Nishida had arrived at the Shiro on time. He was dressed in his best suit and had the tea with him. He was already looking forward to pouring the tea later. He had brought his own tea set. An old iron pot with porcelain cups that had been bequeathed to him by his grandfather and had been in his family for generations. He waited calmly for Chiruah in the lobby of the Shiro. He was eager to learn all he could about the facility and the woman in question.

While Asako Chiruha had dodged photo ops yesterday, leaving her brother to bear the brunt of the meetings, she had to take her share eventually. At the conclusion of the morning meeting with her father, she was able to meet Yasuki Nishida at the lobby. She was dressed in a rather vibrant orange furisode kimono, decorated by an assortment of colours in the form of traditional flowers.

Upon entering the lobby, she raised her brows at Nishida's appearance here but more so at the tea set he was carrying. "Oh, wow...I mean, good afternoon, Yasuki-sama, welcome to Shiro Yaoke. I hope I haven't kept you waiting for too long." She chuckled in good humour and bowed politely to greet him.

Nishida gave Chiruah a polite bow and offered a smile. "Good afternoon, Asako-san. I knew about the reputation of the phoenix courts of beauty and tranquility, but the fact that I get the honor to witness it so early surprises me. Pardon my appearance, but there was little time between the ride on the Otori and our meeting here."

Chiruha giggled and dipped her head in a bow of thanks. "Thank you, Yasuki-sama. Although if you've taken part in the Otori event, I imagine that you've must have experienced that honour already first hand with the local rural countryside. I hope you've been entertained by the event, how did you do?"

She looked to the tea set thoughtfully. "Mmm...perhaps Yasuki-sama would like somewhere to settle down and have tea before I show you around the Shiro?" It didn't seem entirely fair for him to lug that thing if they were going to go around the Shiro.

"There are many different beautiful things to admire here on Asakaze" he said with a smile.

"I was very surprised, the Otori seem to be very noble and proud animals, they remind me very much of us samurai. The Otori I picked out, a golden male, even gave me a bow back, although I am not sure if it simply copied me. I was able to mount him well and after a while he finally gave up fighting me and accepted me as his rider. I named him Lucky" he told her, with a few hand gestures.

He then bent over slightly and held one hand in front of his mouth.

"To be honest, I called him that because I was lucky not to be thrown off him." he said secretively and chuckled a little.

When the tea was mentioned, his face really lit up. "With pleasure, Asako-san. The tea I brought with me is excellent. Perhaps you know it? It's Black Earth Tea! I just need a quiet place and a bit of hot water and we can enjoy it's rich flavour."

"Oh?" Chiruha murmured out and looked attentive as she listened to his story and experiences with the otori. She did chuckle at the choice of name and reasoning. "That's pretty fascinating to hear. I don't know if the gesture was coincidental but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't. Otori are very intelligent creatures. I don't have proof of this and it might be far-fetched but I do even suspect that they might have something of a society. Might take a few years to make that thesis, however."

"Anyway, I could ramble forever! Please follow me, I think one of the tea rooms here might be open." She gestured him to follow her to the elevator hall.

Carrying his tea set extremely carefully, Nishida followed Chiruah.

As Chiruha lead the way, it looked pretty clear that some parts of the Shiro was rather stark and built foremost for function than decor. There was some on-going construction that had some of the walls covered with a tarp while other walls show a faded orange metal-paneled wall. It seems the current effort is getting rid of the old and solidifying themselves as a permanent settlement.

Chiruha waved a hand at a sensor, which opened the elevator doors and she allowed the Yasuki to step in first. From there, it was a short ride to the second floor. They could have walked it but she wasn't going to let a guest do that. When the doors opened, they were taken to a hall with a traditional veneer like Rokugani interior of old.

"I'm surprised my father hadn't completed all of the work already in the last few days," she said with a faint smile.

Nishida followed Chiruah and watched the scenery closely. It was certainly a lot of work until the complete Shiro would emit an atmosphere that made you forget that you were on a foreign planet.

He was glad that they took the elevator, the less he had to carry the tea set around, the less he had to worry about accidentally dropping it, something he could never forgive himself for.
When they reached the lower level, Nishida was impressed again, the interior made him think he was actually on Rokugan. If the whole Shiro were to be dressed up like this, the governor would certainly create a very stately court.

"The Kaiu Wall required the life of Kuni Osaku-shiryo, 73 days of time and all the resources and workers available to the crab to be built. And even then it was not finished, I believe that as long as you keep working on it, one day it will be finished, the Shiro will also shine in the same splendor as this hall, I am sure of it. "

"I don't think I would ever compare the great Kaiu Wall to what we're doing here. Everything around here is already functional and sturdy...I suppose everything new you might see here is very much an upgrade beyond that, especially when it comes to aesthetics to entertaining guests. While a miai of this scale is a first for Shiro Yaoke, I could already imagine that my father thinks and wishes they will be a constant in the Shiro. Not exactly a miai, but samurai all over will flock to our corner of the galaxy," she gave a small shrug of her shoulders, wondering if her father had greater aspirations than what a truly possible.

She would lead them to a section of the Shiro were several board rooms and meetings were found. "This one might be best..." she said before waving her card on the reader to open one of the tea rooms to reveal a rather traditional-looking interior. The ground was laid with tatami mats and the walls were made of washi lattice screens to great a facade of a tea room of old. There was even a large screen informator that showed a garden pond, where the 'window' would have been in the room.

He nodded "Everyone has dreams and goals, it honors your father to share the beauty of Asakaze with the Empire and to provide comfort to visitors. This miai can be the foundation stone for a bright future"

When they entered the room, he placed the tea set in the middle of the room and took a look around. "Indeed, this is the best." he said smiling. He got some Water from a faucet and began preparing the Tea. Although he was the guest, he invited Chiruah to sit down.

He took the tea from his vest and carefully opened the package. When the package was opened, the earthy aroma was already pouring out of it. Satisfied, Nishida inhaled the aroma.

"This tea, Asako-san, was cultivated by the Hida in ancient times. Generation after generation, these tea plants have been passed down almost unchanged. This type of tea is often difficult to find outside the crab clan, as it is hardly traded. As I mentioned before, my bloodline has a small tea field where this tea is grown. You will hardly find this quality of tea anywhere else. I hope you enjoy it."

He then began the ancient ritual of the tea ceremony. Nishida did his best to impress Chiruah. Many people claim that crabs are uncultivated and coarse, and in most cases this was true, but Nishida loved tea, really, and that was obvious.

His movements were precise and loving. Carfully he took the ancient kettle and started to heat the Water until it was hot, but not cooking. He then added the Tea leaves to the cups and stirred the tea in a tranquil motion. Not a drop was spilt and not a tea leaf was wasted. Earth, fire, water, air and void. It was a perfect ceremony.
After the tea was ready he handed the first cup to Chiruah and when he had his cup, he took a small sip.

"Ahhh,... wonderful" he said happily when the earthy and slightly iron taste spread in his mouth.

---
[D2:EA] Tea Ceremony/Void +VP for 1k1; 1CR to impress Chiruah; +5 to TN for 2. Person TN25: 6d10o10k4 43

Chiruah and Nishida gain +1VP!

Also using the expensive Tea that's in my Inventory

Chiruha happily settled down at the table and watched Nishida prepare the tea. Thankfully, there were all the facilities for making tea in addition to the room's very traditional facade.

Her eyes lit up at the story behind the tea. "Generations after generations? The tea must find its origins in Rokugan, even. There must be some really strong traditions ensuring the plant retains its form...especially if it is some ancient times, I would imagine that such times were extremely shaky for the Crab from time to time."

Chiruha was a stranger to traditional tea ceremony but she did her best to participate as best she could. Thankfully, she wasn't the one who as playing host here, so her part of it was simple enough. She took a sip of the brew and sat there contemplating it for a moment before she finally nodded in approval. "Mmh, very unusual...very different than what little we have around here. It's a very distinct flavour...very pervasive, perhaps?"

Nishida nodded with a smile "This is a good way to describe him".

He put the cup into his lap.

"It has it's root on old Rokugan. The crabs at that time also used the tea as a natural help against anaemia. I don't think I need to explain why they valued it that much at that time, but the tea plant shares some of the properties my clan is known for. Tough, stubborn and somewhat rough around the edges, unyielding and simple. But if one is willing to accept it, nurtures it and looks beyond the rough skin, one will find a true treasure." he said with a smile.

Chiruha nodded in appreciation and smiled. "I don't think you need to work on convincing me when it comes to the value of the Crab and their aid here. They had a key part in the colony's founding when they vouched for the Phoenix's governance of this world, which we are thankful for. Then again, maybe this tea can also be representative of this world too."

"Oh, forgive me, i was just rambling. It was no my intend to imply anything of that. Sometimes i get a bit carried away when talking about tea" he said taking another sip from his tea.

"Have you ever left Asakaze, Asako-san? Someone with an curious soul as you might find a lot to learn in the stars" he asked.

Chiruha brushed some hair from her forehead at the question and smiled. "I have, actually. Just last year, I had the pleasure of attending a Winter Court in Phoenix space at the Castle of Golden Fire. I think my father pulled some strings...and I didn't exactly make a huge splash but it was a very good learning experience, especially spending a majority of it in space. It was a bit...offsetting at first but I think I managed to adjust rather quickly."

Nishida rememberd the not so nice name the Kaiu had for the Castle of Golden Fire. Thankfully he wasn't a Kaiu, but he smiled when he rememberd a sanade session he once overheard two Engineers had over the 'Golden Turd'.

"I have already traveled a lot through the great emptiness and I still find it unsettling. I prefer the solid ground of a planet to a stopover on a station. Not that I have much choice, my duty usually takes me from planet to planet and station to station. But tell me more about the Winter Court, how was it for you? Did you see the Emperor?"

"Oh, I much prefer to be on planet side if I had a choice. Much of my studies are of fauna and any opportunity I get to learn of fantastic creatures is very much appreciated. Even if they aren't from Asakaze, I always like to connect the similarities and differences of creatures that may share a cousin or ancestor, even if they have no way real way of being linked planets away. Then again, they could always share a realm." She said thoughtfully on the matter.

"It was a Winter Court, rather than the Winter Court. I think some of the Elemental Masters were there, as well as some daimyo from the Dragon Clan and Minor Clan Alliance. It was overwhelming to say the least," she chuckled. "I may be the daughter of a governor...but still a simple courtier from a developing colony. They kept me mostly at small meetings as a scribe and assistant. Mostly administrative matters. I did get to pester the local techs and engineers on the station but they already had a million things going for them.""

"This is an interesting thought, Asako-san. When all the animals go back to Chikushudo, have they all had contact with humans? And if not, will each planet have its own little subdomain within the spirit realm?"

Another content sip from the tea.

"Ahh, of course. Nevertheless, a Winter Court is a good opportunity to make so many new contacts and influence the politics of the clan. Not that I can talk much about it, my duty has taken me from court to court, but unfortunately not yet to a Winter Court. You have actually seen a dragon samurai? I'm surprised, the clan has made itself scarce in the last few years."

Chiruha chuckled at the question. "That might be a conversation best reserved with someone of that field. I have inkling of the potential connection and it would be amusing if that was the case. Then again, zoology and engineering already keeps me very preoccupied. Juggling both already is very difficult."

She took a sip of her tea. "They do exist, even in few numbers. At least, I know for sure they do. It is actually strange that there aren't any in attendance...perhaps their enigmatic pursuits have kept them truly preoccupied this season."