Tetsu is still in disbelief, and he was the one who had made this choice. Had made a lifelong link with another. It takes him a moment to identify the cocktail of emotions.

Fear. Fear and shame.

Tetsu does his best to shake it off. He deserves to speak with the woman, so he arranges the meeting, his head on a swivel as he looks for her.

"It is nice to see you again." Hoshiko said as she approached and offered a bow.

"Same to you." Tetsu bows in return. He regards Hoshiko for a moment. "So...that happened."

He takes a deep breath. "I apologise if I interrupted your plans. I know I barely got to know you but, standing up there...well, you're special Hoshiko-san. An unexpected combination of things, and..."

He stops. "I think you're going to do great things. It would be an honor to be by your side as you do them."

"It was... a surprise." she admitted. "But, I did enjoy our dinner and I have thought of you since then. You aren't what I was expecting. However, you are a good match, Tetsu-san. I can be happy with this."

Tetsu carefully examines his being before he answers. "So can I. I can't promise all the sights you might want to visit but I expect you might see something new."

"Tell me about where you've been." she suggested. "What have you seen out there?"

"Lots of rugged planets." Tetsu replies honestly. "For me, there's a beauty to it, peace and quiet with jagged geography. There's industry too...my home world, Kaiu Prime, has forges that I can't count, a massive industrial yard."

"That's difficult for me to imagine. All I know is Asakaze." she said. "I've heard so many stories of other planets, so many amazing things, I can't wait to see them."

Tetsu offers out his hand, trying to take hers. "If things go well, we'll see a whole lot of it. I want to see the Imperial Court too, and who knows where else."

She set her hand in his, after a moment of hesitation. "It will be nice to travel. How do you feel about dogs?"

"I've never had one, but I'm willing to learn." Tetsu quirks a smile. "How do you feel about drones? Maybe we can work a dog walker one..."

"That might be a challenge, to craft something that can keep Ren in line." she laughed.

Tetsu offers a legitimate smile to that. "I like challenges"

"Do you like to dance?" she asked with a grin.