"You sound like you have some ideas for swimwear," she smirked and looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"And... thank you, but it is your wedding day too. I would like us both to have a say, and to find what works best for our slightly unusual match." And there were things like considering the traditions of each and the expectations of her new family - it wouldn't be good to start off on the wrong foot.

If she knew what was on his mind, it wouldn't have troubled her. They had both ended up here through the actions of others, with unusual circumstances. "Ah." It was something Hyeon-ju had wanted to bring up, though she had considered later. "It would make me happy, if you did. But I won't ask you to drop it completely - I know soldiers need their small vices to stay sharp in the field and if you're out on tour for weeks, I don't want you to feel bad for something as simple as that."

"Perhaps because I'll marry the woman with the best legs at this miai." He said playfully, his eyes shifting towards her thighs. "And I want to see more of them."

"I suppose you're right about that." It seemed she had her moments too. "We'll decide together then." His eyes shifted to the side. "I had always thought of someplace a bit out of the way, with a beach and a good view of the stars. So me and my spouse coukd watch them together after." He likely wasn't referring to after the marriage.

His eyes shifted back to hers, and his smile was once again a bit cheeky. "I think I told you already I'd quit for the right person, and it seems a good way to get you to kiss me more." Breath mints really only went so far. "But I like your idea, its very workable."

She stifled her laugh behind the back of her hand and her shoulders jerked slightly from containing the mirth. "My legs?" Hyeon-ju asked, grinning back at him. "I had heard of men being attracted to certain body parts, but that one's new. I'll take that compliment though."

A beach did sound romantic. She didn't know how sandy it could be, or coarse, or how it got everywhere. "A beach huh... that sounds nice. Romantic even. Especially the star-watching."

She continued eating a bit more, savoring the taste between each bite as well as savoring this moment together. "... Will your parents expect me to be part of the business? You mentioned before your father is president of Haruto Arms?" Some businesses were much more 'in the family' than others, she knew, though she wasn't sure the extent if how much that was the case for Hayato.

Right, she recalled he'd mentioned something about his sisters being considered more for inheriting that job.

He smiled as she laughed. "Yes, and it's legs for me." His tone was a bit playful as he continued. "It made choosing which Yakumo outfit to have made difficult." He grinned, and ran a hand through his hair, the look in his eyes a bit mischievous. "Not that I don't find the rest of you..... acceptable."

"I thought so." He agreed, images flashing through his mind of them lying together under the stars, and finding an out of the way part of the beach where he would slip a hand into her swimsuit and they... Why did the military have so much pornography.

"No." Hayato replied shaking his head to answer her and banish away the stray thoughts that had brought a bit of color to his cheeks. "I mean, if you want to, but I want you to fly." It was something he didn't want to take from her. "My father and sisters, will do well enough for the business. I've only been something of a poster boy for it myself though by participating in shooting contests."

"Yes, she does tend to favor showing the legs..." the Spider idol was rather known for her thigh-highs, and those long legs, and the curves. Hyeon-ju on the other hand had a much more martial physique, and not quite as tall. "And you're not bad looking yourself, you know. Even if you were a bit dishevelled the first time we met." She nudged him gently with her shoulder, careful enough so he wouldn't spill his food.

"I'm sure there will be a place for me as a pilot among the Mantis." All the clans had pilots after all, and most worlds had some planetary defense. That wasn't drones. "But I don't mind supporting you and your family where I can. I'm a fairly good shot too, you know. Maybe not Tsuruchi marksman good, but I know my way around a rifle."

It was kind of a weird thought now that she was thinking about it that some of her best showing this miai had, in fact, been shooting. The less said about her drone, the better.

Now he just needed to find a way to get his fiance to show off hers. He smiled at the nudge and returned it carefully. "Thank you, I like that compliment a lot better then some i recieved." A light chuckle rolled form his lips. "Some of the people here seemed to be treating me like some boss type character at this miai. Like I was good at everything and almost a character from a romance novel."

He took a few moments to eat, before glancing in her direction. "I noticed, I wasn't just looking at who won which contest, I was looking at the results" He offered her a smile. "You weren't good at everything, but you did well where it counts. You're a credit to your sensei. Which isn't ssomethign I can say about everyone here."

"Oh?" That did draw her curiosity. "What were the other compliments then? It better not have been anything bad about what you wore for the ceremony today, because that was a very nice ensemble." Some delicate Cranes might've disagreed, but she liked her own fashion sense more.

"Boss like character though... hmmm... I suppose I can see it. You always, at least to me, seemed confident about yourself and the situation you were in, and you seem to know when to act and how. Decisive even. And also keeping your head in the game. Some others I met here, they had similar background as you, but were tripping over themselves or failing to see the big picture of the miai." Like him, Hyeon-ju had paid close attention to the other participants. Their performance, their conduct, and how they treated other guests.

"Thank you for those words. It means a lot to me to hear when I wasn't able to keep up with my kin here, but well," she chuckled dryly, "I'm proud of them. Showed the slackers who started at the top and didn't do anything to impress." Taking a break from the eating, she rested her elbow on the table, and her chin in her palm as she looked at him with a calm smile. There was admiration in her eyes as she regarded her future husband. "You started out well, and continued to impress."

"No." He chuckled softly. "Though I can't say that's particularly a favorite outfit onf mine, I'm not usualyl that flashy. I just felt slighted by various people at this miai and I thought it relevant to remind them of who they were dealing with. Still, I'm glad you liked it, I rather enjpy what you're wearing as well." That wasn't the point though. "But a lot of them were normal. Shoan was a fan of telling me I could use a few more flaws though."

"That must of been it then, and I admit I got the same feeling as you. I always found you rather focused in our meetings, even if we were just talking over our other potential matches." A piece of grilled fish amade it's way to his mouth and he took a moment to chew and swallow. "Some of the others though? At times I thought most of them were fresh from gempukku, and had hardly gone the halls of their school. I guess that's a bit insulting though."

"I tried to put my best effort into every contest." He admitted. "But I would of liked to have placed in one more." It had been a close things a time or two, but he had never made it. There was respect in his eyes as he watched her a warm expresson m hi lips, and his hand reached forward to caress her cheek. She wasn't the woman he had thought he wanted, but she was everything he could ever want. Respectable, smart, funny, beautiful, with a sense of duty to one's clan that he thought matched his own. Sometimes you didn't get what you wanted, but you got what you deserved, and maybe if you were lucky it'd turn out to be better.

He'd need to check that stupid horoscope every day now. "If you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to start kissing you again." He said playfully. "And I don't know if I'll be able to stop until they kick us out of here, and I'm cursing the fact I said I'd wait."

"Hm?" as before, there was that glint of curiosity to her features in reaction to his words. "Oh, you mean to show that you come from a wealthy family? Because I did notice the small details in the outfit - not many still use golden threads for needlework, especially not for anything that's just found in a store - so just from what I saw of it, the garments you wore today seemed very much like a one of a kind custom creation. A very good choice for such a formal occassion."

Nothing escaped her gaze when it came to fashion. Though the meaning of the string of coins he had with him at that moment was something that was lost on her, as much of the ways of the Tsuruchi were not something she knew about.

"Some of them were fresh from their gempukku, I know. That poor Crab boy who died? He was just out of school." That brought a sigh to her soft pink lips. "Worst part was that he hadn't known he was coming to a miai, because some bullies back home had tricked him into going to what he thought was some conference. But, I didn't really care much for any of the Crab that were here though, to be honest. Except that one as he was nice and thoughtful, but... no, too much of a kid, really. Not that I'm old as such; only twenty years." Hyeon-ju shook her head with sight disapproval of the very young age of some of these miai attendants. Like that Spider she had thought was someone's younger sister or dependant.

She nodded approvingly of his words, knowing that he had seemed to make a decent effort in all the contests put on by the hosts. And his victory in the biathlon had been pretty impressive.

"Hmm," Hyeon-ju chuckled at his words and looked down at her food, smiling warmly. "I can keep talking if it helps...? Or ask you all sorts of questions, so you won't have time to kiss me." A playful smirk played on her lips as well. It's not like she didn't entertain certain thoughts herself, but this hardly seemed the place to act on such ideas.

"Yes, that was part of it." Hayato said with a nod. "And you're right, it wasn't something that was bought from a shelf. All my truly formal clothing are the same." He had only brought the one with him though. "So thanks for noticing."

Those soft pink lips were part of the problem, but he did his best to concentrate of his food and not on them. "The Crab were not exceptionally impressive, I agree with you there." He took one of the mushrooms and placed it in his mouth. "Still its sad to hear that he was so young, and didn't even know why he was here..." He shook his head. How did that even happen? "Still it seems we share an age, I didn't know that."

"It does." He replied with a chuckle. "As long as I'm not watching your lips." He took another bite of his food and shook his head. "Ask all the questions you want, I think it most of my problem is I've been attracted to you since we first met." He glanced her way and smiled. "Now i can act on that, and I want to. I'll be able to control myself though." He flashed a grin. "I was mostly just teasing."

"Ah, should I have brought my fan then, and kept my mouth delicately hidden behind it as we speak?" she joked, holding up her hand as if to mimic the movements of a fan and how a proper lady would hold it.

"Mm..." Hyeon-ju was for a moment solemn as she thought about Koryn. And how one of the Crabs had said at the funeral that they had more or less taken part in the cruel joke played on him. "If it hadn't been for myself, and Ichika-san and Ryuu-san as his roommates, he probably would not have known until later at a much more inopportune time. The three of us thankfully corrected as much of the cruel joke as we could when we all first met at the inn."

Two funerals at a miai somehow felt like a bad omen, really.

"Seems we do share the same age. When is your birthday though? That's going to be a date I will have to remember much in the future." Like so many other things she'd have to learn if she was going to be a Mantis. And a Tsuruchi, knowing that most families in the clans had their own quirks. The Unicorn were certainly no different there.

"It might of helped." He replied his own tone teasing. "I mean you could always have bopped me with it every time I did something inappropriate too."

"To think some of his clan had something to do with it too." He shook his head. "That's not even something I can imagine, were they trying to make a fool out of him and damage their clans efforts here?" Hayato had though the Crab were bad, but apparently they were worse then even the spider.

"My birthday? The seventh of Dragon." He was apparently a spring baby, or what would of been one on old Rokugan. "So we'll likely be together again by then. How about you?"

Her laugh was soft, but warm as she was clearly enjoying the moment they were sharing and there was no need to be as reserved anymore when they were to be married. "You certainly would tempt me to do just that, Hayato."

"But, I honestly don't know. The one at the funeral had said that it was like a it would be good for him kind of joke, but I just don't approve of bullying or ruining others like that. Yul and I might not get along all the time, but I trust him to have my back, and he trusts me in return - that's what it means to be part of the same clan. At least to me." Her words were a touch harsh as she thought of the Crab, who hadn't even managed to live up to their reputation as honest and straightforward folk.

She pushed some of her food around on the plate, before taking another bite of some of the colorful vegetables.

"Ah, you're a couple of months older than me then. Twenty-sixth of the Rooster." Which on old Rokugan would've made her an autumn baby. Which also meant her birthday had only been almost two months ago. "But I'm glad we don't share the same birth-month, as I've heard it said that people born under the same signs don't complete one another enough to find true harmony in their relationship."

"I'll try to not make it too often." He replied with a teasing smile, before reaching his chopsticks across to steal a morsel from her plate. She had seemed to be almost done anyways. Or maybe she just had her mind on other things.

"I'm not sure how bullying would be good for him. Or good for your clan, if bushi can't trust each other in combat then they wind up..." There was no reason to finish that. "I can't even understand why you would do that to one of your own... Certainly they didn't wort together before now, but shouldn't that be an excuse to make friends?" Hayato seemed frustrated about the topic and his opinion of the crab hit an all time low.

Hayato took out his densai, and immediately added it to the calendar. It seemed he didn't want to chance forgetting. He offered her a wry smile as he put it away, before continuign the conversation. "I've heard the same. It seemed a bit odd to go around asking everyone their birthday though, so I avoided it." The mantis added with a chuckle.

"Do you think we will be wed by then?" The young man asked a moment later. "We're expecting it I know, and kind of planning it, but the date still feels really amorphous."

The food-theft was observed silently but with narrowed eyes, followed by Hyeon-ju cracking a smile as she took one more piece of the fish for herself. She'd heard of people who would steal their date's food. Usually the fried potato-bits, after they'd said they're not hungry and are only going to have a salad to eat.

"Who knows what these Crab think, but I think I'll get into all the details of how disappointing they've been another time. I'd prefer to keep this evening positive, as a start to many good memories for us." She put down her chopsticks and the now-free hand was placed on his thigh, mirroring his gesture earlier.

"I would think it possible for us to be married by then," she nodded, seemingly certain of it. "The Utaku, once committed to a path, follow through swiftly. The Unicorn are not the type to haul out long engagement periods like the Crane might do." They still followed a lot of strict traditions and rules for such formalities. "Maybe in time for your birthday too?"

It wasn't like the Empire these days need to be concerned with the roads snowed up in the winter time, when you had space-travel. "That reminds me, I think someone here said you were into horoscopes? Nozomi-san, I think?"

He grinned at her reaction, but went back to eating from his own dishes.No reason to push his luck at least not yet. Plus he wasn't a hugely big eater, and he wanted to save at least some room for desert. They'd had several things but the'd picked icecream as it seemed appropriate.

"You're right." He offered simply, glancing towards her hand where it was on his thigh. He let his own hand cover hers as he sat quietly for a moment and listened to what she had to say.

"Fouth months." It wasn't a terribly long time, and they would be together for much of it. "I think we can do it." It might be a bit of a quick pace to set but, they were on this path together and there was no reason to hesitate. He smirked and shook his head. "I'm sure my sisters have spent at least a little of the last few weeks picking out places they suggest I get married. So, we're likely to have a head start when it comes to finding a venue."

At the question he chuckled lightly then nodded. "I do, though I admit to not always liking what they say. Today's was good though." He took his hand off hers so he could retrieve his densai, and open the app up. Sliding the device her way so she could see the days horoscope.

"I do look forward to meeting your sisters. You speak very fondly of them," she said with a soft chuckle and a warm smile for him. Really, she hoped to get along with his family the best she could - they were going to be her family too now. A part of her wondered about the divide between Hayato and his father, but she felt that was a conversation for another time.

"What kind of venues do you think they would have picked out? Unicorn tend to prefer outdoor-ceremonies, so is it the same for Mantis too?" If he had been a Yoritomo, she might've asked if the ceremony would take place on a ship.

As he passed the densai to her, she picked it up to take a closer look. There was a rare softness in her features as she read through the horoscope. That lavender was often considered a Unicorn-color was an interesting point too.
"'Take it easy, spend the day with those you care for Their presence and love will help you trough the trials of the day.' That's good advice."

"Yes, we get along well. Though I figure we spend a bit too much time teasing each other." He chuckled and shook his head. "That might end soon though with us all getting a bit older." Which was unfortunate but only matter of time.

"Outdoor weddings are pretty popular among the Mantis too, though a lot depends on the family as well. I think Natsumi will likely of picked out more outdoor venues, and Harumi more indoor, their tastes are a bit different there i believe." He'd need to placate Harumi somehow if they Picked one Natsumi liked."

"Yeah, I thought so." His lips spread into a wry smile as he thought back to the choices it helped him make. "I take a bit of advice from it, but don't always follow it exactly. Though thinking back on it on outer first day here, I used it to pick which one of those gardens tents I went it. Which was the first place I saw you, not that we talked." He shook his head and chuckled. "Thats likely just a coincidence though."

Hyeon-ju hoped she'd see some of that teasing still before they'd stop doing it.

"We shall have to see what they're suggesting then, and depending on what we choose, the other one will have some input as well?" she suggested, clearly having a similar thought as Hayato that the one who didn't win the venue would have to be appeased.

"Is that so?" she was surprised and passed the densai back to him. Even if it was tempting to start going through things out of curiosity, she'd never want to break any trust that way. "That was a pretty big gathering... I don't think I got to see everyone who was there. Maybe a coincidence, or it could've been fate. A lot of things had to happen for this match." Her lips turned into a smirk. "I'm glad I decided for myself to be open and approachable to people of all clans, no matter the political divides. I don't think we would have had the chance to get to know eachother if I had decided to be more closed off."

"That would probably be the easiest way to keep them happy." He agreed with a chuckle. "Do you thing your siblings will want to help as well?" He figured it would be a possibility.

"I think that was the most mature way to go about this, though I knew ahead of time there were some here I couldn't marry. It just seemed a waste to not get to know as many as I could." A lion for example. He took the Densai back, and stored it away. No reason to have it out and serve as distraction. "If it was fate, I'd have to say Benten plays the longs odds." Hayato added with a chuckle. "This wasn't the outcome I'd have bet on i know."