He walked to his side of the table and plucked up his densai, then walked back around to where he could see her clearly and knelt down on the floor. He grinned.

"When that time comes, the position will be much more compromising, I assure you", he tapped some apps on the densai, then started to walk around her, holding it up and snapping pictures.

"Annd there...good." He reached his hand down to her and lifted her head up by her chin, only to lean down and kiss her very deeply, like he was trying to eat the gyoza she had swallowed earlier.

She abandoned the pose, almost falling on her ass in the process, to stand and return the kiss properly.

Then:

"Let's try to get some food eating done or I'm going to eventually collapse from starvation."

Shokomaru smiled.

"You are such a Crab", he said with some mirth. Almost as if that was what he liked about her. "Sit down, we'll get to it." And he took his seat, placing the densai down, checking over the photos for a second, staring intently.

She poured sake for the both of them:

"It's a role I've trained hard for since I was a little kid. Not the hardest one honestly. Our clichés are well established and easy to play straight. Playing Spider seems a far more difficult role."

She eyed her densai quickly.

"I might require that you send me these pictures. And maybe ask that you delete some."

"You say Crab is easy to play, but I hear the girl act coming though quite smoothly as well", Shokomaru teased and put the densai down. "As to Spider? Hmm. It's slightly less difficult than Lion I think? Except instead of offering our seppuku for some slight only we noticed, we just die from a jealous rival or angry superior."

"Hey. Sometimes I wonder why we bother so much with you when you seem so adept at shooting yourself in the foot.

Maybe because, as the Lion open their belly far less often than they talk about it or they wouldn't be nearly as numerous, there is some exaggerations in your words. Unless you're speaking from personal experience? Even though you don't seem much dead to me."

"Me, exaggerate? Surely you jest, madam", he ate another gyoza. "Call my words into question if you like, but don't doubt the way I look at you."

And then he did. And she could probably read they were both lucky they were at a restaurant.

"You really did amaze me with that dress, by the way."

"Thought you deserved some reward for having born with my mood swings of yesterday. And for the plushie.

Plus I kinda feel like I have to get creative if I want to keep your attention in that sea of Crane beauties. Especially when the Crane are chasing on my turf. The Marquise of Herons really?"

He shook his head, seemingly confused on what she was talking about.

"The what?"

"The Marquise of Herons! There was a casting for promising wrestlers this afternoon and Ishiyo was competing with a birdie persona. And for some reason the judges chose her over me for the face role!

Oh and Hyeon-ju was playing the bad guy, but I'm okay with that. I wanted the good guy spot not the bad one."

"Oh, well, maybe she'll take a bad fall and they'll call you", he said. "Not that I hope she does, but it's all more dangerous than it looks, isn't it?"

"Wouldn't be the same thing. I'm used to replacement goldfish roles, wanted to be first choice for once."

"Well, you're here with me, isn't that something?" he asked, looking rather self-important about it.

A silence.

"There are many ways I could answer that, and about all of them would break the moment, so please tell me about your childhood or something instead."

"My mood is indestructible", Shokomaru assured the Crab. "My childhood was fine, I grew up the son of the boss who was out on campaign all year, with a mother who enjoyed her time alone. So I got to know people in my community. A few skinned knees and almost being eaten by a paddy gator later, I went to the rude awakening of dojo life, met my first girlfriend and worst enemy, lost them both at once, then carried on stoically to the officer corps where I was taught how to pretend everything is fine when really everyone is on fire."

"No siblings? No cousins?

We could fill a small army with the descendants of my grandfather so I have a hard time picturing growing up as a single child.

That seems... lonely. Can't imagine the other kids treating the blood of their lord as just another boy."

"Hm? no. I have a sister, Hanako, who I played with when I was a kid, sure", he said like he'd obviously mentioned her before. "She's at the dojo now, she'll be graduating in another year and likely go into Intelligence. I have a younger brother too, Shu, he's a child still, I think he's eight...?" he pondered it. "Yeah, he was born not around the time I went to the dojo myself...so he and I have only met a few times really."

"I'm somewhat reassured. So sister and brother eh? Which one of you three is going to inherit your nice little village then? You as the eldest? Would that mean the end of your military career or will you just delegate the day-to-day affairs to someone else?"

A grin.

"And of course, the important question: Is your sister taller than you?"

"I've already inherited it, what do you mean? The rank comes with the title and land", he shrugged. "And Hanako is shorter than me, she's not quite a gorilla, more like a monkey."

"Your parents are retired? Or are you only in charge of a fraction of the domain so far?

Cause grandpa may have allotted important positions in the family company to most of his children and a lot of his grandchildren... But he is definitely keeping the true power to himself."

She stuck her tongue out at him:

"Guess that makes me a gorilla then?"