Issei-chan & the Demon King (Queen) of Sixth Heaven

She was lying down on the field, relaxing. Resting. Two things that were uncommon to see from the bloodthirsty commander, but who's to say she wasn't aware of that. She just wanted to take it easy for the meantime, stretch her arms and legs for a bit. They were really stiff after all of that fighting, and she was already getting tired of the smell of sweat and blood staining her senses.

Nobunaga looked at the man kneeling on the grass next to her, writing something down, probably paperwork or whatever; she didn't like having to write down the terms and conditions for every single fight that they had. The man had wild hair, like a lion's mane and was intently focused on his work. He was Toyotomi Hideyoshi (though officially he wasn't called that yet, a strange voice pointed out), her subordinate, retainer, and very close friend. He, alongside Ieyasu, were the warlords who would unify Japan long after she was gone, the future of their beloved country depending on their success.

But right now, as they are today? They were closer to newborn babes than the monsters they would eventually become in the future... well, mostly Hideyoshi since she always thought that Ieyasu was kind of a wimp, but the point still stands! She always knew the latent potential they both had, Ieyasu with his patience and strategy, and Hideyoshi with his charisma and great power in the battlefield.

She didn't need to worry about the future right now, though. Only dreamers who don't act on their desires do that, and she certainly did her very damn best to get what she wanted. She just beat the first encroaching warlord coming to take her territory with cunning and cleverness, the loser who she had already forgotten the name of, took their bait hook, line and sinker. It wasn't a very 'honorable' tactic, but she didn't care for such matters anyway.

Hideyoshi was practically an afterthought, some random soldier she hired to carry her shoes around the province. He did his job well enough, but what she didn't expect was his uncanny ability to handle so many foes on his own. Some enemy soldiers managed to go through their ambush and tried to lop her head off, a very difficult task indeed since she could handle them on her own, but what she didn't expect was him coming to her aid with his blade, and slowly cut his way around each of them all on his own. When they fell, she knew there was something special about this run off the mill soldier, someone of a completely unremarkable family and history, and yet he had shown a finesse that was unseen in the rest of her army.

He was basic. Learning only the basics of soldiering, he should've been unremarkable in every way, yet he handled himself like he was a professional. He would get there on his own for sure, but as it was now? He was nothing special.

Still, though, his effort was to be praised. She was impressed, a difficult feeling for her to attain, and that was all that mattered. She could be patient, just this once. He'll prove himself in the future over and over again, and her choice of retainer will decide the future of the country, their vision. And she knew the decision would not be a waste.

Snapping out her daydreaming by the sound of falling liquids, she sees Hideyoshi pouring a cup of tea for her. It didn't quite occur to her that such a person could be so anal about tea ceremonies and the processes about it, but that was besides the point. Sitting upright with her legs crossed, she gingerly takes the cup with both of her hands and sips it quietly, thinking thoughtfully.

She stops momentarily, and steals a quick glance at Hideyoshi, who does the same. She smirks slightly, and returns to sipping her cup silently, to his confusion. Gathering the courage to talk to his superior, he asks.

"Sire, is there something wrong? You've been awfully quiet lately." Nobunaga chuckled, responding to the question.

"Saru." His growing confusion brought another chuckle to Nobunaga, who began pointing at her face. She then gestured to his face, Hideyoshi still nonplussed.

"Could you elaborate a bit more? I don't really get it," he asked Nobunaga. She replied.

"Saru. You look like a monkey, Hideyoshi, so I'm calling you that now." This blunt response brought a deep sigh to Hideyoshi, who was now rubbing his forehead. "It's not too bad, you know. It makes you pretty identifiable, if you think about it."

"Fair enough, sir." He motioned to the kettle still full of tea for Nobunaga, to which Nobunaga handed her cup to him. Even knowing the life she would have in the future, it would do her well to befriend her subordinates and make them closer at least this one time. A partnership, she thinks.

"Yes," she nodded, "A partnership." She stood up upon finishing her cup and left the field to walk to their camp. This would satisfy her for now.

Nausea suddenly hit her, and she fell down to the floor as her soldiers arrived to come help her. Colors reflected every portion of her line of sight, and she could feel nothing else. Bile built up near her throat, and she suddenly felt nothing, her body turning into dust even if she didn't know what was happening to her. This never actually happened, but nightmares had a habit of twisting beloved memories like nothing else.

A wave moved around Nobunaga's vision, and suddenly she found herself somewhere else. It was large, empty, and devoid of absolutely anything. The only things of note was her, and a fearful child, kneeling on the floor. She felt compelled to walk forward, to turn him into... her? What?

She did it because she was told to, and following the orders made her feel good, her eyes growing and duller and mind growing ever so number, as every bit of her being flowed into the boy, burning his clothes and his very being. Purified and distilled essence of her, transforming him down to the very soul into another her. Satisfaction and pleasure flowed every bit of her being as she slowly desecrated him, and then it stopped. The color lacking from her eyes suddenly became very bright, and very scared.

She jumped back, mortified at what she had done. But there wasn't much else she could do, was there? She crawled slowly to him, hugging him tightly as the world slowly became black.

The voices around her grew louder and louder, until...

BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP.

Bump! A hand slapped the alarm clock, shutting it off for the morning. The girl lying on the bed woke up in a cold sweat, her eyes bloodshot and her skin pale. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

She gathered a little of what she remembered from her dream. The first, was a fond memory of Nobunaga she could recall. It was one of those things that established that Oda Nobunaga wasn't a completely heartless warlord of Japan, though her nerdy and geeky manner of fact towards her copies of Shonen Jump convinced her that much already. She had friends, a sense of humour, and people she could always rely on. That was Hideyoshi to her, wasn't it? It definitely was...

The second dream, however... She shivered. Having to basically reignite memories of the worst day of her life was not pleasant at all. She didn't want to know how her perspective on her tenant was twisted like that. As she could clearly recall, Nobunaga did not want any of this to begin with; if things had gone as planned, she would've been master and servant as normal, but instead some jackass added something extra to the mix and turned her into... this.

She couldn't blame someone who had no choice in the matter, no, not at all. That... thing with her face in her dream, that wasn't her. That wasn't Nobunaga; the eyes of the monster she saw through was a fake. She knew her better than anyone else alive now. That figment was only a result of what she witnessed yesterday morning. It certainly made some level of sense. The fear on her face, and the tears on her eyes from witnessing the monstrosity were all numbed by both Nobunaga's iron hold on her body and the sheer brutality displayed by her. That such a disgusting creature was so easily disposed off didn't change anything to her, she was still very scared, felt so helpless before it.

And yet, that answer only felt half correct to her. Whatever strange feelings and thoughts she felt then didn't matter now, but they were part of the solution she thought. Shaking her head, she looked up at the ceiling, her mind thoughtful.

She felt a cold tap on her shoulder, wind blowing through her bare pits, and there she realized Nobunaga was trying to catch her attention. A faint sounding "Issei!" was heard, and the person referred to finally responded with "I'm up, I'm up! What is it, Nobbu?" Her voice was laced with some irritation, though her sentiments were appreciated.

You were breathing heavily in your sleep. And you were tearing up a lot... What did you see when you were dreaming? Issei froze at the question proposed by Nobunaga, now aware that her feelings were obvious from the start. She pushed away some hair blocking her eyes, then responded.

"It was... a bad dream, I guess." Nobunaga noted that Issei could only reluctantly respond to her question, a sign of apprehension. And? What did you see exactly?

"It was one of your memories, Nobbu, I—" She mentally tripped over the referred nickname, but it seemed that Nobunaga didn't find it any more or less disrespectful, so she just continued as is. "I know that it was how it was supposed to go, I guess. But something... something went wrong in that recreation."

Yeah...? What was it... It seemed pretty rough. She gulped, and breathed in.

"It was you that was wrong, Nobbu. I don't know how to describe it, but you walked to me. While I was you in that scene and there was this big empty canvas, and the field burst into flames and I..." She sighed. "I don't really know what happened. I trust you already, Nobu. You saved me and my parents' lives not simply because I was your host, but because they were people to be saved..."

… We can talk a bit more later if you're not up for it right. She could only agree. She took her backpack downstairs as she readied for school.