Nakahama

"It's a pleasure to meet you, young one," Kisha says, bowing to the child whose First Market is today. "Thank you for the chance to help! You don't mind if I record, do you? We want other people to know how well you do, after all!

"Right, so, first you'll want to stock up your inventory...no, I don't...no, freeze-dried shrimp probably won't sell well in a market where you can get them free...oh, but that, that will go over, yeah.

"And once you have your product, you'll want to let people know you've got it for them! And right now, you've got the endorsement of Kisha's Comments!...yes, sir, it's really me, and yes, it'd be a pleasure, ma'am!

"Look, I know it's what it is, but, yeah, well, don't we...wait, you...no, you really do want to help, and you should! Children are the future, and we want it to be bright, don't we all!

"Great! No inventory left? Excellent news!"

~~~~~
Action 1: Buying, failed, https://sakkaku.org/r/18914
Action 2: Buying, 2 Raises to TN 25, success at 70 (!), https://sakkaku.org/r/18916; +4 Value
Action 3: Market, 2 Raises to TN 25, success at 29, https://sakkaku.org/r/18917; +3 Value, Lucky Selling Roll
Action 4: Selling, 2 Raises to TN 25, failure at 22, https://sakkaku.org/r/18919
*Lucky Reroll* Success at 29, https://sakkaku.org/r/18920; +3 Coin Points from the roll, 7 Value Points convert to 7 Coin Points

Outcome, 10 Coin Points, 3 Bid Points

This is gonna be fun! Senshu gets acquainted with little Jiro kun. The first lesson she has to offer is one about marketing. How to create a need even if there's none in reality. People need to be persuaded that they really need everything the duo has to offer, varying from Jiro's old comb to his first pair of socks!

"Ok, mate. We have made it so far!" She encourages the young fellow. "Do you know the difference between real truth and relative truth? Okay I will explain."

She thinks for a moment. "Let's say that your guardian has told you that you're only allowed to play outside once you've done your homework."

"Now now. There are two options. A. You do your homework, you say 'I' m done with homework. I'm going out.' But! What if you don't want to do your homework? You can say 'I'm done here. I'm going out.'"

She looks at the kid. "That's ambiguous. It's not technically a lie, right? You could just mean that you're bored or tired. The word homework isn't mentioned, but it's probably what your guardian will understand. Well... Bad for them!"

"Let's go now! That old toothbrush of yours won't sell itself!"

D2 event, 1st action, Market, courtier (gossip)/awareness, 2 raises, status rank and emotional support child, free raise for point | 7k4+3 ⇒ 31 (TN: 25)

4 value points

D2 event, 2nd action, Market, courtier (gossip)/awareness, 2 raises, status rank and emotional support child, free raise for point | 7k4+3 ⇒ 30 (TN: 25)

4 value points

D2 event, 2nd action, Market, courtier (gossip)/awareness, 1 raise, status rank and emotional support child, free raise for point | 7k4+3 ⇒ 37 (TN: 20)

3 value points

D2 event, 4th action, Selling, Sincerity (Deceit)/awareness, status rank and emotional support child, free raise for point, converting value points | 6k4+3 ⇒ 19 (TN: 20)

Fail

D2 event, 4th action, Selling, Sincerity (Deceit)/awareness, status rank and emotional support child, free raise for point, converting value points REROLL | 6k4+3 ⇒ 38 (TN: 20)

2 coint points plus converting 11 value points

13 coin points!

"Hello, I'm Kanna."
"Hello! I am also Kanna!"
"No way! We have the same name?!"
"Yes way!"
"Team Kanna?"
"Team Kanna!"

*high (low?) fives!*

Igoro was stressed. This was getting out of hand... now there's two of them?!

Kanna and even-smaller-Kanna (aka Mini-Kanna) got along swimmingly, which seemed to put the parents at ease.

"Ok! First things first, we need a storefront! Something that draws the people in - let's decorate a bit here like this, and let me just move this here... oh and making sure the table is sturdy so everyone can lean against it!" A hammer was wielded, and with some BANG! BANG! BANG!, a little big of magic, some flowers to spruce it up, and Kaida acting as the Shop-Pet... everything was ready for the grand opening of...

*drumroll*

KANNA BUY IT? YES YOU CAN!
- A Kanna & Kanna business -

"So this is what's for sale? That's a pretty neat collection!"
"Right? I put it aside for today! This is the prettiest shells I found yesterday!"
"Awesome! You know, we should try to get something to match... let's trade some of these clothes with others. That way, someone else can offer clothes, and you can offer shells and pretty trinkets - that's called specialising!"
"Ooooooh~"

Mini-Kanna found one of her friends, and with not-so-small-Kanna's help, the two different stores were able to make some profitable exchanges for both. Not-so-small-Kanna had taught Mini-Kanna the important business trick #1: Always Compliment The Other Honestly!

And as they laid out the goods for the buyers to see, not-so-small-Kanna snuck in a Starlight Miko Crusader-charm from her backpack. Maybe no one would buy it, but it would catch someone's eye.

"Customer-sama, welcome! Your jacket is very cool."
"Customer-sama, welcome! Those earrings are lovely."

Instead of hawking the customers down with good offers to start with, the Kanna-duo drew customers in with their compliments and charms, and they would sell out of everything... everything but the Starlight Miko Crusader-charm.

That charm would be Mini-Kanna's reward at the end of the market.

"Good job! Business tip #2: Always reward yourself at the end of a workday!"

---------

D2 EVENT: My First Market! Action 1: Build! Kanna Build It? YES SHE CAN! Craft: Carpentry/Strength. Void +1k1 | 4k4 ⇒ 17 (TN: 15)
Successful Building! Bonus Free Raises and Emphasis!
(Forgot the +1 from the kid, but managed anyway!)

D2 EVENT: My First Market! Buying! Kanna Buy It? YES SHE CAN! Investigation (Search)/Perception. +1k1 Void. 3 Raises+Free Raise for Value. +1 from mini-Kanna. | 6k4+1 ⇒ 32 (TN: 30)
6 Value Points!

D2 EVENT: My First Market! Selling! Kanna Sell It? YES SHE CAN! Commerce/Perception (and free secret emphasis). 3 Raises+Free Raise for Coin! +1 from mini-Kanna. | 6k4+1 ⇒ 43 (TN: 30)
(forgot to note Void in the log, but dicepool is correct for Void!)
5 Coin Points + 5 Value converted = 10 Coin Points!

D2 EVENT: My First Market! Selling (last action! Kanna Sell It? YES SHE CAN! Commerce/Perception (and free secret emphasis). 2 Raises+Free Raise for Coin! +1 from mini-Kanna. | 5k3+1 ⇒ 43 (TN: 25)
4 Coint Points + 1 Value converted = 5 Coin Points!

15 Coin Points for Kanna & Kanna
4 Bid Points for Kanna

The handsome young man strides through the market with his young ward close by. A young girl that quite possibly does not understand the value of marketing outside of the concept of money. Hinata can help with that!

"Well little Sango-san. You see, I don't know half of what you know on how to appraise something. But I very well know of you dress up enough and make it look pretty, you can charge way more." A basic lesson she has been told about hundred times over. But she needed to know how to make things look pretty!

The young man puts his smarts to use building them a nice stand to hawk their wares and makes sure to scout out items that might be fun to advertise. Once the stage is set, he needs only sit besides little Sango, making idle smalltalk with customers that seem far too interested in the ward's helper to notice her work magic extracting Koki from them.

By the end of the event he's done a respectable job for one without formal mercantile education. He leaves one final coin on the table and takes a bottle of mango juice from their wares.

"What? All the talk makes me thirsty!"


Build: TN 15, roll 23 Success!
Market: TN20, roll 31 Success! 3 value points (1 free raise, 1 called raise)
Buying: TN 15 roll 21 Success! 3 value points (2 base, 1 from free raise)
Selling: TN30 roll 33 Success (with the temporary luck re-roll), Deception (Honor Loss), 3 coins (1 base, 1 free raise, 1 called), +converting 6 value points into coins

Total of 9 coins

Two bid points!

Waiting at the side of the market, the Yasuki sensei stood with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face as he waited for the samurai to come collect this bunch of kids. He looked down to the young boy next to him after a moment and said "remember what your parents told you about Spiders?"

"Hai! They have 6 arms and 2 legs!"
"That's not what I..."
"And sometimes 2 arms and 6 legs! Or sometimes neither of each, they have something else. But they always have big heads that bite people in half!"

One of the other kids added "I don't want to be bitten in half! Why are you giving us to the Spiders to eat us?"

"I'm not" the sensei started again before being interrupted by a girl that didn't look much bigger than the children. Dressed in one of her pretty kimonos with a smile on her face. Sumiko bowed.

"Hello! I'm Susumu Sumiko, I'm here to help a child experience the markets!"

The kids all looked at Sumiko then back at the sensei.
"She doesn't have six arms though" one kid said. The sensei sighed then turned to the small Spider girl.

"This one is Ryo. We'll be watching."

Sumiko smiled and gave a wave to the young boy.

"Hi Ryo! Call me Sumi. Let's go make you sweets money!"

----

Having found a good spot at an intersection, Sumiko turned to the young boy.

"Ok! Now we have the perfect spot, time to make it the catching spot!"
"What do you mean Sumi-sama?" the kid asked. Sumiko grinned, and pulled out some supplies.
"A good spot that doesn't catch the eye is just a corner. Time to make it stand out and stand tall! Let's do a bit of building and painting, then we can survey the market and find the perfect items to match with it. Do you like painting?"
"I love painting!"
Sumiko clapped. "Let's get to work!"

---

After half an hour of designing, they had created a bright banner with shiny crabs walking along a beach holding different trinkets and toys. Sumiko nodded a few times.

"Perfection! See, now people will be pulled in by the scene and want to see what's for sale! Speaking of sales, let's find some trades. We can corner the Action figure market and use some wily tricks to make some trades. Ready for some lessons?"
The boy looked confused but nodded. "Hai Sumi-sama. But what are we doing?"
There was a grin. "Watch me, you'll see."

---

An hour had passed since Ryo and Sumi had started their venture together, but now after some clever trading and subtle hinting the two had amassed a collection of action figures from around them, trading for some of the other toys Ryo had. They had changed the signs raound a little, and positioned the toys to stand out more. Now it was time for the final lesson. Sumiko had hopped over and sat down, motioning Ryoo to the stall.

"Ok, we have the toys, we have the sign. We'll pull kids in from all over the market! Now for the final part of Sumi-chans marketing masterclass, and I'm going to share it with only you so remember it's a secret that will work for the rest of your life" she winked. The boy looked curious.
"What's the final part Sumi-sama?"
Sumiko grinned. "It's called 'creative marketing'. What you do is sell your items, but raise their value via special wording. So for example..." she picked up one of the toys "we've made sure that nobody else has these, right? So now you sell them as limited availability and push the price up, but you word it to sound like if they don't get it here they never can get it again. Which is true, they can never get this one again, but the hint is that it's now or never. That way you set the price! Just make sure you sound like you believe it and it's real, and you can convince anyone! Go ahead give it a go, I can see someone coming!"

Sumiko stood back and let the boy sell the item. She added a few words in here or there and between the two of them the first sales were for far more than the toy was really worth.

"See, you get it now! Now let's clear the rest of these and you'll be able to get lots of sweets later!"

---

The event was sadly finishing, but Sumiko had made sure Ryoo who had sold everything and bought some reward sweets for the two of them made it back.

"Remember all the important lessons. You're going to be a great salesman" Sumiko beamed a happy smile at the boy who smiled brightly back.
"Thank you Sumi-sama! I won't forget the lessons! Everyone says Spider are mean monsters but you're really nice."
Sumiko nodded. "The Spider aren't mean monsters, we just think differently. Different isn't bad."

There was a clearing of the throat from the sensei.

"Thank you Susumu-san. You can go now."

Sumiko bowed again. "Have a lovely day!" she said as she turned to walk away.

The sensei waited for the girl to leave before pulling the boy over, pulling his sleeves up to check for any marks then said "what did the girl tell you? Spider cannot be trusted."

Ryoo paused, started saying "she taught me creative marketing. Which is" then stopped, looked over where Sumiko had gone, then turned back and said "a secret!"

The sensei eventually got the story out of the boy, and wasn't happy. But they had sold everything so it was hard for the sensei to convince Ryoo that it was bad with such good results.


(ooc: rolls
D2 EA Bid event - roll 1: Action: Build. Engineering/Intelligence TN15 | 4k4+1 ⇒ 35 (TN: 15) free raise and emphasis for every roll in the event
D2 EA Bid event - roll 2 Action: Buying. Investigation(Search)/Awareness + Prodigy. TN15+2 raises+free raise from Action: Build (total TN25) | 7k4+1 ⇒ 52 (TN: 25) 5 value points
D2 EA Bid event - roll 3 Action: Market. Courtier(Gossip)/Awareness + Prodigy. TN15+1 raise+free raise from Action: Build (total TN20) | 8k4+1 ⇒ 29 (TN: 20) 3 value points, luck for sales roll
D2 EA Bid event - roll 4 Action: Selling. Sincerity(Deceit)/Awareness+ Prodigy. TN20+2 raises+ 2 free raise from Action: Build + school tech (total TN30). VP spent | 9k5+1 ⇒ 40 (TN: 30) 5 coin plus 8 value points is 13 coin points

Total: 13 coin points, 4 bid points!
1 point of honour loss for using a low skill

“Hello…” Kotori simply stood there at first as she looked down at the child of choice. She blinked a few times, as if trying to summon the skills required to deal with children. The idea of sending off your child with a scorpion was likely as ill fitting as the idea of Kotori babysitting. She sighed softly – the things one does for their clan…

“Alright… lets go find a space.” She said, waiting for the young boy to walk alongside her.
“But – don’t you want to know what I brought?” the boy asked tentatively.
“No? Not really?” Kotori gave a little shrug. “We’ll sell it either way – it’s all about packaging.”
He looked up as they walked. “Packaging?”
“Yes, packaging.” She nodded. “Some people focus on the product – but if you’re smart about how you present your wares, it really doesn’t matter what it is.
They found an open space a little way down that seemed suitable.

“You know –“ She paused mid sentence, realising she didn’t know the child’s name.
“Kenta.”
“Kenta- the first thing you need is legitimacy. And if you don’t have legitimacy, you need to fake it until you make it.”
He stared up at Kotori, brows furrowing slightly and she held up a finger as if to tell him to just wait for a moment. In the time that followed she managed to rig up a rather effective market stall through sheer ingenuity. It was actually fairly impressive, and then they decorated it together.

“Alright Kenta- kun, now it’s time to present your wares on the table – let us build the narrative, and draw your-” victims, “ audience.”
And so she did – she knew the right way to play to a crowd, the way to draw their gaze with the perfect flick of her sleeves and flourish of her hands. She knew how to use her veil to her advantage – to build intrigue and catch the eye of passerby. Kotori wasn’t exactly SENN material, but it’d do just fine for a local market.
The lies rolled off her tongue as effortlessly as the water cascading down the roof in the rain. Not to mention she was honourable enough that she gave one little reason to doubt her words.
It had only taken a little talking for someone to handover a whole 8 coins for a single item.
After they’d left the boy just stared at Kotori, as if processing the entire encounter.
“Yes…?” Kotori held out the coins.
“You just lied, didn’t you..?”
“Did I?”
“Yeah, you lied-”
“Everybody lies…” She cut him off softly. “And those who don’t are the worst liars of us all.” Kotori said. “The truth is important yes – but that is until it stands in the way of your goals.”

The boy paused in thought as if wrestling with the idea, just as another customer seemed to stop in the street, looking in their direction up. Kotori gave him a little encouraging tap on the back. “An object carrying good karmic energy – that will bring them fortune. That it the narrative you’ll write.” Her voice was low, words spoken quietly behind the crimson veil.

The boy was incredibly uncertain but went along with it, spinning a tale of how the it was handed to him by his grandmother before she died of old age and how she’d carried it while doing good charitable deeds – it’d always brought her luck – never once had she fallen sick. She let him take the lead, only offering him help here and there to guide him along the way when necessary - when his story started to escalate or little missteps risked unravelling his efforts. The story wasn’t meant to be anything too farfetched. Just simple enough to be plausible, and easy enough to be denied as the customer’s misinterpretation of information.

The man handed over the two coins, taking the gently worn, embroidered handkerchief.

“I think that’s enough, lest the kami’s patience run out and rain befall us.” She guided the boy back to whence he came, sighing with relief. A little conservative, there was room to push further, but it was a result she couldn’t complain about after yesterday’s debacle.

Action 1: D2 Bid Event: Action 1 - Build | 4k4 ⇒ 22 (TN: 15)
Action 2: D2 Bid Event: Action 2 - Market Acting/Awareness use VP [2 Raises +Free Raise] | 6k4+1 ⇒ 35 (TN: 25) 4 Value Points
Action 3: D2 Bid Event: Action 3 - Sell Sincerity/Awareness use VP [2 Raise +Free Raise] | 6k4+1 ⇒ 36 (TN: 30) 4 Coin Points
Action 4: D2 Bid Event: Action 4 - Sell Sincerity/Awareness use VP [Free Raise] | 6k4+1 ⇒ 31 (TN: 20) 2 Coin Points

6 Coin Points + 4 Value Points Converted

Outcome: 10 Coin Points, 3 Bid Points.

Well, mentoring kids was not on Nagisa’s itinerary this week, but taking a break from the shop for the afternoon did leave her needing to feel productive. Plus, kids can be cute if you put their little minds to something constructive. So she is paired with a young boy named Takeru.

The first lession is setting up the stall to get people to be interested and feel comfortable. “Okay, Takeru-kun, the first thing you need to do is make the stall into a nice place to visit.” Nagisa shows the young boy a trick, adjusting the window of the stall to be a bit taller. Not only does it make it taller to get more attention, but allows more of the buyer to see into the booth, fostering a trusting feeling.

The second lesson is to buy quality goods. The two had decided to make a quality cloth business. Nagisa knew a thing or two about quality cloth. She’s able to point out to the young boy how to tell the difference of quality between different types of cloth.

With their cloth in hand, they were able sell out their entire stock! No slick maneuvers, just selling up the high quality of the goods.
_____
D2 Bid Event: Build! Engineering/Int. +1 from little Takeru. | 10k5+1 ⇒ 37 (TN: 15) Free raise and emphasis for the rest of the rolls! Go little Takeru!

D2 Bid event: Commerce (Appraisal)/Perception Buy! +1 from Takeru,1 Free Raise, 2 Raises, VP for 1k1 also emphasis. | 7k4+1 ⇒ 33 (TN: 25) 2 Value + 3 from Raises = 5 Value Points

D2 Bid event: Commerce/Perception Sell 1! +1 from Takeru,1 Free Raise and emphasis, 2 Raises, VP for 1k1 also emphasis. | 7k4+1 ⇒ 26 (TN: 25) 4 Coins + 4 converted = 8 Coins

D2 Bid event: Commerce/Perception Sell 2! +1 from Takeru,1 Free Raise and emphasis, 2 Raises, VP for 1k1 also emphasis. | 7k4+1 ⇒ 36 (TN: 25) 4 Coins + 1 converted = 5 Coins

13 total Coins! Good job, Takeru! 4 Bid Points for Nagisa

Hours earlier:

Taraka pulled up to the client's house for the marketing consultation she'd been scheduled for. It was shortly after nap time, and the client had been roused and readied. Taraka made the obligatory small talk with the founding partners. Now it was time to make her pitch to the client:

Yasuki Jo, Age 8

Taraka pulled out her portable computer, and with a few practiced motions brought the presentation to life.

"Thank you for the opportunity for this presentation, Yasuki-sama. Let me get straight to the point. We've devised four potential strategies for your approval. We have ABC, Monopoly, Attention Economy, and Location, Location, Location. You can see here our sales projections, based on previous First market numbers as well as market research. Which strategy should we pursue?" she asked.

Jo blinked.

"Uhhh...ABC?" Jo guessed.

A firm nod from Taraka.

"A classic Yasuki-sama. We'll see you at the market today. Bring all of the product." she said. She put away the computer, bowed respectfully to the client, and prepared to get to work.

Right Before the Market:

Taraka pulled up in her car, with a couple of employees from Flying Battle Carps and some boxes.

"Uhh, Yasuki-sama, you sure we're cleared for this?" one of the employees asked.

Taraka waved the concern away.

"I checked with Genta-kun. Legally, Jo-san is considered the business owner for the duration of First Market, so as her business partners, we should be clear for take-off." she assured them.

Taraka and associates arrived at Jo's humble blanket with all the toys and games presented. The two emploiyees unpacked their Flying Battle Carps, and attached the sales banners:

'Flying Battle Carps in conjunction with Jo Limited Enterprises'
'Present First Market Deals and Savings. Limited time only! Ticket with every purchase!'

Taraka set up a box, and then a sign in front of it "Free entry into a raffle for a Flying Battle Carp with every purchase!"

With that out of the way, Taraka took out an old abacus.

"What's that?" Jo asked.

"It's an abacus, Yasuki-sama. It's a tool for counting and mathematics." Taraka explained.

"So....like a computer?" Jo asked.

"Something like that, but one that doesn't need blessings to work, just a quick mind. You're going to learn so much in school, Yasuki-sama, but you should always remember: Sometimes the old ways are best." she said.

Thus began the limited time sale!

The employees kept the drones in the air, Yasuki Jo explained the finer details of Green Action Man versus Action Green Man, and all the while Taraka's fingers danced upon the abacus, providing a steady stream of ticks as an almost musical accompaniment to the exchange of koku. Had Taraka been really agressive, she probably could have sold the entire stock out within minutes...but who'd care to look at the advertisements at an empty storefront?

In the end, they sold out easily.

Taraka brought out a one-eyed Daruma doll and an ink brush set.

"Go ahead, Yasuki-sama, your first business is a success, Mark him and mark this moment in your mind."

Jo enjoyed coloring in the second eye.


Action 1: Sell! 2 CR, +1 FR from Tech: 56 vs. 25, Pass

Action 2: Sell! 1 CR, +1 FR from Tech, 43 vs. 20 Pass

Action 3: Sell, 1 CR + 1 FR from Tech, 46 vs. 20 Pass

Action 4: Sell, 1 CR + 1 FR from Tech 39 vs. 20 Pass

13 Coin Points in Total, 4 bid points

Suh-Hyun looked at the child she suddenly found herself in charge of.

"Are you a horse?" He innocently asked, "I ain't never seen a horse before."

Suh-Hyun blinked slowly, "And why would think that?"

He grinned, "Momma said back on Rokugan this one time the Kami Shinjo turned into..." Suh-Hyun cut kid off, "OK, yeah let's move on. Sell things right? We can do that."

"And your a Shinjo!" The child beamed.

What are they teaching these kids?!

-----

"I have always heard that presentation was half the work." Suh-Hyun commented as she looked upon the monstrosity she and this young boy had wrought.

"Yeah Momma said that too!" The kid also beamed at the stand. Maybe it had one two many animatronic crabs and lights. Ah well, it certainly caught the eye. "You're a really smart horse!"

"I'm not horse. Please stop calling me that."

------

"Alright so have you picked out something to sell?" Suh-Hyun asked, squatting down to inspect the item. It looked valuable enough. Her eye twitched, "Oh how beautiful it's a horseshoe crab. I wonder why you picked that."

"It's lucky! Horseshoe for my friend horse!" The boy exclaimed proudly.

"How novel, very clever." Suh-Hyun let out an awkward laugh.

------

It was hot. It was insanely hot. And Shinjo Suh-Hyun, proud test pilot of the Unicorn Navy, was currently in an inflatable crab outfit. There were more ignoble fates, but she couldn't think of any at the moment.

"Getta load of this. Hey crab." Some Hida walked up to her laughing, "Hey do a little dance." He demonstrated by mockingly hopping from one foot to another and clacking his fingers like claws.

Suh-Hyun ground her teeth. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the fact a child had called her a horse 17 times. But she was pissed, very pissed. "Alright friend, I'll give you a dance." She point a claw at her charge, "Kid, play me some music."

It wasn't a murder. It was an annihilation. That Hida's pride suffered a blow only an angry Unicorn in a cheap inflatable crab outfit could deliver. His descendants would speak of this day in horror. His friends would be devastated by the mere blast radius of this dance based beat down. The gods themselves turned their head rather than witness this Hida's shame.

"Damn mister! You got served by a horse!"

Suh-Hyun spun around to look at the boy, "HEY! Language."

"Sorry mister."

------

Suh-Hyun was exhausted, she had dressed light but after an hour in that suit she looked like she had just emerged from a sauna. From her vantage behind the stand, water bottle in hand, Suh-Hyun watched the kid make his first sale. It brought a smile.

"Look how much we got!" The boy held up small stack of koki.

"That's great! Good job!" Her smile grew a fraction, she had done good work today.

"Your the best horse I ever met!"

------------
BUILD! - Engineering/Intelligence to make a nice stand. | 4k3 ⇒ 48 (TN: 15) FR on all rolls!

BUYING - Commerce(Appraisal)/Perception. Void Spent for +1k1. FR spent to add raise. | 4k3 ⇒ 18 (TN: 15) 3 Value! (2+1 Free Raise)

MARKETING - Perform: Dance/Agility - VP spent for +1k1. 3 CRs. 1 FR. TN30 | 6k5 ⇒ 44 (TN: 30) 5 value! (1 + 1 Free Raise + 3 Called Raises)

SELLING - Commerce/Perception. Void for 1k1. 1FR to add to raises. | 4k3 ⇒ 22 (TN: 15) 2 Coin Points! (1 + 1 Free Raise) 8 value converted

10 coin points total
3 bid points!

Ami had to crouch to make eye contact with the young eight year old girl who was all but sneering at her. The Heiress pursed her lips. "I'm Susumu Ami. My family is known for marketing Boba Tea and Frozen Yogurt. And we are stinking rich." She said, softly, adding a wink and a smile. "You all might hate me, and I'm not particularly all the warm and fuzzy about you all," She looked about the other young Yasuki who were all pairing up, "but you have the sense of what to do with wealth about you, and Daikoku-sama seems me with a smile every single day of my life. What is your name, young one?"

The little girl never removed her sneer, but bowed her head slight, "Yasuki Zenihime," she whispered.

"A pleasure, Zenihime-chan. Now..." Ami stood looking to the wares that were selected. Some nice baubles and little tchotchkes. "Let's see if we can outsell every other person here, ne?" Another wink, and Zenihime even giggled, before remembering herself, and going back to her serious face.

The pair worked the market, wheeling and dealing to score some truly outrageous ans ostentatious trinkets and even some nice jewelry to add to their stock. Spending quite a bit of time ensuring that they had plenty.

Then the Spider took the time to weave her web of focus-group tested marketing schemes. Getting interest because these items from Zenihime were so scarce, and given her youth, it was clear she was a Prodigy to be accepted so young into the Yasuki school.

By the end of Zenihime's market, all the wares had sold, and the wily little girl had turned quite a profit.

Again, Ami crouched to be eye to eye with Zenihime. She bowed, and in a break of decorum, offered the young girl a hug. "I look forward to having to fend off corporate takeovers from you one day, Zenihime-chan. Never forget, the seventy-third rule or acquisition. Today's business partner is tomorrow's rival. Respect their business acumen on both days." She smiled sweetly. "Ganbatte in your schooling ."

EE2 - My First Market - Action 1: Buying (Perception 4, Commerce 3, Appraisal Emphasis, Daikoku's Blessing +1k1, 3CR, +1 Cooperative Roll, VP +1k1, TN30) | 9k6+1 ⇒ 54 (TN: 30) +5 Value Points

EE2 - My First Market - Action 2: Buying Again (Perception 4, Commerce 3, Appraisal Emphasis, Daikoku's Blessing +1k1, 3CR, +1 Cooperative Roll, TN30) | 8k5+1 ⇒ 34 (TN: 30) +5 Value Points

EE2 - My First Market - Action 3: Market (Awareness 4, Courtier 3, VP +1k1, +1 Cooperative, 3CR, TN30) | 8k5+1 ⇒ 34 (TN: 30) +4 Value Points, Temporary Lucky on next Selling Action

EE2 - My First Market - Action 4: Market (Perception 4, Commerce 3, Daikoku's Blessing +1k1, +1 Cooperative, 3CR, TN30) | 8k5+1 ⇒ 34 (TN: 30) 4 Coin points

14 Value Points convert with the sale action to 14 Coin points

Final Outcome: 18 Coin Points

4 Bid Points to the Spider

Yakura turned up with Yasuki Mario, her business partner / cousin / handler's younger sister.

"Now Mariko-chan, you look like a proper business woman!"

"But the bun hurts Yakura-san?"

"I told you, it's Yakura-senpai today. And it's supposed to hurt. That is how you show strength. Now let me see what have you brought out?"

She opened the bags helpfully packed by Mariko's family..."Hm....not bad. Do all yoir clothes have rainbow carps on it?"

"Of course, yours doesn't?"

Yakura pondered for a moment...

"Good poin. Anyway, let's sell some stuff, mama meeds contraband for the Academy!"

"What's contraband Yalura-senpai?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head."

And that is how the Azure Carp did business.

"

OOC:
Action #1: Market
D2 EA First Market, Action 1: Market
Courtier (Gossip)/Awareness, 1 CR, tn 20, +1 from helpful child | 6k3+1 ⇒ 26 (TN: 20)

2 Value points +1 Selling Reroll

Action #2: Buying
D2 EA First Market, Action 2: Buying
Commerce (Appraisal)/Perception, Daikoku's Blessing, VP for +1k1, +1 from helpful child, 3 CR, tn 30 | 8k5+1 ⇒ 44 (TN: 30)

5 Value points

Action #3: Buying

D2 EA First Market, Action 3: Buying
Commerce (Appraisal)/Perception, Daikoku's Blessing, +1 from helpful child, 2 CR, tn 25 | 7k4+1 ⇒ 34 (TN: 25)

4 Value points

D2 EA First Market, Action 4: Selling
Commerce/Perception, Daikoku's Blessing, helpful child, VP for +1k1, 3 CR, tn 30 | 8k5+1 ⇒ 37 (TN: 30)

5 coint points + 11 value points = 16 Coin points

Kazushi gently takes the child's hand, giving him a reassuring smile. "You're in good hands, I assure you. While this is a somewhat smaller scale than I'm used to, the concepts are the same, so I'm well in my element. Watch carefully, because even the most subtle action can have great consequences..."

He leads the child through the market, looking at the items up for offer. "Before we even begin setting ourselves up to sell, we need to have an item to sell. Now, your teachers have probably already introduced you to 'buy low, sell high', but that's an oversimplification. If you just select based on the lowest cost available, you may not be able to get as much in return. You have to be prepared to put out a little money for an item that you're going to be able to make someone else want. You have to know where your strengths are and be ready to play to them in order to generate value for the item you're selling..."

He arrives at a clothing stall, and guides the child carefully through all of the garments on offer. "Fashion is my strength, so I'm looking for something that I can frame as being something someone would want to be seen in. Ah, here we go..." He finds a dark blue kimono with silver carp embroidery. After some discussion with the stall's merchant, Kazushi and the boy walk away with the kimono in hand.

"The next step, of course, is to have somewhere you can sell from," Kazushi continues. "It won't do you any good to have even the best and most desirable items for sale if people don't know where to find you. Let's set up a stand for ourselves, then..."

They're not given much to work with, but if there's one thing Kazushi knows, it's style. He arranges the table and rigs up a makeshift lighting system to draw attention to it. Now a glow from beneath the table cycles from brilliant blue through violet into a vivid crimson. Signs are quickly set up to identify the stand and the goods that it has to offer, complete with traditional marketing tricks - "limited time", "special offer", and other such buzzwords that draw in customers like flies to honey. Through it all, Kazushi carefully explains each step, focusing not just on how to create the space, but why the space has to be created in the way that it is. "It's not enough to just have your items out on the table. It's not even enough to try to draw attention to them. You have to make your place somewhere that people want to be," he explains.

Moving on to the next phase, the Scorpion explains, "This may be the most vital part of the sale, even more so than the making of the sale itself. People need to know you're there. We're already doing that a little with our stand, but that only does so much. We have to make people want to come here, even if they don't know what we're offering. Some people will use music, oratory, fancy signs, and the like, but I'm always one for word of mouth. It's not enough for you to be talking about yourself, but other people talking about you? That's value, pure and simple. Now watch as I use just a few words to set things in motion."

With a few words dropped in the right ears at the right time, soon the whole market is talking about Kazushi's small clothing stand. They're not even sure why, or how word began to spread about it, but people are beginning to crowd in to see what all the fuss is about. Kazushi smiles down at his young charge. "See? Easy, if you know what you're doing. Now we don't just have the item we started with - we've created interest, and interest creates demand. That lets us start with a higher asking price, so we'll be able to get back that much more than we initially invested in our goods."

Now it's time for the grand finale, though. Kazushi seems to have zeroed in on a likely buyer, and is prepared to make the approach and pitch. "Now, most of the time you're going to want to focus on the actual value of the item, and use that to convince your buyer. That's nice and safe, since you're using hard facts as the foundation for the sale. I'm a Scorpion, though, and we have a bit of a different approach. I'm not exactly saying 'don't try this at home', but deceiving a customer into thinking your goods are worth more than they are can be a dangerous prospect. If you succeed, the returns can be very great indeed, but if you fail your reputation may take a hit. You need to do what you're comfortable doing, and only take the risks you feel comfortable taking."

When Kazushi said he was in his element at the beginning of all this, he really, really wasn't kidding. With just a few minutes of conversation, he has the would-be customer well in hand, believing the kimono to be a one-of-a-kind specialty that was sure to hit the next big wave of fashion.

"..and that," the Scorpion concludes, "is how to take on a market. I know I'm probably not much of a teacher, but if you've watched me carefully and follow the steps I showed you, you'll be on the path to success. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be welcoming you to a position in the Orchid Department!"

Buying: Investigation/Awareness, 1 Raise Called: Success, generating 3 Value.
Build: Engineering/Intelligence, with 1 Void spent to fake an Engineering rank: Success, gaining 1 Free Raise for subsequent rolls, which will be made as if with an emphasis.
Market: Courtier (Gossip)/Awareness - 1 Free Raise from Bayushi Courtier 1, 1 Free Raise from Build, 1 Called Raise. Source of gossip concealed for free, per Bayushi Courtier 1. Success generating 5 Value (8 total).
Selling: Sincerity (Deceit)/Awareness - 1 Free Raise from Build, 1 Called Raise. Argh, forgot to put in the roll description that I spent Void on this. I did, though. Success, generating 3 Coin Points and an Honor loss to be determined later. 8 Value Points converted into Coin Points, giving us...

Total: 11 Coin Points, for 3 Bid Points.

(GMs: Rolls to be found here.)

Yasuki Honoka has never once missed a First Market. When she was a young girl being raised by her mother here in the place of her and her mother's birth she attended her own with her mother. With her schedule now her own, older as she is, she has come back with the same design her mother once used to help her put together her market stall. Ensuring at least one more child would not go on without a mentor to help guide a young samurai on this very important rite of passage.

There was one caveat she always saw to, as best she might, however, and that was in choosing a child she might impart some extra helpful wisdom to through their time together, another who would be schooled in the ways of the Yasuki. This year it was a young boy named Toma whom she took under her wing. While her yojimbo watched on from not far off, Honoka could be seen smiling and laughing with the child as they set to work in this his first marker. They didn't just learn- but they had fun too. Painting little crabs onto the market stall, and some eels or maybe even lamprey under the young Toma's request. These paintings weren't particularly good, mind you, but they did add a certain charm that helped keep the energy light and free.

By the end of their time together Toma was left with a true Yasuki hoard. A hoard which surely would set the young boy up for success in all his future dealings. Made even richer by the subtle weaving of marketing concepts Honoka weaved into their teaching and time together. When it came time to part ways, and return to dealings with samurai much more her age Honoka couldn't help but feel sad for losing the comfort of her young companion. However, a final wave from him set her heart at ease as she returned the gesture with a soft but warm smile of her own.

[Rolls:]

Day 2, EA | Build: Engi/Int, v +1k1 | 4k4 ⇒ 26 (TN: 15)

Free Raise + Emphasis on all subsequent rolls!

Day 2, EA | Market: Court/Awa, Free Raise, 2 CR, Antisocial, | 7k3 ⇒ 27 (TN: 25)

4 Value Points, Luck on Sell

Day 2, EA | Buying: Comm/Perc, Free Raise, 2 CR, Emph | 8k3 ⇒ 25 (TN: 25)

5 Value Points (Total 9)

Day 2, EA | Selling: Comm/Perc, Free Raise, 2 CR, Emph, V +1k1 | 9k4 ⇒ 33 (TN: 25)

4 Coin Points
9 Value points converted.
13 Coin Points.

4 Bid Points gained.

(Not that it matters, but on each commerce roll she would get a free raise via school as well so--- 15 coin points!!)

''Hello there kid! What's your name? I'm Moto Shiwahime''

The much larger woman towered over the very much terrified nine year boy that would be her ward. Eyes wides like sea oysters the poor lad just stood there, slack jawed, which lead to Shiwahime to sit besides him in an effort to be less naturally intimidating.

''So...big day heh? I remember my own...it's way different amongst the Moto but I remember the butterflies in my tummy. I'm here to help you kid, the situation might be stressful but I can help it be fun. So, who's the great future merchant that is my partner today?''

''It's...Satoshi...Moto-sama...Yasuki Satoshi'' Finally replied the boy

''Glad to make you acquaintance Satoshi-kun, now why don't you tell me about what you learn about commerce?''

And so the boy began talking, timidly at first about the way of the merchant. The more he talked the more his fear went away.

''Nice job Satoshi-kun, now...let me tell you how we can get a competitive edge.''

Action 1: Build! Craft: Carpentry/Strength, untrained | 4k4 ⇒ 19 (TN: 15) One free raise and emphasis for all future rolls

The first step was building a stand but with so many people already on the streets and premium location probably already picked or on their way to be Shiwahime went for a mobile stand instead. The stand became thus: simple but sturdy wooden platform that would be mounted on her head with rests for her shoulders and supported with either of her arms or both. The platform would be held at an angle so that all passerby could see the kid's wares while he himself was sitting on the Moto's shoulders, torso peering through the stand by way of a clever hole in floor of the stand.

All in all that gave the boy an excellent vantage point, great visibility and a fun ride

Action 2: Buying! 1 Investigation(Search)/Perception at TN15, FR and Emphasis bonus from stand, 1CR | 5k3 ⇒ 39 (TN: 20) 4 value points

''Allright kid! Let's trade up! Find an item you like and don't fear trading it for one or more of your own items: It's always better to get a better item then several one ordinary ones.''

She spotted some of the other peddlers

''Hey ain't that a vintage toy?''

Action 3: Buying! Investigation(Search)/Perception at TN15, FR and Emphasis bonus from stand, 1 CR | 5k3 ⇒ 33 (TN: 20) 4 value points

Things were going great so far but when asked he wanted to trade up again Satoshi readily agreed.

''Don't forget to barter Satoshi-kun! They expect it!''

Action 4: Selling! Commerce/Perception skill roll at TN15, 1 FR and Emphasis granted by the stand | 5k3 ⇒ 33 (TN: 15) 2 coin points + 8 value points converted: 10 Coin points

Several items had slowly been turned into a single and very good quality paint kit that had never been used from a richer kid who didn't care for it.

Is loss

With a valuable item like this one it did not take long to find a buyer who would actually find use for it.

''Remember Satoshi-kun, it's about patience, movement and the quality of a name. You can get more quickly by lying or cheating but you'll burn those costumers. Treat them well and they'll come back...repeated and steady business is always better for growth in the long run.''

She grinned ''Come I'll buy you a soda...and you can stay on my shoulders if you want''

Result: 10-12 Coin Points, the participant earns 3 Bid Points

Babysitting was not what Ochiba had on her list of holiday activities on the island (in fact, it was rank 8 on her 'list of things not to do'). So there are a few awkward moments as she and the Yasuki kid who'd introduced himself as Jubei size eachother up.
"So...."
"....Yeah"
Long pause.
"Umm, Mantis-sama, sorry but I really think we should get started. My parents are going through it in court and I need to earn enough to make sure mom isn't going to worry about me at the new dojo."
"...Your mom's relying on you?"
"Yes?"
Ochiba punches a fist in the air, now surging with energy.
"Okay then Kid, with your nerd brain-"
"I'm actually just middle of my cla-"
"- Your nerd brain, we're going to beat everyone else here and have you drowning in koku at the end. Ain't no way we're losing"

She cracks her knuckles. "Follow my lead kid and remember, these are your people, trust the ABCs. Always Be Crab"

Day 2, Early Afternoon, Bid Event, Roll 1/4, Action: Buying. Commerce/Perception, two raises called, TN 25. | 6k4+1 ⇒ 42

(4 value points)

"Watch and learn kid." The Mantis screams over to the table of a nice looking older man and his granddaughter and starts rapidly trading what looks like red paper clips before then launching herself to a bespectacled pair of brothers and trading up to chopsticks. This continues until she returns with a shiny new bike.
"It's not what you sell, it's how you sell yourself that matters."

"Right, okay. I can do that Mantis-sama."
Ochiba shoots Jubei a thumbs up.
"Then what are you waiting for? Get out there and start buying!"

And the Jubei buys.
Day 2, Early Afternoon, Bid Event, Roll 2/4, Action: Buying. Commerce/Perception, three raises called, TN 30, spending void | 7k5+6 ⇒ 40
(5 value points)

And buys.
Day 2, Early Afternoon, Bid Event, Roll 3/4, Action: Buying. Commerce/Perception, three raises called, TN 30, spending void | 7k5+6 ⇒ 36
(5 value points)

Until their table and all the space around it is now covered in mounds of toys, electronics, clothes and detritus from half a dozen other participants.
"Nice, you're doing pretty well."
"I think I've lied and deceived over 20 people today."
"Yeah yeah I already said you were doing well. Now, we close. This is very simple, but folks can't resist it."

Ochiba grabs an old property sign and in a big marker writes '8 koku' before slashing the 8 and writing '4' and then 'black 19th day of the dog sale'
"But how are we going to win if we're offering everything at half price?"
"Hmmm? Oh yeah, well Jubei, pricing is arbitrary and numbers are made up, watch."
Already, several participants were hurrying over to take advantage of the sale.
Day 2, Early Afternoon, Bid Event, Roll 4/4, Action: Selling. Commerce/Perception, three raises called, TN 30, spending void. | 7k5+6 ⇒ 36

(4 coin points, 14 value points converted to coin points. 18 coin points earned in total. +4 bid points, +1 kid sidekick)

Hiroki bounced up to his assigned child and looked down . . . at quite a large pair of sensible, crab blue, heavy duty, solidly made boots. He looked up and up . . . and realised the child was taller than he was. She was also very excited to meet an actual idol.

"I-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i'm H-h-hida Sak . . . Sakura, I'm t-t-t-welve and a half. PleasedtomeetyouKakitaSAMAAAAAAAAA!"

"Twelve . . ." He stared at her in shock.

" . . . a-a-andahalf." She squeaked out, as high as one could actually squeak in an alto voice which was still lower than Ki-kun's.

"What are they feeding you . . . . . . . ?"

"I . . . I-i-i-i-i have my Kisada Krunch everymorningKAKITA-SAMAAAAAA!!!!!"

"OK . . . well I may have to adjust the plan, but lets see what you're selling."

There was a sorry collection of picture books, a few battered plush crabs and a very well played with Hida O-Ushi action figure alongside a pile of clothes that were actually too big to fit Ki-kun and too small for Sakura-chan. Ki-kun looked past the pile, altering his plan. Pray he doesn't alter it further.

"OK Sakura-chan. Let me teach you the true secret technique of the Crane merchants. Marketing. With the sheer power of advertising we are going to not just sell all your . . . goods. We're going to make . . . an . . . absolute . . . killing."

Rehearsals were limited. Ki-kun was the gel that held Usagi Drop! together, he could cover for a Hida girl who was all arms, legs . . . and muscle mass. 12 1/2 and built like a brick %*&% house . . . no wonder the Crab made such good wrestlers. It was not long before they launched into a musical selling pitch like none Green Carp had seen before. Ki-kun turned the entire sales pitch into musical theatre and the two enjoyed their time immensely.

It had SONG . . . to the tune of a popular cartoon Ki-kun had caught that morning at breakfast. Sakura knew it as well and could join in the chorus as competently as a future heavyweight wrestler could.

It had DANCE . . . Ki-kun taking advantage of Sakura's size and strength to have her lift and throw him into some fairly spectacular routines.

It had ACTING . . . as Ki-kun helped Sakura extol the virtues and advantages of her wares.

. . . and it was all worth it as they actually managed to sell everything for a decent profit. Maybe not as well as a Yasuki could have done, or even a wily Daidoji, but good enough for an Idol Singer and a future primetime wrestling Bruiser Heel.

"THANKYOUSOMUCHKAKITA-SAMA!!!!!"

Sakura gave Ki-kun a massive hug and it was the Crane's turn to squeak, decidedly higher pitched than anything the girl had uttered. "You're welcome, Sakura-chan. Eeeeeep!

--

Action 1 Market: Perform:Song/Awareness KA1, VP for +1k1, 4 Called Raises, TN 35 | 10k6+1 ⇒ 42 (TN: 35) 5 Value Points

Action 2 Market: Perform:Dance/Agility, 2 CR, TN 25 | 8k4+1 ⇒ 32 (TN: 25) 3 Value Points

Action 3 Market: Acting/Awareness, 2 CR, TN 25 | 7k4+1 ⇒ 29 (TN: 25) 3 Value Points

Action 4 Sell: Commerce/Perception . . . VP for skill 11 Value Points TN 15 | 3k2+1 ⇒ 14 (TN: 15) . . . . good job the event has a built in Luck roll

Action 4 Sell: Commerce/Perception VP for skill, 11 Value Points TN 15 LUCK Re Roll . . . . 28 dice and no 10s so far, please . . just one . . . just one 10 . . . plskthx | 3k2+1 ⇒ 17 (TN: 15) oh my cat Sakkaku!!! no 10s but success.

12 Coin points = 3 Bid Points for the Crane

ooc note: Yes I know I could have used Perform:Song on all three Market rolls and racked up a gazillion Value Points, but I wanted flavour for the story and not min/max for the glory.

Hitomi actually enjoyed the yearly chance to indulge in outright money-grubbing under the mantle of 'educational opportunity.' A guilty pleasure wrapped up in a For the Children flag. Add in the chance for imparting some actual knowledge of history and artifact preservation to a new generation? It was certainly in the running for her favorite event in her new home.

Yasuki Mariko was an earnest youngling and aspiring artist, she even remember Hitomi from a visit to the shop with her parents shopping for an appropriate gift for the wedding of a mentor's eldest daughter.

There was a small collection of Mariko's art, amid her outgrown toys and trinkets. Hitomi examined the art with all apparent seriousness. "hmm, good eye for color and your kitties make wonderful subjects. Shell mosaic is not a traditional art in the Empire...but!" she enthuses, "mosaic was quite common among several of the cultures encountered during the late Hantei to early Iweko dynasties, and the material is very appropriate to the area. You can build on these to entice those visiting and looking for locally-based crafts."

"However, you might want to diversify, I bet there's some other...oh yes, see the pinch pots there and...." With some encouragement and sharp trades, Mariko's inventory shifted to include simply pottery and a selection of hand-made hair ornaments (that did trend toward the childish, but that was part of their charm!).

"Now a name, and an angle...so people feel like they know what they'll find, but with enough space for them to be pleasantly suprised." After testing with some very small focus groups--all members of the child's extended family--"Mariko's Treasure Box: Handcrafted for You!" was open for business. With only a bit of demonstration on crafting a story to go with each piece, Mariko was quickly pushing pieces into hands and koku into her pockets.

"...and that's Maru with his head stuck in the tea canister, see, I used a shell with a mark that looked like the tea kanji there on the can. Maru's always very funny like that. Oh you should pair it with this tea mug with a cat on it, perfect combo!..."



****************
Day2 Event: Buying Investigation(Search)/Awareness +1 for cooperative roll Void for +1k1, 2 called raises | 6k5+1 ⇒ 35 (TN: 25) +4 Value points

Day 2 Event: Buying #2 Investigation(Search)/Awareness +1 for cooperative roll Void for +1k1, 2 called raises | 6k5+1 ⇒ 43 (TN: 25) +4 Value points

Day 2 Event: Market Courtier(Gossip)/Awareness +1 for cooperative roll, 2 called raises plus Doji 1 FR | 7k4+1 ⇒ 48 (TN: 25) +4 Value points

Day 2 Event: Selling Commerce/Perception +1 for cooperative roll, Void for +1k1, 2 called raises. | 7k4+1 ⇒ 42 (TN: 25) +3 Coin Points and convert 12 Value points

15 Coin Points total = 4 bid points

She was so out of place.

She had been expecting to sit around large tables, to spar with words with samurai, to weave among captains of industry, to play dangerous games of double entendrés with Cranes, Scorpions and Spiders. She had chosen every bit of fashion as armor for the greatest game of politics.

Now, she had to scramble and put on the first 'cute' apron she could find, not quite managing her goal. And apparently, the opposite, by the frightened look that the little kid was granting her.

The fixer squatted down to his level and extended her hand.

"Hello. I am Kitsuki Ichitaiyo, and I am here to aid you in your First Market."

"I.. I am C-Chibori.." and the little hand meekly wrapped around the inspector's fingers.

There was a moment to think her next words to paint their relationship

"Then you can call me however you desire, however you have the option to call me... " She closed her eyes and took a breath. "Ichi-chan. Can I call you Chibori-kun, Yasuki-san?"

The kid nodded in agreement, easing as the scary masked lady had extended him respect. Not many adults respected kids. Ichitaiyo decided that if they were going to be partners, they had to be on the same station.

"Good. Now, please show me to your table. Let's see what you know."

==

The table was tidy and orderly, and showed to the public a collection of assembled plastic kits of starfighter jets and 'mecha' warriors. She had seen some of those in stores, while she was searching for the model train for the governor.

"You have good order. And your.. models are nice. However, I feel we need something to make people come and take a peek." Ichitaiyo commented.

"Shadow."

The fixer blinked and turned to the kid for clarification.

"The shoppers veer to the stalls that have some form of shade to stave off the sun. But.. I am a bit too small to handle adult tools."

Ichitaiyo granted the kid an approving nod. "That is an excellent idea. And clearly you prepared for your expected aid. Let me see what do you have in mind."

Chibori had been enterprising enough to draw was could be called blueprints on his mind, and have the materials prepared. Wood planks, rope, some nails and a nice sheet for shade. However it was all out of balance, and a strong gust could throw everything off.

"Good. If you keep it up, I'll be the one learning from you, Chibori-kun."

After some adjustments and explanations about balance, they set off to build the shade. Ichitaiyo imparted the knowledge of rope-building and allowed the little Yasuki to practice the knots. By the use of the adult's strength and kid's deft fingers, there was a nice and dark shade for onlookers to veer into when they passed.

D2 EA, Bid Event | Action 1: Build | Engineering/Intelligence | VP used for temporal Skill | Success!

==

The beginning of the day was.. slow. Uncomfortable. People passed by and complimented the craft on the models, but Chibori seemed to be.. distraught at the thought of selling the models. After a while, the fixer asked the kid for a moment. Both were sitting on the ground, behind the table.

"Is there something wrong, Chibori-kun?"

"I.. don't want to sell them."

Ichitaiyo blinked in surprise.

"What? But.. you brought them here."

"Dad said they were no longer of use when I start school, so I should get rid of them.."

Something beneath the ghost's chest twisted painfully, and let a pause sink. After some seconds to think, she sighed and patted his back.

"Your dad is right in one thing. As you become an adult you will have to leave behind some comforts, but these.. models are not just toys. You put on effort building them. And even as you grow up, you need to hold onto what you love, these kinds of things are what are going to help you when you're surrounded by darkness."

And she sighed.

"Do you have some money saved up, Chibori?"

"Yes.."

"Well. We're going to have to go out and buy new product then. I will need you to put attention, because deciding what product are you going to sell is one of the most important skills a merchant must know." She stood up and extended a hand to the kid.

"Come up, we got some scrounging to do."

D2 EA, Bid Event | Action 2: Buy | Investigation (Search)/Perception | 2 called raises | 2 free raises (Action 1 Bonus and School 1), one used for Effect, one used for Difficulty Reduction | Emphasis, (Action 1 Bonus) | Success! 5 Value Generated.

D2 EA, Bid Event | Action 3: Buy | Investigation (Search)/Perception | 2 called raises | 2 free raises (Action 1 Bonus and School 1), one used for Effect, one used for Difficulty Reduction | Emphasis, (Action 1 Bonus) | Success! 5 Value Generated.

==

After a good trip around the markets, Ichitaiyo and Chibori were back on their table, enjoying some sorbets as the sun set right atop their heads.

Their load was full with trinkets, little toys and nice paper to brush upon. The lesson was that material items existed to fulfill not just material needs, but those of the soul and mind. And whoever roamed the First Market of the Yasuki kids was not here to really buy items, but to fill their hearts with the joy of helping a fledgeling merchant. Thus, the strategy was made. Small cheap things, at a markup, but each one of them would be accompanied by Chibori's personal thanks, offered in little cards that himself would write.

As Chibori gained confidence, soon Ichitaiyo was just in charge of upkeeping the passing of money, each sale was paired with bows. The brushwork didn't need to be of excellent, it needed to convey the sincere feelings of the kid, swelling with pride as they shot past the minimal goal, and began to double and thrice it.

As the sun drifted, and adults returned to their jobs or housekeeping duties, Ichitaiyo ran the accounts and filled the sheet. Then finally presenting the inform to the newly minted businessman of the results.

"Congratulations Chibori-kun, you've made excellent profits today. I hope my assistance helped learn the basics of commerce. Next time, you won't have the perfect knowledge of people's desires, and thus it will be your duty to learn and investigate such."

And Chibori's answer was running up the woman's legs and hugging them, causing the Fixer to raise her arms and freeze.. not quite sure what to do.

"Thank you, Ichi-chan! Thank you so much...!"

Ichitaiyo slowly lowered her arms and patted the kid on the back.

"I merely guided you, Chibori-kun, the results of the hard work are yours."

The warmth stirred on her chest and she squeezed him gently. It gave her moment of introspection. What was she doing now? What would happen after these twelve days were over?

Could she keep living as she did after tasting this freedom?

Soon after the hug was over, Chibori ran out and pulled a small cardboard box from under the table and presented it to the dragon.

"Please, have this!"

It was one of those 'mechas', still sealed on it's box, Ichitaiyo looked down, a tad flabbergasted.

"I.. cannot accept this, Chibori-kun."

The words were sort of genuine, not mere etiquette. She didn't know what to do with it.

"Take it! You helped me so much! And I want to share with you what you helped me with!"

"I don't even.. it's..."

"You helped me make like, over a thousand's worth of this! Please..."

Well, she couldn't argue with that. And resigned, she took the box from Chibori's hands. "Thank you for your generosity and warmth, Chibori-kun."

"Thank you, Ichi-chan!"

D2 EA, Bid Event | Action 4: Sell | Commerce/Perception | 2 called raises | 1 free raise (Action 1 Bonus, used for difficulty reduction | Emphasis, (Action 1 Bonus) | Success! 10 Value transformed into 10 Coin, 3 Coin earned.

==

Total Coin earned: 13

Bid Points earned: 4

And a gunpla!

"My stall is right over here, Phoenix-ojisan. Hurry up, time is money!" Yasuki Isamu (eleven and three-quarters) has but limited patience for his adult sidekick. Isamu already has a plan. He requires no patronizing advice from out-clan grownups. The "Greetings from Crystal Peak!" souvenir keychain from Ujimitsu that Sorato had presented to him as a first-meeting gift, humming with temporarily energized Fire kami, only makes the kid more confident.

That might have been a tactical error on Sorato's part. He's finding himself somewhat mentally unprepared for the rigors of this mission--he's got nieces, sure, but they are littler than this and not nearly as authoritative. Pushing his thick-rimmed glasses up his nose with one finger, Isamu stumps through the market rows with the air of a four-foot-four gangster marking his turf.

"Okay. You're tall. That's good. Take this and stick it up there--no, higher--over there, I said!" Sorato can but obey, pushing his engineering skills to their limits to fulfill the boss's grand artistic vision for the merchandise and decorations while keeping the display more or less structurally sound. Sorato has barely finished tightening the last wire tie when Isamu goes into barker mode: "Baseball cards, baseball cards! Two for three zeni or ten for a bu! Chapter books and comics! Vintage jewelry, genuine 31st century!" His moms never wear those earring sets anyway, they'll never miss 'em.

Isamu's treble roars draw plenty of browsers to the stall, where Sorato's polite but warm smile and somewhat comic deference to the boss help reel in many of the potential customers. Isamu doesn't seem impressed with his shop assistant's diffident manners, though. "Those are rookie numbers! You gotta get out there and make deals, Agasha-ojisan, you can't just wait for people to come to you."

Perhaps hoping to foster a more enterprising spirit in his trainee, Isamu dispatches Sorato to go out and buy the two volumes missing from his old "O-Ushi: A Crab's Story" early reader series, which he reasons should be worth a lot more as a complete set. Phoenix are good at all kinds of book stuff, right? Unfortunately, even after systematically quartering the marketplace, Sorato is completely unsuccessful at finding either O-Ushi Learns a Lesson or Changes for O-Ushi. Isamu isn't mad, really, he's just disappointed.

Still, by the close of business, Sorato has helped his partner earn a respectable stack of coins. From the expression on Isamu's face behind the heavy frames of his spectacles, he might consider giving Sorato a good reference, even if the Phoenix is a little old to be getting started in this career. Sales is a young man's game, after all.

D2 EA Event--cast Mental Quickness 2x (one for Sorato and one for Isamu) | 7k3 ⇒ 34 (TN: 15)
D2 EA Event--cast Mental Quickness the second time (one for Sorato and one for Isamu) | 7k3 ⇒ 26 (TN: 15)

D2 EA Event--#1, Building, unskilled Int/Engineer, TN 15, Mental Quickness + Kid Bonus | 4k4+1 ⇒ 28 (TN: 15) Bonuses acquired!

D2 EA Event--#2, Marketing: Courtier(Gossip)/Awareness vs TN 15. + Emphasis from Build, + Kid Bonus, + VP. 3 CR + FR from Build | 7k4+1 ⇒ 40 (TN: 29) + 5 Value

D2 EA Event--#3, Buying: Investigation(search)/Perception vs. TN 15.. + Emphasis from Build, + Kid Bonus, + VP. 2 CR + FR from Build | 5k4+1 ⇒ 19 (TN: 24) No points!

D2 EA Event--#4, Selling: Commerce/Perception w/ emphasis vs. TN 15. Void for skill. + Emphasis from Build, + Kid Bonus, 1 CR + FR from Build | 4k3+1 ⇒ 23 (TN: 19) +3 Coin. 5 Value converted to Coin

Total: 8 Coin Points = 2 Bid Points

Volunteering to help a child make their first set of sales? This should be an interesting experience, both for himself and his charge. Looking around the group for who might need help, he has a little interview with each of the children until he finds one of the youngest, just barely eight. The little boys face was drawn tightly, perhaps a bit thin. His clothes were nice, but they were clearly not in the current style. Perhaps his family was a bit down on their luck. Crouching down to his level, Hikari smiled and offered him a hand after looking to his nametag.

"It is nice to meet you, Ichiro-san. I am Asako Hikari, but you can call me ojisan if you want." He lifts a hand to lightly touch on the mon of his haori, a finger tracing over each of the symbols. "I am from the Phoenix Clan, but I'm sure you could recognize that..but if you look here at this symbol of the open hand...this means that I trained with the Ide, from the Unicorn. I have been many places, but now I am here to help you, because Yasuki Umiko-sama said that you might need someone to help you with selling some things."

The little boy gave a slow nod and held up a small sack of items. Some old, but well made wooden toys that were obviously well loved, as well as a collection of coins of various ancient denominations. "These are my treasures, ojisan. My mama and papa said that when I go to school, I can't take them. I'll be too big for toys and the coins I have to get are new koku so our lord bosslady has lotsa money."

This brings a chuckle out of Hikari who nods. "It can be hard, leaving things that we know behind. But it looks like you loved these things very much. When I had to leave things behind when I left to learn from the Unicorn, I gave them to people who I thought might be able to use them. That way, even though I was gone, they knew that I wasn't leaving them behind, I was just introducing them to new friends."

Ichiro smiled a bit and nodded. "Are you good at selling stuff, ojisan?" Hikari chuckled. "I hope so, Ichiro-san, or otherwise /my/ lord bossman is going to be cross with me. But, let's go set up so we can get a good spot before everyone else, eh?" And with that, he scoops up the slight child and places him on his shoulders, carrying the little Crab out into the space proper, decorum be damned.

-----

"First, Ichiro-san, we should look for other people who have things to sell. I have an idea for how we should set up our little booth. You have nice things, but we can always use more. Let's see what we can find...ah, like this here," he says, picking up a few small trinkets on a good deal, mostly shiny baubles, but a few cast steel toys and a nice lacquered chopstick set in a magnetically sealed box. "One important thing to learn about when making sales of all sorts: never lie about your product. If you lie and someone finds out, then they tell other people, who tell other people, and then all of a sudden you have no more customers. No one wants to be lied to unless they are a very odd customer." Ichiro nodded a bit, seeming to understand this simple point. They wandered about the market a bit more, getting a few more odds and ends before Hikari slipped his charge a few coins to pay and off they went over to the stall.

"Hm. This won't do. We need something a bit more...attractive...to draw attention. Alright Ichiro-san!" Hikari squatted down so the child could dismount his shoulders and then he nodded. "Do you know what gacha games are?" Ichiro nodded quickly, a wide smile on his face. "Yes, ojisan! I love putting the tokens in the machine and getting the little prize! Sometimes I even with the big one! Last year, I won the grand prize from the Rainbow Arcade from one of the machines...a hundred tokens to play whatever games I wanted!" Hikari laughed and nodded. "And I bet you spent many little coins in those machines trying to win the prize, hm?" Ichiro nodded and then seemed to come to a sudden realization. "You think they'll do it here too?! But we don't have a machine!"

"Ah, but we are smart and resourceful samurai, Ichiro-san! We must use our heads. Do you remember old stories about pirates and buried treasure? Hiding their riches in the sand so they can keep it from their enemies and come get it later?" A series of rapid nods. "I'll look for a few wooden crates, Ichiro-san. How about you go down to the beach with this bucket and fill it with sand and come back. We can bury your treasures and the treasures we bought, bury them, and then we let people take a little shovel and play a gacha game of their own, eh?"

Handing over the bucket and the shovel, Hikari watched as Ichiro ran off to the beach to grab some sand. After every return trip, Hikari helped him bury trinkets in little quadrants of sand contained in the crates and then label them with small plastic pirate flags and little fishtank shipwrecks. "That'll do, I think...now, we just have to let people know we're open for business...let's get you head and shoulders above the competition again!" He scoops up Ichiro onto his shoulders again and clears his throat.

"Come one, come all! Dig for buried treasure of Captain Ichiro-san in the shipwreck cove!" Ichiro gave his best, "ARR!" in his small voice, growing more confident as the pair began to draw in bemused customers, eager to see what was going on. Small children not yet set up for the market, parents, and others besides who came to support the young samurai wandered through the space, giving small handfuls of coins to Ichiro to deposit in the payment box as Hikari bounced around, lending his voice to the task.

Once one of the customers to the pirate gacha dug up the token prize that corresponded to the lacquered chopstick set, Ichiro was handed a small party popper by Hikari, who fired it off, yipping with joy and congratulations to the player, a slightly older woman who kindly bowed to the pair of salesmen, who returned it. "Thank you for coming to Captain Ichiro's, obasaaaaan!"

Ichiro gave a giggle and spun around happily, shaking the payment box and listening to the rattle. Hikari smiled and nodded, looking out as the crowd began to disperse a bit, their sand boxes finally empty of prizes. "Well, Ichiro-san, that was a job well done...but I think you have one more sale to make!" The boy stopped spinning for a minute, tilting his head and walking over to Hikari, who had crouched once more. The Phoenix pulled the small set of antique coins from under the stall set up, turning them over in his hands.

"I think I want to buy these, if you will sell them. These coins are very old, and I know some people that might like them. What is your price for them?" Ichiro seemed a bit stunned that his friendly teacher would offer to buy them, but he recovered and lifted his hand to his chin, mimicking the familiar merchant pose that he had seen others strike up. "How about...one whole koku, ojisan?" Hikari gave an appraising, 'hmmm' as he looked over the coins once more. "I think that is too cheap, Ichiro-san. How about three?" Ichiro gasped and started, "But they're not worth that mu-," before Hikari raised a hand to stop him. "Maybe not to some, but I think so. You are being an honest merchant, Ichiro-san and I think that honesty should be rewarded." Reaching into his haori, he produced three koku, still a bit shiny, but worn about the edges from many transactions. "Besides...one koku is too small a treasure for Captain Ichiro, don't you think?"

The small Crab burst into a fit of giggles and nodded, taking the koku and putting them in his personal pouch. "Thank you, ojisan!" He leaned over and wrapped his arms around the Phoenix in a sudden hug, which Hikari lightly returned. "You are welcome, Ichiro-san...but I think it is time to return to your parents so you can tell them how well you did!" The pair rose and walked back over to Ichiro's parents, who listened intently as the lad explained the events of the market.

"You have a smart son, Yasuki-sans. I hope his career is as bright as the stars." And with that, Hikari bows and turns to take his leave.

======
Rolls here!

Day 2 - My First Market! (Build) Engineering/Intelligence TN 15. Voiding for +1k0 [Skill rank]. +1 from baby Crab assistance. | 4k3+1 ⇒ 26 (TN: 15) || Building the pirate cove! Emphasis and raise earned.

Day 2 - My First Market! (Market) - Courtier(Gossip)/Awa TN 15, Void for +1k1, +2 from assist and Status, 3 Called Raises. | 8k5+2 ⇒ 44 (TN: 30) || Marketing! 4 Value points earned.

Day 2 - My First Market! (Buying) - Investigation(Search)/Awa TN 15, Void for +1k1, +2 from assist and Status, 2 called raises, 1 free raise. | 6k5+2 ⇒ 40 (TN: 25) || Buying! 5 Value points earned!

Day 2 - My First Market! (Selling) - Commerce/Perception TN 15, Void for +1k1, +2 from assist and Status, 2 called raises, 1 free raise. | 7k4+2 ⇒ 36 (TN: 25) || Selling! 4 Coin points earned, 9 Value points converted!

13 Coin points earned, 4 Bid Points earned!