21st Century Samurai

Prologue: From Kyoto to... Kyoto.

Standing in front of the burned Honnō-ji temple was Sasuke, he tapping his foot as he glanced back to the temple. He was waiting to see if Yuki was going to show up to head back home. It was the day the portal was opening back up. The day of their only opportunity. It was now or... never.

He feared, however, that she might wish to stay back. From his intelligence gathering, he knew that Yuki was close with the Lord of Azuchi Castle, Lord Nobunaga. And, he feared her relationship with him was too close to risk separation, that she would stay here with him. However, these thoughts were merely such, he knew she was smarter than that, right? She had told him of her bet with Nobunaga, that she had to win her way back, he hoped that-- according to the slightly twisted bet, that she wouldn't end up stuck in the Azuchi castle.

However, those thoughts ceased at the loud galloping of a horse from the shadow-bathed path; a large brown horse jumped out from between the trees. A surprised look graced his features at the scene, watching the horse jog up, slowing down as it neared him. And, at the front of the horse was Yuki, she calling to him as she rode. What was more of a shock was who was behind her. Oda Nobunaga.

"Sasuke!" She called, now the horse was slowing to a halt, Nobunaga holding the reins of the horse. "I'm here!" She looked exhausted, a little winded. "I'm not late, right?" And, then, she carefully got down from the horse, Lord Oda following right after her.

"You're not late." The ninja muttered, giving her a momentary glance, but then his eye focused on Lord Oda. How to reply to the lord, how to question his existence here. Why was Lord Oda here? "It seems you brought a friend with you, Yuki?" He questioned, using a more modern term, one the samurai was not comfortable with.

"'Friend'?" Nobunaga almost grumbled, cocking a brow while shifting his weight from his left leg to his right. He was wearing his armor, with all the swords at his waist and a bag over his shoulder. Knowing he was leaving, he grabbed a few things; his full kimono, his favorite book, his glass Konpeitō jar, his special Goban board, his dagger, and crest, branded in metal. "I am more than her 'friend'. Now, aside the assumption, who are you? State or die."

"Well--" Despite the grumbling of the samurai lord, Sasuke continued with a simple sigh. "Dear Oda, I am a friend of Yuki, from our timeline, about 500 years from now." The inflection of speech made the samurai grumble under his breath. "My name is Sasuke. Now, may I ask, as I do hold much more of a right to question-- But, what are you doing here? We're leaving tonight."

"That is MY business." Lord Oda replied, a fraction of a pout at his lips as he folded his arms over his chest. And, before Sasuke could reply to the Lord's more obnoxious childishness, Yuki spoke up.

"Well, Nobunaga has decided to go with us." She explained, coaxing another grumble from the Lord and another shocked look from the ninja. "I told him how our timeline went, and what happened to the samurai, especially him--" Her voice came out as a mutter for a moment. "And, it is his choice to go with us. Right?" She looked to Nobunaga and he mumbled a huff under his breath, turning away and likely blushing out of sudden change in character.

"Oh?" Sasuke questioned, raising a brow at the tyrannical warlord. "Well, besides the obvious issues with taking someone from the past to the present--" He mumbled, "But, I assume you ironed out the kinks before coming." He sighed softly, giving a look to the two before him. He was trying to think of ways in which Nobunaga's presence could affect the present, but nothing was obvious, since all that came to mind was fiction.

"Of course we did." Yuki started with a soft smile, nodding her head. She looked to Nobunaga with a look that seemed more... sheepish. "He had a few interesting ways to leave. I feel he took a page out of our century's playbook-- Apparently, we're going with the suicide note and faked death."