All Hands on Deck (Kachidoki, Hana and Haruka)

The day of the Magallanic event was drawing nearer by the moment and so the right hand of the Seventh Cutlass felt it appropriate to brief those aiding him. There were others than those he had called together on this fine afternoon that would be helping but he thought it perhaps easier to contact Aoi and Fubuki together. That left these two: Hana Espoir and Haruka Nakahara.

How was it, Kachidoki thought to himself, that he was sitting here with these two? Sister and wife of the woman who ruined the world by giving it a future that he wanted no part in. Regardless here they were in his office, which was much smaller than Umi's, sitting across a simple desk. The man ran a hand through his long purple hair before getting down to business.

"Espoir-dono, Nakahara-dono, thank you for coming today and for assisting in the event in general. Nanana-san has left it to me to inform you of the role you'll each be filling." he said calmly while placing a piece of paper down before them. There seemed to be a map on it, with dashed lines marking it into several chunks each with part of the path it seemed to want the holder to take in them.

"The event will be a hunt for treasure, true to pirate form. X marks the spot as they say. But in order to find where the X is, each fighter will have to assemble the map. You see here the lines upon which the map will be divided into pieces. The two of you, as well as myself, will be holding onto these sections here" he said while pointing to the three largest portions of the map. "So you'll have to be carrying a stack of your piece on you. We'll have the actual things ready by the day of the event. You'll each have your own location to stand your ground and take on incoming challengers. From there it's straightforward. Fight those who challenge you, reward those who win. Nothing too terribly complicated." he said while sifting through some other papers.

"However I feel there is one thing in particular I ought to mention to the two of you. We received word from Minami-san of a participant in the Zoo event that was harassing some of the others. There was one fairly serious incident and he warned of us a repeat offense. All we have to go off of is that it's a woman in red. Admittedly not helpful assuming she wears a different color to this event. Regardless I request your assistance in keeping your eye out for any trouble-makers among the participants. We won't tolerate this kind of behavior here at Magallanica. It won't be your role to intervene unless there's an emergency. Simply report it. Nanana-san and I will take appropriate action as needed." he said while putting a copy of the letter from Rikuto away.

"Now then, any questions?" he asked the pair while also pouring glasses of water for his guests.

Hana knew the Magallanica branch was going to be exhausting not only for doing a large number of fights in a row, but also doing so after what was likely to be another performance by Cyan Sea☆. Still, she didn't vocally complain and kept a charming smile on as Kachidoki Isao called her and Haruka to his office. Admittedly, despite her confidence posture, it was the slightest bit of an awkward atmosphere from the people she was around. The Aimless Blade was a polite fellow, but it wasn't hard to pick up on quiet animosity on rare occasion while her history with her idol group leader: Haruka was... Hm. Not pleasant. Frankly, his presence only solidified her desire to not at all try to play Duos, knowing the Duo Temptation brought up painful memories.

Even so, all Hana wished for was to move on peacefully, and be the ray of hope she dreamed of. That's why she listened to the description of the event so intensely, wanting to ensure she could get every detail to be a strong challenge for the new winds. "Hunt treasure, true to pirate form... I do kind of wish Umi would've designed it as less orientated toward Granblue, but it's easier to make this way." Magallanica had naval forces and the harmonious legions of mermaids, you know. Alas, kids probably found pirates more interesting anyway. The princess held her chin while pondering the cool factor of rogues at sea doing as they pleased with their queer speech.

You know, maybe singing about pirates would spark some interest amongst teenagers?

"I feel there's gonna be a lot of games, and it'll be hard to do them all one at a time unless we're actually pretty well hidden... or pretty lucky to finish fights quickly." Said a notoriously disgusting sacker. The criticals speak to her, you see. It's why Pacifica and Olivia gain them. She wasn't sure how fast everyone else could play though - participants and representatives combined. "That or we try to do a lot at the same time...?" The idol found the question she had for the secretary, bringing a pretty nail to her lips and gently tapping. Emitting an inquisitive hum before moving on to the warning.

"A woman in red causing a disturbance at Zoo? Well..." Flaunting powers, stars overtook Hana's pupils with a blink. "... I'll definitely keep an eye out for anyone ruining the experience." Another blink, eyes returning to normal... The princess' unique Star Gazing allowed her to find people or even locations where ever light reflected, able to see going ons. This power helped her locate friends and even keep tabs on the war during the Star-vader invasion. In short, it was her way of showing she'd be useful in settling any disruptive situations. "If we're lucky, we might be able to beat this person in fights so they give up on aggressive behavior." Embarrassment was a decisive means of halting bullying. It'd probably fuel some dumb revenge plot, but she's learned those are also easily handled with words.

Haruka's presence in the room was a few things, but if it was anything it was some mixture of lackadaisical and informal. He was wearing his regular attire; vest, loafers, slacks, gloves and tie. A staple outfit for him, but his headspace was almost completely vacant. He seemed to not be paying very close attention to what the two were discussing, staring off into space. He'd been having some kind of vivid recollection of something, his face contorted in puzzled look until the end when he heard Hana say something that snapped him out of it. Something about beating the aggressive behavior out of an individual.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that's a way to go about it. Yeah, let's do that..."

He trailed off, stretching his neck out a bit after staring in the same spot for so long. In an effort to adjust his comfort, he stood up and flung the chair in the opposite direction, sitting on it now and resting his chest on the part where one usually relaxed their back. He sighed with relief as he felt his back reform comfortably as he hunched over the front of the seat and used the top of its backrest as a place to put his chin as he stared up at Kachi.

"So, we hold onto map pieces or something and give pieces out to whoever beats us, yeah? I think I heard that right. Do we have designated spots already designed for us? I'd hate to be the guy they find first and have to fight for hours on end and then see nobody for the rest of the day because I posted up closer to the entrance than you guys."

Haruka had an air of being tired, and even a little bit annoyed around him. Whether it was because being in the same room as Hana and Kachi made him generally uncomfortable or it was something on his mind a bit ago was entirely up in the air, even for him.

The responses from both of his guests were of the same nature. They wanted specifics on where they would be and how they would handle not being flooded with hours of fights to do. This was understandable and yet also frustrating as the Aimless Blade had no clear instructions on the matter from Umi. He reviewed his notes one more time to be sure. There was one thing he'd forgotten but would address after settling the matters at hand. While he appreciated Hana's attention to his words and suggestions at actions, he could not help but quietly irritated with Haruka. The nerve of some people. They wanted a future so badly but now they can't give him a few minutes of that future of attentive listening. It seemed little wonder to Kachidoki that the branch lacked an Aqua Force Clan Leader if this was the caliber of the candidates. But he needed to contain himself. His outward composure remained unchanged.

"Nanana-san is admittedly still working many of these particular details out. I assure you she doesn't want to give either of you more fights to do than you can handle or enjoy. I'll be sure to inform you before the event proper starts." he said while shuffling through his notes from his discussions across the days with Umi and others about the event. "I know that's hardly a satisfactory answer but she really is giving this her all to make it good for everyone involved." he continued. He wanted to cut Haruka some slack. The man seemed tired. But his frustration was mounting as how committed Umi and Hana were seemed to greatly eclipse that of the Chosen Sword's husband's drive. Still he did not want to start anything after having imposed upon them for the meeting.

"There was another matter we wanted to discuss and I'm glad my notes reminded me of it. Cyan Sea☆'s performance at Zoo was a great success and we're all eagerly awaiting the encore here at Magallanica. We have many water features you can use to enhance your performance we'll simply need a rough outline of the performance and how you want it to play out. Of course Nanana-san would also like you to sing about pirates but I understand if that's a... tricky subject to work with for artists like yourselves." he said a touch awkwardly. Kachidoki wasn't a fan of the idol style of music by any means. The Aimless Blade stuck to traditional Japanese styles of music. But he couldn't deny the popularity of the group of which he was currently speaking to two thirds of. They were to be a bit of an icon of these Branch Events and so he needed to ensure that went smoothly as well.

"Suppose I shouldn't have expected too much from a pirate..." Hana didn't mean to but the jab at Umi's reputation as a barbarian at sea slipped out with blatant sass. With a sigh, the princes leaned back in her chair, beginning to be absorbed in thought while staring up at the ceiling. "I do believe she's doing her best..." That was genuine, believe the branch director to be a rather devoted woman, if not a bit emotional when discovering how much alcohol was hoarded up in her office. This brought the idol's expression to contort in slight disgust, not very approving of Umi drinking all her problems away. Even though it wasn't the matter at hand, Hana was simply running through all the impressions that lady had left.

A quiet huff as she looked back down, considering what could be done with the aquarium features of the branch building. Lingering on a lack of details was just going to go into a circle, there wasn't much choice but to trust the hostess of the event. "Water works sound great for our performance, but I'm kind of worried about Karin..." Twice now in her short time of knowing the third member of Cyan Sea☆, Karin has bordered complete indecency right before her eyes. Sure, skimpiness was an attention-grabber, which idols thrived on, yet... The clan leader sincerely hoped keeping one's dignity in tact would have part in getting noticed. Lord only knows what kind of situation a damp outfit will do for Dragon Empire's secretary.

Eugh.

"Hopefully things for the event and the performance will be okay. We can try to get a draft of our plan to you guys before things get running. I don't think pirates will be too difficult of a topic, and the features will certainly help out." A friendly tone, always trying to stay level despite the snark from before. She was quite proud of how much more composed she was these days. The bluenette was sure to handle her posture properly, maintain eye contact if possible, and more or less showing off compared to Haruka's more... unprofessional? way of sitting. One could almost feel the slightest hint of her trying to outdo her idol group leader, even being the one to state they'll have an outline prepared.

This habit of her's trying to one-up everyone to get noticed sure hasn't gone away.

"Ah, Miss Nanana probably has it all under wraps then. Didn't mean to prod a whole lot, I can guess it's a pretty stressful time for everyone."

Haruka netted his fingers together, flexing them outwards as the jarring sound of his knuckles cracking echoed into the office space. After that, he threw the netted lapse of his hands behind his head so he could gently rest his head back as he sat up a little for conversation's sake.

"Karin will be fine. Probably. I guess I can't really vouch for her since I've not much a clue what got her interested in the entertainment business anyway."

He quizzically stared up, trying to recall any moments in the past when Karin might've made mention that singing was a great passion of hers, and ultimately couldn't recall any. Though he didn't particularly hold that against her or anything. After all, Haruka only became interested in it because of Hana, who was next to him now... again. It was a strange feeling having her there, and even worse trying to disparage the memories of her back then and what she was now. Kachi being in the room with his occasional flickering gaze of what Haruka could only assume to be judgement in his eyes didn't make it easier.

Luckily, he didn't have to. He'd finally gotten used to being stared at, whether it was by fans or foes, the eyes didn't weigh him down the way they used to. Words didn't cut as deep. It was something else that made Haruka tick-

"Oh yeah, the water stuff will make for great intrinsic effect. Good call on that, I hadn't really thought so far ahead for that. Sorry about that, I should be taking more of that responsibility myself, but Hana is so reliable sometimes I just forget and its done for me. I guess the group is kind of spoiled, if you ask me."

He wasn't afraid to shed his praises and be complimentary in front of others. It was genuine too, no sarcasm or backlash intended. It was, however, somewhat masked by a light-hearted tone that Haruka didn't usually use. Being friendly was easy, but being "idol-material" friendly was a whole different ball game he wasn't so good at in public settings. At autograph signings and CD releases sure, Haruka didn't know anybody there by face. Here it was, as everything these days was, a whole different ball game.

The idols seemed content with the accommodations for the show and would produce something of an outline for it so the staff could prepare. But things were grating on Kachidoki as he listened to the two speak. He very much did not appreciate the slight at Umi. Who was this Espoir woman to look down on his superior? Furthermore, Hana seemed determined to speak the mind of group when it was in the warrior's knowledge that Haruka was supposed to be the leader. A leader who would let a subordinate act so out of turn was not healthy to the group. For that matter Haruka seemed entirely unconcerned with the proceedings, letting whatever they discussed work for him.

"Nakahara-dono," he started, his purple eyebrows slanting as he addressed the man across his desk from him. "Tell me, if you had no intention of really participating here, why did you accept my invitation? Clearly you have other things you wish to be doing right now with the precious time you won for yourself. You do Espoir-dono and me a disservice by being so detached, but worse you do Nanana-san a disservice. And that" he said turning his glare to Hana, not having missed nor forgiven her statement against his Director. "Is something which will not be tolerated in this Branch." The samurai was serious. He made no motion toward it but simply the fact he had a sword on his person seemed to emanate a tension from him. Nothing either had done had solicited this kind of response but the more he watched those who had hoped for the future waste time or focus on meaningless things the more frustrated he became.

Hana couldn't help but raise a brow with a skeptical countenance at Haruka's statement on Karin. Truly, first impressions can say a lot about someone, but there's always something more under the surface that defines a person - who they are... and then there's nearly losing one's innocent charm of being an idol when trying to change clothes with fire magic. While the princess trusted the leader's faith, that didn't mean she had to at all be convinced. Though, her hands were gathered to her lap as she took a relaxed and professional position when being praised. Lips curling into a triumphant smirk, doubt was washed away by getting called reliable. The group is spoiled by her infinite wisdom and experience as an idol, bringing about a confident giggle.

Though, the pleasantries fell apart with Kachidoki's disdain. A stern tone from a steely samurai unsettled her, and rightfully so as he began digging into the boy. It almost felt like a reprimand from one's father... Magallanica's secretary was clearly peeved by not just Haruka's, but Hana's trifling as well. She reeled back a little in her seat, surprised by the sudden hostility. It didn't take long to pick up on her nonchalant, thoughtless shade toward Umi had aggravated him for good reason, and as she met his gaze... being reminded that the samurai has a sword.

Just like Umiruka, if you pissed him off, things might get out of hand and bloody if buttons keep getting pressed.

"Err... S-Sorry..." Hana breathed unsteadily, sputtering out an apology. Her eyes would glance over to her partner every now and then, hoping things didn't get ugly and Haruka would address it kindly. Closing her eyes after a moment, she very quietly hissed in frustration over making a bad impression right after holding it over Karin's head. The princess was spooked, but also upset by her own hypocrisy.

The tension of the room swelled as Kachidoki broke into a small tiff about Haruka's unnecessary attendance and the way that Hana spoke about Umiruka. Neither of those specifics had really gone through Haruka's head yet, as dense as he was. He furrowed his brows, letting his mouth open slightly as he took in a brief inhale and a somewhat slower exhale, as if pacifying himself.

"Okay, okay, you're right. I didn't mean to get so distracted. I've had other important things on my mind today so I got a little bit caught up in them."

He pulled fingers to the bridge of his nose and pinching it for a moment before gently clasping his hands together again but this time with a gentle clap as he did so.

"Miss Nanana seems to have great things planned and I look forward to participating in them with everyone here. Miss Espoir here didn't mean to come across as disrespectful either, it is likely a build-up of stress on her part as well with having to deal with my absent-mindedness on occasion. I'm sorry."

Haruka had rehearsed this line to a tee. He'd have to recite it to his father-in-law so many times on different occasions that it no longer felt like an act anymore; he'd just become so acclimated to profusely apologizing that he'd almost gotten on his knees and began to beg before realizing he wasn't facing a direct superior like he was used to, so he kept it casual by stretching out a gloved hand for a shake.

And yet, despite how well clothed his words were, he'd failed to keep his body language in check. His eyes were peered like a snake lying in wait, or his teeth being just slightly grit to repress a lashing out. He wasn't apologizing because he had to, but because he had some semblance of face to save. It was begrudging, really.

If Hana were going to protest Kachidoki's words she quickly relented and simply apologized for her thoughtless words about Umi. Haruka however had somewhat more to say which is what the samurai then focused on. An apology that he didn't mean to be so distracted coming into the meeting. Other more important things had been occupying his mind. While the Aimless Blade understood the sentiment of other more important thoughts such as why the future has been terrible so far and the world is awful, he also understood that he needed to remain focused on that which was immediately being required of him. Of a truth he didn't know what was happening in Haruka's life. The same went for Hana's and so he could understand when the leader of the idol group apologized on her behalf, attributing things to stress.

The purple-haired man looked at the man before him as he spoke. His apology felt genuine enough in word but his body betrayed him. This was no sincerely apologetic man, but one who was attempting to preserve the relative peace of the proceedings. The extended hand seemed to mock Kachidoki. To accept and shake the hand of one who had fought so hard to preserve the future yet seemed so uninterested in how it proceeded was to betray what he stood for. This man before him knew nothing of the weight of the burdens people like himself and Umi had had to carry for the last five years. And yet honor bound him to deescalate the situation at hand. His job was to help Umi run the branch, not preach to the staff and volunteers of their faults.

"Very well." he said, the stern look on his face remaining unchanged. Yet still he reached out and took the hand offered to him. There would be a sensation of coldness from it. Not that the appendage was of itself cold but the man was coming form a deep ocean of terrifying emptiness and profound sadness. The depth of the hole in his heart was unknown even to himself and this feeling naturally radiated to those around him. The handshake concluded, Kachidoki then held a hand to his face which gradually slid down the side of it accompanied by a long sigh. He seemed to relax if only the slightest bit. His brow relaxed and some of the tension in the atmosphere seemed to lift.

"So, have either of you determined what you'll be playing against the participants? Nanana-san and I were wanting to make sure the lineup was something fierce and challenging; robust and diverse like the seas of Magallanica themselves." came the next line of conversation as if trying to move on from what had just occurred. It was clear in the man's posture he hadn't moved on but was doing this out of duty.

Hana didn't have to use her special vision to read the atmosphere, watching Kachidoki's expression as she sat a little hunched over in her chair, slightly leaning forward. The girl didn't want Haruka to bail her out, but was thankful he did... and concerned he did, because 'content' wasn't exactly written on the samurai's face in response. The princess couldn't be entirely sure, yet... it felt like there was a little more than just disdain to fling toward Cyan Sea☆'s leader. Sure, he came across as unfocused, but Hana is the one who made the thoughtless insult toward a woman who had a lot more on plate than singing and dancing.

Boy she hoped this didn't escalate.

"Uh..." Hana gave a strained hum, perplexed by the previously tense air as she pondered Kachidoki's question. The idol pressed her back to the soft furniture's surface, her eyes cast to the side with occasional glances to the sheathed sword. "Well... I was think Prisms. Princess Labrador is really strong and Bermuda Triangle feels almost ahead of its time at the moment, which is great." Was her explanation, settling on the archetype - the boss - her dog was named after.

Haruka leaned back again, feeling some of the intensity of the situation finally die down. It was only because of his self-serving attitude that he was able to retain any dignity out of that exchange. If it were anyone less composed than Kachidoki, there might've been more issues that were less... vocal. Regardless, the meeting continued as planned, now with Haruka's full and undivided attention no less.

"Aqua Force. I haven't been able to introduce Thavas properly to the public as a powerful standing commander in his own right, I think this serves as a good opportunity..." He raised a brow with his hands placed out for opinions. To further that sentiment, he nodded to Kachidoki and surveyed him personally.

"Are they any qualms with that? I can always replace it with something else you feel the event needs it." He looked to Hana as well, still looking for her opinion but more trying to, if nothing else, see what the one holding the meeting thinks since ultimately they have a better say on the operation that he does. If they're reporting to Miss Nanana during all of this, then all the more power to him.

After all, patronizing him was the last thing on his mind, right?

Kachidoki relaxed a touch more as his guests described the decks they would be playing. Hana was going to play Bermuda Triangle which he had expected as much. Labrador was a bit of a surprise but then he felt it perhaps obvious that the Bermuda Triangle Clan Leader should possess mastery of many of the decks contained within the clan. Haruka was now following proceedings much more closely but that was the expected outcome from the previous tense exchange. He would be presenting Thavas, the new generation of Aqua Force. He recalled hearing of the unit under Haruka's command some in the war but was impressed to it now standing as the head of its own deck.

"Very good. We'll add to that the fact that Kaiyo-dono is likely set to play Blue Waves. With my contribution it should hardly matter what Aqua Force deck Undyne-dono ultimately decides on. This feels up to the Director's intentions for the young fighters. It's almost fitting none of us are using Granblue. It'll feed into her narrative for everything quite nicely." he said while pulling out what appeared to be a planner of sorts. He flipped through a few pages before taking notes of things with a pen he had on hand. One might think he was taking note of the deck decisions made by those aiding with the event but in truth this small writing pad had a much sadder purpose. He was taking note of what had bothered him in this exchange for further elaboration at another time. But his face betrayed little of what his pen divulged to the paper.

"Unless you've any further questions for me I suppose the only remaining thing is an encouragement to arrive early so you'll have plenty of time to settle into place and get what information Nanana-san will have for you." he said without looking up from his writing.

Hana gave a huff, sighing with relief after listening to the boys talk instead of strangling one another. She returned Haruka's gaze, giving a quick nod as she already figured he'd be playing Aqua Force. It was the slightest bit jarring since he didn't have the clan before she... disappeared, for awhile. Had to learn of it after the war was over, and was happy for him that he found a clan that resonates. Kagero and Gold Paladin wasn't exactly him. Kachidoki wasn't grilling them anymore, so the pressure in the air lifted.

"None of us playing Granblue fits with her idea... Oh, I get it." Okay, they're definitely singing about pirates now. "Aoi isn't sure what she wants to play, but to keep our Aqua Force reps diverse, I can try to convince her to try playing Ripples. Her hybrid deck has Blue Storm, but it also has Blue Wave which Fubuki is already coming in with, so this'll even us out." Hana revealed her mingling with the Chinese champion, having strong sway with the kids that hung around Card Capital Two. It'll be good for the gumball to keep trying things until she could find her Stride too.

"I don't think I have any other questions. My main concern was just how fights were gonna go, but it sounds like Umi will figure it out. What about you, Haruka?"

He leaned back a bit, using the chair legs as leverage for a moment as he teetered on them briefly. He tried to figure out if there was anything he wanted to ask now that it was on his mind, but it seemed like every time he was put on the spot to remember things like this, they all seemed to leak out of his brain like a leaking faucet. He shut an eye in deep concentration, slowly shaking his head as he figured there wasn't much use trying to recall anything important.

"Nope. Nada. But if I do, I'll e-mail somebody here about it or just get in touch as soon as possible then after."

He rose from his chair, having felt a bit of conclusive air wear about the room. Seemed like the odd tension that had permeated it before had started to thin itself out, Haruka feeling particularly peeved at how it all handled itself but at the very least he didn't fall prey to provocation. Not all the way, anyways. Kachidoki and Hana on the other hand seemed to be decently composed after the meeting, or last he saw before picking himself up and off the chair and stretching a bit. Trying to sit still and have a decent conversation left him somewhat tired and stiff.

"Hope everything goes smoothly. On that note, I uh, think I'm gonna go get a drink. Office hours are up in a few and I've got plenty of paperwork to do at home so..." He lolled his head a bit, trying to sort of mention his desire to move on with the day if there weren't any more problems that needed to be resolved.

Neither guest had anything left to discuss. For this, Kachidoki was somewhat grateful. He wasn't entirely sure how long such proceedings could remain peaceful considering how quickly he'd nearly lost his composure. Though Hana's words on Aoi were interesting to him. She seemed to be in a position to influence the gumball of endless energy and excitement. He wasn't aware the two were such close friends but then it made enough sense. The girl was very enthusiastic and likely to respect the title of clan leader when it came to things like this.

"Do make sure she reports to me before the event starts to get her map pieces and location squared away. Perhaps it would be best if you brought her with you to ensure she doesn't forget. I fear Undyne-dono might be too prone to distractions otherwise in the heat of things." the samurai said as he finished his writing and looked up at the two again. Haruka already felt half-way out the door by this point and Kachidoki had nothing left for either of them.

"Thank you for coming. The both of you may leave whenever. Unless you were prone to stay here a while but I'm dreadfully dull company."