[Day 9, ME] Double That Date

[Kuni Koyuki]

When Yakumo produces the posts Koyuki can't help but take that moment to glance over to her and give a little somewhat teasing side-eye. Bit of a raise to the brow for good measure when she faces her more fully, and then even a inclination of the head to really cement in that beautifully constructed non-verbal:

Really?

That done, she glances back to the couple. More focus on Hide seeing as she had the greater specificity with her detail, "They had you compete? Like a samurai-staffed horse race or something? Best horse wins the prize of a.. good spouse?" and that felt utterly strange to say.

[Matsu Eriko]

"Oh, that is a very nice gesture, Susumu-san. Framing it would make for a nice memento for our time here as well, especially since the concert was very enjoyable."

"With all that was going on outside of the whole miai events, I kinda didn't participate a whole lot myself. But that's the gist of it. I did decent at the obstacle course deal." Hide took her own horny toad and decided now was as good a time as ever to start in on it. "Couple of my friends were able to place consistently in the events. I never did, though. That helped decide the order of priority of who got to select their spouse. Pretty sure you actually started ahead of me, right?"

Eriko chuckled anxiously when that bit was brought up. "Ahh...I suppose I had pretty shining accolades from my sensei and something relating to my lineage. Somebody probably thought I'd make a pretty good study companion with a scholar or something. While not untrue, I don't think a scholar would take kindly to all that shooting and climbing I do with my on-field studying, let's just call it!"

"Uhm...I think all those events are supposed to be about a bit of character building?" She asked, a bit unsure as she looked to Hide for the answer.

[Matsu Hide]

"Could be? I dunno if that worked, exactly." Hide took another sip of her drink, imagining that hypothetical scenario that Eriko had mentioned. "Man, if some bookworm Phoenix or whatever married you... Man, you really lucked out, then. I don't think a scholar could keep up with you."

[Susumu Yakumo]

Yakumo only smiled to Koyuki as she caught the look, not saying anything verbally or more than just that clever smile, seemingly pleased with herself.

"Sounds like quite an interesting miai. Those don't happen too often anymore, I think? Even in the old days, those were rare events - and always filled with drama if ancient pillowbooks are to be believed."

Since they all had their drinks now, Yakumo picked up hers and held it up. "A toast to the two of you, for overcoming so many dangers together and still being here?"

[Kuni Koyuki]

Now, that was a toast Koyuki most certainly could get behind. Raising her glass in turn she also adds, "And may you overcome all others that test you." Sharing a brief glance toward Yakumo, but not one she seemed intentioned on having Yakumo herself notice. Doing so when she caught Yakumo's own gaze shifting to the further of the couple opposite them. It's brief, it's momentary, and yet it happens.

Forward face on the couple, Koyuki doesn't offer a smile but there's a solid assurance of presence there. An true earnestness to the words being carried and conveyed with just the way she spoke and presented.

[Matsu Eriko]

"Wait, hold on...Not so fast," she would barely stop Hide from taking a sip of her drink, especially when everyone hadn't touched theirs. It was most certainly toast time!

Eriko would very much beam at the toast given to them as she picked up her drink finally to raise it. "Aw, thank you! That's awfully kind of you, Yakumo-sama! And same to you, Koyuki-san! I'd say that the ability to overcome things is probably the things that good couples are made of. But don't quote me on that or bring up any statistics of couples in adversity...regardless, to still being here, kampai!"

With that, she took a gulp of her drink. "Whew, wow. Kind of like a shot in the arm."

After a beat, she glanced at Hide. "Not an actual shot in the arm, obviously! The doctor kind."

[Matsu Hide]

Hide’s drink had been saved by Eriko’s quick thinking. Awkwardly, the Lion raised her drink up. What to say h that wasn’t already said? “Uhhh… If I had to add something that wasn’t already put so well by all of you, it would be that you shouldn’t just be willing to face adversity alongside your partner, but also stick by them no matter what.”

Maybe a bit personal, having come from Hide, but it was sincere. “Kampai!”

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Kampai!"

With the toast done, Yakumo took a deep sip of the Stringer. Which was quite nice, and absolutely had earned its name. And then... well, some turnabout was fair play. They weren't the only ones going to be questioned and prodded.

"You two must have so many plans for the future, I bet. Not only adventure, but family life and such too, no doubt! Children soon too?"

[Kuni Koyuki]

Stick by them no matter what.

You were doing good, putting it out of your mind till then. Raising your glass to the toast and drinking the liquid that was inside. You remember it being sweet, with that hit of the lemon bite you kinda liked and yet in just a few seconds you couldn't really remember it so well past the haze. Moriko was out there just as broken as you are because of what she did. Because she couldn't stick by you no matter what. Well, she was always going to leave in the end so.. why is that? Huh?

Looking distantly at her glass Koyuki swirls around the stem of her glass, watching the lemon bits float around inside as she stirs it. Yakumo asking about someone elses futures beside her seemed an unexpected touch, but maybe that's what people did at these kind of things. How would you know?

[Matsu Eriko]

"Ohh, well..." Eriko stalled out an answer as she stumbled on her response and chuckled on an anxious note. "Ahah! We haven't really been married for over a year yet! Not saying that's not part of some plan in the future but we haven't had quite enough time to settle in just yet. We're kind of in the career stage based on our Clan's assignment. Funny enough, I've been sort of musing a little about our alternatives and potentially getting a dog. However, it wouldn't be fair to the dog if Hide was always shipped out into space and the dog only had so much space in our small living arrangements here."

[Matsu Hide]

“Yeah, we aren’t at the family planning stage quite yet.” Hide glanced towards Eriko, small smile having formed on her lips. “As far as a dog goes, we were thinking of maybe trying to get stationed on Inari’s Cradle. Which is where we got married.”

[Susumu Yakumo]

"That sounds nice. It's a very lovely place, and being able to be together as you work alongside eachother, sounds pretty good for both of you," Yakumo nodded, her words friendly and honest.

It was nice, seeing how the two of them seemed to be in sync with eachother. "But, a Matsu and a Kuni... I hope I'm not prying, but there must've been some challenges with such a match, no?"

The Matsu were after all rigid samurai who valued honor above all, and Kuni were... well, Kuni. The ends justified the means a lot for them.

[Matsu Eriko]

Eriko cast an appreciative look at Hide with a smile. She couldn't exactly raise her hand up and ask for a high-five during this date but she supposed that was as close as she was going to doing the gesture. "Exactly! I know that might be a tall order for humble and minor samurai such as ourselves but who says we can't reach for some sort of aspiration? Well, we're probably just a promotion or two with a step and hop away to requesting reassignment to Inari's Cradle!"

She gave a glance to Hide if she had any issues with that. " Admittedly, I know there's some minor tension between our Families but I don't think it has affected such that much. And Hide-san knows that it's pretty difficult to change my mind but...I'm a Lion now either way and I'm doing my best to be more Lion."

[Kuni Koyuki]

"I've never had to think about that. An interesting thought," she says, her voice a touch distant as she stares at the glass. Those words calling attention to her and the fact that she'd drifted out of the conversational loop for a bit there. Just a woman who was sitting off to the side connected to the whole arrangement of this little double date.

"Being something else, that is. Suppose it could happen to anyone, mm? Living your whole live to be one thing and then suddenly you're not. Must be quite the strange thing, and I can't imagine marrying out of the Kuni is the easiest transition in all of the empire," she adds with a touch, just a touch, of a smirk affected by that sorta just behind the scenes mood. "Suppose that's a little different when you're not a Shugenja though, to some extent?" she asks, more then says but she seems to have her own idea on it anyway.

[Matsu Eriko]

She took a sip from her drink and shifted her shoulders a little as she gave it some thought. "Mm, I wouldn't say that's exactly the case? I'm still a long way from being a foldable origami Crane bride."

Her gaze did look at Hide for a moment, recalling that there were some difficulties, that bit was seemingly shared with Koyuki with both parties. "I would think that being a shugenja would probably make it easier? I know that Kuni shugenja are a pragmatic lot when it comes to handling the kami, so while it might be more stranger to fit into some rigid or pre-established tradition of another Clan, you might be so square in that peg. Not a shugenja here, of course. I'm a witch hunter and not like there's that sort of thing in the Lion. My authority on such things kind goes after several people before they would consider me. The Lion are set in their ways for several centuries and have no reason to change just for little o'me. "

She chuckled. "I kind of wonder if this is something I should have had a long conversation at the beginning. Miai don't really allow for much of that."

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Sounds like they kept the two of you pretty busy, as well as your adventures," Yakumo chimed in as their food was placed on the table by the server.

She chose one of the vegetarian spring rolls for herself, and gave it a pretty generous dip in the sweet chili sauce. "What was it like, being at a miai? Was it like, mm, a pageant of sorts?"

[Matsu Hide]

“Hmmm. I wonder what it would have been like to marry into the Kuni instead of what happened.” Hide swirled her drink inside her glass before taking a sip. “Probably less difficult? I’m not sure. Well, for sure easier for Eriko… And I guess it wouldn’t have been too hard to fit in with the Crab.”

Hide’s attention was caught by the Spider and she just weakly smiled. “Surprisingly stressful. It wasn’t exactly a pageant. Most of the participants were bushi.”

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Hmmmm..." she thought about that as she snacked on the spring roll. "... So, like a tournament of sorts then? All the bushi flexing their muscles and showing off their skills?"

That actually sounded kinda hot.

[Matsu Hide]

“Well, it wasn’t all flexing or I would have won every competition.” Hide smirked at the thought of winning that whole thing and getting first choice. Would have saved a lot of stress. “There was a robot-making contest. I sucked at it.”

[Matsu Eriko]

Eriko looked a bit wistful at that prospect. After all, it was due to some mismanagement that turned into a kerfuffle that ended with her getting slapped in points and destined to come back home with nothing. "Admittedly, the beauty of being a Kuni is that you don't exactly have to be around many of them. It's pretty rare to have more than two or four in the same place. We tend to keep ourselves spread out from each other except on the rare occasions we meet up. It might have been a little awkward but brief. Honestly, it's sometimes awkward for me too."

She offered a smile in Koyuki's direction. "Present company as an exception, of course!"

Seeing as there was food, Eriko was more than ready to eat and have some 'snacks' to go along with the fine liquor. She allowed Hide to explain the miai as she skipped out most of it to find trouble. At least, she managed to find what she was looking for...