Nakahama

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 8:22 pm Having gotten up early for the fish market, and feeling pleased with herself, Taraka gathered up a couple employees from the shop to to exhibition matches on the beach. Fancon had been a nice spike in sales, but the leaderboard was still a little sparse.

She set up the Flying Battle Carps sign, and two of her employees set out their drone, one with a black banner and a white banner to start dueling.

Honestly, Azuma Beach was a terrible location for a demonstration. Locals avoided the place due to the black (but spiritually pure!) sand. But it was one of the few places in the city proper they had authorization to go without issue.

So the banners flew and the sign waved, and Taraka looked to draw in any passably curious tourists.

Kitsuki Ichitaiyo wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 8:42 pm

There was one, at least, she definitive didn't look like a local. Dressed with sportswear, a porcelain rebreather and white hair did their morning job by the side, giving a passing glance over to the swinging drones, a bit idle.

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 8:45 pm Taraka was pretty sure she'd seen that combination of white hair and rebreather at the governor's reception. Never hurt to make more contacts though.

She'd approach and bow.

"Hey there, Dragon-san. Nice day to take to the skies, huh?" she asked with a gesture to the drones.

Kitsuki Ichitaiyo wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 9:34 pm

Ichitaiyo blinked, and looked at the Yasuki up and down, a bit confused. "I.. are you offering flying tours?"

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 10:18 pm Taraka smiled.

"No, that's Utaku-san's gig. I'm talking about the carp." she clarified.

She pointed to the sky, where two quadcopters seemed to be flying by each other.

"Flying Battle Carp. It's my family's business. Yasuki Taraka, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 10:40 pm Taraka chuckled.

"Nothing so dangerous, Kitsuki-san, fear not. The goal is to slice the string off your opponent's banner causing it to fall to the ground." she explained. "It's meant to evoke the wandering duelists of old."

Kitsuki Ichitaiyo wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 11:35 pm

"Oh." She replied, a bit.. hesitant over it. "And you control everything with the perspective from down here, no? No cameras on them?"

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 3:19 am Taraka nodded.

"Indeed. Cameras and other recording equipment installation on them are prohibited by local ordnance. You know how it is, privacy concerns. While it does limit the range one can maneuver, it makes the battles that more intense." she explained.

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 4:23 am Taraka tilted her head at that angle.

"Hmmm, really it's a matter of honor....well and law enforcement. The legal penalties for for doing things like installing recording equipment, using them to harm people or damage property, or even simply using them to harass people are...stiff." she said.

"We'd thought about installing systems to keep them from switching on in prohibited areas, but it was felt that that was too intrusive. We are, after all, samurai. Honor should be enough."

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 1:37 pm Taraka nodded.

"You'll need to swing by our shop on Golden Shotengai to buy your own drone, but let me show you the controls, Kitsuki-san, I've got the controls for my own carp, Coin's Edge, here."

She demonstrated the two controllers.

"Each one controls two different kinds of movement. This one controls the throttle when you push it up and down, so up and the drone goes up, down and it goes down. Pushing it left and right cause it to spin in place clockwise or counterclockwise. The other stick handles movement across the plane, so up to move forward, down to move back, left and right to move left and right." she explains.

"So you can see my associates out there demonstrating the maneuvers. You can't go too fast, because the strings are delicate so it'd be easy to lose your own banner if you flew too close to a tree or a building. But it's all about maneuvering so you can get in with your own rotor to hits your opponent's. Then a little bit of piloting to recover stably. You want to get a clean hit because it'd be unfortunate if you damage your own roto by hitting something super solid like a building."

Kitsuki Ichitaiyo wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 2:34 pm

"Hhm-Hmm." "I see." "Uh-huh.." Ichitaiyo took in the instructions, understanding the concepts well enough. "Is there some kind of learner's track to try? I'm afraid I would crash one of your drones without the proper training before attempting a round."

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 2:51 pm Taraka considered the Dragon's concerns.


"Hmmm, well if you're that concerned about it Kitsuki-san, how about this: This beach is typically pretty empty. I'm willing to give you a quick lesson now. I'll even let you borrow my carp. We can even clear the skies for you." she suggested with a nod to her employees.

Kitsuki Ichitaiyo wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 4:10 pm

"Alright.. Let's do it." And Ichitaiyo set her hands on her hips, ready to receive instructions and learn.

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 4:21 pm Taraka cleared off the employees from the field, and set up Coin's Edge on the black sands. She handed the controls over, one for each hand.

"Alright. So first off push up on the left stick to open the throttle. Start off easy and then slowly push up more so you can get a feel for how much throttle you need to move so quickly. Once you start getting up to a decent height, ease back down so you can get a feel for descent. Level off and hold when you're about two stories up." she instructed.

Kitsuki Ichitaiyo wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 4:23 pm

Ichitaiyo took the controls, and at least showed to not be lead footed, as she handled the controls and levels almost too delicately for the drone to move beyond a crawling hover. At least it wasn't going to crash violently.

"Alright... I see..."

Yasuki Taraka wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 4:30 pm
Taraka nodded.

"Try giving it a bit more. You'll need some speed for dueling, and honestly Kitsuki-san, they're not that delicate. If you manage to bounce it off the beach, you'll likely at worst scratch up the paint job." she said encouragingly.