Continuation of the quote used in this chapters title: "Love is like a glass door... sometimes you don't see it, and it smacks you right in the face." ~ writer anonymous
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:
"D-Do you're best! You'll succeed for sureee!" Kasane cried as she grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Yeah! Whatever you say, Miss!" Toukichirou said carelessly and cheerfully, not the least bit bothered by the waterfall of tears falling from Kasane's eyes. The others sweat dropped.
"He's actually a pretty easy going guy, isn't he...?" Ayako said, smiling wryly. 'I can't figure out if he's smart or slow... come to think of it... people used to tell me the same thing about myself back home...' She thought.
"I've got two brothers of my own. Though we're apart right now... I'll get home someday for sure...!" Kasane said determinedly through her tears.
"Is that so! I'm sorry to hear that!" Toukichirou said, surprised, but sympathetic. "... By the way, Miss, just where did you come from?" He asked curiously. Kasane froze, no longer shedding any tears. She looked like a dear caught in the headlights.
'Ah!' Kasane gasped internally when she realized that Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Kuranosuke were staring at her, waiting to hear what she said. "For some reason... I feel like everyone behind me is also staring at me...!" Kasane whispered to herself, thinking out loud. Ayako heard her, though, and glanced be hind them. She sweat dropped.
"That's because they are..." Ayako whispered to Kasane. Even Nobunaga was staring at them from where he was sitting in his power chair, but instead of staring suspiciously at them, like the others, Nobunaga was smirking slightly, like someone would when they were being amused by a good show. 'Well, at least he's forgiven me for almost forgetting to bring him lunch...' Ayako thought.
"?" Toukichirou said, wondering what the two girls were whispering about. Kasane clenched her fist as she worked up the courage to say where she was from.
'But... of course, they're going to say I'm lying.' Kasane thought. "I'm..." Kasane said nervously. She felt Ayako place a comforting and supportive hand on her shoulder. Kasane glanced at her. Ayako nodded, and Kasane could see that Ayako had her back, whatever she decided to say. 'I can't be discouraged if they don't believe me!' Kasane thought, her determination renewed. "—I'm from an era just a little bit ahead of this one!" Kasane shouted before she lost her nerve again.
"Me too. I'm also from the future." Ayako added. She wasn't going to let Kasane go through whatever happened next alone. All the men stared at the two girls, shocked and stunned. Their blank stares turned into skeptical ones as they stared at them and began to murmur among themselves. Kasane sighed and sweat dropped under their piercing stares.
'Even if we say that... They aren't going to believe me...' Kasane thought, smiling wryly. Ayako sighed and glanced at Nobunaga. He was grinning smugly down at her.
'Well, at least someone is enjoying this...' Ayako thought, feeling a little chagrined.
"Oh~! I get it~!" Toukichirou said suddenly, smiling, as though he had an epiphany. The two girls stared at him, surprised that some one—other that Nobunaga—was truly willing to believe them.
"..." Kasane and Ayako said as they stared at Toukichirou in silence. While everyone else was too busy staring at the stunned Kasane and smiling Toukichirou to notice, Ayako glanced at Nobunaga, sending him a look that asked 'Is he being serious or just messing with us...?' Nobunaga smiled—actually smiled, not smirked— at her, and gave her a look that said 'Just watch.' So, she did. Ayako slowly turned back to look at Toukichirou, a little stunned by Nobunaga's smile. 'Crap... I definitely have a crush on him...!' Ayako thought nervously as she stopped herself from blushing.
"... Huh?" Kasane asked, still staring blankly at Toukichirou.
"I get it!" Toukichirou said, smiling genuinely and repeating himself.
"..." Kasane said, staring at him in a new light as his words sunk in. Ayako smiled when she saw how sincere Toukichirou's belief in them was.
"I see... 'You get it!' Thank you!" Ayako said, grinning and clapping Toukichirou on the shoulder affectionately. 'As expected of my ancestor!' Ayako thought proudly. Behind them, Nobunaga's eyes narrowed slightly. He thought Ayako was acting far too affectionate towards someone she had only just met.
"Huh!? What do you get!?" Kasane yelled, confused at how easy that had been.
"Hm? Did I say something wrong?" Toukichirou asked. He suddenly grinned extra sillily. "Oh? Then were you joking?" He asked, laughing good-naturedly at the 'joke.'
"No, we weren't joking." Ayako said, sweat dropping.
"It's true! You didn't say anything wrong." Kasane said nervously, not wanting to lose one of their few believers. "But why do you believe us!?" Toukichirou smiled and held one finger up to his face.
"That'd be... because nothing about you makes sense." Toukichirou told Kasane.
"!?" Kasane said, surprised. Ayako nodded her head sagely in an 'I see' kind of way.
"For instance, look at your clothes. That kimono of yours, plus your split skirt, socks, and sandals..." Toukichirou said, referring to Kasane's school uniform and her tennis shoes. "I can't think of any materials in this country that match what they're made out of. And those metal trappings on your kimono, I haven't come across anything like them in my dealings with other provinces."
"Oh, the zipper?" Kasane thought out loud as she looked and Gorouza looked more closely at it.
"Plus the strange swordsmanship you use—" Toukichirou said to Kasane before addressing the other men. "You saw it when you fought her, right? Like a samurai who fights like an armored swordsman. There's no style like it." Then men looked at each other thought fully. It was true. Toukichirou turned to Kasane again. "Your swordsmanship is foreign. Nothing in this era can explain you. Plus, the golden-haired miss also admitted to having suspicious origins. If you were actually going to lie to us about your origins, then I'm sure you would've made up something more believable, right? So, shouldn't the fact that you believe what you're saying be the best reason to make us believe?"
"Wow...!" Kasane said, amazed.
"That's pretty sketchy... going with that reason, huh..." The other men murmured amongst themselves.
'That way of thinking... there's no denying that we're related. The similarities are little unnerving, considering how far apart we are, generation wise..." Ayako thought.
"Th-Th-Thank you! For a second time!" Kasane said, gripping his hands firmly in her own. She was touched to the extreme.
"Oh no, my pleasure. Now I feel awkward." Toukichirou said, smiling and blushing while rubbing the back of his head.
"Hey, they're handing out rice!" Someone yelled when they saw that the second shift of cooks, after Ayako, had finished making more food.
"Food!" Inuchiyo yelled excitedly and grabbed Kuranosuke, pulling the other boy along with him as he ran to get food.
"Gah! What're you doing!?" Kuranosuke yelled indignantly as he was dragged along for the ride.
"We should join them. Our lord is being gracious." Gorouza said, smiling.
"Yeah! I am hungry!" Kasane said cheerfully.
"I'm good. I had a little earlier while I was cooking." Ayako said, smiling happily now that everything had returned to normal... well, as normal as things could get for two time travelers in the Sengoku era.
"Well then, I'll be around." Toukichirou said as he stood up and put his box of doom back on to carry it.
"Do you want some rice balls for the road?" Ayako offered.
"No, thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine~! You're gonna make a good wife for someone someday." Toukichirou said cheerfully. Ayako blushed, thinking of a certain someone she wouldn't mind doing that for. She felt someone staring a hole into the back of her head. She turned to see that it was Nobunaga.
'Speak of the devil...' Ayako thought. He stood up and left, indicating that she should follow him. Ayako sweat dropped.
'What did I do this time...?' Ayako wondered nervously. Nobunaga did not look pleased. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Take care of yourself!" Ayako said as she left to follow the young lord.
"Bye bye~!" Toukichirou said, smiling as he turned to leave. He might seem simple to most people, but Toukichirou had caught the silent exchanges between Ayako and Nobunaga earlier and just now. It looked like something 'interesting' was going on between the two of them, whether they realized it or not.
"Ah! Hid... Toukichirou! Um, really, thank you!" Kasane said again, stopping him. "I... don't know why I came here, or how I can get home, but... It really cheered me up that you believe me!" Toukichirou smiled at her.
"It's pretty important... why you're here now, and what you can do while you're here, don't you think? For food, for career, or for your family. Each person has their own reason, and without it, they couldn't survive. Where you were born doesn't matter, you know?" Toukichirou said. "If you want to survive, all you can do is spar over there with the rest of the people like us. This era of ours is just that tough. If there's anything bothering you three, I'll come zooming right over~! Let the other pretty miss no that too!" He said, smiling and waving as he left.
'Three... he still thinks Gorouza is a girl...' Kasane thought, sweat dropping, as she glanced at Gorouza, who was just smiling politely. He must be used to it, since he had such a pretty face. "Gorouza, you also have a reason for fighting, don't you?" Kasane asked as they walked over to join the others.
"Yes." Gorouza said, smiling at her.
'That's right. Everyone here... has something they're fighting for. So, what can I do?' Kasane thought.
"Gorouza, Karane!" Inuchiyo yelled as he ran over to them, getting Kasane's name wrong again.
"It's Kasane." Kasane said, sweat dropping.
"Here, food!" Inuchiyo said cheerfully as he put two heaping bowls of rice into their hands. Inuchiyo had a few rice grains on his face, indicating that he had already eaten before they came.
"Ah, thanks, Inuchiyo." Kasane said, flinching in surprise at the mountain of rice he just handed her.
"Whoa, this is a little too..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping as he held his own bowl that was piled high with rice. Kasane stared at Inuchiyo as they all sat down to eat together and he began shoveling food into his mouth, like he was a human garbage disposal.
'It's like he's pouring it down. Somehow, he can enjoy it like that!' Kasane thought in amazement, sweat dropping.
"Chew it properly." Kuranosuke scolded him, also sweat dropping.
"M-Miss... Miss Kusanagi!" Two boys said, getting her attention.
"Yes...? Who are you...?" Kasane asked.
"I'm—I'm Mouri Shinsuke!" Shinsuke said nervously as he introduced himself to her.
"I'm Hattori Koheita!" Koheita said.
"Your fighting style is amazing!" Shinsuke told her.
"Would you mind sparing with us next time!?" Koheita asked.
"And me! I'm next!" A few other men shouted excitedly.
'I will return to Masamune and Kotetsu. Until that day comes, I can't lose. Not to myself... and not to the Sengoku era!' Kasane thought determinedly. "I'd be glad to!" Kasane said.
—¡–!–¡–!–¡—
{With Nobunaga and Ayako}
They walked in silence as Ayako followed Nobunaga back into the castle grounds.
"... Um, did I do something wrong?" Ayako asked hesitantly. Usually when Nobunaga was upset with someone, he would bluntly tell them what it was, and then move on. However, he seemed to be brooding over something. Nobunaga stopped and stared at Ayako intensely, as though he was trying to see through her very soul. It was unnerving, to say the least.
"What was that about earlier? You seemed unusually friendly towards Toukichirou, some you had never even seen before." Nobunaga said seriously. Ayako stared at him, stunned.
'That's what he wanted to ask me about...!? I thought it was something big from the way he was acting... Wait, could he be jealous...? No, there's no way that would happen.' Ayako thought shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Really? I didn't realize I was doing that... I'm not sure I should be telling you this, but... he's actually one of my ancestors. I'm his great, great, great, great, great granddaughter." Ayako explained. "Although, technically, I'm his illegitimate great4 granddaughter since the son that I'm directly descended from wasn't married to my great4 grandmother at the time, but since he's family, I guess I unconsciously felt safer around him..." Nobunaga stared at her.
"That's all?" He asked.
"Yeah... what else could it be?" Ayako said, confused. She didn't think of Toukichirou as anything more than a distant relative, and she thought it would be disturbing if she did. Nobunaga's stormy mood seemed to lighten a bit when he heard that, but he was still staring at her. "Um, why are you looking at me like that...?"
"... I just can't believe you're related to that monkey. You don't look anything like him." Nobunaga said bluntly. Ayako sweat dropped.
"Well, it has been several generations... and the Blanc family's genes, my mother's side of the family, seem to be pretty strong." Ayako said. "But, we apparently have the same sense of humor, and reasoning skills... So, I don't think it's that hard to believe that Toukichirou is my ancestor."
"Oh, is that so...?" Toukichirou said thoughtfully, as he seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere. "I thought I felt a strange sense of familiarity about you, despite having never actually met you before..."
"!?" Ayako said, startled when she realized that he had over heard their conversation. She really hoped this wouldn't have a negative affect on the time line... like possibly preventing her birth some how...
"But our lord is right, you don't look a thing like me~!" Toukichirou said, smiling. "Who would've thought I'd have such a pretty descendant~! My future children must've done pretty well for themselves." He said proudly.
'Even though you thought I was a boy at first...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping.
"Monkey, about that item I requested... do you have it?" Nobunaga asked.
"Of course, my lord! I have it right here~!" Toukichirou said as he set his box of doom down, and he opened a storage compartment on it. Toukichirou presented Nobunaga with the item he removed from it. It looked like a slightly longer than average hanbo, only it was made out of the same iron as a katana, and it had rows of small leaf-shaped bumps on both ends of it. There was red a leather string wrapped around the middle of it, for a comfortable place to grip it, but there was a small unwrapped part in the very middle of the staff that had a strange groove. The very tips of the strange staff had gold caps on them, and the Oda clan's crest was engraved into them. Ayako blinked. It was a beautiful weapon.
"What is that?" Ayako asked curiously.
"It's your new weapon." Nobunaga said, smirking as he handed it to her. Ayako's eyes widened in surprise as she held the staff.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ayako said excitedly as she suddenly hugged him and smiled, glowing with happiness. Toukichirou flinched on surprise at the sudden outburst, after all, they didn't normally do such public displays of affection in ancient Japan—especially not to someone of Nobunaga's high standing. Even more surprising, was the fact that Nobunaga had allowed it. Nobunaga just stood there, looking down at the strange girl as she hugged him. He didn't return the hug, but he had accepted it, instead of kicking her away like he usually did when someone tried to invade his personal space. Nobunaga noticed that Toukichirou was staring at him, and the monkey's smile seemed to say 'I approve, future son-in-law,' and was giving him a thumbs up behind Ayako's back.
"Hmph." Nobunaga said, and turned away from him, ignoring Toukichirou, who flinched in surprise at the rejection.
"Ah!" Ayako said, startled when she realized what she was doing, and let go of Nobunaga, jumping away from him. "S-Sorry, I was just so happy, that I got carried away! I grew up in a foreign country, before I came to Japan to live with my uncle, and society is much more relaxed there... I'm a real hugger, as you can see." Ayako said nervously, not quite managing to suppress her blush as she rubbed the back of her neck. Toukichirou smiled knowingly at her. Ayako's blush deepened as she turned her head, avoiding his gaze. 'He definitely knows...!' Ayako thought nervously as she snuck a glance at Nobunaga. He didn't seem to be acting any differently. 'Good... at least the person I'm really trying to hide it from doesn't seem to have noticed how I feel about him yet...' Ayako thought, feeling both relived and maybe just a little disappointed that Nobunaga hadn't been affected by her hug. 'I definitely need to stop cross-dressing...' She thought. Toukichirou frowned slightly when Ayako avoided him. He knew it was because she was probably shy, but still... he had such a rebellious grandchild, didn't he? Toukichirou suddenly had a brilliant idea to mess with Nobunaga for ignoring him earlier.
"I see, so is that also a sign of affection between family members, as well as thanks?" Toukichirou asked with a scheming glint in his eyes.
"Yes..." Ayako said a little hesitantly, suspicious of the gleam in his eyes.
"In that case... give me a hug too~!" Inuchiyo said, pouncing, as he moved in to hug Ayako.
"!" Ayako said, surprised when he suddenly launched himself at her, but before Toukichirou could even touch her, Nobunaga, who was still standing next to her, frowned, stuck his foot out, and pushed Toukichirou back.
"I didn't call you here to play." Nobunaga said sternly. "Finish explaining how the weapon works to Ayako, and then tell me the information that I asked you to gather for me.
'I knew it~! Our lord is definitely overprotective of her~!" Toukichirou thought triumphantly as he began to tell them what he had learned.
Author's note:
I added a new link to a pic I made of Ayako after her hair is cut and of her new weapon. I wrote the explanation for how it works there, and I also drew her in her new outfit that she's going to get in the next chapter, so you get a preview of it. ^_^