Cherry Blossom | | Ikemen Sengoku | |

Chapter 10: The Bait

The night sky soon takes over the sky as if it is signaling the hunt to start. There is a total of 4 teams, each with 3 members. The hunt's mission is to capture another team's flag as well as hunt the preys that are lurking in the forest. This hunt takes a span of 2 weeks to prepare in order to secure that the place is utterly safe for Nobunaga and his fellow daimyos to participate. Each prey on the field has a specific color band ties to them. The black color band indicates a minus point.

The first team consisted of Nobunaga, Ieyasu and Y/N with the red color band. The second team is made up with Masumane, Mitsuhide and Kojirou with the blue band. The third team consisted of Hideyoshi, Mitsunari and Toshiie with a green band. The 4th team is made up of Katsuie along with two fellow daimyos with an orange band. Each specific team are designated to start at each corner, West, East, South, North. At the sound of the hone is when the signal of the race starts.

Y/N looks around her as the darkness is falling upon them. The wind is dancing along with the trees making an indescribable, chilling noises. The wolves are howling in the background, sending chill up her spine. She still does not understand why she was dragged into this detestable race. She sneezes loudly, catching the attention of her fellow team members.

Nobunaga is sitting comfortably on a big wood, he shows no sign of worries, anxiety or nervous. In front of him is Ieyasu who is leaning his back against a tree, also showing no sign of worries or anxiety. Unlike their composure, Y/N is showing all of those signs clearly on her face.

Not far away, a soldier blows a hone loudly, signaling the start of the race. Birds and bats flew in the opposite direction of the noise and at this time, it was pitch black in the forest.

"How are we going to know where they are?" Y/N nervously asks, at this point she is too scared to even think.

"Just stay alive." Nobunaga stood up and walks toward the East with Ieyasu, the center of the field.

"That does not help at all..." Y/N mutters to herself. "Maybe an advice could be a better help."

"An advice..." Nobunaga stopped in his path and turns around to face the woman. "That pistol."

Y/N looks down at the pistol that is hanging on the right of her waist.

"When uncertain, just shoot aimlessly." Nobunaga smirks haughtily.

"That's a really bad advice." Ieyasu interrupts the conversation with his bored tone.

Not too far away, a sound of a pistol echoed through the forest. Someone had just pulled the trigger. But due to the pitch-black sky, it only brings in more fears toward the young woman.

"We separate from here." Ieyasu calmly takes a slight turn and disappears into the pitch blackness.

"W-wait Ieyasu!" Y/N calls out but the young blonde-haired daimyo is no longer in sight.

She looks to the direction that Nobunaga was just standing a moment ago and he too, is also gone. Surrounded her now is nothing but the unfamiliar field that she could not make her direction out of. She cusses her own fate for being put on this team as she remembers the strategy meeting that they had just a while ago.

Nobunaga simply said to do what they deem is necessary and ended the meeting, to which Ieyasu agreed without another word. There is absolutely no teamwork discussed or any plan to capture the other teams' flag at all on this team.

"Nobunaga...! I swear I'll not forgive you!" She screams loudly, causing the bats to take flight from around her.

Chilly wind howling only seems to make the night more frightening. Goosebumps appear on her delicate skin and she could feel the hair on her legs and arms stand up. It was her first time being lost in a forest at night, and mainly in the time period where one's safety is never guaranteed.