someone he knew not to cross lest he be the next cleanup.

"You must be pretty important if you have these folks wrapped taut around your finger. I don't often make it a habit to ask for a name, figure this is all strictly business. But I like to familiarize myself with figures of power. So humor me: just who are you?"

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Yumi Hasegawa

The way she carried herself seemed so forthright and self-motivated. He could respect that from someone in power. A chuckle left his lips as he shook his head a bit in disbelief. Surely he hadn't caught her interest enough to be slipped an invitation to work for her, had he? She was a crime lord, so naturally he knew the answer to that. Those who had a modicum of power to their name carried it in a way that made them stand above others. This wasn't meant as an insult to Yumi herself, she had every right to carry herself in that way. There was something admirable about people who could build up their own empire.

"Sorry, I don't have the luxury to simply leave," he admitted. "They pay pretty well, not gonna lie."

Was it an attempt to see what Yumi could offer with her organization? Or just a general statement? It was hard to see as he turned his attention back to cleaning. He returned to the bathroom and noticed just how quickly the corpses had begun to dissolve. He was pleased with that much and began to rinse the bathtub out. Once that was done, he rummaged through the bathroom cupboards for some liquid soap. He figured he could mix it with water and bleach to make a cleaning concoction that would help him thoroughly scrub the walls and carpet.

He took the chemical bottle he'd had the lye in and rinsed it out before he filled it with water and soap. Once he came back, he dug a bleach tablet from one of the side compartments in his bag and a sponge, then dropped the tablet into the soapy water and gave it a thorough shake. Once through with that, he opened the bottle and poured some of the mixture onto the sponge and began to scrub at the carpet.

"Since we're sharing a bit about ourselves, I suppose I can return the favor. My father had an issue keeping his mouth shut and crossed the wrong people. Those same people posed the ultimatum of having me off my old man or we could both die. Given I'm here, you obviously know the answer I picked."

His words were offered with a blasé shrug. With the shrug, it was obvious he didn't mean it as any sort of threat that he'd easily cross someone. Though he had to admit he didn't quite feel at place in the grand scheme of his own crime syndicate. Perhaps he could take Yumi up on her offer one day.

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Yumi Hasegawa