Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Warriors, on which the characters are based (not the historical counterparts). Based on Ranmaru's perfect ending and a little bit of accurate history. I.e. Nobunaga Oda was killed by Mitsuhide.
You have no idea how hard it was to make this story with info from the game and info from history. I ended up picking and choosing which facts to use and which facts I ignored.
Next Time in a World Without War
By Nine Tailed Vixen
"Randy, wake up! You'll be late for school!"
Randy woke with a start. He brought a hand up to his eyes to block out the images from his dream. It was so sad it had brought tears to his eyes. The instant his mother came to the door, however, the dream faded from memory.
"Randy, it is some feat to be late for school on the first…Randy? Why are you crying?" His mother looked at him in concern. Randy only shook his head. "Well anyway it's your last year of high school officially to day. Do you think that you're ready?"
Randy laughed "Of course, mother"
"No, you're not," She laughed, "You're still in your boxers, and you haven't even showered! How do expect to attract a nice girl when you look like that!"
Randy laughed as his mother left the room. He laid back on his bed trying to remember his dream but to no avail. Sighing he got up and got ready for school, grabbing breakfast on the way out.
Randy met up with his friends at the bus stop. They chatted until Mary ran up to them looking breathless. It had been a long time since they had dated but that didn't stop Randy from feeling regret at the friendship that had suffered.
"Oh my God, I'm so excited, have any of you seen the new Asian Studies teacher?" Mary asked them. When they all answered in the negative she continued breathlessly, "I have never seen a more beautiful man in my entire life! His name is Michael and actually is Japanese! Well partly anyways, his mother was Canadian. But still! Oh I can't wait to change my class!"
The group laughed. Mary was a notorious pursuer of handsome men and so it was quite a compliment to have her flirt with you, if you understood the system.
The city bus arrived and all of them got on chatting about boys, girls, classes, who was in what class, who hoped who was in what class, and everything in between. Randy only halfway participated in the conversations, speaking only when spoken to. He couldn't stop thinking about the effects of the dream. Though the pictures had faded from memory the feelings the accompanied the images remained.
The bus stopped at the high school and Randy got up to leave. Once he and his friends made their way inside they all split up to locate their names on sheets posted around the school. Next to their names would be their homeroom teachers and classroom number.
Randy suddenly looked around. It felt like someone was staring at him. His eyes swerved around the crowd until they met the deep black eyes of a man that he had seen before. But he couldn't quite place the face. There was a slight gentle smile on his face. Randy struggled to place the face but he just couldn't do it. The smile turned to a pensive frown and the man turned away. Randy shook his head at the odd encounter and finally found his name. His homeroom teacher was M. Akechi. Strange name. Then Randy remembered that he had signed up for Asian studies last year. This must be this class. Randy looked at the room number and made his way to class as the bell rang.
Of course its on the other end of the damn school, Randy thought to himself as he sped walked down the hall earning a glare from the tech teacher. Randy gasped for air as he reached the classroom just as the teacher called out his name.
"I'm here" he gasped before he stared dumbfounded at the teacher. It was the same man who was staring at him before! He was different now, somehow. Where before he was warm and happy, now he was cold in the only way a new teacher could be.
"Class starts at 8:35, and I expect you to be in on time. Not a good way to start the year, I must say." Mr. Akechi said in a cold and confident voice.
Randy flushed red and went to find a seat. He looked around and saw that the class was nearly full, with one seat left for him in the worst possible place in a classroom, in front of the teacher's desk.
"Please take your seat so that we can get started please." Randy nodded and went to his new seat, hoping that it wasn't permanent.
During the basic introductions to the class Randy found that he was staring at Mr. Akechi. He just couldn't place his face for the life of him and it was starting to annoy him. The teacher spoke with such confidence and knowledge that Randy couldn't help but respect him, perhaps even admire him. Mr. Akechi only met his eyes once during his speech and only then did he stumble on his words. Randy blinked and looked away. He hadn't realized how intently he had been staring at the teacher.
Mr. Akechi, though handsome, had quickly lost popularity when he did an 8-page quiz that was meant to see exactly how much the students knew about Asian history. Rnady was surprised to find how easy the quiz was. He knew almost every answer.
Class ended and Randy passed in his quiz and went to leave the class. Mr. Akechi started marking his first. Randy sighed. Great, his homeroom teacher had it in for him and it was only the first day.
Randy left the classroom with all the grumbling students when he felt an uncomfortable feeling located behind his navel. He turned to look around him when he saw Mr. Akechi avert his eyes.
Randy physically shook from that glance from the teacher. In that instant he knew that he wanted to be the best for the teacher. He wanted to please him. He wanted to be the student that the teacher would brag about to his colleagues.
Randy took a deep breath as he entered his next class.
It was time to study.
After giving back the marks from the quiz, Mr. Akechi put his students on a strict schedule of learning the entire Japanese history in the first term before covering China, India, and Tailand in the other terms. It was week three and Randy was burned out. He had put so much work in this class yet he never earned one word of praise from his teacher, praise which was readily given to every other student in class.
They were just given back their essays that they had given and Randy was surprised to see that he had failed his assignment on Nobunaga Oda entirely. Randy didn't understand. He had thought for sure that he would have aced it but instead he got a lot of red pen. He didn't even realize that teacher's were still allowed to have red pen. Too negative.
After school ended Randy waited around for Mr. Akechi to notice him from his desk. Finally the teacher looked up from his desk. "What is it?"
Randy started, did he really want to fight this? He looked at his page and saw the 50. Oh, yes, he did. "I'm sorry, sir, but I was wondering about my mark."
"Your essay was ripe with inaccuracies. The 50 that you did get was for the grammar. I was generous. It looked like you didn't even crack a book on your thesis. Nobunaga Oda was reviled as a demon, not a god. Granted I could give you a better mark for the correct dates and battles. Give your paper here." Mr. Akechi took it and made the mark a 65. Randy would have been content with that, normally but something bugged him.
"Nobunaga was a hero who was favored by the heavens."
Mr. Akechi looked up at him, "What?"
"Nobunaga was a hero who was misunderstood by history." Randy looked Mr. Akechi in the eye now and did not waver.
"He was a monster who killed innocent people just to further his ambitions." Mr. Akechi's voice was as hard a stone and cold as ice.
"He did it for the greater good! All good empires were built on a foundation of blood." Randy flushed red. For some reason he could not let Nobunaga's name be dragged through the mud.
Mr. Akechi raised an eyebrow at Randy. "There is one thing about your essay that I find unusual. Most students jump at telling when their subject is born and when they die. You didn't even mention Nobunaga's death."
A searing pain shot through Randy's chest at the mention of Nobunaga's death. That's right, he's dead. Randy was surprised to find himself blinking back tears. A warm hand found its way onto Randy's shoulder. He looked at Mr. Akechi who was looking at him with concern. "What is it Ran-dy?" Mr. Akechi stumbled on Randy's name.
"Nobunaga was betrayed by one of his most trusted soldiers. Forced to commit seppuku. He died…" in my arms. Randy started at the thought, the dream, the memory. He looked at his teacher. He finally placed the face. "Mitsuhide…"
"The Buddha has brought us back together…" Mr. Akechi spoke, the soft smile back on his face and in his voice"…Ranmaru."
Finally Randy remembered his dreams. He remembered everything. A tidal wave of emotion swept over him and he broke down sobbing in his teacher's arms. Mr. Akechi held him close and stroked his hair. So many years of looking, searching, finally to find him. His heart ached when the boy didn't remember him. It broke when he read the essay portraying Nobunaga as a god.
Randy's sobs subsided and he pulled away. "I can't be doing this to you."
Mr. Akechi looked at him, "What do you mean?"
"I can't love you all over again. It would destroy your career. Times are different now, a student cannot love his teacher, especially his male teacher." Randy cried.
"Randy, I've waited for you for hundreds of years. I can wait a few more. I'm just glad that you remember me." Mr. Akechi explained.
"Can you wait one school year?" Randy smiled.
Mr. Akechi chuckled, a warm sound that Randy hadn't heard in a life time. "I can wait."
Randy took a deep breath and stood there, not knowing what to say. Mr. Akechi looked at him. Stiffening his resolve Randy leaned down and kissed his teacher quickly, the only kiss that they would share in a year knowing that they had a lifetime.
Mary watched from the doorway, quietly. The eyes of Oichi sparkling as she witnessed the reunion.
The End.