(D4, LE, Closed) Back Room Deals

[Yasuki Taraka]

(Crab only)

Golden Shotengai was awash in commerce with the LARP and Fancom. It certainly felt like costumes gave people permission to spend money much more freely than they would otherwise. It wasn't Hida Akane that had bought that rare out of print limited edition complete collection of books that cost a month's stipend, it was the Yellow Ranger! It wasn't Kaiu Sachiko eating an entire platter of fried food, after all she was on a diet, but Princess Defender knew nothing of diets! Tomorrow was going to be a day of regret and spousal berating, but tonight was a shiny night of koku and fun.

While she had made time to enjoy herself, Taraka had spent a good deal of the day at the store making sure people added Battle Carp to their Fancon purchases. However, she had been asked to host a gathering of some of her fellow Crab to discuss the island's future. With every business running at full tilt at even this late hour and her apartment not really a place for big gatherings, she had commandeered her shop's backroom. There was a table, an electric tea kettle, a small informator, and a few signs on workplace safety and regulations. She wouldn't be far from the front if she was needed to fend off a Kaira, but this would do.

Taraka had set the tea kettle up and waited to see who would come to talk future business besides a certain Kuni.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Tetsu is a bit surprised at the invitation, but his whole reason for coming to Green Carp was working out backroom dealings. And Taraka had been charming company so why not.

"Thank you for the invitation" Tetsu bows, kicking himself a little for being the first to arrive.

[Yasuki Taraka]

Tetsu is a bit surprised at the invitation, but his whole reason for coming to Green Carp was working out backroom dealings. And Taraka had been charming company so why not.

"Thank you for the invitation" Tetsu bows, kicking himself a little for being the first to arrive.

Taraka bowed.

"Not at all, Kaiu-san. Thank you for attending. Apologies for the short notice, especially for such a festive day. Kuni Iwane sent me a text requesting it, and with all that's going on around the island, I figured I could spare the backroom and a few minutes to talk Crab to Crab." she offered.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"I never thought I would be included in a secret backroom negotiation with the planet's movers and shakers" Tetsu flashes a grin. "But I always kind of hoped"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka chuckles at that.

"Well I'm honored you think of me that way, Kaiu-san." she said. "I'm sure others will arrive as their schedules allow, but we might as well start kicking around our thoughts."

She pulled out a large easal pad, and got the ink ready.

"So, any thoughts about where we are and where we're going with the events of the previous days and the days to come?" she asked.

[Kuni Iwane]

Iwane entered a little later, wearing a comfy yukata. He would have looked like any other local if not for the traditional face paint covering his features. "Good evening, Yasuki-san," he greeted Taraka, expecting her to do the introductions. The fellow she was talking to looked like a Kaiu, but Iwane couldn't be quite sure. "I hope your day has been fine?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Iwane entered a little later, wearing a comfy yukata. He would have looked like any other local if not for the traditional face paint covering his features. "Good evening, Yasuki-san," he greeted Taraka, expecting her to do the introductions. The fellow she was talking to looked like a Kaiu, but Iwane couldn't be quite sure. "I hope your day has been fine?"

Taraka nodded.

"Busy busy, and not in ways I completely expected." she said. "If you two have not been introduced, Kuni Iwane, Kuni Gensei Biologics, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Kaiu Tetsu, San Mai."

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"Kaiu Tetsu of Fundai" Tetsu bows back in greeting "My, we really have a diverse set of interests."

[Kuni Iwane]

Taraka nodded.

"Busy busy, and not in ways I completely expected." she said. "If you two have not been introduced, Kuni Iwane, Kuni Gensei Biologics, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Kaiu Tetsu, San Mai."

"Koku never rests," Iwane quipped, offering Taraka a wry smile. "It's always on the move."

"Kaiu Tetsu of Fundai" Tetsu bows back in greeting "My, we really have a diverse set of interests."

"Kuni Iwane of Gensei Biologics," he replied to Tetsu, offering him a bow. "We do. Still, with this many strangers on the isle, it's perhaps prudent to exchange notes. Yasuki-san here told me that even a few Spiders have found their way here." Iwane sounded like a man who had found his cat throwing up on his pillow.

"Has Kaiu-san met anyone interesting?" The way Iwane pronounced the word 'interesting' made it clear he wasn't discussing marriage prospects.

[Yasuki Honoka]

They would hear Honoka long before they saw her, as she was amidst a heated conversation on her communicator as she approached. Through the door her voice could be heard not because she was shouting exactly but because she was very direct and harsh.

"... not do Hiruma-san," she pauses just outside the door before entering. Her yojimbo hovering beside her. "You agreed to have it done on time, and you knew the deadline. Asking for more time now is- it is unprofessional." She sighs. "Yes. Good. No. Thank you, Hiruma-san."

Honoka would enter into the backroom through the door putting her face back on. Looking among those gathered she would bow a touch more deeply as she was addressing a room.

"Good evening, everyone. I apologize for the lateness," she says, putting on the final touches of her composure.

[Yasuki Taraka]

They would hear Honoka long before they saw her, as she was amidst a heated conversation on her communicator as she approached. Through the door her voice could be heard not because she was shouting exactly but because she was very direct and harsh.

"... not do Hiruma-san," she pauses just outside the door before entering. Her yojimbo hovering beside her. "You agreed to have it done on time, and you knew the deadline. Asking for more time now is- it is unprofessional." She sighs. "Yes. Good. No. Thank you, Hiruma-san."

Honoka would enter into the backroom through the door putting her face back on. Looking among those gathered she would bow a touch more deeply as she was addressing a room.

"Good evening, everyone. I apologize for the lateness," she says, putting on the final touches of her composure.

Taraka waved away her fellow Yasuki's apology.

"On a day like this, Yasuki-san? With this much notice? That you arrived at all is a boon." Taraka assured her.

She poured some tea from the electric kettle.

"I think Kuni-san has opted to start the discussion on the topic of Spider 'guests'." she offered to bring her up to speed. "I've only encountered one who is doing her best to appear harmless."

She chuckled.

"She hasn't won one duel in Flying Battle Carps, though contrary to Kuni-san's prediction, I haven't noticed any particular interests in Crab defeating the Spider in this fashion." she admitted.

[Kaiu Ryosei]

Ryosei arrived as well, he had also been slightly surprised to receive an invitation to some sort of political gathering but he had to remind himself he only had rumors to contend with here and he hadn't actually done anything to be in peoples bad graces.

he walked in with a well tailored but still casual suit in his clan colors. The fit accented broad shoulders and a frame that hinted at more muscles than one might expect on an engineer.

he bowed to those present "Good evening, I hope the day has treated you all well."

[Kaiu Nagisa]

Another Kaiu is not far behind, though, she is dressed more business casual, which even then she looks a bit… Uncomfortable. Especially as she seems to be the last one in.

“Good evening, everyone.” Nagisa rubs at the back of her neck. “Nice mix of familiar and new faces.”

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"Has Kaiu-san met anyone interesting?" The way Iwane pronounced the word 'interesting' made it clear he wasn't discussing marriage prospects.

"I'll be honest, I've been so busy on the startup, I hadn't made socializing planetside a priority...and it is still surprising, because with the entire point for outside investors I am a little surprised no one has made a point of checking in"

Tetsu greets the others are they arrive, noting that it's a fairly packed group.

[Yasuki Taraka]

"I'll be honest, I've been so busy on the startup, I hadn't made socializing planetside a priority...and it is still surprising, because with the entire point for outside investors I am a little surprised no one has made a point of checking in"

Tetsu greets the others are they arrive, noting that it's a fairly packed group.

Taraka greeted the arrivals with offered seats and cups of tea.

"As I was telling Tetsu-san the other day, I feel the same way. I've been seeing a lot of people I would classify as 'tourists', which is great for the short term, but not 'investors' that will herald the economic rebirth the governor is hoping for." she collaborates.

[Kuni Iwane]

She poured some tea from the electric kettle.

"I think Kuni-san has opted to start the discussion on the topic of Spider 'guests'." she offered to bring her up to speed. "I've only encountered one who is doing her best to appear harmless."

She chuckled.

"She hasn't won one duel in Flying Battle Carps, though contrary to Kuni-san's prediction, I haven't noticed any particular interests in Crab defeating the Spider in this fashion." she admitted.

"No spawn of Daigotsu has any reason to be here," Iwane scoffed. "Not after Kaiu Secundus." The raid that had wrecked the second planet of the Kaisu system was essentially ancient history. Ancient history that some among the Crab had never forgiven. "I cannot see those fuckers ever working with us. For us." Iwane's voice dripped with contempt.

"I'll be honest, I've been so busy on the startup, I hadn't made socializing planetside a priority...and it is still surprising, because with the entire point for outside investors I am a little surprised no one has made a point of checking in"

Tetsu greets the others are they arrive, noting that it's a fairly packed group.

"I mean no offense Kaiu-san, but I believe this is one of the cases where the sage has to go to the mountain, as the mountain won't come to the sage," Iwane mused, smiling softly as he picked up a cup of tea for himself, craddling it in his hands.

[Yasuki Taraka]

"No spawn of Daigotsu has any reason to be here," Iwane scoffed. "Not after Kaiu Secundus." The raid that had wrecked the second planet of the Kaisu system was essentially ancient history. Ancient history that some among the Crab had never forgiven. "I cannot see those fuckers ever working with us. For us." Iwane's voice dripped with contempt.

Taraka sipped her tea with a slight frown.

"Hmmm, but we may have to come to grips with 'Around Us', Kuni-san. The governor isn't going to ignore the will of the people and declare them allies. But she also can't ignore the balance of the clan politics either. We can shuffle the Spider and the Mantis and the Crane into the convention center while their embassies fail to materialize, month after month, but they're still granted access to the shops and festivities. There were even Spider volunteering and helping children at First Market." she said.

She raised a hand to forestall the inventible angry outburst.

"Which, I think, there are advantages to, beyond transferring Spider koku into Crab pockets. I've read that long ago on the home world, the clan was not as united as some believe it to be. There were what they called Wall Crabs and River Crabs. Wall Crabs stood on that legendary wall, mere miles away from Hell itself sacrificing their safety for the safety of the Empire, while the River Crabs lived further away, tending to farms and economies necessary to maintain the Wall Crabs. But Wall Crabs tended to think the River Crabs were....soft, because they did not sacrifice as they did, and the River Crabs thought the Wall Crabs unappreciative of their support."

She chuckled.

"Long story short, having an enemy where everyone can see them, and study them is unifying. My hope is that the children who were paired with the Spider at first market did not come away with the sense of "Spider aren't so bad" but instead, "This is what a Spider is like, now I know better how to overcome it."

[Yasuki Honoka]

"I spend most of my day speaking on communicators, looking at screens, and dealing between many separate samurai. All of whom are Crab," Honoka adds at her appointed time. Stifling a nervousness within her for speaking in front of so many, in the flesh no less.

"What I know is that every samurai is each their own person. Whether they are Crab, or Spider. I think.. well. I think that we would do well to remember that samurai are not, wholly, their clan but they are a person. A person can be good. I have recently met a sweet young Spider by the name of Susumu Sumiko," she says, shifting a little to get comfortable and push out her nerves. Placing her hand on the tea cup that was provided her.

"A person can be good, but a good person can serve evil ends. A good person can do good things which benefit others, and we might be able to gain benefit from, but we must always be mindful of the fact that they still are Spider at the end of the day. And those who give their support to the Spider do support an evil end."

"I think it is complicated, and uncomplicated answers are attractive but they are not going to be a perfect fit."

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"I mean not to be too blunt about it, but I'm not sure it matters at this point." Tetsu feels a bit strange in speaking up. "The way I understand it is that the push is for the dispersal of two prime holdings and then everyone picking over the rest.

"At this point the Spider are on a charm offensive but no one has forgotten the past and I doubt that they'd be a prime candidate AND that they'd be unable to get some kind of hook in if they have enough clout around"

[Kaiu Ryosei]

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?"