The Day of Thunder

Kumori walked the distance from the kitchen area to the section of the floor that had been cordoned off by a screen for their stay.

In her hands was a tray with a collection of pickled vegetables, some warm rice, and a cup of miso soup.

She dodged around the screen and placed the tray next to the bedroll of Norikage.

“Hey… got some food for you.” She said as she reached over to shove his shoulder a bit.

Norikage stirred every so slightly at her touch, but it was clear that despite her efforts, or the scent of food, it was neither of those things that caused him to wake.

His eyelids peeled back slowly that morning, and he had a fleeting moment of relief when the home's floor wasn't perfectly polished to reflect the viscera of the town's inhabitants. Fleeting because, very soon after, he realized that despite having slept the night, he was still tragically exhausted.

"Well fuck", he muttered through a dry throat, and rolled away from his companion, trying once again to capture sleep.

Having already eaten, Han-Hei took a seat next to his bed and waited.

“Sleep that well, huh?” She asked.

“You were mumbling earlier… Didn’t look all that restful.”

She tapped the ground near his head, “Food’s hot now though. And it’s a damn cold morning… I’d eat it and then go back to sleep if I were you.”

His brow knitted tight and he gritted his teeth. He hated people who were being annoying also being right. He sat up, quickly. Staring dully at the wall.

"Yeah, I guess so."

HIs sleeping clothes were a mess, he had to pull it back over his shoulder. He sniffed, blinked, then rubbed his face. "Thanks."

Reaching for his hair tie, he bound it back up in a tail, then picked up the cup of miso. He felt slightly better after a sip, the warmth focusing his body somewhat.

Now actually giving his companion a look as she sat near him he shook his head. "Last night was a real shit onigiri. I thought this place wasn't supposed to give you those kinds of dreams."

“I guess that time is over…” She replied as she shifted from seiza to a cross-legged stance.

“You remember what you saw?”

He sipped the miso, put the cup down and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Unfortunately." He answered. "It's so surreal I can't...not...I just see everything almost, the images just clear enough to ruin my day." He raised his head and looked at her. "Oh. Well, that's better."

Air blew out of her nostrils once in amusement.

“That fix it, huh?” She leaned back on her hands to make herself more comfortable.

“I had something like… I dunno… End of the world type thing. Was back home… Don’t remember much.”

She then tilted her head, “Question is, do you feel any more rested today than yesterday?”

"I don't really know", Norikage sounded more honest than usual. "I can't figure out if it was the dream that's screwing with me, or because of it that I didn't get rest but, I don't feel that much better."

He drank the rest of the soup and rubbed his eyes again. "Though you said end of the world, huh? Back home? Prophetic or you just think you're being messes with?"

She shook her head slightly, “I’m certainly no prophet… Seemed like normal sleeping. Probably just brought up cause of stuff that came up yesterday or something…”

She shrugged, “Woke up feeling refreshed… Probably just a bad dream.”

“Your’s mess with ya or something?”

He nodded and picked up the rice. He would need the strength and he ate much of it quickly. Putting the dish down he regarded Kumori plainly.

"I saw nearly every samurai in this village, even the ones I don't know and have only seen, killed. I could tell you what the inside of a Ki-rin girl's skull looks like, could share the contents of a certain dragon woman's ribcage. If you'd like to know what a Horuma looks like strangled to death, I have you covered."

She returned the look with a nod, “That sounds unpleasant… How’d my liver look? I’ve never been kind to it with the drinking I do.”

"You...", a pause. "You were offered over like some bargain chip in a game."

“A bargain chip? What was the trade?” She asked as she tilted an eyebrow down.

"I honestly don't know, but this...creature...said a lot of things I don't really grasp. They let you go, said we could find each other now if we needed to, like if there was danger..." he shook his head. "It doesn't make a lot of sense, it kept saying humans were being fooled by the Heavens, that essentially, we need a swift kick in ass. to be better."

He sighed. "Or at least that's how it seemed. Sounded like my father." Looking down he snorted. "Maybe I was just having a weird dream I was projecting my past on."

“Baddies usually have a lot of the same lines… Especially when they are trying to justify being assholes.” She replied.

“Sounds like a real entity and not just your imagination to me… Given the place and time we find ourselves in.”

"Well that's the best, isn't it?" he slumped a little. "I really don't want to deal with that again, being a good human is difficult." He tossed a pickled radish into his mouth and crunched on it a while. "Though you're probably right, it didn't seem to agree with me when I said humans excel the most when they're at peace."

“It thought otherwise?” She asked.

I wonder why I have not seen it…

"That's why I said it sounded like my father", Norikage reminded her. "It's driving us, for what it called 'maximum effect', to make us our best selves." He picked up another radish. "Whatever that means to it."

He chomped the snack.

"These are good, you ate already?"

She nodded, “Yeah, got up early so Yoshie could sleep in a bit.”

She sat up, folding her hands into her lap.

“Best selves, huh… Sounds like it wants some ‘friends’ to help it.”

"Seems possible", he answered and kept eating. "What are you doing today?"