Birthday

After the whole incident Harumi didn't see Lady Nishi, or lord Tamura Yoritoshi for that matter, anymore. She didn't have time to ask Nobunaga about it. Even though it was his birthday she still had meetings all morning and in the afternoon his retainers wanted to celebrate his birthday with him. Besides, she still had to entertain all the wives of the daimyo's. For the last day she had arranged a Noh-play to watch for all the ladies. One of the best and most renowned theatre groups came to play and Harumi even had the option to choose a play. She had decided on a love drama where most of the actors were female. Even though it shouldn't be a problem, she knew all the daimyo's would be happiest if not too many men flocked around their wives without male supervision. So since they both had a busy schedule Harumi didn't have any time to meet with Nobunaga for the entire day. She would only be able to see him at the banquet. At that time she couldn't give him her present. She had been thinking about what to give him for a while but she couldn't come up with anything. Anything that Nobunaga desired he could go get it himself. And most of the things he wanted he already had. Of course she could buy the most fancy gifts for him, fit for a king. But she would still have to use Nobunga's money to buy those presents. Eventually she came up with an idea for a fantastic present for him, but she could not give it to him with other people present. Hopefully everyone would leave the castle in the next day, giving Nobunaga some free time so she could give him his present at that time.

Her three maids took hours to ready Harumi for the party. They wanted her to be the most beautiful lady of the entire country. Harumi didn't like it but she knew that on this occasion she didn't have a choice. They had made a special kimono for her especially for tonight. The silk was dyed in such a manner that it caused an ombre effect from pinkish to deep blue, like the sky on a summers evening. In gold thread a pattern of persimmon blossom was scattered all over the kimono. It was honestly the most beautiful garment Harumi had ever seen in her whole life. They had put the top part of her hair up in a intricate bun while the bottom part of her hair cascaded down her back like a dark waterfall. They put a dozen ornaments in her hair. Some had golden flowers while others were decorated with strings with jade stones at the end. She even let her maids put make up on her. She didn't like that very much. Her face was as white as a piece of paper, her lips were painted a fiery red as if they were bleeding and her eyebrows were just two straight lines of the blackest black she had ever seen. She preferred not wearing make up, especially the white face powder. In the twenty first century she had read somewhere that the powder they used in this era to lighten the skin was very toxic and could seriously harm the skin with excessive use. She also had already seen it with the wives of the daimyo's. Most of them used thick layers of the powder to mask all the scares caused by the stuff. That was the problem, the more you used it, the more you needed it. So Harumi tried to keep away from that stuff by all means. But even she had to use it on some occasions. Since her time in the past this was the second time she used it. The first was on her wedding day. She began to blush when she though back on that day. Within a second of seeing Nobunaga she had been dazzled by his beauty.

When Harumi arrived at the grand hall most of the people were already present. One of the maids that would do the serving that evening escorted her to her place right next to Nobunaga. Nobunaga and Harumi had a small table just for the two of them on the far end of the room on a small platform, making them sit higher than the rest. The other guest sat at tables placed in two rows along the two long walls of the room. Making the seating arrangements resemble a horse shoe. Like thins the centre of the room was empty for performances. The only one that wasn't present at the time was Nobunaga himself but they didn't have to wait long. Only after a short while Nobunaga arrived. With long strides he walked up to Harumi and sat down beside her. His maids clearly tried very hard to make him look presentable. He also wore a beautiful kimono with at least hundred whistles and bells on it. Although he looked dashing he reeked of alcohol. Harumi had never seen Nobunaga like this. To the untrained eye he looked normal but Harumi noticed that he was definitely tipsy. He didn't sit as steadily as normal and he looked a bit tired. Still, that didn't stop him from drinking like a mad man for the rest of the evening. Most of the daimyo's and warlords gifted him rare wines and other alcoholic beverages. Not only did he drank his own cup, he also drank Harumi's share since she couldn't handle alcohol. There were some performances of dancers and koto players but most of the time people were just chatting and laughing with each other. The last banquet of the three days took longer than the other two. Harumi tried to yawn as inconspicuously as possible. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there but her but and legs hurt so much she was scared the blood circulation in her lower half would stop.

"Are you tired?" Nobunaga asked while he leaned in a bit. He still looked wine but he was definitely drunk. He smiled a lot more than normal and was way more childish. Sometimes people got really violent when they were drunk but she didn't mind Nobunaga's drunkness.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." Harumi said quietly.

"You don't have to apologize. You can go to bed if you want to. Unfortunately I have to entertain the guests." Nobunaga said while wrapping one arm around her waist.

"Then I'll excuse myself first. Don't drink too much other wise you will get sick." She smiled before she wanted to rise before Nobunga stopped her.

"Is it okay if I sleep over tonight?" He asked with puppy eyes. Harumi could only smile and shake her head before agreeing.