Chapter One

I woke up this morning feeling groggy, wanting more sleep. This would be normal for the first day of school, but my head had some uninvited visitors.

"What the heck are you doing here Chosokabe? Be gone!"

"Excuse me, what am I doing here? What are YOU doing here Mori?"

"I'm siding with Chosokabe on this."

"Of course you would Date! You guys are like, buddies! What less could I expect. Besides, I will wipe you both out anyway. Be gone!"

I hit the side of my head, forcing my head sideways, making everyone inside slide out of control. I could feel everyone fall on their faces as I groaned. It felt like I had four brains in my one head. It made my head feel like it was splitting apart. I sighed, quietly saying, "Guys, can you keep it down? The pain of having four of you in my one head is enough to kill me already."

My request brought silence from Date and Chosokabe as Mori screamed, "What the heck? Our three heads are in yours as well as your own? What are we even doing in here? And who are you?" I held back a strangled reply as tears streamed down my face, looking at the clock and rushing to get dressed. Mori seemed to understand slightly, keeping his mouth shut though he had a million questions, just like Chosokabe and Date. I ran upstairs and grabbed a pop tart, hurrying out the door just in time to catch the bus and slide into an empty seat quietly.

The bus seemed pretty empty, so I kicked my feet up as I spoke into my head saying, "I have no idea why you guys are in my head. I woke up to find you guys yelling at each other this morning. Oh yeah, I should introduce myself. My name's Alexandra, but most people call me Alex. I'm eighteen and a senior in high school, which is where we are going now. I'm assuming you have questions of your own?"

I sat there patiently as Date quietly spoke up, saying, "What is high school?" I chuckled, saying, "That's right, you don't know what that is. I'll start from the beginning. The thing we're in is called a school bus. They have different kinds of buses in our time, but this one is for picking up children and taking them to school. Depending on where you live, depends on what bus picks you up. Now, high school is a place where you learn stuff like math, science, and other subjects. We need this information in order to do daily tasks in our lives. To make sure we know and understand what we're learning, we have this stuff called "homework." It tends to be boring."

They gasped, and I said, "Date, aren't you 19?" I could feel his eyes widening, saying, "That's right." I laughed, saying, "You would be in "school" right now." He grunted, saying, "I don't need it." I laughed, silently agreeing with him.

Chapter Two

The bus pulled up to the high school, and I walked off the bus, silently as always. I headed upstairs to the third floor, where my friends and I had found a table to sit at and around comfortably. I went into my head, looking at each of them, and said, "You guys can fight, I'll be fine."

Standing in my head felt really weird, looking around at Mori on one side and Chosokabe and Date on the other, in their anime clothes. I felt out of place, but yet, I still felt something off if I left. So I stood there in my head as they fought, a ring against an anchor and six swords.

Mori fell to the ground exhausted as Chosokabe stood on his anchor and Date sat down. I ran over and hugged Chosokabe first, jumping onto his anchor because I'm short, then sat down next to Date and hugged him. I then got up and went over to Mori, sitting down carefully as I took his weapon and hugged him. His embrace seemed cold, but he couldn't attack me with his weapon, so he just sat there as I got back up and disappeared out of my head.

The immediate reply was, "What was that for? You hugged all of us! Why?" I chuckled, saying, "That's just me. I hug people a lot, and I like encouraging the losers, because I happen to be one myself."

Just then, my friend Eden came running over and hugged me. She squealed, saying, "Your new haircut looks amazing on you!" I laughed, replying, "A lot of people say it looks good on me." She gave me an odd look, and said, "Who are your friends?"

I twisted around to see Mori, Chosokabe and Date leaning against the wall behind us, shooting death glares at each other. I laughed and said, "Guys, when did you show up? I'm not sure any one of you should actually be here because you could be arrested for having weapons on school property."

They looked at each other, taking their weapons and throwing them up into the air, disappearing as if by magic. I just stared at them, Mori and Date taking off their hats and repeating the trick. I looked at Chosokabe, saying, "You're going to need a shirt. Hmm..." He laughed, reaching up into air and coming back with a random black short sleeved shirt, throwing his jacket onto the table and sliding the shirt over his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Eden stood there watching them laughingly, the realization dawning on her face. I walked over to her and said, "They showed up in my head this morning. I also have no clue why they're here." She nodded, saying, "Most people wouldn't realize they aren't students here. Besides Chosokabe probably."

I looked at Mori's outfit, tugging at the sleeves as they came off, his eyes showing one of slight anger. I laughed, saying, "You look normal now, sorry." He scowled at me and turned away as I smirked, a laugh echoing behind me.

A wave of pain set behind my eyes as a massive headache swirled through the many existences in my head, even though only mine existed. I fell to my knee's as I became transparent, staring at my hands. I looked back to Date and Chosokabe talking quietly to Eden at the table and Mori skulking in the corner, fear taking over as I ran over and waved my hand in front of Date's face.

He looked at me oddly, and said, "I feel like someone's there but I can't see them." Chosokabe sat squinting at me, and said, "There's definitely someone there. Wait, where's Alex-san?" Date laughed, squinting delicately. He kept looking, and I laughed a silent laugh that not even I could hear.

When Date had given up, I went up to him and put my hand on his forehead. His fingers tapped the tips of mine as he slid his hand into mine, looking at it as if it were truly there. Chosokabe laughed at his quizzical expression, as Date slid his fingers to hold my wrist, pulling it towards Chosokabe as I slid my fingers into his, his expression mirroring that of Date's. I looked over at Eden as she laughed at them, my fingers regaining their own as I went over and sat on Mori, since he sat on the floor.

He scowled, grunted, and said, "What the hell, get off me, whatever you are!" Chosokabe and Date looked at each other and laughed, Eden smiling gently. I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his neck, startling Mori, who shoved at me. I just held on tighter, saying, "Sorry, I've always wanted to do this, even if you do kill me." He frowned, crossing his arms and turning away, as Date and Chosokabe blushed beet red.

This caused me to get up and sit on the table, my head admiring Date's eyes, which shown a darker blue. Someone threw their stuff flying into my stomach with an "oof." Soon several different bags followed, with the same result. My stomach ached, but I refused to get up.

I felt something inside me change, like my stomach was bleeding from the inside out. I moaned as I curled up in pain, appearing out of nowhere. I sat up as everyone looked at me, as I picked up the five bags in my side and moved them behind me, standing up before grimacing and taking a step.

Chosokabe sent a look toward Date and Mori, and got up and picked me up. I protested, but he wagged his finger at me, saying, "You're hurt, I am simply trying to help." I groaned, saying, "I'm fine. I need to get to class." He sent a glance back to Date and Mori, who got up and stood behind him. I sighed, saying, "Stairs or elevator?" Date said, "Which is faster? I quickly said, "Elevator." All three together said, "Elevator it is then."

I pointed to the left, saying, "The elevator is that way. Come on!" They scurried to the door, staring at the ceiling as Date asked, "What's an elevator?" I said, "It has a space and moves up and down places with more then one floor." He nodded as the door opened, with no one inside. They all stepped inside, admiring the interior as Chosokabe pushed the button for the first floor.

Arriving at the first floor, I said, "Head right, around the corner, and walk a little distance. The nurse's office is on the right." They walked as instructed, Date and Mori staying behind as Chosokabe walked into the stark white room, towards the nurse who looked worried. Her nametag read, "Mrs. Elena." I said, "My stomach feels off. Something's wrong with me." She nodded, motioning Chosokabe to put me down on the bed.

I heard the ten minute bell ring, and I said, "Take Date and Mori around the corner to the glass room, and head through the door on the far right. The first door on the left is your destination. Tell my chorus teacher I'm at the nurse but I'm okay. Can you do that for me?" He nodded, walking into the doorway before waving and walking out, the other two in formation.

I groaned as the nurse pressed gently on my stomach, and I knew I was hurt. She said with a surprise, "You've broken a couple of ribs. We need to call an ambulance." I groaned again, saying, "I thought it wasn't that bad. But this is more serious then I thought." She shook her head, saying, "Hold on," walking over and dialing the emergency number and trying to explain the situation. Putting down the phone, she said, "It won't be much longer."

A flurry of people soon came in, scooping me up and gently laying me on a stretcher. I moaned, holding my stomach as they poked around to see how bad the damage was. They seemed worried, and gave me pain meds and something that put me to sleep. As I fell unconscious, I remembered I had sent Chosokabe, Date and Mori to my chorus class to tell my teacher I was fine. But, I soon forgot as my vision lent itself to the darkness surrounding me.

Chapter Three

I woke up to find a lot of IV's in my arm and a lot of worried faces surrounding me. I noted that all three men were standing against the wall in a huff, with my chorus teacher scolding them. I quietly laughed and said, "Ms. Cambria, leave them alone. They were acting on my commands." She looked over and scurried over and felt my stomach, at which I flinched at her touch.

Chosokabe put out a hand to stop her, but I held up my hand and he pulled back reluctantly. Ms. Cambria looked over at the three men and whispered in my ear, "Who are the cute men following you?" I laughed, then whispered back, "They're from Feudal Japan ma'am. They aren't supposed to be here." She shook her head and said, "What kind of trouble do you keep getting yourself into?" I shook my head as if to feign ignorance, as the guys came over and worried over me.

I shooed them away and said, "Stop fussing over me! I don't like all the attention," as I huffed and crossed my arms. Date was the first to lean over and mused my hair, saying, "As much as it bothers me, you seem like one of my own men that got hurt in battle. And I give my men just as much respect as I am doing now." Chosokabe nodded his head in agreement and said, "Same here, Alex-san."

I looked over Date's shoulder and saw Mori huffing in the corner and said, "The same doesn't seem to go for Grumpy-Man there apparently." With that I laughed quietly and leaned back. I then said, "For all of its worth, I know you mean well Mori. Even if Chosokabe is your mortal enemy and Date doesn't care for you. Somewhere in that hole-filled chest of yours, you have a heart for your people. Not that I expected you to come join us over here."

With that, Mori looked up and gave me a look, and I grinned and opened my arms to him. Huffing, he came over and awkwardly hugged me quickly and leaned against the wall to my left, never looking me in the face. Date and Chosokabe looked at each other and chuckled, as I held up my arms to stop the impending fight.

Ms. Cambria gave me a look and left, no doubt to get back to class. I leaned back against the headboard and said, "I think I'm going to take a nap. Too much stuff happening at once." They all shook their heads as my head fell to the side and I fell into darkness. I could see countless nations in a state of emergency at the loss of their leaders. As I watched Kojuro scrambling around, I stepped out of the shadows and said, "It's alright, Masamune is not in danger."

He looked at me and stepped back, calling out, "Who are you?" I quietly laughed, saying, "Alex. I'm watching over Date, though I don't know why he is in my world. It's quite a long way in the future from now." By now all of his men had gathered and had spears pointing at my throat. I held up my arms and said, "I'm innocent. I don't even have a weapon. Please, lower your weapons."

They did so reluctantly, and one of the retainer's said, "How can we trust you?!" I grabbed his arm and opened my eyes, as he stood beside me and stared at Date. I waved at him, and he looked up and stepped back, and slightly waved to him. I chuckled and said, "Thanks," before I fell back asleep and let the retainer let go of my hand.

He stood with wide eyes and said, "He's fine, he's watching over her. Seriously, she showed me with her special powers. You guys even saw me disappear!" The men murmured among themselves, and fell silent, as they seemed to believe his tale. Kojuro and the man exchanged quiet thoughts before he turned to me and said, "Take care of him." I nodded, and fell back into an inky darkness.

I could feel myself split into two people, one on each side of the impending war. I cried out, "Your leader is alright," but no one listened to me. Just as I almost lost hope, Chosokabe and Mori somehow appeared and said, "Back down! As surprise as I am to say this, do not fight." Both sides stared at each other quizzically before lowering their weapons. I sighed, as they both came over and hugged me.

The shock value didn't register with me as I was lifted off the ground and suspended between them. I felt really weird, but somehow I felt at home in my strange surroundings. I suddenly had an inkling of what part I would play in this past, and I felt almost scared. Scared of what my future would hold. But, I didn't let onto my feelings as I was carried between the two into my present reality, where each man held my hand and I woke up feeling a strange sense of my destiny.

Chapter Four

All three had fallen asleep and had not woken yet, so I took the chance to stare at the ceiling, since neither Chosokabe nor Mori would let go of my hand very easily. I thought about what I believed my destiny to be, and contemplated my life as each woke, Chosokabe and Mori letting go of my hand as they scowled at each other. I looked quite through them, though, and spoke to the room and said, "Where does my future lie..?" Date looked at me almost quizzically.

I said, "In my dream, I was where I felt I needed to be. Now I feel homesick and want to go back. I think my purpose in life is to go back with you guys. I don't feel at home here anymore." Their eyes widened, but I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the main office. One of the ladies picked up, and I quickly said, "I need my friend to call me." After explaining a few thing like her name, the lady hung up and I laid in wait.

A few minutes later I got a call and picked up immediately, as I said, "Eden, I need to tell you something." She seemed so far away as I told her my thoughts, and after she had let me speak, she said, "That doesn't sound unusual for you. I think you should go with your instinct. I wish you all the best of luck, whatever you do."

As I hung up, my heart had decided what to do after she had said that, and I nodded toward the three. They looked at me and said, "How will you make a living?" I shook my head, saying, "I have no idea. This just… feels right though." Date shook his head and said, "I'll take you in. I think the guys already trust you, and if they don't I smash their faces in." At that he gave me a smile, and laughed. The tension seemed to lighten then.

I sat up, ignoring the pain, as I described what I would do as soon as I got out of the hospital. They nodded, listening to what I was saying. If I had been my normal self, I would've been even more unnerved by the attention, but I felt like a new person. It was as if I had opened my eyes for the first time.

Conveniently, by the time I had finished a nurse had come in to check on me and I said that I felt fine and that I'd be alright. She nodded and went to find a doctor so I could be discharged, and I sat there kind of awkwardly. Soon enough, a doctor came and discharged me, and before I knew it I had patched up from the IV's and was heading out of the hospital with a clearer head and conscious.

A car waited for me outside, waiting to take me back to school. I looked in and saw Ms. Cambria, and she quietly said, "Get in, we have a lot to talk about." I nodded and the guys and I squeezed into her mini-van, and she took off. As she drove we talked about what I had told Eden and what Eden had said to her, and I explained my feelings and what my heart was leading me to believe.

She took everything in silence as we drove back to the school, and as we parked in the back of the school and headed toward the music wing, she hugged me. She had tears in her eyes as she said, "I can only imagine that this is your true calling. Nothing's been the same for you since your family was murdered last year."

The guys looked at me, and I quietly replied, "My parents and my sister were brutally murdered last year by a known serial killer. I have always questioned why he didn't kill me… But now I think he had a premonition about what I would become in some form or another. I can't really explain it. But Ms. Cambria has been taking care of me since, and for that I'm thankful. " She finally let go of me as I headed in just as the bell rang, and I left the guys with her to talk as I ran out to find Eden.

She stood there with tears in her eyes, and she ran and hugged me fiercely. She quietly said, "Are you leaving?" I simply nodded, saying, "Masamune-sama offered to take me in, and said that he promised his men would treat me well." She and I stood there, and I said, "Don't worry, I'll always be with you. No matter what, you will always be in my thoughts." She sobbed loudly and said, "I wish I could go with you, but I feel happy where I am. I will always remember you."

I let go of her and said my final goodbye as I ran back into the building, running into the choir room for the last time as I ran over and quickly said goodbye to Ms. Cambria before the guys pulled me into their embrace and I was transported back in time.

Chapter Five

After I stood there awkwardly for some time, I finally found my feet and went to find Kojuro. I found him practicing swordplay by himself, as if his life depended on it. As I came around to face him, his face showed confusion as he said, "You're that girl from before." I nodded, saying, "Let Masamune-sama explain. Please." He nodded, and followed me back to the three guys standing there, enemies daring to stand near to each other.

Kojuro showed surprise, and I said, "It's a lot more complicated then it seems. I think their only acting like that for my sake." I quietly called out to the guys, saying, "Can you please move? I'm starting to feel weird with all three of you not moving." They shifted slightly, and Masamune-sama came and pulled Kojuro aside. As they talked, Kojuro's face showed his emotions of confusion well. But, he followed his master's orders and ran off to who-knows-where.

Chosokabe and Mori stood there awkwardly, as Date ran and found horses for them to ride home. I made them promise not to start fighting until they got back to their respective area's to raise enough of an army to make it a good fight, which made Chosokabe grin, and of which they did promise. I also promised them that I would be a better swordsman the next time we met on the battlefield, and Masamune-sama simply laughed at me and mused my hair, saying he wasn't going to let me get anywhere near a battlefield.

I tried to punch back, but his reflexes were good and he dodged, but not before I kicked him in the stomach and sent him sprawling. I laughed at my direct hit and he lay there defeated as the other two simply shook their heads and rode off. I helped him off his feet as Kojuro came back and pulled Masamune-sama aside and talked to him. I had already figured out it had to do with me, but I could not fathom what it could be about.

As Masamune-sama pulled me along inside, his men stopped and stared at every corner, but did not say a word as I looked them all in the eye and smiled as best as I could. I sat down, and kept my cool as Masamune-sama talked to a lot of people as they came in by the dozens. Each time, he gestured to me and I would smile and wave, and they would come and greet themselves. My night continued on in this manner, until I almost fell over from exhaustion. After that, I curled up where I lay and fell fast asleep.