A proper cup of tea (Closed/AO)

Having expected her trip would be rather uneventful, it was easy to spot the surprise in Junko´s face, as she was approached by an unknown face. But as the taller man exsplained his situation, Junko gave him an understanding nod. Sympathy for his situation became apparent in her eyes, and she removed her hands from the darkness of the long sleeves. "Of course I can - stand still now". Speaking with a compassionate tone, she held out one of her hands. Gathering some reaitsu in her fingers, she placed one on the reddened skin. She ran her finger in a wide circle three times, each time decreasing the width of it. Once she finished the third one, she joined her hands together again, the sleeves obscuring them from view. 

"That should relive the pain. I can´t do anything about the color though, but it should be gone before the sun sets". Hoping the lack of pain would help him relax a bit, she met his eyes and smiled politely. "Don´t be bothered by what she said. I´m sure its just a missunderstanding. If not, then there is..ah, what´s the saying..plenty of fish in the sea?". ​She didn´t use such terms a lot, but when she found herself having to use them...well, her lack of knowledge in that area showed. 

Junko´s heart had always been very big and compassionate. She surrounded herself with friends and associates. She was the ear if someone had worries, or the hand that gladly helped if there was need of it. The first lady had always regarded it as one of her strengths, but at times, it had proven to be a weakness as well. She had lost many hours of sleep helping others, or perhaps she had neglected a meal or two, in order to comfort someone or keep a patient company. 

In this instance she would´t lose sleep or go hungry. But the plans of enjoying tea alone was dropped, as she found herself feeling sorry for the young man in front of her. 

"There is nothing weird about your request: Your loved one has rejected you, leaving you lonely and in need of company. You stumble upon a stranger who kindly relives your pain and who dosen´t mind having a conversation. A stranger you find pretty even". Smiling at him, she relaxed her shoulders. "Had I been in your place, I doubt I would even have had the courage to ask". 

Reaching out, she gave his shoulder a light tug, before making a nod towards the street. "I was actually on my way to a teahouse nearby. They don´t serve proper meals, but you can get some good bread and sweets there. Its not ideal for a dinner, but in my opinion, the tea is good enough to fill any stomach". Softening her tune a bit, she took a step in the direction of the teahouse.  "You don´t have to join me of course - I won´t feel offended if you would rather go and have a dinner consisting of roasted meat and cooked vegetables"

Junko took note of the hand on her back, but she didn´t question the action. She judged it an action driven by his fear of her perhaps also leaving him as well.

As he started questioning her, the captain could´t suppress her laughter. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand, and looked up at him. "There is no need to apoligize. Its only natural to be curious of someone, who your gonna be in company with for awhile". And she did find herself being curious about the young man now - or rather, the position he was in. She had come across some people outside of a division, yet she had never actually gotten the chance to talk with them. It was impossible for her to understand, how someone could exist in such a position. But that was just how she thought, after having served dutifully longer than most shinigami´s lifespans. 

"I am in the third division", she said, tugging a bit on her haori. "I wear a haori almost everyday - its quite comfortable, especially when the weather gets chilly". Meeting his face with a smile, she turned her eyes towards the road. "What´s your name? Or would you rather remain all mysterious?" 

This man had quite the amount of layers in his personality. On one hand, he was quite bold and had trouble containing his emotions when he liked something (such as finding her hair soft). On the other, he was some-what shy, or at least nervous at times. The latter could stem from the situation he was in, but she could´t read thoughts; Just faces. 

A giggle flowed from her lips. "It does not come from being in the third, though that would be quite the view, no? Many shinigami with ankle-long flowing hair". Running her fingers through a section of the hair, she smiled to herself. "I have my hair from my father, and the lenght of it is my own work". Facing him, with the smile still present, she worked her fingers further into her hair. Tugging her hand around a portion of it, she moved it across her shoulder, letting it rest down the curves at the front of her body. 

"I´m Aizawa Junko, but you may call me Junko if you like. I´m not big on formalities". While speaking, she tugged a bit more hair over the shoulder, allowing for the blue dragon, displayed on the back of the haori, to come into view. It was simple, yet stunning in its apperance, the dark blue color of it being quite striking on the dark fabric of the haori. "The ever-lasting dragon - the symbol of my family..Quite the name, no?". Giggling a bit once more, she pushed the hair back into place, covering up the dragon. 

Well, at least he was giving her information - but she literally had every single person in the third divison working under her, at least if judged by position. Even if she routed out the women in the division...he could have told her that he had a brother, and that would have been as good a clue towards her figuring out his name.

Luckily he didn´t seem like one who played games for long, at least not in this instance. And the moment the "minamoto" slipped from his lips, she didn´t need to know more. But before she could add a comment or even utter a word, she was suddenly stopped. As the surrounding shinigami passed, she wanted to apologize on Shinpei´s behalf - he should´t have stopped in the middle of the street! Her lips remained closed though, as she felt a tickling sensation of warmth creep up along her arm, originating from the kiss that he had planted in a greeting. 

"Y...Yes, I have - Minamato-san often speaks of his family". Forcing her tensed shoulders to relax a bit, she stepped slightly backwards, her eyes diverting from his. Once there was two feet between them, she raised her hand and pointed towards the teahouse, that was located a bit further down the street. 

"Shall we proceed?", she offered, as she started to walk again. 

Perhaps it had been the boldness of his action, or her having just come out of the hospital...but for a brief moment, she had felt unsettled by him...

The brief moment from before was some-what forgotten, by the time they left the street. And as the familiar faces of the staff greed her, Junko found herself unable not to meet their smiles. Pleasanties were exchanged, and Junko soon found herself by her usual table - accompanied by her guest. She usually enjoyed her tea in silence, but she didn´t mind the company. And he was the brother of her faithful vice captain - it would be disrespectful of her to dismiss him now, just because he asked some questions.

"I am, though not just in this tea shop. I have some favorites in the area". Smoothing out her haori a bit, the captain raised her hand, calling over one of the attendants. "Evening - could I have some screens please? A bit of privacy would do wonders for me". The tea shop wasen´t the biggest one, and it could´t house many guests. But there was enough for Junko to take notice, and with Shinpei present, it became a bit too much. 

Moments later, two attendants approached with two walls made of wood, with a frame that consisted of bamboo. Said walls were roughly 2 meters tall. They were placed in a cone-shape around the small table. There was no change to the amount of noise from the surrounding tables, but the two walls hid Junko and her company from view - a thing that made Junko breathe more relaxed. She ordered a double portion of what she usually had, and smiled as the attendant left the two alone.

"Then you have missed out on one of life´s greatest pleasures, Minamoto-san. Nothing relaxes the soul like a proper cup of tea". smiling warmly at him, she looked at the thin wood and bambo walls. "I hope you don´t mind the walls - After recent events, I cannot have too much going on around me". She shrugged weakly with a shoulder, before brushing strands of white hair behind her ear. 

Having exspected him to question this, Junko had prepared a quick little answer - one that hopefully would sate whatever curiosity he might have for that topic. So with a smile still present on her lips, she answered him while smoothing out her kimono. "I was involved in an accident, and I spend some days in the hospital - I was released yesterday". In order to lower the chances of further questions, she directed the topic over to something else.

"Some of the tea shops price themselves on their beautiful attendants and they good tea. This is a smaller one though, so they care more about friendly smiles and good personalities". She tilted her head a bit, meeting his head. "I like this kind the most - its not only the tea that brings you warmth, but also the atmosphere". As if on a timer, the moment she finished talking, her order arrived: The teaport was placed between the two, and they were each given a cup. Following this, an assortment of honey, sugar, milk and sake was placed on the table as well. An at least, two plates with some freshly-cut fruit, some colorful sweets and 3 pieces of sliced home-baked bread. There was steam emerging from said bread, indicating that it had recently left the oven.

Reaching for the sake, she tilted her head once more. "See anything you like? I´d recommend trying out some of that on the plate first. See what you fancy to eat. Then we can prepare your tea to match your choice"

Giggling a bit, the ivory-haired woman grasbed the kettle of tea, and leaned forward, pouring some for him with no difficulty. Perhaps it was odd for a noble, to be able to pour tear like that - especially one from the Aizawa family. But Junko had always been the kind of person, who liked doing a lot of things on her own. Yes the servants took care of many things - cleaning the long hallways and making sure every room was dusted off every day. But the small trivial things, such as cooking, making tea and attending to her guests - those were things Junko could´live without. 

"I am more clothed that those attendants, that is true - I hope I can make up for that, by actually staying and keeping you company, instead of leaving after you have placed your order". And she certainly would´t mind staying for as long as their little meal lasted. It also seemed like Shinpei was enjoying himself, judging by the way his true character started to emerge a bit. He held a love for women, the beautiful ones. Junko could´t help to think, that it was this love for beautiful women, that had made his girlfriend give up on him. 

None the less - that wasen´t her business. She was here to relax, and welcomed the company of Shun´s younger brother.

"I´m staring out with some tea - its a good way to warm up, before you start eating". Smiling warmly, she poured tea into the cup, filling it halfway. She then filled it to the brim with sake, and used a wooden stick to stir the mixed liquids. "If you have a sweet tooth, I suggest using honey for your tea. If it gets too sweet, just add a bit of milk. Or you can just eat some of the food first - none of this is running away, so take your time and try it all"

Junko observed with a raised eyebrow, as he added a surprisingly amount of honey into his tea. She sometimes liked things sweet as well, but she preferred having a balanced taste in her mouth. Perhaps he was gonna eat some bread, or dip it in the tea, once he realized just how much he had added. Well, that or he really did have a huge sweet tooth. Different people had different tastes, but she could´t see herself drinking a cup with so much sweetness in it. It would overwhelm her senses, and make the rest of the items on the table, taste dull by comparison. Shinpei could handle the sweetness of his tea, or perhaps he just didn´t care that much - she could´t read his mind.

Taking a sip of her own tea, she met his eyes. "The "hard stuff" as you call it - I enjoy that myself, but my tastes in alcohol are quite varied". Another sip was taken. "I have a high tolerance, so I can often enjoy many varieties, before I start feeling any effect. Its a blessing in the way, that more of it can be enjoyed before passing out. On the other hand, it often means that I´m left alone when everyone passes out - especially when we have a celebration in the division". Her smile softened a bit, as she recalled some of said celebrations. 

While taking another sip, she caught sight of his kimono - or more specific - the area around his neck. Tilting her head a bit, she looked at him. "You look very relaxed - is it comfortable having the kimono loosened like that?". She faintly hooked two fingers into the slit of her closed kimono, and loosened it slightly around the neck. Not as much as he had, since women could´t just flaunt their chests around, but enough until she felt the steam of her tea, hitting her throat. Giggling a bit, she placed her hand against the exposed skin. "I can breathe a bit easier - I can see why you enjoy having it a bit open", she said, her kind eyes meeting his as she took another sip of her tea.