New friends

Harumi slowly but steadily read more and more books to no avail. She read all the documents slower than usual. That was because all the stuff was written in ancient kanji. In het own time most books were written in Hiragana or Katakana. She knew the basic stuff about kanji but it really wasn't her forte. Harumi was way better in understanding the western alphabet. She had english since middle school and even followed french in high school. Her dream always had been to go overseas for her master when she finished university in Japan. She tried to calm herself when her eyes started to sting. She had her whole life planned out, and right now she didn't even know if she ever would get the chance to live it. Determent she swallowed the lump that had formed in her troth away. Crying didn't solve anything so she should use that energy into finding a way back.

Harumi just put the stack of books she already read away and climbed a ladder to get a new stack of books. This lot seemed promising. She held some old thick leather bound books in one hand while grabbing extra books with her other. Suddenly the ladder shifted what made Harumi lose her balance. She dropped the books and tried to grab on to something to save her from falling. She was grabbing in the air while she fell backwards. She shut her eyes and anticipated her hard fall. She did fall and it did hurt, but not as much as she anticipated.

"Ouch!" She heard a voice beneath her. Harumi opened her eyes to see that she was laying in the arms of Hori Hidemasa, one of Nobunaga's warlords. The first thing Harumi noticed was how handsom this young man was up close. They lay still for a moment while they looked at each other. After a few seconds Harumi's brain rebooted and she relazed that she was laying in the arm of a strange man. With crimson red cheeks she hurriedly got to her feet and helped Hidemasa on his feet.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked when they both stood.

"No, I don't think so. Thank you for catching me." Harumi said while checking her limbs for any injuries.

"Okay, I don't know what I would do if you got hurt anywhere. I accidentally knocked against the ladder so it was my fault." He explained with an apologetic look on his face. He was a bit younger than Nobunaga himself or the other warlords. But even though he wore a kimono made from thick and sturdy material Harumi could clearly see that he had a lot of muscles underneath. Although he had a light stubble on his chin he had still somewhat of a boyish face. His hair wasn't nearly as long as that from Nobunaga and maybe a few shades lighter. His hair normally came to his shoulders but now he had it in a messy bun what suited him perfectly. But the most beautiful part of this fine specimen of a man were his eyes. Those had the same colour as bright green spring leaves.

"I'm okay, really!" Harumi comforted him. "Aren't you hurt anywhere?"

"No, I'm fine. I can take more than a lady knocking me to the ground." He laughed. Harumi snickered at his childish expression. She had never actually talked to Hidemasa, but there was this feeling of familiarity what she really liked.

"Do you need any more?" He asked while Hidemasa picked up the books she dropped earlier and gave them to her.

"This is enough for now." She laughed. "Do you need anything specific?"

"Well, all the older guys think I should learn more about leading an army, the old farts." Hidemasa sighted what made Harumi laugh again.

"Well, old people always think they know everything, but let me tell you a secret." Harumi said. "They don't and most of the time they are stuck in their old ways whit out any room for improvements, so don't listen too much to them."

"Lady Nohime, you are really smart. Oda Nobunaga-sama got himself a fine wife!" He said while making a deep bow.

"Thank you, and please, just call me Nohime." She hurriedly said. "And if you ever need any help with all that, my door is always open." She continued while pointing at the books he was holding.