You may be right. That seems how it has been so far... [The Sutoku Lost Souls meeting in the middle of the night to discuss how to proceed; the Tengu elders didn't even make an announcement until it was far too late. No one in that room had been satisfied with how things had gone, and still weren't.]

[He's sure the other clans may be in similar positions- but at least they hadn't lost their position on top of that.]

[Soma's comment of comparison draws a long silence from Matoba, and when he speaks again, it's not insulted, but it's cool-toned and precise.]

Hmmmm. Maybe with the old-timers in charge of the middling clans.

I'm different. [And that is something he uses to set himself apart from them, apart from his predecessors: that he would not sit idly by, and let his clan fall into disrepair, as other great clans had. There was too much to be done that could consolidate the Matobas' power even further; sitting idle on their powerbase was never for him.]

[Soma's suggestion matches one of the possibilities Matoba had been tossing around, and he hums in agreement and leans his head.] That was what I had thought at first, but..... The leadership has been quite reluctant to act, so perhaps they are ...aware.

Unless it was on their part. [Hum, hum. Well, that was musing that should probably belong within the clan. Any more detailed than that...] Well, Soma-san. How long do you think it will be, before the Enma consider this investigation through? Surely, we will find answers to our questions, soon enough.