───
WITH A GIVEN KEY TO HER MOTHER'S ROOM, himari snuck out during nighttime, as she felt like this was a more private matter.
hence why the woman was now tiptoeing into the locked room, with a golden key to match the golden chain wrapped around the still shining handles of the door.
even the hinges were oiled, to which there was no creaking noise when opening the door.
himari sighed out a breath of relief, as she then randomly placed the key on top of a nearby drawer.
not to her surprise, nothing was out of the ordinary.
there was simply a large bed with a closet full of elegant kimonos and a makeup desk accompanied by the same brand that himari had found in her own room.
across the bed was a wall that hung a humongous painting of lady mayako — hotaru's beloved.
it was indeed just like what rumi had once told himari; she was absolutely entrancing.
her dainty smile was like the icing on top, as her pale complexion and outstanding red hair blazed like the wings of a fiery phoenix. amongst the blaring hot fire-like locks, was the deep, calm and cunning stare, much like an opheodrys vernalis's skin.
though her thin fingers professionally strung a koto in the picture, himari had could tell from the nearly nonexistent creases that she was a woman that had previously held a sword, or at least some type of weapon that had caused the minuscule calluses to appear at the base of her palms.
the painter not only did a splendid job capturing such intense details, but they also portrayed her character very well — even though the portrait was unmoving.
"she would've been able to rule the entire continent...if only she had lived long enough...", himari mumbled to herself.
it was just a gut feeling, but himari had truly felt that if her mother were still alive, she'd be a strong female ruler that'd unite japan as a whole, very much like oda nobunaga — who had tried his best.
the auburn-haired woman then leisurely moved around the room, examining every little thing in curiosity, as she found nothing peculiar, with the exception of a blue book that was conveniently hidden under a floorboard.
it was too hallow when himari had stepped on it, so the woman kneeled down and picked open the wooden floorboard, as there was a notebook scrolled up and shoved in there.
"the hell?"
himari flipped open the book as she skimmed through all the neat markings that were written with dates accompanying them.
instead of a diary, it was every expenditure that the woman's mother had made.
from a single pair of earrings to thousands and hundreds of money spent on some industrial machinery, himari could only ogle at the benefits of marrying a rich husband.
"damn...imma need to find myself a sugar daddy too. what a queen", himari sniffled, putting the book back, as she stuck the floorboard back with the rest.
sighing, the red-haired woman glanced at her mother's portrait once more before locking the door and leaving.
how unfortunate that she didn't catch the clue that her mother had left behind.
"lady himari, shouldn't you be practicing for the chūsū no meigetsu?", maki asked.
"aw yes!! himari's going to be the best looking woman there isn't she?", miwa marveled, as rumi had nodded in agreement.
"huh? what dance are you doing, lady himari?", kugisaki asked, as all the girls started crowding around the woman, meanwhile the boys were still training with nanami, tōji, gojō, getō, and sukuna.
"pole dancing", himari immediately answered with a grin.
"pole dancing? what's it like?", nishimiya questioned.
himari then facepalmed, as once again, no one got her joke. she didn't know why she even tried anymore.
"I'm just kidding...I'll be prancing around like a reindeer", the auburn-haired woman corrected.
"huh?"
himari then stood up from her chair, as she was just lazying around, watching her four heartthrobs train without their shirts on.
"lemme stretch first", himari stated, sitting down on the grass, as she spread her legs, reaching for her left toe.
"I used to do gymnastics all throughout middle school and high school. but then I quit because college was a bitch".
"who's college? and what's gymnastics?", mai inquired.
himari had to take in a deep breath, as she just decided to keep quiet.
"ANYWAYS, this is a cartwheel", himari showcased, sticking her arms up, as she created a literal wheel motion with her body.
"and this is an aerial", the woman continued, doing nearly the same action except without her hands.
"WOAHHH!! LADY HIMARI, HOW'D YOU DO THAT?!", itadori shouted, running across the field, as the woman just scratched her head.
"CAN YOU DO IT AGAIN?!"
"uhhh...sure??"
itadori watched in amazement, as everyone else had also gathered around, to which himari had then ended in her right splits, with her arms up in the air like a champ.
"poggers, ey?", the woman smiled.
itadori, rumi, and miwa just clapped.
"that's so cool lady himari. where'd you learn how to do that?", itadori asked.
"baby, you all do WAYYYYY cooler things than me, like please! and I learned it in school...mhm..."
"not bad. I thought you were weak like a thin noodle", gojō teased, causing the auburn-haired woman to click her tongue.
"should've left you in the damn cave", himari rudely muttered.
gojō then offendedly gasped.
"the audacity! I saved your ass so many times and this is what I get?!"
"WHEN?! WHEN DID YOU SAVE ME, KIND SIR?!"
"I—"
"satoru, himari, that's enough", getō interrupted, sighing, as nanami could relate.
tōji just ruffled himari's head, as sukuna had pinched her cheek, making the woman slap his hand away.
all of the students watched in amazement, as tōdō suddenly raised his hand.
"bro—sister, when you said that you liked deranged men, did you mean these four?", the boy questioned, making himari choke.
"what? when the fuck did I say deranged?! I just said men with traumatic issues, okay?! it doesn't mean they're deranged! I mean like sure...a few of them might be mass murderers and stuff, but no.
I don't like deranged men", himari rambled, rolling up her sleeves, as she planned on practicing some more.
itadori raised a brow.
"so you would...marry all of them?", miwa unsurely asked.
"yes", himari nonchalantly answered, to which a proud grin could be seen across sukuna and tōji's face, meanwhile getō and gojō had covered the lower half of their faces with the back of their hands.
"so like a harem? but of men?!"
"yeah, why not", himari shrugged, tying up her hair in the process.
"who would be first then?", megumi asked, now also intrigued.
"nanamin, you can always have first if you'd lik—"
"no", the man immediately rejected.
"okay damn".
"but...why?", muta asked, glancing over at the four completely opposite personalities.
"it's simple. because I. am. a. simp".