(D0, EE, Street, Open) At the Festival

[Yasuki Taraka]

Caught up in pitching her carps to the Spider, Taraka had made the classic blunder of taking her eyes off of Kaira. It was a lever on a wheel, she'd even turned it in front of her, so surely even Kaira could.....

Hacking certainly caught her attention, was Kaira going to take a saw to the box?

Oh.

Oh kami no.

One of the attendants had left behind their their electronics schoolwork next to the wheel. It was a little box with buttons and lights. Press a button and a light lit up, basic electronics testing. Kaira, in her infinite wisdom, had decided that must be the control unit for the lottery wheel. This was going to be...challenging with the Spider around.

"Ahhhhh....." Taraka said doing her best to turn the desire to laugh into a sigh. "My apologies, Yasuki-sama, it must be malfunctioning. You know how things are these days. Instead of waiting for it to be repaired why don't you try the....emergency override handle on the side of the wheel? A few turns should release a ball without issue."

[Boogiepop]

Yasuki Kairi

Kairi seemed oblivious to her blunder and mistake that she didn't suffer any embarrassment, so that dodged one incident from happening. That wasn't to say that anyone was going to walk out of this unscathed by her annoyance. "These days? Everything now is supposed to work with a press of a button! They should really update things around here, it's really overdue! You know, I have a cousin who's constantly laughing at how we're so backwards in this province! Did you know? Aoihama has those home sensors made by Kaiu-tech where you can wave your hands to start playing the Informator. I don't dare tell her that some people here are adjusting their antenna just to get reception!"

"Maybe that governor can stop..." She huffed midsentence and pivoted her frustration to face the crank. "...and get on that!" Anyway, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Angry Kaira Sounds

Taraka very briefly pondered the possibility of adjusting Kaira's hair ornaments to see if she could tune in a decent person.

But she bowed deeply.

"My humblest apologies for the delay, Yasuki-sama." she offered.

She took a step in and leaned in conspiratorially
"I was trying to keep a watch on Spider-san. Don't you think it's.....strange to be surrounded by all these great shopping deals and just buy a single drink and hang around?". she offered in a hushed tone.

[Susumu Sumiko]

Sumiko watched the scene in amusement, but kept her amusement behind a polite smile.

"I assumed it was intentional to bring this out, it's a classic is it not?" she asked, unaware of the conspiracy awaiting her as she sipped her drink again. It was entertaining to see the girl struggle to use such an old thing like that.

[Boogiepop]

Taraka very briefly pondered the possibility of adjusting Kaira's hair ornaments to see if she could tune in a decent person.

But she bowed deeply.

"My humblest apologies for the delay, Yasuki-sama." she offered.

She took a step in and leaned in conspiratorially
"I was trying to keep a watch on Spider-san. Don't you think it's.....strange to be surrounded by all these great shopping deals and just buy a single drink and hang around?". she offered in a hushed tone.

Yasuki Kairi

Kairi had her hand on the crank when Taraka whispered to her. She went from her resting annoyed face to her looking a bit concerned. Slowly looking behind her, she looked at Sumiko, almost like the Spider was more alien than she already was. Her gaze slowly went to her and then to the drink she had on hand.

With that, she linked with Taraka on the school of fish mind, at least so she thought. A nod of understanding was given to her. She must be some sort of bog hag. Or worse, a mooch! The horror!

She cautiously returned to the activity she was doing earlier and turned the crank slowly, all while keeping an eye on Sumiko, like the Spider was ready to pounce. When the ball came out, Kairi snatched it mid-air almost before the colour could even reveal itself! Sure, that left her vulnerable for a moment. She may take her skin, but she won't take her savings...in prizing!

[Yasuki Taraka]

Kaira is a winner!

But not so fast that Taraka didn't see the color of the ball released...at least she was relatively sure she saw the color.

With a loud DING! she rang the handbell to announce the winner.

"Congratulations, Yasuki-sama, you win second place! Your choice of vouchers: either a free dessert at Crabkaku or tea and snacks for two at Kappa's Pond. I'm envious, Yasuki-sama, Crabkaku is that hot new restaurant on the harbourfront. I hear the food there is really exceptional. But anyways, which one would you like, Yasuki-sama?" she asked.

[Susumu Sumiko]

There was a small clap by the even smaller Spider.

"Congratulations! Patience and persistence pays off" she offered

[Boogiepop]

Yasuki Kairi

Kairi's expression lit up when she was deemed a winner! Well, she already won with her tissues earlier, but this was an actual hit!

"I won! I won! This is so wonderful!!!" She exclaimed in victory, almost like her life was going to change with this prize! Thankfully, it wasn't a white ball again or a green ball for third place. If she was going to pick a price from those lowly offerings, it wasn't going to be a sticker pack for those Flying Battle Carps...

Her grip loosened on the ball she was holding to take a peek, only to see a hint of green that she was holding. She let out an audible gasp and quickly stowed away the ball in her obi.

"Ah, yeah! I'll take a coupon for Crabkaku! One free meal at Crabkaku! Please!" She said with an uncharacteristic politeness at the end of her sentence.

"Just as expected, maybe you can learn a thing or two," she nodded at Sumiko, a bit of her arrogance returning.

[Yasuki Taraka]

There was a lot Taraka could have said. For example, you didn't get to keep the raffle ball as a memento. But she'd rather pay to replace it than try and pry it out of Kaira...or perhaps if someone was really slacking at the store, she'd sending someone to try and reclaim it. And she's said it was a free dessert not a free meal....but that could be Crabkaku's problem. It's not like they were on the street, nor faithful in their attendance of at the Chamber of Commerce meetings. Their inclusion on the prize list had strictly been to boost the economy of the city as a whole...so Taraka would happily send them this boost.

She handed over the voucher. At least Kaira was happy now, she might have a lot of bad qualities, but at least she wasn't without joy.

"Congratulations again, Yasuki-sama." she said, turning to address those about....including a certain slushie-sipping Spider. "Remember folks, if you don't play, you won't win!"

Seeing the demon appeased for now, the table attendants returned, freeing Taraka from the suddenly imposed duties. She considered going back to crowd counting, but decided to go back to selling instead.

"Spider-san, since you were interested in the flying battle carps, could I interest you in a demonstration?" she asked, giving Kaira a knowing look as if to say: Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on this one.

[Susumu Sumiko]

There was a thoughtful look at the other Yasuki who was quick to hide the ball. A thoughtful look, as if she knew something was wrong. However after a few moments she chuckled.

"You are an inspiration Yasuki-sama" Sumiko said with a bow to Kairi, before looking back to the saleswoman.

"Oh a demonstration would be good! However I don't want to take you away from your duties."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Tartaka waved off such concerns.

"I don't have anything specific I need to be at the festival, just helping out when it's needed. If someone needs me, they've got my number." she explained.

She offered a polite bow.

"Yasuki Taraka, junior manager of Flying Battle Carps. It would be my pleasure to give you a demonstration." she introduced herself.

[Boogiepop]

Yasuki Kairi

There was some quiet relief on Kairi as she wasn't investigated regarding her raffle win. Quite underhanded, but the way she saw it, it was like she negotiated and bartered for better luck. So, while it wasn't honourable, it was at least in the realm of Yasuki tactics and fair game. Right?

At least that's how she was going to swim around the justification.

"Aw, well," she smiled smugly as she pocketed the coupon in another part of her obi and gave it a protective pat. "I could only hope I can be twice as lucky on my next try, Taraka-san. Maybe you'll even get your own try, Spider-san. Well, I'll be around."

She merely gave a nod and scurried off on her way. Socializing was good, but that was taking precious time away from buying things and potentially bartering her way to her next raffle win!

/exit

[Susumu Sumiko]

"Oh if you're sure" Sumiko smiled then bowed also "I'm Susumu Sumio."

She noticed the other Crab vanishing, offering a "Have a good day!" and bowing to her before turning back to Taraka.

"Thank you, I'm excited to see what they do."

[Yasuki Taraka]

It was a relatively short walk over to the store where two drones were being piloted. Both had banners attached to their underside: one for Golden Shotengai and one for Flying Battle Carps.

Taraka approached the pilots.

"Good job team, I'm going to send Rumiko on break a little early." she said, taking the controls from her in a swift practiced motion. The drone dipped a little bit during the exchange, but not much.

"So, pretty simple controls on these Susumu-san. When you push the left stick up and down, it controls the throttle."

She pushed it down and the rotor blades slowed and the drone started returning to the ground. Before it got too low she pushed it up and the drone hovered back up.

"Pushing the left stick left and right controls the yaw." she said. She pushed the left stick left and the drone started spinning counter-clockwise without changing position, and pushing it right caused it to rotate clockwise insterad.

"The right stick really gets things going. Up and down for the pitch, Left and Right for the roll." she explained. The drone tilted forward as she pushed up on the right stick causing it to move forward, and then start to turn in a circle as she pushed it to the right.

[Susumu Sumiko]

Sumiko had moved closer, not too close but so she could watch the operations. It was pretty simple, she didn't expect any different as it was a drone, but it allowed her to really study the drone.

Decent reaction speed but the woman is experienced I imagine. It does look fun...maybe I can justify the base one as I can use it elsewhere.

There was a few small nods and a smile.

"You're really good at this Yasuki-sama" she commented "how sturdy are the drones? I wouldn't intend to crash one but I'm more experienced in the workings of technology than the controlling of them."

[Yasuki Taraka]

The Spider's assessment was correct, the Yasuki didn't just talk a big game, she knew what she was doing.

"Well, it is a balancing act, Susumu-san. Crabs are known to be sturdy, but certain allowances have to be made to be airworthy. The blessings powering it are just civilian grade, after all, can't brute force it through the air. Still, it's strong enough for this." she offered.

She offered a nod to the other operator. This wasn't their first demonstration.

As Taraka worked the control sticks, her drone dipped below the level of the other drone, and then swiftly flitted forward. One of the rotors struck the string attaching her opponent's banner, severing it. The opponent's drone wobbled up a bit, while Taraka's veered to the side a bit from the temporary disruption, but the banner came drifting down to the earth.

"We can't do a full battle for you right here, but that is the essence of how the competition is done. So sturdy enough for that, and if you veer off-course and smack into a tree or a building, the carp should only take cosmetic damage. As long as you don't do something extreme like run it over with a car or pilot in into the depths of the ocean, it should be fine."

[Susumu Sumiko]

There was a few nods.

"That would make sense. I don't intend to crash or run over any drones regardless."

There was another thoughtful pause before a final nod.

"It certainly does seem like a lot of fun. One should balance duty and fun right? I'll take what was it you called it, the rookie ace? A fitting name for a first timer I'd say, does it come in different colours?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nods.

"An excellent choice, Susumu-san. They've got a nice selection of colors, and the banners are in all the clan and family colors. If you'd like your name or motto on the banner, they'll letter if for you free of charge if you want or you can leave it blank to letter yourself." she praised.

"I've got my hands full at the moment, but head on inside, Susumu-san, and the staff will get you all set up, registered for the leaderboard...and another stamp on your card, of course." she said with a smile.

[Susumu Sumiko]

"Ah, thank you" Sumiko nodded with a smile "I don't want to take up too much of your time. Although I would love to try the raffle wheel, I haven't seen one in person before today! But I wouldn't want to cause more problems so I'll get this signed up and let you get back to that."