I am back (baby!) Sorry about the hewge delay! I've been super busy (er no Mei didn't forget about her fics...she promises!) well, I think i've gotten better at time management soo updates should start to stabilize. Thanks again to everyone who is still sticking by this silly little fic! I wuv you guys!

~Kyoto~

"Hey! Lady Clown! Here's the monthly payment!" Back in the streets of Kyoto, the siblings were once again at the door of Lady Sayuri. Sayuri snatched the small sack quickly out of Sumire's hands before opening it and shaking the coins in the sack. "Hmph. I'm surprised you managed to keep up with this for so long." she looked haughtily down at Sumire who was now munching on some dango " I do hope you learned to never cheat me like last time." she narrowed her eyes so that they melded with the thick makeup on her face and frowned. "Wait! How dare you call me Lady Clown! Such impudence from a peasant!" The already angry creditor flew into a rage and began ranting complete with finger jabbing and curses.

"Hehe, being too angry will cause your wrinkles to deepen. Once that happens all the paint in the land won't save you. hehehe" The kindly wine seller popped his head out from the door of his bar and chuckled at Sayuri's expense. "Shut up old man!" Sayuri glared daggers at the old man next door and discreetly smoothed out her messed hair . "I have better things to do than listen to a senile old fart's ramblings. Like PATIENTLY waiting for these peasants to admit they won't be able to repay that debt. " She sniffed and folded her arms arrogantly "I'm in current need of a new maid to clean one of the mansions I just repossessed."

"Hmm, but you know Lady Clown, if someone like you was fooled into thinking a sack filled with nuts was money you should think of taking up household chores." Sparks began to fly as Sumire giggled and laughed at Sayuri, all while pointing her finger and shaking with hysterical laughter.

"HOW! DARE! YOU! YOU..P-PEASANT!" Sayuri's face deepened with fury as she clenched the sack of coins in her hands and screeched with anger."Bwa..hahaha! Don't you know any other words other than 'peasant'? and I'm not a peasant! I used to be in a much higher position than you Lady Clown!" Sumire was rolling on the ground with laughter and kept pointing her finger at Sayuri who now had steam coming out of her ears. Tiny cracks were also starting to form on the white makeup caked all over her face. "YOU! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" In a fit of rage, Sayuri tore at her now messed up hair and stomped her foot on the ground "I tried so hard to be tolerant you know...BUT THIS IS THE LAST STRAW! Next time your idiot father comes begging for money, I swear to Bishmonten I WILL LEND IT TO HIM! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-ah" she instantly clapped a hand over her mouth and disguised it badly as a cough.

"...eh?" Takeshi opened an eye and gasped in surprise "...my father?..." He straightened his back and walked slowly over to the money lender who was appeared triumphant and oblivious to what she had just said. "...you...we...Had...a..." Takeshi pointed his finger with disbelief "...We had a promise. You agreed that you wouldn't [see chapter 1 for more details ;)]...so why? "

"AHAHAHAHAAHA" Sayuri's loud mocking laughter cut through the incredibly short silence, jolting Takeshi out of his dazed state. "Look here peasant. I did make an agreement to stop lending your father money, BUT there was never any agreement about OTHER money lenders was there?" she crossed her arms with a smirk and chuckled loudly to herself as everyone else looked on with disbelief. "I thought you knew by now that I control all the money lenders in Kyoto."

"..." Takeshi stood frozen to the spot "...I..." he raised his hands slowly to his face "...i...but..." he slowly sank to the ground before punching his hand angrily downwards. "...no...no..." He shook his head slowly in disbelief, as though Sayuri had just told him she was actually his mother. a/n Don't wory. No such plot twists will happen ;)

"...I...never *sob* considered that..." By now Takeshi was crying freely, tears streaming down his face at his youthful stupidity."...so all that...was..."

Memories started flashing through his head. Sleeping in the forest because they had no money, dressing up as women to hide from debt collectors, having to escort annoying princesses (and getting lost) while running away from debt collectors again... Sumire's constantly unending appetite which had driven him into more debt...The pain was too much too bear... he broke down completely and began shedding manly tears.

~X~X~X~X~

"Nii-san! Why are you shaking? Are you sick?" Oblivious as always, Sumire stopped her verbal war with Sayuri who snarled and slunk off quietly; and began patting her brother on the back. "OH! Nii-san, cheer up ! Don't cry anymore! Here have some of this!" Sumire cheerily offered her even more dazed brother a bite of the konnyaku she had just stolen. Takeshi sat staring into space, occasionally mumbling something to himself and then breaking down into tears. "..Sumire...what...now?" he managed to speak amid his sobbing and sniffled as he wiped his eyes "*sob*...Sorry...i...*sob*" he slowly got to his feet trying to stand up but collapsed in a crying heap again.

"Aww! Nii-san! Come on! Let's go!" Sumire grabbed Takeshi's limp arm and tugged him up, helping him to his feet while he stared blankly ahead. "Hey! If you keep on looking at us, I'm going to charge you money ok? Or you can feed me! and my brother!" Shouting at the crowd who had begun to slowly grow around the two, Sumire once again could only think about money and her never ending appetite. "Err, it's ok miss. We'll be leaving now." Some people in the crowd bowed nervously and hurried off. "Hmm, well I guess I'll have to be the big sister now! Takeshi! Let's go! Come on! Stand up!" Hefting a dazed Takeshi with minimal effort onto her shoulder, Sumire smiled brightly and began heading off towards...nowhere in particular.

~Kujoe~

"Hmph." Nobunaga sat on his horse and chuckled to himself as the flames engulfing one of the villages in his domain slowly died down, bits of destroyed buildings crumbling down onto the dead villagers and the rubble on the ground. "Muahahaha!" He lifted his head back and laughed loudly in a fit of madness of disbelief. Silently mounted next to Nobunaga on horses, Ranmaru and Hideyoshi narrowed their eyes as they noticed something horrible among the dead. A few of the dead soldiers and bandits on the ground were dressed in armour decorated with the Azai and Akechi crests.

"..." Hideyoshi's hands clenched the reigns of the horse tightly as his facial expression tightened. The current alliance with the Azai and Oda was already fragile and short-lived, he knew something like this would happen eventually, but having the Akechi involved? It was something he never considered would happen. There had been times when he had the tiniest bad feeling about Mitsuhide's loyalty deep down but he never would have considered this would happen.

"Lord Nobunaga...could Mitsuhide have..?" Hideyoshi didn't dare to finish off what he intended to say, he left it hanging as Nobunaga smirked and rubbed his goatee with a chuckle "Muahahaha, so this is the decision he made? Interesting."

"My lord!" Ranmaru leapt onto the ground, pushing Nobunaga off his horse and rolling onto the ground. "Forgive me Lord Nobunaga, but!" he stepped in front of Nobunaga, as if to act as a shield

"..." Pushing himself up from the ground, Nobunaga calmly drew his sword and turned to face the growing army of soldiers which had seemingly come from out of nowhere. "So now the fools decide to come out of hiding?" He laughed and walked out in front of Ranmaru and spread his arms mockingly "Come! You seek the head of Nobunaga Oda, do you not? Try take it from me if you can! Muahahahaha!"

"It's Nobunaga! Get him! raaaah! Kill him!" the army of soldiers began marching towards the trio, bloodlust in their eyes. Gradually, as they came closer, there was something far more worrying that was noticeable. The crests they were wearing on their armour, the mon proudly displayed on the banners.

"...no way...the bellflower...it can't be..." Hideyoshi felt his heart sink as it was now solid evidence that Mitsuhide had betrayed Nobunaga. "Ranmaru! Don't hesitate! DO whatever you can to protect our lord!" With a burst of energy, Hideyoshi swished his spear , sweeping down a wave of enemy soldiers who were closing in on the side. "Keep going! All we need to do now is focus on protecting Lord Nobunaga and escaping from here!"

"Y-yes! I understand Lord Hideyoshi!" Mid-way through cutting apart a man who had almost gotten a slash in, Ranmaru kicked his body out the way and bowed slightly to Hideyoshi before cutting down another soldier. "T-they keep coming! Who know Lord Mitsuhide had so many soldiers in his army?"

By now the army had surrounded the three and despite Hideyoshi and Ranmaru's efforts to protect Nobunaga, no matter how many men they cut down, they just kept coming. "Don't let them surround you! Keep staying focused! Lord Nobunaga! Please escape!" Ranmaru shouting almost pleadingly to Nobunaga as the latter remained calm, cutting down soldiers with an almost bored expression on his face.

~Omi~

"Hmm~~I think this one suits you more Chisa! See? You look much cuter now!" Oichi giggled softly as she carefully fastened a hairclip onto Chisa's hair and smiled, pleased at her work. The two were sitting inside one of the many rooms amusing themselves with the countless hairpins and jewellery someone had gifted Oichi. "Oh! Thanks Oichi! Teehee!" Chisa bashfully covered her face as she looked into the mirror before touching it gently "It's so pretty!" Oichi smiled kindly and clapped her hands together " You can have it Chisa. Make sure you wear it next time you visit Hanbei!"

At this, Chisa turned bright red before nodding her head in thanks "Thank you Oichi! " she trailed off thoughtfully as she stared at the window and into the garden. "I wonder what Hanbei's doing now...oh!" she gasped in surprise as she saw an unfamiliar young man dressed in unusual clothing walking with Nagamasa through the corridor of the castle. "O-oichi? Who's that man with Nagamasa?" she tilted her head curiously "I don't remember Nagamasa saying anything about guests coming over..."

"Oh! Silly me!" Oichi giggled as she pet Chisa gently on the shoulder "That's Fumi, he's the son of Lord Kazaru; one of Nagamasa's allies. He's the one who gave me all this!" she gave Chisa a reassuring smile and extended a hand "You haven't met have you? Come on, it'll be nice to talk to him." Without another word, she held tightly onto Chisa's hand and led her all the way to where Nagamasa and Fumi were standing.

"Nagamasa!" Oichi smiled brightly and ran to her husband, her eyes sparkling like usual. "Ichi!" Nagamasa returned the greeting and held her hand tightly. "Lord Kazaru, this is my wife Ichi and Chisa, a dear friend of mine." He gestured towards the two females who smiled at Fumi in greeting. Fumi was a gentle looking young man with a somewhat feminine face but the well-worn katana and armour he was wearing said otherwise. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. Lady Oichi and Chisa." He bowed politely to Oichi and Chisa and turned back to Nagamasa "Lord Azai, please do think about what I said before. It would mean a lot to my father if you choose to help. Well then, I'll be taking my leave." Fumi bowed again and headed towards the entrance to leave.

"Ah, I have an excellent idea!" Nagamasa looked pleased with himself "Chisa." he placed a hand on the startled Chisa's shoulder "Chisa, can you take Fumi to the village and see that he leaves safely? "he gave her a small wink and pushed the two towards the castle entrance. "...uh...but...I.." Fumi looked somewhat lost as he tried to say no, but it was hard saying no to Nagamasa so he followed Chisa outside without another word.

"Nagamasa!" Oichi frowned playfully at her husband "Chisa already has someone she likes very much!" Hearing this, the well-meaning but dense Nagamasa looked shocked "R-really Ichi? Chisa likes someone?" He looked wide-eyed at Chisa who was walking out the castle with Fumi following close behind "ahaha, that's what I love about you Nagamasa!" Oichi laughed to herself and "Chisa likes Hanbei Takenaka, the strategist with Monkey."

~Minegishi Temple Forest~

"Hmph. Those fools appear to have left us behind." Mitsunari sniffed with disdain at the empty clearing which had previously been occupied by a large and very noisy crowd. He turned to face Shira and squeezed her hand tightly "Looks like we'll have to walk back ourselves. Though knowing Lady Nene, there might be some men out looking for us'

"..." She gave him a nod in reply and stayed silent, her face bright red beneath the bandages. "...!" Suddenly sensing something ominous, Shira whirled back to see a shining ray of light heading towards Mitsunari's head. "...ah!" Pulling her hands out of her pockets and tossing a few coins into the air, she squeezed her eyes shut in concentration.*Clang* The sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout the small forest. Shira panted slightly as a shining gold coin fell to the floor with a dull thud, next to that were 3 silver senbon needles which glinted brightly through the golden green leaves on the ground.

"...are you ok?" She picked up the coins and glanced up at Mitsunari whose scowl had returned to his face. "...Tsk. I can handle that. Stay alert." She nodded and they began walking forward carefully, keeping an eye alert on the surrounding trees.

"Tch.." Mistunari clicked his tongue with frustration. "The enemy is a ninja. Be careful. The fool is still lurking around here." Anticipating the move, Shira's coin flew through the air, skilfully blocking all the shuriken which fired towards the two. "..huff...huff.." her breathing quickened as her magic made her expend quite a lot of stamina. There was silence and then the sounds of birds chirping, making the sudden attack so much more tense and stressful. Suddenly, "IDIOT!" before Shira knew what was going on, she was sent flying forward and Mitsunari was lying on the ground with a dart pierced through his arm.

"Mitsunari!" For the first time ever since she left home, Shira yelled loudly, shaking Mitsunari who was now trembling with the effects of the poison kicking in."f-fool.." he muttered before blacking out, his facial expression like a pale mask. "..no!.." Shira shook him gently, trying to get him to regain consciousness "...!" Quickly turning around, one of her coins managed to deflect the blade of a kyoketsu-shoge which had been thrust from above. *Shink* The blade scraped against the coin, sending it flying into a nearby tree trunk and firmly embedding itself into the bark like a bullet."..." A rustling of leaves above her drew her attention to a small figure dressed all in a dappled green and brown outfit scurrying along the branches of the trees. Shira narrowed her eye with a feeling similar to helplessness, even though the enemy was one which she had a chance of beating, right now she was almost to the point of collapsing and Mitsunari was badly poisoned. She tried to summon the rest of her strength but was blacking out slowly.

"—ver here?" The sounds of people talking loudly was coming closer, but she could barely open her eye due to exhaustion. "Found them! It's Shira and—" the voices filtered out as Shira's vision turned black.

~Kaiyu Village~

"Wah! I'm..." Chisa turned to her right where a few curious looking people gave her an awkward nod before walking off. "E-eh? Um...oh no..." She turned slowly to her left and before clutching her head. The area looked exactly the same as the right. "...I'm...*sigh*lost."

"Oh well! I'm just going to try my best to get home!" Chisa exclaimed happily to herself before whirling around and crashing into a person.

"...ouch..." A rather spaced out looking girl sat dazed on the ground after her collision with Chisa. "..." she slowly looked up at Chisa who was flailing her arms around frantic with worry "eek! Are you alright?I'm so sorry!" she sniffled and extended her hands towards the girl to help pull her up. She couldn't help but notice how the girl was dressed in a very unique but impressive looking purple kimono. The sleeves reached to her knees and the skirt-like part was only up to her knees while on the outside she had a black kimono loosely draped over her shoulders and held with a pin . Her hair was also arranged with matching purple flowers and a ribbon. "Maybe she's a princess? She looks almost as pretty as Lady Oichi" Chisa smiled at the 'princess' and helped her up, brushing some of the dust off her sleeves. "I-I'm Chisa! Chisa Hanabira!" As usual, Chisa's innocent nature had told her she could trust the girl. "I'm a retainer for Lord Nagamasa Azai! Nice to meet you! a-and I'm sorry for bumping into you! Eh heh I'm also a little lost so could you help me out?"

The girl widened her eyes with surprise and smiled fleetingly back "It's fine. Chisa? That's a pretty name." She gave a light cough and placed a hand on her cheek "I'm somewhat lost myself too. I was my bodyguard. In the crowd. Back there. Ah, my apologies. My name is Ouka." She bowed her head delicately and smiled back softly at Chisa who grinned sweetly back at her.

"Ouka! Let me help you search for your bodyguard! Oh! I can ask Nagamasa or Oichi to help too~" She happily skipped along the streets while Ouka allowed herself to be dragged along.

"Hm~hmm~hmm~ Eee-mmph!" A pair of hands reached out from within one of the doorways and pulled Chisa inside.

"...?" Ouka tensed and held up the bottom edge of the longer black kimono-jacket she was wearing, preparing to run at the first sign of danger. "...oh. She's gone...I'll wait." Not hearing any sounds of fighting or Chisa trying to escape, she shrugged and decided to wait. "Mmm...wonder when she'll come back?" Ouka placed a hand on her cheek and stood waiting patiently.

~Kyoto~

"*sigh*man, these Kyoto beauties are really shy aren't they , Izanami?" Magoichi sighed to himself as he rubbed his cheeks which were covered in red handprints and glanced over at the short girl sitting in front of him. Izanami remained silent, only keeping her gaze firmly fixated on the book in front of her and occasionally fiddling with the white ribbon around her long braid."...guess I can't really expect much from a kid like you. Sheesh, even you older brother acts like a kid. Man...ooh *whistles*" Suddenly spotting a potential beauty in the crowd, Magoichi instantly turned his gaze to the doorways and sighed with content while Izanami turned the page of her book and face palmed ".I guess you streak of good luck is going to continue? Good luck then." She giggled softly to which Magoichi waved a leisurely hand "yeah yeah..." his gaze remained fixated on the woman as she now sat down at a table and was presumably waiting for someone to arrive. Noticing that Magoich was quickly brushing his hair back and heading over to the girl, Izanami shook her head and muttered "..some people won't give up."

"Hey there, what's a beauty like you doing all by herself here?"

"...ah...um..." Aki jolted out of her seat and began stammering nervously while looking back and forth. "...m-me?" She pointed tentatively to herself to which Magoichi grinned and held onto her hand "Of course! Who else would I be referring to?" The latter began trying to inch slowly away from Magoichi who seemed determined to stop his unlucky streak today. "Someone help me escape from this guy!"

"Aki! Look what I found over –oh? if it isn't Magoichi Saika." Motonari Mori had appeared from out of nowhere and was holding a plate of dango on top of his pile of books. "I never expected to see you here. "

"M-motonari!" Izanami slammed her book shut and frantically shoved it into the bag she was wearing. " What are you doing over here in Kyoto?"

"Ah!If it isn't Lord Takenaka's younger sister!" Motonari smiled and pointed to Aki who was inching away from Magoishi so much she was about to fall off her chair "I've decided to bring Aki along to Kyoto with me since I intend on paying Lord Takenaka a visit. What brings you here to Kyoto?"

"...Magoichi was supposed to take me along with him to search for my brother. Lady Nene sent me to bring him back home."

~x~x~x~x~x~

"Oops! Did I scare you Chisa?" A familiar voice yelled cheerfully out as the person removed their hands from Chisa's mouth. Turning her head nervously, Chisa almost fainted from surprise at the sight of Hanbei grinning back at her. "H-Hanbei!" She smiled and gave him a hug before poking him in the face "I was so scared back there! Don't do that to me!" She puffed her cheeks with fake anger, stopping when he laughed and patted her on the head. "You haven't been coming to visit me, so I decided to come visit you! ...anyway... Chisa, has Nagamasa met with anybody unusual lately?" Hanbei's cheeky face looked serious as he whispered to her quietly , just in case somebody was listening.

"Umm~ I don't think so?" Chisa frowned trying to recall anyone who matched the category of 'strange' and for some reason Yoshimoto Imagawa's face appeared. " Nope! Nobody unusual at all!"

Hanbei stayed silent and fiddled with his hat "Hmm, I see! That's ok then! How are Nagamasa and Oichi by the way? hehehe Lord Hideyoshi keeps talking about how he misses Oichi and then Lady Nene hits him!" He giggled to himself while Chisa replied back.

"Heehee! Everyone's all good! Oh! The other day, a young man from the Kazaru clan came over to talk with Nagamasa, I didn't get to hear what they spoke but he gave me and Oichi a lot of beautiful presents!See? Like this one!" she pointed to the hairpin tucked in her hair and smiled brightly at Hanbei who had a slight frown on his face.

"Hmm..Kazaru...Chisa!Did you get to speak to the Kazaru lord by yourself at all? Do you remember what he looks like?" Hanbei kept his smile on his face but was rubbing his chin as he perched onto the table. "Eh? Um,I did! He's called Fumi, but he was shy around me...and he just left when I met Ouka...oh ! oh no!" She gasped and clapped her hands over her face with shock "H-hanbei! We forgot about Ouka! She's probably worried about me! Noooo!"

"ah! Hanbei! I need to let you meet someone! You're smart so you'll be able to help her! here! " she held tightly onto Hanbei's hand and led him to the doorway and out into the alleyway where Ouka was looking around in a circle. "Ouka! Over here! " Hearing Chisa's voice, Ouka stopped looking around and waved slowly to the hyperactive younger girl before walking towards them.

"This is my new friend! Ouka! " she leant to in whisper to Hanbei "I think she's a princess! her dress is so pretty. Doesn't she remind you of Oichi? ...Hanbei?"

The strategist had a faint gleam in his eye as he smiled politely at Ouka who seemed dismissive of him "Ah, 'Lady' Ouka. I see. Well! Chisa's friends are my friends too! Shall we go over there and eat something?"

"...sure." Ouka nodded once and followed the two as they giggled all the way to the restaurant.

~Kujoe~

"STOP! YOU..." As all the enemy began to retreat, Hideyoshi rushed forward trying to catch up to the fleeing army only to be stopped by a barrage of bullets and smoke bombs. "Guh! how...could this happen? Lord Nobunaga dead?...I won't forgive...you..."Hideyoshi had marched over to where one of the last few soldiers were running off and held him in a headlock with his spear pressed against the others neck. "HOW DARE YOU!"

"N-no! Stop! Please! I was just doing my job! We're simple mercenaries my lord! S-spare me!" The man trembled as Hideyoshi's spear went closer to his neck, brushing his throat lightly. One wrong move and he was finished. "Who hired you?" The Monkey kept a firm grip on his spear as the man tried to escape "O-only if you spare me! It's against the mercenaries creed to tell reveal their client's identities *gulp*" The man began sweating heavily, trying to appear strong, but Hideyoshi knew he was just bluffing. "I promise. Now tell me." The mercenary gulped and nodded weakly "I-it was Lord Mitsuhide Akechi. S-so please spare me!"

Hideyoshi lowered the point of his spear but held tightly onto the man's arms so that he couldn't escape. "I'll spare you, as long as you tell me everything you know about the order Mitsuhide gave you." The man opened his mouth to protest but when noticing the rage in Monkey's eyes, thought better and stayed silent.

"My lord! Lord Nobunaga! !" Ranmaru was cradling Nobunaga's body and almost to the point of breaking down. "No!...you can't...what am I going to do now?"

Obviously, Nobunaga was dead and did nothing. Ranmaru began looking around in a panic "The enemy...I need to defeat them... Lord Hideyoshi...where are the enemy?"

"Ranmaru." Hideyoshi removed his helmet and spoke quietly to Ranmaru, his eyes fixed firmly ahead on something only he seemed to be able to notice. "For the sake of Lord Nobunaga's dream, I'm going to continue from where he left off. Our first priority will be to seek vengeance! "

*kyoketsu-shoge: A sort of blade with a chain and a hook attached to it.

Yay! I finally finished the chapter, and teehee what do you know? it's been like more than a year since I first put up A Chaotic Mix! *throws fireworks* Well, the Demon King is dead, I tried not to emphasise his death too much (errm no, its not an excuse for lazy writing XWX) and you get to see a new face! Ouka-chan! Who is she? Hmm, I'll leave that for you to figure out as the story progresses! The second arc is now in full swing! Yeah...I had to kill off Nobunaga for things to get moving sorry Nobunaga fans (are there any? *crickets chirp*)

aaand since it was the Moon Festical on Monday...I might put up a little bonus XP

Next Chapter Preview:

?: I may be able to assist with repaying off that debt. All you have to do is 'help' me with a few things. Simple no?

Izanami: Brother you idiot! I had to run all the way over to Omi just to bring you back home! *blush* L-lord Motonari?

Aki: ...so..you're saying there's a group of rebels stirring up unrest among the country? W-who would?

Shira:...I don't know...I don't want to...lose anything anymore...

Reira: Ehh! Shut up and let me at them! Those bastards!

Ouka: Behold, on my left is a prime example of a 'girl in love'. Watch as she blushes and swoons at everything her male counterpart does. My, I apologize for making your feelings obvious. Forgive me. *giggles*

Sumire: Nii-san! nii-san! Look! I'm going to join these guys! They're called the um...Chishirou! Yay! lots of money! Nii-san?