Akihiko is in awe of the rapid developments, his eyes large and darting around the room. He swallows hard as feelings of superfluousness settle in. He's simply along for the ride. He is also suddenly very conscious that he is the only male at the table. It seems wise to remain quiet.

"I think that is wise," she nodded to Shoan, oblivious to Akihiko's discomfort.

Nozomi shrugged. "Is it that big of a deal? We can always discuss afterwards."

“Ready?” She looked to the other two women, gauging the reaction of the others. “On three.”

“One.” Eyes darted to Shoan.

“Two.” This time to Chiyoko.

“Three!” Hide flipped over her list, practically slamming the list onto the table.

And it revealed... Her masterpiece.

The count done, Chiyoko flips over her list!

“We will certainly discuss afterwards Kitsu-san. But a reveal speaks to her honesty and candour. Fortunes willing our lists will jointly reveal the ideal partners in one single moment.”

A hand on her list

“Rea-“
And then Hide flips her list and Shoan hurried to catch up

"Eh?" Nozomi murmured out loud, looking at the lists. She raised a brow at Shoan. "I thought we talked about the Crane. We cannot forget that they're, uh, not the best."

Her eyes went down to her own name. "Huh?" she stammered out. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. "Surely it would not do our clan any good to marry each other."

The priestess took a breath and then reviewed the options again, more objectively. "It seems the Unicorn candidates are fine matches. The Moto I am rooming with seems to be of a simpler sort, but that could be my prejudice speaking." She holds up her hands. "He's a nice man!"

She looked at the Crab reviews and then smirked. "I have not had the pleasure of meeting either of them yet. It would do me well to try myself."

Akihiko's eyes get larger at the lists and some... challenges that he sees. As the sharing continues, the lonely male folds his hands together in front of his mouth, and he continues to look on.

"I mean, in clan marriages happen all the time," she shrugged a bit. "But I suppose it defeats the point of the miai. I'll take you off the list, then." A sip of tea. "Murame-san's and I's lists seem pretty similar, though I've not met the other Doji on her list. Hopefully whatever happens we can keep things chill between us, eh?"

“Oh. To be honest, when you came in, I was instantly disappointed that you weren’t going to be an option, Kitsu-san.” Hide said as she looked over the other lists. “Huh. Should... Should I be looking outside what we were told was a priority?”

"Stop, stop," Nezumi said, waving her hands, "No need to embarrass me. But yes, sending us to marry inside our own clan at a miai would be an odd choice."

She bit her lip. "Well, there is the possibility that none of us gets to marry a Crab. So I figure it's good to have backups." She coughed into her hand. "Sounds bad when I put it that way."

Shoan spends a long moment looking from Matsu to Matsu to Kitsu and then back again, her face carefully blank .
“...”
Then she looks at the Akodo and ever so slightly twitches here lips upwards before responding to Hide
“I am merely presenting options Matsu-san. I don’t think my list should be taken as a guide. It is more... reconnaissance.

A slight frown crossed Hide’s lips as her eyes lift up from the other Matsu’s list and looked towards the Kitsu. “Ah, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I was trying to offer a compliment in regards to you being an appealing potential spouse for people. I apologize if it came off wrong.”

"Oh, no, no." Nozomi shrugged. "I am simply... not adept at accepting compliments."

She regarded the lists once more. "Do we want to consider everyone, even those that may be a bit... distasteful? If so, I can give my opinion on a couple candidates."

“I would listen to your opinion Kitsu-san. If we consider everyone at the least we can take pleasure in ruling out the truly unworthy”

Nozomi shrugged. "There was one Spider who seemed polite enough. I can't seem to recall his name, unfortunately." She tapped her chin and then sighed. "Not that it matters much.

"Onto Tsuruchi Hayato, one of the Mantis. He's been pleasant to be with, fun even." She smirked. "And he isn't like the Yoritomo either. But, alas, I feel the Mantis might even be less of an option than the Crane."

The priestess pushed her glasses up. "The thought came to me that the Crane all might be too pleasant. All of them are, and in that way, none of them have stood out to me."

Akihiko takes a long drink of the weak tea in front of him, still straining to process all of the ground the women have covered. At one lull in the conversation he sighs a bit too loudly and accidentally gains their attention.

"Ah, I might just note that the Mantis are our clan's greatest enemy now, not only in Osano-Wo's Reach, and the Crossroads System where I've been deployed, but throughout our space, where criminals like Yoritomo Uso are hunted by no one less than our honored champion. But honorless as they are, at least they are children of the kami and follow Bushido to some degree. The Spider mock Bushido -- their dark path to Jigoku is a hideous joke at the Empire's expense," he finishes forcefully.

Kami, where did all that come from? Ugh. Too much!

The flustered pilot collects himself. "Ahem. My apologies, dear cousins. I am not your lord and command none of you." He swallows hard, but is clearly heartfelt as he tries to recover his warmth: "I believe part of my duty here is to support you all in achieving the strongest matches and greatest benefits to our clan. I hope, my... strong opinions aside... I can be helpful to you all." He ends with a sad smile, clearly frustrated with himself.

Shoan has to prevent herself from rocketing up from her seat and roaring a hearty ‘here-here’ to Support the akodo. Instead she opts for the far more police but less exciting:

“Akodo-sama, I completely agree with your understanding of our clan’s position. Please do not feel as though your advice is unlocked for or inappropriate.”

Akihiko bows his head to Shoan after she speaks, nodding and smiling in gratitude before looking back to the other members of this impromptu pride.

“Yeah, you should feel free to weigh in on our selection process. I mean, we do have to think about our Clan first, yeah?” Hide looked down at her list. At least she didn’t have any Spider or Mantis. “Since there is a lack of Dragon, opening up to the Unicorn or some of the more prestigious members of the Minor Clans could work? On top of the Crab, that is.”