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.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

The ground crunched under the feet of Kasane and the others as they marched on. Along the way, Nobunaga's vassals and their troops had meet up with them and joined their ranks.

'I Know that I'd said earlier that I'd be fine, but... I... I'm so nervous...!!' Kasane thought as she anxiously clutched her sword and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"Ka~sa~ne~!" Ayako said called out to her in a singsong voice as she ran over to her. Ayako had been walking beside Nobunaga as he rode on his horse ahead of the troops, but she had wanted to make sure Kasane was okay. This was their first time going into a real battle after all, and Ayako was full of nervous energy, so she just couldn't make herself stay still in one place for long. She was sure Kasane was nervous as well. Kasane looked relieved to see her.

"Aya—Eeek!?" Kasane yelled and jumped about a foot off the ground when she felt someone pat her on the back from behind. She looked over her shoulder to see that it was none other than Gorouza. Like everyone else, he was wearing armor for the battle.

"Good morning." Gorouza greeted them, smiling. He was the very definition of calm at the moment.

"Oh, G-Gorouza! You gave me a scare!" Kasane said, blushing a little out of embarrassment.

"Morning!" Ayako said energetically, smiling. She was feeling as jittery as a June bug on a sugar high.

"What's with that reaction? And how can you move oddly like that?" An armored Kuranosuke asked Kasane as he joined them, raising an eyebrow and sweat dropping.

"Kuranosuke!" Kasane said, surprised that he had snuck up on her too.

"That means..." Kuranosuke said, smirking evilly at her. "You're scared, right!?" He said gleefully. "Hmph! Serves you right! Be afraid, be very afraid! And I'll get all the glory!" Kuranosuke said as he stalked away from them with a scheming gleam in his eye.

"Uh..." Kasane said, going slightly blue with shock at how extra brutal Kuranosuke's insults were today.

"What's his problem...?" Ayako asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, don't worry about him, Kasane. People like him always die first in horror movies... Although, I guess this would be more of an action flick if we were in a movie..." Ayako said. Kasane sweat dropped.

'We're marching of to a major battle, and Ayako is worrying about movie genres...?' Kasane thought. "I wish I could be as calm about this situation as you, Ayako." She said.

"Ha! Please, this isn't me calm—I always talk about random things and tend to laugh at inappropriate times when I'm super nervous, like right now. Sarcasm is my natural defense mechanism, and nervous laughter seems to be like a weird tick for me." Ayako explained, smiling and laughing wryly.

"I-I see..." Kasane said, sweat dropping. Well, at least she wasn't alone.

"You'll be fine even without much preparation." Gorouza said, smiling reassuringly at them. "Our duty is to stay by the lord's side and protect him. I'm sure you'll be fine if you stick to your training."

"I will! I'll do my best!" Kasane said enthusiastically.

"That's the spirit!" Ayako said, smiling brightly.

"Katane, Ayako, did you eat a full breakfast?" Inuchiyo asked when he suddenly popped up behind Kasane. He looked totally pumped. Ayako sweat dropped. He was still getting Kasane's name wrong.

"Inuchiyo!" Kasane said. "Yeah! Of course, I gobbled it up!" Kasane said.

"Me too! I even had seconds so I'd have more energy." Ayako said.

"Then you'll be fine!" Inuchiyo said, grinning. "Kura said he was too nervous to eat." Kuranosuke flinched.

"Oh, really?" Kasane asked, sweat dropping. 'Why was he so mean to me before, then?' She wondered. Ayako smirked.

"Oh, my~! Does Kura-chan need someone to hold his hand?" Ayako asked patronizingly as she hid her smirk behind her hand. As far as she was concerned, Kuranosuke had brought this one on himself. Kuranosuke spun around to face her, turning an interesting shade of purple from embarrassment and anger. He flinched when he felt a familiar death glare boring a hole into the back of his head. It was definitely their lord. Nobunaga had somehow managed to hear Ayako's comment all the way up ahead of them... and he was not happy about the 'holding hands' part. Kuranosuke paled slightly. He thought he might be in trouble for talking back to Ayako, but when he saw the smug look on her face, he threw caution to the wind.

"As if I'd ever want to! Shut up!" Kuranosuke hissed at her. He froze when he realized what he had just said, but for some reason, he didn't feel like he was in danger anymore. Kuranosuke glanced ahead at Nobunaga. The young lord wasn't even looking at him anymore, and he looked perfectly calm now. Nobunaga didn't feel the need to glare at Kuranosuke anymore, since he hadn't made a move on Ayako. Kuranosuke was beyond confused. He scowled at Inuchiyo. It was all that stupid dog's fault in the first place for exposing him. "It's your first battle, so don't get carried away!" Kuranosuke yelled, vein mark throbbing on his forehead, as he kicked Inuchiyo.

WHAM!

"But it's true!" Inuchiyo pouted as his armor rang like a gong from being kicked.

"That's a nice sound his armor just made." Ayako commented. Kasane sweat dropped, but sighed in relief.

'So, it wasn't just us...' Kasane thought. "... Anyway..." She said. "Kiyosu castle really did make a move, like the lord said would happen."

"Yes." Ayako said. She probably would've been more surprised if Nobunaga had been wrong. Ayako never doubted him for a second.

"True." Gorouza said. "This is likely to be the battle that will decide who will control Owari. Will Kiyosu triumph, and keep the status quo in Owari? Or will lord Nobunaga win and reform it?"

'I can't decide... which way is right, but...' Kasane thought as she gripped her sword. 'I... have decided to do what I can for the lord! And Ayako is going to marry him, so for the sake of my friend, I'll do my best to protect her loved one!" Ayako smiled as she watched Kasane gather her determination. They all had a reason to fight, and a reason to win—a reason why they couldn't lose.

"In that case, all we have to do is win, right?" Ayako said, her eyes shining with determination.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Now that most of Nobunaga's vassals and their troops had joined up with them, Nobunaga had decided to allow them to take a brief rest, and allow the men sometime to take care of any last minute adjustments to their armor or weapons they still needed to make. He also wanted to talk with his vassals, who were also his generals, in a way. Nobunaga wanted to make sure they were all on the same page before they advanced on the enemy. The only one who hadn't come yet was Nobuyuki.

"How you holding up?" Ayako asked Nobunaga as she walked up beside him. She knew this wasn't his first battle, but there was a lot riding on this one for him. Nobunaga smirked at her.

"I should be asking you that. You look pretty nervous to me." Nobunaga teased her.

"Yeah, I'm shaking in my boots, but I always pull through when it counts. I'll be fine." Ayako said, smiling wryly.

"Ayako." Nobunaga said, suddenly extremely serious.

"Yes...?" Ayako asked, wondering what was wrong.

"You told me before that you couldn't be sure you'd be able to take another's life, but if it comes down to a choice between you or them—you'd better choose yourself. If you die, I'll never forgive you." Nobunaga said sternly. Ayako stared up at him. What Nobunaga had said sounded really harsh, but she could tell that he was just worried about her. Ayako smiled softly.

"I remember that I also told you I have no intention of letting myself be killed, nor do I intend to let harm come to the people I care about. I promised you I'd stand by you, so I will. We still haven't had our wedding yet, after all." Ayako said, blushing as she said the last part. Nobunaga smirked as he gently laid his hand on top of her head.

"Hmph, you know just what to say to motivate me, don't you." Nobunaga said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He couldn't wait to get Ayako home and—

"My Lord!" A soldier called out to him. Nobunaga closed his eyes and frowned as his eyebrow twitched in irritation. This had better be important. He removed his hand from Ayako's soft hair, and turned to face the soldier as his brother and Shibata Gonroku knelt in front of him. "Lord Kanjuuro and his troops have arrived from Suemori.

"Then... everyone is present." Nobunaga said. 'Damn. It really was something important.' Nobunaga thought grudgingly. He wouldn't have minded having a little more time with Ayako before he had to get serious. Nobunaga's cape flapped and swirled out dramatically behind him as he turned to address the soldiers. "Now... we will reclaim Matsuba and Fukada castles that were taken by Kiyosu, and meet the combined forces Kiyosu, Iwakura, and Mino, and crush them!" Nobunaga declared boldly. "Nobutomo of Kiyosu Castle as well as the two captured castles in an offensive. Once reinforcements from Iwakura and Mino are taken into account, their fighting strength will be around—Seven thousand!" Nobunaga said bluntly, not bothering to sugar coat the bad news.

"S-Seven thousand!?" A few of the soldiers cried in shock, horrified.

"It's likely that most of them are soldiers Saito Yoshitatsu sent from Mino." Nobunaga said as the soldiers began to murmur nervously amongst themselves.

"S-Seven thousand...?" Kasane asked Gorouza nervously.

"Even after we join with Lord Kanjuuro's troops, we won't even be two thousand strong..." Gorouza said.

"In other words... we're no match for them, numerically speaking, at least..." Ayako said thoughtfully.

"Those who think we cannot win, leave immediately. I have absolutely no intention of losing this battle!" Nobunaga commanded when he saw how nervous and flighty the men had become. If they wanted to run away, he'd rather they do it now, instead of in the middle of battle. Nobunaga needed soldiers he could depend on.

"Do you have a plan... to fight so outnumbered? Kawajiri asked.

"The soldiers here will be divided into two groups. A force led by Sakuma and the Takigawas will retake Matsuba and Fukada castles." Nobunaga ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Sakuma and the leader of the Takigawas said.

"Nobuyuki and I will commit our force to stopping the main force from Kiyosu." Nobunaga said. "First we will destroy the bridge."

"Bridge...?" Kasane asked.

"It's the main route of travel between Kiyosu and Nagoya. If the enemy takes the bridge, they will immediately push toward our base at Nagoya castle. With the bridge destroyed, Kiyosu's superior numbers won't be able to move as effectively." Nobunaga said.

"Oooh! Yes, Sir!" The soldiers cheered enthusiastically—all signs of their previous doubt gone.

"I see!" Kasane said, determined.

"Yippie-ki-yay, mother-effer!" Ayako cheered. Nothing like a quote from Die hard to get you pumped.

"Nobutomo and the rest want to maintain the status quo. No matter how they come at us, we will not give them Owari!" Nobunaga proclaimed.

"No way I'm gonna lose to anyone!" Kuranosuke muttered darkly as he and the others got psyched up for the battle ahead.

"All troops move out!" Nobunaga ordered, sweeping his arm out dramatically as they all cheered.