the existence of characters like yasaka is exactly why this story works so well. her perspective validates the feeling that nothing is ever straightforward; simply having good intentions doesn't mean your feelings are automatically validated. mitsumi has flaws, too. she slowly realizes that she isn't the center of the universe, that what you mean to do isn't always what you actually do. the reality is, even if you are the 'star' of your own life, that narrative doesn't really dictate the reality of others. people aren't props in your story; they are living their own complex lives, often untouched by your optimism.
the world does not revolve around you, harshly, and it is unchangeable. intent is usually not impact. even if you are the sun, you cannot force a flower to bloom if it isn't ready. the world doesn’t pause just because you mean well, and that your light usually cannot penetrate everyone’s darkness.
in my opinion, optimism only really works when the other person is already starting to fall apart. you can offer all the light in the world, but it won’t matter if they aren't ready to let their guard down. tbh, our influence on others is usually pretty small. people don’t take advice because they know it isn't based on their reality. they just look at that 'help' and silently think, "you don’t understand my life enough to have an opinion on it."
Round 1, Match 328 — Canus Espada (Cafe Enchante) vs Yasaka (High School DxD)
Canus propaganda:
nonbinary (by human standards) dullahan, no he doesn't ever get a face. the fire on his head changes color depending on his emotions! amazing design, he's from a dating sim but there's more to dating sims than kiss cgs!!!
Yasaka propaganda:
N/A
The better design is...
Canus Espada
Yasaka
Voting ended onFeb 23
(Your usual reminder that you're encouraged to vote based on design regardless of any personal feelings for or against the characters themselves or the media they're from!)
"While I'm glad we're fitting in around here despite our rather forceful entry I do worry that our dear maiden may be fitting in a little too much to focus on her work here."
"I don't think you should worry much, you of all people should know that things take time, take time."
Tasks enjoys teasing Intern Hyoudou. Especially by talking about how her daughter Kunuo wants a little brother and sister. Yes, And. As in multiple little siblings. Yasaka needs the right man for that of course….
Yasaka's day was not going her way. It started with her finding out that her nanny had fallen ill, so she gave the poor woman the day off, but that meant she had to take Kunou with her to work. That in of itself was not an issue, in fact she loved it! Her sweet little fox was so well mannered, if not a bit reserved, and she loved spending any amount of time with her daughter! The issue was that they couldn't reschedule their meeting with Gremory Technology on such short notice, so she had to bring Kunou along with her. Thankfully, she wasn't worried about her acting out in the slightest. She was more worried about how the Gremorys would react. And why did they have to be running late on top of all of it?!
Nonetheless, she knew that as she stepped out of her limo that it was going to be an interesting meeting today, one way or another. As she took in the large and pristine entrance, Yasaka had to admit that she felt a little surprised. She had expected an extravagant welcome mat and a lot of fan fare to try and shmooze her over early. However, nothing fancy or elaborate greeted her.
Instead, it was just a young man in a plain dress shirt and tie, looking rather nervous as he approached them. He did a deep bow and greeted her. "I-I take it that you are the people from Youkai? Th-the boss I mean! Ms... Yasaka... right?"
Issei was already nervous waiting outside for the incoming clients. But it got even worse when he saw who stepped out. The absolutely gorgeous woman that stepped out of the limo was a sight to behold. Dressed in a yellow and black kimono, this woman's long golden hair was tied up in a loose ponytail with many different ornaments decorating it. Her hair matched her golden eyes in a beautiful way. And she had an absolutely killer rack! It nearly gave Issei a heart attack because her enormous chest was nearly on full display thanks to the kimono she was wearing dipping down so low!
Yasaka gave a small nod in return. "Yes, I am. And this is my daughter Kunou. I apologize for bringing her unannounced, but some issue arose that I couldn't compensate for. It won't be a problem if she accompanies us today will it?"
It was then that Issei took his eyes off this woman (mainly her chest) and saw the small girl getting out of the limo behind the woman. There was no doubt that she was Yasaka's daughter, not with the same golden hair and eyes. Except she was wearing a small miko outfit and... fox ears...? It wasn't until the young girl walked up next to her mother and Issei got a closer look that he could see that they were fake. Just fox ear decorations on a headband, although it blended in a lot with her hair so it was difficult to tell at first. But he snapped out of his curious gaze and looked back to Yasaka.
"Not a problem in the slightest Ms. Yasaka! Gremory Technology is a family company after all. Family matters a lot to us! We are more than happy to welcome you both. If you'd like, I could show you both to the meeting room right now and get some refreshments?"
"Yes. Apologies for our tardiness, we should get down to business quickly."
"No need to apologize! Things happen that we can't control all the time. Come, right this way please." Issei turned and gestured to the building before starting to walk towards the doors, two girls following him inside.
--------
Yasaka smiled as her chauffeur pulled out of the parking lot and drove through the city streets. It had certainly been an interesting meeting. Especially for Kunou.
The actual meeting had started off rather slow, as it usually does with negotiations. Unfortunately, her daughter's tablet had died, leaving her poor girl bored out of her mind not even 30 minutes into the meeting. She knew Kunou would be okay for a bit without anything to do, but they had only just started their talk on getting to see some of the Gremory's micro-transformers in action. She had no idea how long the talks would go on for, so she didn't know how long her daughter would just have to sit there.
Then something rather unexpected happened. The man that greeted them at the door, who she learned was just an intern named Issei Hyoudou, approached her daughter with a small bag of cookies and a laptop.
He opened both the pack of cookies and the laptop up for her and started playing some cartoons for her on the laptop, offering her the cookie bag as he did. And then he switched what was playing to some anime she knew her daughter liked when she had still looked bored with the cartoons. He even gave her some headphones to actually be able to hear her show watch in the opposite side of the room they were all in.
She had been so surprised and distracted watching the two of them that the branch manager she was talking to, a very young woman named Rias Gremory, stopped their talk and just let her watch her daughter have fun with Issei, both of them sharing cookies and chatting, pointing things out on the anime on the screen. Then Rias pointed out something she would have never known, but still impressed her slightly.
He had let her daughter use his own personal things to keep her entertained while the meeting was going on. That was his laptop and headphones. Even the cookies and apple slices he was sharing with her were part of his own lunch, as evident by the... admittedly rather risque anime girl lunchbox... But it was still a kind thing to do, sharing so much to someone he had only just met.
The more Yasaka watched, the more she was surprised. Normally, things were much more professional in her business dealing. But as her shy daughter seemed to be getting happier by the second, today seemed to be getting farther and farther from being just professional. Issei even interrupted them to ask herself and Rias if he could take Kunou to their indoor gym where they had a rock wall and closed off room for different sports where Kunou could play a bit more actively.
Yasaka had been so stunned at the excited look on her normally shy daughter's face that she just nodded, getting an even brighter smile from her. The two walked off quickly, leaving the two ladies sitting alone in the room by themselves.
It was clear that this wasn't going to be just another business to do dealings with... this was more... open and warm.
After they were left alone, Rias and Yasaka had actually wrapped up their discussion quite swiftly. After a little over another hour later, they were finishing up their business for the day. They then talked more casually for a while longer before Rias had shown her do to their activities area as well. They found Issei helping Kunou learn how to play something called 'pickleball', cheering her on as she hit the ball back to him several times in a row.
Her poor daughter had actually pouted when her mom told her it was time to leave. She was cheered up though when Issei offered her another bag of cookies to take with her for the trip home. After taking the bag, she didn't make any kind of fuss and just followed her mom outside back to the limo.
And now, just when she thought she had seen it all today, while they were waiting at a stop light shortly after leaving the parking lot, there was a knock at her window that made her jump. She looked up and couldn't believe her eyes as she cracked her window open. "M-Mr. Hyoudou!? What are you doing?"
The young man was panting heavily and leaning on her limo as he tried to catch his breath. "Y-your... *huff* ...d-daughter *huff**huff* ... forgot this!" And as he kept breathing heavily, he held up a headband. Her daughter's fox ear headband.
Her daughter recognized it immediately and gasped, hands shooting up to her head to confirm that she was definitely missing the accessory being held up. She quickly moved to the window and opened it more, taking her headband back carefully and placing it on her head where it belonged. She beamed happily at the young man outside their car and thanked him in a voice louder and more energetic than she ever heard from her. "Thank you big brother!"
"Oh my gosh. My apologies Mr. Hyoudou, I hadn't even noticed."
"It's okay Ms. Yasaka. I just noticed them when I went to grab my things from the office. Can't have you missing those awesome fox ears, right Kunou?"
Her daughter shook her head, the biggest smile on her face. Unfortunately, before Yasaka could properly apologize and say he didn't need to run after them, their conversation ended as their light turned green and the drive started off again. They hurriedly said their farewells as the limo drove off. Yasaka sat back when she realized something.
"So... Kunou dear?"
Kunou kept looking out the back window, still waving back at Issei, and let out a small affirmative hum in response. "Hmm?"
"You called him your 'big brother'. Any reason in particular why?"
That question made her daughter look back at her and finally sit down properly in her seat again. "Oh... I dunno... he's just really nice. He just... acts like how I always imagined a brother would. He spent time with me when he didn't have to, and I had a lot of fun with him. Also, he gave me a lot of snacks!" To emphasize her point, she pulled out the cookies Issei had given to her before she left and waved them around a little before trying to open them.
Yasaka giggled at the reasoning her daughter gave. She absentmindedly reached over and popped open the bag for her daughter who was struggling with the tight seal. "I see. Well that certainly is something a brother is supposed to do." She playfully looked away out of the opposite window. "So I assume that you would like to accompany me to my next meeting to see them?"
"Can I!?"
Yasaka giggled at her daughter's excited eyes. "Yes dear. We still have many things to discuss with them, so we'll probably be seeing them quite a few more times. So you'd like to come with me when I do then?"
"Yes please mom! I had a lot of fun today!"
"Alright then, I'll let you know when I'll be going back." Yasaka's smile didn't leave her lips as she turned to look out her own window. She fell quiet, content in being quiet for a minute as she lost herself in thought.
—————FLASHBACK—————
"Well I suppose that should wrap up the basics for today. Again, thank you for agreeing to meet with us to discuss this business opportunity in depth Ms. Yasaka."
"It was my pleasure Ms. Gremory. Your company certainly does offer quite a lot of outstanding products that would be incredibly beneficial to us. I look forward to our dealings in the future."
Rias smirked at the tall blonde woman, propping her arm up on her desk and resting her chin on the back of her hand. "That's not the only thing you're looking forward to, I bet~."
Yasaka's head tilted the slightest bit in confusion, "Whatever do you mean?"
"Our cute, little resident intern Issei. I saw you staring at him earlier~."
Yasaka straightened up, ready to defend herself against any accusation that might be coming, "I was, but not in an improper way. It is just refreshing to see such a young man being a gentleman. Not many people would take time to keep a child they don't know company just for their sake."
Rias fully laughed this time. "There are a lot of things that can describe Issei, but I don't know if gentlemanly would be the first way I'd describe him."
Yasaka's eyes narrowed, suspicion rising in her, "That seems rather unfair to say about one of your employees behind their back Ms. Gremory. And I was getting the impression that you had a special liking to him in particular."
"Oh I do like him, there's no doubt about that. And he is very kind and honest. He's also funny, dependable, and a very dedicated worker." Rias leaned back in her chair, gesturing to where Issei and Kunou had been before leaving for the activities center. "And great with kids as you've seen. He'll make a great father one day I bet."
Yasaka nodded along, starting to get the point she was making, "But... he's just not a 'gentleman', correct?"
"He can be, in a lot of ways really. But, I must admit he... appreciates... a mature female's form a bit too much to be a complete gentleman. But that makes him no less of a catch~. The way you looked at him showed me you can see it too." At Yasaka's silence, Rias continued. "Well, so do a LOT of the ladies that work for us. Would you be interested to see how much of a catch I mean?" Rias gestured to a TV on her office wall with a remote, turning it on and letting the screen flash on, displaying a 'no signal' message.
"And why would you think I'd be interested in whatever it is you have to show me about this random intern? Who, from what I can tell by you dancing around your words, is a pervert?"
"Because, I saw it in your eyes and can tell that you see what's special in Issei, much like all the women here do. So, it's up to you if you want to address it or ignore it."
Yasaka was unsure of what to do. This meeting was far from anything she'd expected to happen today. Honestly, the whole day had been. However, she knew what she had really thought upon seeing Issei's character. So, she couldn't help but let the truth and curiosity win over her next words. "Yes, I would say I am interested to see more about this supposedly great man."
"Splendid~." With that one word, Rias typed a few keys on her laptop and the TV began to play. On the screen, a video was pulled up. The second the video started to play, pleasurable moans could be heard coming from the TV and Yasaka's eyes widened, becoming glued to what was happening on it. She didn't look away for the entirety of the video. She didn't even register whenever Rias tried to say something to her. She just stayed transfixed on the screen for over 30 minutes.
When the video finally ended, Yasaka slowly turned to face Rias once again, her eyes still wide and mouth open slightly. A far contrast to the calm, collected, and regal air she usually carried herself with.
Rias just held out a flashdrive to the stunned blonde woman with a casual smile. "Just remember Ms. Yasaka, if you do decide to keep working with us in the future, we have many... stimulating benefits that we are happy to share with our loyal friends~. Oh, and everything you see in these videos happened within the same day of the folder they're in. Another amazing trait of Issei's is that he has quite relentless stamina~."
—————END FLASHBACK—————
Yasaka took a deep breath before turning back to look at her daughter to ask her next question. "Kunou... do you... do you also remember asking if you'd ever have younger siblings?"
Kunou nodded as she pulled a small cookie from the bag and placed it in her mouth, still smiling. "Uh huh."
"Well seeing how much you like having an 'older brother' now. Would you still like younger siblings?"
"Yeah! I'd be a great big sister!"
Yasaka reached over to ruffle her daughter's hair, getting an annoyed whine from her, "I'm sure you will sweetie~."
The small shift of her body also let her feel that the flashdrive Rias gave her was still safely tucked away in her bosom.
