Cold-Blooded: A DC Universe Fanfiction (#Wattys2015)

Chapter 12: Yukie: Tea With The Demon

When one decided at the last minute to fly from Gotham City to Reno, Nevada on December 23rd, one had to take what one could get, and today that involved changing planes in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, the airline had just announced her connecting flight was going to be delayed. Yukie had her tablet and was never bored as long as she could read, but before she could even open the book file, her phone rang.

It was Ra's Al Ghul. In flawless Japanese he said, "Miss Kuwano, it would give a very old man great pleasure if you could take tea with him in the Ordway Park Garden Teahouse at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory…in half an hour. You need not worry about missing your flight. It will continue to be delayed until you board. There is a car and driver waiting for you outside Terminal 2."

She was not terribly surprised. This was clearly the follow up to the email message he'd sent several days before. "I am greatly honored," she replied in the same language. "Of course I shall send Mr. Wilson a message about the delay."

"Of course," Ra's said, with no surprise in his voice. Yet she was sure no earthly consideration could keep Ra's Al Ghul from doing as he pleased, not even the oblique threat of Deathstroke's vengeance. Therefore she did not tell Slade who or why her plane would be late. If Ra's did not kill her, she would have to explain everything, and if he did, she would either be well on her way to her next existence and not care, or she would come back as an extremely vengeful ghost, in which case Slade would be the least of his worries. She was betting on the latter.

The car was a Rolls Royce, the driver competent, respectful, and largely silent. Minneapolis was decked out for the holiday, covered in snow, and therefore looked its best. The conservatory grounds were especially beautiful, and the groundskeepers had taken the trouble of sweeping the paths to the tea house in the Japanese style garden. In Yukie's opinion, American attempts at recreating Japanese gardens were inherently doomed to failure, even if they hired master gardeners from Japan, and the reason was that they tried too hard. Instead of telling the master gardener to design a garden, they told them they wanted a Japanese garden, and that meant cramming every element of a Japanese garden into the available space.

Ra's had not gone to all this trouble to invite her to take tea in the British style, with cucumber sandwiches and cream scones. No, this was to be according to the ritual of the tea ceremony, which was closer to a religious rite. Hopefully this was to be an informal tea, rather than the full four hour ritual.

The principle behind the Way of Tea was this: Life is brief and uncertain, therefore we must take joy in the moment and in our friends, for we never know when or if we will see them again. Making tea for them with one's own hands, sitting and sharing something sweet like fruit to symbolize the good things in life before drinking the tea, which is bitter and symbolic of the miseries of life, shows the love one bears them. One could bring the Way of Tea into every aspect of life, into every meal cooked, every load of laundry, every act done for another person. Enjoy the now, for now is all we ever have.

Entering the tea house, she changed out of her boots into the provided slippers, washed her hands and rinsed her mouth in the stone basin of water provided in the waiting room, in accordance with custom. The water was still warm, a thoughtful touch on a frigid day. Then she bent down to enter through the low-linteled door, symbolic of equality—everyone humbled themselves before sharing the ritual, great and small alike.

Ra's was already within, and he greeted her with a silent bow as the host. She returned it, and knelt upon the floor. The room was austere and unfurnished, as a tea room should be, and the only heat source was the hearth for heating water. No matter; she did not mind the cold as other people did. As he began cleaning the utensils, she looked around the room.