ALEX'S POV

With Nobunaga's strong arm around my waist and his offer still ringing in my ears, I stood there with a shocked expression on my face.

"So what do you say, Alex? will you rule the world beside me?"

I got out of Nobunaga's grip and I told him.

"Sorry, Lord Nobunaga, but, I'm gonna have to decline."

"And why is that?"

"Because A: I'm not ready to make that commitment, B: you're not my type and C: you're not my mate."

Nobunaga looked at me confused when I said that last part.

"Mate? what are you talking about?"

"I'd rather not talk about it, now if you'll excuse me."

I was about to walk away until Nobunaga grabbed my wrist and he said to me.

"You can't deny me, Alex, I always get what I want in the end."

"Alex! what do we do?!"

"We make a run for it!"

I told Shadow and then I kicked Nobunaga where the sun-don't-shine before jumping away from him. Nobunaga bent over in pain and I smirked at him and the other two.

"If you want me, you're gonna have to catch me before the sun rises, do that and then I might have a little think about that offer."

I dashed away from the campsite and I escaped into the forest. 

NOBUNAGA'S POV

"My Lord, are you all right?"

"I'll be fine..." I mumbled to Hideyoshi as the pain slowly disappeared where she kicked me.

Hideyoshi frowned angrily and he looked in the direction where Alex ran off too.

"That woman is gonna pay for that."

"You know, in a way, she does seem kinda playful if she didn't kick our Lord in the privates."

I smirked at Mitsuhide's comment as I stood up properly.

"You're right about that, Hideyoshi, once Masamune gets here, you two go and look for Alex and meet us back at Azuchi once you found her IF you can find her."

"Yes my Lord," Hideyoshi said to me.

I glanced in the direction where Alex ran off too and I smirked a little.

'Run while you can, Alex.'

ALEX'S POV

Once I was far away from the campsite, I got my breath back, even though, I wasn't that tired. I looked around and thankfully, none of Nobunaga's soldiers isn't here, which was a bit of a relief.

"Alex, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted to have some fun with those guys."

"That's exactly what I did back there, Shadow but, something odd is going on that's for sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh that's right, you weren't around when I learnt about the Sengoku warlords during my history class."

I stood up properly and I told Shadow.

"According to the history books, Nobunaga was supposed to have died this year and at Honno-Ji temple. It said that Akechi Mitsuhide, the little cunning fox as I like to call him, betrayed Nobunaga and shortly after his death, Mitsuhide started a rebellion and he had control of the country for three days until Hideyoshi returned and killed the cunning fox."

"I see, but, if that's the case, does that mean we were sent back in time with Sasuke and now that Nobunaga is still alive, Mitushide's coup can't happen?"

"It's starting to look that way and I'm beginning to think I might have changed history itself after saving Nobunaga."

I stood there wondering what to do until I heard the sound of bells chiming and dry leaves being crushed under someone's foot.

"Young lady, what are you doing out here?"

I turned around and I saw a weathered-looking man with a chiselled face walking towards me with a smile on his face.

'A Buddhist monk?'

I sniffed the air for a moment and then the smell of smoke and ash came off this man. My eyes widen in shock and then the monk said to me.

"I am called Kennyo and I am a travelling monk. Perhaps I can be of assistance to you."

'That's the same smell that came off of me and Nobunaga! this guy might have been the one who-'

"I, uh, appreciate the assistance, but, I can take care of myself thanks."

I told Kennyo as I tried to back away until he took a long stride towards me and then he placed his hand on my shoulder. 

"You should return home quickly, demons lurk in the woods at night."

"I'll keep that advice in mind, see ya!"

I said as I took off running again. I ran and ran through the woods until I got to a cliff and I came to a halt. However, I missed my timing and I was very close to falling until someone caught my wrist in time. 

"Hey! careful!" My saviour shouted before pulling me back.

"Whoa! oof!!"

I fell backwards, only to tend up on top of my saviour. I looked at him and he has a handsome face but, he was lying below me like an unhappy cushion.

"Sorry about that, I guess I ran too fast and missed my timing to stop."

I said as I carefully got off him and then the man asked me.

"What were you trying to do?! kill yourself?!"

"No, I was running away from someone who was trying to kidnap me and I went a little too fast to even stop before realising there was a cliff in the way."

"Hey, I'm not mad at you, sorry for being rough there. Come on."

The man helped me onto my feet and I wiped the dust off my kimono. Just then, we heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes. I heard Shadow growl angrily and then another man appeared.

"We just arrived but, you already found yourself a woman, Yuki?"

A broad-shouldered man, who is a full head taller than this Yuki person and he had a grin on his face. 

"Please spare me, Lord Shingen. This woman here was running for her life until she nearly threw herself off the cliff."

"For your information, I wasn't trying to kill myself."

"I heard you already, sheesh, you're a weird one."

"Look who's talking."

"Hey!"

I laughed at Yuki's reaction and then Shingen looked at me up and down before speaking up.

"A woman walking around alone on the night Honno-Ji burns...you're some kind of spirit? and a beautiful one at that."

"Hehe, I can assure you, I am no spirit, here let me prove it."

I ran my fingers under Shingen's chin and I drew him closer to me so we were eye level and our faces were very close. Shingen stared into my sky blue eyes for a moment until Yuki cleared his throat.

"Enough with the staring!"

I chuckled a little before releasing Shingen's chin. He stumbled a little and he shook his head a little.

"That was odd...I almost got lost in your gaze."

"Hehe, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Your ability to spew cheap pick-up lines never ceases to amaze me."

An unfamiliar voice spoke up. I saw another man appear from the bushes and he has platinum blonde hair and mismatched eyes and he wore a light blue kimono and he was wearing a black cape with fur. 

"I call it as I see it Kenshin.

'Shingen and Kenshin...? oh that's right, now I remember, those two are the God of War of Echigo and the Tiger of Kai, but, what are they doing out here? I thought they were supposed to be rivals?'

I thought to myself as I looked between the two of them. Just then, another man appeared but, I didn't even hear his footsteps.

"I apologise for the wait. It seems the fire at Honno-Ji has been extinguished."

'A Ninja?'

I thought to myself as I looked at the ninja. Kenshin then said to the ninja.

"Good scouting work, Sasuke. Nobunaga is...still alive?"

"Yes."

The tension around here suddenly got worse when Sasuke said this. Shingen spoke up with a frown on his face.

"He's got the devil's luck."

"Or he's the devil."

Yuki said with a frown on his face. I looked at the ninja and I sniffed the air around him. I recognised that scent straight away and I asked him.

"Sasuke? is that you?"

Sasuke looked at me surprised and he said to me.

"Alex!"

Kenshin looked between us and he asked us.

"You know this woman, Sasuke?"

"We're childhood friends, I haven't seen Alex in six years, what are you doing out here?" Sasuke asked me with a wink and I knew what that meant.

"I was going for a peaceful walk until these men appeared and got the jump on me, they tried to kidnap me but, you know me, I'm a fast runner and a professional escape artist, I managed to get away from them in time and well, here I am."

"I see, Lord Kenshin, do you mind if I escorted her home?"

"Do you want what you must," Kenshin spoke in a disgusted tone.

I followed Sasuke into the forest and once we were out of earshot, I looked at him and I said to him.

"So, are you gonna tell me why you're cosplaying as a ninja?"

"This is not a cosplay, Alex, it's the real deal."

Sasuke pulled down his mask and he then looked back at me before I asked him.

"OK, so if this is the real deal then, do you mind telling me what heck is going on around here? Sengoku warlords? the Devil King? The Tiger of Kai? The Dragon of Echigo? you're telling me those people are the real and we got sent back in time?"

"We did, here's what happened.."

Sasuke slowly began to explain what had happened since our encounter at the stone monument. After a long explanation, I was surprised and shocked when Sasuke told me what happened at the stone monument.

"Wow, that long explanation made my head spin."

"*Whines* you're not the only one..."

Shadow whined as she whimpered a little. I sat next to Sasuke on the log after he finished explaining to me.

"So, bottom line, that lighting strike caused some kind of spacetime to wrap around us and send us into the past? I used to think you researching these wormholes were just stupid and made up."

"Well, no, the wormholes are real and yes, we did get sent into the past. We entered the wormhole at the same time. However, I arrived four years before you. In that time, I've realised something, this is not the Sengoku period we're familiar with. We're in an alternate timeline. In my time travel, I arrived at the place where Uesugi Kenshin collapsed. I saved his life with my knowledge of modern medicine. If this were our timeline, Uesugi Kenshin should be dead by now."

I was surprised by this and then Sasuke continued.

"In the same way, the warlord Takeda Shingen, who is supposed to be dead by now, is also still alive. I predicted that you would do a time travel, as well, and searched for you but, I never imagined you would only arrive four years after me."

"I figured this isn't a dream, after being in Honno-Ji temple where Nobunaga was supposed to have died is proof enough, but, you seem a little bit pleased about this."

"I suppose you could say that seeing the famous warlords of the Sengoku with my own eyes is a dream come true for me."

"You always were such a nerd, but, why are you a ninja? don't tell me you learnt that while living here for four years."

"As you already know, my parents were big history buffs so I got my name from the legendary ninja that served Yukimura Sanda. Because he's fictional, I've taken his 'place' in this time. I figured that will keep my impact on history low."

I was impressed when Sasuke told me this. He stood up from the log and then he extended his hand to me.

"You can come with me if you want. I will definitely find a way for us to return home."

"Funny, I used to be the one who got YOU out of trouble whenever you were bullied."

"Not this time, Alex."

I smiled at Sasuke after standing up from the log I was sitting on before taking his hand. However, before I could touch his hand, a familiar scent hit my nose along with another one which I wasn't familiar with.

"That smells like Hideyoshi! I don't know about the other one but, I can tell he's been through a couple of battles."

Shadow explained to me and then Sasuke noticed the frown on my face as I looked around.

"Alex? what's wrong?"

"Sorry, Sasuke, I can't go with you, right now, I've got a few other issues to deal with."

"What are you-"

"Alex! where are you?!" Hideyoshi called for me.

"Does that answer your question? now go! get outta here before Hideyoshi sees you!"

"What about you?"

"Forget about me, you head back to Kenshin's side and find a way when the next wormhole appears and once you do, come and find me."

Sasuke nodded his head before disappearing into the shadows. I did the same except I hid behind some bushes and then I watched Hideyoshi along with another warlord riding on their horses. 

"Where could she be?" Hideyoshi asked the eye-patched warlord.

"I don't know but, I still can't believe she gave you and the others the slip, I didn't expect her to be a slippery one."

"It's not funny, Masamune! she's gonna pay for what she did to our Lord, I still can't believe she attacked him like that!"

"Easy there, Hideyoshi, you can't exactly blame the lass for running off, I mean Lord Nobunaga did ask her to rule by his side and she wasn't ready for it, hmpf, I bet she'll be around here somewhere listening to our conversation and ready to jump on us."

Shadow chuckled quickly and I shook my head a little.

"A warlord after my own heart!"

"Shut up! and anyway, you're my inner wolf, not a human! how could you possibly have something in common with someone like him?!"

"Use your imagination."

I rolled my eyes a little before I heard the horses panicking a little.

"Whoa! whoa! easy there fella!" Masamune tries to calm his horse.

"What's the matter with the horses? why are they getting scared?"

"There must be a predator nearby."

'Shoot! I keep forgetting other animals can sense that I'm not human, I better get outta here before someone sees me.'

I quietly snuck away from the two of them and I hid in the shadows. I watched the two warlords leave and then Shadow said to me.

"You wanna keep hiding or shall we go with them?"

"Nah, let's have some fun with them."

"There's that mischevious side again!"

Shadow said to me in an excited tone. I picked up a nearby pebble and I threw it at the back of Hideyoshi's head.

"Ow! Masamune!"

"I didn't do anything!"

I snickered quietly after hitting him on the back of the head. 

"Good shot, Alex!"

"Thank you."

I climbed up a tree and I sat on the branch while holding a plum in my hand. I whistled the boys and then they looked up.

"Hey boys, looking for me?"

"There you are, Alexandra!"

"Aw, did the wittle monkey miss me?" I spoke in a baby-like tone.

Masamune burst out laughing when I said this. Hideyoshi glared at Masamune and then at me.

"We finally found you! Running away from Lord Nobunaga's side for no reason at all...how insolent can you get?"

"Look, honey, when he asked me to conquer the world with him it didn't look like he'd take no for answer, I had to do something so I was able to escape from him. Even if that meant striking his pride."

Masamune covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing and then Hideyoshi yelled at me.

"Enough of your foul mouth and get down from that tree this instant! we're returning to Azuchi even if that means by force we have to!"

"Now, now, Hideyoshi, let's not be too harsh on her."

I looked at the eye-patch man and I think I might know who he is.

"A warlord wearing an eye-patch, I'm guessing you're...Date Masamune, right?"

"I am, how'd you know, lass?"

"Lucky guess, well, your eye-patch pretty much gave it away, considering the fact you're known as The One-Eyed Dragon."

Masamune was impressed by this and then Hideyoshi said to me.

"Enough talking and get down from there!"

"I've said this once and I'll say it again, If you want me, you're gonna have to catch me before the sun rises, do that and then I might have a little think about Nobunaga's offer."

"Stop playing games with us!"

"A game? all right, let's play Cat and Mouse, I'll be the mouse and you two be the cats who are gonna chase me. However, the only rule is this, you gotta catch me before the sun rises. Before we start, think fast, little monkey!"

I threw the plum at Hideyoshi and I splatted right into his face. 

"Ahh! what the hell?!"

"Hahahahaha!! oh man, she got you good."

I giggled a little and I then jumped down from the branch and I said to them.

"Let the chase begin!"