The good thing about having such a famous Servant as your friend is you'll literally never forget their birthday. Especially when your best friend's the history buff of all history buffs (and also your teacher's Cain who just knows everything and 100% would poke fun at you for missing an important date). So as the day of Nobu's birthday approached, a three-phase plan was in order.
Phase 1: No Traces. All his activities had to be under the radar or it'd ruin the whole surprise. So for the last few days, he's given Nobu unrelated chores that have her venture out of the apartment for decent chunks of time. It's not the most graceful plan, but he's also not a good liar. This way cuts the lies and just relies on convenient excuses.
Phase 2: Work Speedrun. Once Nobu was out the door, in came his help for the project! But they had to be quick about it--no banter, no breaks, just straight work for two hour bursts until Nobu came back. When the timer hit, all friends gotta make like a tree and leave ASAP with all the materials. Can't risk housing it here and let it get discovered in his sleep.
And lastly, Phase 3: Don't Cheese the Fuzz. Given the country he's in, the project he wants completed does require skirting past some laws way before his time in the world. So all the pieces have to be bought, smuggled, and assembled without authorities flagging him down. Luckily his help is the son of a famous company, so people question his actions less. And if he's caught? Money in the right places solves that.
It's all coming together. All the planning. All the rules he's breaking. It'll all lead to a fantastic gift for his even more fantastic servant/friend.
When the ever-so-important day came, Atsuro sent Nobu out to a brand new place: Ludger's apartment. There she'd receive a treat box she's expressly told not to peek until she's home; Atsuro's orders. By the time she returns, the once drab pad of a tech geek has since exploded in colors of balloons, confetti, and yellow banners adorned with the Oda clan's crest.
"Happy Birthday Nobu!" Atsuro greets right away, a long, skinny black box in his hands. "Now you've probably got some questions, and I'll start from the top: the daily errands? They were just something to get you out of the house so the main event wasn't spoiled. Sorry for the deception, but I promise the end product's worth it! Oh, and the cake box? It's your cake-- and I know 100% it's right outta the oven!"
The texts of "I'm never getting up this early again" he got on Nobu's walk back are his proof.
Anyway, onto the main event: the gift! Inside awaiting Nobu is a lovingly recreated Tanegashima pistol from back in Nobu's days. Through a bit of rich boy money, they bought some 16th century wood fixture and repurposed it into the piece before her! Gilded near the grip is Nobu's iconic symbol in real 24k gold. And the fun part? Its a working replica! Japanese gun laws would rake him across the coals for this, buuuuut he doesn't care! Nobu's a responsible owner, it's fine!
And the cake? Oh it's neat too-- instead of a plain circle, it's a whole art piece fashioned into a temple gate. One could easily mistake the frosting posts for real wood, complete with realistic sheen as if it'd been freshly polished. The roof, meanwhile, is composed of long dyed white licorice all neatly stacked into place. There's even tiny grooves in the bottom layers to sell the authenticity. And don't forget: it's fresh! The power of friends!
"Hope you like it! Know it was the product of much sweat, tears, and maaaybe a little skirting past the law. But I like to think it shows how much our friendship means that a little crime's whatever."
VERY Late Nobu Birthday Asks ( aka Rachel is slow )
In some ways, it could be argued that Nobunaga didn't hold much talent for spotting deception. If she had, she might have avoided being stabbed in the back as much as she had in her mortal life. Despite her title, however, the Fool of Owari was hardly deserving of it. Instead, it came to the fact that, more often than not, she chose to put her faith in those she deemed worthy of her trust over all. Atsuro was certainly worthy of that. She never once doubted he'd forgotten her birthday was coming up; the timing seemed all too obvious.
But what fun was there to have in being a spoilsport for what he was not-so-subtly planning? She'd let him enjoy his innocent scheming, playing the part of the loyal servant who dare not question her master's orders, though not without her own orders to stay safe ( Some paranoias one acquires when growing up in an age of War don't die easily, no matter how hard she tried).
Despite all her determination to not spoil any of the work that'd been put into the upcoming celebration, however, she finds it a cruel ask to order her from peeking into the initial box she's given. It takes almost all her willpower to resist the childish temptation, an effort she would have given for no one else but her master or her wife.
Once she's had her fill of bragging about her own exploits to Ludger, she finally receives the signal to head home. She feels as giddy as a child on Christmas Eve, her thoughts going every which way in trying to guess what he could have prepared. While she can come to no conclusive image of what it could be, she certainly isn't disappointed by what greets her when she walks back in the door.
"There it is-! I knew you wouldn't forget what today was! Not that it doesn't make this any less awesome-!" She can't help but give a laugh, however, when it came to his apologies for deception. "Pfff, come on! Who do you take me for? Of course I knew you were up to something! I might be the Fool of Owari, but I'm not that dense!"
It's not meant to be a meanspirited remark, however - evident by the grin that stretched from ear to ear. Having her clan emblem on proud display was exactly the type of attention she loved to see.
She puts the cake box to the side as she sees Atsuro beginning to hand her present, much too eager to uncover this next mysterious box now that she had a good idea of what was inside the other.
But oh man -she doesn't think she could have ever guessed what waited for her-! She's reminded why gunsmithing is its own art in of itself, looking at such a carefully crafted replica. Though not as efficient as the modern day gun, using this ancient technology also meant she could make a permanent part of her firearm collection.
"Ha! you really are something, master! I always took you for too much of a goody-two shoes to sneak in something like this! But you're right! My arsenal could really use something like this ! A gun I can hide away until the last moment, then when the enemy closes in- bam! They'll never see it coming!"
She takes care to handle the gun with more caution than she would one of her usual rifles, letting it dissipate into spirit dust once she'd had enough time to admire its beauty.
"Just for safekeeping" she assures him, not wanting him to think she'd somehow destroyed it "Now I can use it whenever I want! I hope you're proud - you've added to the armory of a heroic spirit-! To my armory, no less!"
But enough boasting. She did, unfortunately, have some news to share with him that she hoped wouldn't ruin the mood. Better to get it over with, right...?
"But uh- just one thing before I forget...." she mutters, the tips of her fingers touching in an uncharacteristic display of bashfulness. "I hope you didn't work too hard on the decorations of the cake inside that box" - her eyes briefly wander too it as she speaks - "Because- like I promised-! I didn't open it, but...I may or may not have been shaking it around at some point to try and find out what was inside...haha...whoops..."
