The sake event was a thing and something she was glad to be done with. For an event that demanded her to tie her public image and endorsement to the company, she didn't exactly get the chance to drink as much as she would have liked. Being stoic and vaguely disinterested was hard work, even if she was already vaguely disinterested.

Sleep didn't come easily for Mariko and she found herself venturing out, throwing on a quick street outfit. It wasn't exactly flashy for being 'incognito'.

She meandered the mall while checking through her communicator, playing a quick game of Fantasy Flight as her uncertain path brought her toward the mall's retro theatre. Huh, that's probably one way to score some sleep...

Chewing on some rice crackers, the Crab looks at the poster for the current movie and says out loud, "Kosaten Tetsubo Massacre." After a few nods of his head, he adds, "That is surely a classic."

Mariko looked over to the Crab eyeing the poster and narrowed her eyes at the reading before she walked on over beside him. "So, about that...I think that was last week's movie. This place has gotten pretty lazy about changing the posters and sweeping up the place ever since they changed management. You might be in for a bit of a disappointment."

She raised a finger to gesture to the electronic sign, which seemed at least more current, that indicated the current movie playing.

Following the Bayushi's finger while ever slowly chewing the rice cracker, the Crab starts to squint his eyes to read, "The Communicator..." Then, he starts to mumble the beginning of the synopsis.

Done with that, he sighs, "Yeah, you're probably right."

A moment, and he offers, "Rice crackers?"

Mariko blinked at the offer of rice crackers and shook her head, trying to hide her frown regarding the choice of snack. "No, I think I'll be just fine... thanks. I hope that didn't ruin your night, Crab-sama. If you wait long enough, I'm sure Koseten Testubo Massacre will make it back on the screen. It's not like they have that many movies at this place, especially on a Sparrow budget..."

He hold the offer asking, "You sure?"

Noticing the the frown, he retracts and mentions, "The night was pretty damned good so far. You Scorpion surely know how to host guests. This wouldn't ruin anything."

Another rice cracker chewed and he shrugs, "Well. I hope I didn't disturb you, though. Thanks for being kind."

"I'm sure," she said with a blink and added a quick bow to show her gratitude in this situation. It would be awkward if he thought this was going to go in the way of a traditional gift-giving ceremony. "It's kind of late and my personal trainer said, you know. I tend to stick to liquids. But yes, very kind of you. Thanks."

"Not at all, Crab-sama. I don't own the place, not by a far shot. I figured I drop by here ever so often to see what's playing. Just get the feeling that someday I'll see my face on one of the posters here." She said with a gesture toward the poster that Setsu was looking at earlier. "Now, that would kind of ruin my day."

At the mention of her diet, Setsu facial expression changes to that of a potential regret. While he slowly chews on the last piece he got, Setsu also scans the bag to check if there's any indication of calories. Not finding any, he closes it as his enthusiasm to eat is lost.

As she talks about her face soon after, Setsu's eyes is caught by the beauty. He narrows eyebrows and... boom!

Startled, he looks back at the poster, then Mariko again.

"Holy Kami. You're... you're..."

--
D2, Midnight, Intelligence/Lore: Heraldry vs TN 50. The TN is reduced by the person's Glory Rank x 5 | 6k5 ⇒ 43 (TN: 25)

Mariko narrowed her eyes on Setsu for a moment when the realization dawned on him. Her hands went to her hoodie pockets as a defensive measure. She wasn't sure how to take that excitement at first, whether it was good or bad for her. It wouldn't be the first time she had to back away from a rabid fan.

"...that's right. Yes, I'm Bayushi Mariko." She said plainly on the matter with a shrug, trying to not seem like a big deal. After a beat, she would add in a polite bow. "Just a girl at the mall, nice to meet you."

Noticing the potential discomfort, he scratches the back of his head, saying, "I was rude, and surprised. That's all. Didn't want to startle you or anything."

With a polite bow, he introduces himself, "I am Kaiu Setsu, Chief Engineer at Kaiu Heavy Industries, and... well... just a random dude at the mall. Nice to meet you, too."

A moment after and he delivers his card as a businessman should.

"Oh, not at all," she said gingerly in her response to the apology. "I guess I wasn't expecting it to be this much of a surprise, especially with Susumu Yakumo and Asahina Hinata locally here. Hardly rude, Kaiu-sama, it's just a rather long day."

She smiled faintly and bowed formally this time, especially considering the Crab's importance. "I'm always happy to meet a fan. What brings you to the World of Dreams?"

"I take it is always a surprise when someone meets a celebrity without knowing they are actually a celebrity upfront." He mentions with a grin and shrugs, "Business brought me here. As usual for a Kaiu. Plenty of factories around that have ties with both our Clans."

"Of course, Kaiu-sama. My apologies if I'm not exactly dressed for a formal meet and greet. It's kind of...Well, formality was for earlier at the sake sampling event. This is just more me time, at the moment." She nodded a few times, indicating her choice of dress. "Right, I suppose you'd have more Yasuki around while your family was more in the design aspects. Do you happen to handle both, then?"

He blinks for a moment at her apology, then comments, "Hey, you wear what makes you feel good wearing. I was just trying to elucidate my surprise that's all. You good being you."

Looking at himself, he says, "I am just often more pragmatic than most and wear a similar outfit every time. It is minimal and I gain time to spend on things that matter most to me, instead of figuring out colors and such. There's some laziness attached to that, I confess, but it is a smart choice."

His eyes flare a bit when she mentions work and Setsu nods, "The Yasuki are often more connected with the agreements, legal and administrative backoffice. The Kaiu, more so in the development, implementation and actual manufacturing. I am shallowly versed in most of these areas, yet my main focus is team management now days. Not that I don't like to build stuff, I do, but to cover the demands our Empire has, companies must excel in making processes and production lines exponentiate with several teams working toward a prioritized set of goals at the same time. Much like an army going into battle that has different fronts."

And, Setsu takes a moment to breathe for a while before potentially continuing.

Mariko looked incredulous at the claim about his outfit and found herself looking at him up and down in appraisal on the matter. She really couldn't imagine wearing the same outfit every time, especially doing it with pride. People would have so many opinions and say many things. Was this a particularly Crab thing? She didn't think that was the case but Setsu said it so confidently. "If it works for you, Kaiu-sama..."

She slowly nodded but didn't quite stop Setsu yet from continuing. "I see...So I'm guessing they put you in a position where you can do a little bit of everything, then? Being flexible in whatever or wherever they send you?"

"Kind of. They send me to get shit done. When it hits the fan, they move me elsewhere." He sighs, "A couple more stairs and I might be able to secure funding and approval for my own projects."

The Crab's eyes return to Mariko, "What about you. Any nice projects going on?"

Mariko narrowed an eye for a moment and found herself taking out the card that was handed to her earlier from her jean pocket. She found herself looking at the card and flipping it in the back, wondering if that was legitimately on the official job title somewhere. "Oh, so you're sort of one of those..."

She snapped her fingers a few times as her thought eluded her for a moment. "...Taskmasters, I suppose?"

"I'm..." She hesitated for a moment to consider how to word it. "...I'm working things out on the production side of things, let's just say. Sure, I'll make a few public appearances and there but most of my stuff is more backstage. I don't think my contract is allowing me to openly mention the details."

Regretable, that might have sounded more mysterious than she had intended and being a Scorpion, made it worse.

"We call Chief Engineer now days. But taskmaster does have a good connotation." The Kaiu nods as he senses the mystery around. He also winks as if he had understood the innuendo. Not everyday that one meets a secret agent that is a celebrity in real life.

"Well. I guess if you want to watch that movie you'll have to run to the ticket office, it is about to start." Setsu makes her aware as not to take more of her time.

"I don't think many people would carry a literal whip nowadays." She said as she looked at him, glancing at both sides of his hips for evidence of this. "In public, anyway. People can be capable of all sorts of things behind closed doors."

"Ahah..." she murmured with a slow nod and uncertain smile, returning the wink in kind, albeit a bit more awkward on her end. She wasn't too sure if he knew what she was getting at or if he was somehow aware of the circumstances. Sometimes the truth was more mundane than it seemed. Okay, maybe not that mundane.

"I should catch the last showing before they switch movies they switch movies on me. It's supposed to be a good one." She gave a shrug. The script was admittedly pushed on her some years ago and she turned it down. Probably for the best, if it was going to end up here. "You're welcome to join if it's your thing."

"You sure you're ok with a dork like me sitting at you side to watch a movie at this time of the night?" He asks genuinely, and comforts, "Thanks, but I shouldn't bother you or get bad rumors on your side."