(For Spiders only)

Or rather... Yakumo was not exactly a little spider. She was as tall as most Daigotsu were in fact. It was only proper to have a formal meeting of sorts with the ones she'd be working with this winter, and she had been notified of a suitable time to meet. And being ever the professional, she was punctual for this. Her attire of black and gold with motifs of tree branches, was suitably stylish for such a formal occassion, even more so as it was a gift from a Spider designer from her homeworld of Blacksun. Adding a touch of Scorpion-ness to her appearance, was a sheer veil over the lower half of her face.

One of the servants at the embassy escorted her to the meeting room that had been set up, and along the way Yakumo held back her sighs of disappointment at the stark bleakness of the interior design. Would it kill anyone to have some sense of taste or style here?

Sumiko thankfully did not have to move far in order to attend the meeting she'd heard about, so she was able to return early from her mornings activities to prepare. Not that there was much preparation - she wasn't one for more fancy outfits or anything flashy. Her style could easily be described as 'old fashioned' with her love of kimonos.

Once she had tidied herself up, and after spending a short while reading a book she had brought from home, she made her way to the meeting room, expecting to have arrived before anyone else. So there was a small look of surprise when she noticed someone else was there, and then she realised who it was.

"Good to see you again Susumu-sama" the small Spider said, bowing.

Standing with her hands in her pockets as she was observing the only decoration available, a wall-scroll with some religious scripture of sorts, Yakumo directed her attention to Sumiko.

"Good afternoon. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Her smile was polite, friendly even, behind the sheer veil. Behind the veil that was her smile, she was trying to remember where she had seen Sumiko before.

"Around eleven months? I'm sure you've been extremely busy becoming even bigger in that time" Sumiko entered the room with a smile, looking over the room as she did so "although it doesn't seem we have to assist with any marriages this time that I'm aware of. Have you been here long?"

She paused in the middle of the room.

"I can ask them to bring some more cushions, but I think the majority of the good ones are already in here."

At that moment, the door slid open. Dressed in a tailored suit, more akin to the executives for Shadoworks Combine, was the gaunt, yet handsome Susumu Yuji. Removing the glasses from his face, he polished them with a cloth before replacing them.

His hair was loose, yet perfectly in place. "Good Afternoon." He spoke, his voice silken, but not distinguishingly so. His smile was sincere, as he moved to the table with the two other Susumu.

"Welcome to the World of Dreams. I am Susumu Yuji, aid to the Ambassador." He introduced himself, more so to the galactic Idol than to Suki, as they had met the day prior.

Eleven months? Ah yes, that was New Kalani. Right. She was the... Spider I saw a couple of times. That wasn't involved in drama. Yakumo's smile softened somewhat as memories clicked into place and she recognised Sumiko. "It's been a busy time since New Kalani, yes. This is the closest I'm getting to a vacation for the time being it seems, lending my diplomatic skills to our clan this season."

She chuckled a bit at that as she noticed Yuji's arrival. To be on the safe side, she bowed properly. "A pleasure to meet you, Susumu-sama." Aide to the ambassador meant he was probably the one she'd be interacting with the most about local politics and whatnot. "Susumu Yakumo - I will be here for the season, to assist in diplomatic ventures while my betters negotiate over the renewal of my Imperial contract. I look forward to working with you, and Sumiko-san."

While she wasn't a trained courtier, her Crane-training didn't allow for her to be a slouch in social situations... though she had more of a Crane smoothness to her speech and manners, rather than a Susumu's.

"At least it's a good place to apply your diplomatic skills, there are many places here where one can both relax and perform duty" Sumiko said with a smile, before bowing to Yuji as he arrived "as I'm sure Susumu-sama here can confirm."

She looked to the two far more important individuals, then lowered her head. She was very used to being the smallest in the room in terms of importance as well as size, and it didn't bother her.

"I can arrange for tea to be brought if mina-sama wishes? Or if you wish for anything else let me know. I've taken some time to look into the city and what it presents, although I'm sure Susumu-sama knows far more than I."

He bowed to the two other Susumu, a bit more deferential for his own kin than outsiders. "Tea would be excellent, Sumiko-san." He nodded to her, moving around to take a seat more towards the head of the table. His hands folded together as he looked to the pair.

"Your mere presence here, Yakumo-san, is a welcome one. The Embassy is blessed that you have chosen to take the season here. On a personal note, my daughter is a big fan." His glasses caught the light in the room slightly, the reflection dulling the red hue of his eyes for a moment

Then to Sumiko again. "Your groundwork will be critical to our success, I am sure. Any assistance I can lend to either of you during your time here, please do not hesistate to ask."

She smiled kindly behind the sheer veil. "Thank you, Susumu-sama. I'll have to bring her something special next time then." Seating herself down, Yakumo casually crossed her legs. "I will be staying at the Blooming Nightshades hotel while I am here, I will make sure to give you both my contact info and room-number." She glanced at the rather bare wall to her side, but refrained from making remarks about it.

"How is the Spider regarded here? As terrible as most places? Better, or worse?"

"She would be most excited, Yakumo-san, and we are...tolerated." He mused in response. "Which is as good as most places. Yet the largest shrine to the Dark Fortunes outside of our homeworlds is here. A more cosmopolitan view can be seen, in my experience." Yuji relaxed back slightly in his seat, keeping his focus on the pair of his fellow delegates.

"Still, I don't expect that we would shift that view, as a whole. It simply isn't what will happen. Personal connections may be more favorable, for us."

"Toleration is more than I could say for some places." Like Crab space. Bless her diehard fans that didn't care about her Spider-colors. "I will certainly have to make a stop by this shrine, pay my respects. It is hard to come back shrines to the Dark Fortunes when travelling..."

Yuji at least seemed competent to her, and nice. Which was more than she could say for Isao back on New Kalani. That bastard.

"And these personal connections... do we benefit from anyone specific? The Mantis and the Crane are our allies, of course, but that isn't the same as friends we can rely on."

Sumiko had quickly made arrangements for tea to be provided while her superiors talked. Being small and less important it was easy to not be missed. She had listened carefully though.

"Information finding is where my strengths lay, as long as requests are not made to me electronically. I had someone message me to find info on someone via communicator before and that risks exposing me. However, in this esteemed company I'm the expendable one, so if risks are needed then I'll take them."

"Pish-posh, none of us are expendable," Yakumo waved that off. "But the embassy will serve for discreet communications then, that cannot be shared in conventional ways. I fully expect the Scorpion to be monitoring my suite at the hotel." As all clans did.

"And I am sure my apartment is suitably bugged, as well, even with the friends I've made." He laughed at that, trying to reassure Sumiko, coupled with the words from Yakumo. "We are amongst the smallest families in the Empire, Sumiko-san. I will not allow any one member to be used as fodder for cheap political gain. Our strength will be our combined will and drive to further our aims." Yuji looked to her, somewhat sympathetically.

Susumu Yakumo wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 04, 2022 12:42 am

"And these personal connections... do we benefit from anyone specific? The Mantis and the Crane are our allies, of course, but that isn't the same as friends we can rely on."

"I have been on world for about five winters now. I've made some friends amongst the Scorpion, as well as fellow delegates from other clans. Nothing that I would say is extremely advantageous for us as a whole. but should allow for certain doors to be open if needed, and at least some friendly faces within the courts. I've become friends with Yogo Sadae-san, one of the Scorpion Nakodo, if we see potential in arranging marriages as part of negotiations, if needed."

Sumiko lowered her head respectfully, then smiled.

"Ok, thank you. I've marked up a few places within the embassy if you want to drop off covert messages on paper instead of relying on spoken word. How secure is the embassy? I do generally work better with some security, but I know how to hide my tracks well enough."

The tea arrived at that point, and even Sumiko could tell it wasn't the best without trying it.

Would be nice if they improved this place a little...

"Is there anything we should take care to watch out for Susumu-sama?" she looked to Yuji "I've heard some things about areas that are considered dangerous and off limit outside the city for example and came across a Ronin that explores them for fun in my morning walk."

The mention of a nakodo made Yakumo cringe a bit. It was probably only a matter of time before the brass wanted her married... probably off into another clan too. "Something to consider at least..."

She picked up her teacup, pausing a bit before taking a sip. "There does seem to be an awful lot of ronin around here," she remarked in response to Sumiko's question and account of meeting a ronin.

"It is a Scorpion world, so the most important thing is to keep your wits about you." He replied, taking a sip from his own tea. Pondering for a moment, "Our hosts are gracious, but they also command respect. So keep to the rules, and keep your nose clean." He blinked slowly, then looked to Sumiko. "As secure as one can expect any embassy. Things should be safe here in our web."

He tilted his head, then looked to Yakumo. "A central hub of Empire wide trade will bring all kinds. Ronin have it... easier here... than perhaps on other worlds. Work is plentiful. And we have hired many that eventually have been rewarded with the blessed name of the Dark Lord. Deniable assets are never a bad thing to acquire."

"Ronin are quite useful, and often see more than others do" Sumiko nodded "the one I spoke to for example seems to have access to some restricted areas, so either very resourceful or very trusted by the Scorpion. I would lean towards the former. I'm sure others could be brought in to assist in terms of learning more of this place, a Scorpion world is full of secrets after all."

She picked up her cup, looking into it as she thought on that.

"It'd be very interesting to discover what is hidden."

"I see..."

Drinking her tea, she listened to Sumiko's encounter with the ronin further, and understood a bit more of what valuable assets these clanless could be. "I have a lot of eyes on me; the Imperials, the press, the fans... it's probably best that I leave working with such assets to you two, to avoid drawing unwanted attention."

Yakumo did tend to draw attention no matter where she went.

"Of course." He nodded in reply to Yakumo's comment. The tea in his hand was still piping hot, and so Yuji drank from it slowly. The steam from the liquid fogged his glasses somewhat. Sighing softly, he set the teacup down, and removed the eyeglasses, wiping them.

"I am looking forward to working with you both through this season." There was genuine joy in the words, his smile matched in the words.