She was still there.

Yukikaze no Kasumi had arrived a fair bit earlier, but she had paced herself, and was just... waiting.

Gotta knock this off. Gettin' hammered on the regular isn't good for anyone.

Mitsuko was punctual about this meeting. It would be very educational, she knew. And, honestly, who cared if it wasn't? Her mother wasn't here, and most importantly she needed help to underhand what was happening. Kasumi would know. She was smart and pretty and knew about boys and... Yes. The most educational activity of this trip, maybe.

The young Crab was so intensely focused she was sitting across from Kasumi and staring at her before she realized she'd skipped all the etiquette and pleasantries.

"Oh. Um. Kasumi-san, thank you for being here," she says, faux-calm in her voice and on her face, though the makeup continues to skew perception of her expressions.

"Mitsuko-san, no need t'be formal, eh? Anybody I've had a tickle fight up near th' crow's nest with, I'd say we can skip that crap."

She nodded to the bottle.

"I'm pacin' meself, hope y'don't mind..."

The Crab looks thoughtfully at Kasumi, then at the bottle.

"Um, I can pace myself too. But I need to get started," she says with some urgency. "Uh, Crab blood, you know," she says to suggest she's not in a hurry to drink for any particular reason or reasons

Kasumi grinned.

"Now that sounds like an excuse t'me, Mitsuko-san, but what sorta friend would I be if I didn' indulge ya a bit?"

And she poured the Kuni a cup.

"Just be careful, or y'might wake up out t'sea, press-ganged."

Mitsuko looks at Kasumi, seriously considering the suggestion. She picks up the cup and takes a small drink to start, but comments, "That would... Make some things simpler."

"I mean, y'impressed at the Test of th'Waves, I reckon we could find you a berth if ya wanted it?"

She... wasn't teasing now. At least, not completely.

The Crab looks down at her sake cup.

"I would be missed," she observes matter-of-factly. "That sort of thing is just not done. It would..." She shakes her head to chase the idea away. "There's, um, a lot going on on land," Mitsuko says like she's making a little joke. Not sure about how to get to what really needs talking about, she takes another small drink of sake and then looks at Kasumi like she'll know what to do.

And like that... she knew.

Oh fucks' sake.

"Oh, fuck's sake, Mitsuko-san, who is it?"

The Kuni's eyes go wide. After a moment's hesitation, she leans about as far across the table as she can, lowering her voice quite a bit but staying earthly understandable to Kasumi.

"Uh, well, it's... Not exactly just one person?" Her voice creeps up in pitch as she speaks, nervous uncertainty taking hold and making her next words come faster. "I'm just, um, trying... Because there's... Like not everything feels the same, but..."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees?"

Kasumi's smile would have done the scurviest pirate among her forebearers proud.

"Well," Mitsuko says slowly, practically laying down on the table with the weight of all she's considered.

"So first it was Kiriko-san, who just... Anyway. But then Haru-san said a bunch of things, and we talked, and he touched my hand... But Rin-san is... Rin-san. And when we went riding yesterday, it... Um. Our hearts were beating so hard when I held her hand, and..."

Again the look at Kasumi like she'll know what to do.

The Mantis rested her chin on her hand. Made eye contact with the Kuni.

"Haru-san's a bit randy and noticed what anyone coulda toldja, Mitsuko-san which is that you're actually quite cute. Haven't met Kiriko-san, whoever that is, an' Rin-san's... the Sparrow who won th'Test of th'Body? Haven't met her, either, but..."

She topped off the Kuni's cup.

"... I'd say she sounds right sweet, an' I hope your hearts took th'strain well."

No help here, not yet.

But Kasumi was glad to have romantic tangles beyond her own to think about.

Mitsuko blushes at being called cute by Kasumi, her makeup covering the color in her cheeks but the little smirk and scrunch of her nose is easy enough to see. Then she makes a different face, slightly annoyed at her friend's calmness, even though that was essentially what Mitsuko wanted from Kasumi.

"Kasumi-san, how can you be so..." She waves a hand vaguely. "I mean, those are just the ones that have actually touched me. Well, and you, of course, but I'm not... I mean, you're too..." Mitsuko looks nervous and quickly moves on. "But like Shiba Jiro-san, he's just got this way, and I don't..."

Even with a bit of sake in her thin body and plenty of emotions swirling in her head, Mitsuko can sense an awkwardness as she mentions Kasumi and then Jiro. She simply stops, feeling Kasumi has something to say.

"Hey ladies, sorry I'm late " Shinko looks like something the cat dragged in after playing with it for a while. "So, who is cute?"

Kasumi looked from the Kuni to the Togashi, then back.

Gave a theatrical groan with her head in her hands.

"Who's cute, Shinko-san? Plenty of people, so why'm I hung up on one who's off-limits, hm?"

She very nearly banged her head on the tabletop.

She did point toward Mitsuko.

"And Mitsuko-san here is figurin' out she's interested in a lotta folks, sounds like."

Makeup doesn't cover Mitsuko's wide eyes and open mouth.

"Well..." She starts to say something angry, realizes she doesn't have anything, then just looks pouty.

"What's so special about your one person, Kasumi-san?" She asks, her nerd brain kicking in to avoid dealing with her own feelings.

"Awww, it sounds like you ladies are getting all the fish in the sea and I'm stuck with mountain tuna. Again." Shinko grabs one of the jugs and pours herself a cup.

"So who are the lucky ones. Plural? Right? Come now, I abhor gossip but tell me more~" Shinko leans in

Kuni Mitsuko wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 4:28 pm

"What's so special about your one person, Kasumi-san?" She asks, her nerd brain kicking in to avoid dealing with her own feelings.

"Nothin' I could put a name to! We just..."

She made a broadly incomprehensible gesture.

"Fit? Work? But not really?"

Togashi Shinko wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 5:20 pm

"Awww, it sounds like you ladies are getting all the fish in the sea and I'm stuck with mountain tuna. Again." Shinko grabs one of the jugs and pours herself a cup.

"So who are the lucky ones. Plural? Right? Come now, I abhor gossip but tell me more~" Shinko leans in

"Oh, Mitsuko-san's got a list longer'n my arm."

She winked.

"Mine's on it too, so..."

Yukikaze no Kasumi wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 6:35 pm

Kuni Mitsuko wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 4:28 pm

"What's so special about your one person, Kasumi-san?" She asks, her nerd brain kicking in to avoid dealing with her own feelings.

"Nothin' I could put a name to! We just..."

She made a broadly incomprehensible gesture.

"Fit? Work? But not really?"

Togashi Shinko wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 5:20 pm

"Awww, it sounds like you ladies are getting all the fish in the sea and I'm stuck with mountain tuna. Again." Shinko grabs one of the jugs and pours herself a cup.

"So who are the lucky ones. Plural? Right? Come now, I abhor gossip but tell me more~" Shinko leans in

"Oh, Mitsuko-san's got a list longer'n my arm."

She winked.

"Mine's on it too, so..."

"Kasumi-san!" Mitsuko hisses. "Just because you're pretty and smart and confident and everything..." The Crab waves a hand in vague frustration - thankfully not the one holding her sake cup. She growls a little in frustration then shakes her head.

"Anyway," she steers the conversation, "so you've got one, so let's start there. Who are they? Why do they not really work?" The Kuni looks earnest about analyzing and solving the problem, that being how she approaches things.