MF Max Intel Ch. 06-10

"You will need to bond with your swords and, when bidden, they will fly to your hands, even if they have to cut through a titanium wall to get to you."

Yumi was beside herself. "Paula-chan, this is a gift fit for a king! You honor me and my house, thank you." Yumi very reverently reached out and held the swords, whispering to them courteously in Japanese to please accept a bond with her. Both swords flashed bright white indicating the acceptance of the bond.

"One other thing, Obasan: No one other than you can wield them. They will not allow it without your consent. Like the hammer of Thor, no one may even pick them up."

Yumi backed away and went through her Kata. The swords seemed to have no weight or momentum, the hilts were comfortable to the hand and fit her perfectly. The swords moved so quickly they actually cut the air as they moved, leaving a small void as the blades passed. This had a light booming effect which Yumi soon learned to use as a weapon itself; directing the sonic booms towards a limb of the nearest cherry blossom tree and disintegrating it.

Yumi was beside herself.

Astrid then levitated a full set of female Oricalcum armor in the onna-bugeisha style. The breastplate having the same Pentacle as Howard's and Mercedes' armor but with Yumi's sigil of winged striped Tigers on the breastplate and backplate. "Obasan, you will need to bond with your armor as well. It has the same properties as your swords, but the Winged Tigers can be manifested by your will, just like the Panthers of Chichi and Haha."

Yumi approached the armor and bowed to it, speaking softly again in Japanese. The Pentacle flashed and Yumi spoke in Japanese, "Armor, to me!" The armor immediately secured itself to Yumi who again went through her Kata. She was amazed how well the armor flowed with her.

"Obasan, when you wear this armor you will not fatigue, you will be stronger and faster than humanly possible, and you will be able to punch through Titanium walls."

Yumi sheathed her Katana in the traditional X pattern on her back and whispered in Japanese. The armor detached from her and settled to the ground beside her. With tears in her eyes, she bowed deeply to Paula and Astrid. Words would not come but the look on Yumi's face said it all.

Astrid then broke the moment saying, "Obasan, I would like to show you my response to that spirit of the onna-bugeisha."

At that moment, Astrid's drones approached and positioned themselves around her, enveloping her as they connected. Astrid explained the armaments and capabilities to Yumi before creating her protective bubble and flying around the estate and settling down in front of Yumi and disconnecting. Astrid then spoke lovingly to her drones which bobbed their appreciation, much to Yumi's surprise.

"They are self-aware?

"Yes, Obasan, they are my children."

Yumi approached the drones and softly pet them, "They are so beautiful, Asa-chan. Your father would be proud."

Just then her Shitsujisan approached, bowed deeply and whispered something to Yumi in Japanese. Yumi smiled and took a deep breath to control her emotions.

"Asa-chan, you will need to settle Ingrid's estate."

Max Intel: Melinoe Chapter 10 - Family

Joon looked to Agatha, "I assume you have already contacted the sponsors and let them know of our decision to attend. But I want them to donate 10% of all proceeds, including cyber and holovid download fees for the evening to help those affected by the bombing of Unity City during the Kintark attack on Terra. And let them know we will check, so no hiding income and no diverting funds. We know this will be a massive money-making addition well above and beyond what they were planning on. Also, all the setup and security arrangements they are doing come out of their portion of profits only."

"Yes, first wife. And Max: no less than half of JPD's officers will be there along with over half of the TFN personnel assigned to the local system for security."

"Thank you, Agatha. However, I also want Mom and Dad in their armor. Obasan, out of respect for your safety, I would like you in your new armor as well if you do not mind. We have had way too much fighting lately for me to be comfortable otherwise. I also want all hands of Agatha dispersed throughout the crowd, scanning them for potential trouble."

Samira suggested, "We should come in high and hot, dive right to the stage or crowd and flair wings last minute to land with cats lining the stage as before but we need two in the air circling the crowd for instantaneously responding to threats."

Joon excused herself from the group so she could get a few songs ready for the concert.

0o0

Mercedes asked Yumi, "Yumisama, some of the girls and I were wondering if we might tour your estate and your tea shop today?"

Yumi was excited about the idea, "Perhaps we could take your motor home for the tour as the grounds are quite extensive as well as the tea shop being in Jericho?"

Max nodded, "That would be the safest way, I think. Obasan, the motor home is actually an armored transport complete with shields and Gatling lasers."

Yumi was impressed and intrigued, "I am curious as to how a diplomat could acquire a military grade transport, as useful, as it may be, my understanding was only special forces could obtain them."

Max smiled, "That is still the case, Obasan."

"Oh!" Yumi nodded with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Howard then asked, "Yumisama, would you be so kind as to lead Kata this morning? We usually do three sets and I need to settle my mind."

"Then let us meet in the cherry orchard in 7 minutes for Kata." She replied, appreciative of the respect Howard had given her.

0o0

Everyone met in the orchard with their respective Ghi on and the family lined up with Joon, Max, Howard, Mercedes, and Agatha in front with Emma, Nike, Samira, Paula, and Vika in back. The Kata Yumi led was essentially the same as Sensei Howard's with a few, very subtle differences that Agatha absorbed.

Yumi was glad to note Howard was still proficient and was happy to see the equivalent level of expertise with Agatha's Kata; Max being a very close second. The rest of the group were good, just not yet masters of the art... which would be expected.

After the bow ending the Kata Max, Vika, Agatha, and Samira paired up and began various attacks and defenses for both Yumi's and Howard's viewing interests. After 30 minutes of full-on combat, the groups reforming every 10 minutes, the sparing ended with bows to each other and to Yumi and Howard.

At that moment, Agatha asked, "Obasan, I noted some minor differences in your Kata from Sensei Howard's. Would you mind helping me understand them?"

Yumi smiled, "With your permission, Osolomoriasan?"

Howard bowed politely, "I would be honored, Oyumisama."

Yumi stepped forward and explained, "Both are accurate forms of my Otousan's teachings. Osolomoriasan's eccentricities are due to his approach which is more male oriented, being aggressive and strength based. My form is more female oriented, having a foundation in misdirection and countering one's opponent. Let us move through the Kata one more time together and then we can spar, you with your foundation and me with mine so you can see the differences."

Agatha faithfully reproduced Yumi's Kata without flaw, much to the delight of Yumi. Then the two squared off in sparring. A second hand of Agatha appeared to watch and catalogue the bout for later study. Yumi stated, "Full contact."

Agatha responded, "I would be afraid of hurting you."

Yumi giggled, "If you make contact I would deserve the reprimand."

Agatha began on the offensive with multiple quick strikes, and it was very apparent from the outset the differences between them. Yumi did not worry about striking, focusing upon using her chi to bend with the motions of Agatha's attacks and redirect the energy of the strikes. Her speed was exceptional...but her vision was even better.

After a few minutes Agatha moved to defensive and Yumi began to attack. But her attacks were very different with feints within feints focusing on misdirection and different footing which opened up opportunities to land blows with both her hands and feet. While Agatha had landed 3 blows in 7 minutes of sparring, Yumi landed 10 blows in four minutes.

After a full ten minutes of the second round, Agatha admitted defeat and bowed. Yumi was not done, however. "Agatha-chan, now you attack using my foundation. I know you can."

Agatha and Yumi bowed again, and Agatha attacked using Yumi's base of bending with the motions of Yumi for defense and using her style of misdirection and feints for attack. Agatha was now able to keep Yumi from making contact while she made contact three times, Yumi having taken her motions up a notch which Agatha immediately incorporated.

After 10 minutes they stopped and bowed. Yumi then suggested everyone bathe and wear their ceremonial dress for chanoyu, a tea ceremony.

0o0

Back on the Deirdra, the family asked Astrid about the meaning and activities of the Tea ceremony. She explained, "Well like everything else Zen, this particular social ritual contains an inner and an outer form. The inner aspect of tea ceremony emphasizes simplicity and naturalness. These two qualities are what give the outer form of the ceremony its unadorned, quiet, simple appearance."

"A purpose-built room designed for the wabi style of tea is called a chashitsu and is ideally 4.5-tatami in floor area. A 4.5-mat room is considered standard, but smaller and larger rooms are also used. A purpose-built chashitsu typically has a low ceiling, a hearth built into the floor, an alcove for hanging scrolls and placing other decorative objects, and separate entrances for host and guests. It also has an attached preparation area known as a mizuya."

"Building materials and decorations are deliberately simple and rustic in wabi style tea rooms. Chashitsu can also refer to free-standing buildings for tea. Known in English as tea houses, such structures may contain several tea rooms of different sizes and styles, dressing and waiting rooms, and other amenities, and be surrounded by a tea garden called a roji."

"There are two main ways of preparing matcha for tea consumption: thick, koicha, and thin, usucha. The best quality tea leaves are used in preparing thick tea. Historically, the tea leaves used as packing material for the koicha leaves in the tea urn, chatsubo, would be served as thin tea."

"The most important part of a chaji is the preparation and drinking of koicha, which is usually followed by a more relaxed preparation and drinking of usucha. A chakai may involve only the preparation and serving of thin tea (and accompanying confections), representing the more relaxed, finishing portion of a chaji."

"As the terms imply, koicha is a thick blend of matcha and hot water that requires about three times as much tea to the equivalent amount of water than usucha. To prepare usucha, matcha and hot water are whipped using the tea whisk, or chasen, while koicha is kneaded with the whisk to smoothly blend the large amount of powdered tea with the water."

"Thin tea is served to each guest in an individual bowl, while one bowl of thick tea is shared among several guests. But as you may have surmised, a Tea Ceremony is a very calm, introspective art of socializing in Japanese culture. Ceremonies differ by occasion, but the placing of items on the table and actions of the Host are exacting and highly choreographed."

Paula nodded respectfully, "So the ceremonial drinking of tea is a sharing of the inner person that is mimicked by the physical sharing?"

Astrid smiled, "Exactly."

0o0

The family arrived at the tea house a little before the appointed time and entered an interior waiting room where they put on fresh tabi socks which are a thick-soled Japanese ankle sock with a separate section for the big toe. The waiting room had a tatami floor and an alcove, or tokonoma, in which was displayed a hanging scroll whose message alluded to the theme of the chaji. Astrid was astounded and relayed the meaning of the scroll: *The families of Smith and Anders are being invited to join the family Komatsu! This is a very solemn occasion indeed!"

The family was then served a cup of sakurayu, cherry blossom tea, and after drinking from the simple, hand-made, earthen bowls, they proceeded to the outdoor waiting bench in the roji, where they remained until summoned by their host. The family was invited five at a time. The first guests included Emma, Nike, Samira, Vika, Paula, and Astrid who led them through the ceremonial process.

Following a silent bow between Yumi and the five family members, they walked in order to a tsukubai (stone basin) where they ritually purified themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths with water. They then continued along the roji to the actual tea house. They removed their footwear and entered the tea room through a small "crawling-in" door (nijiri-guchi) and proceeded to view the items placed in the tokonoma and the tea equipment already placed in the room. They were then seated seiza-style on individual zabuton, pillow.

The door was closed with an audible sound to alert the host, Yumi, who entered the tea room and welcomed them before answering questions about the scroll and other items. Yumi acknowledged this ceremony was celebrating the inclusion of the Smith and Anders families into the Komatsu clan.

Yumi then ritually cleansed each utensil -- including the tea bowl, whisk, and tea scoop -- in the presence of the family in a precise order and using prescribed motions and placed them in an exact arrangement according to the particular temae procedure she was performing. When the preparation of the utensils was complete, Yumi prepared thick tea.

Bows were exchanged between Asa-chan and Yumi and Yumi handed Asa-chan the bowl of tea. Astrid then took several sips, complimenting Yumi on the tea and cleaning the rim of the bowl before passing the bowl to Samira who rotated the bowl to avoid drinking from its front. Samira lifted the bowl of tea towards Yumi as a sign of respect, then took a sip, again complimenting the host on the tea.

After taking a few sips, she wiped clean the rim of the bowl and passed it to Nike. The procedure was repeated until all of them had taken tea from the same bowl; each family member then had an opportunity to admire the bowl before it was returned to the Yumi, who then cleansed the equipment and left the tea room. The family members were led back out to the waiting area, and everyone sat quietly while the tea room was reset for the second group which included Joon, Howard, Mercedes, Max and Agatha, who, having been coached by Astrid during their ceremony, again led the others through the second ceremony.

However, things were different this time. The scroll was changed to include a statement of a new Iemoto.

Howard was the only one who could read it of the family present, and he was floored. Agatha sensed his change of disposition and asked, "What is it, dad? What does it say?"

All Howard would say to her was, "It seems Yumi is passing the torch."

Immediately after the conclusion of the second tea ceremony, Yumi awarded Agatha her own 10th dan kanji, or black belt. It being the highest possible rank of her Otousan's teachings. Howard expressed his surprise, "You honor my daughter's student, Oyumisama. Agatha, you have just been given the highest possible ranking in our martial arts style. Congratulations, Grand Master OAgathasama." Howard bowed deeply to Agatha, along with the rest of the family.

Agatha felt the heartfelt pride and support of her family and tears of joy streaked her face as she bowed to Yumi in return, bowing again to her family. Yumi then stated: "Agathasama, you are now Iemoto, Grand Master of our order, and named Wakasōshō, young master, with all rights and privileges."

Agatha was relaying what was happening to the rest of the family and Astrid was dumbfounded, "Whaat? Agatha! You have been adopted into the Komatsu family and you are the new head of the order!"

Howard nodded in recognition of the realization he saw in Agatha's eyes, "Yes, you are now my elder in the order and are now responsible for continuing its teachings."

Agatha thanked Obasan but thought to Astrid, *I am not worthy of this! It should be dad or you!*

Astrid shot back, *No Agatha, the head of the order is always about merit, not right. It seems Obasan recognized your skill and has observed your interactions with the family. It is her right to decide and to not accept would be a very, very huge insult. Accept it with grace and the family will help you with it.*

0o0

The rest of the day was spent touring the Komatsu castle and grounds. Inspecting the different stages of the individual underground tea preparation stations, one for each type of tea grown on the estate, was the highlight of the tour for Max. The old ways were followed here, preserving the flavor of each unique tea at its peak. Samira preferred the many fruit orchards which were currently in bloom, however.

Max felt the moats were the most intriguing after learning they were full of fish. The outer one was a variable depth saltwater moat with a man-made current sporting seaweed, Urchins, eels, abalone, squid, crab, shrimp, lobster, tuna, salmon, whitefish, flounder, sea bass, oysters, clams, baitfish, and scallops. The inner moat was a variable depth freshwater moat which sported peacock bass, warmouth bream, channel catfish, loggerhead turtles, tilapia, and crappie. There was a waterfall connection to the saltwater moat leading to fresh sandy shallows for use during salmon spawning season.

The whole estate was really a self-sufficient aquaculture and horticulture farm. The estate utilized a pebble bed nuclear powerplant for power that was incapable of melting down.

0o0

All too soon it was time to eat a light dinner and prepare for the concert. Ginger rice, made of rice cooked with ginger, fried tofu skin, with soy sauce was served as a base for Salmon marinated in a sweet and savory miso sauce and broiled until the outside was beautifully crisp and the inside was perfectly moist.

Fresh spring rolls complemented the meal made with pork belly, daikon radish, and lettuce which was served with a Japanese-style Sesame Ponzu Vinaigrette for a lighter yet refreshing taste. Kabocha squash rounded out the meal which was a simmered Japanese pumpkin with Japanese shio koji seasoning for a delicious umami flavor served on a bed of steamed seaweed.

Hot green tea was served with the meal.

After dinner, Agatha oversaw the evening Kata, now being the newly appointed Iemoto. Out of respect to Yumi, she incorporated the feminine aspects of the Kata into their routine.

After quick showers and dressing in their Fanta-Con outfits (Yumi, Mercedes, and Howard dressed in their armor), the family donned their cats and flew to the festival grounds with a police escort. The family soon began having way too much fun doing acrobatics around and through the escort vehicles, much to the delight and amazement of the officers.

They arrived right at dusk.

0o0

The concert was in full swing as the group arrived up above the crowds; the warmup bands having played and gotten the audience worked up for the main event. The family was amazed at the size of the crowd; there had to be half a million people in front of the stage area alone. That didn't include the holovid audience watching live across almost all of Terran space. This was a full production; the local networks pulling out all the stops with lights, ultra-high-definition cameras at every possible angle, rows and rows of high-end speakers, and other electronics.

Joon had no idea she had become so popular.

As the Tigers and Panthers circled overhead, Paula let loose with volley after volley of sheet lightening and ball lightning strikes that lit up the clear night sky as the deafening thunderclaps hit those on the ground; the lightening show silhouetting the family as they then dove straight for the stage. Not to be out done, Nike set loose fountains and sheets of flame above the crowds.