[Day 1 LM] Uptown Girl

[Yoritomo Seika]

"Can't have been easy that way." Seika gulps the last of her drink and idly squeezes the empty can until it dents in her hand, ting!, then watches it spring back when she releases the pressure. "Is there anything a ronin can make a living at around here that doesn't include roughing people up or risking your neck around spiritual ghastlies? Or nah? Looks to me like there's plenty of money in Oborozuki, but I guess I don't know how much of it trickles down."

[Dai]

"I mean there's always work doin' what others don't want to be caught doin'." A slight shrug, "But if you go around playin' expendable and deniable don't be surprised if you ended up expended." He ponders, "Then I guess there's just bein' both lucky enough to be really good at somethin', a true genius at it, and havin' someone who can appreciate it and do somethin' about it notice it." A slight laugh, "Odds aren't great there either, really."

[Yoritomo Seika]

Seika frowns a bit to herself at expendable; she'd had a few versions of that conversation before leaving Thunder's Home, and it still doesn't sit very comfortably with her. Well, if the family wanted to send someone who

didn't

have an understandable but unfortunate tendency to identify herself with the masterless samurai side of transactions like that, they could have assigned any number of other kin. Cousin Yuriko, for instance, wouldn't bat an eye. Nor would Seika's Da, for that matter.

"So do you consider yourself an undiscovered genius, Dai-san?" she asks, smoothing over her discomfort with a light tone. It's partially successful.

[Dai]

Now there was a potentially loaded and dangerous question even if not intended as one.

"Genius would be likely stretchin' things past truth." He ponders for a moment as to how far to go in the answer, "I'd say... only when it comes to skill, mind you... that I'm no worse than any Clan samurai." He judges her for another few seconds, "I'd go so far as to risk I'm better than average at least in my chosen areas."

[Yoritomo Seika]

“What are those? Unless you just mean, uh, delving."

Seika doesn't seem offended, at least. The truth is that on New Kalani she'd known ronin and even heimin-born monks who were very, very good at what they did, and back in Thunder's Home she has a few cousins better born than her who are... not. Practical skill isn't the foundation of the celestial order, nor even is higher learning, at least as far as Seika understands it. There's other... kharmic stuff going on behind the curtains too.

[Dai]

"I'm also quite skilled with computers... perhaps even more than the delvin' to be honest. But it's hard to get work that way. Not many Scorpion gonna trust a ronin with access to their systems after all." His knowledge and skill when it came to the underworld wasn't quite the topic for public and polite conversation.

[Yoritomo Seika]

Seika can make a few partial inferences about those unspoken skills anyway--how does a ronin without much legitimate access get to be skilled with computers, exactly? Dai can probably guess this train of thought from her unguarded facial expression as she unwraps another stick of gum. "That's good to know. We don't have anybody on staff at the House of Storms right now who does that stuff full time, as I understand it."

She pops the gum into her mouth. "Want me to put a word in if something comes along? Better a decent guy from the back streets than some Scorpion contractor outfit or a Mantis working out of their expertise, I say."

[Dai]

"Well I'm not exactly in a spot to be sayin' no to any honest work... as long as the pay's fair in turn, of course."

[Yoritomo Seika]

Seika grins. "Dai-san, if there's one thing everyone knows about Mantis, it's that we got koku to spare."

Her brows draw together a little. "Hmm, well, that and our down to earth nature, so two--ancient history of seafaring, okay, that's three--anyway, my point is, there's a few key things you probably heard about the clan, and I bet that's one of them."

She rubs her chin. "Speaking of which, how much do those delve recordings of yours usually go for?" Painted lips quirk as she explains, "I find myself interested."

[Dai]

He chuckles and nods, "Usually first copies to the real eager fans can get a koku. Some then go on and sell copies of those copies for a few bu each, enough to cover the cost of the disk it's on. Eventually people share them freely with friends. It's not an amazin' business model but it's better than most ronin can ask for."

[Yoritomo Seika]

"Well... I'd take a copy of your next big thing," Seika says with an open-hand gesture, smiling. "Assuming Mantis coins spend okay for you, anyway. If it's that dangerous to film, sounds like it's worth at least that much. And I'd like to see what kind of pictures that rig of yours turns out."

[Dai]

"Mantis coin spends as good as any." He laughs, "We'll see about makin' that happen. Odds are I'll actually be filmin' it later today."

[Yoritomo Seika]

"Really?" Seika's brows arch upward. "Well, um, stay safe, then."

A buzz from her wrist distracts her for a moment, and she taps her communicator, muttering "Ugh, fine," to herself. Looking up apologetically, she says, "I probably gotta go, but I can leave you my card, if that's not too stuffy for words? I mean, I'm staying at the clan embassy out on the islands, so I can't avoid all that anyway."

[Dai]

"Not a problem, Yoritomo-sama." He smiles, "A card will be fine."

[Yoritomo Seika]

"Okay!" Seika fishes a card case out of one of her pockets.

The card she hands over casually is very nice mulberry paper stock, embossed with the mon of the Mantis Clan's largest vassal-family-slash-industrial-conglomerate. Yoritomo no Watanabe Seika is apparently a quite high-level manager in something called the "Flarenet" department. The card also lists a comm code and other contact information, including a local address at the Mantis embassy on one of the artificial harbor islands.

"Look me up when you've got a video to unload, then? Or anything else interesting. Bet I can make it worth your while. Plus, it's nice to meet another urban holorecorder geek, you know?" She smiles a bit wistfully, missing her life as Hoshi again for a moment.

[Dai]

Fancy.

"Will do, Yoritomo-sama."

He carefully tucks the card away.

[Yoritomo Seika]

"Right, well. See you 'round, then, Dai-san." With a grin and a semi-salute, Seika... starts going one way, only to spot the nearest street sign and pivot on her heel. "Whoops, my exit's this way. I'll get my bearings pretty soon." And off she goes in the opposite direction.

/exit