Turning Swallow

Summary:

OR, One morning, four-year-old Sasaki Kojiro remembers a life not yet lived, and decides to do something about it. History changes. SI!Sasaki Kojiro. Expect general lightheartedness, but dark topics when the time comes.

CH. 23 START

The howling of a distant wind through the trees was the sound that Kojiro awoke to. The world around him was a misty gray, trees of green and brown muted by the dense fog that surrounded him. A rustle came from the foliage above him, and Kojiro's head shot upwards, only to see that it'd been the wind. A leaf had been knocked free and Kojiro watched as it slowly drifted down towards him. When it came within arm's reach, he stretched out his arm to grab it. The oak leaf bent in his hand when Kojiro closed his fist around it and tossed it to the side. The little activity had woken him fully, and he stretched to get rid of the remaining stiffness, leftover from a night of sitting up straight. His spine popped as he straightened it, and a pained groan escaped his mouth, as muscles that had stiffened began to loosen.

The noise and small movement seemed to wake Nobunaga from her slumber, and she blinked, before trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. She yawned, before seeming to realize that she wasn't in a bed, but rather on a dirt floor, with Kojiro looming above her.

Rather awkwardly, Nobunaga greeted him, saying in a rather strained voice, "Good morning, Kojiro."

Kojiro smiled down at her, hands resuming their path through her hair, as he answered, "Good morning to you as well, Nobunaga. I hope you slept well?"

She yawned, arms stretching around him, and asked, "What time is it, anyways?"

Kojiro looked up, and upon seeing the bright blue sky, answered, "Morning, looks like. Early morning, given the mist is still here."

Nobunaga nodded in understanding, only to widen her eyes in shock, and say, "We've been here the entire night?!"

She looked at Kojiro, asking, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Innocently, Kojiro replied, "I didn't feel like it. You looked so peaceful."

The follow-up question in her eyes disappeared, as her posture softened. She rose from lying down and turned to face him, only to wince as the night of sleeping on the hard forest floor caught up to her. Nobunaga leaned to the left side, before pulling her right arm above her head. She did the same for the other side, and a noise loud enough to wake the dead filled the clearing. Nobunaga sighed in relief, and despite himself, Kojiro felt the need to speak.

"The mornings after tend to be so painful, no?" he commented.

Absently, Nobunaga nodded in agreement, before her mind processed what he'd said and she turned to him with a scandalized look in her eyes.

"Kojiro!" she yelled. Despite her words, there was a light flush on her cheeks. He laughed merrily.

Now that Nobunaga was awake and sitting up, he removed his kimono from his lap and threw it back on. The air in the early morning had a pleasant dampness to it, and it was rather cool, without being freezing; after sleeping in the forest without any shelter, it was better not to risk it. As he slipped his arm though a sleeve, however, a thin slip of parchment fluttered out of somewhere, landing on the ground. Kojiro hadn't even managed to put on his jacket properly before Nobunaga's hand darted forwards and snatched up the paper. She read through it quickly, reading the first parts outloud, before her mouth slammed shut. Nobunaga finished skimming the paper rather quickly, judging by how quickly her eyes moved, but with each line she read, her cheeks were stained a darker red. Her face grew redder and redder, until the previous light flush became an embarrassed blush. Making an embarrassed noise in her throat, Nobunaga tossed the note to the side in exasperation, then hopped to her feet, and tugged at his arm to get him to move.

Nobunaga spoke, "Kojiro, we have to get back to the castle right now! If we're fast enough, we can just sneak in and-!"

He raised an eyebrow, before reaching for the note and reading it. It was a thin slip of paper, written in neat script.

"Kojiro," it read, "the next time you intend to seduce Lord Oda into sleeping with you, please give me a warning, so I will know where you have gone. After you did not return within an hour or two yesterday, your apprentice and I gathered a small search party to find you. It is fortunate that she and I, rather than any of the men, stumbled upon you first. There are already bound to be rumors, and had I not found you first, there would now be far more. I've assigned a group of men, roughly five hundred, to guard the perimeter around you, with orders not to approach unless there's an emergency. There is a bucket of water and some hygiene supplies behind your tree, as well as extra clothing, so that you two may make yourselves presentable. Return safely. Hideyoshi.'

A small flush had made its way onto his own face. Nobunaga was acting exactly as he felt, pacing hard enough to wear a path into the dirt and screaming internally. First things first. There was no danger around them, bar the danger of embarrassment. That was good. Taking a nap right in former enemy territory was an unwise move, but Hideyoshi had come through. Kojiro got up himself, and Nobunaga rushed towards him, pulling his sleeve hard enough that his legs, tired after a night of being laid on, collapsed. Nobunaga caught him before he hit the ground, a look of guilt on her face.

Sarcasm filled Kojiro's voice as he said, "Nobunaga. My friend. My dearest ally. Maybe, just maybe, we make ourselves presentable before we make our way through the men guarding us and the camp?"

The guilt on Nobunaga's face vanished, and she huffed, remarking, "If you can still be so sarcastic, maybe I'll just drop you to see if your legs still work."

Despite her threat, Nobunaga kept a firm grip on him, making sure Kojiro got his feet firmly underneath him. Even after he was standing straight, she hovered around him, making sure he didn't fall. Kojiro shot her a thankful glance, which she accepted with a nod. Walking around the tree revealed two small piles of clothing, next to the bucker and the Sengoku equivalents to toothbrushes, in the form of two bamboo tassels.

Kojiro gestured to the clothes, and Nobunaga duly turned away. Kojiro undressed quickly, before he slipped the new clothing. It was rather nice, being in clothes that weren't stained with grass. While he was at it, Kojiro used the bucket of water to wash his face, before scrubbing his teeth as clean as they could get, and spitting the water to the side. Once he was done, he called Nobunaga over and let her take her turn.

"We best clean up before we return. Better to look composed, rather than bed-raggled." he explained.

Nobunaga grunted in agreement, before making her way behind the tree.

Over her shoulder, she yelled, "If you try and peek, I'll stab you!"

Kojiro didn't dignify Nobunaga's words with a proper response, instead choosing to shoo her away like a particularly feisty cat. He turned away, and while Nobunaga cleaned up, Kojiro made sure that his sword was secured tightly to his waist, redoing the series of complex knots, and that nothing looked out of place, appearance-wise. He tied his hair into a loose ponytail, noting that it'd gotten rather long over the past few months. Preparation done, he simply leaned against the tree waiting for Nobunaga to finish. Within a minute, Nobunaga stepped from behind him, looking as poised as ever.

"Let's go." she suggested, beginning to walk, "How should we explain our appearance to the soldiers?"

Kojiro answered, "Easy. We say nothing and just walk past them. Leave them to their rumors. If we act like nothing's wrong, they can only grasp at straws. Whatever they come up with, it's not likely to be explicitly harmful. Now that battle is over temporarily, they'll latch onto anything to entertain themselves."

Nobunaga shrugged at Kojiro's suggestion, saying, "That works."

When the two of them stepped out of the woods, bucket filled with clothing instead of water, the small group of soldiers turned. They reacted to Nobunaga and Kojiro's presence with bafflement. Obviously, Hideyoshi hadn't told them the reason why they were here.

"Attention!" Kojiro demanded, and as one, the men snapped into saltures, their training proving itself, and greeted Kojiro and Nobunaga while at full military attention.

"We're done here," Nobunaga continued smoothly, "gather the other men, and return to camp. Once you are done, report to General Hashiba. When he gives the all-clear, you are dismissed. Understood?"

The bafflement disappeared, as each soldier made their own assumptions about why the two of them had been in the woods. They stood there patiently, and when Nobunaga told them that they were dismissed the soldiers scattered to gather the rest of their comrades. They continued through the woods without issue, retracing yesterday's steps, until they came into sight of Aki Castle and the temporary camp around it. They walked through the camp, and towards the castle, where Hideyoshi happened to be waiting for them. The man grinned, and opened his mouth to speak, but Nobunaga just walked past him.

"Not a word, Hideyoshi. Not. A. Single. Word. Inform me if anything of vital importance happens, otherwise, leave me be." she ordered.

Her part spoken, the woman power-walked so fast that Hideyoshi's clothes ruffled from the sheer amount of air Nobunaga displaced.

Casually, Hideyoshi called to her, "Your room is through the main hall, into the hallway, and up the stairs. Ask Suzue-san!"

Nobunaga gave no sign of acknowledgement, bar a slowed step. Hideyoshi turned back around, looking at Kojiro.

The man greeted him, saying, "Kojiro. You move quickly."

Kojiro scoffed at the implication, saying,"You know well that nothing scandalous happened, we simply talked about future plans."

"Like marriage?" Hideyoshi teased; Kojiro groaned. He didn't like being on the receiving end of jokes like this, as it turned out.

"For the army." Kojiro finally managed to say.

Hideyoshi hummed in curiosity and plenty of cheer, obviously having gotten a good night of sleep on top of a comfortable bed.

"Anything that I should know?" he asked.

Kojiro answered, "Plenty. We're going to spend some time here, drafting up a demand for surrender from the Shimazu Clan of Kyushu. I suspect that they'll not want to fight, given that we outnumber them five-to-one. If they hear of what happened to Motochika, I suspect the Shimazu will try to avoid conflict. If they don't, we can destroy them in a week. While that gets going, the men can rest, so they're ready for whatever happens next. If the negotiations go through, that's a march to northern Honshu to deal with the clans there. If not, they need to prepare for the battles in Kyushu. Maybe tell the commanders, so the soldiers can prepare themselves mentally. Besides that, the towns are an ideal place to reward outstanding soldiers and to resupply."

Hideyoshi nodded, saying, "That's good to know. Anything else?"

Kojiro was about to say no, before he remembered that there was something more he wanted to say. After Nobunaga's death in original history, her factions had been split up by Ieyasu and Hideyoshi. Given that she was still alive, he needed to make sure that they weren't tempted to betray at the last minute. Kojiro didn't think it was likely, but better safe than sorry.

"Ah. Yes, there is. It might be time to start thinking about which province of the country you want to rule over."

"Rule over?" Hideyoshi asked, confused.

Like Nobunaga, Hideyoshi had fought for so long that not fighting likely seemed foreign. Probably, the man subconsciously expected there to be another battle after Shimazu, then another, then another, forever. It seemed that Hideyoshi hadn't processed the realization that the war was nearly won yet.

"Rule over, Hideyoshi." Kojiro stated again, "of the four islands, only Kyushu is left to conquer, since there's no point in conquering Hokkaido, and only the Shimazu are there. On Honshu, there's only the clans of the northern regions, and even then, perhaps Tokugawa Ieyasu had secured alliances there. If nothing unexpected happens, Japan is basically already ours."

HIdeyoshi's eyes widened, and he let out a soft breath, "Ah. I hadn't thought about that before. The country is almost completely conquered. I feel sad, somehow."

Kojiro nodded, saying, "You've fought for too long. Nobunaga feels the same. That's really all, I think. Where is Suzue, by the way? I need to speak with her."

Hideyoshi broke from his thinking, answering, "Oh, right! Your apprentice was anxious all of last night, since she was waiting for your return. She'll be up now, if Oda-dono has done as I've suggested. She'll be in the room next to yours, in the commander's quarters. Through that gate, down the hall, then up the stairs, like I said."

Kojiro nodded in appreciation, then stopped before he walked away, turning to say, "You do good work, Hideyoshi. Hell, I doubt that Nobunaga would have made it as far as this so quickly without you. They say that a man's character is only tested when they come into power, and you've proven yourself worthy not only of her trust, but mine as well. My thanks. Should you need aid, and I can provide it, I will do anything within reason to aid you."

He bowed to Hideyoshi, about forty-five degrees, and the man returned an equally deep bow.

Hideyoshi smiled a genuine smile, saying, "Go on, friend. Get some proper rest. With how hard our Lord's skull is, I doubt her sleeping on you all night was particularly pleasant."

Kojiro laughed, waving to Hideyoshi as he walked away. In the direction that Hideyoshi had pointed, there was a large hall. He entered it, stepping into what looked like a throne room, before catching sight of the hallway next to it. He made his way there, before traveling down the long hallway and up the stairs. The flight of stairs led to a large open room, with a variety of attached smaller rooms. Suzue was waiting at a table in the center, tapping her fingers against the table's surface nervously. The moment she caught sight of him, Suzue shot to her feet, dashing over.

Suzue grabbed Kojiro's hand, exclaiming, "Sasaki-sama! I was so worried! You said we'd talk last night, but you never showed up. I was waiting for you."

Then, a moment later, she realized that her words could have come off as incredibly rude and disrespectful, given that she was addressing her swordsmanship master. She panicked, trying to take back her words, but ended up choking on her own tongue.

Kojiro stopped her attempts with a small shake of his head, telling her, "Suzue, you're well aware that I don't particularly care about one's manners if I enjoy their company. Besides, I'm not here to punish you, but to congratulate you. Oda Suzuka, huh?"

Suzue smiled nervously, saying, "Yes! Oda-sama chose it for me. Do you…like it?"

"It's a good name," Kojiro answered, "but I've gotten used to calling you Suzue."

Suzue nodded, replying with a small laugh, "I'm not quite used to it either. I'll get used to it eventually. I'll always be Suzue to you, Sasaki-sama, if you want. If not for you, I'd still be stuck with those bandits, or in my village, moping."

Kojiro brought her into an embrace, and waited for her to continue. There was something on her mind.

Eventually, Suzue whispered, "Sometimes, when I go to sleep, I'm afraid that I'll wake up again, only to find this was all a dream. That I'll still be tied to that tree, cold and shivering."

"This isn't a dream, Suzue." Kojiro affirmed, "You're here, with me."

"It's not," Suzue admitted softly, "I'm really glad it isn't."

The room went quiet, Suzue simply luxuriating at his touch.

He pulled back, offering, "We have roughly a month to relax here, and I'm not exhausted. Do you want to regal me with the tale of how you earned your new name? Perhaps we can even spar, like we used to, eh?"

"You make it sound like it was years ago, Sasaki-sama! It's only been a few months." Suzue answered, giggling, "I don't mind telling you. Alright, first, I need to explain why I was separate from Oda-sam's forces in the first place…"

The conversation continued on well into the afternoon, the story punctuated by Kojiro asking questions about this or that. Eventually, even Nobunaga joined, adding to the story from her own perspective.

A/N:

To those who pointed out the age difference between Kojiro and Nobunaga, you're right! It's setup, for those who are bothered by it. We're almost done with the Sengoku War arc, just 2 more chapters. Also, thanks you much for 200+ follows/favorites, I really appreciate it.