Chapter 1: Owari no Yui

The sound of battle cries came from all over. Mixed into the cries were the stomping and clapping of feet and cavalry. The clanging of the metal weapons could be heard all over, once in a while, a few strange noises would come off.

It was a war or more accurately, one battle in a huge war or conquest. Paru had somehow appeared in the midst of all the fighting. As she was not on either side, it was only natural that once the attention of the soldiers was directed to her, she would be attacked.

As Paru was considered Nobunaga’s ‘replacement’ for a period of time when she was at Majisuka Prison, it was quite obvious that she was not weak. Taking down one or two people was a possible task even though they had spears, katana, and the sort, but taking down more than that at a continuous rate was nearly impossible.

Unknown to her, the numerous fights had moved her quite far from the start point. Quietly observing the Habu girl fight was a figure riding a horse. The figure was clad in armor that had a different feel than all the others and her katana was halfway unsheathed in case it was needed.

A darkness filled with depth was reflected in her eyes. Her black hair was somewhat short, but it was still tied to the side on one side. The girl’s eyes followed Paru’s movement and watched as Paru slowly took the armed enemy down with an array of punches and kicks. In this situation, she can’t run away to begin with. Seeing the fact that there were many non-fatal injuries, the blood loss was quite a lot.

“Yui-sama, the battle is over.” Another girl came over and informed her lord of the situation.

“Rena, then we shall head back. And retrieve that girl over there for me.” Yui ordered the military commander to retrieve the girl who she was pointing to. Due to blood loss, Paru was out.

“Hai.”

The pale commander responded, her long hair getting blown by the wind. Quickly, she hopped on her horse, rode over to Paru, and positioned the Habu girl onto the horse. Rena was light, so it could only be expected for a war horse to be able to carry that much weight.

Paru PoV

The second I open my eyes, a bright light blinds me. As my eyes adjust, I see a short girl with a ponytail looking at me. Surprised, I try to get up, but she gently pushes me back onto the futon that I was laying on for some reason.

Last I remember, I had been with Habu and Mongoose, but Uruseeyo punched tree, sending me into the middle of a battlefield. Somehow, I managed to defeat around four of them, but I think I fainted due to blood loss. It’s nearly impossible to not when you’re not wearing protection and fighting barehanded against an enemy armed with sharp things.

“Where am I…?” I ask.

When I first came to the prison, I was also in this type of situation, but just a negative one. This time, I don’t think I should bite someone and be such a person.

“Owari.”

End. “Eh?” I don’t understand. Either it’s Owari as in the thing in history or quite literally the [End].

“The province of Owari, ruled by Yokoyama Yui-sama, even the lowest peasant should know about her.”

I look at the short girl with a look of confusion. She realizes that I really don’t know what I’m talking about. The girl begins to stumble over what she’s saying. Flicking her forehead lightly, the short girl regained composure after a bit.

“It might be that you are from a barbarian country…”

She muttered to herself. Barbarian country, does she mean a country out of Japan? Like how people used to call Europeans back then? To tell the truth, I never had paid much attention in history class, whether or not I look like I did. Both of us looked at my clothes and I realized that the uniform and her outfit, a boyish kimono of some sort, were completely different.

“In modern day Japan, due to problems with succession, the first-born will become the new ruler no matter the gender. Currently, there are quite a large number of female daimyo. Currently, we are in the province of Owari. The daimyo is Yokoyama Yui-sama. She decided to save you instead of leaving you to die out in that battlefield.”

After taking a deep breath, she started with her somewhat short speech. Finishing, she took another deep breath and looked at me. In response, I nodded and let out a small ‘un’, telling her that I got it. This was strange, I’m pretty sure I didn’t go back in time seeing as that I’m pretty sure daimyo had to be male, but I don’t think things change so quickly either.

Yokoyama Yui, I do need to thank her for saving my life either way. Helping someone that collapsed in a time of warring and such as it seems is really nice. Despite my lack of understanding of this, I think that she is a good person most probably.

The unfamiliar sound of a sliding door opening brought me out of my thoughts. A somewhat tall and skinny girl with pale skin and long black hair entered the room. Her clothes resembled the ponytail girl’s but they were somewhat more elegant.

“Yui-sama wishes to meet you.” Her statement was directed towards me.

I nod and attempt to get up. The short girl frowns. True, I probably wasn’t exactly completely fine and dandy at the moment.

“There is no need for that, Rena. Takahashi, let her adjust into a comfortable position.”

Another girl entered the room. Her voice was calm. She wore a pitch black kimono that had the bottom cut short. On the side was a sheathed katana. A bit of her somewhat short hair was tied to the side slightly and her eyes were deep and impossible to read. Is this Yui-sama? The tall girl who was addressed as Rena stood to the side and the short girl, Takahashi, helped me adjust, though I didn’t really need help. I was just a bit hurt and sore.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yokoyama Yui.”

“I’m Paru.” I don’t know if I should tell her my real name.

“It’s ok, there’s no need to tell me your real name.” As if reading my mind, she calmly responded. There was a mysterious feel around her words.

“Ok… Thank you for saving me back there…”

She shows a slight smile for a second. “You caught my eye on the battlefield, so I want you to be my servant or retainer.”

In a way, this confuses me. The other two girls look at me with a slightly sorry smile. She walks out of the room and leaves the message, “We’ll talk about things at a later point in time, Paru.” Following after her is the girl that was called Rena.

Takahashi looked my way and smiled. “Well, Paru, nice to meet you. I’m Takahashi Minami, I use a spear as my main choice of weaponry. Hope you enjoy Yui-sama’s hospitality.” And then she exited the room as well.

My comment on this would probably be that people here are very fast paced and organized. I wonder if all the others are safe and with people like this.