Kahi 2011/12/27 (Tue) 09:35 No. 38771 ▼ File 132497855278.jpg - (275.22KB, 522x907 , f0de76b339f1e1a2a602ce54fe8dc826001804cf.jpg)
"Tenshi... I'll be direct. You shouldn't spy on people in the bathroom." You say, having determined that picking up on subtleties isn't exactly a strong suit, here.
"... Ah?" She says, blinking. "Tenshi was bad?"
"A little. Bathrooms are... well, would you really like it much if I came in and watched you clean yourself, or use the toilet?" You ask, without stopping to think.
... The way she's tilting her head suggests that she doesn't have a terribly solid grasp on why that would be a bad thing. Then she frowns a little.
"Tenshi would be a little embarrased." She admits, after a moment. "But, if master wanted to watch, then-"
"Never mind that." You interrupt. "The point is, watching me in the shower, spying and not letting me know you're there, embarrases me."
"...." Tenshi sags a little, and pouts.
"You understand?" You ask, just to confirm things.
"Tenshi was bad." She mumbles, looking a little depressed. "But Tenshi really liked watching Master..."
"That's... not really here or there." You hedge. "It's just not the sort of thing you do, without permission..."
You realize you talked a little too long, again. Well, it's probably still fine.
"Tenshi understands." She says. "Tenshi will not peek on Master in the bathroom without asking."
"That's.... close enough, anyway. I guess." You decide.
She half-giggles and blushes a little as you first pinch her cheeks, then pick her up bodily. She squirms just a little, but you aren't carrying her for long, and you drop her to the bed only a bit away.
She looks up at you with wide, startled, but almost expectant and eager eyes. Then pouts as you turn away to rummage through your drawers for things. Wallet, watch, a pen... Okay.
"I'll be going out in a bit." You say. "I'll leave food out, though. You should be able to get it when you need to, if not then bug Frank.
Heading out a little earlier means that you have less time to fiddle around with things here, but there's enough to get a brief check up on city-stray behavior and habitats.
As expected, they love living in the city, since a lot of what gets thrown away is perfectly edible food, and tastier than eating grass, and as long as they keep out of the way of pets and the occasional stray dog or cat, they don't have to really worry about non-yukkuri predators. The thing is, they make a huge mess when they collect food from trash bags, spreading it all over the place, and have the habit of coming to the conclusion that pedestrians are there to cater to their needs and whims. In short, an annoying nuisance. They also break into homes, when possible, to steal food and make a mess of things. It's why most people don't live on the ground floor, if possible, in the inner city. Shops and things on the street-level can have problems, though, especially if they sell food. But it's not unknown for them to break into completely unrelated businesses: gun shops or furniture retail, for example, seeming to expect that any place humans frequent will have food waiting inside for them.
When the streets get too clogged, of course, methodical exterminations will progress, covering the streets alley by alley to get rid of the pests. It never gets rid of all of them, of course, but the vast majority are disposed of and, for a few days at least, only the most foolishly brave or hungry yukkuri would venture into the city interior.
It seems like they'll live just about anywhere, but that's as far as you read before it's time to go.
Nothing of importance happens on the way, but with the extra time you go ahead and walk a little slower than normal. You don't want to be trapped into the sort of loan you can't repay. More than anything, that's your goal for this meeting, you think. Still, you can't set up a cafe without equipment, and whether it's through goods or direct cash... yeah, as far as you can see, you're going to need a loan in order to get started. You suspect the devil will be in the details, however.
The restaurant is pretty grandiose. It's got these fancy pillars and statues, and as you step inside there's a man waiting in a tuxedo to check people entering against the dress code and list of reservations.
"Name and party?" He asks, boredom seeping through every word.
"John. I have a... uh, meeting, with miss McCargar?" You say.
There's a moment's dull interest before he makes a mark on something and rings a bell.
"You are expected." He says, as a waiter steps through, calm disinterest plastered on all of his features. "He will show you to the VIP room."
VI... oh boy. You're led to the side and up some stairs, into the back, and then ushered through a door. You guess you were expecting it to be dimly lit, or something, but the lighting is the same as everywhere else in the building. There's more than half a dozen people sitting there, munching on breadsticks at the table. You have a strong feeling that every one of them is armed.
One of them is your landlord. He looks unsurprised to see you, and takes another bite. Another man, tall and ludicrously muscular, is holding a pink-haired blob Yukkuri on his shoulder, next to Frida, though you aren't sure of other details. It mutters something to him... in Italian? And he chuckles and mutters back, raising a bit of bread dipped in olive oil to her mouth.
"Have a seat, boy." The only human woman at the table... both 'suggests', and 'orders' with the same tone.
You have to be careful not to stumble, with all the pressure you're suddenly feeling on you, but you're seated. Then there's a slight shuffling from behind you. And a click.
There's a gun pointed at the back of your head.
You try to focus on your present-gun. You're pretty sure that Frank told them about-that's a gun. But you have to think clearly and make sure-holy shit you are literally a finger-twitch away from death right now.
"Relax, bunny." Frida orders. "Boy looks ready to have a heart attack. Pretty sure he's not going to try anything stupid."
There's a sort of disgusted, scornful chuckle from behind you. Then a sharp click... the safety being turned back on. You take a deep breath, as the figure behind you shuffles into view, to stand behind and a bit to the side of Frida. It's a humanoid Reisen, and it's showing far too many teeth as it leers at you.
"You'll have to excuse my little bunny." Frida says, once more more of an order than a request. "She takes my safety very seriously."
There's a menu in front of you, you realize dimly. And in just a moment, there's a waiter come in to collect orders, and these people are waiting on you...
"I, uh... Calamari?" You ask, not sure what that is. He nods, though, and compliments you on the choice. You decide it's probably best to stick with just water to drink, on that side of things. You should probably have ordered spaghetti. That's not going to hold any surprises for you. Too late now.
"Well, boy? You're here to talk business, aren't you? Talk." Frida says.
"I'm fairly sure Frank already gave you the highlights." You say, heartbeat finally starting to come under control.
"Maybe. Maybe the boy just mentioned you'd be needing money for something." She says leadingly. You'd like to believe otherwise, but you can all too easily see that being the case.
"He and I are joining the Demon Queen's most recent competition." You say, pointedly making sure that he's just as much involved in this as you are. "I've planned a... sort of maid-cafe, waited on by Yukkuri. Staffing should, by this point, be well in hand, but equipment, furnishings, and a place of operations among other things, are-"
"You're needing start-up capital." She says, waving a hand to cut off your explanation. "Ricky, crunch some numbers, all right?"
"Proper furnishings, you'd want something like eight tables with four chairs each for a decent size, nice ones'll run you twenty a chair and forty a table... I'd estimate a thousand just there. Could be more though, depending on how nice you're getting, but I'd say stick with those prices for now, no need for anything to be too fancy yet." Your landlord says, rubbing his chin. "Register, other stuff, that'll run you another few hundred. Call it thirteen hundred there. Depending on how you handle renting a space, down payments and all, might be anywhere from two to five hundred a month. Call it five, to be on the outside estimation, though hoping for less. You'd be at eighteen hundred there. Probably going to take a couple hundred for start-up stock of drinks and food, too. Two thousand's probably the magic number."
... That's a bit larger of a number than you'd been hoping to hear. Frida is nodding like it's about what she'd expected, though.
"I wouldn't suppose there's any sort of... discounted option, for finding these things." You wonder aloud, trying not to think about the fact that you're implying a willingness to purchase stolen goods.
"You think there's a great glut of furniture trucks being shipped around the city, boy?" Frida wonders right back. "Not quite at the population density where one can just go missing, no questions asked."
"Ah." you say flatly.
"Might know a fellow or two that'd be able to get you a little cut on rent rates, of course." She says, eying your landlord. "But that'd be entirely outside of loans and debt-repayment."
... You really don't want to lock yourself into a loan you might not be able to pay, though. You could get your knees broken, or... thrown off the Edge, or something. Or shot. You could always just be shot.
The meal arrives, and you're left facing a platter full of what looks like deep-fried tentacles and some dipping sauce. It takes you a few minutes to work up the nerve to start in on it, as scattered conversation ensues. By the time you've finished, Frida is focused on you again.
"I'm not gonna have you whacked if shit falls through and you can't pay, kid." She says.
You're not sure entirely how she divined your worry, but it was probably written all over your face somehow.
"Nah, dead you're worth nothing. Alive, you still owe, and maybe a little extra for taking your time about it, but you can still pay me back. And I'll get my money back one way or the other. What would you say, bunny, about ten?"
Mocking sniggers are the reply, and Fridan pauses to consider.
"No, you're right. Probably is more like five. Call it five, then. Maybe ten times a day, so there's that. Fifty a day, then, so saying you owe twenty five hundred for a debt of two thousand... fifty days. Yeah, maybe call it sixty, to account for the pretty dress, make-up, and all that'll go into it. Wouldn't take you but about two months to earn that much back, on your knees." She says, seeming perfectly serious, though it takes you a minute to figure out what she's saying. "Probably less, if you've paid some back already."
"I'll... I'll keep that in mind." you say, awkwardly.
"But yeah. Let's call it a loan for two thousand, you owe twenty five hundred back in sixty days." She says.
"It's a bit soon." You say, swallowing a bit of water. "If you wait until this little contest has been won, then you can be paid out of the proceeds..."
"Kid, if you haven't made enough to pay me back in two months, what makes you think you have a shot at winning?" She asks, lip quirking a little. "Been to that website, I've seen how scores get tallied. You're going to be way at the back of the pack. But alright, kid. Call it ninety days. Just to give you a little leeway. And if you screw up too bad, and still don't have the cash, bunny here thinks you have very pretty lips."
The Reisen's leer only widens, to an uncomfortable degree.
"That's... comforting..." You say, though it isn't very.
It doesn't seem like there's much of a choice, though. You don't know exactly where else you might find two thousand money all at once for this, and she's nodding in a way that leaves you pretty sure she already considers this a done deal, even with nothing signed or any handshakes. In light of things, the fact that she has no intention of keeping you strung along in debt forever is a small comfort.
"Freddy here can draw up a contract in ten minutes, if you're ready, kid."
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12:34 PM
[ ] What do you do?
