Mai
What. What in the—What!?
With Nobunaga possessively taking a hold on Mai's waist and that offer ringing in her ears, rationality all but seems to crumble around her. Sheer panic takes a much stronger grip on her than that strong arm, feeling like sweating all over and about to pass out—or just both, most likely.
This is nuts. This guy is completely, undoubtedly, unmistakably nuts.
Regardless if that is his particular way of thanking her for her noble—if purely accidental—deed, his intentions for doing so are way too blatant for Mai's liking. And the fact that she just saved one of the three unifiers of Japan, making him the most famous person she's ever encountered in her entire life, is far from enough to make her feel any better about the whole ordeal.
"I… er, I—"
With such an ominous question, there's only one thought topping all possible courses of action. It may be irrational, another person would do exactly the opposite as her, but all she knows is that she needs to get the hell out of there, and place as much distance as she can from that bunch of crazy people.
Nobunaga still has her wrapped around him, but she feels trapped rather than what someone could say embraced. "Sorry, but I can't! I'm starting my dream job really, really soon and, um, well—" She wriggles in his arms, incredibly uncomfortable, "Yeah, that kind of sums it up. So, bye, I guess!"
All that confident and arrogant façade from Nobunaga seems to crumble down just as faster as whatever sense of reason is left in her. "What?" It's all he blurts out.
It's possible he actually didn't understand a word of what she said, but it's not like she can explain herself when, in the spur of a moment, Mai pulls her arm off him and begins running away. The wind carries Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide's calls for her, but her feet just won't seem to stop—every sense of a basic rational thought narrowing down to grabbing her purse on her way out, all but fleeing the makeshift camp.
Her heart pounds wildly and her limbs are still sore from all the previous exertion, the chill breeze making her wounds sting as she runs into a nearby forest, or whatever is it where her feet are guiding her. Mai only brings herself to a stop when the sound of the wind is the only one who accompanies her panting, finally with some silence and quiet all around. Leaning onto the nearest tree, she allows herself a moment to catch her breath, feeling safe from the time being.
Wait a minute—safe from what, exactly?
The reality is, she's still somehow stuck in that crazy time period, alone and all by herself, and last—but most certainly not least—surrounded by utter, complete madmen. What is she going to do? It's just unbelievable she's got this far without losing her mind already.
Her breath comes in shallow, feeling her throat closing and her arms shaking, and not precisely from exhaustion, the cold and unmistakable sense of fear seeping in like poison. But Mai shakes her head sharply before letting herself fall into real panic. "This is the last thing I need right now," She muses to herself, taking long and deep breaths to regain control of her composure.
With trembling hands feeling her purse and lost for any other idea, she brings out her copy of "A Traveler's Guide of Japan's Hottest Warlords" from it—the title not so funny anymore—scrolling through the pages.
"After Nobunaga's death, Mitsuhide launched a rebellion that gained him control of the country for a mere three days. His regime was quickly overthrown by the returning Hideyoshi Toyotomi."
The history she has known so far is actually there, summarized in that book. That is, except for the fact that Nobunaga is now alive—thanks to her—and Mitsuhide's coup therefore can't happen… also thanks to her?
Dear Gods… does this mean I just changed history?
At the shocking revelation, if she actually wasn't shaking before, she truly is then. But aside from the fact it was the first time in her life she's ever faced such event—and in more and many ways she can amount to at the moment—she couldn't have just stood there and let Nobunaga die.
Regardless of the person, Mai knows deep in her heart she'd have done that for anyone, even her worst enemy. However, there's no telling what repercussions her actions will have on the future, if any of the tales and science fiction stories she's read and known means anything to go by.
But the sound of chimes and dry leaves crushed against someone's foot brings her out of her incoming panic, startling her running thoughts. A weathered-looking man with a chiseled face gets on Mai's sight, walking towards her with an odd smile.
"Young lady, what are you doing in the woods this late at night?" At a first glance, he pretty much looks like an abbot. "I am a traveling monk. Perhaps I can be of assistance to you."
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm fine on my own." Mai lies sheepishly. As a matter of fact, she wasn't fine to begin with, but to make it worse the new guy gives her several lots of bad feelings about him.
Most precisely, he fits the silhouette of the man who attacked Nobunaga way too well for any comfort.
She holds her breath as he takes another step towards her, only to softly put a hand on her shoulder. "You should return home quickly. Demons lurk in the woods at night." He says, solemn and holding her eyes, as if trying to show he means no harm.
For what it takes, it doesn't truly work. "Why, thank you so much for the warning. Farewell, now!" She doesn't even try to hide her fear as she dashes off again.
Creepy and crazy guys left and right, no street lights to point her where she's going, looking stuck in a dangerous timeline she knows next to nothing about, only with a magazine that isn't of any real help whatsoever. I really, really want this to be a dream.
Mai clutches her purse to her chest and squeezes her eyes shut, desperately wishing for all of it to go away; her breath coming off in quick pants as that panic she's been holding off tight under iron locks of denial finally begins assaulting her. The dashing wind brings ominous noises of multiple footsteps as she breaks into a run to nowhere at all, branches seeming to claw her way at any chance, the darkness ready to swallow her whole.
Until another voice rushes to her from across the woods, "Hey, watch it!"
Despite the growing paranoia, the voice does a certain work on receding the choking dark all around her. That is before, out of nowhere, a hand grabs her hard enough to haul her off her feet.
She screeches, startled to the very core, the motion making her fall backwards onto someone, sending them both to the ground. To her sheer relief, it doesn't seem to be a demon as she'd been told moments ago but a person—most precisely, a fairly-built man overall close to her age, then lying below her like a very unhappy cushion.
Easy, Mai, it's just another guy. Nothing more than another random stranger hanging around this particularly crowded forest…
Grumbling a brief apology yet still with her nerves on high alert, Mai removes herself off him, only to be tugged back in a frantic. "Whoa, are you crazy!? Don't move!"
The man prompts them to their feet with utmost precaution, keeping an insistent hold on her arms. Before Mai's upset state climbs several levels up, a strong gust of wind tugs at her hair, the place not looking so dark and gloomy anymore. Realization dawns on her, drawing a deep intake of breath as she takes on her surroundings.
Yikes, I'm on a cliff! That is some drop!
The newcomer's intentions seem clearer then, following his lead and procuring themselves some safe distance. "That was close," He sighs in relief.
"Yeah, definitely was a close call." Mai is willing to admit, "Thank you for that." Shaking hard—and not precisely out of being cold—she opts out for disentangling from the man's arms, looking for some personal space to recompose herself.
He seems very willing to let her go, until his light brown eyes go wide once again. "No, not that way!" Clearly stronger than what he looks like, in the next moment he's hauling her off her feet again, roughly carrying them in the opposite direction. "What are you thinking!?"
"Let me go!" Mai can't help but crying aloud, just about to freak out for good.
Thankfully so, the man complies just a moment later, dropping her next to a tree and letting her go as if she'd just burned him. "That rock is loose! Can't you see that for yourself, woman!?" He snaps out, pointing in the direction of the cliff.
Actually, she lacks the preternatural ability to read the terrain like a ranger in a fantasy novel, but it's not like he'd understand that. What would truly do to explain herself?
I was just hanging around the streets of Kyoto, visiting some old monuments and killing time, and delighted in the fact that I've finally gotten my dream job after so much blood, sweat and tears, and what do you know? After my closest encounter with death in the hands of a lightning bolt, the next moment I find myself saving the most arrogant and preposterous of guys from a blazing fire, 500 years in the past, in a timeline I appeared to have accidentally changed precisely because of having saved that one bastard, and then running away from a bunch of the craziest madmen I've ever stumbled upon in my entire life, back to now hanging in the woods at night, where demons lurk if that other lunatic monk and assassin's words are anything to go by. All in a day's work, right? Honestly, maybe I should have just fallen down that cliff…
Her legs can't seem to hold her weight for much longer, slumping down to the dirt, hugging her knees in her best attempt to stop her erratic shaking. "Look, I… I'm sorry, alright?" Mai manages to blurt out, "I'm just having a rough night…"
The absolute mess she must look like appears to get onto him. "Hey, I'm, uh… I'm not mad at you." His face and voice soften, kneeling next to her, "Sorry for being kind of rough before. Are you alright?" The moment she meets his light brown eyes he winces, looking apologetic. "Ah, that was pretty stupid of me. Come on, let me help you."
He can come off a tad bit awkward but Mai can admit he seems trustworthy enough; that time, willingly offering his hand to her, a genuine and kind smile on his face. And that thoughtful attitude surely must have been why, after helping her up, she can't help but shy away and hide behind him at the presence of another figure sauntering their way.
"Yuki?" Her companion turns to the source of that new voice, tension leaving his body in apparent recognition. The newcomer meets them halfway the edge of the forest, his tall height and well-broad shoulders the first Mai takes of his figure. "Well, well, Yuki. We've been here ten minutes and you've already found yourself a girl?"
At the sweet bantering tone—and the evident way those two seem to know each other—she goes for revealing herself and properly face the newcomer. First, she takes on the mess of a pretty auburn hair, then a wide grin plastered all over… the most gorgeous face Mai has ever seen in her entire life.
All so suddenly, what could be considered her worst night ever doesn't seem to matter anymore—her heart skipping several beats and almost feeling as if her soul just abandoned her body, leaving her absolutely lost for words.
"Please, don't tease me, Lord Shingen," The aforementioned 'Yuki' protests, "She was just about to fall off that cliff and is not looking pretty well…"
"Oh, a damsel in distress, I see…" A pair of fog-gray eyes takes over her with an assured intensity—one that Mai is way more willing to welcoming this time, all but enraptured by that stunning smile of his.
"I-I was just running w-without looking," Mai swallows hard and takes on a deep breath, words more difficult than ever to form, "It-it was an accident, I swear…" A fierce blush creeps its way up her cheeks, completely unable to stop her way too evident staring.
His head tilts, a thick auburn brow quirking up in interest, "Is that so? Taking a run in the middle of the night?" The man—Shingen, he was just called Shingen—wonders, procuring a water satchel as if by cue, probably more aware of her near-traumatized state than herself. "And what for, if I may ask?"
Mai manages a grateful nod and sheepish smile before accepting the offered satchel with slightly trembling hands, going full-on red when Shingen's large fingers brush her skin, pulling the quirk open for her. Those alluring eyes of his never leave her face as she takes a long, much-needed gulp of water, feeling herself regaining some of her steadiness.
"Ah, I was just looking for a shortcut to my happy place…" She says somewhat sarcastically, her eyes following the way of a more amused smirk on the handsome face of the man before her, utterly and even knowingly hypnotized.
And for the way said smirk never falters, it tells her he's way too aware of his effects on her as well. "Hmm. So, smoke from Honno-ji and a woman all alone at night." His ever so sweet voice doesn't help Mai in the slightest, some bangs from his auburn hair blowing softly with the breeze, casually taking his then empty satchel back. "Perhaps you're a ghost? Though you're certainly the most beautiful ghost I've ever seen…"
"I-I…" She needs to get herself together and fast, or else, "I'm actually quite normal. I mean, for a person, not a ghost, that is…" A pathetic giggle bursts its way off her mouth.
Way to go, Mai. Acting up like a teenage girl in front of this… this… incredibly gorgeous creature the gods have brought down before my eyes. But to be fair, he almost makes it up for the most horrible night of my life, though.
With those narrow and terribly flirtatious eyes on her, it's too easy failing to brush off the compliment. But the charming spell he seems to have applied on her shatters way too fast for Mai's liking as someone else joins the—surprisingly three of them, already forgetting about that other young man who's saved her from an early meeting with her ancestors—on the cliff.
This new one's pale-blond hair serves as a sheer contrast for his companions, adding up to the most notable detail of having two different eye hues—the overall picture of him remarkable enough to pull Mai from Shingen's enrapturing spell.
"Your ability to spew cheap pick-up lines never ceases to amaze me," Comes as the newcomer's sort of introduction, glaring at his companions as the living embodiment of boredom.
"I just call it like I see it, Kenshin." The amusement in Shingen's face doesn't falter a single bit as he glances at the aforementioned blond man, shrugging nonchalantly.
Mai can't prevent that slight tang of disappointment at the unbelievably handsome Shingen then turning his attention to that Kenshin guy, almost feeling like pouting, until—wait a minute…
'Shingen' and 'Kenshin', they just said? That makes it two more famous names, and putting them together… the names of rivals.
Am I really not dreaming? Is it really possible I'm actually facing Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi in the flesh? And even acting companionable enough to be sharing the air!? What is this sorcery!?
Apparently so, the gods and fate itself keep conspiring to procure Mai with constant infortunes—if it can really be called like that—as a fifth person arrives from the edge of the thicket. However, his footsteps don't make a single sound, merely announcing his presence after standing in attention before the aforementioned Kenshin.
"My lords, I have returned." The new one informs, face covered and dressed for camouflage, with close fitting layers that clearly don't rustle, his figure quite slender in comparison to the rest. Is he an actual ninja? "Nobunaga's forces have extinguished the fires at Honno-ji."
"Thank you for your investigation, Sasuke." The blond man—apparently Kenshin, and Kenshin goddamn Uesugi, to make it worse!—turns to the ninja, curious, "So, I presume Nobunaga is alive, then?" He wonders.
"Yes." Comes the deadpan reply. Turns out, they're not exactly celebrating the fact, though.
"He's got the devil's luck," The gorgeous man—Shingen, his name is Shingen, and Shingen goddamn Takeda!—scoffs, that bright smile he'd just blessed Mai with its presence then no longer on his face, making it all the more disappointing.
"Or he is the devil," The younger one in that very odd group, Yuki, adds with a frown.
That's a shift in the mood if she's ever seen one. Apparently, it's pretty clear they don't like Nobunaga, but regardless, they do seem to take him seriously. She thinks of trying her luck asking—probably to Shingen—but before having any chance to do so, the ninja's eyes meet hers.
"You!" He blurts, going wide-eyed.
Kenshin narrows his eyes at his apparent subordinate. "Yuki happened to run into her here. Do you know this woman?"
"No. I was mistaken." He seems to mask his reaction in the course of an instant, but that ever so brief glint of recognition in the mysterious man's eyes wasn't lost on Mai, making her frown. "Nevermind, I've spotted a village on the way here. She probably must be from there." Behind the gleam of his glasses, the ninja's gaze returns to her. "I'll escort her home…"
What in heavens is this ninja talking about?
Yet apparently so, Mai is not the only one who's figured out that poor excuse. "Moving quick, are you, Sasuke?" Shingen's flirtatious smirk makes its glorious return, the breeze carrying his low, amused chuckle, "Give the rest of us a chance, will you?"
Not like his slender companion—or anyone, for that matter—seems to share his amusement. "Please, Lord Shingen." He insists, "It is for the best if the rest of you return to the city."
Without any further ado and to Mai's eternal lament, the ninja just takes her hand and politely yet insistently leads her toward the forest once again, away from the very odd group she's just encountered. Away from Shingen goddamn Takeda…
From an apparent subordinate as he first presented himself to be, his superiors seemed strangely quick in complying and let him have his way. However, that's not the first of Mai's concerns in the current moment.
"Hey, wait, you've got it pretty wrong." She complains, outright refusing to be unabashedly handled from one guy to another in the way she's been as of late, removing herself from his grasp. "I'm not from a village or anywhere here—"
He turns to her, making the universal sign of keeping quiet. "I know, I know. Sorry for that," After a quick glance at their surroundings and apparently assuring they're alone, he removes the mask hiding the rest of his face. "I've been expecting you." He says.
Mai blinks twice, taking in the features of the slender man before her, a recent memory flashing across her mind.
Hold on a second!