Author's Note: This is a little something I cooked up for DeviantArt's Sengoku Basara fanfiction Valentine's Day contest. I figured that I'd go for something a little different than what would be expected from these kind of contests. It's also a bit of a prequel to my MVC3 Oneshot from a couple of weeks back, though it's got more than enough to hold out on its own.

Enjoy, true believers!

"Wake up, Oichi. I never said that you could rest…"

Opening her eyes, the raven-haired woman lightly moaned as she pushed herself off the ground and stood up on her own two feet. "Where…am I?" Oichi whispered softly as she struggled to fight off the extreme disorientation while she did her best to assess her surroundings. The ground beneath her was dark and charred, with dead trees spread across the landscape. She could hear the sound of water rushing in the distance, which meant that she was somewhere near a riverbank, and the sky was as red as fire, with orange clouds swirling like a vortex. "Lord Brother…where am I? Oichi has never been here before."

"That is because you have descended into the Underworld. You are dead, after all,," the disembodied voice of her brother, the late and terrible Nobunaga Oda, explained as Oichi felt her legs go into motion and she started walking in a confused daze. Even though her brother had been dead for some time, his callous voice had remained with the woman for as long as she could remember. It taunted her, berated her, and called her weak…and Oichi listened to the voice intently, not wanting to anger her brother. If Oichi truly had passed, then it would seem that not even the afterlife would grant her respite.

"Dead…" Oichi repeated the word as she looked down and noticed that she was adorned in her pink-and-black armor, holding in her hands her double-bladed naginata that had become so feared on the battlefields of Japan. Slowly but surely, Oichi started to remember what had happened before she passed on. "Oichi was…at Shizugatake with Katsuiie-sama. The Toyotomi clan was attacking, and Katsuiie-sama wanted Oichi to seek refuge with him…but…"

"…but you had become so useless that you couldn't even consider putting yourself first, even though it was already your second arranged marriage," Nobunaga's voice finished Oichi's sentence as she stared blankly into the red sky, faintly recalling the sensation of flames licking her beautiful skin as she died alongside her new lord. "You would think, being the sole survivor of the Honnoji fiasco, you would develop an aversion to fire…but instead, you decided to stay alongside General Shibata. Why did you do that…did you love him?"

"…Katsuiie-sama treated Oichi kindly. He called me 'ladyship' even when he didn't have to. Oichi…should have loved him as much as he loved me, but…" Oichi's voice trailed off as something started to gnaw at her psyche. She had worked hard to repress what was coming to the forefront of her mind, and the reason she accepted the task of restoring the Oda clan by finding a new husband to carry the bloodline was because she had hoped doing so would help repress this memory.

Unfortunately, this memory still came back to haunt her regardless, making the Hell she was inhabiting just a little bit worse for her. The sound of gunfire, Lord Mitsuhide's shrill laughter…and her beloved Nagamasa dying in her arms. Tears started to well up in Oichi's eyes, but her expression remained listless. "…you did not love him back because you could not love him back. Your heart died along with your precious Nagamasa, even when your mission was to seduce him and the other surrounding generals. Do you know what happens to female spies who fall in love with their targets? They are put out of their misery by their masters. If you were not my sister, I would have slain you without a second thought," Nobunaga's voice finished Oichi's sentence once again as she wiped the tears from her face and resumed walking forward. "It's just as well: you were already dead inside."

"And now, Oichi is dead properly," the woman mused as a grim smile came over her face, continuing to walk aimlessly forward even though she had no idea where she was walking to. "If it is Oichi's fate to wander to the Underworld forever, as punishment for disappointing Lord Brother and killing Nagamasa-sama…then I will have no qualms. It is a much kinder fate…than what Oichi deserves…"

"HA! Who said that you were free to pursue that fate?" Nobunaga's voice let out a single laugh as he echoed throughout Oichi's hollowed soul, though emotions such as fear and intimidation had become so engraved into her mind that she had become numb to them. "Now that you have descended into the Underworld, it is up to you to turn the demons against one another so that the Oda clan can reign supreme here, as well!"

A quiet sobbing sound filled the air, and for a moment, Oichi thought that the sobs were coming from her. After all, she had descended into the Underworld, and now she was alone with the voice of her brother Nobunaga, who refused to let her be even in the permanent embrace of death. Why shouldn't Oichi be crying, knowing that she now resided in the land of the damned, doomed to be forever separated from the few people in the world that treated her kindly…forever separated from her love Nagamasa, who was probably in a much nicer place than here.

However, upon further assessing the situation, Oichi realized that it wasn't her that was crying, but was more akin to the sound of a little girl sobbing in the distance. "Someone is sad," Oichi observed as she turned to the direction of the sobs and followed them towards the additional sound of the rushing water that had been present since her arrival. "Oichi…Oichi should find her and cheer her up…"

"Excellent idea, sister," Nobunaga's voice exclaimed as Oichi reached the top of a hill and looked down to see a body of water dyed red like blood: no doubt the legendary "Sanzu River" that the dead had to cross in order to reach their destination of the afterlife. "In order to have a proper wedding, we need plenty of guests to observe the ceremony! Find this girl and properly invite her!"

Scanning the bank of the Sanzu River while listening intently for the sobbing, Oichi located what appeared to be a small girl wearing a dark kimono, kneeling over the shoreline. Carefully descending down the hill, Oichi carefully approached the girl until she was standing directly behind her. "Why are you crying, little girl?" Oichi asked innocently, keeping her naginata in a relaxed position so as not to alarm the child. "Are you lost?"

The child did not answer, except with more sobbing. "…Oichi is lost, too," the first lady of the Oda clan continued as she forced herself to smile. Both her lord Nagamasa and lord Katsuiie told her that her smile was one of the most beautiful gifts someone could receive, so Oichi figured that if she smiled, it would make the girl feel better, as well. "Oichi was supposed to wander through the Underworld forever in penance for her sins…but Lord Brother says that I have to get ready for a wedding. Isn't that splendid?"

Once again, the child did not answer, but continued to cry as if Oichi wasn't even there. "…you should come with Oichi, and help me find guests to invite to the wedding," the woman said sweetly as she reached out for the little girl's shoulder. "I'm sure we can find plenty of children your age for you to play with while the adults go about their business and…and…"

Oichi's voice once again trailed off as the little girl finally turned around to face her. Rather than the face of an innocent child like Oichi, or in fact anyone, would have expected, the little girl turned her head to reveal a Cheshire grin full of fanged teeth as sharp as nails, and burning eyes that filled Oichi's heart with shock. Lifting her hand to reveal a butcher's knife, the little girl sprang into action and lunged towards Oichi's heart. If not for Oichi being trained in the way of the martial arts since childhood, she would have fallen victim to the child's attack.

The little girl landed on her feet and turned around for another swipe, but Oichi wasn't willing to give the little girl a chance to counter-attack. Lifting her naginata, the first lady of the Oda swiftly sliced the girl with a horizontal attack while the child was jumping in mid-air, cutting off her head as easily as she would cut through a piece of paper. Two separate thuds landed on the ground as red blood spilled out from the two stumps were the girl's neck used to be, and the girl's body and head twitched its last before going limp.

Oichi did not say anything for a long time, stunned not only at how the little girl attacked her, but at how she brutally cut her down as coldly as her brother would. There was a brief urge for her to scream, but she suppressed it so that she could listen to her brother's praise. "That little girl was lost, and you have sent her on her way. Now her spirit shall be free to attend your wedding," Nobunaga's voice explained as Oichi distantly lowered her naginata so that she could look at the blood on it.

"Oichi…did good?" the woman asked as she stared at the blood.

"For once," her brother added as she lifted her index finger and ran it across the blood on her blade. "In life, you were meek and helpless: you were nothing more than a useless puppet that couldn't properly dance to your master's wishes. Now that you have entered the afterlife, you can start over fresh." Oichi looked at the blood on her fingers blankly, as if she were waiting for someone to tell her what to do with the blood. Should she shriek in horror that she killed a little girl? Should she wash off the blood that stained her? Finally, her brother spoke to her once again, "Tell me again, Oichi…what is your purpose?"

"…Oichi's purpose," Oichi muttered as she put her stained finger against her lips and gently rubbed the blood across her mouth so that her lips were now crimson. "…Oichi's purpose is to be the painted whore of the Oda, who seduces those who defy our great clan." Walking over to the Sanzu River, Oichi gazed at her reflection and smiled meekly. "Oichi needs to look beautiful for the next wedding…Lord Brother would be upset if I wasn't looking my best…"

Before Oichi could put her hands in the water and wash them clean of the blood that stained them, a webbed, clawed hand lashed out from the depths and attempted to slash Oichi in the same way the decapitated little girl did. Jumping high into the air, Oichi evaded the swipe with a graceful backflip and landed on her feet several meters away as something emerged from the water and entered dry land….along with many other "somethings" that couldn't have been natural in nature.

The creatures were dark green in color, with the heads of a fish and the body of a person. Instead of having fins, however, the creatures possessed webbed hands and feet, with each finger and toe clawed at the end like a sharp talon. Their mouths possessed pointed fangs, as well, making it quite clear that whatever these creatures were, they were definitely meat-eaters. "…fish," Oichi bluntly observed, pointing at the creatures that were hissing at her angrily. "…the wedding will need lots of food. It's up to the bride to decide what should be served."

With a dark aura gradually building up around her body, Oichi lifted her naginata still stained with blood and slowly approached the hell-spawned creatures whilst quietly laughing. "Heheheh…Lord brother will be so proud of me, seeing that I'll have gathered so much food for the wedding," the woman mused as the first of the creatures hissed loudly before running forward to attack. "Oichi will even gut the fish, too…to show how much I care…"

As per its primal instincts, the attacking creature tried to go straight for Oichi's throat, lifting its head and baring its fangs for a deadly bite. Either out of reflexes or simply as part of the trance she was entering, Oichi fell to her knees and evaded the bite…only to lift her naginata and plunge her blade deep into the creatures stomach. The creature's yellow eyes widened in shock as the woman looked up at the terrifying monster and again smiled weakly. "Oichi is sorry to do this, Mr. Fish," she said as she tilted her head innocently while digging her blade in deeper. "Oichi need you to be part of the wedding feast…don't be sad, okay?"

*ZIP*

Springing into the air in a backflip motion, Oichi landed several feet away from the creature with her naginata in hand. In doing so, the stab wound she created in the creature was instantly transformed into a long vertical cut that went all the way to the creature's neck: a cut that widened every moment the creature tried to move forward. Letting out one final hiss, the creature fell to the ground dead, with its innards spilling out like a sack of open potatoes. "That's one fish gutted," Oichi said as she looked up at the blade of her naginata, noticing the distinct blue color of the creature's blood. "…but that won't be enough to feed all the guests. Oichi…Oichi needs more."

Two more of the creatures lunged forward, apparently deciding that this prey wasn't going to be subdued as easily as others. "You're coming at Oichi in groups," the woman said with a smile as she pulled her naginata apart to form two separate pole arms for her to use to "get ready for her wedding," even when she herself had no idea who she was getting married to. "You fish…are so helpful. Oichi…is glad…"

Approaching Oichi from either side, the two creatures jumped into high into the air in an attempt to pounce their prey. While this might have been effective for most other humans that trespassed onto their territory, Oichi was a far cry from "most other" humans. Like a fisherman about to skewer the catch of the day, Oichi lowered herself before thrusting both her naginatas into the air where the creatures were waiting. The creature to her left was able to maneuver out of the way, though it reserved a scratch on its head in the process…but that was the lucky one.

The creature to her right received a lethal stab to its chest, with the blade exiting from its back. Staring up at the writhing monster that emerged from the waters of the dead, Oichi's thin smile widened. "Hmhmhmhm…Oichi caught one," she giggled lightly, like the tinkling of bells. "Nagamasa-sama's spearmen taught Oichi how to catch fish with a spear…they would be so happy right now."

The blue blood of the skewered creature flowed down from the top of Oichi's blade and onto her hand, causing her to look down at the substance. Taking a whiff of the substance, the young woman's nose curled while she simply exclaimed, "putrid," before turning to the other creature that attacked her. "You fish do not smell very good when you're raw," Oichi said as the creature hissed at her once again before lunging forward again. "Oichi will have to remember to cook you before serving you to the guests…"

With a fling of her naginatas, Oichi tossed the skewered creature on top of the corpse of her first victim, while at the same time using her other naginata to launch her attacker upwards with a vertical strike. With both her weapons free, Oichi started slicing away at the airborne creature, hacking it to pieces like a demented chef trying to impress his patrons. The blood of the creature, which before had only barely touched Oichi, was now soaking the woman as she kept the monster afloat with her dance of blades.

Exhaling deeply, Oichi watched the remains of the creature splat in front of her, a sickening squishing sound accompanying every time a slice hit the ground. "…Oichi doesn't smell very good," she muttered as she turned to see the other fish-creatures back away cautiously. With her gentle smile turning to a crazed grin, the first lady of the Oda showed the first signs of emotion since arriving in the afterlife and ran towards the creatures with naginatas at the ready. "Please, don't go now, Fish-dono…Oichi still needs more of you to serve at the wedding!"

With both her naginatas placed in front of her in a scissors position, Oichi caught up with one of the creatures and brutally cut its head off like a hedge-clipper. The creature's blue blood squirted from the wound like a geyser, but Oichi did not recoil or even curl her nose from the stench. In fact, it seemed that the blood only further motivated her to continue slicing down everything that stood before her. "Lord Mitsuhide is a voracious lover of seafood," she said to herself as she leapt into the air to catch one of the escaping creatures before it could reach the water. "He will be pleased with the feast I will gather for the wedding!"

With both her naginatas going down in a cross motion, Oichi sliced off the arms of the fish-creature, causing it to let out a piercing screech that cut through the air like a sword. "It hurts," Oichi screamed as she lifted her hands to cover her ears, her demeanor suddenly doing a complete turn around as tears filled her eyes. "…Lord Brother," she shouted as tears filled her eyes and, for a moment, sanity started to creep back into the mind as she looked at the fish squirming wildly at the shoreline, rendered helpless to escape to the water. "Lord Brother…Oichi doesn't like this! Oichi is…just killing senselessly and-"

"-and why stop now, sister?" her dreaded brother's voice bellowed in her mind, overriding even the shriek's of the fish demon that she was in the process of butchering. "You were doing so well a moment ago, gathering food for the wedding. For once in your miserable existence, you were fulfilling your duties as an Oda, looking like an ideal wife for would-be suitors." As Oichi looked down at the writhing creature, who seemed so pleading and terrified even though it was a creature that was itself frightening, her brother's voice continued. "Are you going to disappoint your brother again, Oichi?"

"N…no, Lord Brother," Oichi shook her head as she lifted her naginata over the creature and plunged its blade deep into its heart. The creature squirmed for a few more seconds, and then went limp just like its brethren. Mercifully, the shrieks stopped, and Oichi's expression softened to the same, emotionless void that had been present earlier. "Thank you for your kind words, Lord Brother…Oichi feels better now."

There was eerie silence as Oichi pulled her naginata from the creature's chest while she looked around at what she had wrought. Although she was only able to dispatch five of the creatures, they were rather big catches and would be more than enough to fill the stomachs of everyone who earned the honor of being invited to the next wedding. Now, if only she could figure out who she was going to get married to…

"…hmhmhm…"

A gentle laugh bubbled from Oichi's throat as she looked at the blood streaked across her lovely visage. This was the exact type of situation that her true love Nagamasa would have been mortified at witnessing. Oichi was supposed to be a flower of peerless beauty that should never be sullied or stained: instead, she had willingly bathed herself in the blood of innocent creatures and decapitated a little girl. But at least her brother was pleased...and when her brother was pleased, only good things could happen to her.

"…Hahahaha…HAHAHAHAHA!"

Oichi's gentle giggle erupted into a terrible, maddening laughter, even as tears once again flowed from her cheeks. Covered in blood with her dark aura intensifying around her, Oichi's mind was torn apart by her inner conflict. On one hand, Oichi loathed violence and was horrified at what she had done, but on the other hand, the voice of her Lord Brother within her head was praising her. The first lady of the Oda clan had sought Nobunaga's approval for so long, and here in the desolate Underworld, she was finally receiving it…even if there was a very real possibility that her brother's voice was just another manifestation of her sorrow.

Oichi didn't need to be judged by the afterlife: she had been living in Hell ever since Nagamasa was gunned down in front of her. Her life had been so pathetic, that winding up in the Underworld separated from everyone close to her was somehow an improvement. It was a type of irony that Oichi couldn't help but laugh and cry over at the same time…a mix of sounds that one of the residents of the Underworld couldn't help but overhear.

So engrossed was Oichi in her madness that she didn't immediately notice the sound of incredibly heavy footsteps approaching her, shaking the ground with every step. It wasn't until Oichi noticed the water vibrating with the footsteps that she turned around to see a giant red humanoid Ogre, with an extra eye embedded into its forehead and a single horn jutting out of its head. "Hey, hey…what's all this then?" The crimson monster said as he leaned down to get a closer look at the woman almost a third his height. "Humanfolk aren't allowed on this end of the bank: you'll have to get to the bridge and head to the place of judgment, you will!"

"Oichi is happy," the woman said dreamily, obviously not registering the fact that there was a monster standing in front of her holding a massive club over his shoulder that was as big and as heavy as she was. Reaching out and taking the ogre's massive finger, Oichi gently tugged on it as if to pull him somewhere. "Oichi…Oichi is finally making Lord Brother happy…and now she finally has guests for her wedding!"

"Wedding? Guests?" The ogre tilted its head in curiosity as he looked at Oichi's dark irises, as black as her long hair. "Methinks that you have lost your mind, I have! You need to go to the place of judgment and get your little head cleared! Humanfolk can't be judged if they aren't right in the…head…"

Feeling a shiver go down his spine, the ogre turned around with all three of his eyes widening in horror: the ground around him was completely covered in shadow, and from the shadows emerged dozens of samurai warriors armed with swords and spears. However, noticeably missing from the warriors was skin: instead, their wet skulls were in plain sight as they groaned and growled before standing at attention. The ogre attempted to walk away…but he noticed that his feet were bound. Looking down at his feet, the monster gasped as he realized that he was being held in place not with shackles…but with shadowy hands that were coming out from the ground: hands that led back to the dark aura of the woman.

"Lord Brother…likes to drink sake from skulls," Oichi muttered as the several more hands emerged from the ground to latch onto the ogre, covering his mouth to keep him from screaming. With supernatural strength, the legion of hands elevated the ogre several feet off the ground and starting to pull, threatening to rip apart the monster whose only crime was being curious as to the smell of blood and sound of screams that were coming from the bank of the Sanzu River. "You have a very big head…could Oichi borrow it for the wedding…please?"

*SPLUSH*

With her sacrifice torn asunder like a bag, Oichi lifted her head and felt the shower of warn crimson pour onto her like the torrential rain of a summer's storm. "…a storm of cherry blossoms, blowing in the wind to signify the love in the air," Oichi sang softly as she dropped her naginatas and lifted her hands to catch the rain and "pedals" that acted as the ogre's remains. "The bride rejoices and gathers the cherry blossoms, for she knows her groom shall be fair…hehehehe…"

With the ogre's disembodied head falling down to the ground with a loud thud, Oichi lowered her head to see her "wedding guests" that had emerged from the ground to greet her. Upon recognizing the Oda crest that they bore via a tattered flag, the skeletal warriors lifted their arms and roared in worship of their lady. "GLORY TO HER LADYSHIP," the legion rumbled as Oichi picked up her naginatas and bound them together. "GLORY TO THE ODA!"

"Yes…Glory to the Oda," Oichi repeated as she lifted her weapon high into the air, causing her legion to roar again. "Oichi…is the Demon Queen of the Sixth Heaven. Oichi will work hard for Lord Brother's ambition in the Underworld…watch over Oichi, OK Lord Brother? Katsuiie-sama?...Nagamasa…sama…" The woman's smile vanished against as more tears fell from her face and she started to sob while sanity once again reared its unwelcome head. It was easy for someone like Nobunaga or Mitsuhide to bathe themselves in blood: they were insane monsters. But for someone like Oichi, who wanted nothing more than to live in peace…it was the kind of Hell reserved only for the worst of the worst.

"Don't give up hope…OICHI!"

"…Nagamasa-sama," Oichi whispered as a familiar voice filled the dank air. For a moment, Oichi thought that the voice was just another figment of her demented imagination, and she almost resumed sobbing. However, when a blinding light materialized in front of her, causing her legion of the damned to roar and shriek in pain, Oichi realized that the voice was no apparition. Seconds later, the light died down and solidified into a human young man, adorned in all-too-familiar shimmering white armor and armed with a katana and buckler shield.

"No matter how TERRIBLE things are, Oichi," the young man that Oichi identified as her true love Nagamasa said as he entered a fighting stance and charged his divine ki into his katana, "remember that there is ALWAYS a chance for someone to turn the tide!" Reading his katana, the noble samurai glared at the legion clamoring to attack him and shouted a warning. "HEAR me, revenants! Lady Oichi shall be returning with me! Stand down or I'll CUT you down!"

"Returning…with Nagamasa-sama?" Oichi repeated as her legion readied their weapons for attack. "Nagamasa-sama came…for Oichi?"

"SO BE IT," Nagamasa screamed before spinning around to deliver a swift horizontal slash, creating a wide shockwave and completely razed the surrounding area of the "revenants" summoned by Oichi's sorrow and madness. The taller soldiers were sliced from the chest down, completely obliterating their lower bodies and the weapons they had been holding. The smaller ones had their heads annihilated, leaving no traces of the wet skulls that acted as their faces while their bodies crumpled to dust in the ground as the purifying light burned away the evil of which they were borne from. "Mugon…Sokusatsu!"

With all enemies destroyed in a single stroke, Nagamasa lowered his katana and turned back to Oichi, granting the woman the privilege of seeing his face once again. "…Nagamasa-sama," Oichi said once again as she lifted her hand and stroked the cheek of the face that she fell in love with. "It's really you…you've returned to Oichi at last…"

"Indeed I have, Oichi," Nagamasa answered as he lifted his katana over his head and waved it around in a circular motion, literally cutting a halo of light above their heads. Shattering the inner part of the halo with a downwards swipe of his blade, Nagamasa created a pocket of light that bathed the couple as he wrapped his arms around Oichi. "I'm taking you to a place where someone as kind and BRAVE as you belongs, Oichi," he continued as the light intensified, consuming the couple like the sun would spread down at dawn. "No longer will you need to worry about that DAMNABLE Oda legacy…"

Somewhere Oichi belongs, Oichi thought to herself as she returned her husband's embrace and closed her eyes. Oichi…would like that very much…

Noticing that the air no longer smelled of blood, Oichi opened her eyes as Nagamasa broke her embrace to see that she was no longer covered in blood. In addition to this, she was no longer in the desolate fields of the underworld…but what appeared to be a beautiful field of flowers against a beautiful blue sky, with the sun shining down healthily on her cleansed body. "This is what the Western world calls 'VALHALLA," Nagamasa exclaimed as Oichi scanned the area, still not entirely sure what she was seeing was real. "It is reserved for the heroes and honored dead who gave their LIVES for what they believed in!"

"It's beautiful," Oichi whispered as she dropped her naginata on the ground to pick a sunflower from the ground beneath her. Taking a whiff of the flower, Oichi turned to Nagamasa and realized something was amiss. "Why does Nagamasa-sama…scream when talking now?"

Removing his helmet and letting his long black hair fall down across his shoulders, Nagamasa revealed a purple welt on his forehead, causing Oichi to put her hand to her mouth and gasp. "This wound was given to me when Nobunaga GUNNED me down, affecting my mind," the samurai explained as he put his helmet underneath his arm. "When I heard that you had died at Shizugatake, I BEGGED the lord of this land to allow me to venture into the Underworld and bring you here. In return, this wound and the damage it has caused shall stay with me for ETERNITY…but it is a small price to pay to make SURE that you are happy!"

With that being said, Nagamasa fell down onto one knee and bowed his head in front of Oichi. "Oichi…I BEG for your forgiveness for not being there for you when you needed me most," Nagamasa said humbly. "I was WEAK for dying so easily at the hand of Nobuanga's treachery. At least Katsuiie Shibata was able to be NEXT to you until the very end." Lowering his head further to display the humility and shame he was feeling, Nagamasa continued. "If Katsuiie-dono is who makes you happy now…then I will not stand in your way. I'm sure that someone as noble as him is SOMEWHERE in this land…and if he's not, I'll go BACK down to the Underworld and bring him here where-"

"Nagamasa-sama…"

In a rare act of forwardness, Oichi interrupted her husband's pleas and knelt down onto her knees so that she was level with him. Lifting his chin so that he was making eye contact with her, Oichi pulled Nagamasa in close and locked lips with him. Nagamasa was at first unsure how to react, being that Oichi had always been a woman who preferred to follow others instead of taking action herself. However, as Oichi deepened the kiss and made it clear how she felt, Nagamasa closed his eyes and dropped his helmet to wrap his arms around her.

Slowly breaking the kiss, Oichi kept her face close to her beloved Nagamasa by leaning her forehead against his. "…Oichi's heart will always belong to Nagamasa-sama," the woman whispered while she reached down to hold Nagamasa's hand. "Katsuiie-sama was kind to me…but Oichi doesn't care who is with her now…as long as Oichi is with you, as well…"

"…Oichi," Nagamasa managed to sputter out as he felt his cheeks go red. Normally, he'd have something to say off-hand, usually some kind of vaguely-berating comment to tell Oichi not to be so quiet when professing her feelings…but at that moment, all that mattered was that his wife had finally been returned to her, and now he could protect her eternally like he should have done in life. "…your words are TOO kind…thank you."

"But…" the woman turned away slightly as a frown once again formed across her face, "…Oichi is afraid that this is all a dream…and Oichi will wake up to see that she's still alone." A single tear begin to form in Oichi's eye as her voice began to crack. "This…this beautiful place with flowers, with Nagamasa-sama returned…is much more than what the weight of Oichi's sins deserve…"

"Oichi, don't even THINK such things," Nagamasa exclaimed as he lifted his hand to wipe away Oichi's tear before turning her head back towards him. "Why would you say such NONSENSE?"

"Oichi was only Lord Brother's pawn in his evil ambitions…the only reason I was able to meet Nagamasa-sama was because of Oichi's mission to seduce the surrounding warlords," the first lady of the Oda whispered, enjoying the warmth of her beloved's touch but not entirely sure if she was worthy of it. "Even after Nagamasa-sama died…Oichi continued serving the Oda's ambition, ruining the lives of the innocent that Nagamasa-sama swore to protect. Then, when Oichi turned her blade on Lord Brother…I committed sins against family. Oichi destroys everything close to her…how can I deserve an afterlife like this?"

There was a silence between the couple, whom even the bounds of life and death couldn't separate for long. While it was true that Nagamasa had fought tooth and nail in life so that he could bring honor and justice to Japan, and it was due to Oichi's clan that he was never able to see his ambitions come true...it was also true that without Oichi, his pursuit of justice would have been shallow and meaningless. There had to have been a way for Nagamasa to prove to his wife that she belonged in an afterlife where heroes dwelled.

Lifting his hand and placing it on Oichi's chest, Nagamasa pulled his wife closer and whispered, "…I can feel your heart beating, Oichi: it beats with the blood of honor, love, and justice just like mine." Pulling himself back so that he could look into Oichi's eyes, Nagamasa gave her a comforting smile. "While it is true that you served the Oda, you are most definitely NOT like Nobunaga. As long as love and kindness exists in your heart, just like it always has…then THIS is where you belong, among the HONORED."

Oichi was silent as she looked at Nagamasa's smiling face. Moments ago, she was wandering the Underworld and violently cutting down whatever came into view. Now, she was in Nagamasa's arms, listening to his kind words that she had waited so long to hear. Now that she could feel her heart beating against him, Oichi was now certain that she was no longer hallucinating, and that he really had reunited with her. "Nagamasa-sama," she finally said as she returned the smile with one her own. "…thank you…"

Leaning her head against Nagamasa's shoulder, Oichi turned around and looked out to the distance, getting another glimpse at her new home. Noticeably absent was the voice of her brother in her head, and the feelings of fear and dread that came with them. However, this was an exclusion that Oichi welcomed whole-heartedly. Here, the sins of her brother could not reach her…as her beloved Nagamasa was there to protect her forever, just as she would now protect him.