This is what AMVs do to me. I decided to watch some Hakuouki AMVs, and here is a new story for y'all! Ugh, I still have like, ten other stories... But I'll get to them someday!
Well, I hope you like this, and please review. Flames will be ignored since they are useless.
ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except this plot and my OCs. And APPLAUSE TO MY AMAZING BETA ImpracticalDemon! Please check out her Hakuouki story, The Teachings of Demons, it is amazing, and y'all will love it!
"That was an awesome lecture!" a Japanese American girl of eighteen squealed, clapping her hands together in delight.
Her older brother laughed, "Of course you thought so, you little history nerd."
The girl sighed wistfully, almost longingly, "If we could go back in time, think of all the things we could witness firsthand!"
"Would you try to change anything?" her brother inquired out of pure curiosity. They walked down streets of a city that was occupied by American troops. "The temptation of such power and control…"
His sister smacked his arm.
"Do you realize how dangerous that is? Changing history? So many things can go wrong! It's like a house of cards. One misplaced or changed, and the entire things collapses," she said ominously.
"But all the events that occur happen because of many different reasons," her brother countered.
She rolled her eyes. "It's like Murphy's Law. Anything that can happen, will happen, Vince."
"When are you getting called back, Cam?" Vincent asked, changing the subject. "I heard Nick wanted to talk to you before next Monday. That's when he's getting called back."
"Lucky army bastards," Camilla groaned, pouting. "The snipers are required to return in two days."
He set his hand on her black hair that had streaks of blonde highlights. His face was solemn, "I always worry about you."
"You've said that so many times," Camilla groused, metallic gray eyes conveying her exasperation. "You're an army doctor. You could accidentally get killed even though you're not trained specifically to fight." She smiled proudly, "Besides, I'm a certified doctor as well. Obviously not as good as you, but if someone's bleeding out, I can make sure they survive long enough to get to you."
Vincent sighed, looking slightly reluctant as he decided to say what was on his mind, "That's not the only thing I'm worried about. I'm also concerned for your mental state. Kill-"
"I'm okay," she said forcefully, aura darkening. "Vincent, this is what I choose to do for the rest of my life. Those people that I kill? If I don't kill them, they kill my comrades. Obviously I would choose to kill them instead of letting my friends die." She looked away, "I don't feel pleasure when I kill them, but it's necessary." Her shoulders slumped, "Can we not talk about this?"
He looked after his younger sister sadly, but relented, "Yeah, sure. What do you want to eat for dinner?"
"Are you going to order food or make it?" Camilla asked. She waved to a female American soldier that had become her friend over the weeks spent together in Afghanistan.
"Make it if I can," he answered simply. "Who's that?" he asked, curiosity piqued.
Camilla laughed, "You think she's pretty!" Vincent blushed, sputtering. "Aw, it's okay. She's single, as far as I know. Her name's Sophie. She's a nice girl, Vince." She turned towards Sophie, "HEY! SOPHIE!"
"Shut up, Camilla!" Vincent hissed, blushing.
The blonde girl walked over, dressed in military fatigues, "Yo, Kazama. What's up? On break?"
"Yeah, for just two days," Camilla sighed, pouting.
Sophie smirked, "Aw, poor you." She glanced at Vincent, "Hey, who's this guy?"
"This is Vincent, my older brother," Camilla said, grinning widely. "He's single."
"Camilla!" Vincent exclaimed, mortified. But he greeted Sophie warmly, "Hey, I've heard a lot about you from Cam."
"All good things I hope," the pretty blonde said flirtatiously. "She told me some things about you, but I never realized how handsome you are."
Camilla smirked, and saluted her brother, skipping away from the scene. "I'm going to go find Nick, kay?"
Her on-and-off boyfriend stood at the door of the inn, looking slightly unhappy. She sighed, "What's up, Nick? You want to get back together or something?"
He looked down, red hair forming a curtain in front of his hazel eyes, "Yeah."
Even though she no longer had feelings for him, she felt her heart soften at his downtrodden look. She wrapped her right arm around his shoulders, "Nick, you realize that this relationship isn't healthy? We can't keep going like this. We need to move on from each other."
Nick stared at her, "But I don't want to lose you!"
"We'll still be friends if you want," she said placatingly. "This girlfriend-boyfriend relationship isn't working."
"Am I just not enough? What did I do?" he said sadly, looking up at her.
She sighed, slightly irritated, "No, Nick. There's nothing you did wrong. We just don't click." I don't seem to click with anyone, she thought morosely.
He pulled away from her, "We don't click, huh?" He slumped into the wooden chair in the lobby of the inn. "Can you leave, Cam? I just need to be alone for a while."
Camilla gazed at him, slightly pitying this wreck of a man. His brother had been killed right in front of him when their platoon was ambushed, and he'd never recovered. She understood the pain of losing someone you loved, but he should've at least gotten help through therapy. "I'm sorry, Nick."
Two days had passed, and she bid her brother goodbye, ready to return to the battlefield. "Be careful, okay?" Vincent whispered, hugging her tight.
Sophie clasped her arm, nodding once, "Good luck, soldier."
Camilla hugged them both, and then got into the car that was sent to retrieve her. "See you!" she called out, hoping that she would see them later. She glanced around, but did not see Nick. She sighed internally.
"We'll be waiting," Vincent said, eyes creased with worry.
Camilla knelt on the roof of a small building flanking a more complex structure, keeping an eye out for any potential threats to her team's mission of infiltrating the larger facility. There were reports that noted suspicious activity in this building, and her platoon was commissioned with searching it. Behind her lay two dead militants who had confronted her after she scaled the building. "Okay, the area's clear," she whispered into her headset.
"Roger," her captain murmured back. A moment later, dark figures dressed in darker colored military fatigues appeared into her field of vision, headed for the main building. Once they were safely inside the main building, she entered the building she had been occupying. It was a small structure, and conveniently placed at an angle in front of the main building. As they were slightly short of men, she volunteered to secure the small side building. Though she obviously wasn't the best sniper the American army had, her marksmanship was exceptional, and such a small building would be easily secured by her. Hopefully.
Silencer securely attached to her Barrett MRAD, she snuck into the building. The militants inside were easily dispatched, but once she entered the center of the building, everything changed.
Camilla stared, eyes wide and mouth gaping, "What the hell is that?"
A large spherical structure sat on a platform, gray and made purely out of metal. It didn't seem to be a weapon for it couldn't be moved.
"Do you like it?" an unfamiliar voice asked in heavily accented English. Camilla whirled around, rifle aimed at the man's heart. He laughed, putting up his hands in a surrendering gesture, "I'm just a scientist. And this is my greatest invention."
"What is it?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
He smiled widely, "Why, it's a time machine, able to send you hundreds of years into the past."
She blinked, and then laughed disbelievingly, "That's impossible."
"I haven't tested it yet, but time travel is definitely possible," he said, stilling smiling. He was dressed in jeans and a t shirt, instead of the white scientist jacket she was expecting. "Would you like to take a closer look?"
"No thanks," she said coldly, still trying to discern whether or not this man posed a threat to her and her comrades.
"Just go closer to take a look! It's not going to hurt," he urged her.
She was already only a few feet away from it, so she stepped closer, somehow drawn to it. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion and sudden dread, and she turned her gun onto him. Suspicion turned into shock when she saw him press a few buttons on the control panel. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger and watched the bullet drive into his heart, instantly killing him. But she was a second too slow. The ground under her shifted up sharply, and she was thrown towards the machine that the scientist claimed to be able to traverse time. To her horror it opened up, allowing her to fall into it with a painful landing. "Fuck," she swore, cursing her own stupidity. She should have killed him as soon as she saw him. "How the hell do I get out of this thing?" she looked around, frowning as she searched for an exit.
Suddenly, the machine started to whir, spinning around her. As it spun faster and faster, Camilla realized her body felt lighter and lighter, until everything went white.
"Where the hell did that crazy son of a bitch send me?" she growled, looking around at her surroundings. "Damn, it really worked." She was obviously no longer in Afghanistan. The buildings around her were made out of wood, and had structures that were distinctly Japanese. The dirt road and lack of any modern machinery like cars or electronic lights told her that she truly was in the past.
She looked down at her dark clothes, grateful that they at least covered her entire body. Sighing, Camilla stared up at the clear blue sky. She'd have to find out what year she was in, and where, in order to correctly judge how she should act until she could find a way back. If she could.
She was no scientist. A doctor and a professional sniper, yes, but not a scientist.
"Maybe I should just walk around. It'll be easier to listen in on what people are saying, but I'll have to be discreet," she mused aloud.
Walking around the edge of the wooden building, she peered into it, grinning in triumph when she realized that it looked like a restaurant. She walked past, hoping to catch word of anything that might help her determine where she was, and when.
"...those Shinsengumi bastards…!" a man roared angrily from inside the restaurant.
Camilla froze. Shinsengumi? So I'm in Kyoto, within the time span of 1864 to 1869. It doesn't seem as if a civil war is taking place, so it should be before the Boshin War, which started in 1868. She quickly moved out of sight when she saw people walk out of the building, not wanting to attract any attention. Her clothing definitely was out of place, and she had no place to hide her rifle, which would attract curiosity and maybe panic. Camilla thanked God that her parents were Japanese, and had forced her to learn how to speak Japanese and read and write kanji.
Now all she had to do was find a way to earn some money. "What can I do?" she wondered, frowning in concentration. "Working as an assistant really wouldn't help me earn money quickly enough. I don't have all the time in the world." She sighed morosely, "And I can't work as a guard or something, because I don't have a fucking sword, and I'm only average at fencing." She snorted, "Average in an American high school fencing club. Definitely not top quality samurai material."
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, "Geisha!" But then she frowned, remembering how young one had to be to start training to become a geisha, and how much time she would have to commit to it. "Ugh, and I'll have to lose my virginity or something."
Noticing the darkening of the sky, she sighed, "I guess trying won't hurt." Glancing at her rifle, she pursed her lips, addressing it sadly, "I'll have to put you somewhere else."
After hiding her rifle, she headed towards Shimabara, hoping her past obsession with traditional Japanese culture would help her.
"Konnichiwa," she greeted the woman politely. "I would like to meet the okasan and apply for a job as a geisha."
After being introduced to the okasan, the older woman stared at her, eyes narrowed, "You are too old to start training."
"I know a lot of the customs already," Camilla said softly, body positioned in a submissive posture. "I am in desperate need of money, okasan, and I would be willing to do much to earn a position as a fully-fledged geisha."
The older woman continued scrutinizing her, and turned to the young girl standing behind her inconspicuously. "Take this young lady to one of the dressing rooms, and have Haka-san dress her in some more proper clothing."
And so, Camilla was taken to a room where a professional looking woman had her take off her clothes. "Wait, can you save those clothes?" Camilla asked hurriedly, seeing that the woman, Haka Ryou, was about to throw them away. Haka looked at her strangely, but nodded without prying. "Arigatou," she said gratefully.
The okasan sized Camilla up, eyes slightly narrowed. After a moment or two, she said, "You'd make a good minarai for now. After a week of observation, you will be tested on your skills. If you pass, you can become a geisha."
Camilla's eyes widened, and she bowed at the waist, "Arigatou gozaimasu!"
"What is your name?" the okasan asked, writing something down on a beautifully bound book.
Camilla blinked, hesitating for a millisecond before responding, "Kazama Kawaru."
"Take Kazama-san to the minarai dorms. Your training begins tomorrow."