"Excuse me again," the slim Yasuki said to the stern Seppun guards. They looked so serious!

"Is it possible that Lord Otomo may be receiving callers? I am called Yasuki Ryoichi, and my superior, Lord Kaiu, has asked me to bring a matter to directly to him, if possible."

One steps forward, hand open and palm up.

"Papers, please," he says with perhaps the flattest inflection Ryoichi has heard.

The Yasuki solemnly presented the letter of introduction stamped with the Kaiu lord's chop.

-
OOC: Since Masahiko explicitly ordered Ryoichi to see Lord Otomo, I'm assuming he provided this documentation.

The Miharu reviews the documents.

"These seem to be in order," he says. "You will kindly submit to inspection before proceeding."

The tone, flat as it is, makes clear that it is not a request, and a shugenja approaches. The cut of kimono, still mostly white, is similar to that Seppun Tomaru wears, but the shugenja is not that man.

"I do not object, Seppun-sama," the Yasuki said in a calm tone. He had been cautioned not to make the Seppun guards upset, and he took that advice to heart. Aside from his rather nice swords, the most unusual thing the Crab had on him was a set of well-worn yarrow sticks, the type that common folk toss for divinations.

The shugenja does his thing, and the Miharu who had spoken gestures to a nearby daisho stand that is empty.

"You will kindly place your swords here. They will be protected until you return."

Same flat inflection.

The shugenja nods.

The Yasuki nodded and obediently set his swords on the stand before turning to follow the guard.

Conduct is swift and certain, although it is also marked by the presence of many Miharu.

"Kindly wait here."

"Of course," the Yasuki agreed.

Ryoichi understood that important persons were never available right away, so he steeled himself for a lengthy wait. He had recently learned the basics of meditation; perhaps this was a good chance to practice. Think of nothing... think of nothing....

About twenty minutes later, Otomo Tooru sauntered into the room, his expression haughty, of course, but showing just a hint of curiosity. He had not had a lot of visitors this court.

"Yasuki...Riochi, of House Shiozaki," he articulated as though he had remembered and the Miharu had not just told him about 5 minutes before he walked through the door, "how lovely that we could have this meeting. Have you had rice? Oh, excuse me."

He turned to the gunso of this unit of Miharu. "Seppun-san, if you would be so kind as to clear the chamber; I believe Yasuki-san has business he wishes to discuss, and the atmosphere is a little...close, if you understand me."

"That is not possible at this time, Lord Otomo."

Same flat affect.

"It is kind of you to remember my name, Lord Otomo," Ryoichi said, bowing very low. "Lord Kaiu sends his regards."

The Yasuki paused politely to let the Otomo lord and the Seppun guard work out the security arrangements.

Tooru's entire attention was taken up by this gunso. He frowned. "Excuse me? You are speaking to a Daimyo, who has requested that you leave his presence."

"With respect, Lord Otomo, you are not my Lord."

Again, the same flat affect.

The Yasuki was carefully admiring an excellent calligraphy scroll hanging on a nearby wall. He affected not to notice the dispute between the Imperials, without quite turning his back on them.

With all the effort in his petite frame, Lord Otomo prevented himself from stamping his foot in frustration.

"Very well, then, Seppun-san." Damn you, Sadako. "Yasuki-san," he said, suddenly all smiles. "What brings you to our level of the Tenshu?"

“Great lord, thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice,” the Yasuki said, bowing deeply and speaking as if nothing had just happened at all. “I was presenting to Lord Kaiu a new financial arrangement for funding Yasuki merchant ventures based out of Otosan-Uchi, when Kaiu-dono urged me to involve the Lord of the Otomo - yourself, of course - and get your blessing. Well, not only your blessing - your participation.”

“Of course, it’s my duty to protect Lady Yasuki’s financial interests, so I was reluctant,” Ryoichi continued. “I’m sure you’re aware how her innovations have enriched Yasuki Yashiki. But Lord Kaiu was adamant that your involvement would be crucial for our success.”

“It is for this reason that I’ve come to you, Lord Otomo,” Ryoichi said. “Would something like this be of interest?”

Otomo Tooru blinked. "What...would be the nature of my family's participation? And what would...would the outcome be for us?"

"Well, the plans of the Yasuki are to build a branch of our 'merchant bank' near the docks of Otosan-Uchi," Ryoichi elaborated. "This is one of Lady Yasuki's new ideas: a counting-house where the officials in charge are tasked with spending the money there on supplying certain trading voyages that we believe to be a good investment. When the ships return from their voyage, the original investment is returned to the 'bank', along with a profit. This is the essence of the Yasuki technique, allowing us to sow gold in one season, and harvest even more gold later." He beamed proudly. "This 'banking system' has met with great success in Yasuki Yashiki, and we believe that building another 'bank' in the capital would be an excellent opportunity for more profit."

"Returning to your family's role in this endeavor, we need support in the Imperial Court in order to approve this arrangement," the Yasuki continued. "In return, the Otomo would be able to invest family funds in the bank up to, let us say, one tenth of the bank's value. The Crab would take all responsibility for the actual construction, assigning guards and staff, evaluating merchant ships, and all other financial arrangements. But when the profits come in, you would get a share of them, proportional to the amount of funds that your family had invested. In effect, it would be like having another estate that was generating koku for you."

"Your share of this could be smaller, if you'd prefer to err on the side of caution," the Yasuki offered. “Though it would not be exaggerating to say that when we discussed this with the Daidoji, they asked for a larger share. But Kaiu-dono insisted we approach you, Lord Otomo, to see if you would like to be included, before we finalize these arrangements.”

Tooru considered the weight of all that for a long moment. The pressure on taxes in the coming years could be quite high, if the struggle blossomed as it seemed liable to do. Here was the possibility of a harvest of money. Reliable, as long as the Crab were loyal. And the Crab had reason to be loyal, for they could not fight their enemy without the Empire's jade.

"I accept at 10%," he said at last. "This will pass without trouble. We will smooth the way."