Private Teaching Treason [Tutor]

[Nara Shizukesa]

Nobu looked at the liquid in the glass in front of him, it had the off-yellow color that most whiskeys had, but the single circular ice cube that sat in the glass showed truly what he was drinking was the good stuff and even he knew that much. He was prepared for the day at hand, as from the start the Casino had been prepared for anyone coming inside, and he had of course had made sure that as always it was pristine in both the glistening metal and the fabrics around it showing of the true wonders that the clan had to offer.

Swirling the glass slightly he brought it up to his lips before letting the liquid slide its way down the back of his throat, enjoying the sensation of the Whiskey as it gently slid down. Sighing to himself he put the glass down and nodded towards the bar tenderer to give him the instruction to fill the glass back up, as he smiled watching the glass being filled up he nodded his head once more. The Bartender putting the cork back into the bottle and slid it to Nobu's outstretched hand allowing him to stop its motion and leave it there in place.

"Thank you, appreciate it"

"Anytime Sir"

Nodding he watched as a single droplet of water ran from the ice cube and landed creating ripples into the liquid that sat into his glass. Smiling slightly he knew full well that no matter how much the world changed the Clan would remain the same, unbroken and unbending this was the way of life that he had come to create for his clan. He appreciated the effort and work that they all put in even himself. As he leaned back he listened as he heard the very tapping of heels coming to his directions and knew that it was the floor manager of the casino coming in for the morning sort out and shift.

"Morning boss, you're in early, and drinking early, got something planned for today?"

Nobu spun on his chair as he looked towards the young lady as smiled slightly towards her, knowing full well that she was here early as well, but he had expected nothing less from her as she had given everything to work here. Though gone the day outfit of the red bunny look and instead in a respectable suit, it was given that she would be heading to the office behind the bar to sort out numbers, check rosters and assign the girls to their stations. This was typical for her to start the day and he did appreciate the effort she put in from time and time again. Nobu had to remember to give the girl a pay rise for her work, though he knew just how much she took each night in tips and wouldn't blame her for that.

"Yeah, I have some work to do, and someone to speak to today, so came in early, as always I checked the books and it seems that we are making a huge profit, I have to admit the work and the effort that you are putting in currently showing and I have to admit I don't know what I would do without you working hear, you do take the strain off. I know that my requested companion will arrive soon, as such I do want to make sure that you send them up to the office. I am sure you have met Shion before, so just direct them up to the office when they arrive I will be waiting there for them."

With that Nobu let his hands come out and grab the glass that was on the table he picked it up and looked at the ice, it was slowly melting away and he knew full well that it was a great shape that had been created. As he looked at it then the bottle he grabbed the bottom from the bar as well as he waved with two fingers around the neck of the bottle bye to the floor manager as he walked off and headed straight back up the stairs that allowed him the privacy of his office.

"Anyway keep up the hard work, you are doing a great job, do not slip up on that front"

"I always try the best for the Clan"

Her smile pleasant as always hid a wicked background to it and even Nobu knew that when she has pushed a much nastier side of her would come out to the front. He smirked back slightly as he headed up the floor knowing full well that the clanking of the shoes tapping the steps as he made it to the landing. Wandering across towards the door he opened it and stepped inside of the office. Reaching out he flicked on the light switch and knew full well the desk was standing curved around, as the sofa was in front of the desk allowing guests to be comfortable while they talked to Nobu.

Heading over to the desk he placed the bottle and glass down, as he pulled out the chair and slung himself into it, feeling the back of the chair hugging him slightly, since cleaving Leaf he had spent most of his days in this chair and had to admit at least the comfort of his had given him some resemblance of normality. As he opened a drawer and took out a glass ash tray, placing it on the desk he grabbed the lighter and packet of smokes from the desk. Pulling one out of the packet he placed the cigarette against his lips and light it up, taking a drag from it he enjoyed the feeling that wracked over his body as he now waited.

It wouldn't be long before Shion was coming into the office and the matter at hand would be discussed, after all, teaching someone was not always just how to be a Shinobi there were other ways to teach someone about the matters of life. Nobu knew that these lessons were not ones the Academy would give students.

[TWC: 1,024]
[Post: 1/5]

 

[Shion]

"Let's see..." He would mutter as he walked along the path towards the casino. "The last time... Noo... was already before that... Guess I just need to sort that guy out next time I see him... " Milo was walking beside Shion in his wolf form which did give odd looks from people around them, but Shion wasn't in the best of moods and that was easily noticeable due to his demonic aura looming around him. He did remain a bit away from the casino before his aura would affect the place. That was a common sense thing he did have. Finishing his smoke he would take a couple of breaths before walking towards the casino entrance, upon entering he got to hear that he was to go to the office. "ehaah... Did I done goofed somewhere or so..." He would walk the stairs up.

"Milo... Please get into my shadow.." He would say and look towards the yokai who would nod and jump into his shadow just before he would knock on the office door. "Shion..." He simply stated his name before he would enter and look towards Nobu. there was something different from last time... "New haircut?"

[Topic entered]
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[Nara Shizukesa]

Nobu looked up when the office door opened as he watched Shion enter into the room, it was clear that he was confused about why he had arrived and what it was that he was required to do today, listening to the younger member of the clan he leaned back in the chair a smile on his face. Nodding to the reply about the chair cut it seemed that Nobu would be here to make sure that he was prepared for the day and the conversation that was going to take place, after all, he had made sure that he was ready for anything that would be coming his way and to make sure he knew exactly where the conversation would be going.

"Ah welcome Shion, thanks for coming on such short notice. So grab a seat, today is actually a teaching day and slightly different from the normal teaching that you are used to. Gone is the Academy teaching and now we will focus on the real world. After all key skills in the real world is what you need to focus on in order to progress further inside of the organisation and learn the skills to run businesses"

Nobu let his hand come out and gestured towards the seat for Shion to take a seat as he knew that she would need to be taught a lot and quickly, each part of managing a business, then the whole running of each part in sync with itself was something he would have to teach.

"So let's start, tell me what you know about running a business, what you believe is the parts that need to be focused on, and what parts need to be left to someone else, as well as how the business works as a whole in the grand scheme of things?"

[TWC: 1,324/1,500]
[Post 2/5]

 

[Shion]

Shion swallowed for a moment as he started to talk about business... Now he had to grab in his memory about what he knew. He would scratch his cheek for a moment as he was thinking. Now that he thought about it... there wasn't much he knew about the whole ordeal. He would tilt his head a frown started to appear on his forehead. It was almost like you could hear gears turning inside of his head.

His gaze went towards Nobu after the mention of his academy time. "Yeah... they do not really prepare you for the real-life... Only ideal lives in there..." At was at least his gaze on the whole thing. He looked towards Nobu as he took a bit more relaxed position to sit in. "Financial management... It will be difficult, if not impossible for a business to move forward and become successful without proper financial management. Sustainable and profitable growth can only come when you are able to crunch the numbers the right way. If you yourself, like me, aren't good with it... I guess you could hire someone for that..." He would mutter away before he would think further.

"Customer service and relationship..?" He asked that more rather than said it... and afterward, he explained it. "Customers are the lifeblood of every business and play a huge role in the success or failure of an organization. If your business does not have customers, you will not be able to make sales, profits, or meet your growth projections. But that you have customers is not enough guarantees for business success. If you have unsatisfied customers, you are only slowly moving to the point of no customers. I guess this is why customer relationship is vital in any business." That was as far as he was able to get at this point.

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[Nara Shizukesa]

Nobu looked towards Shion as the man sat down in front of him. It was quite a different way of having a conversation compared to their last encounter. He pondered on how they were making the changes that would be effecting there body as well as there mind, after all,, it wasn't easy to give someone such control even if the boy he had seen originally had no choice on the matter he knew that it would last forever. He knew that much and was willing to bed Shion was having to balance the seal with the life he had chosen to have, this would be the key that he had to understand and accept.

Listening to the conversation and the replies that he got from his side, it was clear that Shion had to really think about the answers. That was better than he expected, after all, he knew that most parts of it would only be about the finance of it. He understood and accepted that each of Shion's actions that he took would have to be carefully considered. Listening to the boy speak about Financial Management and how it worked with the bigger plan of the management skills. Nobu nodded slightly as he did come up with solutions to the issues that he had.

The next part that Shion was discussing seemed to be talking about the customers and keeping relationships with them, And how to progress with making sure that customers are always doing well with your business and keeping them happy inside of the establishment to keep them coming back, after all, word of mouth was damaging to a business and even he knew that much of it. It was clear that Shion had potential he wouldn't deny that, and he wouldn't show that towards the man. Reaching into a draw he took out a huge black book, it was the one place all business for the Clan establishments came to, and right now it was the one play Shion would be able to see how it really looked.

"Yes, I agree that Financial management is important, if you check the pages you can see what is going into the accounts from the Casino and Bar, as well as what is coming out for the food, alcohol, upkeep, staff, all the costs that add up. Between the two places, the Bar in the village loses us money each month, however, the Casino makes up a huge difference between the two. So it's not an issue, as we get information about village movements and anything tasty that we get from our side. This allows us to check the options we have and how to act, so while once place makes you money, and one loses it, it's about marginalizing the losses to make them tiny compared to the profit. It how frankly the business works as a whole."

Letting Shion digest the information he had thrown towards the man, he knew full well that each writing in the book would be either in Black for positive and negative was in red, it was a quick way to scan things to make sure there was more black than red and the profits where calculated each month.

"Tell me what you see there Shion, its not as hard as it looks once deals are in place, supplys sorted, employees paid it will make sense over time, and it shows how the Casino and Bar balance each other out. Of course your right about customers, you neeed them to keep coming back, so tell me an unhappy customer how do you deal with them?"

[TWC:1,930/1,500]
[Post: 3/5]

 

[Shion]

His gaze followed Nobu's hands as he grabbed a big black book. Slowly, his brain was actually piecing together what was unfolding here. "You're the oldest.... I am the youngest... Za is the second oldest.. Why can't he do that all..." He groaned but knew full well that, that wasn't an option he could pick. "Alright... let's see..." He still wasn't pleased and Nobu was in for a long day with Shion, as Shion wasn't keen or easy on theoretical stuff. He was more from the acting and doing. Papers always had bored him.

"hm hmm... So you work in the black and reds in these books..." He would mention as that was one thing that caught his attention. "So... By having one thing that... basically doubles or almost doubles the bar... you can still have two above the water..." He muttered and let his eyes glide over the numbers. He saw the numbers, he read the numbers... But there wasn't much happening inside of his head.

He was asked to say what he saw exactly... Going through both books he would notice the bigger expenses easily... "So... I guess the water, electricity, and light resources are worth more than the paychecks of the people around..." He would tap those didgets. "What does happen when you are barely staying afloat though..? For example, the casino starts to die out a bit... and bar would be staying the same... Profit would get less... What would you be first to cut out..?" He was asking this to gain an idea about how he would operate on that to hopefully have an idea in the future. But... He was a bit lost on this all, yet he was trying.

"Once there is someone unhappy..? Bea-" He couldn't finish his sentence as Milo, his yokai contract would growl out of his shadow. "Beating them up isn't the answer..." Shion got the hint quickly and he would sigh a time loud. "Then what is.... Reason with them..?"

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[Nara Shizukesa]

Nobu watched each of Shion action with a calculating calm that was showing the true nature of him, each move was predictable and each action he took was something that he considered carefully. Nobu was leaning back in the chair as he shrugged the words off from the boy, it seemed he was still complaining about the situation he was in, it was all fine and well in his mind until it actually came to crunch time. Where you had to sit there and put your money where your mouth was, then Shion tried to pass it off to someone else. Interesting in the eyes of Nobu, even he had to admit it didn't look great.

Listening to the conversation it at least seemed Shion was interested in how the Clan would get itself out of a sticky situation. It was interesting that Shion already wanted to understand and trying to figure how to get himself out of a mess.

"See this is where the deals that we do out of sight, the trades and black market comes into play, never on the books never in the open, but it makes easily quadruple the intake of a Casino with no profit to put on the books, so while we can suffer some financial hardship at the same time the casino will pull this back for us in ways that will never be in the books, it's all about the dealings we do in the Dark. This business is a front, the real goal is information that is something that people pay a price for. And even higher is the amount of information that comes from inside a Shinobi village. Its all about profit and making it look like you are clean on the outside. So when dealing with people that care about the reputation we always look like we are giving them the very best front that we can put on."

Nobu leaned back letting it sink in what he had just said, that basically all of the business, everything was a complete lie, a complete front that they hide for the real deals that they do behind the scenes.

"No we don't reason Shion, we are Gekido why would we want to reason with someone. Think harder, focus on the question itself and what knowledge you have learned.

[TWC:2,319/1,500]
[Post: 4/5]

 

[Shion]

His eyes tried to find everything in the books... But hearing how Nobu started to speak and explain, it seemed not everything was inside of the books at all. "I wish just beating them up was so much easier..." He growled a little and leaned back as the gears in his head were turning. It was a simple fact he wasn't the best for these kinds of things... But he had to bear with it if he wanted to get better for the Gekido.

He would place the books away so he could put on a cigarette while offering one to Nobu. He didn't want to let any ash get on to the books as they were part to let this casino run in the white light side... and things happened in the dark side. He leaned onto one of the armrests and kept thinking... It was most likely easier to have someone else run those numbers and he just carries out the goal. As he was often the more violent type, the words that came out of his mouth were true to his behavior. "Depending on the situation or customer... just shut them up one way or the other. Let them stumble on to their words till they spoke themselves in a lie of webs... where they are constricted in, then strike to bring them down..." He would take a drag knowing that, that wasn't the only thing that could be right. "Or just cut them loose and let them go, not reason, just let them go... Not let them hang... " He was pondering perhaps a bit too much on it. At this point, the math that could come with owning a casino or bar sounded suddenly a lot easier.

"You know I handled most of the wrong goings inside the oak streets... It's always easier to just go 'yup I do that' and let someone else handle the papers..." Called it spoiled or the fact he told just now he didn't personally write reports... not that it was odd for his reports to come up late or anything. He hated to do them through the bones. And in Shion's mind... Violence was often the quickest way to get things done... Yet not always the smartest way to get things done. "Think you can spell it out..?" He eventually asked near the end of his cigarette... He was stuck on that one.

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[Nara Shizukesa]

Nobu nodded as he listened to the words of Shion, it seemed the boys were to understand the options in life, that things had to be open, but only open so far. After all, some of the worlds would frown upon the market that had been created here. Even if it was with the approval of the Hokage, he pondered how she was doing but shook the thought from his head and focused back on the tasks at all. He would have to catch up with Asuka at some point, but it seemed each day took them further away from each other, guess that was the price they would pay.

"Indeed, in the situation with our reputation on the line, sometimes trouble should be silenced, remember that. You do have to be discrete about it, while the Clan isn't above protecting its honour. Remember that bribery can also be a way to handle the situation, we are not above shifting money when needed. However, I make it clear, bodies should never be found by anyone, we operate in the shadows when dealing with things that would destroy our public perceptions. Please remember that the Clan image to the poor is the most important thing. Regardless of the books, we appear to be nothing but a generous organisation to those that see us from the outside, that is always the key to our operations."

Nobu nodded slightly as it seemed that the conversation was done and he had taught Shion her first steps into what would be making sure that she understood how to run the business, after all with all the plans he had put into place he wanted to make sure he was up to the task. Nodding to Shion it was clear that the conversation between the two of them was now over.

"Study business and learn how it works, check-in the oak district, work out how the bar works, you will be summoned shortly to sort out what your role will be moving forward Shion."

With that Nobu did his normal gesture letting Shion understand that this conversation was now over between the two of them.

[TWC: 2,869/1,500]
[Post: 5/5]
[Topic Left Unless Stopped]

 

[Shion]

'Bribery... That could go high and low... the offering, promising, giving, accepting, or soliciting of an advantage as an inducement for an action that is illegal, unethical, or a breach of trust. Inducements can take the form of money, gifts, loans, fees, rewards, or other advantages.' He thought towards himself and started to lean on his hand in thoughts. He would nod that he understood that part and think about it further. "I guess... that makes more sense as that small girl the other day thanked me out of nowhere..." He said soft and would nod a few times.

Shion knew that they were often being 'good guys' up in front while all they did was behind-the-scenes works in secret. But he couldn't help but notice that his own thought went further than just the bribery part. 'wait... Inducements or their advantages... that could be very well next in line of blackmail...' "With cleaning up... there is nothing really to fret about... there are many ways these days and many options... Being it discreet or to send a message... Up to situational of course.." He knew that line of the work all to well and often didn't mind that. Yet he would sigh at that through and heard Nobu talking further. "Aye... And here I thought I was done with studies..." The idea of spending nights and nights again in the books... made the thought about studdying even worse..

"But before I will studie... I will drink tonight a few rounds. Care to join me there? That is... if you can get out of that chair. My head cannot handle more after today.. You know how I get with study stuff.." He said and couldn't help but grin. "Rounds on me if you ever come down." He would make his leave, going down and to the bar.

In the bar, he would order a Whiskey and he would drink two of them before making his way out. If he were to go now.. He could still get some books about business and more... And otherwise that would be done in the next morning after between the things he would be doing regularly.

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