John lowered his phone and looked up at the building in front of him. "Huh. They were this close to us this entire ti?"
Fae and Co. Law Offices.
Although renowned for their flawless record defending people charged with cris, a recent case had led the main partner in the firm to decide to shift the focus to more transactional work.
John didn't bla them. After all, fighting for the sake of a person's life against an entire system was draining on the soul. Especially when you had to play by so seemingly arbitrary rules with enough ambiguity to turn white to blue if you were clever enough.
"It's almost lunch ti... Should I wait a bit?"
Although they were technically contracted as in-house counsel, John hadn't had the chance to et with the Fae and Co. partners yet. Showing up unannounced might be a bit of a burden on them.
Still.
"...No. Jenny said they were in so trouble, right? In that case... Better sooner than later."
With that in mind, John walked through the glass doors and entered the building.
Like any other business space in Roppongi, the interior was sleek and modern. Chic furniture, a fancy gray wallpaper, potted plants, etc.
Surprisingly though, there wasn't a receptionist. Instead, there was a directory with a list of the businesses operating out of the building, along with room numbers.
Forsun Incorporated, which seed to be an environntal agency looking for renewable resources.
Shield Corporation... Oh. Akira was based out of here, huh? That guy had a lot of interesting tech setup to run Ilgarde, but it seed like he was a bit low on resources. A proper start-up company, unlike Myth Incorporated which was backed by John's F.U. money.
I. Sekai, which was an international drop shipping company...
Ah. There it was. Fae and Co. Law Offices, fourth floor.
...A bit strange why they called themselves Law Offices instead of LLP or Law Firm, but Japanese people liked their English loan words, so...
John shrugged and then made his way up the stairs. As he did, he mulled over what to cover first.
The main issue they were facing right now were definitely the copyright issues.
John wasn't worried about the copyright issues overseas in places like Arica or Europe. There was a compulsory license provision in the Arican copyright law for performances, so even if they refused to bargain, John could hire so bigwig law firms to sort that out. Not only that, but since UTube was based in Arica, he could finagle choice of law provisions for Arica and apply said provision.
The problem ca with local copyrights in Japan. Just like how John rembered things being, corporations here were super strict on what they would allow their IP to be used for. Mostly because they were big on 'face' and reputation, whether they would admit it or not.
That, plus the fact that the heads were all old Japanese guys who were definitely biased against the nouveau rich foreigner popping up in their ho territory, ant that John was going to have to knock so people around soon.
At least, if they wouldn't talk nice with his lawyers.
And speaking of lawyers...
John stopped in front of a door. Glancing at the brass door plate on the side of it that said 'Fae and Co. Law Offices', he got the right place.
Now...
John moved to press the buzzer on the side of the door. But before he could-
*BANG*
"I object! We didn't do anything wrong, so why do we have to give up our license?!"
A fiery and young male voice.
In response to that, a mature woman let out a sigh and said, "It can't be helped. Even though we haven't done anything wrong, the other side has evidence."
"FAKE evidence! Dammit!"
John blinked, processing the information. And then he narrowed his eyes.
He didn't know the exact circumstances, but trying to pull a sche like that to get rid of his people...
John opened the door and walked in.
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The other was a young man in his late teens, maybe early twenties. Like the woman, he was wearing a suit. But unlike the woman, it didn't seem to suit him. With a head of bright red hair and just as fiery crimson eyes, he looked more like a delinquent than an attorney.
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Setting his bowl aside, he adjusted his leather coat and turned around to look at Maji. "Is that a problem? Business is business."
Maji's eye twitched and he said, "It is when we're trying to make an honest living, dammit!"
At a table nearby, a Chinese woman with short hair and a red dress chuckled. Eva Won.
Leaning over the table, she said, "Relax, Maji-san." She gestured towards Seth's table and said, "With eye candy like those two frequenting your shop, I'm sure business will pick right back up."
Across from Eva, a young man with short brown hair and a police uniform, Leo Roosevelt, shook his head. "Why are we even here right now?" He frowned and said, "Shouldn't we be focused on cooperating with the local police to root out the remnants of Parasol? Especially since they're starting to move to interfere with Mister Smith's business?"
Back at Seth's table, an intense man with spiky blonde hair and glowing green eyes nodded. The man, Claus Rife, adjusted his brown overcoat with a frown and said, "I agree. The pay is good and security detail is a nice change of pace, but..."
Seth went back to his bowl of udon and chuckled. "Just be at ease and enjoy these peaceful tis, Cadet."
"Commander-"
Seth pointed his chopsticks and Claus and said, "Eat."
"Tch." Claus pursed his lips and then went back to eating as he was told.
Maji stared at everyone ignoring him and let out a deep sigh.
Dammit. If John had plans for them, Maji would have appreciated being kept in the loop, not having his cozy retirent shop being used as a base for rcs-
"Is that all you have, Saji-san?"
"Of course not! Today's the day I beat you, Kiri-san!"
"Hn. Then step forward with all you have."
"UWOOOOOOOOO!"
Energetic words that sounded like the start to a brawl echoed from the kitchen.
And for a mont, Maji thought it might have been.
But imdiately after, the sounds of chopping knives and noodle dough being slapped around echoed.
Maji ran his hand through his hair and muttered, "Dammit. Maybe I should have taken on her kid as an apprentice after all. Would've been hell of a lot less chaotic than this..." He paused and said, "Wonder what Yuri's doing right now anyway? Is she having fun with her friends?"
-----AI|IA-----
"K-K-Karaoke?!" Yuri instinctively took a step back and glanced around the room. "A-A-All of us?"
Asako stuck a hand in her pocket and said, "Yeah. We're idols, aren't we? Might as well practice singing together to figure out how we harmonize."
Yuri gulped.
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