(Day 8, EA) Pupinjay (Butaj's Tent)

[Moto Butaj]

After being awakened by a canine butt and finding a good portion of his tent soiled Butaj has been in... curious mood. He finished the cleanup and is now venting the yurt, trying to eat a very late breakfast. Trying, because there is so much barking around. Puppies, puppies everywhere. They were cute for 5 minutes, now they are just annoying.

[Yogo Mizuki]

Mizuki arrived with Zip.



He kept leaping in the air. Good. Just as planned.

She arrived at Butaj's yurt and scratched at the post. She knew what she wanted to say, but wasn't sure how to say to a Unicorn or a man in love. Well, at least she has Zip.

[Moto Butaj]

Butaj is mildly surprised to see Mizuki, but smiles. He rises to greet her. "Good morning! Please, be Butaj's guest. Milk tea?" He holds a wooden jug with black tea with added mare milk and floating cheese curds. He moves to drop one of the flaps and punch the kumis skin hanging near it.

[Yogo Mizuki]

Mizuki nods and enters. "Hello, Butaj-san. It is good to see you again. I'd love to try some." She takes off her mask, she is smiling.

[Moto Butaj]

He pours a cup and brings it to her, offering in extended hand, pointing to the seats by the hearth with another. "Just pay attention to the curds. How's your pup doing?"

[Yogo Mizuki]

Mizuki sits down. "Zip is coming along wonderfully." Zip comes over and gets a scratch behind his ear. "How is yours coming along?"

[Moto Butaj]

"Running somewhere. It's quite incessant. Left Butaj with much trouble in the morning." He smirks sheepishly, then sits by her with his own cup. "And how's Zip's mistress been doing? Has she found a good suitor?" He doesn't feel like bringing Yue up right off the bat even if the events of yesterday are still vivid in his mind.

[Yogo Mizuki]

This is going to be rough. "I have. Though if you couldn't tell by songs yesterday, he prefers another." She takes a drink. Hm. Interesting.

"May I be blunt?"

[Moto Butaj]

"You didn't sing so Butaj couldn't tell, and it occurs to Butaj that quite a few chose their muses thinking of other things than romantic interest. One of them could well be Mizuki's secret male admirer who didn't want to reveal himself because of Yue's confession." He shrugs. "With Butaj? Always."

[Yogo Mizuki]

"I didn't sing, because.... things are complicated. For a man, I made mistakes. For another, I'm not quite sure how I feel. I could have sung for the man I prefer to marry, but it wouldn't be Sincere. I know love would exist, but not yet." And I'm glad I didn't. I would have felt terrible after hearing Yue's song, only to sing of a man I barely knew.

Mizuki puts down the drink. "I know... I am not blind. I listened the songs you and Asako-san sang to each other. I cannot win the battle of the hearts. But I want you to hear my words and consider them." She swallows. This was an all or nothing gamble.

"The truth is, both of you are too low on the rankings. If you ask me to not pick you, I will hold true to my word. But your chances of marrying Asako-san are slim. When people see their choices picked, they will start picking to spite others. Or even at random. And if the miai ended today, over half of the Unicorn men would be pick. You could and probably will be picked by someone else."

Mizuki pushes herself. "We could be happy together. I told you how you fit in my Clan. Or you could travel with me. I plan on traveling the Empire in my duties. And while I won't lie and say I love you at this moment, I don't see how I wouldn't in the future. You are an amazing man. You are everything I was looking for."

Mizuki steadies her heart. "I'm not asking you for an answer now. Maybe the Iuchi events will help her gain the points she needs. I'm just asking you to take my words into consideration when the contests are finished. I will be... not happy... but I will be content. I will be happy for you. And maybe a little for Asako-san. But if you wind up with a woman who simply didn't know who she wanted after her choice got chosen before her or just to spite someone.... I don't want that."

Mizuki picks up the strange tea. "With either of us, you will get a woman who loves you. I have little doubt you will be happy with either. And let's be honest. It'll be rockier with me due to the whole family line cursed by the Ninth thing. But if you deny me, you may just lose both."

Mizuki takes a drink and waits to see if her appeal worked or just simply angered him.

[Moto Butaj]

"This is... much for Butaj to consider." He puts down the cup to rub his face with both hands, and ends up pressing index fingers at his temples, trying to process it all thoroughly. "Butaj will need time to hold other meetings before he could give you a final answer, and is grateful for the time you give him to do it. But Butaj can't deny the deep love he now has for Asako Yuki. It is a beautiful feeling, nurtured by both, stronger with every day. Yuki's courage and honesty to sing for Butaj the way she did has gripped his heart in a way that doesn't let go and Butaj doesn't want it to let go. It makes everything in his life better, every single moment. Butaj thinks Mizuki may know what it means to be loved this way because of Liu Yue, and how out of mind it feels to not make every effort to be with the loved one. At least this is how Butaj feels."

He pauses to take a deep sigh. "But even if Butaj was supposed to let this feeling mangled and torn away with a chunk of his heart, Butaj has concerns. Mizuki says about her certainty in loving Butaj but it is not clear where it could come from if it takes no roots now. Mizuki has been quite occupied with others and visits Butaj only just now. If not for the Otaku event Mizuki might not have known how Huludai looks like. Mizuki doesn't know too much aboutwhat Butaj likes and have not cared to dare make a visible sign of commitment. Butaj can understand she had reasons to not sing, but so did Butaj and many others and yet they sang. And Butaj wagers it's not for the lack of talent because Mizuki is very talented and could sing like a lark." He looks at her. "Mizuki is a great beauty but when Butaj looks at this beauty it feels as much distant as enticing, not belonging to Butaj, but to someone else. Butaj knows the honest heart of the Unicorn and so knows that if Mizuki had not given Liu Yue reasons that song would not have been. Butaj has nothing against love between women but what Butaj is against is not being put first the way he would put his spouse first. When Mizuki speaks about love and happiness Butaj doesn't know if it is the same kind Butaj considers love and happiness. Maybe Mizuki and Butaj look at different things and give them the same name."

He pats his knees with subdued anger. "Butaj doesn't like this game of points at all but it is what it is. Butaj is not clueless about who could pick who and why. He sees a chance for himself and Yuki. Or himself and Misa, who has been very good to Butaj too and to whom Butaj would not be reluctant to commit. Butaj cares not for flaws, nobody's perfect, and carries forgiveness for mistakes in his heart. Butaj wants to believe Mizuki but no matter how he tries her promise is like a tale of a golden palace beyond the mountain. And Butaj feels closer with someone who climbs the mountain with him, less with the one who tells stories, no matter how true they are."

Butaj looks at Mizuki with pained expression. "Butaj hopes his honesty has not offended Mizuki."

[Yogo Mizuki]

"Yue's song.... I have never considered women before. Yue is... She's different."

Mizuki sets down the tea and picks up her mask. She looks down at it. "You may be right. I have no one. At least, no one I can pick. So, I have a choice of destroying someone's love or offending your Clan. So, what should I do, Butaj-san? Whose love should I destroy? Or should I spit in the face of your Clan?"

Mizuki puts her mask on. "I came here looking for love. And I found someone amazing. Of course, I'm not even sure how I feel. I have never considered someone like that. And of course, it is someone I cannot pick. I don't even know what the Jigoku it is that I'm feeling about he- that person. And all I can do now is destroy someone else's love. I was honest with you. I think we would love each other in time. Once the heartbreak stops. I was hoping if I convince you to let me pick you, I could not feel guilty. That I could have a husband who wouldn't despise me for taking away his love."

She picks up Zip who begins to lick away the tears that were falling out the bottom of the mask. At least, I'll have someone who will love me after this wretched miai.

And probably angrier than she meant to "You say you hate this point system, you only have to worry about which woman will pick you. I have to worry about who I will pick. They both can end in pain. But I am the one forced to cause it."

[Moto Butaj]

Nobody has ever taught Butaj how to deal with a woman crying because of him. And so, for a moment he is dumbfounded, watching as the teardrops fall into the puppy's mouth. But then he acts on instincts, taboos be damned, and moves to embrace Mizuki with his arm and pulls her closer to his chest to lean on. "Don't cry, Mizuki." He shushes her with his musical voice turned to lower registers, but with melody. "Maybe it won't be so tragic. Butaj has pledged to be your friend, and friends help each other. Maybe something can be done."

[Yogo Mizuki]

Mizuki pulls away. "That's not proper, Moto-san." Compose yourself, Mizuki.



Zip barks *fiercely. Then, once the Moto knows his place, Zip snuggles against Mizuki.

*It's adorable.

[Moto Butaj]

"Butaj is sorry." He pulls away and folds hands between his knees, squeezing them together. "Sometimes it's hard for Butaj to tell what is proper and whether the proper is right. Something Mizuki would expect of her husband to know, Butaj thinks." He sights. "There are better Moto bachelors, like Kalb or Baatar. Kalb loves dogs like Mizuki."