[centre]Isle of Chūsei[/centre]

The air was fairly brisk on the Isle of Chūsei - as it usually was - but this did not seem to bother Susumu, Takumi and his entourage. Over the years that the Isle of Chūsei have existed, many of its inhabitants had chosen not to leave due to the central location of the isle and the intermingling of three distinct cultures that, despite all odds, seemed to have ended quite well. The isle was peaceful enough, but colder than any of the mainlands - still, Takumi had been to the isle often enough. He'd even built a small Susumu clan compound there, extravagant amidst the ascetics' temples, so he could live in at least a little bit of luxury. The Susumu clan had always had a taste for riches, but Takumi was the worst offender by far in recent years - his motives were commonly listed as gold, gold, and more gold. That couldn't be further from the truth, but it didn't hurt to let the hearsay cloud his intentions. Anybody who looked hard enough would find what they were looking for.

Takumi had been to the centre of the isle on business more times than he could count - Akaritori and Windspeaker Touho had given him exclusive domain over the economy of Yamagakure a long time ago, and under his watchful eye it has prospered beyond all of the other nations'. Takumi had the knack of knowing what to buy, what to sell, and most importantly, when to buy or sell them. He treated money like it was a grand game, one that he had mastered a long time ago, and it was almost as if he was playing against children. Now, he had business there again, waiting for Lady Ayameko's emissary to arrive so they could discuss a large shipment of steel that Yamagakure was selling off.

The seats were, as was custom, carved out of solid gold for Takumi to sit on - and his entourage would sit on stone chairs behind him, observing his techniques that they might learn to become half the man he was. He smirked a little. They would never become anything nearly as great as he was. Takumi sat patiently, as he always did, waiting for his partner in business to arrive. He had chosen to be ten minutes early, knowing that an emissary of Kyokujitsugakure would also be early - it was his job to know the habits of those he worked with. It is difficult to play an instrument one does not know - and the same can be said for people in the world of finance. Knowledge and Money were power, and Takumi was a master of both.