(Chiyoko is invited to be here)

She was excited. And a little nervous. And also a little bit creeped out by the location. Shantytown wasn't exactly where she'd expect to find a fancy studio for a designer or artisan of any type. Wearing light daily clothes she was at least equipped to deal with the heat.

"I'm glad you agreed to come along, Matsu-san," Hyeon-ju remarked to her companion. It felt a bit unfair that Chiyoko had treated her to the fancy dinner yesterday, and she was now taking her out to this place... well, she was sure it would be worth it! The design was probably going to be amazing!

Checking the directions again, she cued them in on a building, and after checking the details once more, walked down the stairs from the street level.

The stairs were slippery, the air reeking of decay. Much of the city stank like death because of the fungal forest, but here the stench seemed to be even more intense. While the evening was cooler than the day, the heat still lingered around them, the few locals on the streets averting their gazes.

"Yeah, of course," Chiyoko said, wearing her service uniform as she often did when out but not doing a specific task. "You sure this is where he said to be? He must be... rather eccentric to stay somewhere like this." She wiped some sweat off her brow, trying not to look too hard at the... local denizens.

Hyeon-ju was having second thoughts now... but on the other hand... SHINY FASHION!!

She trusted Chiyoko to have her back if there were more reasons for why this place smelled terrible besides the mushrooms.

"I had no idea he lived in such a... unpleasant part of town. But I'm glad to have you here. He didn't seem like a creep at least, and seemed very proper and fashionable." Her nose wrinkled with distaste at the stench. Finding a door, presumably, she gave it a knock.

A short servant wearing long robes would open the door, letting the two samurai in. While Shin worked in a questionable part of the city, the studio it self had been furbished recently. The floor was covered with fungal-planks that had been painted in pleasant tones of muted greys. The walls were pale white, a rather loud AC keeping the rooms mostly cool. Still, the device could do little to dispel the stench of decaying matter.

As they walked in, the two samurai could see another servant bent over a large table, cutting shimmering orange cloth with large scissors. She wore robes similar to the first servant, her hands covered in bandages. Several pictures of dresses hung on the walls, all presumably Shin's handiwork. It seemed that the Phoenix genius seemed to favor designs that used way more cloth than strictly necessary, many of the pieces appearing to be crafted to resemble flames or wings. Most of the models were men - and judging by the modern kimono hanging on a rack they passed Shin indeed favored men's clothes.

The servant lead the two samurai into a different room, Shin sitting on a desk with a densai in his hands, turning it sideways as if he tried to make sense of something. The room was almost empty, with orange screen taking most of the space, another cloth rack sitting behind the screen. Several pillows laid on the floor, their cloth gleaming in the soft yellow light.

"Welcome, welcome!" Shin turned to greet Hyoen-ju and Chiyoko. "Utaku-san and..." he tilted his head. "Matsu-san, yes?" Some genotypes were easier to recognize. "Welcome, welcome. I am glad you could make it, yes." They could both see just how excited he was, his eyes gleaming. "Isawa Shin. A designer and a genius." the young man introduced himself to Chiyoko. "I hope that the Fortunes have been kind to you?"

As Chiyoko walked through, she took the time to look around, finding the whole studio terribly interesting. She'd bow to Shin upon introduction, offering a bit of a smile. "They have been kind indeed. I am Matsu Chiyoko, Hohei of the Matsu Infantry. I am glad to meet you, Isawa-sama."

Ugh, why did it smell so bad?

"Good evening, Isawa-san," she greeted, barely avoiding holding a hand over her nose. "The Fortunes have been kind."

Hyeon-ju glanced around. "I'm surprised your studio is in such a... rough part of town."

"Excellent! I am excited." Stepping down from the table, Shin spun a circle on the spot, the hems of his robes forming a perfect circle for a moment. Stopping to set his hair in place, the agitated Phoenix shugenja looked at Chiyoko, letting his gaze drift to Hyoen-ju. "I am thrilled to have you here today, Utaku-san." he blew a kiss in the general direction of heavens, expressing his macabre thanks to the Fortunes. "Now, would you want some refreshments? I have some lovely chilled lemon soda to die for!"

Well it was the polite thing to do. "If it's not too much trouble, Isawa-san. Something refreshing sounds nice.".

She was having a hard time to look at him and not the various sketches of designs on display. "Are all of these your designs?"

"I would love some, thanks," Chiyoko was similarly polite about it, not thinking anything untoward about his wordplay.

"Oh, yes, this is all me. Though, most of those are really dated." Shin waved his hand at the pictures, seemingly disinterested in his own work. "I live in Shiro Shiokaze, this is just a branch office, yes." For whatever reason that seemed to amuse the man, the young shugenja grinning like Cheshire cat.

"Only a moment!" The fabulous young man would turn, walking to his desk and nonchalantly kick open a small fridge, reaching to pick up a bottle that notably lacked a label. Slamming the bottle on the table, Shin rolled his neck, walking around the table to dig out three cups, each resembling melting glaciers. It was evident that whomever had designed the glasses had never seen real ice though. "Now, this is the stuff!" he announced, popping the bottle open, pouring a glass for each of them. "Local stuff. Fantastic!"

Handing cups to Hyoen-ju and Chiyoko, Shin would pick up his cup as well. "Kampai?" he asked, wiggling his cup in the air, the acrid scent of lemon rising from the slowly bubbling yellow liquid. "For arts! And beauty immortal, yes!"

Chiyoko raises the cup, offering a loud, very Matsu-like "Kampai!" Before taking a respectable sip of the drink.

"Yes, to the arts, and fashion. Kanpai!" Hyeon-ju was all in all excited now. Almost forgetting the stench. Still she took a refreshing sip of the drink.

At least it was cold.

Shin joined the toast with a grin on his lips, hungrily emptying his cup. "Ah... now that hits the spot." He reached towards Hyoen-ju to pick her cup as he had something for her to do. "I think we should get started, yes! Ah, I cannot wait to see the Brilliance of Life on you, yes!"

"Does Utaku-san think she needs help? I can ask Kinuko to help you?" he nodded at the robed servant working with the scissors that resembles shears.

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OOC: Roll Raw Stamina against 20 or suffer -1 Reflexes for the duration of the slot.

Resist poison TN = 20: 3d10o10 12

Chiyoko relaxed as she drank the drink. An odd taste, but such was the way of things! "Do you need me to hold anything, Utaku-san?"

--

Resist poison: 2d10o10 7

She felt oddly relaxed...

"Ah yes, please, Matsu-san." With the drink gone from her hand, it was easy to give Chiyoko the gunbelt with her sidearm and her wakizashi, which in itself was a great sign of trust. Her katana was back at the hotel, in a proper stand.

"Some assistance perhaps? I wouldn't want to put on the clothes incorrectly." And possibly tear anything.

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D8 EN Stamina vs Poison: 3d10o10 12

"Kinuko, help Utaku-san, please." the servant tucked her shears into her obi as she rushed to the samurai, bobbing her head even as she folded her bandaged arms in her lap. "This way, samurai-sama." The servant murmured. "Please allow me to help samurai-sama. Master's work will look stunning on samurai-sama." Her voice was oddly coarse, even if it was distinctly feminine.

"Please allow me..." The servant would lead Hyeon-ju behind the screen, keeping her eyes downcast as she undressed.

This must be some terribly accident prone folks since they all had bandages of some kind...

Following the assistant, she stepped behind the screen, though a touch wary now. Something didn't feel right, somehow... or maybe she was nervous. "Is the fabric difficult to work with, seeing you all seem to have bandages on your hands and wrists?" Hyeon-ju asked, wondering if it was something about the fungal fibres he had mentioned. Meanwhile her hands easily unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off. The pink tanktop wasn't far behind either as she had purposefully chosen clothes that would be easy to change in and out of.

Underneath the Utaku wore undergarments that were more like sportswear; tight shorts and a sportsbra.

It was a rad awkward to have help getting dressed but she managed without trouble at least.

"Mhmhm, Utaku-san has nothing to worry about..." The servant mumbled as she moved to help her undress, folding away her clothes. When Hyeon-ju was done, the meek servant slowly unwrapped what seemed like needlessly long hemmed and almost transparent naka-juban. The reddish, slim obi hanging around the waist had ben woven from firmer cloth. Kinuko moved to help the garment on the Unicorn pilot, the thin garment oddly warm against her skin. Instead of moving to the second layer, the servant stepped back, smirking as she did so. Even if she had told the Utaku she had nothing to worry about, she suddenly had a lot to worry about.

The cloth on her body had come alive, wrapping tightly around her limbs. Worse, where her skin was bare, the sticky fungal fibers clung to her like glue, leaving Hyoen-ju in agony as the garment tried to push into her flesh. It did not take long for her to realized that if she did not fight back, she blasphemous garment would literally eat her alive inside out. The obi fought her as well, the long fibrous belt resembling more an animated snake than anything else, coiling around Hyoen-ju's waist as if it was a living thing.

Smiling, the servant pulled her shears as she stepped back from the Unicorn.
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This is where you all roll initiative!

Brilliance of Life
Brilliance of Life has 5 ranks of control and it starts with control 3. As long character is wearing the Brilliance of Life they suffer -2k1 to all of their Skill Rolls.

During the PC’s turn, the PC wearing the garment must roll Opposed Strength against Brilliance of Life. This does not count as an action. If the player wins, the control is reduced by 1. If the Brilliance of light wins the control is increased by 1. If the control reaches 5, the character takes 2k2 wounds every round the control is 5. If the control drops down to 1, the character is free and the Brilliance of Life is destroyed.

Another character may assist the PC by spending a Complex action and rolling opposed Strength roll against the Brilliance of Life, reducing the control by 1 if they win.