[D5, LA] The cost of victory

[Kitsune Soratoshi]

Kitsune Soratoshi's rampaging mediocrity in the day's Fantasy Fight tournament had left a most sour taste in his mouth, especially after he'd disappointed himself at the fish market at daybreak. The fascinating terror of Green Carp's deeps that he'd procured consoled him on some level - he'd named it Wendel and hurriedly sketched and photographed it before getting it boxed in sanctioned, concentrated-water-kami cold packs for priority shipment to Inari's Cradle - but that felt like a small victory amid a heap of defeats on this stormy day on Shiawase.

Unwilling to suffer ignominiously in his lodgings, the lanky Fox wandered the shopping district, trying to be indoors during the worst of the weather. At one point, he ducked into a somewhat generic looking store to get out of a dry but blustering bout of wind, and discovered what must be the Flying Battle Carps shop he'd heard of. Spirits lifted by both his mechanical curiosity and resurgent competitive energy, Soratoshi leaned to look past the hanging drones and see who he could ask about the machines.

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka was having a typically busy day. She wasn't a permanent fixture in the store, instead spending a great deal of time out championing the brand. Still, she would duck in from time to time just to make sure that the employees were doing their best. She was coming in from a duel, she'd soon be heading out to another duel, but in this moment she was here.

She bowed politely to the browing Kitsune.

"Good afternoon, Kitsune-san. Is there anything myself or my staff can help you with today?" she asked.

[Kitsune Soratoshi]

A small, fleeting grin and a few long strides brought the Kitsune to Taraka and he bowed politely for a moment.

"Ah, Yasuki-san, thank you," Soratoshi said earnestly. "This one is Kitsune Soratoshi of Kitsune Bio-Pharmaticals - though, of course, probably not purchasing one of your machines for the company." There was a flash of a smirk at his own joke-adjacent remark before he rushed into a list of questions.

"Having had the honor of training with the Kaiu on Kaiu Prime, you understand that I have to uphold high standards in terms of products and materials that I might utilize. So I need a very good drone, here, Yasuki-san. A very good drone. The kind of drone that you might direct a dear cousin - not a cousin you simply suffer through dealing with, but an actual, cherished cousin - to purchase. Because you see, the fanciest drone, the best marketed drone - you and I both know very well that these are unlikely to be the mechnically or efficiently best drone, and it's that mechanical, peak engineering efficiency-best drone that I need to be putting in the sky, right Yasuki-san?"

He looks at her seriously for two or three seconds, confident that she's understood the importance of his request. Then, as if another side of his personality is rotating into his brain for its turn at control, his face falls slightly and, slowly and rather quietly he asks, "Er, um. I mean," he says, momentarily floundering before catching hold of the appropriate sentiment. "I mean, ahh, and who do I have the honor of working with this afternoon?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

It was a good patter. The Kitsune had probably spent awhile practicing it in the mirror, but hadn't considered the need to get the partner's name. She wondered just how many places he was planning on talking about the best of. The best crab dinner. The best marketed sake. The most efficient kimono. There was also a slight chance that he was taking a bit too much of Kitsune Bio-Pharmacal's product lines to produce that much energy.

"Yasuki Taraka, manager at Flying Battle Carps" she supplied. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kitsune-san."

"I can tell you are someone who appreciates to getting to the superior item in a transaction, Kitsune-san. You're not someone to be distracted by advertising or flattery. If you want the product that I would recommend to a cherished family member, I would, without hesitation, guide you to the Legends line." she said guiding him over to the most expensive ones.

"My mother always taught my sisters and I that premium performance comes at a premium price. If you gave all three of our product lines to your cousin, they could easily tell that it was the Legend that brought them to their highest performance."