I've been a big Samurai Warriors fan for a long time. Not just Samurai Warriors, in fact, but also the history of the time itself. The feudal era really interests me. This is an idea I came up after a lot of thinking, and I'm hoping to cover a lot of the major moments in the history of the game. I would also like to thank my awesome lady, Sayuri Tsukihime for her loan of her character, Tsukiyo.

This first chapter begins on the night before the battle of Okehazama, and is going to tell the story of the Ii clan, and a minor clan in service to them, the Nishimura, as they prepare to go to battle against the Oda. Also, please note that a character of my design will also be coming in too.

The Mighty Imagawa

Rain beat down hard upon the ground. It symbolized an omen, one of which the mighty Imagawa clan cared little for. They had the might and men to bring the whole land beneath their heel. Why would they have need for superstitions and tall tales at a time like this?

Thousands of men were still abuzz within the camp. They busied themselves moving supplies and making last minute preparations for the coming battle. Meanwhile, the nobles and senior samurai sat within the tent of Lord Yoshimoto Imagawa. Many bold men from many prestigious families sat in orderly lines, many of them bowed as they addressed the lord himself.

Lord Yoshimoto, a plump, elegantly robed gentleman, but by no means to be considered to be lacking in power, he ruled over his clan and family with absolute authority. His influence was vast, and his political connections in the land outweighed almost everybody else in the land. He silently watched with a stern expression as his generals and advisors stood in debate.

Their voices slightly elevated, they each prattled away about their petty stakes in the conflicts against the Oda forces, their honor; their rightful places in the battle formations, and who should have the esteemed privilege of being upon the frontline. Little else seemed to concern them, men of loyalty, but also bound by their own personal desires and obligations.

Yoshimoto grew tired. Insistently, he raised his hand. The mere gesture; that single movement, it was enough to silence the entire room, "I would much prefer it if I were given a battle report of the previous days."

The dark eyes of the mighty daimyo slithered across the room in perfect contrast to his relatively paler features. With his sight his master, he scanned the room for a man amongst his generals who was worthy of answering his question.

His gaze fell upon an man amongst the rabble who bore tidy hair and clean features, his frame being muscular and sturdy in form. His eyes shone the deepest brown of serenity and loyalty, and his robe was neatly worn and exquisite in quality. Upon his garment, a deep purple in color, was adorned his family crest, a bright and majestic moon ensnared within a sphere of light. His name? Akihide Nishimura, head of the lesser Nishimura clan of fifteen-hundred men.

"Lord Nishimura," Imagawa began with stern authority in his voice, "You will answer my question. They say the Oda army is on the verge of retreat. Are you aware of the numbers they possess, as well as our own progress into their land of Owari?"

"My Lord Imagawa," Akihide spoke respectfully as he stood and bowed as was expected, "Marune castle has already been captured, and the Oda appear to be on the retreat. Our scouts say they have little more than eleven-hundred men remaining, and they are barricaded within Zensho-Ji."

Words of delight indeed for Yoshimoto, the daimyo of the mighty Imagawa clan gave a small but smug smile and gestured with a nod, "Very well," he continued, "You and Naomori Ii are to begin spreading word the troops in camp. We mobilize at dawn to march on the Oda stronghold."

Both Akihide and Naomori, a bold and majestic older man with finely trimmed; greying facial hair and an air of confidence, stood in unison and bowed, "It shall be done, my Lord," they both spoke in perfect synchronization before leaving the tent.

Upon their departure, they both seemed to relax a little. The utterly rigid atmosphere within the tent of Lord Yoshimoto, in truth it was far too much for either one of them to handle in large doses.

Naomori turned to Akihide to speak first, "I must speak to my daughter once I have passed our Lord's wishes onto a messenger for the camp. I believe she intends to stand and fight in this battle."

There was a light chuckle from the lips of Akihide, his eyes showed a glint of mutual understanding, "I also have my youngest daughter here. It is my intent to move her to Owari castle once we have taken it from the Oda. Lord Yoshimoto has given me the honour of doing so in exchange for my continued service."

The elder man of the two, Naomori, stopped for a moment as he ran a hand through his silver hair. He gave a warm smile to his comrade and friend, somebody he could depend on for steadfast loyalty, despite his lower rank, "Then it would seem that we are both destined to be busy on this eve. Tis a shame too," Ii added with a sigh, "especially since the common soldier celebrate with Sake and song."

A wry smile curved Akihide's lips, a grim thought indeed that the peasant men celebrated while the generals worked, "Well then," he declared with a heroic flare to his tone, "Let us celebrate come tomorrow evening, my friend. We will talk of our foes felled while we enjoy some of the wine for ourselves."

"I most certainly agree with that fine idea," Naomori said with a bow before heading away to deal with his own errands.

Much of the evening come forth without fault. The common soldiers celebrated while the camp continued to revel in their near victory. There was very little left to be done before Lord Yoshimoto would have a clean break straight through to the capital. The attitude was that victory was almost assured at this point.

Hours passed by soon after, with the eve of midnight fast approaching. Things remained quiet while the generals slept in their fine tents in preparation for the following morning. However, the peace of night could not last forever. There was indeed, much more afoot at this late hour.

A horn sounded, it's intensity more than enough to wake the majority of people from their slumber at this late hour. People were dazed by such a sound at so advanced a time of night.

"We have an intruder," came a bellowing voice across the length and breadth of the camp. Many men scrambled at the sound of such words echoed at this time. Was it the enemy perhaps, some kind of trick or trap?

Akihide and Naomori were two of the first to move in response. A Lord's place was at the front after all, not at the back. They hurried through the thin pathways left between the lordly tents that littered the camp. With very little in the way of light to go on, the pair had to follow sound, the silver-haired Naomori in front, while the younger and more clean cut Akihide was behind. Their feet followed the trails blazed ahead of them by scurrying peasant soldiers.

When their feet eventually came to a stop just ahead of a ring of peasant soldiers, things became clear. In an attempt to get a closer look at the situation, the elder of the Ii clan stepped further forward.

Nishimura was ready to follow, sword clutched tightly in hand, however, he found his attention drawn away by the weak tug of a small and slender hand pulling softly upon the lower half of his robe.

"Father," came a soft and gentle voice of childlike nature.

Such a familiar and delicate little voice caused the lesser daimyo of muscular build and clean features to become distracted from his task. He turned slowly and cast his gaze downward. His eyes caught the sight of an all too familiar little girl.

She was little and fragile, her long black hair flowing far down her back and almost to the floor. Her eyes of deepest brown bore an expression of sleepiness and confusion of the dead of night. The face of the little lady was pale with the tiniest little mole in the shape of a tear. Her lips curved into a tiny smile that was half of intrigue and the other, lopsided and drowsy. Her luxurious red robe bore the same emblem as that of the man who stood before her, and finally, behind this little girl was a very flustered looking handmaiden.

"Father," the small girl continued as she gave another weak tug upon Akihide's robe, "I heard loud noises…."

With a sigh, Akihide set down his sword for a moment and kneeled to be on the same level as his daughter, "It is okay, little Tsukiyo. Please return to your tent and go back to sleep. I will be sure to make sure everything is alright," his words were both gentle, but yet slighty assertive, as they had to be for the head of a household.

Meanwhile, Naomori came to the front of the line of soldiers, his eyes cast upon the sight of the disturbance in camp, a tall man with striking features. He brought his eyes further toward the scene at hand, and alas, they went the slightest bit wider when they beheld a female figure. She stood preparing for battle in front of this confused stranger.

Surrounded by a dozen men stood the man with rugged features, tall in stature, much taller than the majority of men in camp. He bore long and messy hair that was a color of deepest black. It's locks shone against the pale moonlight in the sky above, the intensity been a sight to behold. His body, adorned with garments of a common swordsman at a glance, but there was something out of place at closer inspection; their being of a silk quality. Such a thing was far beyond the simple coin of a commoner. Most noticeable of all was his skin, lighter in shade for starters, but much lighter than anything that was seen amongst the average man of these lands, it too shone against the glow of the moon. The body of this bizzare warrior was muscular and well built at a glance. Yet the most prominent featue he had was his eyes, they were not of dark origin. Instead, they shone a powerful and almost hypnotic green color.

Naomori's attention was next brought to the second person within the circle of people that surrounded the strange intruder. She was a tall female warrior of curvy figure, dark brown eyes, and longest black hair in elegant pigtails. Her beautiful womanly form was protected with lacqured red armour, and well shined bladed boots. Upon the pale and dainty features of the lady was an expression of slight confidence mixed with unease. Her body remained anchored firmly in combat stance.

Naomori knew this girl in an instant, just by sight alone.

"You intend to do battle with this ruffian, do you, my daughter?" The partiarch of the Ii family as he watched this situation play with both unease and great interest... Unable to simply stand back, the tall; elder man decided to make himself known to the crowd.

"Naotora," he called out in a stern voice from the front of the crowd.

"F-father," stammered the young woman with a nervous frown, "I'm very sorry! Please, allow me to defeat this intruder, and then we can all go back to sleep in peace."

When he saw the look of determination in the eyes of his daughter, Lord Ii simply gave a stiff nod, "Bring us glory against lowly man of common birth, for the glory of the Imagawa, and the Ii family."

With fists upraised, Naotora brought her gaze upon the rouge swordsman with another unhappy scowl, "If you don't surrender, I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to hurt you, intruder."

The feminine voice of Lady Naotora cut through the night air. The intensity of it caught the warrior with emerald green eyes off guard. His expression bore a look of intense confusion, but alas, he did not surrender.

A loud thump followed as he slammed his feet into the ground and threw back his scruffy, dark hair; with a frustrated sigh, "It certainly looks like they've caught me... Oh well, they aren't taking me without a fight!"

As if on automatic, the body of the stranger fell into a combat stance, a stance, which confused those all around. The way his toned man stood ready for sword combat, it was not akin to any style people had seen before. His sword remained undrawn at the side, but his body remained flexed outward, with one foot slightly ahead of the other.

With a low; frustrated growl, the unknown warrior brought his red-hot gaze upon Naotora. With his eyes, he beckoned her to come forth, "Have at thee! Give me everything you've got…"

There was no longer a chance to turn back. Naotora did not want to hurt the stranger, but she knew he would not stop otherwise. "I'm very sorry about this," she called out before lunging at her foe. With speed on her side, Lady Ii moved quickly. It was time to deliver the first kick!

To be continued...

Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter! I do hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it. Please feel free to leave some feedback or thoughts on this story so far if you like.. I'm very grateful for all the feedback people decide to give.

Thank you for taking the time to read once again! I hope to see you in the next chapter.