Having been reminded coldly by a brief message from her grandpa she was there to find herself a good spouse and not doing whatever she was doing (grandpa most probably didn't even know a thing about what was happening here, he just had planned to send her that scold in all cases because he couldn't trust her less), Akemi took upon herself to finally meet the last big shots she had missed so far. Even if she might not be in the mood for it so soon after Koryn's death.

That Akodo pilot was apparently one of them, so she asked her servant Kyoko to have him delivered a formal invitation for dinner. At the moment, she was waiting for him sat in a table in the main room of the hotel, dressed in her usual suit.

The Lion pilot appears and is politely escorted to the table by Kyoko, his face showing a touch of surprise that the Crab has a personal servant with her. He washes the surprise into a polite smile at Akemi, bowing a touch lower than he had planned originally, just to be safe.

"Hida Akemi-sanma I presume," he adjusts the honorific, being extra cautious. "Akodo Akihiko, as requested." When he straightens, there's an easy smile on his face, like someone still chuckling inside about being formally invited anywhere.

Akemi stood to bow.

"Akodo-sama, this is an honor. Hida Akemi indeed, daughter of Hida Norika and granddaughter of Hida Kinichi, from Aoshi Industries' fame. I've heard incredible things about you, that you're quite the successful military commander already in spite of your young age."

Akihiko smiles politely and gestures that they sit. He raises an eyebrow when he notices Akemi's fleshcraft, but he shows no other reaction.

"Hida Akemi-san is most kind," he says, chuckling a little. "I am only a gunso, and I don't have that many command missions yet, so it is quite generous to say 'successful commander,'" the Lion tries to politely decline the compliment. "More importantly, any success I enjoy is the result of a much larger team that maintains and supports me and my Swiftclaw. Pilots who make ace and think it's because they're so special usually don't live long enough to realize their mistake," he says with somber certainty.

Akemi nodded:

"Definitely. I am part of Hida shock troops myself and keeping the line and my comrades safe is far more important than playing hero. Even if we sometimes have to."

She noticed her surprise and raised her arm for him to look better at it should he wish so:

"Lost the original on the battlefield. Crab medical science offered me a second chance to serve my lord in what I do best."

Akihiko looks with some curiosity mixed with enough engineering knowledge to be impressed. "Fascinating. This is highly technical work, and I can't imagine coordinating it with your body. Er," Akihiko steps back verbally, realizing his curiosity had snuck ahead of propriety. Sitting back with a wide, polite smile, he shifts: "I'm glad you could continue your service with such dedication. Duty is one of the most important tenets of Bushido."

She smiled at her curiosity and answered it:

"Coordination is all about training."

She closed and opened her artificial fingers several times:

"What you see here is the result of several months of physical therapy. Repeat exercises again and again until they become reflexes anew then move to the next series of – more difficult – exercises. Have yet to retrieve enough dexterity to write with that hand but I'm slowly getting there.

However I've recovered quite enough to swing my tetsubo at full efficiency again. Passed all medical checkups successfully before coming there. Officially ready to return to my unit after the miai... If I don't marry away of course. Finding a good spouse is also a samurai's Duty."

Akihiko's combination of curiosity and alarm are evident on his face. At Akemi's last thought, his eyes shift back to her face.

"Hai, the great duty we are here to execute." His voice gives no clue to his feeling, though he hasn't shifted back to a smile as he has seemed so quick to do. Instead, a questioning look takes over his face. "Hida Akemi-san, did you think that we can go back to being soldiers after this?"

"You mean, can we go back to killing people who might be the friends we've made here?

Koryn asked me the same question not two days ago. At the time it surprised me and my answer was a bit confused but now I've got some time to think about it... Yes we can. War is what we've been trained for since birth. Pulling the trigger is as natural for us as is breathing.

And it's not just about us and our maybe friend on the other side. If we don't stand body and soul with our comrades, they're the ones likely to be killed. What is the life of one friend, of one love, against the lives of of one's family?"

Akihiko nods as she speaks, impressed by the thought and the certainty. "Hida Akemi-san's confidence is admirable, and I'm sure well placed." He gives her a warm smile, but it fades quickly. "I think there is another piece as well. Do we go to battle so aggressively as before -- no hesitations -- when we know a part of our duty know awaits us at home?"

"Oh. This side of the story I hadn't thought about."

She tilted her head and took a moment before answering:

"It's also a samurai's duty to ensure their own survival when the sacrifice oh their life is not needed, so they may still serve at the next battle. In that regard I guess having someone else to live for actually helps, as another reminder courage and recklessness should not be confused.

So no I don't think that's an issue. The fact the masters of the battlefield are more often married samurai than celibate warrior monks seems to support that idea too."

Akihiko's smile widens as Akemi speaks. "Hida Akemi-san is a wise warrior. Not the stereotype of a Crab bushi, but clearly deserving of continued opportunities to serve." The Lion's voice reveals he's impressed.

"It's your turn to be the flatterer...

But it is true that I have studied Leadership, the Book of Sun Tao and other similar texts more than your average low rank Crab bushi. You see, grandpa does want to see me become a general one day. So he always insisted that I gave extra attention to that aspect of my learning."

Akihiko smiles. "As a soldier, I have little time for flattery, given or taken. But a soldier should speak up about what they see, before the contact is lost."

"So I'll observe, not flatter, that your grandfather has a very high goal for you. Marriage may or may not help you on that path."

"Definitely. I don't think any clan I might end up a part of will keep me away from the battlefield, as this is where I'll be the most useful. But there is far more to ranking up than personal skills. Marrying into a prestigious military line would give me quite the head start indeed."

A soft smile:

"Now that I've laid out to you my objectives – or at least some of them, might I be so bold as to ask which qualities you are looking for in your future spouse yourself?"

"Boldness well suits a soldier," Akihiko smiles. "At least boldness supported by situational awareness."

The Lion is clearly in thought for a moment, but then speaks a bit more boldly than is usual for him. "Two weeks ago, I had given no thought at all to marriage. I think I'm still catching up, but it's clear to me that a spouse who's a soldier is important." He looks at the table for a moment. "Being a pilot is very dangerous, and i think a fellow soldier is better prepared for that."

"Understandable. Any kind of solider? Or are you seeking another pilot? There are many at this miai in my understanding... Even if we are down one since yesterday."

A grim pause.

"As a fellow soldier, I am used to funerals of young promising souls whose life has been cut short... But I'll confess I didn't expect to attend one during a miai."

Akihiko honors the moment with silence, and offers his condolences. After Akemi moves on in conversation, he follows: "It is very different to worry over one's death, because so much of a miai is looking to the future, but very much different to lose a miai participant. As soldiers we understand death in a combat zone. Not here."

"Koryn's case is particularly egregious as he died a hero... In a battle that could have been avoided entirely. This boat has no good reason to wander that far of the city after sunset. Had Asako Mafuyu been a campaigning general she would have been chastised for this maneuver that served no other purpose that to make her look good and cost the lives of her men and guests."

She sighed.

"At least Koryn's death should discourage such future futile and dangerous show-offs. That's a hard price for a lesson, but no less reason not to learn it."

Akihiko looks less than convinced, nodding his agreement with Akemi, but: "I've counseled many pilots that being a gory-hound is the surest way to a short-lived career, but many refuse to take the lesson from others' experience." He shakes his head, frustrated as always by this reality. "Frustrating as those people may be, I never advocate lessons learned the hard way."