While she listened Ichika followed along, eyebrows raised a little as she looked forward while they walked. A play of the two scenes in her mind contrasted against one another. "Slugged him?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked to Shoko.

"Laid him down with my fist", he clarified. "He was being a clown and saying some horrible things, but he's our host and outranks me besides."

He walked on a bit longer. Jaw set like he might grind his teeth.

Then he shrugged, letting it go. "But he's not here now anyway, you are. And I have much gentler plans for tonight."

"O-oh," she commented on the first, sheepish and buried. After the spot of walking, when he spoke again, she half-smiled, "I do hope you do, Daigotsu-sama," a soft half-chuckle.

This is where he would make a joke about her being strong enough to take him in a fight, as he's quite defenseless when it comes to women, but he didn't.

"Worry not, it's a surprise, and I apologize ahead of time for it, but I did it thinking of you."

He walked to a pond, slightly aglow in the darkness ahead of them, it was a bit moody, really. Though somewhat broken by it not having some babbling brook next to it, and only being a ground water pond, slightly disturbed by bubbles here and there so it didn't become stagnant.

He sniffed. "It still smells like water, at least. Gets the mushroom scent right out, hm?"

Walking forward she looked to the pond, aglow as it was, with a light smile. "Mhmm," she agreed, near thoughtlessly as she glanced around. Looking to him she smiled, "Never got to see anything quite like this back home," she commented. Looking back around, observing the water and the flora of the little patch of garden they were in as best as she could in the low-light conditions.

"Where does Doji-san come from, anyway?" he asked. "I'm sorry, I'd have asked you ages ago, but I mistakenly just assumed you came from Kyuden Doji on Rokugan."

he blinked a few times, scratching the back of his head again, looking actually sheepish.

Ichika chuckled into her sleeve. Walking over toward the water she squatted down beside it, looking into it as she spoke.

"I'm not from the homeworld no," she chuckled again, "but I am still from Crane space. Lived in one of our beautiful cities all of my life, the passive beauty of our planets are hard to forget. Yet.. even then, as dangerous as the beauty of this planet is there's still a beauty to it yea?" she said, glancing over with a smile but shaking her head. "Don't worry," she waved her hand, "I'm not changing the subject Daigotsu-sama," she laughed lightly into her sleeve again. Looking back to the water she seemed to reach out toward it a little, but thought better and found a piece of plant nearby to prod at the surface of the water with instead.

"My home was on the lower side of one of our major cities. Close enough that I remained there even through my schooling. Beautiful architecture with flowing rolling hills of green off in the distance. A waterfall was somewhat near my house, not nearly as extravagant as some of those in the northern part of the city but.. it was still beautiful. Clear waters that me and my friends went to swim in frequently when we'd gotten older and needed the relief after our schooling."

"So different from here, hmm?" she said, glancing over her shoulder again.

He looked thoughtful for a bit. "So...it was a city though? The way you talk about it seems like a large town, i guess. Or was the water on the outskirts?" He seemed to be trying to put a picture together in his head that landed him somewhere swimming with Ichika and he decided to focus on the here and now instead.

"That is...well, my place is a bit more rural, I guess."

"Crane planets are pretty," she said, with a soft sigh, "but they're also tamed. If that makes sense, Daigotsu-sama?" she shook her head regardless. "I mean.. the waterfall was small and beautiful, part of the outskirt of the lower end of the city but it was.. constructed. Designed to appear to be natural, beautifully done but.. it wasn't made by chance. Kind of like this spot right here, yea?" she said with a small smile.

He recalled talking about garden planets with Michiya almost in that same spot earlier.

"I get it, yeah", a nod and he scratched his chin. "Sounds nice, too bad this pond is too small." He reached into his obi and snatched the sunglasses. "If you use these, you can see a lot more, the plants here give off some amazing UV light. Want to?" He offered them over.

"Oh!" Rising from her spot she turned to him. Happily accepting the glasses with a dip of her head. "I've been meaning to get a pair of these.. always feel like I've been missing so much in here without them," she said, chuckling a little as she held them up to her chest.

"Thank you, Daigotsu-sama," she said with a small smile. Dipping her head once more she put the shades on. With her mouth only slightly agape she looked around them. Each passing second brought her smile to be brighter and brighter as she glanced around. "Oh.. it's- it's beautiful Daigotsu-sama," she said, her voice trailing and distracted by the unanticipated view.

"Look up, too", he said, leaning over her shoulder. Not too close, though. "The mushroom tops are this iridescent purple, look like they're fogging everything."

Ok, maybe just a little close.

Didn't take much for her to follow the directions, looking up toward the tops of the flora. Low-light became something of a show as she glanced around, taking it all in as much as she could. How close he'd gotten didn't seem to register as she absorbed the scene.

Which was good, because he took in her scent and then stepped back just enough.

"It's a sight, huh? The first time I looked was during the day, almost blinded myself as the sun came right between those two big caps."

A soft chuckle slipped through her reverie at the sight above. "Bad luck," she said softly, another soft laugh. Slowly her gaze drifted down again, along the stalks of the flora surrounding them. Looking at both the very stalks she traced and the other tops of flora that held just a bit lower than the canopy.

"It's beautiful, hmm?" He said, making a maze of his words again.

"Mmmhmm," she vocalized, still looking around. Each and every piece of flora she wished to try and commit to memory. All too aware of how fleeting this moment was, this place. Some day it would all be a distant memory but this view was here and now. Ichika was determined to make the most of that.

He felt the same, he wasn't even oggling her anymore. He just stayed in the moment with her, knowing what she was seeing.

Some long moments pass but with a soft sigh she eventually removed the shades he'd handed her. Turning about to face him, she backed up if she needed for propriety, and then handed him back his shades. "Thank you, again, Daigotsu-sama," she said, a soft smile and a dip of her head.

"It's no trouble, happy to help", he said, taking them back. "Come on, we can sit down this way", and he walked further on the path. "Have you been out to the forest, by the way?" He asked over his shoulder. "It's pretty different out there, saw some huge insects and iridescent moths, the mushrooms are huge, the smell too... it's different than what you take a normal forest for but it's... well, still smells like nature."