Kuchiki Tsugiharu had heard the stories. He’d followed the scattered clues. And now a place of myth and legend lay before him.

YuRaku.

He’d put his clothes in the assigned locker, showered off really quickly, and then towel clad went over to the ‘Hot’ Pool and slid in.

A deeply contented sigh escaped from the Spider.

“Shiku be praised. This is amazing.” he commented to the empty air.

He leaned back, and allowed the blissful heat to permeate his body.

The other occupant in the bath seemed to jump a little as he spoke, jerking to awareness. Perhaps she'd been napping. "Oh! Yes, it is. I agree. Good morning." The young woman with her white hair pinned up for the bath focused a bit more on his face for a moment. "I don't think we've met. I'm Daidoji Shizuku. Pleased to meet you!"

Tsugiharu should have been more alarmed at not noticing the other bathhouse patron, but the pool's heat just felt to damned good. So instead he managed a seated bow before returning to taking in the heat.

"We have not. I am Kuchiki Tsugiharu. Formerly of the Hive, but perhaps I should move here. Such baths are a fairly high end luxury where I come from." he offered with a bit of a joke.

"Nice to meet you, Kuchiki-san. You clearly need to get around to visiting one of your new ally's worlds," she replied, pushing a finger against her own cheek gently. "Before you make any hot springs related decisions. We should get a chance to compete properly." She grinned.

There's a small shrug from the Spider.

"Attached to the military as a medical researcher, so I don't typically get a lot of time visit properly tamed worlds." he admits. "But if you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them. All knowledge is useful after all."

"Mmm... Let me think about it for a moment," she replied. "In the mean time, you're a medical researcher? I assume given you're attached to the military that the current work itself is mostly classified, but what's your specialty?"

"Contamination studies." he offers. "In the Empire's never ending expansion, new planets hold threats of many kinds. While some are large and toothy and best dealt with a legion of Daigotsu with superior firepower, it's the threats that are invisible to the naked eye that we study and find ways to neutralize. Being a priest, helps of course, along with medical studies."

He glanced over at the Crane.

"So besides hot spring critic, what do you do for your clan, Daidoji-san?

"Oh, interesting! It would be fun to make something that models germ spread in a population. Hmm... I need to write that down..."

She blinked at him with big, innocent eyes for a moment, "What makes you think I'm not a professional hot spring critic? Would it surprise you that the Crane had them?"

She smiled. "I'm kidding. I'm a soldier, and a programmer as a hobby."

"Ah, you misunderstand, Daidoji-san, when I said besides, I meant to acknowledge not only your skill at hot springs criticism, but your other myriad talents. It's well known that the Crane do everything with beauty and grace. I was just curious what other particular fields you were particularly gifted in." he said with a straight face.

He nodded a bit at the comment about models.

"It's a lot of data. And the trends can be quite explosive depending on the severity of the particular infection. Some of them would turn your hair white, Asahina-san, if it wasn't already." he said with a bit of mirth.

"Of course, of course. It makes perfect sense," she replied with a small laugh.

Listening to the comment about modeling, she tilted her head to the side. "Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. Without the cognizance of death, a cherry blossom is just another flower. You don't make good art by ignoring what's going on in the world, even if it's horrible."

"Oh, and it is a lot of data, and so many variables. Deciding how much to abstract it and to what degree is tricky."

He nodded a bit.

"And of course, there's the greatest challenge of all that you mentioned. Classified data isn't something a programming hobbyist from another clan could readily get their hands on, even if they could weave wonders with it."

He stirred himself a bit.

"Although, I am curious about your more professional interests. How do you serve the Crane military? 'Professional soldier' could be nearly anything from coffee-maker for the command staff to Grand general of the Crane armies. If it's the latter, I apologize for my lack of formality. I didn't see your insignia." he offered, somewhat amused.

"Yeah. I couldn't even get ahold of our own real data, probably. I'd basically have to do guesswork with raw numbers and general information. It's super annoying, but everyone has to work with what they have to some degree," she sighed and gave a shrug. It clearly didn't worry her too much.

"I'm a marine, normally stationed on a ship in our own systems. Front line if something happens, basically."

"Hm. Strength, beauty, brains, and impeccable tastes in hot springs. Quite a lot of talent the Crane have chosen to bring to the miai in a single package." he offered as a sincere compliment.

"I saw that they released a preview of the events scheduled for the convenience of not leaving the city when one is expected to demonstrate their strengths. Any challenge in particular that Daidoji-san is looking forward to?" he asked.

"There's something to be said for the jack of all trades, master of none approach after all, maybe," she replied. "Thank you, though, honestly. You're a fun conversationalist, Kuchiki-san. Oh! And Pale Blossom probably has the best ones I know of. I hear Golden Mirror might be better, but it's also kind of like a planet-wide museum."

"Hmm... It's hard to say just from the names. I'm just going to try and get through and hope for the best, I think. What about you, Kuchiki-san?"

"Hmm, well we're similar at least on trying to get through as best we can Daidoji-san, though I think you have less to prove than those who wear the black and white." he offered. "The first handful of events sound in line with what I'd been expecting a man like the governor thought was important for his world. The latter events are somewhat surprising though, and perhaps may show me a way forward."

He chuckled a bit.

"It's interesting what events a miai hold though, ne? I heard at one Phoenix miai they held a math competition because a spouse must be able to manage the household finances."

She nodded. "He does seem focused toward the future," she agreed. "I wonder what the specifics are?"

"How does one decide which one handles them? Whoever is better at it?"

A small shrug from the Spider.

"I would suppose it would depend on what they're own duties were like. If one's duties frequently sees them away from home, it would make little sense to have them manage the household. If both spouses duties precluded it, I would imagine it would be more feasible to appoint a manager for the household, rather than trying to see to it personally." he admitted.

"I suppose that makes sense. I think most people have duties that keep them busy these days," she mused. "Traditional roles are probably more difficult now, no matter who takes them. I could probably make something to make that part of it easier, though."

It took a moment to process what she was saying.

"Oh, some sort of program, Daidoji-san? I'll admit, I'm curious as to what you've designed so far if you're willing to talk about it." he offered.

"Yup! I could auto-track actions related to it, let you make schedules and send alerts a couple days in advance of deadlines, all sorts of stuff. It'd make running a household a lot easier... I wish I had my densai, I want to make notes..." She sighed, then brightened. "Oh, I've done a few things. I have a little program that sets an alarm to go off in fifteen minutes if I don't interact with my densai while it's on. Lots of little convenience things like that. I made a game that involves navigating and shooting through dense patterned attacks, but it needs a computer or a dedicated machine for it. That's a couple of examples. I'm always thinking about some idea or another."