Brent
Asako Kita made her way up the marble steps and through the double doors of City Hall. She had made sure to wear her more formal kimono, and had taken great care to tie back her long hair in its customary ponytail. Already though the wayward strands were escaping from the more-decorative-than-functional comb. She held a small stack of papers, neatly printed notes and inquiries to aid her interview with the Second Secretary.

Kita took a moment once inside to get her bearings and appreciate the hum of business being conducted. She announced her arrival to an attendant for her appointment with the Second Secretary of the Ministries of Licenses and Taxation, Oromo Aoi, and was shown further inside.

||
Michelina
City Hall was a busy place, and all the more busy with the Otomo family in charge. Therefore, Asako Kita would have to wait to see the Second Secretary, even with Samurai status, outside of her office. Every handful of minutes, someone ahead of her would enter the office while another left, some furious, most depressed, and a rare few looking either smug or satisfied. But _very, very few._ One courtier wearing Mantis colors went as far as to let out a sigh of relief before hurrying off with scrolls and parchment. 

But eventually, it would be Asako-san's turn. A young servant man would escort her into the office space, a room that was cramped with scrolls, papers, and more than one abacus. All the same, everything was put in its place, carefully organized, and while it may have looked overwhelming to some, to the Second Secretary, it was all as it should be.

"You must be Asako Kita-san." 

Aoi was thin and of fair complexion, wearing a bit too much rouge and _far_ to much eyeliner, making her shrewd, judging eyes look all the more sinister. Her smile never reached her gaze, and her hair pulled up into a tidy and elegant arrangement only aided in making her live up to her venomous demeanor. 

"Well met," She said, standing to give as minimal a bow as she would need to. "Otomo Aoi, Second Secretary, as you know. Sit, sit; I am a busy woman, and the Empire has no time to stand about." 

Once seated, Aoi would ask the first of many questions: "How may I assist the Phoenix Clan today?" 

||
Brent
Asako Kita gave a quick bow in return and sat as she was bid. She gave the severe woman a friendly smile. 
*More flies with honey...* She thought to herself.
*Yes, Otomo-sama. Thank you for making the time to see me so promptly. I understand your time is valuable so I will try to not take too much of it.
We wish to open a dueling organization, administered by the Phoenix embassy. Prior to opening this endeavor, I would need to know what the applicable laws and regulations are so we could adjust any plans accordingly."

Kita resisted the urge to stop and allow Otomo Aoi to respond, but under the woman's glare, she pressed forward with an overview of the proposal.
"In whole, regular contests would be set up for duelists to complete for the title of Steel Talons. We would propose to invite the most recent finalists of the Crane Iaijutsu contest as our initial champions, with their blessing, and open up later challenges to others to gain the title.
Please let me know what additional details you would need, and I will certainly provide them as I can. Any insight you have would be appreciated."

||
Michelina
Aoi took the information as it was given, listening to Kita as she petitioned the idea. "A dueling organization, eh? Interesting." It was hard to say if that was actually how she felt, or if she was merely placating, but it was obvious by her mannerisms as she started to pull scrolls and papers to in front of her, she was already calculating what this would take. 

"Mhm, yes, that would make sense," And other small nothings left the woman as Kita explained further, but by the point the Phoenix got to 'Please let me know,' The Otomo interrupted. 

"Yes, that's lovely. Now, first and foremost, a stipend would need to be paid for the registration, documentation, and authorization of a Clan-backed, Clan-moderated organization. That would run in the avenue of...5 koku. Depending on the size of the orginization and its members, there will need to be a registry of these so-called duelists. The Phoenix Clan would be responsible for this. Furthermore, the 'Steel Talons,' as you call it, will be obligated to identify themselves as such before engaging in any sort of duel among non-members, as it would be dishonorable to hustle the unwary with your cadre of skilled swordsmen. 

"Furthermore, you will need to have some means of identifying members, _however_ it can __not__ be any sort of insignia, mon, or other symbol that could be confused with a Samurai family, a station of a Great Clan or the Imperial Magistrate, or any other acknowledged organization or order- _HANZO!"_ 

She suddenly shouted, and just as soon as the second syllable left her shrill voice, a nervous little servant man arrived at the door. "Fetch me the Crane Dojo's registry for that tournament they held during the Spring Festival. Now." The man hurried off, leaving the two women alone once more. 

"So. A few more questions: Where do you intend to host these dueiists? Will the Phoenix host them on their embassy grounds, or will you require a separate establishment? On another note, if I may dare, and I _do,_ why are the Phoenix so interested in Dueling all of the sudden?"
Brent
Kita trailed off as Aoi broke in, sitting patiently through the litany of inquiries. At each item she stretched out another finger in her lap.
At the outburst directed towards the servant, she fought back a smile, remembering similar moments in dealing with a senior member of the library's curator team. 
She straightened herself in her chair and tried to answer the Second Secretary in a straightforward manner.

"Registry and documentation, that should be no problem. Of course I would request for approval of any payment to be negotiated through the embassy. Would this be a one time payment for the initial authorization of the organization?
As far as registry of duelists involved, would it just be the 5 titled champions, or anyone who completes that should be listed?
We can make a requirement of participation to subsequently identify themselves."

She had curled up a finger as each item was addressed, pausing a moment then to think at the last couple.
"... Ah yes... Identification. I understand the winners of the various tournaments are awarded a medal of sorts? Would proving a similar award to the 5 champions to be displayed be appropriate identification for this?
We had not gotten so far as a location as yet, would there be a distinction in regulations if we were to house it locally versus separately?"

Kita hesitated at the final point of inquiry, fixing the other woman with a polite smile again before answering carefully,
"Promoting positive interaction between the clans is an asset is it not? I believe perhaps this would encourage dueling as a more customary method of conflict resolution; and it may help prevent other infractions. But as you say-Dueling is not a standard interest of the Phoenix. But we wish to continue to better ourselves; provide those duelist among our clan an additional opportunity to challenge themselves."

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Michelina
"It would be a one-time payment for _registration,"_ Aoi would confirm, "And of course, if you charge dues to your members, the Empire will expect it's fair share of taxes. I know, speaking of money is so _heimin,_ but it is a fact of life. 

"Registration will need to be for all members. If some bravo comes around calling themselves a Silver Eagle or whatever you said, the Thunder guard would need some means of confirmation to make sure the correct parties are put to task."

Aoi could say that this Kita girl asked the right questions, and better yet, she _listened._ A good trait to have. "A medal, a sash or armband, anything if that notion should suffice. As for a location, of _course_ there would be a difference. A building would need to be found, or constructed, but that would be more of the Ministry of Land and Property than registration. 

As Kita spoke of the positives of the dueling organization, Hanzo arrived with the documentation. He didn't look very enthused or optimistic, as if he knew something would bother his master. 

And surely, when she unfurled the tournament registration and the tournament brackets, Aoi's condescending smile turned to a frown. 

"Oh. Well, this is a _problem."_ She showed the brackets to Kita. Out of 32 contenders, the mast majority were of the Crane Clan. But the problem was, none of them made it to the semifinals. Instead, there was Bayushi no Rokugo Yuto, Bayushi Kaori... And two _ronin,_ Atsuko and Chiyōko. 

"That will not do." Aoi shook her head, clearly upset. "Asako-san, you _do_ realize two dishonorable thugs cemented high positions in this tournament, yes? I hope you're about to say that these wandering dogs aren't actually going to be considered members, let alone champions of this organization, right?" She scoffed, incredulously so. "You can see how that would be utterly embarrassing, to let two clanless peasants with swords represent anything more than a fireman gang, yes?" 

||
Brent
Initially, Kita's eyebrows raised as Aoi's concerns were voiced, but her expression quickly followed suit to a frown. 
"No Crane... Two Scorpion, and two ronin? This is... Unexpected."

Kita fell silent, her thoughts churning, *Surely Asako Sanumo-sama knew this was the case when he came up with this idea for starting out. This better explained his suggestion regarding the Crane putting forward the fifth... Was he ok with these ronin being named their 'champions'? Does Ambassador lemon know? Surely... I didn't know any of these ones, but the one ronin I have met was brash and dishonorable.* She recalled the memory with distaste. 

 She leaned forward, trying to look over the documents laying in the desk between them, searching for answers. 
"The Crane allow them to compete in the tournament? Were they sponsored by someone?"

||
Michelina
"It's not just unexpected, it's _embarrassing."_ Aoi was none too pleased in the results, that much was clear. "To think that two vagrants off the street would have bested the Crane of all people is beyond me, And worse, this Chiyoko character _won_ the damned thing over Bayushi Kaori!" Otomo Aoi was certainly letting her disdain for ronin show, and was not so good at not making that abundantly clear. Something would have to be done about this. 

Kita's question brought up a good point, and snapped Aoi out of her classist rant. "Hm, that is a fair point. Why would they allow this?" She flipped through pages, to find a registration, and sure enough, she found out why the two were allowed to partake. "So, it would seem that both of the ronin were sponsored." She allowed Kita to see the registration for Atsuko and Chiyoko. It had their place of birth, their personal chops (if you could call a ronin's signature a 'chop'), the amount of money they put up to compete, and who they were sponsored by. For Atsuko, she was sponsored by Shinjo Inadoma, Magistrate of the Unicorn Clan. Chiyoko was sponsored by none other than Moshi Mai, Mantis Clan Ambassador. Their appropriate chops were documented and confirmed for authenticity. 

"Would seem the gaijin decided sponsor them," Aoi scoffed. "You know what they say, 'let in a mutt, you let in fleas, too." She wrinkled her nose at the thought, and shook her head. "Now, as I said, Asako Kita-san, there is no way under the current imperial holding that we can allow your duelist organization to be propped up on the backs of two ronin. It would take some serious convincing to make it so, and I mean serious, _considerable_ convincing. Your better bet... Well, it would be easier to just... Get rid of the ronin, than to get them into your little club." 

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Brent
*Kita shook her head slowly,*
"Crane tournament, ronin sponsored by the Unicorn and Mantis-their ambassador no less."

*She sat back in the chair musing, rubbing a stain on her fingers as she did so.*
"While I don't disagree with your sentiment, you can appreciate the position that puts us in. Even if we hold a separate competition from the start, these same ronin are likely to come out on top. And if we were to bar them from entering, then it is a slap in the face to those who allowed and sponsored them before since they've previously been allowed to entry.

"To be forthright with you, for this to have the positive interactions between the clans as I had shared with you as our reasoning, barring certain individuals that are closely tied to *Any* Of the clans may have negative consequences. 
Besides which, since dueling is tied so closely to one's honor, having such unsavory types as the ones to beat may encourage those challengers to push themselves even further. The most embarrassing part seems to be that two ronin have bested the entirety of Ryoko Owari Toshi's best offerings. If that is not a reason to develop the skills of the duelists of all clans, then I don't know what is. This would see to ousting them in a more long term, and less problematic, manner."

*Kita kept her face carefully passive while making her argument, hoping to make her point while not riling up the Otomo secretary any more.*

||Courtier 3, (also weakness Know it all 😉)
Michelina
Otomo Aoi pursed her thin lips as Asako Kita tried to explain not just dueling, but honor as a whole to her and its place in the city and the empire, It was _not_ taken well, but being a professional, she didn't snap at the girl, at least not yet. 

Mostly because she did make an argument for herself. Using the ronin as some sort of gatekeeping for the proper dueling club could be warranted; one must defeat these dishonorable idiots to prove their place, etc. But again, calling them champions would be unacceptable, at least to Aoi. And _she_ had the higher status. 

"Asako Kita, thank you for teaching me about honor. I must've missed those lessons when I was raised in an _Imperial family."_ The tone was clear, and not very kind. "Now, be as it may, You will _not_ get approval with ronin champions. If you don't want to make the two gaijin-lovers upset, then perhaps you could have these dishonorable ronin be lower members of your club. But _not_ champions. Better yet, invited them both, make the decision look poor, and have them decline on their own, if you're so worried about being upset. Or..." Aoi looked out into the hall, and saw/heard no one around. 

"Pay them to decline." Aoi shrugged her shoulders. "Ronin are driven by money and comfort; give them enough, they'll change their very virtues and patron fortune. Either way, I believe I made myself clear on what you'll need to do for approval, yes?" 


||
Brent
Kita realized her misstep too late. Her expression changed to one of chagrin as she backpedaled.

"Oh no! I mean.. I didn't... That wasn't..." She stammered, "I thought you wanted me to, I... I'll just stop." 

Her thoughts flashed back for a moment to Aio's previous appointments' relief at leaving her office, and wished she could scurry out the door herself. She bowed her head under Aio's glare, speaking barely loud enough for Aio to hear, "I am sorry Otomo-sama. In my eagerness for my first assignment here, I have let my words run away with me. Please forgive me. I was sent here because you, of course, are the expert in such matters."

She was too concerned to initially register Aio's remark about bribing the ronin to decline. When she realized she raised her head back up with a look of mild alarm, "Pay them? I see... You have indeed made yourself clear Otomo-sama."

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Michelina
"All is forgiven," Aoi sighed, "If I got furious with every young upstart that overstepped, I'd be far too fatigued to work." The Otomo returned the document she was making, putting together a quick list of what was going to be required from the Phoenix. It ultimately boiled down to the registration, the fees, the symbol, and ensuring that no ronin would be admitted as champions of this organization. Better yet, no ronin period. 

"Here." Aoi handed over the document. "This will be what you'll need to start. Remember what I said about the ronin, mind you. You would be wise to refuse them, anyway,; I'm quite certain if you speak to your ambassador, he'll be less than pleased to have Atsuko-san among your dueling ranks." A knowing, slimy smirk came over the woman's face, but she was quick to stand and give a quick bow. 

"Unless you have anything else, I am finished with you. Asako Kita-san. Go forth with the Empire's Glory in mind."