───
HIMARI DID NOT THINK THROUGH THIS. though sukuna was not able to revive all the samurais, he did make the horses take them towards where himari's father was waiting.
"himari, are you okay?", rumi asked, watching as the woman suddenly feel the air in her lungs get punched out.
"um...suddenly, I don't want to meet my father anymore. how about we turn the carriage around and just live in that rusty dusty house for forever?"
"hah?! the hell are you talking about? we're already here!", sukuna stated, as there were two lines of samurais, parted like the red sea.
"but..."
"it's okay, himari. master hotaru's very nice", rumi reassured, only making himari's stomach churn even more.
"aha...yeah...you two, don't get out of the carriage until I give you both the signal", himari instructed, to which both men had scoffed.
as soon as the carriage stopped, himari had deeply breathed in and out, waiting for one of the men to open the carriage doors, as rumi stepped out first.
"WELCOME BACK, LADY HIMARI!!", the samurais all kneeled in sync, making himari slightly flinch as she got out of the carriage with rumi's help.
in the center stood a brown-haired man with kind eyes that seemed to convey such passionate and strong emotions, it had almost made himari feel bad that he wasn't seeing his actual daughter.
"himari, you're back", hotaru smiled, extending his arms for the girl to fall into.
the red-haired woman awkwardly embraced her father as she felt the man rhythmically pat her back.
"hey...dad....", himari mumbled.
"did you just call me dad?", the man asked, looking at his daughter as if he were on the verge of tears.
"y-yeah, why?"
"himari, you used to call your father old man", rumi quietly reminded, making the woman immediately bow her head.
"I'M SORRY FOR BEING A RUDE LITTLE SHIT! AND I'M SORRY TO EVERYONE I'VE WRONGED IN THIS HOUSEHOLD! I PROMISE TO SHOW YOU A MORE MATURE AND FRIENDLY VERSION OF MYSELF FROM TODAY ONWARDS!", himari shouted, making everyone whisper in shock.
hotaru chuckled, lifting up himari's head as he patted her head.
"I see that you've reflected a lot during your time away. I couldn't be more proud", hotaru smiled, making himari's heart lukewarm.
"on that note though, where are all the samurais that I sent over to accompany you back?", hotaru asked, seeing as there was quite literally no one.
"OH MY GEGE! dad, you wouldn't believe it! the craziest thing happened on my way home. we were getting attacked by bandits, and then...wait for it..."
himari harshly pulled tōji and sukuna out the carriage, showing the two men as everyone gossiped even more about their peculiar lady.
"these two saved us! can you imagine? I was so scared; honestly, people should stop trying to rob us because of our money".
hotaru dipped his heads to the two men.
"thank you for saving my daughter and her maid! please, allow me to at least treat you two to dinner first. then we can talk about your rewards for the bravery that you two have shown today", hotaru offered.
himari internally sighed.
'I'm sorry to the samurais that have died because of my own selfishness. I know I'm housing two killers right now, but they're hot...umm...please rest in peace'.
"okay", tōji quickly agreed, meanwhile sukuna just scoffed.
"also, have you gotten over your heartbrea—"
"I never even liked that ma—I mean yes", himari weakly smiled, just accepting it at this point, as no matter how much she denies it, it'll forever stick with her.
"that's good, that's good. let's all go in for dinner now, since I'm sure the journey was quite tedious", hotaru stated, walking towards the door as himari clung onto her father's arm, making him crack a smile.
'I'm sorry your daughter was such a bitch. I'll take over and be a great one from now on!'
"oh by the way, is there like a list of new samurais that are joining us this year?", himari asked, clearly really desperate on wanting to meet itadori.
"hm? what's the sudden interest?", hotaru asked, taking a seat at the head of the room, as with a clap of his hands, maids and eunuchs started bringing in plates of food.
tōji grinned to himself as this was way better than the dishes that they served him at the zen'in household.
granted, since he was an outcast, he wasn't given the best treatment.
"I was...just wondering! I was thinking that I should get more invested in what's going on in our family, right? since I'm the only child and all", himari smiled, making hotaru chuckle.
"how about I show you after dinner? and you won't need to worry about much for longer. I've already selected a few marriage partners for you—"
"ORRRR, I can just not get married and stay beside you for the rest of my life", himari interrupted, making hotaru laugh, as he thought it was a joke.
"himari, as happy as I am to hear that, you must get married one day so that someone can inherit this place", hotaru said.
"why can't I do it? I'm smart, I'm talented...I think...and I'm—"
"not a male", hotaru intervened. "I'm sorry himari, but that's just the rules".
himari softly sighed, not surprised.
"fat bet", the woman quietly muttered.
"and himari, there's an important event coming up. would you want to head to the imperial palace with me?", hotaru asked.
"huh? why?", the woman casually questioned, flicking the garlic particles off the fish as she made sure that there were no bones visible.
"the shogunate has requested the presence of all of us for a party that he's holding for one of his concubines", hotaru vaguely answered.
'oh righttttt!! oda nobunaga hasn't become the shogunate yet...so does that mean I'll get to meet a historical figure?! should I get his signature and sell it if I ever get transported back or something?'
"all the daimyos will be there...including the zen'in household..."
"OF COURSE I'LL GO! GOJŌ SATORU IS GONNA BE THER—I-I mean, I'd love to go, father", the woman smiled.