The faint laugh coming from his betrothed sends Akito into whole new levels of embarrassment and his eating becomes even more mechanical. He can't even bring himself to look up from his plate as Hoko continues wandering around his person to eat. When the plates are traded out and the servant tries to give the plate to the rodent feline, Hoko ducks out of sight, only his nose and whiskers showing from inside his hidy spot. Akito glances up long enough to spot the worried expression on the woman's face and with a gentle hand he takes the plate. “Thank you. And thank you milady.” he says softly, offering a nod to both the servant and the empress. Hiro's mother raises an eyebrow at the gesture but goes about eating with just another smile. The servant looks very confused but nods in response, watching as Aki sets the plate atop his crossed legs and Hoko pops back out to eat.

His chopsticks stop half way to his mouth however when suddenly the emperor announces the idea of leaving him alone with the man who by now must see him as a complete joke. H manages to bring the bite to his mouth and start chewing after not too long of a pause, however as he does so his gaze finally wanders up from his plate as he takes in the expressions on the faces of those around him. [i]'Well, the emperor seems pleased with himself. I thought he might be a nice guy, but I see now he's a sadist. . .He seems delighted with the idea leaving me alone with a man who just was attacked by my pet and was so panicked he tried to flee'[/i]

His gaze shifts over to the empress and he can feel his stomach drop further. [i]'She looks just a-'[/i] His thoughts stop as once more the emperor speaks. A sharp pain passes through him as the slip with his last name brings back some incredibly painful memories. Setting his utensils down, losing his appetite in an instant, he manages to say softly, “I would be honored, your majesty.” Down the table the captain also stops eating, for the first time ignoring his food to look at his adopted son. The general has never been able to get out of his son why that slip bothers him so much, other than the obvious that it contains the word “Moron”. He watches his son closely, praying he will not panic or completely shut down.

When the prince agrees to the idea then turns to address his betrothed it takes a moment for Aki to work himself out of the funk brought on by the emperor's mistake. Both rulers look to one another but with a whine from Hoko he seems to snap out of it. Looking up at the prince all sign of embarrassment is gone and he responds politely. “I am twenty-three years of age highness.” Removing the plate from his lap the soldier pulls his obi out a little. At that prompt Hoko slips under it without a fuss, settling in to digest his meal. The captain isn't sure if his son it okay, but as he's not doing anything wrong he goes back to eating, save now with half an eye on his ward.