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.

Previously:

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared down at her. Ayako sweat dropped. His stare was so intense, like he was trying to give her an x-ray with his eyes or something. "I should be asking you that. Why are you fighting alone? Where are the others? What happened to the prisoners?" Nobunaga demanded. Ayako heard the rest of the troops coming, catching up to their hurricane of a leader.

"We ended up splitting up… you know, divide and conquer? The prisoners are safe for now, but…" Ayako said. "I didn't think he'd bring a gun into a stick fight… I can't believe I let my guard down like that." She sighed. "But on the plus side, I managed to do an awesome new move earlier! And I think one of the girls, Kasane, has… similar origins to me." Ayako said, glancing cautiously at the soldiers who were now within hearing distance. "She was wearing clothing from my 'homeland.'" Ayako said, smiling excitedly, like a little kid who had just discovered where her parents hid the candy.

"… Is that so?" Nobunaga said, intrigued. "Take me to them."

SLAM!

Kasane used her stick to block the enemy's spear. Kasane pivoted on her feet, using her attacker's momentum to push the spear to the side.

"Wh—" The man said, surprised that he was being matched by a young girl.

'Just three more!' Kasane thought, going into her 'kendo match' mode. 'Next is a torso hit…!'

WHACK! The loud sound from when Kasane struck the soldier in his side echoed, like the ringing of an old church bell or gong. DOINNNG~!

'I hit his armor… My hand's gone numb…' Kasane thought, shocked.

Her arms were quivering from the vibrations and shock of hitting something metal with such brute force, and she was sweating nervously. It kind of hurt, but she couldn't move her arms. She had gotten so caught up in the fight that she had forgotten it wasn't just an ordinary match. A soldier snuck up behind her and grabbed his sword. He swung at Kasane. Kasane quickly hit her arm to counteract the vibrations that were numbing her arm, and spun around, blocking the sword with her stick, just in the knick of time. The force of the blow sent Kasane sliding backwards, closer to the other women, who had been watching the fight helplessly since they had no weapons and weren't trained to fight, like Kasane. Kasane panted, trying to catch her breath as she stared down her enemies. She had never had to fight so hard before.

"I can read their moves without a problem… but this weapon's not going to last forever." Kasane said, thinking out loud, as part of her temporary weapon crumbled and broke off. All of these attacks were slowly whittling the stick down to nothing. Thinking out loud always helped her solve problems faster, and right now, she had a big problem that needed solving. The others were depending on her, and she couldn't afford to lose here. She had to get back to Kotetsu and Masamune. Two of the enemy soldiers exchanged a glance.

"We weren't told to kill you." One of the soldiers said, distracting Kasane as the other one snuck around behind the group of women. He loomed over an oblivious Sayo, who was too busy watching and worrying about Kasane to notice. "But If you resist too much…"

"We'll have to get a little rough with you." Sayo's stalker said, finishing his buddy's sentence as he grabbed Sayo.

"Aaahhh!" Sayo screamed.

"Sayo!" Kasane yelled in alarm as she turned to check on her friend.

"If we can end this now, we won't have to dishonor you needlessly." The man said as he gripped Sayo's face and squeezed.

"Uh…!" Sayo whimpered in fear and pain, starting to tear up. She didn't want to die, not without at least seeing her brother again.

"!" Kasane said, moving to help the scared girl. "Let her—!" Someone grabbed Kasane's shoulder, stopping her. "Eh…?" Kasane said, surprise and puzzled when she saw that it was Yone who had stopped her.

"Let her go. We'll… return to our cell." Yone said calmly.

"Yone…!" Kasane cried, confused and dismayed.

"That's enough, Kasane… It's fine. We never had any hope. The moment the village was attacked, we were defeated. Let's just end this." Yone said, resigned, as the other women quietly sobbed, losing all hope for escaping. They weren't going to let the soldiers hurt Sayo, and their homes were now anyway. Sayo stared at them, tears in her eyes, before she too hung her head in defeat.

"Same here…" Kasane said, her head bowed slightly, her bangs hiding her eyes. "My brothers aren't here anymore… Sayo. But those two… they keep on rolling. Unlike me, they have no interest in fighting, and don't understand the competitions at all, but… but…" Kasane's grip tightened on the stick. "They smile for me." Kasane said, raising her head slightly. They could all see the gentle and loving smile on her face as Kasane thought of her younger brothers. "When I win a fight, they smile and clap their hands for me. Er, what'm I saying? I guess that it's great to be alive, yeah." Kasane laughed wryly at herself and rubbed the back of her neck. "Sayo, how about you?" Sayo looked up at Kasane. She didn't want to give up either.

"Kasane…" Sayo said.

'It's too soon to give up.' Kasane thought, slowly exhaling to even out her breathing, in preparation for her next move. "I… won't lose!" Kasane shouted as she rushed towards the soldier holding Sayo. The soldier was surprised by Kasane's sudden action, and his grip on Sayo loosened slightly as he pointed his sword at Kasane. Sayo took advantage of this and ducked, breaking free from his grip, and leaving the soldier open to Kasane's attack, now that he no longer had his hostage. Remembering the tip Ayako had given her earlier, Kasane aimed for the man's shoulder and thrust her stick at him, slamming it into his shoulder, and hitting part of his shoulder guard in the process.

"Wha!?" The soldier said, shocked when he saw that part of his shoulder guard had cracked and was falling apart from the force of Kasane's attack.

"Run! Quickly!" Kasane yelled to the others.

Sayo and Yone looked at each other and nodded, guiding the other women into the cover of the nearby woods. They wouldn't let Kasane's efforts go to waste. The soldier recovered from his shock and swung his sword down at Kasane. Kasane stepped forward and ducked, catching the sword's handle from underneath as the soldier tried to cut her down.

'I can't fall back!' Kasane thought as she grit her teeth and grunted from the strain of wrestling the man attacking her. 'Masamune, Kotetsu! Just you watch.' The soldier wrenched his sword out of Kasane's grip, and she jumped back, and picked up her stick again. Another soldier, also wielding a katana, ran at her. 'Your sis… won't lose!' Kasane thought as she let out a war cry and swung her stick at her opponent's katana.

BANG! The loud sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the clearing, causing some of the birds in the area to scatter and fly away.

"…!" The enemy soldier said, shocked when the blade of his sword suddenly shattered. Kasane flinched, startled.

"Eh!? Did I do that!?" Kasane yelled, surprised, and confused about what had just happened. She was slightly blue with shock and trembling in surprise. "But what was that noise…!?" The other soldier that had been aiming for Kasane, rushed forward to attack her.

"Look out!" Kasane heard Ayako yell.

"!?" Kasane said.

"Next." Nobunaga said as he handed the rifle he had just used to Ayako and one of his soldiers handed him a loaded one. Nobunaga twirled the rifle around in his hand, and charged forward as he aimed at the enemy soldier attacking Kasane.

"Kasane, duck!" Ayako yelled.

BANG! Nobunaga shot the soldier's sword, knocking it out of his hands as Kasane covered her ears and ducked.

"Argh!" The soldier shouted in pain as the force of the bullet wrenched his sword from his hands.

'Kyahh!' Kasane squealed in her mind, surprised. The other women peeked out from where they had taken cover in the woods nearby. Yone started.

"Wh—Why is he here…!?" Yone shouted in surprise when she saw Nobunaga.

"Wh-Who's there!?" The enemy soldier yelled nervously.

"Rather, who are you?" Nobunaga said. "I don't recall handing my people over to the Imagawas."

Kasane stared in awe as the dust settled, and she saw who had come to her rescue. It was an imposing and dignified man, sitting atop a majestic horse, the rifle he had just fired still aimed at his opponents. Ayako ran up to stand beside him, and behind them was a small army of disciplined soldiers, bearing banners with the crest of the Oda clan on them.

"This is my territory, dogs." Nobunaga said disdainfully as he glared at the enemy soldiers.

"Gah..!" One of the soldiers said in alarm when he realized who they were up against. The other soldier grit his teeth in frustration at being caught.

'My territory…?' Kasane thought, wondering who the man was. Her grade in history class wasn't any better than Ayako's.

"Sis!" Kasane heard someone yell. Kasane flinched in surprise.

"Yes!?" She shouted as a young soldier broke ranks and ran past Nobunaga and Ayako, towards Sayo.

"Sis! Sayo!" The boy yelled.

"Ah!" Kasane said, realizing her mistake. 'I answered out of reflex…' She thought, sweat dropping.

"Ko-Kotaru…?" Sayo said, surprised to see her brother so suddenly after all this time. He had grown a lot.

"It's me! Are you okay, Sis? I came as fast as I could when I heard the village was attacked! Thank God! Thank God you're alive!" Kotaru said as he gripped Sayo's shoulders. Sayo smiled and cried tears of joy and relief at finally being reunited with her brother.

'Sayo…' Kasane thought, smiling, happy for her friend.

"Hey, Kasane, are you alright?" Ayako asked as she came up beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm really lucky you guys got here when you did, and you were right about hitting them in the shoulder, thanks!" Kasane said, smiling. Ayako smiled back.

"Anytime! Besides, it was your own skills that made the blow effective." Ayako said. The two girls just stood there, grinning at each other, instant friends.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at them. The girl was dressed in clothing that was similar to what Ayako had been wearing when she first 'arrived.' He could tell from the way the two girls interacted so easily with each other that they probably shared a similar cultural background, just as Ayako had said. This new, strange girl reminded him of Ayako a little.

"My Lord! How goes the fight against Yamaguchi…" Gorouza asked Nobunaga as he ran over to the young lord.

"Whee, Master!" Inuchiyo shouted happily as he and Kuranosuke also started running over to greet him.

"Excuse me…" Kasane said to Nobunaga, popping up as she and Ayako rejoined the others.

"Kasane." Gorouza said, slightly surprised as he turned to look at them.

"My Lord, this girl wishes to speak with you…" Ayako said. Kasane seemed like a nice girl, so she probably wouldn't intentionally say anything too rude. Nobunaga stared at Kasane, waiting for her to continue.

"Are you that lord that no one has any faith in?" Kasane asked innocently, with no evil intentions. Everyone was shocked… well Nobunaga still had a mask of indifference, but still… Ayako almost face-faulted. Indeed, she hadn't intentionally said anything to insult Nobunaga. Gorouza's eyes widened in astonishment, and he sweat dropped.

'She didn't…!?' Yone thought incredulousy as she gaped at Kasane, shocked and appalled. After all that, Kasane had probably just signed her own death warrant with a comment like that.

"… Who are you, girl?" Nobunaga said, he was more intrigued than angry after meeting someone, other than Ayako, who had the guts to speak to him like that, and Ayako had already told him that speaking to a ruler like that was common and acceptable in the future, so he knew that the girl probably hadn't meant to commit such a grave offense.

"M-My Lord! This is Kasane." Gorouza said quickly, worried that Kasane had just committed a grave mistake in her poor choice of words. "She helped us free the prisoners."

"Everyone… is worried." Kasane said. Ayako glanced cautiously at Nobunaga, gauging his reaction. His grip tightened slightly on the reigns, but he wasn't exuding any murderous intent… yet. "My Lord! One day soon… please make this a country where everyone can live together with their family." Kasane said seriously.

"Family…?" Nobunaga asked. Kasane nodded seriously as she looked him in the eye. Ayako smiled. That was probably the best thing Kasane could've said. Kasane spun around and waved at Yone.

"Yone! I kept my promise." Kasane said, smiling cheerfully. Yone flinched.

"Eek! Don't wave at me! They'll think we're together!" Yone said nervously. She didn't want to be an object of the young lord's wrath.

"Yone…" Sayo said, sweat dropping.

"Get back, girl! Who do you think you—" A soldier shouted indignantly at Kasane. Nobunaga suddenly yanked a spear out of a nearby soldier's hand.

"M-My Lord!?" Gorouza said in alarm.

"This is… a child's joke, yes!? If you might forgive her…!" The soldier, whose spear he had just grabbed, said nervously.

"!?" Ayako said, wondering what had brought on this sudden action. She glanced nervously at Kasane. Her eyes widened.

'Ah, she must be happy…' Kasane thought as she watched Yone, oblivious to the commotion behind her.

"You mustn't, my Lord! Please, don't do this…"" Gorouza yelled as Nobunaga tightened his grip on the spear and took aim.

"Lord Nobunaga!" The men yelled in shock and alarm as he hurled the spear at his target.

Kasane's eyes widened in shock when she heard the sickening sound of flesh being pierced and felt the spear. Nobunaga watched with the eyes of a hawk as the spear skewered its intended target. Yone, Sayo, and the others gasped in horror as they stared at Kasane. Blood splattered onto Kasane. She was stunned, unable to move as she had felt the spear fly over her shoulder, next to her head. The spear wobbled as the enemy soldier that had been sneaking up on her fell to the ground, dead, after being impaled by the spear Nobunaga had thrown. Kasane stared at the ground in front of her as blood flowed from the soldier's wound, and pooled around her feet. Kasane's heart began to beat rapidly in her chest as she reached up at touched the soldier's blood that had landed on her cheek. Her eyes widened in horror, and all the color drained from her face.

'It's warm…' Kasane thought, numb with shock as she fell to her knees. "This… isn't… a… dream…" Kasane mumbled, in shock as she panted heavily, hyperventilating, as her vision started to blur. Kasane fainted.

"Kasane…!" Sayo and Yone yelled in alarm, worried. Ayako rushed forward and checked Kasane for injuries.

'I see… so, she thought this was all a dream… no wonder she was taking everything so well… Anyone would faint after suddenly seeing someone killed like that.' Ayako thought as she looked over Kasane. "She'll be alright. Kasane is doesn't have any physical injuries… I think she just received one shock too many, on top of being tired from overexertion." Ayako told the women. They sighed in relief.

"This girl…" Inuchiyo said, worried about Kasane.

"Just who is she…!?" Gorouza said, concerned as well.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at the two girls from the future. "Return to Nagoya… Gorouza." Nobunaga said as he turned his horse and started leaving. "Bring that along as well." Nobunaga added, referring to Kasane.

[And that… was how Kasane's long, long first day went… after she was suddenly cast into the Sengoku era…]