Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (D4, EE, Monkh's)

[Usagi Tomoe]

She blushed a little while he dried her hair... it felt like a slightly intimate moment to her, but she figured the Unicorn probably didn't think of it that way.

"Your mother must've been glad to have her son help her out like this... you two sound very close?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

It did feel like an intimate moment to him, but it was also a pleasant one, and he wasn't afraid of such moments.

"We are, though she's not in the village right now. She is off with patrols at the moment, learning the land. She's trained as a medic so she often accompanies units with more specialized knowledge," he replies.

"Your hair is quite lovely Tomoe-san. You take very good care of it. There's only so much we can do to maintain ours with how often it becomes windswept." He takes his time with it, being gentle. "I have I can brush it out for you as well if you like. Mine requires a fair amount of maintenance itself so I have a few brushes."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"I-if it's no trouble, I would welcome it," her blush intensified.

"... You do have rather pretty hair too, I've noticed. Very few of your kin can compare to it."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"I get it from my mother. And I figured, why let such a lovely gift she's given me go to waste." He smirks at that, before laying back on his bed so he can reach a small stand nearby and grab a brush from it. He then starts working on it, brushing one, while drying the other with the cloth. He occasionally pauses to take a drink of kumis.

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe sipped at her cup of kumis, blushing while she was also feeling relaxed as Monkh brushed her hair.

"Very nice of you to take such good care of her gift," she chuckled softly. "What about your father then? Do you get your handsome looks from him?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"I actually get most of my looks from my mother. My father has a little Moto blood that can be seen in his face, but I only have his eye color and build really."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Is he out on patrol too, like your mother?" she asked, curious to learn more about his family... and what the Unicorn-family life was like.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"No. He is an advisor to an uncle of his, a Moto taisa. He took up with him after arriving back in the Empire. But they both operate out of the same camp."

[Usagi Tomoe]

She nodded gently, closing her eyes to enjoy the sensation of him brushing her hair.

"Sounds like you have very dutiful and talented parents. A lot to live up to too... how do you see yourself following their footsteps?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"Oh, I don't plan to follow in their footsteps. Their life was the great ride. That is how they served the clan. My life is the Empire and I'll carve a new path that supports reintegration if I have anything to say about it," he says. His hands work carefully on her hair which is starting to become dryer.

"Starting with a new partner to build that life with. Someone to care for and try to make happy."

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe chuckled a little, a soft sound. "There is something to what you're saying. The young Unicorn samurai here will no doubt have a hand in shaping the Unicorn's identity in the Empire."

"And someone to be by your side for that... do you feel you have met anyone you would want to build that life with?"

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"I've met several women that I'd be happy to share that future with, who I would also like to call friend even if we were not to be paired. And you are one of them Tomoe-san."

He stops brushing for a moment.

"And that's what makes this moment almost unbearable. Because I would love to turn you to me and kiss you, but I feel that would be unfair to both of us if we did not end up together, and unfair to whoever my wife would be in that circumstance. So I must simply settle for a pleasant and intimate evening of drink and conversation so that we can still be comfortable with being friends if it comes to that."

[Usagi Tomoe]

Now she was very happy that her back was turned to Monkh, because her blush intensified a thousandfold at such direct words.

"... It is probably for the best," she murmured shyly in agreement. "To avoid creating feelings that can be hard to let go off, depending on what the future will be like. I.. I don't think I will be able to choose who I marry, as I seem to be barely eligible for marriage in the eyes of the arrangers here. I don't know where I will end up at the end of this miai."

"But I'd be happy to say you are my friend, now, and after this miai is ended."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

"There is still time. You seem the knowledgeable sort and I'd be willing to bet that will come in handy when the Iuchi's tests come around," he replies, continuing to brush her hair once more. "I'll bet you'll eventually end up pulling ahead of me in standings." His tone is supportive.

[Usagi Tomoe]

"We'll have to see about that," she looked back over her shoulder with a smile and held the cup out for a refill.

"I'm willing to take a bet that you'll still be ahead of me after all is said and done."