She raised an eyebrow at that, but humor glinted in her eyes. "Oho? Does this mean I do need to keep an eye on you to behave? Are you going to show your true colors as some scoundrel of sorts now?"

Picking up some of the tofu with her chopsticks, Hyeon-ju decided to re-enact a part she had enjoyed on their more formal date and lifted it towards him. "Aaahh."

"That might be wise." He observed with a playful smile the hand nearest her, moving onto her thigh. "Who know what I'll try now that I'm alone with you."

The gesture did bring a smile to his lips and obligingly he opened his mouth and said. "Aaaahhhhh."

At least this time there was a little less embarrassement too about the very couple-like activity of feeding eachother bites of food, and much more fun too since it was just the two of them. No one to start some scandalous rumor or anything that would spiral out of control.

It seemed the Spider and Crab had done their work there in keeping the rumor mill churning.

With a smile she passed the morsel of tofu to Hayato's mouth, chuckling a little bit over it all. "I didn't think I'd be doing that again so soon. Didn't think it would be so amusing either, like it was in movies or serials, but I can certainly see the appeal, I think. It's kind of cute." On occassion, of course. It would get tiresome to do it all the time.

"I was so busy this miai not thinking that this could happen, I never got around to asking you what life as a Mantis, or more specifically a Tsuruchi, is like?"

He took a moment to chew and swallow the tofu, she was right it was cute. Though he didn't think he'd want to do it all the time. Still there was the desire to see how her reactions would be now as compared to before. Picking up a morsel of tofu in his chopsticks, Hayato offered it her way. "Aaaahhhh."

"It's different." He admitted to her with a soft smile. "Even when you take into account how different the Mantis will be to you. The way of the wasp isn't followed purely anymore like it was in the past, it's now formed a weird kind of amalgamation with bushido. One that you are unlikely to understand at first, and I admit it will take some getting used to."

He paused for a moment. "It's why I don't carry a katana. In the distant past our founder broke his blade and swore to never again to use a sword. Some of us break them even now to pay homage to his memory. I think it's a good life though, even if it's not exactly typical. One of the old tenants that most of us still cling to is brotherhood. It basically means that every Tsuruchi considers themselves family. Which i suppose is a bit weird when you think of marriages between us."

"Aaaahhh." Chomp. She watched him with a satisfied smile as she chewed on the tofu while listening to the stuff she hadn't really known about the Tsuruchi in specific before.

"Hmm..." her brows knitted together in some concern, "I hope it's not expected that I'll break my katana if I become a Tsuruchi?" It would be a terrible waste for one, and it was also a weapon she was skillfully proficient with. She could understand the idea of family and brotherhood though, as many Unicorn considered themselves one big family.

Now that was cute in its own way. Though the stone faced composure had been a bit more adorable. He fought down the urge to kiss her, they were eating not playing pass the ice cube. Though....

"No." He answered simply with a shake of his head. "Not even all of the Tsuruchi do it, and you'll need your sword just in case." He gave her thigh a gentle squeeze. "Doing so is just one of the more traditional ways of honoring the path of our ancestors."

He took a bit of his soup, the bowl almost done, he signaled the staff they would soon be ready for the next course. "I suppose I should tell you the various tenets of the Way of the Wasp. Given as you will likely encounter part of it at least."

Hayato took a moment to put his thoughts in order. The ancient tenets weren't even part if his day to day, at least not fully. "Honesty, loyalty, mercy, justice, brotherhood, and judgement." He smiled slightly. "Though I suppose those don't make a lot of sense to you without an explanation."

It would not be the last time he'd see her more composed expression over these couple-things, but that would be in the future. Besides in private, she felt it more acceptable to be a bit more silly with eachother.

Sipping the last remains of her soup, she only had a few pieces left of the vegetables.

At least she was relieved they didn't expect her to break her sword upon marriage. And she was certain the blade would see use regardless - either in battle, or in a duel.

"Honesty, loyalty, those are at least ones I can relate to from Bushido. Mercy is like Compassion, I suppose... but I'm more uncertain on justice, brother, and judgement. Not that they are unknown words to me, but just like with Bushido, the tenets are more than just the words."

"Yes, they do have some similarities there." He agreed, though sincerity and honesty were not quite the same. Neither were mercy and Compassion. Those were chats for another evening though.

"Brotherhood is what I mentioned before, we're all family and family doesn't face each other in battle." It was the simplest explanation he could think of and ran to the core of the idea.

He let his hand slip from her thigh as the bulk of their meal came in. Grilled fish, rice, a stir fried mix of a variety of mushrooms, and pickles of various kinds of course. Letting the servant collect the finished soups, he waited for the man to exit before continuing. "Justice is... Well, the emperors law is the Supreme law of the Empire. So one does not try to twist the words of the law to their benefit." The actual words coukd probably be called a bit mkre insulting.

"As for judgement? I think it is one of the parts I like the most. It means sometimes in our lives the code we follow will prevent us from doing the right thing. It is in those moments we must do what we feel is right, and answer for what consequences that might come from that action later."

The food looked absolutely wonderful, though a part of her was missing the cuisine of home... it would've been a rough 12-day stay without Tian's around the corner from the inn.

"That's... a lot of food," she remarked with a wry smile. Especially knowing there was more coming after this too.

"Ah, but I can understand that meaning of Brotherhood - it is not too dissimilar from some of Shinjo's Laws. Not only do we consider people many generations ago removed to be family still, just so you know why you had to sit through four intensely long readings of family history today. But it is also that it is forbidden for a Unicorn to spill another Unicorn's blood..." which had meant that way more creative ways had been invented in the ancient days of the clan to circumvent such rules, though killing one's fellow kin was still not kosher.

As they were ready to dig into the main event of the meal, Hyeon-ju studied Hayato's face curiously as she mulled over his words. "I'm still trying to get the hang of that. Following my gut, as Yul would call it." Though judging by her tone, she seemed determined to do better, if that was the way of her new family.

"Yes, I asked that they condense some of the corses so we wouldn't have servants running in and out as much. I thought it would be nice to be disturbed as little as possible tonight." It gave more time for private moments.

"Yes, and it's not like you'll be expected to follow the code yourself, knowing it might just help you understand why some people take the actions that they do." He smirked. "Still it's nice to know why I had to listen to the names of so many of your ancestors... Will I be expected to remember them?"

"It's not easy." He agreed, watching the Utaku much like she watched him. It was still kind of a shock to him to see her next to him and not the one he had thought he was going to wed. Not that he was disappointed, but it had been rather fast. "Just think on why you gave permission for me to choose you, and why I agreed to. I think that might help?"

"Clever," she smirked, approving of him thinking a step ahead on these things.

"And not really no... though, in the future it would be nice to have on hand for whenever any children of ours that we might have are to marry? I won't press the issue too hard as I understand it's not your ways, but I would like to try to adhere to the ancient laws if possible." The way Cranes basically married their cousins was kind of disgusting. No wonder why they couldn't pronounce their R's. Ok, she felt a little bad for thinking that about Ishiyo and cleared the thought away by helping herself to some of the mushrooms at first.

Her lips pressed into a line for a moment and Hyeon-ju looked at Hayato as her hand touched his. "Yes... and, that was a moment for me too, that I acted on that gut feeling, when I asked you. The tactical side of me... I knew I could have maybe set my hopes on a widowed Ikoma I had never met. Or stolen Nozomi-san from Shoan-san. And they both would probably have accepted it too, that I feel certain of, but I would not have liked it. Not one bit." She frowned, for a moment uncertain. "But, I don't regret this, Hayato. I'm ashamed to say it was a moment of desperation for me, to ask like that for you to be with me, but... I don't regret it."

He glanced around the romm, a wry smile on his lips. "I do have my moments."

"I want to honor your traditions where I can Hyeon-ju, if it's your wish to find spouses for our children in that way, then that's how it will be." He didn't even need to think about that It was an easy enough thing to give her after all. "Though I suppose we should probably think on how many children we might like to have, as well as where to raise them." He met her eyes for a moment, but left out saying 'and work on the how to have them to'.

"I don't regret this either, Hyeon-ju. Whether it was a moment of desperation or not, you are too fine a samurai to have even been put into that kind of postion." This time he followed his desires and leaned in to give her a tender kiss. "I may hate that may for what he did to you. But in small part i'll thank him to. because his selishness and foolishness had given me the chance to love you. Which is a gift i'll cherish for the rest of my years."

"Thank you," her hand closed around his, giving it a gentle but happy squeeze. "It means much to me to not have to give up all the ways I've grown up with and lived for all my life until now."

As he kissed her once more, she reached a hand up to caress his jawline in return, and giving him a few sweet and loving kisses in return. "I suppose it will make for a dramatic retelling of how we met for those who ask. And, I praise the Fortunes that we both will have this opportunity to be happy. Together. We'll make this work out somehow for our clans - you're smart, and I'm stubborn, so... yes, I believe in us."

She did take a deep breath as the topic of children came up, and well, it was a natural one to discuss. And best to do it early so that they both knew what they would be getting into in the future.

"Where to raise them would depend some on how the relations between our clans will look like, but if we can manage to draw both sides closer, it would be nice if at least one of them would train with my Family. Which I don't think should be objectionable by your family, no? The Utaku are the finest pilots in the galaxy, after all." And she was rather proud of that. Who wouldn't want exceptionally skilled pilot for their forces. "As for how many... I guess I hadn't given that much thought before. I come from a large family myself, so I would like for more than just one - siblings is a good thing to have, I'm sure you agree."

Hayato squeezed her hand in return. "They are a part of what makes you who you are. I wouldn't want to take that from you." His own hand moved to her neck as they kissed, if this continued he might just forget about dinner.

"I suppose it will, which isn't something most can say. You think we'll be the type of couple to annoy others with the retelling of it in years to come?" That might make them a bit like Yul and Mumei though. "But yes, we'll make it work."

"No, at the very least I don't object and I can be fairly persuasive when I set my mind to it." It might be hard for the child far from home, but that was part of being a samurai. He watched her for a moment trying to gauge her true feelings. "But yes I agree, siblings are a good thing, my thoughts of the matter were something on the larger side... So at least three." Maybe she would find that acceptable.

A few more kisses were exchanged before she gave it a break by gently leaning her forehead against his.

"Oof, I don't think I want to be that insufferable. At least not all the time," Hyeon-ju chuckled quietly. "Occassionally do, I think it will be fun. I don't want the story retold so much it loses its charm, you know."

One more kiss, and then she'd finally manage to pull away. "We shouldn't let the food turn cold." And that would be a waste, especially since the mushroom here at least was rather tasty.

Considering the number, there was a small blush on her face, even as she was mostly maintaining her On with a lopsided smile. "Three or more would be nice, yes," the Utaku said honestly, even a touch bashfully.

"It seems like your family-life was stable enough to have you and your sisters raised well, so I think it should be possible for us too. What was it like to grow up with your family, on your homeworld?"

"Definitely not all the time." He agreed with a soft chuckle. "Just in the little moments like this I think, the quite times with family around us. Friends too I imagine is we're asked."

"You're right." Hayato offered with a small smile he didn't create any more distance but he did shift slightly so he could start eating. "This is the first time I've eaten here i should take the time to enjoy it."

"Then we start there..." It was somewhat of an intimidating number to consider a start. His eyes were on Hyeon-ju for a few moments. But with a look like that he didn't mind one bit.

"Growing up with my family? It could be a lot of fun, even with how demanding my father could be at times. My homeworld Zuiryu is a bit backwater and far away, but its quite beautiful. Most of the Mantis cities float on the seas, and boating, swimming and the like are common. It was a lot of fun spending time playing on the artificial beaches."

"Is it? I would have thought you had taken at least one or two dates here." Judging by her tone it wasn't her first time here, but she wasn't going to make a point about it.

And to some the number would probably be intimidating, but Hyeon-ju wasn't one to do things without full effort, and children was an important duty to their clan.

"Ah, that sounds wonderful... and great places for oshidama I imagine too. I've only gone swimming in pools, and the natural lakes on Golden Fields, so it would be great to see these floating cities. And try boating." How different could it be from driving on land? "Do you do things like diving and snorkling too? I've seen advertisments for that on other planets."

"You're the first, taking someone a super expensive fancy dinner just seemed too easy." He smiled slightly. "So instead I tried to turn my mind to other places and things that others might not have done yet." Hayato shook his head and chuckled lightly. "Though I only ever got to use one of them."

"Oshidama is popular." He agreed with a grin. "Though from what I understand it's not just popular where i'm from but among the Unicorn too." That was something they had in common. "Yes, and if you've never been that's something I'm going to have to remedy as soon as i can. It's beautiful down there and so much to see. It will have to be one of the first things we do together when we visit my home."

There was a short pause. "Would you like to be married among the lands of your family?" Hayato asked his eyes looking towards hers.

"At least among our pilots. It's a good game for winding down while also practising teamwork." And of course kept them active and quick thinking.

The question gave her pause from the meal, as she looked back at him, hazel eyes calm and thoughtful. "I... don't know, to be honest. I hadn't given it thought before, and I think my family would be happy to travel for a wedding." A chance to visit a new world was always appriciated. "That's one I will have to think on."

"You get to wear cute swimwear too." He added with something of a cheeky smile.

He thought she might leap at that, and was a bit surprised when she didn't. Though, her clan was one of explorers so maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. "Well, it is your decision." Hayato replied with a soft smile. "If it's not any pressure of course."

Hayato took a moment to eat, his mind drifting back to Ishiyo for a few moments. He had been expecting to spend these moments with her after all. They'd been in fact kissing less then twenty four hours ago. Two men had changed that though. A small shake of his head and a slow breath dismissed those thoughts though. It was no time for them. "I'm going to need to quit smoking aren't I." He said instead.