Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Except Sakura, she is my own created character, second daughter of Tadakatsu Honda, thus making her Ina's younger sister

AN: I know that it might be a bit weird to have a battle so early on but I had to do something, also this won't be historic or as it is in the game I can hardly remember it... I'll stop playing Warriors Orochi 2 and go back to Samurai Warriors 2 soon, I promise... okay when I stop playing Dynasty Warriors 6... Damn it! I will start playing SW2 again! I will, I will!

Chapter 2: The Battle of Nagashino Part I

Keiji Maeda was awake before Toshiie, he took a quick look through the open door and saw that it was light, he got up and dressed and gave his uncle a quick shake to wake him up before picking up his weapon and going outside. No sooner than taking two steps outside he was almost run over by a battalion of men "Whoa! Calm down" Keiji called after them, but they didn't hear him or so he thought but he could of sworn one of them called him a 'hypocrite', he didn't blame them but didn't particularly like it all the same 'What's going on?' Keiji thought, Toshiie, who dressed in record time, was right behind him now and had obviously picked up the rush as well, "Well either the Tokugawa or the Takeda are early" Keiji looked to his uncle, confused, Toshiie rolled his eyes "Either our allies have come to help earlier than expected or the Takeda have attacked us earlier than we could set up our riflemen" Keiji nodded and looked away so Toshiie couldn't see his face 'Riflemen... They ruin everything, it's just no fun' Both the warriors headed over to the main camp.

***

Yukimura Sanada was looking out from the main camp, his brother Nobuyuki came and put his hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him, but it didn't really work "I told Lord Katsuyori that we should have attacked in the night, I had a horrible feeling that they'd be early" he said and Nobuyuki looked out, over to the Oda main camp and mixed in with all the Oda troops, were Tokugawa troops "Does our lord know?" Nobuyuki asked, and Yukimura nodded "I told him, he's preparing a retreat plan, just in case, now our chance of defeat is much greater... But we have to keep Lord Katsuyori alive, no matter the outcome" Nobuyuki nodded and saw his brothers point, now their chance of winning this battle was much less, the Tokugawa had evened the odds, and he didn't like the way that Nobunaga, who was supreme commander of their combined enemies, wasn't moving any of his men, Oda or Tokugawa 'If I know Nobunaga then he's got something planned which will all but seal the fate of this battle, Lord Katsuyori's retreat plan had better be a fast one, before it's too late'

***

Everybody in the Oda army had been informed by Lord Nobunaga that Tadakatsu Honda was bringing his youngest daughter to the battlefield and they had all been expecting her to be a small frail child who would hide behind her father, maybe holding a sword for appearances sake, but nobody was more surprised than Keiji Maeda when the Tokugawa arrived early, everybody knew what Ina looked like, she was virtually famous for her beauty and skill, and her sister didn't look that different to her had long black hair tied up in a high ponytail, her hair wasn't as long as Ina's but it was still long, her skin was also paler than her sisters, but they had the same pink eyes and a similar armour, but hers consisted mostly of red and black with small parts of green, as opposed to Ina who wore blue and white with small parts of pink, but they also both used bows, but Sakura's looked heavier than Ina's, making it stronger, it also had two blades at either end as opposed to one. When the Tokugawa officers arrived outside the main camp, Ieyasu, Tadakatsu and Sakura all dismounted while the rest and their soldiers went to take up their positions on the lower part of the battlefield, where they'd been placed for this battle, Tadakatsu hated to, but he entered the main camp with Ieyasu, leaving Sakura alone, and it didn't take Magoichi Saika or Hideyoshi Hashiba long to work their way over to her, but Toshiie Maeda saw and rolled his eyes, Magoichi however, beat his friend to her "First time on the battlefield?" He asked her, she nodded, not really looking at him, and he could see already that she was going to be a stubborn one

"Don't worry, stick by me and you'll be safe beautiful princess" Sakura smiled slightly, Ina had warned her about Magoichi Saika and his 'charms' and looked at him "Can you not think of anything new? I know you've said that to my sister before, and most likely every other girl you see on the battlefield" This earned a lot of laughter from the surrounding officers, the troops were smirking but fighting laughter Magoichi was surprised "Man, girls really DO tell each other everything!" And Hideyoshi tried to ease his way even closer to her, bringing him to Magoichi's side "Magoichi, stop picking on the new ones" Sakura rolled her eyes "And you think you've got a better chance? Besides I know you're married" Hideyoshi and Magoichi exchanged defeated glances while the officers were roaring with laughter, including Keiji and Toshiie who were only about five paces away "Come on guys! Leave the kid alone before her father comes out" Keiji said to them, earning a bit more laughter, Sakura raised her eyebrows, looking slightly offended "'Kid'? You're about the same age as me" Keiji smile faded slightly, but it was still there "No way... How old are you?"

"I'm 18 in a few months" She answered, and then raised her eyebrows slightly "Your turn?"

"Okay, so we are around the same age, I'm 19"

Sakura smiled, almost cheekily "I win" Keiji shrugged but nodded, his smile was fainter than before but Toshiie's grew, and then Nobunaga and Ieyasu came out and everyone was silent "Ieyasu and Tadakatsu will join the rest of their troops but Sakura shall be placed under the protection of Toshiie and Keiji Maeda... Now go to your stations, the time is almost here" Everyone started dispersing but Toshiie and Keiji went over to Sakura "Oh great" She said, it was sarcastic but not cruel "Hey, us, or Magoichi Saika and Hideyoshi Hashiba?" Toshiie said to her "Fair point, where are you guys?" Keiji suddenly remembered his dream... She was the angel...but they'd been on different sides, Toshiie cleared his throat and answered for him "We're slightly further up the battlefield behind our lines waiting for the order to charge the enemy camp" Sakura nodded and mounted her horse, two soldiers brought Keiji and Toshiie theirs and they led her to the higher part of the battlefield.

When they reached their part of the battlefield, Sakura looked out towards the Takeda camp and she pulled a face, Keiji, who was beside her, saw it "What's wrong?" She looked towards him, looking slightly embarrassed "It's... nothing really, but my future brother in law... he's a general in the Takeda... it shouldn't bother me really" She tried to dismiss it, but Keiji looked interested "Your sister?" Sakura nodded "Yeah she'd getting married, I'd probably guess that his brother is here too"

Keiji raised his eyebrows 'Brothers?' He thought 'No way, it can only be the Sanada brothers... Wow that's gotta be harsh on the poor kid' He cleared his throat "Who are these brothers you refer too?"

"Nobuyuki and Yukimura Sanada" Sakura clarified and Keiji nodded, it had been what he'd thought, but Tadakatsu was clever, the Sanada's and the Honda's, it was a clever marriage, both families were powerful, both strong and well respected, Sakura seemed to read his mind "Call the power a bonus..." Keiji looked confused, Sakura smiled "They actually love each other, I know both the brothers well... Might be a bit awkward later on... That's probably why I was chosen, better me than Ina" Sakura muttered the last part but Keiji still caught it, and he doubted that Toshiie was turning a blind ear

Before Keiji could answer the Takeda battle cry was heard, and the infamous Takeda Cavalry was racing towards them, Keiji noticed that they were being lead by a Takeda officer, he looked like an important one, he looked around his and Sakura's age, he guessed he would be in-between their ages, Nobunaga was still within earshot "Today... The old way dies... And the way of warfare moves forward" Toshiie nodded in the general direction of in front of the main camp, and Keiji saw that hundreds of rifleman had lined up and were all waiting for the order 'So that's what the rush had been' Keiji thought, it had had nothing to do with Tokugawa's arrival, they had been getting ready for the Takeda's charge "Fire!" Nobunaga shouted, and out of the corner of his eye, Keiji saw Sakura tense, Toshiie must have noticed it too for he looked in her direction for a split second, before looking back to the almost decimated Takeda Cavalry, horses were still falling... Keiji looked and saw the officer struggling to reach his weapon... He couldn't stand it anymore, it just didn't feel right to him; he kicked his horse forward, and heard Sakura and Toshiie shout after him, he felt pained as one of Sakura's hands brushed his side as he went forward, she'd tried to stop him, he almost felt like turning around and say to her that he wouldn't leave, but it was too late for him to turn around now, whether Sakura Honda was there or not.

***

Yukimura was on his horse, a wave of the famous, and almost impossibly strong, Takeda Cavalry behind him, he raised his spear and shouted the Takeda war cry, hearing the others behind him echo it and kicked his horse forward, the rest followed him swiftly, he was aware of his brother and Katsuyori watching him from the camp, but Yukimura's bad feeling returned, stronger than before, and when he heard the gunshots, he knew what was happening, his horse collapsed from underneath him and Yukimura felt a bullet skim his left shoulder, just underneath his armour, and the pain ripped through him, he landed beside his horse, seeing others fall around him, he caught a glimpse of Sakura Honda, his future sister in law's pained face, he found it hard to believe that she was on the battlefield and wondered if Ina was there too. And then he blacked out.

Yukimura was only unconscious for a few seconds, but it meant that a few seconds had been wasted, he blinked a few times and saw the line in the rifleman change as more horses hit the ground, Yukimura coughed slightly and then stretched his good arm out, trying to reach for his spear, he grunted in the pain the movement caused "Got to.... Get away... Before the next... Round" Yukimura felt like cursing, his weapon was only about two inches away from his hand. Suddenly he heard more gunshots and was ready to welcome death, but instead he felt a strong arm around his body and saw his spear move, and the gunshots was trailing behind the horse that was carrying his saviour, he looked up and saw an Oda officer. When they were out of range, almost back at the main camp, he was dropped to the ground, a long way Yukimura noticed, and heard his spear being dropped beside him, the Oda officer turned back to face the Oda army. "I am Keiji Maeda... Servant of the Oda!" He said to Yukimura, and then turned back towards him "But... uh, I just changed affiliations... So I guess I'm just a regular guy now" He shrugged slightly and dismounted, and then helped Yukimura to his feet "You got spirit kid... What's your name?"

"Yukimura..." He winced as Keiji pulled him to his feet "Sanada" Keiji noted his appearance, 'So this guy who's brother is marrying Ina? Which will make him a brother in law to Sakura? Hope she appreciates me saving him... Though chances are I'll get a slap for deserting her... She looks like the slapping type... Oh well, uncle Toshiie will look after her... Wonder if he'll be after her too... Hope not, surely she's too young for him...' Keiji thought, and then hit his horse, which ran to the edge of the battlefield "Well, I'm gonna help you out Yukimura... Just promise me you'll stay safe... or at least stay alive, I don't want you dying to be on my conscious after I just saved ya"

"I promise... Even though I don't really see the point" Yukimura added in a mutter, Keiji still heard him "Everyone's got a reason to live... It's kinda the whole point of being born in the first place... Just stick with me Yukimura... We're gonna need that spear of yours to pull through" Yukimura still looked defeated, so Keiji dragged him back to the main camp, the Takeda needed to seriously re-group after most of the cavalry had been decimated, and Keiji was going to help them do it.

***

Sakura knew she should have tried to grab Keiji properly when he tried to run for it... Although she couldn't deny she was extremely grateful that Yukimura had not been killed, she pulled a face that it had been Keiji, she had kind of wanted him around, if only for protection from Magoichi... She was praying that Hideyoshi had had the sense to give up on her, she knew that Magoichi would go to all and any lengths to actually make a beautiful girl fall for him, but she was sure that if she or Toshiie didn't stop him then her father would, and she couldn't stop the smile coming to her lips, but when the second round fired, the smile faded into a slight frown.

"I know Keiji" Toshiie said suddenly to her "He'll be fine, he's just... Acting on his instincts"

Sakura couldn't think of a good reply, and it was then that something dawned on her 'If Keiji Maeda is truly as good of a fighter as the rumours say, then that's the odds evened up considerably' she looked to Toshiie desperately, praying that he would prove her wrong, but he didn't. She looked back to where Keiji was just out of sight, and then saw his horse go to the edge of the battlefield 'He's fighting with Yukimura after all?' She thought bitterly 'As if the battle wasn't awkward enough with me having to fight Yukimura and Nobuyuki!' Then, even though she doubted it, she wondered if Tadakatsu was having a similar problem 'No chance... You wouldn't think he had any emotions if you met him solely on the battlefield.'

Suddenly the Oda and familiar Tokugawa war cries brought her from her thoughts. The battle had begun. In sync with Toshiie she kicked her horse forward and prayed that, not only would she survive, but also everyone, Tadakatsu, Ieyasu, Hanzo, even though he wasn't on the battlefield yet, Yukimura, Nobuyuki, Keiji and Toshiie also survived... But she doubted that they would all survive the morning let alone the entire battle.

***

Keiji Maeda literally dragged Yukimura back to the Takeda main camp, he greeted with surprise by Nobuyuki and Katsuyori, they were about to be formally introduced but Keiji was agitated, too used to the orderly fashion of the Oda.

"No time!" He said in desperation "Listen, they're going to do alternating rounds as soon as Nobunaga realises that we can advance in between rounds! Lord Katsuyori you've got to start the retreat, Nobuyuki can go cover the escape point, make sure that neither the Oda or Tokugawa get control of it, Yukimura you stay with me until Katsuyori is fairly close to retreat and then you and me will join him! How about that? I just came up with a plan!" He said in delight, the officers looked dumbfounded until they'd processed his quick plan fully and then started moving.

Suddenly Keiji heard the familiar Oda war cry, and it was closely followed by the Tokugawa war cry 'Katsuyori better move quickly, or it looks like me and Yukimura may just be caught in a crossfire... But we gotta defend the main camp, for now... I wonder which way uncle Toshiie has taken Sakura...' Keiji saw the oncoming army getting closer and closer. 'My betrayal to the Oda will be worth it, I refuse to let them fall here' He vowed.

***

A figure in the shadows was listening to Keiji give his plan; he decided to report it to Lord Nobunaga... It felt strange to him, not to report to Lord Ieyasu, the man he'd called 'Master' for years.

He disappeared, leaving no trace that he'd ever been there

...

AN: Sorry for the long wait! But I got stumped after Keiji betrayed the Oda! Okay I really do want reviews now, even one will do, I only want to know that I'm not writing for myself!

Oh btw, can anyone guess who the shadowy figure is? If you can't then you're really out of sync with this game I made it so obvious!

Please R&R