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Sei stepped back slighlty. Great, he had intrested this Haka in a way he was not intrested in going. His blue ears flickered hearing steps and he turned, eyes slanted. A other Gehaka? Haka? He was rather delicate looking, kind of like Kenchi, a Gehaka then had been coming up the path. "Hello," he said, giving a small bow.

He turned to Shinrei. "I tend to call others by their first name. I do so to my younger brother quite often." It was nearly second nature now. "As I prefer to be called by my first name as well. I am Hishorin Sei," he added towards the other.

Another odd gehaka. Well, it had been better to come to the park that day. Shinrei's smirk didn't leave his face, icey eyes turned to the new gehaka.

"I am Mibu Shinrei."

His voice was as ever cold, eyes ever sharp. But he waited calmly for another to speak, simply fanning his pale skin. So, Hishorin Sei and Kuromori Yuki. Odd gehaka indeed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mibu-san," Yuki said softly, his eyes turning to Sei once again. He could help the slight shock he felt at the other's forward attitude, and he stood uncomfortably for a long moment, pondering his answer. "I suppose you may call me Yuki... I am not used to such familiarty outside of my family though, Sei-san..."

Even given permission to call the other by his given name, Yuki had been taught well by his mother. He even used honorifics with his family members, so it was a difficult habit to drop. Just calling the other by his name made the Kuromori's stomach squirm and twist itself into nervous knots...

Shy, submissive, formal, Sei knew this type well. Everything a proper Gehaka should be to his Haka master. Well, he didn't have a master anymore nor did he want to be married again. He would not allow himself to be beaten down when he was stronger then them.

"Yuki-san then." He replied adding the honorific to the others name to give him a sense of security. He didn't want to scare the poor thing; his brother though, poor thing would have a heart attack with a Haka requesting permission to call him by his first name. Kind of made him wish his brother had chosen to go to the gardens today.

It had been an entire day since Shizuka had last seen the lovely Haka, but he couldn't get the beauty off of his mind for more than a minute that something didn't remind him of Shinku. He had arrived home late the night before, having delivered the clothes his mother had made, to the Haka who had purchased them, late. For that, he was verbally abused and told to return the sentiment to his mother or it would come by word.

His pride hurt more than once that day, he had returned home to find his mother holding a letter from Shinku's family and a token, which he had not had the time to explore before his mother attacked him with questions. "Who is this Shinku? When did you have time to find him? What made him want to speak with you of all people?" The onslaught was endless, and then came the beatings for him being late. They had been harder than usual, though none had - luckily - broken Shizuka's delicate skin. For that much, at least, he was thankful.

He didn't bring up the idea of meeting Shinku in the Gardens until the next morning, when his mother gave him a scathing look, but allowed him leave after he had finished carving the intricate designs on a boat that had been ordered with dragons encircling the entire craft. He was told to be home before the time he had the night before, and with a fiancee if at all possible.

Shizuka set about his work as quickly and carefully as possible, making sure his work didn't seem sketchy and rough. As he stepped back from the craft, sweat and sawdust clinging to every spare inch of skin, he was pleased enough with the outcome. He had quickly dipped in the river and shaken to dry himself off before sprinting to the Gardens. He hoped that Shinku would be there, but at first glance, he didn't see the Haka.

What if Shinku forgot him? What if he had been too angry with Shizuka's lie to come to him today? Shi tried not to think about it as he spied his favorite white flower blooming in the distance. The fragrance caught in his nostrils and in the blink of an eye, he was standing over the bloom, enraptured by its perfume. His eyes were closed tight, bringing him to a world of his own peace, but also putting him off his guard.

Shizuka pulled his face away from the flower, finally, grimacing as the bruises on his back and wings throbbed terribly. He hadn't slept well last night, but it was definitely releiving that he hadn't had to slather down in the balm to stop himself from bleeding to death. It would have been terribly difficult without help from his mother, and his brother Jiro was in no way interested in assisting his "weakling" brother. Shi rubbed gently at his right shoulder and continued walking through the garden with a longing.

Suddenly, as if by magic, Shinku appeared in the shade of a large tree, his amber hair spread over his shoulders, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping. Shizuka stopped dead in his tracks and his breath caught in his throat as he realized Shinku had come to see him after all that had happened the day before. He crept up as silently as possible and eased down beside the Haka, kneeling on the grass beside him.

Looking at the delicate almond skin of the Haka's cheek, Shizuka remembered how soft it had been yesterday, how smooth and silky and so sweet against his calloused hands... he wanted to touch Shinku's cheek, but held himself back lest Shinku still held a grudge against him for yesterday's happenings. Instead, he whispered gently in Shinku's ears, "Are you dreaming...?" as gently as a butterfly lighting on a flower's petals.

He meant not to disturb, but to verify that he had arrived. He supported himself with a hand against the tree just above and to the right of Shinku's shoulder, at eye level with the green-eyed beauty...

Shi almost melted the second Shinku's eyes fluttered open. He smiled broadly and looked deep into them with a relief that they weren't angry any longer, hurt any longer, but happy to see him too. Then he noticed Shinku's eyes move to the bruises on his shoulder and back. "Oh, don't look at those," Shi said flatly, "Yes, she beat me." Then Shi's heart skipped a beat as Shinku said that his mother wouldn't have that right much longer.

Relaxing his hand from the tree, he had to sit down. Shinku was clearly angry, but did he know what he was doing? "What are you saying, Shinku?" he asked innocently, his eyes wide, his breath coming in short gasps now. Was Shinku serious? "I'm... I'm yours?" he asked, complete and total joy coming to his grey eyes. His entire body practically grinned with his lips. His hand rested atop his friend's - no, fiance's hand as it came to rest on his cheek. "Oh, Shinku..." he couldn't say much else. He was at a total loss for words or actions as Shinku slipped his hand into the bag at his waist.

Shizuka watched in earnest interest as the almond-skinned Haka reached into his bag. He wondered what in the world for. Any pain and stiffness from this morning and his beating was completely nullified in this moment. He wanted to wrap his arms around Shinku and kiss his face, but he restrained himself less he embarrass the Haka in public. "I... I can't believe it... you've chosen me... tell me I'm not dreaming? If I am, please don't wake me..."

Shizuka looked down, a gasp catching on his lips as he saw Shinku take the bracer from his bag. He held out his wrists submissively, looking serious, but happy. His eyes shone as he looked from the engagement bracer to Shinku and back. Feeling Shinku's silky fingers against his wrist sent a shiver down his spine, causing him to twitch just a bit. When the dear Haka called him 'love' he felt that he would melt, but he was still completely speechless at what was happening right before his eyes.

"Thank you, Shinku," he said quietly, happy tears threatening to come to his eyes. He didn't want to seem ungrateful at all, so he quelled them lest Shinku take them the wrong way. "Thank you so much..." He pulled his wrist back and looked at the bracer, adjusting it slightly around his wrists so that it was lined up with Shinku's family's name on the top of his wrist. "I look forward to meeting Hachiro... you don't think that he'll be upset about this, do you?" he asked, pensively.

"If you'd like to know about my illness, I can tell you about it now..." Shi suggested, making himself comfortable on the grass beside the green-eyed Haka. "But first, I must say something... I don't know if I'm allowed right now, or if it's proper, but... well... you're my fiance and I really want to tell you that I... I..." he waited to see if Shinku thought it appropriate. He searched for a sign.