Jin was feeling slightly nervous. The miai was on, with a few meetings lined up for him for the coming days and him...having an awesome shirt hat not everyone can appreciate. So he asked trusted friends to help him in the situation. When they can. If they can.

It's gonna be fiiiine.

Hide was a good friend. And good friends don’t let friends wear whatever Jin thinks looks good to a date. So, she put herself into wingwoman mode. Which meant her brain went into heist movie script mode.

The Date Job

The mark: Ujina Jin
The planned outcome: making him look good for his date.

“Oh, Ujina-sama. Have I kept you waiting too long?” Hide asked as she noticed that Jin was already waiting for her arrival.

"Ah, no Matsu-san. Just arrived myself." He glanced around the shops. "So, it seems I'll have a few meetings with potential hopefuls. I only have just the one shirt, so was thinking of buying another one."

Because it was obviously the best idea!

“Let me just... Stop you right there.” Hide let out a sigh. This was gonna be one tough gig. “Dad shirts at a club are fine and dandy, particularly in a group. But a date, Ujina-sama? You gotta let me be honest with about this. For a one-on-one affair, you need to case the scene of where you’re bringing a date and dress accordingly. If you’re still unsure, then dress business casual.”

Jin scratched his head

".....haven't decided yet where it'll be." He's gonna wing it. That's the best approach.

"So... I need a different shirt for one on one? Should this one have monkeys or trees? That's casually business, right?"

This was more of a disaster than Hide thought it would be.

Good thing she was quick on her feet. “No, no. Ujina-sama. Remember the button down shirt and black slacks I wore at the club? Dress a bit more like that. Add in a tie if you want, but that’s optional. Good way to look like you fit in just about anywhere. I like to wear mine when I want to feel confident enough to try and impress someone.”

Mumei can tell from the look on Hide's face that this shopping trip is already off to a fun start. "Hey Ujina-san, Matsu-sama! She waves two fingers in the direction of Jin's hair, expecting that there's a monkey somewhere even if she can't see it, "Yube-monkey."

She looks pretty much the same as always, with only the one casual outfit to her name. "Where are we getting you set up then? And more importantly...who are we getting you set up for?" Why yes, she'd like all the deets, please.

Yube crawled out of one pocket, looking at hte new comers happily. "Ohayo Nakouchi-san! Well, I am meeting Utaku Hyeon-ju-san, and Matsu Chyoko-san and Asako Chiruha-san tomorrow." He gave a sheepish answer.

"Matsu-san thinks I should skip the shirt I wore, or a similar style, and go for...slacks and something else?" He seemed confused at the thought. "With less color, I guess?"

“Trust me. My wingman skills are top notch, Ujina-sama.” Hide turned her attention to Mumei and smiled brightly. “Nakauchi-san! Come on and join us. Please help me pick out something nice for him to wear on his dates.”

Mumei looks a bit dubious. "I mean...I think some color stands out, and with that group." She shakes her head, laughing. "Really Ujina-san, three at once? That is...efficient at least!"

"But! I can attest that Matsu-san's wing skills are top notch." Granted, that thread is still in the land of Schrodinger's comm code acquisition....maybe it was acquired, and maybe not.

"So it's probably better advice than mine." She reaches over to pet Yube with one outstretched finger.

________
and then runs off to work.

"Hm...so something professional? Ish?" He shrugged, trusting the females of the group to advise him. "Well, I must! I have not found Benten's love yet, so, time to scout out the best options, I feel. What about you Nakouchi-san? Besides Shiba-san, of course. You, Matsu-san? Anyone catch your eye? A Crab perhaps?" He asked with tinkling in his eyes, while Yube happily jumped over to the Osprey.

“Has it really been that obvious?” Hide rubbed at the back of her neck, a bit bashful at even Jin guessing. “Yeah, a Crab has certainly caught my eye.”

“And as far as my skills go, Nakauchi-san, I am fully capable of explaining the process in case you ever need to utilize my methods for yourself.”

Jin shrugged. "You two seemed to hit it off the other night." He smiled. "Have you had discussions about the miai yet?" He glanced around, where to go. "So... Silver Star it is?"

She happily catches the flying monkey, making finger-branches for him to hop between as she converses.

"Only so professional...it's a date, not a job interview. Besides, Utaku-sama's a pilot and they seem to appreciate a bit of risk-taking," she says with some certainty and a cat that ate the canary smile as she looks toward the shop he's indicated.

She laughs at Hide's dismay that everyone spotted her interest in a certain Crab. "Hey, at least if it's obvious to us, maybe it won't be a surprise to Kuni-sama either." She was ok keeping the focus there instead of her potential mates for the moment.

She looked a bit reassured by that. “Ah! So you think I have a chance?”

Oh wait, she was here to help Jin. Yes. “I don’t know about going too bold even if she’s a pilot. What can you guys tell me about her? I need some deets.”

"Well, talking to her wingmate on a roof the other night, she sounds really really competent, but proper." She glances at Jin, "So risks she'd approve of probably don't include roof-climbing or other things that might make shopkeeper yell at you. Don't let Yube," She finger-swings the little monkey to the top of her head, "start a poop fight at the table."

She leans to bump a hip against Hide....which given their relative heights probably hits a tad high. "Of course you have a chance. Even if her family would prefer a shugenja, have you seen the selection? Half of it is Spider and this here minor clan bird. Not exactly prime pickings for a good family."

“I’m not sure if she’s even a shugenja herself...” Hide never asked. It was never brought up. But she returned the hip bump with a bit of a grin. “Good info gathering, Nakauchi-san.”

Back to the Utaku at hand. “Proper type, huh? Then it’s probably better to look as nice as possible for that one. Maybe with a traditional flare? Hmmm. Real hard to gauge this without seeing her first hand.”

"Thought the face paint was a priestly thing for them? If not, even better luck, I'd think." She nods decisively, Yube screeching in annoyance or glee...since he stayed put, probably the latter.

"And the other pair sound kind of traditional too. Maybe something with...like...accents in old fashioned fabric patterns?" She did not even suggest going all the way to an actual fancy kimono, although that was an option. "Just not like, an entire shirt in classic bamboo or something."

"Old-fashioned as they are, I still think hakama look great too. they're such a strong silhouette, and all kinds of movement..."

Jin smiled at ht interactions. "Hai, I do not know if she herself is a shugenja, though I think you have a chance. Not like we are teeming in wonderful priestly options here. Speaking of chances, Matsu-san what do you think of Matsu-san's idea would be... I am talking about Chiyoko-san." He let out a sigh.

"You know what, we drank, we danced, we shuttled in at an insane hour, I think we can be familiar with each other. Feel free to call me Jin. Otherwise we'll be teeming in Matsu-san's during this whole conversation. So, hakama...you think is an option? What do you think?" He asked both of them.

“Jin-sama?” Hide tried it out. It didn’t feel too weird at all. “If that’s the case, you both can just call me Hide. I agree we have already been through quite a bit these last few days.”

And now to the issue of Chiyoko. “Okay, first thing for any meeting with Chiyoko-san: don’t fanboy over her. In our meeting she has expressed displeasure with ‘fans’.” She said that last part with a sarcastic tone and her fingers doing air quotes. Second... I get the impression as long are your clothing is nice yet subdued, you’ll be fine.”