"So, this is what you desire...?"
"I do not hate you, but what I desire can't be had while you still live."
"If that is the case, you better give me your best!"
Sword clashes could be heard in Kyoto. It was in June, 1582, the place was right outside the temple of Honnouji, the flames serving as the perfect background for the fight, as the futures of both Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide were being burnt to the ground.
Suddenly, at one point in the 'duel' , they both got a bit too close to the burning temple. A few deadlocks occured, creating additional sparks to the burning flames just near them.
It was a sad irony, that the final strike in the duel was actually Mitsuhide striking one of the supporting wood pillars of the temple and getting out of reach, as the sea of flames engulfed Nobunaga, rather than one of them striking the other.
'So this is my end...?' Thought Nobunaga, as he felt himself suddenly falling, not daring to even open his eyes to see where exactly. He assumed he was dead and that he was falling to hell to burn for eternity. However, heaven and hell had different plans for the 'demon king'.
"Answer my guidance!" Nobunaga suddenly heard words from the distance, opening his eyes for a moment before shutting them again, in that moment seeing the light he was apparently being sucked into. the voice was one of a young girl, one which Nobunaga didn't know what to make of at those moments.
'Live on, Mitsuhide...' Nobunaga thought to himself, just several moments before...
... an explosion.
The next moments, after regaining his senses from the explosion, Nobunaga got up from just lying on the ground, noticing his sword, which was right by his side, reaching for it right away. He would wait for the smoke to lift, but he wouldn't wait for something just to randomly come at him and kill him just like that.
His next action, while he was waiting to better see his surroundings, was hearing some conversation occuring behind the smoke. It was a language he had never heard before, it wasn't Japanese or anything like it... for him, it seemed like one of the languages used by the 'barbarian' countries.
And he would really go with his line of thought that those countries had something to do with his situation, if not for a certain fact about those voices... that they sounded way too young. 'Children...?' Nobunaga thought to himself, returning his blade to its sheath.
The smoke then lifted, revealing what seemed to be a bunch of children dressed in weird costumes, together with one adult, most likely their supervisor. Even that 'supervisor' was visibly surprised at the sight of Nobunaga.
"What do you desire of Nobunaga?" Was the first thing Nobunaga said in Halkeginia. However, the looks on the group's faces didn't change in the slightest. Nobunaga figured out that they all didn't understand a thing of what he said.
Then, a little girl with pink hair, tried to get close to Nobunaga. "Where do you think you're going, young girl?" Said Nobunaga, getting his hands towards his sword again. At that point, the 'supervisor' shouted at the girl, possibly to warn her, however, the girl only yelled back at Nobunaga, and pointed her wooden stick at him, causing another explosion straight at Nobunaga's face.
Nobunaga was pretty much taken off guard again, backing out a few steps backwards before facing the girl again. "What do you think you're doing?!" The demon king shouted. Much to his surprise... and rage, the little pinkette chose then of all times, to ignore him, by turning to the 'supervisor'.
"Mr. Colbert, can I please re-do the summoning ritual? I don't want it to be this plebeian!" Nobunaga was first shocked that he was able to understand the language all of a sudden, but hearing the second part, his anger rose up again, together with a demonic laughter. " Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! 'Plebeian' , you say...?" He said slowly, starting to draw his sword again.
The group of... humans? , suddenly all turned towards Nobunaga. "I can... understand you...!" The little pinkette said, pointing towards Nobunaga. At first, Nobunaga thought that 'If the bird won't sing, kill it', but it soon changed, stopping his sword midway through the sheath. "And I understand you too. Now, can I asked why am I here and not in my land?" Asked Nobunaga, a bit of aggression in his tone.
Who spoke to the demon king next, was the partly-bald supervisor, then identified as Mr. Colbert. "You have been summoned by miss Valliere here as a part of the familiar summoning ceremony, to be her familiar. Now, I'd advise you not to draw your sword here." The man said, taking a step forward, to get Nobunaga's attention away from killing all his students, and more towards himself.
"Is that so...?" Responded Nobunaga, with an indifferent facial expression and tone. Taking Mr. Colbert's 'advice' aside, Nobunaga did know what a familiar was, but to be summoned to the-founder-knows-where to be one himself, to a little girl who made an explosion in his face and had the guts to call HIM, ODA NOBUNAGA, A PLEBEIAN... that, was a bit too much for him to comprehend in a matter of minutes.
Nobunaga stared at 'miss Valliere' ... or at least he thought that the little girl before him was her, for a few seconds, giving her a cold look which made her shiver a bit. That was Nobunaga, just his presence was unsettling. "Are you the one who summoned me, Oda Nobunaga?" He asked in a rather grand, although also threatening way.
"A-And what if it's me? Do you have a problem with that, you plebeian?!" She shouted back, although Nobunaga didn't feel any force behind them. Nobunaga could see very well that she was only a weak child, deep within her soul, and it didn't matter how mighty she tried to make herself seem with her words.
The only real force Nobunaga did sense, came from Mr. Colbert. Even though Nobunaga truely wanted to cut that Valliere open, he doubted that he could best Mr. Colbert, if that instructor was to get angry for slicing a student or two.
"You have some courage, little girl, I'll give you that much. Fine, I will become your familiar..." -"However, I will not tolerate you calling me a plebeian with such disrespect." Miss Valliere prepared to exhale out of relief, but tensed up again in... yes, it was fear, when Nobunaga finished his sentence. For her, it was like he could cut her open with that sword of his in a flash whenever he so chose. And it was true.
"Ahem, miss Valliere, please perform 'contract servant'. We're all waiting for you two." Mr. Colbert said, Nobunaga being slightly irritated when he heard the word 'servant', but he tried not to show it. The little Valliere got closer to Nobunaga, this time with her 'stick' not in her hands, and 'politely' asked him to get his face closer, due to the rather major height difference between them.
Nobunaga lowered his head, the little Valliere suddenly kissing him on the lips, after saying something like 'Be grateful you get something like this from a noble'. Nobunaga couldn't help but wonder about what would happen if Noh was there to see what was going on there. Sure, it was a creepy ritual from a 'barbaric' land, but if he didn't get summoned then, he would've been killed at Honnouji by the hands of Mitsuhide.
Nobunaga thought for several moments about what that kiss could mean, his thoughts cut by a sharp pain coming from his left hand, followed by a rush of heat throughout his whole body. Nobunaga groaned as some strange signs were being engraved on the back of his left hand. The whole process seemed way more painful than what was actually necessary, at least for Nobunaga, as he, Oda Nobunaga, fell to the ground, unconcious.
When Nobunaga opened his eyes after that incident, it appeared to be evening, seeing what seemed like a lamp on top of a rather large 'stand' after trying to get up... from a pile of hay? 'This is getting rediculous.' Nobunaga thought to himself. He looked around the room after picking his sword from the wooden floor, seeing his 'master' entering the room just then.
"Looks like you finally woke up..." Confirmed the young sorcerer. "Care to explain to me what exactly happened in your little ritual? And while you're at it, where am I, too." Asked Nobunaga, wanting a clear picture of where he's standing.
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .
After some explanation
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .
"So, this is the Magic Academy in the country of Tristain, in the mainland of Halkeginia... and you are a student in this academy." Said Nobunaga, after hearing quite a long explanation. He was sitting on one of the chairs (which were very high compared to the standard ones in the main camps), getting scolded for that with no real reason, but it didn't really matter either. "As my familiar, I won't allow you to call me 'you'. I have a name, and that's Louise. Louise de la Valliere." The girl introduced herself as Louise, together with another of those 'small details'.
"How nice of you to introduce yourself." Nobunaga joked about how late it was, Louise taking his words as an insult. "Be quiet, familiar!" Shouted Louise, getting an annoyed facial expression from Nobunaga. "If you knew me from where I came from, you wouldn't dare talking like that towards me. Although it would be nice if you too, remembered my name. My name is Oda Nobunaga." Said Nobunaga. He was annoyed once again, that time it was by the fact that Louise didn't look like she was even listening.
Rather than listening, she was changing to her night cloths, right in front of someone who nearly unified his whole mainland under his rule... and she even dared to throw her previous cloths at him, including her... panties. "Wash these for me, odanobunaga." She just said that, and headed to bed. While she was an insolent fool, it did intrigue Nobunaga that with a single motion, the lamp's light faded. He'd really like to learn that. For then, though, he had laundry to do. "Do you even care if you get seen by male strangers, you karui-onna..." Nobunaga said with a sigh, leaving the room with the laundry in his hands.
Being completely unfamiliar with the academy grounds, Nobunaga almost got lost... almost. While memorizing the western-castle-like environment's pathways, Nobunaga came across what seemed like, to Nobunaga at least, some sort of servant. A decent young woman, unlike his 'master' Louise. Nobunaga didn't understand why that uniform with the dress and the unusual headgear was needed, though, nor had he ever seen one until that time, for that matter.
"You there." Nobunaga called the servant, who was with her back turned towards him. The poor servant was scared for her life when she turned around to see the 'knight/samurai in black armor', passing out almost immediately. Responding quickly, Nobunaga took her in his arms before she hit the ground, dropping the laundry in the process. 'Since when were human beings so fragile...?' Nobunaga thought to himself, carrying the fallen maid towards a fountain which happened to be nearby, getting the laundry right after.
Although Nobunaga waited quite a bit watching over the maid, she opened her eyes again fairly quickly. "It seems that you've regained your senses." Said Nobunaga, startling the maid again when she turned her face towards him, although it wasn't the fright she experienced earlier. Nobunaga raised a brow as she suddenly began apologizing to no end. "No need to apologize." Said Nobunaga, being extremely careful with his tone, the maid suddenly blushing, lowering her face. Nobunaga still had his charisma, it seemed.
"I need a helping hand with this chore, and I just wondered if you could help me." The maid's blush suddenly disappeared as Nobunaga mentioned his chore given to him by Louise. "A-Ah, are you, by chance, miss Valliere's familiar? I've heard that a scary plebeian was summoned today, but I've never thought I'd actually meet you so soon-" -"Can I ask that you refain from calling me a 'plebeian'? My name is Oda Nobunaga. Just Nobunaga would be fine." The maid started, although she was interrupted by Nobunaga, who got a bit irritated by the wording of the spread rumor about him.
The maid nodded, and took the laundry, Nobunaga following her. "What is your name...?" Asked Nobunaga. "My name's Siesta, mister Nobunaga, nice to meet you." Answered the maid with a smile, Nobunaga walking beside her that time. Setting the fact that she was taller than Louise aside, Siesta was still way shorter than Nobunaga. About Oichi's height, if he'd take a guess. "Siesta, is it... I'll remember you." Nobunaga said mostly as a note to himself, as he looked at the twin moons in the sky.
Meanwhile, Louise was having a strange dream... one about her familiar. The image was an army marching towards a city, viewed by Louise from somewhere above them. Before she managed to question anything (including how handsome their general was), the infamous line was said by that general, swinging his sword at the direction of a temple inside the city: "THE ENEMY IS AT HONNOJI!" . The next image she was shown, was two swordsmen, fighting in front of a burning temple. It was strange for Louise, as one of them looked exactly like her familiar, but she couldn't make more sense at that time.
Next, after a few clashes, both taking space from each other, each swordsman got into his own stance, taking a few seconds to breath. "Mitsuhide... You have made life interesting... you have made *death* interesting. Now come... MITSUHIDE!" Shouted her familiar, followed by another shout from ... that handsome general, Mitsuhide apparently was his name. "NOBUNAGA!" That was the last word she heard in that dream, almost as if it confirmed that it was her familiar.
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .
The next day
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .
It was early morning when Nobunaga tried to wake Louise up. It was nice to watch, but you can't do war while being a sleepyhead, so that must be done one way or another. "It's morning... Louise." Nobunaga said, poking her shoulder with his finger. It was hard to ignore because it was technically Nobunaga's cold and pointy armor which touched Louise, and not actually his finger. Louise woke up nontheless, turning around to see her familiar. "Mm... who are you...?" She first said, still being half asleep. "I am Oda Nobunaga... now, here are your cloths, as so you desired." Answered Nobunaga.
"Ah, my familiar... I summoned you yesterday, didn't I...?" Said Louise, getting out of her bed slowly. It seemed that she was still kinda sleepy. Nobunaga turned around to leave the room while Louise was supposed to be getting changed. "Where do you think you're going?!" However, he was met with another one of Louise's shouts, and his head was met with a shirt. "Dress me." Ordered Louise, Nobunaga taking the shirt and throwing it back at Louise, without even turning around. "Just how much of a child can you possibly be?" Asked Nobunaga, his back still turned towards Louise, although he did stop in his place.
"Aristocrats never put their cloths on themselves when they have a servant!" Louise tried to argue. "Put on your cloths on your own. It's for your own good. I'll wait for you outside." Responded Nobunaga, leaving the room. It was fortunately for Louise, that Nobunaga didn't hear her threat not to give him food... else her skull was to be his cup. Apparently it was an empty threat, since when Louise finally went out of her room, she didn't even mention it.
The door to the dining hall almost looked like a gate to Nobunaga. It was huge, yet it was not that reinforced like a gate of his world, and was easy to open even with Louise's physical strength... which Nobunaga believed to be almost nothing.
"Oh look, here they come. The scary plebeian familiar, and his master." Nobunaga heard someone say as he and Louise entered the hall. It didn't anger Nobunaga that much, but rather, it interested him that the voice sounded a bit like Noh, only less venomous. "Pull the seat out already; You're so inconsiderate." Said Louise, seeing that Nobunaga was scanning the food on the tables, and the strange... instruments, beside the plates. Those weren't the chopsticks that he was accustomed to, no doubt about that. With one hand, Nobunaga pulled Louise's seat, and right after that he pulled an ajacant one for himself with his other hand.
When he sat on the chair (which was way higher than what he was accustomed to) , he noticed that the air around him had changed, as if he did something wrong, funny, or dishonorable... or all of them at the same time. The demon king turned his head towards Louise, who pointed down with an irritated face. Nobunaga looke down, to find a similar plate to those on the table, only cracked at some areas. "What are you trying to show me?" Nobunaga asked innocently.
"Only aristocrats may sit here. A plebeian sits there." Louise said, once again not shouting (Nobunaga assuming that it's only in order to preserve her 'honor' in front of the other students) . "Is that so...?" Was the only reply she got from Nobunaga, who tried to learn how to use the fork, spoon, and knife, the knife and fork being the most familiar out of the three, as the knife seemed sort of like a dagger, or miniature sword, and the fork seemed like a miniature tri-headed spear. Nobunaga was completely unfamiliar with the western ("barbarian") dining instruments, but it wasn't like he wasn't interested in them, unlike some people who specificly tried to seclude the Japanese style of life from the rest.
Every student who saw what Nobunaga was doing, laughed so hard that they could barely even breath, let alone comment on the extremely akward situation, of a plebeian who didn't even see proper cutlery once in his entire life, struggling with them while sitting near the second-year aristocrats' table, despite his master's orders to sit on the ground. "I MEANT YOU, FAMILIAR!" Louise shouted, aiming for his ear with her hand, meeting his handguard armor however, instead.
"I'll let you know, in my homeland, I was clearly what you'd so call 'aristocrat'. The name of Oda Nobunaga echoed throughout the whole land in fear. Calling me a plebeian could have your head offered to me on a plate." Nobunaga said quietly, not to let anyone else hear him, and to instill fear in Louise at the same time. "I-I can't believe that!" Louise said loudly. "And how dare you try to eat without praying first?! You damn familiar!" She continued with her ranting rather quickly. That time, Nobunaga completely ignored her. Sure, holding the knife and fork in both hands was new to Nobunaga, but he too, was able to figure that one out, and start eating.
The food was obviously tasty, Nobunaga had no complaints on that regard. However, people kept interfering with his breakfast, and that started to get on his nerves. "And why are you eating here?" That time it was Colbert who stopped by to annoy Nobunaga. "I'm eating because the human body needs nourishment, don't you know that...? " Nobunaga answered. Apparently half the students had to force themselves to avoid laughing.
Colbert straightened his glasses. "That is not the problem here with this situation. I must ask that you evacuate your seat for the other aristocrats." He said. Nobunaga noticed that Louise had a certain look on her face, as if she was expecting Colbert to shut her familiar up, a thing she couldn't do on her own. "Is that so...? Well, do it when I finish my own meal. Judging by the quantity of exact duplicates of this meal, I'm quite sure you'd be able to make another one fairly quickly." Responded Nobunaga. "Alright, but do it quick. I'll tell the staff to make another." Colbert seemed to have no choice but to let Nobunaga go that time.
Louise was embarassed, letting her familiar do as he pleases wasn't on her list of plans. However, if her teacher allowed him, there was nothing she could do... ... except help him with the knife and fork, but that'd be even more embarassing, since no-one besides Nobunaga began eating yet. Nobunaga finished pretty fast compared to the fact that it was his first time eating with something other than chopsticks. Right after finishing his meal, Nobunaga left the dining hall, not even caring, the five-petaled flower mark on his back showing to the aristocrat students as he left. He didn't really want to hear them talking about him directly.
Nobunaga waited patiently outside the hall, seeing a bunch of animals not too far away from him to the left, as he leaned on the wall close to the door. After a few minutes, he heard some strange noise coming from inside the room. That was the little prayer Louise had mentioned earlier... which Nobunaga ignored her saying. It went something like 'Our great founder Brimir and her highness, we thank you for this small breakfast.' .
Some time passed, and the students left the dining room, taking their respective familiars with them. Louise was not of the first ones to do so, but when she did leave, she just couldn't stay silent after what happened. "You stupid familiar! Do you even know how embarassed I was back then?! Familiars are usually left outside during breakfast! I especially allowed you to enter the dining hall and stay with me!" Was a part of Louise's ranting.
Of course, the only response she got from Nobunaga was his usual catch-all catchphrase - "Is that so..." , before he turned his head towards a table area where some students were, with their familiars. "What is everyone doing...?" Asked Nobunaga, seeing that most of the other familiars were common animals like dogs... ... that was kinda weird. "Ah, that. There's no class for second years today. They're building communications with their newly-summoned familiar spirits." Answered Louise, sighing afterwards.
Suddenly, Nobunaga heard someone calling them from behind. It was the same womanly voice which rivaled Noh... ... except the 'skewering you unless you do what she wants' part. Nobunaga turned around to see a rather fascinating creature. It was like a red lizard, but the tip of its tail was continuously generating a small flame. "W-What creature is this?" Nobunaga was startled, but it was barely visible. "It's a Salamander, why, is it your first time seeing one?" Asked the woman who at that time petted the so-called Salamander. Nobunaga just nodded.
"Hey Louise, did you really summon this guy? It looks like you just took some plebeian at random from the streets. I must admit, the explosion covered it up nicely." The red-haired woman said. "I did the summoning properly! He just happened to come out!" Louise responded quickly. "I wonder how much can he endure you before he quits the job. Ohohohoho~" The red-haired classmate said, walking away snobbishly with her Salamander familiar.
At that time, Nobunaga wondered just how much free time those stupid students had, for it to get down that low. It was almost as if she was begging Louise to attack her, and that did exist in his world with all those clans. "What's with that woman?! Don't just stand here, bring me tea or something!" Nontheless, it was working on Louise to an extent, Louise being furious at the redhead, letting it out on Nobunaga, as usual.
Nobunaga wasn't sure whether to take the redhead's last words seriously or not, as to 'quiting the job'. However, he was quite sure that someone in the academy was able to help him bringing tea to both her and himself. While he did look around the tables area for a servant, he obviuosly wasn't used to being any kind of servant himself, and walking slowly made him look like he was taking his time, rather than doing his best to serve his 'master'.
Then, another wandering familiar happened to enter Nobunaga's close-range sight. It was a strange creature which looked like a purple floating eyeball; In Nobunaga's world, it'd be probably classified as s Youkai of some sort. Nobunaga tried to get away from it by stepping backwards, visibly startled, but he ended up bumping into a maid, said maid dropping the cake she was carrying. Nobunaga noticed that, and quickly turned around. "Sorry for bumping into you." Nobunaga apologized. When looking at the maid, Nobunaga recognized that it was non other than the one he met the other night, Siesta was her name.
"No, I'm fine, really..." Said Siesta, retrieving the fallen cake from the ground. "Mister Nobunaga...? What brings you here?" Siesta asked, recognizing Nobunaga's voice. That time, Siesta knew what to expect while turning towards the Demon King, so it wasn't as much of a surprise for her as it was the first time they met. "I've been looking for someone to help me and Louise with some tea. I see that you're working well here yourself." Responded Nobunaga. "Yea, I work here as a maid serving the aristocrats." Said Siesta, reminding Nobunaga of one little thing he almost forgot to take care of.
"Just what is that aristocracy system in this world...? I keep hearing those words - 'aristocrat' and 'plebeian'." Nobunaga asked Siesta. It really seemed like she was the most open person around. "Well, anyone who can use magic is an aristocrat, and the rest are plebeians. That's common knowledge here." Responded Siesta. "I see... 'magic', is it..." Nobunaga wondered. However, there was someone who cut his line of thought off. "Hey! Is me cake here yet?" A blond male student shouted from the table, where he was sitting with another, female student.
"Ah, coming right away!" Siesta shouted back. "Sorry, mister Nobunaga." The maid told Nobunaga quickly, and dashed away to replace the fallen cake. Well, there goes his helping hand in getting his master some tea... that was really too bad; As Nobunaga remembered it, tea had the power to relax body and soul, especially needed after wars of mass slaughter. "Hey, you!" The blond playboy who ordered the cake shouted towards Nobunaga, waving at him to come closer.
"Why, aren't you the familiar summoned by Louise the zero. What brought you to such a low level of chatting with the maids? Are you that eager to get away from your master?" He said when Nobunaga got close enough. "You made three fatal mistakes just now. First, just calling me 'familiar' is insulting my name. Second, if I'm already a 'familiar', insulting my lord's name by calling her a 'zero', is unforgivable. And third, insulting my loyalty to my lord, is a serious offense, no matter if I am loyal or not. Now explain to me why I shouldn't have your head right now?" Nobunaga made a speech after giggling to himself.
"Apologize to me right now, you insolent plebeian! You should be more respectful towards us aristocrats!" The blond student shouted at Nobunaga, slamming at the table and getting up from his seat, his familiar, a rather large mole, remained hidden behind his master. The only response he got from Nobunaga for that, however, was... ... "Is that so...?" , but in a more sinister tone than his usual indifferent one.
"Your lame scare tactics won't work on me! Your sword is just for show, and your attitude is just asking for a beating! Fine, if you don't want to apologize... ... I, Guiche de Granmort, challenge you to a duel!" The playboy, named Guiche, made a surprising move, challenging Nobunaga to a duel, pointing a rose at him. And he did it with some weird style at that. Some students gathered to see what the commotion was about. Nobunaga, in response to the challenge, laughed in such a fiendish way, unsettling anyone close enough to hear it.
"That's exactly how I want it... Guiche de Granmort." Nobunaga repeated Guiche's name just like he heard it (after he stopped laughing of course). "You'd better prepare for this! I'll wait for you in the Vestry field!" Guiche said with confidence that he'd win, turning his back and walking away... or so he thought. Nobunaga walked right behind the kid, who turned around to see the 'scary familiar' once again. "Lead the way. I'll just follow you for now. Or are you that afraid that I might stab you in the back?" Nobunaga taunted.
Meanwhile, Siesta replaced the fallen cake, and reached the table, only to see Nobunaga following Guiche somewhere else. "Mister Nobunaga..." She said to herself, not fully knowing what had just taken place. Despite that, she placed the cake on the table where Guiche once was.
'How boring...' Nobunaga thought to himself, as the two reached the 'battlefield'. It was just an open field, no garrisons, no rivers to open floodgates, nothing. Only him, and the brat he was facing. And the large number of students around, acting as spectators, and to a lesser extent, walls so there will be no escape.
Suddenly, Louise arrived, running as if she was saving her familiar's life by doing so. "Wait!" She shouted as she made her way through the crowd, which managed to encircle the two, and pulled Nobunaga back with force. And that was before Guiche or Nobunaga even lifted a finger.
"What do you think you're doing, familiar?!" Louise continuted with her shouting. "I'm beating down a worthless punk who dared to mock my name, your name, and my loyalty to you." Answered Nobunaga, in the most innocent way possible... for him. "Guiche is my classmate!" Louise tried to say, although she was interrupted by Nobunaga.
"That doesn't justify his actions in the slightest, and that status of his doesn't change the truth about him as a human being. He tranished our honor. Now... What do YOU desire, Louise... in the dark, pit, of your soul?" Nobunaga answered, yet again leaving everyone hearing it with their mouths open.
"B-But you're just a plebeian! A plebeian can't win against a mage! You'll be killed if you draw that sword of yours!" Louise protested. Nobunaga could see that she really wanted Guiche alive... he didn't know the reason, but if that's what she desires.
"It doesn't matter, the duel's already starting!" Guiche interrupted the conversation which already was getting on his nerves, and waved the red rose in his hand, a single petal dropping on the ground. The ground around the fallen petal emitted a white light, some sort of metal swordsman coming out of the ground.
"My runic name is Guiche the Bronze; This Bronze Valkyrie will be your opponent." Said Guiche, pointing his rose at Nobunaga, just to show off. 'Credit where it's due - the commander never goes first into battle in war, and the kid realized that.' Nobunaga thought, getting his right hand near his sword.
"My name is Oda Nobunaga. By the end of this duel, you will come to fear my might as well." Said Nobunaga in the same fashion, although he omitted his infamous nickname which got sticked to him in his world. When he pulled his sword out, Nobunaga suddenly felt a rush of power inside him, a power which he didn't recognize... as if it was not originally his.
"Now that you pulled your sword, there's no holding back! Go, my Valkyrie!" Guiche called out his first attack, the bronze structure charging at Nobunaga, trying to punch him in the stomach area. "ALEA IACTA EST." Said Nobunaga, moments before avoiding the fist easily and splitting the bronze structure into two in the waist area.
"Alea iacta est...? Was that supposed to be a kind of a spell, Tabitha?" Nobunaga heard in the distance... it was the red-haired one, without a doubt, that was her voice. Nobunaga didn't hear what that 'Tabitha' answered her, because her only word was too quiet... and that was 'unknown.' .
Seeing his precious valkyrie cut in half lying on the ground shocked Guiche. There went his theory about Nobunaga's blade being 'just for show'. However, he couldn't surrender just yet. "Don't think it's over!" Said Guiche, sending ten petals to the ground, turning into the same valkyries at about the same time, not giving Nobunaga a chance to strike Guiche himself.
Those numbers reminded him of his first big battle in his world - being outnumbered ten to one by the Imagawa, miraculously emerging victorious at Okehazama by using a surprise attack on their general - Imagawa Yoshimoto. And really, Nobunaga could almost see Yoshimoto's spirit over Guiche.
The only difference was, that unlike that time at Okehazama when Nobunaga was outnumbered ten to one - about thirty thousand Imagawa soldiers against about three thousand Oda troops, this time it was Guiche's ten bronze structures against Nobunaga, the one and only. If Nobunaga couldn't take care of ten warriors by himself, it'd be a shame for the Oda.
And so happened, that the crowd remained with their mouths open, as Nobunaga continued to slash the valkyries, one after another, the steel of his dark-enchanted blade cutting through the bronze like butter.
As the last valkyrie protecting Guiche fell in pieces, Nobunaga looked at Guiche straight at his eyes, the demon king's aura leaving no place for mistake... Nobunaga wouldn't hesitate to kill Guiche, for a meager thing such as honor. Guiche fell backwards out of sheer fright of Nobunaga.
"Stop!" Just as Nobunaga was about to thrust his blade at Guiche, despite the fact that the latter screamed at him that he yielded, Louise suddenly raised her voice, Nobunaga stopping and turning to his 'lord'. "Don't you get it?! I don't know how you did it, but Guiche already yielded! The duel is over!" Shouted Louise.
For a change, even if the crowd around him looked like they wanted entertainment at first, they too, agreed with Louise on that one. "You have some luck on your side, brat. Your life was saved by my lord, but you will not go unpunished for pointing your sword at Nobunaga." Said the demon king, referring to himself in third person for some reason.
Having his pride as an 'aristocrat' crushed by Nobunaga's might, Guiche had no choice in the matter. "Starting today, you shall have the honor of being my retainer. I won't tolerate any wavering in your loyalty." Nobunaga sentenced Guiche to servitude under him, the crowd bursting with laughter as Nobunaga put his sword back in its place.
Guiche basicly became a familiar of a familiar of Louise. A shame for life. "Mister Nobunaga-" Guiche wanted to ask something of Nobunaga, only to be interrupted by a scary stare from said demon king. "Refer to me using 'my lord', Guiche." Were Nobunaga's words. If it wasn't scary even to watch, it would be funny.
"M-My lord... May I ask you, what was the spell that you used when the duel began? It is unknown even to me..." Guiche asked, Nobunaga seeming a bit puzzled, if not for Louise saying " 'Alea iacta est', I believe it was called. Really, what was that about?" , asking the same thing. 'This is bad... Is he an aristocrat and I didn't even notice...?' She thought to herself.
"A great man I once read about, said it before he went to face his fate. That's all there is to it, it's no incantation." Answered Nobunaga. "Are you telling me that you won against a mage without using any magic yourself?" Asked Louise, in awe of Nobunaga's feat. "Did you think such pitty obstacles would be enough to stop Nobunaga?" Nobunaga returned the favor, still referring to himself in third person.
"If I was that weak, I wouldn't be able to stand here and now, bearing this symbol on my back." Nobunaga continued, seeing that Louise and Guiche remained silent. "I'm just glad this duel didn't end in any deaths; Do you feel that way too, Nobu- ah- I mean, my lord?" Nobunaga couldn't believe that he made the same mistake twice in such a short time, using the same horror-inducing stare on him to correct his (minor) misdeed.
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .
some time later
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .
"Strange, the tea I know was different than this... especially that sweetness." Said Nobunaga, as he took the cup ignoring the normal holding place, as if it was a bowl. Louise, Guiche and someone who seemed like his 'girlfriend', continued to stare at Nobunaga with confused looks. "Remind me how you became who, or *what* you are today...? -My lord?" Guiche tried to ask, Nobunaga 'correcting' him again. It seemed like Guiche would never get used to that.
"It's a simple story of the chaotic times I lived in. The land where I came from was split into more little 'fiefs' than you could ever count, each fief ruled by a different daimyo." Nobunaga started, Louise interfering a bit with 'Like feudal lords?' , Nobunaga nodding.
"I was raised by my father, Oda Nobuhide, together with my brothers. My father was one of the Oda clan's leaders during that time, and after he died, my brothers and I fought each other for the rights of controlling Owari's Kiyosu castle, Owari itself being split to two parts, until I killed all who opposed me, including execution of one of my own brothers. That, gave me the nickname of 'Sixth Heaven Demon King'." Nobunaga continued, being interrupted again by shocked stares from anyone who heard it, especially Guiche.
'I was challenging the demon king himself to a duel, avoiding death only to become his retainer! What did I get myself into...!' Guiche thought to himself, nearly panicing. He could almost see the countless people's blood dripping from Nobunaga's dark blade. "From there, I fought many battles, in one of them I was even severly outnumbered and won, and when you summoned me, Louise... I was no less than a conquerer on his last steps to unify all the land." Nobunaga made the story short, mentioning the battle of Okehazama briefly at best and omitting the rest, Louise tensing up when he adressed her.
Nobunaga's ambition was then apparent. "Does *that*, satisfy you as an answer?" Nobunaga asked his then-retainer Guiche. Guiche nodded his head like his life depended on it. "Well, if you were there, you could take on the private-rank soldiers, but any officer with at least some talent would make quick work out of you, I guess. You would have to train yourself, both physically and mentally, to make that magic of yours worth something." Nobunaga said, not exactly encouraging Guiche.
It was then that Louise suddenly took an active part in the conversation. "Hey, Nobunaga... who was that man called Mitsuhide?" She asked Nobunaga with a serious face. "He was one of my retainers. How do you know of him?" Nobunaga wondered. "Last night I had a strange dream, where you and that Mitsuhide were fighting near a burning building." Louise confessed.
Everyone turned towards Nobunaga, who looked a bit fazed. "Mitsuhide... did betray me, and we really did fight at the temple of Honnoji. And you say it was in your dream... then that wasn't just a dream. It was a vision." Said Nobunaga. It was hard to believe for Louise that she was having visions about her familiar and his surroundings, from another world.
"Hmph... Perhaps you are destined to greatness like I was in my world." Nobunaga chuckled, lowering the tension somewhat. "I hate to break this to you, m-my lord, but there's a heirarchy system in this land. You cannot just take the throne by force, even if you were stronger than any other mage." Said Guiche, Nobunaga responding with another chuckle, followed by "Is that so?" .
"So, who is the ruler of this land?" Asked Nobunaga. "That would be princess Henrietta of Tristain. If you do something to her, it doesn't matter how much strength you have, I won't forgive you!" Answered Louise. Nobunaga didn't know if that poor attempt was supposed to intimidate him, but he got the feeling that they were connected somehow, except by the fact that Henrietta was the princess of Tristain, the part of the land they were then staying at.
Anyway, Nobunaga didn't know where the capital was yet, so the princess was safe for then.
...
"Is that so?" .