[Day 9, ME] Double That Date

[Kuni Koyuki]

Yakumo's mind might have been understood a little too much, based on the way that Koyuki glances at her after that comment. Taking the beat to turn her attention to her drink instead. Only getting her fingers underneath the glass when Eriko seemed to speak her name. Having a brief second where she has to replay the sounds in her head to understand what Eriko said and giving her a quick nod of acknowledgement cause smiles were totally not her thing. Having her ears more on the conversation than anything else, she was just absorbing it all in without playing human pinball with her eyes focus.

Sat in front of her was a rather appetizing bowl of Pho, beef. Nothing too crazy since it was an establishment more meant for drinking than eating but it seemed pretty good for what the expectations were likely set at.

"Any competition that was your favorite?" she stabs at this whole getting to know you think like a normal person doing normal people things.

[Matsu Hide]

“Wasn’t able to compete, but there was a wrestling competition that would have been riiiiiight up my alley. Oh well. Well, it wasn’t part of the events associated with the miai. The otori racing wasn’t too bad. Some of the birds were kind of cranky, though.” Hide had been healing from a nasty mushroom zombie attack during the wresting matches. But she didn’t mention that much.

Hide also helped herself to some of the side dishes, opting to focus more on her story than the food at the moment. “The robot competition was also fun. But, I sucked at it. Can’t believe people can make them… Mine could barely serve drinks.”

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Robots and... otori? Some kind of... riding birds?" Yakumo managed to piece together as she listened to the conversation, but riding birds sounded kind of insane.

[Matsu Eriko]

Eriko took a sip as she looked thoughtful at the activities brought up by Hide. "Hah, looks I missed quite a lot by getting into...research. Yes. I was there for the wrestling match but I suppose I might have been to blame for holding Hide-san from participating in the wrestling event itself. She was helping me with the research. To be honest, I didn't know they would make a belt just to gift to the planet. That must have been fun to watch. I missed the otori and yeah, Yakumo-sama, they're like a giant riding bird but also livestock. I suppose I did acquaint myself with one during dinner..."

She chuckled a bit anxiously, wondering how the company felt about animals. "It seems a lot of robots can barely serve drinks, so I wouldn't beat yourself up too hard. You can't expect a lot out of them, especially replacing even a servant."

[Matsu Hide]

“Oh, actually, Eriko got a giant plushie otori during the Tanabata festival there. It takes up like… Ten percent of our entire room.” Hide leaned towards her wife just a tad, mischievous grin on her face. “I’m surprised you could get that thing in a suitcase. It’s just so big.”

[Susumu Yakumo]

Sipping her drink, Yakumo couldn't help but to chuckle at the interaction between the married couple. It was nice to see these more... mundane facets of the Empire that were so far removed from her own life. The married people she usually met or mingled with seemed most to be arranged matches were the ideal situation was being OK with eachother, so it was rather endearing to see a pair that had this earnest and sweet love.

"Sounds almost as big as the real birds then, if they were big enough to ride!" Or maybe Yakumo just had a poor idea of the size of the couple's room. "I understand Eriko-san is stationed at the embassy here, but what does Hide-san do, if you don't mind me asking? I hope you'll get to stay here for a while with your wife at least, before you're both able to be assigned together, hopefully to Inari's Cradle."

[Matsu Hide]

“Oh, I’m a marine. But most of the time it’s just glorified cargo guarding and making sure no one steals supplies while docked. There was an attempted pirate docking of the cargo ship I was stationed on last month. Got shot in the shoulder. But that’s fairly rare?” Hide shrugged. “I’m more than fine maybe being stationed at the port on Inari’s Cradle. But for now I have a couple months here to heal. The doctor I was assigned to decided that getting shot twice in the same shoulder less than two months apart required some more rest time. I will gladly take that extra time to spend with my wife.”

[Kuni Koyuki]

There was a special feeling to recognizing once more, fully, that you were indeed the most experienced in combat at a table. However, that brought Koyuki the other realization of one fact. That regardless of her connection and attraction to the woman at her side, Koyuki had spent more years lost on some damned world than half of them have likely even seen in service. Eriko had the age of experience to her. Though it was clear from that moment of being able to take a renewed glance at Yakumo and Hide both just how much more experience she'd had.

Oh, the stories she could tell.

If she were the type to tell stories.

"Suppose your wife being here makes the difference. Would have doubted this would be the world anyone normally gets sent to to get a little more rest time," she adds, as the rare comment she feels she can contribute.

[Matsu Eriko]

"Ah, yeah!" Eriko smiled fondly at that night when she was able to outdo even her own expectations and score a pretty large plushy. At the time, it was only for herself but she supposed after they were arranged to be together, it was their plushie afterwards. "I was pretty thankful to have Hide by my side that night because I was just winning so much that I'd have trouble carrying my prizes back to my dorm. Luckily Hide was around and eagerly volunteered to carry my stuff so that could keep winning!"

"By my Kuni-approximation, despite not being a healer, I'd say that Hide should stay put on the World of Dreams for a few weeks. I'm sure being in space would throw those internal humours completely out of whack." She gave a wise nod at that. "And it really depends, Koyuki-san. I'm sure some people might think of the World of Dreams as a place where people just go nuts on taking it easy."

Kitsun Kanna did think the World of Dreams as a place of rampant wanton excess for some reason...

"But we're just two people who are happy to be around each other. I don't think I need anything too wild on top of that." She smiled fondly at Hide.

[Susumu Yakumo]

"World of Dreams is as good of a vacation spot as any," Yakumo agreed with a chuckle, as she certainly didn't see it as only a hive of scum and villainy. "Most important part is that you're somewhere with those you want to be with, yeah?"

She had done good work finishing some of those vegetarian spring rolls while the others had talked.

"So at a miai, where there like... rival competitors, trying to claim either one of you or sabotage you two getting together? A miai sounds like it's so ripe for drama like that."

She might've also heard some stuff from someone else about their own personal drama from that same miai.

[Matsu Hide]

“Technically everyone was a potential rival, I guess.” Hide shrugged, not really sure exactly how others faired in the rival department. “I wasn’t exactly popular as a marriage option.”

Did she have rivals for Eriko at Asakaze? Well, Hide slowly turned her attention to her wife. “So, you were pretty popular there, given you had so many people a few days in agreeing to help you investigate. Anyone other than me catch your eye?”

[Matsu Eriko]

Eriko gave a wide blink at the question with a momentary glance at both Yakumo and Koyuki, wondering if this was the best time to pop such a question in front of another not-couple date. She straightened in her seat after a small sip of her glass.

"You were my first choice, Hide." She said as a matter of fact with an earnest look in her eyes. "But if you weren't available, I might have considered Hotaru Koseki. I don't know if he or anyone else at the miai would have tolerated me that much, to be honest. My reputation wasn't sparkling and I guess I'm a bit trouble-prone sometimes..."

[Matsu Hide]

“Oh, Koseki-san? I could see that. He’s a cool and reliable guy.” Hide didn’t seem put off by this at all. “I assumed I was your first choice. After all that we went through and all that. Though, you never know. You could have been picked by someone who you never talked to or whatever. It’s the way things go sometimes. Even I could have been picked by some random whoever.”

With that scary thought out of the way, Hide shrugged. “But everything worked out. I’m quite pleased with getting my top choice, obviously.”

[Matsu Eriko]

Eriko nodded soundly at that, pleased they had a mutual understanding on that matter. "Some people do make the darnest choices, especially being put on the spot like that. I guess the possibility that we could have been spending out days wrangling otori or managing a harvest of mushrooms right now than chatting it up with you fine folks might have been pretty real. But hey, now you're with me! Sometimes Benten just lets things work out in people's favour. I hope the same for the both of you."

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Ah, sorry, I might have misspoken. I was thinking more like what you might see in dramas, where villains try to tear the One True Pair apart," the Spider added a touch sheepishly. "But I suppose drama like that only happens in those shows."

[Kuni Koyuki]

Topic slowly drained on Koyuki, although she worked her best to avoid showing it. Finishing her glass she sets it down on the side with the intent for a refill, her half-finished plate something of a show of her focus. That glance started the further decline, and the well wishings of Benten just about sealed it. Succumbing to those little whispers in the back of her mind Koyuki gives a half-awkward glance around the table.

"Thanks," she offers toward Eriko. Forcing up something that was maybe supposed to be a smile, but wasn't. "I'm just going to excuse myself for a moment, mm? I'll be back," she says, and gives a glance to Yakumo to reassure her before departing with veiled haste toward the restroom.

[Matsu Eriko]

It seemed like the best time for Eriko to make some joke that some jerk named Gorou almost stole her away from the miai but that was less of a shipping crash and a literally kidnapping where she could have died if the True Scions were successful...

"No, drama! Just action!" Eriko chuckled it off. "...Miai action, yeah."

Her elbow gently nudged Hide to encourage her to either collaborate or say something else.

"Oh, of course..." Eriko murmured when she say Koyuki stand up to go, wondering if she said something wrong for a moment. Then again, all Kuni needed their space from all this socializing, right?

[Susumu Yakumo]

Oh.

Oh no.

Yakumo had been bamboozled. Betrayed. Left here alone with people she hardly knew.

She filled the awkward silence at first by sipping from her drink, figuring out how to carry on the conversation. "So, ah, how did you two meet Koyuki-san?"

[Matsu Hide]

“I met her at the night club here.” Hide stirred her drink before taking another sip. She glanced over to her wife, brow raised.

[Matsu Eriko]

"Me? Oh, funny enough, I was on a sort of a lunch between office duties over at the embassy. I had stopped over at Tian to grab a bit of bubble tea and Koyuki-san walked over to me to have a chat. Funny enough, Hide made mention of me and I suppose there weren't that many face-paint-wearing Lion around the city. Small world and it turned out to be the wife that Hide talked to her about! Maybe it was the surprise of seeing another Kuni-kin and probably the other was seeing the other half of one of the most awesome couples on the World of Dreams! Heh, that's my opinion anyway..." She smirked. "In all seriousness, Yakumo-sama, she really wanted to wish us well. Twice!"