Heyoo~! Thanks again to everyone for reading! Just a little heads up! School's reaching its peak for me now, (SACs and homework are really piling up T_T) so updates might not be as frequent! Sorry about that! Anyways... let's go!

~Koriyama Castle~

"History is made of many minds, and one heart," said Motonari, who was walking and lecturing his students. "It is formed and born of myriad factors, perhaps it is because of these factors that—" Motonari cut himself off from his lecture and looked up curiously at his students. Aki was nervously poking Takeshi's shoulder as he lay slumped, fast asleep over a pile of papers. "P-please… W-wake up!" She resorted to nudging him gently, but to no avail; for he just swatted her hands away and resumed sleeping. "My, my… I wonder how he manages to fall asleep so easily." Motonari chuckled slightly and widened his eyes as Takeshi, while still asleep mumbled "…dunno….continue…."

"How odd. Well, I suppose I will continue then. I wish to write a history of these turbulent times of which we live in. We are, after all, living in one of history's great moments. Don't you find the recording of the excitement and passion of our times a noble pursuit?" He gestured excitingly around the room filled with books and papers before looking at his students for their answers. Aki nodded her head silently before whispering "Y-yes…it is.." That seemed to be the answer he was expecting because his face brightened up immediately.

"Maybe you'll end up a historian as well? I scribble furiously every day to record the events of these troubled times." Motonari began pacing around the cramped room while thinking deeply. "I have run up against every historian's greatest obstacle. No matter what I do, I can't help but inject myself into my writings."

Takeshi sleepily opened an eye and questioned him "….You mean….painting yourself in…a… favourable…..light?." He yawned and stretched slightly before sitting up straight, examining a page covered in furious scribbles.

Noticing that, Motonari rubbed his head awkwardly before sitting down face to face with the two. "Hahaha, no, not that. No, I know my schemes were heartless. I do not gloss over even the most distasteful facts." He thoughtfully placed a hand on his chin, "One must stand before the judgement of one's successors. That is history. However it seems there are certain people to whom I am… partial to."

He sighed and began shuffling some papers absentmindedly before Aki broke the silence "…D-do you mean people like….N-Nobunaga Oda?" she clenched the edge of her kimono nervously, being the shy girl that she was; it was difficult for her to speak her mind. "H-he seems like….someone…who w-will become important…s-someday. W-well that's…what I think."

"Yes, he is one of them. Though others may call him the 'Fool of Owari', I feel that his hand will play a great role in changing the land." Motonari smiled kindly back at her, "Pure objectivity is terribly difficult. That, however, is what makes the attempt worthwhile. I trust you two will be helping me with recording the great history that will unfold. "

~x~x~x~x~

"Now then, onto the main topic," Motonari paused and unrolled a map. "The Imagawa forces have begun moving. They're on their way to Kyoto, however my sources tell me some clans under the Imagawa are targeting Chugoku and Kai; domains under control of our alliance. Additionally, Yoshimoto himself is planning to wipe out the Owari-Mino alliance. " Takeshi's eyes widened as he pointed towards the map and traced the route from Koriyama castle to Inabayama."…..My Lord…please….I must leave…immediately.." he bowed slightly and stared at Motonari who rubbed his head in surprise.

"Well, I have nothing against it, of course. In fact, it might benefit us if I send you two off as representatives of the Mori…" He sat silently, deep in thought for a while before continuing. "All right, Takeshi, you head towards the Saito. In the meantime, our alliance will fight off the Imagawa here. Depending on what the other warlords say, I will ask them to send some officers to assist the Owari-Mino alliance. This, will no doubt put them in our debt."
"By the way, why do you need to leave so suddenly? Your assistance here would be great." Takeshi fiddled absentmindedly with his necklace; it was an expensive hair ornament hanging on a chain, before mumbling softly, "…My…little..sister….is with the Saito… she's the only….family..I have left..so…I'll be leaving now… thank you.."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~

"U-um..M-motonari…." Aki whispered nervously to Motonari "s-shouldn't y-you send someone…t-to go with Takeshi?..h-he'll get lost again." Motonari's eyes widened as he smacked his forehead. He had forgotten about Takeshi's lack of direction and went off to call for an escort.

~Inabayama Castle, Mino domain~

"Hey! Open up! You wouldn't want a cute girl like me to get sick right? It's cold and raining!" Sumire shouted angrily at the stubborn gatekeeper as she stood at the gates of Inabayama. "My apologies! Lord Yoshitatsu's orders! I can't open the gate for anyone." The gatekeeper peeked through the gate and bowed, before shooing her away. "Urgh! What if I said I had something to give to Hanbei Takenaka?" She stamped her foot against the side of the gate and began kicking it as hard as she could. "Hurry up! I'm going to count to three! One! Two! Th-ahhh!"

"Lord Hanbei? Well, why didn't you say so?" The guard shook his head before hastily opening the gates, causing Sumire to fall over mid-kick. "WHY YOU!" Sumire grabbed the guard by the neck and was about to smash his head against the gate when a female voice interrupted her. "What's going on? You didn't open the gate for a stranger again did you, Sora?"
A short girl with waist length black hair tied in a braid, with a short pink layered kimono approached the two. A slightly taller, childish looking boy with a cute white hat perched sideways on his head stood behind her watching curiously.

"Ah, Lady Izanami… n-no.. that is.. this woman claims to have something for Lord Hanbei." Sora stammered nervously, massaging his sore throat as he shifted closer to the girl, Izanami. "Wow! Something for me?" The boy behind Izanami leapt forward with excitement and extended a hand towards Sumire

"I'm Hanbei Takenaka! So…where's my present?"
"Brother! Stop acting like a kid!" Izanami gave her brother a poke in the stomach before looking closely at Sumire. "Hmm… who are you? Where did you come from? And… who told you to give me brother something?"
"Aww, come on Iza! Let's come inside first!" Hanbei cheerily took Izanami and a bewildered Sumire by the hand and dragged them into the castle.

~x~x~x~x~

"Hmm, let's stay in this room for the time being. Ouka's probably going to yell if we use any other room!" Hanbei dragged the two into an empty room and comfortably perched onto the table.

"….Hanbei? What are you doing here?" A soft and calm female voice came from the corner of the room. "Eh? Ama? You were sitting here the whole time?" Hanbei covered his mouth in surprise and leapt off the table towards the speaker.

A slender and frail looking girl with long perfectly straight black hair sat polishing a katana, her hand was still clasping the handle. She turned towards Izanami and Sumire, before turning back to Hanbei who smiled cheerily back "Enjoying the rainy night Ama?" She nodded slightly, the full fringe framing her face partly covering her eyes "..Yeah..I like rainy nights. Perhaps, because of my name 'Amaya'. Hey, who's the stranger?"
"Ah! I forgot to introduce you guys to each other!" Hanbei grabbed them all by the hands before pointing to each girl and giving a rough introduction. 'I'm Hanbei Takenaka, the Saito strategist! This is Izanami, or Iza! My cute, but annoying little sister!" Izanami proceeded to give Hanbei another poke in the stomach before he bounced away and pointed to Amaya. "This is Amaya Chiyoko! I like calling her Ama! She's with the Akechi! So what's your name?"

"Mmm?" Sumire was mid-way through munching on some sweets she had stolen from the room. "Ish Shumiweh Hanyabusha, a mershwenawy." Amaya tilted her head in confusion before Sumire swallowed and repeated "Sumire. Sumire Hanabusa, I'm a mercenary….what's so funny?"

Amaya gave her an ironic smile, "Your name doesn't suit you. 'Sumire' means 'violet'. In hanakotoba, it means honesty. Looking at you, however, -" she trailed off as she covered her mouth with her sleeve and began laughing. "You steal food from someone you just met! How honest is that!" She held her sides as she giggled. "Whoa! Ama, you should've told me you had sweets in here!" Hanbei grabbed a few sweets and was eating some while Izanami tried to resist, but ended up guiltily eating a few.

"Oh yeah! Sumi, what did Chisa tell you to give me?" Hanbei extended a hand and clicked his fingers impatiently, "C'mon! Let me see!"
"Pay me first! I'm a mercenary you know!" Sumire teasingly shook the package and smiled sweetly, when Amaya spoke "I wonder… what if…it wasn't from Chisa… but from the Imagawa instead?"

"Then I'd kill Sumire of course, she's the one who lied to my brother." Izanami spoke in a matter-of-fact voice and tapped the sword at her waist. Hanbei covered his mouth in mock horror and gasped "No way! Sumi doesn't seem like a bad person!"
"You don't even know her, Brother! She could be an Imagawa spy!" Izanami clenched her fist and jabbed her finger in Sumire's direction. "No! I trust Sumi! She's a nice person!" Hanbei stood on tiptoe to look even taller and attempted to glare menacingly at his sister. It didn't work.

"You're already calling her 'Sumi'?" Izanami looked over at Amaya. "We should tie the spy up first! Right, Ama?"
"H-hey! I'm just a simple mercenary!" Sumire waved her hands pleadingly "I'm not a bad person! Sure I may be a thief but..." she trailed off when she saw Amaya wink at her. "…I was joking…" Amaya shook with silent laughter, "It's so funny watching you siblings argue like that." The siblings turned away from each other before hugging each other as an apology. Hanbei immediately attacked the package and rummaged inside for the gift. "Wow! Chisa gave me lucky charm!" Hanbei proudly held up a small lucky talisman and clipped it to his belt. "She's such a sweet person! I wonder when we'll see her again?"

~x~x~x~x~

"So.. the Fool of Owari will be fighting with us against the Imagawa…" Yoshitatsu Saito and the other officers and retainers for the Saito were sitting around the table studying the maps and discussing plans. "Uh huh! I heard he's already planned some strategy with his strategists! Heehee! I never knew a fool would plan so well ahead!" Hanbei giggled excitingly and bounced happily around the room. "That means less work for me! I can take a nap!"

"No brother, you can't!" Izanami elbowed Hanbei in the stomach while she sat concentrating on a map "Lord Yoshitatsu, it would be better if he was here, so we could discuss the strategy with him. Nobunaga must be a clever man to have thought this far ahead."
"I've heard that he's actually a first class fool. Who knows what kind of ridiculous plan he might concoct?" Mitsuhide placed his hand under his chin, deep in thought, "Well, it seems at least the alliance is still holding strong. Though I can't help but wonder how Lady Nō is doing."

"You shouldn't worry about my lady! Even though you two are cousins!" Hanbei chuckled gleefully, "It's been so much more boring since she joined the Oda." Izanami giggled and nudged Amaya who nodded and replied in a calm voice, "That's because she used to bully you all the time. Wasn't it, Hanbei?"
"Uwaah! You two are so mean! Ama! How could you join up with Iza like that! How horrible!" Hanbei grabbed his hat and pulled it down over his eyes in embarrassment.

~Kiyosu Castle, Owari domain (Oda)~

"What is a mere 50 years in the infinite life of the universe~"Inside the castle, Nobunaga Oda sat singing to himself; next to him, Nō sat smiling in amusement. "The Clown of Suruga is coming, what will the Fool of Owari do?" she smiled seductively at him and fiddled with the dagger in her hands. "My lady, I'm sure my brother will find a way to defeat him." Oichi gazed at her brother, who stood oblivious to everyone. "I trust in him, just like all of us."

"Uh… Hideyoshi should be back from his scouting mission soon… but…do you really think we stand a chance against the Imagawa? Even if the Saito are helping us….it's not like I'm doubting you Lord Nobunaga!" Toshiie Maeda worriedly waved his hands around as he began to pace around the room.

"Toshiie! Calm down boy! Have you no faith in our Lord?" Katsuie Shibata frowned with disapproval and shook his head slowly. "Be quiet and listen. Lord Nobunaga may not have as many men as Yoshimoto does, but we know that he will be victorious in the end. Trust in him." Toshiie bowed his head sadly, while Oichi smiled gently. "Your words make me happy, Lord Shibata. Thank you for believing in my brother." She patted Katsuie lightly on the hand before sitting back down.

"I err, yes. My lady." Katsuie replied gruffly in an attempt to mask his feelings. He was quite fond of Oichi and everyone else was aware of that as well. "We-well, perhaps we should send more scouts? Hideyoshi still hasn't returned, I'll head out if you want, my lord." Toshiie attempted to change the conversation causing Katsuie to shoot him a look of gratitude while Oichi and Nō exchanged a slight smile.
"Muahaha, if you want. Go." Nobunaga spread open the tessen he had been carrying and waved it around before Toshiie nodded awkwardly and left the room.

~Koriyama Castle, Chugoku~

Motonari chuckled softly and looked at the three men sitting in front of him "so, the Tiger of Kai, the Dragon of Echigo and the Lion of Sagami. A mighty alliance indeed. I wouldn't be surprised if Yoshimoto were to surrender once he reached us." Next to him, Shingen Takeda nodded in agreement "Mmm, I supposed we should hurry up and show the young Fool of Owari and the Viper of Mino how battles should be fought."
"I admire your thinking. As expected of my nemesis." Kenshin Uesugi nodded his head in approval at Shingen and poured himself another bowl of sake. He offered the bowl to Ujiyasu who shook his head "I'm an old man. There's no point in getting me drunk so early in the morning."
"Hahaha! You're old? What am I then?" Shingen smacked his knees as he roared with laughter before taking the bowl and drinking. "Ah, Motonari you crafty fox…. are all scholars like this? How you managed to rope us all into forming an alliance….haha youth is a wonderful thing!"
Motonari scratched his head bashfully "Thank you My Lord, though I'm not as young as you think. Besides, since Yoshimoto Imagawa seized power from the prestigious Ichinomiya, Kusonoki, Oyamada and Hanabusa clans, it's only a matter of time before he targets us. Something the matter Lord Hojo?" Ujiyasu sat silently smoking his pipe before tapping the ashes gently against the fireplace "….Hanabusa eh?...haha. Nothing, never mind."

~ Suruga~

"Gah! Why do we have to be out scouting in the rain! Gah!" Masanori angrily stomped his feet as the continual pouring rain made his carefully arranged ri-zento hairdo become limp and floppy. "Gah! This is annoying! Stop raining!Dammit!My hair!"

The small scouting group from the Oda with Hideyoshi as the captain, was cramped in a small cave under a forest. The heavy rain had forced them to seek shelter in the cave for a few hours and the discomfort was beginning to become evident. "Silence. Fool." Mitsunari glared at him before face-palming, "Lord Hideyoshi, why did you insist on taking this fool along with you? He is jeopardising the safety of everyone." He paused to give Masanori another look of scorn before adding "Yoshitsugu would have been a better choice. Even the loudmouth Reira."
As Mitsunari crossed his arms in annoyance, Hideyoshi shook his head in amusement, his pupils were quite a handful. "Think of it as a lesson in getting along better." He tried to pat Mitsunari on the shoulder, but due to the small space succeeded in poking someone else in the face. "…..…!" The person who had been poked didn't make a sound.

"Ah! Shira! My apologies! Are you alright?" Hideyoshi turned towards a tall girl with bandages covering her arms and the left half of her face. "….." She nodded slightly before bowing in apology and shuffling slowly backwards. "Oof! Watch out!" Shira's shy retreat resulted in her bumping into Kiyomasa who had been trying to stretch his cramped arms.
"…..!..." She closed her eye sorrowfully and bowed apologetically. She slowly opened her eye then it shot open in alarm. "Hmm? What is it? It would be easier if you talked, Shira." Kiyomasa frowned in confusion before Shira tentatively pointed to the outside of the cave; from her point of view looking out of the cave, she could see footsoldiers marching. "Aha! Now they're moving!" Hideyoshi hopped to the entrance and pressed himself close to the cave wall; which was quite difficult, considering that three other people were trying to the same thing. "Move aside." Mitsunari abruptly shoved Masanori to the side, while Kiyomasa attempted to force his way through to the front. "Make some room for me. Hey! Move over!"
"Shh!" Hideyoshi suddenly raised a hand for silence, causing the group to immediately cease their squabbling and observe from the limited space they had. Outside, a huge army had begun marching, from the purple banner with the emblem of the comb, it was evident that they were the Imagawa."Whoooa! So many! Yoshaaa! Let's g-mmph!" Masanori's loud comment was quickly silenced as Kiyomasa clapped a hand over his mouth.

Outside, three carriages could be seen, they were elaborately decorated, similar to ones which the Emperor or the Shogun would travel in. "Hey… which one is the target?" Kiyomasa whispered softly to Mitsunari who rolled his eyes before pointing to a random carriage. Hideyoshi shook his head and pressed his fingers to his lips for silence before giving them the signal to retreat.

Teehee! Another chapter done! Thank you so much everyone for your support and for reading and reviewing also, many many thanks to TheCrazyPeople for editing this for me! Sankyuu~~ Well, how did I go with the ocs? I hope I met your expectations everyone! Ah, this is somewhat AU as well; so please keep that in mind if the battles, alliances and so forth don't match up with history and any KOEI scenarios! Haha I made Yoshimoto Imagawa a bigger evil guy than he actually was? Also, in SWC… Nobunaga does sing...it's…creepy…really..creepy..*shivers* Once again, feel free to tell me if I stuffed up anywhere, or if you want to make a suggestion! Reader contributions are very helpful!39! Also, anyone know about Toukiden? It is absolute BAWS! Shikimi looks like Motochika Chosokabe and No's love child ! Look her up.

Next time….

Hanbei: Iza! Sumi! Ama! Gara! Let's play a fun game! Let's see who can find the tanuki, clown, fool and monkey!

Gracia (Garasha): Ohh! Hanbei you're amazing! Ama! Tell me! Will you help me?

Shira Kouma:….!...?!...!...…hungry…*collapses*

Yoshitsugu Otani: Something wrong Shira? Please, don't over exert yourself.

Mitsunari: *sniffs* Hmph, that fool. What? I'm not worried or anything!

Reira Kannagi: Shut up! Get outta my way! Ugh! *smack* Huh? You want to say something? Say it to my FIST!*wham*

Yukina Saika: Magoichi! Hurry up, we better get going! It shooting time~~ Let's show them the might of the Saika renegades!

Magoichi Saika: H-hey.. that's my line...huh?... Takeshi? What are you doing here?