───

     "OKAY!! HERE IS EVERYONE'S SCHEDULE. I've organized it by subjects, so throughout the day, everyone will be attending different classes at different times.

     breakfast and lunchtimes are also estimated in there, but obviously you don't have to exactly stick to it. ideally, it should be self taught once we leave, but for the first few days, we will be leading you all through it. any questions?"

     all the girls glanced around, shaking their heads, as himari grinned.

     "great!! then these six will be your teachers for these three days!", himari exclaimed.

     "then what will you be doing?", gojō questioned.

     "hm? oh, I'll be with chīsana, isn't that right?", himari asked, to which the little girl had nodded, clinging onto the woman's sleeve.

     himari then picked chīsana up, carrying her, as she grinned.

     "we're off to go shopping with gojō's money. goodbye!", himari quickly stated, skipping off, as the white-haired daimyo gasped.

"HEY, WHEN DID I—"

"you didn't, so ja ne~", himari waved.

as the two girls left, chīsana created some shade for her eyes with her hand perched against her forehead.

"chīsana, let's order some new fabric for your mom and her friends. I've been wanting to have someone invent pants...or at least a dress", himari stated, still carrying the little girl, as she didn't want her to be snatched away.

     chīsana only nodded, as she gripped tightly onto himari's nagagi, cracking a small smile, as this was the very first time she's ever been out.

     "but first, let's get you a snack of your choosing, because you deserve it!", himari said, letting the child skim the stalls that were placed outside the larger shops.

     "what about over there?", himari pointed, to which chīsana had nodded.

     "okay!! hey ma'am, may I have a taiyaki please?", himari nicely asked.

     "of course!! lucky you for coming early. these are all freshly made!", the middle-aged woman boasted, handing one that had a paper bag wrapped around it to chīsana, meanwhile himari paid with gojō's money.

     "thank you, and you have a nice day!"

     "you too!", the stall owner called out.

     chīsana hesitantly nibbled on the fish-shaped pastry, biting more into it, as she was rewarded with the filling of a sweetened red bean paste.

     "like it?", the auburn-haired woman asked, to which chīsana had happily nodded, offering some to himari.

     "you eat it. it's all yours", himari smiled, patting the girl's head.

     "anyways, I was thinking maybe that store? or should we go to this on—"

"HEY! I REMEMBER YOU!", someone shouted, pointing at himari and making her pause in the middle of the street.

"huh? who are you?", himari confusingly asked, as a man along with his comrades emerged from the alleyway.

"you're the one that bought the entire brothel and closed it!! you took away all our fun! how're you going to compensate us?!", one of the men huffed.

     "huh? why would I need to compensate you?", himari questioned, hastily whispering to chīsana.

     "they look kinda sketchy. if they do anything, remember to run when I say three, okay?"

     chīsana hesitantly nodded, getting slightly nervous, as himari had set her down.

     "QUIT PLAYING DUMB! I KNOW YOU'RE A SELFISH BASTARD THAT'S KEEPING THEM ALL TO YOURSELF!", the man shouted, causing a ruckus, as himari could see the rest of his comrades start to circle around them.

"THREE!", himari screamed, to which before another man could stop chīsana, himari had slapped his hand away with the case of her holy sword.

"YOU COCKY LITTLE SHI—"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!", himari interrupted, as chīsana was now out of earshot.

     "HOW DARE YOU—"

     "INTERRUPT ME!", himari finished, making the other men grit their teeth.

     "listen, women aren't 'things' that you can just use for your pleasure whenever you want, okay? go find another hobby or try to improve yourself first. don't blame me for your own sexual frustrations", himari calmly lectured, making many people — that have gathered around — whisper and snicker.

     the men surrounding her immediately felt the embarrassment rise to their cheeks, as they started charging at himari, making the woman lift up her sword.

with himari being severely outnumbered and no one helping, the woman had desperately tried to fend them off without brutally stabbing them with her weapon.

"WE'LL SHOW YOU TODAY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MOCK US!!", someone from himari's left proclaimed.

the man then kicked the woman's back, causing himari to stumble forwards as two others had gripped tightly onto her wrists, to which she had swiftly stepped on both their foots, before a punch was delivered to her nose.

"YOU RASCAL! GET BACK HERE!!", the man demanded, to which before they could do any more damage to the woman, two men that were obviously highly skilled, had appeared.

"harm him no further", the one on the left commanded, taking out his sword, as his expression conveyed that he was not afraid to shed the blood of others.

"leave before we make this a bloodbath", the one on the right sternly stated.

getting the memo that they weren't just anybody, the troublemakers took the chance to escape as the two slightly older teenage boys glanced over at himari.

shooing the crowd away and nearing the woman, himari unconsciously stepped back a bit as the two bowed before her, making her confused.

"lady himari, we apologize for the sudden appearance, but our lord has instructed us to take you to him. so please follow us this instance".

"who....?"

the two boys gave each other a look before answering in sync.

"lord nobunaga".

chīsana felt her legs nearly about to give out as her tiny body has never experienced such extensive exercise.

     with her hair all messily flapping in the wind, her parched lungs had unsteadily let out a series of ragged breathing.

     finally arriving back at the revamped brothel, everyone snapped their heads at the tearful girl who had immediately went over to getō — who was standing in the middle of the other instructors.

     "chīsana? why are you back alone? where's himari?", getō asked, bending down, as he rearranged the girl's messy dark locks.

     the little girl had to catch her breath before she could properly convey what she wished to express.

     having to have not talked in years, the little girl spoke for the very first time, sounding like a shriveled up kitten.

     "h-help...h-her..."