Satoru resumed his seat after choosing and watched the rest go by no surprises in the final moments his eyes scanning the matches, the happy ones, the heartbreaks, more than one or two angry faces poorly concealed. He took a moment to thank the fortunes he never got caught up in any of the drama. He had been a samurai, he came he did his job and now he returns home with a marriage promise.

He looked to others and gave nods of greetings and congratulations. Ichika, Mumei, Ryuu, his cousin Tsugiharu and he looked to Hyeon-ju and her intended and gave a nod towards them as well. If there was one match he would have let himself foolishly hope for it might have been her and her intended was kin to his which deserved an acknowledgement as well.

"Ah... I see." Well, she knew he had good taste in partners at least, as she liked both of those women.

Seeing Satoru's nod, she returned the gesture. And noticing that he was alone, she looked back to Hayato. "Kuchiki-san seems open for conversation, if you would like to be introduced...?"

"It would probably be wise." He offered after a moment of thought. He wasn't really comfortable with the idea, but he would do it for the sake of Hyeon-ju and his cousin.

Nodding, Hyeon-ju resisted the urge to take his hand to lead the way, even knowing it would be acceptable by Unicorn-standards. But for now she wanted to adhere to the air of formality that this ritual of choosing demanded, so she settled for holding his sleeve gently as the pair moved over to the lone Spider.

"Kuchiki-san," the still-Utaku greeted, dipping into a bow to Satoru. "Congratulations on your match. This is Tsuruchi Hayato, cousin of your intended. Hayato-san, this is Kuchiki Satoru, a doctor and a shugenja."

There. Easy and direct.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kuchiki-san." Hayato offered with a ghost of a smile. His bow was a bit formal, though he managed to make it look not at all stiff.

Eriko couldn't help but let out a laugh at that, "Can you believe this woman? Let's just keep that image of what could have been in your head and thank the Kami that it didn't actually have to play out like that. But nice outfit, let's just hope I don't get tired of seeing it."

Yul looked at Hide. "Yeah, I can believe her. Hide and I get each other." He gave her a nod and a grin.

His expression softened. "And hey, thanks. We're really happy. And I can tell you guys are, too. So..." Yul smirked. "Watch each others' backs, huh?"

Satoru bowed appropriately in return "Utaku-san, Tsuruchi-san. Congratulations on your coming union." He said to both turning his attention to Hyeon-ju "you deserve someone who will make you happy and if my eyes don't betray me I think you've found that." From what he had learned of this Unicorn even the simple gesture of a grabbed sleeve spoke volumes.

"As do you im sure Tsuruchi-san, I promise to do my best to be a good husband to your cousin. The Spider life is not always an easy one but it is a burden that can be shared." He said turning toward Hayato.

"Oh, you'd have done fine. The uniforms really did look sharp up there, but let's be honest, we would have all loved seeing each other up there in paper bags and been just as happy." She grins. "How much trouble are you planning to get into before the wedding?"

"And thanks. Glad to see my roomies getting good matches," She glances toward Satoru, talking with Hyeon-ju and Hayato. "all of them. And not drawn into the dramas. Sorry about your clanmate, Hide-san" She's talking about Akihito, but might easily be thought to be talking about Nozomi.

“Ah, yes. Us roomies avoided the... Really volatile stuff. And I’m happy for a lot of the friends we made here. I saw that Kitsune-sama chose Shiba-san. Good choice.”

“It’s a military dress uniform, Eriko-san,” she cocked her head to the side questioningly. “What are you going to do about that if you get sick of me wearing it?”

Tenma had been prepared; As she had told Hayato, if Ruhe hadn't been able to pick her before it got to her she would have sealed the deal. She'd watched the rest with keen interest, especially Hayato choosing that beautiful Unicorn she'd met once, and her roommate picking an Osprey.

Ruhe had managed to find Tenma in the crowd easily enough since the woman was perched on a fence, listening as Akemi chose a Lion woman she did not recognize.

"I'm happy." He told her. "Double so seeing how this happiness ain't easy here. Not everyone is leaving with the spouse of their dreams after today. And here you are, mine to think of a life with. I can promise you that your dreams will always be important to me." He continued when he'd caught her full attention.

Looking away from where the announcements were taking place, Tenma looked down at Ruhe with a sort of soft smile, "I think some people want to much. I just want someone who will make me happy and I can be honest with. Is someone like you really so hard to find?"

The Suzume was sporting her more fancy clothes again, this time wearing her velvet jacket with an embroidered spider mon despite the weather. She had tried her best to keep her usual self during the ceremony - calm, impassive eyes, almost a bit detached. It might even have fooled some onlookers, but for those who knew her a bit better - as was certainly the case for Mumei, Koseki and Izumi - it was clear she was quite anxious. She kept fidgeting much more than usual, hands shifting from her trousers' pockets to her hair, then extending to stretch in front of her body, then stopping at her legs to tap a melody.

She hadn't planned on being anxious about this at all. She hadn't planned to expect something. And yet... here she was, feeling just as silly as she had as a child when expecting to get her first Shamisen...

Cheering happily and loudly for the other members of the MCA helped her relax a bit. She was really happy for Izumi and Atsumori, for Mumei and Yul, and for Koseki with that Isawa girl. She waved at them, her smile larger than usual. It was really great that they had all found such good matches!

Some of the other matches were... surprising. That Scorpion with Chiruha, and Akihiko with the Crane were... big surprises, to say the least. Still she hadn't expected Nozomi, who she had met just the night before, to react as she did. Apparently Akihiko's behaviour had not been taken well by others not only in the battlefield that day. She shrugged. The Lion were....a bit wild, she thought. Maybe it was something to be expected. She didn't really know the Clan all that well... but she was still a bit surprised. Still, she had fought alongside Hide as well, and it was clear they were honourable and courageous fighters. Well, some were, at least.

So, when Hide announced she would be marrying Kuni Eriko, Shion smiled again, and she nodded to both of them when she had the chance. She truly hoped they would be happy together.

All that happened throughout the ritual slowly made her feel a bit more at ease... and she hadn't quite noticed it, but so did the fact that nobody had said Ichika's name.

When the Doji walked up to the stage, however, the calm that had been building up quickly dissipated. Shion's fingers seemed to be drumming thrash metal, or maybe samba on her laps, her cheeks were red, and her eyes kept shifting from the floor to Ichika.

Then she heard the Courtier's words... and she froze. She felt a shiver going up her spine, and it took her a moment to realize that had actually just happened. She kept standing motionless for almost a minute, and only noticed the flush on her cheeks and the smile that had crept to her lips when she finally shook her head to come back to reality and saw Ichika walking down, making way for Asako Mal-Chin to go to the stage.

She looked at the others who might still be around, unable to completely hide her smile, and tried to make her way closer to Ichika in the crowd.

"I don't know, and we might never learn, since we're done with that search." He kept smiling. He was unlikely to stop anytime soon. "But I think you get more than that in the Moto Ruhe Power Pack, just as I am super lucky with all the lovely things in Bayushi Tenma Wonder Set."

A big smile graced her lips.

"Indeed; The pack is full to bursting with new surprises I've found."

She glanced back towards the stage.

"I do wish I could have helped, somewhat. I know I'm no Nakado, but I feel like I had the time and energy to help more people end up as happy as I am."

"Maybe it's just the bias of timing." He looked at Hyeon and Hayato. "Those two look good together, sparks may start flying at some point even though her initial plan was a Lion, probably the one that caused the whole ruckus." Her smile was something he'd always enjoy coming back to. "But our match is also something our bosses are likely to approve of so can't hold back the feeling that we really made the most of it. But guess we can stay in touch with our buddies and mates, support them in some way, raise spirits and all that."

"Thank you, Kuchiki-san, I agree wholeheartedly with your words to my intended, and I will try my hardest to make sure I can bring her, all the happiness I can manage." Hayato dipped his head in thanks. before continuing. "I should add that I mean no insult but I find your words about my cousin reassuring too. I have heard stories about life among the spider. It's encouraging to learn she will have someone willing to walk that path with her."

"I know you have not had the chance to see her, or even chat with her yet. But I could remedy one of those things if you like. I havea picture of her forwarded to me by my father if you wish to see it."

\

While so many others had found their groups to chat with, to react with perhaps, Ichika was off on her own for the moment. Glancing around, watching those she knew and didn't talk. How they interacted with one another was a little moment, a little thing to remember for the future. A life moment she will surely never live again.

There was a beauty in it.

During her glancing around though, she'd of course notice Shion making her way over. Resting her hand down by her side she hid the fiddling with her index finger behind the fabric of her kimono. Smiling and waving to Shion a little with the other hand as she got closer.

Shion's happiness was still clear on her face as she got closer, waving to some of the others and taking in the happiness of quite a few of the others around - even if she noticed the disappointment or even hate in the faces of some others. As she got closer, she waved to Ichika as well, then bowed respectfully to her... fiancée.

The word sounded a bit odd in Shion's mind, but she repeated it a few times in thinking... and, in a way, it did feel... right.

"Doji-sam...san. I.... arigatou gozaimasu, I suppose I'd like to say", she said with her head still bending.