First of all, I thank you all for for follows, favs and reviews for this story. I had other things in my mind for the past week, so I couldn't write more nor upload this chapter for some time. You know, when writing, if your mind is elsewhere, the words just don't come out... Anyway, it is certainly time, I think.
Replies for reviews of previous chapter:
Blackholelord: Your guess is a bit different than what I was thinking. However, unless I suddenly think of something which will totally turn around the plot on its head, the story will be pushed in that general direction of 'Nobunaga wanting to unify Halkeginia'. Also, in this chapter, if you can read my hints, there is a little hint of a possible ending. I keep thinking of endings, even though it's still way too early for that story-wise... ... this is bad, isn't it? ^^'
Kaioo: You sure give me nice ideas. I really do like myself some referrences to the Samurai Warriors games (And to a lesser extent, actual history) ... I usually end up putting them in places which wouldn't make them too odd though. For example, -Even though it would be awesome and funny- , Nobunaga would not just come to the throne room where he'd draw his sword and say 'I am Nobunaga, of the Oda clan!' or something like that. Also, there is a little treat in this chapter, for you reminding me of the musou mode. You can just imagine, what Nobunaga did in this chapter. I must admit, I start looking forward to seeing your reviews. ... ... this is bad, isn't it? ^^'
Batta the Beast: Sengoku Basara is the name of that series. ... I didn't watch nearly a tenth of that series, part of the reason being that they made it way too inaccurate and unproportional power-wise, although that is only my own opinion... Masamune is awesome there though. Also, heads would surely roll if you'd just... imagine the demon king from Sengoku Basara appearing almost anywhere. But... Nobunaga from Basara is a demon king, and it doesn't feel like he is anything more than that. That, and again, if I killed half the cast before anything happened, it wouldn't make for a story.
Anyway, thanks for the reviews, now let us get to the actual chapter.
The Samurai Warriors (Sengoku Musou) series is property of Koei (as far as I know) , and Familiar of Zero isn't mine either. (May 2nd 2014 , Unroyal Paladin forgot who owns Familiar of Zero ... ... this is bad, isn't it? ^^' )
Enjoy!
The following day after the 'Battle of the Tristain Magic Academy Dorm Tower' , things finally seemed to get more or less normal, at least for Nobunaga. While there were still those dreams left unexplained, they were becoming much less surprising, when Nobunaga knew to expect them. That, and Guiche's bed was quite comfortable. It was early morning, Nobunaga waking up from the strange dream of that night. That time too, like last time, said dream didn't even involve Nobunaga... at least not directly.
Like the day before, Nobunaga went straight towards Louise's room. Unlike the previous day, however, Nobunaga opened the room's door to find a most pleasent surprise... or the worst surprise ever, it depends on who is asked. The good part of the situation was, that Louise was already awake, and while she wasn't really 'ready for action', that was indeed a good sign that her body was getting used to getting up from bed at earlier times than she did when Nobunaga was not around. That, and the bad part of the surprise was, that the moment Nobunaga entered the room, Louise was just in the middle of changin from her night gown to her 'school uniform' cloths... in the middle of putting on her panties.
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .
some time later
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .
"You know, you didn't have to scream that loud..." Said Nobunaga after Louise got out of her room, as he was waiting outside the room after the accident. "S-Shut up! If you really want me to classify you as a man and not as a familiar, that's a normal response!" Louise said in her defense, blushing a bit before changing the subject altogether. "Anyway, Nobunaga, today is Voidday, so today we're going to the capital to buy me a sword. Beside technically being my personal bodyguard, I'll need you to evaluate which sword would fit me the most you said you'd train me." Said Louise. Nobunaga was waiting patiently for the day he'd be able to start training Louise, and being the kind of 'Cao Cao' he was, his plans wouldn't just end there.
"Alright, then we shall depart. How much time will this little errand take...?" Asked Nobunaga, starting to walk towards the stables, Louise leading the way. "Hmmm... It takes about three hours, riding on a horse that is." Answered Louise. It was strange, but Nobunaga noticed someone peeking from one of the rooms, as if wanting to follow them or something like that. However, he couldn't clearly identify who that was, so he just chose to focus on the task at hand. The little stalker would show their face sooner or later, if he wasn't mistaken. And he wasn't usually mistaken.
As the two made their way out of the dorm tower, Nobunaga began thinking about his recent course of action. It was some sort of a self-council; What he was and wasn't doing since he came into Halkeginia, and where those things would lead him. First, Nobunaga figured quite quickly that if he killed any of the academy's students, he would be at a major disadvantage. Technically being of a lower status, 'familiar', he definitely wouldn't be excused for killing aristocrats, even if he only were to kill one of them. That would go to the higher ups, possibly the princess herself, and not only would his anonimity be blown up completely, the same high-position aristocrats would probably order his death, and that would be the end of 'Nobunaga's ambition' right then and there.
So killing off those annoyances was out of the question, for Guiche, and Kirche and her lovebrats. Increasing the number of men he had on his side, however, was apparently a good course of action. He did make good use of the situations he got himself into, on purpose or not on purpose... or so he thought, anyway. If he would want to do a move on a bigger scale, like actually killing those who opposed him, or gain some territory for himself, he would be better off with more 'officers' on his side than just himself. So despite him going out of his usual 'way of Nobunaga, the Sixth Heaven Demon King', on the far end he saw his actions only benefiting him. However, the thorny path to the throne and the 'Unifier' title in Halkeginia, was still long. '... Is that so?' .
When Louise and Nobunaga reached the stables, stopping Nobunaga's overworking train of thoughts, Louise was nothing less than impressed. Right after she rode on the horse they were supposed to take, struggling a bit with the process, Nobunaga did the same... only that he didn't seem to be struggling at all. It was like he was riding horses for fun in his childhood... or for war, judging by his extra firm grip. At first she couldn't believe that Nobunaga was a unifier of his whole land, but all the evidence was pointing that it was nothing less than right.
Along the way, despite Nobunaga not speaking about it in the slightest, the subject of the strange dreams both Louise and Nobunaga were having, came up once again. "Hey, Nobunaga... who was that guy? He who fought you, and shouted your name..." Asked Louise. It seemed like she was getting interested in Nobunaga's old world, seeing all those dreams about that world's past and future. "Oh, THAT man... ..." Said Nobunaga, remembering him not only from that dream, but from the times they fought against each other, too.
The dream involved the story of a man... one of the various ones who opposed Nobunaga. The first scenery in the dream involved the man sitting on a wooden roof, looking upwards towards the gray, cloudy sky. 'I can't smile anymore... not until Nobunaga's dead.' The man's thoughts echoed. That man... was Saika Magoichi. After the battle of Osaka bay, in which Magoichi helped the resistance against Nobunaga... Nobunaga being the absolutely unforgiving person that he was back there in that world, Nobunaga ordered the destruction of the Saika village... which Magoichi called 'home'.
The dream's scene changed, to a burning village from the bird's eye. People's screams were heard, as well as Nobunaga's evil laugh in the background. "Destroy all who dare to resist Nobunaga... destroy them all; Let them burn, in hell..." Were Nobunaga's cold-hearted words. When Magoichi reached the village, it was already burnt completely, the corpses of Magoichi's fellow villagers lying on the ground, none of them escaping Nobunaga's wrath alive. Magoichi fell to his knees, raising his face towards the heavens... "NOBUNAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Magoichi screamed loudly, as loud as he possibly could, for all those dear to him who had died in the hands of the demon king, the dream ending there.
"I still remember his name... Saika Magoichi. He was a part of the Saika renegade, his mastery was that... rather unique, rifle of his. However, he chose the wrong side... he chose to oppose Nobunaga. What I did was simply heaven's punishment for his actions." Nobunaga explained to Louise. "That's... that's too cruel... Couldn't you find another way to deal with that? You murdered an entire village of innocent people!" Asked Louise, unable to accept the morality of Nobunaga's actions.
"Louise... lets say you've got a bird which won't sing; What would you do with it?" Nobunaga asked Louise back, with a hypothetical question. "W-What would I do with it...? I'd give it to my family so they would know what to do with it!" Louise tried to make something which looked like an answer, Nobunaga not being impressed by that in the slightest. "So when you face hardships, you try to force them on other people? When you have a problem, you try to blame other people for them?" Nobunaga asked.
It has hard for Louise to accept Nobunaga's words, but Nobunaga was right. Until then, all Louise did was run away from her problems, forcing them on other people, and try to put the blame away from her. It was a harsh lesson, but Louise understood it. "If the bird doesn't sing, I wouldn't do anything else, but KILL IT. I would use all my physical and mental force to face my problems. That, is what Nobunaga would do." The conversation ended with that. Louise wasn't sure whether to be impressed by Nobunaga, or fear him... but one thing was for sure, and that is that he wanted to raise her from the dirt she was in, from the shameful name of 'Louise the Zero'... and to a lesser extent himself, from the nickname 'Familiar of Zero' which also got stuck on him for some reason.
When the two reached the capital, Nobunaga immediately raised his head a bit upwards to look at the royal castle... as if thinking 'So this is the first of the obstacles I will need to overcome...' . It was basicly impossible not to notice that large castle in the middle of all the relatively short buildings which surrounded it. "There we are, Tristania, the capital city of Tristain." Said Louise, with at least a bit of pride in her words. 'Whoever made this city clearly didn't have a strong naming sense, that's for sure...' Nobunaga thought to himself as he walked with Louise in the various streets and alleys of the city. Nobunaga tried his best to memorize anything he could about that city, even though Louise was already going straight towards their destination, not getting lost in the slightest. Nobunaga didn't complain about it in the slightest, but there went his plan about learning the city interiors because of getting lost.
"This is the place." Said Louise. The two stood in front of a weapon shop, one which had a convenient sword sign above its building. Despite that convenience, mostly for Nobunaga, that shop looked kinda shady. "What do you keep standing there, Nobunaga? You said you're going to pick me a weapon, so come in with me." Said Louise, not shouting for once, but getting Nobunaga to follow her into the store nontheless. He did have a kind of a feeling that he was being followed or otherwise surveilenced by someone else though. At first, by instinct, Nobunaga thought that some kind of ninja was involved in that, wanting to assassinate him but failing to hide his presence, but when Nobunaga gave it a second thought, if that ninja was that bad as to let him notice that he was there, he wasn't that much of a threat anyway; Perhaps it was not a ninja in any way, but some amature just wanting to gather information, or whatever that person's motive was.
The two entered the shop, Nobunaga having a look at the various swords put on the walls for show. "Welcome to my shop! What kind of sword are you looking for?" Said the shopkeeper, seeing potential multiple customers enter the shop. "We came here to buy a sword which would fit her, what do you have to sell me?" Said Nobunaga, noticing that the shopkeeper was looking with wide eyes at Nobunaga's own sword. Sure, that sword had its own decorations made of what at least looked like gold (if it wasn't actually gold, which was most probably so) , but it was no excuse for a sword shop shopkeeper to be looking at it with such amazement. "Ah, a sword for the lady here? Wait just a moment, I'll see what I have in the back room." Said the shopkeeper, temporarily leaving the two alone.
"Here you go, this sword is said to be made by the famous Germanian alchemist, sir Spree." When he returned from the back room, the shopkeeper had in his hands a sword which looked like it would fit the most proud noble in the world. It looked like it was pure gold, and had a red jewel for decoration, properties which would impress any noble... except Nobunaga. "Could you let me take a look at it?" Asked Nobunaga, the shopkeeper having no reason to refuse, giving the shiny sword to Nobunaga. After a quick look, Nobunaga came to one conclusion... "This sword is just for show, it can't cut anything, or it will break in the process. In battle, it might as well be USELESS." Was Nobunaga's final verdict, shocking Louise, and earning a surprised look from the shopkeeper.
At that point Nobunaga knew for sure that something was fishy about this shop. Normally, there wouldn't be any dishonorable scams such as this, and if Nobunaga wasn't with Louise that time, that sword would surely prove costly... not that Nobunaga was the most honorable man in the land, but that was more dishonorable. Moreover, something about the shopkeeper's face told him that the scam he was pulling was not innocent, nor it was mere coincidence, but made with pure intention of extracting as much money from customers as possible. Normally that would be an unforgivable crime, at least from Nobunaga's point of view, but killing a shopkeeper was not a trifle either, and before even picking a sword for Louise would mean that they came to the capital for nothing, only earning Nobunaga the title of 'wanted criminal', among the other horrific titles he's earned himself so far.
"Look, could you give us something light weight? Also, make it durable so it won't look like it's going to break in one strike this time." Nobunaga demanded from the shopkeeper, speaking rather loudly. "Alright, alright..." Said the shopkeeper, in a kind of disappointed tone, possibly about the failed scam from earlier, going to the back room again, to fetch another sword from there. Just for a moment, in the corner of his eye, Nobunaga noticed some movement in one of the barrels at the side of the room they were in. "H-Hey, Nobunaga, where are you going?" Asked Louise, seeing Nobunaga walking towards the barrels. Inside those barrels were various swords... although their quality was mediocre at best, except for one which seemed a bit different than the rest for some reason.
"Nowhere. I just checked the barrels for little rats." Said Nobunaga. Even though he said that, he clearly remembered where the movement was, and there weren't any 'rats' in there. For Louise though, it was a kind of an answer satisfactory enough... considering that it came from Nobunaga. "Sorry to keep you waiting..." The storekeeper returned, that time there were two selections of swords he brought with him. Louise seemed a bit disappointed that those swords didn't even glitter, as opposed to the previous one which Nobunaga deemed 'USELESS'. "Here ya go." Said the shopkeeper, letting Nobunaga and Louise take a look at the swords he brought... well, more like only Nobunaga would get a look at them, since Louise knew nothing about how to evaluate a sword. Anyway, Nobunaga noticed that one of the swords was a rapier, and the other was a simple short sword. "Well at least this is usable..." Said Nobunaga when he examined them more closely, the runes on Nobunaga's left hand glowing a bit.
Suddenly, a voice was heard from the same direction of the barrel Nobunaga went to earlier. "These are going to break fairly quickly too though, those two I wouldn't recommend ya." The voice said, making Nobunaga turn his attention to it. The shopkeeper was at a loss for words, as he too, didn't know what was going on in the slightest. "Who, or what, are you?" Asked Nobunaga. "The name's Derflinger. And yours?" For a short question, a short answer. Everyone then noticed that it was actually a sword inside a barrel that was talking. "No way! An intelligent sword?" Said Louise. Nobunaga though, didn't bother questioning Louise about what was an 'intelligent sword'. He just assumed that it would be a sort of legendary / precious sword turned into some Youkai, gaining the ability to speak in the process. "The name is Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga." Nobunaga walked over to the barrel Derflinger was in, pulling the intelligent sword out of its place, the runes on Nobunaga's hand glowing again.
"You got such a dark aura surrounding you there, partner, and it's not just the armor... no wonder I woke up." Derflinger commented while Nobunaga examined him closely, like he did with the other swords. "Interesting... you look old, but still extremely trusty nontheless, and moreover, surprisingly light weight... I've decided; We will buy this one." Said Nobunaga, putting Derflinger back in his sheath, lifting the intelligent sword easily, like it was a feather, surprising Louise both in the decision and in his muscle strength... as if she never lifted anything heavier than a pen in her whole life*.
"How much is it?" Nobunaga asked the shopkeeper, leaning on the counter... and absolutely not in the provocative way. "Oh, this, ummm..." The shopkeeper hesitated, Nobunaga giving him some time to 'remember' the price of the intelligent sword, imagining that even the shopkeeper didn't know it was an intelligent sword. "100 New Gold will do." The shopkeeper decided on a price, Nobunaga turning to Louise. "Is that so...? Well, I honestly have no idea how the currency in Halkeginia works yet; What do you say about it?" Asked Nobunaga. "Well, it's cheap enough, I can afford it, but... do you -really- want that intelligent sword?" Responded Louise, a bit of doubt in her about Nobunaga's choice. "Yes, it might just be the most valuable sword in here anyway." Said Nobunaga, being quite sure in his decisions.
"So, what year is it now? Answer me dammit." Said Derflinger, after Nobunaga and Louise paid for him and left the shop. "Now that's one heck of a sword..." Nobunaga said to no one in particular. On another note, Nobunaga still felt the presence of the little stalker from earlier... no, it was not only him. There were way greater numbers that time. Anyway, there weren't that many people in the road they were walking in, so Nobunaga thought that he could lure the stalker... or stalkers, out of their hiding. "You can come out now. I know you're there... all of you. You can't hide your presence from me." Nobunaga said loudly, suddenly turning around, to see who and how many will pop out. "Who are tou talking to...?" Louise was confused. She didn't notice anyone following them, as she just looked forward as they were walking.
Nobunaga watched carefully as five people came out of the several alleys connecting to the road, with the five who were already following right behind, that made for ten people suspicious to Nobunaga. Only then Louise noticed them all, seeing the answer to her previous question in front of her eyes. "Heh, you have good eyes there." One of them said, a smirk forming on both his face, and Nobunaga's face as well. "What do you desire...?" Said Nobunaga, another one of his infamous lines from his old world, as the 'demon king who tries to grant anyone's desires, but not without a price'. "Why, everything you have, including all your money, that 'intelligent sword' or whatever, and that armor of yours. If you all don't want to die, you better do what we 'desire'." Said the same one, threatening anyone else in the road, who in response, tried to hide either behind Nobunaga and Louise, or run for their lives.
"Ah, now I see. That weapon shop hires bandits like you to do in anyone who dares enter right after they leave, besides trying to provide useless weapons for high prices." Nobunaga caught up to what happened. "B-But they're just bandits! What makes you think the weapon shop HIRED them?!" Louise tried to find a contradiction. "The proof is that they knew Derflinger was an 'intelligent sword'. Derflinger didn't speak a word since we left the shop. This way, both sides indeed profit - the shop from the recycling of weapons, and you from anything else the victims have on them. That, and by chance this is supposed to be your 'lucky day', since one of your victims is a rather weak aristocrat... as of now, that is..." Nobunaga continued. "... but you know, you won't live long enough to split the loot." Nobunaga gave Derflinger to Louise, drawing his own sword, his trusted sword which slayed so many men that it might as well be cursed for all eternity, and pointed.
"Louise... turn around, NOW." Nobunaga suddenly said, seeing the bandits draw their own swords at him, and not just the swords that the shop usually sells which break on strike without doing much, but -real- swords. He then had that look on his eyes... which told that he was not playing around anymore... those same eyes, of he who comes from the age of chaos. "W-Why do I-" Louise tried to ask, although she was interrupted by the sword in her hand. "Better do what he says, sis! Better do it, and do it NOW! I sense a terrible power swelling inside mah partner, there's no tellin' what atrocities he might do to them! If ya don't wanna lose your mind right here and now, better turn around before he does that." Said Derflinger, Louise quickly turning around, just in time for Nobunaga to unleash whatever Derflinger was sensing... ...
... ...
"TREMBLE BEFORE ME."
... ...
No more than 4 seconds after that, Louise felt a gust of wind by her back, and with it, the strong stench of blood. That, and Nobunaga was already by Louise's side, his sword already in its sheath. "Whatever ya do, sis... ... don't even dare look back." Said Derflinger, sensing clearly what Nobunaga did to those bandits... and it was not pretty. "... What are you, partner?" Derflinger asked Nobunaga. It was not that easy to impress Derflinger, but what Nobunaga did just then took all the cakes in the world. "I already told you, didn't I? I am Nobunaga; Oda Nobunaga. And Nobunaga... is a man. Now after this trifle is over, time to get back to the academy. I have lots to teach you before you could call yourself strong." Said Nobunaga, starting to walk away from the mess he just did, without any sympathy for the ones he killed with cold blood, nor hesitation to leave their bodies to rot away under the sun, which was by that time preparing to set in the distance.
Riding their horse back to the academy, in about the middle of the way, Louise suddenly wanted to ask Nobunaga something, something which seemed important to her. "Say, Nobunaga... ... those bandits... they're not alive anymore, are they...?" Asked Louise, turning her head a bit towards Nobunaga, seeing him with a smirk on his face. "What nonsense are you babbling...? They are long dead. They were dead the moment they crossed paths with Nobunaga. Whatever the foolish reason may be, that Nobunaga would let such lowly bandits live after all the crimes they have done?" Nobunaga answered, chuckling even.
"You know, they could have just been brought to justice... Then we wouldn't have to kill them." Louise tried to say, although she stopped in the middle when she realized that none of her reasons would get to Nobunaga, even if she wasn't going to be interrupted by him. "-And what would your system of your so-called 'justice' do to those bandits? Lock them up in jail for the rest of their lives? Or perhaps execute them anyway? I told you exactly what I would do with a bird that refuses to sing... ... KILL IT. In this case it was not just about killing lowlives like those bandits. If a bird won't sing, one should kill it, not only because it doesn't benefit you, and is only a useless burden, but also because by killing the bird, you'd be freeing it from its misery. What I did was also preventing them from facing the ever so cruel justice, which would find its ways of killing them anyway."
While Louise understood what Nobunaga said, she still thought that there must have been another way to get things done. The two rode into the sunset, Louise hoping to get some good night's sleep because of what happened that day. And it was a long day indeed.
...
"Is that so?" .