Akihiko chuckles, and maybe he nods a little, as he shifts in his seat. "Ah, Utaku-san is an interesting choice. I actually met her by chance on the first day of the miai. Her mastery of Bushido was ... so impressive." The look on Akihiko's face seems at odds with his comment.

“Uh... Huh.” Hide didn’t want to ask. Probably was some kind of euphemism for something. “There’s always that musician Moto, if you’re willing to marry a man if it benefits the Clan. He’d have plenty of use if he could get stationed with the Ikoma, too. And they’d get along pretty well.”

The Akodo takes a moment to confirm he heard what he heard. "Oh. Ah, I suppose that's true..." It's clear the possibility had never entered Akihiko's mind, and now he's befuddled. "Uh, I hadn't... I mean, my family is pretty traditional." Hide could probably push the poor pilot over with a feather.

Hide was quite amused by Akihiko's mental state. "I mean, it's not at all uncommon. Plus, it's not like the relationship would be physical. It would be like having a roommate."

Akihiko was slowly recovering himself. "Right... I think, Matsu-san, that I have... enough trouble as it is. And Moto-san is likely picking before me anyway, so unless he picked me... for unknown reasons..." He waves his hand awkwardly, sort of shooing the idea away.

“I think you need to get out more.” Hide sort of wanted to see him fidget more; it was very amusing to her to see an Akodo like him not quite sure what he’s doing. “Go to the club. Get some dancing in, mingle. Maybe a drink.”

Akihiko makes a face. "Matsu-san," he says with the tiniest hint of a growl, "I drink fine."

"Besides getting out more," he says with a purposeful look look, "how can I help you achieve your mission?" The raised eyebrows make it clear he's bringing the conversation back to Eriko.

Akihiko’s growl is probably scarier than his bite, Hide supposed. With a shrug, she accepted the shift in subject. “What are you gonna do? Talk to the front runners? Wait that’s actually a pretty good idea in general.”

"It absolutely is. So yes, I will do that. On behalf of the Lion delegation, to give our clan members... a bit of stealth." Akihiko smiles like a commander who's just spotted his enemy's unprotected flank.

“I mean I... Wouldn’t be opposed to know who to look out for.” Hide felt her stomach knot thinking about it.

"If we can figure out who might endanger your mission, we can look for ways to neutralize them. There's still time before match day to have an impact. And, it's certainly important to bring the Lion and Crab closer together, right? We need to work on this. Duty to the clan," Akihiko says with a smile.

"Let's check in, in a couple days, to see what more we know and what still needs doing." Akihiko is smiling, but as he reflexively takes a drink of tea, he makes a bitter face.

“Couple days, huh?” Hide looked down at the tea sitting in front of her with dismay. “I have a lot of things to think about before then. Hmm.”

Recovering from the tea, Akihiko adds, "Things are happening quickly, and may change quickly, just like pin any battlefield. Completing our objectives will take focused effort. Or we leave it to chance, and perhaps end up wed to... others."

“Objectives... Alright. Get information. Maybe get a one-on-one with her. Got it.” Despite that Hide still had no clue what she would do to achieve her goals. Well, at least she knew well how to live by flying by the seat of her pants.

"You can do this, Matsu-san."

[OOC: /scene?]

/scene!