Haru sat in the house of Red Lotus at a table as far from the door and bustle of the place as he could manage waiting to see if he would be dining alone or not. His koto sitting next to him, he lightly plucked at it without realizing it. He had had a good day, probably his best since arriving here and certainly his best performance in a test to date but he was still a little nervous. His hoped for dinner companion was a bit skittish and it would be easy to interpret the late drinks in a nice establishment with low accent lighting and his own music as more than just a friendly meal.

Kuni Mitsuko arrived at the expected time wearing a dark sapphire kimono without embellishment, her makeup done carefully as usual and her hair done much more elaborately than usual thanks to styling it for the Crane party. It made for a somewhat curious combination of the simple and the fancy, but the skinny Crab didn't seem to lack any confidence in it.

She approached Haru's table without delay, bowing respectfully but not elaborately as she says properly, "Good evening, Shiba Haru-san. Thank you for the invitation to join you." When she straightens, he can see more warmth in her eyes than the formal greeting conveys.

For his part Haru was wearing what was likely his only nice kimono, having needed to change after the Crane hosted events it was red at the shoulders fading to orange at the bottom and decorated with pale white trees making it look like a forest at sunset. He rose to greet the Kuni and offered a proper bow.

"Good evening Kuni Mitsuko-san and thank you for joining me, I hope you are well. Please make yourself comfortable."

He gestured to the seat opposite him and waited for her to sit before retaking his seat.

"You look lovely this evening."

The Crab sits, using the moments of that process to try to get past a significant blush. If Haru is watching closely, though, he sees a small rosiness reach her ear tips briefly.

"Thank you, um..." When she's seated, she says in a softer voice, "Thank you, Haru-san. I, um... You look lovely too," she says, with a hint of a giggle.

Where do I start?

"Your performance in today's test was inspired, you showed without a doubt why you were sent here. Watching you was a high point of my day and quite educational. Your future subordinates are in good hands."

Haru poured a some tea for the two of them and then pulled a small bundle out from behind him.

"I saved all of my sweets from the Crane events, would you share them with me?"

The Crab blushes heavily at Haru's praise, looking down at the table intensely while he pours the tea.

"Tha--Thank you, Haru-san," she says, somewhat breathless. "I... I was, uh, simply doing as I've been taught." Her eyes meet Haru's, and he can see she's being falsely modest. "And, um, of course I'd be happy to, um, share..."

He held the opened bundle up before her.

"Please do, and don't discount yourself. Many are taught how to do something but fewer an execute when the pressure is on and you did; brilliantly so I would say. I thought I had a shot at this one but you showed true mastery of the test. If the Blessed Emperor ever reinstates the position of Shogun you will certainly be among those considered."

Perhaps he was going a bit too far but he was also lost in her eyes and didn't know what he was saying.

She happily takes a piece, then forgets to actually eat it as Haru continues talking. At the Shogun talk she rolls her eyes, but only for a moment, and comes right back to his.

"All of these tests are intense, and the competition so fierce..." Her expression changes, like she's moved to a completely different path of thought. "I um... Someone suggested that one is better off thinking of this like a miai than a tournament, since so few of us can really stand out from the tests. A..." She hesitates to repeat the word, looking down then back in his eyes. "Um... That makes things even more complicated, doesn't it?"

He set he bundle down before them and picked up his tea but before drinking it he looked at it with a sour face and then gestured to the servant with three fingers.

"I have thought much the same, wishing this was a miai but..I..I'm glad it isn't because I think that would make this all hurt more." he said looking at her with a smile on his face and a tinge of sadness in his eyes.

"I went for a ride with Rin-san today, she cares about you a great deal, equal to your feelings for her I think. Which brings me both joy and sadness. I am ashamed of that sadness though."

He finally drank the tea he had been partially hiding behind and put the cup down.

"After the ride was over I realized that on multiple occasions I referred to both of you as -chan. I care deeply about both of you but not as intensely as i feel you two care for each other."

Haru stopped talking as a server approached and placed a pot of fine sake down before leaving.

"If this were a miai I think it would just hurt more, for me at least."

Mitsuko listens attentively, though she feels some distress at Haru's sadness. She nods in understanding.

"Haru... kun," she says softly, emphasizing the suffix and showing it doesn't scare her. "If this were a miai, I would be happy to be matched with either of you. And, I like to think, I would be happy for you to be matched with her. It... It would be harder, I think, to have only a few days, no opportunity to negotiate through parents..." She stops in a way that suggests she's thought more about the possibilities than he might have expected.

"I cannot deny that Rin-chan is first in my heart," Mitsuko says softly, "but I also know as well as you that one's 'first choice' is often not their match. And I hope that, if I approach my parents with thoughtful... options... That it may lead to a favorable outcome."

Haru stopped suddenly while pouring some sake.

"Are...Are you saying that you INTEND on presenting option to your family? And that those options include me?"

And then it's Mitsuko's turn to stop suddenly.

"Well isn't... I mean, when there's a complicated question or decision to be made, you should think about the options and then make the best choice, right? I mean... What else... What else am I supposed to do when I leave here?"

Haru can see she's now concerned, like she's been corrected for doing something wrong but she doesn't know why.

There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"But you...I mean..."

He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts.

"Mitsuko-san I am honored that you would think of me that way but you should be with Rin-san. If such an arrangement were made I would be thrilled but I will tell you now that I would "Impose" upon you beyond what duty demanded. Sparrow lands aren't far from Crab lands after all. You may not be able to be with her much but I would not begrudge it. Besides, you family could always adopt her instead."

The Crab nods slowly as she listens, giving the faintest twitch at 'impose' but mostly looking thoughtful. She thinks quietly for a few moments silently before responding.

"Haru-kun," she says, voice soft but not hard to hear. "You've always been very honest with me, and I... I appreciate that so much. So I must be equally honest... and say... I don't know what I think about being imposed on. I had, um, never really thought about it." She pauses, but continues strong. "But I suppose thinking of it is part of thinking of our imminent adulthood. So, um, I shall consider it, relative to the options, uh, available..." Her voice has become slightly distant, transactional, and she looks at him with eyes that say she doesn't like talking to him this way.

Haru had misspoken, he had meant to say that he wouldn't impose on her but then again he hadn't really meant that. He didn't WANT to be her second choice and he knew Rin didn't have any interest in making him a part of their thing. He had made his peace with Rin's feelings earlier in the day but this was different, harder, because he had actually told Mitsuko how he felt and she hadn't pushed him away. Unable to hide the sadness on his face he spoke.

"Mitsuko-chan, I adore you and if a nakodo matched us I think we could be happy together but your heart belongs to Rin and hers belongs to you. I went for a ride with her this afternoon and despite my promises to you I tired to drop hints about my my feelings about her. It was wrong of me, even now I know that my feelings for you are stronger than my feelings for her but I broke my promise not to interfere. In the end it was good though, it showed me just how much she cares about you. If we were matched together I would love you with all my heart but I would also know that your heart belongs to her and I'm not sure I could handle that. I've tried talking to other girls, to distract me and I've whispered things to them that i shouldn't have, but when I said those things I was thinking about YOU and not them.

It turns out the person I whispered those naughty things to is as untrustworthy as they think people see them as and she repeated them to another person, perhaps that is my punishment for not keeping my promise to you. To my surprise the person who was told of my...urges...found me at the dojo today during the Crane's party events and in a roundabout way asked me to go on a date with them; I presume she liked what she heard."

Haru looked her in the eye before continuing as this was the important part.

"It wasn't a simple thing but I agreed, partially because I want to try and learn what else the untrustworthy girl told her about me, partially to try and get you out of my head and partially because I am intrigued; no one has ever been interested enough to approach me.

I want you to be happy and I want to remain your friend do you think that is possible? Because none of this is as important to me as your continued friendship."

It's a lot of information to process, especially for Mitsuko, who wasn't expecting Haru to be the one doing lots of talking.

"Har... Haru-kun..." It takes her a bit of effort to decide where to start. "Of course you are my friend," she says, perhaps thinking that's the most important thing that he hears.

"There, um, is clearly a lot happening. And i do not pretend to understand all of it. I, uh... I think you are right that I, um, feel very strongly for Rin-san and..." She stops to take a deep breath before admitting very quietly, "I might have let slip that the idea of being matched with her is... Something I've thought of." Haru can see she's embarassed to tell anyone. "But that isn't... I mean, even if I really wanted that, I don't know..." She looks at the Phoenix, her eyes showing some fatigue after what seems to have been an emotional day.

"It's all a bit much, isn't it? To be trying to think about this and also the tests..." It could be taken as an attempt to change the subject, but if Haru has strong intuition and follows it, he'll encourage her to just keep talking.

The relief Haru felt when Mitsuko said they were still friends was so strong the spirits around them could feel it.

"It is. But you have been thinking about it. There are no wrong answers, there are no wrong emotions. Tell me what you're thinking, what you feel."

"I like to think about things, Haru-kun," she says seriously. "Read, understand, then know what to do to apply it... I feel like none of that is happening here. Like I just... There's a thought, and then things happen, and it... Isn't how it's supposed to be."

She looks around the table for something to ground herself with - a cup or anything - and she stops and stares at his hand. No. Think. Don't drag him into your confusion.

Haru followed her look and moved his hand to the middle of the table but no further. "How would you like it to be?"

The Crab girl continues to stare at his hand.

"A map. A method. A system I could learn and follow," she murmurs, half of her answering him and the other half deep in thought about something. "Perhaps this is why such things are left to nakodo," she mutters, voice turning more angry than sad this time. "They have things figured out. Did right by my parents, some of my siblings..." Mitsuko makes a face.

"Haru-kun, do you ever wonder how different you are?" She looks at him somewhat intently, this jump in her path of thought perhaps jarring to him but clearly meaningful to her.