(Day 2, Late Afternoon) Fly Like a...Scorpion

[Bayushi Kazushi]

After a relaxing stop at the Natsuzora spa, Kazushi decided it was about time to look into this "battle carps" thing Senshuken had been going on about. Uncertain of what he might find, he slowly opens the door and pauses in the doorway, taking a look around.

"Oh, it's a drone shop," he notes, his tone neutral. "Interesting enough, I suppose..."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka was just going over the morning figures with her abacus when the door chime sounded.

She looked up to see who had come in.

"Oh, we meet again, Bayushi-san. Welcome to Flying Battle Carps." she offered with a bow.

Perhaps he wouldn't be quite so sad on a sunny day.

[Bayushi Kazushi]

He's not sad, just...distracted.

"I don't think it's going to rain after all," he notes, "which of course is good for your business - hard to fly drones in a storm. These aren't just ordinary drones, though, are they? The ones I'm used to are loaded with cameras and other recording devices, but these look more robust, yet at the same time built for speed."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nodded.

"You have a sharp eye, Bayushi-san. These drones are meant for mock combat. While I'm sure footage of said combats would be thrilling, local ordinances do prohibit installing recording devices on them." she explained.

[Bayushi Kazushi]

"Really?" he asks, surprised. "I mean, I suppose that's due to privacy concerns..."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nods.

"Indeed so, Bayushi-san. It took awhile to get approval for the business, and so we had to address all of the government's concerns. 'What if someone spies on people bathing?' 'What if people start buzzing the governor's mansion?' ''What if someone hits a child with it?'" she listed off.

She shook her head.

"Though I'm sure Bayushi-san has had to deal with his own fair share of bureaucratic red tape in his endeavors." she added.

[Bayushi Kazushi]

"Less than you'd think," Kazushi admits. "Indeed, surprisingly little. There's not as much risk of privacy violations or property damage in fashion design, though, so the biggest problems I've faced have generally been around acquiring permits for advertising or catalog shoots, and the occasional wrangling with a contract. Even those have been fairly minimal, though."

He looks over one of the drones on display, trying to picture in his head what a Battle Carp duel would look like.

"I haven't had any pilot training, so I'm not entirely sure where I would even start with one of these."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka smiled a bit.

"It's not nearly so hard as piloting an actual fighter, Bayushi-san. It's got two simple controls. Pushing up and down on the left stick makes it go up and down, left and right makes it spin in place. Then you've got the right stick which moves it forward and back and left and right." she explained.

"If you'd like, I could give you a practice demonstration if we take a short walk to a park where we're cleared to do so."

[Bayushi Kazushi]

Kazushi considers for a moment. Does he really need another distraction, when he should be focused on the task at hand?

Oh, what the hell...

"I'm up for that, I think," he says at last. "It's a good enough day for it, and I should broaden my horizons a bit."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nodded and let the staff know where she'd be going. She collected her carp and banner.

"It is a good day for a walk, isn't it?" she offered, taking the lead on their trip to the park.

[Bayushi Kazushi]

"Better than yesterday, certainly," Kazushi agrees, "but still a touch humid. That won't affect the drones, will it?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka chuckled at that.

"Fear not, Bayushi-san. This is their home world, they're built with this sort of climate in mind. And it's good old fashioned Crab engineering, they'll perform pretty much anywhere you've got air." she said with a hint of pride.

Arriving at the park, she hooked the banner to the drone. A few quick switch flips and the rotors spun and propelled the carp skyward, banner trailing behind dancing in the wind.

She put on a little demonstration of the carp's maneuverability. She had the drone hang perfectly still, and then accelerate, then spin.

"Pretty responsive controls. True top speed depends on the model, typically between thirty and sixty miles per hour. But that banner string is very thin. If you push it too hard, it's not too hard to lose your own banner. Plus if you flew at top speed in one direction, you'd lose sight of it pretty quickly." she explained as the drone danced.

[Bayushi Kazushi]

"What's the maximum range?" the Scorpion asks. "Even if it sped out of view, I imagine it would still be possible to track it down...eventually."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka considered the question.

"Hmm, you'd probably get a couple miles out before the drone couldn't receive signals from the controls anymore. But people do enjoy modifying them. I do remember a group of friends seeing what the limit was. I think they got it ten miles away. Of course, they had to coordinate with communicators with spotters back to the operator because no recording equipment on board. Not sure there was a real point to that, just enthusiasts pushing limits." she offered while having the carp bounce about.

[Bayushi Kazushi]

"Limits are meant to be pushed," responds the Scorpion as he watches Taraka put the Battle Carp through its paces. "You only know what you're truly capable of when you take that first step beyond everything that you've done before."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka wondered what fortune cookie the Scorpion had pulled that particular bit of wisdom out of.

"Hmm, surprisingly inspirational coming from you, Bayushi-san." she said, though she didn't clarify why it was surprising.

She spun the carp around in the air for a bit.

"Of ,course, I've heard it argued the other way too. 'There are some children who you tell not to touch the fire, and they obey, and there are some children you tell not to touch the fire and they run to put it in their mouth.'" quoting from an obscure Kuni text.

She smiled a bit.

"But I tend to favor a more balanced approach, those who risk everything, lose everything, those who risk nothing, gain nothing." she mused, cutting the throttle, causing the carp to dive to the ground, though she prevented it from crashing and sent it soaring back up by pushing the throttle open.

[Bayushi Kazushi]

"I live my life testing the limits," Kazushi explains. "Trying every day to be something I haven't been before. It's not really about losing or gaining, just...being different."

He looks over the drone, now that it's back in front of them.

"Maybe today, I'll be a drone pilot," he muses.

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka had the drone dip a bit as if it were bowing to the Scorpion's wisdom before landing it.

"It would be certainly in keeping with your stated philosophy, Bayushi-san. In fact, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if you won the league. You seem like someone who aims high and achieves his aims." she said, putting the drone back away.

"Shall we head back to the store and see which drone will be yours?" she asked.

[Bayushi Kazushi]

"Yes, let's see what varieties you have to offer..."

It's probably not surprising that, once the two return to the shop, the rich kid picks out the most expensive model - whether or not it performs any better, he's one that's always going to go for the shiny.

"I'm not sure about flying this to victory," he says, looking over his new purchase, "but it's a new experience, and that's what I need right now."

[Yasuki Taraka]

The staff rings up the Scorpion.

"I'll go ahead and add you to the leaderboard, Bayushi-san. If you have a name in mind for your carp, I'll add it as well. If you want some time to think about it, you can just message it to me later. And if you do any dueling, please contact me as well." she said.