“Oh no, really.”
“No, no, please, drop the subject.”
“We’re honestly all right.”
“This is fine, just as it is, really.”
“Honestly, please.”
The TEAM SARASHINA sign is decorated with maple leaves cut from red and orange paper. The leaves are somewhat uneven in shape and size in a way that suggests handicrafts are not Team Sarashina’s strong suit, but they look pretty good nonetheless. I should add that even if handicrafts aren’t a particular forte of the Team Sarashina members at present, were such skills to be required for their professional duties, they would set about acquiring them through extraordinary dedication and perseverance. It is precisely this aspect of the Sarashinas that earns them such acclaim.
In a sense, Team Sarashina’s role is that of a rescue squad. If a major order comes in unexpectedly, they’ll step in and lend a hand on the production line. They are also sent out to help with external projects. Some readers may be wondering if the Sarashinas are allotted the task of entertaining clients—that is, taking clients out to meals, bars, karaoke joints, and the like to ensure that business relations run smoothly—but I am happy to say that, unlike many other firms, our company has never engaged in such brain-dead practices.
Not that Team Sarashina’s members are the only bright stars around here. Tsuyuko and Yoneko, the sales team’s highest performers, revered for their ability to make people listen to them against their will, also command a lot of respect in the company. That said, they are known to have gone a little bit far on occasion, and just between you and me, they cause Mr. Tei a bit of a headache.
Often, when your eyes meet Tsuyuko’s and Yoneko’s, you find that the sweet that was in your hand a second ago is now in one of theirs, and so I make a policy of avoiding eye contact with them at all costs. Though there is a guy called Shigeru, who joined the company recently, who seems to be totally immune to their tricks. I’m not sure if it’s simply because he’s so out of it all the time or what. In any case, thanks to him, these days I often see Tsuyuko and Yoneko wearing somewhat frustrated expressions. I guess, in a way, Shigeru’s immunity is also a kind of a skill.
Anyhow, I’ve strayed off topic a little, but what I was getting to was this: the main reasons that Team Sarashina are held up as the jewel in the company’s crown are, first, their exceptional teamwork and, second, the extreme precision and speed with which they go about their designated tasks.
The projects that they have a hand in planning are always met with success. Each time they step up to the production line, they manage without fail to far surpass the standard run quantity, and, when they’re sent out on location, they are received rapturously. The word that crops up time and time again in feedback reports from their external postings is dependable.
Team Sarashina is made up of ten members. Ms. Sarashina, the official team leader, is generally quite subdued, but is capable of complete transformation when the occasion demands. With her healthy doses of blusher, the ever-comical Ms. Iwahashi keeps team spirit lifted. Bastions of capability, Ms. Nogiku and Ms. Matsushima know how to get things done, while Ms. Tatsuta, Ms. Wakaba, Ms. Matsukaze, Ms. Tamazasa, and Ms. Tsuyushiba silently support them, and the group’s eldest member, Ms. Tagoto, keeps a sharp-eyed watch over all of them. They’re a wonderful team, and they wouldn’t be the same without any one of their members.
However unexpected the situation they find themselves in, the Sarashinas always come across as calm and poised. I’m sure that nobody will disagree when I say that just the sight of the ten of them together, all wearing the same expression of perfect composure, is overwhelming enough to make a person surrender to them on the spot. Some companies we deal with still have their fair share of cocky types, or people going around sexually harassing others even though everyone knows that’s not cool anymore, but when Team Sarashina make their entrance, those sorts tend to shrivel up and start behaving. If they don’t, then Ms. Sarashina, who loathes injustice of any kind, will eventually lose it. I forgot to mention that Ms. Sarashina used to be something of a wild child, so she’s very capable in that regard.
To this day, nobody has ever seen any of the Sarashinas in a state of panic.
Once, when the Sarashinas were in the factory, a mixing vat exploded owing to an error in the quantities of chemicals used. Nobody in the team batted an eyelid, and nobody said a word. In no time at all, the mess was cleared up and the line reopened.
The origin of the Sarashina team is a subject veiled in mystery. All kinds of theories are whispered among the other employees: some people think Ms. Tagoto was once the leader and that when she decided it was time for a new generation to take over, she recruited the other nine; others maintain that the present team have been there from its very inception. Nobody knows for sure. No one even knows when the team came into being. One day they were just there, doing all kinds of jobs at a mind-boggling pace. I’m sure it can’t just be me who’s intrigued by how they came to develop that incredible sense of unity.
It’s not just in work matters that the Sarashinas are high achievers. Our company doesn’t have its own sports teams or anything like that—although employees are actively encouraged to have hobbies, and many people go to Thai lessons or yoga classes on their days off or on their way
