Heat bore down on her as she pulled a strand of hair out of her face. Tied back because of the heat, it had fallen loose because of her movement. School had ended, and it was time for her first love, archery. Eyes watched as she pulled her bow back, purple eyes narrowed as she looked at the target. It seemed as if her classmates held their breath as they watched and waited in anticipation. She let the string go, and the arrow flew across the way hitting the target in the bullseye circle, causing her classmates to applaud her. Bowing at the other students, she smiled wryly and packed her gear up. She didn't want to hear another lecture about time management from her parents. At the tender age of sixteen, she helped her parents run an archery dojo, so it surprised none of her classmates with how she excelled in archery. A hand clamped on her shoulder, she looked over her shoulder then up slightly to see her couch smiling at her. He had always creeped her out though she smiled as she removed his hand from her shoulder.
"I should get on my way, need to help my parents," she explained as she excused herself with a bow. Though they hadn't needed her help, she wanted to get away from them all. It was the same thing, she always felt alone when around all of those people basking her in unwanted attention. Shrugging her bag onto her shoulder, she ran from the gym into the girls' locker room. She got changed and then headed on her way to what she called her special place. She had always been drawn to it since she was small though she was unsure why. After a long bus ride and quite a walk, she was at her destination the temple of Honno-Ji where Nobunaga was said to have committed seppuku, though some say he disappeared too. Reading the information about the event she did not hear someone come behind her.
"You seem interested in the battle of Honno-Ji" a voice stated with interest. This had made her jump a few feet, then she turned around to face the owner of the voice. There she saw a young man in what looked to be a white lab coat. Confused, she rose an eyebrow.
"Who are you?" she asked as she looked at him from head to toe as if measuring him up. He slightly smiled and bowed to her," My name is Sasuke, and what is your name?" he responded as he watched her with curiosity noticing what she was doing, he found it slightly entertaining.
"Luciel Tihomira," she responded quietly. This had been the first time she has seen someone else at the temple when she was. She smiled shyly and returned the bow to him as she greeted him. As she returned to her full height, she noticed something black and purple in the sky, at the sight of it her eyes widened. "What in the world is that?!" she almost yelled as she looked at it in horror.
"Watch out!" was the last thing she had heard before it had sucked her into the hole, it had in fact been a wormhole and it had sucked both of them into it. Gripping her bow tightly she slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Several sounds of clanging were heard about her. She looked around almost fearful. Had she gone back in time she wondered. Not far from where she sat, a man noticed her sitting there. He rose his brow slightly wondering what she was doing there, in the middle of a battlefield. Worried for her safety he pulled his horse and rushed over to Luciel and picked her up. Surprised she almost dropped her bow.
"What in the-who are you? Let me go!" she stammered all at once. Struggling, her platinum blond hair moved side to side as she moved. Struggling to keep his grip, he grunted and pulled her onto his horse in front of him.
"Aren't you just a little spitfire, such strange clothing you are wearing too-quite revealing," he muttered halfway to himself and halfway to her. As he said it, he had moved the hilt of his sword under the skirt of her uniform slightly, causing her to slap the skirt down in alarm.
"What do you think you are doing?!" she demanded as she held her skirt down and looked at him with anger. He laughed at her amused by her reaction. Chuckling, he left her skirt alone, though he did not understand why it was so short. With her struggling, he had let out a sigh and to show her that she would cause herself to get hurt, he let her go for a second, which was long enough for her to almost fall off the horse. This caused her to scream, he had been sure to catch her once again after she had been holding onto the side of the horse's neck afraid to actually fall.
"Now that you are calm, will you stop squirming so you don't fall off my horse?" he asked her with an exasperated sigh. She swallowed hard, nodded and sat back up on the horse with his help, though she didn't allow him to have her lean against him. He rose his brow at this slightly but thought nothing of it and shrugged. Not long after, she looked at him slightly after adjusting herself on the horse," you never answered me, who are you?" she asked with more calm to her voice unlike when he had first picked her up.
"Masamune Date, that is my name and what name shall I honor you with?" he responded with a sly smirk. She rolled her eyes at his flirting and looked away slightly as she returned to how she was sitting beforehand," Luciel Tihomira," she murmured and then she went quiet. He smiled to himself as he heard her name, it was not a name he had heard before. Not long after he got her name, galloping was heard not far away. He looked in the direction to see some of his allies approaching him. One being a man dressed in green and red with sandy brown hair and green eyes, the one he often referred to as the "mother hen", Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The other though, he had no nickname for. He wore a lot of black with hair that matched and eyes red as blood, their commander, Oda Nobunaga. He straightened up slightly as he saw him though he didn't lose the sly grin he always held.
"I heard a girl scream, why is there a girl on the battlefield?" Hideyoshi asked in almost a panic. This reaction made Masamune laugh," You get so worked up, Hideyoshi. Yes, there is a girl and as you can see she is safely on my horse. She had struggled too much, so I let her go to show her what would happen if she didn't stop. I made sure she wouldn't fall of course," he told him with a cocky smirk on his face. Hideyoshi scrunched his brow up in irritation and looked at Masamune," That is nice Masamune, but what is she doing here?" he repeated his question this time with more force. Masamune shrugged," who knows, I found her and picked her up so she didn't get killed," he responded as if it was no big deal.
Nobunaga watched the two banter for a moment and then held his hand up to silence both of them. They looked at him silently waiting to see what he would do or say. He was an unpredictable man, so they didn't wish to anger him, especially with the life of an innocent woman hanging in the balance.
"Girl, what is your name?" Nobunaga asked coldly as he reared his horse closer to Masamune's horse. She looked at him for a minute unsure if she should answer or not, seeing his hand near the sheath of his sword, she thought it may be wise to answer after all," Luciel Tihomira," she told him quietly. He nodded in affirmation after he heard her name," Very well, stay with Masamune for the time being, I will question you the moment we return," he told her as he motioned for Hideyoshi to follow him and the two rode off, back to where they had been. It had not taken as long as she had thought for them to finish up their fight against the opposing side.
By dusk, she found herself surrounded in what looked to be the main hall of a castle. Nervously, she looked around at each of the men looking at her. Each of these people were historical figures she thought to herself.
On one side of the room, sat two men with platinum blond hair much like herself. One with yellow, snake-like eyes and the other with purple almost kind eyes. Then, there was the one that picked her up, Masamune Date. He had an eyepatch on one of his blue eyes and he had a dark coffee brown hair color and he wore a lot of blue and black. He annoyed her but she was curious about him. Looking around more she saw a cold, stern looking man with blond hair and green eyes, he wore a yellow kimono and had his arms crossed. Noticing her eyes wander, Masamune chuckled.
"If I may m'lord she knows my name but no one else's I'd like to tell her who is all in the room with her. She seems to be like a lost little kitten that wants to run away," Masamune proposed. Nobunaga thought for a moment and then nodded the go ahead. Masamune smiled as he was given permission, he looked to Luciel and motioned his hand at the first two she had looked at, "The one in purple, with the matching eyes, is our book worm Ishida Mitsunari. Next to him is the sly, trouble making Akechi Mitsuhide," she blinked nodding to him as if to show she understood. He then motioned his hand at the blond man," this is Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is a bit on the cold side but he is always one step ahead," he warned with a playful smile. Her eyes widened slightly as he said his name.
He was the one to win the war to unite Japan; she thought to herself. To hide her surprise of who she was looking at she nodded with a wry smile. Next, Masamune pointed at the one in green she had seen that looked worried for her after hearing her scream," this mother hen, I mean the right-hand man of our Lord is Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and you met our Lord himself earlier, Oda Nobunaga," he told her with a smile as he finished speaking, he sat in his original position.
Nobunaga looked to her and then sighed," Now that that is over, introduce yourself to everyone, girl," he ordered her in a cold and dark tone. Swallowing hard, she nodded and slightly bowed," My name is Luciel Tihimora," she said as she bowed towards the generals sitting before her, then she returned to her full height. They all nodded at her. A few smiling at her, curious while others found her suspicious. After a pause, Nobunaga spoke once again," So, girl how about you enlighten all of us on how you came to be on our battlefield. You even have a bow, though it is an odd looking one," he said as he looked at her once again.
"I would but I doubt you would believe me so I will stick with saying I don't know," she responded as she looked at him for a moment and then to the floor. Nobunaga rose his eyebrow, irritation showing on his face from her answer," Try me, just tell me how you got there," he demanded with an edge of irritation in the tone of his voice. Luciel sighed once again, taking a deep breath she decided to just tell him the truth, if he believed her then he did if not then she would have to hope she wouldn't be killed she thought to herself. "Very well then, I am not from your time. I was visiting the temple of Honno-Ji as I often do, then I found myself on the battlefield after seeing what looked like a giant hole in the sky had sucked me into it," she told him, not thinking he would believe her.
Silence fell across the room, they looked back and forth between each other not sure what to even say to something like that. Nobunaga let out a laugh," That is pretty far out there. I will admit that, but I don't think I believe you," he admitted as he still laughed. He paused but a moment to catch his breath," I can now see why you answered the way you did if that is your answer. Until you want to tell me the truth-" he motioned at the guards and they grabbed her and took her below to the dungeons. They shoved her into the cell, closed the door and off they went. She looked around for a moment and then slid to the ground hugging her knees. She was unsure how to get him to believe her though she didn't think it would matter anyway.
None of the generals said a word once the guards returned to the room. Masamune looked at Nobunaga with obvious disagreement but said nothing to him. Hideyoshi looked between the two and with a deep breath and spoke," m'Lord, I know you don't believe her story, but she wore so little. Won't she get sick in the dungeon?" he voiced concerned. Nobunaga looked at him with cold eyes," perhaps she should have thought about that before loitering on my battlefield," he snapped as he got up and left the room," I best not hear about any of you helping her," he warned them as he left the main hall irritated. They all followed suit and emptied the main hall. Some of them let out a sigh. Hideyoshi was the most concerned for the young girl. Masamune though was already thinking up a plan.
Back in the cell, Luciel shivered as she hugged her knees close to her chest in the corner of her cell. The only warmth in the cell she had wrapped around her, a thin blanket. She looked up at the sky through the small cell window in her room, her bow had been confiscated by Hideyoshi on Nobunaga's orders the moment they got to the castle. She felt naked without it; she refused to let this make her break though, so she did not shed a single tear. As she thought of how to get out of this situation she heard a thud which made her jump. Moving closer to the bars she saw a guard on the ground. Behind the body, stood none other than Masamune with a smirk on his face. On the other side of the room, stood Hideyoshi the two men looked at each other with a hint of annoyance that they had the same idea. With the two guards unconscious, they walked near the cell Luciel was in.
Luciel inched closer to the bars, unable to hide her shivering. She had only been in her summer school uniform. It had been summer in the present before she was sent into the past which seemed to be reaching late fall. Her lavender eyes traveled between the two men. Hideyoshi had been the first to notice her shivering, he let out a sigh and looked between Masamune and the two guards on the ground.
"Keep watch, but don't get the idea of just breaking her out. You know Lord Nobunaga would be furious. I worry about him finding out about us helping her get warm even," he told him as he left the dungeon to look for something to keep her warm. Shaking his head, Masamune shook his head and leaned down and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, he then stood with an expression of concern.
Once Hideyoshi had returned Masamune had his arms crossed and looked at him with a narrowed eye. He had only found one blanket. "You think that will make a difference down here? You need to kiss Nobunaga's ass or something. She's getting a fever down here," he told him with a stern edge to his tone. Hideyoshi sighed, looked at her and only nodded handing him the blanket. Masamune gave her the blanket and then followed him out of the dungeon.
Without hesitation, she wrapped herself in the blanket. Though, it had not stopped the shivering that would not cease. It had been three days since they had come to check on her. Luciel looked over at the guards on either side of the dungeon, they were looking fuzzy to her. As she tried to stand to ask for water, her grip on the blanket slipped from her hands and she fainted landing on the blanket, exposed to the cold weather.
One of the guards, having seen her fall went to check on her. Alarm showed on his face once he looked in her cell, he looked to the other guard," Hurry, go get someone the prisoner has fainted!" the other guard across the room nodded and ran up the stairs of the dungeon and then ran to find someone. As he was running, Masamune noticed his panicked rush.
"Hold there, soldier. What's your rush?" Masamune asked stopping the soldier. The soldier stopped and bowed to him, breathing hard he responded," The prisoner has fainted, her breathing seemed to be labored as well," as he told this to Masamune his eyes widened. "You tell Nobunaga I am breaking her out before she dies and if he has an issue with it he can come to talk to me personally!" he said as he began to run to the dungeons. The soldier nodded and went to the main hall to meet with Nobunaga as he was told.
Arriving in the main hall, the soldier bowed to an annoyed Nobunaga," What's your business?" he asked with an irritated tone. The soldier swallowed hard," Forgive the interruption m'lord. I was coming from the dungeon to let you know the prisoner had fainted. On the way, I was stopped by Lord Masamune, he told me to let you know he was breaking her out of the prison before she died and if you had an issue to seek him out," he had a nervous tone to his voice as he told Nobunaga this.
Despite his worries, Nobunaga smirked as if he had expected this," I wondered who would get her first. Hideyoshi or Masamune looks like Masamune beat you to her Hideyoshi," Nobunaga told him with a teasing tone. He then looked back to the guard," Very well, return to your post. Just make sure he doesn't destroy my dungeon. Let him take her. You better hurry before he cuts my cell, otherwise it comes from your pay," he warned as the soldier bolted from the main hall.
As he made it back to the dungeons, the other guard was trying to stop him from cutting the bars to get her out. "Wait!" he cried out to Masamune breathless," Lord Nobunaga gave you permission to get her, so don't break the cell," he had his hands on his knees still breathing hard as he told the message to Masamune. He smiled slyly and nodded as the other guard opened the door for him. Quickly, he wrapped her in the blanket Hideyoshi had found a few days ago and walked out of the dungeon with her.
He did not stop until he got to his temporary home, where he laid her on his bed, ordering some of his staff to get certain items to help bring her fever down. Once they returned, he placed a wet cloth across her forehead and made sure it covered her up so she would not get cold. Once he stood from where he had been kneeling over her, Hideyoshi entered.
"Didn't think you were the type to rush in and be impulsive like that with a stranger," Hideyoshi teased a bit. Masamune's eyes narrowed slightly," Well, she has done nothing to prove herself as an enemy. Didn't even try to escape. Perhaps, her story needs looking into. I would not let her die without knowing the truth," he responded to Hideyoshi crossing his arms across his chest.
Hideyoshi held his hand to his chin in thought," So you believe her then?" He asked. Masamune shook his head," I didn't say that. I said we wouldn't get to the bottom of her story if we let her die. There is a difference between the two," he retorted as he looked back at her slightly. He thought for a moment," Though I wouldn't normally do something like this, perhaps that satchel she had with her will have a clue to her identity," he mused in thought. Hideyoshi looked at him in surprise at first then nodded in agreement," Since Lord Nobunaga won't believe her words, perhaps he will believe the things she has," he agreed. With a nod, he then left to meet with Nobunaga.
Hideyoshi had left for the castle, once he had arrived he went to the personal quarters of Nobunaga," Lord Nobunaga?" Hideyoshi called from the closed door," Enter" he heard muffled from inside. He opened the door and bowed," Lord Nobunaga, Masamune had an idea about learning about the girl," he told him. Nobunaga turned around and sat down and motioned him inside," Close the door behind you, I will hear what this idea is," he told him. Nodding, Hideyoshi closed the door and sat on the floor in front of the door, across from Nobunaga.
"Being as we don't know if her words can be trusted, Masamune suggested we go through the bag that she had with her. He said that items of possession can't lie," he began. Nobunaga held his hand up to motion for him to stop, he looked to the side as he thought for a moment," Very well, bring me the confiscated items of her's then," he ordered and waved him off. Hideyoshi nodded and left to retrieve the items that had been taken from her, a sachel looking bag, and what looked to be some fabric protecting a bow. It looked odd to him. Not long after he left, he returned to the room with the items.
"Not here, bring the things to the main hall and then retrieve the others. We will all look at what she has brought with her," Nobunaga told him as he stood," Actually, just give me the items. It will be faster," he said as he changed his mind. Hideyoshi nodding handed him her things and then left to get the other generals. Once again, he found himself in front of Masamune," Lord Nobunaga has called for us all to gather, he has accepted your idea," he informed Masamune once he arrived. Masamune nodded, told one of his maids to watch over Luciel and the two men left for the main hall in the castle.
Once everyone had arrived, Nobunaga looked around the room to make certain that everyone was accounted for," Masamune, I will overlook your actions of breaking her from my prison if your idea gives us fruit on who she is," he informed Masamune. He nodded as Nobunaga grabbed the satchel first, opening it and pouring the items on the ground in front of him. Everyone in the room looked rather confused. In her bag, she had a cell phone, pencils, paper other school items. There had also been an envelope with her name on it.
"I have never seen such things before," Nobunaga muttered as he looked at the items. He picked up the phone and looked at it, the battery had died though so he couldn't really see what it was. The next item he looked at was the envelope. He opened it to find a paper folded inside, he unfolded it and looked at it, then read it aloud.
"Luciel Tihomira, is her name as she claimed. It says something about an adoption and it has names of what I am guessing are her parents and her birthday. So, her story is true, the date here is not anytime that I know," he informed the men. Though he didn't know how to take the information, he bent down and replaced all of her things in her bag. Once it was cleaned up and put to the side, he carefully took the fabric protecting her prized bow off and placed it on his seat.
Ieyasu's eyes grew wide," A bow, a nice looking one at that. It seems to be meant for long distance shots," he muttered as he uncovered the bow. "It would seem she at least knows some means to protect herself," he continued on and muttered. Masamune looked at him for a moment and nodded," Yes, though I don't think we should expect her to help us with our battles unless she asks to help. I rather not have an innocent woman bloody her hands," Masamune voiced his concern for her sanity. Nobunaga thought for a moment as he wrapped the bow back up.
"I agree with you Masamune, she seems to be a young woman that has never seen true violence. This bow is well taken care of as if it's her greatest treasure. However, it shows no sign of being used as the bows here are. I will not ask her to fight unless she wishes to," he announced to the generals agreeing with Masamune. He then looked to Masamune," However, since you were the one to rush off with her, you will be charged with her care. You are to watch her at all times and make certain she doesn't get into any trouble," he told Masamune with a smirk. With a sideways glance and a sigh, Masamune nodded in understanding with a muttered "yes, m'Lord."
They had then been dismissed, and Masamune had grabbed Luciel's things and taken it with him as he went to check on her. To his surprise, Hideyoshi was following him. He let out an irritated sound," Hideyoshi, why are you following me?" he asked with an exasperated sigh. Hideyoshi caught up with him and stopped him for a moment," I wanted to tell you this. Don't you dare get close to her and break her heart or something along those lines I doubt she understands how you play," he warned him with a serious tone. Masamune glared at him," What I do, is my business. She is under my charge to see to her care, so she is not your concern," he snapped at him and then turned and stormed off leaving Hideyoshi standing there watching him.