Naomi wasn’t precisely sure what had drawn Nobunaga away from his stronghold this time, but it probably had something to do with the child he was supposedly looking for. Whatever the case, he’d taken Sakaki and the most troublesome of his guards with him, leaving her a little more free than usual to do as she liked. It was only in such times that she risked going to the village, not because he had forbidden her to do so, but because she would rather always be around when he called upon her—the consequences for being absent were honestly more dire than it warranted, but such was the way of people who had too high an opinion of their own importance.
So she’d dressed in a simple, dark blue kimono, patterned with plum blossoms, and walked into the city proper. Few people knew who she was, and next to nobody was able to correctly identify her as a hanyou, and so in this guise, she simply passed for another human woman. Sometimes, she really wished she were. But those were thoughts unbecoming, and she did not allow herself to dwell on them for long. Whatever this path brought her, she had, in the end, chosen it of her own free will. She did not reserve the right to complain about the consequences. She would continue to believe that for as long as she needed to in order that she might keep going.
But today was for less weighty matters. She was feeling a bit like taking an opportunity to observe other people at their daily lives, mostly because it was something she found interesting. There were few better places to do so than an inn, where all sorts came and went, and so it was to there that she was headed. Besides, the usual staff at this one was rather cute: the cook Tatsuki and her brother the clumsy hanyou, Masurao. She’d encountered them both a few times before, and almost immediately connected that Tatsuki was Yujin’s Tsu-Tsu. Sickeningly adorable, really, but it was nice to be reminded that life could go well for unconventional people, even if it did not go well for her.
It was with consummate elegance that Naomi entered the establishment, selecting a table near a window, with a good view of the rest of the room and settling onto her knees before the low table. She was rather looking forward to discovering what the place would have to offer today.
"Stop it, Yuji," Tatsuki warned, glancing at her brother. Yujin grinned widely at her, his hand hovering over the pot she was preparing. Her lips pursed together deeply, watching as his hand inched closer and closer to the pot. "Yuji," she continued, her voice getting lower. His grin only seemed to widen (if it were possible) before she hit his hand away with the wooden spoon in her hand. He laughed as she shoved him out of the kitchen, glancing at Masurao who blinked at them with a confused stare.
"Keep it away," were the only words she spoke as Masurao blinked at Yujin, who continued to grin like a mad man. He chuckled softly at his brother, however; his eyes spotted a rather familiar person, and he waved towards the woman. Yujin, however, blinked a bit surprised to see her here, and made his way towards her table, sitting himself down in front of her as Masurao continued sweeping. He stared at her for a moment, as if trying to read her, before allowing his grin to return to his face.
"Miss Oni that much you had to come visit?" he inquired. "Or is it that you are here for that meal we owe you?" he continued. Though, they really didn't owe her anything, they still hadn't properly repaid her for that day she healed them. It wouldn't be much of a problem to repay it now, if it was food and drink she was seeking, but then again, Yujin couldn't claim to be a mind reader, like his other siblings, and chose to see what her answer would be.
Naomi narrowed her eyes at Yujin as he sat down across from her. Really, she should have expected to run into him here of all places, but she hadn’t really thought of it. It wasn’t that she would have avoided him on purpose… though perhaps she would have. She didn’t like how nosey he was, asking her questions whose answers had no point for someone like her. So persistent, without even once seeming like he was digging for anything in particular. Perhaps the fault was hers, for feeling almost inclined to tell him. “Hardly,” she sniffed, drawing her dignity around her like a cloak. “I came for tea, and to… observe, if you want a word for it.”
It might have sounded a bit odd out loud, her little hobby, but it wasn’t as though she much cared what other people thought of it. She scrutinized him a bit through her lashes, her face a mask of evident disdain, though it was really mostly affected. He was unusual, yes, and perhaps even annoying in a way, but she somehow found it difficult to dislike him. Not something she would be admitting anytime soon. Or really ever, if she had her way. “And you? I can only presume you came to make a nuisance of yourself, if the poor girl had to toss you out of the kitchen like that.”
"If I wasn't making a nuisance of myself, I wouldn't be doing my job properly, now would I?" he replied, leaning onto his hand as he placed his elbow on the table. He sat crosslegged, blinking slowly as he contemplated the rest of her statement. "Why would you come to a place like this to observe? There are more interesting places to observe than this place," he stated, tilting his head to the side as he glanced back towards the kitchen. He could see Masurao talking to some of the kitchen staff before grabbing a plate for himself. He locked eyes with Yujin as the Oni grinned, and Masurao took two more plates.
"Ah, Mimi, how are you!?" he greeted, setting the plate down in front of Yujin and offering her the other plate. There was tsukemono, sashimi, hayashi rice, sekihan, and an onigiri, to which Yujin frowned. Tatsuki was making fun of him, he just knew it. "I hope Yujin's not bothering you," he stated, side glancing his brother as Yujin merely offered an innocent smile. Masurao only frowned slightly. That smile was never a good one, for as long as he'd known the Oni. It always meant he was up to something, he just didn't know what.
“So you’re a professional menace? I thought you just did it recreationally.” Naomi looked unimpressed by this, however, and might have said something further, but she was interrupted by the appearance of Masurao, at whom she flashed a bright smile. “I’m not sure he knows how not to bother someone, Little Mao,” she replied sweetly, her kindness obviously reserved for the hanyou. He was really quite adorable, what with the clumsy earnestness he had. She just wanted to pinch his cheeks. Mostly to watch him get embarrassed by it. “But Oni here is nothing I can’t handle. Tell Tsu-chan I said thank you, would you?”
She resolutely ignored Yujin while she spoke, really treating him as though he wasn’t there at all, falsely-innocent smile and all. She knew the difference—she wielded such a weapon in her own arsenal, and it could certainly get one places if deployed properly.
"Professional? You give me too much credit," Yujin replied, leaning back and placing his hands on the back of his head. He flashed a toothy grin at her as she spoke to Masurao. "You know me all too well already, Mimi," he stated, raising a brow at her last statement. It only caused the grin on his face to widen. It seemed he was in a grinning mood. He leaned forward on his hands, Masurao giving him a questioned look, before he spoke once more. "What makes you think you can handle me?"
"Because you are easily swayed by anything that offers you food. It's not hard to control you with that," Tatsuki interrupted, frowning at her brother as she glanced towards Naomi. She offered the woman a polite bow before sitting in between her brothers. "You are welcome, Naomi-san," she spoke having heard the woman tell Masurao to thank her. She offered Naomi a meek smile before glancing between her brothers.
"Oh, does this mean we get to have lunch together?" Masurao spoke, his eyes shinning brightly as Yujin laughed at him. Tatsuki resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him, but nodded her head nonetheless. Having lunch with friends and family always made Masurao a little happier inside.
“Is that all it takes?” Naomi asked, setting her mouth into a moue of disappointment. “And here I was hoping for a challenge.” Her eyes glittered when she smiled at Tatsuki. The girl really was too shy; it was quite endearing in its own way. That atop Masurao’s easy delight at the prospect of such a simple thing was at once warming and also a little melancholy, for her. How long had it been since she’d felt such delight? Had she ever? She couldn’t remember, honestly. What it was like to be that happy.
Well, for now she would content herself observing it in others. “This is what’s worth seeing,” she told Yujin, while the other two were preoccupied serving themselves from the dishes laid out on the table. “More interesting than most of the things I come across.” But not the kind of thing she could do more than look at, be that from afar or close by. She moved to serve herself a little rice and fish, but she wasn’t a particularly big eater as a rule, and preferred her food surprisingly simple. Well, except perhaps for the sweets. She was a bit of a sucker for those, but it was a well-hidden secret.
Yujin frowned at Naomi's comment and proceeded to pout at Tatsuki. She ignored him, serving herself a plate before passing it to Yujin. Immediately, his eyes lit up and he took the offered dish, placing it in front of him as he reached for his utensils. He stopped, however, when Naomi spoke and blinked. This was worth seeing? A bout of confusion crossed his features for a brief second before he shrugged his shoulders. He did not doubt that Nobunaga kept her on a short leash, and the things she was able to see when he was gone, might have been a bit of a breather for her.
"I'm afraid Oni does not provide much of a challenge when it comes to food," he stated, earning a snort from Masurao. The same could be said about the Hanyou as well. They both loved food, and could eat it for days, and perhaps rightfully so. They burned through food as quickly as they ate it, given their metabolism, and it was a good thing that their sister was able to keep them fed. They'd probably be starving if it weren't for that, a thought that caused Yujin to visibly shudder. How had he and Masurao managed all those years without their sister?
"Don't think about it," Tatsuki stated, taking a slow bite out of her food as she regarded Yujin. The Oni merely smiled, holding his hands up in defense before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. "Yuji... let go," she spoke, her face turning a shade of red as Masurao laughed. She struggled to get out of his hold, her face turning a shade darker with every movement. Yujin merely grinned and shook his head.
"But why!? We wouldn't be quite so fed without you here," he spoke, blinking with a sudden thought as he glanced towards Naomi. "You'd keep us fed if she didn't, right?"
“Mm… I’d feed Little Mao,” Naomi conceded magnanimously. “But you’d be out of luck.”
So she’d dressed in a simple, dark blue kimono, patterned with plum blossoms, and walked into the city proper. Few people knew who she was, and next to nobody was able to correctly identify her as a hanyou, and so in this guise, she simply passed for another human woman. Sometimes, she really wished she were. But those were thoughts unbecoming, and she did not allow herself to dwell on them for long. Whatever this path brought her, she had, in the end, chosen it of her own free will. She did not reserve the right to complain about the consequences. She would continue to believe that for as long as she needed to in order that she might keep going.
But today was for less weighty matters. She was feeling a bit like taking an opportunity to observe other people at their daily lives, mostly because it was something she found interesting. There were few better places to do so than an inn, where all sorts came and went, and so it was to there that she was headed. Besides, the usual staff at this one was rather cute: the cook Tatsuki and her brother the clumsy hanyou, Masurao. She’d encountered them both a few times before, and almost immediately connected that Tatsuki was Yujin’s Tsu-Tsu. Sickeningly adorable, really, but it was nice to be reminded that life could go well for unconventional people, even if it did not go well for her.
It was with consummate elegance that Naomi entered the establishment, selecting a table near a window, with a good view of the rest of the room and settling onto her knees before the low table. She was rather looking forward to discovering what the place would have to offer today.
"Stop it, Yuji," Tatsuki warned, glancing at her brother. Yujin grinned widely at her, his hand hovering over the pot she was preparing. Her lips pursed together deeply, watching as his hand inched closer and closer to the pot. "Yuji," she continued, her voice getting lower. His grin only seemed to widen (if it were possible) before she hit his hand away with the wooden spoon in her hand. He laughed as she shoved him out of the kitchen, glancing at Masurao who blinked at them with a confused stare.
"Keep it away," were the only words she spoke as Masurao blinked at Yujin, who continued to grin like a mad man. He chuckled softly at his brother, however; his eyes spotted a rather familiar person, and he waved towards the woman. Yujin, however, blinked a bit surprised to see her here, and made his way towards her table, sitting himself down in front of her as Masurao continued sweeping. He stared at her for a moment, as if trying to read her, before allowing his grin to return to his face.
"Miss Oni that much you had to come visit?" he inquired. "Or is it that you are here for that meal we owe you?" he continued. Though, they really didn't owe her anything, they still hadn't properly repaid her for that day she healed them. It wouldn't be much of a problem to repay it now, if it was food and drink she was seeking, but then again, Yujin couldn't claim to be a mind reader, like his other siblings, and chose to see what her answer would be.
Naomi narrowed her eyes at Yujin as he sat down across from her. Really, she should have expected to run into him here of all places, but she hadn’t really thought of it. It wasn’t that she would have avoided him on purpose… though perhaps she would have. She didn’t like how nosey he was, asking her questions whose answers had no point for someone like her. So persistent, without even once seeming like he was digging for anything in particular. Perhaps the fault was hers, for feeling almost inclined to tell him. “Hardly,” she sniffed, drawing her dignity around her like a cloak. “I came for tea, and to… observe, if you want a word for it.”
It might have sounded a bit odd out loud, her little hobby, but it wasn’t as though she much cared what other people thought of it. She scrutinized him a bit through her lashes, her face a mask of evident disdain, though it was really mostly affected. He was unusual, yes, and perhaps even annoying in a way, but she somehow found it difficult to dislike him. Not something she would be admitting anytime soon. Or really ever, if she had her way. “And you? I can only presume you came to make a nuisance of yourself, if the poor girl had to toss you out of the kitchen like that.”
"If I wasn't making a nuisance of myself, I wouldn't be doing my job properly, now would I?" he replied, leaning onto his hand as he placed his elbow on the table. He sat crosslegged, blinking slowly as he contemplated the rest of her statement. "Why would you come to a place like this to observe? There are more interesting places to observe than this place," he stated, tilting his head to the side as he glanced back towards the kitchen. He could see Masurao talking to some of the kitchen staff before grabbing a plate for himself. He locked eyes with Yujin as the Oni grinned, and Masurao took two more plates.
"Ah, Mimi, how are you!?" he greeted, setting the plate down in front of Yujin and offering her the other plate. There was tsukemono, sashimi, hayashi rice, sekihan, and an onigiri, to which Yujin frowned. Tatsuki was making fun of him, he just knew it. "I hope Yujin's not bothering you," he stated, side glancing his brother as Yujin merely offered an innocent smile. Masurao only frowned slightly. That smile was never a good one, for as long as he'd known the Oni. It always meant he was up to something, he just didn't know what.
“So you’re a professional menace? I thought you just did it recreationally.” Naomi looked unimpressed by this, however, and might have said something further, but she was interrupted by the appearance of Masurao, at whom she flashed a bright smile. “I’m not sure he knows how not to bother someone, Little Mao,” she replied sweetly, her kindness obviously reserved for the hanyou. He was really quite adorable, what with the clumsy earnestness he had. She just wanted to pinch his cheeks. Mostly to watch him get embarrassed by it. “But Oni here is nothing I can’t handle. Tell Tsu-chan I said thank you, would you?”
She resolutely ignored Yujin while she spoke, really treating him as though he wasn’t there at all, falsely-innocent smile and all. She knew the difference—she wielded such a weapon in her own arsenal, and it could certainly get one places if deployed properly.
"Professional? You give me too much credit," Yujin replied, leaning back and placing his hands on the back of his head. He flashed a toothy grin at her as she spoke to Masurao. "You know me all too well already, Mimi," he stated, raising a brow at her last statement. It only caused the grin on his face to widen. It seemed he was in a grinning mood. He leaned forward on his hands, Masurao giving him a questioned look, before he spoke once more. "What makes you think you can handle me?"
"Because you are easily swayed by anything that offers you food. It's not hard to control you with that," Tatsuki interrupted, frowning at her brother as she glanced towards Naomi. She offered the woman a polite bow before sitting in between her brothers. "You are welcome, Naomi-san," she spoke having heard the woman tell Masurao to thank her. She offered Naomi a meek smile before glancing between her brothers.
"Oh, does this mean we get to have lunch together?" Masurao spoke, his eyes shinning brightly as Yujin laughed at him. Tatsuki resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him, but nodded her head nonetheless. Having lunch with friends and family always made Masurao a little happier inside.
“Is that all it takes?” Naomi asked, setting her mouth into a moue of disappointment. “And here I was hoping for a challenge.” Her eyes glittered when she smiled at Tatsuki. The girl really was too shy; it was quite endearing in its own way. That atop Masurao’s easy delight at the prospect of such a simple thing was at once warming and also a little melancholy, for her. How long had it been since she’d felt such delight? Had she ever? She couldn’t remember, honestly. What it was like to be that happy.
Well, for now she would content herself observing it in others. “This is what’s worth seeing,” she told Yujin, while the other two were preoccupied serving themselves from the dishes laid out on the table. “More interesting than most of the things I come across.” But not the kind of thing she could do more than look at, be that from afar or close by. She moved to serve herself a little rice and fish, but she wasn’t a particularly big eater as a rule, and preferred her food surprisingly simple. Well, except perhaps for the sweets. She was a bit of a sucker for those, but it was a well-hidden secret.
Yujin frowned at Naomi's comment and proceeded to pout at Tatsuki. She ignored him, serving herself a plate before passing it to Yujin. Immediately, his eyes lit up and he took the offered dish, placing it in front of him as he reached for his utensils. He stopped, however, when Naomi spoke and blinked. This was worth seeing? A bout of confusion crossed his features for a brief second before he shrugged his shoulders. He did not doubt that Nobunaga kept her on a short leash, and the things she was able to see when he was gone, might have been a bit of a breather for her.
"I'm afraid Oni does not provide much of a challenge when it comes to food," he stated, earning a snort from Masurao. The same could be said about the Hanyou as well. They both loved food, and could eat it for days, and perhaps rightfully so. They burned through food as quickly as they ate it, given their metabolism, and it was a good thing that their sister was able to keep them fed. They'd probably be starving if it weren't for that, a thought that caused Yujin to visibly shudder. How had he and Masurao managed all those years without their sister?
"Don't think about it," Tatsuki stated, taking a slow bite out of her food as she regarded Yujin. The Oni merely smiled, holding his hands up in defense before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. "Yuji... let go," she spoke, her face turning a shade of red as Masurao laughed. She struggled to get out of his hold, her face turning a shade darker with every movement. Yujin merely grinned and shook his head.
"But why!? We wouldn't be quite so fed without you here," he spoke, blinking with a sudden thought as he glanced towards Naomi. "You'd keep us fed if she didn't, right?"
“Mm… I’d feed Little Mao,” Naomi conceded magnanimously. “But you’d be out of luck.”