"Both graceful and powerful", he held a hand up, swearing to his word. "If anyone else says that to you though, I'll have them shot. You are also Akemi-hime, after all."

He pushed the plate of gyoza toward her. "And you'll need your strength tonight, eat up", he advised. "As to the domain, it is mine. My parents want to focus on each other now that I'm old enough to bare the responsibly."

"Akemi-hime is quite able to punch the jerks herself but she appreciates the intent."

She chewed on a gyoza pensively:

"Focus on each other? That sounds suspiciously romantic. Are both of your parents military too?"

"No, my mother mostly stayed on planet, managing the estate, the village, all that", he answered after finishing one himself. "My father was out, usually for two years at a time, then a month off, then back to it."

"So in the end... Quite a normal childhood for a samurai? That's the kind of story a Lion, a Unicorn or even a Crab could have told me and I would have simply nodded in response.

I know you told me your planet is mostly restored by now and your living conditions are not worst than on this world for example... But I still have a hard time getting my head around it."

He shrugged. "It is what it is. I mean, it's got it's share of dangerous wilderness, but it's not quite Asakaze."

Little did he know how true that was!

"There's small cities all over, my village feeds a lot of people and livestock. It makes sense we have a decent place to live or nothing would ever get done."

"Hey. I'm sure you've got a grumpy old relative that rambles about how in their time they lived in a toxic swamp and people did work twice as hard as now and get four times as much things done. Generally while drinking their ideally hot tea in a solid healthy house before returning playing go."

She grabbed his wrist and turned his hand to show the palm upward, trying to determine if that was a peasant hand, a warrior hand or a courtier hand.

"You know I think most of your charm comes from the fact you're half a verbose playboy half a country bumpkin. I never know what to expect of you."

She'd see his hand was a little bit of all three, he just lacked the dirty fingernails to peg him as a peasant. There were kenjutsu callouses, the inside of his thumb from flicking a safety, the web of his hand from handling a rifle. Also it was clear from his fingertips he'd actually acquired a fair amount of paper cuts.

He tickled the palm of her hand with his fingers as she looked.

"And your charm is that you might kill me one day, despite the blushing and desire." he told her with a smile. "And how you're one half Crab princess of business, one half meat head. I have to say I like both."

Akemi did a half smile at the reminder they'll face each other on the battlefield one day:

"Sorry to kill your dream but it's unlikely you'll die by my hand unless you're the kind of general who charges ahead of his troops. Most likely, you'll be shot by a sniper at your camp or pulverized inside your bunker by a bombardment.

If you do want for me to kick your ass, I'll think we'll have to arrange to hit the dojo together instead.

That would give you a socially acceptable occasion to admire my meat at work in top of that."

"That's confidence, also sexy."

The spider took her hand in his now. "Getting close gets you killed, it's true. I'm still a samurai though, and if it's what is needed, I'll sell my life just the same. No need to make claims beyond that."

He kissed her hand then. Watching her eyes to see if she could really feel it.

She went to fondling her lips and chin with her mechanical hand:

"I told you that I can feel with it and the intensity is mostly the same. However if you ask if it's exactly the same sensation... The answer is no. No copy is that perfect.

But I'd rather consider that a bonus than a flaw."

"I'm always wondering, right now I'm wondering why your fingers are having all the fun."

"Damn. You're greedy. But I'm not telling you anything any of us don't already know."

She walked to his side of the table, her fingers playing under his chin, and kissed him.

"i'd say you have no idea", he kissed her back, hands reaching out to her waist to pull her into his lap. "But I'm beginning to think you do."

He turned her face toward his and kissed her again, feeling her side and hip.

A whisper between two kisses as her own hands moved around quite liberally:

"Please don't undo the robe. I don't have the fuckest idea on how to put it back together."

"Would it ruin the moment to say", he pressed her throat to his lips and kissed up to her ear. "That I have experience with these sorts of things and you shouldn't need worry much?"

Also liberal, possibly further past into anarchy with his hands.

Things were certainly getting messy.

"Dunno but it's an enlightening piece of information for sure.

Sadly I don't trust our ability to remain quiet enough to not draw the staff's attention if I was to put these skills to the test right now."

He shifted slightly so they could be more comfortable with her in his lap, and put a hand on her chest.

"That feels nice", he said, hand on the pulse of her heart. "It's racing, your lip is trembling." He kissed her again, squeezing.

After a long moment of that he looked down, a bit red in the face himself. "I think you're right, but I don't really want you to get up either."

"Well, guess I have no choice but to help you then." answered Akemi as she bent backward to grab whatever food was left on the plate and carefully brought it back to his mouth.

"Gotta show off that lengthily trained flexibility after all. I didn't spend a decade learning how to move fluidly in full armor to be defeated by a simple dress."

He chewed, eyebrow arched. Then swallowed. "Souunds like something I'll have to test further with a little more privacy." He wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her closer. "I ordered us sukiyaki, hope meat's ok."

She flexed, which didn't work that well in that dress:

"Do you think these guns are made of tofu?

Plus we met in the meat tent remember? There was you, me, and my three valiant knights. At the time, you had yet to recruit three fair ladies to stand by your side.

That was... 4 days ago? Feels like an eternity."