Screams could be heard from the grounds at the bottom of the castle. Warrior's yelling as they pierced the hearts of their enemies mixed in with the cries of agony of the fallen.

"Hurry up! Get all the women out of here! They must be the first to evacuate!" one of the soldiers yelled. Haley, the Lady of the castle, had thought that she had finally been safe. But no one was safe in the Sengoku era. Not during this time of war.

Haley dripped over a fallen piece of wood and landed on her hands and knees.

"Milady!" one of the soldiers yelled. "Please be careful. We must hurry."

"I'm trying to hurry. It's the stupid wood's fault for being in my way," Haley said. The soldiers just sighed and lightly shook their heads. They helped her stand up and quickly made their way once again.

"My apologies for the rough treatment, Milady, but we must get you out of here before their forces can get into the castle," one of the soldiers said.

"It's fine. Let's just get out of here before the violence reaches us," Haley said. They nodded and continued to escape. They didn't get far before the girls in front of them screamed, their shrieks piercing the ears of those in the back. The soldiers looked between the front of the line of girls and Haley. "Go. I'll be fine. But hurry. I don't want any of the other girls hurt." They nodded hesitantly, following her orders and rushing to the aid of the front girls. Not long after they left did Haley hear the roar of flames erupt behind her and the breaking of the ceiling above her. She looked up and saw many boards and heavy objects falling down. Instinctively she jumped back and the girls in front of her jumped forward. She fell on her butt and stared at the scene in front of her. The entire hallway was blocked off with the fallen floorboards and furniture.

"Lady Haley!" calls from the soldiers on the other end could be heard. "Don't worry My Lady! We'll come get you! Just try to not move from where you are! But if you see other soldiers fighting, get as far away from the fight as possible!"

"I was planning on that!" Haley called back. When she stood up and turned around, the first thing noticed was the flames lining the walls of the hallway. "Oh no." Footsteps could be heard over the roar of the flames and Haley felt her eyes widen a bit. Panicking a little, she looked around and noticed a door that had been knocked ajar from the falling debris. She ran towards it and put her hand on the side of the door to open it, only to flinch back and whimper from the heat.

"What was that?" a male voice said. She flinched and looked down the hallway to see a silhouette of a man with two long spears standing there. The smoke from the fire was covering him up and she hoped that it was doing the same for her figure.

Haley took a mental deep breath and ignored the pain from the heat of the door and slightly opened it, rushing inside.

"So, someone's still here huh? His lordship said to take care of everyone in the castle, so I might as well make sure," the voice said. Haley moved around the room she was now in as quietly as possible. Looking around, there wasn't much to hide behind. However, there was another sliding door that led to a closet. Quietly but quickly she made her way to that door and, hissing, opened it. Indeed, it was a closet, and a small one at that. She wasn't exactly the smallest girl in the castle. She was one of the tallest girls there, but when she looked over her shoulder and felt the mysterious man's presence get closer, she took a deep breath and forced herself into the space, closing the door behind her.

The man entered the room and looked around, the heat of the door not bothering him since he was used to working with fire, it was his element after all.

"Now, where did they go?" he muttered, shoving the door aside like it was nothing. It slammed against the panel and fell off the hinges at his strength. Haley shuddered a bit at the sound, although she couldn't see what was happening. He slowly walked into the room and looked around. "If I were to hide in here, where would it be?" He walked around and looked behind all the effective places to hide behind. Some of them had gotten close to where Haley had hidden.

When she heard his footsteps growing nearer, she shuddered a little in fear.

No, don't let him find me. I don't want to die. She thought. She couldn't move even an inch, although every fiber in her body begged her to. One wrong move and she would be exposed. The footsteps got closer and closer and she saw the shadows of feet stop in front of the closet.

"Here's the last place. Come out quietly and I might give you a quick death," he said. Haley remained silent. He sighed and opened the door with his free hand. She fell forward with the sudden lack of door and stared up at the man in fear. He had two long red spears, one of which rested on his back and the other he held in one hand. He had short brown hair and a red headband around his forehead, the remaining parts of the band flew in the air behind him, an unknown wind keeping them afloat. He wore a red jacket that was open with a strange big necklace and no shirt under his jacket. If Haley hadn't been so scared of dying at that moment, she would have admired his abs. His pants sported a fire design on the bottom and top of them was a red samurai waist….thing and red shin guards with red socks and the usual samurai shoes. "So, it was a woman huh? I'm not too into the things the others are into, so I'll just kill you." He raised his spear and Haley's eyes went wide.

"Wait!" she said. He raised an eyebrow. He hesitated in his blow and allowed Haley to explain herself. "Why do you want to kill me? Why did you and your army attack this castle? Why can't things just be peaceful?"

"You ask me why we attacked? I myself do not know. You would need to ask his lordship that. I simply follow the orders his great lordship tells me. His lordship knows all," the guy said. Haley felt a sweatdrop on the back of her head but mentally shook it off.

"Th-then can you take me to this lordship of yours? I do wish to know the answer to my question," Haley said, bringing up unknown courage. The boy eyed her warily and pointed the tip of the spear at her neck.

"Very well. You may seek an audience with his lordship. But you will be silent until he acknowledges to speak to you," he said. Haley nodded. Her fear died down a little, knowing that she might get to live for maybe an hour more. Thanks to this, she was able to look at him through a different mindset and noticed that he actually looked relatively attractive.

"Um, may I ask what is your name?" she asked. He let go of the door, giving her a hand to help her stand up.

"Sanada Yukimura," he said, unaware of her looking at him differently.

"I'm Haley," she said.

I might not want to tell him I am the lady of this castle quite yet. She thought.

"I see. Well Haley, let's get going. You're the last one in this castle right?" he said. Haley nodded.

"Yes. All the others are either dead or escaped," Haley said. Yukimura sighed.

"That's no fun," he said. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I really wanted someone strong to fight against," he said.

"You like fighting?"

"Oh yeah! The power that courses through my veins when I cross blades with someone strong….like that Masamune guy…he's really strong. I can feel my chest burning whenever our blades cross," Yukimura said, grinning with a fire in his eyes. Haley smiled.

"Well, it's good to hear that you have such a good rival. But is that all there is to this world? Just going after fight after fight?" Haley asked.

"What else would there be?" he asked, looking at her confused. Haley sighed. "What?"

"Nothing. Nevermind," he said. He just looked at her confused but she refused to speak anymore on the subject.

"So, what's this lordship of yours like?" she asked. The fire in his eyes reignited.

"He's an amazing man! Might as well be a god! He can do no wrong and is a genius! You'll see what I mean when you meet him! He's one of the best men this world has seen yet!" Yukimura said. Haley chuckled.

"He sounds like an amazing man. If he's that great, then I'm sure there's a logical explanation as to why he attacked my home," she said. His fire died down quickly and he stared at her.

"Your home…well, I love battle, not so much pillaging. But his lordship only attacks those that have done him wrong. I know there must have been something that went wrong. He'll give you your answer, once he accepts to talk to you. But like I said, do not speak until you are allowed to speak. You're a women amongst many men after all," Yukimura said. Haley nodded, knowing full well the responsibilities of a women in the Sengoku era.

He's really cute, but looks a little dense. I mean, I think it's obvious I'm looking at how cute he is. Surely he can't be that oblivious? I mean, those abs look amazing and I'm sure the rest of him isn't too bad either, although most of it is covered. Haley thought.

They arrived at the camp where Yukimura's lordship was.

"Stay here. And remember, no talking until he directly speaks to you," Yukimura said. He walked up to where the lordship guy was sitting, strategizing. Haley was left by the entrance. Before he left her, he made it clear to the others around that she was not to be touched. "Your lordship! I found someone in the castle that requests to ask you something!"

"Someone? I thought I told you to get rid of anyone in the castle? Even one soldier can cause a turnaround," the lordship guy said.

"But your lordship, she's not a warrior. In fact, based on her clothing, she's the lady of the castle," Yukimura explained.

Crap, so he's not that dumb huh? I guess my clothes are a dead giveaway as to who I am. She thought.

"The lady of the castle has a question for me? Interesting. Bring her here," the lordship guy said. Yukimura nodded and went back to where he left Haley and tugged her along.

"Here she is, your lordship," Yukimura said. Haley took a few steps forward and looked down at the lordship, who calmly stood up so that he would not be looked down upon.

"You had a question for me, Milady?" he said.

"Yes, your lordship," she started, trying to bring forth the courage she knew she had. She had to know why they attacked her home, why they took away this peace she came to know since her childhood. However, she was shaken from her thoughts by the lordship's laughter.

"My actual name is Takeda Shingen," he clarified. Haley nodded.

"Very well. My question is very simple. Why did you send your forces to attack my home? A home that has known nothing but peace ever since I can remember?" she asked.

"Peace? Milady you must be joking? You realize you live in this era right? No land, man, or beast knows of peace in this day and age. You must have been horribly sheltered to have thought otherwise. As for your question, I sent my forces on your home because the leader of this castle stole something dear to me when we last fought, which was only a few weeks ago from memory. He took soldiers from me and dared to think I would not retaliate. I showed him I am not to be messed with," Shingen explained.

"I see. So that's why I wasn't allowed to freely travel around the castle grounds recently. Logically, I can see why you chose a retaliation. But that doesn't make me any less angry and hurt that my family and life have been taken from me," Haley said.

"My dear, your life had not been taken from you. The illusion has simply been shattered," Shingen said. With that he walked past her. "However, since you seem to dislike violence, I will simply take you to a different village that we pass by. Consider me in a good mood today. Yukimura! You are in charge of her. Protect the Lady until we drop her off!"

"Yes your lordship!" Yukimura said.

Sigh. In truth, I want Takeda Shingen's head for what he did to my family, but that would only continue the cycle of hate, and that's the last thing I want. I'll be quiet for now, and simply try and see things from a logical standpoint, to not let my emotions control me. I can do this. Besides, now I get to spend more time with Yukimura. Haley thought, glancing at Yukimura, smiling gently. This look didn't escape the eyes of Shingen as he walked away, giving Yukimura one last order.

"Answer any questions she has. And try to entertain her. It'll be a while until we reach the next village," Shingen said.

"Yes, your lordship!" Yukimura said. Shingen smirked at Haley over his shoulder and she saw it.

You, sir, are slowly growing on me. In a good way. You may not be as bad as I thought you were. She thought.

I APOLOGIZE GREATLY IF I OOC'D SARADA YUKIMURA A LOT. I'VE ONLY SEEN ONE EPISODE OF SENGOKU BASARA AND IT WAS SO I COULD GET A GENERAL FEEL FOR HIM. IF I DID MESS UP, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I PLAN TO WATCH MORE OF THE SERIES AND FIX THIS LATER ONCE I GET A BETTER FEEL FOR HIS CHARACTER.

ALSO, I LEFT THIS WHERE IT ENDED ON PURPOSE. AS I WAS WRITING IT, THE IDEA GREW ON ME AND I MIGHT WRITE MORE CHAPTERS, BUT FOR NOW IT'S A ONE-SHOT.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!