sorry for not updating for so long! i didn't expect people to actually read this TT__TT thank you for your support and I will continue to do my best!
I was tired of the never-ending tension and I wanted to break the ice so badly! " Umm-- " suddenly, the two of us ended up in perfect synchronization... which makes it even more awkward than I thought were possible. " You can speak first, Lord Ieyasu! " I said politely, as I would prefer to be on his good side in order to not get myself thrown off the ride back home. " Oh, I was just wondering... if the hyperventilating thing occurs from time to time.. " He asked as I smiled bitterly " Yeah... I used to think I finally got over it... but turns out I didn't.. but I promise to try and keep it as minimal as possible in the future! " I said as Ieyasu then suddenly slowed down his horse.
" It's not something you can possibly try and 'control'... either way, I'll try and make some more of the calming medicine to help you out, make sure to bring it around anywhere you go, got it? " for a second there... I thought I saw his eyes gleamed in sadness... but just the thought of him trying to help me out to the point of willingly making more of the medicine made me wanted to tear up. The warlord proceeds to whip the horse back to speed as I gave Ieyasu a proper hug from the back, " Thank you... so much " I sobbed, thankfully the wind resistance was loud enough to cover my whimpers and the tears dried up pretty easily.
The air felt breathable, everything felt like a dream, in which I myself isn't really sure whether I would want to wake up from it.. or just continue dreaming, but the most important thing is.. it finally felt like I belong somewhere.. like it was my second home or some sort, with the endless galloping, we finally reached the Azuchi Castle and I was scored by the castle's maids back to my room as Ieyasu went to send off his horse before we part ways I manage to give him one last hug " Thank you so much for everything you've done for me.. especially when I keep on passing out and giving you such a hard time here... I can assume you won't hate me as much now? " I asked, trying to give myself a clear look at what stage of friendship are me and Ieyasu currently at.
" Well, I wouldn't say I hate you-- but I still dislike you, hate is a bit of a strong word to use in this context... maybe if you can prove yourself that you're much more resilient than you look.. maybe I'll consider being neutral towards you " The warlord said before giving me one last glance before disappearing into the stables. Feeling quite accomplished, I ended up sleeping like a log that night! I wouldn't actually mind if Ieyasu really did end up hating me, but then again.. I wouldn't want to end up in awkward situations and being murdered by him.. it would be much better to create more allies in this time period anyways.
The next morning came over pretty quickly as I woke up refreshed and feeling more energetic than ever! Went to wash myself up from last night's dust and mud from the endless traveling, and when I walked over to the dining hall for breakfast, I noticed that it was empty. Of course, the first thing to do was panic, over-think, and proceed to think about all of my sins coming back to me as karma and all the times we spent together was a whole dream, only to be greeted by one of the maids asked me if I was okay.
Thankfully, I didn't want to jump to any needless ridiculous conclusion and just decided to ask the question straight from the maids themselves, turns out due to them all arriving quite late into the night, the warlords will be having their breakfast in their own chambers. I didn't want to seem useless so I ate up mine in a hurry and volunteered to help carry their breakfast trays to their room, there was a lot of twists and turns in the Azuchi Castle to the point, if it wasn't for the head maid accompanying me, I would've most definitely gotten myself lost.
The first room was easy enough, it was Nobunaga's, been there before, and do I have the muscle memory of it? No. Of course, a bit of guidance wouldn't hurt anyone, so I arrived safely and announced my arrival " Uhh.. Lord Nobunaga, it's Hibiki! I brought breakfast? " considering how tired he was from last night-- I would've might as well thought he wasn't going to open his doors, but lo and behold, he didn't (of course he wouldn't, he's the lord!) and replied with a simple " Come in ". Which I did and saw him sitting over his little table at the balcony, seemingly looking over at the people walking around town.
" Hmm, I have no idea which demon took over you, but I would prefer it more if you would call me 'Nobunaga' as always, " the warlord said as he smirked over to me, seeing how he likes to play jokes, I kept a respectful distance and placed his tray right in front of him " As long as my head would still be intact, sure " I replied back as I almost forgot about an important thing I needed to discuss with him. " Oh, by the way... uhh would you mind... maybe giving me a tutor to help me with self-defense? Because, I know you guys don't have ample time to keep watching over me 24/7, so it would be nice if I could at least defend myself and save you all the effort... is that okay? " I asked as Nobunaga gave it a thought and nod his head in approval.
" Alright then, I'll make sure to bring it up in our next meeting "
That pretty much covered what I had to do as I excused myself and continued my breakfast journey to Hideyoshi's quarters, the head maid passed me over to Hideyoshi's designated maids in his quarters, as they kindly led me to his room. " Umm.. Lord Hideyoshi? It's Hibiki! I brought you your breakfast! " I said, announcing my arrival, to my surprise, the warlord himself came over to open his doors as he led me into his room, where a small table was placed in the middle of the room. I gently placed the tray and tried to excuse myself before getting stopped by Hideyoshi " I thought we agreed on being adopted siblings... so why would you refer to me as Lord Hideyoshi instead of big brother Hideyoshi? Or would you prefer to call me Hideyoshi instead? " He grumbled as I let out an amused laugh.
" Oh, I thought I was the only one who agreed to it! Alright then, next time I'll make sure to call you as my big brother Hideyoshi!" I replied as he gave me a satisfied smile before I left the room and went to Mitsunari's room which was located in Hideyoshi's quarters as his retainer? I'm not entirely sure-- because I did kinda almost fail my history class. Oh well, I asked the maids around and was led to his room almost immediately, I noticed that they seemed a bit nervous before cheering me on? for what? sending breakfast to a warlord? Anyways, I shrugged it off and called out to him " Excuse me, Mitsunari? It's me Hibiki? " I announced, but alas there was no answer-- so of course, I would assume that he was still sleeping and wanted to drop off his meal before leaving.
I carefully slid open the shoji screen door, only to see the warlord, sitting up straight in his futon, reading a book, and his entire room was filled with numerous books! " Mitsunari? " I thread over cautiously, as to not step on the books lying around his room. He must've been so absorbed in his books that he doesn't seem to notice, nor hear me-- well, I would do the same whenever I encounter a really good book, to the point I would sometimes trip over a pebble or bump into lecturers by accident, it was so embarrassing to the point I would just dedicate a whole day off just to read the book.
I didn't want to bother him any further, so I pulled his table next to him and placed the tray on top of it-- out of a sudden I heard Mitsunari muttering something " kitten? " my eyes began to dart around almost immediately because I have never seen a single cat throughout my stay and also, it's a kitten? Of course, I'm going to pet it and kidnap it to my room! Would be even better if it could lure me to its mother--but disappointingly, there was no kitten or even a cat, or a rodent on sight, so I'm thinking maybe, just MAYBE mans was imagining things, I'm not going to judge of course, I'm not god.
On the other hand, god really should've given me a heads up-- because no amount of therapy would help me after I get back from this era, my therapist will be hearing about these men and the importance of personal space. I was tackled to the ground by Mitsunari, which for any woman out there was pretty traumatizing, to be manhandled without any sort of warning that is. It made my brain go into immediate 'fight or flight' mode, and this time? I want to run away, and I didn't have Ieyasu's anxiety pills to help me out, so what did I do you may ask of? Like any other helpless people in the world, the least I could do was cry (literally) and for help. Being tackled to the ground by a grown man, not to mention a warlord who is capable of deciding my next fate of being alive or unalive did not make me feel any better.
Let's also put out the fact that he is NOT seeing me as a human right now. Yeah, I might as well have to pay my therapist double just from this experience itself.
God was feeling gracious over me since turns out, Ieyasu was nearby the room, okay maybe not so lucky, but beggars can't be choosers and he's literally my only ray of survival before my lungs really decide to give up altogether. The amount of panic attacks I've had within this time period exceeds the number of panic attacks I've had in a whole semester of my degree, and bear in mind I have to live like this for another couple of months. Ieyasu came immediately to help as he took the hilt of his katana and slammed it into Mitsunari's chest, instantly removing the warlord from me and it looked like it would puncture my ribs just by seeing it.
Mitsunari however seemed unfazed by the fact that he just got himself yeeted by a sword, but was rather fazed by the fact that I was, in fact, a human. " Lady Hibiki? Lord Ieyasu? what are you doing here? " He asked, as I was already finished with my meltdown of discomfort and was shielded by Ieyasu. " I came to get you to return these books back to the archive, " the fairy warlord said as he glanced over to me to speak my reasoning " I c-came here to.. serve your b-breakfast... " I stuttered as I was pretty much trembling from head to toe, honestly, it felt like I was just tackled by a bear-- god is making a huge mistake and that is, sending someone with PTSD and anxiety without an animal service to this blood forsaken era.
" I might as well be as good as dead at this point "