2026-11-07: A Hard Bargain
- Cutscene: A Hard Bargain
- Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Kazuki Motojima (Kazusa's father), Karin Motojima (Kazusa's mother)
- Where: Motojima Residence, Shibuya Ward
- OOC Date: November 7, 2026
- IC Date: Monday, January 28, 2013
- Summary: Inspired by her trip to Yugawara with Kanae, Kazusa wants to plan a bigger trip for more of her friends (and acquaintances), but to do so will require access to a significant amount of funds. She approaches her father to make her case, but finds that she has to give up something to secure what she wants.
- Content Warning: Misogyny, verbal/emotional abuse
Kazusa took a deep breath to calm herself as she made one final check in the vanity mirror. Hair brushed to a sheen, perfectly straight without a strand out of place? Check. Eyebrows perfectly shaped? Check. Teeth? Check. Soft, pleated, pastel pink dress with the lace collar that she hated?
… Check.
Kazusa sighed, stepping back from the mirror, momentarily letting a frown slip through. "Alright," she muttered. "You can do this. It's just… a small favor. It won't even cost that much." She ran through the plan in her head: who to mention, who not to mention, the benefits to her father and the family's company. How she could make all the arrangements so it wouldn't even inconvenience him. It was just… a normal social outing. There was nothing objectionable about it.
That thought didn't keep her heart from pounding.
She sighed, looking out the high-rise window of her bedroom down at Shibuya below. Inside the apartment everything was consciously arranged, meticulously considered, and carefully managed. Outside, in the cold winter night, the streets and sidewalk buzzed with motion, as colorful signs and bright lights beckoned people out. After a moment, Kazusa turned away. "… you just need his blessing. That's all that matters."
No use putting it off. Kazusa stepped outside her bedroom, slippers scraping lightly against the warm hardwood floor. A clipped conversation filtered in from downstairs and Kazusa let out a tense breath. That meant her father wasn't in his office. That was lucky, for her.
She gracefully descended the staircase, forcing herself not to brace each time she stepped with her left ankle. (It was merely a sprain from her rhythmic gymnastics practice, but to show it would be proof she wasn't dedicated enough in her practice.) She found them seated at the kitchen table, both with planners open, and two cups of tea. (Tea that her mother had dutifully prepared, no doubt.)
Karin was dressed in a simple but tasteful dress and cardigan, her dark brown hair up in a delicate bun. "… next Thursday…" She turned a page. "I've entered an ikebana exhibition. It should be quite interesting, the theme is—"
"I have a dinner meeting," said Kazuki brusquely, not even looking up from his planner. He had hard features and short black hair, still dressed in his office suit, though the jacket hung up the back of the chair. "I'll need you there."
"Oh." Karin bowed her head. "My apologies, dear. I should have realized. I'll withdraw first thing tomorrow."
Kazusa's jaw tightened. Say something! she shouted in her head. Don't just wilt like one of your stupid flowers! She forced her jaw to loosen again. It wouldn't help her.
"Good," replied Kazuki. He picked up his phone and made another annotation in his planner. Finally he looked up at Kazusa waiting by the staircase, hands clasped in front of her. "Kazusa." His eyes scanned her appearance.
With her breath held, Kazusa waited for the inspection to finish. Was he on to her? Most likely, but that was just part of how this worked.
With a quiet nod, Kazuki looked back to his planner. "Don't linger. What do you want?"
If I had said something you would have chastised me for interrupting. Kazusa forced a pleasant, nonconfrontational smile to her face as she stepped closer. "Otou-sama," she started. "I won't take much of your time. National Foundation Day is coming up, and I'd like to arrange a small weekend trip for myself and some of my friends. I thought I would invite Haru Okumura-senpai and Katsuko Yoshinaga-senpai, to help keep up good relations between our families. If I'm lucky I might be able to invite our class president, Makoto Niijima-senpai. Her sister is the prosecutor everyone has been talking about?"
Kazusa and Makoto weren't on particularly good terms, but if Kazusa was inviting Ann, she didn't want Ann to think she was excluding one of her friends on purpose.
Karin smiled softly at her daughter, and reached out to place a hand over her husband's arm. "Oh, doesn't that sound lovely, dear? Our Kazusa has been so troubled recently, maybe this is what she needs to get through this rough patch."
'Troubled' in this case meant having one Homunculus hijack her life for a month, and then a second Homunculus throwing her against a wall in a very public display to demand a dogeza-style apology. An incident Kazuki had blamed her for, naturally. For 'leading him on'.
"Mmm." Kazuki's frown deepened a few degrees. "That woman is doing the work of a man," he muttered.
Kazusa winced internally, but forced her expression to stay mildly pleasant. She'd hoped Sae Niijima's prosecutorial record would be a strong enough feat to impress her father, but she'd miscalculated.
"… however, we have enjoyed good business dealings with the Okumuras," continued Kazuki, regarding Kazusa critically as he set his planner down. He brushed Karin's hand off his arm and then steepled his fingers. "And Yoshinaga... her father is with that cybersecurity firm, correct?"
"Hai, otou-sama," said Kazusa with a small nod.
Kazuki's eyes narrowed. "And you will doubtlessly wish to invite other friends. And to put the expenses on your credit card."
Oh no. Something clammy clutched her heart in her chest. She had to get ahead of the narrative. "Oh, of course, I need to invite more than just them. I need to invite some of their friends along, to earn their favor. And I've already found a traditional ryokan in Yugawara able to accommodate my group. They're offering an exclusive wing and access to private facilities, though of course they're eager to finalize the arrangements…"
"I'm sure you have." Kazuki folded his arms on the table. "… but don't think you'll be getting off lightly. If you wish to enjoy the benefits of our family's success it's high time you started earning your keep."
Of course he would want something. Why did she think vague promises of familial ties or the lure of a traditional ryokan would be enough? But what more could he ask of her? Kazusa straightened her posture and forced her smile to keep from drooping. "Oh, of course, otou-sama. What did you have in mind?"
"… You lack discipline," Kazuki said after a long moment. "You missed your winter training camps, and you didn't compete in your last meet."
Kazusa knew better than to argue about the doctor advising rest; that argument would get her nowhere, and just bring up the point about 'leading on' Shinichi again. "I competed in the group category, otou-sama. It was decided to send Yoshizawa-san as a solo performer because she needed to prove—"
She instantly regretted the sentence the moment she started it. The ridiculous timing of the faculty's demands on Kasumi—not to mention the demands themselves—weren't something she wanted to reinforce. Sorry, Yoshizawa-chan.
Kazuki cut her off. "Her problems are not your concern. Your sole concern is maintaining your own reputation. Do I make myself clear?"
Kazusa bowed her head. "… hai, otou-sama." So much for winning first place.
"Regardless. I see now I have to take a more hands-on approach, if you won't show the proper discipline on your own." Kazuki opened his planner again. Without looking up he said, "We're launching the new Cosmos line soon. If you want to take your trip, you'll pay for it by appearing in some of the promotional material." He leveled a flat stare at his daughter. "Dishonor our company's image, and I'll be forced to take more restrictive measures. Do I make myself clear?"
It wasn't an offer. It wasn't even a request. If she tried to back out of the trip, he'd call her unserious and flighty. If she tried to argue back against the 'payment' for the trip…
It wasn't fair. She knew how much her family was worth. A trip like this was almost inconsequential, but her father had to make everything difficult. And if she argued…
… no, it was safer not to. And besides, maybe, just maybe, if the product launch was a success, her father…
Kazusa kept her head bowed. "… hai, otou-sama," she said in a small voice.
"Good." Kazuki made an annotation in his planner. "Is that all?"
"Hai." Kazusa took a careful step back. "Thank you for your time, otou-sama. Have a good night." She turned and made her way back up the stairs, holding back the welling of emotions until she was safely in her room.