Lucky Find

Once, Lord Nobunaga summoned three of us pages...

It wasn't like I did it on purpose.

Though quite some time had passed since it happened, my mind refused to let the issue rest. No matter how much I wanted to focus on the blooming flowers or the cool spring breeze, my mind kept returning to that earlier encounter and I found myself unable to calm the thunder in my chest and the butterflies in my stomach.

I wanted to believe it was nothing special—that his words were little more than another whim, much like the one that started the whole mess. If that were truly the case then I'd at least be able to face those guys, and give them an uncaring shrug saying, "See, I didn't do anything special." I doubted it would change their opinions of me—no, thinking it over more carefully, they'd probably just laugh and go about muttering things like "Guess Ranmaru's schemes don't work on everyone," when they knew I was still in earshot. But even if that started up again, they'd at least pay our Lord proper respect for it, so either way it was preferable to the alternative.

And no matter how long I've been convincing myself of that, I still believed that his honeyed words weren't said in jest.

"Ah there you are, Ranmaru. Lord Nobunaga summons you." As soon as I heard those words, I was already walking down the castle halls, not willing to keep my Lord waiting. A small part of me was hesitant though, for it was the first time I had been summoned like this, and I did not know how I would have to act. Being a page of the Oda clan was nothing like being a page anywhere else, from what I had heard. The head of the clan was an unusual and rather whimsical man, derided as a fool by many. Apparently, even now, many of the older samurai had their doubts about him; doubts which had spread among the pages as well, even though most, like myself, had never properly faced Lord Nobunaga before. Though there was none in the castle I could consider a friend, I suddenly found myself pitifully wishing that I would not have to face my Lord alone.

Someone among the gods must have heard my plea for, when I turned to corner to the hall where my Lord's room stood, I found myself facing two of my fellow pages, both of them wearing sour faces. They stood away from the door so that their shadows wouldn't alert the occupant of their presence and quietly debated how they should approach. As soon as they saw me though, their frowns first darkened, then were immediately replaced with uneasy smiles.

"Were you summoned by Lord Nobunaga, as well?" I asked calmly despite already knowing that was the case.

"Where were you Ranmaru?" Already they were acting haughty and critical, all vain attempts to hide their fear, "Lord Nobunaga summoned the three of us, yet when Lord Katsuie came to fetch us, you were nowhere to be found."

"You should be grateful that we waited for you. Lord Nobunaga would have been furious if you showed up late."

"Thank you then," I replied flatly. Admittedly, I was a little relieved for their thoughtfulness (regardless of their true motives). It would have been unseemly to appear late. (On the other hand though, as I had not even known other pages were summoned, had I arrived first, I would not have returned the courtesy.) "Lord Nobunaga will be furious if you continue to dawdle outside of his room like this though."

I paid no attention to their glares as I sat down in front of the door. They followed suit, but neither took the initiative to announce us, so that task fell to me as well. The unrestrained nerves they displayed helped calm me down enough so that my voice did not shake when I talked, though inside my stomach was churning. Lord Nobunaga did not acknowledge my announcement, but as we had been summoned, I slid open the door and the three of us entered, immediately lowering our heads.

Lord Nobunaga, fully clad in his armor, sat at his table, his back turned to us. He did not turn around when we entered, nor when we patiently sat there bowing. I was not sure how I was supposed to react to this. The three of us exchanged brief glances, but no one dared to move or speak otherwise. If we made one wrong move here, Lord Nobunaga could order us dead immediately. I did not fear death, and if he ordered it, I would die without a complaint, but I also desired to live so that I may continue (or rather, start) to serve my Lord.

We could have sat there bowing for a few seconds or a few minutes (time slowed to a turtle's crawl in such a situation) before Lord Nobunaga finally looked at us. I could not see his face from my position, but I imagined he was not pleased with our presence. Perhaps he'd heard our commotion in the hall and did not wish for anything from servants who kept their master waiting.

"You're dismissed."

As soon as he said those words, he turned to his desk again. The three of us rose unsteadily. I could not say what my own face looked like, but fear and devastation marred the faces of my associates. Perhaps they were thinking the same thing as me. We failed.

They were out the door first. If we had truly incited Lord Nobunaga's anger, perhaps it was best to disappear before our dismissal was a little more permanent in nature. And yet, when I already had one foot out the door, my eyes caught sight of a bit of dirt staining the pristine tatami mats. The dirt was centered around the door, which meant that we had most likely been the ones to bring it in. I was already embarrassed about annoying Lord Nobunaga with my tardiness, so I did not wish to leave his room in such a state. Quietly I started sweeping up the dirt.

The other two stared at me for a while in disbelief before rolling their eyes and walking off. I shook my head at them. Did they not even care that such behavior was unfitting of a page?

Nobunaga was absorbed in his work, so I figured he did not even notice my sweeping. Indeed, I tried not to make any noise, for it was already uncouth of me to be here after being dismissed without me also disturbing my Lord.

Carefully, I swept the dirt into my sleeve. There was not a lot of it in the first place, but I made sure to carefully scan every inch of the floor before considering myself finished. When I looked up though, I found Lord Nobunaga staring right at me. Our eyes met.

I froze in my tracks, too terrified to even lower my head properly. Lord Nobunaga had a stern face and piercing eyes that seemed to stare directly at my soul. I felt as if he were reading my every thought, studying my every movement, and just waiting for me to mess up in some way (although I felt as if I already had).

He was the first to move. He stood and approached me, kneeling down on one knee so that our faces were just a short distance away. Up close, his eyes were even more piercing and I wanted nothing more than to turn away.

"You are quite an odd one," Lord Nobunaga spoke in a light tone, almost as if he were singing, "Nobunaga is most intrigued."

I did not know how I was supposed to respond. Though I always knew I would face my Lord someday, and was taught how I was to act when the time came, those lessons suddenly vanished from memories. All I could do was sit there frozen with fear with dirt in my sleeve (some rational part of me realized that if I moved to bow now, I would likely spill the dirt back onto the floor and embarrass myself further).

"What is your name?"

"M-mori Ranmaru," I stuttered, wincing at how pathetic my voice sounded. Showing such obvious fear was disrespectful. If I begged for seppuku now, would he grant me the honor?

"Ranmaru," he repeated with a slight chuckle, "Ran…Oran. A lovely name to match a lovely face." I felt my ears grow warm. That kind of nickname was embarrassing.

"Tell me Oran, what are you still doing here?" He asked. His tone didn't sound harsh or accusing. He seemed to be amused at my discomfort, but not in a mocking way. Somehow, I could feel the tension in my muscles ease slightly.

"I noticed we had dragged some dirt into the room. I only wished to sweep it away before leaving."

"Is that so?" Lord Nobunaga nodded, that odd smile never leaving his face, "And what is the motive behind this action?"

My voice froze in my throat, and I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. My motive? I didn't have one. I wasn't out to get praise or make myself out to be someone who works harder than his peers to make them look bad. I was a page of the Oda clan. I just wanted to perform my duties properly. I didn't do anything special.

Finally, I was able to break my gaze and lowered my head, as I should have done right away. Lord Nobunaga was still waiting for an answer. "The room was dirtied," I stammered out, not very firm in my answer, "I…I thought it wrong to leave my Lord in a dirtied room."

My Lord burst out laughing at this. I lowered my head further, my ears burning with shame. Even seppuku wouldn't be enough to rid my family of the humiliation my impudence was bringing upon them.

"Fascinating. Nobunaga is most fascinated," he laughed heartily, "Nobunaga praises your diligence."

"T-thank you, my Lord," I said honestly, but already that cold unpleasant feeling was worming its way into my body. Please stop. I don't want your praise. I didn't do anything that warrants praise. It's because all of you are always praising things that anyone with common sense would do without being asked that I…

"Raise your head, Ranmaru," the laughter stopped, and though he still sounded amused, Lord Nobunaga commanded me in a serious tone. Nervously, I obeyed. I met his eyes again, and once more, fear paralyzed me.

"Conscientiousness is a most praiseworthy quality," he said sternly, as if reading my inner thoughts, "Nobunaga has no need for those who wait until all is spelled out for them before they dare act." I nodded slightly, acknowledging his words. Why was he telling me this?

"You should not feel shame because you did something you were not explicitly asked to do. Be proud, Ranmaru. Nobunaga is lucky to have found you." Carefully, he brushed the side of my face with his hand. His hand was warm. When he removed it, I felt a longing for him to do it again.

"You are dismissed now, but Nobunaga will call upon you again," He rose to his full height, "You may make a most useful page, Oran." I bowed again, and then hurried out of the room. My heart was pounding and I was so overcome with emotion, that I felt lightheaded.

I didn't do anything special. So why…

He won't call on you again, I kept scolding myself. Mere hours passed since he said those words. It was foolish to think that he would need me so soon.

It's foolish to think he'll need you at all.

Maybe it was foolish. But my Lord was once called the Fool of Owari, so maybe there was some merit in foolishness.

I sighed. Admittedly, whether Lord Nobunaga summoned me again or not (He won't), I'd live on. I would obviously never tell him or anyone else this, but his words were a light to my long darkened soul. Even if they were said on a whim, I decided I would believe that whim. As long as I could continue to serve him, I would give 110%, no matter what was asked of me.

Hurried footsteps in the halls…

I returned to the castle, almost sensing where I had to go (setting myself up for disappointment).

My Lord's trusted retainer approaching…

"Ranmaru, Lord Nobunaga summons you."

Nobunaga is lucky to have found you.

No, my Lord. I am truly the lucky one.

Thank you for reading :)

This was really fun to write, though it did prove a little tougher than I expected. I based the story off one of Ranmaru's SW Chronicles' events, so hopefully I was able to capture his inner darkness. Ranmaru was actually not too hard to write (Now watch everyone say he's way too OOC...) As for Nobunaga...*Sigh* He's Nobunaga...I'm just going to hope for the best here.

To any history buffs: Don't think about when this takes place or how old this Ranmaru is. Ranmaru is very...difficult character to place into a timeline because in SW1, he's first shown defending Mt. Inaba Castle (1567) and in SW 3:Empires he's already Nobunaga's dependent page before Okehazama (1560)-heck he's even there at Oda Nobuhide's funeral (1551)! . This is particularly funny because according to most of the sources I could find, Ranmaru was born in 1565. When he became Nobunaga's page is even harder to place (one source of very dubious accuracy said 1571) but from the way he described his past in Chronicles, I'm going to assume he's in his early-ish teens (I tried to write him as such at any rate). Let's just say I'm going off of Samurai Warriors 3 history here.

I hope this turned out okay (this is also probably the slashiest thing I've ever written o/ / /o)