Shackles of Honor

By Krylancelo

Disclaimer: I do not own Hakuouki Reimeiroku, nor will I ever will. It is owned by Idea Factory, and I am just having fun with it's universe. Please review my story.

Chapter 1: Howls on the Wind

Night had fallen in the winding streets of Kyoto, and on one such dusty street a lone man walked. Dark, long, midnight, blue hair streamed behind the young man as he hurried along the road to his destination. It was getting really late, and Ibiki Ryuusuke knew he was going to get an earful if he didn't get the package over to Serizawa-san.

He stopped suddenly, pausing as he heard a howl in the night.

"I-It's probably just some stray dog or something." Ryuu murmured, trying to reassure himself.

He didn't want to go back to the manor that the Rōshigumi were currently staying at. Not really his thing to deal with all of those samurai. He wasn't welcomed but he wasn't allowed to leave. He had a debt to pay. Though he glared at the passing night when he thought of it. He hated being in someone's debt. He'd been shackled most of his life. He was getting really sick of it.

Another howl sounded off to his right, and Ryuu woke up from his musings.

Sighing, the young man started off again at a slow walk. He couldn't really get his feet to move any faster. He knew he'd be hit by that smug Serizawa-san anyways. Why bother getting there any faster to deal with it. He had stayed in Kyoto for the last month. He'd almost become friends with Heisuke…. Wait, maybe he had or something. He wasn't all too sure about that friend thing anyways.

As Ryuu turned a corner, he froze when he saw a pack of dogs rip into what might have been a person…. A while ago… Now it was just a mass of blood, and Ryuu couldn't stop the sharp gasp that slipped from between his lips.

A mangy dog turned around, it's face covered with its prey's blood. Ryuu took a hesitant step back. He couldn't believe his bad luck. Amber eyes widened as the other three dogs turned away from their warm meal to stare at their new one.

"This is bad." Ryuu breathed out, as he took another few steps back.

"This is really bad."

Four loud growls were heard in near unison. The darkest dog had sharp grey eyes that glistened in the night. It lunged forward at Ryuusuke. It's sharp teeth stood out in stark contrast to the black night. Ryuu quickly back peddled as he tried to get away as quickly as possible. He didn't get very far as his foot caught on a rock and he fell to the ground.

The jarring pain from the fall was nothing in comparison to the flash of pain as the dark dog's fangs ripped through his left shoulder.

"Agghh! Stop!" He yelled out, and flung the package at the creature. He was lucky. It hit the dog hard enough for it to finally let go, though Ryuu wasn't sure if he'd have the use of his arm for quite a while. Blood seeped through his white and red shirt. His hands were shaking as he brought his right one up to try to staunch the blood flow.

"I have. To get out of here."

He quickly looked up as he saw the dog getting to its feet. The other three were advancing as well. Ryuu's amber eyes quickly darted around as he searched for some way out of this situation. He grabbed for the package and scrambled to his feet. At least the thing was bulky so he could hit the dogs again. Harsh breathing could be heard as Ryuu made a mad dash for a small patch of light in the distance. If he could find a store or a place to hide he might make it out of this alive.

Krylancelo's note: Ok I know it's not the best but only episode 1 is out when I wrote this so... hard to figure out the new characters for the show so far. I hope you all enjoy.