Tea house Oni.

The clatter of teacups on tables, the sound of boiling water, the cacophony of chit chat and the occasional patron entering or exiting. Amid this ambience, the mixture of patrons and the rushing wait staff sat a single woman. Her white hair, looking grey and discoloured in the light of the tea house, cascaded down her shoulders. Despite the rough nature of her garb, consisting of a simple shirt, skinny trousers and running shoes, she was surprisingly the pinnacle of elegance. Back straight, expression gentle and posture perfect.

A cup was raised to the woman’s lips, the soft flesh parting to allow the liquid to flow over her tongue. Her soft smile remained, eyes closing to enjoy the slightly sweet almost vegetable taste. It was fortunate that her favourite teashop, although admittedly she had not visited every single one within the village’s perimeter, was so close to home. It made for a perfect place to stop and rest after chores or missions, as she had done today but...today the teashop seemed surprisingly busy.

Yamamoto did wonder how her sword was doing. A small part of her, in contrary to the outwardly calm persona she so often wore, was understandably worried about the weapon. It had, in the years since her parent’s tragic departure from the mortal coil, grown to mean as much to her as one’s family did to anyone else. It was no wonder then that she felt so…internally irked by not feeling its weight on her body. There was a reason why she slept with it after all.

Andariel returned back to Kumogakure after a futile journey to Moonspire which had been razed shortly after she arrived. The Oni was not only out of an option to upgrade her gear once again, but due to unfortunate budget cuts she was also out of a hefty bonus. The depressed Oni sought comfort after the series of depressing news, though found trouble creating it on her own. The will to put in the effort to make a comforting atmosphere was simply not there. She needed help, and to do that she sought comfort through establishment. Andariel rarely ate out, or even showed herself outside of her home. Despite the Yokai having a known presence in Kumogakure she could never shake her old anxiety of being pursued and targeted by her appearance. The paranoia was to the point where she didn't even want to risk using the Transformation technique. If her illusion was broken or seen through by someone else it would certainly raise suspicion.

But she knew today she needed to toughen up and step outside of her comfort zone. It was the only way she would be able to help herself. Andariel was at least decently popular in Kumogakure. The higher ups knew her, and perhaps the Jounin and a few Chuunin. It was hard to identify her as a ninja due to her unique fighting style, so many often saw her as someone unique by culture and experience. She was known to pack foreign foods and cook them herself, as the foods Andariel was used to are not commonly sold in this part of the world. Andariel had the comfort of potentially being respected by whatever stranger she had to interact with, but all in all she hoped to settle her nerves and complete her task without causing too much of a disruption.

Andariel wore a long dress in accompaniment of some black sandals, keeping a comfortable yet casual outfit. Her long jet black hair cascaded down her back taking no particular fashion. Her natural hair color fit well with her fairly pale skin tone and golden amber eyes. Despite her modest appearance she stashed a dagger within the waistline of her dress to not be completely defenseless. It was something she learned by living alone to never be left without a weapon, even if it's something as simple as a knife. People often underestimated her raw physical strength, which was common among kunoichi. In order to avoid a confrontation in general she found it effective to have a blade of some sort; people feel they can take a punch, but a stab sounds a lot less appealing.

Elbows at her sides she fumbled with her fingers held close to her body expressing an overall introverted body language as she shuffled to the front counter of the tea shop. Andariel cleared her throat briefly before speaking softly. "Excuse me...sorry to bother you." Andariel said directly to the cashier who was ready to take her order. "May I please have a cup of your lemon black tea...and that's it." After glancing over the menu she found nothing else appealing, so hot tea would do just fine. The clerk accepted her payment and invited her to find a seat while they prepared her tea, which would take up to five minutes. Upon entering the tea shop she knew seating was very low and the building at near maximum capacity. She would try again as she stepped out of line and scanned the room. Still, there we no open tables. There were empty seats, though the tables they were assigned to were occupied. She surfed the crowd to find something to work with. Among the couples, group of friends, and families dining in, she did spot a single diner sitting at a table.

She was young, and due to her dress and armament she was likely active duty. Andariel saw this as her only chance to find a seat, lest she wanted to ask one of the families if a 6'3 (193 cm) Oni could sit amongst them and enjoy her tea in silence, though that would be a disaster. Returning her hands together she approached the lone diner from the side standing a bit in silence waiting for the right time to speak out. But when awkwardness overcame her she spoke. "Sorry to bother you, but may I share this table?"

Yamamoto’s left eye perked up; a single eyebrow raised in curiosity at this new guest. Tall, black hair, amber eyes, developed form. All of that was fairly ordinary and of little surprise but this guest’s horns? Now that, that was a new thing. The swordsman gaze wandered downwards, focusing on the elbows and fingers of this new arrival. She seemed nervous if nothing else and immediately one could not help but wonder why. It did not occur to the Genin that the reason may have been the lady’s appearance.

Then she walked over, but only stood silently to the side of Yamamoto’s table. What was she here for? What was she waiting for? Between sips of her tea the swordswoman cast a curious gaze towards the horned figure, waiting silently to see what it was they wanted. She was definitely nervous. Her body language betrayed that. The nervous fumbling of her fingers, the awkward lump in her throat and most tellingly of all? The silence. Luckily enough, she overcame her issues and spoke up.

“Mmm? Feel free to.” Now that she had a closer look at this new arrival, it was clear she was taller than first expected, especially when compared against the 5’9 Yamamoto.

“I do not think I have ever seen you here before Shi.” She refilled her teacup, the warm water pouring out of the tea pot’s spigot in a single uninterrupted stream. It was a sign of good quality pottery, despite the simplistic ukiyo-e style ocean patterns that decorated them.

A massive burden came off of her shoulders when the young girl accepted. That was the first challenge, but now Andariel needed to get comfortable. Pulling out the empty seat from across the white haired lady she sat down, fixing her dress a bit before scooting in. The woman started a bit of small talk, commenting that she had never seen her before. Andariel was unsure if she wanted to be relieved or anxious. Without her reputation she was just a stranger and a demoness at that. But if this lady did know about Andariel she may have some predisposed opinions about her. At the very least she scored a seat, so perhaps this stranger didn't think too harshly of her appearance.

A tea house staff member arrived to their table and set a small tray before the Oni. Her setup was similar to her table partner's. Grabbing the teapot she poured the black tea into a porcelain white cup. "Shi?" Andariel said coyly with a tilt of her head. Although she was comfortable when speaking Japanese she was quite not accustomed to any slang terms. But before the girl could answer she quickly added onto her question. "Oh, I don't go outside often. I try not to leave the house~" She said, nervously pulling a lock of raven hair behind her ear. Taking her cup she rose it to her lips taking a steady sip of the hot goodness that filled her cup.

“Oh? Are you not familiar with the intricacies of our language’s means of address? Hmm...well. Allow me to share some knowledge. Shi is simply a respectful honourific used to address one whose identity you do not know.” And Yamamoto most definitely did not know the identity of this horned female sitting before her, but she was rather pretty. She took another sip from her teacup, drinking a hearty mouthful before ceasing, the cup returning to its place on the table. 
 
“Oh? You do not? Well, that is reasonable. They do say one’s home is their castle.” Yamamoto did have to admit she was curious why that was but as her mind ran through the possibilities, she decided it was simply down to personal preference more than any greater reason. The Kunoichi reached out towards a nearby pot of sugar, dropping a single cube within the cup of black tea before her. Some may have called sugar in black tea sinful or heretical to tea, but Yamamoto had a rather potent sweet tooth.
 
The matter of small talk was one the swordsman was unsure of how to go about addressing. In truth, she had little reason to make conversation with this stranger, but it was a fated chance that had brought them together at the same table today. While she was unsure whether gods really existed or not, it was hard to deny the logic in making the most of chance encounters. 
 
“Ah, I suppose introductions would be a reasonable thing to do? I am Yamamoto. It is a pleasure to meet you?” Her voice trailed off, the question of identity left hanging in the air as a dew drop hung from a leaf.

Shi...

The term made sense to her. It was almost like ma'am or sir. Andariel felt a bit more comfortable with the stranger. She seemed like the kind of person who could talk and talk and enjoy hearing their own voice as much their audience. Andariel was comfortable knowing she found someone, perhaps the only person in the establishment, who she could nod to and sip tea while they droned on about Japanese and formalities. The Oni dreaded the thought of sitting with a family and dealing with useless small talk. Andariel's eyes follow the girl reaching out for the tongs, picking a cube of sugar and artificially sweetening her brew. The thought of sweetening tea was not completely foreign to Andariel, though that was usually with the addition of milk to create an entirely new beverage.

Her eyes rose back up to the girl's, a sudden spurt of silence being broken by the mandatory introductions. "Oh, I am Andariel. Andariel Bloodworth." Her name was not from the Japanese tongue, yet the pronunciation flowed smoothly off the Oni's longue. "I am not a native here, if it wasn't obvious already." She added in towards the end to justify her bizarre name. As she settled down in her chair she rose the teacup to her lips once more taking advantage of the silence to refresh.

“I see… I have never once had the opportunity to meet a foreigner before. How are you finding our land Bloodworth-san?” Today was a rare opportunity indeed, perhaps one brought about by Bishamonten himself? Regardless of the means this chance encounter was brought about, Yamamoto was not one to let it pass up. A foreigner was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the outside world or at least, the world outside of Kumogakure.

The swordsman went silent and returned to drinking her tea, giving her ample opportunity to answer the question posed, if she so desired to anyway. Understandably, not everyone was as comfortable and bold with the art of conversation, so it was often good form to allow one time. She gently sipped her tea, eyes turning away from the foreigner before her to focus upon the view out of a nearby window.

As strange as it may have sounded, there was a simple pleasure to be taken from watching people walk by. What were their lives like? What was waiting for them as the day rolled by? Did they have family waiting for them? A lot of questions and few answers buuuuuuuuut that was the fun of it. Wondering just what exactly those answers were was the whole point of it. Her gaze took on a curious look, filled with whimsical interest.

Andariel was asked a question she never expected to hear, though the general lack of interaction she had, she didn't have much of a bar set. The question took a moment of thought, though she wouldn't dwell on it long. "It's...better." She said unsurely following a pause. "I am not so accustomed to the culture, but the people in general seem very open-minded." She hardly remembered her past before moving to Kishin given how long ago it was. Tidbits of her memory could be recalled, though none of them pleasant. "The military here seems to be more of the common man's career. Where I come from, most villages had a militia made up of their civilians. Only the capitals had any military presence, and they were often regarded as royalty and rarely interacted with the civilians or seen outside of their residency, which were usually a castle or manor."

She vaguely recalled her first interaction with the scouts of Kumogakure. Her brief moment in her life sleeping rough in the woods in the lowlands of the Land of Lightning eventually came to an end after being met with a scout group. She was taken in, given a brief interview, and eventually given a place to stay in a boarding house. After settling in she sought a career in military. Given her size and unnatural properties she would excel on the battlefield which has been proven before in the Chuunin exams.

"Though...I can't say I'm a fan of the food yet..." She said shyly at an attempt of humor while being honest. The lack of dairy, rice over bread, the exotic plants and seasonings were not only foreign, but they didn't quite agree with her stomach. "It's why I generally prepare food for myself at home." The thought of her home caused her to relax. It was the reality that she was only several blocks away from her net of safety which made everything seem like less of a hassle and the world was no longer closing in on her.

“Hmm…” The swordsman merely hmm’d to herself, pondering the girl before her, as well as what she had said on the subject of her homeland. Open minded...hmmm… The people of this village, and the culture they displayed, were all Yamamoto had ever known. She had no point of comparison to draw on, having never left this village in her entire life.The world outside of it was an unknown and alien place to the swordsman however, there was one thing she felt confident to comment on: the foolishness of Andrial’s homeland on military matters.

“Oh? That sounds rather impractical...Were they, and the militias, under the command of the central administration?” The very idea of a nation’s armed forces, regardless if they were intended for defence or offence, was an utterly alien concept to her. She could simply not imagine a world were the forces the nation relied on to protect themselves were independent mobs, roaming around or only being employed to defend their home territory.

“Is your land’s food different?” She quirked her head sideways ever so slightly, an expression of curiosity dancing over her features. It made her wonder just how different the food of Bloodworth-Shi’s homeland was like. In fact, Yamamoto had to admit to herself she was now rather curious just what the food of this foreigner’s home land was like. How did it look? How did it taste? What scents did it produce? The swordsman may have had little preference but curiosity compelled her to at least try it out.

“Do you have any recipes Bloodworth-Shi?”

The Oni's mind raced to find answers, struggling to remember much of her homeland. Given how long ago and how young she was Andariel had no real inside knowledge of how the military worked, merely making inferences of what she could remember. She recalled her father being required to practice with his weaponry by law of the kingdom. Comparing her present military knowledge there was no commander or captain leading the militia. They all seemed to operate with a single goal in mind. "Administration? Oh no, that level of organization was far from the civilians. Everything was declared by the lords of the land, and the militias were thereby guided by the servicemen into battle. We called them 'knights' where we come from." There was no doubt Andariel fashioned her fighting style and strategy off of the knights. Ninja were too light and agile, and their fighting methods were not appreciated by the Oni. Tall, muscular, and unskilled in many of the ninja arts, Andariel was best suited to wear heavy armors and practice in instruments of war.

The curious expression left on Andariel's face after the woman's last question as she continued to make inferences about her homeland suddenly lit up as she inquired about the food of her home. Perhaps the one thing Andariel was an expert on was her cooking. Clapping her hands together for effect she grinned. "Yes, I know many recipes! Aside from brewing a variety of wines and beers I can make many dishes from steak au poivre to Lapin a La Cocotte just to name a couple." Andariel said while the language she spoke casually switched to her native French tongue and back to Japanese. "Although I have many recipes, I always need more. It is what I do for most of my free time. What about you? I noticed it is very common buy prepared food here. Are other towns like that in this part of the world?"

“I must admit Bloodworth-shi, and I do apologise in advance for any potential offence, I feel that organisation is highly ineffective.” Frontline soldiers who were far from the chain of command? Seemingly with little knowledge of how to lead men? Did the militia Andrial mentioned receive education on the nature of battle and the tactics involved? It all seemed very...poorly organised. Simply plucking the knights out of the entire structure, through the assassination methodologies that ninja were trained in, Yamamoto theorised that the entire command structure would simply collapse.

“Hmm...I am curious. A part of me wishes to test myself against one of these ‘knights’?...”” Despite the earlier mentioning of the name, Yamamoto was still unsure of how to pronounce the name correctly and so her voice had trailed off after an awkward attempt at it. She was curious what one of these ‘knights’ looked like. What weapons did they use? What armour, if any, did they wear? What tactics did they employ? And the most important question of all: could Yamamoto surpass them?

The conversation swiftly turned away from that of battle and combat, accelerating to a far more pleasant and appropriate topic for the fairer sex to discuss: food. This was the only time throughout the entire conversation that, at least as far as Yamamoto was able to recognise, Andrial had seemed happy, excited and relaxed. It was a strange thing to observe but it did still bring a soft and genuine smile to the swordsman’s face.

The french may have gone over Yamamoto’s head but she at least understood they were food but wines? Beers? What were they? But then the questioning was turned back onto Yamamoto for she had been asked of her stance upon cooking.

“Hmm...I do not buy pre-prepared food often. I mostly spend my days either doing chores, cooking included, my shinobi duties or practicing with my sword.” Her tone was devoid of emotion yet it was not cold or dismissive. It was simply a hollow thing that one could have easily blown away by just talking loudly.

“Ah...would you be willing to cook these recipes for me? I have no attachment to the art but I must admit I am curious about them.” Her yellow eyes seemingly gained a brief spurt of liveliness that they had been missing for the entirety of the conversation but alas, it had passed as swiftly as it came. Yamamoto picked her tea up from the table and held in a careful manner, softly drinking from it.