(D4, LE, Closed) Back Room Deals

[Yasuki Taraka]

Ryosei would frown a little "Well said Yasuki-sama, people are their own and we may not all agree with the actions of our greater clans and have contentious history but that does not mean understandings cannot be found today."

He took a drink "but yes Spiders likely are to have a difficult time getting traction necessary to stick around unless they had assistance."

"So should we discuss who we would like to stick around rather than who we wouldn't?"

Looking to keep the meeting moving forward rather than the Kuni going off at Honoka's comment about a 'Sweet Young Spider', Taraka moved to support Ryosei's proposition.


"That's a fair proposition, Ryosei-san." she said with a nod. "And while I'm sure that we'd like many of our guests to become permanent residents, as Tetsu-san pointed out there are two prime deals to be made, so while I'd love to go on extended talk about all the wonderful people I've gotten to meet, perhaps we should each put forth two people and discuss."

She moved to the easel pad and wrote her two candidates for consideration:


Asako Hikari:

Pros: Represents an interplanetary investment firm.
Has shown a deep commitment to investing here.
Cons: Possibility has been raised he's just here to impress with his wealth, not actually invest.


Kakita Haruhi:

Pros: Well connected
Talented
Already on commission so plans to stay past just dealing with the governor.

Cons: Obsession with birds and wildlife may be at odds with development plans."

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Looking to keep the meeting moving forward rather than the Kuni going off at Honoka's comment about a 'Sweet Young Spider', Taraka moved to support Ryosei's proposition.


"That's a fair proposition, Ryosei-san." she said with a nod. "And while I'm sure that we'd like many of our guests to become permanent residents, as Tetsu-san pointed out there are two prime deals to be made, so while I'd love to go on extended talk about all the wonderful people I've gotten to meet, perhaps we should each put forth two people and discuss."

She moved to the easel pad and wrote her two candidates for consideration:


Asako Hikari:

Pros: Represents an interplanetary investment firm.
Has shown a deep commitment to investing here.
Cons: Possibility has been raised he's just here to impress with his wealth, not actually invest.


Kakita Haruhi:

Pros: Well connected
Talented
Already on commission so plans to stay past just dealing with the governor.

Cons: Obsession with birds and wildlife may be at odds with development plans."

Tetsu raises a hand "I admit that I have some bias due to family ties with the Phoenix, but if we want maximum leverage, I don't think they stand a chance without our help but we might be able to pull them into a winning position if we all contribute.

[Yasuki Honoka]

"I believe I am quite..." She looks around the room as if trying to find a better word hidden among the others present. Eyes resting on her yojimbo, the unbothered and unamused Yasuki Hiroto whom found a space to sit and hasn't seen to regarding the room further.

"... confused, I must admit everyone. Are we intent on speaking of individuals, or the merit their clan might bring?"

"I could see much merit in speaking on individuals, if we were to offer our leverage and open many doors. This way we might invite some of this spoken of individuals to remain here adding their support to our island. But then that conversation is more about.. well, not the main contract being sought. As the main contract leaves little room to need to concern ourselves with individuals of merit."

[Yasuki Taraka]

"I believe I am quite..." She looks around the room as if trying to find a better word hidden among the others present. Eyes resting on her yojimbo, the unbothered and unamused Yasuki Hiroto whom found a space to sit and hasn't seen to regarding the room further.

"... confused, I must admit everyone. Are we intent on speaking of individuals, or the merit their clan might bring?"

"I could see much merit in speaking on individuals, if we were to offer our leverage and open many doors. This way we might invite some of this spoken of individuals to remain here adding their support to our island. But then that conversation is more about.. well, not the main contract being sought. As the main contract leaves little room to need to concern ourselves with individuals of merit."

"My apologies, Honoka-san." Taraka offered with a quick bow. "Allow me to clarify. Rather than focusing on clan politics at large, we were focusing on individuals because these are the representatives that said clans have sent to negotiate with us. "

She smiled a bit.

"Imagine, for example, we were going to cater a party and we were deciding between Crabkaku and Tofumania, and we asked for a representative to present a menu to us. The elegant Yasuki Honoka arrives with a menu she has personally curated for the best enjoyment of the guests and is willing to explain and alter, but Tofumania sends Hida Jo who just slams down a preprinted takeout menu and growls "Whaddya want?'....even if Tofu might be healthier and easier on our budget, should we not give greater weight to Crabkaku with such a representative?"

[Yasuki Honoka]

Honoka's lips thinned out as she listened.

"I would express again then that this discussion has been unfocused thus far. If we are speaking on the merit of clans as per the quality of those they sent, then we can better structure the conversation. Any samurai sent here with diplomatic goals will not appear as impressive in the manner you have laid out your two candidates. As if Asako Hikari may not be personally looking to invest, they could still well serve their clans interests in showing the benefits of allying with the clan. After all, the Phoenix sending someone who can be a example of what wealth the Phoenix can attain in contrast to the understanding many would have of Phoenix wealth is an excellent selling point to those who might do business with the Phoenix. That individuals own interests in investing here notwithstanding, and thus hardly an appropriate thing to consider."

Honoka takes a brief pause for respite, a breath, but holds the momentum so she might continue.

"We do not know for certain who, if any, of these samurai before us would be the ones to serve their clan in this theater in development. Thus, many of those we are seeing may only be examples much as I have outlined in regard to the Asako."

"It is important we are certain of what is our intention and goal with this conversation so that we might ensure the conversation is fruitful. Otherwise, we may only be adding information into a pile that we will have to individually digest anyway. A situation which my experience has shown me rarely leads to a well executed effort."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka hadn't thought that Honoka would be particularly susceptible to praise of her restaurant. She'd hoped, of course, you always wanted to look for the best deal, whether it was shopping or conversation. Ah, but no, she was the type of person to try and schedule a pre-meeting for a meeting they were already in. And she seemed to be a Kaira in her attitude in this meeting.

So what to do? She was grinding this meeting to a halt, and Taraka was dearly tempted to kick them all out of her shop and get back to business.

Now there was a thought.......

She offered Honoka her very best customer service smile.

"Ah, my apologies then, Honoka-san. I had thought that given everyone here is just so busy with business with all that's going on these days that we should approach the meeting with a more flexible and fast mindset. But if everyone agrees with you that matters this weighty must be processed at a speed that we're not just all on the same page, but the same syllable, then it can't be helped. Fear not, we can stay in this space for as long as it takes for everyone to be fully satisfied." she said, retaking her seat and pouring a cup of tea.

The words were very polite, but if it was a siege of a meeting that Honoka wanted, Taraka was ready to wait her out, and take everyone with them.

[Yasuki Honoka]

"I will not be spoken to in this disrespectful manner, Yasuki Taraka-san," she states with an even and solid tone. Rising from her seat she would signal her yojimbo to move toward the door.

"I will be departing, everyone. Before this evening might degrade further. I hope the fortunes treat well with you."

[Kaiu Ryosei]

Ryosei sipped his water quietly and had a look not dissimilar from a child whose parents were fighting. This was court talk he was the opposite of court person. Surely anything he had to say would at best be incredibly ineffectual.

[Kaiu Nagisa]

What did Nagisa get in the middle of this time? The Kaiu looks between the two before speaking up herself. “I… Agree with Yasuki Honoka-sama. Her points, they make more sense to me. I feel that perhaps I should leave as well, if that is to be a problem.”

[Yasuki Taraka]

What did Nagisa get in the middle of this time? The Kaiu looks between the two before speaking up herself. “I… Agree with Yasuki Honoka-sama. Her points, they make more sense to me. I feel that perhaps I should leave as well, if that is to be a problem.”

Taraka shook her head.

"Of course, not Kaiu-san." she offered sincerely. "Everyone is free to come and go as they wish, just as they're free to say what they wish or not. I'm just offering my space and insights. If you'd rather get back to your shop, I certainly understand. I'd certainly like to get back to the front of mine."

She actually liked the Kaiu. She did good work for a reasonable price. If she wanted to march out with the angry restauranter, she wouldn't hold that against her.

[Yasuki Honoka]

Honoka departed swiftly, lest she allow Tanaka to further disrespect her and dig this rift deeper.

/Exit

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Tetsu sighs and shrugs. "Kaiu-san, I agree with Taraka-san that I see no offense with disagreeing with us. You're not unreasonable for doing so. I believe two intelligent, well meaning and loyal samurai can see a situation and have two very different opinions on the best path"

"That said, as much as I agree that the Clan we back matters, if we want to have any say in the matter, there have to be partners who are willing to work with us. I'm not talking about giving the Spider an all access pass, but we don't get anything new to aid the Clan by letting things play out on the sidelines. Should it be a factor? Absolutely, but I'll be honest: no one has been beating down my door. Staying would offer the chance to help steer our course and I would appreciate your opinions "

[Kaiu Nagisa]

“I apologize for this. But the situation got a little too hot for my liking. Thank you for hosting, however short my time here was.” With a bow, the Kaiu woman makes her leave quietly.

/exit

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Tetsu once again shrugs and looks around. "I stand by what I said. We can be honorable about how we do it, but if we are going to play ball, it's going to be with people who want to play with us"

[Kaiu Ryosei]

Ryosei nodded "When talking business it is not always best to seek the familiar. Sometimes building new relations and new ties is what lead to innovation. I would say we write off no one simply based on clan or politics. Find out who offers the best thing for the province and go from there."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Ah well, Tofumania and walking it was. Better for Taraka's health anyways. She looked over those who remained.

"That's a fair point Ryosei-san. We should try to evaluate things with an open mind." she agreed.

She drummed her fingers on the table.

"Actually, expanding from that, it's important to remember that they may well have different opinions on just how business is conducted based on their backgrounds. Rather than being out their actively trying to outbid each other, they might simply be enjoying some island sun and waiting to see if the fish really will leap into their boats." she mused. "Which might be very zen, but we're looking for business partners, not new monks for a monastery."

"If that's the case, there a couple of things we could try. We could simply support those who we personally think are best, and if they fail to make the contract, it's no big loss. Low effort, low yield. Or we could try to make the bidding process more competitive. It's easy to relax when things seem to be certainly decided, but if things are closer they might actually seek take a more active role in negotiating." she suggested.