Oyama Yuriko (小山 ゆり子) (yuriko_o) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-10-10 20:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, oyama yuriko (lady deathstrike), sylvanas windrunner |
Who: Oyama Yuriko and Sylvanas Windrunner
What: Asking for a trial
When: 10/9
Where: Okugata
Rating/Warning: PG/none
Status: Complete
Yuriko arrived at the club after sending Turin a message that she would be late; she had promised to meet the woman Sylvanas. She was pleased to see that business was good, even on an off day; it was as she’d hoped it would be.
She walked over toward the bar with a smile for her bartender, asking if anyone had inquired after her.
Sylvanas hadn’t been sure how to prepare, but she’d decided to play up her old gothic look, with black eye makeup, a corset and tight leather pants. She could move easily in them, and walked into the club as though she were a tigress.
Yuriko certainly appreciated the attitude. She recognized the face from the network and walked over, not intimidated, but appreciative. “You are Sylvanas?” She was new, certainly, and a customer would likely not dress in the manner this lady had.
“Yes. You must be Yuriko.” She gave the woman a stiff nod of her head. “I like the place. It seems...elegant.”
“Thank you. I am most proud of it.” Yuriko smiled a little. “Are you aware what the job of a performer would entail?”
“Dancing.” She looked over at the stage and folded her arms. “I know it’s not stripping. Not entirely. I wouldn’t be here if it was. It’s like putting on a show?”
“Correct. More a dance routine than stripping. Though the other half is hostessing. Are you familiar with the concept?” Yuriko gestured ahead of her. “Come with me, if you do not object; we can go to my office and discuss it further.”
“I think I want to know more about the hostessing part.” Sylvanas wasn’t the nicest or most upfront person in the world, so she was a bit worried she’d fail that part.
“It sounds daunting, but I think that in reality it is not.” Yuriko smiled a little. They walked down the long hallway to her office, and Yuriko unlocked the door. “Hostessing is a Japanese custom. Basically, women are paid to sit and listen to men talk. They do not expect women to flirt with them, though many hostesses do so. What you must needs do is listen, and if they want a solution, offer one; if they only want to vent, let them do so.” American men were also different from Japanese men.
Sylvanas might have a problem with offering advice. She could be overly blunt and a little snide, and she wondered if she could curb that tendency. She’d be willing to try. “And if they want more than a friendly ear?”
“You are entitled to send them packing, or accept if you wish. If you accept, simply make sure it is for outside working hours. No physical harm to anyone - if they get inappropriate, our security people are for that purpose - but you are more than welcome to curse them inventively.” Yuriko smiled. She wondered if this woman might be more suited to security; she seemed somehow shy.
She smiled, a little darkly. “I might enjoy that too much. I was focusing mostly on the artistic aspect of things. I feel like I need to...prove something, I guess.”
She didn’t quite know what the other woman meant by that, so she just smiled. “You are an artist? Or a dancer?”
“Neither, but I have an interest in both. I like the flow that goes with dancing. It’s why I inquired, to see if maybe I can do it myself.” It wasn’t much different from hunting and tracking in the woods back home. Which makes sense to her.
“I am perfectly willing to give you a try, but our preference is for the experienced.” Yuriko nodded. “Perhaps a trial, of a week or so? You would get to keep your tips for that time period, of course.”
“A trial seems fair,” she replied. It grated on her but she had gotten skilled at hiding her irritation with other people in general.
“I give such a trial run to almost all my ladies,” Yuriko explained. Well, those that she’d taken on that had no dancing experience. “It is certainly not a singling out! Just, this is a very unusual concept for America. I have no guarantee it will even take off, though the initial figures appear promising.”
Sylvanas nodded. She didn’t think she’d have a problem with the dancing, but as she looked around the club she wondered how well she’d do with everything else. She hoped she didn’t chase away any customers. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”
“Of course. I will try anyone out who wishes to learn.” Yuriko nodded. “My life has been made on a series of chances!” She smiled.
“Opening a place like this, that’s a big chance.” Sylvanas smiled, and for the first time it was genuinely warm. “I wonder if anyone else has ever danced to Rob Zombie…” Liiiving deaaad girl!
“I think not.” Yuriko wasn’t judging, just commenting on the women she’d hired. “I do not demand an Asian theme in my ladies’ performances, but I do ask that a bit of a nod be made. For example, one of the ladies who just danced to a song with a cabaret theme wore a costume to begin with which was made of shantung, with a mandarin collar.”
“That, I think I can do.” Maybe something with kabuki masks. That might be kind of fun. Japanese gothic?
“I just ask for a tiny tip of the hat, because otherwise, the club is no different than the others.” Yuriko shrugged. “Apart from that, I have very few rules.”
“I have some idea. I think this will be fun and I’ll do my best to show you I can do this.” Sylvanas wouldn’t accept failure.
“I am absolutely willing to provide that opportunity.” Yuriko smiled. “I found myself, I think the expression is, while hostessing in Roppongi, in my native Tokyo. I had wished to go to university, but I found I was very good with people, and took an interest in busy, active places. This is only the culmination of that belief.”
“That’s an interesting way to do it.” She was still looking for herself, she sometimes felt like she was wandering through life listless and without purpose.
“There are no hostess clubs in this country,” Yuriko said simply. “I see it as filling a niche. Practicality plus the ability to use my talents. Have you lived in this county long? I have been trying to get the word out.”
“I’m very new here. Moved in a few weeks ago,” she replied, hoping Yuriko wouldn’t inquire into her past. It was better left, dead and buried.
“Ah. I have lived here for a very long time myself, but many of my ladies are new. I merely inquire because there was a fairly large information blitz before the club opened.” Yuriko explained. “I was not able to be very involved - my fiance was in the hospital - but it still seems to have done the trick.”
“Is he okay?” She asked, turning her head back towards Yuriko. The mention of hospitals made her on edge.
“Oh, he’s fine now, yes. But he was in hospital for a week, and my attention was necessarily diverted away from the club.” Yuriko smiled, thinking of Turin. “He is a mystery writer; he still complains about being unproductive.”
“Being laid up is unproductive in general. I spent some time in one of those places, I hated it.” She shrugged her shoulders.
Yuriko’s face twisted in sympathy, but only momentarily. “They are necessary but painful.” She smiled, wanting to move on. “Are there any other questions you would want to ask of me?”
“How much skin am I required to show? I know you can tease with very little, if you do it right.” Sayeth the woman in a corset fit to burst.
“Personally, I would suggest at least the legs, but I do not require any at all.” Yuriko shrugged. “However, I do watch the bar sales, and try to keep an eye on the tips; any lady who does not attain a certain amount will likely not last on stage.”
“Legs I can do.” She nodded again and accepted the ultimatum for what it was - her only chance.
Yuriko had to wonder why a woman who was uninterested in showing skin to people would apply here. “May I ask what brought you in?” If she didn’t know, that was all right, too.
“I don’t know. I need money. It looked like fun. I need to get out of my shell.” It sounded almost like a canned answer, but it wasn’t, not entirely. “Feel like I’m worth something.”
She wasn’t entirely convinced this was going to work, but she’d promised a trial, and she’d give a trial. “I know the feeling of being in one’s shell,” Yuriko said. “For many years, I felt trapped in mine - my father was ill, and I had nothing to do but take care of him. I had no other identity.”
“Death can be freeing,” Sylvanas replied, nodding her head a little knowingly. “As tragic and painful as it might be, it can open doors that had been shut.”
“Agreed.” A very Japanese way of looking at it. “Father is now in a better place, and I have more freedom to do as I will.”
“I think you’ve done very well with this place,” Sylvanas said. “Do I have to run my act past you? I can write up a description pretty quickly.”
“A write-up will suffice.” Yuriko would normally ask for a demonstration, but it was still business hours, and she would rather this Sylvanas had a level of comfort before getting near the stage.
“Thank you, I’ll get it to you tonight,” she promised and moved to take her leave. “Thanks again, for giving me a chance.”
“You are welcome.” Yuriko bowed her head in reply. “Let us just say that I understand needing a fresh start.”
She smiled warmly at Yuriko, glanced at the stage for a moment, then headed out the door.