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:

"In that case... give me a hug too~!" Inuchiyo said, pouncing, as he moved to hug Ayako.

"!" Ayako said, surprised when he suddenly launched himself at her, but before Toukichirou could even touch her, Nobunaga, who was still standing next to her, frowned, stuck his foot out, and pushed Toukichirou back.

"I didn't call you here to play." Nobunaga said sternly. "Finish explaining how the weapon works to Ayako, and then tell me the information I asked you to gather for me.

'I knew it~! Our lord is definitely overprotective of her~!" Toukichirou thought triumphantly as he began to tell them what he had learned.

"—Regarding... those women who are targeting you, my Lord." Toukichirou said as he relayed the information he had gathered to Nobunaga.

They were sitting outside. Nobunaga and Ayako were sitting on the porch while Toukichirou sat on the ground in front of them, humbly insisting that he didn't want to act 'above his station.' Nobunaga was feeding Tenrou as he listened to Toukichirou, while Ayako was having fun playing with her new weapon, switching it back and forth between spiked clubs and a smooth hanbo. The hungry hawk had shown up after Toukichirou had explained the special function on Ayako's new hanbo that turned the staff into two separate spiked clubs. So, Ayako had gone to get the hawk some food, but not before Nobunaga had teased her about how the spiked clubs were to match her new nickname, because a lot of stories involved a club-bearing oni. Ayako decided to let that one slide, since it was obvious that the weapon had taken a lot of time to make, so Nobunaga had to have ordered it a while back—which meant that he had always expected her to win the bet in the first place. It was nice, knowing that Nobunaga had that much faith in her.

"It's as Lord Ikeda said. They really are crossing back and forth between Kiyosu and Iwakura." Toukichirou said, continuing his explanation. "Both of those castles have poor relations with you. Especially Kiyosu. I've heard that the deputy governor there, Oda Nobutomo, is acting on his own and ignoring the governor, Shiba Yoshimune. "I'm almost certain he's moving against you."

"Oda...? Is he a relative of yours?" Ayako asked, confused. She thought it was weird for one family member to try to harm another.

"Yes, he is a member of the Iwakura branch of the Oda clan, but he does not approve of me." Nobunaga said carelessly as he pet Tenrou. Ayako frowned.

"So, just for that, he'd try to get rid you...? That's just messed up." Ayako said in disapproval. "Man, and I thought my grandparents—on my dad's side—were messed up for abandoning me when I was orphaned..." Toukichirou stared at her sadly. He was sorry to hear that his descendant had had such a hard time. Nobunaga stared at her too, though his calm expression didn't give away what he was truly thinking. He had known she lived with her uncle because her parents were dead, but she hadn't told him that particular detail. Nobunaga decided to ask her more about it later, but if Ayako didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't force her.

"Were you able to track down the women?" Nobunaga asked before their pause could turn into an awkward silence.

"No... Trying to track experts who have the upper hand... I was out maneuvered." Toukichirou said apologetically.

"Then, we still don't know who sent them?" Nobunaga said.

"Hmph, having problems, you idiot lord~?"A familiar feminine voice, that Nobunaga and Ayako had thought they'd never have to hear again, said. Kamiko appeared in front of them with all the stealth of a true ninja, and she was holding... an honest-to-goodness, real-live Iriomote wild cat. Ayako stared at her, shocked. How the hell had she managed to find one? Nobunaga was not amused. He glared at Kamiko, who glared right back. Sparks were flying between them as the atmosphere was filled with animosity.

"Oh, and who's this pretty miss~?" Toukichirou asked, smiling, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

"Th-This is Kamiko..." Ayako said, starting to recover from her shock.

"Yep~! And since I've finally managed to complete her task, I am now Angel-sama's' loyal servant~!" Kamiko said, smiling radiantly as she handed the cat to Ayako.

"Good for you, now get lost." Nobunaga said bluntly.

"I don't take orders from you." Kamiko said darkly, as she restrained herself from flinging a kunai at Nobunaga's head. Kamiko knew that Ayako would probably never forgive her if she did.

"...Um, I don't really get what's going on, but you wouldn't happen to know who hired those women we were talking about, would you?" Toukichirou asked, breaking the tension.

'Yes, good job, Toukichirou! Way to distract them!' Ayako thought.

"Nope~!" Kamiko said, smiling brightly.

"..." They all said as they stared at her. How could she not know when she had worked with them?

"Well, it was worth a shot..." Toukichirou said, sweat dropping.

"Seriously, get lost." Nobunaga said darkly. Ayako sweat dropped. He was starting to get really irritated now.

"But... you did work with them, didn't you?" Ayako asked.

"Yes, but they just brought me in for that particular raid. They didn't tell me anything about who hired them, just what job they needed to be done. If they told me, they'd probably have to kill me." Kamiko said, smiling sweetly at Ayako.

'Wow... Ayako sure is popular...' Toukichirou thought.

"That's the best news I've heard all day. Go ask them." Nobunaga said. The subtext of that statement was clear. He really meant 'Go die.' Ayako and Toukichirou sweat dropped.

'Why can't these two just get along...? So, she was hired to kill him... Kamiko didn't actually do anything, other than fight me...' Ayako thought, not realizing that that was exactly what Nobunaga's problem with Kamiko was. Nobunaga didn't trust the kunoichi with Ayako at all.

"If you want to know so badly, then go and ask them yourself." Kamiko retorted. It was clear that she meant 'No, you go die.' Ayako sweat dropped nervously... but then something caught her eye. Ayako stared down at the cat in her lap. Its claws were retracted, and the pattern on it's fur wasn't quite right.

"...Um, Kamiko... I'm sorry to burst your bubble, especially after you tried so hard, but... this isn't the Iriomote wild cat that I was talking about." Ayako said nervously, hoping the kunoichi didn't snap and try to attack them when she heard the bad news. Kamiko stared at her.

"... What?" Kamiko asked, giving Ayako a blank stare that meant 'does not compute.'

"An Iriomote cat can't retract its claws, but this cat can... and the pattern on its fur is wrong if you look closely." Ayako said gently. She could tell this was a huge blow to the kunoichi. Nobunaga smirked at Kamiko. This meant that she had failed and couldn't stay with Ayako anymore.

"I see..." Kamiko said, her eyes cast in shadow as she hung her head in defeat. "But as a proper kunoichi, I cannot accept this..." Kamiko said, reaching into her kimono sleeve.

"!" Ayako said, startled. She tried to jump in front of Nobunaga, in case it was a concealed weapon and he was the target, but Nobunaga pulled her back.

"... So, I shall atone for failing my master with my death!" Kamiko said dramatically as she drew a knife from her sleeve, ready to commit seppuku.

"!?" Toukichirou said, startled.

"W-Wait a minute—!?" Ayako shouted, disturbed by the thought of causing someone to commit suicide. Kamiko hesitated when she heard Ayako.

"Are you going to do it, or not?" Nobunaga asked Kamiko in the same tone a grocery store cashier would ask 'paper or plastic.' Ayako stared at Nobunaga incredulously, stunned by his nonchalance about the whole thing. She was going to yell at him, but then she noticed he wasn't smirking anymore. Despite his dislike for the kunoichi, he felt commiting seppuku over a cat was ridiculous. He was disappointed in Kamiko.

"I will—" Kamiko said, raising the knife. She stopped short when she felt Ayako grab her hand.

"Don't you dare! I know... that in this culture... seppuku is considered an honorable way to die, but... I can't accept this. I refuse to. Where I come from, suicide is considered a selfish and cowardly act. Which do you think is more admirable? Taking the easy way out, or bearing the consequences of your actions, and struggling through whatever hardships they may bring? If you want to atone for your failure, then live. Live, and get stronger... so that you won't lose to anyone, not even yourself. All life is precious, so don't throw yours away over a cat!" Ayako said determinedly, as she looked Kamiko directly in the eyes, showing how serious she was. Kamiko stared back into Ayako's fierce eyes. She lowered her hand and returned the knife to her sleeve. The kunoichi sighed resignedly and smiled wryly at Ayako.

"Really... I just can't win against you, can I? It truly is a shame that I have lost the chance to have such an admirable master." Kamiko said seriously. She glanced at Nobunaga. "... Take good care of her, or I'll kill you." Kamiko told the young lord darkly.

"Hmph. I don't need you to tell me that." Nobunaga said seriously as he stared at the kunoichi. Ayako and Toukichirou glanced between the two of them. It seemed the two adversaries had come to a strange understanding. Kamiko nodded, satisfied.

"Thank you. It was a short, but sweet encounter." Kamiko said and bowed to Ayako as a final farewell.

"Have a safe trip..." Ayako said, smiling sympathetically, as the kunoichi disappeared in a whirl of dust, with the speed only a ninja could pull off. Ayako felt sorry for the rejected kunoichi, but it was for the best.

"Let's get back to business. You were saying, Toukichirou...?" Nobunaga said, as though nothing significant had just happened. Ayako sweat dropped. Kamiko hadn't even been gone a minute, and he was already sweeping her presence under the rug. He really had no mercy for people he didn't like...

"Ah! Yes... I can't be entirely sure yet, however, if it is Kiyosu targeting you, I would guess their goal is to keep Owari from uniting under you." Toukichirou said, getting back on track. "If we look at those who don't want you to govern Owari... It would definitely be either the Saito clan of Mino province, or the neighboring Imagawa clan. However, the Saito clan is allied with the Oda clan, which leaves—" Nobunaga stood up.

"Monkey, head out again, and get to the root of what's going on." Nobunaga ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Toukichirou said, bowing. "Then, I'll head to the Imagawas—"

"Hmph, you idiot." Nobunaga said bluntly, getting Toukichirou's attention. Ayako raised an eyebrow at Nobunaga. She was pretty sure she knew where he was going with this, but that seemed a little harsh.

SLAM!

Ayako flinched in surprise and turned blue with shock as Nobunaga slammed his sword down in front of Toukichirou. It was so close to hitting him, that it had sliced the bandana that Toukichirou was wearing on his head. Ayako knew that Nobunaga hadn't been aiming for him, but it still made her nervous to see a sword flying at her ancestor... who hadn't even had the child she was descended from yet.

"!!" Toukichirou said as the ripped bandana fluttered to the ground, and he saw what Nobunaga had been aiming at. It was the map that he had pulled out when he began explaining what he had found out. The sword was smack dab in the mark for Inabayama castle, in Mino... where the Saito clan was.

"Head here...!" Nobunaga said, smirking. "In Mino... Inabayama Castle!"