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Untitled Document
Agent_Magnolia the white Aisha quavered nervously, pulling
up a sleeve of her kimono to cover her shoulder. Sys-op the pink Kadoatie rested
silently on her black wig as Magnolia looked ahead.
"Well, this is it, I guess," Magnolia murmured.
"Miroshima's teahouse, right?"
Sys-op nodded. "It looks like a teahouse to me,
Magnolia."
"You're no help," Magnolia murmured with a discontent
frown. She slightly pushed her arms out to keep her balance as she crossed the
short bridge to the teahouse's entrance. Clicking her sandal against the ground,
she attempted to remain calm as she knocked softly against the door.
After a few moments of waiting, the wooden door
was slowly slid open revealing a white Acara clad in a robe similar to Magnolia's.
"Good morning," she greeted with a slow, courteous bow. Magnolia awkwardly bent
over into a quick bow also. "We were expecting new visitors today. Let me guess:
You've applied to work here."
"That's true," Magnolia replied. "I'm M--egumi.
Megumi."
"Follow me this way then, Megumi," the Acara
told her, walking down the corridor. "We've prepared a small room for you to
stay in until we can move you into a larger one, so we sincerely hope you'll
feel welcome and at home."
"That's very kind of you," Magnolia answered,
trailing behind.
Soon after, the Acara led Magnolia to another
sliding door which concealed a very welcoming, if not small room where she was
to stay. "I hope you'll find these new surroundings... suitable." The Acara
backed out of the room with another bow and closed the door.
Magnolia looked after the Acara, having a few
second thoughts as to whether or not she would enjoy her stay.
"Hey, this is a nice room!" Sys-op exclaimed,
darting to the low bed.
"I hope you don't mean to sleep there the whole
mission," Magnolia muttered. "This is serious!"
"It is, huh?" Sys-op inquired. "You sound worried.
Personally, I don't think it's any different than any other mission you've gotten."
"It looks that way," Magnolia insisted.
"But did you see the way that Acara acted at the last minute? 'I hope you'll
find these new surroundings...suitable'," she mimicked dramatically.
"Oh, everyone falters, Mag; even you do."
"That was not a falter! That was a shady
pause!" Magnolia exclaimed. "And I know a shady pause when I hear a shady pause,
and believe me, Sys-op, I'm pretty darned sure that was a shady pause!"
"Well, I'll listen, Mag," Sys-op replied. "If
you want to act like that was a big deal, I'll go along with it."
"Right," Magnolia answered. "I would imagine
now is a good time to get acquainted with the people around here...."
Later that Day, Elsewhere in the Teahouse
Magnolia silently carried a platter of cups and
teapot through the foreign corridors of the teahouse to a large sliding door.
Behind this one, the shadows of a few assorted pets sitting at a table could
be seen. Magnolia guessed one of them was Miroshima, holding a meeting with
his SysTech employees.
Slowly sliding the door open, Magnolia stepped
inside with the cups and teapot, Sys-op sitting on her shoulder. She took a
slow bow; (she'd been working on that for some time,) and spoke.
"I hope you don't mind the intrusion on my part,"
she murmured, "But I believe you wanted tea for our guests?"
"Of course," said a blue Korbat across the table;
(Magnolia assumed this was Mr. Miroshima.) "It's very nice of you to consider
that."
Magnolia kneeled down by the table and began
pouring a cup of tea for each of the seven employees who had attended. As she
started, she took note of what everyone said at the meeting.
"Mr. Miroshima," said a white Kougra, tapping
her pen against her cheek. "Since very recently, it's become quite evident that
our business' success has been wavering a bit. The chances of other corporations
surpassing us in product sales have become quite severe."
At this, Magnolia noticed that a white Acara
across the table frowned--the same that had led her to her room. Magnolia held
the teapot still for a moment, and then continued to pour cups.
"Miss Hisuke, I don't think that will be much
of a problem," said a green Kau next to her. "With the completion and perfection
of our new communication system and satellite, our success will skyrocket."
"We can only hope for the best, I suppose," Miroshima
added.
The Acara looked down at Magnolia. "Miss, that's
seven."
Magnolia nodded, stood up, and backed out of
the room silently. "And we learned..." Sys-op began once down the hallway.
"Absolutely nothing!" Magnolia replied with a
frown. "The only thing we know now is that they're planning on some sort of
advanced communication system thingy!"
"Well, I guess that's something, eh?" Sys-op
inquired. "So, what now?"
"Back to our room, I guess," Magnolia replied.
Later that Night
"A satellite, they said?" Tiira_Misu the rainbow
Usul frowned through a small screen. "I'm afraid I wouldn't really be able to
tell you much concerning that..." she pressed a paw to her cheek.
Magnolia nodded. "I didn't think so, really.
Do you know anything about Mr. Shirosuma? I don't think he was at the meeting
today."
"Really?" Tiira_Misu inquired. "That's odd. I'd
think he would want to hear anything about the company discussed at a meeting.
How many people were there?"
"Only seven."
"Huh," Tiira_Misu murmured. "That's odder."
"The Acara who led me to my room today was there.
I imagine she works at SysTech, and I'd imagine she has something to do with
all of this."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, when Miss Hisuke, I think, brought something
up about other companies rivaling SysTech in success, she frowned," Magnolia
replied. "It's like she's plotting something for SysTech, and their product
sales will greatly influence whatever it is."
"I'd keep an eye on her."
"Exactly what I'll do," Magnolia told her. "Good
night." Tiira_Misu waved as Magnolia closed the lid over the 'cosmetic compact'.
She sighed as she slid the device back into her black bag.
"Sys-op."
"Yes, Magnolia?"
"I get the feeling Shirosuma has nothing to do
with this."
To be continued...
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