Welcome to Gaia! ::

The little princess blinked in surprise and quirked a curious brow as she turned to face the new voice, not expecting a confrontation as soon as she arrived. She stood and listened to the strange woman while giving her the once-over, a slow, bemused smile growing on her face with each new line. It was hard to get used to this strange look of pale frailty Crane women so loved to portray, but once she looked past it the girl wasn't so bad. Light makeup, decent bust, nice a**. Not the best she'd seen, but the marks of a chef were on her, and that alone was attractive.

She gave a casual laugh at the woman's comments and shrugged helplessly. "As a matter of fact, I did go for a little swim. Our intrepid Dragon companion was not content with traditional fishing, and elected to pursue enlightenment by testing the limits of the body and spirit, boldly diving in to battle a shark hand-to-hand!" Eh. If she was going to tell the story she may as well embellish it a little for Aritomo's sake. "He fought bravely, but in the end the shark proved victorious, leaving the Dragon to sink down into the newly-crimson depths. I had no choice but to dive in there and pull him back to the safety of the ship. I must say your waters here are dangerously cold. For a moment there I thought I might be sinking along with him while the chill sapped the strength from my limbs."

She gave a bit of flair in her gesture as her enrapturing voice practically sung the tale, ending once more with a helpless shrug. "But I am not one to let a job go half-finished. Good thing for me that we present our food, and not ourselves. Besides, I went through great effort to ensure my kimono was not mussed. T'will be but a faint aroma of salt by the time the hour is up, perfect to enhance that seafood flavor. But I'll be sure to brush my hair before we present, just for you~" she concluded with a smile and a charming wink.

If the Crane woman didn't have anything more to say on the matter, Kaichiyo would quickly find a station for herself and begin to prepare her madai, anticipating the sushi dish would only take an hour, but setting a very high TN 25 standard for the dish, now driven more than ever to succeed.

She was indeed startled by the slam, blinking up in confusion at the new confrontation, and quickly shifting to exasperation as she discovered its source. It took her a moment to gather the will to compose herself, but soon enough she had a friendly smile back on her face as she produced a large knife.

"Why would I be short on materials? Nobody else in this kitchen went fishing and you all have your ingredients." she questioned innocently, testing the knife's edge, before reaching into her bucket to retrieve the still fresh and flopping madai. Judging by the smugness in the bizarre woman's voice, perhaps Kyouya had been justified after all, and it was the Yoritomo himself that proved the honorable one here, against his companion's wishes. She would have to find a subtle way to thank him somehow. Or perhaps just to apologize for her rash suspicion. Meanwhile her singsong voice picked up as she decided to reverse things a bit on her tormentor. "You seem awfully tense over a fun little court competition. Whether I win or not I can look back upon my ancestors and tell them that jumped into certain danger and saved a man's life today. What can you tell yours?"

The symbolism was complete as she brought the knife down hard and cleanly chopped off the fish's head with the exact same slam Satoko had sounded out moments before.

@ Cooking:

Satoko's cheeks puffed out in frustration at the sight of the fish, and the display. "I've saved people from drowning before; you're not the only one who's spent the majority of her life on a ship." Pointing an accusing finger at Kaichiyo, she would continue. "Your clan is a sham, and I'm going to show everyone here that little fact, Himura Kaichiyo. I'm going to knock you off that pedestal of yours, just you watch!"

And she would storm off.

Though, not too long afterwards, Kaichiyo would be interrupted by a Scorpion man walking by. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with very short black hair, and a black cloth bandana over his eyes, blocking them from your view. He was walking by with some ingredients when he would stop by Kaichiyo, looking at the madai fish. "No fugu?" he would ask, his voice apparently naturally stern-sounding. "Awkward."

"Shosuro Kazu," he would add after a moment longer, before walking to what seemed to be the station he was at. It looks like he was preparing a pufferfish for his meal.

Kyouya would see dread and concern fill the young samurai's eyes as he then nodded and raced as fast as he possibly could to the dock. He was careful to avoid running where the Crane may chastise him for doing so. Kyouya could probably keep pace if she wanted.

Projects
Brewing Group:
Ikoma Ryobe (4 hours, TN 15), 2 successes 2 raises 3 hours

Cooking Group:
Himura Kaichiyo
Doji Sawao (2 hours, TN 15)
Yoritomo Satoko (1 hour, TN 15)
Shosuro Kazu (2 hours, TN 20)

Fishing Group:
Himura Kaichiyo (3 hours'ish TN 15) 2 successes 0 raises 3 hours, Project Completed
Tamori Aritomo - Failed
Yoritomo Kiyonobu - Failed

Gamemaking Group:
Doji Ryoichi (6 hours, TN 15), 6 successes 4 raises 6 hours, Project Completed

Gardening Group:
Shosuro Hyobe (3 hours, TN 10), 3 success 4 raises 3 hours, Project Completed

Instrument Making Group:
Agasha Mai (4 hours, TN 15), 3 successes 2 raises 4 hours, Project Completed

Mask Making Group:
Bayushi Kojiro & Bayushi Masuyo (6 hours, TN 15), 6 successes 6 raises 6 hours, Project Completed

Papermaking Group:
Himura Naohiko & Shosuro Kyouya (2 hours/5 sheets, TN 15) 2 successes 0 raises 2 hours, Project Completed

Pottery Group:
Togashi Yoshike (2 hours, TN 15), RAGEQUIT
Kitsune Ippei (2 hours, TN 15), unable to compete.

Smithing Group:
Himura Gendo (10 hours, TN 15), 6 successes 1 raises 6 hours
Hiruma Shigemasa (10 hours (showpiece), TN 20), 4 successes 0 raises 6 hours
Kakita Otsu (33 hours (showpiece), TN 25), 5 success 0 raises 6 hours
Yoritomo Katsue (10 hours (showpiece), TN 20), 2 success, 0 raises, 5 hours
Moto Guntomar (42 hours, showpiece), TN 30), 1 successes 0 raises 6 hours

Stonecarving Group:
Kaiu Taniko (17 hours, TN 20), 5 successes, 4-3 raises, 6+3 hours
Isawa Kasuga (6 hours, TN 15), 2 successes 0 raises 4 hours

Tailoring Group:
Ikoma Tadao (4 hours, TN 15), 3 successes 0 raises 4 hours, Project Complete

Toku Seiichi Group:
Toku Seiichi (Toku hours, TN Seiichi), 3 successes 0 raises 6 hours

Toy Making Group:
Morito Denbe (1 hour, TN 10), 1 success 3 raises 1 hour, Project Completed

Woodcarving Group:
Yogo Bakin (6 hours, TN 15) 4 successes 3-1 raises 4+1 hours

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HOUR 6

@ Cooking:

Kaichiyo, you are set to begin.

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@ Smithing:

Dedication at its finest! You stay the course, Gendo, and continue to progress on your creation.

You aren't the only one who is staying the course, as all the other craftsmen (and craftswomen) continue on. The Mantis, Crane, and Crab all progress, while the Unicorn once more gets stuck. The Crane seems especially focused on her task, despite not having her aid with her.

Though he does come back soon enough, with a large tray. Is it crafting supplies? NAY, IT IS DELICIOUS SUSTENANCE. It is an array of sushi rolls, tataki sashimi, and unadon rice, apparently compliments of the Crane competitor.

"Alright, everyone," the Kakita woman would say, wiping her brow with her sleeve. "Time for dinner. I sent Toshiro out for delivery. We're no good to our projects if we pass out due to malnutrition, and frankly, I'd rather see one of us win than some hokey minimal-effort project. Break time, let's eat." She would smile and look to her aid, and smile at him. "Good work, Toshiro."

Gendo, do you take a few minutes to eat something, or do you press on stoically! Setsuna, who I assume has been here the whole time, seems to get excited at the dulling of dins. It has been some time since he has been out...

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@ Naohiko:

You begin to run towards the dock! It'll... be a while before you get there. Hold tight.

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@ Kyouya:

To the kitchens! A short while after you depart for them, you will arrive, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. A seasoaked but mostly dried Kaichiyo, the Mantis woman who schemed against her before, some nobody Crane, and a fellow Shosuro. You know Kazu's speciality is finely cooked foods, and has often been requested by your Clan Champion to help prepare meals for guests of... moderate importance. He's still early on in his training, but he'll definitely give anyone here a run for their money.

To know more about the Mantis or Crane, you are, of course, entitled to Intelligence/Lore: Heraldry rolls (for each). If you care at all, that is.

Ah the wonders of cooking. Thankfully with this dish most of the work would be done at the very end of the hour. Once she was done flaying the fish and cutting it into pretty little sashimi bites it was time to preserve the meat in a delightful little mixture of rice miso, sweet sake, and seaweed. From there it was on to the rice, adding a little salt and sweet to the mix to a special twist, and waiting for that to cook up just right. From there there was plenty of time to have a servant go fetch a brush for her (because she certainly wasn't going to trust her food alone with that insane Mantis around), and brush her hair smooth if that was successful. The rest was garnish and soy sauce, before finally pulling it all together in the last 10 minutes. No team or appetizers needed. Just pure, raw, void-enhanced skill.


[Intelligence/Craft: Cooking w/1 void point for +1k1, 6k4 vs. TN 25 = 24]

@ Smithing:

The other smith-type people take a break to eat, but the Crane would frown when you pick up food and good to leave with it. "Are you sure you won't stay at eat with us, Kraken-san?" she would ask, seemingly a bit put-off.

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@ Naohiko:

Huff huff huff huff...

You soon make it dockside. There are ships docked here. What do you do, Naohiko? WHAT. DO. YOU. DO?

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@ Cooking:

It's perfect. It looks perfect, it smells perfect. You've really outdone yourself this time, Kaichiyo. Kioko is bound to be impressed by the quality meal you've pulled off here. You sweat a bit, not sure if it's from the heat of the stove, nervousness, or perhaps a cold creeping in from your little dive earlier.

"Well well, what have we here, what have we here?" Satoko said from over your shoulder. Having apparently just abandoned her own meal's preparation, she looked curiously at what you concocted. "Okay, I admit, that doesn't look half-bad! Mighty tasty indeed. Have you thought about using some of this, though?"

Holding up a small container of Ujina-family branded cumin spice, and moved to "present" it to Kaichiyo... WHEN SUDDENLY! The container seemed to fumble out of her hands, and the cap, which was apparently lose, came undone, spilling the cumin all over the sashimi.

"Oh my kami! Kaichiyo-san, I'm sooooo sorry!" Satoko emoted, holding her hands to her cheeks. "I didn't mean to, honest! It was an accident! I hope it's not ruined now..."

@The Docks

Naohiko would compose himself once he got near the docks and began searching for the ship that Kaichiyo would have used. If all else failed, he could look for a Crane guard and ask him or her what happened.