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:

"I'm Oda Kanjuuro Nobuyuki. I'm two years younger than my brother." Nobuyuki said, smiling pleasantly, unaware of Kasane's inner turmoil.

"Wow~ You're not like him at all...! You seem like a nice guy! You're eyes don't look evil!" Kasane blurted out in shock.

"She says everything she thinks..." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping.

"I think Kasane pretty much hit the nail on the head, though." Ayako said.

"Haha..." Nobuyuki laughed nervously and sweat dropped, not sure how to react.

"What can we do for you today?" Gorouza asked politely.

"Oh, no... I didn't really come here for anything. The times are hard for everyone now, regardless of the province. If you can think of a way to help out, even if it's small, please tell me." Nobuyuki said, smiling modestly.

"Wow! He's an amazing guy!" Kasane said with admiration.

"The lord's the amazing one!" Inuchiyo huffed.

'Yeah, Nobunaga really is amazing... even if he does has a habit of pissing people off.' Ayako thought.

"By the way..." Nobuyuki said. "Am I... really nothing like him at all?" Nobuyuki asked, depressed.

"Huh?" Kasane asked, confused about his sudden mood change.

"Even though my brother and I have the same mother, ever since I was born, I could never do anything as well as him. I'd be able to have a little confidence in myself if we at least looked alike too...!" Nobuyuki said gloomily as he entered his own little corner of woe.

"Well, you both have your good points..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. They were definitely brothers. They both had a knack for being unintentionally dramatic.

"No, I actually think not resembling him is the better option..." Kasane said. She thought Nobuyuki was a much nicer person than Nobunaga. "Ah, that's right. Then, would you like to eat with us all? We just prepared it." Kasane said, smiling brightly. Nobuyuki shook his head vigorously, suddenly switching to being shy.

"Eating with him is just too intimidating!" Nobuyuki said, flustered.

"Why? He's your brother." Ayako said. She was an only child, but Hiroshi had taken it upon himself to become her 'big brother' when she had moved into the temple, so in away, she knew what it was like to have a sibling. She also thought it was weird for family members not to eat together, especially since Nobuyuki lived at Suemori Castle and not at Nagoya. like them. The two brothers weren't always able to see each other.

"My brother's only nineteen, but he's already the ruler of a province. Don't consider us siblings. I don't have that king of standing." Nobuyuki said humbly.

'... But you're family... why should any of that matter? Were just Nobunaga's soldiers/gophers, but he eats with us...' Ayako thought. She really didn't think Nobunaga would care about something like that. Kasane didn't look too convinced either.

"Besides... when I peeked in on him earlier, it looked like he'd been in conference with his vassals since morning. He's a busy man. I don't want him to carry any extra burden for my sake." Nobuyuki said.

'Well... that makes a little more sense...' Ayako thought, though she had said something similar to Hiroshi once. He had just laughed and told her 'it's the elder sibling's job to protect and spoil the younger ones' before beating up the kids that had bullied her. Isshin had wacked them both on the head with his harisen for that one. '...And Nobunaga probably came to check on us as an excuse to take a break from the meeting.' She thought.

'Busy...?' Kasane thought skeptically. 'If he's so busy, why did he come out here just to scold us like he did...?'

"Master!" They all heard someone yell. A man came running up to them. "Where's the lord!?" He yelled urgently.

"My brother is working right now. What is it?" Nobuyuki said, suddenly all business.

"Ah! L-Lord Nobuyuki!" The man said. "There's news—"

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

[After fast forwarding through one unnecessarily long explanation of what had happened...]

"The peasants are rebelling!?" Nobuyuki said, alarmed.

"It's the same place as the previous disturbance, but this time we can't control them." The man said.

"!?" Kasane said. "Another battle?"

"More of an uprising." Kuranosuke said.

"But if we don't handle this well, people will die." Ayako said, worried. Mobs were dangerous to not only their targets, but also themselves. If the mob panicked and ran, and someone fell, they could possibly trample some of their friends to death.

"!" Kasane gasped in alarm. "Hurry and let him know!"

"No, there is no need to go to the ruler of the province with a village dispute." Nobuyuki said.

"But—" Ayako said. She thought Nobunaga should know what was happening in his territory, and reasoning with a mob was no simple task.

"I'll take care of things in his place—" Nobuyuki said, but one of the sliding doors suddenly slammed open, revealing Nobunaga.

"Bring the horses around, my fools and Ayako." Nobunaga ordered. "We leave at once." Ayako smiled wryly. It was as though he had been waiting for that very moment to appear, but she was relieved to know that he was coming. Something about Nobuyuki acting in his stead just didn't sit right with her... She knew it was probably something she had heard or read in history class, but she just couldn't remember what... She just knew that it wasn't good.

"Yes, Sir!" Kuranosuke said as he, Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Ayako left to get the horses.

"Ah! Brother!" Nobuyuki said, surprised.

"You, girl." Nobunaga said, addressing Kasane.

"Yes, Sir!" Kasane said nervously.

"Make some rice balls and follow us later with them." Nobunaga said, as he turned to leave. His haori swished as he pulled it on over his shoulders, like a cape.

"I'm coming too!" Nobuyuki said, wanting to stay beside his cool older brother.

"Eh!?" How am I supposed to follow him later!?" Kasane said, sweat dropping. She didn't even know where they were going.

"Ayako, stay behind and help her." Nobunaga ordered as the others returned with the horses. The other departed immediately, leaving Kasane and Ayako behind. The two girls quickly went to work, churning out rice balls at mach speed.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{At the location of the rebelling villagers...}

It was an honest to goodness angry mob. They had burning torches and everything. The roar of the mob was deafening.

"Get out here! Say something!" A few of the men shouted while they all angrily shook their farming tools in the air. Apparently, their leader was holed up in his small mansion, and had locked the entrance, barring the entrance from the angry mob.

"Wha...!? They're all farmers...!?" Kasane said, surprised. She had hitched a ride with Ayako on her horse. The boatload of rice balls they made had been bundled up and strapped onto Kasane's back.

"There's so many of them... I thought this village was less populated than this." Ayako said.

"They've probably gathered from the neighboring villages as well. I heard this area has been having especially poor harvests in recent years." Nobuyuki said. He looked a little nervous at the prospect of facing such a large and rowdy group of people.

"So, this problem isn't something that's only just recently happened... Maybe the land is becoming infertile from over farming?" Ayako said. Nobunaga glanced at her. He knew Ayako was sharp.

"Girl, you brought the rice balls?" Nobunaga said, addressing Kasane.

'He's talking about food now!?' Kasane thought incredulously. "Ayako and I made them all and brought them along!" She said.

"Good." Nobunaga said.

'Just what are you planning, Nobunaga...?' Ayako thought. Knowing Nobunaga, he hadn't ordered them to make those rice balls just so that they could go on a simple picnic.

BANG! BANG!

"Open up and come out here! You're our master, so come face us!" Some men yelled as they beat their fists on the doors of their master's home. "You're the one eating the rice we all grew! You coward!"

"How disrespectful!" The master grumbled as he hid behind the closed doors. "I—I already asked you, 'what more do you want me to do!?' You aren't the only ones suffering!" He yelled at them through the door.

"That bastard... Does he plan on deriding us till the end...!?" One of the farmers said angrily.

"We don't need a rotten master like you! Who cares! Just burn it all down!" The mob yelled as they roared angrily.

"P—Please wait!" Nobuyuki shouted nervously. "Everyone, please calm down! Nothing will be solved by using force! I'm Oda Kanjuuro Nobuyuki, master of Suemori Castle."

"Oda!? For real!?" The farmers whispered amongst themselves. They knew that was the family name of the lord of Owari, so they figured Nobuyuki probably had a lot of political pull and wealth.

"Who will speak for you!?" Nobuyuki asked.

"... And what are you going to do?" One man asked as he stepped forward. He had a cross-shaped scar on his face, and he had been the one doing most of the shouting.

"I will take responsibility and negotiate with you. I understand that your suffering is so great, that you rose up in protest. I'll listen to what you want." Nobuyuki said. Ayako watched the mob as Nobuyuki spoke. They were all listening, but the expression on their faces said that they had heard similar promises before, and they obviously hadn't worked out to well, since they were back with a vengeance. "I don't know how much we'll be able to do, but we will also lend our power to—" Nobuyuki said, but he was cut off when the mob's leader interrupted him.

"We've had enough pretty speeches." The leader said, clenching his fist in frustration.

'Ah... I thought this might happen...'Ayako thought.

"Will your words ripen the rice stalks? Will they keep farmers from dying!? What we want are plentiful fields! Not your consolation!" The man yelled. Ayako glanced at Nobunaga, who was quietly and calmly observing the whole thing. "And what do you know about us, from way up there on your horses!?" Nobuyuki flinched guiltily. It was true. Someone who hadn't experienced any kind of serious hardship would never be able to fully understand the pain of someone who had. "We've had... enough!" The man shouted as he and the other farmers suddenly lunged at them. "We don't want to be killed by our province...!" Gorouza, Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo, and Ayako all jumped in front of Nobunaga and Nobuyuki, shielding the siblings as they blocked the attack. Ayako still didn't have a replacement for her hanbo yet, so she had hit the man coming at her with a 'flying back kick' and sent him flying into two of his buddies. That made them think twice about attacking her. They started whispering amongst themselves about her 'unnatural' strength for a woman, calling her a rasestu or a kitsune onna. Ayako sweat dropped. A woman shows a little strength, and suddenly she's a monster... Meanwhile, poor Kasane, who didn't have a weapon either, hadn't had such a fortunate outcome.

"Ah! Aah!" Kasane cried as she was pushed around by the mob. They weren't really attacking her, but being pushed around wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

"Tch! Idiots! Then don't aim your blades at its ruler!" Kuranosuke yelled.

"Killing us won't make your fields fertile!" Ayako shouted.

"That's right! Don't you know who's protecting you each and every day!?" Gorouza shouted.

"Who's protecting us!? Us peasants are the ones who die first on the battlefield!" The farmers yelled.

"Wait...! Wait a minute! Isn't there something wrong about people from the same province fighting each other...!?" Kasane yelled as she struggled against the mob.

"Shut up! Get out of here, girl! This has nothing to do with you!" Two men yelled as they shoved Kasane out of the way.

"Ahhh!" Kasane yelled in surprise as she fell backwards, landing on the ground behind the others. Ayako stepped in front of Kasane, just in case, to make sure no one tried to attack her again.

"Are you alright, Kasane?" Ayako asked.

"Wh-Wh-What should I do..." Kasane said nervously. She couldn't fight as well as Ayako could without a weapon, and things were going down hill fast. "Ah..." Kasane said when Nobunaga dismounted from his horse and stepped forward. He held out a hand and pushed Ayako behind him as he passed her. The young lord's haori swished dramatically as he held his sword out.

"Ah—" Ayako said, surprised, when Nobunaga forcibly took her place in facing the peasants. She had known he would intervene eventually, but he was exposing himself to danger by doing this. She reached out and grabbed his haori to stop him, but since it had only been draped over his shoulders, it slid right off as Nobunaga continued forward. "My Lor—"

"Brother! Don't go over there!" Nobuyuki yelled, worried for his brother's safety.

"H-Help us...!" An older village woman begged as she grabbed Kasane's arm. "I never thought the lord would come...!"

"After starting an uprising like this, there's no way we'll get out of it safe! At this rate, everyone will be... everyone will be killed...!" Another, younger woman said.

"Move it." Nobunaga commanded as he came up beside his three fools.

"My lord!?" Gorouza said, surprised. He was there to protect Nobunaga, but he had just Gorouza ordered to move and expose him to danger. Nobunaga drew his sword from it's sheathe.

"D—!" Kasane yelled in alarm as Nobunaga swung his sword at the mob leader's throat in one swift motion.

"—Don't!" Kasane and Ayako cried as they both tackled the mob leader to the ground, while Nobuyuki grabbed Nobunaga, and tried to hold him back, unsuccessfully. Nobunaga was a rock.

FWISSSH!

Everyone stared in amazement as they watched Nobunaga's sword fly up into the air. Before the other's had even reacted, Nobunaga had purposefully stopped his attack and threw his sword up into the air. He had never intended to kill the mob leader. Nobunaga just needed to show them who was boss. The sword twirled through the air, spinning as it came back down, and landed an inch away from the faces of Kasane, Ayako, and the mob leader. Nobunaga exhaled.

"Hey, girl. Food time." Nobunaga said brusquely.