Dark Edge Village

Still clad in his better robes and his hair plaited, Dong-Ha half ran, half stumbled across the tent camp. He had had heard Tomoe calling his name, his heart swelling with strange mixture of pride and adoration. However, he had been rather occupied by the very moment as Hotaru had had deemed it appropriate call upon him only moments earlier.

Reaching Tomoe's tend, he called out. "Tomoe-san!"

Tomoe's thoughts were, perhaps surprisingly, not on her own impending happiness, but on the heartbreak she had seen during the matching ceremony. Her small hands were holding onto Ganko for comfort as she had just plopped herself unceremoniously on the furs in the tent.

She thought of Nintoku who looked ready to start a war, poor Tsukimi who would return home without a marriage, and Yuki... who had broken down completely in public.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Dong-Ha's voice call to her. "I... Dong-Ha-san? Please, come in." She sat up and quickly dabbed at the corners of her eyes to make sure she hadn't cried without noticing. It would be rather embarrassing now to have ruined her makeup before meeting with her husband-to-be.

The aforementioned husband-to-be strode into the tent, letting the door flap fall down in his wake effectively hiding the two from the prying eyes of the curious bypassers. Sighing happily he then half walked, half dashed to Tomoe, crouching by her before wrapping his arms around her. Dong-Ha pulled her into an awkward hugs, squeezing the petite Hare against his broad chest. "You did it! My little fox you did it!" His voice was full of mirth.

Tomoe was quick to hold Ganko out of the way so the tiny tortoise wouldn't be squished by her over-eager lover. The tortoise probably would have responded to such awkward squishing with biting anyway.

"Dong-Ha," she said warmly and, after putting Ganko down on the furs, she returned the hug fully. "Did you ever doubt me?"

"Of course not." Dong-Ha quipped, smiling widely.

He pushed her far enough to be able to look into her eyes, still firmly holding her. "But I was afraid someone else might call my name before you had the chance."

"Ah," she brought her hand to brush against his cheek. "I was worried too... even more so when seeing my friends lose the matches they hoped for. If... someone else chose you, I don't know what I would have done. It would have been hard to choose someone else."

But... you'll be a Hare now. Is that alright?"

"It seems that... Hotaru-san was right, at least with us." Dong-Ha muttered, murmuring softly as she touched him. "Your friends.. what became of them?" Hint of worry crept into his voice. The two had not discussed her friends, at least not in great detail.

"I think I'd be fine being even a snail, if it meant I could be with you." Dong-Ha moved to grasp the hand she held against his cheek, his skin rough against hers.

"Uhm..." she lowered her eyes a little. "Nintoku-sama hoped to be matched with Khulun-san, and Yuki-san had hopes to be with Butaj..." Tomoe paused to clear her throat a little. "And my kinswoman, Tsukimi-san, didn't do well enough to be matched, so she'll be going home without a betrothal."

The Hare wasn't quite sure who she felt the most sorry for.

"At least Yuuru-san will get along fine with Khulun-san, I think. He's focused on doing his duty for the clan, and they seem to be similar enough to be happy with eachother."

"Oh..." Dong-Ha's shoulders slumped as he heard the sadness in her tone. "And Hotaru-san picked Moto-san too." the young man exhaled audibly. "I wonder what made her chose him... then again, she never said anything about anyone, really. I guess that she didn't know." He had hard time believing that Hotaru could have been callous enough to deny others of their love. "Mhm, I talked to your cousin. It's. very unfortunate."

"I never met Matsu-sama and well... uhm, I think you recall what we talked about Khulun-san?" he looked markedly as her. "I think that this might have saved Matsu-sama from much trouble." Compassionate as he was, he couldn't bring himself to believe that Khulun could make a good wife. Not as long as she behaved like a possessed. "But..." he sighed. "She's now Scorpion's problem to sort out, how they deem the best."

"Yuuru-san comes from their shugenja Family, and the Scorpion are well-versed in keeping an eye on dangers... it is probably for the best this way. Nintoku-sama though is a Matsu, and they are a proud people. I just hope he will understand that carrying a grudge over this will be foolish."

Tomoe sighed and hugged Dong-Ha close again. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you unhappy. I'm sure Hotaru-san didn't do it to be cruel." Or at least, so she told herself. She knew why Hotaru had made the choice, even if she didn't know why she had chosen Butaj specifically. I mean, Butaj, of all people? I'm pretty sure his horse is smarter than he is.

"I get to be with you now, and thinking about that makes me happy... and I look forward to meeting your family."

"Well, that at least gives Khulun-san some hope." Dong-Ha didn't sounds too convinced. "They might have some idea about her blade. at least." Whether the Soshi cared. was different question altogether. "Uh, that would be unfortunate, though I think someone mentioned to me that the Lion and Scorpion are allied, meaning that such a thing should be unlikely, no? I mean, the Moto didn't go and steal wives from the tribes we counted as our friends. Well, at least not often." the young man scritched his chin thoughtfully, having let go of her hand.

Smirking happily as Tomoe pressed her small frame against his, Dong-Ha wrapped his hands around her once more. "Hush now. We have each other. And that's what is most important. I am.. I'm sure Hotaru-san did what she had to do." he shuffled her in his arms so that she sat sideways in his lap, Dong-Ha's arm propped behind her neck. "You are just the right size for this." Grinning, the tall mystic pressed a soft kiss on her temple.

"Uh, I'm sure my mother will adore you. My sisters too. Father's bit grumpy, but I'm sure he'll be happy to hear I found my match." he explained giddily. "I'm pretty sure my mom will try to dress you in our colors, if only for few days. She's such a fuss. And there will be feasts... so much food."

"They sound like warm and friendly people," she grinned, leaving behind the darker topics of her friends' futures. "And I wouldn't mind trying the clothing styles of the Unicorn for a few days... they look rather comfortable, especially if I'm going to practice my horseriding some more." Tomoe giggled softly as Dong-Ha shifted her around in his lap, smiling happily as she felt his lips against her skin.

"Fathers seem to be grumpy often, neh? Anything he likes that I should keep in mind, to break the ice so to speak when we meet?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes when things didn't go as he wanted." he replied softly with a sigh. "But I don't think he'll find a fault in you. You are smart and kind." Dong-Ha smiled at her. "I mean, he might be disappointed that my sister has to take my place as the heir to his legacy but he ought to have known it could happen." The young man hoped his father would not cause a scene in front of a stranger, even if the stranger was to be part of the family. "I'm sure they'll have lots of questions too, about the Hare and the Empire in general. You might have to retell your stories, little fox."

"Uh.. he likes his charms." Dong-Ha replied, smiling sheepishly. That kinda ran into the family. "Uh... and carving. He's not half bad at that." he shrugged softly not to disturb her. "He likes to tell stories too, of the places he's been to and the people he's met. Uh, I'm not sure that helps much."

Tomoe hoped there wouldn't be any conflict between their two fathers, as she knew how stubborn and difficult her own father could be sometimes.

"Maybe... one of our children could learn with him and continue your family's legacy there?" she suggested, shyly hiding her flushed face against his chest. "If that would be alright?"

"You know I'd be more than happy to share my stories and answer whatever questions they might have. I mean, I want them to feel welcome to the Empire, and welcome to joining our families too. If it's not too silly, maybe I could show your father the meishodo carving I did yesterday? The judges thought it was decent enough, after all..." Already her mind was working on trying to make everything go as smoothly as possible for the day where their families would be joined together.

Talk of children caused Dong-Ha to blush, and while he was no stranger to the practicalities, discussing the matter was entirely different matter. "I think my father might outright demand that, even if he's in no position to make such demands." He replied, stammering as he spoke. "Uh.. but I think it's a good idea. I'm sure.. uh... we'll have more than one anyway."

"If you still have it with you, why not. He might laugh and ask why they had us carving on beans but, I think he'd be curious." Dong-ha added, he voice normal now. "Both of the Iuchi things were bit unconventional. The spirit quest thing originates from the Moto and the group that actually carves on beans is rather small."

"So, is there such things as school among the Hare? Eight years isn't that long." the matter of schooling has piqued his interest.