"To expectations and meeting them," she echoed and took a deep sip of the tea. It was strange to toast with tea here, but the galaxy was a strange place.

"... I admit, I never expected to find myself attending funerals while at a miai. One was too many, and Chiyoko-san's was the second. It feels... different, than attending funerals for your fellow soldiers who have fallen in battle."

Akihiko joins in the toast, thankful again for superior tea.

"This should be a place to think about beginnings, not endings," he observes, taking another drink of tea meditatively. "A focus on endings can be defeating. As we've spoken about, Matsu Chiyoko-san would want us to press on to better things than we may have seen here."

"Endings and beginnings often overlap," she remarked with an almost poetic tone.

"What sort of beginning do you find yourself looking for, hoping for, at the end of this miai?"

Hyeon-ju's question would normally make Akihiko anxious or evasive, but he's too tired for that. Too many emotions, too much shock. The word, hope, triggers the personal side of his rage and frustration at Chiyoko's death. His breath catches in his throat. He slowly sets his tea cup on the table, then closes his eyes and grimaces.

"Utaku-san asks a dangerous question." His voice wavers. "I had great hope yesterday. It was a kind of hope I had not felt in my time here. Perhaps I had only ever felt it when I was finishing advanced flight training. My dream of being a pilot was in reach, and my hope soared. I could see a clear, shining path to my dream." Akihiko takes a slightly ragged breath. "But yesterday's great hope was snuffed out last night."

On some level, Akihiko still wants to hold back, but in this moment he can't. His words come out quietly, sadly: "I would say that I do not know what I hope for now, but I will not lie to you." A deep sigh. "I hope for a miracle." He bows his head, hands on the table in front of him, and sits silently by that pained admission.

Hyeon-ju was rather someone who didn't avoid or let it show that subjects made her uncomfortable, having been more experienced with maintaining a stoic On in the face of such. But today... and right now, she was allowing herself that vulnerability to show more what was beneath her so-called 'ice queen'-demeanor.

"A miracle..." she echoed the word, wondering what a miracle would be like for him. Or for herself. A miracle would've been that Chiyoko had been alive. Maybe Hyeon-ju taking her place instead.

But no, such thought disgraced Chiyoko's dying words.

"... I'd like a miracle too." Her words were soft, echoing a sadness they both felt, although for different reasons. "You don't need to apologise for being honest with me, Akodo-sama. Likewise, I will not lie and say that... we're not put in a difficult position from all this, but," her lips parted as she sighed, her feelings showing subtly. Weariness, uncertainity, a little bit of fear. "... I think it's only fair, kind even, to give ourselves some time to mourn and... take time for ourselves and our own needs, before focusing ahead again tomorrow."

Akihiko watches Hyeon-ju attentively, still pleasantly surprised by the little giveaways that she's not that different from him. She just does it better.

The Lion takes a deep breath. "Utaku-san has a clear head and wise words, even under these terrible circumstances. Thank you, Utaku-san."

Her smile was unguarded, but more so was the Unicorn-gesture of offering her hand.

"We've both lost someone. A friend, a kinswoman..." future aspirations she thought, "but... I still wish to offer you my strength, at least in this moment. Sorrow is not we have to face alone, and perhaps best not faced alone."

There was a touch of shyness to her features. "It is what friends do for eachother - support one another. No matter how this goes, Akodo-sama, I... at least want to offer you that much. My friendship."

Akihiko is unfamiliar with the custom, but he hardly hesitates at a time when he feels he's almost literally grasping at straws. He takes her hand gently, as one might touch a delicate piece of art, and his eyes move back and forth between her eyes and her hand.

Not sure of what to do next, Akihiko just maintains that gentle touch for a long moment. The connection is simultaneously calming and electrifying. After another long moment he gulps, afraid he is somehow abusing the trust, and he starts to slowly remove his hand. His eyes are watching Hyeon-ju for any reaction at all.