“I mostly work in transport protection, so unless you were a privateer we wouldn’t have to come to blows.” Hide did wonder how Akemi would have done without the prosthetic arm.

“No shame in it. My Daimyo has one.” She motioned to Akemi’s metallic arm. “This way you can continue to serve at full capacity. Even if you need to learn some different techniques for your daily routine.”

"Oh, I'm not ashamed of it in any way. Glove is mostly there to smoother the surface and make it harder to grab."

She removed it and showed off the fleshcraft.

"Best in Crab technology. Honestly, feels like the real thing once you're used to it. Well, except that it requires complex maintenance. But I've got Kyoko to help with that."

Hide watched the mechanical arm move. She was by no means smart enough to figure out how it worked or how it would be maintained. “Mind sharing how you got it? I’d understand if you don’t want to.”

"Short version? Lost the old one to a booty trap and grandpa pulled a few strings so I could get a replacement.

Long version?"

She goes full theater-girl mode, standing as tall and as wide her frame permitted her:

"We were boarding a flagless hostile vessel, most likely a Spider privateer. Its occupants were falling back before our might. Everything was going fine. And then, I noticed the bomb. It was a ugly, unstable thing, a mess of explosives glued the wall that could go off at any moment. And when it did, the hull would be breached, and our platoon sucked into deep space.

Didn't hesitate for a second. I reached for it and tore it off the wall. It blew as I was pretty much still holding it, instantly making ashes of my arm. But I had succeeded in that it was too far from the wall to blast through it.

Have no regret, would do it again. Just maybe next time I would like to be quicker at throwing the bomb away."

Hide listened intently to the story, her eyes growing wider as Akemi told her tale. And when she finished, Hide offered a clap. “Wow. That’s pretty intense. I don’t do assault missions, as I largely work on the defensive side. But, damn, they actually plant explosives on their own ships? That’s crazy.”

"Wasn't going to be their ship anymore for long and they knew that. Honestly, we might have done the same if roles had been reversed. Scuttling is a tactic as old as a time when ships sailed only on water."

“True... And I guess they likely didn’t want their identities discovered.” Hide tilted her head to the side, giving Akemi a good look-over. “You’re pretty lucky it was only the one arm. Well, I guess you were quick enough to preserve the rest of your body, I should say.”

"I guess. Superior Crab armorcraft helped too.

Reflex movements are the hardest to train the fleshcraft for however, so I wouldn't be able to repeat this feat at the moment I fear. Need far more training – and extremely precise fine tuning – to truly react instinctively with a fleshcraft."

“That makes a lot of sense.” Hide gave a thoughtful nod. “I mean, a lot of our speed and reflexes comes from muscle memory. You now have to re-train your nervous system to get back years of lost muscle memory.”

"Exactly!

On the plus side, I can do awesomely cool things like parrying blades with my arm!

But like, not too often. It damages it a bit and the reparations takes hours. It's more of a last resort trick."

“I’m impressed.” Hide leaned back, giving Akemi a big grin. “I feel a bit out-classed. You’re an actual hero. So many interesting faces at this miai, I think your Clan may have gone all-out for this thing.”

She grinned:

"Hey. Goal is to not let a single spouse for the Spider. Total annihilation of their wedding chances through superior betrothability.

And you? What's your – or your clan – objective for this miai"

“Trade contracts with, well, the Crab and Dragon. But the Dragon just seem not to exist or something.” Hide shrugged. Best to be open, Crab tend to appreciate that. “Unicorn are a fine thing to add to that list as well.”

“As far as me? I just want to be able to stand who I get paired with.”

"I soooooooooooo get that. But grandpa is more interested in the pedigree of my future match that my personal opinion on them so... Compromises might have to be made."

“Pedigree, huh?” The Matsu has a hard time fully grasping such an idea. With her family, it was just a numbers game. “Sounds like a hassle.”

"Definitely! But a lot of people care about that."

“Like, what kind of pedigree you looking for?” Hide rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Prestige or more of a check on the family history in regards to illness and physical fitness?”

"Prestige. One hundred time prestige. Grandpa is trying to make people forget he is a businessman."

“Ehhh, that’s gonna rule a lot of people out.” Hide stretched her arms over her head, moving her core side to side. “Ooof, feels like I over extended one of my abdominals during our match. Should be fine in a couple hours, though.”

"I'm myself afraid to move some of my muscles to be honest. I expected a light workout. I got way more than that.

Time for a break I guess? Should we exchange our com' ID? I'd like very much to train again with you another day if you're game."