aftermath

Toshiie brought Harumi back to the castle. As soon as they saw them approaching, they opened the gate to let them in. In the courtyard dozens of people came rushing, to see what was happening. Toshiie let Harumi down. Those five minutes on the horse had been more nerve wrecking than being on the battlefield what felt like hours. Toshiie directly turned around to head out again, to aid Nobunaga. Harumi's maids came rushing to her side with concerned faces. Her left sleeve was covered in blood and her face was covered in dirt and scratches. She knew it had to look worst than it was in reality. Her maids took her inside and instead of going to the infirmary they went to Nobunaga's private quarters.

"I'll go get a doctor." Rike-chan said while leaving the room. Lin-chan and Masa-kun carefully removed the armor. Harumi knew from their looks that they were terrified, but she was glad they continued on helping her get out of those clothes. They put her in a simple sleeping kimono while they tried to clean the dirtiest places, like her face, arms and legs. Before she knew it Rike-chan was back, closely followed by a doctor and a nurse. Lin-chan was holding a damp cloth to her wound. Due to the pressure it had stopped bleeding but as soon as she removed the cloth her shoulder began to bleed and throb again. She was a bit light headed, due to do blood loss but the doctor assured her that she would be fine as long as she would drink and eat a lot to regain her strength. Masa-kun almost force fed her some porridge while the doctor cleaned the wound, stitched and bandaged it. They also gave her some sort of painkiller and a tea with calming properties. Harumi didn't need the tea. Nobunaga was back and she was sure everything would be alright. Before she knew it she was asleep.

With a grunt Harumi woke up. She left like she had been sleeping for years. She needed a moment to remember everything. She tried to rub her face but as soon as she tried to use her left arm a blinding pain ran trough her.

"Careful." She heard the low and comforting voice of Nobunaga who helped her sit up. "How do you feel?" He asked after a moment.

"Still a bit drowsy..." Harumi answered slowly. Her brain was still starting up and she needed a minute.

"He, drink this." Nobunaga said while he handed her a cup. Harumi could tell from the smell that this drink were more painkillers. Her shoulder was throbbing again so she gladly drank the medicine.

"What happend after I was gone?" Harumi asked after a while.

"Well, thanks to all your preparations we could easily defeat them. After a battle I send some of the warlords and a part of the soldiers to claim the land of the Togashi clan." He explained.

"For how long was I asleep?" Harumi moaned. Listening to Nobunaga's story made it sound like she actually had been asleep for a very long while.

"Almost two days." Nobunaga answered.

"I have to give you the reports and stuff." Harumi said out of the blue. She just remembered that Nobunaga hadn't been at the castle for a while and had no idea what was going on at the moment.

"There is no need for that." Nobunaga said while he carefully pushed Harumi back so she lay on the futon again.

"I've read everything. It was very detailed and clearly written so I know exactly what has happened." He continued. "You just have to make sure to get better, I'll take care of everything." Harumi noticed that the medicine began to work and the sleepiness caught her again. She tried to hide a yawn to no avail. Nobunaga smiled, carefully wiped a strand of her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.

"Rest, I'll stay here, you have nothing to worry about." He whispered before Harumi fell asleep again.

"Are you awake?" A voice came trough Harumi's dreams.

"I am now." She grunted while keeping her eyes shut, ready to turn around and continue to sleep.

"I'm sorry my dear, but you have to wake up." Nobunaga said.

"Why?" Harumi whined.

"The towns people are leaving today, but before they go they want to convey their thanks to you." He explained. Harumi slowly sat up and looked at Nobunaga who was sitting beside her. When she tried to stand he helped her up. Her maids were already in Nobunaga's bedchambers to get her ready. They took her to his private bathroom, washed her, took care of her shoulder and put her in a simple kimono. Her left arm still hurt a lot so they put it in a sling. Harumi ate a bit, drank some more painkillers and went to the great hall were everybody apparently was waiting for her. Nobunaga accompanier her. The whole way he carefully supported her while she didn't really need it. Still she didn't say anything. His protectiveness was very cute and endearing. Harumi began to blush while she thought about Nobunaga being cute and had to try her hardest to not go on full middle school girl with a crush modus. In the great hall everybody was waiting for her and as soon as she entered the room she was met with loud cheers. Everybody was over the moon that they had defeated the Togashi clan, all thanks to her. Harumi could sense that everybody wanted her to say a few fords but she hadn't prepared anything and even though she had gotten better at public speaking the last week, she still was terrified. Luckily Nobunaga noticed and stepped in. He said a few words of thanks and due to the very detailed report Harumi had written since he was gone he was fully up to date and knew exactly what to say. Harumi looked at him. Why did the history books portrayed his as this evil person? Sure, he did things that she didn't agree with but that was more due to the time setting than his as a person himself. He was a strict ruler and he came down on his enemies like thunder. He was also kind and always did everything in his power to protect his own people.