"Thank you. Lady, Ten'yuu, when I have garnered some respect once again from the Gotei 13, and the Oki allow me into our home once again, I ask that you accompany me. They'll be happy to see you."
Ten’yuu stops at the door and smirks, she doesn’t bother to turn around when she addresses Honoka.
”Oh, I’m sure they will be. Until next time, Niece.”
She opens the sliding door and closes it behind her as she leaves. The chirping of Cicadas can be heard outside which creates a rather peaceful atmosphere enough to make one forget whose home they are currently occupying. Accompanying the chirping is the faint breathing of the young girl left behind, a girl whose future seems to be placed at the center of issues concerning nobility. It is clear Ten’yuu is not forcing it upon the girl considering she put her to sleep to avoid hearing the discussion. First, among all else, she must be raised and trained into a proper warrior fit to serve the Seireitei, all other concerns come second to this.
After a bit of time had passed Munashii finally began to stir and awaken from her “nap”. She looked around a bit confused at first, primarily wondering where her grandmother went. She glances over towards Honoka with a confused look on her face but quickly becomes defensive, quickly scooting back from the tea table. She frowns and squints her eyes, glaring at Honoka.
”Oki lady!”
All the girl knew about Honoka is that she was an Oki and furthermore she was related to them. After a bit of silence she cautiously returned back to the table, staring at her the whole time. The girl thinks she is analyzing Honoka by trying to read her facial expressions but she clearly has no idea how to do that. She crosses her arms, closes her eyes and gives a firm nod, with a condescending smirk on her face.
”Heh, I can tell just from looking at you that you’re strong.”
She puts on an obvious facade about her observation skill, the longer they sit in silence the more she begins to sweat nervously, eventually opening up an eye to look at the disgraced Oki. Eventually she opens the other, feeling embarrassed by her own actions, it seems like that social awkwardness Tenzen suffered from had somewhat passed over to his daughter. Thankfully hers is nowhere near as bad and she will easily outgrow it. The signs of this are obvious as she quickly salvages the situation by asking a proper question to break the ice.
”So… You were in the Kenpachi games, right? That means you’re strong. Are you stronger than my dad?”
The question is innocent enough, a child wanting to know if someone or something is stronger than their parents. In the eyes of a child there is no one stronger than their parent, if they need to be protected they can always run to and rely on them for that. Ordinarily the question can be answered with a generic response but this is not an ordinary question. First it was her tone, there was no cutesy innocence in her tone, she asks it as serious as a child, who is mentally and physically a 12-13 year old, can possibly ask. Then there were her piercing dark brown eyes accompanied by a frown, they stared directly into Honoka’s own eyes. It should be clear by now that this girl does not have thoughts about play time, or dress up, she only wants to know about and learn about fighting. Although, this does not diminish her childish pallet as she chomps down on another snack cake while holding such a serious expression.
Elsewhere on the compound Ten’yuu strolls past a building and upon reaching the end of it a towering monolith of muscle and aggression comes into view, leaning against said building. Yurui, with arms crossed and eyes closed, was waiting for Ten’yuu to walk by, or rather he placed himself in her path of travel. He opens his eyes and speaks to his sister-in-law.
”Are you sure it’s wise to leave her alone with that woman? The Oki don’t seem like the trustworthy type. Ah, no offense.”
Ten’yuu only laughs, covering her mouth as she does so.
”None taken, but the same can be said for us Oda as well. We aren’t exactly subtle with our actions or intentions. Speaking of subtlety, how has Ikkyō been?”
Yurui lets out a disgruntled sigh before speaking.
”Still sick, but she is getting better as time passes.”
”That is pleasant to hear, and have you heard from your son Ochitsuki? Seems like he has been ‘radio silent’ for the past one hundred years.”
”From what the Nikushoku Semi (肉食セミ; Carnivorous Cicada) have seen he is well and alive, looking stronger too.”
”Wonderful news to hear as well.”
Yurui scoffs and looks away from the woman as he pushes himself off the wall and begins walking away from her.
”We have to look out for each other, our family is frighteningly small compared to the other nobles.”
”Tuh, all the more reason to keep an eye on the brat.”
The man vanishes with Shunpo leaving Ten’yuu to only chuckle alone, as hard headed as Yurui may seem his heart is in the right place. It is not as if eyes are not already set upon the building along with a doting grandfather lingering not far from the Tea room. It is not because it is Honoka who is visiting, anyone would have been treated like this, it is simply family looking out for family.
