[No one who has been out in the rains has come out unscathed, and they're all showing it; exhaustion rims Matoba's eyes, despite the cool collectedness his expression and body language exude at all times. His clothes, despite being mostly black, show signs of their staining in deep red here and there.]

[He's seated in one of the comfortable booths within a private room that a minor tengu shows Cloud to when he arrives, guarded on the inside of the door by a tall, puppet-like shadow figure. Across from him, propped up against the other side of the booths, is an intricately-metalworked claymore that seems precision made with enhanced metal. Kappa technology, likely.]

I do hope this is to your specifications, [He greets Cloud as he enters, head tilting. The table in front of him is taken up with more of those paper spells, like the one he had given Cloud upon their meeting, along with a brush and inkstone.] It's too bad. I'd like to see what curious things have gone on in the tower, but I suppose someone must stay and keep the protections going.

I expect to hear some interesting stories, if you make it back.