Having set aside some time for food, Ichika made her way through the mall to a rather familiar cart. One she'd become a semi-frequent patron of during her time here. Dressed today in her white shirt, blue skirt combination. One that was a touch underused as of late with so many important occasions requiring her wear her kimono. That, and today it allowed her to not leave the other outfit incomplete without her sundress.

Sliding up to the back of a small line, she glanced ahead at the cart. Giving a small wave to the owner, though he likely wouldn't notice. Opening her small purse she fished out her communicator real quick, checking the screen a moment.

Another samurai, this one more full of himself than your average, was also looking for a meal. As usual, the young was clad in his orange robes, carrying his satchel on his shoulder. Figuring that street food would be both affordable and a quick way to answer the ever-growing 'hunger problem', Sora walked to join a queue, digging out his densai. The Crane samurai before him seemed familiar but since he could not quite recall where he had seen her, the young man remained quiet.

Finding nothing on the screen worthy of particular attention she slipped her communicator back into her purse. Glancing back when she felt someone queue up behind her. Only to, "Isawa-san!" she said with a soft laugh. "Hey!" she turned about to face him, dipping her head toward him with a smile. "Long time no see!"

Sora tilted his head to the side as he tried to recall the name of the Crane. "Uh.. long time no see, Doji-san." he replied, hoping that she was actually Doji. Most Crane were Doji, Right? "I hope that the Fortunes have been kind to you?" Trying to recall where he had seen her before, Sora shuffled in place for a moment.

Eyepatch eyepatch... oh right, that girl. He frowned for a moment. "Well, can't say I expected to bump into you here." The frown was now gone, replaced by a coy smile.

"Right?" she laughed, catching it with the back of her hand. "I'm glad though," she said, her voice softening a little from the initial excitement. "I wanted to apologize for the other night, Isawa-san. I'd hoped to make sure everyone was comfortable but one thing led to the next and-" she shook her head.

"I'm sorry things turned out as they did," she offered an appropriate bow, shallow likely, as she knew very well that she didn't do wrong but she felt like she messed up somehow.

"Mhmmh?" An eyebrow rose, perhaps to indicate curiosity. "Ah, no. It's fine, really." Sora shook his hand as if to dismiss the occasion. "I think it was fine. And if someone needs to apologize, it's not Doji-san." he added with a smirk. "Well, I am not sure I'll ever be that comfortable next to one of those people." The face Sora made could not be mistaken. He was disgusted. "Things usually go as they do for a reason. Fortunes tend to work like that."

"How Doji-san has been since?" Sora asked, brushing the unfortunate incident under the tatami, hopefully once and for all.

Ichika's smile dissipated a little at the look of disgust, but she brushed it off. "I've been good, Isawa-san!" she glanced over her shoulder, noting the line and stepped aside so that he could join her in her spot on line. Moving one up as someone made away with their meal. "How about you?" she looked over to him, smiling she tilted her head a little.

Sora did step a bit closer, if only because no plague existed in this time and place. "I am glad to hear that." he bobbed his head. "Me, well. Things have kept me busy." A faint smile lingered on his lips. "Vibrant place, this city. With a lot of potential. Now, shame that the political situation is what it is."

"That's good, Isawa-san," she said, her own little smile and nod of her head. "It is definitely a place worth remembering, hmm? Though.." she glanced forward but looked to him. "Seeing as you brought it up," she said, flashing a innocent smile, "what do you think about it, other than.. well, you know," she chuckled awkwardly into the back of her hand.

"Uh? This place? I think it has a lot of potential." he nodded. "Especially if the governor gets his way. I mean, they say that the land isn't very fertile, but I am sure that the Agasha could so something about that. You just expand the farmlands, then you expand the city. This place could become a booming industrial world."

"Hmm," she vocalized a thought, tapping her chin. A slight smile as she remembered something. "Oh! Do you think they should be careful with their expansion? There could be rare flora of fauna here that could prove beneficial hmm? I heard of at least.. one case?" she furrowed a brow, waved it off. "An island that the Agasha set up for mining which hurt the wild-life and maybe even damaged the island."

"Why? There are like, what four settlements on this world? There's the desert, but even on this side of the continent there is a lot of land they could claim if they had the resources." Which was the gist of the problems. The Phoenix really did not have the resources, not with the intergalactic war looming on the Empire and the Phoenix having few friends. "Oh, I am sure they could chart the local life forms before they do that, no? And I mean, its not like they are running out of fungi any time soon, are they." he added with a chuckle. "I would also trust the Agasha to know what they are doing."

"I just wonder.." she seemed to drift on that thought a moment. Waved a little to lessen the severity, "Maybe it is because I am a Doji, hmm?" she smiled, looking to him. "But, when I spoke with the the governor Asako Naokuni-sama I definitely saw the advantages he hoped for. Yet, when I then spoke with his daughter.." she tapped her chin with her right index. ".. the next day? Asako Chiruha-sama seemed to hope for something quite the opposite. Protecting the nature that the planet already has, to find a balance with it."

"Speaking with these two, I hoped, and well, I guess still hope?" she chuckled into the back of her hand. "I hope that they can come to some sort of middle ground, yea? Protect the discoveries that can be made here, the nature of the planet, but also expand and develop further as well."

"Yes?" Sora tilted his head to the side. "Perhaps. The Doji do things their own way, I am sure. The Crane has the luxury of affording worlds of beauty. Unfortunately, that is not the luxury we have. For reasons I am sure Doji-san knows all too well." It was the Crane that had left the alliance to join the Mantis and Spider, leaving Phoenix defenseless. "The nature can, with all due respect, go and fuck itself." the young man smirked. "There are no koku in the nature."

"Middle ground? Does Doji-san often reach a middle ground with her lord? Or does she do as she is asked to do?" he asked poignantly.

Shaking her head lightly, "Just looking at it like a problem to solve, hmm?" she hummed the last note, leaning in with a little smile. "Problems of ideals, like these, are often best resolved with some sort of compromise if it can be achieved, yea? There are definitely more important things than Koku," she said, waving her hand to lessen the possible tension of her words.

A soft smile with a nod, she said, "Still.. you are right, Isawa-san. There shouldn't be a problem here because what ones lord asks them to do is all that should matter. Yet.. we still have this problem, yea? So, I look at it like a conflict needing resolution," this phrase sounded like it came out of some book during her schooling, "and looked at it like that, from the Doji perspective," she said, with a proud little smile.

"Sure." Sora nodded, sneering. "Nothing like few good bulldozers wouldn't solve." Tilting his head to the side as Ichika began to talk about compromises. "I am not sure Doji-san followed what I said. I am not sure the lord governor needs to make a compromise with his petulant daughter." He watched her as if to gauge if she had understood.

"Well, the conflict is resolved if the people understand what duty means." The young man shook his head, sighing. "It can't be that hard to do what is asked of you."

Ichika looked to him for a moment, pulling her right hand back a little so that the way they stood it was hidden behind her. Placing her first two fingers against her thumb she pushed as twirled with a little motion, fiddling with her hand.

"O-oh.." she went to open her mouth again and then closed it, twisting her bottom lip a little as she looked down. Furrowing her brow as she thought. Subtly as she could she inhaled a little and then let it back out through her lips.

"Mmm," she offered the vocal agreement on the last note, at least. Though it was far from effusive, merely perfunctory.

"That's how things work, neh." he looked markedly at the Crane girl, bemused. "Things won't really work if everyone starts to question their better, do they?" Sora sighed, shaking his head. "I used to be like Doji-san once. Though I knew better than the others. Then I grew up."

"I-" she furrowed her brow, shook her head. Glancing around at the people going about their days she stood with the words a moment. One more space forward they stepped, they were just standing behind the person being currently served now.

Inhaling, exhaling, slow and sure, "You.. might be right, Isawa-san. Suppose," she fumbled after the word a little, "suppose we'll have to see what happens, hmm?" she glanced to him with a half-awkward smile. "Things might, well, after I talked to them both guess we'll have to see what happens from my suggestions, yea? Maybe we might both be surprised," she sounded.. hopeful on that, even if that hope was tainted a little with her newfound uncertainty.

"Yes, I would think so." Sora nodded. "I mean, maybe the Mantis will have to pull back a bit. Maybe that'll leave some space for us to rebuild. But it's hard to argue for beauty when worlds like this bleed dry with lack of trade." His voice was now softer. "Now, I might want to live in the world that Doji-san imagines. Unfortunately the world we live in, is not that world."