Shokomaru was in his suit, freshly cleaned up and talking with the attendant selling UV shades near the garden entrance. It wasn't too expensive and the experience seemed like it wouldn't disappoint. Plus you keep the glasses. UV visuals were actually nice to have in a lot situations for his line of work.

Not like he'd be wearing them if he wandered into a barracks though.

He shuddered slightly.

"I'll take two", he said. Then took them with him toward a vending machine, where he got himself a cold coffee drink and leaned against it in the shade, having a cigarette.

It was almost cooling down. Almost.

He doubted it.

Michiya was wearing a kimono, as usual for him. That was what he was raised wearing in his very traditional family so that was what he found most comfortable.

When he noted his walking partner for the garden he approached and bowed. "Good evening Daigotsu-san. I had been hoping for a chance to take in the garden so thanks for setting up our meeting here," he says with a smile.

He didn't have the air of authority that his position suggested. He never seemed to. He was more like a curious child... probably because that was what he was for the most part.

He bowed proper, and it seemed he knew how to actually.

He stood up straight and nodded. "You wear kimono every day? it's got to be hot."

Says the guy wearing a black on black suit. He seemed to realize that and moved on.

"Anyway, glad you could make it, you want a drink for the walk?"

"No thank you. And yes, everyone in my family wears kimono so that is what my wardrobe consists of right now. The Hanako are a very traditional family, and my father always wanted us to continue setting that precedent," he says with a shrug. "But in time, I'm sure I'll expand to include more comfortable pieces in my wardrobe."

"I still have a lot to learn about fashion."

He finished the drink and tossed it in the trash, then also put out his cigarette. He took out a small receptacle, popped it open with his thumb, then tossed the butt in.

"Kimono are nice, I think they state a great deal themselves about fashion", he offered. "Though I have to say I'm picky about the occasion for them myself. Even though a lot of folk where I come from tend to dress a little more traditionally."

He gestured for them to walk toward the path and would lead the way. Shokomaru didn't have quite a smooth walk, not like he was injured, but he didn't keep his back ridiculously straight and liked to walk with his hands in his pockets. Maybe inelegant was a word to use.

"Your father, is he the daimyo of your family?" he asked.

"Yes. He is the current head of the Hanako vassal family. It's already been decided that the first among my younger sisters will be the heir to the title, but I am expected to go out and experience the greater empire, to act as her advisor, eyes and ears among the stars. To make sure that favoring tradition doesn't overpower the necessity of understanding the world as it is among the ruling family of the Hanako. My father always said that he has benefited greatly by my mother's knowledge of the empire gained while traveling in her youth, as she was a Miya before marrying him. But my sister is already arranged to marry an nephew of the Otomo daimyo that has spent his life in the Imperial city so far as well. Thus my mother's political role for my father, will be my political role for my sister in the future. And it's one that I look forward to."

He reached into his pocket, putting his ashtray away, then into another and withdrew some sunglasses. He thought the Hanako's situation was an interesting one. And that it was a case of the danger of insular living, something the Spider would surely fall prey to eventually. Even when they come to a new world it's to kill and clear until someone else calls dibs.

he shook it off and stopped along the path.

"Well, we're here to see something, that's for sure. Hope thiis will be one of those experiences you can tell your sister about", and he handed the shades to Michiya. "There's a lot of light that we can't normally see, the attendant back there was telling me how it's almost like there are two different gardens."

He takes the glasses with a nod of thanks, "I appreciate it."

"I hope it will be too. But I suspect the more important experience to tell my family of will be the miai as a whole. They'll undoubtedly be interested in how the marriages play out and how our hosts see to their guests. The Hanako certainly are not anywhere near as influential as the Otomo or Miya, but we have a significant hand in how the Seppun interact with the rest of the empire, being a mostly dedicated corps of ambassadors representing our parent family."

"That sounds like a heavy job", he observed with a raised eyebrow. Then he kept walking a bit, to get a look at the various plant life. He didn't put on the glases yet, he wanted his eyes to take it in alone first.

"Though for the Phoenix too, i guess. Playing host to every clan in the empire can't be easy. I'm surprised the governor hasn't held a tea party yet, though. What do you make of that?"

"I suspect that it's an indicator of his preference for more active pursuits. Even the welcoming banquet, he chose to hold it within a garden under tents rather than in the castle. It seems like he wishes to display the nature of the world, and what he can offer rather than create a setting where platitudes and careful speech dominate. He likely appreciates honesty in action as much as in word."

Michiya looks around at the plant life, his interest drawn to a particularly strange looking flower that seems to have some wicked looking thorns. He kind of wanders in that direction to get a closer look.

Shokomaru stayed close by, but didn't crowd the flower unless called over for a look. He was busy watching the lazy wind cause the massive leaves above them to shift.

"When you put it that way, I suspect you're right", he said as Michiya wandered off. "I was thinking of calling on him, as it's proper I suppose, but I've heard he isn't a fan of my clan. I figure if I keep doing well enough he might be open to it."

"It's a relatively common sentiment among the clans. But every clan has a role to play in the empire, no matter how much some people might fervently deny it. I can't imagine what it feels like from the perspective of your clan. If anything, I would guess that it's exhausting," he says, as he puts on the UV glasses and takes in the sight of that flower through the different spectrum.

"It's a good fit, as far as words go", he agreed. Something was really starting to bother him too, about that. Though complaining to this particular samurai wasn't something he'd planned on doing that day.

"How's the shade's working?"

"They are working fine," he says with a nod. "This flower looks pretty cool. It's got some odd markings on the petals. A pattern that looks a bit like arrows, but not really."

"I am Otomo trained, and for the most part I think clan samurai look on them with a bit of wariness. I don't know how that's going to go for me, but whatever happens happens. I'll just do what I can to make the most of my situation."

"True, everyone knows that mon, even if they'v never met an Otomo or graduate of their dojo", he said. "I mean right now, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about who I'll end up starting a fight with after meeting you."

He put on the UV shares as well and looked up.

Well, that was a mistake.

He'd be rubbing his eyes for the next ten minutes.

"A good argument can be exciting, but it's a pain to have them all the time," he says with a nod, pulling off his own shades after his inspection of that flower.

"Otomo training is full of them by design, so you get somewhat used to it. But it's definitely not great to have every conversation go that way."

"Yep", he agreed, rubbing his eyes. Maybe the bridge of his nose, as he thought about Utaku Hyeon-ju. "Though sometimes the argument makes things better. I should be more combative with certain people, being cordial all the time just wastes effort with certain types."

He walked over now, blinking a little. Maybe if the sun had been down already he'd have been fine.

"Still, it's your responsibility by training I guess. Just like it's mine to make violence happen. Weird galaxy we live in, but it seems to work, doesn't it?"

"Most of the time it does. But sometimes we create more complication than the effort to resolve it is worth," he replies with a shrug. "As long as there is a generally forward moving flow of growth it works out for the empire."

He smiled then, it seemed he was biting a bit more into the conversation now.

"And what do you think is a good forward direction for the Empire?" he asked. "I'm not here to judge, it's just...well...a rare opportunity to be able to ask someone like you that."

"I think right now we're in a waiting period. We need the results of the mission of the Ide II to really know that. But until then... preparing for the worst with increased militarization and preparation in case things go bad there," he says. "Clans will always have conflicts and alliances, but the most important thing is to be prepared for external threats."