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"I do actually. There's a nice place, The Dragon, that opened up back when I was in high school. I used to frequent it when I had the time, so I figured I'd play the place a visit, get some nostalgia out of it." As you taper off she enthusiastically chimes in. "I know that place! Haven't actually been in inside funnily enough, but its been around as long as I remember!" She pauses for after she says this, seemingly deep in thought.

"Hey, uh, it might be rude to ask, but exactly how old are you?" ...Ah, so she was trying to do the mental math on your age. "49." She nods slightly and responds in a tone of appreciative surprise. "Huh. You look pretty good for your age, I had you pegged as something like 40, 42." Another short pause. "What's your skin routine? I'm starting to get worried about crow's feet and am thinking about switching products." You have to reply that you don't do anything for skin care several times before she reluctantly gives up, muttering something about 'some people's luck'. You definitely have crow's feet so you're not sure what she's talking about, but you'd rather not inquire. Just like your previous inquiry into the nature of 'moe', asking what makes beauty or youth seems like opening up a Pandora's box of unimaginable proportions.

The two of you have arrived at your car by this point, and you go through the standard procedures of paying for your parking, starting the thing up, and so on and so forth. The Dragon is only a few blocks down so you could skip the vehicle completely, but if you recall correctly there's a lot with parking just a few buildings down from the place. It's easier just to take it.

As you leave the lot, you resume your conversation. "Anyways, how old are you?" You normally wouldn't ask, but since she asked first it's probably fair game. "I'm 33. Probably shouldn't be doing part-time work at my age, but whatever, it pays pretty well actually. I have to thank my otaku brethren for that." She gives the air a mock salute as she says this. "What about you? A salesman?" "I used to be. I suppose I still do some of the work, but I'm currently the Vice-President of the Tokyo Branch of Junpei Office Supplies." "Sounds fancy. Any fun?"

The question catches you by such surprise that you let a chuckle slip out. If you were by yourself you'd laugh until you wheezed, but social norms dictate otherwise. "No, no, it's no fun. But that's life, so I guess I can't complain." The two of you make a bit more small talk before you park the car in another lot and make your way into The Dragon.

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>>4655957
The place is a lot like you remembered it although its interior, much like yours, is showing signs of wear and tear. But that only adds to the nostalgia. Things have changed a little bit, but the UFO catchers are still to your right, the pseudo-gambling machines are still upstairs, and the fighting games are still tucked away in the corner, although the three Street Fighter II machines have been whittled down to only one over the years.

An appreciative sigh escapes your lips as you glance between the machines, wondering what to start with.
>It looks like there are a few people playing Street Fighter II in the corner. You'll head over there and show off your skills, make sure the kids know how a veteran does things. Hopefully you aren't too rusty.
>The UFO catchers might have some interesting prizes, you'll give them a closer look. You remember practicing on them years ago so that you could get a stuffed animal or whatever your date wanted out of the things without looking too stupid, maybe you can try and pull that off.
>Even when you have all the money you could ever want, gambling for tiny sums is still fun. You'll head upstairs and enjoy the thrill of the gamble.
>Imamura is eying up some machine you don't recognize. You'll ask if she's interested in that.
>Write-in

>It looks like there are a few people playing Street Fighter II in the corner. You'll head over there and show off your skills, make sure the kids know how a veteran does things. Hopefully you aren't too rusty.

Time to bust out the old main, Guile

>>4655990
this

>>4655960
Would it be possible to make a more in-depth appraisal of the arcade at a later date when we have the free time to do so? Maybe contact the owners to see if we could make a deal to help refurbish the place to be more appealing? Maybe talk things out with our new IT friend to include a VR arcade section and new machines?

>>4655960
>It looks like there are a few people playing Street Fighter II in the corner. You'll head over there and show off your skills, make sure the kids know how a veteran does things. Hopefully you aren't too rusty.

>>4655960
>>It looks like there are a few people playing Street Fighter II in the corner. You'll head over there and show off your skills, make sure the kids know how a veteran does things. Hopefully you aren't too rusty.
YEEEEAAAAH Boomer time

>>4655990
>>4656066
>>4656454
>>4656522
Won't be able to drop a full update until lunch (approx. 4 hours from now), but can I get a 1d100 for your sick Street Fighter skills. Time to figure out how well you can derust after about 25 years.
>>4656066
That's not really what you do. You sell furniture, office equipment, and consumable supplies used in offices. With bigger deals you sometimes charge premiums in exchange for designing the layout of the office yourself (which is, of course, pretty much entirely stocked by products you can supply), but if there's anything that's actually related to full-on construction or renovations that would go to another company entirely. So while you have a surprisingly good grasp of interior design, what you're talking about isn't really within your wheelhouse. There have been a few weird exceptions, but pretty much no matter the location, the vast majority sticks to the breakrooms, bathrooms (mainly just the toiletries, your company doesn't make them themselves, just buys massive quantities in bulk and resells it in smaller bulk quantities to clients at a profit), conference rooms, offices, and other 'employee-oriented' areas.
If you really want to you could ask about it in passing, you do know people who work at the sort of the company that would be better at that, but it's just an arcade you used to frequent and it seems to be doing ok.

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>4656718
God damn we want to play with her, not destroy her

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>>4655990
>>4656066
>>4656454
>>4656522
You approach the Street Fighter machines in the corner with a wide grin on your face- time to rev yourself up and unearth those old instincts you've buried for so long. For the first time since 93' (or maybe 94'?), it's time for The Dragon to witness Sugimoto Daisuke's Guile.

A bearded man who looks to be in his late 20s or early 30s is standing by, watching what look like a high schooler and university student playing. As you arrive a "You win!" echoes out from the machine, and the high schooler strikes some sort of victory pose. The man standing by nods at the two of you as you approach. "Sup! Wanna play?" "That was what I was hoping. Should I hop in line?" The bearded man shakes his head and gestures at machine. "We've been hogging the machine for a while, go ahead and take a turn first. Winner stays on."

You let out a "Thanks." as you approach the machine. You ask Imamura-san if she wants to play you, but she just says that she'll watch for now and jump in later. Fair enough. As you take your position at the controls the university student sidles up next to you and offers you a hand. "Good luck." You wish him the same, shake his hand, and then return your attention to the machine. It's time to get real.

https://youtu.be/FEdbR0jnfvQ
Guile vs. Vega- Round 1. You nudge the joystick to close the distance, and then stare confusedly as it closes far faster than it should, bringing you within punching distance before you're ready. Your opponent mashes the buttons and unleashes a flurry of attacks in your direction before you can react. Your health is shaved down from full to below half. You attempt to recover afterwards, but the speed continues to confound you, and the round ends quickly. You're confused- is this the old Hyper Fighting version? It doesn't look like it. Well, whatever- now that you know what to watch out for, that's not going to happen again.

With the speed in mind, the second round goes much better. You keep your distance while getting used to it, the announcer talking about "SONIC BOOM" after "SONIC BOOM" that you shoot out to keep your opponent at a distance. The second round takes a while, but since your opponent is unable to close the gap properly, they lose without much fanfare. In the final round you attack more aggressively, growing used to the speed, and although you lose about a quarter of your health, you bring things to a close without too much trouble.

"Good game." "Good game." The university student leaves, and the high schooler replaces him. Guile vs. Ryu this time. The first round is a violent slugfest where you nearly lose, but as you begin to remember the combos and tendencies of your youth, the attacks you take slowly lessen. The second round is much cleaner, and you end up taking things 2-0. The high schooler shakes his head and backs away from the machine. "Better than I expected old dude. Good luck."

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>>4656994
The old man glares at the high schooler, who quickens their retreat from the machine. "Sorry about my cousin. They need to learn some manners." "It's fine. No offense taken." Guile vs. Sagat. Round 1. After sounding each other out from a distance for a little while your opponent closes in and the two of you exchange attacks at high-speed. You try to land a few hits, but they're expertly blocked. You get caught up in a combo trying to back away, although you manage to slip out of it with half your health bar left. From there you try to make a comeback, but lose the round by more than a slim margin.

The next round goes somewhat evenly, although you're still having trouble timing your blocks. Still, your instincts seem to be good as ever. Even if you can't remember half the things you used to know about this game consciously, your body remembers them just like it was yesterday. You manage to keep almost even with your opponent, trading hits back and forth, until something confusing happens. You miss a block, they land a hit, and then it takes off half your health bar. "What the fuck?!"

Oh. You said that out loud. You stare at your opponent with confusion as the match ends. "What was that?!" "A super move?" "A super move?!" They stare at you for a moment before something seems to come to them. "Wait, have you never played Grand Master Challenge?" "What's that? I thought this was Street Fighter II. New Challengers, right?"

You are informed, as nicely as possible, that Capcom released yet another version of Street Fighter II since you last played. Apparently it added super moves. Dammit, Capcom ruined your streak JUST when you were getting into the groove- if they ever deal with you you're overcharging them.
>Best of three! You feel yourself rusting off, you can definitely win, even with this super bullshit.
>"Good game." Your turn is over, guess you should ask Imamura if she wants to play.
>Accept your defeat and go calm down by the UFO Catchers. With enough time and money, it's impossible to lose to them.
>You know what would really cheer you up right now- some 'gambling'. Upstairs it is.
>"Guess I'm not as good as I used to be. Anyways, what was that machine you were looking at earlier?" May as well see what she was interested in, you're done reliving your youth.
>Write-in
I take no responsibility if this is a somewhat inaccurate representation of Street Fighter II, an attempt was made

>>4656997
>"Guess I'm not as good as I used to be. Anyways, what was that machine you were looking at earlier?" May as well see what she was interested in, you're done reliving your youth.

>>4656997
>"Guess I'm not as good as I used to be. Anyways, what was that machine you were looking at earlier?" May as well see what she was interested in, you're done reliving your youth.

>>4656997
>"Guess I'm not as good as I used to be. Anyways, what was that machine you were looking at earlier?" May as well see what she was interested in, you're done reliving your youth.

I've been busy today. Will either get an update in before I go to bed or one in when I wake up tomorrow so that I can get two in without trouble.

So much for morning, had to cover for someone. Sorry 'bout that. Free now, will write after dinner! Except an update within a couple of hours, I'll stay around late to write another one assuming there's votes.

Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>4660379
rolling for big dick energy

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>>4657256
>>4657269
>>4657666
You think you could crush this dude given a best of three now that you've derusted, but you did lose and you guess you should take defeat gracefully. Even if super moves appear to be some real bullshit. You leave the bearded man with a "Good Game." and then head over to Imamura.

"Guess I'm not as good as I used to be. Anyways, what was that machine you were looking at earlier?" She snaps her attention from the Street Fighter machine to you as you speak. "Oh, that? It's an old Beatmania machine. I want to give it a play later since I haven't played that version in a long time. But first..." She leaves you behind and approaches the machine. "Mind if I have a turn against you? Winner stays on, right?" "That's no problem with me, everyone else has already played for a while."

The bearded guy chooses Sagat again, while Imamura takes Ryu. As the game starts you see the bearded man lazily flick at the controls, only to immediately be shocked into readiness once his character gets stuck in a combo. By the time he escapes he's left with a third of his health, and only moments later he's caught up with again and, despite turtling, is easily taken down. The following round isn't as visibly one-sided, but since you have some level of competence you can tell- it's a curbstomp. You think you can beat the bearded man, but you can't beat your "date". She's a true street fighter.

After her win Imamura leaves the machine behind, uninterested in further destroying the poor man. You give an appreciative thumbs-up as she approaches. "That was really good. You remind me of my old roommate, he actually taught me. Always crushed me though." "Thanks! You weren't bad yourself- probably could've beaten him if you knew about supers. We should play a few rounds later." After a short pause she speaks up again. "Actually not that good at most of the old games, but two is an exception- when I was eight my dad somehow managed to get a machine, so I played it a lot."

Ah. That would explain it. It's also an unpleasant reminder of your age, but whatever. You're still probably not as old as her father, there's only a 16 year difference. With the Street Fighter session over, the two of you head towards the Beatmania machine. "This baby should be one of the first Beatmania IIDX machines they made. Probably 20 years old by now, haven't seen one in a long time." You nod your head thoughtfully, although you don't know exactly what she's talking about. You examine the machine. Instead of a joystick and a few buttons there's some DJ thing, (you think it might be called a record table or something?) and a frankly disturbing amount of buttons laid out in a row. Interesting.

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>>4660483
Your mood towards the machine goes from innocent curiosity to abject horror after watching her play on it for 10 minutes. All varieties of music play as she slams on what you count to be an entire seven buttons laid before her. You think your hand dexterity is pretty good, but this is another level- she's slamming in all those inputs as they flash by, and almost all of them are hits. You've never played a game like this before.

After a couple of songs she moves back from the machine. "This really brings me back! You wanna play? It goes easier than this, five-key should be fine for a beginner. Probably."
>"What you were playing was fine, if you give me a few tries I'll learn to keep up. There's a second controller, so let's go." You're not letting yourself fall behind. You were third best in the arcade at Street Fighter II back in the day. Some flashy video game isn't showing you up.
>"That sounds alright. Set it up and I'll give it a go." She knows best, you'll give it a go on... beginner mode or whatever she's setting it to.
>"I think I'll pass- not sure if my hands can take it." This monster of a machine has intimidated you. You'll stick to what you're used to.
>Write-in

>>4660486
>"That sounds alright. Set it up and I'll give it a go." She knows best, you'll give it a go on... beginner mode or whatever she's setting it to.

>>4660508
this

>>4660486
>"That sounds alright. Set it up and I'll give it a go." She knows best, you'll give it a go on... beginner mode or whatever she's setting it to.
Test the waters of the high-speed high-dexterity horror of rhythm games

>>4660486
>>"That sounds alright. Set it up and I'll give it a go." She knows best, you'll give it a go on... beginner mode or whatever she's setting it to.

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>>4660508
>>4660795
>>4661180
>>4661194
The machine is intimidating, but it's just an arcade machine. Maybe you can't dominate this button-filled monstrosity, but maybe you can be pull through the easy stuff. "That sounds alright. Set it up and I'll give it a go."

For some reason I can only find footage of the 2P mode for this game, but close enough.
https://youtu.be/bLzPAZveEnI


After she fiddles about with the settings for a minute she hands the machine over to you. You compose yourself, and after tentatively messing around with the 'turntable' (that is apparently what it's called) for a while, you hesitantly start the game up. To your surprise a smooth, somewhat slow song greets you, a sudden departure from the fast, electronic-sounding music that was playing before. The inputs glide by smooth and slow, and all in all it goes surprisingly well. You can't keep the buttons completely straight, and the faster sets of inputs fry your brain completely, but you still do alright.

Confidence boosted, you play a few more easy songs and become less afraid of the machine. Eventually you're brought down to earth again when you switch places with Imamura and watch the speed and number of inputs on screen balloon upwards. At least you're not afraid of the machine itself now. The amount of buttons on the machine is fine. It's just the prospect of playing half the songs on the machine that's terrifying to you.

By the time she finishes playing again, the Street Fighter machine is free and you fit in a few games. You lose all of them, but not as terribly as you expect. With your hands warming up and you getting into the zone you manage to hold on for longer than the bearded guy did and don't get stuck on the backfoot for the entire round. That's enough to satisfy you, especially after you manage to figure out how to use the super thing. It's cool. You still think it's kind of bullshit but it is cool, you can't deny that. Maybe your new vendetta against Capcom needs to be reconsidered.

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>>4661248
Once you're done playing Street Fighter, you approach your old friends, the UFO Catchers. Back in the day you used to come over to these things every date, pull out a stuffed animal or something, do the 'gentlemanly' thing. You guess you could still do that, although you really just want to play a bit. As you approach the machines you notice something that throws this course of action off. One of the UFO catchers is half-filled with old Gundam merchandise. Yeah, it's all cheap stuff, and yeah, if you really wanted a bunch of merchandise you'd just buy it, but you cannot deny the allure of (tiny model) giant robots. It's one thing if you have to seek them out, but they're right here, in front of you. How could you resist?

You momentarily pull your attention away from the objects of your desire to turn back towards Imamura. She seems to be in a reverie similar to the one you just had, but focused on a different machine filled with... what looks like little plastic balls containing keychains or something?
>You'll do the gentlemanly thing and try to win one or two of the keychains. ...Although you're not sure how good you'll be at this, as the machine holding them looks kind of weird, and has to be more modern than anything you've played on before. You're sure you can figure it out though- it's just a UFO Catcher.
>She wants her keychains, and you want your miniature giant robots. There's only one logical course of action here. You both split up and wish each other the best of luck in your quests. You will get your robots.
>Write-in

>>4661249
>>Write in
>She wants her keychains, and you want your miniature giant robots. There's only one logical course of action here. You both split up and wish each other the best of luck in your quests. You will get your robots.
>And if she doesn't have a key-chain by the time we've got a robot then I guess we ride in like the big damn hero we are and grab it for her

>>4661256
support we must have our ROBOTS

>>4661256
+1 Was Imamura unbeatable? Would it have taken a 100 dice roll to match her?

The dice were mostly to decide whether you could remember how to play well at all, so all things considered you did really well.
As for beating her, even if you guys play exactly like you used to you can't suddenly get better. So for you to win I'd either have to fudge setting stuff to make her worse or make it so Daisuke was significantly better.
...but if you got 100 I probably would've done the latter as to not kill the dice buzz, your skill level wasn't really set in stone yet.

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>>4661256
>>4661333
>>4661464
"Imamura-san." "Mhm?" "I need to empty this machine of its Gundam merchandise, and it looks like you have your own to conquer. Is it fine if we resume things when we're done?" "You read my mind. Of course it is." The two of you head towards the UFO Catchers without saying anything else, steeling your resolve to dump in as many coins as it takes to reach your respective goals.

For the next half an hour the two of you stand about 10 feet apart, slowly but steadily draining your targets from your selected UFO Catchers. Boxed mini-mecha after mini-mecha is picked up by your claw and eventually brought to the collection chute. Along the way you also pick up other miscellaneous prizes to clear the way- stickers, some really weird stuffed animals, a plain unmarked box with a big 'GAG PHONE' sticker on it. Things like that.

Once you've collected everything you want you check up on Imamura- looks like they're still occupied. You give them a heads-up about going to buy a couple of bags, they give a reply, and you head to the nearest convenience store. You purchase a couple of reusable bags (you own some but they're not in your car, unfortunately), as well as some aspirin while you're there. ...You've been going through quite a bit of it recently, so you should pick some more up.

A few minutes later you're back in the arcade. Imamura says something about getting 'the last one'. You leave a bag next to them and start filling yours up. As you do so you take a moment to examine your haul. Mostly lots of old Gundam stuff that stokes the flames of nostalgia. While you pack things up, you pop open the unmarked cardboard box labeled 'GAG Phone'. Inside is what looks like an old iPhone. You try to turn it on and let out a quiet grunt of pain as it shocks you instead. It's not enough to leave you reeling, but damn that hurts when you're not expecting it.

There are no other surprises with your merchandise, and a few minutes later both of you are ready to go. You head back to your car, chatting about Street Fighter and other miscellaneous things as you head back. You do manage to learn a bit about Imamura's interest in her UFO Catcher- apparently she collects key chains that seem interesting. That's neat. Once the two of you are back in the car you throw your things in the back and head to karaoke. As you do so you hand the fake phone to Imamura, telling her that the button is stuck and that you can't get it to turn on. She gets shocked and drops it. You laugh. She punches you in the arm. You laugh harder, which manages to make her crack up. Worth it.

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>>4663456
The two of you head to a nondescript karaoke place you remember being very close by to parking. It also has food, so you should be able to get something to eat while you're here. The two of you head in, book a room for a couple of hours, and then start looking through the food menu and song selection.

As you look through the song lists, you find quite a few things of interest. After some careful evaluation you begin making a playlist.
>It's mostly old 70s and 80s mecha anime and tokustatsu show openings with a little bit of city pop mixed in. You think you sang most of this last time you went on a real date, although it was a lot more modern back then.
>A lot of it is old, old 50s and 60s music that brings you back. Stuff your parents liked and that you listened to as a kid. It's burned into your skull at this point and you like it.
>A lot of it is in English and German. You like to keep your languages sharp with foreign music sometimes, and so you've picked up weird tastes.
>...Much to your surprise, it turns out they have a lot of Impercial Circus Dead Decadence, that metal band from the other day, in their catalogue here. You've listened to their stuff a little bit since then in your spare time. You don't have the lyrics down pat, but it'll be fine... as long as your vocal chords can take it.
>Write-in

>>4663456
Nice, we have an anti-pickpocketer trap / a makeshift taser for our LIGHTNING PUNCH!
>>4663460
>It's mostly old 70s and 80s mecha anime and tokustatsu show openings with a little bit of city pop mixed in. You think you sang most of this last time you went on a real date, although it was a lot more modern back then.

>>4663460
>It's mostly old 70s and 80s mecha anime and tokustatsu show openings with a little bit of city pop mixed in. You think you sang most of this last time you went on a real date, although it was a lot more modern back then.

with a singe song from
>...Much to your surprise, it turns out they have a lot of Impercial Circus Dead Decadence, that metal band from the other day, in their catalogue here. You've listened to their stuff a little bit since then in your spare time. You don't have the lyrics down pat, but it'll be fine... as long as your vocal chords can take it.

mixed in if possible, just as a surprise/conversation starter

>>4664494
support. Mix and match for maximum hilarity.

>>4664494
+1

Updating after my Geology lab gets out and I eat, probably 3-5 hours from now? Sorry for the janky schedule right now, dealing with a lot of coursework. Hopefully I'll be a lot freer in a couple days.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>4666753
rolling to see if temp GF is impressed by our boy's accidentally wet shirt

>>4667174
heh
May as well take that as a singing roll, in the middle of writing right now. Lab went pretty long.

>>4667182
>87
>fucks sake our boy Sugimoto's year long excursions to the gym finally payed off
>rocking that sweet six pack

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>>4663912
>>4664494
>>4665448
>>4666151
You think you'll be sticking with mostly your old holdouts this time around. Songs from mecha anime and tokusatsu shows that bring you back, maybe a few older pop hits while you're at it. Although now that you're looking through songs maybe you can fit a few newer things in. ...Still mostly stuff of that type, but whatever. And it's just a thought, but... you're seeing that metal band from the other day in the song catalog, and you can't help but wonder if you could pull through a song of theirs. After a few tense moments of scratching at your stubble you decide 'Eh, what the hell' and mentally schedule the song you remember best in your setlist. You're sure one song won't leave your throat feeling too sore afterwards.

Once the two of you decide on your first songs you both begin entering things into the playlist. You begin singing first https://youtu.be/21jPuyCJ7hw and (figuratively) feel your youth come back to you as you practically scream about the GUTS GUTS GETTER GUTS that you've looked up to for so long. In the midst of your wave of nostalgia you can hear1 Imamura yell out a few encouraging remarks while ordering something to eat.

A few minutes later the songs ends and you flop down on the couch to take a breather. That was a solid start, and you think that despite the long hiatus life has put on your singing career, you're doing pretty well for yourself. Maybe some things don't get better with age, but you'd say your voice has; or maybe you're just feeling overly confident today. It's hard to tell. While you're instinctively reaching to loosen a tie you don't have, Imamura takes her turn.

A happy, poppy song you don't recognize https://youtu.be/_indP8fT494 plays. Her singing isn't anything to write home about, but if nothing else Imamura seems to know it very well. You let out a few polite, encouraging 'whoos', but can't help but be distracted by some loud noises coming from the next room over. These places are supposed to be soundproofed, and you don't hear any singing, so you're not sure what it could be.

The noises continue as the song drags on, and after it's over one of the employees arrives with your drinks. Apparently Imamura ordered you a black coffee. That's fine you guess. As you put the drinks down you spare a moment to ask the employee what exactly is going on in the next room over, mentioning all the noise. They shrug nonchalantly and mention that they don't really know before leaving.

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>>4667220
Very helpful of them. You hope that the noise is just temporary, but after having a loud thudding interrupt what you considered to be an absolutely spot-on performance of your favorite song about SUPER ROBOT MAZINGER Z https://youtu.be/SyRoF689VRE that hope is beginning to fade.
>It's just some noise. Best to just ignore it and hope it goes away soon. It's only been, what, five minutes, maybe ten? The employee didn't seem to care, so why should you.
>You will be lodging a complaint with the room's occupants. They're interrupting your fun time, and you will not stand for it- you are in THE ZONE tonight and you need to be able to sing without interruptions.
>The employee may have ignored you earlier, but all you did was inquire about the problem. It's not exactly the same, but being a salesman is a sort of 'customer service' role yourself, so you know how you might be able to make them care. [Empathy challenge]
>Unreasonable levels of noise? No care for how that may inconvenience others? The established authorities ignoring the problem? This sounds like a job for Salary Man! You'll grab your briefcase from the car, slip off to the bathroom, and have Salary Man give these noisy neighbors a visit.
>Write-in

>>4667221
>The employee may have ignored you earlier, but all you did was inquire about the problem. It's not exactly the same, but being a salesman is a sort of 'customer service' role yourself, so you know how you might be able to make them care. [Empathy challenge]

>>4667221
>>The employee may have ignored you earlier, but all you did was inquire about the problem. It's not exactly the same, but being a salesman is a sort of 'customer service' role yourself, so you know how you might be able to make them care. [Empathy challenge]

>>4667221
>Unreasonable levels of noise? No care for how that may inconvenience others? The established authorities ignoring the problem? This sounds like a job for Salary Man! You'll grab your briefcase from the car, slip off to the bathroom, and have Salary Man give these noisy neighbors a visit.

>Hopefully I'll be a lot freer in a couple days
Just got finished with a lot of work today, so this ended up being true! Should be able to get in a couple of updates tomorrow, I have sweet fuck-all to do for once. Sleeping for now though.

>>4669129
Sleep tight, and dont let the thirsty cougars bite.

>>4667428
>>4667511
>>4667675
>>4669297
Alright. You know how to work with people, how to motivate them- the employee may not have cared before, but you will do your best to make him care. You excuse yourself, mentioning that you're going to go complain about the banging, and head over to the front desk.

At the front you're greeted by the same employee as earlier. You don't think there's anyone else around, or at least not anyone in the front. They look extremely tired, and it takes a second for them to focus on you after they notice you. Oh boy, this is gonna be a tough one. "Excuse me..."

Sugimoto Daisuke is tried to motivate an extremely tired and uninterested man into acting on his complaint.
>Sugimoto Daisuke's Empathy: 4/Fantastic - 16d100
>-1 Skill Rank: This man is currently not in the mood to give a fuck. At all. The regular methods may not be entirely effective.

Final Rolls: bo8d100 vs. Static DCs (70, 82)
here's a reminder that dice do not need to be rolled one at a time, just throw however many you feel are appropriate into the air

Rolled 59, 72 = 131 (2d100)

>>4669766
I'll roll 2 of them

Rolled 74, 28, 48, 22, 16 = 188 (5d100)

>>4669766

Rolled 94, 49 = 143 (2d100)

>>4669766

>>4669851
>>4669864
>>4669873
Alright, the final roll is a 94, and on the last roll nonetheless. Nice!
Gonna grab dinner in 15, will start writing after that.

>>4669875
WET T-SHIRTS!

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>>4669851
>>4669864
>>4669873
"...the odd noises from that other room are still going on. Would you mind taking a look?" The employee stares at you through their tired eyes and lets out a quiet sigh. "The noise will probably stop on its own if we just ignore it. Just enjoy yourself for the time being and come back in, like, half an hour if it hasn't stopped." ...Half an hour. Yeah, you don't really want to wait that long- you were enjoying your outing. Guess you better try some more advanced tactics then.

"I can tell you're exhausted, but this is really getting on my nerves and its been going for a while. I could just suck it up and wait a while, but that just means you're going to be bothered about it again later. There's another neighboring room too, so even if I leave, they're probably going to complain too. Dealing with it now will just save you a headache." The man in front of you does not want to confront the cruel reality of having to do things, but you can tell your words are having some effect. That was the stick. Time for the carrot. "If you deal with it, or find someone else who can, I'll share some of my tea with you. It's super-caffeinated so it should pick you up, and it's been in my thermos so it's still hot."

The fear of being annoyed later and the promise of caffeine seem to be enough of a motivation, and the man mutters that he'll deal with it. You watch as he walks up to the booth next to yours and knocks on the door. No response. After a few knocks he just yells his message inside. "There's been some noise complaints. Please quiet down!" The noises from inside seem to cease for the time being, and after a moment the door to the room swings open. With no warning a young man in a leather jacket exits the room and gets up in the employee's face.

"Who're you telling us to quiet down, huh?! We paid, we get to the use the place. Fuck off!" Spittle splatters onto the employee's face as the young man screams at him. The man, with a look in eyes that clearly conveys 'I am not paid enough for this', puts his hands in the air and begins to back away, as if indicating that he's not a threat.
>You think you'll be leaving early and heading somewhere else. This isn't worth dealing with, whatever it is.
>Now that the source of the problem has shown itself, you'll be the one to confront them. Once they realize the errors of their ways and how they're inconveniencing others (or, more likely, just get tired of listening to you talk), they should quiet down. ...Although you still have no idea how they were being so loud in the first place.
>These are definitely rapscallions of the highest degree. It'd be for the best if Salary Man dealt with them while you're going to the bathroom or something. You're sure they'll understand the errors of their ways when justice comes-a-knocking. [Intimidation challenge]
>You think you'll go see if there's a manager to bother and then send them at the problem. That's their job, right?
>Write-in

>>4670057
Split between the first and second option desu. Have a feeling we'd be cutting it too close with the costume swap, and people might realize who we are.

>>4670072
This

>>4670057
>Now that the source of the problem has shown itself, you'll be the one to confront them. Once they realize the errors of their ways and how they're inconveniencing others (or, more likely, just get tired of listening to you talk), they should quiet down. ...Although you still have no idea how they were being so loud in the first place.

>>4670072
>>4670110
>>4670164
Alright, looks like the consensus is on combining two and three. Go in there with your serious face on and try to intimidate them a bit.
This seems like a very fitting point to do this, so I'm going to put something else to a vote. In the character sheet I provided there's a line that says this:
>There's one skill I plan on using that's not listed here because I want it to be a surprise and it's kind of special.
I plan on using it here to see if you get intimidated whilst trying to intimidate them, and I could determine it 100% off of your actions so far, but I'll give you guys some leeway on it.
Vote on what you want your courage skill to be. Here's a quick '[alignment good because]/[alignment bad because]' rundown of it for you:
A high courage skill is good because it makes it easier to overcome your fears, assert your ideas, and put tough plans into action.
A high courage skill is bad because it means you might not be afraid of things you should be, you're too headstrong, and you go forward with risky plans.
>Courage 0/Average (The average person. Not particularly inclined towards crime-fighting, but can be driven to deal with situations they're particularly offended by.)
>Courage 1/Okay (I would put you around here based off of actions so far, you tackle a lot of 'problems' you see but are generally cautious about everything.)
>Courage 2/Good (Slightly more headstrong than you've been acting. Not necessarily reckless, but finds it difficult to just stand by and ignore something they feel like they could/should deal with.)

>>4670210
>Courage 1/Okay (I would put you around here based off of actions so far, you tackle a lot of 'problems' you see but are generally cautious about everything.)

>>4670210
>Courage 1/Okay (I would put you around here based off of actions so far, you tackle a lot of 'problems' you see but are generally cautious about everything.)
We're already like this anyways, we want to fight CRIME but we did start off just picking up trash on the streets

>>4670210
I don't understand. Does our Courage skill level affect what action choices we'll get? Could we not just to vote to be less rash in any individual situation?

>>4670708
Slightly, but it's pretty granular, with the difference between each level not meaning a ton individually. I'm generally not going to straight up lock actions if you want to write-in something that seems odd, but if you guys suddenly changed patterns of behavior drastically I'd adjust the stat to follow. The stat could also change based on certain major decisions.

>>4670708
>>4670735
I feel like that didn't answer it properly since I'm just waking up, so: not really, for now, but it will matter for some skill checks and it could matter a long way down the line, although it's a lot more "a useful number that represents narrative decisions" than "a number that decides narrative decisions for you". On occasion it might be rolled if you wanted to do something that would be difficult without a high/low courage.

>>4670057
>You think you'll go see if there's a manager to bother and then send them at the problem. That's their job, right?

>>4670210
>courage 1

>>4670737
C1

Rolled 35, 91 + 10 = 136 (2d100 + 10)

>>4670311
>>4670619
>>4670708
>>4670930
>>4671063
Alright, he may work here but you guess it's not in his job description to deal with whatever... this is, fine. You'll take care of it yourself then. That guy might've been aggressive, but you just saw some funny-looking dude who couldn't be older than 20 at the latest. You can deal with that. You're scary. After giving yourself an internal pep talk for a few moments you take a deep breath and step up to the still-open door of the karaoke room.

Inside you see... chaos. Everything is scattered about wildly; there are some plates, glasses, and other odds and ends broken; and one of the three men inside is idly spinning around a broken table leg. At first you're taken aback, but after you have a moment to take in the situation you calm down. None of these guys are particularly scary looking, they aren't wielding weapons or doing hard drugs or anything, and the dude in the back is dancing around with a lampshade on his head (the lamp it came from is sitting nearby,). They do not seem like hardened criminals.

You compose your thoughts, straighten yourself up, and take a step into the room...

blue]Sugimoto Daisuke[/blue] is attempting to intimidate some yankee-esque youths into either quieting down or finding somewhere else to be annoying.
>Sugimoto Daisuke's Intimidate Average/0 - 1d100
>-5: You're probably 30 years their senior, and the casual wear doesn't help.
>+15: Threatening to call the cops happens to be a very effective threat with them due to... prior experience.
>Yankee-esque youths Courage Good/1 - 2d100
>+10: 'Ey, this guy is alone, while there are, like, three of us.'
Final Rolls: 1d100+10 vs. 2d100+10

Mukai Katashi (the 'leader' of the group) is attempting to scare away some old fogey (you) that's messing with his and his friend's good time.
>Mukai Katashi's Intimidate Okay/1 - 2d100
>+5: 'We got, like, strength in numbers. You dig?'
>-10: 'Godammit 'Jeff', the lampshade is REALLY not helping our case here.'
>Sugimoto Daisuke's Courage/1 - 2d100
>+10: You can barely contain your laughter at how these people are dressed. You didn't even know there were still people who acted like this. Wow.
>+5: This isn't scaring you as much after you more or less got assaulted the other day and came out the other side fine. Hell, the drunk looked scarier.
>-5: ...Now that you can see into the room you impressed by the sheer amount of damage they've caused to this place. You're not sure if they'd go to violence, but they're already well past destruction of property.
Final Rolls: 2d100-5 vs. 2d100+10

Yes, you can both be intimidated by each other. I'll need 3d100 in total for you guys. Rolling their courage now.

Rolled 51, 79 - 5 = 125 (2d100 - 5)

and now to roll their intimidate

>>4671542
Alright, they rolled a 101 on courage and a 74 to intimidate, looks like lampshade guy isn't hurting them too much. You can still succeed on both rolls though, at about a 9% chance and a 60% chance respectively.

Rolled 85 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4671538

Rolled 49, 89 - 5 = 133 (2d100 - 5)

>>4671542
Fig

>>4671542
Does this mean neither of then managed to scare each other away?

>>4671591
Yup, neither of your are particularly intimidated by the other party. Next update will probably be tomorrow.

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>>4671578
>>4671586
You begin a stern speech in the most authoritative voice you can muster, hoping you'll be able to scare these vandals away without any issue. "Private businesses are allowed to serve whomever they wish, and to at any point cease transactions with a customer if their relationship has broken down. Through your actions tonight, you have terminated your relationship with this establishment. You need to leave before you're made to leave."

The first part seemed to go over their head, but you think they got the rest. They didn't like that threat. Lampshade-head in the back tilts his lampshade up so he can see better and raises a fist. "Is that a threat old man? How do you think you're gonna make US leave?" "...By calling the police." "Oh..." That struck a nerve. Lampshade shuts up, and the other guy seems to get nervous. Unfortunately the man in front speaks up, attempting to retake control of the situation. "We're the baddest cats in Akihabara, we ain't afraid of no cops. Buzz off before we make you- we've dealt with worse."

Lampshade's fervor is reignited with this declaration. "Yeah, Katashi ai-" "Shut up dumbass, and take the lampshade off your head while you're at it." "Oh, right Kata-" "PLEASE stop saying my name." The boss sighs. "Anyways, get out, or you're in for a world of hurt." This threat might have scared you on another occasion, but given the dumb apparel and manzai-esque antics happening beside the threat, you're able to analyze things logically. This guy clearly isn't angry, and doesn't intend to actually hurt you.

With the threat of the cops failing to shake the youths and threat of violence failing to shake you, you simply take a seat and begin lecturing them on the value of property, and how'd they feel if someone broke their stuff. Shortly into your speech lampshade asks his boss if he can punch you, to which he gets a somewhat resigned "No. Just ignore him." Despite this command no one seems to be able to ignore you, and after you talk through two (somewhat awkward) songs their boss just throws the mic down, yells "Forget it, we're leaving.", and begins walking out of the room. As you sit there lampshade passes by and throws a punch at you. You instinctively fall flat to the couch, but he pulls it back almost immediately and laughs. You hear him say "Made you flinch!" just before the trio disappears completely from view.

The seemingly only employee on staff greets you as you exit the room. "Thanks for the help. Really wasn't up to dealing with that." "...Sure. Can I get that 15 minutes off my bill?" "Oh, absolutely. I can't do too much without asking, but I'll knock the two hours you reserved off the bill." Well, that's nice at least. "Thanks."

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>>4673260
You return to the karaoke room to find that Imamura has begun drinking in your absence. Well, that's one way to kill time. She greets you with a beer in hand as you enter the room. "Welcome back! I've started the before party." After your relative lack of response, she continues on. "Wanna grab some drinks after you get your car back home? I could use a drinking buddy."
>You really aren't in the mood. "No thanks. I have things planned tonight."
>Eh, might as well. Drinking for fun and not being expected to stay out all night doing it sounds like a nice change of pace. "Sure."
>Works for you, but you don't really want to drink alone with a woman you barely know and aren't romantically interested in. You could use a third wheel or fourth wheel. [Choose characters to invite along. They may or may not accept.]
>Write-in

>>4673262
>Eh, might as well. Drinking for fun and not being expected to stay out all night doing it sounds like a nice change of pace. "Sure."
A glass or two at most. We're the designated driver. We gotta make sure the pretty lady gets home safe.

>>4673262
>Eh, might as well. Drinking for fun and not being expected to stay out all night doing it sounds like a nice change of pace. "Sure."
Imamura is fun ngl

>>4673485
+1

no getting overly shit faced, but we probably have enough time to come down from a drink or two to drive

>>4674984
>>4673485
Just a minor detail, it seems like the proposed plan is to drive your car back home first and then meet up to grab a few drinks.
Salary Man is far too responsible to drink and drive.
Should be able to drop an update later tonight (ie tomorrow morning because my sleep schedule last night was wayyyy off), although it might slip into the afternoon, depends on when I get tired.

>>4673262
>Eh, might as well. Drinking for fun and not being expected to stay out all night doing it sounds like a nice change of pace. "Sure."

>>4673262
>Eh, might as well. Drinking for fun and not being expected to stay out all night doing it sounds like a nice change of pace. "Sure."

Not too many. I am an "old foogey" apparently!

Tell her about out minor adventure, and offer to sing we both know.

>>4674996
>>4674996
Could we not just leave the car and come back tomorrow when we're sober?

>>4675472
If you want, yeah, but paying for parking overnight doesn't seem worth it when you can meet up somewhere in the middle.
Sorry for the delay, don't mean to mess with you guys, but I'm stupid and just found out about an assignment that is due in 8 hours. That takes precedence.

Alright, sorry about that, although I did manage to finish my assignment in time! Will update tonight, after my lab is done for the day and I get to eat. My guesstimate for that is in six hours since they said the lab would be longer than usual, but I don't know exactly.

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>>4673485
>>4673617
>>4674984
>>4674996
>>4675155
>>4675425
>>4675472
Well, it's not like you have anything else planned tonight. Sure, you could go for a couple relaxed drinks. You accept the offer and then return to the task at hand- karaoke. There are songs to be sung, and if you aren't going to sing them then nobody else will.

Imamura's singing is pretty energetic, but otherwise unremarkable. Your singing on the other hand, for tonight at least, is rock solid. ...Or maybe you're just deluding yourself. But that doesn't really matter- even if you sound like garbage, you feel like you're on top of the world. The soulful, nostalgic energy running through you drives you forward, allowing you to happily belt out song after song. The pop charts, superheroes, and giant robots of the 70s and 80s pass through your mind as you sing, leaving you yearning for a time that you, unfortunately, cannot go back to.

After switching back and forth for over an hour, your time here has almost come to a close. But before you leave, you and your vocal chords have one last challenge to make it through: Imperial Circus Dead Decadence . Time to go hard.

https://youtu.be/LD3baPUqa2E
Heavy guitars come on screen, and you steady yourself, trying to remember the lyrics to the song best you can, before letting just screaming. You haven't screamed in a long time- this is nice. You contort your vocal chords after that as you attempt to sing as gutturally as possible. It hurts, but at the same time it feels good- kind of freeing. You switch things up a few times, trying to find a comfortable way to sing, while Imamura chuckles and cheers you on, beer still in hand.

My thoughts won’t be heard, as I can’t sing them
Ah, it’s like this, evil is the tragedy that destroyed my only dream
The song of despair vanishes before the ominous God
It’s a cruel play, but changes won’t become rare
Will this wish of mine ever be found?
The feelings I wanted burn my life, suppressed in a cage
My blood burns so bright, my second decadence

After what feels like ages, the song ends. Your vocal chords hurt in a special way that you've never experienced before, but that was fun. Hopefully you get to do that again sometime. It's nice to scream and growl and let it all out once in a while. Imamura sings for the rest of the time, and you politely spectate and cheer while lightly massaging your throat.

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>>4678290
Once you're done with karaoke you drop Imamura off by her apartment complex and then head home yourself. Apparently she has a couple of things she needs to take care real quick, so she'll just take the train and meet up with you later. The ride home is calm, although you do take the opportunity to make a couple of work-related calls (hands-free, thanks to the help of the person who sold you this thing) while you drive home. Check-ins with people who are at about the right kind of time to restock, follow-up calls with larger clients, that kind of thing. Nothing major.

About 5 minutes after you arrive home you get a text with the name and location of the bar. It's about 15 minutes away by train. Convenient. You pop over to the train station, and after a quick ride (which you are, for once, awake for), you reach your destination. A brief walk later and you arrive at your destination- "The Clam". It's done up in a modern style, and consists of a row of stools next to the counter and a couple of tables crammed into the corner. In a good mood, you'd call the place cozy, but to be frank, it's kind of cramped. But booze is booze, and it's not like you move around much while drinking anyways. It's nice enough.

The walk was a tad cold, so you take a seat by the counter and ask if they can heat up some sake. The place isn't traditional by any means, but to your surprise, they can, and by the time Imamura walks through the door you're sipping from a hot cuppa that allows both literal and metaphorical warmth to radiate throughout your body. She sits down next to you and orders some sort of colorful cocktail, and the two of you begin talking.

"...and so that bitch said she didn't want to drink with me the other night! I love her, but what kind of person rubs their stupid successful boyfriend in your face one day and then doesn't help cheer you up about it the next. You can have your wins, but hang out with me afterwards, ughhhhh..."

Imamura is inebriated. Apparently when she is inebriated, she enjoys complaining about her social life. There is no sign of this stopping any time soon.
>You guess you're listening then. ...Although you're going to need more alcohol for this. "Bartender..."
>You do not want to listen to this. You're going to attempt to steer the conversation somewhere else. Anywhere else.
>There's nothing better than a good ol' game of "my life sucks worse than your life". You'll throw your anger in the ring too, and the two of you will vent and complain about life until you grow weary of it.
>Write-in

>>4673262
>Eh, might as well. Drinking for fun and not being expected to stay out all night doing it sounds like a nice change of pace. "Sure."

>>4678305
>>There's nothing better than a good ol' game of "my life sucks worse than your life". You'll throw your anger in the ring too, and the two of you will vent and complain about life until you grow weary of it.

Time honored drinking tradition. Get our complaints out but don't downplay her issues. Everyone has their challenges and what looks like a mole hill to us could very well be a mountain for another and vice-versa.

>>4678305
>There's nothing better than a good ol' game of "my life sucks worse than your life". You'll throw your anger in the ring too, and the two of you will vent and complain about life until you grow weary of it.

>>4678305
>>There's nothing better than a good ol' game of "my life sucks worse than your life". You'll throw your anger in the ring too, and the two of you will vent and complain about life until you grow weary of it.
Misery loves company. Let the sake flow like the water of Edo!

>>4678305
>There's nothing better than a good ol' game of "my life sucks worse than your life". You'll throw your anger in the ring too, and the two of you will vent and complain about life until you grow weary of it.

>>4678305
>There's nothing better than a good ol' game of "my life sucks worse than your life". You'll throw your anger in the ring too, and the two of you will vent and complain about life until you grow weary of it.
Order some greasy food, or some kind of food to eat with the sake. You'll get buzzed slower. Do we know where Imamura's home is so we can drop her off later? What time is it right now?

>>4678406
+1

>>4678305
SEXY 49 YEAR OLD DADDY ABS

Updating later tonight and at some point tomorrow, how active I'll be this weekend will depend on courseload, don't exactly know yet, but might be able to fit in two updates a day.
I have a break starting partway through next week so I should be particularly active then.

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>>4678383
>>4678410
>>4678422
>>4678556
>>4678647
>>4678865
Ah, fuck it. You don't have too many friends who are completely unconnected to your work, you may as well bitch a little while you have the confidence that it won't come back to bite you. You listen to Imamura's complaints about her friends and love life while letting out your own complaints about your boss and your mother trying to force a love life. A couple hours pass by like this, as you drink and complain to your heart's desire in the almost empty bar.

An empty glass and a mostly-finished container of gyoza (ordered from the place down the street, as apparently the kitchen here is rather bare) sit in front of you as you speak. "A tie is a salaryman's uniform. At work I wear it around my neck, while drinking I wear it around my forehead, and when I get tired of all this shit I'll wear it around my neck again." "...That's dark." "Yup. Cheers." "Cheers." The two of you clink glasses together a final time as the conversation winds down. Imamura has learned of the horrors of your boss, and you have learned about the failings of her past three boyfriends. It was an... eventful conversation to say the least.

After confirming that Imamura can't assassinate your boss and that you can't hook her up with anyone, the two of you have more or less reached the end of your bitter banter. You pay your tab and prepare yourself for the trek back to the train station. "Thanksh for drinking with me! Yourr a good drinking buddy." You respond after a short delay, made somewhat tired by the long day and following bout of drinking. "I had fun, don't mention it. Do you need help getting home?" "Nah, Ihm alright. I might naht look it, but I'm naht that drunk. Can get back just fine. I'll send the pictures to you later." "Pictures?" "Ove the day! You needed proof, right? Pictures would help get your muhm off your back." ...She's right, although you didn't really consider that. Your perspective was just that if you do it, it becomes real, and that you should attempt to minimize lies towards your mother, lest she ever pick up on them. 'Send them over to me then, I'd appreciate it. See you!" "Mhm. I'll hit you up next time I need a drinking buddy and that bitch flakes out on me." You respond at the same time as you exit. "Alright. Get along with her."

You catch a train back, have a short nap, and then head back home. The alcohol has left you a bit tired, and so you decide to head to bed early. When you wake up it's 5:30. You had fun yesterday and made a new friend, but now it's time for a new day.

When you arrive at the office you see that the boss is back, although he seems to be sticking his nose into things less than usual. You guess talking to the owner has cowed him for the time being. It won't last, but that should make for a nice few days. You set your briefcase down on your desk and begin blazing through paperwork and early sales calls at lightning speed. You should make up for the other day.

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>>4681577
By around 11 you're done with all the paperwork you can deal with, and head out for some (real) sales meetings throughout Tokyo. Throughout them you successfully push for some furniture upgrades at a minor office with around 10 employees (approx. 1 mil. yen), help with a redesign at a somewhat larger office (hopefully a few million when everything is said and done), and iron out some details on a lobby you're supposed to help provide furnishings for, although it's almost outside of your scope. Scattered in between these are a few more minor tasks that you decide to take care of while running about.

At around 6 PM you head back to the office. You just have one more meeting at 7, and then you'll be done for the day. You sit down at your desk and let out a sigh as you grab your cell phone. You think it's about time. You've gathered all the information that's easily available- you should contact the Sony rep. From what you know they're going to be the second in command of the new office being built, but despite their busy schedule, they're generally supposed to be free around this time of evening. You slowly dial the numbers into your cell phone and hold it up to your ear. It rings a few times before they pick up.

"Hello, this is Uyeda Raiden, Vice-President of the Edogawa Office." "Hello Uyeda-san, this is Sugimoto Daisuke, Vice-President of Junpei Office Supplies' Tokyo Office. I contacted you in order to express our company's interest in regards to Sony's upcoming redesign and the Edogawa office being built. Do you have time to speak about things in more detail?" There's a short pause before they reply. "I'd love to discuss things further Sugimoto-san, but I happen to be busy. I can only spare around five minutes."

Deceive 4 vs. Empathy 4
Final Rolls: 96 vs. 96
Success with cost

You're only speaking over the phone, which makes it harder to tell, but that last statement felt... unnatural. Maybe you're relying on your gut too much, but you think he's lying. You don't know too much, but from what you heard about them they seemed hardworking. Almost to a fault. You don't think they'd lie just to get out of a call with you. Maybe it's to put pressure on you then? That's a sneaky way to work.
>Insist on calling back later at a time that works better for them, or just move directly to arranging a physical meeting. You're not playing into this. [Rapport challenge, this is the minor 'cost' of your tie.]
>Attempt to work through the introductory spiel you had prepared and finish introductions anyways. Five minutes could just barely be enough. [Rapport challenge]
>Calm down and take a passive role. Don't focus on covering too much ground. Just speak slowly, let them take the lead, and try to get a read on them. Maybe you can get some info that will be useful for in-person meetings. [Rapport challenge to get them to speak, Empathy challenge to get information]
>Write-in

>>4681582
>Calm down and take a passive role. Don't focus on covering too much ground. Just speak slowly, let them take the lead, and try to get a read on them. Maybe you can get some info that will be useful for in-person meetings. [Rapport challenge to get them to speak, Empathy challenge to get information]

>>4681582
>Calm down and take a passive role. Don't focus on covering too much ground. Just speak slowly, let them take the lead, and try to get a read on them. Maybe you can get some info that will be useful for in-person meetings. [Rapport challenge to get them to speak, Empathy challenge to get information]

"A tie is a salaryman's uniform. At work I wear it around my neck, while drinking I wear it around my forehead, and when I get tired of all this shit I'll wear it around my neck again." this was fucking great, man.

Rolled 63, 99, 52, 10, 15, 65, 56, 88 = 448 (8d100)

Sugimoto Daisuke is attempting to play things slowly and get Uyeda Raiden to control the conversation without annoying them in the process.
Sugimoto Daisuke's Rapport: 3/Great - 8d100
+1 Skill Rank: It's Just Business
-4: He's pretending that he's in a hurry, and he's going to stick to that.

Uyeda Raiden's Rapport: 3/Great - 8d100

Final Rolls: 16d100-4 vs. 8d100

(Assuming the above is successful)
Sugimoto Daiskue is trying to glean information about Uyeda Raiden's personality from a short conversation.
Sugimoto Daisuke's Empathy: 4/Fantastic - 16d100
+1 Skill Rank: It's just business.
-1 Skill Rank: You're speaking over the phone and can't see their facial expressions or body language.

Final Rolls: 16d100 vs. Hidden DCs

Meant to post this much earlier, damn.
The next couple of anons can just give me a couple of 16d100s. Rolling for Raiden.

>>4683127
...or he could just roll a 99 and defeat the need for the empathy roll completely
I'll just need the one 16d100 then, to figure out how close the failure is.

Rolled 76, 81, 55, 33, 94, 64, 29, 75 = 507 (8d100)

>>4683127

Rolled 47, 11, 65, 1, 56, 65, 74, 18, 90, 12, 56, 12, 49, 52, 27, 25 = 660 (16d100)

>>4683127
>The next couple of anons can just give me a couple of 16d100s
Oh we just start fucking chunking big dice? Okay.

Rolled 61, 44, 65, 57, 73, 18, 24, 82 - 4 = 420 (8d100 - 4)

>>4683127

Rolled 39, 28, 61, 90, 74, 22, 4, 62, 66, 98, 64, 17, 11, 26, 46, 76 = 784 (16d100)

>>4683127
I see we've met our equal?

Alright, taking the first 16 dice that's a 90 vs. 99, failure on rapport. Empathy roll not needed. Will update in 2-3 hours.

Rolled 2, 27, 77, 22, 41, 67, 83, 81, 38, 21, 59, 73, 8, 84, 57, 28 = 768 (16d100)

>>4683984

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>>4683204
>>4683632
>>4684370
You'll chill out, take things slowly, and try to bait Uyeda into taking the lead. Maybe you can get a read on him before the call is over. "Of course. Since we're in a hurry, I suppose we should get right to it. Do you mind describing some of the main goals and constraints of the redesign and the Edogawa office so that we can start considering how to go about things?" This is his call to action. "I'd love to, but I'd have to pull out my documents to make sure everything is accurate, what with the recent revisions. Given the time constraints it'd be better to save something like that for a meting. Would you mind describing some of Junpei Office Supplies' strong points for me and what they might be able to offer for us? There's so many companies involved in the bids, it's hard to keep them all straight."

Deceive 4-1 vs. Empathy 4
45, 93, 91, 37
27, 49, 94, 92, 45, 57, 69, 88
Final Rolls: 93 vs. 94
Success

That's a sloppy lie. You don't think there are enough companies based within Tokyo who would be able to meet Sony's demands in the remodeling AND construction of a new office. Junpei Office Supplies isn't huge on the scale of companies in general, but it's still considered a large player within the space, and it's a difficult project for you to tackle no matter how many resources you throw at it. There's always the possibility of companies being overconfident seeing the possibility of huge money before them, or possibly out-of-region competitors or companies that aren't directly in the same space as you but who might be able to do it piling onto the bid, but that's a bit farfetched. After that earlier lie, you can tell- this is just another tactic to pile pressure onto you. You're not falling for it.

Your tone stays the same as you reply. "Is that so? I suppose I'll launch right into things." Despite the ever-increasing time constraint you keep calm and spout off a well-rehearsed set of facts and figures that you have committed to heart at this point. As you do so you keep track of the time. One minute before you're supposed to stop, Uyeda cuts you off. "I'm sorry, I need to head out now. Thank you for your consideration, and I'll pass on your information to my secretary. She'll call you concerning a meeting. Have a good night." "You too." The call cuts halfway through your goodbye.

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>>4684394
A wry smile covers your face as you stare at your phone. Uyeda Raiden is a cunning man. You wouldn't go so far as to say it's immoral, this kind of thing is normal within the business sphere, but to open up introductions with these kinds of pressure tactics? You don't like working that way, although you have to admit that he's good at it. Some of the less-experienced salesmen probably panicked and stuttered themselves into a corner after that, 'executive' or not. Fortunately you figured out what he's up to, and aren't fooled, more or less rendering his attempt at intimidating you invalid. Shame you couldn't get a read on him before your next meeting though. That would've been helpful.

You put the call behind you and return to your work- there's nothing else to do regarding Sony until you have a meeting arranged, so it's not worth thinking about. As you work, you see an email notification show up on your phone. Must be concerning work. You open up your email on your computer but don't see anything. Odd. You grab your phone and open it up from there- it's an email from that Salary Man email Hiro set up from you. It reads as follows:

"Hello, my name is Kame. I'm being bullied. My friend told me that you might be able to help me? Is that true?"

...You didn't expect to get an email that quickly. You suppose he's friends with one of those graffiti kids you helped out? You think the only ones you gave your new contact info to were them and Jumbo (as they're the only ones you had the phone numbers of), and they're the only ones in school.
>You guess you should reply to this request now. Try and get more information from them about the specifics of what has been going on before promising anything. If it seems possible to deal with, you'll help. [Rapport challenge]
>Of course you can help- you're Salary Man, hero of justice and all that. You'll ask if he prefers to communicate electronically or meet up in person, and then go from there.
>You think this might be out of your area of expertise. You'll apologize, tell him this isn't exactly your wheelhouse, and send him on his way.

In hindsight I probably should've grabbed eight of those spare rolls for the last empathy check since I would've have even needed to tell you there was a deceive check and you already had dice, but-
wait, did I roll half the dice needed for both Uyeda and you.
I did.
The odds are still exactly the same since there's no modifiers on those (1/3rd Uyeda, 2/3rds you) so I'll just leave it, but that's pretty dumb on my part, whoops.

>>4684406
>You guess you should reply to this request now. Try and get more information from them about the specifics of what has been going on before promising anything. If it seems possible to deal with, you'll help. [Rapport challenge]

>>4684452
This

>>4684406
>You guess you should reply to this request now. Try and get more information from them about the specifics of what has been going on before promising anything. If it seems possible to deal with, you'll help. [Rapport challenge]

>>4684452
>>4684997
>>4685037
Salary Man is attempting to get more information out of a bullying victim before promising to help them.
Rapport Skill: 3/Great - 8d100
-10: You are currently a faceless entity that is not particularly trustworthy. Not the best of confidents.

Final Rolls: 8d100-10 vs. DCs (50, 60, 70, 80)

>>4685263

Rolled 3, 23, 4 - 10 = 20 (3d100 - 10)

>>4685263

Rolled 49, 33, 86, 54, 48 - 10 = 260 (5d100 - 10)

I'll grab the rest of the dice then, just woke up. Will write the actual update after dinner.

>>4685340
You'd feel bad for leaving someone in the lurch who needed your help, but you think you need to know the specifics before you promise anything. "Bullying" can mean a lot of things. "Before I can promise anything I need to know what exactly you mean by 'bulling'. Is it just kids making fun of you?"

You get a reply about five minutes later. "A group of my classmates have been harassing me for half a year. It started with just mocking, but then things began to escalate. I tried to report them to the teachers, their parents, my parents, any authority figure who I thought was supposed to take care of that kind of thing, but none of them wanted to get involved. They just said I was making things out to be worse than they were, or that I should ignore them, or that I should take care of it myself, and so on and so forth. I held out for a long time, but things came to a head a few weeks ago when they said wanted money from me. I refused, of course.

A week ago, five or six people with masks jumped me on my way home from school. They broke my nose and leg, and then took my things. I'm certain it was them, but since I didn't see their faces the school doesn't want to do anything about it, and the police are treating it as an unsolved crime. As of now they're trying to extort me again, and I feel cornered. Truth to be told I don't have all that much faith in your either, but since my friend said you were a help, I decided to give you a chance."

That's a lot worse than you were expecting. You attempt to follow up with a couple other minor questions, but get nothing back. Just as you're about to leave for your last meeting, you get a response. "If I'm going to say anything more then we need to meet in person. I don't think my best friend would betray me, but on the off-chance that he was threatened and I'm just speaking to one of my bullies, I'd rather not embarrass myself further."
>...This sounds like something you should help with. Promise your assistance and arrange a meeting for later tonight.
>This is too much for you. You feel bad for the kid, but you can't fight- you're not sure how you can help here. You'll have to bow out.
>Write-in

>>4685744
>...This sounds like something you should help with. Promise your assistance and arrange a meeting for later tonight.

>>4685744
>...This sounds like something you should help with. Promise your assistance and arrange a meeting for later tonight.
We haven't backed down yet, and we're not about to start now.

>>4685744
>...This sounds like something you should help with. Promise your assistance and arrange a meeting for later tonight.
We might be able to arrange some sting operation, maybe with police assistance.

>>4685744
>...This sounds like something you should help with. Promise your assistance and arrange a meeting for later tonight.
JUSTICE

>>4685744
>...This sounds like something you should help with. Promise your assistance and arrange a meeting for later tonight.

>4685744
>...This sounds like something you should help with. Promise your assistance and arrange a meeting for later tonight.

Up, up, and away!

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>>4685765
>>4685804
>>4686115
>>4686287
>>4686865
>>4687409
You have a responsibility to act here. Even if you're a tad scared by the circumstances, it's fine- you're Salary Man, a hero of justice. It'd be ridiculous to back down from this. You send a message as you leave. "Alright. I will be free in a couple of hours. Can you get to Nerima by then? I'll be near Shakujii Park, so we can meet there."

The last time you check your phone before you meeting, you see a response. "That works for me. Send me an email once you're available." Good. Now just to get through the meeting. Your meeting also serves as your (somewhat late) dinner, and you go over the details of an (admittedly, not all that important) deal to the customer's satisfaction. After around an hour you're done with your meal and your meeting, and bid each other farewell.

Once the meeting is over you're forced to return home to get your heroics briefcase, which contains your costume and other essentials. Fortunately your home is only a district over, so it doesn't take too long, but it's still annoying- if you knew you'd have stuff to deal with you would've had it in the coin locker, and not at home. You should haul it down there tomorrow, even if you have to take two briefcases on the train- you're usually at work, so it just makes sense to have it near there.

Besides the minor annoyance at your past self, nothing else eventful happens before Salary Man's meeting. When you enter Shakujii Park it's already dark, and it's noticeably less populated than in the day. Due to the large size of the park, it takes a few minutes of walking before you reach the meeting place the two of you decided on- a spot that, based on a few seconds of glancing at a map and your foggy memories of the place, seemed like it'd be deserted. Luckily enough, it is. After turning through a small, curved path, a small clearing with a single bench and a lovely view of the lake reveals itself.

A boy is standing next to the bench and staring in your direction. He's wearing a rather generic looking school uniform, and his only accessories of interest are his thick-rimmed glasses, the bandages over his nose, and his cast and crutch. He appears to be in his late teens or very early 20s. You guess since he's in high school it has to be on the lower end. Contrary to your expectations, he isn't short or scrawny. He looks solidly built, and while you wouldn't exactly say they're buff, they look pretty athletic. If you were a bully, this wouldn't be your first choice of target.

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>>4687668
The boy looks you up and down for a few seconds before seeming to ease up. "You're Salary Man?" You approach him and offer a handshake. "Yes. You're Kame then?" "That is correct." Kame readjusts the position of his crutch before accepting your handshake. As you shake hands you finagle a business card out of your holder and begin scratching out the old information and writing down your new info. You suppose he already has it since he contacted you on his own, but it's only proper to exchange business cards.

What's left of their guard seems to disappear when they take your business card. "You're... definitely not a fake. Take a seat and I'll explain the situation." The two of you take a seat on the (somewhat wet) bench and Kame begins speaking. "I could go on a whole 'woe is me' rant and ask you to punish those responsible, but I've had enough of that at this point. I'm going finish things."

Kame pauses for a moment, seemingly composing himself. "My leg isn't broken. I'm pretending. I was only kept in the hospital for around a day. During that time I was approached by the leader of those idiots, 'Sparrow', and one of his followers. They said that they needed 100,000 yen for some bullshit excuse or other, and not so subtly hinted that things would end badly if I didn't give it to them. That's when I decided I needed to finish things, whether anyone would help me or not. I thought about things, and despite only having minor injuries to my leg, managed to get a cast and a crutch. Then I told them I needed some time to get the money together. A week. Not long enough for me to recover from my 'broken leg', but long enough for me to prepare."

After saying this, Kame pauses again. For a much longer time. Several several seconds pass before he resumes. "In three days we're going to meet at a rundown temple near my house. I'm supposed to give whoever they send the money. Instead, I'm going to wait for the handoff, and then I'm going to beat whoever comes to take the cash with this crutch when they're not expecting it. Once they go down, I should be able to get another one, maybe two of them before they start fighting back. There are around 10 in total, but they almost never travel together, and they think I'm harmless right now. They'll send four or less. They have to send four or less. They don't carry weapons. I can take them."

Kame stops talking after saying this, seemingly finished. "What exactly is the point of doing that? Getting back at them?" "Scaring them. I've been complaining to anyone who I thought was supposed to listen for months, and they've done nothing. So they haven't been scared of me. But if I take action myself and beat a few of them black and blue, then they should back off." He breathes in deeply and clenches his fists. . "I can do it. I'm not an expert, but I've done some Judo. I can fight."

>>4687679
>>4687679
So he wants to beat them up and scare them off. You guess you get the logic. "And where do I come in regarding all of this?" "I want backup. The odds are I'll come out on top, but just in case, I could use someone else in my corner, helping me fight." "...I can't fight." He stares at you, and you can see a look of deep disappointment peeking through the glare of his glasses. "Isn't that the bare minimum requirement to be a superhero?" You're not exactly sure how to respond to that. "It's fine. I can do plenty of other heroic things." That was probably not the best way, but you have no idea what would be.

"Well, whatever. Even if you can't fight, just you being there will be helpful, even if you were just standing there. They wouldn't be able to put all of their focus on me that way."
>The kid has a plan, and the logic behind them backing off once they realize he can fight back is sound enough. You'll help out the best you can, and try to make sure the situation stays under control while you're at it.
>The kid has a plan, and the logic is fine, but you aren't getting involved in a brawl. You'll let him go along with it and just stay nearby. If he messes up you can help him retreat or call the police if needed.
> The logic is fine, but you can't really condone him attempting to beat the shit out of teenagers with a crutch, even if they really, REALLY deserve it. If he just needs to scare them, then you can do that. You'll come up with some sort of plan to give these kids the scare of a lifetime and make sure they never want to go near him again.
>They don't necessarily need to be scared of him. If he showed up, said he wasn't giving them anything, and provoked them into attacking him, then you could call the cops on the attackers. They'd be caught in the middle of an assault, and it might even be tied back to their first attack. Even if they didn't all get caught up in it, they'd probably be too scared of the cops to get involved with him again.
>Write-in

>>4687683
>"...I can't fight." He stares at you, and you can see a look of deep disappointment peeking through the glare of his glasses.
Save face by explaining that we're an adult, and hes asking us to help him beat up some misguided teenages, which he is one. There is nothing really heroic about beating up dumb kids.

Now back to this plan. How much does he know about his bullies? Where they live, their home rooms in school, etc. Not planning anything too in depth just wanting to get a feel for how aware he is of his aggressors. If they're you're typical delinquents and you get enough dirt on them, you could possibly sent them all to juvy or worse. They'd probably bluster about not caring, but their parents will most likely give them the beating of their life after this whole ordeal.
After his assault has his parents changed their tune or are they still ignoring him? Has he considered scouting out the abandoned temple before the meet in three days? He could had gotten the lay out of the place and placed some traps if he had felt like, as a suggestion. Maybe even a hidden cameras or two with some microphones. Oh wait, hes on a teenager's budget. Thay could get "expensive" for him. Unless....

>>4687827
>How much does he know about his bullies
>Where they live
He knows where one lives because they live pretty close to him, the rest he doesn't know. Their addresses are held by his school but they woudln't just give them out for no reason.
>Their homerooms
He knows their homerooms, yes.
>Are they still ignoring him
No, whether they believe him 100% or not they're listening at least. They're busy with work but the dad has been trying to raise a fuss with the school. Unfortunately it's not doing much. There's not really *hard* proof either way and they don't want a scandal (they're private and worry about enrollment rates).
>Has he considered scouting out the temple
He has. He didn't consider traps (yet) though, just whether people would be able to see him beating them up. (For the most part no, it's surrounded by trees and has a long stairway leading up to the shrine itself, where they're meeting. This is the only proper entrance/exit, although someone could try to cut through the woods if they needed to.)

>>4687897
Microphones and cameras should work if properly disguised. Masks or not. Their voices can be recognized. We could do a play by play with him on how to act and what to say. We're a professional afterall.

What about his friends that told him about us? They wanna help?

>>4687827

>The kid has a plan, and the logic is fine, but you aren't getting involved in a brawl. You'll let him go along with it and just stay nearby. If he messes up you can help him retreat or call the police if needed.

I'm with >>4688031 on the idea of cameras. Pending any bullshit recording consent laws, presenting irrefutable evidence to the authorities, parents, and/or school that this is a major problem that calls for serious punishment is a good way to go.

I think we should intervene when they start approaching him, and get them to unwittingly spill on camera. Guess it's time to go back to the radio shack.

>>4688049
Dont forget. We should also throw in a really awkward and uncomfortable Parent Teacher Meeting for all the kids involved.

>>4687897
>>4687897
Does the kid have any other friends, teachers, adults that would back him up if he gets the evidence? Does he know any "Karens?" They make for powerful allies, and dangerous foes.

>>4687683
>They don't necessarily need to be scared of him. If he showed up, said he wasn't giving them anything, and provoked them into attacking him, then you could call the cops on the attackers. They'd be caught in the middle of an assault, and it might even be tied back to their first attack. Even if they didn't all get caught up in it, they'd probably be too scared of the cops to get involved with him again.
We can set up cameras and shit.

So there are only two actual votes, but the consensus seems to be roughly:
>The kid has a plan, and the logic is fine, but you aren't getting involved in a brawl. You'll let him go along with it and just stay nearby. If he messes up you can help him retreat or call the police if needed.
but while recording everything so that it can be handed over to the police later if needed
Is that correct?

>>4688542
If he had actual, irrefutable, evidence, then his dad would probably take it to the school with the greatest of "I told you so"s, magically ignoring the fact that he initially ignored it too.
as for his friends, uh, they don't want to get involved physically but they would attempt to help as far as most other methods go
but if he had irrefutable evidence either way it'd probably just end things because they'd go "well shit, he was 100% telling the truth and we can't cover up the problem because the cops can fuck us if we don't", so it's pretty much a null issue

>>4689521
Image all the cred he'd get if we actually manage to pull this off. He'd probably get enough clout for the kids to give back what they stolen and then some, in addition to the school possibly trying to bribe him less they get discredited.

It he goes to the police, the parent will beat the shit out their kids, or do nothing if they're the neglectful sort. If he tries for bribery I think he can get other things. I dont know both paths seem pretty good but what I wanna know is why these school bullies are trying to pick on him in the first place.

>>4689521
I'll support that plan.

>>4689521
I'll support too

Looks like that's that then. I will update later tonight!

>>4689532
true
>>4689521
yeah pretty much

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The two of you speak for some time, discussing the specifics of the situation and the options available to you. Without noticing nearly an hour passes before you reach an agreement. You'll go with his initial plan, but with you stealthily serving as backup in case something goes wrong. In addition, you'll be planting some microphones and cameras nearby so that he has the proof he may need depending on how things proceed after the incident.

"So, you mind if I ask how this started anyways? Were you just unlucky?" Kame shrugs. "Not exactly. I was part of the student council and regularly got on their ass. Stuff that they'd get in some trouble for, but nothing anything too bad. Violating dress code, skipping, smoking. Then eventually they started trying to get back at me for it. No idea if they just got fed up or what, but from then on they were following me around and trying to ruin my days for getting them a few talking-tos and detentions. I tried to report them when things escalated, but the faculty assumed it was just some minor feud and that I was exaggerating. They'd never admit they were wrong, so stuff just kind of happened."

"As for why they're trying to mess with me now? Easy target I guess- that and they're used to it. Already resigned from the student council months ago since they didn't seem to give a shit." Kame stands up after saying this. "It's getting late, I should get back before my parents. See you when you're free so that we can set up the shrine. Keep me updated." You let out a muffled "Alright." through your helmet and then grab your phone. You're going to need Hiro's help on the electronics part, and you have to scout out the shrine he mentioned and see where you can set things up. So much to do, so little time.

While you're considering your next actions, your business phone rings. Unknown number. "Hello, this is Sugimoto Daisuke, Vice-President of the Tokyo Branch of Junpei Office Supplies. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" "This is Uyeda-san's secretary. He said he was available to meet with you in Edogawa on Friday, around 10 PM. Does that time work for you?"

Friday, 10 PM. That's the end of week meeting, so no, you don't have...
Fuck. That kid said he was confronting his bullies at 8 PM the same night. You could probably make the commute and hurriedly finish things in the two hours between the two events, but it'd be risky. If something unexpected happened it'd derail your schedule completely.
>And that's fine. You've lived through many days packed to the brim with meetings, and you've pulled through most of them just fine.
>This won't work for you. You'll have to aim for another time. ...And at the same time discretely indicate that the Sony deal isn't your top priority.
>The kid delayed the bullies once by telling him he needed time to get the money together, so hopefully he can push things back another day so that nothing overlaps. It'd give the two of you more time to prepare too.
>Write-in

>>4691971
>And that's fine. You've lived through many days packed to the brim with meetings, and you've pulled through most of them just fine.
>The kid delayed the bullies once by telling him he needed time to get the money together, so hopefully he can push things back another day so that nothing overlaps. It'd give the two of you more time to prepare too.
Tomorrow morning see if we can send him an email stating if he's confident enough to buy one or two more days for us to figure out the specific electronic we'll need, how to operate them the way we want, etc.. If he's not confident about being able to buy the time than that's fine.

Perhaps if we're lucky and figure out how to operate the electronics sooner than later, we can push the bully encounter sooner, buying us the time we need for the meeting.

>>4692034
This.

Sorry for the radio silence, been occupied. I'll update sometime this afternoon, and assuming there are votes, sometime late tonight.

>>4691971
>And that's fine. You've lived through many days packed to the brim with meetings, and you've pulled through most of them just fine.

Would prefer not to ask the kid to stall for time. While time would be good on our end, of course, I'm pretty sure these bullies are smart enough to smell that something wierd is going on with the situation if he did so.

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>>4692034
>>4692818
>>4695164
If push comes to shove, you can deal with the crunch scheduling- you've dealt with much worse. Compared to the infamous '53 Hour Shuffle' this is nothing. ...But still, you could use extra time for other reasons. You're not an expert with technology, and having some extra time to set up wouldn't hurt. You'll message the kid later and ask him if he's confident in buying an extra day or two. If so, you'll use it for setup and get rid of the conflict while you're at it, and if not, no big deal.

That night you do get one piece of good news: your parents, after their stay in your home, will be leaving in a couple of days. They've looked around Tokyo enough for the time being, and will head out to a hot spring near the edge of the city before heading back to the farm. Once you get home you make sure to greet them both and make some small talk. Your mother almost starts chewing you out about something or other, but before she does so you take your leave and fade into the gentle grasp of sleep. You could stay up late and get some extra leisure time in but tonight you just... want to... sleep.

Morning. You robotically carry out your routine, same as ever, as you fade into wakefulness. As you head to the station you're struck by how lovely the sky is today, and how nice the crisp wind feels on your skin. Maybe you're just on an optimistic streak this morning, but you feel like today will be a good day.

"I'm glad you're here. Something happened in central, and it'd be a big help if you could take care of this paperwork concerning the recent mixup." "...All of this is about the mixup sir?" "Well, some of it- it's hard to tell. Just fill it out." "Ok then sir." Your office strolls back to his desk as you stare at the massive pile of paperwork sitting on your desk. You're guessing his brother tried to load him up with busy work to distract him, and then it magically become yours. So much for a good day. Dammit.

Many hours of paperwork later, it's nearly the afternoon. You discretely take Hiro to the side and ask him to grab lunch with you. You'll need to get those cameras and microphones quickly to have them set up in time, and Hiro is the one person you know who should know all about them.
>Fill him in on the situation in full and ask him if he could purchase them (with your money) and set them up for you. You'd owe him one if he could get this out of the way for you.
>Fill him in on the situation and ask for him to help you get the correct equipment for this sort of task and run over how to set it up. You hate to impose, but you do need the help. Maybe in the meantime you can get a rundown over how his presentation is going and help him on that.
>Fill him in on the situation and ask where you should go to purchase what you need. You can take care of this on your own with sufficient time to learn and fiddle around with them. ...You just might kill one in the process.
>Write-in

>>4695412
>Fill him in on the situation and ask for him to help you get the correct equipment for this sort of task and run over how to set it up. You hate to impose, but you do need the help. Maybe in the meantime you can get a rundown over how his presentation is going and help him on that.

>>4695412
>Fill him in on the situation and ask for him to help you get the correct equipment for this sort of task and run over how to set it up. You hate to impose, but you do need the help. Maybe in the meantime you can get a rundown over how his presentation is going and help him on that.

>>4695412
>Fill him in on the situation and ask for him to help you get the correct equipment for this sort of task and run over how to set it up. You hate to impose, but you do need the help. Maybe in the meantime you can get a rundown over how his presentation is going and help him on that.
Some things we should consider. We could do a food delivery service/program. Plenty of those exist today where businesses and/or companies set you up with pre-made meals, or I think ingredients to make them? I think it's both. Point being I think we can optimize our guy's time some more to squeeze in some extra time and nutrients for his already tight schedule. Failing that he could go for some premium Japan equivalent of Doordash. Hiro is a young guy and probably had to crunch during college. We could honestly learn a thing or two from him.

Would it be improper to inform the Prsident that his brother is dumping his workload on us? Could we potentially do a meet and greet with him? Are we friends or slightly above good work associates?

>>4695844
>Would it be improper to inform the Prsident that his brother is dumping his workload on us? Could we potentially do a meet and greet with him? Are we friends or slightly above good work associates?
If you broached it very respectfully and subtly he'd probably get the hint without being annoyed. He wouldn't actually do anything about the situation, except consider never sending busy work his brother's way again since there's a good chance it could just go straight to you.
As for whether you're friends, uh. You'd say your relationship is complicated. You are an extremely valuable employee of the company who has dedicated many years of labor to help him, and he'd trust you to take care of anything he needed. He also understands that despite this, he puts you through a lot of suffering, and you think he feels guilty for this. That is part of why you're paid exceedingly well for your position- you're not certain, but you think you, a vice president, are paid more than any of the branch presidents.
Your feelings are also... somewhat complicated you'd say? The owner has done good by you sometimes, but him letting his brother reign free has shoved a pile of endless bullshit your way. On top of him passing you over for running the Hokkaido branch in lieu of letting you babysit his brother indefinitely, there's a lot of resentment. The money is nice, but it doesn't really make up for things. You'd take a pay cut any day to get your own branch. You're not sure, but you think you might hate him. You respect him, and appreciate some of things he's done for you, but you also might hate him.

Update later today. Sorry for the slow pace lately, it seems like whoever's in charge of life figured it'd be funny if I got to see how the MC feels for a little while.

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>>4695844
>>4695714
>>4695666
"So, a couple things. Lunch is on me, and I need your help with buying some cameras and microphones. I'll figure out how to set them up myself if you can give me some instructions, but I'm kind of lost and on a short timeframe." Hiro seems slightly surprised, but isn't particularly vexed by the problem. "That should be easy enough as long as I know the specifics. Y'know, the environment you need to set them up in, what device they're interacting with that kind of thing." Ah. Of course. You guess that is important. "Alright then, here are the specifics..."

"So you're going to need several microphones and cameras that are portable and have their own power supply. At the very least one of each should be optimized for long-distance and one for short-distance. It might be a bit loud, so I wonder whether a condenser would have too much background noise..." After muttering to himself for a moment Hiro cuts himself off. "I'll think about it more and get back to you after we eat." "Alright then."

Lunch now then. You had something in mind, but you're not quite there yet. You throw a glance around to see if there's somewhere else you can eat here, and after a moment spot some sort of Chinese place. That'll work. You head inside, Hiro following behind, and begin to inquire about the progress of his presentation.

"It's going alright. I've been looking into a lot of interesting studies on productivity and the costs of maintaining old software. Reminds me of university. I've also been going through and documenting a lot of the hard points within the current codebase." That sounds decent. Combine it with some kissing up to the president and while it might not be a winner, maybe it can bring about some small victory, like bringing on an additional helper, or being able to remake parts of it from scratch.

The two of you begin to discuss things in more detail, but get sidetracked while examining the chalkboard menus posted on the small restaurant's walls. "This place sure does have a lot of mabo tofu, huh?" "Uh, yeah. I believe it said something about it on the sign." "...That's supposed to be spicy, right?" "I believe so." As you say this, Hiro turns his attention away from the signs and gets the attention of the man behind the counter. "Excuse me. Could I get the Super Hell?" The employee pauses. "Are you certain?" "Yes. And that would normally go with rice, right?" "...I do not know anyone to have finished it without using rice." "The Super Hell and some rice then."

As Hiro makes his questionable decisions, you order your food. You resume discussion about the specifics of his presentation after this, and offer a few valuable points of feedback. This doesn't last for long though, as after a short wait your food arrives. The 'Super Hell' and rice for Hiro, the Red Mabo Tofu and rice for yourself, and some tea and spring rolls for the table.

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>>4698945
You begin eating, and just as you're pleasantly surprised by the somewhat spicy yet irresistible taste, you notice Hiro biting his lower lip and forcefully clenching his mouth shut after taking his first spoonful of the 'Super Hell' mabo tofu. "...Are you alright?" Hiro merely nods his head and downs a large gulp of water before continuing to eat. He almost looks like he's in physical pain, but you think he's enjoying it. ...Good for him you guess. You focus your attention back to your meal before you're interrupted by a phone call. It's from your coworker, Tadashi. You disappointedly put down your chopsticks, narrowly saving a spring roll from the (literal) jaws of death as you answer the phone.

Before you can speak, Tadashi does. "Vice-president, I think I'm having a bit of a nervous breakdown." He doesn't follow up with anything. "Are you alright? Do you need any medicine- I have pills for that. They come in handy." "Thank you for the offer sir, but no, I don't think I need any medicine. I'm just going to need to take some time off. A week. Maybe two. If the president asks, tell him my family died in a car accident or something. I'll talk to you later sir."

That was... slightly worrying. For now you should probably just give him some space, but maybe you'll check in with him in a few days and see if he's alright. Being the boss's punching bag for so long must've gotten to him. You turn back to your food, and as you do so are greeted by an image of Hiro, face red and sweat dripping down his face, practically holding onto the table for dear life. "Are you alright?" He merely nods again as he shovels another spoonfool of tofu and rice into his mouth.

After you finish your food, you find that Hiro is still, uh, 'occupied' with his. You suppose you'll just leave him to it. In the meantime, you have some decisions to make. Hiro mentioned that you'd need short and long-range cameras and microphones, and while that seems obvious now, you're starting to wonder if having a lot of equipment might be more trouble than it's worth. No matter what happens it's going to be a bit of an incident, and setting up and recovering everything will take a while, especially in the dark, by a forest. If you need to leave quickly, it could be inconvenient.
>...But it's not worth worrying that much about. If you need to leave in a hurry you can just recover what you can then and come back for the rest later. It's best to make sure you have maximum coverage of the area rather than focusing on some hypothetical time needed to escape.
>It's worth taking into account, but not that much. You'll get enough to get decent footage and call it that.
>Minimalism is key here. If something happens, you won't have time to recover much. You can put some sort of microphone on or near Kame and then carry a camera yourself. That way you'll be able to run away immediately if you need to.
>Write-in

>>4698946
>in the dark
Ask Hiro if he can help us install a micro night vision camera into the helmet. That should make navigation and recovery easier. And for the love of god let's get the guy a glass of milk or bowl of yogurt. He cant come to work as a sweaty mess.

Ask the manager or a waiter if he gets to have his photo put on a wall for actually managing to finish the dish? I cant image it'd be easy. If no let's take a picture for him.

>>4698946
Can we send Mr. Punching Bag a message about what happened and if he wants to talk about it? Does he need our help?

>>4698946
>It's worth taking into account, but not that much. You'll get enough to get decent footage and call it that.

Updating later tonight, hopefully after I bang out an assignment.
>>4698982
You were planning on grabbing the stuff after this and having him brief you on how exactly to get them working on the way back, so hopefully by then he'll look more... presentable.
And yes, you do see a wall for this sort of thing.
>>4699352
He just asked you to cover for him for the time being so you were planning to do that and give him some space for the time being. Maybe check up on him in a few days if you hear nothing. Do you want to call him back now or something?

>>4700628
It cant hurt to leave him a message asking him to talk to us if he needs someone to talk to. We've been working for the company for as long as he has. We know his pain.

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>>4698982
>>4699716
>>4701084
Eh. It's a concern, but not a big one. You'll mention to Hiro not to go overboard with set up while you're getting equipment and leave it at that. As Hiro continues to struggle with the last of his meal turned mortal enemy, you send Tadashi a quick message. You're gonna give him space, but if he wants to rant for a while, well, you know of the untold evils of Junpei Hiroshi better than anyone else.

Once you're done sending the message, you turn your attention to Hiroshi. His face is red, and he looks terrible, but he has a triumphant look on his face. He slowly lifts a spoon into the air, lording it over the empty bowl of mabo tofu and its smaller, surrounding bowls of rice. "Congratulations." Hiro just nods. He downs another glass of water (the waiter had been rather dutifully delivering them to him) before speaking. "That was good. Really good. I'll have to come back some time."

You don't know what possesses a man to enjoy suffering, but if he's happy you're not gonna get in the way of that. "Sure. Go get your picture taken and we'll head out." "Picture?" "For the wall. That's why you ate it, right?" Hiro glances at a wall hidden away in the corner, adorned by the sweaty, red faces of those who rose victorious over the hellish mabo tofu menace. "Oh. I didn't realize they had one. I'll pass." ...Ok then. You do your best not to dwell on what drives a man to engage in food masochism as the two of you head to an electronics store of Hiro's recommendation.

It takes around half an hour to purchase a few suitable cameras and microphones. As you do so, Hiro quickly briefs you on their operation. How to set them up, where to put, their general use. While he speaks, you record his speech on your phone (this, too, is with his help). Just in case- you don't want to have to bother him for help again later. Once you're done shopping the two of you head back to the office (by this point in time Hiro is, fortunately, looking much better).

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>>4701653
During the trek back you briefly mention the possibility of installing a night vision camera in your helmet. Hiro is not particularly opposed to the idea, but he does mention some slight... difficulties. You don't get all of the specifics, but among night vision cameras there are the green-tinted kind, and the black and white kind. Most consumer cameras are the black and white kind. Telling color apart isn't really an option on either, and both have somewhat questionable camera quality. This isn't a big problem for you, but a much more pertinent problem he brings up is the amount of space in your helmet. You managed to cram in a single screen in there to watch behind yourself, but even that was pushing it. There's no way you could fit two in there without it being really cramped. To install a night-vision camera you'd either have to remove the one you currently have, or get some kind of universal remote and mess with the cameras so that they were toggleable. This is... not inherently difficult, but the cameras aren't really built with it, so it becomes, in Hiro's words, "a lot of difficult, fiddly bullshit that's a pain to deal with". What you get from that is that you're not going to be able to do it, and that you'd have to give it over to him, and then you'd have to cut heroics out for a little while and think of a way to pay back the favor.
>More trouble than it's worth. You'll keep your current setup.
>A night-vision camera is probably more useful than seeing behind you. You'll switch them out.
>Why not both? You'll mount the night-vision camera behind you!
>You can't do it right now, but having both would be nice. You'll ask him to take care of it, pay him for it if he's willing to accept, and figure out a way to return the favor properly later.
>Write-in

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>>4701656
The rest of the day passes without much adieu, as you practically mow through a pile of paperwork. This was probably meant to take the president weeks upon weeks to get through. In a single day, you have taken care of most of it. Sure, that might be more a comment on your boss's lack of work ethic than anything, but you're still a little proud of the feat.

With work over, you switch your work briefcase for your heroics one and take a train towards Kame's house. Earlier in the day you received a text that he was able to successfully delay the showdown by a day, effectively preventing your schedule crunch, but you still wanted to head out tonight. It's best to take care of these things early.

By the time you arrive at the train station, switch into your costume, and head to the shrine, Kame has already arrived. You see him holding a bucket and some sort of wire while he pokes around. You approach him, and he nods at you. "You mentioned that a trap or something might help, so I've been looking around. I have an idea." "...Go on." "So, I went around and got some piano wire and nails. I'm gonna tie this wire between trees, and the shrine, and stuff, before they come, and if I'm in trouble I can lure them towards it. It's pretty dark, so they might trip over it. Kame then lifts up the bucket into view. "Then, when they trip, they're gonna get scraped up by these nails I spread nearby. They shouldn't pierce through shoes so it'll be fine for me to walk through them, but it should scratch anybody on the ground up something bad."

....So he's gonna try to make them trip and fall into a bunch of nails.
>That's horrible. Scrap the whole traps thing, it was a terrible idea. Just get the kid to help you find good spots for the cameras and stuff and make sure he doesn't come up with any other weird plans.
>That's a little overboard. The wire is fine, the nails aren't. If somebody landed wrong that could gouge an eye out, or maybe cut an artery. No way.
>That's a good idea. Unless things go really wrong they shouldn't cause too much damage. It's not like the kids are naked, and the nails aren't being shot out of a nailgun or anything. It'll scratch them up, but not much more.
>Write-in
This should be my last update of the thread, in 2-3 days I'll post a new one. We'll probably get right into the swing of things with the meeting with UYEDA RAIDEN, and then the showdown at the shrine should be shortly after. Thanks for playing!

>>4701656
>More trouble than it's worth. You'll keep your current setup.
Just get a mask and night vision goggles

>>4701663
>That's a little overboard. The wire is fine, the nails aren't. If somebody landed wrong that could gouge an eye out, or maybe cut an artery. No way.
Good on him for creativity.

>>4701656
>You can't do it right now, but having both would be nice. You'll ask him to take care of it, pay him for it if he's willing to accept, and figure out a way to return the favor properly later.
>>4701663
>That's a little overboard. The wire is fine, the nails aren't. If somebody landed wrong that could gouge an eye out, or maybe cut an artery. No way.

>>4701656
>>More trouble than it's worth. You'll keep your current setup.

>>More trouble than it's worth. You'll keep your current setup.

>>4701663
>More trouble than it's worth. You'll keep your current setup.
>That's a little overboard. The wire is fine, the nails aren't. If somebody landed wrong that could gouge an eye out, or maybe cut an artery. No way.

>>4701656
>More trouble than it's worth. You'll keep your current setup.
>That's a little overboard. The wire is fine, the nails aren't. If somebody landed wrong that could gouge an eye out, or maybe cut an artery. No way.
That shit is lawsuit-tier.