Chapter Text
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN. 2021/19/07
INAZUMA CORPORATION’S DICTATOR, BAAL.
Seated in the famous business district of Tokyo stands one tower taller than the rest. In this mountainous skyscraper sits the headquarters of INAZUMA CORP., the name likely printed on all your mobile devices today. Since their breakout in the early 2010’s INAZUMA CORPORATION led by it’s single-name CEO Baal has earned quite the polarising reputation. How does CEO Baal’s iron rule create a company that stands today as one of the most successful tech companies in all of Japan? Read more, page 24.
Page 24. Baal huffed. Whilst her name had been printed on the front of the largest newspaper in Japan, she had been delegated a full article at the point where most readers would throw out the whole newspaper. Like she was doing right now.
It was on lunchbreaks like these where Baal spent her time monitoring her press reputation. Reading newspapers, checking comments, viewing the paparazzi photos taken of her that day. She would never admit it to be an obsession of hers despite how ritualistic it became, minimising it as more a ‘I enjoy seeing what people say about me’ sort of thing. Her secretary wasn’t ever convinced by that excuse.
Baal had only just returned to her seat when she heard the door to her office open. “Baal. Your meeting is in 10,” stated her secretary.
Baal raised a thin eyebrow. “I thought I had no meetings until after noon.” Her secretary, Kujou, always kept her up to date on such little matters such as meetings. But she could’ve sworn there was no mention of this 12:30 meeting in her briefing today.
Kujou paused before elaborating. “It is with the Narukami Company. You ar—"
“What.” Baal interjected before Kujou could say any more. She was feigning uninterest until now.
“Is there any problem?”
“Why.” Kujou didn’t speak, letting Baal’s one-word answers hang in the air. She seemed puzzled at Baal’s puzzled-ness, which only puzzled Baal more.
What were they doing here? In her building, nonetheless?
“Shall I tell Narukami Company to expect you?” Kujou broke the silence a couple moments later.
“Is their CEO here?” Kujou nodded.
“… Alright,” Baal conceded.
“I will tell them right away,” Kujou hurriedly left her office, the large door closing with a click behind her. Baal let out a quiet curse. Narukami Company…
*
THE MAINICHI SHIMBUN. 2021/01/07
A TALK WITH NARUKAMI COMPANY’S COMPASSIONATE CEO, YAE MIKO.
Narukami Company, the third-leading tech corporation started here in Tokyo and has made a huge name for itself recently for its innovative and passionate new CEO, Yae Miko. Miko took hold of company leader after the passing of her father in 2019, and states that she wants to bring ‘freshness and authenticity’ as the company rings in a new era. Hear more about her story in an exclusive talk on page 14.
Kujou now led Baal down the long halls of her offices to the main conference room. She was trying to straighten her appearance as they walked, still frazzled by the sudden call in. But her secretary had insisted she mentioned this meeting, and so Baal had to act like it.
The door to the main conference room was big and glass, with floor-to-ceiling windows lining one edge of the room. A large oval table sat in the centre of the room with two dozen chairs seated around it evenly. Right now, though, as Baal peered through the door to sneak a look, only three of those seats were occupied.
“Good afternoon,” Kujou greeted the room as she held the door open for Baal. The Narukami Company hadn’t seated themselves at the head of the table, so Baal pulled a chair directly opposite them.
“Good afternoon,” the lady in the middle of the three – Yae Miko by the looks of it – greeted back. She stood up from her seat, offering the two a handshake before sitting back down.
“I am Yae Miko, CEO of Narukami Company,”
“I’m aware.” Whilst she had known of Yae Miko for a while now – how could she not with her name always making headlines – Baal found herself surprised at the CEO’s presentation. Unlike the formal suit jackets and pants everyone else in the room wore, Yae opted for a feminine dress and loose updo. Whilst instantly recognisable with her pink hair, Baal wouldn’t assume she was a CEO in any other circumstance.
“I suppose you know why I’m here too then,” Yae replied, dragging Baal back to focus. The brief void of noise was only filled by the sound of shuffling papers from Yae’s attendants. Baal kept her lips pursed, unsure on how to approach the conversation.
“We’re here to,” one of the CEO’s attendants slid a paper across the oval table, “propose an idea to you, Inazuma Corporation.”
Baal observed the paper only briefly, preferring to maintain eye contact with the woman in front of her. She raised a sceptical eyebrow. “This idea being...?”
“A collaboration of sorts,” interjected one of Yae’s attendants. “As two frontrunners of the tech industry, we both have very wide audiences. But our latest project… it would require a very wide audience,”
“So, you’re suggesting we combine our audiences?”
“As a way of marketing, yes.” The attendant shuffled her papers again, Yae Miko looking over briefly. “You’re not one opposed to… controversy, are you?”
“I suppose the headlines don’t help,” Baal conceded. The continued vagueness in the attendants tone nearly frustrated the CEO in curiosity.
“Well, our idea is—”
“To organise a fake dating controversy for more media coverage,” Kujou concluded, setting down the document she held. The assistant nodded nervously. “We would organise media coverage for you and Yae Miko’s stunt… It’s guaranteed to bring numbers.”
Baal frowned, only now taking up the document from Kujou’s possession. “You want me to what now?”
“It would only be a couple of ‘fake dates’ with me. A little bit of fake dating can’t hurt anybody,” Yae slid in. Her casual, almost flirtatious way of speech irritated Baal slightly. Her gaudy dress and gold earrings didn’t help her case at all.
“What would I get out of it,” Baal demanded. “Like we said. A couple stories, a lot of coverage, and a huge increase in both our stocks. It’s a proven tactic, Ms Baal.”
Baal clenched her jaw, considering her few options. Her opinion of Yae was taking a steady decline since she had entered the conference room. She didn’t know if she was ready to sign a deal with her at all. “It is quite a fair deal,” Kujou urged the CEO, tugging silently at her sleeve under the table. Objectively, nothing but good could come out of this in the long run. But with the way Yae smiled, knowing the decision they would reach in this small room would be in her favour, the more Baal wanted to resist the CEO. She had much more autonomy than some media puppet for marketing.
“Fine. As long as I have the final say on what is given to the media,” Baal stated, ending the long stares from the trio across from her. The assistant holding the papers nodded, drawing out a pen from her pocket. Yae drew her hands off the table, her smile widening.
“We can arrange that. All I’ll need you to do is read this and sign here.”