#and i'm still 5ever howling over baizhu just putting him to work X'D

[greedbent]

Kaz didn’t care about gratitude.

It was a fickle weapon, if a weapon at all, fleeting and highly unreliable in a world ruled by greed and selfishness. Nothing but chance, far from stable and grown out of roots that barely stretched beneath the surface—easily plucked and discarded. And Kaz didn’t engage in anything that left even a breath up to mere possibility.

If nothing else, these acts of his were weapons he could use: leverage. The ability to hold something over someone’s head that forced them to their knees and guaranteed their compliance in the snap of his fingers. He didn’t give a damn about the good doctor’s patients any more than he gave a damn about the Traveler’s latest escapades. He couldn’t be bothered by whether Baizhu was amicable or not: business was business, and they each did for the other only what was earned in an equal exchange.

Kaz didn’t want gratitude.

But what that said about the inexplicable knot behind his sternum, or the sudden struggle in his next tight exhale, the need to avert his gaze again—He didn’t know. Moreover, he didn’t want to know. And so, all he offered was that one extra statement of clarification, as if Baizhu hadn’t put it as transparently as possible already: “I prefer to keep my investments reliable”—Kaz freed his lungs with another louder breath—“and amenable.”

And he was back. Stern edges and taut lines manifested again in his posture as he held himself straight and stretched that stiffness back out of his legs. He steeled himself to take his leave, and one foot pivoted with a resolve convincingly unshaken… before his “investment” spoke again. No, made a request. Which did as well as the first time to stall Kaz in his tracks—before a track could even be made.

“I thought you had a little errand boy of your own,” he posed, not accusatory, but dismissive. For, indeed, despite the not-so-delicate reminder of this being a job for someone else, Kaz still obliged. His steps brought him not to the pharmacy’s exit, but to the shelves indicated, and a trained search of his eyes located the vial without a wasted beat. As he returned to the counter, previous formalities dropped.

He invited himself behind it.

Kaz offered the extract in an open palm. “I’d recommend staying as far away from Inazuma as you can,” he finally uttered, continuing a former point not yet addressed. “—is what I would say if you were a wide-eyed, gawking tourist.” Though one strike of lightning could be enough to either grow a few brain cells or just thin out the herd of imbeciles. “For the furtherance of personal research, however”—and there, barely distinguishable, was a little twitch in one brow—“it might not be a wasted trip.”

Despite stated intent to leave, his visitor indulged questions meant to delay him with no hesitation. Their chats were a standard occurrence by now, yet he couldn't help but feel pleased every time. Kaz was a man of few words and even fewer acquaintances and was certainly intelligent enough to guess his ulterior motives for striking up conversation. There couldn't be many scenarios in which he'd choose to converse longer than necessary.

But who was he to question the whims of his esteemed business partner? Whatever his reason, Baizhu was content to be glad for it.

"I imagine that would put a damper on things," the doctor chuckled. "Next time you're headed there, do stop by before you depart; I'll make you some Electro resistance elixirs for the trip. It can't nullify a direct lightning strike, of course, but it'd at least make traveling easier."

As he spoke, he couldn't help a bit of wistfulness for a nation he'd never had the chance to visit. "I really should make a trip to Inazuma soon." After all, where else would be more likely to house the secret to immortality than the nation of eternity? But no sooner had the words passed his lips did he scrub a forearm across his brow with a sigh, visibly exhausted by the mere suggestion. "Although, with such glowing reviews from visitors like yourself..." Baizhu trailed off with a shake of his head. "Well, 'easier' traveling still doesn't equal 'easy' traveling, now does it? Hm, perhaps someday."

With a shrug to himself, he pinned the idea on a mental note to revisit at a later time. His gaze trailed after Kaz as he paced along the counter between them. One might assume that "most merchants" would have included the man himself, but Baizhu had no doubt that Kaz had found a more efficient way to source Inazuma's goods than the frantic scrambling and bidding wars of "most merchants." Not that the particulars of how he acquired them mattered as far as Baizhu was concerned.

"Of course, of course," he acquiesced easily, nodding along to a statement as unarguably factual as the color of the sky. (Silently logging away the faint softening of the other's tone that blotted iconic blue with clouds of doubt.) "Profits come first in matters of business. However, I'm well aware that there are plenty of other avenues into which you could invest your time and efforts for a profitable return. So, on behalf of my patients and myself, I feel it's only fair to extend a bit of gratitude where it's due."

But that was enough of that. He wanted Kaz to stay, after all; not to scare him away with sentimentality. "Ah, speaking of—would you be a dear and hand me a bottle from the shelf over there?" With his hands full of herbs, Baizhu nodded to a section of shelving just past the table in the lobby. "It seems I forgot to grab a vial of mist flower extract before I started. It should be on the third shelf down; look for a blue liquid with condensation on the glass."