Sat in the common room Ichika had her Densai set out in front of her, tapping her chin with the little stylus she used to pen her creations. Looking down at the blank screen she hesitated and shifted in her seat for renewed comfort. One of those little uncomfortable throw pillows tucked into her lap as she leaned on it sitting in the chair. Staring at the blank screen until she sighed with some annoyance and closed her eyes, thinking of other things.

"Looks like it's my turn to surprise you." Hotaru Koseki smiled at the small form of Doji Ichika as he walked into the common room. A bow was offered and he noted the densai she seemed to be ignoring for the moment.

"Having a nice day Doji-san? I was thinking about making a brew."

"O-" she opened her eyes, glancing around until she found Koseki. "Oh!" she said, a small nod. "Hello Hotaru-san, I'm sorry I didn't-" she laughed a little, shook her head, "yea, you surprised me," she admitted with a soft chuckle.

"Making a brew, Hotaru-san?" she asked, raising her brow as she tilted her head.

"Tea or something. Turns out sorting through books is thirsty work!" He walked over towards the kitchen unit and started looking for stuff. "I seem to be surprising a lot of people. Maybe it's just that no-one had met a Firefly before? Anyway, I finished my drifter guide last night. You working on something too?"

"Trying to.." she admitted with a sigh. Putting her Densai firmly down on the table she pushed it aside, laying the stylus beside it. Shifting in her seat so she could look over to Koseki she tilted her head a little with a soft smile.

"I'm glad you got your book done, are you proud of it?" she asked with a softness toward her general mood.

He looked over from where he was trying to find things in the cupboards. "Yeah, it worked out nicely. I need to do one for those Reavers next. I think a few of the guests fought some early on. Aha!"

He finally found the tea set, although he wasn't really sure what he was doing with it to be honest. Tea on a Firefly station was just a thing you occasionally drank, rather than a fancy thing a Crane might recognise.

"So, what are you working on? Anything I can help with?"

When he pulled out the whole set Ichika looked to him with a little raised brow, but, "Just trying to put some memories to poem, yea? Maybe even work on a little.. song project of mine," she said the last sheepishly, waving it off a little with a small laugh.

"Anyway, that sounds nice Hotaru-san, but what are you doing with that? You know you could just buy tea from the machine, yea? Don't really need the set," she said, laughing into the back of her hand,

He scratched his head and then grinned at her. "Well, I figured a miai is a good time for new experiences. I've never used one of these before, I usually just buy from a machine. Not exactly top priority when you're asteroid mining or fighting pirates, but it's supposed to be pretty relaxing." He shrugged. "So what kind of music are you making?"

"Something I can mix in my free time in this neat program on my computer," she said, giving a little point back toward her room. "Are you talking about performing a tea ceremony, Hotaru-san?" she asked with a slight tilt to the right with her head.

"Oh nice! I sometimes do that with my friends if we record our jam sessions. I'm better at playing live than mixing though." He looked at the tea set and then at the Doji.

"Yes? I mean, I've got a How to... Guide on my densai for most things."

Stick to beating drums and engines boy. You'll never do it well enough to fool a Crane into thinking you aren't an uncultured lout.

"Ooo, it's not a really complicated process but I wonder how well a guide like that can give you the idea," she laughed a little, looking down to her table. "Want a partner? Maybe I can give you a few tips the guide left out? Not that I'm all too great at it myself, just what my training demanded of me," she chuckled.

He nodded enthusiastically at her. "Sure, I'd love to. Thanks Doji-san."

Setting all of the pieces out on the table he scratched his head again. "All yours then! So how's the miai been going for you? Enjoying your time here?"