Shards of Time: The Boy From Imagawa

"Who was that ninja? Do you know him?" He asked. I thought the doctor told you not to evoke my memories?

"I don't know his name. All I know is that I've seen his face before. I don't know what he wants from me so stop asking." My head started to hurt again and the pain made me angry for some reason and I raised my voice at Nobunaga. I realized what I did and it was too late for me to bite my tongue. I stood up and tried to leave but he stopped me.

"Did he tell you anything?" He asked as he grabbed my arm to stop me from leaving. I was reluctant; I don't know if I should tell him or not. I decided to tell him the truth. I have no reason to hide it from him since that ninja must be a bad guy. I mean, he has to be, right? He tried to kill me.

"He told me that he'll be back to get me." I said. Nobunaga let go of my arm and looked at me. He had a smirk on his face.

"Right now, I don't have much power and I can't protect you outside this castle. You'd do well to stay here where I have eyes on you." He said. I guess I have no choice then. But Nobunaga will succeed his father soon. If I recall, Nobuhide will die of an illness. I distinctly remember reading about the battle for power over the Oda clan.

"One more thing." He added. I snapped out of my trance and looked at him. He threw the dagger my father had given me on my wedding day at me. I caught it and I looked at him.

"The doctor found this in your person. Care to explain?" He asked. I held the dagger in my hands tightly. I should not be afraid.

"When you succeed your father, you have the right to take over Mino. The moment I see that you do not have the capabilities to lead the province, I will kill you and take back what is mine." I said with my head held high. Nobunaga had a smirk on his face. He walked up to me and held my face close to his.

"Your father was right. You are no ordinary woman." He said. I pushed him away and I went back to my room without looking back. A few minutes had passed and there was a knock on my door.

"Milady, it's me, Sato." When I heard her voice, I quickly opened the door. She was carrying a tray with food and tea.

"Sorry I took so long. I was on my way back to the garden when I came across Lord Nobunaga. He told me that you retreated to your room so I went here." She explained. She placed the food down on the table and poured me some tea.

"Milady, the Lord seemed to be pleased with you." The moment she said those words, I almost choked on my tea. I spat out the tea and coughed.

"Are you okay milady?" Sato asked. I gave her a thumbs-up as I took a deep breath.

"I'm fine." I said.

"Why did you look surprised when I said that the Lord is pleased with you?" She asked. Because it's not true; He just likes to tease me like the annoying prick that he is.

"It's bad to tell lies Sato." I said. She nodded and took the tray of tea away. She left the room and I sat on my bed. What am I supposed to do now? As if on cue, I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." I said. When the door opened, I saw it was Masahide.

"Milady, the Lord asks for your presence in the audience chamber." He said. What? What does he want now? I sighed.

"Do I have to go?" I asked. Masahide looked at me with a serious expression.

"Yes milady." I rolled my eyes and stood up from the bed. I followed Masahide out of the room and into the audience chamber. When we entered, all of Nobuhide's generals were there including Nobunaga. Masahide led me to Nobunaga's side. Nobunaga looked up at me with a menacing smile on his face.

"Sit." He ordered. I had no choice but to obey. I sat next to him and Masahide sat next to Nobunaga on the opposite side.

"Since we have secured the north; the east now poses a bigger threat to us." Nobuhide said. The generals all gave their suggestions on what to do. I pulled Nobunaga's sleeve and he looked at me.

"What am I doing here?" I whispered to him. He looked at me and smirked.

"I need to keep my eyes on you." He said. What the hell? I ended up ignoring him and listening to the generals' plans.

"My Lord, Hirotada has forged an alliance with Imagawa." One of the generals said. Everyone's attention to the alliance grew. Hirotada? Ieyasu's father. This was Nobuhide's greatest moment of glory; when he kidnapped Ieyasu when he was on his way to Imagawa.

"Hirotada's son will be travelling to Imagawa. We shall intercept them and kidnap the boy." Nobuhide said.

"What shall we do with the boy?" One of the generals asked.

"We shall use him as hostage. I will threaten Hirotada with the boy's life if he doesn't sever all his ties with Imagawa." Nobuhide said. No, that's not going to work.

"He won't care." I blurted out. I quickly covered my mouth with my hands. All of them turned to me.

"Speak up Lady Nō." Nobuhide ordered. I looked at Nobunaga for help but he just had a smirk on his face.

"Uhm, My Lord, Hirotada will not care about his son. He'll prove his loyalty to Imagawa by letting you kill his son." I said. Even the generals' raised their eyebrows at me. Please believe me. I knew what happened. I'm from the future.

"How do you know this, Lady Nō?" Nobuhide asked. Crap! What do I say? I was totally out of ideas when Nobunaga spoke.

"I believe what my wife says is true. Hirotada is not someone who feigns loyalty." He said. Thank God! I'm saved. Nobuhide thought about it before speaking.

"Even so, we will still kidnap the boy. If we get him on our side, we'll be able to secure the east seeing as he will most likely overthrow his own father." Nobuhide said. You don't have to worry about Ieyasu. He'll be a great retainer to your son. Wait a minute, after the battle for the east, Nobuhide will… My thoughts were interrupted when Nobunaga called me.

"Nō, the council is over." He said. I quickly stood up and followed him outside. Before leaving the room, I looked back at Nobuhide who was still sitting down. I looked at Nobunaga.

"I'm going to talk to your father." I said. He looked at me and flashed a cocky smile.

"You don't need to tell me. I don't care." He said. I rolled my eyes and closed the door behind me. Arrogant prick.

"Lady Nō, why are you still here?" He asked. I walked over to him and sat down next to him. 

"My Lord, pardon my question but are you sick?" I asked. He seemed surprised by my question.

"How did you know?" He asked.

"My Lord, please believe me. I know what's going to happen. I'm not from this time period. I'm from the future." After I said that he looked at me like I was crazy.

"What are you talking about, Lady Nō? Are you trying to trick me?" He said. I shook my head.

"No My Lord. I'm telling the truth. If I wasn't, how would I know about your illness?" I said. He looked at me.

"That's why you knew about Hirotada's decision about his son." He said finally realizing that I was telling the truth. Finally, someone who knows the truth. I don't have to worry about him telling anyone. Aside from no one believing him, he'll be dead soon anyway.

"Tell me Nō, what will happen with Imagawa?" He asked. I'm debating in my head whether it'd be right to tell him or will it change anything in the future.

"Well, Hirotada will die after you bribed his vassals to kill him." I said. He stroked his beard while looking down on the floor.

"What about Imagawa?" He asked.

"He will still be alive for a few years." I said. How do I tell him that he'll die at the same time as Hirotada?

"Will I live to see it?" He asked. My chest suddenly started tightening and my heart was beating fast. A tear fell from my eye which I quickly brushed away.

"N-no My Lord. Your illness will be the one to kill you." I said; my voice cracking. Why do I have to be the bearer of bad news? I feel like I'm death. The worst part about being from the future, I know who dies and when they die and I can't do anything about it. I can't change anything or else I might end up not existing.

"It's okay Nō. And from now on call me father." He said. I was already crying and he helped me wipe my tears away.

"One last thing Nō, after my death, what will become of the Oda Clan?" He asked. He's probably worried about it since his family will strive for power once he's dead.

"Don't worry father. Nobunaga succeeded in unifying most of Japan. And he'll be the one to kill Imagawa Yoshimoto." I said. He looked surprised at first but let out a chuckle.

"I can't believe my foolish son will be the one to do it. Then I will die without any worries." He said while smiling. I could tell him how Nobunaga rose to power but he doesn't need to know that he's whole family was murdered.

"But father, your illness…" I said but he stopped me.

"It'll be fine Nō." He assured me.

"Will you tell anyone about me?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled.

"I don't need to. Your secrets will die with me. But Nō, I want you to promise me something." He walked closer to me and held my hands.

"What is it, father?" I asked. He looked me in the eyes before speaking.

"Stay with Nobunaga. Guide him to the right path. Do not let him stray from his fate. I know it's only you who can do this." He said with utmost sincerity. I looked at him and nodded.

"You can rest assured that I will do my best father." I said. He let go of my hands and hugged me. I hugged him back. My tears started falling again when I remembered how Nobunaga acted when his father died. When he pulled away, he held my face and wiped my tears away.

"Do not cry Nō. Now go back to your room. I still have to prepare." He said with a smile on his face. I nodded and walked out the door. I closed the door behind me but I stood there and processed what had happened. I wiped my tears away before walking back to my room.

I opened the door to my room and saw Sato cleaning. She saw me and greeted me. When I asked her to raise her head, she saw my eyes were puffed and it made her worry.

"Are you okay, milady?" She asked.

Nobunaga stood behind a pillar at the corridor by the audience chamber. When Nō asked to stay inside, he was curious what she wanted to talk to his father about. A few minutes passed and he saw Nō leaving the audience chamber. She leaned on the door the moment she closed it. He saw that her eyes were red and there were tears on her face. Nobunaga's curiosity grew. When she left, Nobunaga entered the audience chamber.

"Father." He greeted his father when he entered. Nobuhide turned to look at his son. He remembered what Nō had told him. What she said was something no one would believe but Nobuhide chose to listen to her.

"What is it, Nobunaga?" Nobuhide asked.

"What did Nō tell you?" Nobunaga asked without hesitation. His father smiled at him.

"You waited outside the room for her?" His father asked. Nobunaga scoffed.

"Just answer my question." He prodded. His father let out a chuckle then put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"You're smitten by this woman. I can tell." He said. Nobunaga pushed his father's hand away from him and turned on his heel.

"If you want to know what she said, why don't you ask her yourself?" Nobuhide teased. Nobunaga didn't say anything. He left the room and went back to the Tenshu where his room was. Although he was curious, he didn't want to interact with Nō. He was uncertain of his feelings for the young maiden.

During the wedding, Nobunaga described Nō as having an appearance of a goddess. He was smitten with her beauty. During the council, Nō showed reasoning making Nobunaga believe that she is knowledgeable on many things. He knew that Nō wasn't like the other women he had seen. Thinking that his attractions were merely physical, he ordered for Nō to transfer to the Tenshu to live with him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Nō busted through the door to his room. His amusement grew when he saw her.

"You are my wife. It's only right for you to sleep with me." Nobunaga answered. Seeing her face turn red, Nobunaga laughed. He walked closer to her and she took steps back avoiding him.

"I will not sleep with you." She said.

"Oh? Why does your body say otherwise?" Nobunaga said. I kept stepping back until I hit the wall. Damn him! I tried to push him but he held my wrists tightly. He inched his face closer to mine until I could feel his breath on my face. I closed my eyes and waited for something to happen. Seconds passed and I felt nothing. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that he was smirking.

"Were you waiting for something to happen?" He said. Teme! I pushed him away and he let me go.

"I'm going back to my room." I said. I was about to leave when he stopped me.

"This is your room. From now on, you sleep here with me." He said. I felt my face getting hotter. He inched closer to me but I stepped back.

"How about we have a deal?" I said, trying to find an escape from him.

"What kind of deal?" He asked. A deal where I can win.

"My condition is you are not allowed to touch me without my consent." He looked at me and raised his eyebrow.

"What about you? Tell me your conditions and I'll judge whether I accept it or not." I said. He smirked and looked at me.

"You will do what I tell you without any complaints." He said.

"As long as it doesn't violate my condition, I'm okay with it." I said. He let out a chuckle and shook his head. I thought it wasn't enough for us to have a verbal agreement seeing as how crafty Nobunaga is. I took a scroll and wrote the conditions on it. I signed it and I showed it to him.

"This is our agreement. You have to sign it." I said. He took the scroll and signed his name at the bottom. I rolled it back up and kept it with me. I turned to leave when Nobunaga stopped me.

"Where do you think you're going?" He said. It slipped my mind that I am now living in his room. I sighed and turned back around.

"In a few days, the ambush on Hirotada's son will take place. I want you to come with us." He said. My eyes widened.

"What? Why do I need to come with you?" I asked, exasperated. He smirked.

"Is that a complaint?" He asked mockingly. He told me after I agreed to his conditions. Damn you! He's smart but I won't let him play me. I'm the boss.