Hayato leaned against a wall as he waited for his date to arrive, idly playing with his silver lighter as he waited. He was dressed fairly casually thin grey dress shirt unstuck with the top two buttons loose, over a pair of black slacks. He'd taken the time to style his hair and his eyes were partially hidden behind a pair of silver rimmed sunglasses. The transition lenses pale in the dimness of the mall.

Checking his watch he turned his eyes towards the crowd. The Utaku seemed like she might just of been a little down when he had contacted her earlier. Not that he expected her to be late though.

And late she was not.

Her mood was down after the challenge earlier, having not finished near the top like she had hoped she would. Blasted Phoenix and their love of drones... give me a proper ship, damnit.

The heat of the weather made for some limitations in her wardrobe, but she still managed to look stylish in her jeans and top, paired with several bangles in different colors that formed a rainbow and with colorful earrings - the otherwise plain outfit became accessorized and stylish.

Spotting her 'date', she gave a wave and headed over in his direction. "Tsuruchi-san. I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

"Not at all." He offered with a easy smile, letting his eyes flick over for the Utaku for a moment, casual dress but she was still one of the most attractive women at the miai. "Somewhere along the line I was told I should never make a lady wait, so I just try to be early."

He pulled down his sunglasses for a moment so he could her more clearly a half mile tugging at his lips. "So where exactly did you have in mind?" He asked plaming his lighter and slipping it into his pocket.

"... Whichever place sells ice cream, I think. That might only be Tian's though?" She took a sharp breath which was the greatest indicator of her own disappointment, but she made an effort not to let it show.

"I imagine Daidoji-sama must be feeling similarly to myself right now." Hyeon-ju remarked, and she could relate well to how the Crane pilot must be feeling.

"It's the only place I've seen." Hayato replied pushing his sunglasses back up and stepping away from the wall to join the Unicorn as they made their way towards the shop.

"I can only imagine." He agreed with a nod. "I know I would of been all out of sorts if I didn't preform as well as I did in the biathlon." His smile was warm as he looked in her direction. "But soon we'll have ice cream, and while I know no words of mine will help. I'll hope at least to prove a distraction."

"Ah."

He had done very well in the biathlon. She felt herself that she had performed well in it considering how sick she had been the entire night before.

"I take some comfort in that it was about flying drones, and not... ships. Flying drones isn't something I do a lot, to be honest. Though I understand why the Phoenix wouldn't want to give each samurai a chance possibly crash whatever fighters they have available here." It made sense, really, that it was drones. But it still sucked.

"Yeah, seeing some of the other results I could imagine a host of crashed fighters if they tried that." More then he would care to imagine. "Still it's a shame. Especially since I bet on you." He offered with a smirk.

"But I suppose we can't win them all."

"Mm, and we both bet on Daidoji-sama, if I recall correctly. At least I can't regret betting on my wingmate, though. Or Akodo-sama."

Those two had at least been solid bets.

"But as you say, one can't win them all. That's the risks of betting."

"True enough." He offered with a smirk. "Though i suppose the bets weren't too steep either. At least not on my side."

Arriving at Tian's Hayato stepped inside, the automatic doors opening in front him. "And i recall you having something already in mind."

"Mm, I did." She nodded, but it seemed she was fine to wait until after they've gotten their ice cream. "By the way, how did you feel about your performance today? Shooting must've been a breeze for you."

He glanced away a bit of color touching his cheeks. "Apparently I'm less skilled at firing weapons from a Drone then you are at piloting one.... I just couldn't get the feel of it." The Mantis finished after a moment.

"Mm..." she nodded, not being cruel enough to rib him about it. "... I understand. It's... not the same, when you're not handling it directly. For me, reading off a radar while controlling a drone was just nothing like what it's like to fly yourself."

Her shooting had been good though, but not enough to make up for poor flying. "Well, at least it wasn't a real fight."

Stopping to look at the flavors available, she was having a hard time deciding.

"Yeah, I'm used to the feel of a gun in my hand and aiming down sights. It was weird sitting at a console to say the least." He sighed and shook his head

"Not a chocolate girl?" He asked, switching topics as he glanced at the selections himself.

"I do like chocolate, but... rum-raisin is good. Hmm..." she tapped her chin in thought, "but I think today is a maple-walnut day."

Hyeon-ju turned her head to look at Hayato. "What about you?"

"I'm usually a coffee sort of guy, but I suppose I should live a bit dangerously and go with Mint Chocolate chip." He offered with a bit of an amused smile on his lips as he stepped forward to place the order.

"One scoop or two?"

"I'm going to go crazy and say two." She hadn't wanted two scoops since she was a kid, when she had wanted as much as three scoops as once.

"Any flavors you don't like?" Hyeon-ju asked as the server began scooping up their ice cream.

"Living dangerously i see." He joked, of course he ordered two scoops as well. So the wasp really say much more then that.

"Mmm, I tend to stay away from anything that's super sweet other then that though I'm not too picky. You?"

"Hmm... I usually like sour or bitter for other things, but not for ice cream. Some sour cherry can be good though, but I'm not a fan of strawberry flavor for ice cream. Don't know why but often it doesn't feel like it tastes like strawberry at all." She shrugged a little, but kept her eyes on the prize that was the ice cream.

"Not enough strawberries and too much cream I'd imagine." It wasn't a favorite of his either for that very reason. Though he might like it better then the Utaku did.

Soon enough their cones were delivered though, and a frown made its way onto Hayato's features as he looked around. "Want to find someplace a little quieter to sit? It's kinda crowded in here."

Accepting the ice cream, she made sure to pick along extra napkins out of habit.

"Yes, that seems like a good idea." Still, she had to sneak in a quick lick of the first flavor. There were rules that ice cream must be tasted right away when in hand.