On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 10:20 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Date: Monday, May 31st, end of early shift. It's been a typically busy start of the week at Karuizawa Dry Good, including some grumbling about a new procedure introduced at the start of the month that requires weighing a sampling of the incoming goods. Among the guys, Manabu in particular has been sharing his idea of a possible efficiency improvement: "let's just not bother." The day otherwise been going smoothly with the exception of the warehouse's manager, BANDO Osamu, asking if she could stop by the front office a bit before the end of the shift. It's getting to be about that time and Kyoko has finished up the work that can't wait until tomorrow. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 7:50 AM wrote: Kyoko privately agrees with Manabu, a little bit - why weigh only a sampling of the goods? What's good (heh) is supposed to come from that? But their employers have spoken and she's not about to side with someone who regularly extends his fifteen minute breaks into half an hour, so she rolls her eyes and tells him he's getting paid either way. Her boss's request barely registered - at first. But the day's been quiet and smooth, and that's enough to give Kyoko time to think, and giving Kyoko time to think gives her time to worry. By the end of the shift she feels more or less like she's heading to the principal's office because she got into a fight - again. She doesn't think this is about a fight... or maybe it's about the one with Kira? But Kira's fine and he didn't quit and they kissed later so... okay... just. She's just... she's going. She's going to the principal's office ten minutes before her shift is over. (He did say before the end of the shift, right? He did. She's pretty sure he did.) On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 8:23 AM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando's door is half open and he's got a green felt pen and is comparing three sets of printouts. Kyoko recognizes two as standard ones for this warehouse, shipping manifests and inventories. The third set of papers is a bit uglier and is printed at slightly odd angles with inky triangles sometimes present in one corner or edge. All three papers have green markings on them, but the ugly set also has some rows of information marked with yellow highlighter. His computer is off to the side of his desk and presently showing a rotating display of museum pieces that is his standard screensaver. His attention is intent on the papers and he hasn't yet acknowledged your presence. He gets this way sometimes, but on the other hand you do have places to be after work. What do you do? On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 10:32 AM wrote: Kyoko does have other places to be after work, but she needs her job and her shift isn't actually over yet. She stops just outside and knocks on the doorframe. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 10:58 AM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando takes half a minute to finish marking something, grunting to himself when he finishes. He then looks up and nods to Kyoko to come in. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 12:58 PM wrote: Kyoko enters the room and bows respectfully. "You wanted to see me, sir?" On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 12:03 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando nods. "Sorry for the inconvenience. Shut the door please." He takes the three piles of papers and switches them so that they are now facing a chair on the other side of his desk. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 1:08 PM wrote: Kyoko shuts the door quietly and then walks over to the chair, eyeing the papers. Well... she's probably not fired, then. That's good. She sits down. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 1:22 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando looks up, his eyes are slightly red. "The parent company has a theft problem. We've been trying to work our way up the value chain with some medicinal supplies. But some of them are disappearing between arrival at our sister warehouse in Osaka, shipment, and the departure from our warehouse." He gestures to the three piles of papers, respectively the rough copies, the more familiar shipping manifests, and inventory documents. There's three items circled on each paper. In the circled items, the amounts entering and leaving the Osaka warehouse are higher than the amount leaving your own warehouse. Two of the three items were subject to the additional weighing on check-in and for both of those items the incoming weight matches the outgoing weight. The shipping manifest doesn't breakout numbers for the three circled items, but Bando has been trying to see if the overall sums add up. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 2:18 PM wrote: Kyoko leans forward to look at them. "Is that why we're weighing a portion of our inventory now, sir?" On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 1:29 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando nods and both corners of his mouth twitch up. "I've been hearing about it at conferences for a few years but wasn't worth the bother when prices per pound are low. Likewise a poor use of time if we trust the parent company supply chain." He shrugs. "Bigger picture, more expensive goods trickle down to our bottom line, but they create hassle in different ways." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 2:46 PM wrote: Kyoko nods; she appreciates the explanation. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 2:18 PM Greg Sanders wrote: "We had a telecon on Friday. Voices were raised." The corners of his mouth are no longer raised and he folds his hands together. "President Karuizawa is calling us together. I made the case that we should convene in Osaka. It's where the President's primary home is located." He continues in an affectless tone of voice and his eyes shift to the low-quality copies marked with highlighter and green pen, "And also the source of problem." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 4:16 PM wrote: Kyoko relaxes slightly. "Does that mean you're leaving, sir? For how long?" If Bando's going on a business trip, then that's more than enough reason for him to have called her in - she's a supervisor, after all. And it also means he doesn't suspect her of stealing anything from the company. (Because she didn't. And she wouldn't. They were going to throw those beans out anyway.) On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 3:24 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando nods. "Unclear. Not today but soon. Could be down there a day, could be a week." He looks back up at Kyoko. "And I'd like to have someone trust and capable with me. Someone that might be underestimated and that has the..." He pauses searching for a word that would be fair to Kyoko's supervisory colleagues. "flexibility to do a little snooping if that what it takes." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 4:26 PM wrote: Kyoko blinks. "Um?" Very articulate, Kyoko. "I... do you mean me?" On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 3:34 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando nods. "The younger Karuizawa-san is not dishonest but he is proud. That's the main hub warehouse, 24-7 security cameras, the whole deal. Karuizawa-san has invested a lot in his technology but not his people." Bando then flips through the poor facsimiles. "These papers claim that he weights 100% of the goods leaving his shop, and none of it, not even the goods most prone to absorb humidity, have changed weight by a single gram. If that's true, I will give up coffee for a year. There is a hole in his system, but not one I can find alone when I'm in a meeting." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 4:42 PM wrote: Kyoko blinks. "Oh." And then she fully realizes what he's asking her to do. "Oh." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 3:49 PM Greg Sanders wrote: "I know you have important family duties and this is a big ask. The company would arrange transportation, separate hotel room, a per diem, and time-and-a-half for the full 8 hours every day you're down there." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 4:55 PM wrote: Kyoko thins her lips, thinking. (Possibly a habit she picked up from Kyon.) She doesn't consider how, exactly, Bando is swinging this. Her head is full of Reiji and also time and a half - for eight hours a day. That's a lot of money. And something like this could even put her on the path to only working one job. "Maybe... it depends on how long. I'd need to ask around some, I..." Her brain skips a step. "And are we still hiring? If we're both gone, that's going to put a lot of pressure on everyone." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 4:08 PM Greg Sanders wrote: [That sounds like making an offer, Kyoko. Kindly roll it.] On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 7:36 PM wrote: (Sure thing! Arwen rolls 2d6+1 and gets 5. [ 3 1 ] + 1 WHOOPS) On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 9:46 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando frowns thoughtfully. "Half a week should be enough. You're officially going to be there to be trained in 'modern technological loss prevention' that the younger Karuizawa-san is so enamored with. And it's true, we could be fancier. But the storage industry is still reeling from some of the pharmaceutical robberies during that unpleasantness two years ago." He knocks his monitor dismissively with a hand. "People threw all sorts of tech at that problem, none of it made a bit of difference. I don't think those days are back, but I'd bet that there are holes that fancy infrared cameras can't see." He then ponders the second part of her question. "New hire makes sense. As long as they can turn up fast for an interview." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 10:52 PM wrote: Kyoko nods, thinking. "Okay." Kojirokawa needs a job. It's not like it's hard, and he and Kira could look out for each other while Kyoko's away. But who could she even get to take care of Reiji? She doesn't have to go, but she feels like she has to go, and it'd probably be good in the long term. Half a week, huh... but her brother needs constant company, and staying home would be best for him. That means Kyon is out. Kinsha and Takeuchi are also super busy. Ugh, this is hard; she can feel a headache coming on. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 10:00 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando is familiar with processing Kyoko looks and gives her time to work stuff out. In the meantime he logs on to his computer, displacing the image of ceremonial naginata, and logs onto the company intranet to pull up some information about the Osaka branch. He also turns on the somewhat finicky printer which starts its noisy bootup ritual. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 11:06 PM wrote: Kyoko doesn't really know that Bando's familiar, and she doesn't notice now. She's too busy processing. Okay, so Kyon is out, but maybe he knows somebody? But she can't trust someone with Reiji whom she doesn't know - and Reiji'd have to know them too, so that doesn't even matter really- uh. Okay, okay. She pulls out her phone and starts scrolling through her (fairly small) list of contacts, looking for inspiration. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 10:33 PM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando gets printing. The printer squeals a bit and is a bit slow, but the quality is fine. On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 11:37 PM wrote: (Read a Situation! Arwen rolls 2d6 and gets 8. [ 6 2 ] One question: What's my best way in / past / out? - pertaining to Reiji) On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 10:54 PM Greg Sanders wrote: [Satoshi had put up Reiji in his apartment for a time. And now that Kyoko thought about it, she thinks someone, maybe Kinsha Takeuchi or Kyon, was talking about him like he was so distant anymore. Seems worth finding out for sure. And Kyoko gets +1 ongoing towards that goal.] On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 11:55 PM wrote: Kyoko squints at the names on her contact list for another second before turning her attention up to her boss. "Bando-sama? By when would we need to leave?" [Bando names gives some logistic details. Pretty soon, and she'd have to do some schedule swapping at Pao Pao, but she's got at least a day to make arrangements.] He then hands her the printouts. "Some reading material for the trip down. People and operations. Unless you ask the right questions and are chart your own course, they'll just show you what they want you to see." On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 11:13 PM Greg Sanders wrote: [Bando names gives some logistic details. Pretty soon, and she'd have to do some schedule swapping at Pao Pao, but she's got at least a day to make arrangements.] He then hands her the printouts. "Some reading material for the trip down. People and operations. Unless you ask the right questions and are chart your own course, they'll just show you what they want you to see." On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 9:20 AM wrote: Kyoko takes the paper. Her eyes are on them, but her mind's still working through the tricky logistics of her schedule and obligations. "Yes, sir." On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 8:37 AM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando glances at the clock, getting on shift change. "Any questions?" On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 10:37 AM wrote: Kyoko also glances at the clock and shakes her head Even if she did have questions, she wouldn't ask them right now. She has to go. "Thank you for the opportunity, sir." She rises and bows. "If I can make arrangements, I think I'll take you up on it." On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 10:28 AM Greg Sanders wrote: Bando stands and returns the bow. "You are welcome." He sits down with some of the tension leading his body. He organizes and sets aside his papers and switches over to the next shift's tasks. On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 11:29 AM wrote: Kyoko takes the papers and leaves. Her shift's just about over, so it's time to clock out and get Reiji to eat something. On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 11:32 AM Greg Sanders wrote: [With Kyoko off at an end of day meeting, the rest of the team has taken the opportunity to already clock out, so her warehouse exit goes swiftly.] On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 12:37 PM wrote: Kyoko puts on normal clothes and leaves! The subway ride goes smoothly enough, and she's walking to her house when she finds she's fiddling with her phone again. Well... no. Yes? If she contacts Kyon about Watanabe, it might be a day or two before he gets to her, and she needs to know right away. Really, what's the worst that could happen? Watanabe thinks she's desperate and kind of an idiot? What else is new. She selects Satoshi Watanabe's entry and hits the call button. On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 11:45 AM Kate Malloy wrote: Satoshi's phone rings a few times before going to voicemail. "Hello, this is Watanabe. I'm unavailable right now, so please leave a message. Thank you." A second later, there's a message in English, "" On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 12:52 PM wrote: Kyoko actually pulls her phone away and looks at it for a second while it babbles at her in English. Why would Watanabe- nope, not important. She puts the phone back to her ear and waits for the beep. "Hi, Watanabe-san? It's Kyoko Ozora. If you're willing, I have a really big favor to ask of you. It's about my brother. Please call me back, uh... today if you can." She proceeds to leave her number and hang up. There! That's done. Time to grab a couple of things from the conbini and head home. On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 12:53 PM Kate Malloy wrote: (Just noticed that there's an error in the date at the start of the thread; Monday is May 31st, not 28th.) [End!]