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.

{Owari, Nagoya Castle}

By the time they had returned from their little 'hunting trip,' it was evening, and Ayako had helped Kasane clean herself up a little and applied a healing balm for a minor burn that Kasane had gotten, and Ayako bandaged her own knees, before they made supper. Other than that, Kasane was completely unharmed, and the burn would be gone in a day. Since They smelled of smoke from the bomb, the two girls had borrowed some simple, but pretty kimonos from some maids in the castle that got along with Ayako, so that they could wash their clothes, and air them out to get rid of the smoke.

"Ah! Ayako-chan, you look so pretty in that kimono!" Kasane said, smiling, as the two girls walked to the kitchen together to help Gorouza prepare supper.

"You too, Kasane! That color really suits you." Ayako said, smiling happily. It had been a while since she wore girl's clothing of any kind. Since she knew she was going to be fighting a lot, she had chosen to wear men's clothes when Nobunaga told her he'd give her one free starter outfit, to help her blend in to the era better. Although they were practical, and Ayako didn't want to be seen as a 'weak woman' by the other soldiers, she still wished she'd picked something a little more feminine sometimes. Girl clothes just were much more fun to wear.

"Oh, don't you two look nice." Gorouza said, complementing them when they entered the kitchen.

"Thanks!" The two girls said happily, grinning.

"So, what's on the menu tonight?" Ayako asked as she and Kasane rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Ah, I think I ate too much~! I feel so sleepy..." Ayako said as she and Kasane stood up to walk back to their room once supper was over. Kasane yawned and nodded in agreement.

"A lot happened today, too..." Kasane said.

"Gorouza, Onihime." Nobunaga said, stopping Ayako, and getting Gorouza's attention.

"Hmm?" Ayako said, too sleepy and mellowed out from all the exercise she had gotten running around earlier and the good food she had just eaten, to get mad over the nickname.

"Yes, my Lord?" Gorouza asked.

"Stay, there is something I wish to discuss with the two of you." Nobunaga said calmly as he drank from his sake cup. "The rest of you are free to go."

"Goodnight, everybody!" Kasane said sleepily as she left.

"Goodnight!" Inuchiyo said as he and Kuranosuke left too. They were washing the dishes since Gorouza, Ayako, and Kasane had cooked.

"What is it that you wish to discuss, my Lord?" Gorouza asked.

"...Wait a minute... aren't you nineteen? Aren't you too young to be drinking, or is there no age limit for the legal consumption of alcohol here?" Ayako said, suddenly realizing what Nobunaga was doing.

"Age limit...?" Gorouza asked, confused.

"Yes, where I come from, you have to be at least twenty-one before you're considered and adult and can legally consume alcohol." Ayako said.

"Hmph. The average person lives about fifty years. If we waited that long to drink, our lives would be half-way over." Nobunaga said. "Normally a girl of your age, sixteen, would be married with children by now." Ayako gaped at him, her face flushing red in embarrassment at the thought of being such a young mother.

"No way! I can't have a kid when I'm still just an immature brat myself! I need to grow up a little more before I take on that kind of responsibility!" Ayako said. "But I guess it only makes sense for you guys... I forgot that people didn't use to live as long. The average life-span of a human were I'm from is like, seventy-something."

"Seventy...!" Gorouza said, amazed. Ayako nodded.

"Yes, but the people in my family usually live to be about ninety, and we have baby faces, so we age pretty gracefully too." Ayako said, smiling cheekily.

"No wonder you speak as though you have all the time in the world..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping. Ninety years was a long time to live.

"Yes, fascinating." Nobunaga deadpanned. "Back to the matter at hand... How do you think those three girls and that thing were able to infiltrate this territory so easily?" Nobunaga said, referring to the three kunoichi and Kamiko. "They have been spotted before, but no one intercepted them."

"Hmm, that is strange... If any of our soldiers were aware of such suspicious trespassers, they should have at least tried to apprehend them." Gorouza said.

"... I don't want to be rude or anything, but you don't think they could have possibly had help from someone on the inside, do you? You mentioned that you had enemies within the castle before..." Ayako said. "... Or maybe, the soldiers have gotten a case of 'spring fever' and are unintentionally slacking off."

"It's true that the soldiers' discipline has started to wane a little lately..." Gorouza admitted. "I think they are becoming a little overconfident after experiencing victory in the battles we recently fought."

"It's most likely a combination of both." Nobunaga said. "There is not much I can do about the first option without definitive proof, but the second option is another thing entirely. How should I whip them into shape?" Nobunaga asked, smirking. He had a few ideas of his own, but he thought it would be interesting to see what Gorouza and Ayako came up with.

"I believe we should definitely confront the issue. It might be beneficial if you addressed the troops yourself, my Lord." Gorouza said. "Perhaps if we increased their training..."

"Oh, I know!" Ayako said excitedly. "How about we do something fun for exercise that'll help keep them in shape and raise their morale at the same time?"

"Something fun...?" Gorouza asked. Weren't they just talking about how the soldiers weren't being serious enough? Though it was true that if Nobunaga cracked down too hard on them, they might become discontent.

"Yeah! Oh, at the temple, my uncle used to have me and his students spar against each other when he thought we were getting too cocky and were slacking off! We would go in thinking we were hot stuff, but then, once we were in a real fight again, we would start to notice our flaws, and see how we compared to the others. Once we realized how much catching up we needed to do, it spurred us on to better ourselves. Maybe you could do something like that? We could turn it into a game by having prizes and consequences!" Ayako said excitedly, like a little kid in a candy store. Nobunaga smirked. He could always count on Ayako to say something interesting.

"Hmm... That could work." Gorouza said thoughtfully. "And it'll also give us a chance to evaluate each individual's skills and specialties."

"Hmph, sounds interesting." Nobunaga said, smirking. "Then, we'll have the 'skill assessment tournament' tomorrow. Ayako can be the judge."

"Eh!? But I wanted to play too!" Ayako said, pouting.

"But you still haven't replaced your weapon yet, Ayako. The matches will be simulating battles with weapons, so if you go in unarmed, you'll be at a disadvantage, and you're also injured, aren't you?" Gorouza pointed out.

"But you're going to let Kasane participate, aren't you?" Ayako said stubbornly, still pouting. "After all, it'll give you a chance to see what she can really do. I have a feeling she's really strong."

"Yes, however, Kasane can simply use a spare katana. Your weapon of choice is a hanbo, and we don't happen to have any that can be lent to you. Isn't that why you've been fighting without a weapon? Because you don't know how to use a different one?" Gorouza said.

"Why haven't you purchased a new hanbo yet?" Nobunaga asked. Ayako stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you seriously asking me that? You haven't paid me the salary for becoming your soldier that you promised me yet, so how can I buy anything when I have no money?" Ayako said.

"I remember promising you food, shelter, and clothing. Money was never mentioned." Nobunaga said carelessly.

"But I became one of your soldiers, so I though I was getting the same deal as them?" Ayako said, confused. She wasn't really complaining, but it was kind of annoying to have so little financial freedom. The money she had in her wallet was from the future, and therefore, worthless in this era.

"How about we make a bet, Ayako? If I allow you to compete in the tournament tomorrow, and you defeat all of your opponents... I will not only give you a salary, but I will also buy you a new weapon." Nobunaga said, smirking. Ayako's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but then she grinned back at Nobunaga.

"You're on!" Ayako shouted enthusiastically. Gorouza smiled and shook his head. There was never a dull moment when these two were in the same room. He could tell that the young lord was looking forward to the next day.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{The next morning}

The song birds were chirping happily as they flittered about outside in the beautiful weather, while Kasane lay in bed, sleeping peacefully... or at least she would've been, if Tenrou hadn't been sitting on her head, pecking her softly to wake her up. Ayako was taking care of a few things for Nobunaga, so she had asked tenrou to wake Kasane up for her.

"Ow... Owww..." Kasane moaned in pain as she lay in bed, still wearing the kimono she had borrowed the other day. "Th-That hurts, Tenrou. I'm sorry, I'll get up soon!" Kasane said. 'I wonder if Masamune and Kotetsu are up...' Kasane thought as she stepped outside and took her school uniform off of the clothesline. "Yesterday really took me by surprise, too. Who were those guys?" She wondered, thinking about the mysterious women from the other day. 'But being attacked like that, out of nowhere... this really isn't anything like my Japan.' Kasane noticed that Tenrou had been staring at the sword that was lying on the floor, next to her futon, while she was getting dressed. "Ah! That reminds me, I never returned our lord's sword! If I don't return it soon, he'll get mad!" Kasane said nervously, as she quickly finished getting dressed.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"!" Kasane said as she held the katana and walked to Nobunaga's room. 'What is this... for some weird reason, something's bothering me...' Kasane thought. It was so quite today. "Uhh... I'll think it over later." Kasane decided out loud as she reached the young lord's room. "Good morning! I came to return... the sword..." Kasane said as she opened the door. She stared into the empty and completely silent room. No one was there. "... Huh?" Kasane said. She opened another door. "My lord?" Kasane called as she ran, searching for any sign of life in the suddenly completely empty castle. "Anyone...?" Kasane stood there in silence, starting to panic. "...Huh!" She shouted, scaring one of the cats, causing it to hiss at her. "Huh...? What the... Why is everyone gone!? Am I all alone in an alien world...!?" Kasane cried. At least she still had Tenrou. The hawk was perched on her shoulder. Something in the distance caught Tenrou's attention, and he flew off, abandoning Kasane. "Ahh! Wait, Tenrou! Don't leave me alone!" Kasane cried, flinching in shock as she watched the majestic bird fly away. "Were we attacked in the night? Was everyone kidnapped?" Kasane thought out loud, panicking. "F–For starters, I have to settle down and think this through agai—"

"..." Ikeda said as he loomed up behind her. Kasane flinched in shock as she spun around, sensing that she wasn't alone anymore. Ikeda stared at her.

'Just when did he get behind me?' Kasane wondered, but she was relieved to see a familiar face. "You're Ikeda Katsusaburou, right?" Kasane said as he plucked Nobunaga's sword from out of her hands. "Ah!" She said, surprised.

FWIP!

"!? A wooden sword?" Kasane said, surprised when Ikeda replaced the real sword he had just taken from her with a wooden sword. Ikeda suddenly turned on his heel and started walking away. "Huh!? W–Wait a minute! No explanation!?" Kasane shouted in surprise, sweat dropping, as she ran after him.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

'Outside...?' Kasane thought. She had followed Ikeda Katsusaburou outside, to a large, open area in the castle grounds that had been fenced in by several wooden frames that held larger banners bearing the Oda clan's crest There were torch stands set up for use later, when the even came and the sky grew darker. There were lots of men, Nobunaga's soldiers standing around and talking. They were all wearing their everyday kimonos and hakama. It was probably the first time Kasane had seen any of them without their armor on.

"—Hm?" Kasane said. "Wh–What's this huge crowd for!?" Kasane yelled, surprised. The men stared at her.

"—A girl?" One man whispered, surprised.

"Who's she?" Another man asked.

"Hey, that's the girl from Narumi we heard about..." Another man told him.

"Um... is this some kind of event or something...?" Kasane asked as she turned to look back at Ikeda. "Ikeda—!?" Kasane cried, going blue with shock when she realized he wasn't there anymore. "I knew that'd happened!" 'What should I do?' Kasane thought nervously, hugging the wooden sword as the men stared at her.

"Heeeeeey~!" Kasane heard Inuchiyo yell.

"Hm?" Kasane said, glancing over in his direction.

"Hey, Katane!" Inuchiyo yelled, waving excitedly as he ran over to her.

"Inuchiyo!" Kasane yelled, relived to see a friendly face. Inuchiyo was so tall, that he really stood out in the crowd. "It's Kasane." She corrected him. "Hey, Kurochiyo~!" Kasane said as the dog ran up to greet her along with Inuchiyo.

"Huh? Kamane?" Inuchiyo asked.

"Phew, thank God! Ikeda just suddenly disappeared on me." Kasane said, relived. "So, you're okay. You guys being gone totally wigged me out." Kasane said with a silly smile on her face, rubbing the back of her neck.

"?" Inuchiyo said, not getting what she meant. "I ate every last bite of breakfast." He was wearing a silly smile on his face too.

"That so? Ahahaha." Kasane said, laughing in a silly way.

"Hey, what's with the silly talk?" Kuranosuke said, a vein mark throbbing on his forehead. The idiots were practically sparkling, and he wouldn't be surprised if flowers sprouted out of their empty heads.

"Ah! Kura!" Inuchiyo said happily.

"Kuranosuke!" Kasane said.

"Don't look at me, you're stupidity might spread." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping.

"Um, so what's going on...?" Kasane asked.

"Everyone's gathered. I don't even know why myself. A letter from our lord came into Hira last night, and... All it says is to bring your weapon and come here." Kuranosuke said, handing the letter to Kasane so she could read it for herself.

"!" Kasane said when she tried to read it. There were some ancient characters used in the letter that she had never seen before. "Are those kanji!? I can't read them..." Kasane said, sweat dropping.

"I can! I got one too." Inuchiyo said.

"Meaning... Everyone here is our lord's... Oda Nobunaga's vassals!? Wow!" Kasane asked, amazed.

"Hmph, well, yeah. Except for you and that Onihime. I thought I saw her around before, but then she disappeared." Kuranosuke said. "Ask Gorouza, he might know something. Though, I haven't seen him around either..." Inuchiyo tapped him on the shoulder.

"Kura, Kura! Maybe, just maybe~" Inuchiyo said excitedly. "It's an eating competition~!" Inuchiyo said, drooling. His eyes were sparkling with anticipation and hope.

"Must be nice, being that carefree. Wait, didn't you have a full breakfast?" Kuranosuke said.

"Ah! Then, maybe it's a festival!?" Kasane said excitedly.

"Quiet, idiot number two!" Kuranosuke said, a vein mark pulsing on his forehead.

"What do you like, Inuchiyo?" Kasane asked, ignoring him.

"Rice!" Inuchiyo said happily.

SLAM!

"!" Kuranosuke said, turning to see what had caused the noise.

DONG~! DONG~! SHING!

Nobunaga stepped forward as Ayako beat a huge gong. Tenrou was perched on his shoulder. The cape he was wearing swayed in the breeze as he walked.

"Ah! My Lord!" Inuchiyo yelled excitedly.

"My Lord! Lord Nobunaga!" The other vassals shouted, bowing as Nobunaga ascended the platform that had been erected so that he could sit and watch the fights from a better vantage point. Nobunaga's cape swished, swirling dramatically, as he sat down in his 'power chair,' as Ayako had called it. Instead of her usual chores, Nobunaga had decided to have Ayako design and set up the 'arena' and 'stage' for the tournament. He let her ask Gorouza for help with the actual construction part, so this whole thing had been set up by just the two of them. Nobunaga thought it would be more interesting if it were a surprise for his vassals, so the less people who knew about it beforehand, the better.

"—My Lord, are you well?" One of his vassals said, interrupting his thoughts. Nobunaga stared at the man as he lounged in his chair, leaning his head on one of his hands. "We heard you were attacked yesterday when walking through the woods. All of us were worried about you." The vassal said.

"As you can see, it wasn't serious." Nobunaga said, smiling. "Thank you for gathering on such short notice."

'Oh? He's in a really good mood today, isn't he?' All the vassals thought, slightly stunned and sweating nervously. Every time their lord smiled like that, a demon got it's wings. The vassal who had spoken before gulped nervously.

"As for why I've called you all together today..." Nobunaga said, still smiling. "Lately—"

"An eating competition?" Inuchiyo whispered hopefully, fidgeting excitedly.

"A festival?" Kasane said hopefully, also fidgeting excitedly.

"You've all—been slacking off!!" Nobunaga yelled, cracking the metaphorical whip. "I don't care if you worry about me! It's your carelessness that allowed the raiders to get into our land in the first place! Today, I'm going to beat your flab back into shape!" The vassals all flinched, and Kasane was nearly blown away by the roar of Nobunaga's fierce scolding.

"... But... how are you going to do that...?" Kasane asked, a little dazed.

"Starting now, everyone here will begin one-on-one sparring." Nobunaga stated.

"Sp-Sparring!?" The vassals asked, surprised.

"Fight and win with whatever weapon you choose. There are no rules for the matches. Based on the outcome of your matches, I will cut your salary without mercy!" Nobunaga declared.

'Whoa...! Sp-Sparring~!' Kasane thought, so excited that she was sparkling.

"Ahhh..." Kuranosuke sighed heavily.

"You guys don't look excited." Kasane said, confused.

"Of course not... he's cutting our wages." Kuranosuke said gloomily.

"When your wages are cut, you get less food." Inuchiyo said, depressed. The two boys were entering their own little corner of woe.

"But you'll be fine if you win, right?" Kasane said.

"Don't be stupid, idiot!" Kuranosuke snapped at her.

"Naturally, this won't only result in salary cuts." Nobunaga said. "Those who do well will gain a higher post in my retinue, and will also have greater allowances in food and board. Brace yourself, and give it your all." Kuranosuke and Inuchiyo instantly perked up when they realized they could a promotion and more rice.

I'm not going to lose to you!" Kuranosuke told Inuchiyo, laughing darkly, his eyes veiled in shadow.

"Nope, I'll win!" Inuchiyo said, his eyes cast in shadow as drool dripped from the corner of his mouth. The two boys were surrounded by a burning aura of determination.

"Can I also have a go!?" Kasane asked excitedly.

"Must be nice, being as carefree as them..." The other vassals said, sweat dropping.

"Huh? But what about Gorouza? Is he taking the day off?" Inuchiyo asked.

"Like I know. He loses by default and takes the salary cut, serves him right." Kuranosuke said grinning devilishly, polishing his guns.

DONG~! DONG~! Ayako beat the gong again, announcing the arrival of another major player.

"Well then, we'll now begin the assessment matches." Gorouza said, stepping onto the stage beside Nobunaga, wearing a special outfit for his role as referee and M.C.

"Don't call them assessments..." The men said gloomily.

"Huh? It's Gorouza." Kasane said.

"Wha—!?" Kuranosuke shouted.

"I'm in charge. Our lord's letter made me the referee. I received a large sum in advance for my special role today. Please don't worry." Gorouza said, smiling radiantly.

"What did you say!?" The men asked, stunned. "You're terrible, Niwa Gorouza...!"

"He's always been like that, hasn't he..." Kuranosuke said, suddenly feeling down again.

"Yeah." Inuchiyo said. "No fair, Gorouza."

"Now then, first up will be—" Gorouza said.

"Me! Pick me! Pick me!" Inuchiyo yelled, waving excitedly.

"Is that okay, my Lord?" Gorouza asked.

"Yes." Nobunaga said.

"Eh? But I thought I was going first!" Ayako said, pouting. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"You can go next." Nobunaga said carelessly.

"I'm going to hold you to that." Ayako said, narrowing her eyes slightly at him.

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, smirking cunningly at her. A few of the vassals sweat dropped.

'How brave... to talk back to the lord like that... No wonder she's been nicknamed Onihime.' They all thought. Inuchiyo was just smiling and stretching, getting ready for his match.

"Then it will be Maeda Inuchiyo versus... Mouri Shinsuke—!" Gorouza said.

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Shinsuke said nervously as his friends patted him on the back and cheered him on. The two men stepped forward and faced each other.

"Begin!" Gorouza said.

"Let's have a good match!" Inuchiyo said bowing politely.

"Ah!" Shinsuke said nervously. "L–Let's have... a good—" The poor boy's words died in his throat when Inuchiyo suddenly jumped up into the air above him.

"Whoa! A surprise attack! No less from a wild kid! He can really jump!" The spectators cheered.

SLAM!

"Ugh!" Shinsuke grunted as he managed to block Inuchiyo's attack with his own spear. 'He's heavy!' Shinsuke thought as his arms trembled under the force and weight of Inuchiyo's attack. Inuchiyo leapt back, regaining his footing. 'And also...' Inuchiyo grinned as he twirled his spear and thrust it at Shinsuke, slicing through the sleeve of the other boy's kimono and grazing his arm. "H-He's fast...!" Shinsuke said sweating nervously.

"Inuchiyo... is really lively in a fight. He's always energetic, though." Kasane said, amazed, as she sat with Kuranosuke and watched the fight as the other men cheered and shouted at the two boys.

"That's since he's already a wild animal." Kuranosuke said. "It's because he's the fourth son. His chances of inheriting his family's estate are close to zilch. For him, the only path open is fighting under our lord. That spear is the thread connecting him to this world. The fight is all he is."

"... Really..." Kasane said softly as she watched Inuchiyo fight. 'Even though he usually seems so gentle, Inuchiyo also has a reason to fight.' She thought as Inuchiyo repeatedly slammed his spear into Shinsuke's.

"Ah...!" Shinsuke cried in alarm as his spear was knocked out of his hands, and fell to the ground with a clatter. "Ah!" He yelled when Inuchiyo attacked again, swinging his spear at the unarmed boy. Shinsuke held his arms in front of his face in a desperate and feeble attempt to shield himself.

FWIIISH!

Shinsuke was surprised when he realized that Inuchiyo had stopped the attack, holding his spear just an inch away from his arms.

"I-I yield...!" Shinsuke said, defeated. Inuchiyo smiled brightly and held his hand out to Shinsuke to help him stand up.

"Thanks for the fight." Inuchiyo said happily.

"Winner, Maeda Inuchiyo." Gorouza announced. The men cheered.

'But... is the fight really all he is?' Kasane wondered as she watched Inuchiyo help Shinsuke stand, and they both laughed. "Alright!" Kasane said, standing up. "I'd like to fight as well!"

"Huh!? You're going to fight!?" The men shouted, surprised.

"Sure, me! I'll fight you!" Inuchiyo said.

"Let someone else fight too!" the men shouted at him.

"That's right, it's my turn!" Ayako said, leaping off the stage.

"Hmph. They're all so easily riled up." Kuranosuke said, sighing.

"Inuchiyo is as strong as expected..." A young man said, coming to stand beside Shinsuke.

"Koheita." Shinsuke said. "Yeah... but... now I'm sure my pay's going to be docked..." He said, entering his corner of woe.

"Oh... I see..." Koheita said, sweat dropping.

"What do you mean? Failure is something you should overcome with hard work." Another man said as he approached them.

"L-Lord Kawajiri!" the two boys said.

"Our lord isn't the type of person who only sees victory or defeat." Kawajiri said, smiling.

"Y-Yes, Sir! I'll work on it!" Shinsuke said.

"He's so cool." Koheita said.

"And you should watch the next two matches." Kawajiri said. "First, is the one between those two over there." He said, pointing to Ayako, who was about to begin her fight.

"Let's have a good match." Ayako said, smiling and bowing politely.

"Hmph." Her opponent said, frowning. He was a big, burly man by the name of Takeshi. Takeshi felt insulted, being told to fight a woman for an opponent. "Where's your weapon, little girl? We can't start until you get it." Ayako beamed at him, giving him a positively radiant shit-eating grin.

"It broke awhile back, so for now, I am the weapon. Don't let it bother you, let's just get started, shall we?" Ayako said, starting to get a little annoyed with her opponent's rude attitude.

"Tch! Just don't cry when I beat you into the grou—!?" Takeshi said, but he was unable to finish his sentence when Ayako delivered a roundhouse kick to his ribs.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but can't we just get on with this already?" Ayako said, sighing. "If you've got a problem with me, express it through fighting. Talk is cheap."

"She just attacked him without blinking an eye!" One of the men shouted, shocked. They had all thought her opponent was being an annoying jerk, but still...

"You...!?" Takeshi growled angrily as he stood up, and aimed his spear at her, finally starting to take her seriously. "I'll kill you!" He yelled as he suddenly thrust his spear at her. The movement was too fast for the human eye to follow. Some of the men went blue with shock.

'He's seriously trying to kill her...! She's finished!' They screamed internally... or so they thought.

"What are you aiming at?" Ayako asked, smirking, as she landed lightly on the extended spear. Her knees had healed up nicely, so Ayako had managed to gracefully dodge the attack before her opponent could stab her. After fighting a real ninja, a samurai was a piece of cake. Takeshi stared at her, frozen in shock.

"Wh-Who is that girl?" Shinsuke asked.

"Himura Ayako, also known as Onihime, or so I've heard. Our lord took her in after she was somehow stranded in our country. She seems to be half Japanese, but she's originally from a foreign country... though no one seems to know which one. She's a mysterious and cheerful girl, but I've heard she can be rather frightening when she's serious." Kawajiri said as Ayako ran along the spear and head butted Takeshi.

"Ghg...!" Takeshi grunted in pain. He glared at Ayako. There was no way he was going to lose to some little girl. He glanced at two of his fiends, who were standing nearby. They smirked and nodded in agreement to his silent question.

"Do you yield?" Ayako asked.

"I... don't!" Takeshi yelled as his two friends ran up behind her and tried to grab Ayako. Ayako simply took a step back, in between them, as they ran forward. She dropped down, low and delivered one fluid, low sweep kick to both men, knocking them off of their feet. They landed on top of Takeshi, and all three men banged their heads together, knocking themselves out.

"Whoa, she beat them all so easily, and she didn't even have a weapon...!" Shinsuke said, in awe, though it was a little scary. A lot of them men were so stunned, they had gone blue with shock.

"Y-Yeah... I can see why they call her Onihime." Koheita said, sweat dropping nervously. "It was over so quick... Takeshi didn't even stand a chance, and he's supposed to be the tenth strongest in the army...!"

"Hmm... I don't think our lord is too pleased with that dirty trick he tried to pull by bringing his friends into a one-on-one match, either." Kawajiri said as he glanced at Nobunaga, who was frowning at the three unconscious men. There was an ominous aura around him.

"Himura Ayako is the winner of this match." Gorouza announced.

"Ah, I forgot to mention this earlier, but since these are supposed to be one-on-one matches... Anyone who gives outside help or interferes in the match, like those two, will immediately lose by default... and automatically take the salary cut!" Nobunaga stated darkly.

'Waah...! He's angry now!?' All of the men thought, sweating nervously. The only thing scarier than when the young lord was in such a suspiciously good mood, was when he was angry. 'We kind of want to fight her, but it's kind of hard to ask now...'

"Your turn now, Kasane!" Ayako said, smiling cheerfully.

"That was amazing, Ayako-chan! You've gotten even faster!" Kasane said excitedly. "Can we have spar sometime!?"

"Sure, but I think Gorouza has some other opponents lined up for you first. Have fun!" Ayako said as she walked back up the stage to stand next to the gong again.

"Hey, Gorouza, can I fight three people too!?" Kasane asked excitedly.

"Is that alright, my Lord?" Gorouza asked.

"Yes." Nobunaga said. It seemed the promise of a good show had helped to return his good mood, because he was smirking out of amusement now.

"Ah, this is the other one I told you to watch out for." Kawajiri said as the match began and Kasane began fighting three men holding spears with her wooden sword. She wasn't as fast as Ayako, but she was fighting beautifully, blocking their every attack.

"Wh-Who's that?" Shinsuke asked, impressed.

"Kusanagi Kasane, or so I've heard. Seems our lord personally picked her out." Kawajiri said.

SLAM! Kasane struck one of the men with her wooden sword, knocking him to the ground.

"I wonder where she came from? Her background is completely unknown." Kawajiri said.

THUD. SLAM! CRACK!

"Aaah!" Another one of Kasane's opponents cried, as he too was defeated. Shinsuke and Koheita were sweating nervously as they watched the intense match. Ayako's match had been so one-sided, and over so quickly, that they barely had a chance to get into it before it was over.

WHAM!

"Ghg!" The third and last opponent grunted in pain as he too fell to the ground, defeated. The two boys paled slightly with shock. Just how did their lord keep finding such insanely strong women?

"Phew—" Kasane said, sighing as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"She's strong! Just who is she...!?" The other men shouted, cheering.

"Yeah! I'll fight her next!" One man said.

"No, me first!" Another yelled excitedly.

"Eh...? No one wanted to fight me... Kasane sure is popular!" Ayako said, smiling wryly.

"Of course." Nobunaga said. "After all, that girl is normal, and you're an Onihime. They're too nervous to ask you."

"I blame you for that. You're the one who made that stupid nickname catch on!" Ayako said, crossing her arms. "Next thing I know, you'll be handing me an oni mask and turning me into your mascot or something."

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, amused at the idea. He smirked devilishly at her. Ayako sweat dropped.

'Oh, great... me and my big mouth! He's definitely going to try it, isn't he...?' Ayako thought, chagrined. She decided to keep her mouth shut and watch the matches before she could dig herself into an even deeper hole.

"Hmph. We've... got that quarrel to settle from back at Narumi." Kuranosuke said to Kasane as he stepped forward to challenge her. "I'll defeat you, and use you as a stepping stone on my way up! I don't like you at all! I'll knock you out!" He said, pulling out his guns.

"I'll take all comers!" Kasane said, grinning and holding her wooden sword at the ready. "No way... I'll lose to you!"