It was nearly empty when she got there, something she attributed to the time of dayāit was not anywhere near a meal, particularly, and not late enough that anyone would be there to drink yet, so the place was quiet. She waved to Masurao, who was sweeping out front, probably because heād broken more dishes or something, but decided not to disturb him. Instead, she headed back into the kitchens to see what Tatsuki was doing. The owner knew who she was by now, and so didnāt even give her a second glance when she passed him to do just that.
āGood afternoon, Tatsuki,ā she greeted. It had taken a while for the girl to regain consciousness, but between Makoto, his mother, and herself, her medical care had been about as good as it could get, and though some of her injuries were doubtless still bothering her, she was well enough to go back to her work. Naomi imagined that being able to do something had to be better than sitting around her house trying not to let boredom drive her insane. āHow are you feeling?ā
Tatsuki had not paid attention to the time that had passed her by. She had woken from her injuries four days after the incident, and had suffered small episodes of pain. She hadn't realized how injured she was, and had almost fallen into a deep depression. Out of all of her friends, she was the one who was heavily injured, something she attributed to the fact that she had been further away from them. Masurao had told her the news of Yuzuki's father, and Tatsuki had mourned, silently, for the priestess. In time, she would heal, but until then, she would suffer as Tatsuki had when Nobuo had died. It had taken her a long time to get over his death, but without Yujin and Masurao, she would have never recovered from it. But Hayabusa was Yuzuki's father. She couldn't really claim to have known how that felt.
Instead, she had occupied herself with her work, three weeks later. She could still feel the occasional shift in her ribs, where the Alpha had fractured one of them, and she winced a bit. She blinked in mild surprise when Naomi entered, and offered her a small smile, and wiped her hands on a cloth, not before removing the pot from the fire. She grabbed one of the fresh Dango's from the counter and handed it to Naomi. She glanced back up at Naomi and allowed her smile to falter slightly.
"I am as well as I can get," she responded, sighing softly. She wouldn't be healed completely until a few more days, or even a week if things decided to take a turn for the worst, and she was counting on that happening. Nothing ever stayed peaceful in Edo for very long, and another yokai attack by now was almost expected. "But I have you, Makoto, and Nanami to thank for that. If it were not for all of you, I would not have healed," and likely would have died from the wounds themselves. A thought she did not feel like sharing. "And what of you?"
Naomi grimaced in sympathy, but nodded anyway. While perhaps she would have ordinarily preferred to tease the girl about something, she knew that now was not really the occasion for that. Perhaps later. āI amā¦ well enough.ā she said in response. Nobunaga had not been pleased with the fact that someone had injured her and it wasnāt him, but it wasnāt really her fault, and heād at least had enough sense to see that much. It hadnāt precisely stopped him from adding to them, but heād beenā¦ gentler than usual, for the last few days. Frankly, she was just lucky that everything about her was so elastic, and tended to snap back into place easily enough even when it endured more than body parts should have to. This was something she chose not to share.
āAlsoā¦ I think I know why those wolves attacked. According to Nobunagaās advisors, there is another clan of oni, opposed to the yakuza, who have been breeding the demons for a few centuries now. Apparently theyāve finally figured out how to train them enough to send them over long distances to attack. Theyā¦ think itās really just a prelude, to a march by the army itself.ā Theyād been trying to soften up the yakuza, but theyād run into the cityās other defenders instead. Naomi wasnāt sure exactly how she felt about that.
Generally, she was for anything that was against Nobunaga, but she also knew that if they made it here before she had her revenge, wellā¦ she would refuse to run, and in doing so, she would probably become some other lordās war prize, and worse would happen to Sora and Chitose. Assuming the invaders even won. If they didnāt, sheād just have a destroyed town, and angry Nobunaga, and possibly some dead friends.
It certainly wasnāt anything she wanted.
Tatsuki furrowed her brows and pursed her lips. A prelude? The opposing Oni had seemed to domesticate the wolves and had used them to their advantage to fight against Nobunaga. Had they known that, they might not have interfered, however; the wolves had attacked innocent humans in the process. They couldn't have just let that happen and had to do something about it. Still, there was a chance that the army itself would appear to challenge Nobunaga. If that happened, more than just a handful of innocent people would be lost to the battle. Even if some of the humans could be harsh in their words, did terrible things to the Hanyou, they did not deserve a fate like that. Tatsuki sighed softly, shaking her head before taking a seat on one of the empty tables.
"We won't stand a chance against an army of Oni," she finally spoke. A handful, maybe, but an army? They would all be killed, even Yujin. He may be a full blooded Oni, but that only meant so much against his kind. She pursed her lips together in thought. "We don't have much choice if it comes to that. We would have to leave Edo," and that was something she didn't want to do. This was her home, their home. They couldn't just leave. "Or, we can fight to defend what we can. If an army does pass through here, we can only hope they will head straight for Nobunaga and his estate," she spoke, and immediately choked on her words.
"I'm sorry, Naomi, I didn't mean," she stated, apologizing to Naomi. If that were the case, something would happen to Naomi, and Tatsuki definitely did not want that to happen. She was her friend, and as much a part of her family as the others were. "I suppose it is a good thing that we have two slayers, an Oni, a Priestess, and a Hanyou to help fight," she stated. If it came down to a fight, they just might have the advantage at defending, and hope that the Oni would move on to easier prey.
Naomi smiled, the expression half bitter and half understanding. It was a strange look on her face, but it expressed her sentiments well enough. āThere is no need to apologize,ā she said, waving a hand dismissively. āI would, in all honesty, hope the same.ā Truly, the last thing she would want was for any more of her friends to be hurt or worse in the name of someone elseās ambition. Sighing softly, she pursed her lips.
āIām afraid the news is a little worse, too. Nobunaga is preparing for just such an attack, and heās doing it by attempting to consolidate his power and locate some kind of artifact that he believes is in the city somewhere. Anyone perceived as an outstanding threat to his position is being rounded up and dealt with.ā The words rolled off her lips in almost a sneer, and her eyes narrowed. Sheād seen just what that meant firsthand, probably in a needless reminder of what would happen to her or anyone else who disobeyed him. Needless not because she was already scared into submission as he thought, but needless because she knew it was what waited at the end of her life and would endure it anyway. In her brotherās name, having killed his murderer.
āI just came to tell you to be careful, and to warn the others to do the same, in case I donāt see them. If he decides you're all a threat, he might just let you die by throwing yourselves at the incoming army, butā¦ he might not. And I have no idea what kind of artifact heās talking about.ā Naomi didnāt like how much she didnāt know, but she knew that Nobunagaās information was also rather thin in that area, and she could only hope he never found it. She didnāt know what it was for, but if he wanted it, who cared? It was bound to be horrible for everyone else.
Tatsuki resisted the urge to groan. Really, that wasn't something they really needed. It was bad enough that the opposing army had sent those wolves, however; if Nobunaga decided that this artifact was in town somewhere, there would be doubtless casualties, humans mainly. She pursed her lips together and frowned. What were they going to do? If Nobunaga was taking potential threats and disposing of them, who was to say he wouldn't see her family as one if they interfered? That wasn't something she was willing to risk, but if they didn't do anything, the lives they had saved would be for nothing. They would die at the hands of Nobunaga until he found what he was looking for, and that was even assuming he could find it.
"Thank you, Naomi, for telling me. I will warn the others. It must not be easy for you, but... thank you, for taking that risk," Tatsuki stated. Naomi was risking a lot for them, whether she knew it or not. She probably did, and took it anyway. That was something Tatsuki wasn't sure she'd ever be able to repay. Being able to defy Nobunaga to tell them the information was a big risk, and Tatsuki wasn't so sure that she would have been able to be that strong to do so. "You've... been an invaluable friend, Naomi, thank you for that," she added as an after thought, offering the woman a smile she hadn't been able to wear in the last few weeks.
Something in Naomiās eyes softened, and she returned the smile with a hint of one of her own. āThereās the pretty smile,ā she teased lightly, shaking her head slightly. It was true that she risked a lot, butā¦ looking at it another way, she risked more by not warning them. And she wasnāt sure she could bear to lose them anymore. Not a one.