Bathed? Check. Shaved? Hirame ran a hand over his face. Check. His finest clothing? Hirame looked down at himself. He did have one pair of fairly nice clothing, simple but well-made and clean, in a nice Mantis dark green. His necklace, with the symbol of Bishamon, finely polished, resting on the bare skin just below the hollow of his throat. The highlight, of course, was the fine sharkskin jacket he wore. He'd collected any number of complements from his fellow Mantis, and a few from people he'd encountered since he'd come ashore. Yes, he definitely looked his best.

Ready to meet his future wife? Well... probably...

Hirame paused in front of the door, frowning; the attendant who'd brought him here stood patiently. "Thank you." Hirame said absently, his voice surprisingly deep; thankfully it didn't crack anymore. Not often, anyway. The attendant bowed, but remained. Hirame didn't really notice. Well, he'd come this far, hadn't he?

Straightening, Hirame reached out, hesitating until he found a bit of wood. Then he knocked, gently but authoritatively. Nearby, the attendant shifted slightly.

Bathed and perfumed? Check. Hair brushed until glossy? Double check. Wearing suitable clothing for the meeting, not her best of course as she figured such ostantetiousness would probably make a minor clan samurai uneasy... but then again, he was Mantis, so maybe? No the Mantis liked gaudy ostantetiousness she had been told, not refined tastes. Her many-layered ensemble worked well for the spring season - warm pink to green to the last outer layer of frosty blue. Like a budding spring flower fighting against the last hold of winter.

She wasn't thrilled about this. A marriage already on the horizon, right after her gempukku it seemed. And to a Mantis? She had pitied her sister for her match, and now... no, Ahiru shook her head. She knew, she had her duties to her family and her clan.

Hearing the knock summoned her mind back to the present moment, and she brushed her hands one last time over her silks to make sure they looked perfect. Picking up her fan, she gave a nod to the attendant to slide the door open. "Please enter," she said, her tone gentle and soft, but not without its sense of authority.

Ahiru looked down first and bowed to the stranger - her betrothed. "Welcome to Tsuma. I am Kakita Ahiru, the younger sister of Kakita Suzaku. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Funegao no Hirame." Finishing the formal welcome and introduction, she looked up as she straightened. Oh dear Kami, what was that vest he was wearing?!

As straight and formal as he could manage, Hirame stepped into the room, only a hint of his sailor's rolling stride visible. Unlike Ahiru, Hirame allowed himself a quick glance before bowing. This was perhaps wise, as it allowed him to go through a quick jumble of thoughts while his expression was hidden.

The first was if she went overboard, she'd sink while we were still pulling up silks. The second was you know, it kinda reminds me of those, what are they called, the Merenase desserts with all the layers and the honey. The third was she is pretty though, and she smells nice! Perhaps it was fortunate that they came in that order, so Hirame's expression was bright and smiling as he straightened.

"Thank you, Kakita-san." Hirame said as he rose. "Truly, I am honored as well." There was a brief pause. "You look very nice." He added, clearly sincere, almost as clearly wishing he'd prepared some remarks. It was hard, meeting the woman you were apparently going to marry for the first time.

"Thank you for such kind words," she said in return, looking him over a bit more before giving a compliment in kind. "You have a very unique style of dress." Surely it was a compliment, yes?

At least Ahiru smiled and it seemed like a genuine kind of smile. "Please have a seat," she gestured gently to the cushion opposite of her. "You must be very tired after such a long journey."

"Thanks!" Hirame smiled. He was, in fact, used to taking words at face value. And, well, he knew that his sharkskin jacket was very fine. "It's a bit of Mantis finery. I figured the Topaz would be the perfect place to display it. And..." He took a breath, "Well, when meeting my future wife." His hazel eyes were just the slightest bit wide when he said that. Yes, this was truly a strange experience.

"Thank you." He said, sitting at her gesture, graceful if a bit on the casual side. "I'm fine, actually. I've had enough time for a bath and a meal. I'm ready to take on the Topaz competition!" He flashed a quick grin. "All in good time."

He gave her a friendly nod. "And yourself? Not quite so far as me, but overland..." Walking, even riding, wasn't as fast as a Mantis vessel!

"I... appriciate it, thank you. You will have to tell me what fabric it is, as I don't think I have seen it's like before." It didn't look like anything she knew. Maybe it was something like hemp? She knew the poorer ones didn't even have cotton to wear.

"Only a short travel over land for myself. It's not far between Kyuden Kakita to Tsuma," she explained, happy for such a common topic at least to try to get a sense of normalcy to the conversation. "You sound very confident for the tournament, I'll say." The words were followed by a brief but amused giggle. Guess some rumors about Mantis were true in that they were bold and adventurous.

"Well..." Smiling, Hirame gave a shrug. "I don't know about that. I'm just here to do my best. Give it my all." Sure, his words sounded modest, but there was definitely a confident edge to that smile, and a glint in his eyes. "I do very much look forward to the competition, though."

"It's sharkskin, actually." He said. Still smiling, he held out his arm. "Would you care to feel it? It's quite soft, actually. Not quite as soft as silk, but much softer than other fabrics." He waited patiently, arm extended, for either acceptance or refusal.

Her eyebrows rose visibly. Additionally, a hand raised, almost to cover her mouth to hide her surprise, but not quite reaching that high because of the said surprise. "Sharkskin?"

Goodness, were the Mantis in such dire straits that Lord Yoritomo had them wearing skin instead of fabrics?

For a moment she wasn't quite sure if she should touch it. "Ah... maybe another time? It is... our first meeting after all. I wouldn't want it to seem improper," Ahiru murmured as she kind of tried to handle it delicately. Maybe later she'd know if it would be alright or not. "But... yes, I look forward to the tournament too. Have you practiced the fast draw much for the finals?"

"Oh." Hirame reddened just a little. "Of course. I'm sorry. I mean, my apologies." He pulled back, sitting extra straight on his cushion, as though propriety were measured in right angles. Touching and wife were things that went together in very strange ways. "Really, it is quite comfortable, though." He assured her.

It took him only moments to recover, any flush fading. "Well... somewhat." Hirame smiled ruefully. "Katana actually aren't that common on Mantis vessels. If they're the soul of a samurai, well, one bad step in a storm and..." He made a diving motion with his hand, "-your soul's at the bottom of the ocean. And we do have practice weapons, but not many. Space is tight. So I've got to share..." He gave a shrug.

"Oh goodness, that does sound like quite the dangerous circumstances for one's prized possessions, yes," she agreed, a little surprised with herself that she hadn't considered seafaring to be so fraught with danger.

"... You share training weapons?" Ahiru finished the sentence, but as a question, to make sure they were on the same page.

Lips pressed together, Hirame nodded. "Yeah. I mean, we share a lot of things. Sleeping has to be done in shifts, because otherwise there's not a bed for every sailor. It's all about efficiency. If there was more space, we'd be slower..." He shrugged. "It's rather complex, actually."

He looked at her, politely interested in his future wife. "I imagine that's less of an issue in Crane dojos. Have you done much training with live steel?" He asked. "I'd certainly like to try that sometime."

Her perfectly trimmed brows furrowed a little in concern. Would she have to live in such horridly cramped conditions to if she were to marry into the Mantis? "It sounds terribly cramped. No doubt, it must be very difficult for you to live in such conditions."

At his question, Ahiru pressed her lips together for a moment before speaking. "No training with live steel, no. I've only trained with wooden weapons, but I am not a bushi. I will serve my lord - whoever that will be in the future - as a diplomat. Though... I am not certain if there is much place for that among the Mantis...?"

Hirame shrugged cheerfully. "I mean, it's not so bad, really. It's just efficient use of the space. And ship officers get more space, too. That's what I plan to do. Before I make captain, I mean." The words were spoken with firm assurance.

Some of the confident cheer faded as he studied the expression on her (admittedly pretty) features, his own brow furrowing as he put the questions together. "Sure, we need diplomats. There's a lot of meeting different people. I've at least stopped in every port up and down the coast, 'though some were when I was too small to remember. Sometimes you even meet people abroad. That's always interesting." His smile turned cheerful again as he watched her reactions.

"Abroad? Oh, you mean other clans," Ahiru assumed, willing herself not to think of having to deal with... shudder gaijin. Not wanting to dwell on that particular social distaste, she moved the conversation on.

"But... it's not completely decided yet, from what I understand, who will join the other's clan. Understandable considering the situation of the original betrothal had changed," she added a touch sadly. "Unless they could be found, but the sea's so big, I don't think it would be possible even if they were still alive..."

It seemed she at least didn't want to think her sister had died at sea.

"... Anyway. If I may be so bold, I wish to propose a small wager."

"Yeah..." Hirame agreed with a sign, inclining his head respectfully, some of that sadness flickering across his face. "I mean, I won't say there's no chance. But if someone's been lost at sea this long... well, there's a reason we've stopped actively looking." He looked at her, eyes sincere. "I'm sorry."

He took a deep breath, then smiled, doing his best to ignore the shadow their older siblings cast. "A wager, eh? I'm in. What did you have in mind?" Hirame accepted before he heard the terms.

Maybe they just hadn't looked in the right places, or looked hard enough! Maybe they didn't want to be found, though it was a strange thought to think that her sister might have eloped with her Mantis-groom with all the riches they had been given.

"It is my understanding," she continued, seeing his interest, "that you and I are considered equally valuable to our lords, as of now. It might still be the same after the tournament." With a flourish, Ahiru opened her fan, adding a bit of a dramatic flair to the moment. "But between us, shall we say that the one who does the best in the Topaz Tournament gets to decide if they remain with their clan or marry out?"

"Hmmm..." Hirame stroked his lips thoughtfully, doing a poor job of concealing a smile. In truth, he rather liked the idea of a wager. A challenge, yes! Hazel eyes glinted as he looked at Ahiru, appraising her anew. The gesture with the fan was a good touch, a flair for the dramatic that he shared, as he let the moment stretch.

"I accept." He said suddenly, flashing a quick grin. "Well! That certainly seems a fair way to settle it. All else being equal, you may have the home field advantage, but I believe I have a few months on you. That should keep things equal enough, eh?" He smiled again, giving her an enthusiastic nod.

There was an air of confidence to her as she raised her chin. "I am a Kakita. I am prepared for the challenges ahead. We will see if your months will be an advantage or not." The corner of her mouth turned a little bit up in a small smirk.

Ahiru had no intention of losing this wager. Even in the way she had worded it, her intention was to set herself up to win one way or another. Because victory was of course to marry him into the Crane.

If there was a wedding.

"I'm glad we're both on the same page. I think that bodes well for the future."

Matching her gaze, Hirame's eyes narrowed, his own lips curling upwards. He didn't know what she was thinking, but the signs of confidence were unmistakable, and something he appreciated.

Perhaps this would be more interesting than he thought...

"Yeah." Hirame brushed back his hair with one hand, only a little awkwardly as the reminder of nuptials came up again. "Begin as you mean to go on, that's what my captain told me before I came here. I asked him whether he meant for the marriage or for the Topaz, and he just laughed." Hirame laughed too, then, a soft chuckle. "He's like that. I don't know if that's part of what makes him a great captain, but..." He shrugged.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Smiling, Hirame reached into the little bag he carried. "A betrothal gift, from me to you, seemed appropriate. I mean, besides whatever our parents are doing..." The particulars of that was both above his head, and in attempt number two, a bit awkward. He brought out a small wooden box, polished but otherwise simple. With both hands, he set it between them, bowing.

"Your captain sounds like quite a character. Someone similar to Lord Yoritomo?" she asked with some amusement. Yoritomo had a reputation, and he probably wanted to hold onto someone like Hirame.

As he presented her with a gift, her eyebrows rose once more, curious as to the manner of this gift. "Oh..." remembering her manners, she fanned herself lightly. "I could not possibly accept, considering all the trouble your family has gone through recently."