At this point Harumi was solely running on adrenaline. Most of the time she fell asleep at the desk but that was never longer than a few hours. She had dark circles around her eyes but her mind was clear. There was still so much to do and way to little time. She tried to help everywhere she could. Most of the time she would be interrupted by one of her maids of a guard that told her she should not help with the reinforcement of the castle, helping to dinner for everyone in the castle or attending the fighting lessons. The atmosphere in the castle had also completely changed. Before, most of the castle radiated a still calmness, now it was the exact opposite. Everywhere Haruli looked people were busy with readying themselves or the castle for battle. Aside from all the things there still had to be done within the castle, Harumi still hadn't heard back from Nobunaga. She knew he was battling with the Kiyoano clan and he was days away. But she just wanted to know if he was alright and had received the message about the castle being attacked. They also got more and more news about an army heading towards the castle meaning that they were close. The hardest part for Harumi was that everybody was looking at her. She was at the top and everybody expected from her that she would take the lead and lead everybody to safety and victory. Yes, she had Nobunaga's advisors and some warlords that helped her, but they also came to her for the final decisions. She had to decide if they would go left or right and it would he her fault if it was the wrong way. That was the thing that bothered her the most. Every decision she had to make, she moulded over countless of times in her head before actually making it. Every time again praying to the heavens that she made the right decision.
"What are you doing?" Harumi asked grumpy when her maids demanded for a fitting. Harumi stood in the middle of Nobunaga's bedroom while her tree maids measured her from top to bottom. The last thing she needed right now was a new kimono.
"Just making sure we have the right measurements." Masa-kun answered while Rike-chan wrote down the length of her arm.
"Okay enough!" Harumi yelled after half an hour while they were stil busy with measuring her. They literally measured everything. The with of her neck, the length from her arms, pot and bottom, everything. "I don't need a new kimono! Honestly this is the last thing I want right now. There is still so much work to do and I don't have time for this. And besides, at the moment we don't have the resources to make new clothing." Harumi snapped. Especially in the morning and with the build up stress from the last few days Harumi had been cranky. Since her maids were with her most of the time they usually were on the receiving end of her bad mood but she had never before shouted at them. Right after she was done yelling she already felt guilty. Rike-chan flinched while Lin-chan stared at the ground.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you." Harumi apologized while she rubbed her temples. "I'm just under a lot of stress and I have no idea how to deal with it at the moment." She continued. Back in the 21st century she had experienced stress a few times. Right before big tests and stuff like that. At those times she would watch movies, hang out with friends or go to a theme park or something. But she couldn't do any of those things in this era and she doubted that those things would help at this moment. She yearned for the times she was stressed out for a mere test. She didn't want the lives of so many people depending on her. But there was nothing else she could do at the moment than just battle trough her own doubts.
"These aren't measurements for a new kimono." Masa-kun explained calm. She was the only one that seemed like she wasn't fazed by Harumi's outburst. "There are measurements for armor." Harumi looked at her head maid in confusion.
"Although we want that you would stay safe within the castle, we know that when push comes to shove you will pick up a sword yourself to try to beat the enemy." Masa-kun continued. "We know we can't change your mind so the only thing we can do is make sure you're as safe as can be wherever you are." Harumi's eyes began to water. For the first time since they had began preparing for the battle. Everything just came flooding out at once. Her body was so tired she couldn't stop the tears. Her legs gave out so she dropped to the floor. Rike-chan and Lin-chan directly came to her sides while Harumi tried to speak. Her tears prevented that even one world could escape her lips. She was so extremely tankful for her maids. She had no idea if the choices that she had made were the right ones and if they could survive this attack but she knew that she definitely couldn't handle it if she didn't have her maids with her. She tried to thank her maids but all she could do was cry. Lin-chan and Rike-chan helped her to the futon. When they wanted to lay her down Harumi held them tight. She didn't want to let go of them so eventually they just lay beside her on Nobunaga's futon while the tears were still coming out like a bit wave. Masa-kun sat down at the end of the futon while massaging Harumi's legs. Right now she wasn't the only one crying. Her cries were heart shattering and after a while Rike-chan also began to cry with her.
"We know this is hard on you and we are extremely proud of you Nohime." Masa-kun said in a motherly voice while still rubbing her legs.