Warning: This is based off a manga called Sengoku Strays. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!

[Narration]

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"English speech."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar.

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Previously:

"Take this girl… and cast her into the western Kayatsu River." Nobunaga ordered. They all stared at him in shock. "That is your punishment for just letting her out of her cell."

"P-Please wait, my Lord!" Ayako said.

"Kasane just regained consciousness… after you ordered her brought here from Narumi. I don't understand why you would wish to abandon her right away!" Gorouza said earnestly as he stood up and approached Nobunaga.

"Gorouza." Nobunaga said, and harshly pushed him back again, with his sword.

"Ghg…!" Gorouza grunted in pain.

"I don't require you to understand." Nobunaga said coldly. As if on cue, Tenrou flew down and landed on his master's shoulder. "Follow Tenrou. I don't need… things I can't use in my castle. Got it, girl? If you try to run and hide, I'll take the heads of these four. Understand?"

"Brother! What was that crash just now…!?" Nobuyuki yelled, concerned, as he ran onto the scene. "Aren't Niwa Gorouza and those guys… vassals that have your favor?"

"Nobuyuki. Go home." Nobunaga said. "I don't have the time to talk with you now."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{On the way to the western Kayatsu River…}

It was such a beautiful day as the five of them rode their horses on the open road… Well, technically, only four of them were actually riding their own horses, Kasane was hitching a ride with Gorouza. The sky was clear and blue as Tenrou the hawk soared through the air… You'd never guess they were about to abandon someone in a river, of all places.

"I don't like him." Kasane said bluntly, furrowing her brow, as she thought about how Nobunaga had treated everyone. "Or rather, I don't understand him."

"Yeah, our lord works in mysterious ways…" Ayako said, sympathetically. She thought she might have a vague idea of what this was about… probably something to do with that note he had just gotten… but since Nobunaga hadn't told her anything, Ayako could only guess, like the others.

"Whether he's the real Nobunaga or whatever… there's no way I'll get along with him!" Kasane huffed. "And anyways, why'd he send four people just for me..? I'm sorry, Gorouza, Ayako. You've been nothing but nice to me, and look what good it did you."

"No, you helped us… with your strength." Gorouza said.

"We helped you because we wanted to. It's not like we did it for a reward or anything." Ayako said.

"I wish I could offer to let you go, but…" Gorouza said, feeling bad for Kasane, but they all knew what was in store for them if they disobeyed Nobunaga's order. "And I don't know what Tenrou would do, either."

"Ah… that's true…" Ayako said, sweat dropping. Tenrou was a tough and really dangerous hawk when he didn't like you. Ayako was sure the hawk was a reincarnated ninja–assassin, or something.

"Oh, no!" Kasane said, quickly. "If I caused you anymore grief, I don't know what would become of those two…" Kasane said as the three of them glanced over at Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke, who were in their own little corner of woe, and looked like the life had been sucked out of them, or as if their best friend had just died. Inuchiyo was mumbling incoherent things about how 'our lord got mad,' and Ayako could've sworn she saw Kuranosuke's soul starting to leave his body. "Excuse me…" Kasane said, concerned.

"Shaddup! Don't talk! You're a plague! Why'd my grand plan have to come to this!?" Kuranosuke hissed at Kasane, his words stabbing her. He looked like an angry cat that had been suddenly been thrown into a bucket of ice water.

"That's enough, Kuranosuke." Ayako said sternly. "Kasane didn't force you to do anything, so don't take it out on her."

"Ugh… you all really like the lord. I'm sorry…" Kasane said, drooping as her gloomy mood returned.

"That's because we were all originally like you, Kasane." Gorouza said. "Ayako is a foreigner who became stranded here without a home, and we're the second and third sons of warriors under our lord. We were destined to waste our days away at home, without any inheritance, before our lord picked us out to serve him. So, even at times like these, we owe our lord a heavy debt." Gorouza said. Gorouza was the second son of his family. Kuranosuke was the third son of his family, and Inuchiyo was the fourth son of his.

"I'm done for…" Kuranosuke muttered darkly.

"Anyway, you can swim, right, Kasane? At the very least, we can try to find where the river's current is the weakest. He said we have to throw you in, but he didn't say where, or that we had to make sure you drowned." Ayako said. "Yay, loopholes~!" Inuchiyo twitched.

"Hm?" Inuchiyo said, coming out of his stupor and sniffing the air.

"What is it?" Gorouza asked.

"Smells like something's burning…" Inuchiyo said.

"Eh?" Kasane said.

"What is…?" Ayako asked as a village came into view. The saw smoke rising from the houses, and people were screaming and running around, in a panic.

"The village… is under attack…!?" Gorouza said, startled.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"The farmer's are to harvest it all! Anyone who resists will have their homes burned down! The Kiyosu soldiers are taking this village!" An enemy soldier shouted as they raided the village.

"Kiyosu soldiers…!" Gorouza said as they watched, assessing the situation, and trying to form a plan from where they had hidden themselves in the tall grass, near the edge of the village. Once they had seen the fires, they had decided to park their horses somewhere safe and check it out to see if they could help somehow. Tenrou was perched on Ayako's shoulder.

"Kiyosu?" Kasane asked.

"Within Owari province, they're the most powerful opposition against Lord Nobunaga." Ayako explained.

"What now? Should we go?" Kuranosuke asked.

"No, there are only four of us. We shave to send someone to Nagoya to report this." Gorouza said, not counting Kasane, since she wasn't technically a soldier.

"But even if we go now, our lord won't be able to—" Ayako said, but she was cut off by the loud crashing sound one of the houses made as it collapsed in on itself from too much fire damage. People were screaming, and children were crying. "We have to do something now!" Ayako said.

"… The homes… are gone…" Kasane said as she suddenly stood up.

"Eh…?" Gorouza said. Kasane suddenly shot off faster than a hare being chased by a hungry wolf, sprinting towards the burning village.

"K-Kasane!?" Gorouza and Ayako yelled after her in surprise.

"Tch! What's that girl thinking!?" Kuranosuke said.

"This is bad!" Gorouza said. "We can at least get the villagers across the river—"

"Ah!" Ayako gasped, finally realizing what Nobunaga's plan had been. Gorouza and Ayako shared a look of understanding. This was why Nobunaga had told them to go the western Kayatsu River.

'Don't tell me… he knew…?' Gorouza thought. Ayako glanced at Tenrou to find the bird staring at her expectantly.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Ugh…!" Kasane coughed as she tried to beat the flames out on a nearby house with a random blanket she had found. 'The flames are spreading quickly…!' Kasane thought. "I need something… to put out the fire…" She said as she frantically beat at the flames with the ratty blanket. "Ah!" Kasane yelped when someone grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see it was a villager, a man old enough to be her father.

"What are you doing!?" He yelled. "Forget that, just run!"

"But… the house…!" Kasane said.

"This isn't the time to worry about that! Hurry and run!" He yelled. "The soldiers—" An enemy soldier suddenly appeared behind the man, and raised his sword.

'…Eh?' Kasane thought as she shivered in fear, frozen in place.

SLAM!

Gorouza had managed to jump in front of Kasane and the villager just in the nick of time, and block the attack with his zanbato.

"Gorouza!" Kasane yelled in surprise and relief.

"Tenrou flew off to the castle!" Ayako said as she ran up to them as well, her long dirty-blond hair was flowing freely behind her. Ayako had tied her hair ribbon to Tenrou's leg since they didn't have anything with them to write with or on, knowing that Nobunaga would understand that it meant they ran into trouble, and where.

"Good! We'll evacuate the villagers until our lord can make his move!" Gorouza said.

"Got it, I'll go sweep the area for survivors with the others! Be careful!" Ayako said and dashed off.

"Y-Yeah!" Kasane said. She glanced at the village man beside her, and she realized that her hands were shaking. 'Why… are my hands… trembling…?' The image of the soldier that she had seen being speared, right in front of her the other day, flashed across her mind; Kasane broke out into a cold sweat and clenched her fist.

"Dad!" A young boy yelled. Kasane snapped out of it and looked up to see a young boy holding a garden hoe and was with what appeared to be his mother and little sister. "Quick!" They boy yelled at his father, the man who had pulled Kasane away from the burning house.

"Eeek!?" Kasane yelped in pain when the man slapped her on the back.

"Living comes first. No matter how tough it is, if your family's waiting for you, nothing else matters much." The man said. "You've… got a family waiting for you, don't you, Miss?"

"…Yeah, I do!" Kasane said. The man smiled.

"That's the spirit." The man said. "So, hurry up and run…"

"I'm borrowing this!" Kasane said as she grabbed the hoe from his son and ran off. "Sorry I can't help put out the fire!"

"Eh?" The boy said, surprised.

"Ah, hey! The fighting's that way—" The man yelled after her, as Kasane zoomed away and left them in her dust.

"Wow, she's fast!" The boy said.

'—Just what… am I doing?' Kasane thought as she ran and tightened her grip on the hoe.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

CLANG!

Ayako blocked another attack, and slammed her substitute weapon into the man's neck The pressure on his windpipe made him pass out and fall unconscious on the ground. Since her good hanbo had been broken yesterday, the weapon she was currently using, was actually just a piece of scrap timber that she had found lying around the castle. So, it wasn't holding up very well under such brutal attacks. The stick had started to crack and splinter. Ayako grit her teeth and grabbed the defeated soldier's katana as another enemy soldier charged at her. Ayako hadn't been trained with a katana, but she had heard from her uncle that most samurai would learn hanbo techniques first, because they were similar to the techniques used in wielding a katana. Since her weapon of choice was falling apart, she figured now was the time to test it out.

"Oi, what are you planning to do with that…!?" Kuranosuke yelled at her as he blocked a blow from an enemy's word with his guns, wielding them like tonfas. Kuranosuke and Ayako had teamed up to fight a particularly large cluster of enemy soldiers, since they each faced a slight disadvantage with their weapons.

"My weapon is done for, it's do or die!" Ayako said as she flipped the blade around, struck the soldier on his shoulder with the back of the sword's blade, and shattered his shoulder protector.

"Wha…!?" The soldier said, stunned. While he was distracted, Ayako 'pistol-whipped' the soldier with the sword's sheathe, knocking him out.

'That girl…!? I thought she didn't know how to use a katana… and what's up with that weird fighting style!?' Kuranosuke thought. "!" He said when he realized an enemy soldier had snuck up on him. "Tch!" Kuranosuke said, as he spun around to face the man.

"Move it!" Kasane yelled as she came flying out of nowhere.

WHAM!

Kasane slammed the hoe down hard, into the armored soldiers gut. The force of her attack sent the man to the ground as he grunted in pain.

"Wha—What!? It's you!?" Kuranosuke shouted in disbelief. "What are you doing!? Hey!" Another soldier ran at Kasane and tried to attack her, but Kasane blocked the attack with the hoe, and thrust the flat metal head of the hoe into the soldier's chest plate, the force of her attack reached him all the way through the armor, and he crumpled to the ground.

'This feeling…!' Kasane thought as she stared at her hand. This was it... She wasn't afraid anymore.

"Kasane…!" Ayako yelled when she saw the girl. She took out another enemy, and turned to face them. "Where's Gorouza?"

"He's alright! He's taking care of another part of the village." Kasane said.

"Ah! So, you planning to have us in your debt and get on our master's good side!? What country sent you to spy on us!?" Kuranosuke shouted. Ayako smacked him up the backside of his head.

"Geez! You're so rude, you know that?" Ayako said in annoyance. "At times like this, you're supposed to say 'thank you,' not 'screw you!'" She scolded him.

"That's not it!" Kasane said, holding her hand out in 'stop right there' motion. "That's not it, but…"

"Duck, Kasane!" Ayako yelled when a soldier popped up behind Kasane and swung his sword at her.

"Wha…!?" Kasane said as she quickly ducked, just barely managing not to get hit.

"Uh…" The soldier moaned before falling to the ground. In that split second, both Ayako and Kasane had struck him simultaneously, from both sides, with the hoe and the back of the sword's blade. Ayako saw that Inuchiyo and Gorouza were approaching them.

"…Yeah." Kasane said resolutely, clenching her fist. "Yeah!"

"…" Inuchiyo and Gorouza said as they glanced at each other, wondering what had happened. Ayako smiled.

'Looks like she isn't lost anymore… Kasane's finally figured out which path she wants to take, huh?' Ayako thought, relieved that the other girl had recovered her spunk. They let Kasane have the honor of taking out the last soldier.

"Ow!" The soldier yelled as he landed harshly on the ground.

"All your allies have fallen. If you don't want to get captured, you'd better get out of here now." Kasane said boldly. As they all stared down at him.

"… Heh… hehe… Aren't you the ones who should be running?" The enemy soldier said, laughing. "We were hired to scout ahead of the main army. The main Kiyosu army is 1,500 strong, and headed straight here!"

"Fi-Fifteen-hundred!?" Kuranosuke shouted, stunned. The soldier continued to laugh at them.

"Haha! Run for it! Run! The Fool's soldiers don't even know that their enemy is on the move! We're no enemies of Kiyosu!" The soldier shouted, laughing mockingly at them, as the villagers all panicked and ran for their lives when they heard what he had said.

"This day just gets better and better, doesn't it?" Ayako deadpanned.

"Reinforcements from our lord won't make it in time! Kasane! We have to retreat." Gorouza yelled, but Kasane remained where she was, refusing to budge.

"!" Kuranosuke said. "You… what's that aura…? Don't tell me… you're planning to take on all 1,500 of them!?" He yelled As Kasane stared at the huge line of soldiers that was now marching towards them from off in the distance. An aura of calm had settled about Kasane… like the calm before a storm. "Gah! Hey, why are you just standing there!?" Kuranosuke yelled. "Let's get out of here, you stupid girl!"

"Kasane, the villagers are all gone now, there's no reason to stay here. We need to leave, now. He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day." Ayako said calmly and placed her hand over Kasane's, which were still tightly gripping the hoe. Kasane, flinched slightly, snapping out of her trance.

"Ayako…" Kasane said.

CAW—!

They heard Tenrou's cry as he soared through the sky above them. Ayako noticed that her ribbon was no longer tied to his leg. She smirked.

"Here they come." Ayako said, smirking like the Cheshire cat. 'So, this was your plan, Nobunaga… ' She thought, finally realizing the full extent of Nobunaga's plan and the reason behind his earlier actions.

"Tenrou!?" Gorouza shouted in surprise. He was surprised to see Tenrou again so soon, since Tenrou usually stayed close to Nobunaga when he wasn't being used to relay information.

"Wh-What is this!?" The soldier yelled in alarm when the Kiyosu army got closer, and they could see what was really happening.

"The Kiyosu army… is being driven forward…!?" Kasane said, stunned and amazed. As they watched the remnants of the Kiyosu army desperately try to outrun Nobunaga's soldiers that were bearing the crest of the Oda clan.

"This is ridiculous! Whose army is that!? Nobunaga shouldn't know a thing!" The enemy soldier yelled in alarm. "Ghg!" He grunted in pain when Inuchiyo brought his foot down upon the man's head.

"That's my lord's army! It's not ridiculous!" Inuchiyo said as he grinded his foot against the soldiers head.

"But… How did he get here so fast!? He just got word." Kasane said.

"Maybe… our lord knew everything, and was waiting… for the Kiyosu army to make the first move…!" Gorouza said. Ayako laughed wryly.

"Heh, what maybe? That guy definitely knew." Ayako said. "He probably sent us ahead, knowing that we would send Tenrou back to warn him if we ran into to trouble. It was all within his calculations…"

"Don't let any of them escape back to their castle. Capture a group of them and take them with us." Nobunaga ordered. "I'll speak with them."

"Yes, Sir!" His soldiers replied and proceeded to carry out their lord's orders.

"Don't bother comparing my personal army to you blockheads from Kiyosu. Idiots." Nobunaga said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{After the battle, when Nobunaga emerged victorious, once again…}

"… But why?" Gorouza asked Nobunaga as they rode their horses back to Nagoya. They had already swept the area and made sure there were no more enemy soldiers lurking around. The villagers were relieved that they had been saved, and were already getting started on dealing with the aftermath of the attack and rebuilding their homes. "If you knew Kiyosu was moving, why didn't you send the army out in advance?" Gorouza asked.

"If I make a poor move, the people will loose faith in me." Nobunaga said. "Each group that has invaded my territory came from the Kiyosu area. I don't intend to just let them take what they please. So, I sent you guys ahead as my front line, and waited for my opportunity."

"So, it was just as Ayako said earlier, and what went on at the castle was all an act?" Gorouza said.

"Hmph, so you managed to figure it out, after all, huh." Nobunaga said, smirking slightly at Ayako as Tenrou came to perch on his shoulder. A vein mark popped on her forehead, and her eye twitched slightly as she gave him a brilliant shit-eating grin.

"Yes, but it would've been so much easier if you had just told me what that note said in the first place." Ayako said. "I'm assuming this is what that note was all about, right?"

"Note?" Gorouza asked.

"It was Ikeda Katsusaburou here who informed me Kiyosu was on the move. He used Tenrou as a messenger." Nobunaga explained.

"I was up all night because of it." Ikeda said. He was wearing a dark piece of cloth wrapped around his head, like a bandana. He looked older than all of them, like he was in his mid-twenties, but Ikeda was actually around their age.

"Thanks for the hard work." Ayako said sympathetically. Nobunaga really knew how to use people.

"Then, him giving us that order… My lord wasn't mad at me!" Inuchiyo said happily, like an excited puppy that had just been given a treat.

"Thank God! My road to glory is still intact!" Kuranosuke said, crying tears of happiness and clenching his fist.

"Our enemies aren't limited to those outside the castle walls. It could be serious if my actions created a chance for them to attack." Nobunaga said, continuing his explanation. "Even though they're my vassals, I can't let my guard down around any of them."

"My Lord…" Gorouza said sadly, not sure what to say to comfort the young ruler. Having to isolate yourself from everyone around you must be very hard and lonely...

'Is that why he has so much fun harassing me…? Because he knows he can trust me, since I have zero ambition towards gaining any kind of fame or status in this era…?' Ayako wondered. She had already figured that just because Nobunaga was a powerful lord, didn't mean that he was free to do whatever he wanted to. No, it was especially because he was a lord that he couldn't. History was riddled with rulers who had been betrayed, and it was usually by people close to them, like family members or underlings who wanted power.

SPLASH!

They all looked over at the river to see Kasane pop up from beneath the surface of the water, totally drenched… She had jumped into the river all by herself.

'That actually looks kind of nice… maybe I should jump in too. I feel like I'm covered in dirt and sweat.' Ayako thought.

"My Lord! I–I was cast into the river as promised! So, please, forgive those four!" Kasane yelled determinedly. 'The inside of my shoes feels gross! Eww—!' Kasane thought, shuddering slightly from the slimy feel of the gunk on the bottom of the riverbed she was standing in.

"K–Kasane!? I thought you were gone…" Gorouza said, surprised. "That issue has already been—"

"And I have a favor to ask you." Kasane said to Nobunaga. Ayako raised and eyebrow. Well, this should be good. "I'd like… you to let me serve as a soldier." Kasane said as she stared up determinedly at Nobunaga, and he stared down at her from where he was sitting atop his horse. Ayako smiled.

"Ohh!" Inuchiyo said excitedly.

"I knew it!" Kuranosuke said.

"You fool! For a woman to say such a thing!" One of the soldiers yelled. Ayako raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't seem to have a problem with her.

'Do I not count as a woman anymore, or something…?' Ayako wondered, feeling slightly chagrined.

Nobunaga held out a hand to silence the soldier.

"You mean to say you will become a citizen of this province?" Nobunaga asked Kasane, just as he had done with Ayako.

"I won't." Kasane said bluntly. "But I won't just be afraid and live on your mercy. I have to find a way to keep on going and return to my brothers. And so I don't lose sight of that goal, and to live in this world—I'll fight! 'What are you going to do now?' This… is my answer to the question you asked me back in the castle." Kasane said, determined, as Nobunaga stared at her. Ayako stared at her, blinking, slightly stunned at how similar their answers had been. She smiled. Ayako had a feeling that the two of them would get along really well with each other. "But…" Kasane said, not entirely finished speaking yet.

GRUMBLE—!

Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke flinched in shock as Kasane's stomach growled really loudly.

"Man, and I was looking so cool there…" Kasane mumbled dejectedly as she slumped against a nearby tree.

"Hmph. Your attitude has gotten a lot more 'useful' than this morning." Nobunaga said. It amused him slightly that her answer had been so similar to Ayako's. He wondered if all women were like this in the future.

"Eh?" Kasane said, not sure what he meant by that.

"If that isn't the case, then go back to your old world." Nobunaga said, tossing Kasane a small package that was wrapped in bamboo leaves.

"Eh!? You believe me!? And how do you know about it!?" Kasane asked, shocked at how easy it had been to convince him. Nobunaga smirked wickedly at her.

"I'll believe anything you want if it brings me power." Nobunaga said.

'Eh? So, which is it?' Kasane thought, sweat dropping.

"… As I stand now, I don't have anything I can use freely." Nobunaga said. "The old soldiers hate me. They're using the chaos of my father's death to betray me, one by one. I'm only gathering up things I need. First Narumi, and now Kiyosu. I must be prepared for Imagawa, Saitou, and Rokkaku to move. The situation means war. It will be too late if I just wait for the things I've gathered to become useful."

"So, that's why you were so reckless back then… with hitting Gorouza and the others…" Kasane said, feeling a little bad for assuming the worst about him, without knowing the whole story.

"I won't choose people… who don't follow me. I only believe in what I see with my own eyes." Nobunaga said. "This 'mish–mash' of people works well. It's a 'family,' and I'm part of it." Ayako smiled warmly, and the three guys blushed slightly, suddenly feeling a little bashful at hearing such high praise, as being considered 'family' by their lord. "Return to Nagoya!" Nobunaga ordered and started on the journey back to his castle in Nagoya.

"Yes, Sir!" The soldiers shouted as they followed their lord.

"A 'family'… huh." Kasane said, smiling softly at the thought. She glanced down at the small package Nobunaga had given her. 'That's right, what is this…?' Kasane wondered as she unwrapped. Kasane smiled when she saw what had been wrapped in the bamboo leaves, it was two beautiful, white rice balls. 'Masamune, Kotetsu… You're sister isn't going to lose.' She thought, determined to survive and return to her own family soon.

"Hey let me have some too!" Inuchiyo said.

"Quit it, will you." Kuranosuke said. "She sure did perk up quickly…"

"Indeed. I wonder just how far she'll fall into our lord's hands." Gorouza said, smiling.

"By the way, what happened to my hair ribbon…? I'd really like it back, since it's important to me." Ayako asked as she pulled her horse up alongside Nobunaga's.

"…" Nobunaga said. He led the ribbon out to her. It had somehow gotten splashed with blood during the battle, and her once white ribbon, was now blood red.

"…" Ayako said as she stared at it, turning blue with shock, at the sight of her bloodstained ribbon.

"I'll dispose of this one and get you a new one in return—" Nobunaga said when he saw the appalled look on her face, thinking she wouldn't want to keep the bloody ribbon.

"No!" Ayako said quickly, and snatched the ribbon from his hand. "My mother gave me this ribbon! It's one of the only things I have left to remember her by!" Ayako tucked the bloody ribbon into her kimono. "It's just a little blood… I might not be able to completely remove the stain, but I refuse to throw it away."

"Hmph, that so? Most people would be afraid of being cursed by the person that blood belongs to." Nobunaga said, trying to get a rise out of her. Ayako narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're just trying to scare me. What happened to 'I only believe in what I see with my own eyes?' Nice try, but I won't fall for it, besides, why would he curse me? I wasn't even there when he died." Ayako said.

"—My Lord." Ikeda said as he pulled his horse up on Nobunaga's other side.

"… Is there something you want to say?" Nobunaga said.

"I spoke with the general we took prisoner. It seems that he saw some young women at his castle who later disappeared." Ikeda said.

"Women?" Nobunaga asked.

"Ah! Could they have—" Ayako said, but was cut off when they heard a ruckus start up behind them.

"Ah, you ate it all!" They heard Inuchiyo yell from behind them.

"Eh? Sorry!" Kasane said nervously.

"Quit it, you two!" Kuranosuke said.

"Is that girl… going to be alright?" Ikeda asked.

"…" Nobunaga said. "Let's walk further ahead of them."

"Should I fall back with them?" Ayako asked.

"No. Continue what you were saying before." Nobunaga said.

"Oh, okay… well, I just thought that maybe they're the ones who trampled the flowers." Ayako said.

"Yes, I came to that same conclusion." Nobunaga said.

"Flowers?" Ikeda asked.

"Someone trampled the flowers in the garden at my castle, though Nobuyuki and Ayako fixed it." Nobunaga said. "I've decided to feign ignorance... and force the rats to reveal their true nature."

"I wonder if they're kunoichi… That would be kind of cool, but if they are, they must not be very good at it… or maybe they're just too cocky and underestimating us." Ayako said, thinking out loud.

"… What makes you say that?" Ikeda asked, curious. Ayako was strange, but she seemed to have good intuition.

"Well, we knew they were there, didn't we? Aren't ninjas supposed to be stealthy? If they had avoided the flowers, then we probably wouldn't have figured out that they were there this fast… not that I'm complaining." Ayako said.

"I suppose that's true…" Ikeda said. Ayako realized he was staring at her.

"… What? Did I say something strange again?" Ayako asked.

"No, I've just been wondering why you didn't read the letter when you intercepted Tenrou. Instead, you brought it directly to the lord without even opening it." Ikeda said. Ayako tilted her head in confusion.

"'Why?' you ask… isn't it obvious?" Ayako said, raising an eyebrow. "It's just plain rude to read someone else's mail without their permission." Ikeda stared at her, slightly stunned. That wouldn't have stopped most of the people at the castle. Whether their intentions were good or bad, they would've read the note once it was in their hands, before determining if they should immediately tell the lord.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, laughing. "Foreigners say some interesting things, eh, Ikeda." Nobunaga's expression became more serious. "Whatever the case, I doubt this recent attack was an honest attempt on my territory. They were feeling me out. There will likely be another raid soon. Convey that to both the Matsuba and Fukada castles." Nobunaga ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Ikeda said.

"It takes some nerve to invade Owari." Nobunaga said, furrowing his brow.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Man~!" A headband wearing kunoichi said as she spied on Nobunaga's personal army from above, in a tree, with her two teammates. Their faces were half hidden by cloth facemasks "There goes Nobunaga! Those guys from Kiyosu were totally useless! We've got to rebuild from scratch again!"

"It doesn't matter. Today was only a trial run. Next time we'll go for real." Another kunoichi said. It was the same woman that had been spying on the farmers in Nagoya. She had long, straight, dark hair.

"But that is one interesting army. There's even two weird girls in it. Have you ever seen hair like that before?" Headband kunoichi said, referring to Ayako's curly dirty-blonde hair.

"This isn't the time to fool around, Iname." The long-haired kunoichi said.

"Yeah, yeah." Headband, Iname, said. "The boss sure is strict." She teased.

'The army withdrew quickly, without letting the chase go too far.' Long-haired kunoichi, the boss, thought. '… And they march quickly. There's also a good chance they've already noticed us. The successor of Owari isn't the fool he's rumored to be… is he?' "Kazusanosuke Nobunaga… Shall we show our little obstruction the exit door?" She said.

Author's note:

I'm leaving to go on a quick vacation, and then school starts again for me on wed. so I don't know how frequently I'll be able to update... Sorry! ^_^;