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.

[1552 A.D. (Tenbun year 21)]

{Nagoya Castle, Owari: A few days later...}

"Okay! Now then, how about we take today... and learn about Owari~!" Gorouza said cheerfully. His smile was extra bright today.

"Sureee!" Kasane, Inuchiyo, and Ayako all said, smiling cheerfully, as they sat behind the tiny 'desks' Gorouza had set up for them.

"..." Kuranosuke said, trembling as he sat at his desk, his eyes cast in shadow. There was a vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"My, what's wrong Kuranosuke?" Gorouza asked. "Show me some enthusiasm! Let's hear four 'sure's." He said, smiling brightly.

"Like I would!" Kuranosuke snapped, blushing out of embarrassment. Gorouza was acting and treating them like he was a teaching a group of small children. Ayako thought he would probably make a good kindergarten teacher. "Seriously, what's up with all this? Why do we have to do this kid stuff now?" Kuranosuke asked grumpily.

"Now, now, don't say that. Kasane actually asked to learn about Owari." Gorouza said. Kasane smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Then she should do it herself, right? Why do I have to sit here too?" Kuranosuke muttered.

"Just go with it, Kura! We get to eat that if we help out, you know!?" Inuchiyo said excitedly as he pointed to a mound of Ayako's handmade rice balls that were labeled with a note that said 'wait.' If Inuchiyo had a tail, it would be wagging nonstop right now.

"Gah! Shut up! No comments from guys who can be bought with food!" Kuranosuke snapped at him, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. "And why are you here!? You already learned this stuff when you borrowed some scrolls from our lord to read after you first arrived here!" He said, turning on Ayako. It was true. She had learned this stuff already. Ayako decided early on that she should learn as much as she could about the dangerous era she had landed in. Knowledge is power, after all, but Ayako thought this looked interesting, so she had decided to play along. "And why are you wearing that!? I'd recognize that gaudy haori anywhere! Our lord used to wear that!"

"Ah!" Ayako said, pointing behind him, as though Nobunaga had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as he was apt to do.

"!?" Kuranosuke said, spinning around, his eyes wide with panic at the thought of having been heard insulting the lord's taste... only no one was there.

"Ah~! What a pretty butterfly that was just now~!" Ayako said, smiling innocently. Kuranosuke glared at her. "Oh, don't look at me like that. You're the one who was saying things you know you shouldn't, and for your information, I'm wearing it because Nobunaga made me. For some reason he got really mad when he saw my new outfit, and told me to wear this over it." Ayako said.

"Hmph, he probably didn't want to have to see your weird new look." Kuranosuke said smirking. Ayako scowled at him.

'No, knowing the lord's personality... I think it's for the exact opposite of that... Our lord doesn't like sharing things that are important to him...' Gorouza thought, sweat dropping.

"—Anyway, why'd you suddenly want to learn about Owari!?" Kuranosuke asked, glancing at Kasane. "It's not like you're smart."

"Ugh." Kasane flinched at the insult.

"Quiet, you!" Ayako said, whacking Kuranosuke over the head with the harisen that she had just made especially for him.

"What was that for!? What is that thing!?" Kuranosuke yelled at Ayako.

"For being a jerk, and this lovely, over-sized paper fan in my hand, is called a harisen. I made it just for you~!" Ayako said, smiling cheekily.

"It's not like what I said wasn't true—!" Kuranosuke said, ducking as Ayako threateningly raised the harisen, like she was going to strike him with it again.

"Th-That may be..." Kasane said, sweat dropping. "But that town we were in, and other stuff... It hit me that I don't know anything about here..." Kasane said earnestly. "And right now, I'm here. Living here in ignorance, and remaining ignorant... aren't things I want to do." Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Ayako smiled at her. "That's why I decided to ask Gorouza... if everyone could teach me things... little by little..." Kasane said sadly as she looked at Kuranosuke. Kasane looked like a cute little girl whose hair had just been pulled by the classroom's bully. Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Ayako all stared at Kuranosuke. Ayako was holding her harisen.

"Ghg!" Kuranosuke said, flinching, and sweating nervously under their accusing stares. "Wh-What's with that!? Don't look at me like I'm the bad guy!" Kuranosuke yelled, but they just continued to stare at him. "—Uh! ... Ghg... Fine, I'll stick around! Man, you guys are so annoying!" Kuranosuke yelled, blushing out of embarrassment.

"Thanks~!" Kasane said, smiling.

"Right? I told you, when you get down to it, Kuranosuke is a nice kid." Gorouza said, smiling, as they all laughed lightly, you could practically see flowers floating around all of them.

"Yep, he is nice." Kasane said, smiling brightly.

"Nice~" Inuchiyo said happily.

"He's such a softie~" Ayako said, grinning.

"You jerks!" Kuranosuke yelled, trembling as he tried to hide his embarrassment. "If you've got time to sit and chatter, then let's get this over with already! I will shoot you!"

"Okay, now then. We'll start now that we're all here." Gorouza said as he opened a map up of ancient Japan for Kasane to see. "First, let's review the location of Owari. Where is Owari located?" Gorouza asked Kasane.

"Umm... right! Owari is 'Nagoya' in Aichi prefecture!" Kasane said as she looked at the map, remembering when Ayako had compared it to modern Japan.

"Well, we did just teach her that the other day." Kuranosuke said.

"But isn't Ayako the one who told her that? We couldn't understand your drawings at all, Kura." Inuchiyo said, smiling innocently, and laughing.

"Wow—" Kasane said, amazed when she took a closer look at the map, and all the other areas labeled on it. "That said... so this is what everything was named—" In the background, Kuranosuke had a vein mark throbbing on his head as he got revenge on Inuchiyo for dissing his drawings by pinching his cheeks really hard.

"Cut it out!" Ayako scolded him, and whacked Kuranosuke with her harisen, allowing Inuchiyo to escape.

'So, Tokyo is around Musashi? Osaka is where Settsu was, and Lake Biwa is in Oumi? So, there are fewer provinces in the northeast... Come to think of it, I think Ayako already mentioned that Lake Biwa was called Oumi Lake in this era the other day...' Kasane thought as she read the map.

"Gorouzaaaaaa! Kuranosuke pinched me—" Inuchiyo cried.

"Yes, yes, I'll take care of it later." Gorouza said, smiling, before he turned to Kasane and handed her another map. "Next, look at this one." He told her kindly. Ayako sweat dropped.

It really was like they were all in kindergarten... a kind teacher, juvenile bullying, and crying... yep, those were the good old days... "It's the places within Owari." Gorouza explained to Kasane as he showed her the map. This one even had the different castles labeled on it.

"Whoa~! So that's what it looked like!" Kasane said.

"Ah—! I'll draw too!" Inuchiyo said, pulling out a calligraphy brush.

"In the very center is Lord Nobunaga's Nagoya castle." Gorouza explained, choosing to ignore Inuchiyo's antics for the moment. "Over here is Lord Nobuyuki's Suemori Castle." Gorouza said, pointing to each location on the map as he spoke, while Inuchiyo drew pictures of the two brothers by their castles. Ayako had to admit that Inuchiyo was definitely a better artist than Kuranosuke was. He really captured the essence of Nobunaga's glare. "North of Nagoya is Iwakura castle, and west is Kiyosu castle." Gorouza said.

"My family lives here." Inuchiyo said as he drew a picture of himself next to Arako castle.

"Ah—! I forgot that I promised Eishi I would take him out for some exercise!" Ayako yelled suddenly. "Sorry guys, you'll have to continue this without me!" Ayako apologized, feeling guilty for skipping out on them.

"It's alright, it's important to take proper care of your pets, after all." Gorouza said, smiling, and forgiving her for leaving.

"Wait, why does she get to leave!?" Kuranosuke yelled incredulously.

SMACK!

"Ghg!" Kuranosuke grunted in pain when Ayako threw her harisen at him over her shoulder as she left, and it smacked him in the face.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"I'm sorry, Eishi! I almost forgot my promise." Ayako apologized to the noble steed as she lead him out of the stable. "Now, How did I get up there last time...?" Ayako wondered out loud. She had somehow managed to climb onto Eishi's back the other day, despite how short she was, how tall Eishi was, and the fact that the merchant hadn't given her a bridle or a saddle for Eishi. She had been leading him around town with the rope that the merchant had used to tether him to a tree, and ridding bareback hadn't been as hard as she thought it would be, since Eishi was smart and didn't need Ayako to steer him. "I guess for now, I'll just borrow a stool..." She decided. Ayako managed to find a stool nearby and placed next to Eishi. Ayako stepped up onto it, and was about to climb onto Eishi's back when she heard a familiar voice.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nobunaga demanded. He knew that Ayako was intelligent, but unfortunately, she was also prone to acts of stupidity, which she referred to as 'dumb blond' moments, since people with her hair color had been stereotyped as such... and he could see why after seeing some rather spectacular screw-ups on her part—like the time she slipped in the mud after it had rained and grabbed onto Kuranosuke in a desperate attempt not to fall, who grabbed onto Inuchiyo, who grabbed onto Gorouza, who grabbed onto Kasane, and they all went down like dominos. At least it had been entertaining... but seeing Ayako trying to ride a horse as stubborn as Eishi, bareback, wasn't. If she were thrown from the horse, or lost her balance and fell off, it was unlikely that Ayako would get away with only minor injuries after a fall like that. She could break her neck. Ayako stared at him and blinked before smiling at him.

"I'm going for a ride with Eishi." Ayako said happily. Nobunaga frowned at her. Was she doing this on purpose?

"Without a saddle and bridle?" He deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at her. Ayako tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Well, it worked out just fine when I tried it yesterday." Ayako said carelessly, as though it were no big deal. She really didn't think it was. Its not like it's the first time she'd ridden a horse.

"Get down, now." Nobunaga ordered. Ayako was confused, but decided to do as he asked.

"Is something wrong?" Ayako asked him once her feet were planted firmly on the ground.

"Do you have some kind of death wish? If you fall from that horse—whether it's because he threw you off, or you just fell on your own—you'll probably end up breaking your neck!" Nobunaga scolded her.

"But I used to ride horses all the time back home with my parents when they were still alive, that is. I'm not exactly an amateur." Ayako said. "This one time, I was riding a horse, and I decided to stand up on his back, like I saw some performers in a circus doing, and I actually managed to—"

"No." Nobunaga said firmly. He couldn't believe her parents had let her do something so dangerous. "If you needed something, you should've just asked. If they tell you no, then ask me. I'd rather give you a free saddle than have to plan your funeral." Nobunaga said, dead serious. Ayako sweat dropped. She hadn't thought it was that big of a deal, but if Nobunaga was that insistent upon it... Ayako decided she should probably just humor him. It was nice to know he cared too.

"... All right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." Ayako said.

"Hmph, as long as you understand." Nobunaga huffed. Now that that disaster had been averted, Nobunaga was ready to get back to the task he had come here for in the first place.

"Looking for something?" Ayako asked curiously when she noticed Nobunaga was glancing at the different horses in the stable.

"Have you seen Katsusaburou? He should have returned by now. I was checking to see if his horse was here." Nobunaga said. If his horse was there, Nobunaga would at least know if Katsusaburou was back, and that he probably just hadn't come to report to him yet.

"What happened...? You wouldn't be looking for him so hard if something wasn't wrong. I haven't seen him around for a few days, so I thought you might've sent him somewhere..." Ayako asked, worried about what could have happened to Ikeda. Nobunaga might still be wearing his poker face, but Ayako could tell he was worried about Ikeda. If Nobunaga was worried, it couldn't be good.

"I sent him on a mission to scout out Kiyosu several days ago, but he hasn't returned or sent any messages." Nobunaga told her.

"!?" Ayako said, her concern for Ikeda immediately multiplied when she heard that. Ikeda never acted that irresponsibly, and there was no way that Tenrou was just getting lost. That hawk was invincible. This could mean several things, but the worst options were that Ikeda had been captured, been killed, or both. Ayako took a breath. Panicking wasn't going to help the situation. "Should we check with Gorouza and the others? They might've seen him after I left." Ayako said hopefully. Nobunaga nodded.

"If Ikeda really isn't back, I'll need to discuss something with them anyway." Nobunaga said. Ayako glanced at Eishi and smiled apologetically. It looked like she wasn't going to be able to take him out for a ride just yet...

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"I get it! He won with his own strength!" Kasane said enthusiastically when she heard how Nobunaga's father, Oda Nobuhide, had risen in power. Gorouza and the others had explained the rankings to her, and how Oda Nobuhide had become such a great lord by helping the common people when they needed it with is large personal army and wealth. He had been very popular with his retainers and the common folk.

"The power of the Shogunate and governor was also on the decline. It happened in a lot of other provinces, too." Gorouza told her.

"Yeah... but if Kiyosu and Iwakura were superior to him, wouldn't it have been complicated with the men turning to him first?" Kasane asked.

'When did that idiot get out there?' Kuranosuke wondered, sweat dropping when he realized that Inuchiyo had somehow managed to get outside under Gorouza's watchful eye, and was now laughing like and idiot and chasing a butterfly. It was starting to get annoying...

"... Yes." Gorouza said as he gripped the ink stone, his eyes cast in shadow.

FWISH. WHAM!

"Eeep!" Kasane cried as both she and Kuranosuke went blue with shock when Gorouza suddenly chucked the ink stone at Inuchiyo, and it slammed right into his forehead. Inuchiyo hit the ground with a thud.

"That is the problem." Gorouza said, smiling, as he continued his explanation and dragged Inuchiyo's limp body back into the room.

"Oh..." Kasane said, as she and Kuranosuke both sweat dropped. 'Looks like there are other problems too...' She thought nervously. She never would've thought the kind and polite Gorouza would just chuck an ink stone at someone's head like that... If Ayako had seen that, she would've retracted her previous opinion on whether or not Gorouza should teach small children. Was Inuchiyo even still breathing...?

"Kiyosu and Iwakura have been against Nobuhide from the start, as he was trying to unify Owari with his newfound power. When Lord Nobunaga became head of the family, that didn't change." Gorouza said. "It's clear that both of those castles stand in the way of Lord Nobunaga unifying Owari under him."

"Hm... I see... It sounds like a struggle." Kasane said thoughtfully.

"And that's not all. The veteran soldiers are mostly those who followed Lord Nobuhide. There are some among them who left without ever meeting Lord Nobunaga." Kuranosuke added.

"That's right... Sayo and the others said something like that." Kasane said, furrowing her brow as she thought.

"If you think about it the lord's situation may very well be more grim than what Lord Nobuhide faced." Gorouza said. "It's as though the moment he took his place as lord... He was surrounded by enemies." Kasane suddenly remembered the day she had asked to fight with them, and Nobunaga had told her 'as I stand now, I don't have anything I can use freely.'

'... I see. That's why he said that.' Kasane thought.

"Okay, shall we end here today?" Gorouza said, rolling up the maps again.

"Food!" Inuchiyo cried excitedly as he suddenly rejoined the land of the living.

"..." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping as he stared at Inuchiyo. He didn't know if he should be impressed or what that the stupid dog was able to recover at the mere mention of food.