Log: Opening Moves [Diplomatic Developments]
Location: A Sakusenjo Estate, Japan
Characters: Zaiden Mallory and Kisho Sakusenjo
Purpose: The first meeting of the two characters; Kisho to decide if she wishes to recruit Zaiden to assist her towards her ends.
The courtyard within the Japanese estate was spacious, its layout making it impossible to see clearly across the expanse. It was populated by a minimalistic collection of stones and vegetation, but the trees and rocks had been positioned in a manner that shielded some areas of the garden from the others. Zaiden entered through the north-facing doorway, emerging into the pale sunlight and looking around. It was dreadfully early in the morning, but Zaiden was a punctual man, and had agreed to schedule the meeting at an early hour out of the belief that it would be his host's preference.
Zaiden had been instructed to wait in the courtyard. He spent a few minutes wandering up and down the pebbled paths traversing the area, the sound of water rippling gently over stone audible the entire time. Zaiden attempted to track the source of the sound, but was unable to locate any sort of man-made stream, somewhat to his frustration. He ended up returning to the northward entrance – there were openings onto the courtyard from all four of its sides – and seating himself on a spare stone bench surely placed there for the exact purpose of providing a resting place for guests.
As wonderful as the surroundings were, and as lavish as his personal accommodations at his hotel seemed to be, and as much as Zaiden did enjoy doing business on his father's dollar, the situation wasn't entirely to Zaiden's liking. He hated being relegated to the position of glorified messenger boy. And yet being assigned this job, this task, was in some ways proof that Alexander Mallory trusted his son enough to allow Zaiden to make diplomatic arrangements on his behalf.
The problem was, Zaiden hadn't brushed up on current events in the area of Japanese-American relations during his recent political studies.
Zaiden was a voracious reader, however, and frequently took almost obsessive interest in studying some topic or another. He had investigated Japan to a degree. He remembered something about how social interaction was a delicate balancing act designed to protect the honor of all involved, actions and words veiled in polite demurring when a level of intimacy was not yet established. He had therefore made a point of arriving just slightly earlier than he had agreed to, hoping the gesture would be interpreted as a nod of respect to his host, indicating that he was willing to wait peacefully for the other man's time.
And so when a certain Sakusenjo-san approached, Zaiden rose smoothly from his seat to greet the other man. His father had given him so little advanced warning about this potential piece of real world experience that Zaiden had been left with almost no time to investigate the political climate as it was. It turned out that a large portion of the information he wanted to know about was highly classified, the option of having his contacts work on teasing it free impossible with the time constraints. Zaiden could only deduce that there was something going on in Japan that the United States was not meant to know about at the present time. There was slight bristling between the countries, and this meeting was one of many small attempts to smooth down any ruffled feathers. As a result Zaiden would be cautious, not revealing his knowledge of the few details he had gathered.
"Sakusenjo-san," he said. The honorific felt as strange on his tongue as it had in his head, Zaiden not being used to the nuances of such things seeing as he was a foreigner. Nevertheless, it had felt like the most prudent greeting. "Thank you for having me here. Your garden is lovely."
Zaiden was calm, controlled, but he had the feeling that they were not alone.
Characters: Zaiden Mallory and Kisho Sakusenjo
Purpose: The first meeting of the two characters; Kisho to decide if she wishes to recruit Zaiden to assist her towards her ends.
The courtyard within the Japanese estate was spacious, its layout making it impossible to see clearly across the expanse. It was populated by a minimalistic collection of stones and vegetation, but the trees and rocks had been positioned in a manner that shielded some areas of the garden from the others. Zaiden entered through the north-facing doorway, emerging into the pale sunlight and looking around. It was dreadfully early in the morning, but Zaiden was a punctual man, and had agreed to schedule the meeting at an early hour out of the belief that it would be his host's preference.
Zaiden had been instructed to wait in the courtyard. He spent a few minutes wandering up and down the pebbled paths traversing the area, the sound of water rippling gently over stone audible the entire time. Zaiden attempted to track the source of the sound, but was unable to locate any sort of man-made stream, somewhat to his frustration. He ended up returning to the northward entrance – there were openings onto the courtyard from all four of its sides – and seating himself on a spare stone bench surely placed there for the exact purpose of providing a resting place for guests.
As wonderful as the surroundings were, and as lavish as his personal accommodations at his hotel seemed to be, and as much as Zaiden did enjoy doing business on his father's dollar, the situation wasn't entirely to Zaiden's liking. He hated being relegated to the position of glorified messenger boy. And yet being assigned this job, this task, was in some ways proof that Alexander Mallory trusted his son enough to allow Zaiden to make diplomatic arrangements on his behalf.
The problem was, Zaiden hadn't brushed up on current events in the area of Japanese-American relations during his recent political studies.
Zaiden was a voracious reader, however, and frequently took almost obsessive interest in studying some topic or another. He had investigated Japan to a degree. He remembered something about how social interaction was a delicate balancing act designed to protect the honor of all involved, actions and words veiled in polite demurring when a level of intimacy was not yet established. He had therefore made a point of arriving just slightly earlier than he had agreed to, hoping the gesture would be interpreted as a nod of respect to his host, indicating that he was willing to wait peacefully for the other man's time.
And so when a certain Sakusenjo-san approached, Zaiden rose smoothly from his seat to greet the other man. His father had given him so little advanced warning about this potential piece of real world experience that Zaiden had been left with almost no time to investigate the political climate as it was. It turned out that a large portion of the information he wanted to know about was highly classified, the option of having his contacts work on teasing it free impossible with the time constraints. Zaiden could only deduce that there was something going on in Japan that the United States was not meant to know about at the present time. There was slight bristling between the countries, and this meeting was one of many small attempts to smooth down any ruffled feathers. As a result Zaiden would be cautious, not revealing his knowledge of the few details he had gathered.
"Sakusenjo-san," he said. The honorific felt as strange on his tongue as it had in his head, Zaiden not being used to the nuances of such things seeing as he was a foreigner. Nevertheless, it had felt like the most prudent greeting. "Thank you for having me here. Your garden is lovely."
Zaiden was calm, controlled, but he had the feeling that they were not alone.