together

Nobunaga had promised Harumi to help her find a way back to her own time. So she had shared all the things she had found thus far with him. Unfortunately it wasn't much. Nobunaga also though it would be better to keep Harumi's real identity a secret for the time being, since it would only welcome unwanted questions were neither one of them had the answers for. Not that she minded it. Harumi had gotten used to people calling her Nohime and it began to feel like her name after so many months. Though, she still liked it that Nobunaga knew who she really was and that they had this secret together.

"Did you get any information?" Harumi asked while Nobunaga came walking in. He sighted while he sat beside her. He had gone do the dungeons to question the real Nohime. At first Harumi wanted to join him but Nobunaga forbid her for joining him. He said that it could become rather gory. Harumi knew torture wasn't anything new in this time, and she knew Nobunaga probably did some inhumane things to the girl that looked exactly like her. Cold shivers ran down her spine thinking about it. True, she hated the real Nohime for bringing her here, but she would never wish this kind of fate upon her.

"Not really. She eventually told me that her accomplice found a witch." Nobunaga explained while rubbing his eyes. He looked tired. He said that he understood her and would support Harumi finding a way back but she noticed that he was somewhat reluctant. Plus, she had months to digest that she had time traveled, Nobunaga had to process that all in one day. He looked tired.

"Than we have to find the accomplice." Harumi said while rubbing his arm. Nobunaga gave her a small smile before it disappeared again.

"I'm sorry, but we have to put the investigation on hold for a while, my dear No... Harumi." He said. Harumi's cheeks flared up by hearing him speak her real name. It was one of the most overwhelmingly great feelings in the world to hear someone call her real name.

"Why?" Harumi asked. Trying to not sound to devastated.

"In a few weeks will be my birthday." Nobunaga explained. "The daimyo's under my reign will also come to deliver the taxes from the last year. The castle will be buzzing with people for three days."

"Okay, you're turning twenty, right?" Harumi asked while Nobunaga nodded. "If you would live in modern day Japan you would finally be able to drink and smoke." She explained with a smile while Nobunaga looked at her in disbelieve. It wasn't that Nobunaga was a drunk or something, but drinking vast amounts of sake was a weekly occurrence for his, as well as smoking.

"All the Daimyo's will bring their legal wife, as lady of the castle it will be your job to entertain them during the day when I meet and negotiate with the Daimyo's." He said. "But don't worry, you only have to take care of entertainment during the day, all three nights there will be big banquettes. The first evening for welcoming everyone, the second for thanking all the daimyo's and the third for my birthday."

"By the way, what do you want for your birthday?" Harumi asked. She was sure she could figuer something out to do. What was important for her now was giving Nobunaga the perfect present. It sounded harsh but she hoped that this would be the only birthday of Nobunaga that she would be attending. Harumi hoped that she would be back in her own time by this time next year.