[D7 MM] A Full Accounting (expecting)

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Tetsu thanks the host and follows him to one of the quieter private rooms in the teahouse with the tea and some snacks set up for enjoyment with minimal interruption. The sun is rising over the water, the waves lapping.

Tetsu sets out the plates, enjoying the ritual of it all in a place out of a travelogue

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka checked her watch. Fortunately, she was on time. She'd have hated to miss this meeting due to miscommunicaiton.

She bowed as she was shown in to where h er host for the morning was.

"Good morning, Kaiu-san, thank you for inviting me." she offered.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"Of course. To be honest, I could use the tea. It was not a particularly restful night last night. I needed to make some last minute decisions and deal with the consequences"

Tetsu finishes the preparations and sets things out. "Rumor is that you reeled in a big fish and I don't mean the great shark"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka laughed at that.

"Well, perhaps Kaiu-san, but the boat hasn't made it back to port yet. We might still find ourselves in Suitengu's Court depending on the waves." she admitted.

She pulled out her portable computer, punched a few keys and turned the screen to the Kaiu.

There were a lot of zeroes on that screen. ALOT.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Tetsu lets out a low whistle. "I should expect nothing less from you Taraka-san. As you say, no one is back in port yet, but I expect most would envy your haul."

He pours a cup of tea and slides it over. "My own is less certain, but I feel reasonably comfortable that the Mantis will hold up their end if they come through."

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka nods.

"That is a concern. Say what you will about Asako-san, but the Phoenix do have more of a reputation for honesty than the Scorpion or the Mantis. And this exclusivity clause paired with the no payment unless the contract is secured clause? Brutal. They've given themselves a very handy poison pill to swallow should it please them." she said.

She took the tea with gratitude.

"And that's not all. When we filed the paperwork with the clerk with the big hat down at City Hall? She got all, 'Oh there's a lot of concerns here about you having this all under your name Yasuki-san. You're not the head of a vassal family or a minor clan.'

She looked despairingly at the Heavens and Hamanri in particular.

"Hence the 'Crab partner yet to be named' clause. We'll need one more person to make this happen...if it happens at all."

She paused a moment looking back down at Tetsu.

"Honestly, I had kind of hoped to rope you into this deal, Kaiu-san. Someone with your business acumen and off-planet expertise would be really useful. But if your deal with the Mantis goes through, you'd almost certainly run face first into the same business regulations."

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Tetsu blinks and then rubs his head. "I love our traditions, but sometimes I hate our traditions." He lets out a sigh. "I'd prefer to stand on my own feet if possible but that many zeros can make a man awful pragmatic."

An increasingly familiar smile peeks out. "To be honest Taraka-san, I have a hard time picturing a more capable partner. If anything, you'd probably teach me a thing or two"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka offered a slight smile in return.

"Hmm, well let's learn together then, Kaiu-san." she proposes. "Let's talk about the future and where it might lead."

She took control of the computer again, making a list of possibilities.

"Scenario 1: Scorpion win first, Mantis do not win Second. Kaiu Tetsu joins us as the second Crab party.

Scenario 2: Scorpion do not win first, Mantis win first or second. Yasuki Taraka is brought on an as an advising board member of the new venture.

Scenario 3: Scorpion do not win first, Mantis do not win first or second. Yasuki Taraka and Kaiu Tetsu form a partnership to broker sort some of deal with the island's most favored partner's through networking.

Scenario 4: Scorpion win First, Mantis win Second: "

She paused on the last one.

"Hmmm, this last one is problematic. The easy answer would be 'Find someone other than Kaiu Tetsu to be the second Crab partner......but people like Kaiu Tetsu are in pretty short supply, and I hate settling for second best." she said, taking a sip of tea to consider the problem.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Tetsu can't resist a snort. "Taraka-san, it's quite telling that your "complicated" outcome involves both of us receiving life changing investment"

He settles back in his seat. "From what I understand, I'm not the only one to back the Mantis. I am sure we can find a favorable party. The real question is how Taraka-san would tempt me to avoid getting second best"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka grinned.

"Hey life changing investments are complicated. I'll have to find a palace, you'll need chests full of jewelry, both to wear and pose upon like the captain of industry you'll be. It's more fun to prepare for that, then talk about the scenario where you and I are sniffing after the Dragon and seeing if maybe we might be of some use to them after the fact." she teased.

"But I'm really more of a haggle type person than a tempt sort of person, Kaiu-san. So really, the question is, what are you looking for that I might offer?" she asked.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"I mean you yourself are probably enough." Tetsu replies back quickly. He pauses then, needing to actually think through that gut instinct.

"Look, if we go into something jointly, I think we should have realistic expectations of each other. I still have my service to complete, though being on the Design Bureau makes that more of a matter of time than anything but time can't be discounted. As much it is going to be a delight to return, I expect that you'll have your own commitments in the meanwhile. My ideas would take time to get off the ground and Battle Carp would be the boom. I'll be trusting you no matter what."

"Buuuuut if I'm going to haggle, if we are going to scale up corporate operations we should invest in some residences. Some place where we can both get down to it when we get the chance when I'm able to get here and work on it being full time." Tetsu raises his cup. "And you can call me Tetsu if you like. I've realized that I've been using your given make and you've been very polite about it"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka smiled.

"Ah don't give me too much credit now, Tetsu-san. I'm too used to retail where the Yasuki Kaira's of the world see your name badge and think that means they now have every right to use your chosen name." she said. "But you using it feels right, and I'm glad to use yours in return."

She sipped her tea.

"I can agree to that. Real estate will be the least of our concerns if this all goes well. The real question is how we can navigate around those business regulations. Do you know anyone else in the Crab we could pull in to serve as a figurehead if nothing else? No one else at the meeting at the shop really strikes me as suitable. I do have an ally in Hida Genta. He's not got a head for business, but if you just need a smiling, loyal face to own something in name, he'd work. But if you had someone more talented in mind, I'd be interesting in knowing." she asked.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"There really isn't anyone PlanetSide that I would trust outside of yourself...but maybe it doesn't need to be?" Tetsu strokes his chin. "What, precisely, is the regulation? Because if you happen to acquire a business one length up or down your supply chain, as far as I know there is no regulation on which customers you'd provide materials for at cost. In fact, the higher gross sales would actually increase the valuation even if one company is deliberately not making a profit."

He looks over at Taraka and chuckles. "Ok, we both weren't kidding when we each said we were the only ones who found this interesting, were we?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

"There really isn't anyone PlanetSide that I would trust outside of yourself...but maybe it doesn't need to be?" Tetsu strokes his chin. "What, precisely, is the regulation? Because if you happen to acquire a business one length up or down your supply chain, as far as I know there is no regulation on which customers you'd provide materials for at cost. In fact, the higher gross sales would actually increase the valuation even if one company is deliberately not making a profit."

He looks over at Taraka and chuckles. "Ok, we both weren't kidding when we each said we were the only ones who found this interesting, were we?"

"A good thing we found each other then, ne? It'd be boring to have no one to share our interests with." she said.

She tapped on the computer some more.

"I can show you the regulations, and if you can explain it clearly, I may petition to have you elevated to Fortune of Explaining Things." she admitted. "Remember studying about how Soshi Saibankan brought uniformity and understandability to imperial law? Whoever wrote this seemed to think the opposite was a better idea." she said, spinning the laptop back around.

There were so many words and so little certainty in them.

"If I'm understanding it correctly, it's based on the tradition of, 'The Emperor owns everything, and everyone is just a caretaker for his stuff. So, everything belongs to the Emperor, he divides it up between the clan champions, who then delegate the responsibility for different things to the family daimyos who delegate down and down and down, until you get to the meanest possession on the lowest person. And in turn, while that person has some flexibility in what they can own, there's a limit to how much they can personally own because the system expects them to delegate down at a certain point."

She shook her head.

"That's my best guess at it. If you're planning to found a vassal family or a minor clan any time soon, this would be a great time to reveal that Tetsu-san."

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"I mean..." Tetsu drums his fingers on the table "is that off the table?" His smile turns greedy "And it is maybe an answer to the "too much success" scenario. Vassal families are to provide a specific service to the greater family, and are recognized by the Diamyo, right? Well, is tending to projects like this qualifying? And I am sure the Diamyo would be happy to have a free bit of responsibility to now assign along with us"

[Yasuki Taraka]

She did admire his drive.

"Short term? Yes. But there's more to life than next quarter. We set up a few shell companies here, a few trustees there, add a silent partner or two in to the mix, all the while lobbying those in power that we're ready to take that kind of leap up in the world?" she offered.

She spread her hands wide.

"If we play the game well, we could find our way up there within five years. Depending just how successful we are, and how pliable the people in power are." she speculated.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"Fair enough. As much as I'd love a master stroke, those come all too rarely and I'll take the slower, sure grind to get there. And" he adds with a hint of mischief "It delays our answer as to how we share a vassal family"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka smiled a little at that.

"Well, I can think of a few ways." she admitted.

She put the computer to the side.

"But I've shown you mine, will you show me yours?" she asked. "Deal with the Mantis that is."

[Kaiu Tetsu]

"Here? Of all places? Well I suppose fair is fair" Tetsu slides over to be sitting next to Taraka. With a few taps that details are up. It's not quite as many zeros as Taraka's what the triggers are the same: an investment in kind the Mantis were to be awarded territory.

"What were they?" Tetsu asks, shoulder nudging Taraka "Your ideas for combining for a vassal family?"

[Yasuki Taraka]

Taraka grinned.

"Well you could always swear fealty to me." she teased. "That's certainly one way to do it. You could be Taraka Tetsu. You have to admit it's got a nice ring to it."