Unlike most of the places he’d been today, Tsugiharu was not in his element as the club. He had that distinct aura of someone told, ‘You should go out and be more social, come to the club with us!’ and then got ditched as soon as the more socially gifted of the group found people to dance with.

So he sat at the bar, being steadfastly ignored by the bartender. At least the music was good, and open to all there.

Tsukiko is at the bar too, but unlike the Spider, she's accompanied by her servant and an assortment of partly finished drinks around her. She samples a bit of Sweet Lies, then Matcha Made'n'Heaven, and finally Pretty Pink before cycling back around. The Energizer, however, has been left neglected after a single sip. It seems she's still going all out with her plan to experience everything once on Asakaze, even though she'll probably get a wicked hangover from all of the mediocre cocktails.

"Naoki, order me another drink I haven't tried yet."

"Very well, but I must recommend that this be your last drink in the interest of your well being Bayushi-sama."

He gestures at her unfinished drinks, as if to question if she's going to let those drinks go to waste without actually saying it aloud. In response, she grins and starts gulping down her Matcha Made'n'Heaven as fast as she can as she stares Naoki down until he sighs and walks off to fulfill her order. Ah, victory. That'll be 1-0 for her since the space station definitely didn't count.

Shion finally feels somewhat in her element as she enters the Kayama. The music is fun, the beats pulse through her body, and her lips actually curl into something of a smile as she makes her way through the dance floor, tapping her foot and moving a bit to the sound of the music, and gets to the bar.

A girl sitting besides an older man chugging down one drink after the other on on side; a man who looked a bit out of place on the other.

She greeted both courteously with "-samas" - probably Great Clanners, based on the expected demography - and decided to sit midway between them, then nod to the girl again. "Recommend any of them particularly..." she looked at her clothes, hoping to get the colours right. "... Scorpion-sama?"

Tsukiko turns to the girl calling her attention, just as she finishes her trio of drinks, Energizer pushed off to the side.

"Looking for some recommendations, Suzume-san? Hmmmmm, I haven't tried all of the flavors yet but I really enjoy Matcha Made'n'Heaven. Some of the drinks are a bit too sweet in my opinion though, and definitely do not get the Energizer, it's suuuuuuuper bitter and the melon flavor does nothing to hide it. Name's Bayushi Tsukiko by the way, what's yours?"

Ruhe hit the club. Maybe it'd be nice. Surely it had drinks, and he could even meet someone. Long hair neatly braided and pomaded, him dressed in slick studded leather, he was like a portable set of small mirrors with all the black sheen, and in stroboscope light - very colourful!

"KNBW, ladies. You recommend any drinks?" The accent was on the thicker side, but the voice was interesting, and to a keen ear - musically fine-tuned.

"Oh... I was considering the Matcha!"
Although... I kinda like bitter drinks. But melon and bitter... Nah

"I'll try it then", she says, with a small, shy but polite smile as she nods a thanks as she tries to call the Bartender's attention, with little success for now. "Pleased to meet you, Bayushi-san. I'm Suzume Shion.", she says, respectfully again. "So... hit the dance floor already? Or... do you play something?"

Just as she says that, she hears the larger man speaking to them and looks at him. Up at him. Way up.



Oh... flashy. And tall. Huge. Probably a metalhead? But... he actually sounds good...?

Looking at his clothes, she guesses again. "...Unicorn-sama.", she says, bowing slightly. "Bayushi-san here was just recommending the Matcha Made'n Heaven.", she says, pointing at a seat close to them.... maybe slightly uncomfortably.

"Ah... here for the drinks? Or dancing? Or the music?", she asks, with a smile that almost conveys some happiness. Almost.

"I can try this Matcha Maiden Heaven. Sounds evergreen." He agreed with a smirk, taking the offered seat. "Name's Moto Ruhe. Actually, for all of the mentioned things, plus a nice chat with interesting people like you." It could have been a singular or plural you. "Dunno if music is any good, but we'll see! But I can dance even to roars of an engine that acts up, so it's not much of a problem either way. You?"

Interesting people... well, I guess this is a Miai, ne?

She gives him another attempt at a smile at his comment about dancing to engines, this one a bit more disinterested than the previous one, then finally manages to get the bartender's attention.

"Bartender-shi - One Matcha drink, please..." she turns to the Unicorn and continues, as if asking "Eh... and one for Unicorn-san too, then?"

"Well... all of them too, I guess. Maybe without the dancing. We'll see. But... the music actually sounds good so far. Maybe a bit repetitive, but let's give the DJ a chance, ne", she says, raising the corner of her lips into a slightly more convincing smile this time.

"So... you dance to engines acting up, then? Do you play those too?"

The attempt at a joke is accompanied by a grin... but she's probably relieved when the bartender brings her drink back.

"This round is on me if you don't mind. Yours was the recommendation, so it's only fair." Ruhe may or may not have been perceptive enough to differentiate among the whole amplitude of smiles the girl had in her repertoire; his own was rather constant.

"Sure let's give it chance. I guess I could play it, it could even me interesting!" He chuckled. "Oh wait, I probably have done it already when driving, just not with drumsticks yet! But my preference lands with power horsehead fiddle. That's what I play on stage most of the time. And when I can, frankly. Just thought it'd be rude to bring it to the club."

Tsukiko definitely cannot distinguish the finer elements of the Unicorn's voice after all the drinks she's guzzled and over the music of the club, not to mention that she's starting on the fifth drink her servant brought back, the Yoake Sunrise to be precise.

"Ruhe-san, so are you a fiddler for a living? It sure must be nice... Being an artisan or performer is tough."

"For a living is a strong term, but yeah, I'm a stage musician by dedication. I've studio-recorded a few things too but neither of my bands stuck around long enough to make something to get out into the world with." He grinned. "I don't think it's either nice or tough. It's metal."

He looked between the girls. "But it's weird I only talk about myself. I'd really like to know more of what rocks your lives."

The Spider continued to be ignored by bartender and bar patron alike, save for a small nod from the Sparrow. The fact that the Scorpion had been served four drinks to his none was annoying....but understandable. She was a pretty Scorpion lady and he was....well a Spider. Not exactly welcome in these parts. Maybe if they ignored him long enough he'd go away.

But being ignored had it's advantages when attempting to learn more about people if you were simply willing to be observant. Take the Moto for example. With his swagger and flirting with the ladies, he reminded Tsugiharu a great deal of Daigotsu Hisahsi. That man's romantic prowess had shot will well up the ranks in the military. Some had wondered just what heights his greasy charm would get him.

Of course, that ended when a quartermaster he'd loved and left gave him a defective respirator. He wondered if the picture of Hisahsi with his trademark grin turned into a rictus of pain brought her satisfaction. The data on the effects of compound #744081 had certainly been valuable. Probably not how Hisahsi had planned to serve the Spider, but serve until the end he did no less.

If the Moto could know the Spider's thoughts, he'd laugh at the irony from reasons not yet known or apparent. The subjective truth of it was that he hadn't been ignored, just taken as a skinny lady that chose not to speak with him yet, or at all.

Somehow, Tsukiko has received yet another drink, the Blazing Tail this time, and was spinning the glass, watching the iridescent light dance around in the liquid, barely even drinking it.

"Mmmm, I'm here to have a good time and explore the place. There's so much to see and do here and this is my first time outside of World of Dreams so this is all really exciting. It's almost like an adventure, wouldn't you say? I'd really like to become an artist for a living if I could but Sensei's really strict, sooo here I am. What about you, Shion-san?"

---

(ooc letting shion incorporate tsugiharu into the convo, sorry tsugiharu but tsukiko is too drunk to care about some random spider dude, especially when the miai hasn't technically started yet)

"Sure, make the most of it. An adventure is what you make of it, I'd say, so this whole trip can be one." He said, drinking what he got. "Besides, art must be about something. Perhaps it'd be easier for you to get to the next level by being out of the comfort zone and doing crazy stuff on a wild world like this one. By the way, what kind of artist do you aspire to be?"

Shion was just about to say the recommendation was actually the Bayushi's, so the drink should go to her... but they had actually engaged in conversation already, and the Scorpion has already found her way to another drink, so she just let it be for now as she took a sip of her drink when it arrived.

Oi... she wasn't kidding. How can matcha be this sweet?, she thinks... but well, it's matcha, and she likes matcha, so she takes another sip as she hears them.



She's a little late for the joke, but chuckled along with the Moto's comment. "I suppose we could try something", she says, and she actually seems interested when he mentions the horsehead fiddle.

"Oh... so, that typical Unicorn fiddle then? Never had a chance to play that! It sounds... different, from the recordings I remember"

When the Moto mentions his work, she nods in understanding. She knew life wasn't easy for most starting musicians - she knew she had/i] been lucky to get the job she did. Then he said it - [i]It's metal.

Oh, so he was that type of musician, she thought, almost grinning a bit. Still, horsehead fiddle! Maybe she could get him to play something interesting with her...



She looked at the Bayushi again to answer her, and suddenly noticed - wasn't that the girl she had danced with this afternoon? Well... so much for noise, dimmed lights and alcohol.

"Oh, I'm a musician too. Always been my main interest, and we do get to learn much about traditional Rokugani music in our learning. Ah... not that I only like traditional music, of course. But... I got hired by the Miya Network", she says, actually looking happy for a moment. "As a musician and producer. It's interesting work."



As the Moto directs the question to the Bayushi, she looks to her as well, interested in her answer as well.



As she waits for the Scorpion's answer, she notices the Spider somehow STILL hasn't got a drink, so she turns to him for a moment. "Oh... Spider-sama? What did you want to drink again? I think he must've misplaced your order", she says as she eyes the Bartender.

"Guess it's a fine life track, with a broadcaster. What kind of stuff are you doing for them? Also, I have a classic fiddle, but the power one is my superpower. It'd be cool to improvise something with someone, so just let me know when you'd like it to happen. If you want me to play on an engine, give me some time to get one though first."

He smirked, then downed his drink. Not to his taste, but he tried to stick to the rule of trying new things and not criticising them before trying. "Spoiler alert: it's not to get you impressed for any professional purpose, just the joy of it. Music must be giving the emotion first and foremost. The whole thing built around it or instead of it today, like idol groups and all the industry, it's frankly not for me."

All the talking at the bar was steadfastly ignored by Asahina Fusako. While socializing over drinks had its moments, she would have much rather done so over a nice dinner than on a stool at a club. No, she was here for one reason and one reason only; dancing.

Indeed, the music was already pumping once she arrived in her boldly designed dress, one that made it quite easy to dance, and showed off her fit, curvy form (though she only cared about the former function really). She immediately hit the dance floor, moving to the beat with flowing grace and rhythm.

"Oh, it's not bad at all. Being able to work with music is great", she says, with a wider smile than before. "I've done the soundtracks for quite a few shows now. Some sound design work too. Best part is being able to mix in different styles, some tradition and novelty to keep things interesting."

She seems genuinely happy for a change.

"I mean, of course I like to create my own stuff at times. And I'll be happy to jam. Tell me if you find that engine", she says, laughing a bit. "If things work out maybe.. will they have an open stage here any day, I wonder? Or we could talk to someone. But... "

Her face turns to a small smile again. "Oh... well, not like I have any influence there anyway. But you know... I agree with you. Music is emotion. Conveys emotion. Might even invoke an emotion, I suppose. But..." she shrugs. "Well, duty is duty, I suppose. Something needs a particular emotion, I can try and make it happen. It's a challenge, and it's fun at times", she says, smiling a bit, then finishing her drink and calling the bartender again as she looks to the dance floor. "Oh... Bartender-shi, could I try the Sweet Lies next, please?"

She looks at the Bayushi, the Moto and the Spider who still hasn't talked much - but should have got his drink by now - then at the dance floor, which now featured an enthusiastic Crane. "So... planning to feel the beats there too?"

He was about to answer the Sparrow's question when SHE walked in. She was simply stunning in her elegence. And really, what kind of Spider would he be if he didn't reach out for something desirable?

"Ah, sorry, Suzume-san, I appreciate the offer...but I think I'll try my luck on the floor without the aid of a drink, and it'd be rude to leave you here holding a drink for me while you learn more about your fellow miai participants. Perhaps later after I've built up a thirst." he offers with a small bow before heading out to quite possibly make an enormous fool of himself on the dance floor

It's just like hyper stars, you just have to move the top part of your body too... he girded himself for approaching the star of the club.

He clear wasn't as good as her, but he was putting his all into it. His moves were at least baseline acceptable, but he'd need a lot of training to synch with her.

"I've never seen what the grace of the Crane truly means until tonight." he said, hoping to draw her attention.