Turning Swallow

Summary:

OR, One morning, four-year-old Sasaki Kojiro remembers a life not yet lived, and decides to do something about it. History changes. SI!Sasaki Kojiro. Expect general lightheartedness, but dark topics when the time comes.

CH. 33 START

Suzue was one of the twenty thousand soldiers fortunate enough to travel into the inner city barracks, having participated in the informal military parade that'd seen Oda Nobunaga and her 'three generals' towards the gates of the Imperial Palace. She knew well that the honor of getting to sleep on actual bedding, rather than a rough tatami carpet, came from her relationship with Sasaki-sama. Her connection with her Lord was enough to get her into a great many places, even if a master-student relationship had never been formally established. Though her Lord's position in the structure of the Oda army was nebulous, and Suzue knew well enough that he'd never been given a formal position, her Lord was just so commanding that the soldiers didn't ever bother to question it. Most just figured he'd been promoted in the privacy of some military discussion or another, and when her Lord showed up and commanded, the soldiers moved like they were being commanded by one of Nobunaga-sama's actual generals. After all, by now, stories of Sasaki-sama's accomplishments had spread within the ranks, especially with the topic of his physical age.

Suzue always made sure to note her Lord's 'physical age,' because for all that he looked like a boy, he didn't act like one. He talked like a man three times his age, and on the battlefield, moved with the experienced gait of a man who'd been fighting for longer than most other soldiers had been alive. Her Lord was far from normal, and Suzue was grateful for that. Sasaki-sama was just plain weird in other ways too. Observation informed her of the fact that every samurai and every ashigaru, the basic infantryman, were eager to take heads as proof of their effort, in order to gain reward and honor. Sasaki-sama had never done this, and the soldiers were just as confused as she was. Suzue had overheard some men talking about her Lord's avoidance of the practice of head-taking. It seemed foolish initially, to the warriors who scrounged for each and every kill, but after some discussion, the soldiers began to try and count her Lord's kills, only to find that they couldn't.

After that, they'd come to the conclusion that he simply didn't care to take heads. Not out of disgust for the practice, but out of sheer apathy. If her Lord had to stop and take every head, he would need to spend hours going back over the battlefield in order to collect all the heads. There was no need to scourge for honor, Suzue and the soldiers had realized simultaneously when every time Sasaki-sama appeared on a battlefield, everyone knew he was there. Her Lord was a force of nature upon the battlefield, walking through bloody battle like he was strolling through the woods. Every twitch of his hand stole lives, and every breath of his meant that another's had been cut short. He was terrifying, but in a good way, since he was on your side. None dared to touch his kills to claim them as their own, for fear of provoking his wrath.

According to the tale of the fifty men who'd been stationed at Honnoji during Akechi Mitsuhide's assassination attempt, her Lord had shown up out of nowhere, and with his aid, Nobunaga-sama had managed to rout an army four hundred times her own. The same men whispered about how despite fighting for hours on end, there was not a single scratch upon her Lord's body, and despite all the blood that had stained his clothing, none of it was his. Additional tales of burning oil and ruthless dismemberment painted Sasaki-sama as a cruel and rather inhuman demon, living only for torture and battle, but Suzue knew better. Not only had her Lord saved her from bandits, but he'd also spent weeks training her in the way of the blade, fed her, commissioned graves for her parents, and a thousand other small kindnesses. Though Sasaki-sama had never told her how expensive those graves had been, the talk of the town was that the mayor had come upon a sum of money large enough to feed the town for a week straight, three full meals of rice and meat a day. Her town had a population of hundreds, and for most of them, the thought of eating even half a bowl of rice was an unthinkable luxury. It was easy enough to connect the dots.

Still, each story built upon the last, until her Lord was firmly entrenched in the common soldier's mind as some sort of supernatural being. The story of Nobunaga-sama's page, who was called Mori Ranmaru, didn't help. He was fond of recounting the story of the first encounter between her Lord and Nobunaga-sama, on the night of the Battle for Honnoji Temple. Mori-san had been walking with Nobunaga-sama around the grounds of Honnoji, just prior to the time Nobunaga had chosen to commit seppuku, when Sasaki-sama appeared. He'd climbed over the walls, and landed in the gravel garden, only to be greeted with the muzzle flash of a musket and an already fired bullet. There'd been a moment of absolute stillness, Ranmaru-san described before the glint of a bare blade caught the moonlight. Her Lord' odachi had been drawn within a split second, and before the bullet could touch him, he had already split it in two with an iaido slash. It had not been her Lord's cry of pain that greeted Ranmaru-san's ears, but two separate sounds, a solid thunk upon wood as well as the sound of stone being shattered. After the Battle of Honnoji was done, to indulge his curiosity, Ranmaru-san had gone to inspect what'd happened the night before, only to find that the bullet had been truly cut in two, not deflected. It had been such a clean cut that it was as if the bullet had been forged that way. Nobunaga's page had found the two halves some distance from one another. One was lodged deep within a tree while the other had careened into the stone walls of Honnoji. Another example of her Lord's 'inhumanity,' to the common soldier.

Not only this, but most were also aware that at Takamatsu, it'd been her Lord that'd come up with the plan to flood the Castle, before actually following through an opening up the water castle of an assault months before the rains could come down in force. Sasaki-sama had gone on to lead the attacks, leading the charge into the force guarding the castle gates, before slaying Shimizu Muneharu, the former Lord of Takamatsu, in a duel. Her Lord's actions had forced the castle open, single-handedly bringing the battle to a close. In the later Sieges of Shikoku, though her Lord hadn't fought often, Hideyoshi-sama's army had recounted how when he did participate, the castle gates were often broken through within minutes. That was when he retreated to allow the soldiers to fight. Many saw this as a kindness, her Lord letting the common infantry claim some honor. Such was his image that a few men had begun to pray to Sasaki-sama as some sort of War God, hoping to be blessed with a fraction of his skill in battle. It was all of this, his martial ability and his kindness, that had built up an unshakable confidence with Suzue about her Lord Sasaki. Her Lord was infallible.

At least, that was how it should have been. Her confidence had taken a hit the moment she'd laid eyes upon the trio of warlords that'd stumbled into the base camp. It was impossible to overstate how miserable the three of them looked. Their eyes were exhausted, the three of them stumbled around as though drunk, they shivered in the cold midnight air, and most importantly, their feet were bare, as though they hadn't had time to dress fully before they had to take to the streets. Oda Nobunaga, whose eyes had been usually filled with an abundance of eagerness during their previous interactions, seemed unusually sorrowful. Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was constantly jovial and upbeat, was frowning, and though Suzue knew little of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the man seemed perturbed by something that had happened. Haggard was the perfect word to describe them.

Worse, Sasaki-sama, her master and savior was conspicuously absent from the small group. With her Lord missing, and his comrades in such a state, reaching the conclusion that something terrible had happened was easy. Her heart began to pound, and the noises of the camp seemed to fade into the background. Her feet picked up the pace, and within moments, she found herself at the gates. The soldiers manning them were staring, frozen in shock at the state of their superiors, so Suzue shoved past them. Any exclamations of anger were silenced by a single glance at her face.

"Lady Suzuka- I mean, Commander Oda!" a few soldiers saluted her, asking, "What…should we do?"

Right. Her new name. Oda Suzuka, gifted to her by Nobunaga-sama after her accomplishments during a surprise attack by Chosokabe Motochika. She'd almost forgotten about the name, given her Lord's propensity for addressing her by 'Suzue.' The name had spread after Nobunaga-sama had announced her adoption into the Oda Clan; it was the name that she was most known by. 'Suzue' remained a private name, reserved only for her Lord and sometimes, Nobunaga-sama. At this moment, the difference took on a new meaning. Wherever her Lord was, right now, he needed her to be 'Oda Suzuka,' the capable battlefield commander, not 'Suzue,' the girl her Lord needed to look after. The thoughts passed in a flash, in what couldn't have been more than a moment.

Suzuka spoke in a hard voice, asking, "What do you think you're doing, just standing there?"

The soldier who'd asked her what to do flinched, stuttering, "What…?"

She turned away from him, moving towards the trio. When she got close enough, Suzuka offered her shoulder as support for Nobunaga-sama, and began to escort her into the camp.

"Move," she growled at the still-frozen soldiers, "escort Hashiba-sama and Tokugawa-sama. Four of you, come here. The rest of you, establish a perimeter and start a patrol. Find out what's going on."

The order broke the men from their pause, and while four people helped her carry the three warlords into an empty barrack building, the rest scattered. Once the three warlords were taken into the building, Suzuka gestured for the four soldiers to follow her as she walked towards the exit.

"You," she said, pointing at one of the men, "alert the camp. Tell them to prepare. It's an emergency situation. Send a runner to the outer camps and alert them of the situation. Inform all commanders of the same. Then bring about five hundred men here as a protection force. As for the three others, I need you to guard the building. When the other men arrive, you are in charge, no matter the rank of the arrivals. Organize a perimeter here as well."

She took a breath, remembering one of her Lord's lessons. The carrot and the stick, reward and harshness, were needed when commanding.

Continuing, she said, "I will remember your faces. Find me after this is all over, and you will be rewarded. Now go."

She took a brief moment to do exactly that, before dismissing them to go about her orders with a wave. Once they separated to perform their jobs, Suzuka headed back into the building to check on the trio of warlords. Her eyes shifted first to Hashiba Hideyoshi, and the moment they did, her focus broke. In the well-lit building, she could make out what was being held in the man's hands. It was a sword, as she'd first assumed, but it was only now that Suzuka realized whose sword it was. It was Sasaki-sama's. Laid across Hideyoshi's lap was her Lord's odachi. The sword was an elegant thing, decorated so finely that it almost seemed better served as a display piece, rather than a functional blade. By now, Suzuka was intimately familiar with it. She'd seen it wielded with a lethal efficiency when Sasaki-sama chose to use it in their spars, once she'd progressed past the stage where her Lord could trounce her with random sticks he had picked up off the ground. Her Lord used his odachi like another samurai would use a normal katana, except he was still nearly twice as agile, not to mention deadly when using it. The handguard of the odachi was made from metal, shaped to look like the five-petalled blossom of a cherry tree. Both the sheath and handle were made from wood painted black, adorned with dragons and flowers formed from golden inlay. Around the handle was golden-colored silk and it was a precious thing; never, never, would her Lord have given it up willingly. Suzuka had asked to swing it once, and despite allowing her to use it, Sasaki-sama had watched her like a hawk the entire time.

An unfamiliar rush of emotion filled her, and she all but spat in Hideyoshi's face, manners completely forgotten, demanding, "Why do you have this blade?! Where is my master!?"

She snatched the blade from the man's lap, grabbing it before wrapping her arms around it and stepping back, afraid that the general would steal it from her. It was only then that Suzuka became aware of her conduct, and tried to apologize.

"My apologies," she muttered lowly, posture still tense.

She couldn't help but hold the general responsible for her Lord's disappearance, despite her words, and would categorically refuse to return it, even if ordered to. The man opened his mouth to speak, before pausing, sighing, and shaking his head. That only made things worse. Such an egregious breach of conduct should have seen Suzuka punished, but now, there wasn't even a rebuke.

"Is Lord Sasaki still…alive?" she asked, terrified of the answer.

Nobunaga stood up with a sigh, walking towards Suzuka. Each step built tension higher until the Oda warlord placed a hand on her shoulder. Tears appeared in her eyes, and she held her breath, only for her worries to be dashed.

"He's still alive," Nobunaga said, "as far as I know."

That was better than her Sasaki-sama being declared dead, but that presented another problem.

"Then where is he?" Suzuka managed to say, speaking through an immense, soul-deep relief.

Ieyasu said, "Sasaki-sama is still in the Imperial Palace. There was an attempt by the Emperor on Nobunaga-sama's life, one your master prevented. He's gone to make sure that attempt was the last."

Suzuka registered the fact that her Lord was trying to murder someone she'd been raised to see as a holy figure, but cared little for the supposed blasphemy, concerning herself with Sasaki-sama's safety instead.

She said as much, as her glare snapped to him and she asked everybody in the room, "Then why have none of you gone to aid him?

A look of resignation flitted across Oda Nobunaga's face, and she said, "He asked that we wait until dawn before returning with our forces, to give him some time to assassinate the Emperor. It gives us time to build a large and cohesive enough force to ensure that if Kojiro somehow fails, the Emperor will not be able to escape."

Suzuka's voice raised itself by another octave as she said, "My master is a fool! He's no use to anyone if he's…!"

Her voice failed her, and she took several breaths to regain herself.

"Nobunaga-sama, surely you can see how foolish his actions are?" she pleaded.

She could say nothing more than that, as something seemed to catch in her throat.

Tears poured down her face, and something seemed to get caught in her throat. For a moment, Suzue thought that she'd convinced the Oda warlord into action, but the woman shook her head.

"No," she said, "we'll wait until dawn as Kojiro asked. It's only fair that we honor his request. Gathering an army at the gates of the Imperial Palace will only serve to alert the Emperor's men."

Both her Lord and Nobunaga-sama were determined to be stubborn, it seemed. Right as she was prepared to turn, leave the building, then march the incoming group of five hundred men toward the Imperial Palace to fetch Sasaki-sama herself, Hideyoshi spoke up.

Slowly, he said, "Lord Oda, it would be a tragedy to see a comrade sacrifice himself now, and for a mistake all our own. It may be best to be there. It's been almost an hour already, and the army will take another to gather in full. By then, Lord Sasaki's attempt on the Emperor's life will have either been completed or a failure. Any more waiting, and we may be to blame for endangering a comrade."

The conflict emerged once more within Nobunaga's eyes, and after a few moments, the woman spoke.

"Suzue," she ordered firmly, "tell the army to prepare itself. I want every soul here to be ready to march before the hour's end."

Suzuka ignored their usage of the name that she'd decided was to be for Sasaki-sama's use only, instead simply bowing and saying, "Understood, Nobunaga-sama. My thanks, Hashiba-sama."

The man smiled awkwardly, explaining, "There's nothing to thank me for. Your master saved me from a fate far worse than death today."

The man shared a look with Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had a similarly strained and awkward expression, before shaking his head and saying, "His wish was for you to have the sword, in any case. Go. We need to prepare for a battle now and you do too."

She just nodded, before turning to leave. Any questions could come later when her Lord was not in danger. Suzuka stepped out of the building and into the cold night. There were roughly five hundred soldiers arranged in a loose circle around the building, giving the structure about twenty feet worth of space. Upon seeing her come out, one of the earlier four men approached her.

"Commander Oda! What are your orders?" he asked, even as he bowed.

She answered immediately, commanding, "Gather all the men. The situation has been confirmed. There's been an attempt on Lord Oda's life and Sasaki-sama stayed behind to enact revenge. We march upon the Imperial Palace within the hour. Send another runner to the outer camps to inform them of the new situation. Command them to prepare, and inform them that a signal will alert them when we have need of them. Tell them to arrange half the soldiers from the outer camps around Kyoto, to ensure none try to leave or enter."

The soldier nodded, before running off to fulfill the orders. A gesture towards the others who'd been listening in informed all the remaining men that they were to follow through as well, though a verbal command got half of them to remain and keep on guarding the trio of warlords. The hour of preparation came to an end, and she'd received a message that the outer camps understood what was going on and were beginning to arrange as ordered. The inner city army began to move, but before they even got halfway there, Suzuka was stunned by a mighty weight upon her shoulders. Unconsciously, her head turned to look up, and her eyes caught eight enormous things emerging from the roof of the Imperial Palace. They looked like stone at first, but as they continued to rise, Suzuka realized with no small amount of horror that the things rising were living creatures. When the things roared, she realized that she'd been wrong again. The things were not several, but singular. A single thing had caused half the army to faint immediately, she realized, looking around. As one, the pillars that Suzuka realized were necks stretched towards the sky and roared. An unwelcome understanding bloomed. This was no mere thing, not even a yokai from the stories, but a genuine God. Even living in the middle of nowhere, she'd been taught about the country's foundational Gods. This was Yamata-no-Orochi, the Dragon God supposedly killed by Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the Storm God. Apparently not, given the Dragon God's presence. The army's march died on the spot and Suzuka, along with the three warlords, were among the few to remain standing. Even the horses that Nobunaga-sama and her generals were on had frozen, afraid to even move or make noise, as the distant God screamed towards the sky. She had no doubt that everything within three days' travel had heard that roar.

"I have returned." the roar seemed to declare. Her throat dried and fear was the only emotion that Suzue knew. Not for herself, but for her Lord. The realization that her Lord Sasaki was still in the Imperial Palace, maybe right next to that angry God, was what drove her forward. That single thought was enough to break Suzuka free from her reverie. The sight of her moving seemed to shake those who were awake into motion, and she noticed that Nobunaga-sama and her generals were among the select few. They dismounted and slowly walked toward where Suzue was.

Ieyasu-sama spoke softly, asking, "Is that…what I think it is?"

He received no response from the other two, and Suzuka simply said, "It is. Sasaki-sama is there, as we speak. I'm going to get him."

Suzuka shoved her way through the crowd, and despite the weight upon her shoulders increasing with every step, she kept moving. Compared to her Lord during their sparring sessions, this wasn't significant. The roar of this God was just the roar of a great beast, full of anger. This weight was only difficult to deal with due to how large of a distance it spread. The pressure that her Lord produced was akin to a blade resting against your throat. Her Lord's aura was one of absolute domination, as though he knew every move she'd think to make before she'd even thought it. He saw everything. She pressed on, and after what felt like half an hour of effort, though was likely only a few minutes, the pressure suddenly vanished. A second roar emerged from the broken Imperial Palace. The heads were long gone now, having been retracted into the building. This second roar was not one of power but of pain. Someone was fighting the God and Suzuka knew that it could be no one else but her Sasaki-sama. Yet, she was worried for him. What was he using to fight? Whatever it was, there was no way it was as good as his own odachi. Suzuka moved faster, willing disobedient limbs to move, despite her instincts screaming danger at her.

The Imperial Palace was cold and silent when she arrived; that, more than anything, unnerved her. The God had stopped roaring and the pressure was gone, but that didn't mean the danger was past. She was prepared for anything as she watched the men array themselves around the gates. From afar, it was obvious how terrible the damage was. The entire place was a shadow of its former self, charred and damaged as it was. Debris lined the ground. The sound of hooves impacting cobblestones behind her alerted her to the fact that Nobunaga-sama had arrived. Only once the warlord had gotten off her horse did Suzuka begin to walk forward, only to freeze once again. There was a woman walking out of the ruins of the palace, leaning against her Sasaki-sama. His body was all but limp, and one of his arms was slung around the woman's neck as support. Her Lord walked with a slow, exhausted gait, and gradually, he approached. Suzuka wanted to do no nothing more than run to him and carry him to safety, but the look in his eyes convinced her otherwise. Raw determination filled her Lord's movements and it was only when he passed through the gates and was surrounded by Nobunaga-sama and her other two generals that he seemed to relax. The Oda warlord had rushed to him, making sure he was okay, but given Sasaki-sama had no obvious injuries, propriety saw her pulling back after a moment. Hashiba-sama and Tokugawa-sama took their turns to speak to her Lord, and once they were done, Nobunaga-sama announced a return to the barracks.

Suzuka didn't miss the little by-play, where the woman gave Sasaki-sama a look that demanded a later conversation, a look that received a tired nod. Nobunaga-sama remounted her horse, and without any further words, left on her horse. The two generals followed her, leaving Suzuka in command of the twenty thousand soldiers that'd been mobilized. Command of the army could wait for later though since Sasaki-sama needed her. Questioning her Lord about what had happened could wait for later too, as could any inquiry about the woman with the unsettling presence and serpentine eyes. Her Lord needed her now. She knelt by his side, paying the woman no further mind.

"Sasaki-sama, your Suzue is here. Are you alright?" she asked.

Her Lord smiled softly, nodding.

Suzue smiled in return, and from her back, unslung Sasaki-sama's blade. Her presentation of the odachi was almost reverential, and once her Lord nodded again, she helped to secure it to his side.

Sasaki-sama whispered hoarsely, "My thanks, Suzue. I hope you were well also?"

She tried to respond with a positive affirmation, but now that her Lord was close by and safe, the 'Suzuka 'personality she'd adopted to deal with stress had been burnt away like the Imperial Palace. Suzue broke down.

Between tears, she choked out, "I'm…fine. I just really, really missed you. I was so worried that it felt like my heart would tear itself apart."

Weakly, her Lord pulled her towards him, allowing Suzue to cry into his chest. A few minutes passed, and Suzue simply knelt there, luxuriating in his presence. Then, she finally gathered herself and pulled back.

"Promise me something, Sasaki-sama?" she asked quietly.

Her Lord hummed to show that he'd heard her, and she continued.

"Please never leave me behind again," she requested, "wherever you go, take me with you."

Her Lord responded with an indulgent smile, and answered, "I promise. Wherever I go, you will also go."

Warmth flowered within her chest, as the last of her anxiety was pushed away by the promise. He spoke again.

"Come on, Suzue. You too, Chiyome. Let's find a place to rest, I feel like I'm about to collapse."

All was well.

A/N:

Sorry for the late upload. I tried writing the start of the next arc, but it just wouldn't come out. This chapter is the product of me trying to solve that, a proper end to the first part of this story. The next section, as I've mentioned in the last A/N, will be about yokai. Not only that, but it'll also concern Sasaki making a bigger name for himself, and interacting with the rest of Japan, not just the Oda army.

…

Thought it was high time to give character pics/references for the important characters, both past and present, for those that I haven't yet, just so our mental images are the same.

Toda Seigen: Record of Ragnarok- Chapter 16

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Mochizuki Chiyome: F/GO- Ascension 2

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Oda Nobunaga: F/GO- Demon King Avenger Stage 3 W/ Archer Nobunaga's Outfit & Color

Palette

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Sasaki Kojiro: Story Cover Image- Actually More a Mix Between RoR Kojiro & F/SN UBW By Ufotable, Grey Eyes & Blackish-Blue Hair & Built like RoR Kojiro

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Suzue/Oda Suzuka: Nioh- Tachibana Ginchiyo

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Once more, the Servant categories(each ? is a new character, so no repeats):

Ruler: Oda Nobunaga(1)

Saber: Toda Seigen(1), ?

Archer: Oda Nobunaga(2)

Lancer: ?

Rider: N/A

Caster:

Assassin: Mochizuki Chiyome, ?, ?

Berserker: Toda Seigen(2), ?

…

Also, the year is 1585, so all events progress from this time. Also, also, we're swapping back to Kojiro POV for a while.

Edite Chapter 33 on 12/31/2022 for Spacing and Minor Spelling Errors.