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:

'There were kids there around Masamune's age...' Kasane thought, clenching her fist. It broke her heart, and frustrated her to see people living in such horrible conditions. "'It looks about the same,' yeah right..." Kasane said bitterly.

The others glanced back at Kasane. Ayako's brow was furrowed slightly out of concern. She had been worried that Kasane was being a little too quiet. "—I'm such an idiot. I can't believe... what I was thinking...!" Kasane said, frustrated with her own ignorance. "I didn't even know... there are people like that in the era I lived in.

"Kasane..." Gorouza said, concerned when he saw how distraught she was.

'—I... don't know anything.' Kasane thought bitterly.

"—But... that's why I support my brother's farfetched ideas, in the hope that it'll help even one of those people out of that situation." Nobuyuki said as Kasane wiped her eyes, getting rid of the tears that had started to form in her eyes. "In these turbulent times, it may be extremely difficult—however... this province has to change, and the one who can truly accomplish that is right before us." Nobuyuki said.

'Yes, if anyone can do it... it's definitely Nobunaga.' Ayako thought, smiling softly. She looked up at Kasane. "If you're going through hell, keep going." She told Kasane.

"What...?" Kasane asked confused. The others stared at her too, wondering what she meant.

"That's the motto I live by. If something goes wrong in life... 'if you're going through hell,' and you stop because it's too hard, it hurts too much, or you just get tired of fighting—then that's where you'll stay. If you give up, your situation will never change, but if you persevere—no matter how painful it is to keep going, keep fighting, and overcome the hardships you face—eventually, you'll fight your way out of your hell. Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the bad, as well as the good. As long as you keep going, eventually you'll leave hell, and, if you're lucky, wander into heaven instead. We might not be able to help everyone right away, but as long as we don't give up on them, the day will come when they will no longer have to suffer. No matter what obstacles lay in our path, we must stand firm and face the future." Ayako said, smiling at Kasane. Kasane stared back into Ayako's eyes, and saw the gentle strength and courage in them. Kasane smiled back. Ayako was right. As long as she didn't give up, there was no way she was going to lose. She still had a promise to Masamune and Kotetsu, and she wouldn't let them down.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Owari, Nagoya Castle}

Nobunaga and Ikeda were waiting for Tenrou to return. Nobunaga lounged on the porch as Ikeda held out his arm for the hawk to land on. There was the message they had been waiting for. Nobunaga read the message, he had a serious expression on his face, but his poker face was still firmly in place. Ikeda could only guess what the young lord was thinking.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Inabayama Castle, Mino}

THUMP. THUMP.

The pounding of footsteps could be heard as a man, with a what looked like strange tattoo around his left eye, stomped purposefully through the castle.

"Move it!" He snapped at a servant girl as he bumped into and continued on his way.

"Eek!" The girl said, startled and scared that she had offended the man.

"Father! Where are you Father!?" The man demanded as he burst into the room in front of him, and saw the man in question. The older man, his father, was sitting calmly at a table with his back to the door the rude man had just burst through.

"What is it? You make such a racket." His father said, not even bothering to look at him.

"What do you think...!? Damn you... you did it, didn't you!?" The younger man shouted angrily. "This morning, some people from the eastern borders came to me in tears! They told me that the land they'd been given custody of by the Toki clan... had been confiscated by Lord Dousan without any notice! And on top of that, you showed no compassion for the people you took it from! What right do you have to do that!? You dirtied your own hands when you rose up and became ruler here! Just what the hell are you planning!?"

"What am I planning...?" The man said. "Then, is leaving critical border territory in the hands of incompetents... and doling out useless compassion your way of ruling?" His father, Saito Dousan, the lord of Mino asked rhetorically with a very patronizing tone.

"... Uh! Damn you...!" The tattooed man said darkly, gritting his teeth. "And you're in charge of the whole province!?" He yelled. The servants were doing their best to restrain him when he suddenly tried to lunge at his father.

"Lord Yoshitatsu, please calm down...!" One of the male servants begged the tattooed man as they held him back.

"The way you do things... just causes unnecessary chaos among the people of Mino!" Yoshitatsu yelled at Dousan. Dousan stood up as his son continued to rant. "If you rule by force alone, the weak will be left behind for no good reason. No one is going to approve any reform that goes counter to the people's will! Are you still just going to go around and snatch away people's livelihoods!?"

"The 'weak'?" Dousan said, smirking mockingly at Yoshitatsu. "To talk like that, you must first become great yourself." Yoshitatsu flinched and grit his teeth in frustration. "No matter how much you struggle about, you'll never be a match for Kazusanosuke Nobunaga. Wouldn't you agree, Shinkurou?" Dousan said mockingly as he stalked past Shinkurou Yoshitatsu.

"Did you say... Nobunaga...!?" Yoshitatsu asked darkly, gritting his teeth in frustration.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Damn it...!" Yoshitatsu yelled as he kicked over the tray of food the servants had brought to his room, and he panted in frustration as he tried to calm down.

"My, now..." A feminine voice said, causing Yoshitatsu to flinch slightly in surprise when he realized that he wasn't alone. It was the leader of the three kunoichi that had tried to assassinate Nobunaga. "Mino's young lord... has lost his temper again today." All three women had been waiting for him to return to his room.

"—What, it's you guys? Are you empty handed again, Kuzunoha? When are you going to give me Nobunaga's head?" Yoshitatsu asked coolly, regaining his composure.

"We have been trying. However, we don't have enough strength. As things stand, your power—"

"I know!" Yoshitatsu said impatiently. "How are things within Owari?"

"Sir! Kiyosu and Iwakura have been against Nobunaga from the start, and will stand with us whenever the time comes... but is this wise? Owari is allied with us. Your decision would mean betraying your father and the Saitou clan." Kuzunoha said as she and the two other women bowed respectfully to their master.

"Hmph, the blood of the Saito clan doesn't flow through my veins." Yoshitatsu said bitterly as he gripped one of the wooden bars of the window. "Saito Dousan, and Kazusanosuke Nobunaga—for my ideals and convictions, I, Shinkurou Yoshitatsu, will defeat them!" He said resolutely as his grip tightened and he crushed the wooden bar in his hand.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Later that day, after they had finally returned to Nobunaga's castle in Nagoya...}

Ayako knocked on Nobunaga's door, and waited for him to give her permission to enter so that she could report the day's events to him. Normally Gorouza would do it, but everyone else was exhausted after schlepping to Suemori and back, and Ayako was the least tired since she had ridden Eishi most of the way... she also had to clear Eishi with Nobunaga since she needed to shelter him somewhere... like the castle's stables. So, here she was, waiting... and waiting... Ayako was starting to get impatient now

"I'm coming in!" Ayako warned as she slid the door open and peeked inside. Nobunaga wasn't there. "Hm? That's weird..." Ayako said. She was sure the servants had told her that they saw Nobunaga heading to his room.

"What's weird?" Nobunaga's deep voice boomed from behind her. Ayako jumped in surprise, and her hand flew over her rapidly beating heart. She was so startled by his sneak attack that Ayako felt like her hear was about to fly out of her chest if she didn't hold it in. She stared at the young lord incredulously.

"Don't do that!" Ayako hissed at him. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?" She asked, scowling at him as she crossed her arms defiantly. Nobunaga smirked, satisfied that he had been able to get such an amusing reaction out of her.

"Hmph, it's your own fault for letting your guard down simply because you're inside the castle." Nobunaga told her smugly.

"Whatever." Ayako huffed. She thought that Nobunaga was enjoying getting his kicks, at her expense, a little too much. Nobunaga noticed that Ayako was wearing a new outfit. He narrowed his eyes.

"What is that?" Nobunaga demanded. Ayako blinked at him, surprised by his sudden change from amusement to displeasure. She realized that he was staring at her outfit.

"Huh...? What do you mean? This is the new outfit I told you I wanted to buy. I was tired of cross-dressing, so I got something that was more feminine, but still easy to fight in." Ayako said, confused. She didn't see what the problem was.

"I see..." Nobunaga said, his eyes cast in shadow. He had thought Ayako meant that she was going to by more men's clothes... not more attractive ones. "Take it off." Nobunaga ordered.

"Excuse me...!?" Ayako yelled, blushing cherry red from head to toe. She knew it probably wasn't what it sounded like, but still... to hear that coming from the guy she lov—likes—had her heart doing flips and somersaults.

"Take that outfit off, and put your old one back on." Nobunaga said sternly, his brow furrowed in disapproval.

"Why!? What's wrong with it? It's not like I'm showing anymore skin than I did in my other outfit—I don't even like wearing skirts that go above my knees with some kind of leggings or pants in the first place, and this outfit is actually easier to fight in, because I finally have a pair of closed-toed shoes, so my feet are more protected, and those hakama were kind of annoying since I'm not used to wearing such puffy pants... And I'm tired of being mistaken for a boy!" Ayako said defensively.

"I don't care. You're not wearing that." Nobunaga said darkly. He was starting to lose his patience with Ayako's stubbornness. Normally, it was something he liked about her, but at times like this, it was a pain in the ass.

"Well too bad, because I don't even have my old outfit anymore! The merchant gave me a discount in exchange for letting her have my old outfit. This is the only thing I have to wear now." Ayako said stubbornly as she put her hands on her hips. Nobunaga snapped, and Ayako flinched slightly when she realized she had pushed him too far. Nobunaga was known to have a short fuse and a bad temper, but his anger had never been directed at specifically at her before. Nobunaga grabbed Ayako by her arm, and shoved her into his room and slammed the door. "Nobuna—!" Ayako cried in surprise when she fell to the floor. She was starting to get a little scared now. Nobunaga walked right past Ayako and knelt down in front of the drawers that he stored his own kimonos in, and began pulling a few of them out. Ayako had no idea what he was doing, and it was making her nervous, but she didn't want to risk making him even angrier by trying to escape.

"Put it on." Nobunaga ordered Ayako as he tossed one of the kimonos he had been looking at in front of her. Ayako reached out tentatively and picked it up. She glanced warily at Nobunaga, who was staring down at her, wearing his poker face. Ayako carefully removed the kimono from the paper it had been wrapped in while it had been put away. It was a very high-quality black haori that had a very detailed, flamboyant pattern of a dragon flying through clouds on it. Ayako stood up and held the haori up in front of her. It was originally a man's, so it fell about the same length on her as her new kimono. If she wore it, it would not only hide her new outfit, but also her curves, since it was made to be loose and not form fitting. Ayako glanced at Nobunaga. She could tell that he was serious about this.

"... But isn't this yours...? I can't—" Ayako said carefully, but Nobunaga cut her off.

"You can, and you will. That haori is from when I was younger. It doesn't fit me now, and I'll only let you wear that outfit, if you wear this over it." Nobunaga said firmly. Ayako could tell that he wasn't going to budge on this. She sighed in defeat and pulled the haori on. Nobunaga seemed to have calmed down almost immediately after she did. Ayako was beyond confused. Nobunaga often seemed to work in mysterious ways, but she was usually able to sort of understand the gist of his plans... However, this time... Ayako had no freaking clue what was going on. Ayako didn't want to upset Nobunaga again, but... she felt that she deserved to know why he had just treated her like that.

"I'll wear it... but can you at least tell me why I have to?" Ayako asked cautiously. Nobunaga was about to snap at her again, but he thought better of it when he realized that Ayako wasn't acting like her usually spunky self. He had been rough with her, but Nobunaga had been sure not to actually hurt her. He had only used enough force to show how serious he was... he hadn't meant to make Ayako afraid of him. Nobunaga frowned, irritated with himself for getting so carried away. He closed his eyes and looked away from her.

"Figure it out on your own." Nobunaga said bluntly. He might regret getting carried away, but he wasn't going to forgive her that easily. If he'd known Ayako wanted her salary for that, he never would have given her one in the first place. Her previous outfit had been a good 'insect repellent,' and Nobunaga thought that Ayako didn't need to make herself anymore attractive when she was already attracting enough pests. Ayako pouted at him, like a petulant child that had just been denied a cookie.

"Fine, don't tell me!" Ayako said tartly, holding her head high, and staring him in the eye defiantly. Nobunaga smirked. She was back to her old self again. He closed the distance between them, and tied the haori closed with the strings that had been sewn into the front of it for that very purpose, now the haori wouldn't reveal any part of her, other than her boots. Ayako thankfully managed to suppress her blush when Nobunaga leaned in so close to her. Nobunaga placed his hand on the side of her face. Ayako was taken aback by how serious he looked all of a sudden.

"... I'm sorry." Nobunaga said firmly but gently, before turning on his heel, and stalking out of the room. Ayako stood there for a moment, stunned.

'Did he just... no way...!?' Ayako thought. She couldn't believe that stubborn and proud young lord had just apologized to someone. She had never seen him do such a thing to anyone before. She shook her head, and ran after him, grinning. "I'm sorry, what did you say? I think I might be having auditory hallucinations~" Ayako teased Nobunaga.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said defiantly as he held his head high, maintaining his dignity. "Then you'd better be sure to listen more closely in the future, because I don't repeat myself. I only say the important things once." Ayako smiled fondly at him. Then she remembered she had forgotten to tell him something important.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, but I managed to snag myself a real stud today!" Ayako said, giving him a thumbs up. Nobunaga froze, and whipped his head around to glare at her.

"You what?" Nobunaga demanded darkly. Ayako sweat dropped.

'Was there something wrong with what I just said...?' She wondered nervously.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"See, I told you he was a stud!" Ayako said proudly as she introduced Nobunaga to Eishi and vice-versa. "Be careful, though. He doesn't seem to like it when anyone else touches him." Ayako warned Nobunaga. Nobunaga and Eishi were staring at each other, like they were trying to size each other up. Ayako smiled wryly at how serious the two of them seemed to be taking this meeting. Nobunaga smirked. It seemed Ayako was able to charm practically every animal she ever met.

"Eishi, huh? Hmph, your naming sense isn't bad. It's a fitting name for such a fine horse." Nobunaga told Ayako. Eishi snorted and bobbed his head, like he was bowing in acknowledgement to Nobunaga. It looked like they had each other's seal of approval. Nobunaga smirked at Ayako. "He can stay in the stables, but you'll have to take care of him, since I don't want him to maul the stable boys." Nobunaga patted the horse's side as he passed. "Take good care of her." Eishi snorted as if to say, 'As if I need you to tell me that.'