Arai-kaijū

Senior leadership meetings were dreadful. They often went long, there were no breaks, and usually somebody died.

One by one, the senior leadership filed into the massive room, lines emerging from doors scattered all around. They milled about rocky outcroppings over bubbling pools of magma, each wearing a cloak and cowl that designated their rank and order in the grand scheme of things. In the distance, but closer that was comfortable, a mountain heaved. The mountain glowed with a primal energy, and were it not for chains with links larger than most people wanted to consider, the mountain in the middle may have been free to move. The thick chains were wrapped around and over it. To the untrained eye, the pattern of the wrapped chain might look random and haphazard; however, to those with what could pass as tenure among the senior leadership, they knew that each crossing of each link was important if they wanted to keep it in.

“A bit melodramatic, if you ask me,” Eremiya mumbled from under his cowl. Akira bit his lip to keep from laughing. “At least they could offer bagels. I'd gladly toast one over the magma.”

The last of the senior leadership entered, and the doors behind them slammed shut, sending a loud sound, like two stones knocking against one another. Where the doors once stood were walls of stone with no apparent seams. The echo of the doors slamming filled the land before them. Two eyes, glowing a greenish yellow, popped open from the mountain. The eyes shifted around the figures there, and as they shifted, the color of the eyes shifted too, red, blue, white., then back to yellow and green. At one point, the creature before them may have resembled a simple raccoon, friendly and approachable like the Arai-kun cartoons that were everywhere. But this, this was something else. In the right light, if you could stare at it long enough, you might be able to discern procyonine features in passing, but if you stared too long, you might lose your vision or your sanity, either being a benefit to what else might befall you if it noticed you staring.

There were several nicknames for it. None were uttered anywhere near Araiguma headquarters. Arai-khan, Arai-kong, Arai-kthulhu, Arai-kami, but the one that had the most traction was Arai-kaijū. It sounded like something from a cheesy horror film. The Creature from the Well. But this was serious. People died here if they caught AK in a foul mood.

One of the senior leadership team let out a cry of agony, and was replaced with a smoking cloak full of charred bones.

AK would also act out when bored, or other unfathomable whims.

The other senior leadership around him stepped around his remains, as the rocky outcropping was cramped enough as it was.

The high priestess of Araiguma stepped forward. She raised her hands aloft and elevated into the air. “I thank you all for coming to the senior leadership meeting,” she said, the mountain of eldritch horror behind her like a hungry god. “Let's start with a look at our numbers for the past quarter.” She waved her hand, and a screen appeared, big enough to be seen by everyone there. Eremiya looked at his watch and stifled a yawn. Akira took a step away from him, not wishing to get caught in any crossfire with an irate AK.

As the high priestess talked, AK watched with glowing eyes. They shifted in color, taking it all in. The graphs showed stellar growth. Acquisitions were bringing in new and diverse revenue streams (Akira felt a little smug at that), and new opportunities were springing up regularly. Projected profits were high and rising.

The different C-Levels each got to give a short presentation. Each one was excited to share new initiatives. There was a presentation on optimizing the throughput of gearhead processes, and another one on strategic business partnerships with Solstice QuantBank, VatCan, and MegaHalla. In addition, there was the BeatBot rollout. Someone presented the revised org-chart, and Akira was pleased to see his contributions within the tangled webwork of heads. During this time, only two vice presidents died, their smoking bones bearing witness to the absolute unfairness of life. The org-chart adjusted automatically for the disparity. Then the head of human resources gave his presentation. He talked about the upcoming Event party, and how it was planned to be aboard a dirigible, and due to the size constraints, invitations would be limited. However, a virtual party would also be held for those not lucky enough to get an invitation.

Then it was time for Q&A. This typically was held at the end, an added benefit being that if the meeting ran long, they could just skip it and do everybody a favor versus actually answering any questions. However, “I have a question,” said one of the cowled figures. His voice echoed across the desolation. Two yellow-green eyes focused on him.

“Yes?” said the high-priestess.

“Why do we put up with this?” He said, his voice shaky at first, but as he kept talking, he grew more confident. “I mean, why do we have to pay homage to this giant monster? Why can't we just meet like normal people, discuss business, and not have to have a mini heart attack every single time that thing happens to look in our direction?” That thing continued to look in his direction.

The high-priestess frowned. Then the man burst into flames, leaving his smoking cloak on the ground. “I'm sorry,” she said to the crowd gathered there. “I guess some people don't have much tact.” She giggled. “Well, if there are no more questions, then you're all dismissed.”

The doors slid open, sending cool wafts of air into the stuffy expanse. The remaining members of the senior leadership began to file out.

“Not so bad today,” Eremiyah said. “Only four dead.” Someone shrieked. “Five,” he said. He looked at his watch. “I could go for a drink.” He looked at Akira. “You buying?”

Akira didn't say a thing until he was out through the door, his cloak and cowl stowed, and was able to wipe his palms on a soft towel. “I'm surprised you're never turned into a smoking skeleton during those meetings,” he said.

Eremiya shrugged. “I'm good with animals,” he said. He pulled a container of tamarind paste from his pocket and began to push the bottom, extruding it from the holes in the top. He poured a gob in his mouth. “Pelon Pelo Rico?” he said, offering some to Akira.

Akira shook his head.

“Your loss,” he said, extruding the rest of it into his mouth.

In many ways, Akira noticed, he was just like AK. Just not as big, and, worse, not as constrained. He wondered what sort of chains could bind this one. He looked at his watch. “My spreadsheets need me,” he said.

“Don't keep them waiting,” Eremiya said, opening another container of the tamarind paste. “We'll meet up for drinks later, then,” he said to Akira's back.