Warning: This is based off a manga called Sengoku Strays. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!

[Narration]

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"English speech."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar.

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

[April 10th, 1552 (Tenbun Year 21]

{Owari, Nagoya Castle}

Nobunaga POV

"Hmph." A young Oda Nobunaga said, bored, as he played with one of the stray cats he had picked up.

The cat was mewing and purring happily as the nineteen-year-old lord of Owari scratched it behind its ears. Nobunaga was currently waiting for his hawk, Tenrou to return. He had sent the hawk out earlier so that he could confirm some rumors he had heard. If his hunch was correct, he would have to gather the troops and prepare to put down a betrayer. It was about time he made his move anyway.

'How troublesome…' Nobunaga thought.

Most of the soldiers were only following him because they had served his father. In fact, some of them had actually had the guts to quit after his father had died. Though it meant he had less troops, Nobunaga felt it was for the best anyway. If they weren't willing to follow him, it was better if they left now, rather than try to betray him later. He didn't need things that he couldn't use. A flash of bright blue light suddenly filled the room. Nobunaga dropped the cat and drew his sword. The young lord never left himself vulnerable, despite his reputation for being a fool. The light dimmed and faded, revealing a very confused and strange looking girl that was now sitting on the floor of his room in a daze.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at the girl, taking in every detail about her. The girl was clearly a foreigner, with her golden hair, pale skin, and strange eye color, but she also had some facial features that hinted at a Japanese ancestry, except for her larger than average eyes. She was also wearing a style of clothing he had never seen before. The girl's colorful eyes were slightly dull, as though she were in a trance. "Girl." Nobunaga said firmly, commanding her attention.

Ayako POV

Ayako snapped to attention when she heard a deep and commanding voice. Ayako looked in the direction the voice had come from. She blinked in surprise. Standing in front of her, was a boy who only looked a few years older than her, probably somewhere around nineteen, and he was pointing a Katana at her.

'This day just gets better and better…' Ayako thought, sweat dropping. Once she had gotten over the shock of having a sword pointed right between her eyes, by someone other than her uncle, Ayako noticed that the boy was wearing traditional Japanese clothing, including hakama. He had a long, flowing mane of wild dark-brown hair that had been pulled up into a half ponytail, and he had strong and intelligent face, with sharp, piercing eyes. He reminded her of a lion stalking its prey. She was also not in the storeroom anymore, but the place where she was currently, was also built in a traditional Japanese architectural style.

"Who are you, and how did you manage to get into this room, girl?" the dangerous boy said in the same no-nonsense tone she had heard him use before. She didn't like being talked down to, but since he was the one with the sword, she decided to let it slide… just this once. She could tell this boy—no, he might be young, but he was definitely more than just your average teenage boy—this man, was not an opponent she would be able to easily overpower.

"… My name is Himura Ayako Louise. I used to go by Louise, but you can just call me Ayako, since it's easier for someone who speaks Japanese to pronounce. As for how I got here… I honestly have no idea. Where is 'here'? Is it close to the Saionji temple in Kyoto? And, if you don't mind my asking, who are you?" Ayako said.

'A temple in Kyoto…?' Nobunaga thought. "This is no temple, girl. You are currently within my Nagoya castle, in Owari. I am Oda Nobunaga, the lord of Owari." Nobunaga said, answering her questions, but still not lowering his sword. Ayako gaped at the young lord in shock, stunned.

"…D-Did you just say 'Nobunaga'?" Ayako asked in disbelief. Not only had he just claimed to be the Nobunaga, but he had said they were in Owari. 'Why did he call the Aichi Prefecture by such an obsolete name… he's not a few fries short of a happy meal, is he…?' Ayako thought, worried she was either dealing with a crazy person, was dreaming after watching too many SciFi films, or had somehow traveled back in time… whatever it was, she hoped she hadn't lost her mind. "As in the 'kicking–ass–and–taking–names' military genius Oda Nobunaga of the Sengoku—I mean, wait, your about nineteen, so this would be, what… 1552?" Ayako asked. Nobunaga stared at Ayako.

"That's not how people usually refer to me." Nobunaga said. Ayako sweat dropped nervously.

'Uh-oh… did I insult him because I was too overly familiar…?' Ayako thought, worried she might have just signed her own death warrant. "Well… what do they usually say?" Ayako asked, keeping her voice even, not giving away how nervous she was. Nobunaga smirked. He thought this girl was rather interesting. Most people, especially women, would usually show more fear when being held at sword point. Her manners could use some work, but some of that could be excused since she was a foreigner.

"Hmph, they usually call me a fool." Nobunaga said. He seemed more amused than angry. Ayako raised a skeptical eyebrow at the young lord.

"… Have they met you? Because that impressive and dignified aura you give off doesn't really give me that impression… If anything, I feel like I'm being stared down by a cunning predator." Ayako said frankly. She definitely wasn't trying to be a kiss-up. That kind of person had always annoyed her. It was just her honest opinion based off of the few minutes she had been in his presence. She would have come to that conclusion even if she hadn't sort of paid attention in history class, and already knew that this young lord would continue on to unite most of Japan before his death.

Normal POV

Nobunaga didn't like kiss-ups either, but he could tell Ayako hadn't meant it that way. The girl was speaking seriously. Over the years, Nobunaga had let everyone think he was a fool in order to survive. After all, he grew up in a time when, if your enemies thought you had even a drop of military talent, they would try to take your head before you could grow up enough to become a challenge. He had even managed to fool his closest attendants, but this girl had seen through him in an instant. She was a good judge of character.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, amused. "Girl, you said you are called Ayako?" Ayako nodded. "Tell me, Ayako, why did you think this might be a temple?" Nobunaga said as the cat he had been playing with earlier wandered over to Ayako's side and began purring and playfully rubbing up against her. Ayako smiled at the cat pet it. Nobunaga still hadn't lowered his sword, but she figured the fact that he had bothered to finally use her name meant that she was relatively safe, for now. 'Hmm… that cat has never taken a liking to anyone other than me before…' Nobunaga observed.

"This is probably going to sound crazy, so I'll completely understand if you don't believe me, but please trust me when I say it's the truth. If I was going to lie to you, I'd tell you something much more believable." Ayako said honestly. "Just a few moments ago, before I somehow ended up here, I was cleaning out the storehouse of a small temple my uncle runs in Kyoto. We keep all the old artifacts that have been entrusted to the temple over the years in there." '… Though after seeing how low-kept that particular storehouse was, I can't imagine why anyone would want to entrust them with anything…' Ayako thought, remembering all the dust and clutter. "I have a severe and irrational fear of spiders, and when one dropped down, right in front of my face, I panicked, and bumped into the shelf behind me. The shelf started to fall on me, but then this walking stick fell on my head, and I caught it out of reflex. That charm began to glow, and then a bright blue light surrounded me, and I found myself here." Ayako explained, pointing to the walking stick. She didn't want to cause a misunderstanding by reaching for it, since the walking stick could be used as a weapon in a pinch. She noticed the crystal ball wasn't as blue as it had once been, like some of the color had faded out of it. She glanced at Nobunaga to see how he was taking the news. He wasn't looking at her like she was insane, so that was a good start… but then again, he had seen the blue light for himself. Ayako hadn't even gotten to the whole 'I'm from the future' part yet. She wasn't sure how much she should tell him.

Ring~! Ring~! Ring~!

Ayako face-palmed. Her cellphone alarm just had to go off now, of all times.

'I knew I should've kept that thing set on silent…' Ayako thought.

"What is that?" Nobunaga asked as the phone's alarm continued to ring. The young lord hadn't even flinched at the sudden and foreign sound that had suddenly started coming from the girl's direction.

"… It's my cellphone… a type of device used to communicate with other people. It can also keep track of time, and remind me when I have something I need to do." Ayako explained, deciding she didn't want to die over such a stupid thing. "If I don't stop it, it'll just keep ringing."

"Hmph. Very well, but do not make any sudden movements." Nobunaga warned her.

"Okay." Ayako said as she slowly and cautiously removed the cellphone from her jean's pocket and silenced it. She was about to put it away, when Nobunaga held one his hands out in front of her, expectantly.

"Give it to me." Nobunaga said. He was curious about the strange, black, rectangular, and thin device. He had never seen anything like it before. Ayako froze, like a deer caught in the headlights. She didn't want to anger the man that was pointing a sword at her, but she had seen enough movies to know that giving future technology to someone from the past, was usually a very bad idea, because it could have adverse affects on the timeline.

"… I'm not sure I should." Ayako said honestly, and glanced up cautiously at the young lord to gauge his reaction.

"What do you mean by that?" Nobunaga asked. He didn't look particularly homicidal yet.

"… I didn't tell you the really crazy part about this whole thing yet." Ayako said. "I'm actually from an era that's about five hundred years in the future… This technology shouldn't even exist in this time period, so I'm worried about what adverse side-affects showing it to anyone in this era could have. For example, if I change even the smallest detail, I might somehow trigger a series of events that could prevent me from even being born." Ayako sighed and held her head in frustration. Time travel was a whole cornucopia of disturbing concepts.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at Ayako. She was right. This was crazy. Not only had a girl just appeared out of thin air, but she was also from the future. From what she had said, this girl shouldn't even exist yet, but here she was, sitting right in front of him. He could tell she really wasn't lying to him though, and he had to admit, she had evidence to support her story. He had seen her mysterious arrival with that glowing blue light for himself, and her strange clothing and that black device were things he had never seen before too.

"So, from what you have told me, you have no idea how you got here, and no idea how to get back to your own time." Nobunaga said. "I shall give you shelter, for now, if you let me see that black device. I will return it to you once I have satisfied my curiosity." Ayako stared back at Nobunaga, debating whether or not she should accept his offer. She sighed in defeat and handed over the phone. She didn't really have any other option that wouldn't just get her killed in the end. She could try to force her way out of the castle, but even if she succeeded, she didn't know how to survive on her own in this era.

"Thank you for your gracious offer, Lord Nobunaga." Ayako said as she bowed politely. 'Honestly, I'm lucky he didn't just lob off my head when he first saw me… I appeared in such a suspicious way, and during such turbulent times too…' Ayako thought.

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, pleased she had decided to cooperate. He could always force her, but it would be a pity if he had to kill such an interesting person so soon. If she knew what was to come, she could prove to be extremely useful. Nobunaga took the phone from her and started examining it and playing with it. It was a strange device, indeed. All he had to do was touch an image, which Ayako called an 'icon' on the glowing surface of the device, and a new 'program' would open, each with a different function. It was as though the device could tell what he was thinking, like magic. Nobunaga finally put his sword back into its sheath. He sat down in front of Ayako, and held the phone out, in front of her face. "Girl, Ayako, how does this device work?" Nobunaga asked curiously. "Tell me about your era."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{One very mentally exhausting and mind-blowing conversation later…}

"I see. Much has changed over the centuries." Nobunaga said thoughtfully as he digested all the information Ayako had just told him.

Of course, Ayako only told him things about the very distant future, and only about technologies that were too advanced for her to have to worry about him being able to 'invent' before their proper times, and she had, fortunately, managed to convince Nobunaga not to force her to act as his Sengoku era 'cheat sheet' by explaining that it could do him more harm that good. If she helped him change one thing, then it could throw off the whole timeline, and she wouldn't be able to tell him what would happen after that anyway. It had probably helped that she had subtly hinted that he would be successful in the unaffected timeline that she had come from. Plus, she had gotten a C in history anyway, so she wasn't exactly a reliable source of information. Ayako had never gotten a C in anything before, but the teacher had just made the class sooo boring, that Ayako had hated it on principle and completely lost any interest in the class.

Nobunaga had decided it would be more interesting not knowing the answer in advance anyway. The young lord had been somewhat impressed by Ayako's own personal history too. Since he was allowing her to stay in his castle, he had insisted she tell him about herself as well. Like him, she had lost her parents at a young age, but his mother was still alive. Ayako was rather resilient and strong for someone so young, after all, she had only been twelve at the time. She still looked young, but Ayako had told him that she was sixteen now. She was just short and had a baby face. If you looked past them, you could tell that although she was small, her body was as mature as the average sixteen-year-old girl. She had also been taught how to read, write, and fight. Even if she could not tell him the future, this girl could still be useful to him. She would not be a complete waste of space. He was about to ask what she was planning to do from now on, but she beat him to it.

"Lord Nobunaga, as you have said, I currently have no way to return to my home and nowhere else to go. You have already done me a huge favor by offering me a place to stay, but I have one more favor to ask of you… Please allow me to serve as a soldier." Ayako said, bowing respectfully as she waited for the young lord to answer her. This girl just continued to surprise him.

"… You mean to say you will become a citizen of this province?" Nobunaga asked.

"No, I won't." Ayako said frankly. "I still haven't given up on finding a way to return to my own time yet, and I don't want to just live on your mercy. I was raised on the principle that 'those who don't work, don't eat.' So that I don't lose sight of my goal, or myself, and to live in this world, I will fight. I will gladly work to earn my keep, and I am fully aware of what following you into war will mean. In these turbulent times, even those who do not wield a sword can still die upon one. Since that is the case, I would rather fight than live in fear. However, it is against my religion to kill, so I cannot guarantee that I will be able to take a life on command, but I have no intention of letting myself be killed, nor do I intend to let harm come to the people I view as comrades. I will not hesitate to come to your aid. If you can accept these terms, then you can consider me your ally." Ayako said, looking up at the lord of Owari as she spoke. Nobunaga could see the resolve and determination burning in her eyes. Nobunaga stared at Ayako, contemplating her words.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, laughing in amusement and smirking like the Cheshire cat. "Interesting, I'll look forward to seeing what you can do."

'Eh…? Why do I feel like I just sold my soul…' Ayako thought a little nervously. No matter, she wouldn't go back on her word. Ayako smirked back at him. "Just don't be too surprised when you do." Ayako said, smiling cheekily.